News

GolfWRX Morning 9: R.I.P. Jarrod Lyle | Bellerive up to speed? | Tiger the underachiever?

Published

6 years ago

Aug 9, 2018

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

August 9, 2018

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.

1. R.I.P. Jarrod Lyle

Jarrod Lyle is dead at 36. I think it’s disrespectful to say he “lost” the battle. It’s disrespectful to say anyone cancer kills loses, because it suggests they could have or should have done more/something different to win. Sometimes, saying someone “lost” a battle to cancer is like saying he lost a battle to an oncoming semi. There’s no “fight” there.

Jarrod Lyle didn’t lose anything. With his openness and courage he inspired, and he’s a reminder of multitudes suffering from cancer and other horrific diseases every day. We need to do everything we can to fund research, yes, but we also need to support those who are suffering and their families and relegate neither to the shadows.

Per an Australian Associated Press report…”Lyle, 36, spent his final days surrounded by loved ones when he decided to go into palliative care after ending treatment for myeloid leukaemia.”

“He is survived by his wife Briony and daughters Lusi, 6, and Jemma, 2.”

“It breaks my heart to tell everyone that Jarrod is no longer with us,” Ms Lyle said in a statement. “He passed away peacefully at 8.20pm last night having spent his final week in Torquay among his family and close friends.”

There’s aGoFundMe for Lyle’s family, here. Please donate.

Also, kudos to Bryson DeChambeau for choosing the Lyle family as the beneficiaries of his $25,000 PGA Championship Long Drive winnings.

2. Bellerive getting up to speed

Golfweek’s Forecaddie reports Bellerive’s greens are weathering the weather well.

“The Forecaddie admires a lot about the work of PGA setup man Kerry Haigh, but never more than when he digs in on his career-long refusal to discuss green speed…With Bellerive’s heat and stressed greens, The Man Out Front asked Haigh if the .125 mowing height was going to be lowered for the first round, as a locker room notice to players suggested.”

“We’ve made adjustments during the week, including today, so we have made specific adjustments, and we’ll continue to monitor it,” the stone-faced assassin of public Stimpmeter readings said. “But we’re very comfortable and love where we’re at today.”

“Specifically, The Forecaddie spotted rollers for the first time all week Wednesday, thanks in part to yesterday’s 1.5 inches of rain and cooler temperatures. As dreadful as the rains were for keeping the course firm, the moisture and cooler weather allowed superintendent Carlos Arraya to push the sensitive surfaces.

“The greens are quicker than they were the last two days, and they’re very close to what we are hoping they will be for the four days,” Haigh said. “We love where they’re at. They’re rolling beautifully. And Carlos Arraya and his team, just unbelievable, great job.”

3. The wrong Tommy

Here’s an outrageous real thing that actually happened.

“Tommy Fleetwood received a surprise this week when noticed that a $154,480 check from the European Tour had been deposited into his bank account..Because he wasn’t that Tommy Fleetwood.”

“Turns out the European Tour made a clerical error and sent out the winnings from last month’s Open Championship to the wrong Tommy Fleetwood. Instead of going to the 11th-ranked player in the world, an American club pro at Streamsong Resort in central Florida instead was shocked to find the six-figure check in his account – sandwiched between a supermarket payment of $14.37 and a service fee of $16.” (Golf Channel report)

4. Golf’s odd couple

Karen Crouse filed an excellent look at a subject you’re likely tired of hearing about: the Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson bomance.

“But those earlier versions, of Woods and Mickelson in their 20s and 30s, have given way in middle age to models that are more similar than not. Mickelson, 48, has turned himself into a sleeker machine who nosed out a player nearly half his age, Justin Thomas, the defending champion of the P.G.A. Championship, to win a World Golf Championships event in Mexico City in March for his 43rd PGA Tour victory – and his first in four years.”

“And Woods, 42, has become less isolated and more welcoming. The steely focus that made him so intimidating in his heyday is still there, but after the last putt drops, he is quick to smile and socialize with other players. After five years spent battling debilitating back pain that required four surgeries, Woods described himself on Tuesday as “very blessed” and said, “It’s a dream come true” to simply be back playing tournament golf.”

More.

5. Speaketh JT

A couple of lines from Justin Thomas as he prepares for his PGA Championship title defense.

“The part of defending isn’t as difficult as just winning any golf tournament in general. I mean, any player here this week, it’s very hard to win,” Thomas said. “It doesn’t make it any harder that I’m trying to defend.”

“You can learn as much as you want from anything. It’s just the hard part is sometimes recognizing what you learned…I learned from the British Open and I missed the cut. I learned from the Travelers when I finished 50th or whatever I finished. You learn every week. It’s sometimes the lessons are bigger than others.”

6. Latest on PGA HQ move

Geoff Shackelford writes…”In his final PGA Championship news conference as CEO, Pete Bevacqua addressed possible a headquarters move to Frisco, Texas…”That’s still certainly a possibility, but it’s also a possibility that we’ll stay in southern Florida or even look at other opportunities around the rest of the country,” Bevacqua said.”

“Opening up the potential for a move to other parts of the country added a new twist to the organization’s push to modernize its buildings in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla…This is something that started two years ago, where we all came to the conclusion that our current headquarters, those current buildings, although they’re in a wonderful part of the country, just weren’t getting – not getting it done for us,” said Bevacqua, who is moving to a new role at NBC Sports overseeing multiple properties, including Golf Channel.”

7. 14 points for golf

Writing for the Armchair Golf Blog, John Coye says…”Joe Kirkwood’s autobiography, Links of Life. Kirkwood was an Australian golf professional who won 13 times on the PGA Tour and was also known as a trick shot artist. His book was published privately in 1973. Kirkwood told his story to Barbara Few and the story has an introduction by Lowell Thomas, the famous news commentator, one-time chairman of the American Golf Hall of Fame and a friend of Kirkwood.”

“Kirkwood took the challenge and dictated 14 points that Thomas had framed on the wall of the locker room at the Western White House golf course…Thomas added the 14 points to his introduction of Links of Life. Here they are:”

1. Relax, relax, relax!

2. When addressing the ball, stand almost straight, sitting back slightly on your heels.

3. Extend hands, arms and club out straight. That is, don’t drop your hands as though putting them in your lap.

4. Grip should always be the same. If you want a hook or a fade, a low shot or a high one simply alter your stance.

5. For instance if you want a high shot, open your club face and stand behind the ball.

6. Get biggest arc possible. Slow backswing. Slight hesitation at top.

7. Stay almost flat footed through swing until after ball is in flight and club head is out where it should be on the follow through. It’s okay to sway a light as you pivot, but your head must not move too much. On your pivot be sure to bring left shoulder way under.

8. Imagine you are looking underneath the ball. Avoid closing club face.

9. Whatever you do don’t let your body get ahead of your hands and the club.

10. Don’t fight the wind. For example, on the Quaker Hill course, in playing the 7th where the wind often is from the West, hit a fade to the left and allow wind to bring the ball around. This way you will get more distance.

11. On pitch and chip shots keep arms still. Arms, hands, club all on piece.

12. On pitch and chip shots use slow easy rhythmical stroke, with a follow through. Don’t snap at the ball!

13. In rough, or any bad lie, open club face in order to cut through trouble.

14. In getting out of traps spank the sand with club head. Use light touch; easy stroke. Don’t bang at it. After rain, or in any hard sand, use a very light touch, caress it.

8. Tiger the underachiever?

Brandel Chamblee would certainly say he’s done nothing more than offer his honest, reasoned opinions on Tiger Woods throughout his career.

The Golf Channel analysts’s detractors, however, feel Chamblee has an anti-Woods bias at best and makes incendiary remarks that he knows aren’t true for attention, at worst.

The most recent example of Chamblee telling his truth regarding Woods came on the Golf Digest podcast.

“I would argue he got the least out of his talent of any player, maybe in history,” Chamblee said. “What other player would you have imagined was going to win 30 major championships? Twenty-five, 30 major championships and 100-plus events? There’s no other player that any of us would ever have imagined – I think he was better than any of us ever imagined. But once he got going, we thought, well . . . he’s going to be Genghis Khan to the record books.”

9. Bittersweet for Bevacqua

Golf Channel’s Nick Menta…”For the first time since the news was announced, outgoing PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua addressed his upcoming move to NBC Sports.”

“The past, roughly six years at PGA of America have been wonderful,” he said. “As many of you know, I’ll be moving on to NBC Sports. But what made that decision, at least a little bit easier for me, is the fact that I know I’ll still be so involved with golf and still so involved with the PGA of America, such a wonderful organization, and with the friends I’ve made, like Kerry [Haigh], who I absolutely think the world of, my fellow staff, the board, the officers.”

“Bevacqua is taking over in the newly created role of NBC Sports Group president. He will oversee NBC Sports programming, marketing and digital, in addition to the company’s regional cable networks and all NBC’s golf businesses.”

Your Reaction?

LIKE2
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL1
IDHT0
FLOP1
OB1
SHANK2

News

Morning 9: Rory: I’m not joining LIV | Masters ratings | Nelly: We just need a stage

Published

1 day ago

Apr 17, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up to this week’s RBC Heritage.

1. Rory: I’m not going to LIV

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…McIlroy said neither he nor his agents have ever discussed a potential deal to lure him to the LIV Golf League, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

“I honestly don’t know how these things get started,” McIlroy told Golf Channel while on the practice range at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the site of this week’s RBC Heritage. “I’ve never been offered a number from LIV, and I’ve never contemplated going to LIV. Again, I think I’ve made it clear over the past two years that I don’t think it’s something for me.

“It doesn’t mean that I judge people who have went and played over there. I think one of the things that I have realized over the past two years is that people can make their own decisions for whatever they think is best for themselves, and who are we to judge them for that? But personally, for me, my future is here on the PGA Tour, and it’s never been any different.”

Full piece.

2. Masters ratings down

Yahoo’s Jay Busbee…”Ratings for the full Masters week are now out, and 2024’s version ranks as the lowest since the COVID-impacted years of 2020 and 2021. There was a brief moment when four players shared the lead at the 2024 Masters, but Scottie Scheffler took care of business quickly enough and strolled to what qualifies as an “easy” Masters victory — a four-stroke triumph that wasn’t in doubt for most of the second nine.”

“Perhaps as a result, Sunday’s final round averaged 9.59 million viewers on CBS, according to Sports Media Watch, a 22.8% decline from last year’s 12.06 million. Scheffler’s win two years ago averaged 10.17 million viewers. Worth noting: Sunday’s final round was down 20 percent against last year’s victory by Jon Rahm, but last year’s final round fell on Easter Sunday, which created a significantly higher out-of-home percentage of viewers — 21 percent in 2023, as opposed to 9 percent this year.”

Full piece.

3. Chevron gets purse boost

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…“Chevron’s commitment to the LPGA went a step higher on Tuesday with the announcement of a purse increase to $7.9 million in 2024. The move brings the tour’s first major in line with the purses of other championships. The U.S. Women’s Open purse of $12 million paces the tour, with the KPMG Women’s PGA second at $10 million. The AIG Women’s British Open purse checks in at $9 million while Amundi Evian is $6.5 million.”

“Chevron, which moved the event away from Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, to Texas, last year, has increased the purse by $4.8 million since assuming title sponsorship in 2022. The company has committed to title sponsor the event through 2029.”

Full piece.

4. Shipley on “notegate”

Alex Myers for Golf Digest…”So what was up with “notegate”? During his hilarious spot with McAfee, Shipley reiterated there was no note from Woods, and that he was only looking at the moderator because he was so confused where the question was coming from:

“I looked over at the moderator like ‘Who the hell is this guy?'” Shipley says in the clip. “Because it just didn’t happen. I was so confused and so shocked in the moment.”

Full piece.

5. Nelly: We just need a stage

Iain Carter for the BBC…”Korda is the first American to win four consecutive tournaments on the LPGA since Lopez won five straight 46 years ago. This astonishing streak made the then rookie front page material for Sports Illustrated.

“Korda’s feats have yet to transcend the golfing village, and perhaps that suits her as she “tries to stay in my bubble”. But the American Solheim Cup player does recognise that more could be done to tell the increasingly compelling story of women’s golf.”

“I feel like we just need a stage,” she told reporters here at Carlton Woods just north of Houston. “We need to be put on TV.

“I feel like when it’s tape delay, or anything like that, that hurts our game. Women’s sports just needs a stage. If we have a stage we can show up and perform and show people what we’re all about.”

Full piece.

6. Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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

Full piece.

Your Reaction?

LIKE1
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT1
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

Published

2 days ago

Apr 16, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.

We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.

Check out links to all our photos, below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

Your Reaction?

LIKE9
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL2
IDHT0
FLOP1
OB0
SHANK0

News

Morning 9: Aberg: I want to be No. 1 | Rory’s management blasts ‘fake news’ reports

Published

2 days ago

Apr 16, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we look back at the Masters while looking ahead to this week’s RBC Heritage.

1. Shane Ryan: Appreciate Scottie’s greatness

Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan…”This is what’s called generational talent, and we haven’t seen it in almost 20 years. Steve Stricker read the tea leaves when he picked Scheffler for the 2021 Ryder Cup—a decision that was richly rewarded—and starting in 2022, he was off to the races. The only hiccup was a few putting woes last year, but even that only served to highlight how remarkable his ball-striking had become—instead of winning, he was finishing third. When he fixed the putting, with help from a new coach and a bit of equipment advice from Rory McIlroy, he soared yet again to the top of the game, but this time he seemed more indomitable, more inevitable, more brilliant.”

“The sustained success of the last three years has officially made him the best professional golfer since Tiger Woods, a conclusion supported by analytics, the eye test, and every other metric you could dream up. With fewer majors, he has nevertheless leaped past Spieth, McIlroy, and Koepka in terms of pure ability. He doesn’t have their legacy, yet, but if we’re talking about peak performance, he’s already surpassed them.”

“He’s so much better than everyone else, which is a sentiment that is both commonplace—I saw it on Twitter over and over again—and revelatory. It’s the thing you say because there is nothing else to say. You’re left with the wild truth, which words can describe but never capture.”

Full piece.

2. Aberg: I want to be No. 1

The AFP’s Simon Evans…”The 24-year-old finished second, four strokes behind winner Scottie Scheffler, after carding a final round 69 but he certainly won many admirers among the patrons at Augusta National and beyond.”

“And his performance has filled Aberg with self-belief.”

“Everyone in my position, they are going to want to be major champions. They are going to want to be world number one, and it’s the same for me, that’s nothing different,” he said.

“It has been that way ever since I picked up a golf club, and that hasn’t changed. So I think this week solidifies a lot of those things are there, and we just need to keep doing those things and put ourselves in positions to win tournaments, ” he said.

Full piece.

3. Homa’s honest answer on double bogey

Golf Channel staff report…”But Homa’s tee shot at No. 12 bounded off the putting surface and into a bush. After a healthy search, Homa found his ball and had to take an unplayable lie. He made double bogey, effectively ending his bid at a maiden major title.”

“Homa tied for third, seven shots back of Scheffler. Asked about what happened on the fateful 9-iron, Homa offered two replies.”

“The honest answer is, it didn’t feel fair. I hit a really good golf shot, and it didn’t feel fair. I’ve seen far worse just roll back down the hill,” he said.

“The professional answer is, these things happen.”

Full piece.

4. Harbour Town ahead

RBC Heritage field notes, via Adam Stanley of PGATour.com…”Scottie Scheffler is, for now, set to tee it up at the RBC Heritage. He was clear to say that if his wife, Meredith, would go into labor during the Masters, he would head home to be with her, so it’s safe to assume that same rule will stand at Harbour Town. Scheffler has not shot an over-par round all season and has three victories (and one runner-up). He made his debut at Harbour Town last year and finished T11… Matt Fitzpatrick looks to become the first golfer to go back-to-back at the RBC Heritage since Boo Weekley in 2007-08. Fitzpatrick, a playoff victor last year, has two top-10 finishes this season. He has just one missed cut at Harbour Town over the last six years and he finished fourth in 2021 to go along with two more top-15 results in a three-year span (T14 in 2018 and 2020)…”

“Jordan Spieth is hoping to continue his run of fine play at Harbour Town after a playoff loss last season and a playoff win the season prior. Spieth has five top-25 finishes at the RBC Heritage in seven starts… Justin Thomas earned a spot in the field after remaining in the top 30 (he’s No. 30) in the Official World Golf Ranking despite a missed cut at the Masters. Thomas, who finished T25 last season at Harbour Town, has two top 10s on the season… Ludvig Åberg, who is tops in the Aon Next 10, will head to Hilton Head for the first time. Åberg has had a fabulous 2024 campaign thus far with four top 10s (including two runner-up results) and is knocking on the door for a victory… Hideki Matsuyama was the only eligible player who did not commit to the RBC Heritage, while Viktor Hovland – after a missed cut at the Masters – withdrew from the field on Saturday.”

Full piece.

5. Reed’s caddie’s needle

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After a particularly bad drive during his third round on Saturday, Reed’s caddie, Kessler Karain, also his brother-in-law, made a snide but factual comment to Patrick.”

“Your driving has cost us a lot this week,” Karain remarked.

“Reed didn’t disagree and told reporters after the round that there was nothing good about his round…

“A reporter then asked: “It’s a good thing he’s a family member, right?”

“Yeah, exactly. I’d probably be dragging him up that last hole,” Reed said. “I swear.Just what you want to hear as you’re looking at the ball in the tree, and he goes, ‘You need to drive it better.’ Thanks, Kessler. I appreciate it. Great words of wisdom. Drive it better.”

“This may be the last major for Reed for a while, as the 33-year-old has not been invited nor qualified for next month’s PGA Championship.”

Full piece.

6. LIV wants Hovland next?

Ewan Murray for the Guardian…”Rising speculation that Viktor Hovland will be the next high-profile golfer to be coaxed to the LIV tour will increase the need for Ryder Cup Europe to apply a simple qualification process for golfers on the Saudi Arabian-backed circuit.”

“LIV is forging ahead with plans for 2025, which include new events and the recruitment of more players from the PGA and DP World Tours. The rate of turnover is likely to be increased by the number of golfers who had three-year contracts when joining LIV, which will expire at the end of 2024.”

“Chatter on the range at the LIV event in Miami this month and again at the Masters largely surrounded Hovland, the world No 6 who starred for Europe in the defeat of the United States in Rome last year. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who also played in that team, have subsequently joined LIV. Hovland missed the cut at the Masters and promptly withdrew from the PGA Tour’s $20m stop in Hilton Head this week.”

Full piece.

7. Rory’s management: LIV reports are ‘fake news’

Brian Keogh for the Irish Independent…”A report that Rory McIlroy was on the verge of an $850million move to LIV Golf has been slammed as “fake news” by his management.

“Fake news. Zero truth,” McIlroy’s manager Sean O’Flaherty said in an email.

London financial paper “City AM” reported today that sources have told them that McIlroy “could” join LIV Golf

The paper reported that “two separate sources have told City AM that they believe a deal is close. It is claimed that LIV Golf chiefs have offered world No2 McIlroy an eye-watering $850m to join, plus around two per cent equity in the competition.”

Full piece.