News
Nifty Fifty: Phil Mickelson makes Kiawah his sixth major title
On absolutely no one’s radar screen but his own at the beginning of the third week of May, Phil Mickelson defied all odds and overcame all challenges to claim the 2021 PGA Championship. Mickelson first won the PGA in 2005 at Baltusrol in New Jersey. He also owns three Masters titles and the 2013 British Open title. Have I mentioned that Mickelson turned 50 last June and became the oldest winner of any major championship in history?
The week began as most major weeks commence: an unproven young’un atop the leader board. This time, it was Corey Conners, a product of Canada and Kent State University. Conners marked six birdies on his scorecard that day and finished ahead by two at minus-5. He began Friday as poorly as he did well on Thursday, finishing with 75 and ultimately placing 17th. Mickelson nearly played himself out of South Carolina on opening day. He stood plus-4 after six holes but rebounded on the tougher stretch of the course with six birdies and posted 70.
Day two saw Lefty reverse his fortunes. He teed off on the back nine and posted 38. He came alive on the front nine, posting five birdies for another 31, and a 69 on the day. Mickelson’s 139 total was matched by South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, also a British Open champion (2010). Oosthuizen followed a 71 with 68, to earn a spot in the final pairing with the lefthander.
Day three witnessed a near runaway by he of the aged vintage. Mickelson again played the front nine in exquisite fashion. He posted four birdies for 32 on his way out and added a fifth at the 10th hole, to reach 10 strokes under par. Two holes later, he made his first bogey of the round and followed it with a double at 13. He would finish the day at 7-under par, one shot ahead of two-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka.
It’s rare that a golf course ages into technology, but the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island improves in just that fashion. Unlike the TPC course in Sawgrass, that has undergone myriad renovations and alterations over the years, the Ocean Course remains exactly as it was when it held the 1991 Ryder Cup, in its first year of play. With its combination of forced carries, ocean breezes, and flexible setup — and its length, the Ocean Course stands firm against the advances of human strength and technology.
Koepka and Mickelson teed off in Sunday’s final pairing and Mickelson immediately surrendered his one-stroke advantage. Koepka opened with a textbook birdie, while Mickelson showed all the nerves of a teenager on a first date and scribbled bogey on his card. One hole later, fortune again reversed its course. Koepka had owned the Ocean Course par-5 holes all week but would toss away his chance at victory with a double and a bogey on the first two long holes on Sunday. Koepka is normally one of the game’s great drivers of the ball, but he was tentative on Sunday, turning his fade into a tug. The tug did him in on holes two and seven.
What was most enervating for the big Florida man was, his wretched 7 and 6 each followed a birdie. Who can explain that? It was that sort of day on the spit of land called Kiawah Island. Mickelson was having a topsy-turvy start of his own. He didn’t make a par until the fourth, following his opening bogey with birdie-bogey. He then went birdie-bogey-birdie for the five through seven stretch, and expanded his advantage! When he made his fourth birdie of the day, at the tenth hole, he held a five-shot advantage, and ignited the mask-free crowds into a frenzy of adulation and fandom.
Mickelson’s sixth major title was his first with younger brother Tim on the bag. As the pair marched toward destiny’s embrace, it was easy to see the same emotion spread across each brother’s face. The younger one wanting to serve the older one with accurate numbers and proper support; the older one wanting to execute the strategy planned out with the younger one’s help.
As the holes waned, Louis Oosthuizen reached minus-4 and closed to within two of Mickelson’s lead. The South African golfer needed at least one birdie on the closing pair, but was unable to do better than pars. Koepka had birdies at 15 and 16 and, like Louis, needed one more to make Phil think and squeeze harder, but it was not to be. Mickelson made safe bogey at 17 and safe par at 18, and won by two.
It’s ironic that Mickelson reclaimed his place at the top of the game as well as a likely spot on the USA Ryder Cup side in Wisconsin, in the year that Tiger Woods once again racked himself up with self-inflicted injury. If anything will motivate the great one to rebound, it’s a Mickelson victory. So cheers to you, Mr. Mickelson. You’ve given us a wonderful May and an even better 2021 and 2022 to come.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludwig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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News
Morning 9: Aberg: I want to be No. 1 | Rory’s management blasts ‘fake news’ reports
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News
Masters 2024: Reduced-scale clubhouse trophy and green jacket to Scottie Scheffler
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.
On No. 7, Ludvig Åberg makes birdie to move into a tie for second place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/ZSjcOr9OQK
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2024
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.
Scottie Scheffler is back in sole possession of the lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/MGytXpJcXH
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2024
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.
Leader by four with two to play. #themasters pic.twitter.com/KcoilYExDr
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2024
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.
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