News

Morning 9: Langley, Gay lead Pebble | Phil’s phantastic phairway phinding | Jacklin: Sergio should take a break

Published

5 years ago

Feb 8, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

February 8, 2019

Good Friday morning, golf fans. May your weekends be filled with better-than-Crosby weather.

1. Pebble: Langley, Gay lead

Tom Wright at the Monterey Herald on the first-round action in his backyard…

“Scott Langley and Brian Gay opened the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am shooting 7-under to finish atop a crowded leaderboard Thursday, but now must gear up for an earlier start Friday as tee times were moved ahead an hour in anticipation of inclement weather.”

“Maybe we can get a lot of it in before the rain comes,” said Gay, who played the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Thursday, and is scheduled to play Spyglass Hill on Friday. “I haven’t seen the latest forecast. Spyglass is probably the hardest course so maybe (being) back in the trees will help us a bit over there.”

“Friday’s forecast calls for a slight chance of showers early with rain becoming likely by 11 a.m. to go with a chance of an isolated thunderstorm in the evening. Saturday’s forecast calls for scattered showers and showers are likely for Sunday.”

Full piece.

2. Phantastic start

Lefty is off to a roaring start, hitting every fairway at Monterey Peninsula en route to a 6-under 65.

USA Today’s Steve DiMeglio…”‘So history was made today,” Mickelson said. “To the best of my knowledge it’s taken me 27 years and a few months to hit all fairways in a single round in a competition. I may have done it before, but I don’t ever recall doing it.'”

“Well, Mickelson has done it before. Six times on the PGA Tour, in fact. But let’s cut his memory some slack. The most recent time he accomplished the feat came 20 years ago in the Farmers Insurance Open.”

“His total recall aside, Mickelson was impressive throughout his round. His seven birdies swamped his lone bogey on the fifth hole and he stood in a tie for third place”

Full piece.

13 of Mickelson’s 43 PGA Tour wins have come in California.

3. Vic Open update

Golfweek’s Alistair Tate…”Former U.S. Amateur champion Nick Flanagan remains on course to win his first European Tour event, but he’s got company at the top of the $1 million ISPS Handa Vic Open leaderboard.”

“Flanagan, who defeated Casey Wittenberg to win the 2003 U.S. Amateur, returned a 4-under 68 to go with his opening 62 to move to 14 under par after 36 holes. He shares the lead with fellow Australian Jason Scrivener, who shot a 66.”

Full piece.

On the women’s side, Kim Kaufman leads the concurrent tournament at 13 under. Karrie Webb sits tied for fifth at 7 under.

4. Cake of wild alternate-ness frosted with Rollins

What? With entrants at Pebble Beach withdrawing from the tournament in an 11th-hour mass exodus, it seemed for a while late Wednesday and early Thursday that anyone with a set of clubs could be called upon to tee it up.

John Rollins, who hasn’t had full status on the big tour since 2014, was slated to CADDIE at Pebble before an early morning call from HQ.

PGATour.com’s Jim McCabe writes…”The fact that it was all turned upside-down and Rollins was hitting golf balls for the first time in more than a week and competing in a PGA TOUR tournament for the first time since last August was as improbable an occurrence as he has ever been part of. “Crazy. What a roller-coaster day,” said Rollins, who at 43 has played in just 24 PGA TOUR tournaments since losing his full exempt status following the 2014 season.”
“But if you think that accepting the spot in the field at 5:30 a.m. – about three hours before his tee time, by the way – was an easy one, think again. Fact is, “I had to really think about it. I asked myself, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ Hunter (Mahan) is my friend and I was here to caddie for him, so I called him. Hunter (whose tee time was 10:01) and his wife, Kandi were more than gracious. Hunter said, ‘There’s a reason you’re here, so go and enjoy.'”
“Rollins laughed, because “I had done absolutely no prep work” back home in the Dallas area, but he took Mahan’s advice. He did enjoy himself and was overall pleased with his round of 1-over 73 at Pebble Beach – two bogeys and one lone birdie, at the par-4 11th. “I didn’t play terribly. Actually, I was OK, everything considered.”

Full piece.

5. Jacklin: Sergio should step away for a while

The legendary Tony Jacklin didn’t like what he saw (or didn’t see, as the case may be) from Sergio Garcia in Saudi Arabia.

He told the Daily Express…”It was worthy of more than disqualification. I’d have banned him. Damaging greens on a golf course is an offence that deserves a suspension.

“The European Tour have said the incident is over and it’s time to move on. Well, if he’s not going to be banned, then I’d like to see him take a self-imposed break from the game.

“I think he needs time to realise how fortunate he is, at 39, to have everything money can buy, a young family and everything to be grateful for.”

Full piece.

6. Spieth, Finau on Rickie’s Phoenix rules rule-in

Not to fixate on rules fiascos of the past, but Joel Beall’s assembling of Jrdan Spieth and Tony Finau’s takes on what befell Rickie Fowler as his ball, well, befell into the water at the 11th hole at TPC Scottsdale last Sunday are interesting.

Finau: “I watched that transpire (the Fowler incident) and couldn’t help but think, ‘This is not what the integrity of the game is about. If the rules aren’t going to protect the integrity of the game, then they’re wrong.

“And that’s, I’ll always stand on that side just because I know, yeah, I’ve had things like that happen to me in junior golf, not at the professional level, but I’ve had things like that happen to me where you know you didn’t cause or didn’t, your intentions weren’t bad in any way, but the ball moves and you have to call that on yourself. And I love that about the game. But if the rules don’t protect the player and the integrity of the game then I don’t think they’re the right rules.”

Spieth: “I was watching it on the couch...I was, I’m like, wow, that’s another penalty stroke, just knowing the rule. And that’s frustrating because he drops it twice and then places it and he places it without, you can’t like create a lie. You can’t, so he’s doing everything he should be doing, and then all of a sudden it rolls in the water. And if it happens off of a shot, then that’s where the ball was supposed to go. Well, when it happens off of a drop, the idea is to get the ball in play in a location there, and I don’t think anybody wants that to be a penalty. And it certainly shouldn’t be after you’re taking a drop or a penalty stroke”

Beall’s full piece.

7. Meanwhile, in Ho Sung news…

Golf Channel’s Randall Mell penned a piece on the South Korean’s opening round.

“Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, his playing partner Jerry Kelly and Choi’s playing partner Chris O’Donnell seemed to enjoy the show as much as the fans…”

“…The galleries chuckled and cheered with Choi’s every funky follow-through.”

“They were fantastic,” Kelly said. “They were yelling, ‘We love you, Hosung.’ They were sending out a lot to him. He was great. He would always turn around and give them a wave.”

“Choi, a late-blooming, 45-year-old South Korean with four victories on the Korean and Japanese tours, overcame a sluggish start to shoot a 1-over-par 72.”

Full piece.

8. Signs that golf season approaches

Golf Digest’s Sam Weinman is a veritable Punxsutawney Phil of golf, looking for signs that the season of fairways and greens approaches.

Among them…

“You shovel snow with exceeding caution knowing your back can’t give out on you now.”

“Your pulse quickens upon hearing the first notes of a Masters TV commercial.”

“You decide the annoying guy in accounting who happens to belong to a top 100 course is actually just misunderstood.”

Full piece.

9. New Players trophy

Goodbye Waterford Crystal trophy, mainstay of The Players award ceremony since 1982, hello sterling silver/24k gold trophy.

Then there’s this from the Tour’s release announcing the new hardware…”Using a process called ‘electroforming,’ Tiffany & Co. and the PGA Tour began with the inspiration of the swinging golfer from the iconic PGA Tour logo. Then, through sophisticated computer modelling, designers incorporated aspects of each of the 38 different winners of The Players – from Jack Nicklaus to Webb Simpson with elements of Phil Mickelson, Calvin Peete, Rickie Fowler, Fred Couples and Tiger Woods mixed in between.”

I’m not at all sure what that means…but here’s the trophy!

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News

Morning 9: Tiger confirms playing schedule | Player: This caused Tiger’s downfall

Published

12 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson gets underway.

1. Woods confirms he plans to play 1x monthly, remaining 3 majors

ESPN report…”Woods, appearing on the “Today” show Wednesday morning, said he is still following the calendar he mapped out before the season began. But physical limitations continue to give the 15-time major winner pause.”

“He completed the Masters last month but requires a “cold plunge every day, religiously” to get his body going and was “extremely sore” when he left Augusta National. Woods shot a 16-over 304 at the Masters and finished last among the 60 golfers who made the 36-hole cut.”

“I have basically the next three months — three majors — and hopefully that works out,” said Woods, who last won a major in 2019.

“Up next is the PGA Championship at Valhalla in two weeks. The U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 begins June 13, and the Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland begins July 18. Woods has not played all four majors in a year since 2019.”

Full piece.

2. Tiger on origin of red-and-black Sunday outfit

Ben Morse for CNN…”…speaking on Tuesday’s edition of ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,’ the 48-year-old said his mother Kultida was key to him wearing the now-iconic red and black combination.”

“My mom thought, being a Capricorn, that [red] was my power color, or some BS thing like that, so I end up wearing red and end up winning some golf tournaments,” the 15-time major winner told Fallon. “And then to spite her, I wore blue, and I did not win those tournaments. So Mom is always right.”

“Woods’ mother was clearly was onto something as her son would go onto win a record-equaling 82 PGA Tour tournaments.”

Full piece.

3. Gary Player’s take on Tiger’s downfall

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking with KW Golf, golf legend Gary Player said that he believes swing coaches ruined the career of Tiger Woods.”

“The US Open at Pebble Beach, he won by 15 shots. You know what that’s like? It’s like running the 100 meters in seven seconds. The next week, he’s having a lesson from a man who, I don’t think, if he played in the Masters, could break 80.”

“And then he goes to another guy who couldn’t probably break 85 in the Masters with the pressure, or the British Open or the PGA on the final day. And he’s having lessons from them.”

“Why did Tiger do that? He was so good, but I understand he wanted to get better,” Player went on. “If he had just gone along and never changed, he would have won at least 22.. He would’ve gone down as the greatest athlete the world has ever seen.”

In 2008, Woods had won 14 majors and was 33 years old. It would take him eleven years to win his 15th at the 2019 Masters.

Full piece.

4. Open winner: I used to hate links golf

Peter Scrivener for the BBC…”However, he did recall his chastening links golf baptism at neighbouring Prestwick, which hosted the inaugural Open in 1860.”

“The first time I played links golf I hated it – it ate me to pieces,” said the 37-year-old, who lost all four of his matches as Europe thrashed the United States in the 2006 Palmer Cup.

“I kept trying to hit lob wedges around the greens and the weather was bad. I got whipped, lost all of my matches.”

Full piece.

5. Why Tiger’s daughter doesn’t like golf

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.”

“On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.”

“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.

“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”

Full piece.

6. Spieth hits ‘reset button’

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth isn’t happy that he’s not playing as well as his longtime friend Scottie Scheffler, but he’s hoping to use the world No. 1 golfer’s success as inspiration.”

“Spieth, a three-time major championship winner, said he used last week as a reset after a so-so start to the 2024 season. He has three top-10 finishes in 10 starts but had a disqualification and three missed cuts, including at The Players and Masters, in his past seven.”

“He is hoping to turn things around, starting at The CJ Cup Bryon Nelson, which tees off Thursday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.”

“I think I kind of wanted to hit the reset button this last week and I took more days off than I usually do,” Spieth told reporters Wednesday. “Got a little burned out trying to find stuff. I wanted to take some time off, clear my mind, and then get back to it.

“… Kind of looking at this as kind of a restart. I haven’t had the year I wanted to have after getting off to a pretty optimistic start in Hawaii. I feel really good about the work I put in since the weekend into the few days this week, so I believe that I’m really close to some great things.”

Full piece.

7. Photos from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!

Full Piece.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Published

3 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).

Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.

We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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News

Vincenzi’s 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson betting preview: International talent to shine

Published

3 days ago

Apr 29, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

As anticipation mounts for the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla in a few weeks, the PGA Tour makes a pit stop in McKinney, Texas to play The CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

Last year was the third time TPC Craig Ranch hosted the Byron Nelson. Prior to 2021, the event was held at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.

TPC Craig Ranch is a 7,414-yard par-71 that features Bentgrass greens. The event historically plays relatively easy, and that has remained the case in the three editions at TPC Craig Ranch.

The course structure may provide some additional intrigue with the par-3 17th featuring a stadium setup called “Ranch 17” which is reminiscent of the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. The course also has both long and difficult par-4s mixed with drivable par-4s, which should create some exciting moments.

There are 156 golfers in the field this week, and many stars will be taking the week off to prepare for 2023’s second major championship in a few weeks and a “signature event” at Quail Hollow next week. Notable players in the field include Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Sungjae Im, Stephan Jaeger, Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim, Min Woo Lee, Alex Noren, Adam Scott and Will Zalatoris.

Past Winners of the AT&T Byron Nelson

2023: Jason Day (-23 at TPC Craig Ranch)
2022: K.H. Lee (-26 at TPC Craig Ranch)
2021: K.H. Lee (-25 at TPC Craig Ranch)
2019: Sung Kang (-23)
2018: Aaron Wise (-23)
2017: Billy Horschel (-12)
2016: Sergio Garcia (-15)
2015: Steven Bowditch (-18)

Key Stats at TPC Craig Ranch

Let’s take a look at five key metrics for TPC Craig Ranch to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds.

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach remains the best measure of current form.

Hot iron play will be at a premium this week. Last year, Jason Day gained 6.4 strokes on approach, which was fourth in the field. In 2022, K.H. Lee was ninth in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, gaining 5.2 strokes. In his 2021 victory, he was second in the field and gained 8.3 strokes on the field in the category.

Strokes Gaines: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Tom Hoge (+1.12)
Keith Mitchell (+1.02)
Henrik Norlander (+0.99)
Ryan Moore (+0.98)
Ben Martin (0.80)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Fairways are wide at TPC Craig Ranch.

Distance will certainly be helpful, and there aren’t too many difficult holes on the course. Golfers who put themselves in position off of the tee this week should have a sizable advantage.

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Over Past 24 Rounds

Peter Kuest (+0.93)
Kevin Daugherty (+0.91)
Alejandro Tosti (+0.83)
Keith Mitchell (+0.82)
Kevin Tway (+0.74)

Birdie or Better %

There aren’t many hazards on the course, and all of the par-5s should be reachable in two for the majority of the players in the field. I am anticipating a birdie fest, and this statistic should be helpful in finding the birdie-makers.

Birdie or Better % Over Past 24 Rounds:

Wesley Bryan (31%)
Kelly Kraft (26.2%)
Peter Kuest (25.9%)
Matti Schmid (25.7%
Jimmy Stanger (25.2%)

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass)

Many golfers on TOUR have some major putting surface variance in their statistics and prefer Bentgrass to other surfaces.

Bentgrass is common in Texas, and we often see golfers who play well in Texas continue to do so, finding a great feel around the greens.

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass) Over Past 24 Rounds:

Maverick McNealy (+0.92)
Aaron Baddeley (+0.87)
Callum Tarren (+0.86)
Harry Hall (+0.81)
Nick Hardy (+0.69)

Course History

This statistic will tell us which players have performed the best at TPC Craig Ranch over the past three seasons.

Course History Over Past 12 Rounds:

Jordan Spieth (+2.69)
K.H. Lee (+2.59)
Seamus Power (+1.84)
Ryan Palmer (+1.76)
Adam Scott (+1.72)

CJ CUP Byron Nelson Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: OTT (24%), Birdie or Better % (18%), Course History (17%) and SG: Putting Bentgrass (16%).

Alex Noren
Adam Scott
Keith Mitchell
Si Woo Kim
Stephen Jaeger
Jordan Spieth
Jhonnatan Vegas
Nate Lashley
Brice Garnett
Tom Hoge

2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson Picks

Byeong Hun An +3000 (DraftKings)

Byeong Hun put together an excellent performance at The Masters, finishing T16, which ties his best ever finish at a major championship (also T16 at 2019 U.S. Open). The South Korean gained 9.16 strokes from tee to green, which ranked 2nd in the field behind only the champion, Scottie Scheffler.

An’s next start at Harbour Town didn’t go as well (67th), but he still had a fantastic ball striking week. The 32-year-old bled strokes both around and on the greens, which was his eventual undoing. In his past three starts, An has gained significant strokes on the field both off the tee and on approach.

Benny had a strong start at last year’s Byron Nelson, finishing in a tie for 14th. With limited challenges on the course, he shouldn’t have to do much scrambling. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 17th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 17th in the field in birdie or better percentage. The putter is up and down per usual, but his ceiling putting weeks with his LAB Golf putter in 2024 are higher than they’ve been in past seasons.

An is starting to become my “white whale” of the PGA Tour, but I believe in his talent and TPC Craig Ranch is a course that should suit his excellent tee to green play.

Mackenzie Hughes +5500 (FanDuel)

Mackenzie Hughes is quietly putting together a very good season. He finished in a tie for 3rd at the Valspar Championship and followed that up with a T14 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

In his past 36 rounds in Texas, the Canadian ranks 5th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total. Last year, he finished in a tie for 14th at this event and gained strokes putting and off the tee. Mackenzie played well that week despite being in extremely poor form. He missed two cuts in a row prior to the event, and four consecutive cuts immediately after. His irons were off that week, but in 2024, we’ve seen an improvement in Hughes’ approach game. He now comes to the event playing some steady golf. He’s gained strokes on approach in four of his past five events and is hitting the ball very well from tee to green.

Hughes has two victories on the PGA Tour, both coming in relatively low-scoring affairs (-17 in each). He will need to go a bit deeper to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson but has the type of putter that can keep pace in a birdie barrage.

Seamus Power +7000 (FanDuel)

After struggling over the past few seasons with injuries, Seamus Power seems as if he is rounding back into the form that made him a really consistent player on the PGA Tour.

Power finished T12 in his most recent start at the RBC Heritage, which is encouraging considering it was a “signature event” with a very strong field. For the week, the Irishman gained 4.4 strokes on approach and 2.8 strokes putting, which is the combination he’s used in the past to contend on Tour.

In his three trips to TPC Craig Ranch, Power is yet to finish outside of the top-20, with his best finish being a T9 in 2019. He ranks 4th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course. The 37-year-old thrives on easy tracks and has won in 2021 (Barbasol Championship) and 2022 (Butterfield Bermuda) on easier layouts with weaker fields.

Power has the game to go extremely low and I believe he can get back in the winner’s circle for the third time in four years.

Chan Kim +10000 (FanDuel)

Chan Kim has been striking the ball beautifully this season and is a proven winner with two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023 as well as eight career Japan Tour wins.

At last week’s Zurich Classic, Kim and his partner Doug Ghim finished in a tie for 28th. Prior to that, the South Korean T14 at the Valero Texas Open and T6 at the Corales Puntacana Championship. His success this season in Texas as well as he propensity to play his best golf on the PGA Tour’s easier courses make him and ideal fit for TPC Craig Ranch.

2024 has given plenty of longshot winners on the PGA Tour, and with a birdie fest like this, I believe there’s a strong chance we get another this week in McKinney, Texas.

Alejandro Tosti +10000 (FanDuel)

Alejandro Tosti is one of the most polarizing players on the PGA Tour thus far in the 2024 season. His antics can rub many the wrong way, but he’s shown on a few occasions that he has what it takes to compete in Tour events.

This season, Tosti has been elite off the tee. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 2nd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. The Argentine hits it long and straight, which works at any course on earth. He got a taste of contention a few starts ago at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, finishing in a tie for 2nd place.

Tosti had a fantastic year in 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour, where going low is a prerequisite to success. If this turns to a shootout, which it likely will, the 27-year-old has the ability to set the pace. Tosti will look to become the second Argentine to win in Texas in the past two seasons after Emiliano Grillo emerged victorious at last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

C.T. Pan +15000 (FanDuel)

Outside of a T3 at the Mexico Open, C.T. Pan doesn’t have strong results this season in terms of finishes. However, over his past two starts, Pan’s iron play has come alive. At The Players, he gained 6.6 strokes on approach. At the Valero Texas Open, he gained 3.7. At last week’s Zurich Classic, Pan and his partner Kevin Yu finished T28. For a player who can get extremely hot with his scoring clubs, I believe he’s playing better than the results have shown over the past month or so.

Last season, Pan finished 4th at TPC Craig Ranch and was spectacular across all the major stat categories. In his past 36 qualifying rounds, he ranks 16th in Strokes Gained: Total in Texas.

Pan has won on the PGA Tour at the RBC Heritage and is always a player that I believe has what it takes to win on a Sunday if he finds himself in contention.

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