News

Morning 9: Scheffler wins Players | $3 million golf bet win | Former LIV captain victorious

Published

1 year ago

Mar 13, 2023

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

March 13, 2023

Good Monday morning, golf fans, as Scottie Scheffler produced yet another masterclass to win at TPC Sawgrass over the weekend.

1. Scheffler claims huge Players win

AP Report…”Scottie Scheffler was fearless on a TPC Sawgrass course that can jangle the nerves on every hole. The wind was getting stronger, the targets looked smaller, and all he wanted was to make sure his lead got larger in The Players Championship.”

“You can’t limp in on this golf course,” he said. “You’ve got to hit the shots.”

He did every bit of that Sunday in a masterful performance that only enhanced his reputation as a player who’s at his best when playing the best in the world.

Full piece.

2. Campilo wins in Kenya

EuropeanTour.com report…”A five-under-par final round of 66 took Campillo to 18 under for the week and earned a two-stroke victory over Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.”

“Their respective compatriots Santiago Tarrio and Ryo Hisatsune shared third on 15 under par.”

“Campillo had finished with four straight birdies on Saturday and a similar run – four in five – on Sunday’s front nine kept him in control of the tournament, the highlight a pitch to five feet at the seventh.”

Full piece.

3. DiMeglio attends Players

Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union…”For the first time in his nine-month battle with Stage 4 liver and rectum cancer, Golfweek/USA TODAY Steve DiMeglio found a perfect escape from the living hell of 720 hours of chemotherapy treatments, along with the daily drudgery of waking up and feeling sick.”

“DiMeglio, a Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida resident, returned to his comfort zone at The Players Championship.”

“If only for a few hours on three different days, one of the most recognizable faces among PGA Tour players and caddies was able to commiserate with friends that the lifelong bachelor considers extended family.”

“That was better medicine than anything his doctors at Beaches Baptist Hospital or anyone could provide the 61-year-old DiMeglio, who has been on disability since Sept. 5 and is often confined to his second-floor apartment due to fatigue.”

Full piece.

4. McIlroy ready to get back to being a golfer

Matt Cradock for Golf Monthly…”Rory McIlroy visibly struggled over the first two days of The Players Championship, with the former champion carding a 76 and 73 as he finished three shots back of the cut line at TPC Sawgrass.”

“It had been a disappointing few days for McIlroy, who perhaps was struggling with fatigue given the competitive golf, as well as frequently standing up for the interests of the PGA Tour in the media. Now, speaking after his second round, McIlroy has admitted that he would “love to get back to being a golfer.”

“Asked about whether fatigue has played a part, the Northern Irishman admitted that “it is fair,” adding “I’d love to get back to being a golfer. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. It’s been a busy sort of six or eight months. But everything has sort of been announced now and the wheels have been put in motion. So it should quieten down from here.”

Full piece.

5. $3 million!

6. ICYMI: Jerry Kelly makes history

Garry Smits for the Florida Times-Union…”Jerry Kelly scored a victory for the old guys when The Players Championship cut was finalized on Saturday.”

“Kelly, in the Players field for winning the Kaulig Companies Championship in 2022 (formerly the Senior Players), became the oldest in history to make the cut in The Players at 56 when he had rounds of 74-72 — 146.”

“Kelly finished his second round on Friday before the rain suspension when the cut was at 2-over. It moved to 3-over when the rest of the field returned, giving him a cushion in his second Players as the Kaulig Companies winner and his 24th overall start.”

Full piece.

7. Former LIV captain wins

Mike Hall for Golf Monthly…”Former LIV Golf captain Wade Ormsby has won the latest International Series event on the Asian Tour, giving him a significant boost in his effort to return to the big-money circuit.”

Ormsby claimed victory in the International Series Thailand following a playoff at Black Mountain Golf Club. The 42-year-old holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole, edging out Chonlatit Chuenboonngam after starting the day two shots behind three leaders.

Full piece.

8. Life changing victory

Brentley Romine for Golf Channel…”Eila Galitsky, a 16-year-old dual citizen of Thailand and Canada, completed a dominant performance Sunday at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific at Singapore Island Country Club. She closed in 4-under 68 to finish at 14 under, five shots clear of runner-up Minsol Kim of South Korea.

With her triumph, Galitsky collected a slew of exemptions for later this year, including three major invites (Chevron, AIG Women’s Open and Evian), the Hana Financial Group Championship, ISPS Handa Australian Open, British Women’s Amateur and Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

“What an opportunity I’ve got,” Galitsky said. “I just need to try to savor every moment.”

Full piece.

9. Scottie Scheffler’s winning WITB

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (8 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3-4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)

Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Hybrid Prototype 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS tour prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Full piece.

Your Reaction?

LIKE4
LEGIT1
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

Published

21 hours ago

May 14, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.

While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.

Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.

General Albums

2024 PGA Championship – Monday #1

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Your Reaction?

LIKE4
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

News

Morning 9: Is it Rory’s time? | Stricker WDs | Why Valhalla is a great major venue

Published

23 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the PGA Championship from iconic Valhalla.

1. Is now the time Rory finally ends major drought?

BBC’s Iain Carter…”But given the imperious form he showed in Charlotte last week, perhaps this is the PGA Championship to rekindle the ruthless streak of old. And not just because he is back at Valhalla (the Nordic word for the hall of the fallen).”

“It also became clear last week that McIlroy is somewhat persona non grata to the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. His views on a global future for this damagingly split sport do not seem to chime with the American dominated body.”

“His offer to return to the board from which he resigned earlier this year was rejected and he has been left as a mere non-voting member of the “transaction committee” dealing with a potential deal with Saudi Arabia.”

“McIlroy insists there are “no hard feelings” but there should be.”

“No player has worked harder for their sport during this period of unprecedented tumult and the board has rejected someone many people regard as the game’s most articulate and enlightened international voice.”

“Now is, surely, the time for McIlroy to feel slighted and respond with his clubs. Play as though he has a chip on his shoulder, but in the knowledge that he is generationally the most consistent golfing force out there.”

Full piece.

2. Scheffler in for PGA Champ after birth of child

Jaclyn Hendricks for PGATour.com…”Scottie Scheffler and wife Meredith’s bundle of joy has arrived.”

“The couple welcomed their first child, just weeks after Scheffler claimed his second Masters victory in three years.”

“Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig tweeted Saturday that the baby was born and Scheffler will play in this week’s PGA Championship — the second major of the season.”

“There’s been nothing official from Scottie Scheffler, his team or the Tour… But word is he will be at Valhalla for the PGA next week after winning four of his last five tournaments, including the Masters. He is currently on the Tuesday interview schedule for 3:30 p.m. #babyborn,” Harig wrote over the weekend.”

Full piece.

3. “Erik van Rooyen, friends and family live in honor of ‘Trazzy’”

That’s the headline of Ryan Lavner’s superb piece on Erik van Rooyen and his departed best friend Jon Trasmar. An excerpt would be an injustice. Go read it!

Full piece.

4. Stricker out of PGA citing fatigue

AP report…”Steve Stricker decided Sunday to withdraw from the PGA Championship at Valhalla, citing the difficulty of playing four times in a span of five weeks.”

“Stricker, 57, was eligible by winning the Senior PGA Championship last year. He, John Daly and Phil Mickelson are the only players to have competed at Valhalla each of the previous three times the PGA Championship was held there.”

Full piece.

5. Why Valhalla is a great venue for major championships

Garrett Morrison for The Fried Egg…”But before we start slinging mud (of which there will be plenty in Kentucky this week), let’s pause to think about why Valhalla tends to generate close final-round battles featuring elite players. It’s not magic: the course has long par 3s and 4s, narrow fairways, and smallish greens surrounded by rough and bunkers. This style of design and setup, which practically defines the PGA Championship’s modern brand, gives an outsize advantage to a skill that many star players share: power. Length off the tee and the ability to muscle the ball out of rough to a well-protected green will be near-prerequisites for contending at this week’s PGA Championship. If Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau show up with any kind of short-game and putting form, they will be in the mix on Sunday. And the presence of such A-listers on the leaderboard will further burnish Valhalla’s reputation as a serious venue.“

“It does not follow, however, that Valhalla is a great golf course. In fact, I find it a fairly mediocre and bland one. Very few holes offer multiple options of the tee (the exceptions being the short par-4 fourth and the double-fairway par-5 seventh), most of the greens lack memorable contouring, and the recovery shots from around the fairways and greens are one-dimensional and repetitive. So even if Sunday turns out to be a barn-burner, the first three rounds, when the focus will be on the course and the shots demanded, will probably be sleepier, aside from the inevitable Blockie walk-and-talk.”

Full piece.

6. Dunne resigns from policy board

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Jimmy Dunne, who last year helped negotiate the PGA Tour’s controversial framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, resigned from the tour’s policy board on Monday.”

“In Dunne’s resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, Dunne wrote that “no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with PIF” and that “my vote and my role is utterly superfluous” now that player directors outnumber independent directors on the policy board. Dunne’s resignation was effective immediately.”

“It is crucial for the Board to avoid letting yesterday’s differences interfere with today’s decisions, especially when they influence future opportunities for the tour,” Dunne wrote. “Unifying professional golf is paramount to restoring fan interest and repairing wounds left from a fractured game. I have tried my best to move all minds in that direction.”

“Along with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Dunne and policy board chairman Ed Herlihy secretly negotiated the framework agreement with the PIF, which is financing the rival LIV Golf League. Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan announced the deal on June 6. Most PGA Tour players — including some player directors — were unaware of the deal until it was announced on TV.”

Full piece.

Your Reaction?

LIKE0
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

News

Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2024

Ronald Montesano

This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)

This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.

LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms

There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.

This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.

Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.

Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024

PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte

Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.

Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.

HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!

He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024

PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week

It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.

The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.

Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.

Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024

PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie

Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.

In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.

Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.

At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.

Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024

Your Reaction?