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Tour Rundown: McHorses for McCourses at the Wells Fargo | Thailand treated to 1-2-3 finish in Honda LPGA

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3 years ago

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May is here in full force, with a complete slate of professional events and a biennial amateur team golf event to boot. The guy who married a girl from Rochester came through in Charlotte, while a lad named Smotherman broke through on the Korn Ferry tour. We saw a first-time major champion on the Champions Tour, and a native daughter brought honor and glory to her country. Other than that, a dull week. Let’s wrap it up and run it down in this week’s edition of #GolfWRXTourRundown.

PGA Tour: McHorses for McCourses at the Wells Fargo 

Rory McIlroy’s first PGA Tour win came at Quail Hollow. So did his 11th. And despite a 72nd-hole rinse, so did his 19th. McIlroy had been on a winless run of 18 months, stretching to the HSBC in November of 2019. Pundits and golf fans had criticized everything from his distance-chasing to the buttons on his shirts. McIlroy went as far as adding a new instructor, the renowned Pete Cowen, to his team. Finally, the work paid off, but he didn’t make it easy.

McIlroy began the final round three shots behind Keith Mitchell. The one-time PGA Tour winner failed to summon his better game on Sunday, although for just a moment, he appeared to do that. Mitchell opened with birdie, but lost two shots midway through the outward half with a pair of bogeys at five and six. He added a third bogey at 17, along with a birdie at 13. For his efforts, a third-place tie with Viktor Hovland came his way. Abraham Ancer played a fine round of golf, advancing five places into second position. Ancer never should have been a factor in the event, save for the trio of birdies he made at 15 through 17. His attempt to reach double-digits under par, from 33 feet, just missed at the final hole.

It was McIlroy who brought Ancer back into contention. The northern Irishman made up all three shots on Mitchell on the outward half, posting two-under 33. Coming home, he added birdies at 14 and 15, giving himself a comfortable lead on the home tee. And then, he pulled a Rory, or nearly did. McIlroy wisely opted for three-metal from the tee.

Knowing that water left awaited on the entire stretch of the hole, and that only water would bring a playoff into the realm of the possible, Rory pulled his tee shot into the drink. His drop, in the rough, left him 200 yards home, and he did well to land the ball safely on the green. Demonstrating considerable nerve, McIlroy took two putts from over 40 feet, and breathed a sigh of relief upon escaping with a one-shot win.

LPGA Tour: Thailand treated to 1-2-3 finish in Honda LPGA

What a week to bet the home team! Fans in Thailand were treated to a 1-2-3 finish by a trio of homebred golfers. From a legend to a new power, to a relative unknown, three countrywomen challenged for victory in Chonburi.

Patty Tavatanakit jumped out to an early lead with rounds of 64-64 through 36 holes. The newly-minted ANA Inspiration champion struggled mildly on the weekend (70-70) and finished two shots out of first place. Atthaya Thitikul also opened with 64, and remained in contention until the final hole. Thitikul stood minus-five on the day, tied for the lead, when she made bogey at 17. Unable to source a birdie on 18, she finished one ahead of Patty T. and three others, in solo second at minus-21.

Winning the day with 63, and the week with 22-under par, was Ariya Jutanugarn. Winless on the LPGA Tour since 2018, Jutanugarn made her homecoming a victorious one, capping her time on home soil with a 72nd-hole birdie. With her 4 at the last, she flipped places with Thitikul and claimed her 11th title on tour. The two-time major winner (British and US Opens) posted 9 birdies and 9 pars on day four to secure a special title.

European Tour: Higgo wins second title in Canary Islands

Right around 28 degrees north of the equator, and 16 degrees west of the prime meridian, suits Garrick Higgo just fine. The young South African completed a three-week stay in the Canary Islands in resolute fashion, finish first-eighth-first during his three weeks off the coast of Africa, earning a great deal of fairway cred and cash along the way.

It’s a fun week when your worst 18-hole score is a 66. Higgo opened with that number, making just six birdies on the day. He improved with six more on Friday, and capped the round with an eagle-three at the last, for minus-eight for the round. A paltry five birdies on Saturday were set straight by a pair of eagles, and Higgo began to pull away from the field. On Sunday, the Joburg native crushed any doubters with an ace at the seventh, to go with his six birdies. His margin of victory was six shots over Australia’s Maverick Antcliff, with Finland’s Tappio Pulkkanen an additional shot back, in the third slot.

 

Korn Ferry Tour: Simmons Bank Open is Smotherman’s first big professional win

After playing some college golf in Dallas with Bryson DeChambeau, Austin Smotherman moved out into the great open spaces of the world’s golf tours. He won in Mexico in 2018, on the PGA Latinoamérica tour. In Tennessee this week, Smotherman caught lightning in a bottle and translated it into a 16-under par performance. The California lad opened with 65, two behind the leader, Harrison Endycott. When Endycott was forced to withdraw, Smotherman locked in on the number 69 and turned in three consecutive cards at that figure.

Smotherman carried a one-shot advantage over Carl Yuan and David Skinns into the final round, and turned in two-under 34. Yuan carded five birdies on the day, and made a brief run on the back nine with three saved shots in four holes. Bogey at 16 and 17 submarined his try at the title, but a birdie at the last brought him into a tie with Paul Haley II for second position. Skinns closed in even-par 72 and finished in solo 4th position.

Walker Cup: Team USA wins a close one at Seminole

It’s hard to carry the weight of a side on your shoulders. Alex Fitzpatrick learned that this weekend in Florida. The Wake Forest stalwart from England did his level best in each of four matches over two days at storied Seminole golf club, and came out on the wrong end each time. Fellow Demon Deacon Mark Power, also on the Great Britain and Ireland side, fared much better. He was 3-0 until running into a buzzsaw named Austin Eckroat, who dispatched him by 7 & 6. Thus did the host squad escape with a 14-12 win on home soil.

Who were the heroes for the Red, White and Blue? Begin with Eckroat, who won a pair of singles matches, despite not experiencing partner combat either day. Essentially coming in cold off the bench, Eckroat dispatched Power and Angus Flanagan, giving the USA team a pair of needed points. Cole Hammer a member of the 2019 team went 3.5-0.5. Ricky Castillo, who should have been a member of that 2019 squad, earned four points, the only member of either side to achieve that accolade.

The 2021 Walker Cup will also be remembered for a stomach bug. Both Mac Meissner (USA) and Jake Bolton (GBI) came off the alternate bench for the USA, when the original partners were unable to compete during that round. Ironically, each won a point with his newfound partner.

PGA Tour Champions: first major of the season goes to Cejka

Steve Stricker knows what it’s like to win your first major title on the Champions Tour. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t like to add another, and that surely means that he regrets his playoff loss to Alex Cejka at the Regions Tradition in Birmingham. It was Saturday when the two combatants proclaimed the 2021 playing to be a two-horse race, after posting 65 (Stricker) and 66 (Cejka). Robert Karlsson turned in a fine 64 on day three, but needed another on Sunday to enter the fray. He would settle for solo third place, four out of the playoff.

Through nine holes on Sunday, Stricker had opened up a three-shot advantage on Cejka. He gave two back through 13, and Cejka grabbed three more with birdies at 12 through 14. Suddenly with two strokes in hand, the German played conservatively home in par, giving Stricker an opening. The 2021 USA Ryder Cup captain made two more birdies at 16 and 18 to close the gap and send their match into extra holes.

Facing an awkward pitch from sidehill rough, Cejka lofted his third to about ten feet, just outside of Stricker’s birdie attempt. Leaving nothing to chance, he knocked the putt into the heart. When the reliable Stricker left his blade opened and missed to the right, the tournament belonged to Cejka.

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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.

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Morning 9: Rory: I’m not joining LIV | Masters ratings | Nelly: We just need a stage

Published

4 days ago

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Apr 17, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up to this week’s RBC Heritage.

1. Rory: I’m not going to LIV

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…McIlroy said neither he nor his agents have ever discussed a potential deal to lure him to the LIV Golf League, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

  • “I honestly don’t know how these things get started,” McIlroy told Golf Channel while on the practice range at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the site of this week’s RBC Heritage. “I’ve never been offered a number from LIV, and I’ve never contemplated going to LIV. Again, I think I’ve made it clear over the past two years that I don’t think it’s something for me.
  • “It doesn’t mean that I judge people who have went and played over there. I think one of the things that I have realized over the past two years is that people can make their own decisions for whatever they think is best for themselves, and who are we to judge them for that? But personally, for me, my future is here on the PGA Tour, and it’s never been any different.”
Full piece.

2. Masters ratings down

Yahoo’s Jay Busbee…”Ratings for the full Masters week are now out, and 2024’s version ranks as the lowest since the COVID-impacted years of 2020 and 2021. There was a brief moment when four players shared the lead at the 2024 Masters, but Scottie Scheffler took care of business quickly enough and strolled to what qualifies as an “easy” Masters victory — a four-stroke triumph that wasn’t in doubt for most of the second nine.”

  • “Perhaps as a result, Sunday’s final round averaged 9.59 million viewers on CBS, according to Sports Media Watch, a 22.8% decline from last year’s 12.06 million. Scheffler’s win two years ago averaged 10.17 million viewers. Worth noting: Sunday’s final round was down 20 percent against last year’s victory by Jon Rahm, but last year’s final round fell on Easter Sunday, which created a significantly higher out-of-home percentage of viewers — 21 percent in 2023, as opposed to 9 percent this year.”
Full piece.

3. Chevron gets purse boost

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…“Chevron’s commitment to the LPGA went a step higher on Tuesday with the announcement of a purse increase to $7.9 million in 2024. The move brings the tour’s first major in line with the purses of other championships. The U.S. Women’s Open purse of $12 million paces the tour, with the KPMG Women’s PGA second at $10 million. The AIG Women’s British Open purse checks in at $9 million while Amundi Evian is $6.5 million.”

  • “Chevron, which moved the event away from Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, to Texas, last year, has increased the purse by $4.8 million since assuming title sponsorship in 2022. The company has committed to title sponsor the event through 2029.”
Full piece.

4. Shipley on “notegate”

Alex Myers for Golf Digest…”So what was up with “notegate”? During his hilarious spot with McAfee, Shipley reiterated there was no note from Woods, and that he was only looking at the moderator because he was so confused where the question was coming from:

  • “I looked over at the moderator like ‘Who the hell is this guy?'” Shipley says in the clip. “Because it just didn’t happen. I was so confused and so shocked in the moment.”
Full piece.

5. Nelly: We just need a stage

Iain Carter for the BBC…”Korda is the first American to win four consecutive tournaments on the LPGA since Lopez won five straight 46 years ago. This astonishing streak made the then rookie front page material for Sports Illustrated.

  • “Korda’s feats have yet to transcend the golfing village, and perhaps that suits her as she “tries to stay in my bubble”. But the American Solheim Cup player does recognise that more could be done to tell the increasingly compelling story of women’s golf.”
  • “I feel like we just need a stage,” she told reporters here at Carlton Woods just north of Houston. “We need to be put on TV.
  • “I feel like when it’s tape delay, or anything like that, that hurts our game. Women’s sports just needs a stage. If we have a stage we can show up and perform and show people what we’re all about.”
Full piece.

6. Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

  • Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!
Full piece.
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

Published

5 days ago

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Apr 16, 2024

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GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.

We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.

Check out links to all our photos, below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

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Morning 9: Aberg: I want to be No. 1 | Rory’s management blasts ‘fake news’ reports

Published

5 days ago

on

Apr 16, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we look back at the Masters while looking ahead to this week’s RBC Heritage.

1. Shane Ryan: Appreciate Scottie’s greatness

Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan…”This is what’s called generational talent, and we haven’t seen it in almost 20 years. Steve Stricker read the tea leaves when he picked Scheffler for the 2021 Ryder Cup—a decision that was richly rewarded—and starting in 2022, he was off to the races. The only hiccup was a few putting woes last year, but even that only served to highlight how remarkable his ball-striking had become—instead of winning, he was finishing third. When he fixed the putting, with help from a new coach and a bit of equipment advice from Rory McIlroy, he soared yet again to the top of the game, but this time he seemed more indomitable, more inevitable, more brilliant.”

  • “The sustained success of the last three years has officially made him the best professional golfer since Tiger Woods, a conclusion supported by analytics, the eye test, and every other metric you could dream up. With fewer majors, he has nevertheless leaped past Spieth, McIlroy, and Koepka in terms of pure ability. He doesn’t have their legacy, yet, but if we’re talking about peak performance, he’s already surpassed them.”
  • “He’s so much better than everyone else, which is a sentiment that is both commonplace—I saw it on Twitter over and over again—and revelatory. It’s the thing you say because there is nothing else to say. You’re left with the wild truth, which words can describe but never capture.”
Full piece.

2. Aberg: I want to be No. 1

The AFP’s Simon Evans…”The 24-year-old finished second, four strokes behind winner Scottie Scheffler, after carding a final round 69 but he certainly won many admirers among the patrons at Augusta National and beyond.”

  • “And his performance has filled Aberg with self-belief.”
  • “Everyone in my position, they are going to want to be major champions. They are going to want to be world number one, and it’s the same for me, that’s nothing different,” he said.
  • “It has been that way ever since I picked up a golf club, and that hasn’t changed. So I think this week solidifies a lot of those things are there, and we just need to keep doing those things and put ourselves in positions to win tournaments, ” he said.
Full piece.

3. Homa’s honest answer on double bogey

Golf Channel staff report…”But Homa’s tee shot at No. 12 bounded off the putting surface and into a bush. After a healthy search, Homa found his ball and had to take an unplayable lie. He made double bogey, effectively ending his bid at a maiden major title.”

  • “Homa tied for third, seven shots back of Scheffler. Asked about what happened on the fateful 9-iron, Homa offered two replies.”
  • “The honest answer is, it didn’t feel fair. I hit a really good golf shot, and it didn’t feel fair. I’ve seen far worse just roll back down the hill,” he said.
  • “The professional answer is, these things happen.”
Full piece.

4. Harbour Town ahead

RBC Heritage field notes, via Adam Stanley of PGATour.com…”Scottie Scheffler is, for now, set to tee it up at the RBC Heritage. He was clear to say that if his wife, Meredith, would go into labor during the Masters, he would head home to be with her, so it’s safe to assume that same rule will stand at Harbour Town. Scheffler has not shot an over-par round all season and has three victories (and one runner-up). He made his debut at Harbour Town last year and finished T11… Matt Fitzpatrick looks to become the first golfer to go back-to-back at the RBC Heritage since Boo Weekley in 2007-08. Fitzpatrick, a playoff victor last year, has two top-10 finishes this season. He has just one missed cut at Harbour Town over the last six years and he finished fourth in 2021 to go along with two more top-15 results in a three-year span (T14 in 2018 and 2020)…”

  • “Jordan Spieth is hoping to continue his run of fine play at Harbour Town after a playoff loss last season and a playoff win the season prior. Spieth has five top-25 finishes at the RBC Heritage in seven starts… Justin Thomas earned a spot in the field after remaining in the top 30 (he’s No. 30) in the Official World Golf Ranking despite a missed cut at the Masters. Thomas, who finished T25 last season at Harbour Town, has two top 10s on the season… Ludvig Åberg, who is tops in the Aon Next 10, will head to Hilton Head for the first time. Åberg has had a fabulous 2024 campaign thus far with four top 10s (including two runner-up results) and is knocking on the door for a victory… Hideki Matsuyama was the only eligible player who did not commit to the RBC Heritage, while Viktor Hovland – after a missed cut at the Masters – withdrew from the field on Saturday.”
Full piece.

5. Reed’s caddie’s needle

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After a particularly bad drive during his third round on Saturday, Reed’s caddie, Kessler Karain, also his brother-in-law, made a snide but factual comment to Patrick.”

  • “Your driving has cost us a lot this week,” Karain remarked.
  • “Reed didn’t disagree and told reporters after the round that there was nothing good about his round…
  • “A reporter then asked: “It’s a good thing he’s a family member, right?”
  • “Yeah, exactly. I’d probably be dragging him up that last hole,” Reed said. “I swear.Just what you want to hear as you’re looking at the ball in the tree, and he goes, ‘You need to drive it better.’ Thanks, Kessler. I appreciate it. Great words of wisdom. Drive it better.”
  • “This may be the last major for Reed for a while, as the 33-year-old has not been invited nor qualified for next month’s PGA Championship.”
Full piece.

6. LIV wants Hovland next?

Ewan Murray for the Guardian…”Rising speculation that Viktor Hovland will be the next high-profile golfer to be coaxed to the LIV tour will increase the need for Ryder Cup Europe to apply a simple qualification process for golfers on the Saudi Arabian-backed circuit.”

  • “LIV is forging ahead with plans for 2025, which include new events and the recruitment of more players from the PGA and DP World Tours. The rate of turnover is likely to be increased by the number of golfers who had three-year contracts when joining LIV, which will expire at the end of 2024.”
  • “Chatter on the range at the LIV event in Miami this month and again at the Masters largely surrounded Hovland, the world No 6 who starred for Europe in the defeat of the United States in Rome last year. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who also played in that team, have subsequently joined LIV. Hovland missed the cut at the Masters and promptly withdrew from the PGA Tour’s $20m stop in Hilton Head this week.”
Full piece.

7. Rory’s management: LIV reports are ‘fake news’

Brian Keogh for the Irish Independent…”A report that Rory McIlroy was on the verge of an $850million move to LIV Golf has been slammed as “fake news” by his management.

“Fake news. Zero truth,” McIlroy’s manager Sean O’Flaherty said in an email.

London financial paper “City AM” reported today that sources have told them that McIlroy “could” join LIV Golf

The paper reported that “two separate sources have told City AM that they believe a deal is close. It is claimed that LIV Golf chiefs have offered world No2 McIlroy an eye-watering $850m to join, plus around two per cent equity in the competition.”
Full piece.
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