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US 19.5 Internationals 14.5
The Presidents Cup was about as laid back an event as it’s US team captain Fred Couples. No talk of hatred of one side from the other. No earbuds stuck in the captains ear. The only thing over the top involved assistant captain Michael Jordan smoking a cigar on the course leading to the threat of a fine. Only in San Francisco would smoking outdoors be considered hazardous to anyone but the smoker, though l will grant that Mr. Jordan’s cigars might be confused for a coal fired plant smokestack. Ridiculous I say. I have to confess I did not pay a lot of attention to the Sunday singles, after all the Vikings were playing and priorities are rearranged at this time of year(especially when they can go 5-0 with a win). But the matches earlier in the week were highly entertaining. When the top three players in the world, all Americans, combine to go 13-1-1, that’s something that gets my attention. Tiger Woods going 5-0, winning four times with new BFF Steve Stricker, was a highlight comparable to Phil Mickleson going 4-0-1 with three different partners. There must be something about the glow of the “goofy Mickleson grin” that rubs off on young guys. Some kind of pixie dust thing perhaps. Mr. Woods is still the worlds best and showed it Saturday, rolling in a 22 foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and following that up with a 229 yard 3 iron to three feet on the 18th hole to preserve the win. Amazing.
The Presidents Cup was about as laid back an event as it’s US team captain Fred Couples. No talk of hatred of one side from the other. No earbuds stuck in the captains ear. The only thing over the top involved assistant captain Michael Jordan smoking a cigar on the course leading to the threat of a fine.
Only in San Francisco would smoking outdoors be considered hazardous to anyone but the smoker, though l will grant that Mr. Jordan’s cigars might be confused for a coal fired plant smokestack. Ridiculous I say. I have to confess I did not pay a lot of attention to the Sunday singles, after all the Vikings were playing and priorities are rearranged at this time of year(especially when they can go 5-0 with a win). But the matches earlier in the week were highly entertaining. When the top three players in the world, all Americans, combine to go 13-1-1, that’s something that gets my attention.
Tiger Woods going 5-0, winning four times with new BFF Steve Stricker, was a highlight comparable to Phil Mickleson going 4-0-1 with three different partners. There must be something about the glow of the "goofy Mickleson grin" that rubs off on young guys. Some kind of pixie dust thing perhaps. Mr. Woods is still the worlds best and showed it Saturday, rolling in a 22 foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and following that up with a 229 yard 3 iron to three feet on the 18th hole to preserve the win. Amazing.
Even Justin Leonard channeled the Joker after missing a tiny putt to give the Internationals a draw and some hope. Mr. Leonard stormed into the players room, stalked up to the bar and slammed back five shots and chugged a beer. Concern spread throughout the team room as this unfolded. Funny thing was the shot glasses contained water, conviently set out by Fluff Cowan, Jim Furyk’s caddy. Pretty good from a guy who will never be compared to George Lopez( and not because Mr. Leonard is not Mexican ok all you literalists).
The Internationals reflected the woes of captain Greg Norman in much the same way the US team matched Mr. Couples. Mr. Norman had shoulder surgery last week, his new marriage appears to have run into difficulty, and his captains pick of Adam Scott proved a dismal failure. Tough on you sir, hopefully it’ll end soon. Even the magic of Tim Clark sweeping in putts from everywhere with the broom handled putter was not enough in an event where two others, Retief Goosen and Camilo Villegas, combined for zero points. Even the aforementioned Mr. Scott managed one point, a noteworthy acheivement considering he’s been reminding me of David Duval all year. Ryo Ishikawa was 3-2 for Mr. Norman’s team. Considering he is only 18 years old, the object of a horde of Japanese photographers and writers made that a very worthy performance. One thing amazed me, if anyone from the International team wanted to be sure of getting their picture in the papers, they only had to sidle up to Mr. Ishikawa as gigabytes worth of photos were taken of the young star on a daily basis. Tell me that wouldn’t play with your head.
An entertaining event, if you rooted for the Americans, not so much if you are an International fan. As the worlds best players pack their game away for the year, going off to do whatever it is they do when not playing tournaments, I salute a season that was quite satisfying. In a year that brought a lot of challenges to a lot of folks, the PGA and golf in general provided a small respite from those issues. Now off to the World Series and the NFL season.
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Morning 9: Scheffler repeats at Players | Monday PIF meeting | McIlroy takes another shot at Norman
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Tour Rundown: Matching luggage for Scheffler
For those of us from another generation, the disruption of the golf world that we knew well is both exciting and unsettling. The two most potent disruptors are rival golf leagues, not unlike the turmoil seen in the NCAA, and the Anchorman-style gangs of golf reporters. Reconciled to a past era are the dominance of the U.S. PGA Tour and the monthly golf magazines. One element that will not change, at any time in the foreseeable future, however, is the sanctity of the grand slam and golf’s four male major championships. While the LPGA and the PGA Tour Champions have seen a light and added fifth and sixth power titles, the men’s game remains staunchly in the 20th century.
This last topic surges in pertinence each March, just before the playing of The Players Championship. Two camps stake tents and run banners up the poll. One cries out for elevation of the PC to major status, while the other digs a trench around its impregnable quadrilateral. My personal take is this: Every four years since 2016, golf is played at the Olympics. Is Olympic Gold the equivalent of a major title? Yes, it is. It comes around every 1,500 days and brings elite golfers together in competition at the most important athletic event and venue. In my mind, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele earned major titles in Brazil and Japan, as did Inbee Park and Nelly Korda. As for the Players Championship, why not? The field is stronger by ranking than any major event, and the golf course demands every shot that golfers can create.
The Players Championship is so important to the U.S. PGA Tour that all other tours under its umbrella take the week off. No Korn Ferry, no Tour Champions. The LPGA and the DP World Tour follow suit, which shrinks the amount of watchable golf to two events. On that sour note, let’s run down this week’s play, beginning with the Players Championship and ending with the Asian Tour in Macau.
PGA Tour @ Players Championship: matching luggage for Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler is making a bid to be the player of his generation. From the previous one, a fair number have taken leave from traditional competition. The Johnsons, Koepkas, and Reeds from the 1980s no longer play the events that stand the test of time. The born-in-the-90s generation had its first great champion in Jordan Spieth until he took leave of the senses that brought him to golf’s pinnacle. Spieth’s descent ran opposite Scheffler’s rise.
Scottie Scheffler had won nothing on the PGA Tour until February 13th of 2022. He won on that day in Phoenix, then won three more times by the middle of April. One of those wins was the API at Bay Hill. Last week, Scheffler won for a second time at the Orlando course. Last March, Scheffler won his first Players Championship, by five shots over Tyrrell Hatton. On Sunday, Scheffler dived headfirst into a cauldron of fierce competition. Facing challenges from Olympic champion Schauffele, Open champion Brian Harmon, and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Scheffler breathed. As the only man to reach 20 under par, he earned a second consecutive title at Sawgrass and reminded us that it has been two years since he won the Masters and that he is on a tear.
It all began at the fourth on Sunday for Scheffler. After pars at the opening three holes, Scheffler’s driving wedge from 92 yards landed 20 feet shy of the hole, took one large bounce, then spun left, trickling into the hole for eagle. He followed that incantation with another birdie, then two pars. The stretch from 8 to 12 was where the champion made a statement. His quartet of birdies over that run, brought him to 19-under par and let the pursuing pack know that even lower than the winning 17 under in 2023 would be necessary.
And the trio was game. Harman and Clark both dipped below 70, to reach 19 under at the final pole. Schauffele could not find a similar gear and closed with 70 — 69 would have earned him a playoff with Scheffler. It was the extra gear, the ability to go low when all things mattered, that eleveated the now two-time champion to the top of the podium. In five of his eight tour wins, Scheffler has posted a sub-70 round on day four, and four of those have been 67 or lower.
With elegant precision, Scheffler applied the final thrust at the par-5 16th. He played safely away from Pete’s Pond on the right, into the left greenside bunker at the back of the putting surface. His bunker shot was thing of exquisite accuracy, trickling to a planned stop about 20 inches from the hole. The birdie concluded matters and rang the sort of bell that Dye courses tend to display.
The greenside bunker is not a problem for the defending champ.
Scottie Scheffler’s birdie at 16 moves him back into a share of the lead @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/aEi7onLZPE
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 17, 2024
Asian Tour @ International Series Macau: Catlin earns playoff victory
There are two sorts of golfers that compete on the Asian Tour, which makes no secret of its alliance with the LIV. The first are the AT stalwarts, the ones who play as golfers have always played, with little guarantee and much pride. The others are the ones who compete on the LIV, eschewing both risk and pride for the guaranteed payday. Their deal costs them world ranking points, so they play in AT events, hoping to qualify for golf’s major events.
This week in Macau, one of those LIV golfers shot 60 on Sunday and did not win the tournament. Hard to believe, you say? Aye, but when another golfer shoots 59 in the third round, follows it up with a 65 on day four, then makes overtime birdie twice at the par-five closer, the razor’s edge of great golf is sharpened. Thus did it happen with American John Catlin and Spaniard David Puig.
It was Catlin who signed for 59, and it took a twisting, eagle putt at the last to enshrine the first-ever, sub-60 on the Asian Tour. It was Puig who closed the gap on Sunday with a 60 of his own, which featured a bogey at the lengthy fifth hole, but was followed by seven birdies and an eagle over the next 13 holes. Catlin had a six-feet putt for the regulation win, but missed. In extra time, Puig nearly holed for eagle at 18, then tapped in for birdie. Catlin’s second danced along the OOB perimeter, before ending on an access road. His drop and pitch left him another six feet to remain alive, and this time, he converted.
At the second go-round of the par-5 finisher, Puig found the green in two, but took three putts from nearly 50 feet. Catlin confronted another challenging pitch for his third, and once again, his wedge game won the day. He tapped in for birdie and the win.
5??9?? ? @JohnCatlin59 eagles the 18th to shoot the first 59 on the Asian Tour ?? #whereitsAT #ThisISEverything #InternationalSeries @intseriesgolf pic.twitter.com/RV9gYy1SIp
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 16, 2024
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Morning 9: Rory, Xander, Clark share Players lead | Rory on controversial drop | AK misses Macau cut
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