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Morning 9: U.S. Open breaks out at Olympia Fields | Tour statement on “outrage at injustice” | Will teaching Charlie Woods help Tiger?

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4 years ago

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1. BMW
AP report…”One of the toughest tests of the year made it clear that par would be a great score at Olympia Fields. Leave it to Hideki Matsuyama to make a 65-foot birdie putt on his final hole Thursday to lead the BMW Championship.”
  • “Matsuyama, the Japanese player who has gone three years since his last victory, birdied two of his last three holes for a 3-under 67, one of only three rounds under par on a course that was long, tough, firm, fast and nothing like the last two weeks.”
  • “Tyler Duncan, just outside the top 30 as he tries to earn his first trip to the TOUR Championship, made an 8-foot par putt on his last hole for a 68. Mackenzie Hughes, one of only four players who reached 3 under at any point in his round, was another shot behind.”
2. Justin Walters on top at UK Championship
Via the Golf Channel Digital team…“Justin Walters beat the rain and the rest of the field on Day 1 of the ISPS Handa UK Championship.”
  • “The 39-year-old South African shot 8-under 64 at The Belfry, before Mother Nature intervened and play was suspended because of heavy rain and flooding.”
  • “Walters holds the clubhouse lead by three shots. Bernd Wiesberger shot 67 and is part of a four-pack who finished at 5 under.”
3. Tiger stumbles late to 73
Steve DiMeglio for Golfweek…”A hard day’s night finally came to a dreadful end for Tiger Woods in Thursday’s first round of the BMW Championship at rugged Olympia Fields Country Club.”
  • “After grinding his way around an unforgivable course and under a pelting sun that was dishing up temperatures in the 90s, Woods was inside the top 10 when he reached his final three holes.”
  • “But Woods, who started on the 10th, finished with three consecutive bogeys and put his signature to a disappointing 3-over-par 73 and looked whipped as he headed into the clubhouse to recover.”
4. Tour’s statement on social justice
Straight from the TOUR….”The MLB, MLS, NBA, WNBA and WTA protests are player-led, peaceful, powerful ways to use their respective platforms to bring about the urgent need for change in our country. There have been a number of efforts in the past to send a message that the current climate is unacceptable, and these teams, leagues and players now taking this step will help draw further attention to the issues that really matter. The PGA TOUR supports them – and any of our own members – standing up for issues they believe in.
“The PGA TOUR made a pledge over the summer to be part of the solution, and we have been actively working to make deeper and more specific commitments to racial equity and inclusion in the communities where we play, as well as supporting national organizations within this movement that we had not previously engaged with. However, we understand that now is not the appropriate time to highlight our programs and policies, but rather to express our outrage at the injustice that remains prevalent in our country.”
“Sports have always had the power to inspire and unify, and we remain hopeful that together, we will achieve change.”
5. “Players on board”
Golf Channel’s Will Gray...”Less than 100 miles from Kenosha, Wisc., there were no protests at the opening round of the BMW Championship. No players boycotted the competition, as happened in other professional team sports in recent days. But that doesn’t mean the shooting of Jacob Blake and the subsequent firestorm of racial tensions it ignited were absent from the minds of players at Olympia Fields Country Club.”
  • …”I talked to the commissioner, and they were on board,” Woods said. “Obviously he released a statement, and all the guys were on board. Obviously there was talk about it because of obviously what happened, but we’re all on board, on the same page.”
  • “Given the ripple effects felt in other sports and leagues, Tony Finau said he wouldn’t have been surprised if a player opted to withdraw as a sign of support. But he opted to play, opening with an even-par 70, and shared his hope that furthering the overall discussion will lead to progress.”
6. Cameron Champ dons black, white shoes again
Golf Channel’s Will Gray…“With racial tensions again on the rise after a police-involved shooting in Wisconsin, Cameron Champ has opted to make a statement with his footwear at this week’s BMW Championship.”
  • “Champ, who is biracial, will wear one black shoe and one white shoe at the PGA Tour’s penultimate event of the season. It’s a symbolic gesture that Champ has made in the past, including at last year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open to celebrate Black History Month. This time it’s in response to the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisc., less than 100 miles from Olympia Fields Country Club, which has prompted days of protests and led to boycotted games in the NBA, MLB, MLS and WNBA on Wednesday.”
  • “Champ has written Blake’s name along with the letters “BLM” for Black Lives Matter on the white shoe he’ll wear on his right foot.”
  • “It’s just spreading awareness and sticking by what I believe in and what I believe needs to be changed,” Champ said. “I’ve seen a lot of other athletes speak out about it. It’s a situation where people don’t want to talk about it, which I get, but at the same time it’s reality. It’s what we live in. People ignore it for so long, and then it gets to a point where it just blows up…”
7. “Home run derby vs. hit-and-run”
Perspective from Andy Johnson at the Fried Egg on the pleasure of watching the women’s game…“Since its return from the Covid-19 shutdown, women’s professional golf has had a tremendous run. We’ve seen great players take on great courses-including Inverness Club, Renaissance Club, and Royal Troon-and plenty of dramatic finishes to boot.”
“Generally, over the past few years, I’ve found myself tuning into the women’s game more and more. This is partly due to its increased coverage on TV and partly due to certain trends on the men’s circuit. Unlike on the PGA Tour, golf on the LPGA Tour (as well as on the other worldwide women’s tours) has retained its balance. Players of all types have shot at any tournament. Shorter hitters can compete with longer hitters.”
“Of course, distance is a definite factor in the women’s game. Anne van Dam murders the ball. Maria Fassi is averaging 292 yards off the tee this season, the same as Matt Every and 11 yards farther than Brendon Todd. Still, on the women’s tours, power hasn’t overrun the game. It’s what it should be: an advantage but not a requirement, a skill that helps players win but does not enable them to cancel out other skills, such as mid- and long iron play. “
“Even more critically, the game that the best female golfers play still matches the size of the best tournament golf courses. Again, don’t get me wrong: the top women hit it very long and straight. But the average driving distance on today’s LPGA Tour is similar to what it was on the PGA Tour in the early 1980s. This means that courses in the 6,500- to 7,000-yard range can hold up their end of the bargain at elite women’s events and challenge every facet of a player’s game”
8. Will teaching Charlie Woods make Tiger a better golfer?
Michael Bamberger remembers a remark from the great Jackie Burke…“I went to see Burke in 2004, when he was one of Hal Sutton’s deputies on the Ryder Cup team. I sat with Burke in his office at Champions and he casually said something about Tiger that I had never heard anybody else say. He said that Tiger’s biggest golf issue, one that was bound to haunt him eventually, was that he did not teach the game. He gave no lessons.”
  • “I wish I could tell you Burke’s precise words but this is the guts of it: Tiger would never really understand his own golf swing until he started teaching the golf swing to others. It was Burke’s believe that if things go wrong, and you really know your own swing, you can be your own fix-it man, intra-round and between tournaments. But if you don’t, you can’t.”
9. How much will Phil Mickelson actually play on the senior circuit?
Dave Shedloski on Phil Mickelson as a PGA Tour Champions golfer...”After missing the cut Friday at The Northern Trust, the PGA Tour’s opening playoff event, Mickelson, who turned 50 in June, promptly opted for a detour to Ridgedale, Mo., with the expressed purpose of working on some shots in a competitive atmosphere and “building a little momentum.” Reuniting with old friends was fine and all, and Mickelson spoke repeatedly of enjoying the experience, which included the enjoyable addition of $450,000 to his bank account. But the U.S. Open at Winged Foot is three weeks away and the Masters is in November, and the old left-hander wasn’t warming up in the bullpen this week just to go out and win the Charles Schwab Cup.”
  • “I had a lot of fun here, I really did,” Mickelson said. “I’m hopeful to play in some more, too, but I also want to use this as a way to get sharp for the regular tour and for the majors.”

 
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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Brandon

    Aug 30, 2020 at 12:16 am

    Jacob Blake is a terrible person who finally had karma catch up with him. Nobody should be honoring that piece of human garbage in any way.

    Reply Report comment

  2. A. Commoner

    Aug 28, 2020 at 8:11 pm

    It seems responses run from intellectually deficient to deliberately dishonest. Solutions with such a birthright have no chance but to fail.

    Reply Report comment

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Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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12 hours ago

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May 7, 2024

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GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.

From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.

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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

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1 day ago

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May 6, 2024

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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

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1 day ago

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May 6, 2024

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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