Opinion & Analysis

Garcia feels the sting of golf’s cruel side

Published

11 years ago

May 13, 2013

Golf, cruel? Really?

Standing on the 17^th tee Sunday afternoon at TPC Sawgrass with his second Players Championship trophy tantalizingly within reach, Sergio Garcia was in command of his own destiny.

Birdies on the Nos. 11, 13 and 16 launched Garcia into a share of the lead at 13-under with Tiger Woods. And earlier Sunday morning, Garcia actually hit the flagstick on No. 17 en route to a birdie as players finished third round play suspended the evening before because of darkness.

“That hole [No. 17] has been good to me for the most part,” Garcia said in his press conference afterwards.

Garcia won The Players Championship in 2008 on this hole. On this particular Sunday however, No. 17 would have its revenge on Garcia.

Mouthing the word “go” almost immediately after hitting his shot, Garcia’s ball splashed into the water and never reached the iconic island green.

“I just under-hit it a little bit,” Garcia said. “I felt with a little bit of adrenaline, I didn’t want to shoot over the green with a wedge. I needed to hit it a little bit harder and was maybe a little bit too confident.”

Garcia still had a slim chance of forcing a playoff with Woods if he could escape the 17^th hole with a bogey, and card a birdie on No. 18 (which he did on Friday).

But reminiscent of the movie “Tin Cup,” Garcia curiously elected to re-hit again from the tee rather than hit from the drop area, unceremoniously sinking his second shot into the water as well — bouncing it off the front bunker ridge on way to a quadruple-bogey seven. Garcia’s excruciating collapse was completed when he also drove his tee shot into the water on No. 18 for a double-bogey, tumbling to a T-8 finish.

Fairly or unfairly Garcia’s collapse will again renew discussions about the mercurial Spaniard being a whiner and a choker.

On Saturday, Garcia called it “unfortunate” that Woods disrupted Garcia’s second shot from the par-5 second hole when Tiger took out a fairway wood from his bag causing the crowd around him to cheer loudly in the middle of Garcia’s swing.

Garcia implied it was intentional, while Woods countered he wasn’t surprised to learn of Garcia “complaining about something.” The bickering continued through to Sunday when Garcia said Woods “is not the nicest guy on tour.”

But this is a far cry from the days of Garcia bellyaching “the golf gods are against me,” or somberly moaning “I get no breaks.” This was simply Garcia expressing his opinion about a fellow competitor who he genuinely dislikes. And there’s nothing wrong with not liking someone you’re competing against.

Unlike most other sports, the Tour carries an image of its players all generally getting along and liking each other. But as someone in the media pointed out, there’s a difference between “respecting someone” and “liking them.”

And calling Garcia a choker because of what happened on No. 17 is equally going too far.

In total, 44 balls were hit in the water on the 17^th hole over the weekend. In 2007, a record 93 balls got wet. Pete Dye’s island green is 130 some yards with a fairly large green, a shot on any other course that Tour professionals will hit consistently to a few yards round the clock.

But No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass is specifically designed to wreck havoc on even the best of players, particularly on the weekend when the pressure is jacked up. It happened to Jeff Maggert on Sunday who was also in position to win. It happened to Paul Goydos here in 2008.

Garcia didn’t blow a four-stroke or five-stroke lead. Garcia didn’t systematically collapse over the course of a tournament. He unraveled on a hole designed to create bad shots and cause chaos. Garcia played the best closer in the game, and No. 1 player in the world (who’s happened to close 52 of the last 56 when he has the 54-hole lead ) to a dead draw for 70 holes.

And making matters worse for Garcia, the crowd cheered wildly when Garcia’s first shot at No. 17 found the water, and even wilder when he did it again on his second shot. That would rattle just about anyone but the most resolute players on Tour, let alone someone like Garcia who feeds on emotion, albeit both to his benefit and detriment.

Garcia is and will remain one of the most polarizing players on Tour, and for good reason. But give credit where credit is due. Garcia played well, very well in fact. Just not well enough to win. And if you play the game long enough, the game will burn you, sometimes in the cruelest ways imaginable. Just ask Adam Scott, or Jim Furyk, and yes, even Tiger Woods.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Memorial Tournament betting preview: Collin Morikawa to reign supreme at Jack’s place

Published

22 hours ago

Jun 3, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA Tour heads to Jack’s place to play the 2024 edition of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. The Memorial is regarded as one of the most prestigious non-majors of the PGA Tour season, and for the second consecutive year the tournament will be a “Signature Event”.

Muirfield Village Golf Club is a 7,571-yard par-72 located in Dublin, Ohio that features Bentgrass greens. A Jack Nicklaus design, the course was built in 1974 and redesigned by Nicklaus in 2020. The course can play extremely difficult due to its long rough and lightning-fast greens.

The Memorial Tournament will play host to 80 golfers this week, which is down from 120 last year. The top 50 and ties will make the cut. Being a designated event, the field is predictably stacked and will feature most of the biggest stars on Tour. All eligible players have committed to the event in addition to sponsor’s exemptions Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker and Billy Horschel.

Past Winners at the Memorial Tournament

2023: Viktor Hovland (-7)
2022: Billy Horschel (-13)
2021: Patrick Cantlay (-13)
2020: Jon Rahm (-9)
2019: Patrick Cantlay (-19)
2018: Bryson DeChambeau (-15)
2017: Jason Dufner (-13)
2016: William McGirt (-15)

Key Stats for Muirfield Village

Let’s take a look at five key metrics for Muirfield Village to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds.

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

Jack Nicklaus designs all have one thing in common: They reward the best iron players on Tour. When designing Muirfield Village, Jack created a second-shot golf course that strongly benefited golfers who could really dial in their approach shots. With that in mind, does it surprise anyone that Tiger Woods won this event five times?

Strokes Gained: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Scottie Scheffler (+1.37)
Corey Conners (+1.14)
Xander Schauffele (+1.14)
Sepp Straka (+0.88)
Rory McIlroy (+0.88)

2. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

Strokes Gained: Ball Striking does include approach, but if there is any week to overemphasize Strokes Gained: Approach, this is the week. The statistic also incorporates Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, which will be important considering the rough at Muirfield Village can be exceedingly penal.

Strokes Gained: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds

Scottie Scheffler (+2.48)
Xander Schauffele (+1.88)
Rory McIlroy (+1.60)
Ludvig Aberg (+1.56)
Corey Conners (+1.42)

3. Good Drive %

Driving the ball well will be an important factor. Bombing it off the tee is not a requirement at Muirfield Village, but distance always helps. The rough can get very long, and golfers who can’t put the ball in the fairway will fall out of contention quickly. Balanced and consistent drivers of the golf ball should be the targets this week.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

Collin Morikawa (+88.1%)
Tom Hoge (86.1%)
Sepp Straka (+85.9%)
Scottie Scheffler (+85.8%)
Alex Noren (+85.8%)

4. Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass – Fast)

The Bentgrass greens at Muirfield are lightning quick. Whoever can master these difficult putting surfaces has a major advantage at Jack’s place.

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass+Fast) Over Past 24 Rounds:

Justin Rose (+1.43)
Thomas Detry (+0.88)
Sahith Theegala (+0.77)
Harris English (+0.74)
Denny McCarthy (+0.73)

5. Strokes Gained: Nicklaus Designs

We often see similar leaderboards when events are hosted by Jack Nicklaus designed courses. The model this week will look to incorporate those golfers.

Strokes Gained: Nicklaus Designs (per round, min. 4 rounds) Over Past 36 Rounds:

Scottie Scheffler (+2.49)
Patrick Cantlay (+2.32)
Collin Morikawa (+1.99)
Shane Lowry (+1.74)
Austin Eckroat (+1.67)

6. Course History

We often see similar leaderboards when events are hosted by Jack Nicklaus designed courses. The model this week will look to incorporate those golfers.

Course History (Strokes Gained: Total (per round, min. 4 rounds) Over Past 36 Rounds:

Scottie Scheffler (+2.75)
Patrick Cantlay (+2.54)
Justin Rose (+2.17)
Collin Morikawa (+1.77)
Jordan Spieth (+1.66)

The Memorial Tournament Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: BS (18%), Good Drive % (16%), SG: Putting Bentgrass – Fast (13%), Course History (13%) and SG: Total Nicklaus Designs (13%).

Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schauffele
Shane Lowry
Alex Noren
Sahith Theegala
Collin Morikawa
Rory McIlroy
Tony Finau
Keegan Bradley
Sepp Straka
Corey Conners
Viktor Hovland
Russell Henley
Si Woo Kim
Justin Thomas

2024 Memorial Tournament Picks

Collin Morikawa +1800 (Fanatics)

Collin Morikawa has consistently shown up in the biggest events over the past few months. He finished in a tie for 3rd at The Masters, 9th at the RBC Heritage, a tie for 16th at the Wells Fargo Championship and a tie for 4th at the PGA Championship. He also finished 4th in his most recent start at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Iron play is always a strong indication of where Morikawa’s game is trending, and his Strokes Gained: Approach numbers have seen a recent uptick. The two-time major champion has gained an average of 4.0 strokes on approach over his last two starts, which despite not being as good as his peak approach numbers, are a major improvement over the past year or so.

Morikawa has played some great golf at Muirfield Village throughout his career. He won the Workday Charity Open in 2020 and lost in a playoff at The Memorial Tournament in 2021. His two most recent starts at the course have ended in a withdraw and a missed cut, but his current form is much better than it was over the past few seasons coming into the event.

In addition to the strong iron play, the ability to keep the ball in the fairway will be a major advantage for a Memorial Tournament that I anticipate will play relatively difficult. Morikawa has gained strokes off the tee in eight consecutive starts, including 3.8 strokes at the PGA Championship and 4.0 strokes at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

The American has been fantastic at Nicklaus Courses since he burst onto the scene on the PGA Tour, and that was once again on full display at Valhalla last month. In his last 36 rounds, Collin ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Total on Nicklaus designs. He also ranked 1st in the field in Good Drive %, which will be a key this week.

It’s been a while since the 27-year-old has won a big event on Tour, but that could very well change this week at Jack’s place.

Justin Thomas +2500 (BetMGM)

Justin Thomas is winless in last 43 professional starts, dating back to the 2022 PGA Championship. For a player with 17 professional wins and in the prime of his career, that’s a long time.

Other than being “due”, Thomas has shown signs that is just about all the way back from his two-year slump. He has four top-ten finishes this season, with three of those being at a “signature” event or a major. Most recently, he’s finished in a tie for 5th at the RBC Heritage, a tie for 21st at the Wells Fargo Championship and a tie for 8th at the PGA Championship.

JT has loved Nicklaus designs throughout his career. He finished 2nd at the 2020 Workday at Muirfield Village, losing in a playoff to Collin Morikawa. In his last 30 rounds at the course, he ranks 6th in Strokes Gained: Total.

In addition to the obvious course fit, Thomas’ ball striking numbers have come to life of late. He gained 4.1 strokes on approach at the PGA Championship to go along with 4.6 strokes off the tee. Valhalla another Jack Nicklaus design so it’s encouraging to see that’s where he had arguably his best ball striking week of the season. The key for Thomas will be keeping the ball on the fairways this week and he’s improved his SG: OTT performance in four consecutive starts.

Thomas is finally in form and ready to get back in the winner’s circle at Muirfield Village.

Byeong Hun An +5000 (DraftKings)

Byeong Hun An is playing the best golf of his career. This season, the 32-year-old has finished T16 at the Genesis Invitational, T16 at The Masters, T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and 3rd at the Wells Fargo Championship.

The South Korean’s ball striking has been fantastic this year. He’s gained strokes both off the tee and on approach in six consecutive events. An will now head back to a course where he’s had plenty of success. Back in 2018, he lost in a playoff to a surging superstar named Bryson DeChambeau. Ben has five top-25 finishes in eight starts at the course. The few times he missed the cut were in 2020 and 2021 when he was really struggling with his game.

An has had some close calls of late and I believe we need to stick with him for one more week.

Corey Conners +6000 (DraftKings)

Corey Conners is absolutely striping the ball right now. In his past 24 rounds, the Canadian ranks 2nd in Strokes Gained: Approach, 5th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking and 22nd in Good Drive %.

At last week’s Canadian Open, Conners ranked 4th for the week in approach and finished in 6th place. In his previous two starts, Conners ranked 2nd in Strokes Gained: Approach at the Wells Fargo Championship and 4th at the PGA Championship. There are very few players on the planet that are currently hotter with their irons than Corey Conners.

Conners has a solid history at Muirfield Village with mixed results. His best finish came in 2022, when he finished T13 and also finished T22 back in 2020. While putting is typically Conners’ greatest weakness, he’s gained strokes on the greens in three of his six starts at the course and ranks 30th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bentgrass, so there’s hope that the 32-year-old can putt to field average this week.

Conners’ ability to hit fairways and dial in his mid-irons can propel him to the top of the leaderboard this week at a course that favors ball strikers.

Will Zalatoris +8000 (DraftKings)

I’m not entirely sure if Will Zalatoris is fully healthy based on his recent struggles, but there are enough positive signs for a player of his talent at this number.

Zalatoris made a Friday charge in his most recent start at the PGA Championship, which enabled him to sneak through the cut line. For the week, he gained 3.56 strokes on approach and has gained on approach in nine of his past ten starts.

Although he’s struggled at times, Zalatoris still has some strong finishes in big events this year. He finished in a tie for 9th at the Masters, a tie for 4th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a tie foe 2nd at the Genesis Invitational.

If Zalatoris is feeling fit, Muirfield Village is a perfect course to showcase his strengths. He’s one of the best iron players in the world and already has a 5th place finish in his most recent start at the course (2022).

This is a buy low opportunity on a world class player that has win equity.

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Opinion & Analysis

Saso says so! Yuka Saso survives for second U.S. Open title

Published

1 day ago

Jun 3, 2024

Ronald Montesano

One of my favorite golf writers was the late Ron Balicki, and not just for the shared first name. Balicki was called, and enjoyed, the nickname “Wrong Ron,” because whoever he chose to win, was guaranteed to do not that. I might have inherited the moniker, sadly, and if you read yesterday’s update, this week goes miles to secure that designation. Four amateurs made the cut, and three of them tied for low amateur at 12-over par. I picked the one that did not make that number. Hilarious, no? As for the tournament proper, the new “Wrong Ron” guessed the correct country, but the wrong golfer. I went with Hinako Shibuno, and it was the other pride of Japan, Yuka Saso, who stole the show. Alas!

For a healthy portion of the day, odds were in the favor of a player earning a second Open title. Important note: her name was not Yuka Saso. As golfers around her crumbled, Minjee Lee held steady at +1 on the day, and -4 on the week. Arpichya Yubol from Thailand had made the big move of the day. She reached -3 on the day an -1 for the week, before two late bogies dropped her to solo fifth position, a remarkable achievement. The round of the day came from Ally Ewing, who posted four birdies against zero bogeys for 66 and a tie for third spot.

DIALED IN ??

2021 champion Yuka Saso with another birdie, now 2 clear of the field.#USWomensOpen | @Ally pic.twitter.com/B2TslN56re

— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) June 2, 2024

As for Minjee, the round’s thread began to unravel at the 9th. A missed fairway led to bogey, and she followed with a three-putt for another at the tenth hole. Double bogeys at 12 and 14 took her out of the running for the title, and opened the chase to a new segment of the field. Hinako Shibuno would ultimately finish in solo second, one of two golfers to finish under par on the week. Shibuno was never a threat for the title, but when others lost their momentum, she found herself positioned for a runner-up finish.

A GOLF SHOT clinic!

Yuka Saso has this left for eagle on the short par-4 16th.#USWomensOpen | @Ally pic.twitter.com/OGn5Auv2Nj

— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) June 2, 2024

It was Yuka Saso who turned in the day’s memorable performance. Saso turned in even par on the day, preserving her position at one-under par. Andrea Lee (+5) and Wichanee Meechai (+7) fell away from their place atop the third-round chart, as did Minjee Lee. Suddenly, Saso had posted four birdies in five holes on the inward half. She finished at two under on the day, four under on the week, and earned a three-shot win over Shibuno.

In her post-0round comments, Saso revealed that she had doubts that she would win again, especially a major title. She discussed the addition of a new putter to her bag, and her extraordinary confidence in her driver. Finally, Saso revealed how important the first cut of rough was to the resolution of the tournament. That wee bit of playable grass made all the difference in her mind.

TWICE AS NICE! ??

Yuka Saso has won the U.S. Women’s Open for the second time!#USWomensOpen | @Ally pic.twitter.com/TIIMUIvhfd

— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) June 2, 2024

With the refreshing transparency that all writers desire, Yuka Saso won for a second time on Sunday. We’ll forgive her if she values the US Open silver a bit more.

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19th Hole

5 examples of how Lexi Thompson has been treated harsher than any of her peers

Published

4 days ago

May 31, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

*Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on GolfWRX in September 2023*

Related: Lexi Thompson announces retirement from golf

Following Lexi Thompson’s Solheim Cup post-round presser on Friday evening, the 28-year-old has been the topic of much discussion.

Golf pundits and fans alike have been weighing in with their takes after this exchange with a reporter surrounding an untimely shank on Friday afternoon went viral:

Confounding answer from Lexi and subsequent reaction from the US side. It was one of the pivotal moments of the entire day and somehow that's off limits? pic.twitter.com/9std3LFlmN

— Tron Carter (@TronCarterNLU) September 23, 2023

After the incident, LPGA Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez said that Lexi has “been picked on and drug through negative comments. She is tired of it”

So has the criticism of Lexi Thompson been justified, or is this yet another example of her being unfairly treated?

Well, here are five times, in my opinion, that Lexi has been scrutinized far differently over the years than her peers.

2022 KPMG PGA Championship

At the 2022 KPMG PGA Championship, Lexi Thompson held a two-stroke lead with three holes to play. She couldn’t close the deal and lost the tournament.

Afterwards, she was fined $2k (as were the rest of the group) for slow play.

Lexi declined to speak to the media and got hammered on social media for doing so…

Lexi Thompson has declined to speak with the media here at Congressional.

Not a great look?

— Zephyr Melton (@zephyrmelton) June 26, 2022

Almost every golfer at some point has skipped a media session following disappointment on the course, and nobody has really batted an eyelid.

Tiger skipped back-to-back post-round media briefings at the 2019 WGC Mexico after being frustrated with his putting. Remember the backlash over that? Nah, me neither.

Donald Trump

@TheWhiteHouse

Every (or nearly every) big-name golfer under the sun has played golf with Donald Trump. Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy etc. Nobody really cared.

For whatever reason, when Lexi Thompson did, it was a story, and she took herself off social media soon after the photo was posted.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lexi Thompson (@lexi)

2021 U.S. Women’s Open

In the final round of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, Lexi Thompson had a 6-foot eagle on her opening hole. She missed and made birdie to lead by five.

She then lost the tournament.

Following the round, Brandel Chamblee said on ‘Live From’:

“She’s got 6 feet away. Now professional golfers don’t miss the center of the face by a pinhead. Look where she hits this putt on the very 1st hole. Look where this putt comes off the face. She would have missed the center of the putter there by a half an inch. I have never — I have never — seen a professional golfer miss the center of the putter by a wider margin than that. That was at the 1st hole. “

Honest? Absolutely. Correct? Brandel usually is. Has any other LPGA golfer been handed the full-on Chamblee treatment? Not to my knowledge.

2023 Solheim Cup

Lexi Thompson spoke the words, “I don’t need to comment on that” when a reporter asked her about a failed shot, and the golf community collectively lost their minds.

Lost on many people is the fact that she literally answered the question instantly after.

Jessica Korda described the reporting of the awkward exchange with the media member as yet another example of the golf media shredding Lexi, but in reality, it was really just golf media covering the furore created by golf fans reacting to the viral clip.

So sad seeing golf media , yet again, shred Lexi. It’s easy writing about other people’s mistakes. It’s
Golf, bad shots happen- give the girl a break. She grows the game more than anyone on tour… And she’s a great player!!

— Jessica Korda (@Thejessicakorda) September 23, 2023

Lexi then won her next two matches, collecting 3 points from 4 for the U.S. team. But nobody seems to care about that.

Instagram

‘yOu ShoUlD PrAcTIce puTTinG’

There’s very few golfers that have been plagued with such inane posts on their Instagram page as Lexi Thompson has.

I’ve tracked golfer’s social media accounts over the past few years (job requirement, sort of?). I can categorically say that Lexi gets some of the angriest and most aggressive responses to her posts of any golfer. Male or female. (She also gets some very nice ones too).

Despite countless posts of Thompson relentlessly practising her putting, the number of comments from dummies accusing her of neglecting that area of her game is both bizarre and alarming. Notice how the comments have been disabled on the post below? Probably not a coincidence.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lexi Thompson (@lexi)

Go on any other golfer’s social account, and it will be hard to find the same dynamic.

Throw in the scandalous rules decision at the 2017 ANA Inspiration that cost her a second major title and spawned the “Lexi rule,” and it’s hard not to think Lexi has had a bit of a raw deal at times.

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