News
A golfing memoir in monthly tokens: April, May
As some might say, if you don’t take the plunge, you can’t taste the brine. Others might not say such a thing. I’m taking the plunge, because I want to taste the brine. Here you’ll find the fourth installment of “A Golfing Memoir” as we trace a year in the life of Flip Hedgebow, itinerant teacher of golf. For January, click here. For February, click here. For March, click here.
‘Cause I would walk 500 …
No.
Roam if you …
No.
You’ve got a fast car…
Closer.
The drive from that part of Florida to pretty-rural, upstate New York, crossed a lot of station boundaries. Flip Hedgebow alternated between song lists he’d saved on that app, to the old-school radio embedded in the dashboard of the car, and back once again. Some days, he’d drive and sleep at night. Other times, he’d reverse the play, in order to confuse fate. Life hadn’t been a straight line for him. So, he reasoned, neither should a seminal trip from one end to the other.
cirE “Flip” Hedgebow hadn’t controlled much for a fair portion of life, so when his turn came to take the wheel and guide the nose, he did it for all that he could. Before leaving the sunshone state, the pro searched the in-between for esoteria, places he couldn’t imagine wanting to see, that might equal parts enliven and delay his journey to his summer home. In the clarity of the rear-view mirror where, you know, objects may appear … they were places he could not imagine having missed in his earthly stay.
Every flash of crimson along the route reminded him of her. Of Agnes Porter. Or what her real … hold off a moment. It’ll come. Of Agnes Porter the younger. She had taken a series of lessons with him as the moon of his time in Florida waned. Her motivation for the instruction was unclear, but the money spent well, and the time spent was much more than unpleasurable. It would be Hollywood-romantic to suggest that epiphanies arrived after their meetings, that clarity emanated from their encounters, but this wasn’t Hollywood and, as far as Flip could tell, it wasn’t romantic. Men are always slower and duller to the task.
Her golf swing was athletic from the get-go. Equal parts sport training and anger, the hands, arms, hips and shoulders moved in proper sequence, cadence, and space. It might have been a hockey club or a baseball bat that settled these early lessons for her, or martial arts, or something else. Who knew? He didn’t. And didn’t ask. Time served on the lesson tee had informed him that necessary information was always volunteered; never chased.
They had sat on tee chairs after lessons, discussing the swing and the grandeur of the game. Once, they had moved their conversation to the club patio, but had not advanced beyond dialogue. No dining, no drinks. Agnes the younger had revealed that her grandmother’s name was not Agnes Porter; it was an identifier that she had chosen while emigrating to the shores of the USA. Such a common thing, to leave your nomenclature behind in your original language, to embrace the sounds of the adopted soil. That had been decades before, when the elder was the younger, and the younger, not even.
A thoughtful observer would have identified more than an instructional connection between the two. It was certainly Agnes Porter’s intention to move the interaction farther along. Flip Hedgebow, whose percentages of jaded, obtuse, distracted, and torpid added to full capacity, had an extra percentage point left over, that suggested to him that something more might be present, and that he didn’t wish to risk its departure. He would wait for that information, as he did so often on the lesson tee.
“Perhaps I’ll see you upstate. Grandmother Agnes always finds her way back north during the summer months, and I always find my way to her. I love my mother, but I have this connection with the prior generation. Sometimes that happens.”
Five words, including a contraction. The remainder of the utterance, like mist over the morning river. Was there a difference between maybe and perhaps? From his perspective, there certainly was. And thus did Flip Hedgebow ruminate for hundreds of miles, into the thousands, on what might be. He knew what certainly would be: a new balance sheet, different bosses, a clientele for whom the word posh was more likely a curse or an insult, and less probably a tenet or commandment. He liked the contrast between his two places of employment. It preserved the balance, and allowed him to move through life with equilibrium and harmony.
It had allowed him to move through life thus. As he said good-bye to young Agnes on the eve of his departure from the Swelter (nee Sunshine) state, she leaned in closer and left him with six complicated words, one a contraction: Agnes Porter isn’t my name, either.
May
The omnipresent creek at the base of the foothill had impacted the founder of the small, unique resort in upstate New York. Upstate was the best place to identify where Klifzota sat. It wasn’t truly western, but it wasn’t southern tier, nor central. It was away out there, where the osadnik from Polonia had found his slice of idyllic country living. His family had farmed the land for a few generations, before an enterprising daughter had turned barn and family home into a retreat for the city folk from western New York’s two main cities. Not all city folk, understand?
Klifzota’s foothill was neither tall nor wide enough to feature downhill skiing, as found farther south and west. Landing on the series of avenues that her ancestors used to move heavy equipment around the property, she established a series of footpaths and walkways for contemplation and less-vertical exercise. In the winter, out came the snowshoes and other devices, fit to traverse what would eventually be groomed trails. Eschewing romance for hard work and the family name, she nonetheless could not step out of its path. It arrived one day in the guise of a forty-something man with two children. His name translated from German as avoid the farmer, which suited her just fine. He was unattached, she was smitten, and the newly-blended family now a momentous decision: what to do with the meadow.
Growing up on a country farm, she understood the worth of all things natural, and the eternal harm that would come from disruption. There were two areas of the farm where things had caused this irreversible harm, and she would permit no others. In the end, the family settled on golf. The game and the course they built preserved the harmony of the corridors. The equipment shed replaced the cattle barn, and a small lodge with some touches grew up adjacent to the country home that they expanded into their operations center. They purchased a few homes along the perimeter of the property, in anticipation of the needs of future generations of family, and guests. It was in one of these that cirE “Flip” Hedgebow took up residence each April. He remained there annually until the course closed, just after harvest season ended and Halloween beckoned. Then, he would don his southern costume and resume the guise of Florida Man. That would be then, though; this was soon to be now. What else would be now, he wondered.
Unlike Florida, Flip’s duties seldom included lessons. Klifzota was a public-access course, where the regulars came to the game after playing some other sport. Many were baseball devotees, and they learned to tilt at the hips and change the plane of their swing. Others were hockey aficionados, with powerful legs and super-charged swings. They alone had compelled the owners to continually assess the proper width of the fairways, given the lateral nature of their shot patterns. When Canadians discovered Klifzota, the hockey influence approached something primordial.
Flip kept a golf cart at his house on the hill. The course sat in a bit of a valley, between the large, eastern hill and the shallower, western one. The house rested on the western hill, adjacent to the other properties owned by the descendants of the original osadnik. It was efficient, and that was all Flip needed. He was rarely there. His shift began at six each morning, when the dewsweepers would arrive for their breakfast nine. Sometimes they played 18; most days, they regretted that decisions, swearing a full round off for a time. Carts were brought from the cattle barn across the road, floors were swept, coffee was brewed, and the till was tended. Flip ate his own first meal in his office, just off the counter. By noon, there was usually enough of a break in the action for him to catch some sleep. If he was super-tired, he would grab a key for one of the unoccupied rooms in the motel and sneak away there, while his assistant tended to affairs. Super-tired was code for hung over, which was at times a necessary result of duty.
Klifzota wasn’t a summer camp, but at times, it felt like one, with Flip cast as the head counselor. After his lunch and nap, he would tend to the local leagues during the weekday afternoons, ensuring that their times were posted, their bets recorded and monies collected, and their results tabulated and posted. This brought him to supper, when the action truly commenced. Each evening, Flip gathered his fill of local news (chatter in the dining room and bar area) and worldwide affairs (the screen in the bar), and ate and drank with the league golfers and overnight groups. The locals had adopted Flip as their own; he was able to approximate their values system and, in truth, it was much closer to his own than the one he feigned in Florida each winter. It was this other, this affected persona, that allowed him to interact seamlessly with the golf groups that arrived throughout the season. No matter their place of origin, their values system, he was able to decode their language, mannerisms, and hierarchies, and insinuate himself in, temporarily. Like all travelers in a strange place, the guests needed an anchor, and Flip was that anchor. If they returned annually, they were no longer travelers, but distant kin.
It was these foothills that brought cirE Hedgebow closer to that other “F” word that he had successfully kept at arm’s length since he struck out on his own: family. Down south, he was hired help and he knew it. Florida could be a transient state, especially for someone in the golf industry. Up north, where life became more traditional americana, it wasn’t quite Rockwell, but only because old Norman never made it over to Wyoming county. That daughter who married the farmer-hater? Their children married and had children of their own, and they all stayed to develop the resort. Little squabbling among them meant a lot of cooperation and much advancement and success for Klifzota. This jaded-in-a-positive-way ambience gave Flip a family to which to belong, to which he owed nothing, but to which he would gladly give everything.
As May crept toward Memorial Day weekend, an email arrived in his inbox, that would set the summer’s events into motion. Try as he might to control things, when Agnes Porter the younger, or whoever she truly was, entered his life, his deft command of the wheel loosened and weakened. Her plans to visit had transitioned from casual toss to anticipate arrival. Sometime in June, she wrote, more early than late. She would be down east for Memorial Day, and would follow the sun in the days that followed. The count of the clock would divulge the impact of her reappearance on his story.
Artwork by JaeB
- LIKE2
- LEGIT1
- WOW1
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
News
Morning 9: Tiger confirms playing schedule | Player: This caused Tiger’s downfall
|
- LIKE1
- LEGIT1
- WOW0
- LOL1
- IDHT1
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
- LIKE10
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
News
Vincenzi’s 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson betting preview: International talent to shine
As anticipation mounts for the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla in a few weeks, the PGA Tour makes a pit stop in McKinney, Texas to play The CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
Last year was the third time TPC Craig Ranch hosted the Byron Nelson. Prior to 2021, the event was held at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.
TPC Craig Ranch is a 7,414-yard par-71 that features Bentgrass greens. The event historically plays relatively easy, and that has remained the case in the three editions at TPC Craig Ranch.
The course structure may provide some additional intrigue with the par-3 17th featuring a stadium setup called “Ranch 17” which is reminiscent of the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. The course also has both long and difficult par-4s mixed with drivable par-4s, which should create some exciting moments.
There are 156 golfers in the field this week, and many stars will be taking the week off to prepare for 2023’s second major championship in a few weeks and a “signature event” at Quail Hollow next week. Notable players in the field include Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Sungjae Im, Stephan Jaeger, Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim, Min Woo Lee, Alex Noren, Adam Scott and Will Zalatoris.
Past Winners of the AT&T Byron Nelson
- 2023: Jason Day (-23 at TPC Craig Ranch)
- 2022: K.H. Lee (-26 at TPC Craig Ranch)
- 2021: K.H. Lee (-25 at TPC Craig Ranch)
- 2019: Sung Kang (-23)
- 2018: Aaron Wise (-23)
- 2017: Billy Horschel (-12)
- 2016: Sergio Garcia (-15)
- 2015: Steven Bowditch (-18)
Key Stats at TPC Craig Ranch
Let’s take a look at five key metrics for TPC Craig Ranch to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds.
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Approach remains the best measure of current form.
Hot iron play will be at a premium this week. Last year, Jason Day gained 6.4 strokes on approach, which was fourth in the field. In 2022, K.H. Lee was ninth in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, gaining 5.2 strokes. In his 2021 victory, he was second in the field and gained 8.3 strokes on the field in the category.
Strokes Gaines: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds
- Tom Hoge (+1.12)
- Keith Mitchell (+1.02)
- Henrik Norlander (+0.99)
- Ryan Moore (+0.98)
- Ben Martin (0.80)
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
Fairways are wide at TPC Craig Ranch.
Distance will certainly be helpful, and there aren’t too many difficult holes on the course. Golfers who put themselves in position off of the tee this week should have a sizable advantage.
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Over Past 24 Rounds
- Peter Kuest (+0.93)
- Kevin Daugherty (+0.91)
- Alejandro Tosti (+0.83)
- Keith Mitchell (+0.82)
- Kevin Tway (+0.74)
Birdie or Better %
There aren’t many hazards on the course, and all of the par-5s should be reachable in two for the majority of the players in the field. I am anticipating a birdie fest, and this statistic should be helpful in finding the birdie-makers.
Birdie or Better % Over Past 24 Rounds:
- Wesley Bryan (31%)
- Kelly Kraft (26.2%)
- Peter Kuest (25.9%)
- Matti Schmid (25.7%
- Jimmy Stanger (25.2%)
Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass)
Many golfers on TOUR have some major putting surface variance in their statistics and prefer Bentgrass to other surfaces.
Bentgrass is common in Texas, and we often see golfers who play well in Texas continue to do so, finding a great feel around the greens.
Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass) Over Past 24 Rounds:
- Maverick McNealy (+0.92)
- Aaron Baddeley (+0.87)
- Callum Tarren (+0.86)
- Harry Hall (+0.81)
- Nick Hardy (+0.69)
Course History
This statistic will tell us which players have performed the best at TPC Craig Ranch over the past three seasons.
Course History Over Past 12 Rounds:
- Jordan Spieth (+2.69)
- K.H. Lee (+2.59)
- Seamus Power (+1.84)
- Ryan Palmer (+1.76)
- Adam Scott (+1.72)
CJ CUP Byron Nelson Model Rankings
Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: OTT (24%), Birdie or Better % (18%), Course History (17%) and SG: Putting Bentgrass (16%).
- Alex Noren
- Adam Scott
- Keith Mitchell
- Si Woo Kim
- Stephen Jaeger
- Jordan Spieth
- Jhonnatan Vegas
- Nate Lashley
- Brice Garnett
- Tom Hoge
2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson Picks
Byeong Hun An +3000 (DraftKings)
Byeong Hun put together an excellent performance at The Masters, finishing T16, which ties his best ever finish at a major championship (also T16 at 2019 U.S. Open). The South Korean gained 9.16 strokes from tee to green, which ranked 2nd in the field behind only the champion, Scottie Scheffler.
An’s next start at Harbour Town didn’t go as well (67th), but he still had a fantastic ball striking week. The 32-year-old bled strokes both around and on the greens, which was his eventual undoing. In his past three starts, An has gained significant strokes on the field both off the tee and on approach.
Benny had a strong start at last year’s Byron Nelson, finishing in a tie for 14th. With limited challenges on the course, he shouldn’t have to do much scrambling. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 17th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 17th in the field in birdie or better percentage. The putter is up and down per usual, but his ceiling putting weeks with his LAB Golf putter in 2024 are higher than they’ve been in past seasons.
An is starting to become my “white whale” of the PGA Tour, but I believe in his talent and TPC Craig Ranch is a course that should suit his excellent tee to green play.
Mackenzie Hughes +5500 (FanDuel)
Mackenzie Hughes is quietly putting together a very good season. He finished in a tie for 3rd at the Valspar Championship and followed that up with a T14 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
In his past 36 rounds in Texas, the Canadian ranks 5th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total. Last year, he finished in a tie for 14th at this event and gained strokes putting and off the tee. Mackenzie played well that week despite being in extremely poor form. He missed two cuts in a row prior to the event, and four consecutive cuts immediately after. His irons were off that week, but in 2024, we’ve seen an improvement in Hughes’ approach game. He now comes to the event playing some steady golf. He’s gained strokes on approach in four of his past five events and is hitting the ball very well from tee to green.
Hughes has two victories on the PGA Tour, both coming in relatively low-scoring affairs (-17 in each). He will need to go a bit deeper to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson but has the type of putter that can keep pace in a birdie barrage.
Seamus Power +7000 (FanDuel)
After struggling over the past few seasons with injuries, Seamus Power seems as if he is rounding back into the form that made him a really consistent player on the PGA Tour.
Power finished T12 in his most recent start at the RBC Heritage, which is encouraging considering it was a “signature event” with a very strong field. For the week, the Irishman gained 4.4 strokes on approach and 2.8 strokes putting, which is the combination he’s used in the past to contend on Tour.
In his three trips to TPC Craig Ranch, Power is yet to finish outside of the top-20, with his best finish being a T9 in 2019. He ranks 4th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course. The 37-year-old thrives on easy tracks and has won in 2021 (Barbasol Championship) and 2022 (Butterfield Bermuda) on easier layouts with weaker fields.
Power has the game to go extremely low and I believe he can get back in the winner’s circle for the third time in four years.
Chan Kim +10000 (FanDuel)
Chan Kim has been striking the ball beautifully this season and is a proven winner with two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023 as well as eight career Japan Tour wins.
At last week’s Zurich Classic, Kim and his partner Doug Ghim finished in a tie for 28th. Prior to that, the South Korean T14 at the Valero Texas Open and T6 at the Corales Puntacana Championship. His success this season in Texas as well as he propensity to play his best golf on the PGA Tour’s easier courses make him and ideal fit for TPC Craig Ranch.
2024 has given plenty of longshot winners on the PGA Tour, and with a birdie fest like this, I believe there’s a strong chance we get another this week in McKinney, Texas.
Alejandro Tosti +10000 (FanDuel)
Alejandro Tosti is one of the most polarizing players on the PGA Tour thus far in the 2024 season. His antics can rub many the wrong way, but he’s shown on a few occasions that he has what it takes to compete in Tour events.
This season, Tosti has been elite off the tee. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 2nd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. The Argentine hits it long and straight, which works at any course on earth. He got a taste of contention a few starts ago at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, finishing in a tie for 2nd place.
Tosti had a fantastic year in 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour, where going low is a prerequisite to success. If this turns to a shootout, which it likely will, the 27-year-old has the ability to set the pace. Tosti will look to become the second Argentine to win in Texas in the past two seasons after Emiliano Grillo emerged victorious at last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge.
C.T. Pan +15000 (FanDuel)
Outside of a T3 at the Mexico Open, C.T. Pan doesn’t have strong results this season in terms of finishes. However, over his past two starts, Pan’s iron play has come alive. At The Players, he gained 6.6 strokes on approach. At the Valero Texas Open, he gained 3.7. At last week’s Zurich Classic, Pan and his partner Kevin Yu finished T28. For a player who can get extremely hot with his scoring clubs, I believe he’s playing better than the results have shown over the past month or so.
Last season, Pan finished 4th at TPC Craig Ranch and was spectacular across all the major stat categories. In his past 36 qualifying rounds, he ranks 16th in Strokes Gained: Total in Texas.
Pan has won on the PGA Tour at the RBC Heritage and is always a player that I believe has what it takes to win on a Sunday if he finds himself in contention.
- LIKE16
- LEGIT11
- WOW3
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP3
- OB0
- SHANK4
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Neal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Brandel Chamblee has ‘no doubt’ who started the McIlroy/LIV rumor and why
-
19th Hole1 week ago
LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
-
Equipment3 weeks ago
Jason Day on his recent switch into Srixon ZX5 and ZX7 Mk II irons
-
19th Hole5 days ago
Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career