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Tour Rundown: Excitement in Mexico, California, Texas, South Korea, and Alabama

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1 year ago

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So many tours were in play this week, we once again found ourselves limited to a top-five list. Mexico, California, Texas, South Korea, and Alabama hosted top-tier events across the golfing globe. Last week saw the year’s second major championship, and May will bring two more elite events to our eyes. In the interim, the golf that was played this week was easily as enticing, and the courses offered a diverse lesson in how to lay out a golfing ground. Excitement? You bet. Imagine making this putt, just to get into a playoff! Time for Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour @ Mexico Open: Finau finds sixth tour title

After Jon Rahm posted 61 on Saturday, I calculated that another one of those gems would have moved him to 27-under par. Unlikely, sure, but it would have given him a three-shot advantage over the number that Milton Pouha “Tony” Finau ultimately posted on Sunday. Still, if Rahm had gone off for a second-consecutive day, would Finau have matched him? Probably.

Even though young Akshay Bhatia was tied with Rahm through 54 holes, two back of Finau, he seemed like the odd man out. Bhatia, who eschewed college study and golf for the professional life, has Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour, which is legalese for a lot more legalese. Suffice it to say, another week like this one and 2023-2024 is secured. However, Bhatia found little good on Sunday, and fell away to a solo fourth finish.

Finau was flawless on Sunday. He made zero bogies and snatched five birdies from the Vidanta Vallarta course. This meant, of course, that Rahm needed 64 for a playoff, and 63 for an outright win. Rahm stood minus-four through 15 holes, and needed to make things happen. His par-bogey-birdie finish meant that runner-up would be his fate. Still, the 2023 Masters champion and world number one reminded all of us of the special echelon to which his game has ascended of late.

LPGA @ LA Championship: Overtime triumvirate reveals BBB as winner

The 18th hole at Wilshire Country Club is normally the club’s 10th. This week, the LPGA has decided to move golfers from the 9th green to the 11th tee, shifting the traditional closing par-four to penultimate status. This set the stage for a downhill pitch to a funky-cold green. Well, it worked. Hannah Green, Xiyu Lin, and Aditi Ashok all came to the wee tee at eight-under par, and each one dropped a putt for a deuce, necessitating a three-way playoff. Guess where the playoff began? You’ve got it! The wee three.

During the first extra playing, Lin and Green each made two but Ashok was eliminated with par. The four-time winner on the Ladies European Tour takes her search for LPGA title number one to San Francisco’s Harding Park next week. The second trip down 10, errr, 18, saw quite a different tone.

Xiyu Lin ran into trouble off the tee, and could only manage a bogey four. With that much opportunity, the 2019 Women’s PGA champion approached to six inches, and calmly tapped in for a winning par. LA was her third LPGA title, and first since her breakout season in 2019.

DP World Tour @ Korea Championship: Larrazábal claims 8th tour title

No one will ever question the validity of the name DP World Tour. The rebranded European Tour has its sites set on conquering the world. After opening the year in the Middle East, the DPWT has traversed the globe, from Singapore to Korea, including a first-time stop in Japan. This week, the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea, hosted the globetrotters, and it was Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal who came away with the win.

Scotland’s Robert Macintyre had a one-shot advantage through three days of play, but a pair of opening bogeys dropped him behind the field. He countered with two birdies before the eighth hole, but it was pars the rest of the way, and a frustrating, seventh-place finish. In truth, no one dominated the course over the course of the week, so the winner most certainly would be the last man standing.

For a time, home-country hero Sanghyun Park was in the mix, as were Scott Jamieson and Marcus Helligkilde. All faded away, with Helligkilde finishing in solo second, at minus ten. Spain’s Jorge Campillo and Joost Luiten of The Netherlands each closed with 65 to tie for third with two others, but Larrazábal’s march to the title was never seriously threatened.

 

Korn Ferry Tour @ HomeTown Lenders: Ben Folds Four

Ben Kohles is the guy you want in a playoff, it seems. For the third time in a KFT event, Kohles was pushed to extra holes, this time by another Ben (Silverman.) On the second extra hole … well, let’s set the stage. Kohles followed a round-two 62 in the rain-delayed event with 67, to reach 13-under par. This pushed him past second-round leader Carter Jenkins, whose closing 72 dropped him out of the top five. Nearly catching Kohles were David Skinns (65) and Frankie Capan (66), who finished at twelve deep.

Getting work done was the aforementioned Other Ben, who parlayed a 67 of his own into a playoff duel with Kohles. Silverman had a two-shot edge over Kohles with one hole to play, but found trouble on the 18th and made a double-bogey six. Still, he was alive as they returned to the final tee for overtime. Each golfer made par, so the stage was reset. On the second go-round, Kohles nearly holed his approach shot, leaving a five-feet attempt from above the hole. With complete confidence, the American brought the week to a close with birdie and a second extra-time win in 2023.

PGA Tour Champions @ Insperity: Alker finally gets 2023 win

Steven Alker had to imagine that his time was near. The most delightful surprise of the senior circuit’s post-COVID phase had yet to break through for a sixth title, until this week. Alker’s last victory came in October of 2022, and it was his fourth of that calendar year. What better way to break through than to defend a 2022 title! That’s precisely what Steven Alker did this week, north of Houston.

It has been quite a fortnight for The Woodlands area. Last week, Lilia Vu won her first LPGA major at the Chevron. This week, Alker held off a furious charge from Mr. Wisconsin, Steve Stricker. The lanky one got to minus-seven on the day quite early, to give Alker a bit to consider. Unfazed, Alker closed with two birdies in his final four holes to reach minus-fifteen on the week. His day-three 66 was only one off Stricker’s day-low 65, and Alker had a successful title defense and a four-shot win.

The week was a bittersweet one for the champion. His former caddie, Sam Workman, had passed due to cancer. A massive Houston sports fan, Workman was remembered by a large gallery presence, wearing jerseys with his name on the back. Despite the emotional baggage, Alker was able to get the job done and honor his former looper.

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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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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

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May 14, 2024

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GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.

While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.

Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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Morning 9: Is it Rory’s time? | Stricker WDs | Why Valhalla is a great major venue

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2 days ago

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May 14, 2024

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the PGA Championship from iconic Valhalla.

1. Is now the time Rory finally ends major drought?

BBC’s Iain Carter…”But given the imperious form he showed in Charlotte last week, perhaps this is the PGA Championship to rekindle the ruthless streak of old. And not just because he is back at Valhalla (the Nordic word for the hall of the fallen).”

  • “It also became clear last week that McIlroy is somewhat persona non grata to the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. His views on a global future for this damagingly split sport do not seem to chime with the American dominated body.”
  • “His offer to return to the board from which he resigned earlier this year was rejected and he has been left as a mere non-voting member of the “transaction committee” dealing with a potential deal with Saudi Arabia.”
  • “McIlroy insists there are “no hard feelings” but there should be.”
  • “No player has worked harder for their sport during this period of unprecedented tumult and the board has rejected someone many people regard as the game’s most articulate and enlightened international voice.”
  • “Now is, surely, the time for McIlroy to feel slighted and respond with his clubs. Play as though he has a chip on his shoulder, but in the knowledge that he is generationally the most consistent golfing force out there.”
Full piece.

2. Scheffler in for PGA Champ after birth of child

Jaclyn Hendricks for PGATour.com…”Scottie Scheffler and wife Meredith’s bundle of joy has arrived.”

  • “The couple welcomed their first child, just weeks after Scheffler claimed his second Masters victory in three years.”
  • “Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig tweeted Saturday that the baby was born and Scheffler will play in this week’s PGA Championship — the second major of the season.”
  • “There’s been nothing official from Scottie Scheffler, his team or the Tour… But word is he will be at Valhalla for the PGA next week after winning four of his last five tournaments, including the Masters. He is currently on the Tuesday interview schedule for 3:30 p.m. #babyborn,” Harig wrote over the weekend.”
Full piece.

3. “Erik van Rooyen, friends and family live in honor of ‘Trazzy’”

  • That’s the headline of Ryan Lavner’s superb piece on Erik van Rooyen and his departed best friend Jon Trasmar. An excerpt would be an injustice. Go read it!
Full piece.

4. Stricker out of PGA citing fatigue

AP report…”Steve Stricker decided Sunday to withdraw from the PGA Championship at Valhalla, citing the difficulty of playing four times in a span of five weeks.”

  • “Stricker, 57, was eligible by winning the Senior PGA Championship last year. He, John Daly and Phil Mickelson are the only players to have competed at Valhalla each of the previous three times the PGA Championship was held there.”
Full piece.

5. Why Valhalla is a great venue for major championships

Garrett Morrison for The Fried Egg…”But before we start slinging mud (of which there will be plenty in Kentucky this week), let’s pause to think about why Valhalla tends to generate close final-round battles featuring elite players. It’s not magic: the course has long par 3s and 4s, narrow fairways, and smallish greens surrounded by rough and bunkers. This style of design and setup, which practically defines the PGA Championship’s modern brand, gives an outsize advantage to a skill that many star players share: power. Length off the tee and the ability to muscle the ball out of rough to a well-protected green will be near-prerequisites for contending at this week’s PGA Championship. If Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau show up with any kind of short-game and putting form, they will be in the mix on Sunday. And the presence of such A-listers on the leaderboard will further burnish Valhalla’s reputation as a serious venue.“

  • “It does not follow, however, that Valhalla is a great golf course. In fact, I find it a fairly mediocre and bland one. Very few holes offer multiple options of the tee (the exceptions being the short par-4 fourth and the double-fairway par-5 seventh), most of the greens lack memorable contouring, and the recovery shots from around the fairways and greens are one-dimensional and repetitive. So even if Sunday turns out to be a barn-burner, the first three rounds, when the focus will be on the course and the shots demanded, will probably be sleepier, aside from the inevitable Blockie walk-and-talk.”
Full piece.

6. Dunne resigns from policy board

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Jimmy Dunne, who last year helped negotiate the PGA Tour’s controversial framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, resigned from the tour’s policy board on Monday.”

  • “In Dunne’s resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, Dunne wrote that “no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with PIF” and that “my vote and my role is utterly superfluous” now that player directors outnumber independent directors on the policy board. Dunne’s resignation was effective immediately.”
  • “It is crucial for the Board to avoid letting yesterday’s differences interfere with today’s decisions, especially when they influence future opportunities for the tour,” Dunne wrote. “Unifying professional golf is paramount to restoring fan interest and repairing wounds left from a fractured game. I have tried my best to move all minds in that direction.”
  • “Along with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Dunne and policy board chairman Ed Herlihy secretly negotiated the framework agreement with the PIF, which is financing the rival LIV Golf League. Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan announced the deal on June 6. Most PGA Tour players — including some player directors — were unaware of the deal until it was announced on TV.”
Full piece.
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Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls

Published

3 days ago

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May 13, 2024

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This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)

This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.

LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms

There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.

This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.

Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.

PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte

Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.

Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.

PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week

It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.

The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.

Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.

PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie

Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.

In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again.  Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.

Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.

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