By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.
For comments: [email protected]
Good Monday morning, golf fans, as Tony Finau returned to the winner’s circle following an impressive performance in Mexico. |
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1. PGA Tour: Finau wins his 6th
AP report…”Finau never gave Masters champion Jon Rahm or anyone else much of a chance Sunday, closing with a bogey-free round of 5-under 66 that gave him a three-shot victory in the Mexico Open at Vidanta.”
- “Finau earned a small measure of redemption at Vallarta Vidanta, where last year he finished runner-up to Rahm by one shot. Finau took a two-shot lead into the final round and was never seriously challenged on the back nine.”
- “…Brandon Wu, also a runner-up last year, holed a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 sixth hole and made a short birdie on the next hole to briefly tie for the lead. Finau answered with a birdie on the seventh, and then Wu fell back with a bogey from the bunker on No. 8 and a tee shot into the water on the 10th that led to double bogey.”
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2. LPGA: Green wins playoff
AP Report…”Hannah Green of Australia made a 25-foot birdie putt on her final hole of regulation to join a three-way playoff, and then made par on the second extra hole to win the JM Eagle LA Championship on Sunday at Wilshire Country Club.”
- “In a wild finish that featured a five-way tie for the lead late in the final round, Green made birdie for a 2-under 69 to join Aditi Ashok of India and Xiyu Lin of China in the playoff.”
- “Ashok, who had the 36-hole lead, and Lin each closed with a 67 and were the first to post at 9-under 275. Green and Lin birdied the first playoff hole on the par-3 18th.”
- “On the second extra hole at No. 18, Lin hit into a bunker and blasted out to some 18 feet and missed the par putt. That left Green to tap in from 2 feet for her first LPGA win since September 2019.”
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3. DP World: Pablo Larrazábal takes Korea Championship
DP World Tour report…“A tight battle unfolded at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Sunday afternoon, with Larrazábal finding himself in a five-way share of the lead on nine under when he reached the turn following two front-nine birdies.”
- “The Spaniard slipped from the summit after dropping his first shot of the round at the tenth but roared back, making four birdies in the next five holes to open up a three-shot lead.”
- “He then safely parred his way home to complete a closing 67, finish the tournament on 12 under par and claim an eighth DP World Tour title just a couple of weeks before his 40th birthday.”
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4. LIV: Gooch wins again
BBC report…”American Talor Gooch beat Spain’s Sergio Garcia on the first play-off hole in Singapore to claim back-to-back titles on the LIV Tour.”
- “Gooch and 2017 Masters champion Garcia birdied the final hole to card four-under 67s and finish on 17 under.”
- “They replayed the 18th and Gooch tapped in for a birdie to claim the victory.”
- “This is as good as it gets, plain and simple,” said Gooch, 31, after following up his first LIV Golf title the previous weekend in Adelaide.
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5. Jim Nantz wins Dave Marr award
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…”Jim Nantz had no idea he was the recipient of the 2023 Dave Marr Award.”
- “In each of the last 13 years, among his other duties at the network, the golf voice of CBS Sports has also been a part of the Insperity Invitational’s Players Dinner – an annual tradition that began in 2005 to celebrate golf legends on the PGA Tour Champions.”
- “On Thursday evening, tournament officials surprised Nantz with the prestigious award given annually for contributions and passion to the game of golf.”
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6. Aim(pointing) to success?
Golf Channel’s Colby Powell…”The source of Bhatia’s fun this week has come on the greens, and according to Bhatia, it comes courtesy of AimPoint – a method many players use to read the greens.”
- “Bhatia ranks 174th on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained: putting, losing just under half a shot per round to the field. This week, however, he ranks second in that category, gaining more than 6.2 shots for the week on the paspalum greens.”
- “It’s pretty cool to make some more putts, speed’s been way better and just a little more confident where I’m aiming the ball, and I know my stroke’s really good and I roll it very well on a consistent basis,” Bhatia said. “It’s really exciting for me just to keep figuring this out and get better and better because it’s my first week doing it and I really like it.”
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7. Tiger talked LIV with Talor Gooch?
Gabrielle Herzig for SI…”Gooch recently joined the Fore the People podcast with J.J. Killeen and John Peterson, where he recounted an exchange with the 15-time major champion that occurred on the Augusta National driving range.”
- According to Gooch, while Woods was warming up, he seemed comfortable chatting about LIV Golf’s teams and schedule, despite his harsh public criticism of the league.
- “So I have kind of a funny story,” Gooch told Killeen and Peterson. “So at Augusta, one of the mornings I was warming up, Tiger was right next to me warming up. And he was like, ‘Man, you’re with Bubba’s team now, right?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘You all are going to Adelaide, right?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘Man, they got some great golf there.’”
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8. Rahm and Scheffler opt out of designated event
Brentley Romine for Golf Channel…”The PGA Tour’s slate of designated events continues at next week’s Wells Fargo Championship.”
- “Rory McIlroy, who skipped the last designated event, the RBC Heritage, following his missed cut at the Masters, headlines the field. McIlroy, at No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, is the highest-ranked player teeing it up at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.”
- “Nos. 1 and 2, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, did not commit to playing, marking the first skipped designated event for each player.”
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9. Winning WITB: Tony Finau
Driver: Ping G425 LST (9 degrees @7.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond T (14 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3), Ping Blueprint (4-PW)
Shafts: Tour AD DI 105 Hybrid X (3), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 TX
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 (50-12SS, 56-12SS), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125 Wedge S
Putter: Ping PLD Anser 2D prototype
Grip: Garsen Golf Ultimate
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
Grips: Lamkin UTx Mid |
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