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Morning 9: Charles Schwab Challenge ratings | Phil at 50 | PGA Championship officially on | Will Bryson change golf?

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4 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at [email protected]
June 16, 2020
Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. Happy 50th, Phil!
1. Charles Schwab Challenge ratings are in…
Nobody parses a ratings press release like Geoff Shackelford! Don’t underestimate the magnetic pull of re-airings of the Beverly Hills Dog Show…
Anyway, of the final-round 2.1 rating, Shackelford writes…”CBS did not make any ratings predictions for the “Return to Golf”, but the Charles Schwab Challenge tournament director predicted a final round rating of a 6, which would have been equal to a lot of majors. “
  • “The rating is dismal when you consider:
  • -This was the first live, official PGA Tour event since mid-March.
  • -Network competition was non-existent. Fox’s presentation of NASCAR was delayed by rain (eventually airing in prime time). NBC was airing the Beverly Hills Dog Show (again). And ABC wheeled out Last Dance (still!).
  • -Heading into the final round, the leaderboard featured star players and the promise of a close finish…

You can read CBS full 50-percent-increase-YoY-emphasizing press release…full piece.

2. Workday Charity Open
PGATour.com staff report… “The PGA TOUR has announced that a full-field tournament has been scheduled for July 6-12 at Muirfield Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, through a partnership with Workday, Inc. a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources.”
  • “Featuring a 156-player field and $6.2 million purse, the Workday Charity Open will be held without the general public attendance the week prior to the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, filling the week vacated when the 2020 John Deere Classic was cancelled on May 28. Domestically, the event will include Thursday-Friday afternoon coverage and early Saturday-Sunday coverage on Golf Channel, with CBS Sports anchoring the weekend coverage”
3. PGA OK’d for no fans play
Golf Channel’s Will Gray…”The first major championship of 2020 will be conducted without fans, according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle.”
  • “The PGA Championship has already been postponed from its original May dates at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco to Aug. 6-9 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While officials maintained hope that fans would be able to attend the event in some capacity, the decision has reportedly been made that no fans will be allowed on property during tournament week, with an announcement from the PGA of America expected on Tuesday. A GolfChannel.com request for comment from the PGA of America was not immediately returned.”
  • “According to the report, PGA officials had hoped to host up to 40,000 fans per day at Harding Park, which has never before hosted a major championship and which last hosted a PGA Tour event in 2015 when Rory McIlroy won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Fans who had purchased tickets to the tournament will reportedly receive a refund.”
Full piece…See the paywalled SF Chronicle story here
4. Tour template? 
Bill Pennington for the New York Times…“More than 100 other pro golfers did line up on Saturday to take the saliva test for the coronavirus, since a negative result was required in order to board the charter after the tournament. There were no evident objections to undergoing another test, an about-face among players who had done plenty of grumbling when the invasive swab test was administered earlier in the week upon their arrival in Fort Worth.”
  • “The malleability of highly compensated golfers in the span of a few days might also be noteworthy for other sports organizing their returns to play. Elaborate testing – PGA Tour players were also screened daily for fever and had to fill out tracing questionnaires – was not viewed as an imposition but instead may have instilled a welcomed sense of security. In the end, after a lengthy time in some form of quarantine at home, some players considered the environment almost liberating.”
5. Monty calls for tournament ball 
BBC report quoting Colin Montgomerie…“It’s great to see athleticism in the game but this is a whole new game we are beginning to witness.
  • “On Friday, Bryson had 10 holes on which he was within 100 yards of the green for his approach. And if you include the four par threes that means there were only four holes on which Bryson was more than 100 yards away for his approach.
  • “The game has changed dramatically. It’s now brute force and a sand wedge.”
  • …”I’m an advocate of what Jack Nicklaus proposes – a tournament ball for professionals, that goes only 80-85% as far,” Montgomerie said.
6. Beefier Bryson = gamechanger for Tour pros?
Michael Bamberger for Golf.com…”DeChambeau, over the course of this three-month Covid-19 pause, got bigger (20 pounds bigger, by his estimate) and better. Yes, it would be easy to read too much into his four solid rounds at Colonial (65, 65, 70, 66). But when you hit it 20 and 30 and 40 yards past the game’s longest hitters, and in play, with sound mechanics, that’s not a one-off. That’s repeatable. It’s a recipe.”
  • “How hard is any par-4 when you can cover 480 yards with a driver and a wedge? Name a single par-5 that this guy can’t reach with a driver and some kind of iron? We’re talking about kick-in birdies and low-stress golf.”
  • ….”The last player to really separate himself from the rest of the field by length was Tiger, in his early 20s. Now comes this guy.”
  • “Tour driving statistics don’t allow for real-world analysis. As Woods has often said about Dustin Johnson’s length, he has another gear – and another 20 yards – when he wants it and needs it, when the conditions are ripe for him. The wind, the shape of the hole, how he’s feeling, where he is on the leaderboard. That’s why DeChambeau, driving it so far past McIlroy, who wasn’t holding back, was so revealing.”
7. Phil turns Phifty 
Steve DiMeglio for Golfweek on Phil’s reflections as he hits 5-0…”His thoughts often turned to his family, which has always been his priority – his parents, Phil and Mark, his brother, Tim, and sister, Tina, and his beautiful wife, Amy, and two daughters and one son.”
  • “His other love has produced a bountiful of memories, as well, from the days he started copying his father’s swing in the back yard and thus turning himself into a left-handed golfer despite being a natural righty.”
  • “The three NCAA individual titles, becoming the first left-hander to win the U.S. Amateur, winning his first PGA Tour title as an amateur, cashing in on 100s of money games on Tuesdays. Three green jackets, one Claret Jug, one Wanamaker Trophy, a record six silver medals in the U.S. Open. Forty-four PGA Tour wins, numerous Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup wins, a record 25 consecutive years in the top 50 in the official world rankings.”
8. Who’s in? 
Our Gianni Magliocco rounds up the players who you’ll be able to play as in PGATour 2K21-exciting news for those desperate for a successor to the Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise from EA Sports (including me)…”Last month, details emerged on golf’s latest video game PGA Tour 2k21 which features Justin Thomas as the game’s cover star.”
“Since then, PGA Tour 2K21 has been slowly unveiling the other PGA Star’s that golf fans will be able to play with and the list is now complete – with the final man revealed in the lineup being Sergio Garcia.”
Here are the 12 players featured in PGA Tour 2k21:
Justin Thomas
Matt Kuchar
Bryson DeChambeau
Kevin Kisner
Cam Champ
Tony Finau
Ian Poulter
Gary Woodland
Billy Horschel
Patrick Cantlay
Sergio Garcia
Jim Furyk
9. Divergent strategies for Woodland, DeChambeau
Our Ryan Barath…”Since the fall, Bryson has admitted to adding up to 40lbs to his frame and with that also added a big uptick in ball speed-one of the single biggest factors to hitting it longer.”
  • “On the other hand, Gary Woodland returned to action this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge having dropped 25 pounds during the PGA Tour’s break after hitting the gym and changing his diet too. Woodland, the reigning US Open Champion remains one of the longest players in the game and like Bryson was in contention coming down the stretch.”
  • “Bryson is not the first golfer to change his swing and his body to pick up distance off the tee, there are many examples of golfers who have tried to search for distance but come up short. Bryson is the first in recent memory to put up big gains and turn them into immediate results.”
  • “As pointed out by Neil Schuster from No Laying Up, the contrast between DeChambeau and Woodland couldn’t be further apart, and with such a condensed schedule for the rest of the PGA Tour season seeing the sample size grow and how these two play for the rest of the year is going to be interesting to keep an eye on.”
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Five Things We Learned: Friday at the PGA Championship

Published

6 hours ago

on

May 18, 2024

By

Early on Friday morning, a vendor working for the PGA Championship was struck and killed by a tournament shuttle bus. Nearly at the same time, as he arrived for his second round of tournament play, Scottie Scheffler attempted to detour around the scene, and was arrested, booked, then released. Somehow, Scheffler returned to Valhalla and played his second round of the tournament. Despite the jokes and memes of some in the golf industry, the tournament took a back seat to life and humanity on Friday morning. Our prayers are with the family and friends of the vendor, as well as with all involved.

Day two of Valhalla’s fourth PGA Championship did not see a repeat of the record-setting 62 posted by first-day leader, Xander Schauffele. The low card of 65 was returned by five golfers, when play was suspended by darkness. Five golfers still on the course, were on the positive side of the expected cut line of one-under par, while 12 more either had work to do, or knew that their week had come to an end.

The best 70 golfers and ties would advance to the weekend. 64 golfers figured at minus-two on Friday evening, with another 15 at one-under par. The most likely scenario saw those at even par, headed home. The formula was simple: finish under par and stick around. Play resumed at 7:15 on Saturday, to sort through the last six threesomes. Before the night turned over, we learned five important things to set us up for a weekend of excitement and excellence. It’s a pleasure to share them with you.

1. The 65s

On Thursday, three golfers etched 65 into the final box on their card of play. On Friday, nearly twice that number finished at six-under par for the round. Collin Morikawa moved from top-five into a spot in the final pairing. The 2020 PGA Champion at Harding Park teed off at the tenth hole, and turned in minus-two. He then ran off five consecutive birdies from the fourth tee to the eighth green, before finding trouble at the ninth, his last hole of the day. Bogey at nine dropped him from -12 to -11.

The same score moved Bryson DeChambeau from 11th spot to T4. Joining the pair with 65s on day two were Matt Wallace and Hideki Matsuyama (each with 70-65 for T11) and Lee Hodges (71-65 for T16.) Morikawa, Matsuyama, and DeChambeau have major championship wins in their names, while Wallace has been on the when to break through list his entire career. Hodges epitomizes the term journeyman, bu the PGA Championship is the one major of them all when lesser-known challegers find a way to break through.

2. The Corebridge team of PGA Professionals

Last year’s Cinderella story, Michael Block, did not repeat his Oak Hill success. Block missed the cut by a fair amount. Of the other 19, however, two were poised to conclude play and reach the weekend’s play. Braden Shattuck had finished at one-under par, while Jeremy Wells (-2) and Ben Polland (-1) were inside the glory line, each with two holes to play.

With three holes to play on the front nine, Kyle Mendoza sits at even par. His task is simple: play the final triumvirate in one-under par or better. If Mendoza can pull off that feat, and if the aforementioned triumvirate can hold steady, the club professional segment of the tournament will have four representatives in play over the weekend.

3. Scottie Scheffler

In his post-round interview, Scheffler admitted that his second round, following the surreal nature of the early morning’s events, was made possible by the support he received from patrons and fellow competitors. The new father expressed his great sadness for the loss of life, and also praised some of the first responders that had accompanied him in the journey from course to jail cell. Yes, jail cell. Scheffler spoke of beginning his warm-up routine with jail-house stretches.

Once he returned to Valhalla, Scheffler found a way to a two-under, opening nine holes. He began birdie-bogey-birdie on holes ten through twelve, then eased into a stretch of pars, before making birdie at the par-five 18th. His second nine holes featured three birdies and six pars, allowing him to improve by one shot from day one. Scheffler found himself in a fourth-place tie with Thomas Detry, and third-round tee time in the third-last pairing. Scheffler’s poise illustrated grace under pressure, which is the only way that he could have reached this status through 36 holes.

4. Sahith!

It’s a little bit funny that the fellow who followed 65 with 67, is nowhere to be found on the video highlight reels. He’s not alone in that respect, as Thomas Detry (T4) was also ignored by the cameras. Theegala has won on tour, and has the game to win again. The Californian turned in four-under par on Friday, then made an excruciating bogey at the par-five tenth. He redeemed himself two holes later, with birdie at the twelfth hole.

Theegala is an unproven commodity in major events. He has one top-ten finish: the 2023 Masters saw him finish 9th. He did tie for 40th in 2023, in this event, at Oak Hill. Is he likely to be around on Sunday? Yes. Will he be inside the top ten? If he is, he has a shot on Sunday. If Saturday is not a 67 or better, Theegala will not figure in the outcome of the 2024 championship.

5. X Man!!

After the fireworks of day one, Xander Schauffele preserved his lead at the 2024 PGA Championship. He holds a one-shot advantage and will tee off in the final pairing on Saturday, with Collin Morikawa. Eleven holes into round two, Schauffele made his first bogey of the week. The stumble stalled his momentum, as he had played the first ten holes in minus-four. Will the run of seven pars at the end signal a negative turn in the tide of play for Schauffele? We’ll find out on day three. One thing is for sure: minus twelve will not win this tournament. Schauffele will likely need to reach twenty under par over the next two days, to win his first major title.

 

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Scottie Scheffler arrested, charged, and released after traffic incident at Valhalla

Published

1 day ago

on

May 17, 2024

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As first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police on the way to Valhalla Golf Club this morning due to a traffic misunderstanding.

“Breaking News: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club. The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car.

“When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car.”

Darlington also posted a video of the dramatic moment which you can view below:

There was an unrelated accident at around 5am, which is what may have caused some of the misunderstanding of which traffic was moving.

Speaking on ESPN, Darlington broke down exactly what he witnessed in full detail:

“Entering Valhalla Golf Club this morning, we witness a car pull around us that was Scottie Scheffler. Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police officers, placed in the back of a police vehicle in handcuffs after he tried to pull around what he believed to be security, ended up being police officers.

“They told him to stop, when he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle, and Scheffler then travelled another 10 yards before stopping the car.”

“The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car, before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back in handcuffs.

“Very stunned about what was happening, he looked towards me as he was in those handcuffs and said ‘please help me’. He very clearly didn’t know what was happening in the situation.”

“It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively. He was detained in that police vehicle for approximately 20 minutes. The police officers at that point did not understand that Scottie Scheffler was a golfer in the tournament, nor of course that he is the number one player in the world.”

Due to the accident, play has been delayed this morning. Scheffler’s current tee time for the second round of the PGA Championship is 10:08 a.m.

Scheffler’s mugshot following the incident:

*Update*

Scheffler has been charged with 2nd Degree assault of a police officer, criminal mischief 3rd degree, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

*Update*

According to ESPN+, Scottie Scheffler has been released and is now on his way to the golf course.

*Update*

Scottie Scheffler arrives at Valhalla ahead of his 10:08 a.m second round tee time.

*Update*

The PGA of America released this statement regarding the fatal accident, which diverted traffic at Valhalla this morning.

“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club. This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.” 

Per the PGA Tour, Scheffler released the following statement.

We will update this developing story as more information on the situation is revealed.

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Five Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2024

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It was a year ago that we the north, found ourselves with toes and fingers crossed. The Oak Hill PGA Championship of 2023 finished on schedule, despite the iffiness of weather in upstate New York. It’s 75 degrees today across the Niagara Frontier, which makes it two out of three (2022 was the same way) for sultry, unseasonal weather.

Louisville is, let’s be honest, a much better bet for a May PGA Championship, and Valhalla is an exciting venue for the year’s second major championship on the men’s circuit. Brooks Koepka came in as the defending champion, and Rory McIlroy arrived as the last golfer to win a major at the Nicklaus-designed course. That was a decade ago, and lord, have things changed in the world and golf.

Day one at Valhalla offered walk-in eagles, buckets of birdies, and potential for a record-low, winner’s score. We’ll get right to the meat of the matter, with five things that we learned. After all, if you can make par from the muck, anything’s possible in the land of the horses.

1. X marks this spot

Xander Schauffele went head-to-head last Sunday with Rory McIlroy, at least on the practice green. By the end of the round, Rors had won for a fourth time at Charlotte, while the X Man sat scratching his head, wondering what went wrong. Fortunately for us, Xander didn’t sulk.

The San Diego State alumnus absolutely torched Jack’s track with 62. Four birdies on the front nine, were followed by five more on the inward side. Schauffele never looked as if bogey was a consideration, and he might have gone even lower. Despite winning the Covid-delayed Gold medal at the Japan Olympics (I consider it a major, btdubs) Schauffele continues to chase an initial men’s major, and the validation that it brings. If 62 doesn’t get you over the hump, who knows what will.

2. Scottie starts strong? Aye.

Last month, Mr. Scheffler won a second green jacket at Augusta National. Last year in Rochester, Mr. Scheffler tied for second in this event. Mr. Scheffler began play today with a walk-in eagle, a one-hop affair that never looked as if it might go anywhere but to its home. Scheffler had a few rough holes, but that’s to be expected from a new dad. Each time he made bogey, he bounced back with birdie, so he has that short memory that winners crave. Surprisingly, Scheffler failed to manage one last birdie at the reachable 18th. Perhaps that miss will motivate him in round two.

3. LIV Check-In

It’s good to check in on the departed from time to time, to ensure that the fellows formerly known as PGA Tour members are doing well. It’s safe to say that some of them can still play. Defending champion Brooks Koepka posted 67 on the day, He had an eagle and three birdies on the day, with only a stumble at the 17th. He’s tied for 7th. Bryson DeChambeau made an eagle of his own, but also had a bogey, at the 12th hole. He cohabits eleventh position with Cameron Smith, who ALSO had a bogey on his card. They are one shot behind Koepka, and a fistful more behind the leader.

4. Sahith and Tony at Schauffele’s heels

Both Finau and Theegala represent a special sort of athletic golfer. Their power and their charisma blend to draw golf fans to their groups. Let’s be honest, too, and say that they don’t look like the traditional professional golfer. As much as Tiger Woods did in the 1990s, they have the power to bring greater diversity to the sport.

In terms of their play today, well, only Xander was better. Finau had a clean card, with six birdies and twelve pars. Theegala had seven birdies, ten pars, and one bogey. Each combined power and finesse to insert themselves squarely in contention, ahead of round two. How will they, and Xander as well, manage the afternoon putting surface on Friday? That’s the great unknown!

5. All those other guys are here!

Rory, Tom Kim, Collin, and Viktor are all at minus-three or lower. Valhalla may not be a traditional golf course, but it is the type of course that the world’s best play well. McIlroy currently sits at minus-five, tied with Robert MacIntyre, Kim, and three others in fourth position.  Maverick McNealy finished fast to reach the same figure, as did Tom Hoge. Morikawa closed with birdie to join the sextet at five below. Both Scheffler and Morikawa finished their rounds late on Thursday, meaning they should see smoother greens on Friday morning. If someone is a betting soul, wiser wagers could not be placed on better names than those two, two-time, major champions. Rory will tee off in Friday’s afternoon wave but, hey, he’s Rory, and he won going away last week at Quail Hollow, a course not unlike Valhalla.

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