News
Morning 9: Rickie in the spotlight | Further arguments against Daly riding | Devoted to Detroit’s munis
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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])
June 27, 2019 Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
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1. Fowler in the spotlight
Golfweek’s Dan Kilbridge on the primacy of Rickie Fowler, Quicken Loans sponsoree, this week…
2. What the employees want
Beyond “will they strike,” it’s worth pointing out “why they’re striking” with respect to Detroit Golf Club employees…
3. Tait: Daly should walk
Golfweek’s Alistair Tait offers this take on John Daly taking a buggy at Portrush…
4. Same ball for 72 holes…and a win
Wow. Via Golf Channel’s Will Gray…
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5. Saving Detroit’s munis Stellar stuff from Golf.com intern (!!!) Max Marcovitch profiling Karen Peek… “Minutes later Peek was out on the course, tending to her duties as director of golf operations for the three munis: Rackham, Rouge Park and Chandler Park. She greeted a regular as he headed for the 1st tee, sent off members of a local Elks chapter as they commenced their weekly round, and checked in with groundskeeper Doug Melton and his affable dog, Baxter.” “It hadn’t rained in three days, a welcome change amid the unseasonably wet weather. In Peek’s race against time, rain impedes progress. On an inclement day, Rackham might be lucky to have 20 players on its tee sheet.” “Rackham is six miles north of Detroit Golf Club, site of this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. It doesn’t get the attention that DGC does but it has rich history of its own, extending back to its opening in 1923. Ben Davis, the first black head pro at a municipal course in the U.S., taught there for 50 years. Among his students was famed boxer Joe Louis, a Rackham regular. The two would play money matches. In the 1940s, Louis hosted an annual golf tournament at Rackham, aimed at showcasing talented black players.” 6. Breaking 70
Dave Shedloski on Tom Watson, pushing 70, preparing to tee it up at the U.S. Senior Open…
“Winner of the 1982 U.S. Open, Watson is competing this week in his 52nd USGA championship and his 17th U.S. Senior Open, which he has never won, though he has had six top-five finishes.” “He turns 70 on Sept. 4. He has no special plans to celebrate it. “What’s September 4?” he said, feigning ignorance and grinning. “You blab to the whole world I’m 70 years old on September 4? Thanks a lot.” “Having cut back on his schedule, Watson has competed just five times this year and skipped the first two senior majors. He has no idea how many more times he’ll play in this championship, but it’s clear he has a special affinity for USGA events. The influence of his dad, Ray, is woven tightly into his golfing DNA.” 7. Playing golf alone and the descent into lunacy Funny stuff from Mark Townsend at National Club Golfer… “I give myself a pep talk walking down the hill to the 1st that these stolen moments will be the making of my season. Come bedtime I will have a clearer viewpoint on three possible new clubs while simultaneously putting into practice a new magic move which would be a variation of Gary Woodland’s chipping technique.” “There is a hint of jazz spin on my wedge over the brook that a) reinforces my need to keep cleaning out the grooves and b) thrusts one of the wedges straight into the starting line-up.” “On the short walk to the 2nd tee I both congratulate myself on making the effort to getting out of the house while also giving myself a ticking off for having not brought these wedges out sooner.” 8. Not a bad loop Mike Berardino of the Indianapolis Star, syndicated in Golfweek… “Greg Helmkamp, the 35-year-old assistant teaching professional at Warren Golf Course, was wolfing down a quick lunch last Friday when his boss called him into his office.” “Hey, I got a new job for you next week,” said John Foster, general manager at the Notre Dame-owned course since 2002. “You’re going to be caddying for Tom Watson.” 9. Things are coming together Francis Donnelly for the Detroit News… “We’re very pleased with how things have gone so far,” said Jason Langwell, the tournament executive director.” “Like any first-time event, the tournament has run into a few challenges, he said. Workers are re-calibrating the amount of concessions and fine-tuning signs that direct traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian.” “Because of the rainy spring, tournament sponsors and VIPs have to park with the hoi polloi at Michigan State Fairgrounds, said officials. The bigwigs were originally slated to use Palmer Park but the ground is too wet.” |
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News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips
SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”
“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”
Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.
According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”
CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.
“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.
Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history
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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar
Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.
It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.
PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place
The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.
This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.
With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.
360° and in!
A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024
DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four
It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.
It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.
.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024
PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella
Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.
64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.
.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024
PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win
Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.
The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.
Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063
8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024
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larrybud
Jun 27, 2019 at 11:34 am
Re Rackham.
If you want to save Rackham, which is a great layout (used to be far better before 696 construction changed it), stop jamming people in with 6 min tee times which results in no rounds < 5 hours. It's a joke. I'll never play there, along with Troy city courses which do the same thing.
Jordan
Jun 27, 2019 at 11:18 am
Having a groundskeeper labor union strike during their first ever PGA tour event is the most Detroit thing that could happen.
micheal
Jun 27, 2019 at 11:15 am
the piece on daly walking is so clearly written perspective of a young person with no real physical issues. “scores of people older than 53″…. im 30 with multiple hip surgeries. Get off your high-horse. Pretty useless article/repost. Super glad discrimination is strongly part of golf still and forever
JD
Jun 27, 2019 at 11:22 am
Yeah sorry, young guy here… zero sympathy for someone who has literally eaten himself into dilapidation
Johnny Penso
Jun 27, 2019 at 12:40 pm
I have the same issue as Daly and I didn’t eat myself into dilapidation. I couldn’t walk 72 holes of a tournament if I tried. Arthritis isn’t caused by diet.