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GolfWRX Morning 9: US Open strikes back | Pro shoots 92 | Marquee carnage

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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 to start your day.

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. Feedback is always welcome–send everything from news tips to complaints (hopefully more tips than complaints)!

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

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])
Good Friday morning, golf fans.Yesterday, in discussing the PGA of America’s president’s DUI, I made an inappropriate remark about past president Ted Bishop based on rumor rather than established fact. it was a poor choice, and I retract my comment about his state of sobriety during the “lil girl” tweet.
1. Is this U.S. Open you were looking for?
Only four players broke par on a day when winds gusted as high as 32 mph, and the course dried out from the one-tenth of an inch of rain that fell on the property on Wednesday.
  • Players got around Shinnecock Hills in an average of 76.47 strokes during round one.
  • Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson, combined to shoot 25 over par.
  • The opening-round scoring average made this the toughest U.S. Open first round since the 1986 USO at Shinnecock.
  • Combined over par total for the World Top 10:.+52
2. Putting troubles continue for Tiger
One of the longest and strongest player-putter relationships has to be under some serious strain. Tiger Woods carded an opening-round 78 that saw him throwing away strokes on the green.
  • “It’s tough out there,” Woods said. “But, I mean, I shouldn’t make two doubles and a triple and a four-putt.”
  • The doubles in question can be traced directly to poor putting; obviously, so can the four-whack. Woods started his round with a triple bogey that saw him try to putt a ball from off the green that didn’t make it to the putting surface.
  • Woods: “So it was pretty evident nobody was making any birdies in the morning. Lots and lots of bogeys and higher in others. And so I — my game plan was not to make any others, and I made three of them. So didn’t do very well there.”
3. Carnage among the top class
Things didn’t exactly go well for the morning’s marquee group–which will doubtless give featured group truther, Rory McIlroy, more ammunition.
  • Kevin Van Valkenburg dug into the trio’s troubles: “McIlroy shot an 80, which at 10 over is the worst round of his career in relation to par at a major. Spieth shot a 78, a big chunk of that coming courtesy of a triple-bogey he made on his second hole of the day. Mickelson’s 77 was, improbably, the low round of their group, but it still likely means his quest to complete the career Grand Slam, barring a miracle, will have to wait another year. Together, they were a combined 25 over par.”
4. Hope lives for Mickelson
While Phil Mickelson didn’t speak with the media following his opening-round 77, Tim Rosaforte was apparently able to catch up with Lefty later…probably thanks in part to how bad the afternoon scores were.
  • “I played really well,” he said. “I hit 13 of 14 fairways. I didn’t make single double bogey, I’m going to go out tomorrow and try to do the same thing.”
  • “It was the highest score of Mickelson’s major championship career when hitting 13 fairways or more.”
  • “I’ve got no complaints,” he said. “If I play the next two rounds in par-par, I’m right back in it.”
5. The cruelty of No. 11
While all eyes were trained on No. 7 following 2004’s mishandled treatment of the hole, No. 11 actually merits further examination this time around (which isn’t to say it’s being mismanaged…just really hard).
  • Golf.com’s Alan Bastable writes: “Give a 15-handicapper a bucket of range balls from this tee – with the same 15-20 mph crosswinds the players battled in the first round – and he or she might not stop a single shot on the putting surface.
  • “Three-quarters of the hacker’s shots would be batted down by the wind and into one of the bunkers in front of the green, a handful would come in low and hot and run through the green into a collection area that leaves a petrifying clip-it-clean-or-else pitch, while the remaining swings would result in a motley collection of nervy tops, chunks and snap-hooks.”
6. 92!
Scott Gregory turned in an opening-round 92 at Shinnecock–the first opening round in the 90s in a U.S. open in 26 years. Since World War II, there have been 43 scores of 90 or higher in the championship. John Battini’s 96 in 1955 is the highest.
  • The previous highest opening round in a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills was an 88 by amateur John Daly.
  • E. Michael Johnson points out: “Of course, all this pales in comparison to the all-time Open record for inefficacy, set by J.D. Tucker in 1898 at Myopia Hunt Club. Tucker took 157 blows in the first round before “rebounding” with a 100 in the second round. W. Collins, in the same event, shot 154 but had the decency to withdraw before his second go-around.”
7. Notable quotable
The USGA’s official remarks on the course in round one.
“The golf course is in excellent condition. We are extremely pleased with the agronomics and presentation. Today’s setup reflects the challenging wind conditions that have been forecast.  Green Speeds – With the heavy wind forecast, putting greens have been appropriately prepared from a speed and firmness perspective. We expect putting green speeds to be in the area of 11 feet 6 inches by midday.  Firmness – Damp conditions Wednesday resulted in a more receptive golf course for Round 1.”
CHARLES HOWELL III: I was most impressed with how the golf course was set up, to be honest. I thought this morning, with as hard as the wind was blowing, the balls would start kind of oscillating and moving by the middle of our round, and they didn’t. I think a lot of credit goes to the USGA and Mike Davis for what they’ve done today. I was here in ’04, my last competitive round here. I’ve still got some scar tissue from that. But they did a heck of a job today.
8. The Unfortunate Case of Johnny McDermott
Deviating from this U.S. Open in particular to U.S. Opens in general. Or, more specifically (confused yet?) the first American-born U.S. Open winner.
  • A longform piece well worth a read, especially if you’re unaware of McDermott’s story. Steve Eubanks profiles the great and troubled  McDermott for Global Golf Post.
9. Burmester
Playing in his first major, South African Dean Burmester stood on the 18th tee at seven over par. Burmester bypassed all trouble on the 18th, obliterating his drive 411 yards at the downwind 485-yard hole-he had but a finessed wedge left to the back left pin.
  • He finessed it right into the hole for an eagle two.
  • Q. What were you thinking? DEAN BURMESTER: Well, when it went in, I was relieved. I was having a long day, you know, 7-over. Ended up 5-over, not too bad. It was a lovely way to finish.
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GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Dave Ott

    Jun 16, 2018 at 11:14 am

    Just wondering why it is such a big deal for the pro’s to have to play in the wind and in conditions that aren’t perfect. They always complaining about the course or greens or weather or something. Kinda nice to see them have to play in the real world like the rest of. Refreshing actually, makes it more fun to watch instead of perfect shot after perfect shot. Just wish the analysts and players would cut out the whining.

  2. Mad-Mex

    Jun 16, 2018 at 12:14 am

    So you place the photo of Tiger who MISSED the cut to lead an article about the U.S. Open but nothing on who is winning?

  3. ACTUAL FACTS

    Jun 15, 2018 at 11:20 pm

    Dear Fox,

    Please continue to show that awesome golfer who seems to have found a new appreciation for life and golf. Anyways, Tiger is the needle and brings in the ratings like no other so it’s a win-win…

  4. G-Rock

    Jun 15, 2018 at 10:49 am

    Shank…………..

  5. Peter Boz

    Jun 15, 2018 at 10:43 am

    Dear Fox,
    Please do not show that tired, worn out golfer Tiger Woods any more. He had a nice career, but is washed up now. More DJ and JT please!

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News

Morning 9: 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour | Rory on possible return to policy board

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Friday morning, golf fans, may a bountiful weekend of golf be in store for you!

1. 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour

KFT staff report…”Frankie Capan III went crazy low Thursday on the Korn Ferry Tour. Nearly in record fashion.”

  • “Capan carded 13-under 58 in the opening round of the Veritex Bank Championship, matching the second lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history. He fell one shy of Cristobal Del Solar’s record 57, set at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard earlier this year, but it was a heck of a show nonetheless.”
  • “The Minnesota native played an eight-hole stretch in 9-under Thursday, following an eagle at the par-5 ninth with seven straight birdies to begin the back nine at par-71 Texas Rangers Golf Club. He “cooled off” with a two-putt par at the long par-4 17th hole. He arrived at the par-5 18th hole at 13 under for the round, but he found a fairway bunker off the tee, laid up to 134 yards and missed his third shot left of the green. He chipped to 7 feet and drained the par putt to match the Korn Ferry Tour’s second-lowest score of 58, carded by Stephan Jaeger in the opening round of the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae.”
Full piece.

2. Team McIlowery starts strong

Paul Hodowanic for PGATour.com…”Late Thursday afternoon in New Orleans, Rory McIlroy rested his head on Shane Lowry’s shoulder.”

  • “It wasn’t the typical post-round moment, but this isn’t the typical event. McIlroy and Lowry teamed up for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA TOUR’s lone team event, and the all-Irish duo put on a show. Sporting matching pink-on-navy getups, McIlroy/Lowry opened in a best-ball 11-under 61 in Thursday’s Four-ball format at TPC Louisiana.”
  • “This partnership might have stemmed from a boozy brunch last fall, but their opening-round performance at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans gave the field a sobering reminder: They’ll be tough to top.”
Full piece.

3. LPGA Tour: Grace Kim in front

AP report…”Grace Kim shot a 7-under 64 at Wilshire Country Club to take the first-round lead Thursday in the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”

  • “Playing in the morning session, the 23-year-old Australian capped her bogey-free round with a chip-in birdie on the par-3 18th.”
  • “Well, I chunked my tee shot on the last hole 20 meters short and then I chipped it in it,” Kim said. “I think that’s pretty cool, in front of everyone
Full piece.

4. McIlroy on rejoining policy board

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that he is willing to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board if the other player directors want him.”

  • “As first reported by the Guardian, Webb Simpson has submitted a letter stating that he’d like to resign from the board, but only if his vacant seat is filled by McIlroy, who stepped down last fall because of the toll it had taken on him professionally and personally.”
  • “Five months later, what has changed?”
  • “I think I can be helpful,” McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he is partnering with Shane Lowry. “I don’t think there’s been much progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. I think I could be helpful to the process. But only if people want me involved, I guess.”
Full piece.

5. Charlie Woods shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier

Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan…”Charlie Woods is going to have to wait to play in the U.S. Open.”

“The 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods played Thursday in local qualifying for the United States Golf Association’s national championship, set for June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Charlie played at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and he shot 9-over 81.”

“Charlie’s round featured a bogey on his opening hole, the par-4 first. He then doubled the par-5 second. A pair of pars followed before his lone birdie on the front, but another double the next hole, the par-4 sixth, had him turn in 4-over 40.”

Full piece.

6. Photos from the Zurich Classic

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

Check out all our photos at the link below!

Full piece.
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.

Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

 

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Morning 9: Tiger’s TGL teammates | Woosnam’s criticism of Cantlay | Rory’s return to tour policy board

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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.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.

Full piece.
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