19th Hole

Tour pro suffers snapped driver in freak accident

Published

2 years ago

Feb 21, 2022

At the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic this past weekend, Albin Choi found himself in a very strange turn of events. It resulted in a snapped driver, which wasn’t even the club that Choi was using. I’ll let the 28-year-old tell the story:

“Yeah, so I was left on 6,” Choi explained, “and I was kind of against a shrub and couldn’t really get a club on it — it was kind of a weird shot, and I hit it and then unfortunately it hit the shrub right in front of me, and it bounced backwards and was actually going toward my caddie. He tried to move the bag, it hit the bag, but he dropped it because it all happened so fast, and he dropped it.

“And the driver was kind of sticking out, and it just snapped right in half and so yeah.”

Amazingly, Choi managed to escape the par-5 6th with a five on the scorecard.

“I’ve never broke a driver ever or a wood or anything like that so just looking over and seeing the head of it just kind of dangling off, I just kind of, I was looking at the ball, I was looking at the club and then looked at my caddie, and we were all just in shock, and we just had to call a rules official right away,” Albin Choi said.

Driver snaps in half on No. 6, new one arrives on 7 green. ? @AlbinChoi pic.twitter.com/CIDURFsmUJ

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) February 20, 2022

There were a few potential rule infractions that came into play.

The first was the accidental deflection off of the caddie, which is covered in rule 11.1a, which states: “If a player’s ball in motion accidentally hits any person or outside influence: There is no penalty to any player. This is true even if the ball hits the player, the opponent or any other player or any of their caddies or equipment.”

So, it turned out that Choi was able to escape the situation without a penalty.

But what about the driver?

According to rule Model Local Rule G-9,“If a player’s club is “broken or significantly damaged” during the round by the player or caddie, except in cases of abuse, the player may replace the club with any club under Rule 4.1b(4).”

The fact that Choi accidentally broke the club allowed him to replace it during the round. The new driver was assembled on the 7th green and was ready for Choi to use on the 8th tee.

“Yeah, I was getting ready to hit a 3-wood off 8, and I was just trying to think in my mind, I didn’t bring an extra driver, and to try and play this golf course without a driver would be very difficult so I’m just glad I got something, and it worked out half-decent,” Choi said.

Albin’s career was kickstarted in 2020 when PGA Tour player Sungjae Im asked him to carry his bag for the Honda Classic. Im went on to win his first PGA title and Choi received 10% of Im’s $1.26 million paycheck. The funds from the tournament allowed him to pursue his career in professional golf. Albin also had NGA tour events in 2015 that amounted to $40k total to jumpstart his playing career.

Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’

Published

3 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking with Bloomberg, golf legend Phil Mickelson acknowledged that he is inching close towards retirement.

“I’m 53 now,” Phil said, “and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”

Mickelson added that one of his focuses now is helping other young players.

“Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game has provided me. I’d like them to experience that as well.”

The six-time major champion credited LIV with reaching new markets in golf to help it grow.

“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”

Mickelson is playing at this week’s LIV Singapore and shot a first round 72 (+1).

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19th Hole

Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam

Published

1 day ago

May 2, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.

Related: Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career

On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.

“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.

“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”

The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.

It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.

Tiger Woods sits down with Carson Daly to talk about golf, growing up in Southern California, his father and his new apparel line, Sun Day Red. pic.twitter.com/2TFbSNxzxq

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 1, 2024

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Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career

Published

2 days ago

May 1, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking with KW Golf, golf legend Gary Player said that he believes swing coaches ruined the career of Tiger Woods.

“The US Open at Pebble Beach, he won by 15 shots. You know what that’s like? It’s like running the 100 meters in seven seconds. The next week, he’s having a lesson from a man who, I don’t think, if he played in the Masters, could break 80.”

“And then he goes to another guy who couldn’t probably break 85 in the Masters with the pressure, or the British Open or the PGA on the final day. And he’s having lessons from them.”

“Why did Tiger do that? He was so good, but I understand he wanted to get better,” Player went on. “If he had just gone along and never changed, he would have won at least 22.. He would’ve gone down as the greatest athlete the world has ever seen.”

In 2008, Woods had won 14 majors and was 33 years old. It would take him eleven years to win his 15th at the 2019 Masters.

In addition to the swing coach issue, there are many other issues throughout the career of Woods that golf fans will look back on and wonder “what if.”