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Most dangerous par of the year | European Ryder cup picks bad for Euro Tour? | Michelle Wie shuts it down

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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

September 6, 2018

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
1. Bjorn chooses experience (and controversy)
Mark Cannizarro of the NY Post writes…”One day after US Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk announced three of his four captain’s picks – all of which were chalk selections that surprised no one – European captain Thomas Bjorn was faced with much more complicated decisions.”
  • “Bjorn on Wednesday announced Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson as his four at-large picks, but there were a number of ways he could have gone, and he left himself very open for criticism.”
  • “In Garcia, Poulter and Stenson, Bjorn clearly went with experience over current form. Five of his eight players who automatically qualified for the team are Ryder Cup rookies, which had a massive influence on his decisions.”
  • “Among those disappointed players left off the team were Thomas Pieters, who went 4-0-1 as a rookie in 2016 and has been in good form this year; Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who went 2-0-1 in 2016 and also was in better form than the veterans chosen; Matt Wallace, who’s won three times on the European Tour this season, including last week in Denmark, Bjorn’s home country; and Russell Knox, who won the Irish Open in July.”
2. Rory and Rose respect the Garcia pick
Ahead of the BMW Championship, here’s what the pair had to say…
  • “I feel with the five rookies we have, experience will be a big thing, especially at home,” said McIlroy. “I think the three, Paul, Ian and Henrik, they were certain and then it was just between Sergio, Rafa, maybe Matt Fitzpatrick, a couple of those guys. But at the end I think with Sergio’s record in the Ryder Cup, and I think the intangibles as well, the things people don’t see what he brings to the team room.
  • Rose: “Many players deserve a spot in the Ryder Cup team, but no one is here to do anybody favours, either. It’s about how can you assemble 12 guys to put points on the board when it counts on Friday, Saturday, Sunday in a Ryder Cup and Thomas obviously felt Sergio was more likely to deliver a point when needed.
  • “Matt Wallace became part of the conversation and every credit to him. He’s kind of new on the scene so that would have been an interesting introduction to the team, but I think he just got to keep doing what he’s doing and there will be many Ryder Cups in his future.
3. …but will it do permanent damage?
Geoff Shackelford wonders if the experience/establishment pick could do more harm than good for the European Tour.
  • “Garcia, and to a lesser extent Stenson, will ultimately determine the wisdom of Bjorn’s strategy. (Casey and Poulter seem to be unanimously well received selections.)…The greater concern for Europe should be what this says to younger players and those attempting to be loyal to the European Tour.”
  • “Rafa logged 9 starts on the tour in 2018, not including World Golf Champioships and majors…Another contender for the team, Matthew Fitzpatrick, made 7 European Tour non-major/WGC starts but is leaving for the PGA Tour.”
  • “Wallace has made 18 non-major/WGC European Tour starts in 2018. Despite three wins, he was 13th on the European Tour points list. Perhaps his inconsistency this year, coupled with an MC at the French Open proved fatal….Meanwhile, Garcia has posted just 3 non-major/WGC European Tour starts in 2018 and several other numbers are not helping his cause.”
  • “While the Ryder Cup team should not be filled out by those loyal to the European Tour, the Bjorn decision could have ramifications into the future.”
4. The most dangerous par of the year
An ESPN the Magazine oral history by Anna Katherine Clemons focuses on Talor Gooche’s alligator experience at the Zurich Classic earlier this year.
  • “GOOCH: We were on the last hole. After I hit my tee shot, I knew I had a tough lie down near the water. When I got up there, my ball was within arm’s reach of three gators. A few other golfers came over, and we were trying to figure out how to get the gators to move. Then Chesson Hadley, who was in the group ahead of us, said, “I got this.”
  • “CHESSON HADLEY: I just wanted to be the hero. I’m no reptile tamer, but I thought if I got one to go back in the lake, the others would follow. I grabbed a rake and went for it.”
  • “ANDREW LANDRY, GOOCH’S PLAYING PARTNER THAT DAY: He scared two of them down to the water, but they immediately turned around and got really close to the shore, like they were in attack mode.”
5. Michelle Wie withdraws from season’s final major
Michelle Wie has withdrawn from a second major this season.
“After going through an evaluation with my doctors and my Physio team,” wrote Wie on Instagram, “we have all concurred that my right hand is not quite ready for competition yet. So unfortunately, I have decided to withdraw from the Evian Championship next week. I’m extremely disappointed, but right now rehabbing my right hand back to pain free is my absolute first priority!! Thank you all for staying patient with me and for all the words of encouragement!!!”
6. Spieth on qualifying for East Lake
Oh boy. Nothing like these pros scratching and clawing to make it through the “Playoffs.”
  • Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner writes…”When it was suggested by a reporter that he has to “scramble” this week to ensure his spot at East Lake, he smiled and corrected him: “I’m actually inside the number right now, you might forget. So I don’t know about the scrambling. I just have to play normal.”
  • “Indeed, according to the PGA Tour projections, Spieth likely needs to finish no worse than solo 28th to reach the Tour Championship…That’s not his goal, of course – he’s trying to win the tournament and crack the top 10, since, historically, it’s more difficult to win the FedExCup if you’re outside that number.”
  • “My mind will not be set on any kind of projections, I can promise you that,” Spieth said. “It’s not do or die for me.”
7. Mickelson the Tour’s top putter?
Golf Digest’s Alex Myers points out...”With two tournaments remaining in his PGA Tour season (At No. 9 in the FedEx Cup points list entering this week’s BMW Championship, Mickelson is assured of also playing in the Tour Championship in two weeks), Mickelson is on the verge of leading the tour in strokes gained putting for the first time in his career.”
  • “Mickelson is currently No. 2 in the category, gaining .841 strokes per round. A final-round 63 at the Dell Technologies Championship helped him close the gap on Jason Day, who leads at .862. Greg Chalmers is No. 3 at .790.”
  • “Mickelson’s previous best in this relatively new metric was finishing fifth (.661) in the category in 2013. Unfortunately, strokes gained putting wasn’t around when Mickelson turned pro in 1993, but in going back to 2004, that’s still a solid sample size of 15 seasons.”
8. Food and drink delivery on a golf course via drone
Golfweek’s Bill Speros…”Golfers in North Dakota will soon be able to get refreshments delivered during play from a drone…King’s Walk Golf Course in Grand Forks, N.D., will be delivering food and drink via a drone for a $3 service charge in about 10 minutes. The orders will be attached to the drone via a rope.”
  • “Wherever you are, you should be able to get what you want within a few minutes,” Yariv Bash, CEO of FlyTrex, the Israeli drone logistics startup operating the service, told CNNMoney. “Why wait?”
  • “The course has traditional refreshment carts and a restaurant. The drone service begins with a six-week trial on Sept. 15 and delivery to a single course location. Customers will order via an app. Expansion will follow, if it proves successful. The drones weigh about 33 pounds and fly at 30 MPH.”
9. WLD winners
Golf Channel Digital….”Maurice Allen won his first Volvik World Long Drive Championship Wednesday night with a 393-yard blast to defeat Justin Moose.”
“Allen had never made it past the quarterfinals, but he was clearly the best competitor all night long, with drives of 392 yards in the quarterfinals, 393 in the semis and 393 in the final.”
“On the women’s side, Phillis Meti defeated Chloe Garner to capture her third championship belt. Meti also won in 2006 and 2016.”

 

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Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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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

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See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.

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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

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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

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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