Connect with us

News

Morning 9: Wolff beats the pack | Application denied, Daly to walk at Portrush | Men & women played for the same trophy in France

Published

on

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

July 8, 2019

Good Monday morning, golf fans. Bit o’ trivia via the Wikipedia on the “dog days of summer:” “They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck.”
1. Wolff!
Golfweek’s Bill Speros…”Wolff, 20, shot a 6-under 65 in the final round to edge out fellow Tour newcomer Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke at 21-under overall.”
  • “…DeChambeau, playing one group ahead of Morikawa and Wolff, made eagle on the par-5 18th hole and took a 1-shot lead. Wolff’s approach landed on the edge of the green, but he powered a 26-foot putt off the pin and into the hole to take lead with an eagle of his own.”
  • “Morikawa pushed his potential tying putt to the left and victory belonged to Wolff.”
If you didn’t see Wolff’s improbable eagle putt, watch it here.
2. …and (beyond his unique swing) who is Matthew Wolff?
Golfweek’s Adam Woodard compiles a few bullet points on a man not old enough to legally buy an alcoholic beverage to celebrate his win.
  • “Attended Oklahoma State, where he hit the clinching putt for the Cowboys’ 11th national title as a freshman and won the individual title this year at the 2019 NCAA Championship in May. With his win on Sunday, Wolff joined Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods as the only players to win the NCAA individual title and a PGA Tour event in the same year.”
  • “Set a school record with six wins as a sophomore this season.”
  • “Made PGA Tour debut at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open thanks to a sponsor exemption. Wolff finished T-50 at 3-under for the week.”

Full piece.

3. A sizzling Spaniard in Ireland
Jon Rahm is twice an Irish Open winner after a scorching Sunday 62.
EuropeanTour.com report...”The Spaniard entered the final day at Lahinch Golf Club five shots off the lead but made eight birdies and an eagle to get to 16 under and win this event for the second time.”
  • “Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and England’s Andy Sullivan finished two off the lead, a shot clear of two more Englishmen in Eddie Pepperell and Robert Rock, and Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello.
  • Wiesberger and Rock earned places in the field at The Open Championship with their top ten performances, as did England’s Paul Waring, who finished at 12 under along with another Spaniard in Jorge Campillo.”

Full piece.

4. Final-hole birdie = victory for Feng
AP report…”Shanshan Feng hit a 7-iron to 3 feet for a birdie on the final hole Sunday to close with a 9-under 63 and a one-shot victory over Ariya Jutanugarn in the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.”
Jutanugarn had a three-shot lead on the back nine until a bogey on the par-5 15th and a strong finish from Feng, who had three birdies in a four-hole stretch. Jutanugarn hit her approach to 2 feet for birdie on the 18th for a 64 to catch Feng, until the 29-year-old from China delivered the winning shot.”
5. Men and women play for same trophy and…
BBC report…”Belgium’s Manon de Roey said she was happy with her performance in finishing third in a field of men and women at the first Saint-Malo Golf Mixed Open.”
  • “France’s Frederic Lacroix took the title, finishing two strokes clear of Italian Enrico di Nitto.”
  • “It was the first professional event to see male and female golfers from two Tours play for the same trophy.”
  • “…The 72-hole tournament featured players from the Ladies European Tour Access Series and the men’s Alps Tour.”
6. ICYMI: Daly to walk
Derek Lawrenson of the Daily Mail…
  • “How interesting that, after the Royal and Ancient refused John Daly’s request for a buggy and told him to take a walk if he wants to play in the Open, the American has now decided that he is fit enough, after all, to give it a go next week.”
  • “‘We believe that walking the course is an integral part of the championship and is central to the traditions of links golf,’ said the R&A, in a statement with which few right-thinking golfers would disagree.”
  • “Daly, 53, has osteoarthritis in his knee and was granted permission to use a buggy at the US PGA Championship in May, to the consternation of virtually everyone else in the field. ‘Fingers crossed, I can make it through the pain at Portrush,’ pronounced Daly, in a tweet that cried out for a couple of emoji violins.”

Full piece.

7. Faltering Phil
Steve Dimeglio for Golfweek on Lefy’s rough week in Minnesota…
  • “Probably a lot,” he said when asked what he needs to work on. “I mean, there’s a lot of little … all the little things, all the little nuances. Not hitting my short irons close enough, not putting very well, driving it a little bit erratic.
  • “So, there’s a lot of areas I can improve on.”
  • “But while his current act is getting old, hold off on drawing the curtain to a close, for we have seen this show play out before. He has battled droughts many times, and while his advancing age allows one to question whether or not Mickelson can come of his latest malaise, his track record suggests otherwise.”

Full piece. 

8. The man everyone wants to talk to
Digest’s Dave Shedloski on the suddenly very popular Ricky Elliott...”If anyone has a question, needs a place to stay or is looking for a little insight on Royal Portrush, they go looking for Elliott, 42, who grew up playing the famed links course.”
  • “Yeah, it’s been kind of an interesting time,” Elliott said at TPC Twin Cities, where Koepka is competing in the inaugural 3M Open. “Almost nobody has been there, so there are a lot of questions, a lot of guys looking for houses and such, where to eat. Non-stop really.”
  • “He doesn’t mind the added attention. But being the current rock star, if you will, of the caddie fraternity makes things hectic. Case in point, he was talking to one of his caddie peers for a few minutes after Koepka shot an opening four-under 67. He turned around and there was a reporter seeking a few comments. Then Charley Hoffman tapped him on the shoulder. Hoffman is planning to arrive in Portrush next Saturday, so he asked Elliott to set him up with a local caddie for a few days until his regular caddie arrived. Elliott dutifully took Hoffman’s number. He’ll take care of it.”
9. Kaymer’s major streak snapped? 
Golf Channel’s Will Gray...”Martin Kaymer came up one shot short of qualifying for The Open Sunday at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, leaving his decade-plus streak of major appearances in serious jeopardy.”
  • “The former world No. 1 closed with a birdie on No. 18 to finish a 5-under 65 that left him at 11 under for the week, five shots behind eventual winner Jon Rahm. With three spots to Royal Portrush available to top finishers, Kaymer appeared in position to snag a late entry until Paul Waring birdied the 72nd hole to get to 12 under and knock Kaymer out.”

 

Your Reaction?
  • 3
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP2
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Morning 9: 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour | Rory on possible return to policy board

Published

on

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Friday morning, golf fans, may a bountiful weekend of golf be in store for you!

1. 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour

KFT staff report…”Frankie Capan III went crazy low Thursday on the Korn Ferry Tour. Nearly in record fashion.”

  • “Capan carded 13-under 58 in the opening round of the Veritex Bank Championship, matching the second lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history. He fell one shy of Cristobal Del Solar’s record 57, set at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard earlier this year, but it was a heck of a show nonetheless.”
  • “The Minnesota native played an eight-hole stretch in 9-under Thursday, following an eagle at the par-5 ninth with seven straight birdies to begin the back nine at par-71 Texas Rangers Golf Club. He “cooled off” with a two-putt par at the long par-4 17th hole. He arrived at the par-5 18th hole at 13 under for the round, but he found a fairway bunker off the tee, laid up to 134 yards and missed his third shot left of the green. He chipped to 7 feet and drained the par putt to match the Korn Ferry Tour’s second-lowest score of 58, carded by Stephan Jaeger in the opening round of the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae.”
Full piece.

2. Team McIlowery starts strong

Paul Hodowanic for PGATour.com…”Late Thursday afternoon in New Orleans, Rory McIlroy rested his head on Shane Lowry’s shoulder.”

  • “It wasn’t the typical post-round moment, but this isn’t the typical event. McIlroy and Lowry teamed up for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA TOUR’s lone team event, and the all-Irish duo put on a show. Sporting matching pink-on-navy getups, McIlroy/Lowry opened in a best-ball 11-under 61 in Thursday’s Four-ball format at TPC Louisiana.”
  • “This partnership might have stemmed from a boozy brunch last fall, but their opening-round performance at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans gave the field a sobering reminder: They’ll be tough to top.”
Full piece.

3. LPGA Tour: Grace Kim in front

AP report…”Grace Kim shot a 7-under 64 at Wilshire Country Club to take the first-round lead Thursday in the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”

  • “Playing in the morning session, the 23-year-old Australian capped her bogey-free round with a chip-in birdie on the par-3 18th.”
  • “Well, I chunked my tee shot on the last hole 20 meters short and then I chipped it in it,” Kim said. “I think that’s pretty cool, in front of everyone
Full piece.

4. McIlroy on rejoining policy board

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that he is willing to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board if the other player directors want him.”

  • “As first reported by the Guardian, Webb Simpson has submitted a letter stating that he’d like to resign from the board, but only if his vacant seat is filled by McIlroy, who stepped down last fall because of the toll it had taken on him professionally and personally.”
  • “Five months later, what has changed?”
  • “I think I can be helpful,” McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he is partnering with Shane Lowry. “I don’t think there’s been much progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. I think I could be helpful to the process. But only if people want me involved, I guess.”
Full piece.

5. Charlie Woods shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier

Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan…”Charlie Woods is going to have to wait to play in the U.S. Open.”

“The 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods played Thursday in local qualifying for the United States Golf Association’s national championship, set for June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Charlie played at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and he shot 9-over 81.”

“Charlie’s round featured a bogey on his opening hole, the par-4 first. He then doubled the par-5 second. A pair of pars followed before his lone birdie on the front, but another double the next hole, the par-4 sixth, had him turn in 4-over 40.”

Full piece.

6. Photos from the Zurich Classic

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

Check out all our photos at the link below!

Full piece.
Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Published

on

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.

Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 5
  • LEGIT3
  • WOW1
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Continue Reading

News

Morning 9: Tiger’s TGL teammates | Woosnam’s criticism of Cantlay | Rory’s return to tour policy board

Published

on

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic.

1. 15-year-old finishes top 20 on KFT

Jay Coffin for Golf Digest…”During a week when most eyes were on Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, the 15-year-old lefty finished off an incredible week with a five-under 66 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood Ranch in Florida.”

  • “After opening with 68-66-70, Russell finished at 14-under-par total to tie for 20th place. The finish in which he jumped 28 positions on the leaderboard on the final day, gives him an exemption into next week’s Veritex Bank Championship at Rangers Park in Arlington, Texas. He’s the youngest player to finish inside the top 20 on the PGA of Korn Ferry tours, according to records that go back to 1983.”
Full piece.

2. Understandably, Nelly WDs

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Nelly Korda’s bid for a record-setting sixth consecutive win will have to wait a few weeks.”

  • “A day after capturing the Chevron Championship during a marathon final round in Houston, Korda announced on social media that she was withdrawing from this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”
  • “It was not an easy decision,” she wrote. “After the unbelievable week at the Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted. With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”
Full piece.

3. Scheffler’s impressive No. 1 feat

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”After Scheffler’s victory Monday morning at the RBC Heritage, Scheffler upped his points average to 15.016 and increased his advantage in the Official World Golf Ranking over No. 2 Rory McIlroy to more than double McIlroy’s 7.365 average, meaning Scheffler is ranked further ahead of No. 2 than No. 2 is ahead of the last-ranked player.”

  • “The last time a No. 1 player had a greater points average was Woods, who was at 15.4564 on Dec. 6, 2009. But Woods was less than seven average points ahead of No. 2 Phil Mickelson at the time. Earlier that year, Woods was 7.735 ahead of Mickelson, which is the last time the gap between Nos. 1 and 2 was greater than Scheffler’s current 7.651 advantage.”
Full piece.

4. Zurich field notes

PGATour.com’s Adam Stanley…”Rory McIlroy will make his tournament debut alongside good pal, Ryder Cup teammate, and Irishman Shane Lowry – a duo that was firmed up during a celebratory lunch after the Ryder Cup last fall… Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele will try to reprise their 2022 win here. Cantlay and Schauffele have both the Foursomes and Four-ball scoring records at this event… Davis Riley and Nick Hardy will defend their 2023 title. No team has gone back-to-back… Three sets of brothers (and two sets of twins!) will play together with twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard and Parker and Pierceson Coody in the field along with Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick. Alex Fitzpatrick and Rasmus Højgaard are sponsor invites…”

  • “Billy Horschel, who won last week at the Corales Puntacana Championship, will be without his previous partner Sam Burns, as Burns and his wife are expecting their first child any day. Horschel will instead be paired with fellow University of Florida alum Tyson Alexander. Horschel has won the Zurich Classic when it was both an individual and team event… Other notable pairings include Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris, and Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. The Canadian duo finished runner-up a year ago and would like nothing more than to show Presidents Cup International Team captain Mike Weir how well they play together… Steve Stricker will play his second TOUR event this season (after earning his way into THE PLAYERS Championship), teaming up with Matt Kuchar.”
Full piece.

5. Tiger’s teammates

Field Level Media report…”Tiger Woods announced Monday that Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner have joined his Jupiter Links GC TGL team.”

  • “The virtual golf league headed by Woods and Rory McIlroy will begin its inaugural season next January. Woods also unveiled the team’s logo.”
  • “I have already shared my excitement and optimism for TGL as a league and product,” said Woods. “Now that we have finalized our roster with a team of world-class golfers, I am even more confident that this group will proudly represent the Jupiter (Fla.) area and connect with our fans for years to come.”
Full piece.

6. Woosnam questions Cantlay’s decision

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After the horn sounded to suspend play due to darkness, Cantlay, who’s ball was in the fairway on the 18th hole, had a decision to make. With over 200 yards into the green and extreme winds working against the shot, conventional wisdom would be to wait until Monday morning to hit the shot.”

  • “On the other hand, if he could finish the hole, he may just want to get the event over with so he could get out of Hilton Head.”
  • “Curiously, Cantlay chose neither of those options. After hitting 3-wood into the green, and still coming up short, the former FedEx Cup champion chose to mark his ball and chip and putt on Monday morning.”
  • “Ian Woosnam, who was watching from home, took to X to give his thoughts on Cantlay’s decision making.”
  • “Cantlay would end up getting up and down for par when play resumed at 8:00 am Monday morning.”
Full piece.

7. JT on Scheffler’s “weird” equipment choice

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After Justin Thomas’ third round of the RBC Heritage, the two-time major champion went in the broadcast booth alongside the CBS crew.”

  • “While Thomas was watching Scottie Scheffler play on the back nine of his third round, he wondered aloud why Scottie uses high-numbered golf balls.”
  • “Does anybody else think it’s weird that Scottie uses high numbers? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an elite player use high-numbered golf balls.”
  • “Amanda Balionis who was on the grounds chimed in, reporting that analyst Dottie Pepper had wondered the same thing earlier that day.”
  • “I’ve been going about this wrong my whole life,” Thomas jokingly said.
Full piece.

8. Rory to rejoin PGA Tour policy board

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy is poised to return to the PGA Tour’s policy board, pending a vote by the board, which could come as early as this week, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.”

  • “One of the PGA Tour’s most vocal supporters during its three-year battle with LIV Golf, McIlroy abruptly resigned as a player director on the tour’s influential policy board in November.”
  • “He is expected to replace policy board player director Webb Simpson, who intends to step away before his two-year term expires in 2025.”
Full piece.

9. Weir names Presidents Cup assistants

PGA Tour report…”International Team Captain Mike Weir announced Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas as captain’s assistants for the 2024 Presidents Cup, which will be played at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada, Sept. 24-29.

Full piece.
Your Reaction?
  • 4
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW1
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending