| By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.
For comments: [email protected]
Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic. |
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1. 15-year-old finishes top 20 on KFT
Jay Coffin for Golf Digest…”During a week when most eyes were on Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, the 15-year-old lefty finished off an incredible week with a five-under 66 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood Ranch in Florida.”
- “After opening with 68-66-70, Russell finished at 14-under-par total to tie for 20th place. The finish in which he jumped 28 positions on the leaderboard on the final day, gives him an exemption into next week’s Veritex Bank Championship at Rangers Park in Arlington, Texas. He’s the youngest player to finish inside the top 20 on the PGA of Korn Ferry tours, according to records that go back to 1983.”
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2. Understandably, Nelly WDs
Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Nelly Korda’s bid for a record-setting sixth consecutive win will have to wait a few weeks.”
- “A day after capturing the Chevron Championship during a marathon final round in Houston, Korda announced on social media that she was withdrawing from this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”
- “It was not an easy decision,” she wrote. “After the unbelievable week at the Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted. With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”
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3. Scheffler’s impressive No. 1 feat
Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”After Scheffler’s victory Monday morning at the RBC Heritage, Scheffler upped his points average to 15.016 and increased his advantage in the Official World Golf Ranking over No. 2 Rory McIlroy to more than double McIlroy’s 7.365 average, meaning Scheffler is ranked further ahead of No. 2 than No. 2 is ahead of the last-ranked player.”
- “The last time a No. 1 player had a greater points average was Woods, who was at 15.4564 on Dec. 6, 2009. But Woods was less than seven average points ahead of No. 2 Phil Mickelson at the time. Earlier that year, Woods was 7.735 ahead of Mickelson, which is the last time the gap between Nos. 1 and 2 was greater than Scheffler’s current 7.651 advantage.”
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4. Zurich field notes
PGATour.com’s Adam Stanley…”Rory McIlroy will make his tournament debut alongside good pal, Ryder Cup teammate, and Irishman Shane Lowry – a duo that was firmed up during a celebratory lunch after the Ryder Cup last fall… Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele will try to reprise their 2022 win here. Cantlay and Schauffele have both the Foursomes and Four-ball scoring records at this event… Davis Riley and Nick Hardy will defend their 2023 title. No team has gone back-to-back… Three sets of brothers (and two sets of twins!) will play together with twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard and Parker and Pierceson Coody in the field along with Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick. Alex Fitzpatrick and Rasmus Højgaard are sponsor invites…”
- “Billy Horschel, who won last week at the Corales Puntacana Championship, will be without his previous partner Sam Burns, as Burns and his wife are expecting their first child any day. Horschel will instead be paired with fellow University of Florida alum Tyson Alexander. Horschel has won the Zurich Classic when it was both an individual and team event… Other notable pairings include Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris, and Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. The Canadian duo finished runner-up a year ago and would like nothing more than to show Presidents Cup International Team captain Mike Weir how well they play together… Steve Stricker will play his second TOUR event this season (after earning his way into THE PLAYERS Championship), teaming up with Matt Kuchar.”
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5. Tiger’s teammates
Field Level Media report…”Tiger Woods announced Monday that Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner have joined his Jupiter Links GC TGL team.”
- “The virtual golf league headed by Woods and Rory McIlroy will begin its inaugural season next January. Woods also unveiled the team’s logo.”
- “I have already shared my excitement and optimism for TGL as a league and product,” said Woods. “Now that we have finalized our roster with a team of world-class golfers, I am even more confident that this group will proudly represent the Jupiter (Fla.) area and connect with our fans for years to come.”
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6. Woosnam questions Cantlay’s decision
Our Matt Vincenzi…”After the horn sounded to suspend play due to darkness, Cantlay, who’s ball was in the fairway on the 18th hole, had a decision to make. With over 200 yards into the green and extreme winds working against the shot, conventional wisdom would be to wait until Monday morning to hit the shot.”
- “On the other hand, if he could finish the hole, he may just want to get the event over with so he could get out of Hilton Head.”
- “Curiously, Cantlay chose neither of those options. After hitting 3-wood into the green, and still coming up short, the former FedEx Cup champion chose to mark his ball and chip and putt on Monday morning.”
- “Ian Woosnam, who was watching from home, took to X to give his thoughts on Cantlay’s decision making.”
- “Cantlay would end up getting up and down for par when play resumed at 8:00 am Monday morning.”
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7. JT on Scheffler’s “weird” equipment choice
Our Matt Vincenzi…”After Justin Thomas’ third round of the RBC Heritage, the two-time major champion went in the broadcast booth alongside the CBS crew.”
- “While Thomas was watching Scottie Scheffler play on the back nine of his third round, he wondered aloud why Scottie uses high-numbered golf balls.”
- “Does anybody else think it’s weird that Scottie uses high numbers? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an elite player use high-numbered golf balls.”
- “Amanda Balionis who was on the grounds chimed in, reporting that analyst Dottie Pepper had wondered the same thing earlier that day.”
- “I’ve been going about this wrong my whole life,” Thomas jokingly said.
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8. Rory to rejoin PGA Tour policy board
Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy is poised to return to the PGA Tour’s policy board, pending a vote by the board, which could come as early as this week, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.”
- “One of the PGA Tour’s most vocal supporters during its three-year battle with LIV Golf, McIlroy abruptly resigned as a player director on the tour’s influential policy board in November.”
- “He is expected to replace policy board player director Webb Simpson, who intends to step away before his two-year term expires in 2025.”
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9. Weir names Presidents Cup assistants
PGA Tour report…”International Team Captain Mike Weir announced Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas as captain’s assistants for the 2024 Presidents Cup, which will be played at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada, Sept. 24-29. |
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19th Hole2 weeks ago
19th Hole1 week ago
john
Mar 1, 2019 at 1:28 pm
Everything I see and read about this guy tells me he’s a dick. The game seems to be full of them right now.
Tom
Feb 25, 2019 at 5:41 pm
DeShamebozo like, “its just Mexico, who cares?”
Just_said_it
Feb 25, 2019 at 2:56 pm
For all you pencil pro’s out there. These guys are in the spotlight 24/7, who cares if they show a little emotion on the course. He is not spoiled, he is not a brat, he is human and he cares about being successful, and he immediately fixed the damage. This is no different than a baseball player that smacks his bat into the turf after striking out, stop criticizing people because some joke of a magazine, no one outside of the UK has heard off, tried to be relevant for 30 seconds by posting this on social media. 99% of the jokers on here have never experienced pressure or pukes all over themselves when they are faced with a 2 footer to clinch a $5 nasa.
@Josh smalls, thank you bringing some prospective
@Geoff, @Rory O Donnell @youraway and @Rich, go get your participation trophies, because you don’t care about passion for success!
My 2 cents!
Jamie
Feb 24, 2019 at 2:01 pm
Self-centered knowitall only sorry that he got caught.
JP
Feb 24, 2019 at 1:56 pm
Where are the people crying that Bryson “owes” the underprivileged Mexican grounds staff 10% of his earnings?!?
Dave
Feb 24, 2019 at 8:48 am
as a former professional (in another sport) I get the intensity and drive to perfection; to be the best. But with comes a responsibility because as a pro you are in the limelight and under intense scrutinization on a constant basis. Many younger pros, while athletically talented, just aren’t mature enough to realize their actions are under a microscope. Its time Bryson grows up (as well as some other golf pros). When he does and channels his emotions into his game, he will be hard to beat. His talent is there, he just needs to find another way to release his emotions..The greens and bunkers are not the way.
Doug
Feb 24, 2019 at 10:23 am
Prove it!
geohogan
Feb 23, 2019 at 11:22 pm
There was the incident in France and now we see his narcissistic behavior is a pattern.
Self centered, self absorbed, may qualify for POTUS but should be suspended from PGA.
Josh smalls
Feb 23, 2019 at 10:57 pm
It’s funny watching people get mad. It’s also funny when fans justify bad actions by the amount of money someone has made.
Bryson is a good golfer… but who cares? Its golf lol. Golf… lol.
Oh, and telling people how smart you are shows how dumb you actually are. Somebody has some issues!
Jojo dontknow
Feb 24, 2019 at 3:33 pm
Saying how smart you are or good you are at a thing typically displays a need for approval or insecurity about that thing. Some of the most beautiful people in the world are horribly insecure about their looks. Some of the people who are the absolute best few people in the world at what they do are insecure about their skill level, and that applies to all fields, sports, language, mathematics, etc. There is little to no truth to what you are saying.
AAA
Feb 23, 2019 at 8:21 pm
Is that an apology? It reads I, I and I. You just don’t do that, period. I have heard that pga players get fined for saying the f-word. This is a lot worse.
Rich Douglas
Feb 23, 2019 at 5:18 pm
There’s a certain amount of built-in animus towards BDC; a lot of people are looking for an excuse not to like him. I’m sure it’s because he’s smart and they’re not. So given that, it’s important for him not to give anyone any excuse. Unfortunately, he seems to have an anger management issue that needs to be addressed. I hope he does because his innovations–and winning–are great for the game. But not when he acts like this.
A
Feb 23, 2019 at 9:43 am
Look, I get that he’s a pedantic child, a nerd, a geek, playing golf in a scientific way, but acting out like this isn’t going to endear him to any fans in any way. He must have a really crap team of people around him who have no idea how to help him with his poor behavior, regardless of how good a player he is. He needs to quickly assemble a better team of people around him to help him thru his career on Tour, if he plans on surviving the attack from media and fans everywhere
Chris Wirthwein
Feb 23, 2019 at 7:58 am
If you ask me, this all started in the 2nd round of the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst when T. Woods angrily gouged the putting surface after missing a short putt on the 9th green. N.Y. Post reporter Mark Canizarro described it as “a clear gash more than a foot long in the surface.”
I recall watching it live on TV and presumed at the time he would be DQ’d. It was replayed once, then never again. Does anyone know where video footage can be found? My guess is that’s it’s been permanently destroyed. See link for the story in NY Post: https://nypost.com/2005/06/18/tigers-claws-come-out/
It was also reported in the Chicago Tribune, but appears few other “journalists” were willing to cross the unspoken line of non-criticism of Woods.
Hey Gianni, how about tracking down some photo and video evidence? You’d be doing something for the good of the game. What DeChambeau did on a practice green in the blah, blah, blah Open pales in comparison to the behavior of Woods in our national championship.
Rich
Feb 23, 2019 at 4:07 am
This guy is a peanut, just like Sergio. One of these days, he’ll wake up and realise there will NEVER be a time that he will be able to work everything out and account for everything that goes wrong on the golf course. You can never beat the game of golf. It will always beat you. Sometimes it let’s you have some good days but in the end, it will always win. The sooner these peanuts learn to accept this, the better.
Johnny Penso
Feb 23, 2019 at 2:43 pm
Several wins on tour and many millions of dollars say he’s on the right track…for him. May not work for you or anyone else.
Riiiiite
Feb 23, 2019 at 2:54 am
Oy vey.
Now people are gonna be up his are every time he tees it up, and rightly so.
Rory O Donnell
Feb 23, 2019 at 2:54 am
This behaviour should be stamped out immediately, by bans if necessary. My main concern is that we’ll see this replicated at our local course by young brats (who happen to be good players)
Richard
Feb 23, 2019 at 1:46 am
Phew, glad it was an American and not a Spaniard doing this. Saved a lot of vitriol.
Theo
Feb 22, 2019 at 9:49 pm
I’d like to see how the damage caused by his tantrum compares to the average divot from an approach shot. Definitely not a good move, but it appears that he immediately fixed the green.
I’ve seen videos of grown men jumping golf carts over sand traps and I’ve seen pictures of the president parking a golf cart on a green. Nobody cared. Nobody holds themselves to the same standard that they expect from these professionals. This guy is a 25 year old with a more mature disposition than most of the doctors you’ll meet at Mayo Clinic. Yes he had a fit, but if my kid ends up anything like Bryson I’ll be thrilled.
I don’t know the purpose of this comment. Maybe look at your own behavior before judging someone else.
Phil D. Snuts
Feb 22, 2019 at 5:49 pm
This hasn’t affected my life in any way, shape, or form.
…………In other news………….
Fritznw
Feb 24, 2019 at 7:18 pm
It must, you took time to post…something?!
youraway
Feb 22, 2019 at 5:40 pm
Last week a bunker and this week a green. Spoiled and no respect for those who labor to make the greens in their best condition. Fight the rain, fight the weather changes, diseases, etc, and now have to contend with golfers who can’t control their emotions and damage the course. Step aside Sergio, you have competition.
Geoff
Feb 22, 2019 at 4:46 pm
How on earth does this guy not get any kind of reprimand for his infantile fits that are causing damage to the courses? Beyond me…
Sherwin
Feb 23, 2019 at 12:21 am
It was the practice green not the course. And he fixed the damage right away.
Geoff
Feb 23, 2019 at 2:09 pm
And the week before? When he takes a chunk out of the side of a bunker? Those are only the last 2 weeks and the only ones caught on camera…my guess is that these are not isolated incidents limited to just these last couple weeks.
Mums
Feb 24, 2019 at 8:50 pm
+1. It was a butthole move, but he fixed it asap. Let it go.
Ray Neese
Feb 22, 2019 at 4:45 pm
Any player damaging the course in fit of anger should face immediate 90 day suspension. I love golf and disappointed in the behavior of guys playing the best courses and getting catered to all the time. New shoes, clubs, clothes, balls, food, vehicles and the list goes on. Not just damaging course but integrity of the game of GOLF. Majority of these guys MILLIONAIRES. Maybe let them work on maintenance crew and perspective would change. Apologies mean nothing other than damage control for their image. PGA Tour is losing control of small amount of rich crybabies.
Simms
Feb 22, 2019 at 5:49 pm
There is a cure for these rich crybabies…force PGA tour to pay every single person working at the tournaments…every marshal, every gate keeper, every parking lot attendant etc. Then you would see players winning MAYBE $200,000 at most and the last place cut maker maybe $3,000…
C-murda
Feb 22, 2019 at 4:15 pm
What an ass, this kid needs some golf zen. Your emotions affect your play and being on tour you’d think they should hold a higher standard of etiquette.