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Tour Rundown: Breakthrough wins abound
I’m wondering how the introduction of the Forme Tour snuck up on me. If you haven’t seen the release, it’s a complement to the Mackenzie Tour, for U.S.-based members of that Canadian wing of the PGA Tour. Say what? Well, since Canada is still locked down, and cross-border transit is non-existent, the Blue Jays in Buffalo isn’t the only big news. The PGA Tour will offer a series of eight events for MacTour golfers in the states to earn a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour. Meanwhile, the Mackenzie Tour will continue for Canada-based card holders.
That’s not the biggest news this week, however. The Byron Nelson found a new home near Dallas, the peripatetic Ladies European Tour opened its season in South Africa, and three other major tours competed from England to the southeastern USA. Masks came off in certain spaces as the parts of the world moved a bit closer to what once was, and professional golf marched on.
Let’s have a look at what transpired in this week’s release of #TourRundownGolfWRX.
PGA Tour: K.H. Lee notches inaugural tour win
It’s great when all eyes are on someone else. Sam Burns learned this lesson the hard way, and Kyoung-hoon Lee was the beneficiary of deflected attention. Burns had done everything right at the 2021 Byron Nelson Classic through 54 holes. He blistered the Craig Ranch course for 65 and 62. Those numbers weren’t necessary on the weekend, but what Burns provided just missed the mark. He close with 69 and 70 for 266 and solo second place.
Patton Kizzire and Daniel Berger got out early on Sunday and signed for 63 and 64, respectively, before the rains came. Lee and Burns were on the 16th hole when forced to endure a multi-hour delay. Displaying great patience, both players returned to the course and lost no ground. Lee had jumped out to a lead by playing the front nine in 4-under, despite an inexplicable bogey-six at the par-5 ninth. He tamed the back nine as well, finishing with birdies at 17 and 18 when matters got a wee bit tight.
Burns played the bogey-birdie game on two occasions during the outward half and dropped from the top spot for the first time all week. He gathered himself coming home, posted minus two on the back nine, and salvaged second tier on the podium.
65-65-67-66
K.H. Lee had a week to remember to earn his first TOUR win. ? pic.twitter.com/c4KsOcspYa
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 17, 2021
European Tour: Bland breaks through at British Masters
In 1996, Richard Bland turned pro. In 2001, he won the Challenge Tour Grand Final and jumped to the big tour. Since then, he exemplified the notion of the journeyman professional. He came close on numerous occasions to winning on tour, including three runners-up and a pair of show finishes. On Sunday at The Belfry, Bland began his last round three shots behind the leader, fellow Englishman Eddie Pepperell. The front-runner had struggles on the front nine, paving a path for someone to jump up and seize the title. That someone was Richard Bland.
Bland had quietly played a near-perfect tournament as round four opened. He had tripped over bogey just once in 54 holes, at the par-four eighth hole on Saturday. He nearly matched his weeklong tally of eight birdies with six more on Sunday. He also avoided bogey and reached the 18th hole in a tie with Guido Migliozzi. When the young Italian champion three-putted the green that had been the site of so many European triumphs in the Ryder Cup, Bland was finally a European Tour champion. His inaugural victory came less than half an hour from his hometown, a fitting locale for a long-awaited breakthrough.
Bland's best shots on the way to victory ?#BetfredBritishMasters pic.twitter.com/ZYaKVL4Gep
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 16, 2021
Korn Ferry Tour: Sigg-nificant win at the Visit Knoxville Open
With no offense intended to the other 73 golfers, the Visit Knoxville Open was always about two golfers: Greyson Sigg and Stephan Jaeger. Sigg opened the week’s curtains with a masterful 61 to seize the lead by two. The next day, Jaeger produced a sparkling 62 and seized the lead when Sigg collapsed to a 68. Yup, it was that kind of week. The pair produced 65s on day three and set the stage for day four.
Speaking of day four, Seth Reeves matched Sigg’s 61 with 10 birdies and one bogey. Ironically, the only day that failed to feature a sizzling round was moving day; the best these chaps could do on Saturday was a 63 — but I digress. Sigg and Jaeger produced seven rounds in the 60s this week, and the one to seep into the 70s was the one who settled for second-place money.
Jaeger’s round four bordered on the symmetrical. He posted birdies at one and 10, and bogeys at nine and 17. The rest were pars. So close! Symmetry doesn’t guarantee victories, however, and it was that 71st-hole bogey that dropped him to 19-under par. Sigg, meanwhile, was out in 3-under par and caught Jaeger by the turn. On the inward half, the Georgia Bulldog posted two bogeys and three birdies. It was his stroke-saver at 16 that pushed him to 20-under par, and a one-shot win — his first on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Clutch out of the sand.
A kick-in birdie ties the lead for @GBSigg. pic.twitter.com/dpoGsRQynU
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 16, 2021
Ladies European Tour: South African Open a weather person’s delight
Pia Babnik made an incredible move on Sunday morning, as the winds of South Africa perplexed every other golfer in the field. The 17-year-old Slovenian was the only competitor to break par, and she did so by three strokes. The question on the minds of all involved was, did she have enough left in the tank for the closing 18 holes that afternoon? For 13 holes, the answer was Yes.
Babnik began round four with a two-shot advantage over Lee-Ann Pace, a well-decorated golfer playing in her homeland. The Slovenian opened birdie-double bogey and quickly conceded her lead. As things went along, she fought back and found herself even for the round and in the thick of things with five holes remaining. At that juncture, wind or exhaustion or tension set in, and Babnik came unraveled. She closed in plus-six for 78 on the day and a tie for sixth position.
Pace herself had struggles at the end. She closed bogey-bogey but had just enough fuel to hold off Germany’s Leonie Harm by one mere stroke. Harm’s bogey at the penultimate hole pushed her to 4 over overall, one beyond Pace.
? "It should suit Lee-Anne Pace's draw."
And it does ? #RaiseOurGame | #InvestecSAWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/zuDHXfemQb
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) May 16, 2021
PGA Tour Champions: Pride at stake at Mitsubishi Electric
Dicky Pride never had to look far to find motivation. He was a very good junior golfer and played his collegiate golf at Alabama, but that was long before the Crimson Tide was the powerhouse it is today. He was often overlooked — until he wasn’t. U.S. Amateur semifinalist in 1991, a one-time winner on the PGA and Korn Ferry tours, and now, a champion on the Champions Tour.
When Pride turned 50 in 2019, his arrival on the PGA Tour Champions circuit was not heralded with fanfare. He was recognized as yet another journeyman pro who aged into another opportunity. On Sunday at Duluth, Georgia, Pride stood at the top with guys like Ames, Triplett, and Andrade, all multiple winners on the regular tour, golfers with greater cred than he. And Pride simply turned the tables on everyone. He had six birdies in his hip pocket before he reached the 15th tee, where he made his lone bogey of the day.
Meanwhile, Doug Barron had run and stumbled, reaching minus-ten before a double and a single brought him back to 7-under and a T5 finish. Andrade could not get out of his own way, making birdie at the first and bogey at the last, and 16 pars the rest of the way. Pride finished with pars at the final three holes for minus eleven and a three-shot win over Ames, Triplett, and overnight leader Paul Goydos, who fell back and then fired to return to the podium.
All gas, no brakes. ?? @DickyPride takes solo lead at @MEClassicGolf. pic.twitter.com/sk49cg3SfE
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 16, 2021
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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips
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
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.
360° and in!
A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024
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.
.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024
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.
.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024
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.
Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063
8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024
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Morning 9: Pendrith’s maiden Tour win | Morikawa back with former coach | Brooks victorious
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