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Tour Rundown: The brave and the fortunate

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6 months ago

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The brave and the fortunate probably account for equal amounts of victories in professional sport. Technique, confidence, and execution have no substitute, but a fortunate break along the way, can decide the outcome. In South Africa, Max Homa was the beneficiary of a fortuitous parking job. Golf tournaments share little with life’s treachery and trauma, yet have a way of offering a bit of solace to those in need. A bit under forty months ago, the Villegas family lost their daughter to cancer. Today, Camilo Villegas won on the PGA Tour, for the first time in nine years. The other two events weren’t quite as poignant, but they had their moments. Enjoy one of the last Tour Rundowns of 2023. It has been a great ride as usual, and we are grateful that you came along.

PGA Tour Champions @ Charles Schwab Cup: The season comes down to Alker

With Steve Stricker tending to his hospitalized father (all is well with Papa Stricker) and unable to compete, there would be no double-double at this year’s Charles Schwab Cup. Stricker, you see, had already clinched the season-long points race, thanks to three major titles and three additional tour wins. His departure gave his colleagues an opportunity to win a few more dollars and possibly, some of that top-five, season bonus money.

Mr. 2022, Steven Alker, played the first three rounds at Phoenix Country Club as if he were privy to some incantation not known to the others. He stood at 17-under par 196, four shots clear of Alex Cejka. It should have been a done deal, the way Alker had played and carried himself, but there’s a reason that they play the final round. Noted on multiple occasions by commentators, Alker looked like a different golfer on Sunday: tentative, off-balance, and protective.

Early on, it was Ernie Els who made a run at the lead and, if not for a short miss at the 9th, he might have turned in 30 and scared the pants off Alker. Els cooled off on the inward half, but was strong enough to tie Stephen Ames for second place, at 17-deep. Despite making a near-mess of the 18th hole, Alker was able to coax a gnarly chip within 18 inches of the hole in four, then drop the putt for par and a one shot win. It wasn’t macho and it wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.

LPGA @ The Annika: Vu says me, not you, at The Annika

I would be remiss to not recognize fellow Demon Deacon Rachel Kuehn, on her T15 finish. Kuehn was one of two amateurs to earn a spot in the field. Both made the cut, an achievement in itself! With that formality out of the way, let’s clap our hands for Lilia Vu, who decided that 2023 would be the year of her coming-out party. We remember the dominant performance she put on for Team USA in the 2018 Curtis Cup at Quaker Ridge. For a time, she fell off our radar. She has returned with vigor.

If not for the year that Celine Boutier has had, Vu would be the runaway number one and player of the year. As things stand, it will all come down to next week at the CME Championship, two hours down Florida’s west coast from this week’s tournament site. Boutier will have to improve on this week’s MC, while Vu, will certainly roll into Tiburón Golf Club on the highest of highs.

Vu’s fourth win of the year came by three shots, over a pair of runners-up. She began the day three shots behind Emily Pedersen, who had ignited the course with rounds of 63-65-64. Sunday resembled none of those days for the young Danish golfer, and a final-hole double bogey not only dropped her to a tie for fifth position, but cost her a spot in the CME Tour Championship as well. In total contrast, Vu was the picture of composure. A solitary bogey at the 12th hole was offset by five birdies all around. In the end, her 66 was something, on the heels of a Saturday 62.

Boutier has been other-worldly this year, with four wins of her own, and Ruoning Yin cannot be ignored. With that said, it’s hard to bet against Lilia Vu. Naples should be the hottest ticket in golf next weekend.

PGA Tour @ Butterfield Bermuda: Villegas triunfa tras nueve años de luchar

It was revealed this week by a colleague, that Alex Noren is THE last guy off the practice range each night. One day, Noren will find the elixir that results in a PGA Tour triumph. He opened with 61 this week, and through eight holes on Sunday, still held on to first place. A pair of bogeys at the turn dropped him out of the top spot. Despite great effort, he finished in second position.

Camilo Villegas began the final round a single shot behind the leader. Villegas’ last of four tour wins came in 2014, in Greensboro. He had worked his way back to the big tour, serving a stint on the Korn Ferry Tour. Last week, Villegas challenged in Mexico before finishing in a second-place tie. This week, he found the trade winds and sands of Bermuda to be the ideal place to find his way home. From the mountains of Medellín, to the seas of the Atlantic, Villegas had returned.

Villegas made six birdies in his final-round 66, but none was more stunning, than the one he made at the 17th. With an opportunity to take a two-shot advantage to the final tee, Villegas found himself bunkered greenside in two. Not a bad place to be, unless you were on the short side, which he was. Trusting in all the hours of work, Villegas exploded his ball out of the abyss, over a mound, one inch onto the putting surface. From there, it trickled to within two feet for the birdie that he needed.

The entire world of golf walked the final 380 yards with Villegas, urging him on toward completion. When his drive reached the fairway, we breathed. When his approach reached the green, we breathed. When his first putt snuggled to within two feet of the hole, we breathed. And when Camilo Villegas tapped in, hugged his caddie, and spread his arms wide as every Hispanic compatriot showered him in agua y champaña, we cheered.

DP World Tour @ Nebank: Homa on the range

Max Homa earned his first international title this week in South Africa. The care-free Californian shared the lead after each of the first two rounds, then took a one-shot advantage over France’s Matthieu Pavon through 54 holes. Chasing the pair were the Højgaard brothers (Nicolai and Rasmus), alongside a number of DP World Tour stalwarts.

The final round was a mother lode for California, but a bust for France. While Homa matched his opening-round 66, Pavon went north to a 78, dropping 13 places to a tie for 15th. Three bogeys in the first five holes for Pavon were more than matched by Home, who stood three-under through six holes on Sunday. Even when Pavon finally made birdie at the ninth, Homa posted eagle.  At that juncture, the challenge came not from Pavon, but from a pair of Swedes.

Nicolai Højgaard and Thorbjørn Olesen were in the process of posting 68 and 69, respectively. When Homa made bogey at 11, a sliver of hope appeared. No birdies down the stretch for Nicolai, coupled with a double at 17 for Thorbjørn, drew the potential drama to a close. Homa secured his seventh top-tour win and first on the DP World Tour.

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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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Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

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24 mins ago

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May 7, 2024

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GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.

From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.

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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips

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24 hours ago

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May 6, 2024

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SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”

“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”

Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.

According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”

CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.

“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.

Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history

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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar

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1 day ago

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May 6, 2024

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Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.

It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place

The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.

This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.

With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.

DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four

It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.

It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.

PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella

Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.

64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.

PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win

Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.

The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.

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