News

Morning 9: No.1 beaten at US-Am | Keegan’s Ryder Cup obsession | Faxon: Pick Glover

Published

9 months ago

Aug 17, 2023

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the BMW Championship. gets underway.

1. Number One KO-d at US-Am

Cameron Jourdan for Golfweek…”Down goes No. 1.”

“The match-play portion of the 2023 U.S. Amateur began Wednesday at Cherry Hills Country Club, and with that came the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking falling in the Round of 64. However, there were numerous other events to happen on a steamy day in the Mile High City.”

“The youngest medalist in U.S. Amateur history, and top seed for match play, faces battles. There were players making a push for the U.S. Walker Cup team. There were also upsets and plenty of high-profile players heading home early.”

“Match play got off to a great start Wednesday, and there’s still plenty of golf to go.”

Full piece.

2. Faxon: Glover needs RC pick

Ben Fleming for Golf Monthly…”The US qualification window shuts after this week’s BMW Championship meaning Glover will likely be reliant upon a captain’s pick. Brad Faxon is one of a growing number of people who believe his form warrants one.”

“There is nobody who has been playing better over the last month than Lucas Glover,” he said, speaking on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.

“The system is about trying to get hot players. We had two-year qualifying processes and now it’s a year. We wanted to get the players who were playing the best to be able to play.

“If he gets left off the team after winning two tournaments this late in the qualifying process the system’s flawed.”

Full piece.

3. Keegan remains Ryder Cup obsessed

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Keegan Bradley hasn’t played in a Ryder Cup since 2014 at Gleneagles in Scotland. The 37-year-old also played a role in the United States’ crushing defeat at Medinah, but he hopes that will change this season.”

“The veteran has made a solid case to be chosen after winning the “designated” Travelers Championship”. He also has a 2nd place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and a 10th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.”

“During his pre-tournament press conference at Olympia Fields this week for the BMW Championship, Bradley reiterated his desire to represent his country in the Ryder Cup once again.”

“Yeah, the one spot I want to be on is on that Ryder Cup team,” he said. “I think about the Ryder Cup every second I’m awake basically.

Full piece.

4. F. Molinari named Europe’s fifth vice captain

Reuters report…”Team Europe captain Luke Donald has named Italy’s Francesco Molinari as his fifth and final vice captain for next month’s Ryder Cup at Rome’s Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, the team announced Wednesday.”

“Molinari, who made his debut in the 2010 edition when Europe regained the trophy in Wales, joins brother Edoardo Molinari, José María Olazábal, Nicolas Colsaerts and Thomas Bjorn as vice captains.”

“I started the year hoping to be there as a player, but it is still a great honor to be there as a vice captain,” said Molinari, who won the 2018 Open Championship. “I got a phone call from Luke asking if I was interested, and obviously it was a clear answer from me. He is assembling a really good team of people.

Full piece.

5. Ramping up to wind down

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”That competitive reality hasn’t much bothered Patrick Cantlay, nor has it hurt him. He didn’t play a regular Tour event in the fall of 2021, and yet he still ranked second in points heading into the season finale at East Lake. This season, his only fall start was a playoff loss in Vegas, and here he sits fifth in the standings with two weeks to go. Cantlay’s rationale has always been: He’ll play better, more consistently, if he’s fresh.”

“For me, it’s important to feel ready and excited to practice and play again,” Cantlay said, “and so I think that nice couple-month break should be really good for that.”

“When asked whether anything could compel him to play more than just the Ryder Cup at the end of September, Cantlay said: “Probably not a lot this year.”

“Cantlay pointed to the condensed nature of the signature-event schedule as well as having three majors in the span of 10 weeks.”

“I feel like it’s easier to gear up for those and stay on for those if you know you have an offseason coming,” Cantlay said.

Full piece.

6. Lexi could lose status

The AP’s Doug Ferguson…”It’s one thing that Thompson hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour since June 2019. Thompson is at No. 157 in the Race to the CME Globe.”

“Only the top 60 make it to the CME Group Tour Championship. The top 80 have full a full card. The top 100 still have cards and get in most tournaments. But there’s no indication Thompson is capable of even that right now.”

“She missed her third cut in a major last week at the AIG Women’s Open. Her only cut in a major was a tie for 47th in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. But last week was only her eighth LPGA Tour start of the year.”

“You shouldn’t read too much into that,” Thompson told Golf Digest last week. “I’ve just been trying to enjoy my life and take some more time for myself. This is my 13th year out here, so it’s my choice to play when I want, and when I don’t want to. I was dealing with a little bit of an injury. But I’m fully healthy now. I want to be sure I’m fully ready when I do tee it up.”

Full piece.

7. Liberty National to host 2027 BMW Championship

Reuters Report…”The 2027 BMW Championship will be played at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., it was announced Tuesday ahead of this week’s tournament at Olympia Fields Country Club.”

It will be the tournament’s first visit to the New York metro area.

“We’re proud that Liberty can be a part of these types of events, and we’re also equally proud that we can support youth golf as a part of these events, too,” Liberty National co-founder Dan Fireman said at a news conference for the August 2027 event. “We don’t just pick these events for the sake of picking them. We’re very careful about it.”

Famous for its view of the New York City skyline across the river, Liberty National hosted previous FedEx Cup playoff events in 2009, 2013, 2019 and 2021.

Full piece.

8. Spieth join Hall of Honor

9. Photos from the BMW Championship

Check out all our photos from Olympia Fields!

Full piece.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

Published

2 days 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

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News

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

Published

2 days 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.

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News

Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls

Published

3 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

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