News

Morning 9: More takes on Kuchar | Bob Hope saved | Cullan Brown | Lost bag debacle

Published

5 years ago

Sep 10, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected]; @benalberstadt on Instagram)

September 10, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. From one expert in not being able to stay out of his own way to another: Matt Kuchar, what are you thinking?

1. Against the spirit of the rules?

Scathing stuff from Geoff Shackelford in Golfweek…

First, he puts Matt Kuchar’s waste area management at the European Open in its right context-Kuchar’s recent questionable behavior…

“El Tucan technically was not entitled to a normal caddie payday after a big win in Mexico…The pitch mark at the Memorial was his because someone said so, yet a replay said otherwise and a third opinion was asked for to get a better lie…And now coarse waste bunker sand is a loose impediment.”

More from Shackelford…“The newly revised rules opened the door for the latest questionable act of sportsmanship by Matt Kuchar. Players can now move a loose impediment in a bunker. As Kuchar demonstrated, if sand is coarse enough to be a pebble in the eyes of any official, then all of the tiny particles are loose impediments.”

“While using the rules of golf to your advantage is wise, it’s confounding to watch someone with a once solid reputation and plenty of cash in the bank to snub his upturned nose at the spirit of the rules. Again. In the same year. On television.”

“Kuchar takes well over the time allotted to play a shot while we are watching- television cut away after 40 seconds of Kuchar’s trench dig – and seems to improve his lie in the “waste area.”

Full piece (and arguably the definitive take on Kuch’s pebble picking.

2. Bob Hope saved

Larry Bohannon at the Palm Springs Desert Sun…”An international blue-chip financial giant will bring its name and its services to the Coachella Valley’s PGA Tour event in January.”

“American Express, one of the largest companies in the world and one of the 30 companies listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, will be the new title sponsor for the 61-year-old desert tour event, The Desert Sun has learned.”

“The multi-year sponsorship deal will re-brand the desert event as The American Express. An official announcement is expected Monday morning.”

“This is absolutely the best sponsor we could ask for,” said Jeff Sanders of Lagardere Sports, the company that operates the tournament for Desert Classic Charities. “This is the best news we have received since we took over the opportunity to run this event. American Express is an iconic global brand that transcends quality. We could not be more excited.”

Full piece.

3. 2 players, 1 premier team competition in women’s golf, zero clubs

Golf Channel’s Jason Crook...”Both Europe’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff and the United States’ Angel Yin flew to Edinburgh through Dublin over the weekend, but their clubs didn’t make the connection.”

“As Shadoff and Yin began to miss valuable practice time on Monday, players, caddies and even the European social media team turned to Twitter for help.”

“On the bright side, Shadoff did text GolfWeek with renewed hope later in the day, “Apparently there are over 200 bags in Dublin that are meant for Edinburgh. They have sent a plane with just bags on that just landed, so hopefully they are on that.””

Full piece.

4. Grim statistics

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”For starters, you’re more likely to lose your card than keep it”

“As a refresher, the top 125 players in the FedEx Cup point standings at the end of the regular season don’t just make the playoffs, they keep their cards for next season. Out of those 300 players, only 42 percent reached the tour’s postseason, and more important, avoided demotion. That means, on average, 21 players from the 50 get full status. (To clarify, the 50 Korn Ferry graduates don’t technically enjoy full status, as they are subject to a priority rank, which comes in play when trying to enter a tournament. Only one player-this year, Scottie Scheffler-is exempt for finishing atop the full-season and the Finals points list.)”

“This past season, 19 players were able to make the playoffs, although 20 kept their cards thanks to Martin Trainer’s win at the Puerto Rico Open. Of this 19, only two-Lucas Glover and Sungjae Im-reached East Lake, which comes with its own rewards. Speaking of which …

Full piece.

5. Cullan Brown: More than just the “Kentucky golfer with bone cancer”

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols with a profile of Brown as he battles osteosarcoma…

“The game has never been the be-all-end-all for a man who breathes joy into the world.”

“He’s the most beloved kid I’ve ever had,” said Craig, “times 20 probably.”

Brown doesn’t need golf to make him happy. Redshirt freshman Jay Kirchdorfer spent the past year trying to be the same.

“I really think that’s his secret weapon,” said Kirchdorfer. “We’re all out there getting mad and frustrated. He’s just over there hitting shots, talking about food, looking in the trees for ducks, a deer if he can find one.”

“Emma Talley knows that all too well. Brown was looking toward the sky for birds when he caddied for her recently at the LPGA’s stop in Arkansas. He can usually name every plant and animal on property at a golf course, a talent that comes in part from his love of the outdoors coupled with a strong appetite for reading.”

Full piece.

6. 3 from GBR?

Golf Channel’s Nick Menta with welcome news for fans of Great Britain…”Casey is now up 14th in the latest Official World Golf Ranking, making him the third Brit in the top 15 behind No. 4 Justin Rose and No. 13 Tommy Fleetwood.”

“Each country can have up to two representatives in the 60-player field, except for those with three or more players inside the world’s top 15, who can send a maximum of four.”

“The American men (4), British men (3), and Korean women (4) are the contingents currently projected to send more than two to next summer’s Games in Japan.”

Full piece.

7. Apathy AKA “What gives, BBC?”

Derek Lawrenson at the Daily Mail is none to pleased with the BBC’s lack of coverage of the preeminent women’s team competition…

“…For I looked at the schedule that Radio 5 Live have put out on the BBC website for their sports programmes from Friday to Sunday and couldn’t find a mention anywhere.”

“Sure, there’s a half-hour preview programme slated for Thursday evening, and fair play to them for that, but when the event actually begins? Zip.”

“You know 5 Live, the station that made such a song and dance of the fact they were going to broadcast more live women’s sport this summer than ever before?”

“Change the Game, they called it. Yet no live coverage of the Solheim, unarguably one of the biggest women’s events of all.”

Full piece.

8. Letters from the King

The winner of 13 titles worldwide, including the 2006 U.S. Open and three World Golf Championships events, had not won in more than four years. While there were trying times, the Aussie kept at it week after week. His perseverance paid off when he found his form by Lake Tahoe and pulled away for a 5-point win in the Modified Stableford tournament.

“Four days later, the victory became even more special….Ogilvy got a letter from Arnold Palmer.”

“That was the one that moved me,” Ogilvy said. “All the letters mean so much, but that one, that letter blew me away.”

“Well done, Geoff, I know you’ve been struggling. This is a great win. Welcome back. Great to see. Sincerely, Arnold Palmer”

Full piece.

9.. Let’s put an end to this term

A piece at once contentious and eminently sensible from our Ryan Barath suggests defining “women’s golf clubs” (and by extension “senior golf clubs”) is ultimately not helpful and reductive.

“Women’s golf clubs” have been around for as long golf clubs have been marketed, and for a period of time, like so many things I’m sure, they had a significant purpose: helping female players find what they needed to hopefully improve their golf games. But in this modern era of club fitting and customization, I think we need to put an end to identifying clubs by sex.

“I remember my experience at the Titleist Performance Institute, and one of the first things I was told by my fitter Glenn Mahler was”

“I don’t fit clubs based on gender, age, handicap, or physical abilities. I fit clubs for golfers, period-to allow them to achieve their absolute best results”

“I believe this is the best way for people to start thinking more about the segments of clubs made for players across the board. Male golfers don’t walk into a big box store and say “I’m looking for men’s clubs,” they say “I’m looking for clubs,” and then they get fit. If a female long drive golfer (yes, I realize it’s a small market segment) walked into most big box stores and asks to try a driver, I’m willing to guess that 90 percent of the time someone is going to give them a very poor fitting club based solely on sex-and that’s wrong.”

Full piece.

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News

SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

Published

1 hour ago

May 6, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”

“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”

Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.

According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”

CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.

“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.

Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history

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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Ronald Montesano

Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.

It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place

The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.

This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.

With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.

360° and in!

A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024

DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four

It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.

It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.

.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024

PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella

Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.

64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.

.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024

PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win

Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.

The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.

Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063

8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024

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News

Morning 9: Pendrith’s maiden Tour win | Morikawa back with former coach | Brooks victorious

Published

3 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Monday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour gives us yet another breakthrough winner.

1. Pendrith wins first PGA Tour title

AP Report…”Taylor Pendrith took advantage of Ben Kohles’ final-hole meltdown to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title.”

“Kohles overtook Pendrith with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 for a one-shot lead then bogeyed the 18th after hitting his second shot into greenside rough. After having to chip twice from the rough and already looking stunned, Kohles missed a 6-foot putt that would have forced a playoff.”

“Pendrith two-putted for birdie on the 18th, holing a 3-footer for a 4-under 67 and 23-under 261 total at the TPC Craig Ranch. The 32-year-old Canadian won in his 74th career PGA Tour start.”

Full piece.

2. Koepka takes LIV title in Singapore

S.I.’s Bob Harig…”Brooks Koepka became the first player to win four times as part of the LIV Golf League, shooting a final-round 68 at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore on Sunday to beat Cam Smith and Marc Leishman by two strokes.”

“His timing wasn’t bad, either.”

“A few days after offering concern about his game in light of a poor Masters performance, Koepka stepped up and won the LIV Golf Singapore even to give himself a boost heading into the defense of his PGA Championship title in two weeks.”

“The year’s second major begins on May 16.”

Full piece.

3. Otaegui wins Volvo China

AP report…”Adrian Otaegui overturned a five-shot deficit to win the Volvo China Open on Sunday, the Spaniard’s fifth tour title.”

“Otaegui had been trailing the in-form Sebastian Söderberg after Friday’s round – Saturday’s was cancelled because of thunder and lightning – and he shot 7-under 65 in his final round to win by one shot from Guido Migliozzi, who finished runner up with a 67.”

Full piece.

4. ICYMI: Teen Kim makes the cut

Guardian report…”English teenager Kris Kim became the youngest player to make the cut on the PGA Tour in 11 years after a birdie at the last saw him get through to the weekend of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas with a shot to spare.”

“Amateur Kim, the son of former LPGA player Ji-Hyun Suh, made a second-round four-under-par 67, which included a run of five birdies and one bogey over his front nine.”

“At 16 years and seven months he became the youngest player to make the cut on tour since 14-year-old Guan Tianlang at the 2013 Masters, and, according to the PGA Tour, the fifth youngest in history.”

Full piece.

5. Winner in a rainout

AP report…”Scott Dunlap was declared the 36-hole winner of the Insperity Invitational when rain washed the final round Sunday, giving Dunlap his first PGA Tour Champions title in nearly 10 years.”

“Devastating rain in the Houston area previously washed out the opening round Friday. Players managed to play 36 holes on Saturday, and Dunlap posted a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead over Joe Durant and Stuart Appleby.”

“That proved to be the winning score when rain soaked The Woodlands Country Club. It was the second 36-hole event in the last three weeks on the PGA Tour Champions because of weather. The other was in the Dallas area.”