19th Hole
2020 ANA Inspiration: 5 names to watch
The 2020 ANA Inspiration gets underway today from Mission Hills CC, with temperatures in excess of 100-degrees set to greet the players in the desert.
While the likes of Danielle Kang, Inbee Park, Minjee Lee and Sei Young Kim all start as the four likeliest to prevail in California this week, here’s 5 other names to keep an eye on who could be lifting the trophy come Sunday evening.
Lexi Thompson
It’s been a long time since Lexi Thompson has not been one of, if not the prohibitive favorite at the ANA Inspiration. Since winning the event back in 2014, Thompson has finished in the top 20 all five times she has teed it up at Mission Hills, and four of those times she has finished top 7 or better. If her putting holds up, then she could well be the woman to beat at her self confessed “favorite tournament”.
Odds: 20/1
Thursday Tee Time: 11.27 ET
Nelly Korda
The third-ranked player in the world and she isn’t yet in the top-4 in the betting. The younger Korda sister has two big things going for her this week: form and the course. The 22-year-old finished T13 at the British Open last month and followed that up with a T3 finish on her last outing. As for the course, the change from Rye grass to Bermuda for this week’s event could make all the difference as she is very familiar with the latter.
Known as a supreme driver of the ball, if the 22-year-old gets the putter hot, then it could be ominous for the rest of the field this week.
Odds: 16/1
Thursday Tee Time: 4.27 ET
In Gee Chun
Sneaking well and truly under the radar this week is multiple major champ In Gee Chun who has finished T7, T7 and T21 in her last three starts. The Korean had a runner-up finish here a few years ago, and recent form suggests that she is getting somewhat back to her best.
Odds: 55/1
Thursday Tee Time: 3.42 ET
Stacy Lewis
It’s been a while since Stacy Lewis has played her best at Mission Hills, but just like Nelly Korda, the Bermuda grass factor plays into her hands. This week, Lewis, who is well used to playing on Bermuda grass being from Houston, told media:
“I know how to hit the different types of chips out of the (Bermuda grass) rough, so I feel like I have a little bit of an advantage there.”
The 35-year-old returned to the winner’s circle last month in Scotland and is a previous winner at this week’s event.
Odds: 55/1
Thursday Tee time: 3.46 ET
Anna Nordqvist
Since lockdown, Nordqvist has looked re-born on the course. Though she faded in the harsh conditions at the British Open, back stateside, she claimed a runner-up finish at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on her last outing. The 33-year-old is comfortable at Mission Hills, having finished in the top 10 here on four previous occasions, and she is a major champion who knows how to win.
Odds: 50/1
Thursday Tee Time: 11.09 ET
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19th Hole
Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year
While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.
Butch Harmon on what he worked on with Rory:
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make…
— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) May 15, 2024
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”
The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.
Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships
While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.
“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.
“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.
“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’
“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.
“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”
Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.
Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items
The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Since then, more details have emerged about the case.
According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.
The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.
Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”
The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.
Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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