News

GolfWRX Morning 9: Mickelson’s mea culpa | Pros slay USGA | RIP to a pair of HOFers

Published

6 years ago

Jun 21, 2018

Good morning, GolfWRX members. As most of you are signed up for our newsletters, you likely already know that I’ve been sending this little Morning 9 roundup of nine items of note.

In case you’ve missed it, or you prefer to read on site rather than in your email, we’re including it here. Check out today’s Morning 9 below.

If you’re not signed up for our newsletters, you can subscribe here.

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

June 21, 2018

Good Thurday morning, golf fans. Four days after the end of the U.S. Open, the items dominating the news wire all pertain to negative elements of the national championship. Injecting this for balance: Brooks Koepka played really well!

1. Mickelson’s mea culpa

Four days after his inglorious performance on Shinnecock’s 13th green, Phil Mickelson sent a text message to a group of reporters that included the words, “I’m sorry.”

“I know this should’ve come sooner, but it’s taken me a few days to calm down. My anger and frustration got the best of me last weekend. I’m embarrassed and disappointed by my actions. It was clearly not my finest moment and I’m sorry.”

Critics will say the apology is too late in coming and doesn’t go far enough. Supporters, those amused by Mickelson’s antics, will see it as a PR gesture in the face of pressure to atone.

2. “Mike Davis is Dean Wormer”

PGA Tour players are slaying the USGA and its chief Mike Davis

Just look at these quotes from Brian Wacker’s bit for Golf Digest.

“It’s a private fraternity and you abide by their rules,” one multiple major winner said. “[USGA CEO] Mike Davis is Dean Wormer, except the ending is not as good as Animal House.”

James Hahn: “To me, that’s amateur hour...They don’t know how to run a professional event because they don’t run professional events.”

“Not only have we lost trust in the USGA as players, but I’ve lost trust in our national open to be in the hands of an organization like that. For how well other tournaments are run, the U.S. Open has fallen to the worst major that we have.”

“A lot of players are disenchanted with the organization, the tournament and the setup,” said a former winner of the event. “No, I don’t trust them.”

More scathing takes.

3. McIlroy laughed too

The image of 48-year-old Phil Mickelson jogging after his golf ball on the 13th green at Shinnecock, Saturday, was bizarrely comedic. Even if you condemn Mickelson in the strongest of terms, taken on its face, the scene is a silly one.

That said, it’s interesting that two of the biggest names in the game–Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth– had the same response: laughter. Speaking before the Travelers Championship, Rory McIlroy said

“I saw what happened…and honestly, I laughed. I felt there was a massive overreaction to it. Knowing Phil, he knew what he was doing, and as a player who has been in that head space before in a tournament, I can see it happening.”

4. RIP to a pair of greats of the game

News of the passings of Hubert Green and Peter Thomson hit the wires yesterday. Thomson, 88, had been battling Alzheimers, and throat cancer felled Green, 71. (No disrespect intended by not leading with this story; death is, I know, a helluva lot more significant than the USGA or the ramifications of its course setups.)

Golf Digest‘s longtime editor-in-chief, Jerry Tarde filed a thoughtful remembrance of the king of the British Open, which is well worth reading in full.

Hubert Green’s obituary, here.

5. Spieth’s blackout

No, nothing alcohol induced, but rather, Jordan Spieth reflected on his Travelers Championship-winning bunker hole-out and the jubilant celebration (and botched chest bump) that followed.

“Just that celebration in general, I blacked out,” Spieth said. “It drops and you just react. For me, I’ve had a few instances where I’ve been able to celebrate or react on a 72nd, 73rd hole, 74th hole, whatever it may be, and it just shows how much it means to us.”

“There’s been a lot of pretty bad celebrations on the PGA Tour. There’s been a lot of missed high-fives…I’ve been part of plenty of them. Pretty hard to miss when I’m going into Michael for a chest bump.”

6. What is “feel” in putting, really?

PGA Master Professional Rod Lidenberg offers a thorough introduction to the stimpmeter and how determining green speeds is the basis for “feel.”

He writes: “The key to the entire process is allowing yourself to make a subconscious connection between what your eyes have observed and the associated outcome. You must then trust what you have learned at a sub-conscious level. A conscious attempt to produce a given outcome will short-circuit the system. When it comes to judging speed, you must be prepared to surrender your conscious mind to your sub-conscious mind, which is infinitely wiser and more capable of calculating speed.”

Full article.

7. Cool! Coul plans passed

The Coore & Crenshaw project near Royal Dornoch, Coul Links, has gotten the go-ahead.

Here’s something of a pull-back-the-curtain portion on the road to approval from the press release (h/t Geoff Shackelford)

“First, a world class links course near Dornoch would prove economically transformational, perhaps creating the Highlands as the third major golf destination in Scotland.”

“Second, Coul Links is an extraordinary site ecologically and our plans will improve it. We will disturb 13.4 hectares of dune habitat, but we will improve 20 hectares and provide a site management plan in perpetuity.

“The people in the community of Embo have spoken confidently with their outstanding support. We are humbled and thankful to be their neighbours and partners.

“Third, after three exhaustive years, virtually everyone in the Highlands wants this project completed. Yes, there are objectors with legitimate concerns, and we respect them but make no doubt the voice of the people has been heard.

8. Phil’s robo froyo

Not an Onion story; real thing that is actually happening here. Phil Mickelson and his manager/business partner, Steve Loy have signed a deal with Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc. and its flagship subsidiary, Reis & Irvy’s, to open 30 yogurt locations in San Diego.

We’ll just quote directly from the press release, because, who can paraphrase language like this?

“Reis & Irvy’s-branded signature robot characters of the same name can dispense servings of frozen yogurt, ice cream, gelatos and sorbet topped with a selection of six delicious toppings in under 60 seconds. With self-checkout touch screen ordering and payment options, video animation, music and delicious frozen dessert provided exclusively by Dannon, robot vendors meet consumer demand for convenience, entertainment and a superior quality product.”

9. Place your bets

A quick look at the favorites for the Travelers Championship (via Bovada)

Justin Thomas +1200
Rory McIlroy +1200
Jordan Spieth +1400
Brooks Koepka +1600
Patrick Reed +1600
Jason Day +1600
Paul Casey +2000
Webb Simpson +2000
Marc Leishman +2500
Bryson DeChambeau +2500

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News

Morning 9: Anthony Kim speaks | New TGL team | ANWA contenders

Published

4 days ago

Apr 3, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the Valero Texas Open.

1. McIlroy: Tour-LIV split unsustainable

Reuters report…”The split in the men’s game between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf League is unsustainable and will not benefit anyone in the long term, Rory McIlroy told Golf Magazine on Tuesday.”

“The four-time major champion said it was disheartening as a competitor to see the best golfers play in separate tours for most of the year.”

“There needs to be a correction. I think what’s happening is not sustainable right now, so something needs to happen to try to bring it all back together so we can all move forward so we don’t have this division that’s sort of ongoing,” McIlroy said.

“They keep going down those different paths and I just don’t see how that benefits anyone in the long run. … I think [it’s] a shame for the overall game of golf.”

Full piece.

2. Anthony Kim speaks

Some excerpts from his interview with David Feherty…

Did he watch golf in his time away?

“I have an interesting relationship with golf. I don’t think I ever loved it. What’s very weird to me now is that I’m falling in love with the game. That’s such a weird spot for me because golf was filled with pressure and lots of different emotions for me because my family had to go through a lot to give me this opportunity to play golf. So with that added pressure, I was willing to risk a lot more, that was my nature. I was aggressive on the golf course, aggressive off the golf course and that led to my demise.”

On battling his demons

“I had no self-worth until I became a father….I started turning my life around about a year and a half ago.”

On becoming a father

“She’s my everything. Obviously my relationship with my wife is unbelievable, can’t thank her enough and owe so much to her. But a lot of the inspiration comes from Bella (daughter), I feel so blessed to be a dad, I wasn’t expecting to be able to have a child.

“I lost faith in myself, on top of that the doctors said I wouldn’t be able to have a child because of all the things my body has been through. That was very disappointing, that made me feel even smaller than I had felt originally. But this blessing happened and now I’m getting to experience this.”

Full piece.

3. Anna returns to Augusta

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”The 17-year-old Davis, who turned 18 on March 17, arrived on the Plains shortly after the first of the year, enrolling early and joining a Tigers squad that was already one of the best in the country; the midseason addition of Davis only amplified this program’s expectations. The SoCal native’s Instagram handle, @superannadavis, is aptly chosen. Super Anna ascended to the pinnacle of junior golf by winning the Girls Junior PGA and Augusta National Women’s Amateur, both before her junior year of high school. She’s since been tabbed for several national teams, junior and amateur, and fared well in an extensive LPGA apprenticeship – eight starts, half of them majors, and four made cuts – before the start of her somewhat surprising foray into college golf.”

“It’s fairly obvious to our team that a traveling spot has been taken by our new player,” Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said back in February. Davis has now logged five starts for the Tigers, her most recent producing her best college finish to date, a T-2 at Georgia’s Liz Murphey Collegiate, and giving her a ton of momentum as she heads down U.S. 78 to Augusta for her third ANWA.”

Full piece.

4. ANWA contenders

Gabby Herzig for the Athletic…”LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad will be hard to ignore as the 2024 tournament favorite. The world’s No. 1 amateur is coming off a stunning 10-shot victory at the Clemson Invitational, where she also became the winningest female golfer in SEC history. Hailing from Sweden, Lindblad is looking for sweet revenge: She missed the 36-hole cut at the 2023 ANWA after posting top-3 finishes in each of her previous appearances.”

“Besides Lindblad, we have our eye on 15-year-old Asterisk Talley — one of the youngest competitors in the field. Named after the Greek word for “little star,” Talley is coming off a historic victory of her own. Just down the road from Augusta, Talley won perhaps the most elite junior golf tournament in the world, the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. Anna Davis, the 2022 ANWA champion, captured the same title last year and is back in the field at ANWA.

“Avery is another potential contender. With T4 and T29 finishes in her last two starts, she’s found comfort on both golf courses. But as the 20-year-old multitasks — still strolling through the department store, scanning carefully for her Champions Dinner outfit — one comment about her previous competitive rounds at Augusta is particularly telling.”

Full piece.

5. TGL’s New York Golf Club’s additions

The New York Post’s Mark Cannizzaro…”New York is about to have another sports franchise for which to root, beginning in 2025.”

“New York Golf Club’s four-player roster in the newly formed six-team TGL (which stands for Tomorrow’s Golf League) is set to be unveiled on Tuesday.”

“The Post has exclusively learned that the New York team, owned by Mets owner Steve Cohen and his Cohen Private Ventures, will include Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Westchester native Cameron Young and former U.S. Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick.”

Full piece.

6. Tiffany Joh becomes new U.S. national coach

Beth Ann Nichols for Golfweek…”Team USA just got a whole lot more fun. Tiffany Joh, a former LPGA player who lifted the spirits of countless players during her 11-year stint on tour, has accepted a new role with the U.S. National Development Program as a coach. She’ll work alongside head coach Chris Zambri on both the men’s and women’s side to help identify and support American golf talent.”

“Joh, who currently works as an associate head coach at USC, will move from her native California to Pinehurst, North Carolina, following the completion of the Trojans’ spring season. A two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion, Joh is the first USGA champion to be hired by the USGA in the organization’s 130-year history.”

Full piece.

7. Photos from the Valero Texas Open

Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!

Full Piece.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open

Published

6 days ago

Apr 1, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.

The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.

GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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News

Tour Rundown: Jaeger is meister | Korda wins again

Published

6 days ago

Apr 1, 2024

Ronald Montesano

We’re getting to that time of year that all fans of golf embrace. The Augusta National Women’s Amateur begins this week, followed by the Masters at the end of the fortnight. Tours offer a full set of events, although they will take a break the week of the first men’s major of the year. The world’s tours played events this week in Texas, Singapore, Arizona, Mexico, and California. Nearly all of these competitions came down to the final stroke, on the final hole. This combination of stout play and building drama is what we weather winter for. With that season in the rearview mirror, let’s embark on another spate of Tour Rundown recollections.

PGA Tour @ Houston Open: Jåger is meister of Houston

Stephan Jåger had performed feats of magic before against the fires of competitive golf. In 2016, on the Web.Com (now Korn Ferry) Tour, he posted a first-round 58 and stayed true to that arrow to win his first tour event. On his Wikipedia page, his surname is spelled both Jåger and Jaeger. To honor his ancestry, we’ll go with the former.

This week, the stakes were higher, as he chased a first victory on the PGA Tour. Marvelous opponents sprinted with him, including former Houston Open winner Tony Finau, and the world’s top-ranked player, Scottie Scheffler. Just as eager as Jåger, were Alejandro Tosti, Thomas Detry, and Taylor Moore. Each figured in the event’s conclusion.

It’s easier to write that each of those six men posted rounds between 66 and 68 on Sunday, and that all finished within one shot of the rest, than it is to recall precisely how they did so. Finau dropped ten shots (62-72) from Friday to Saturday, or he would have added another Houston Open title to the shelf. Scheffler (the 15th), Tosti, (the 18th), and Detry (the 14th) all made a bogey over the concluding holes, or they would have joined Jåger in a playoff. As for Moore, he could have done little more than make one more birdie. His pitch to the last nearly went in, finishing inside two feet from the extension of glory.

Jåger did all his work on Sunday over the front nine. His four birdies and one bogey brought him to 12 under on the week. He proceeded to secure nine pars on the inward half, including a 20-feet save at the 13th. Only at the 17th did he putt for birdie from inside 15 feet, and that effort was too strong. Yet, he did all that he had to do, to conclude an event at the podium’s summit, and hoist a PGA Tour trophy for the first time.

CLUTCH!

Stephan Jaeger saves par to hold on to the solo lead @TCHouOpen. pic.twitter.com/FXKlaQTlXR

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 31, 2024

LPGA @ Ford Championship: Korda wins again, so watch out!

It appears that the mystery condition that derailed Nelly Korda in 2023, has run its course or been eliminated. Korda won for the second consecutive week on the LPGA circuit, and she did so in the manner that we’ve grown to know: efficiency. One week past nearly tossing a victory away, Korda was flawless on Sunday at Seville, in Gilber, Arizona. Her seven birdies and eleven pars led to a Sunday 65, and a two-shot margin of victory over England’s Hira Naveed.

Heretofore unknown at the top tier of women’s golf, Naveed posted 65-66 on the weekend to slide past a quintet of contenders, into second spot. Naveed signed for 16 birdies over the final two days, but a pair of bogeys separated her from a chance at Korda. Behind her, in third position, were Carlota Ciganda, Mi Hyang Lee, Frida Kinhult, Maja Stark, and a resurgent Lexi Thompson.

Nelly Korda began the week with birdies at four of her opening five holes. On days one and three, she posted but a single bogey over the play of the course. Friday was a bit topsy-turvey, with a trio of bogeys offset by a dramatic eagle at the fifth. When it looked as if things were slipping away, Korda closed with birdie on day two, to gain momentum at the halfway point. Her swing is efficient and consistent, and when her mental game and putting join the full move, little can stop her. The Ford Championship was her eleventh on tour, and her third of the young season.

.@NellyKorda is No. 1 for a reason ?

Nelly birdies for the solo lead with just two holes left to go ? pic.twitter.com/WimuZPK0Pf

— LPGA (@LPGA) March 31, 2024

DP World Tour @ Indian Open: Nakajima nearly romps to win

Keita Nakajima set a record of 87 consecutive weeks as the top-ranked amateur in men’s golf. He won four times on the Japan PGA tour and built a five-shot advantage over the first 54 holes of the Indian Open. When he turned in minus-three on Sunday, his advantage swelled to near-double digits. It was a coming-out party for a potential, future champion.

Things turned sour on the inward half. Don’t worry: we did not misleed with our sub-header; Nakajima won. After four solid pars to begin the trek home, the leader made a sloppy, double bogey at the 14th hole. The hole owned Nakajima all week-he played it in a combined plus-five shots to par.

The leader rebounded with birdie at the next but closed with three consecutive bogeys for an inward 40 and 73 on the day. No matter: Nakajima won by four shots over India’s Veer Ahlawat, Sweden’s Sebastian Söderberg, and the USA’s Johannes Veerman. Ahlawat managed 71 on Sunday, to move up four slots. Söderberg and Veerman posted 67 to each ascend 11 spaces.

Keita Nakajima makes yet another long putt for birdie and extends his lead to six ?#HIO24 pic.twitter.com/wG1JmL6Lls

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 31, 20 24

PGA Tour Americas @ TotalPlay: JJR wins at home

By all accounts, the merger of the PGA Tour LA and PGA Tour CA was a positive thing. Gone are the qualifying for two tours, and the uncertainty of a season-long circuit for golfers striving to reach the Korn Ferry tier. This week, the PGA Tour Americas moved to the Atlas Country Club in Guadalajara, Mexico. Those in attendance were treated to a wondrous performance by a son of the nation, José de Jesús Rodríguez. A man with a stress mark in each of his three names is specially-written, and specially gifted, after all.

Rodríguez was marvelous over the first three rounds. Scores of 68-65-67 brought him to the pole position, heading into the event’s final lap. Sunday saw an early bogey (3) and a late one (17), and a lot of grit and determination in between. Jesús Montenegro of Argentina closed within one of the leader, but 13-deep was the farthest he could advance. Derek Hitchner and Joey Vzich of the USA matched 71s on Sunday to finish at 12-under par, in a third-place tie. The title, after a 72nd-hole par, belonged to José de Jesús Rodríguez, aka El Camarón Rojo, and all of Mexico celebrated with an olé!

This close to an eagle ?@elcamaronrdgz taps in for birdie on the par 5, 15th to take a one shot lead with 3 holes to play. pic.twitter.com/izO5EyO9sE

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) March 31, 2024

PGA Tour Champions @ Galleri Classic: Goosen gets gift and glory

It’s easy to recall Retief Goosen’s twin U.S. Open titles, in 2001 and 2004. He displayed an icy disposition under pressure as those around him wilted. It’s difficult to forget his collapse at Pinehurst in 2005, as he was on the cusp of a third U.S. Open title, and a place among the game’s greats. Although three more tour titles would come his way, he was never again the same player in major events.

The senior circuit, aka PGA Tour Champions, is a second chance at many things, for many players. For Goosen, it represents an opportunity to rebuild competitive scenarios, and rekindle the fires that burn within the competitive soul. For much of the Galleri Classic this week, Goosen and others watched as Steven Alker and Ricardo González dueled in the desert. In the end, neither player stood ahead of the field.

Both Alker and González posted late bogeys. González made three of them, from holes 14 to 17, while Alker finished bogey-bogey. Each golfer concluded his week at twelve shots under par, one agonizing shot behind Goosen. How did the two-time, U.S. Open champion reach the magic number? He avoided old man bogey. Three birdies and 15 pars on day three were enough to place the South African champion in contention, and he simply held firm, as those around him fell. The win was Goosen’s third on the senior circuit, and his first since 2022.

The Goose is loose.

Retief Goosen trails by one with three to play @GalleriClassic. pic.twitter.com/MlJsFEFNUK

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) March 31, 2024

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