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Tour Rundown: No Fooling! Kisner, McDowell, McCarthy and more

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We had too much fun with yesterday’s April Fools Day version of Tour Rundown. We hope that our fictions weren’t as convincing as, say Hayden “Sidd” Finch was, so many years ago in Sports Illustrated. In this week’s true Tour Rundown, we look at Kevin Kisner match-play work in Austin, while Graeme McDowell returned to victory lane with a title in the Dominican Republic. Elsewehere, the LPGA crowned Nasa Hasaoka queen of Carlsbad, and the European and Champions tours recognized Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and the USA’s Kevin Sutherland as rightful claimants to the Savannah and Rapiscan titles.

1. Kisner’s WGC Match Play title caps head-to-head run

With the exception of a little international friendly last fall in France, Kevin Kisner has been the match-play story of the past 365 days. The South Carolinian finished as runner-up to Bubba Watson in 2018. In 2019, he returned to Austin and went one step farther, claiming the coveted title. Kisner defeated Matt Kuchar in the final, closing with stellar grace under pressure. His composure had European Ryder Cup stalwart, Lee Westwood, chirping earlier in the week that Kisner’s match-play game would certainly have shone well
at Le Golf National, for last year’s Ryder Cup matches. Both finalists survived harrowing finishes in Sunday morning’s semifinal matches. Each pulled out a 1-up victory over Francesco Molinari (Kisner) and Lucas Bjerregaard (Kuchar.) In the final match, Kisner took the lead on the 1st hole with birdie and never gave it back. Kuchar returned to all square on one occasion, when he made par to Kisner’s bogey at the 5th. Kuchar would win just one more hole (the 9th) and his only birdies would be halved by Kisner. On a day when he needed more, Kuchar did not produce and Kisner’s 2-under effort through 16 holes, brought him a 3-and-2 victory. The match play never fails to deliver some good, some bad, and some unusual. Have a look.

2. Graeme McDowell claims fourth PGA tour title at Dominican debut

Beginning in 2010 with the US Open, Graeme McDowell has spaced out his 4 PGA Tour victories nicely. Wins in 2013, 2015, and 2019 put him on the verge of joining a solid group with 5 titles and 1 major. The majority of his success came earlier in his career, on the European tour, where he claimed 10 titles from 2002 to 2014. This week, McDowell made the most of the event opposite the WGC Match Play, holding off Mackenzie Hughes and Chris Stroud by one stroke for victory in the inaugural Puntacana Championship. McDowell positioned himself as the target with twin, middle rounds of 64, then opened Sunday with 4 birdies through the first 7 holes to preserve his lead. Hughes, Stroud and others were relentless, but McDowell survived a bogey at the turn and came to the last with 2 strokes in hand. He played the final fairway calmly, closing with bogey for -18 and his welcome margin of victory. A playoff wouldn’t have fazed the Northern Irishman, as he holds a 5-1 record in pro extra time. With the Masters around the corner, victory gives the one-time major champion an extra boost of confidence on the road to Augusta.

3. Hataoka holds off handful of pursuers to claim LPGA’s Kia Classic

After a clean card of 8 birdies and 0 bogies produced a 64 and a healthy lead on Saturday, Nasa Hataoka found herself in a common position in professional golf: in need of a strong final round to fend off the chasers. The young Japanese golfer had many pursuers on Sunday, and 5 of them reached 15-under par at day’s end. Hataoka simply gave them no chance at recovery; she posted 5 more birdies through 15 holes in round 4, and when she finally made a bogey at 16 (only her 3rd of the week) she immediately rebounded with birdie at 17 to reach -18 and secure a 3-shot win over the quintet. Keep in mind that her pursuers included Inbee Park, Sung Hyung Park, Danielle Kang and other, worthy opponents. The trophy was Hataoka’s 3rd in 2 years on tour, marking her as yet another young stalwart with a chance at victory each week on the women’s tour.

4. Gallacher claims victory on the moon at European Tour’s Hero Indian Open

The USA’s Julian Suri let another title slip away in India this weekend, but his story is not the compelling one. The headlines belong, rightfully so, to Stephen Gallacher. A 40-something pro from Scotland, Gallacher made a name for himself mid-decade, with back-to-back wins at the Dubai Desert Classic. Tournament titles have been sparse for the Scotsman in his 20 years on tour. Sunday’s victory at the course from the moon, aka Boulder City, was a complete surprise, and an inspiration for those still grinding in the late stages of their careers. What made the win even more unlikely for Gallacher was the marking of a quadruple-bogey 8 on his card in round 4. The 7th hole gave him fits all week, despite a birdie there in round 1. Rather than simply disappearing into a fog of frustration, Gallacher recovered with 6 birdies over the next 11 holes. A birdie at the last was enough to push him past Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura, to -9 on the week and victory. With a 1-2 record in European Tour playoffs, outright triumph certainly suited Gallacher better than extra holes.

5. McCarthy’s return complete with Web.Com tour triumph

If you followed him in 2016, Dan McCarthy was the dominating force on the PGA Tour’s Canadian circuit. He was poised to repeat this success in 2017 and 2018, but caution following injury slowed his progress. Fully healthy in 2019, McCarthy reclaimed the mastery with a first Web.Com victory at the Savannah Championship. The champion opened with rounds of 67 and 65, but faced a test with 4 bogeys on Saturday. Still in a tie for the lead on Sunday morning, the Syracuse native played consistent golf on day four. His 4-birdie, 1-bogey effort separated him from 3rd-round co-leader Scottie Scheffler. The UTexas alum played the first 12 holes erratically, then caught fire with birdies at 14-16. Bogey at 17 dropped Scheffler from the lead, and he was unable to birdie the last to force a playoff. With the win, McCarthy moved inside the top 10 on the season’s chase for 25 PGA Tour cards.

6. Seven-hole playoff finishes Monday at Champions Tour

Scott Parel has played very good golf the past 2 years on the Champions Tour. He did so again on Sunday, finishing at -7 through 3 rounds. Kevin Sutherland played terrific golf on Friday-Saturday, but not so much on Sunday. His closing 75, lowlighted by 0 birdies on the day, dropped him to -7, into a playoff with Parel. The two headed off to extra holes, but were unable to decide a winner through 5 attempts. Return to the course on Monday, they did, and two more holes were needed before Sutherland dropped a decent putt for birdie and the title. The victory was Sutherland’s 2nd on the senior circuit, coming two seasons after he closed 2017 with a win at the Charles Schwab Cup championship.

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

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Five Things We Learned: Friday at the PGA Championship

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Early on Friday morning, a vendor working for the PGA Championship was struck and killed by a tournament shuttle bus. Nearly at the same time, as he arrived for his second round of tournament play, Scottie Scheffler attempted to detour around the scene, and was arrested, booked, then released. Somehow, Scheffler returned to Valhalla and played his second round of the tournament. Despite the jokes and memes of some in the golf industry, the tournament took a back seat to life and humanity on Friday morning. Our prayers are with the family and friends of the vendor, as well as with all involved.

Day two of Valhalla’s fourth PGA Championship did not see a repeat of the record-setting 62 posted by first-day leader, Xander Schauffele. The low card of 65 was returned by five golfers, when play was suspended by darkness. Five golfers still on the course, were on the positive side of the expected cut line of one-under par, while 12 more either had work to do, or knew that their week had come to an end.

The best 70 golfers and ties would advance to the weekend. 64 golfers figured at minus-two on Friday evening, with another 15 at one-under par. The most likely scenario saw those at even par, headed home. The formula was simple: finish under par and stick around. Play resumed at 7:15 on Saturday, to sort through the last six threesomes. Before the night turned over, we learned five important things to set us up for a weekend of excitement and excellence. It’s a pleasure to share them with you.

1. The 65s

On Thursday, three golfers etched 65 into the final box on their card of play. On Friday, nearly twice that number finished at six-under par for the round. Collin Morikawa moved from top-five into a spot in the final pairing. The 2020 PGA Champion at Harding Park teed off at the tenth hole, and turned in minus-two. He then ran off five consecutive birdies from the fourth tee to the eighth green, before finding trouble at the ninth, his last hole of the day. Bogey at nine dropped him from -12 to -11.

The same score moved Bryson DeChambeau from 11th spot to T4. Joining the pair with 65s on day two were Matt Wallace and Hideki Matsuyama (each with 70-65 for T11) and Lee Hodges (71-65 for T16.) Morikawa, Matsuyama, and DeChambeau have major championship wins in their names, while Wallace has been on the when to break through list his entire career. Hodges epitomizes the term journeyman, bu the PGA Championship is the one major of them all when lesser-known challegers find a way to break through.

2. The Corebridge team of PGA Professionals

Last year’s Cinderella story, Michael Block, did not repeat his Oak Hill success. Block missed the cut by a fair amount. Of the other 19, however, two were poised to conclude play and reach the weekend’s play. Braden Shattuck had finished at one-under par, while Jeremy Wells (-2) and Ben Polland (-1) were inside the glory line, each with two holes to play.

With three holes to play on the front nine, Kyle Mendoza sits at even par. His task is simple: play the final triumvirate in one-under par or better. If Mendoza can pull off that feat, and if the aforementioned triumvirate can hold steady, the club professional segment of the tournament will have four representatives in play over the weekend.

3. Scottie Scheffler

In his post-round interview, Scheffler admitted that his second round, following the surreal nature of the early morning’s events, was made possible by the support he received from patrons and fellow competitors. The new father expressed his great sadness for the loss of life, and also praised some of the first responders that had accompanied him in the journey from course to jail cell. Yes, jail cell. Scheffler spoke of beginning his warm-up routine with jail-house stretches.

Once he returned to Valhalla, Scheffler found a way to a two-under, opening nine holes. He began birdie-bogey-birdie on holes ten through twelve, then eased into a stretch of pars, before making birdie at the par-five 18th. His second nine holes featured three birdies and six pars, allowing him to improve by one shot from day one. Scheffler found himself in a fourth-place tie with Thomas Detry, and third-round tee time in the third-last pairing. Scheffler’s poise illustrated grace under pressure, which is the only way that he could have reached this status through 36 holes.

4. Sahith!

It’s a little bit funny that the fellow who followed 65 with 67, is nowhere to be found on the video highlight reels. He’s not alone in that respect, as Thomas Detry (T4) was also ignored by the cameras. Theegala has won on tour, and has the game to win again. The Californian turned in four-under par on Friday, then made an excruciating bogey at the par-five tenth. He redeemed himself two holes later, with birdie at the twelfth hole.

Theegala is an unproven commodity in major events. He has one top-ten finish: the 2023 Masters saw him finish 9th. He did tie for 40th in 2023, in this event, at Oak Hill. Is he likely to be around on Sunday? Yes. Will he be inside the top ten? If he is, he has a shot on Sunday. If Saturday is not a 67 or better, Theegala will not figure in the outcome of the 2024 championship.

5. X Man!!

After the fireworks of day one, Xander Schauffele preserved his lead at the 2024 PGA Championship. He holds a one-shot advantage and will tee off in the final pairing on Saturday, with Collin Morikawa. Eleven holes into round two, Schauffele made his first bogey of the week. The stumble stalled his momentum, as he had played the first ten holes in minus-four. Will the run of seven pars at the end signal a negative turn in the tide of play for Schauffele? We’ll find out on day three. One thing is for sure: minus twelve will not win this tournament. Schauffele will likely need to reach twenty under par over the next two days, to win his first major title.

 

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Scottie Scheffler arrested, charged, and released after traffic incident at Valhalla

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As first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police on the way to Valhalla Golf Club this morning due to a traffic misunderstanding.

“Breaking News: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club. The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car.

“When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car.”

Darlington also posted a video of the dramatic moment which you can view below:

There was an unrelated accident at around 5am, which is what may have caused some of the misunderstanding of which traffic was moving.

Speaking on ESPN, Darlington broke down exactly what he witnessed in full detail:

“Entering Valhalla Golf Club this morning, we witness a car pull around us that was Scottie Scheffler. Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police officers, placed in the back of a police vehicle in handcuffs after he tried to pull around what he believed to be security, ended up being police officers.

“They told him to stop, when he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle, and Scheffler then travelled another 10 yards before stopping the car.”

“The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car, before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back in handcuffs.

“Very stunned about what was happening, he looked towards me as he was in those handcuffs and said ‘please help me’. He very clearly didn’t know what was happening in the situation.”

“It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively. He was detained in that police vehicle for approximately 20 minutes. The police officers at that point did not understand that Scottie Scheffler was a golfer in the tournament, nor of course that he is the number one player in the world.”

Due to the accident, play has been delayed this morning. Scheffler’s current tee time for the second round of the PGA Championship is 10:08 a.m.

Scheffler’s mugshot following the incident:

*Update*

Scheffler has been charged with 2nd Degree assault of a police officer, criminal mischief 3rd degree, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

*Update*

According to ESPN+, Scottie Scheffler has been released and is now on his way to the golf course.

*Update*

Scottie Scheffler arrives at Valhalla ahead of his 10:08 a.m second round tee time.

*Update*

The PGA of America released this statement regarding the fatal accident, which diverted traffic at Valhalla this morning.

“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club. This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.” 

Per the PGA Tour, Scheffler released the following statement.

We will update this developing story as more information on the situation is revealed.

More from the 19th Hole

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Five Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

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It was a year ago that we the north, found ourselves with toes and fingers crossed. The Oak Hill PGA Championship of 2023 finished on schedule, despite the iffiness of weather in upstate New York. It’s 75 degrees today across the Niagara Frontier, which makes it two out of three (2022 was the same way) for sultry, unseasonal weather.

Louisville is, let’s be honest, a much better bet for a May PGA Championship, and Valhalla is an exciting venue for the year’s second major championship on the men’s circuit. Brooks Koepka came in as the defending champion, and Rory McIlroy arrived as the last golfer to win a major at the Nicklaus-designed course. That was a decade ago, and lord, have things changed in the world and golf.

Day one at Valhalla offered walk-in eagles, buckets of birdies, and potential for a record-low, winner’s score. We’ll get right to the meat of the matter, with five things that we learned. After all, if you can make par from the muck, anything’s possible in the land of the horses.

1. X marks this spot

Xander Schauffele went head-to-head last Sunday with Rory McIlroy, at least on the practice green. By the end of the round, Rors had won for a fourth time at Charlotte, while the X Man sat scratching his head, wondering what went wrong. Fortunately for us, Xander didn’t sulk.

The San Diego State alumnus absolutely torched Jack’s track with 62. Four birdies on the front nine, were followed by five more on the inward side. Schauffele never looked as if bogey was a consideration, and he might have gone even lower. Despite winning the Covid-delayed Gold medal at the Japan Olympics (I consider it a major, btdubs) Schauffele continues to chase an initial men’s major, and the validation that it brings. If 62 doesn’t get you over the hump, who knows what will.

2. Scottie starts strong? Aye.

Last month, Mr. Scheffler won a second green jacket at Augusta National. Last year in Rochester, Mr. Scheffler tied for second in this event. Mr. Scheffler began play today with a walk-in eagle, a one-hop affair that never looked as if it might go anywhere but to its home. Scheffler had a few rough holes, but that’s to be expected from a new dad. Each time he made bogey, he bounced back with birdie, so he has that short memory that winners crave. Surprisingly, Scheffler failed to manage one last birdie at the reachable 18th. Perhaps that miss will motivate him in round two.

3. LIV Check-In

It’s good to check in on the departed from time to time, to ensure that the fellows formerly known as PGA Tour members are doing well. It’s safe to say that some of them can still play. Defending champion Brooks Koepka posted 67 on the day, He had an eagle and three birdies on the day, with only a stumble at the 17th. He’s tied for 7th. Bryson DeChambeau made an eagle of his own, but also had a bogey, at the 12th hole. He cohabits eleventh position with Cameron Smith, who ALSO had a bogey on his card. They are one shot behind Koepka, and a fistful more behind the leader.

4. Sahith and Tony at Schauffele’s heels

Both Finau and Theegala represent a special sort of athletic golfer. Their power and their charisma blend to draw golf fans to their groups. Let’s be honest, too, and say that they don’t look like the traditional professional golfer. As much as Tiger Woods did in the 1990s, they have the power to bring greater diversity to the sport.

In terms of their play today, well, only Xander was better. Finau had a clean card, with six birdies and twelve pars. Theegala had seven birdies, ten pars, and one bogey. Each combined power and finesse to insert themselves squarely in contention, ahead of round two. How will they, and Xander as well, manage the afternoon putting surface on Friday? That’s the great unknown!

5. All those other guys are here!

Rory, Tom Kim, Collin, and Viktor are all at minus-three or lower. Valhalla may not be a traditional golf course, but it is the type of course that the world’s best play well. McIlroy currently sits at minus-five, tied with Robert MacIntyre, Kim, and three others in fourth position.  Maverick McNealy finished fast to reach the same figure, as did Tom Hoge. Morikawa closed with birdie to join the sextet at five below. Both Scheffler and Morikawa finished their rounds late on Thursday, meaning they should see smoother greens on Friday morning. If someone is a betting soul, wiser wagers could not be placed on better names than those two, two-time, major champions. Rory will tee off in Friday’s afternoon wave but, hey, he’s Rory, and he won going away last week at Quail Hollow, a course not unlike Valhalla.

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