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Morning 9: U.S. Prez Cup team off to a rocky start? | Capt. Woods isn’t worried | Tour action

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1. Hojgaard!
AP report on what is, really, an incredible achievement: an 18-year-old winning just a handful of starts into his European Tour career. Hope he enjoyed a Hoegaarden or 2!
  • …”Danish rookie Rasmus Hojgaard won a three-way playoff at the Mauritius Open with an eagle to become the third youngest winner on the European Tour on Sunday.”
  • “The 18-year-old Hojgaard overcame two bogeys in his opening nine and birdied the last hole in a round of 4-under 68 to get to 19-under overall, tied for first with Antoine Rozner of France and Renato Paratore of Italy.”
  • “In the playoff, Hojgaard and Rozner both birdied the par-5 last hole as Paratore made par.”

Full piece. 

2. The law firm of Langer & Langer
While Bernhard didn’t win everything on the senior circuit this year, he (and son) did manage to capture the Father Son challenge.
  • AP report…”Jason Langer made a 16-foot eagle putt on the first hole of a playoff Sunday to give father Bernard his fourth victory in the PNC Father Son Challenge.”
  • “The Langers closed with a second straight 12-under 60 to match Retief and Leo Goosen and Tom and Thomas Lehman atop the leaderboard in the scramble event for major champions at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando.”
  • “After the 62-year-old Bernhard hit the fairway on the par-5 18th, the 19-year-old Jason hit a 3-wood approach from 270 yards to set up the winning putt.”

Full piece.

3. Aussie wins Australian Open
Congratulations, Matt Jones! 
  • AP report…”Cruising for most of the final round and a leader after the second and third, Matt Jones suddenly needed to make a big putt on his final hole for a second Australian Open title.
  • “He came through, making a testing four-foot par putt on the 18th to hold off Louis Oosthuizen by one stroke after a 2-under 69.”
  • “Jones, who is a member at the host Australian Golf Club and won his first national title there in 2015, had a 72-hole total of 15-under 269.”

Full piece.

4. Off to a rocky start…
Shane Ryan rounds up a few of the-let’s not say “issues” but rather, flies in the ointment of victory-for the U.S. Presidents Cup squad.
“Addressing the most obvious first, Ryan writes…”Let’s start with the biggest and most provocative story of the weekend-Patrick Reed. If you had to pick one American golfer who could find a way heap stress on his captain’s shoulders before the Presidents Cup, you’d probably have picked Reed. Sure enough, he delivered at the Hero World Challenge by incurring a two-stroke penalty when he swept sand away from his ball with the back of his club-twice-in a way that appeared to improve his line of play in the bunker. His post-round explanation was that he didn’t realize it had happened, it didn’t improve the lie, and the camera angle made the sand look closer to the ball than it really was. Either way, the story will dominate the start of Presidents Cup week-Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith of the International team have already talked about how they think fans will react to Reed-and force Tiger to address it. Meanwhile, Reed’s teammates probably won’t appreciate the distraction. It’s not great in normal circumstances before a big tournament, but it’s especially unfortunate just before a team event where it could create tension at a time when tension kills camaraderie. It’s the kind of unexpected pre-Cup distraction that sucks the energy from a team.”
5. No reputation worries for Reed
Patrick Reed’s perspective, per Sky Sports…”Asked about whether he was worried the incident would harm people’s perception of him, Reed replied: “No, because at the end of the day I wasn’t intending to improve a lie or anything like that.”
  • “Like I said, I didn’t feel like I was doing anything that was improving a lie, but then when you saw it on camera, because of that camera angle, they said that the sand was moving, and when the sand moves like that, it’s a penalty.”
  • “You know, for me, it was just something that I’m going out there to play the best golf I can. After seeing it on camera and seeing sand move, obviously it’s a penalty. So at that point I had to accept it and move on.

Full piece.

6. LPGA moments of 2019
No surprise what (rightfully) takes the top spot in Beth Ann Nichols stellar end-of-year rundown of the LPGA Tour’s most memorable moments…
“It wasn’t just that Suzann Pettersen, a former villain at the Solheim Cup, knocked down a birdie putt on the 18th green to clinch the Cup for Europe. Or that the new mom had taken a 20-month break from competition before being named a captain’s pick by Catriona Matthew. The icing on this cake came in the fact that it was Pettersen’s final final putt. She scooped up son Herman in her arms after capping off the greatest Solheim Cup in history and walked straight into retirement.”
7. Opinion: Only women can save the Presidents Cup
Eamon Lynch for Golfweek with a, well, unique suggestion…”My two cents: make the Presidents Cup co-ed, adding the best women to the squads. It would give the event a unique flavor while elevating women’s golf. The LPGA Tour is a global circuit, but too many of its finest players are ineligible for the Solheim Cup, being neither American nor European. Let’s see an alternate shot format where Jin Young Ko plays off Adam Scott’s drives, and Tiger plays off Lexi Thompson’s.”
“A co-ed Presidents Cup would pair men and women in a genuine competitive setting, not a hit-and-giggle like the long defunct Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge. It would also make real the prospect of superstar golfers playing for a female captain. Golf could use some optics like that.”
“It’s been 40 years since the Ryder Cup was resuscitated when the old downtrodden Great Britain & Ireland team morphed into a triumphant European squad, but the Ryder Cup also had the advantage of its dull decades coming long before the dawn-to-dusk TV coverage of every swing. The Presidents Cup enjoys no such luxury and won’t survive many more years of mundanity.”
 
8. Captain Woods
Ben Everill of PGATour.com on the relative (to his early years) peculiarity of the Woods captaincy…
  • “….Those who bore the brunt of his dominance in golf know that when Woods was young and full of intensity, only one thing mattered: Winning. His intense competitive nature didn’t allow for traits that routinely work in a leadership role. He wasn’t concerned with others or their feelings. In fact he probably took delight in crushing any positivity they may have had on the golf course.”
  • “As such, thoughts of him as a good captain just didn’t wash.”
  • He was very young back then and his focus was on winning major championships and PGA TOUR tournaments,” says Mark O’Meara, who played on three U.S. teams with Woods and also won a World Cup with him in 1999.”

Full piece.

9. These are my players, in whom I am well pleased
…so said captain Woods, sort of…
(Quotes via Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine) “I told all the guys at Liberty when we had our meeting, back in ’98, we weren’t ready to play,” said Woods, referring to the Internationals’ lone victory in 12 editions, a nine-point rout of Jack Nicklaus’ American squad at Royal Melbourne.
  • “It was, again, late in the year in December. The season ended differently, players shut it down and then they geared right back up for Australia and we got beat pretty badly, so it was important for these guys to continue playing.”
  • “I’m very happy with most of the team,” Woods said after his solo-fourth finish at Albany. “The fact that 11 out of 12 guys played this week, some played well, some didn’t, but at least they were able to knock off some rust, get some feel.”

Full piece.

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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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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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