Connect with us

News

Tour Rundown: Im stands alone, extra time needed elsewhere, Langer a winner at 62

Published

4 years ago

on

After a World Golf Championship week (which means, little competition elsewhere), things were back to busy as February 29th arrived. Five tours were in action last weekend, from New Zealand, to Oman, to Mexico, to the USA. There was a lot of water in the mix, and it dashed many a triumphal effort. Such is the touring game, where forced carries are part and parcel of the demands of victory. Without delay, let’s rundown our quintet of quarrels, and find out who finished on top, and who else missed by just a little.

Sungjae Im stands alone after The Honda Classic

The eyes of the European Tour were on southeast Florida, watching Tommy Fleetwood. Hoping that the Tour’s hair god would find a way home, to his first U.S. PGA Tour triumph. It was not to be. Needing birdie at the last, Fleetwood dipped more than a toe in the pond and settled for third place, two behind the winning total. In second spot, Canadian Mackenzie Hughes had just followed his Saturday 66 with a Sunday 66. That’s one stellar weekend around the PGA National course. And ahead of him was Im.

The Korean golfer made a name for himself in 2018, when he won twice on the now-Korn Ferry tour, earning promotion to the major league. He kept his card last season and signed a contract on Sunday for another two years. That’s a prerequisite of victory. Im made birdie at four of his first five holes on day four, entering the conversation on who might lift the championship chalice. A pair of back-nine bogeys seemingly took him out of contention, but he returned with bravado, making unearthly birdies at 15 and 17. When the ripples in lake despair, hard by the 18th green, had quieted, Im indeed stood alone with victory number one in one hand, and the championship chalice, secure in the other.

El Bosque Mexico ends on playoff’s first hole

Chile’s Mito Pereira posted three birdies on his day. Beyond that, he did nothing that was expected of a player who had won, just three weeks past. He made bogeys, four of them, and added an unfortunate double to the card. Unbelievably, that disastrous 75 dropped him just one shot from the three-man playoff that decided this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event. Pereira, Dylan Wu, and Matt Atkins finished in a tie for fourth at 11 under. Settling at 12 under were David Kocher and Chad Ramey of the USA, and France’s Paul Barjon.

Ramey’s move had been the most Icarus-like: he reached eight under on the day, two clear of the chasers, then bogeyed 15 and 16 to fall back to earth. Kocher and Barjo each made birdie at 16 and joined the overtime triumvirate. At the first hole, the par-5 first, Kocher made birdie four to claim the title. Barjon had par, which wasn’t enough. Let the record show that Raney had, well, a line. No number. Must have picked up or something. His run had ended, but his second-place tie was economically and spiritually valuable. As for Kocher, victory is worth even more. A move to third spot on the money list, from 27th, is monumental. Confidence and a chance at the PGA Tour in 20-21, is inspirational.

After its Meso-American swing, the KF Tour returns to the continental USA in two weeks, at Lake Charles, Louisiana. 20 tournaments lead into the Tour Championship, where the last of the 20-21 PGA Tour cards will be passed out. Let the tee shots fly and the putts roll true!

Oman Open to Finland’s Valimaki in extra time

Adrien Saddier of France is feeling chuffed. He posted a 69 on Sunday to reach 12 under, and had hope that a penultimate-hole bogey might not cost him a chance at the title. Then came Brandon Stone, who made a 20-foot birdie putt, straight uphill, to reach 13 under. Well, second-place money would suit Saddier well, in any case. Along came Sami Valimaki, who melted a 20-feet birdie of his own, to also reach 13 under and relegate Saddier to the third spot. Off went the South African and the young Norsemen, into a playoff for the Oman Open.

On paper, Stone might have been the safer bet in the playoff. Three times a winner on the European Tour, his final round was a balanced one, with three birdies just enough to offset two bogeys. In contrast, the younger, more mercurial Valimaki was a comet flare: he overcame a double bogey and three bogeys on day four, with seven marvelous birdies. His six-hole stretch, from seven to 12, was emblematic of the unpredictable excitement that he brought on Sunday: birdie-birdie-double-birdie-bogey-birdie. And after two playoff holes, the pair was still tied. On the third go-round at 18, Stone’s reliable draw got throaty and overcooked beyond the final green. He failed to get up and down for par, then watched as Valimaki sneaked in a 30-inch putt for par. With the victory, the first-year member of the European Tour ignited what might be a memorable career.

New Zealand Open is Kennedy’s second

Golf’s great tales tend to take one of two trajectories: the great and final stand against all comers, or the heroic comeback from a distance. Brad Kennedy’s march to victory falls among the later, even though some might debate if a 2-shot recovery counts as a distance. Beginning the final day a pair of putts in arrears, Kennedy’s site was fixed on Joohyung Kim and Lucas Herbert, the leaders. Neither went away. After making 2 bogies over the first 54 holes, Kim struggle on day 4, adding 4 of the pests to his scorecard. He mustered a one-under 70, but it kept him 5 shots out of the top spot, in solo 4th. Sneaking past him, into 3rd, was Aussie Nick Flanagan, who survived a 30-putt round with excellent ball striking. His 66 brought him to -17.

Lucas Herbert, a recent, first-time winner, was closer to the task. He also had a wretched round with the flat stick, tallying 31 rolls just a day after notching 27. Those 4 putts made all the difference. His 67 was, for all the world, a winning round on appearance. In reality, it brought him to the runner-up spot. The deterrent to title number two for him, was Kennedy’s final-round magic. The 2011 New Zealand Open champion began the week with a 24-putt round, then lost his way on the greens for a spell. It all came back on Sunday: 26 putts paired with 15 greens in regulation, to total 63 strokes on the card. Kennedy sailed past the field, to the top of the platform. His 21-under par was 2 shots clear of Herbert, whose runner-up finish must have felt equal parts exhilarating and deflating.

The Open Championship was contested over two courses in Queenstown. Golfers split their first rounds between The Hills and the composite course at Millbrook Resort. The final two rounds are played across the Millbrook course. Hills comes in at par 72, and is regarded as the easier of the two venues. Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg became the first woman to compete in the event. She missed the cut but reached her goal of beating at least one other competitor.

Langer wins Cologuard Classic in  62nd year

The wise ones tell us, a day will come when Bernhard Langer no longer wins. Age, they tell us, eventually weakens the body, if not the spirit. Generational athletes defy this notion, if for just a time. The NFL has its Tom Brady, and the Champions Tour has Langer.

On Sunday, in Tucson, Arizona, the grand German champion stood on the tee, in command of a three-shot advantage. He was not in the final grouping, but they were aware of what he had accomplished on this day. With a tip of his cap to Father Time, Langer made bogey at the final hole. He shot 65 on the day, not 64. He won by a pair of shots over Woody Austin, a competitor seven years his junior, in a league where seven years measure much more than a number. There’s no telling how Langer’s fellow touring pros view him, but they all had to stop for a moment and applaud his effort. The victory was his 41st PGA Tour Champions win. Does he have Hale Irwin’s 45 senior victory total in sight? Of course.

On Sunday, Langer came out firing, with birdies on the first 3 holes. He added a pair toward the end of the half and turned in 31. On the home nine, he notched four birdies against a par of 37. Telling was his mastery of the par-five holes on the day: he birdied all five of them. If there’s a loss in distance anywhere, it’s not in his bag. Overnight leader Brett Quigley had a second tour win in site for 2020. He was two strokes to the good on the day, when he turned for the clubhouse. Bogey at 10 and a double at 12 turned day into nightmare, and Quigley was relegated to a tie for third with Rod Pampling. Austin, as so many others have done, played brilliantly in coming up short to the Teutonic titan. He had an ace at the fourth hole, but his bogey at the 14th, despite his 66, was one that he could not afford in a title chase.

Your Reaction?
  • 7
  • LEGIT2
  • WOW2
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Related Topics:

Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

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

Masters 2024: Reduced-scale clubhouse trophy and green jacket to Scottie Scheffler

Published

22 hours ago

on

Apr 15, 2024

By

In the world of golf, there is Scotty and there is Scottie. Scotty Cameron gave the world of golf a nickname for a prestigious putter line, and Scottie Scheffler has now given the golf world a blueprint for how to negotiate one of the toughest tournaments to win. Sunday, Scheffler won the Masters tournament for the second time in three years. He separated from the field around the turn, making a trio of birdies at holes eight through 10. On the long walk home, he added three more birdie at 13, 14, and 16, to secure a four-shot win over Masters and major-championship rookie Ludvig Åberg.

As the final group moved along the ninth hole, a quadrilateral stood at 7 under par, tied for the lead. Scheffler, playing partner Collin Morikawa, and penultimate pairing Max Homa and Åberg advanced equally toward Amen Corner, with the resolution of the competition well in doubt. Morikawa flinched first, getting too greedy (his words) at nine and 11. Double bogey at each dropped him farther back than he wished, and he ultimately made a 10-foot putt for bogey at the last, to tie for third position.

Ludvig Åberg made the next mistake. Whether he knew the Ben Hogan story about the approach into 11 or not, he bit off way more than he should have. His approach was never hopeful, and ended short and right in White Dogwood’s pond. Åberg finished the hole in six shots. To his credit, he played the remaining seven holes in two-under figures. Finally, Max Homa was the victim of the finicky winds over Golden Bell, the short, par-3 12th hole. His disbelief was evident, as his tee shot flew everything and landed in azaleas behind the putting surface. After two pitch shots and two putts, Homa also had a double bogey, losing shots that he could not surrender.

Why? At the ninth hole, Scottie Scheffler hit one of the finest approach shots of all time, into the final green of the first nine. Scheffler had six inches for birdie and he converted. At the 10th, he lasered another approach shot into a tricky hole location, then made another fine putt for birdie. Within the space of 30 minutes, Scheffler had seized complete control of the tournament, but Amen Corner still lurked.

At the 11th, Scheffler played safely right with his approach. His chip shot was a wee bit too brave and left him a seven-foot comeback putt for par. He missed on the right side and gave one shot back to the course and field. His tee ball on 12 was safely aboard, and he took two putts for par. On 13, the 2022 champion drove slightly through the fairway, then reached the green, with his first two shots. His seventy-foot-plus putt for eagle eased up, four feet past the hole. His second putt went down, and he was back in the birdie zone. As on nine, his approach to 14 green finished brilliantly within six inches. His final birdie came at the 16th, where he negotiated a nine-foot putt for a deuce.

Scheffler reached 11 under par and stood four shots clear of Ludvig Åberg when he reached the 18th tee. His drive found the lower fairway bunker on the left, and his approach settled in a vale, short and right of the green. With dexterous hands, Scheffler pitched to three feet and made the putt for par. With a big smile, he embraced caddie Ted Scott, who won for the fourth time at Augusta National, and the second with Scheffler. Ludvig Åberg finished alone in second spot, four back of the winner. Not a bad performance for the first-time major championship participant Åberg, and not a bad finish for the world No. 1 and second-time Masters champion, Scottie Scheffler.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 2
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL2
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK3

Continue Reading

News

5 Things We Learned: Saturday at the Masters

Published

2 days ago

on

Apr 13, 2024

By

Just as the honorary starters broke our hearts with the reality of ageing, so too, did Saturday, with the revelation that third-round Tiger Woods is not yet (if ever) what he once was. The great champion struggled mightily to an 82, tied with three others for high round of the day. Among the top ten, the worst score posted was DeChambeau’s 75, but the large Californian remains in the hunt. Day four will see 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler pair with Collin Morikawa in the final game. In front of them will be Max Homa and Ludwig Åberg. The antipenultimate pairing will feature DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele.

If you look at the one-off major winners, most took advantage of their only chance at grand slam glory. For golfers like Homa, Schauffele, and others, Sunday the 14th might represent their best and only chance at claiming a major title. For Scheffler, Morikawa, and DeChambeau, the ability to join the two-time and three-time, major winners club holds great appeal. Finally, a young’un like Åberg seeks to jump-start a more-than-tour-winner career with a major title. Many of the greats won them early, and the Swede from Texas Tech would love nothing more than a chance to join that company.

Sunday at Augusta, as always, will be riveting. It will provide hope throughout the first nine holes, then gut many a competitor’s heart coming home, rewarding just one with a new item for the wardrobe. Plan your menu and choose your outfit. Masters 2024 is about to conclude. Until then, let’s reveal five things that we learned on day three of the year’s first men’s major.

1. The three most critical holes on the first nine are …

numbers four through six. You might make some birdies at the first and last trios of holes, but the middle triumvirate of fairways and greens determines your day. Play them even par or better, and you’ll lose zero shots to the field. Get on a downward spiral of slightly-wayward shots, and recovery will be nigh impossible. Anyone who makes three at the fifth, as Tiger Woods did on Saturday, will get giddy.

2. The three most important holes on the second nine are …

ten through twelve. We realize that we commit heresy by omitting one of Herbert Warren Wind’s Amen Corner traces, but par or better is critical at 10. Dry landings at 11 and 12 set the competitor up for two par fives in three holes, sandwiched around a straightforward, par-four hole. Remember when Ben Crenshaw began his march to glory in 1995? It all started with birdie at the 10th.

3. The most interesting and efficient round of day three came from …

Collin Morikawa. Birdies at the first three holes, followed by bogey-birdie at six and eight, then ten consecutive pars to finish off the second-low round of the day. Morikawa has improved each day, from 71 to 70 to 69. He has won majors in England and California. He has the temperment for this sort of day, but will certainly be in the hottest of all cauldrons around 3 pm on Sunday.

4. The guy who lost the most ground on day three was …

Nikolai Hojgaard. The dude failed to make par from the seventh green to the 16th. After three consecutive birdies around the turn (8 through 10), the Great Dane tumbled to earth with five consecutive bogeys. 11 and 12, we understand, but 13 and 15 are par-five holes, for goodness sake! No matter where he finds himself on day four’s back nine, it will be hard to put that stretch of golf out of his mind.

5. Our pick for the green jacket is …

impossible to nail. We suspect that certain players should and could perform on Sunday. We remember when Retief Goosen, a great US Open winner until round four of 2005, lost his mojo. We recall days when Rich Beam and Y.E. Yang pulled major titles away from Tiger Woods. Things go wrong on Sunday, and they go wrong super-quick at Augusta.

We’ve decided to ascend Mount Olympus for our Sunday selection. Who better than the 2021 Olympic champion to add a long-awaited, first major title. It’s Professor X for us: Xander Schauffele.

Your Reaction?
  • 5
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL3
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB0
  • SHANK5

Continue Reading

News

5 Things We Learned: Friday at the Masters

Published

3 days ago

on

Apr 13, 2024

By

You don’t see leaves on the ground at Augusta National. The grounds crew and superintendent’s staff take care of those sorts of things, so that both course appearance and consistency of play are preserved at the top tier. We saw leaves on the ground today and, given the force and perseverance of the wind, we’re lucky that we didn’t see tree trunks along the fairways. We did see higher scores than secured in round one, and some of the three- and four-hole stretches were downright inconceivable. The cut after 36 holes came at six over par, and five dozen golfers reached the weekend of play. Numbers always define the story of a tournament, and we’ll let them define the five things we learned on day two of the 2024 Masters tournament.

One: 60 + 10

Sixty golfers posted scores of 148 or better through 36 holes, to reach weekend play. Ten more golfers posted 149 and missed the cut by a single stroke. The ones who missed the cut by a stroke included former champions Mike Weir, Zach Johnson, and Sergio Garcia. Also among the brood were current US Open champion Wyndham Clark, and Nick Dunlap, who won on the PGA Tour as an amateur in January, and subsequently turned professional. Of the ones who survived by the slimmest of margins, surviving to the weekend were former champions Jose Maria Olazabal, Hideki Matsuyama, and Adam Scott, along with Rickie Fowler and Tom Kim. Golf’s cut is a cruel and unconcerned blade, and each Masters tournament reminds us of this fact.

Two: One

The number of amateurs to make the cut in the 2024 Masters is solitary. His name is Neil Shipley, and most folks love him. He wears his hair to the shoulder, and appears to have the proper balance of intensity and chill. Shipley opened with 71, then held on for 76 on day two. He made the cut by three shots, and will collect his share of hardware on Sunday. It’s safe to say that Shipley will turn his attention to learning the course, as well as his own self under pressure.

Three: 23

For most sorts fans, 23 recalls the greatest NBA player of all time, Michael Jordan. For Justin Thomas, it’s a number that will haunt him for a long time. Thomas reached tee number fifteen on Friday at even par. The two-time PGA Champion played the subsequent, four-hole stretch in 23 shots, missing the cut by a shot. On fifteen, he went for the green in two, in some sort of halfhearted manner. He got wet with shot number two, went long with his pitch, and three-putted from the fringe. On sixteen, he played away from safety and found elevated sand. His blast went down the hill, and he missed his approach putt in the wrong place. On seventeen, he missed his drive right and his approach long, and lost another shot to par. The coup de grace took place on the home hole: drive so horribly left that he had to pitch out to the fairway and hit three metal into the green. His third double bogey in four holes dropped him all the way to 151 and plus seven. Among the many questions, the foremost one was why he dropped his longtime caddy on the eve of a major championship. Surely Bones would have saved him one of those shots, and perhaps more.

Four: Forty-Nine divided by five or six

Tiger Woods cannot possibly win title number six at Augusta in his 49th year, can he? Not on this broken body, and not from seven strokes behind, right? Not with so few competitive rounds over the most recent months, and not one year removed from a third-round withdrawal from this very tournament. Well, if he cannnot possibly win, allow us to dream and hope a bit, and hold on to a fantasy.

Five: 3 that we like

We like Scottie Scheffler, of course. He seems to have a sense of Augusta National, and he was able to hold on in 2023 for the championship. We like Nikolai Hojgaard, because he might have just the proper combination of naivete and experience for a first-time winner. Finally, we like Collin Morikawa, a winner of two separate major titles. Winning at Augusta National requires a certain amount of length, unless you putt lights out. Morikawa might be embedded in one of those putting weeks.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag15 hours ago

Max Homa WITB 2024 (April)

Max Homa what’s in the bag accurate as of the Masters.  Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, D1 SureFit setting) Shaft:...
Whats in the Bag15 hours ago

Bryson DeChambeau WITB 2024 (April)

Driver: Krank Formula Fire Pro (6 degrees) Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75g 6.5 Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver...
Whats in the Bag1 day ago

Scottie Scheffler’s winning WITB: 2024 Masters

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (8 degrees @8.25) Buy here. Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (45 inches) 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy...
Whats in the Bag4 days ago

WITB Time Machine: Danny Willett’s winning WITB, 2016 Masters

Driver: Callaway XR 16 (9 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana W-Series 60 X Length: 45.5 inches 3-wood: Callaway XR 16 (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi...

Facebook

Trending