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Tour Rundown: Open to Minjee, four other events decided

Published

10 months ago

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June walked in with the first USGA Women’s Open with a presenting sponsor, and by all accounts, it was a big and special thing. The tournament was contested at Pine Needles for the fourth time, but the first since 2007. Pine Needles, located in Southern Pines, North Carolina, has become the iconic site for this championship. The winner it welcomed this year simply added to that lore. In addition to this national championship for women, four events took place around the globe for the men. Ohio, central North Carolina, Germany and Iowa celebrated tournaments with fine fields and enviable finishes. Let’s have a rundown of all five events in this week’s Tour Rundown.

USGA Women’s Open is second major for Minjee

There were two story threads that followed the 77th playing of the Women’s Open in North Carolina’s sandhills. Could She? became Mina Harigae’s tag line, after the 32-year old pro opened with 64. Harigae had been in contention before in a major, but had not found the context to contend to the end. Will she? was asked about Australia’s Minjee Lee, the 2021 Evian champion and a seven-time winner on the LPGA Tour. Lee had won on the LPGA as recently as May, while Harigae had yet to break into the the winner’s circle on the big tour.

The first-round lead weight heavy on the shoulders of all professional golfers. Few have welcomed the spotlight and questions for four consecutive days, while maintaining an advantage over the field. Harigae’s one shot advantage (64-65) over Swedish amateur Ingrid Lindblad vanished overnight, as Lee followed her opening 67 with 66, to reach 133 at the halway point. Harigae did well to post 69, and preserve a share of the lead. Golfers began to enter and depart the leader board, but in the end, this week was always a story about two golfers: Lee and Harigae.

In round three, Minjee stretched an advantage to three shots, with another 67. Harigae was under par for the third day, as well, but her 70 was eclipsed by Lee’s mastery. On pace to set a tournament scoring record, attention turned away from the first-round leader from California, and toward the leader from Perth. On Sunday, Minjee Lee fell from the 60s for the first time all week, but not by much. Her 71 was the third-lowest round on the day, bettered only by 69 from Jeongeun Lee6 and 70 from Hyejin Choi. Minjee gained one more stroke on Harigae, and set a 72-hole record for lowest number of strokes (271) in tournament history. Her score relative to par (-13) was bettered only by Juli Inkster’s -16 in 1999. Harigae held on to solo second by two shots, over the fast-closing Choi.

PGA Tour: Horschel laps field at Memorial

Billy Horschel is a complicated figure in professional golf. His intensity is unmatched, as are his attention to detail and his pursuit of perfection. Horschel’s swing is as tight as a well-tuned drum, which leaves the only chance for error to the space between the ears. It’s not an uncommon theme, as many golfers on the world’s tours exhibit most of those characteristics. Horschel has struggled with family illness, yet is able to give back to golf as a tournament host for junior tournaments. On this weekend in June, his game was on full display.

Horschel lapped the field at Jack’s tournament, the Memorial. He posted 13-under par through three rounds, and held a five-shot advantage heading into Sunday. Day four was a blustery affair in central Ohio, as 69 was the lowest score that any of the 70 remaining golfers could summon. Scores went as high as 84 on Sunday, as Muirfield Village showed a lot of teeth. Through it all, Horschel preserved his calm. Despite scoring seven shots higher than Saturday’s 65, the lead was never fewer than two shots. It was Horschel’s tournament to win, and he did so with an impressive eagle at the 15th, to return to the five-shot separation. He would make bogey at 17 to only win by four, over runner-up Aaron Wise.

DP World Tour: Samooja secures European Open

Kalle Samooja made the charge of the weekend in Germany. He posted 64 on Sunday to zip past a host of competitors, including last week’s winner, Victor Perez of France. Samooja, a native of Finland, notched eight birdies on the day, including three of his final four holes. None of the others in contention could match his brilliance, and Samooja finished two shots clear of Wil Besseling of the Netherlands.

Not that the others didn’t try. Besseling closed with double-birdie-bogey-birdie, to arrive at the solo runner-up position. Richard Mansell recovered from a first-hole bogey on Sunday with three birdies, and in third position, one more shot back. It was Perez who was most unfortunate on Sunday. His shots went away slowly, with four bogeys against two birdies.

The victory was the first for Samooja, after playoff losses in 2019 and 2020. The win moved the 34-year old inside the top 25 on the year-long rankings.

Korn Ferry Tour: Rex Hospital nail-biter goes to Thompson

With the exception of Paul Haley II, golfers held position or moved up on Sunday at Wakefield Plantation. Haley fell from contention with 71, but managed a sixth-place finish for the week. The tournament drama was reserved for a trio of contenders, and they did their best to make the event’s finish a special one.

Davis Thompson held a one-shot advantage after 54 holes, with Haley, Andrew Yun, and Vincent Norman on his trail. The leader went out in minus-three, to open up an advantage on his pursuers. He would need it coming home. Thompson played the inward half in plus-one, but secured a critical birdie at the 15th. Yun and Norman charge home in minus-three and minus-one, respectively, but they would come up one shot shy of the winner. The victory was the first for Thompson on the KFT, and came on his 23rd birthday.

PGA Tour Champions: Principal Charity to Kelly over Kirk in playoff

Jerry Kelly had five birdies in regulation on Sunday at Des Moines, Iowa. That performance earned him a curtain call with Kirk Triplett. For fun, Kelly added a sixth birdie on the first extra hole. That maneuver garnered him a 9th PGA Tour Champions title, and elevated him eight spots in the year-long, Schwab Cup challenge.

Brett Quigley, Triplett, and 2022 poster child Steven Alker held the 36-hole lead on Saturday evening. Each fell away a bit on Sunday. Quigley posted 70 to finish in fifth position. Alker’s 69 dropped him into a third-place tie with Bernhard Langer. Triplett loaded up on birdies on Sunday, with seven on his card. It was the two, front-nine bogeys that kept him from winning the tournament outright. Sometimes, it’s your week, but not your week alone.

 

 

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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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News

Morning 9: LIV golfers’ Masters expectations | Reed wants LIV Masters win | ANWA champ 4-stroke penalty

Published

19 hours ago

on

Mar 30, 2023

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the Valero Texas Open gets underway where players have their last chance to clinch a spot at next week’s Masters.

1. Don’t expect awkwardness

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”Speaking to reporters ahead of this week’s LIV Golf League tournament at Orange County National in Orlando, Florida, Reed said Wednesday that the first major championship of the season won’t be about the competing circuits.”

  • “…Augusta National Golf Club elected to keep the same qualifying criteria it used in the past to determine the field for the 87th Masters. There are 18 players in the 89-man field from the LIV Golf League, including four other past champions: Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Charl Schwartzel.”
  • “Obviously, the media and the storylines are going to be obviously LIV versus PGA Tour and all that kind of stuff, but really, at the majors, top players in the world are going and playing against each other no matter where they come from,” Reed said. “For us, at least for myself, it’s going to be business as usual going out and playing.”
Full piece.

2. Reed: I’d love if a LIV golfer won the Masters

James Corrigan for The Telegraph…”Reed is one of six former Augusta champions on the Saudi-funded circuit, but says that if he replicated his 2018 success it would be a bigger deal.”

  • “If you’re able to go out and win, it brings a boost not only to yourself, but to the league and the team that you’re on,” he said, here at the Orange County National Golf Course where the third LIV Golf event of the season begins on Friday.
  • “Now it’s just not sharing it with yourself and your inner circle but you’re sharing it with these guys out there. It would just be huge for morale.”
Full piece.

3. Zhang leads ANWA

Beth Ann Nichols for Golfweek…”Rose Zhang said her father, Haibin, feverishly swept away the pine needles that were in the line of her 50-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole Wednesday at Champions Retreat.”

  • “He was doing it like a maniac,” said Zhang, “and I was low-key kind of telling him to calm down in terms of trying to help me get the little stuff out of the way.”
  • Top-ranked Zhang drained the putt and later thanked dad for the assist. It was one of six birdies on the day for Zhang, who posted a record 6-under 66 at Champions Retreat, besting the previous record of 68 carded by 2019 champion Jennifer Kupcho and Zoe Campos in the opening round in the inaugural event. Zhang birdied all four par 5s and leads Ole Miss senior Andrea Lignell by one stroke.
  • “With the round being so soft and being muddy,” said Zhang, “I can’t really expect anything more out of my game today.”
Full piece.

4. Defending champ hit with 4-stroke penalty

Brentley Romine for Golf Channel…”Anna Davis’ title defense got off to a rough start Wednesday morning at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.”

  • “On the opening hole of the 17-year-old’s opening round at Champions Retreat, the par-4 first on the Island nine, Davis committed two rules violations in which she lifted, cleaned and placed her ball in the rough, or second cut. The news was first reported by GolfChannel.com, which spoke to several witnesses.”
  • “Preferred lies are in effect for the first two rounds, but only in “areas cut to fairway height or less,” according to a memo sent by the competitions committee. Players were informed on Tuesday night that Model Local Rule E-3, which allows for preferred lies, would be adopted.”
  • “The verbiage of the MLR includes, “The use of this local rule outside the fairway in the general area is not recommended.”
  • “After her round, Davis was officially handed a pair of two-shot penalties under Rule 9.4 for, per an official statement from the tournament headquarters, twice lifting her ball and failing to replace it in its original spot.”
Full piece.

5. Bubba and Brooks on LIV tensions at Augusta

Cameron Jourdan for Golfweek…”In recent weeks, there has been plenty of discussion about how LIV golfers would interact with those from the PGA Tour and whether it would be tense. However, Watson and Koepka said don’t expect anything to happen.”

  • “I’m going to be honest, man. It’s only awkward in the media,” Watson said. “I’ve talked to people that are going to be there. I’m going to sign up with Jason Day and Cam Young in the par 3. Some guys have already asked me to play some practice rounds. Media is the only one that is pushing it. I have nothing against anybody. If you change jobs, I’m not mad at you. If you start reporting for somebody else, hey, man, it’s a better decision for you and your family.”
  • “Added Koepka: “I think that’s one of the big things. Down in Jupiter, we see each other — I was just with Rory (McIlroy) and J.T. (Justin Thomas) yesterday, and I think Keegan (Bradley) was there. We see each other quite a bit. I mean, there’s a lot of conversations. I was talking with Rory for probably about 30 minutes just about the ball and all the other stuff that’s going on. No one is angry at anybody from what I’ve seen.”
Full piece.

6. Patrick Reed wonders if Augusta’s new 13th hole has lost ‘a little bit of excitement’

Evin Priest for Golf Digest…”Even Dustin Johnson was laying up. That’s the takeaway from 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed after seeing Augusta National and its new, lengthening par-5 13th during a two-day reconnaissance trip to the famed course with his fellow green jacket winner and Harold Varner III last week.”

  • “At last year’s Masters, the iconic 13th measured 510 yards from the tips. But this year, it will max out at 545 yards according to the 2023 Masters media guide Augusta National. The hole is now 60 yards longer than when Tiger Woods won his first Masters in 1997.”
  • “D.J. laid up both days,” Reed said Wednesday at Orange County National, ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Orlando tournament. “I laid up [once]. Tournament time I would have laid up, but since we’re out there seeing it, I of course went [full] send.”
Full piece.

7. Rickie Fowler WITB

Driver: Cobra Aerojet LS (9 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Prototype 70 X

3-wood: Cobra Aerojet LS (14.5 degrees @13.5 degrees)

Shaft: Aldila Tour Green 75 TX

5-wood: Cobra LTDx LS (17.5 degrees)

Shaft: UST Mamiya LINQ 8F5

Irons: Cobra King Tour (4-PW)

Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper 125 S+

Wedges: Cobra King Forged (54, 56 and 58 degrees)

Shafts: KBS Tour 610

Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird

Grip: SuperStroke Tour 3.0 17-inch

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
Full piece.
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2023 Valero Texas Open

Published

20 hours ago

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Mar 30, 2023

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Ah, the Valero Texas Open — a tournament as rich in history as it is in Texan charm. The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar.

Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw. But the real star of the show? That would have to be the legendary Texan wind, which can turn a benign par-4 into a 500-yard monster faster than you can say “y’all.”

Per usual, GolfWRX was on site to check out what the pros are playing with the Masters just a week away.

Check out links to all our galleries, below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Join the discussion in the GolfWRX forums.

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Equipment

Spotted: Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K Three “anti-right” prototype putter

Published

2 days ago

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Mar 29, 2023

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Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K putters have really taken off on tour, and we have seen a handful of models in tour player’s bags. The latest version we spotted out on tour is a very unique design.

Odyssey makes this putter head with a standard flow neck that offers plenty of toe hang for golfers who prefer or need that weighting. This prototype has a long slant neck installed more near the center of the putter head that lets the toe sit slightly up in the air when held horizontally. This is pretty different since most putters sit with the toe hanging down towards the ground or are face balanced (face sits parallel to the ground). A full shaft offset looks to be achieved with the slant neck and the look at address is definitely different.

We spoke to Callaway PGA Tour manager Joe Toulon about the putter and he had the following to say

“On course [we had a player who] had a little push bias that didn’t necessarily show up in practice but it is something that he felt on course. So we wanted to build something that was a little easier to release and maybe not necessarily open the toe as much in the back stroke and not have to work as hard to release it in the through stroke. That was kind of designed to give a little offset and when you rested it on your finger it would rest toe up a little bit. We thought for that player it would help him square the putter face at impact rather than leave it open a little bit.

“It was more of a concept we had and will continue to work on it. When we had it on the truck and we were hitting some putts with it we noticed that you had to work really hard to push this putter. We wanted to make an anti-right putter. Just a fun little concept that we have an idea and work with our tour department to test things out.

“It isn’t something that ended up in a player’s bag but we learned some things in that process and will keep in mind for future builds and projects.”

The finish also looks to be a little different than the standard Tri-Hot 5K putter’s black and silver motif. The face and neck are finished in silver and the rear done in more of a blueish-gray tone. The White Hot insert looks to be standard and the sole still contains two interchangeable weights.

The shaft looks to be painted in the same metallic red as their standard Stroke Lab shaft, but we don’t see a steel tip section. Not sure if this putter has a full graphite shaft or painted steel.

Toe sitting slightly up

Check out more photos of the Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K Three Putter.

More “Spotted” pieces

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