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. |
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.” |
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Donald W Ciriacks
Jun 15, 2019 at 11:35 am
oohh….so Fox is now covering golf?? (sarcasm)
Krooks
Jun 13, 2019 at 12:29 pm
Go easy on the harsh comments. Brooks might see this and get his feelings hurt.
bruce
Jun 13, 2019 at 8:48 am
if Koepka wants to be marketable and on promos he might want to try to stop being such a huge dousche
James
Jun 13, 2019 at 12:37 am
Let’s try a different perspective. If Tiger Woods was going for 3 Opens in a row, every news story and every sentence spoken on network would be about Tiger. When he won the Masters, every…. single….. story on Golf Digest website was Tiger Woods for 3 days.
Boring.
Crusher
Jun 12, 2019 at 10:58 pm
Yah, well Fox Sports isn’t exactly the first name in golf. In fact, their US Open coverage has stunk. With the USGA homers Curtis Strange and Paul Azinger kissing butt of the USGA during their poor rulings decisions and the fact that they would be the 2 biggest whiners in golf if they had to play under past USGA conditions, I don’t blame BK for being miffed. But hey, another BK win this weekend and he can tell Fox Sports to shove it and get back to covering Football. Also, Fox Sports the biggest wast of Holly Saunders talent. She has to realize she isn’t going anywhere with that network covering football. Heck, Amanda Balionis is a bigger household name then Holly now because of golf.
Just a thought
Jun 12, 2019 at 8:29 pm
Probably doesnt help that he is one of if not THE most boring people in golf (or in the world). Hard to get excited about someone who shows ZERO emotion. A blank stare doesnt sell much. When ever you see commercials with Tiger in them it usually has a shot of his excitement.
JThunder
Jun 12, 2019 at 8:15 pm
I have to agree with Brooks – he’s going for 3 US Opens in a row, 2 majors in a row… He should be a prime topic on all Open promo. This is why golf loses when Tiger is not around – no one bothers to tell ALL the other stories going on. If Tiger had that record coming in, it would be the talk 24/7 since the PGA.
Fox golf coverage is the worst on TV by a wide, wide margin. I can’t even watch with the sound on. It’s like the whole crew has never seen a tournament before – where the cameras are pointed, who they cut to, the announcers… No surprise that they don’t know who Brooks is.
Dan
Jun 12, 2019 at 1:57 pm
Like jim or not it’s amazing how little respect he gets considering he’s won 4 majors, 2 being the last 2 US Opens
Chris
Jun 12, 2019 at 5:37 pm
Probably because he plays lousy on non major weeks
James
Jun 12, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Not a wh*re for the media has consequences. Good riddance. Fox is owned by Disney anyway. Nothing but grown children with scripted talking points.
BD
Jun 12, 2019 at 12:53 pm
I really hope he doesn’t win. Talk about a prima donna.
n
Jun 12, 2019 at 12:42 pm
Imagine suggesting someone should be fired because you weren’t in all of one broadcaster’s commercials, madness. I like Koepka, but he’s starting to get a bit much now and he’s not doing himself any favours.
overachiever
Jun 12, 2019 at 4:17 pm
+1
NTL
Jun 12, 2019 at 12:06 pm
He has to find something to get him motivated. 3 of the 4 fox commercials he was in an he is complaining???
Gunter Eisenberg
Jun 12, 2019 at 11:59 am
Brooks Koepka is the Rodney Dangerfield of golf…he gets no respect.
atj
Jun 12, 2019 at 5:25 pm
hahaha nice!
JL1127
Jun 12, 2019 at 11:32 am
I swear he’s been getting salty as of late… I get it, don’t get me wrong, but how does being in US Open promos help you win? Do you want to win or do you want to be in commercials? Yes, you can be in both, but if you’re not in the promos then just focus on winning the tourney
John
Jun 12, 2019 at 11:30 am
What an ego maniac. No wonder no one cares about him.
BJ
Jun 12, 2019 at 10:20 am
Is that a shot at Phil?