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Morning 9: Tiger (co-)leads in Japan | Rory’s drug test anxiety | 15-year-old makes history

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at [email protected] and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.

October 24, 2019

Good Thursday morning, golf fans. 
 
Friendliest of PSAs here to tell you we’re looking for advertisers for 2020. Drop me a line if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership. 

 

1. 15-year-old wins an OWGR-sanctioned event
BBC Sport report…”English teenager Josh Hill became the youngest male player to win an Official World Golf Ranking event – but could not claim his prize money.”
  • “Hill won the Al Ain Open on the Mena Tour in the United Arab Emirates at the age of 15 years, six months and 27 days old, beating Ryo Ishikawa’s record.”
  • “Japanese player Ishikawa’s previous mark, set in 2007, was 15 years and eight months.”
  • “Hill carded a final-round 62 to reach 17 under par for the tournament’s three rounds to finish two shots ahead of fellow Englishman Harry Ellis and land the title. However, as he is still an amateur, his £10,477 prize was given to professional Ellis instead.”

Full piece.

2. “A mess into a masterpiece”
Tiger Woods is tied for the lead at the Zozo Championship, which is particularly impressive considering pre-tournament expectations and the fact that he bogeyed the first three holes.
  • ESPN’s Bob Harig…”Woods had few of those problems in the opening round. After the poor start that saw him bogey the first three holes, Woods settled into a nice rhythm and exhibited his world-class iron play. He hit only three fairways but was able to play from the rough and stuck a number of nice iron shots to give himself opportunities. For the day, he hit 15 of 18 greens, an impressive number given his poor start to the tournament.”
  • “Clearly, Woods needs to put more balls in play off the tee. And his putting is unlikely to be as hot as it was during the opening round.”
  • “But for one day, it was a big difference from what we got used to seeing after the Masters victory…”This is how I’ve been hitting it at home, so that wasn’t a real big surprise,” he said. “It’s a matter of, with a scorecard in your hand, you’ve got to post a number now. You’re not playing for autos and hammers (in gambling games) like we normally do at home. It’s actually time to grind out a score.”

Full piece.

3. ZOZO: Woodland making his case
PGATour.com’s Cameron Morfit…“Tiger Woods doesn’t have to look far to find a hot player for one of his four captain’s picks for the U.S. Presidents Cup Team that will play the Internationals at Royal Melbourne in December.”
  • “Gary Woodland, the guy right next to him atop the leaderboard at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.”
  • “I mean, obviously, I’m off next week, so I can think about that next week,” said Woodland, the reigning U.S. Open champion, who shot one of just two bogey-free rounds in tricky winds at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan. “Right now I’m just trying to continue the golf tournament, give myself a chance on Sunday.”
  • “Woods will make his four captain’s picks, as will International Captain Ernie Els, on Nov. 4.”

Full piece.

4. A long-term commitment to Japan
AP report…”Joining forces with a celebrity tycoon who dreams of going to the moon, the PGA Tour is committed to being in Japan for the long haul with its first tournament starting Thursday.
  • With the help of businessman Yusaku Maezawa, who is known for taking chances, the sport’s biggest names hope to usher in a new era for golf-mad Japan at the Zozo Championship.
  • “Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are all here at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Tokyo at Inzai City.”
  • ‘When we make a commitment to bring a new event to a market, that’s a commitment that is permanent,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said Wednesday. ”Our intention is to never leave Japan, to always have a PGA Tour event in Japan from this day forward.”

Full piece.

5. A primer on Narashino’s double greens
In case you didn’t know (which I admittedly did not). PGATour.com’s Ben Everill…”The keen observer will notice something interesting at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP this week – each hole has two greens.”
  • “Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is much like many Japanese golf courses in this way, a design method left over from the days before technology allowed hybrid grasses to be able to withstand a wide array of weather conditions.”
  • “Because summers could tend to be hot and humid and winters short and cold in Japan, it was once very challenging to maintain great greens year round. So courses would prepare two greens, one for summer and one for winter.”
  • “You would typically see summer greens with Bermuda or zyosia grass and winter greens with bentgrass.”

Full piece.

6. Rightfully anxious? 
Phil Casey at the Independent...”Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson signed a partnership with a CBD company earlier this year – it is said to reduce anxiety, inflammation, sleeplessness and chronic pain – but McIlroy appears unlikely to follow suit any time soon.”
  • “I’m very aware of the banned substance list,” he told a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan.
  • “I’m very careful with what I put into my body and I couldn’t tell you if CBD oil is good for golfers because I’ve never tried it.
  • “It’s tough because I take a very strong stance on performance-enhancing drugs or banned substances. I wouldn’t be comfortable taking CBD oil. I would be too paranoid that there would be THC in it and then that obviously could lead to a positive test.

Full piece.

7. Q-Series notes
The LPGA communications team…“Kim Kaufman watches her tee shot during the first round of the 2019 LPGA Q-Series at Pinehurst ResortKim Kaufman watches her tee shot during the first round of the 2019 LPGA Q-Series at Pinehurst Resort”
  • “Competing in LPGA Q-Series presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for the second straight year, Kim Kaufman (Clark, South Dakota) came sprinting out of the gate in the opening round to the tune of a bogey-free, 6-under par 65 on Pinehurst Course No. 6.”
  • “After her LPGA Tour campaign ended at the Volunteers of America Classic, Kaufman was No. 118 on the Official Money List with total season earnings of $76,180. That amount was just over $51,000 away from being inside the top-100 for the safety of a full card in 2020.”

Full piece.

8. Lee-ader
AP report…”Minjee Lee overcame changing weather conditions at the Buick Ladies Championship to take a one-stroke lead with a bogey-free 6-under 66 after the first round of the LPGA tournament in South Korea.”
  • “Sometime we had sunshine, wind, rain … we had a little bit of everything today,” the 23-year-old Australian said Thursday under an umbrella at the end of her round as the showers persisted. “But whenever I had to make up-and-downs, I was able to get up-and-down.”
  • “Danielle Kang, who won last week’s tournament at Shanghai, was in a group tied for second with Jin Young Ko, Jeongeun Lee6 and Seung Yeon Lee on the LPGA International Busan course.”

Full piece.

9. Tee times pushed up
PSA via the Golf Channel team: “An approaching storm prompted officials at the Zozo Championship to adjust Round 2 tee times for players to start an hour earlier than scheduled, but it might not help.”
“Typhoon Bualoi is forecast to combine with a low-pressure system moving across central Japan Friday and create rain chances of 100 percent and winds predicted to gust to 30 mph. As much as 5 inches of rain is expected at Narashino Country Club.”
Accordingly, Tiger Woods will now tee off at 7:40 p.m. ET
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News

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

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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.
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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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.

 

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News

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

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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.
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