5. Getting older on on tour
A few thoughts from an aging tour pro in the latest installment of Undercover Tour Pro.
- “The new era has arrived, and I applaud all the Justin Thomases and Bryson DeChambeaus who’ve ushered it in. But tougher competition from the bottom is only half the reason why there are fewer “old guys” out here. It’s harder to have a long career because of how the pace of the PGA Tour has intensified. It’s no longer if you will get injured, but when.”
- “Sure, we’re cutting one playoff event in 2019, but there’s still no off-season. The fall used to be a time to rest and repair the body, but not anymore. There are almost 50 events on the PGA Tour calendar this season. Unless you’re a top-30 player, you really can’t afford to take three weeks off in a row. Guys will shoot past you in the rankings. And once you fall outside the top 50, your schedule stops being in your control.”
6. Akshay!
Golfweek’s Brentley Romine…”Akshay Bhatia might be just 17 years old, but the junior golfer continues to outperform many college-aged amateurs.”
- “Bhatia, the world’s top-ranked junior and ranked 12th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, added to his impressive list of accomplishments with a playoff victory Sunday at the Jones Cup.”
- “After Sunday’s final round at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga., was washed out, Bhatia and Georgia sophomore Davis Thompson, tied for the 36-hole lead at 2 under, were able to make it on the course for a 1 p.m. playoff. Bhatia made quick work of Thompson, who rinsed his tee shot on the first hole in the playoff. Bhatia won with a two-putt par.”
- “With his win, the Wake Forest, N.C., native earns a sponsor exemption into the 2019 RSM Classic. As of now, it will be Bhatia’s first PGA Tour start, though the youngster plans to play a few Monday qualifiers this year, like he did a year ago.”
7. Jumpstart for Rickie?
Brian Wacker frames Fowler’s WMPO win as a potentially important one for the future of his career…”Fowler, with his always forward-looking mindset, settled down (sort of) and bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 15th and another on the par-4 17th. He also made some nervy par saves-a six-footer on 13, an up-and-down from an awkward stance next to a bunker on the raucous 16th and one more on 18 after driving into thick rough.”
- “It helped, too, that the three players chasing him-Justin Thomas and Matt Kuchar playing alongside Fowler, and Branden Grace, in the group ahead-all struggled at one point or another.”
- “But as Paul Azinger noted in his debut broadcast for NBC after taking over for Johnny Miller on Sunday, this wasn’t about the players behind Fowler. He was competing against himself (at least until he wasn’t anymore).”
8. The importance of the Vic Open
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell…”Male and female pros will tee it up at 13th Beach Golf Links in Victoria, Australia, this week playing the same courses at the same time for the same amount of prize money. The men and women will alternate tee times.”
- “It’s the only tour event like it on the planet.”
- “That makes it a mustard seed of possibility for true believers wanting to narrow the sport’s enormous gender pay gap.”
- “For a woman playing in the Vic Open to be able to look her male counterpart in the eye, knowing she’s playing for same amount of prize money, that she is his equal for the week, there’s a real feeling of fairness in that,” said Karen Lunn, the Australian Ladies Professional Golf CEO and 1993 Women’s British Open winner. “There’s a real important message in that, and I think it’s what has attracted so much attention.”
9. Archie got his sticks back!
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley, whose sticks disappeared after the WMPO pro-am, has gotten his weapons back.
He tweeted a photo of himself with the clubs, writing, “Super Sunday Delivery! Can’t comment much due to investigation. But clubs and everything in it were found and are at home where they belong! Thank you to everyone who helped with all their tips!”
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CrashTestDummy
Feb 8, 2019 at 12:35 pm
Being a celebrity has its big time advantages. Everyone bends over backwards to find your clubs. He got brand new clubs from PXG and his old golf clubs. I’m still waiting for my stolen golf clubs, mountain bike equipment, and fishing equipment to show up on my doorstep with balloons.
15th Club
Feb 5, 2019 at 10:36 pm
It seems to me that people keep looking for ways to create controversy in the drop rule. We simply want a drop that is from a height that is less likely to require re-drops. What is so hard about approximating knee height?
http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/new-procedure-for-dropping-a-ball.html
ChiliDip
Feb 5, 2019 at 4:12 pm
Knee height should be changed back nothing wrong with the way it use to be. Horrible look