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Morning 9: Gold medal hopes shift to Japan’s women | Harris English’s turnaround | Should caddies get medals?

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By Ben Alberstadt
For comments—or if you’re looking for a fourth—email me at [email protected].
August 3, 2021
Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. Welcome to another day of the Olympic golf ball header image.
1. Now the Japanese women eye the gold medal
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Last week, Nasa Hataoka played a nine-hole practice round with Hideki Matsuyama at Kasumigaseki Country Club. The round included the predictable small talk along with a few shared bits of course information, but what wasn’t discussed was the unique pressure the members of Team Japan face this week.”
  • “While there’s a great deal of pride among the Japanese players to compete in an Olympics at home there’s also heightened expectations, particularly for Matsuyama, who was poised to complete a dream season following his victory in April at the Masters with a medal-winning performance in Tokyo.”
  • “…He mentioned that because he couldn’t win the medal on the guys’ side, he sent me a good luck message on the girls’ side,” Mone Inami said.”
2. What’s more valuable to an American female golfer: a major victory or a gold medal?
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…“This week in Tokyo, three of the four players representing Team USA are major winners, with World No. 1 Nelly Korda claiming her first in June at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang have one major title apiece. Jessica Korda still awaits her first.”
  • “I would’ve loved to have been able to compete for a gold medal,” said LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, who won seven majors. “You can win majors, a lot of people have majors, but very few people have gold medals. To have one of those, it’s something really special. That’s something that you can pass onto your kids and your grandkids. I think it’s an amazing thing.”
  • “Inbee Park, another seven-time major winner, has said on numerous occasions that her notoriety in South Korea went to another level after she won gold in 2016. When Park was vying for her fourth major in a row in 2013, former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said the TV rating in South Korea was about an 8, which is similar to when Tiger Woods won the Masters in 2019. When Park won the Olympics in 2016, the TV rating in South Korea was a whopping 27.1.”
3. Feeling the pressure…sort of
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Jessica and Nelly Korda were at Kasumigaseki Country Club preparing for this week’s women’s competition as Schauffele was grinding out a par at the final hole to claim the gold medal. It was Schauffele’s moment, but the pressure was felt by everyone on Team USA.”
  • “My Whoop [fitness strap] registered an activity during his last hole,” Jessica Korda laughed. “I think we’re really feeling it for him, it was just so clutch coming down the stretch and that last hole and with the putt and everything, that it’s bigger than us and golf.”
  • “Jessica Korda lives in South Florida and often practices with PGA Tour players, including Justin Thomas who finished tied for 22nd in Japan and had plenty of Olympic insight to offer.”
Surprised to see a quarterly print publication advertised in a daily email newsletter? Don’t be.
The idea behind the Morning 9 is a roundup of the day’s most significant storylines presented in an easy-to-digest format. The Golfer’s Journal occupies the other end of the spectrum: long-form, photo rich essays from some of the best writers in golf discussing all elements of this beautiful, maddening game.
More a collection of essays than a magazine. More a coffee table book of first-rate photos than a glossy, ad-filled monthly — GJ is a must-have for true lovers of golf.
GolfWRX may earn a commission of “GolfWRX Recommends” products.
4. Park pursues another gold
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“I mean, 2016 was far more pressure-filled than I’ve ever felt in my life. I don’t know if I could do that again,” Park laughed on Monday at Kasumigaseki Country Club. “If I felt it once again this year, I don’t think I would be able to play.”
  • “For all that she has accomplished in the game, it was her performance in The Games that Inbee Park is most proud of.”
  • “That’s not to say Park isn’t looking forward to this week. In fact, she made a return trip a priority following her victory in 2016 and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which postponed the Olympics one year, she landed an intensely contested spot on the South Korean team.”
5. Hero World Challenge returns
Golf Channel digital team…”The Hero World Challenge will return after a year’s absence because of the global pandemic.”
  • “The event, hosted by Tiger Woods, will have an increased field of 20 players. It is scheduled to be contested Dec. 2-5 in Albany, Bahamas, and broadcast on Golf Channel and NBC Sports.”
  • “While Tiger Woods tweeted out the information on his personal account, he did not say if he would be able to compete. Woods, who was in a single car crash in Feb., was spotted last week on crutches, putting weight on his surgically repaired right leg.”
6. An alternate was one of the great stories at the USWO
Max Schreiber with a very cool tale…”Dana Ebster made the most of her time at this year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open as the tournament’s first alternate, and she’ll be able to do it again after a T-10 finish got her into next year’s tournament.”
  • “Ebster, whose only LPGA start came at the 2000 U.S. Women’s Open, got a chance to play at Brooklawn Country Club after current NBC Sports and Golf Channel commentator Kay Cockerill withdrew from the major to cover Olympic golf in Tokyo, Japan.”
  • “…Ebster, 51, runs the junior academy and is a shop assistant at Turlock Golf and Country Club in Turlock, California. The club raised the money to send her to Connecticut, where she said she was on cloud nine with her son, Chris, on her bag.”
7. Harris English’s turnaround
Sean Martin PGATour.com…“How did English turn his career around? By returning to the swing that helped him have so much success earlier in his career. English started working with swing coach Justin Parsons in the spring of 2019.”
  • “He just kind of brought me back from getting lost in this whirlwind of different swings and different mechanics and swing positions,” English said. “He simplified it so much that I can know what I’m doing. (Golf) is actually a game now. I’m not worried about how my swing looks.”
  • “Below, Parsons explains how English unlocked his old swing and returned to the game’s elite:”
  • “It’s difficult to hit your target if you’re not aimed at it. Parsons described English’s alignment as “erratic” in their first session together. “I asked Harris to hit an 8-iron to five or six different targets and it was clear that he did not aim at the changing targets in the same way,” Parsons said. “As we discussed his desire to be a more consistent ball-striker, we agreed that without the process and execution of good alignment being in place, the golf swing was never going to be consistent.”
Seriously — check out the spread above. Subscribe to the Golfer’s Journal (or give it as a gift to the golf aficionados in your life!).
8. Should caddies get medals? 
9. Women’s Olympic competition tee times
Check out who’s teeing off when, via Golf Channel.
GolfWRX | PO Box 2765Dearborn, MI 48123
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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Brian

    Aug 4, 2021 at 12:30 am

    Caddies don’t get green jackets.

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Morning 9: Wyndham Clark on back injury | DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take | Houston Open photos

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the Houston Open gets underway.

1. Wyndham Clark hurts back…still hopes to play

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”Reigning U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark injured his back while working out at home Monday, but he hopes to play in this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, which starts Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course.”

  • “Clark, the fourth-ranked golfer in the world, said he was lifting weights and “got caught in an awkward spot doing a lift and [his] back went.”
  • “It’s not something that happens regularly, but it happened and you live and you learn,” Clark said. “I’m trending in the right direction. I’m hitting it or feeling stronger and more mobile every day. I’m going to give it my best effort tomorrow and hopefully I can play and compete. If not, I’ve got to get ready for tournaments to come after this.”
Full piece.

2. DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking on the Subpar podcast, former PGA Tour winner and current PGA Tour Champions player Chris DiMarco said he hopes LIV buys the Champions Tour.”

  • “We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour,” he said.
  • “Let’s play for a little real money out here. I mean this is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week from TPC (Sawgrass, at the $25 million PLAYERS Championship) that made more money than our purses.”
Full piece.

3. Charley Hull’s course management problem?

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Charley Hull came just short of her third LPGA Tour victory over the weekend at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship when she played her last two holes at 3 over to slip all the way to 10th on the leaderboard.”

  • “After the round, Hull was blasted by Sky Sports commentator and former LPGA Tour player Trish Johnson for her lack of golf course management.”
  • “While speaking on the Sky Sports Golf podcast, Johnson spoke harshly of Hull.”
  • “I’m probably her harshest critic, because I know how good she is. She doesn’t win anywhere near enough for her talent, and she doesn’t get involved enough, in all honestly.
  • “The thing with Charley is that you’re never going to change her. I read something the other day that said how much she loves the game and it’s her love of the game [that costs her]. She’s never going to change and she’s just going to go for every pin.
  • “In theory that’s great, but it won’t win you golf tournaments, it just won’t because she’s not that much better than anybody else.
Full piece.

4. Sahith’s interesting idea

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Which brings Theegala to his big idea: “There’s got to be something, like a fan challenge or – I think it would be awesome to see a scratch handicap go out and play like the Monday after a tournament, keep the same conditions and see what they would shoot just to put it into perspective how hard a PGA Tour golf course is.”

  • “Theegala loves the thought so much that he’d even come out and watch.”
  • “Shoot, I’d commentate on it,” Theegala added before continuing, “I have a pet peeve, sometimes when I watch golf on TV, a great example is hole 8 at Valspar last week. It’s a 230-yard par 3, the green’s 12 yards wide and someone will hit the middle of the green and, you know, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, really smart shot there.’ I’m like, ‘Well, no, he’s absolutely laced this 4-iron in the middle of the green, that’s right where he’s looking and to hit a 4-iron that straight is really, really hard.’ … Even like chipping, a lot of the stuff just looks flat on TV, but then when you get over the chip, like, oh, great, I have to land it over a mound on a downslope down grain?”
Full piece.

5. Top am Rachel Heck not going pro

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”As Rachel Heck nears the end of her college golf career, she has decided that the LPGA isn’t for her.’

  • “Heck, the 22-year-old Stanford senior who won an NCAA individual title as a freshman and has climbed as high as second in the world amateur rankings, penned a first-person essay for No Laying Up in which she explained her reasoning for remaining amateur after graduation this summer and starting an internship not in professional golf but rather private equity. Heck, a political science major, also will be pinned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.”

Read her piece on No Laying Up: https://nolayingup.com/blog/why-im-remaining-an-amateur

Full piece.

6. DJ’s new LIV signing

Golf Monthly’s Elliott Heath…”Dustin Johnson‘s LIV Golf team 4Aces GC has announced former TravisMathew CEO Chris Rosaasen as the side’s new General Manager.”

  • “Rosaasen, who is a long-time friend of Johnson, is also the founder of the team’s apparel sponsor Extracurricular and has been CEO of the Omniverse Group for the past four years.
  • “He joins with more than 20 years of “brand-building, marketing, and business leadership” according to LIV Golf, which says his “record of innovation in the golf industry will strengthen and accelerate the growth of the 4Aces GC brand.”
Full piece.

7. Photos from the Houston Open

  • Check out all of our photos from this week’s event!
Full piece.
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Four books for a springtime review

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One thing that never changes over time: snowy evenings give purpose to reading (is it the other way around?) It has been a snowy 2024 in western New York, and I’ve had ample time to tuck into an easy chair with a blanket, coffee, and a book. You’re in luck, because despite the title of this piece, I’ll share five books and their worth with you.

There is great breadth of subject matter from one to five. Golf is as complicated as life, which means that the cover of the book isn’t worth judging. The contents begin the tale, but there is so much more to each topic presented within. If you’re like me, your library grows each year. Despite the value of the virtual, the paper-printed word connects us to the past of golf and humanity. Here’s hoping that you’ll add one or more of these titles to your collection.

        

Rainmaker

Hughes Norton interviewed with Mark McCormack for 20 minutes (30 if you count the missed exit at Logan International) while driving the founder of IMG from Harvard to the airport. The lesson of taking advantage of each moment, of every dollar, because you might not get another opportunity, is the most valuable one that life offers. I say to you, be certain to read this book, because another opportunity to bend the ear of Hughes Norton may not come our way.

Hughes Norton was with Tiger Woods for waaayyy fewer years than you might guess, but they were the critical ones. Be warned: not all of the revelations in this tome are for the faint of heart. Some, in fact, will break your heart. Golf was a sleepy hamlet in the 1990s, until the 16-lane interstate called Eldrick “Tiger” Woods came into town. Everything changed, which meant that everything would change again and again, into eternity. Once the ball starts rolling, it’s impossible to stop.

My favorite aspect of this book is its candor. Hughes Norton is well into his time on Planet Earth. He has no reason to hold back, and he doesn’t. My least favorite aspect is that George Peper got the call to co-author the book (and I didn’t.) Seriously, there is no LFA for me, so this is the best that I could do.

Decision: Buy It!

The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor

Michael Wolf, James Sitar, and Jon Cavalier, in abject partnership, collaborated to produce a handsome volume on the work of gone-too-soon, engineer-turned-golf course architect. Seth Raynor was pulled into the game by Charles Blair MacDonald, the crusty godfather of American golf. Raynor played little golf across the 51 years of his life. His reason? He did not wish to corrupt his designs with the demands and failings of his own game.

Jon Cavalier began his photography career as a contributor to the Golf Club Atlas discussion group. I met him there in a virtual way (we still have yet to shake hands) and have exchanged numerous emails over the years. Despite the demands of his day job, Cavalier has blossomed into the most traveled and prolific course photographer alive today. His photography, both hand-held and drone, makes the pages pop. Michael Wolf invited me and two friends to play his home course, despite having never met any of us in person. His words, melded to those of James Sitar, are the glue that connect Cavalier’s photos.

My favorite aspect of the books is the access it gives to the private-club world of Raynor. Fewer than five of his courses are resort or public access, and knowing people on the inside is not available to all. My suggestion? Write a letter/email and see if a club will let you play. Can’t hurt to try! My one complaint about the book is its horizontal nature. Golf is wide, but I like a little vertical in my photos. It’s not much of a complaint, given the glorious contents within the covers.

Decision: Buy It!!

Big Green Book from The Golfer’s Journal

Beginning with its (over)size, and continuing through the entire contents, there is no descriptor that defines the genre of the Big Green Book. It is photography, essay, layout, poetry, graphics, and stream of consciousness. It harnesses the creative power of a lengthy masthead of today’s finest golf contributors. Quotes from Harvey Penick, verse from Billy Collins, and prose from John Updike partner with images pure and altered, to immerse you in the diverse golf spaces that define this planet.

One of my favorite aspects is the spaces between the words and photos. Have your friends and others write a few notes to you in those blank areas, to personalize your volume even more. One aspect that needs improvement: the lack of female voices. I suspect that will be remedied in future volumes.

Decision: Buy It!!!

Troublemaker and The Unplayable Lie

Books that allege discrimination and mistreatment check two boxes: potentially-salacious reads and debate over whose perspective is accurate. In the end, the presentation of salacious revelation rarely meets the expectation, and the debate over fault is seldom resolved. Lisa Cornwell spent years as a competitive junior and college golfer, before joining The Golf Channel as a reporter and program host.

Despite the dream assignments, there were clouds that covered the sun. Cornwell documents episodes of favoritism and descrimination against her, prior to her departure from The Golf Channel in 2021. Her work echoes the production of the late Marcia Chambers, who wrote for Golf Digest in the 1980s and 1990s. Chambers took issue with many of the potential and real legal issues surrounding golf and its policies of access/no access. Her research culminated in The Unplayable Lie, the first work of its kind to address issues confronted by all genders and ethnicities, and immediately predated the professional debut of Tiger Woods in 1997.

My favorite aspects of the two works, are the courage and conviction that it took to write them, and believe in them. My least favorite aspects are the consistent bias that many groups continue to face. Without awareness, there is no action. Without action, there is no change.

Decision: Buy Them!!!!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.

As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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