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.
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.
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jc
Mar 1, 2017 at 4:31 pm
he was also charge with extreme eyebrows!!!! go see a barber.
russell platt
Feb 8, 2017 at 6:17 pm
Her is a great guy and who doesn’t have their share of problems.I thought the legal limit was .2 for Aussies?
Barry
Feb 6, 2017 at 7:52 pm
He’s been playing terrible, can’t blame him for drinking! But don’t drive you idiot
Guia
Feb 6, 2017 at 7:02 pm
Give the guy a break. We don’t know if him being intoxicated is a regular thing, or just a one time occurrence. If it is a regular thing I hope he seeks help and over comes it. If it is not, well **it happens.
cgasucks
Feb 7, 2017 at 8:01 am
If he wants to be drink his sorrows away, that’s fine but don’t drive drunk and potentially kill an innocent human in the process..
Dave R
Feb 6, 2017 at 12:20 pm
Good luck to you.
Jim
Feb 6, 2017 at 10:52 am
….74 after that night? Man, get it together bro…there’s talent in there….
setter02
Feb 9, 2017 at 10:17 am
Was going to say the same thing, that’s an impressive feat after a less than impressive evening.
Jim
Feb 6, 2017 at 10:48 am
He’s taking this head on. Good for him. Don’t know the man; wouldn’t if he bit me, but it really is a “Thank you, God” moment as a possible tragedy was averted….
on a medical note….while .2 is a pretty solid number, passing out @ .2 is far from AA Fueler status. He can fix this with a little support and self honesty….I wish him well
next M/C? Don’t go hang out in the Wasted Management gallery….
ChunkieChip
Feb 5, 2017 at 3:18 pm
What a haunting photo! If her were alive, would love to see Vincent van Gogh paint this guys mug. Oh my bad, Vince was a highly influential painter that grabbed the 20th century art scene by the ears…….errrr ear.
S Hitter
Feb 5, 2017 at 3:32 am
Wow. Absolutely hilarious.
GolfBum
Feb 5, 2017 at 12:54 am
You can`t change the past, but you can change the future. Hope to see better things in the future. Some notables made mistakes and came back stronger.
Best of luck mate.
Stylin'
Feb 4, 2017 at 11:45 pm
Man, he’s got a sweet head of lettuce. Baldies are jealous the world over!
Bob
Feb 5, 2017 at 8:43 pm
You must be balding. Cause guys don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff. Spieth is that you?
Double Mocha Man
Feb 6, 2017 at 5:14 pm
He has more hair on his eyebrows than most men have on the top of their heads.
Dr Troy
Feb 4, 2017 at 10:09 pm
Sad to see him do something this stupid. He’s a really cool guy but I know for a fact he loves the sauce. Being around the Cartersville CC tour pros from time to time, you see up close and personal how much some of them can pound the booze. Several others that I wont mention on here also…To echo one of the other comments, AZ does NOT fool around and it wouldnt surprise me that he gets 30 days. I hope not, but his BAC was so damn high.
Chuck
Feb 4, 2017 at 10:02 pm
How many people looked at this story and their first reaction was, “Hey, he’s still using the 2016 M2. I wonder what loft? And is that a Project X HZRDUS? Which one?”
Jason
Feb 5, 2017 at 12:47 am
Funny you mentioned that, it’s exactly what I thought! However, while I don’t condone DUI, at least he owned it. It would have been easy for him to go silent. He stepped up and admitted to his mistake. Makes me root for him even more.
Bert
Feb 4, 2017 at 7:51 pm
Mistakes are made and booze makes them worse. Nothing good comes from booze; been there and done it.
cgasucks
Feb 4, 2017 at 6:13 pm
Ok so Botwditch is friggin depressed and hit rock bottom and is drinking himself away. That’s fine, but that doesn’t give him the right to drive intoxicated and hurt or kill and innocent human being.
Rich
Feb 5, 2017 at 12:48 am
Thankfully that didn’t happen. Good people do stupid things sometimes. But I guess you’re perfect, right?
cgasucks
Feb 6, 2017 at 8:21 am
Of course! Don’t be stupid.
Mark Walgren
Feb 4, 2017 at 3:17 pm
Awesome! party like a rockstar! At least nobody was hurt. Just gotta be careful next time and not show just how intoxicated you are!
cgasucks
Feb 4, 2017 at 6:14 pm
I bet MADD would love to have a few words with you…
BooBunkie
Feb 4, 2017 at 2:54 pm
Unfortunate?! I’ll say! It’s unfortunate this idiot didn’t kill anybody!! Clown! Ok, here goes. If this had happened to Eldrick…..OMG!! Breaking News!!! Eldrick hammered, Eldrick hammered, Eldrick hammered!!!! 2-3-4 times the legal limit of adult beverages consumed during the week of a tourney! Missed cuts, broken family, busted back, ankle, achilles, immoral behavior, da da da da da da da., and on and on and on ALL DAY AND NIGHT.
Meh, Bowdy plays second round, missed the cut, meh no biggie. I love selective reporting of news stories. Ok, y’alls turn…..BRING IT ON!!!
Steve
Feb 5, 2017 at 10:51 pm
Do you know what unfortunate means? Why would you want him to kill somebody?
gwillis7
Feb 4, 2017 at 2:46 pm
unfortunate this happened, c’mon Bowditch!
B Moore
Feb 4, 2017 at 12:51 pm
Human like all of us…. good to see him taking this face on. Your in our prayers Steve, better days ahead!