Memorial Day weekend brought something not seen in 2019: zero rain delays. Well, OK, they had a few in Rochester, but the Senior PGA still finished on schedule. The remainder of the golfing world saw wonderfully-sunny skies, and the players responded with spectacular golf. Come again? They pushed up the tee times in Chicago to avoid a thunderstorm? Oh. Fine, it was business as usual in professional golf, with organizers doing the Tango Mother Nature. Some things never change, but winners do. This week, we had two first-time victors on their respective tours, along with a first-time, major championship winner. Have a look at Tour Rundown for Monday, May 27th, 2019.
PGA Tour-Charles Schwab Challenge
In the event known only by me as “The Artist Formerly Known As Colonial National Invitational” #ReferencePrinceTilIDie, Kevin Na rode a 2nd-round 62 (8-under par) to his 3rd career tour win, and 2nd in the last 12 months. Off on Sunday morning with a 2-shot advantage over Tony Finau and four others, Na doubled his margin of victory by driving the ball straight. He hit 71% of fairways on day 4, verse 43% for Finau. Na was also 10% better in GIR, and nearly a full stroke better in strokes gained putting. That type of an advantage means, unless the chaser holes shots from off the green with abandon, the leader wins. Na birdies all the even-numbered holes on the front nine to set a bar for his challengers. None was up to the task, and a 2-birdie, 1-bogey inward half brought Na his first trophy of 2019. Na talked about how the course plays into his hands, and statistics bore that out:
It’s a great designed golf course. You got to hit a lot of draws off the tee. Just some of the way the hole sits, I like it. Few cut holes. I can cut it when I need to. Mostly I think a lot of my draws work out here.
And I mentioned this many times, I feel like it’s a second-shot-in golf course. The golf course, everyone kind of puts it in the same position off the tee and same spot.
It’s about how good you can hit it with the irons and how well you can putt. I’m a pretty good player fairway in.
Made In Denmark is Wiesberger’s 5th Euro Tour title
During the early years of the present decade, Bernd Wiesberger’s name was in the mix for a spot on the European Ryder Cup squad. He didn’t make it, but did earn three tour titles through 2015. Over the next four seasons, only one more title came the Austrian’s way, and his facility with victory appeared to go away. This week, the magic touch returned, and Wiesberger earned a 5th title at the Made In Denmark event. His margin of victory was razor-thin, one stroke over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland. The Scot was nearly flawless on day four, charting a course of six birdies and the rest, pars, through 16 holes. A bogey at 17 ended the perfect game, and was the one shot lost on the day. For Wiesberger, his 65 was filled with a volatile cocktail of non-pars. He had a double at the 4th, an eagle at the 11th. Seven birdies offset bogeys at 13 and 18. The final misstep served to make the final result closer than it was, and a well-earned trophy rested in Wiesberger’s hands.
LPGA Tour’s Pure Silk not “pear-shaped” for England’s Bronte Law
The Englishwoman crafted a unique metaphor for potential derailing of her final round. We’ll get to it in the ending quote, but suffice it to say that her first victory on the American tour was a potent one. She held off an international brigade from Japan (Nasa Hataoka) Canada (Brooke Henderson) and Sweden (Madelene Sagstrom) by one thin putt. Law broke from the gate with 4 birdies over her first 8 holes. A bogey at the 9th quieted the charge, but she did play the inward half under par. Hataoka began the day in a tie with the victor, but her 4 birdies were offset by 2 bogies. The fiery first half, despite the bogey, of Law’s round four, compelled the field to chase after her with abandon, which typically includes lost shots. There were enough wayward efforts on the day to allow Bronte Law to claim a maiden LPGA title.
Today was tough out there. I was trying to stay calm out there in 92 degree heat. It’s not that easy. Feel like I held it together pretty well in the middle of a round when it could have all gone pear shaped.
Scheffler defeats Colombia at Web.Com Tour’s Evans Scholars Invitational
After four years at the University of Texas, Scottie Scheffler took to the road of so many predecessors, the one that leads to the PGA Tour. His performance over Memorial Day weekend guaranteed that a big-tour card would be his in the near future. Scheffler and Colombia’s Marcelo Rozo finished regulation play at 17-under par, one shot clear of Rozo’s countryman, Nicolas Echavarria. The 3rd-place man had a brilliant finish to his round, with birdies at 5 of the final 6 holes, for 63. Behind him, Scheffler also closed fast, with 6 birdies on the back 9, for an inward 30. Rozo had 4 chirps of his own, coming home, but a wayward drive on 16 led to his 3rd bogey on the day, dropping into a tie with the Longhorn. The pair traveled to the 18th hole twice in extra holes, where Scheffler finally made the 3rd time the charm, and made birdie. With that 4, he leaped over everyone but Robby Shelton in the race for a PGA Tour card. Rozo ascended over 100 spots, to 30th, and Echavarria jumped to 46th.
Senior PGA is Oak Hill East’s final major before restoration
After nearly four decades of undoing Donald Ross, Oak Hill returns to the master’s plan this summer. The East course will return to a layout not seen in major championship play since 1968. A farewell of sorts to the modernized course was held this week, as the Senior PGA Championship came back to the Rochester (NY) club. Known in some circles as “Choke Hill,” the venerable and challenging course gave the elders little chance to breathe easy, especially on Sunday. Six scores below par were returned on day four, with Billy Andrade’s 66 the low. It elevated him nearly 20 positions on the final afternoon. Doing battle late in the day were defending champion Paul Broadhurst, Scott McCarron and his college teammate, Ken Tanigawa. Broadhurst struggled on day four, ballooning to a 75 that dropped to him to -1 and 3rd place. McCarron gave chase all afternoon, but needed one more shot to catch the winner. Ken Tanigawa found a way to make birdies at 15 and 16, then added a spectacular up-and-down from 1243 yards at the last for the win, acknowledging all the while how difficult it was to win a senior major title:
I was leaking oil…once you hit it in the rough here, it gets really, really difficult. And (on 15) boy, it’s a tough shot really, under the circumstances… I hit an 8-iron — I was kind of between clubs … hit it really solid … hit a good putt and was really fortunate to make two there.
And then the next hole really was, you know, I drove it in that right rough again and hit a really good second shot to chip it down there and have it run on the green. And that was maybe the kind of a pivotal point, kind of gave me a little bit of cushion, because I was leaving so many putts short… Luckily it went in and made the birdie.
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