Augusta natural: Spieth upstages Tiger’s return

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Another PGA TOUR season is upon us. The 2018-19 season kicks off Thursday at the Safeway Open. The TOUR Championship ended just eight days ago, but let’s take one last look back before turning the page on the golf calendar. From Tiger’s return to Brooks’ big wins, and Justin Rose’s steady FedExCup-winning season to Francesco Molinari’s emergence as an elite player, there was a lot to take in. Here’s one more look at the season that was. 1. TIGER’S BACK No, not the one that has been operated on four times. Woods’ return to the winner’s circle – and the raucous scene on East Lake’s 18th fairway – will likely be the first thing we remember about this season, and for good reason. Woods’ win elicited images from the days when he was at the height of his powers. It felt like 2000 when Woods birdied six of the first seven holes to pull away from the field. The fans flooding the final fairway was reminiscent of 1997 when galleries in the grips of Tigermania first burst through the gallery ropes to follow him down the final hole. And his emotional victory speech was something that we’d only seen once before, when he won the 2006 Open Championship after his father’s passing. Woods overcame so much to earn his first PGA TOUR victory in five years. The time between victories was filled with pain and suffering for the world’s most famous athlete. His former swing coach, Sean Foley, put it best: “Everyone likes to see a comeback story because we’re all coming back from something.â€� 2. BETTER WITH AGE Golf is increasingly becoming a young man’s game – more on that later – but Rose is bucking that trend with an impressive devotion to improvement. Rose’s desire to keep getting better at his craft, even with millions of dollars in the bank and a U.S. Open trophy and Olympic Gold Medal at home, is inspirational. “From how he eats, to how he trains, to how he breaks down a golf course, he has a very thoughtful approach to maximizing his probability for success,â€� Foley said. “Sometimes people are afraid to change what they do or how they do it. His lack of satisfaction in what he’s doing has really pushed us to look under every rock.â€� Rose climbed to the top of the FedExCup standings and world ranking at age 38. This father of two is excelling at a game that is dominated by kids. He’s the third-oldest FedExCup champion. The four previous FedExCup champions had an average of 25 years old. He’s also the third-oldest player to reach No. 1 in the world ranking for the first time. He finished in the top 10 in 61 percent of his starts this season, the highest percentage this season (Dustin Johnson was the only other player to finish in the top 10 in more than half his starts). Rose did it with a well-rounded game. He was the only player to finish in the top 30 in all four Strokes Gained statistics: Off-the-Tee (14th), Approach-the-Green (29), Around-the-Green (7) and Putting (17). He rose more than 100 spots in the Strokes Gained: Putting standings since last season, one of the biggest single-season gains in the history of that metric. 3. BROOKS’ BIG HAUL Justin Rose walked away with the FedExCup. Brooks Koepka will likely win the PGA TOUR’s Player of the Year Award. Winning two majors in one year all but guarantees that honor. If you want to stump your friends, you can tell them that Wayne Levi was the last person to win the Player of the Year Award over a two-time major winner. Levi won four times in 1990, while Nick Faldo captured the Masters and Open Championship. Faldo played just a handful of TOUR events that year, though, so the players voted for one of their own instead. Koepka won’t suffer that same fate, especially since no one else won more than three times, and none of those three-time winners grabbed a major. It’s been an incredible run for Koepka. He has four PGA TOUR titles. Three of them are majors. Last year’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills was a large, modern golf course that was perfect for his game. Winning this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock, one of the game’s historic venues, showed that Koepka’s game is about much more than power. He saved par several times down the stretch with a strong short game. Then he held off Woods to win the PGA Championship. Koepka’s performance in 2018’s majors is especially impressive considering that he missed the first one. Koepka, 28, started the year with a last-place finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, where he struggled with an injury to his left wrist. It forced him to the sidelines for nearly four months. He missed the Masters while he recuperated. “When I look at what I’ve done in the past two months, it’s incredible. Looking where I was, sitting on my couch watching the Masters, and to think I would do this, I would have laughed at you and told you there was no way, no chance, and to do it is really incredible,â€� Koepka said. My doctors, physios, trainers, everybody did an unbelievable job even to get back out on the golf course, and to do what I’ve done is very impressive,â€� he said. “I can’t even believe it.â€� 3. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS “Today was a good day for the old guys, for sure.â€� That’s what Rose said after he and Woods, 42, shared the trophy ceremony at East Lake. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. The youth movement is still alive and well on the PGA TOUR. There were 10 wins by players 25 or younger this season, tied for second-most since the TOUR started keeping age records. There were also 10 wins by the 25-and-under set in 2000, but Woods accounted for nine of those wins. This season’s total of 25-and-under wins fell well short of last year’s record-setting mark (18) but shows that this demographic continues to experience unprecedented success. Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele, who combined for five wins last season, were winless, but other players stepped up in their stead. Six players won at age 25 or under – Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Michael Kim, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and Aaron Wise – won this season. Cantlay, Kim and Wise each picked up their first PGA TOUR victory. DeChambeau took his game to another level, winning three times after earning his first victory at last year’s John Deere Classic. Wise qualified for the TOUR Championship at age 22. Only Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and Si Woo Kim have made the season finale at a younger age. We also saw Joaquin Niemann earn his TOUR card in just 11 starts. The 19-year-old turned pro this year as the No. 1 player in the world amateur ranking. Golf used to be like baseball or hockey. The top prospects from college and amateur golf used to need a few years to hone their game before becoming stars. Now this quick transition from college to the big time looks more like the NBA. Just making the TOUR before age 25 was a rare accomplishment. Winning before 30 put you ahead of the curve. Not anymore. The Class of 2011’s success was the TOUR’s big story just a couple years ago. Now even younger players are entering the winner circle. Wise graduated high school in 2014! 4. BRYSON’S EMERGENCE He sprays water on his ball to simulate wet conditions. He traveled to Colorado to train with oxygen depletion. And he may be the only golfer who talks about parasympathetic states. Sure, some people will resent the smartest kid in class, especially when he starts using those polysyllabic words. For others, DeChambeau undoubtedly dregs up bad memories of high-school physics class. No matter your thoughts on his analytical ways, he is a unique character who brings a new dynamic to the PGA TOUR. And, most importantly, he can play. DeChambeau joined some select company with his wins in the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are the only other players to win the U.S. Amateur, NCAA Championship and at least four TOUR events before their 25th birthday. DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy are the only players to win multiple Playoffs events before the age of 25. DeChambeau, McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas are the only players to win in the Playoffs before age 25. 5. THE BIG BALL RULES Koepka and his workout buddy, Dustin Johnson, are just two of the big bashers having success on the TOUR these days. Launch monitors, space-age technology and advanced diet and exercise regimens have all helped players maximize their distance, so it’s no surprise that the long ball is crucial to success. Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee has become the stat that best predicts success on the PGA TOUR. Thirteen of the 30 players in the TOUR Championship finished in the top 20 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. Eight of the top 10 in that statistic were at East Lake. Seven of the top 11 in driving distance were at the TOUR Championship, as well. Rory McIlroy led the TOUR with a driving average of 319.8 yards. It’s the second-highest average ever recorded. Hank Kuehne averaged 321.4 yards in 2003. Kuehne finished seven yards ahead of No. 2 John Daly. Only nine players surpassed 300 yards in driving average. A lot has changed in 15 years. McIlroy was less than 1 yard ahead of Trey Mullinax. Sixty-one players averaged 300 or more yards. McIlroy, Koepka and Johnson each hit more than 60 percent of their tee shots longer than 300 yards. More than 30 percent of their tee shots went longer than 320 yards. 7. FRANCESCO’S CAREER YEAR It’s never too late to join the ranks of the big hitters. Francesco Molinari showed us that with his career year in 2018. Molinari has long been a world-class player, but he joined the ranks of the game’s elite this year, and increased driving distance played a large part in his ascension. Molinari, 35, has gained nearly 20 yards in the past three years, including a nine-yard gain since last season. He did it by hitting the gym – “I was more of a couch guy,â€� he said – and tweaking his swing and equipment. Molinari also is hitting his irons about 8 yards farther. How important is an extra 20 yards off the tee? Mark Broadie, the inventor of the Strokes Gained: Statistics, said it can decrease a player’s score by three strokes per tournament. Molinari picked up his first PGA TOUR win (Quicken Loans National), his first major (Open Championship) and qualified for the TOUR Championship for the first time. He had four worldwide wins before this year. He won three times in 2018, including the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship. Molinari also credited this season’s success to putting instructor Phil Kenyon, with whom he started working earlier this year, and performance coach Dave Aldred. 8. ANCHORS UP The USGA’s anchor ban took effect on Jan. 1, 2016. Two years later, we saw two players whose careers were derailed by the ban re-enter the winner’s circle. Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley both won for the first time in years. Simpson did it with a record-setting performance at THE PLAYERS. It was his first win since October 2013. Bradley’s win at the BMW Championship was his first since 2012. Ironically, they both led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting during their win. Both players now use the arm-lock method, where the putter’s shaft runs up their left arm. Simpson’s win at THE PLAYERS inspired Bradley to keep persevering with the new putter. “Webb, to me, he’s my idol,â€� Bradley said. “I always tell him, everything he does is perfect. I love the guy. And what I saw him do at THE PLAYERS was inspiring for me because not only did he win the tournament and putt well, but he’s putting better than he did with the belly putter.â€� 9. JT’S DEFENSE This season, Justin Thomas authored the best defense in the FedExCup’s history. He won three times – the CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, The Honda Classic and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational – en route to a seventh-place finish in the FedExCup. He was just the second player to finish in the top 10 of the FedExCup in the season following his victory. So much for concerns about how Thomas would follow up his career year of 2017, when he won five times, including the PGA Championship. Thomas sought out Jordan Spieth after the season for advice on how to deal with the increased pressure and expectations that follow such a successful season. No one has won more over the last two years than Thomas. This season may not have included a major, but Thomas was proud of his increased “It’s been a really consistent year, and I take a lot of pride in that,â€� said Thomas, who finished in the top 25 in 20 of 23 starts, including 10 top-10s. “I feel like I’ve gotten better as a player this year. I don’t have as many wins and I didn’t win a major, but statistically I think I’ve improved in about every category, which is huge.â€� Below, find some noteworthy numbers and statistics from last season. Every shot on the PGA TOUR is important. More than one-third of PGA TOUR events were either decided in a playoff or won by a single stroke. The average margin of victory was 2.4 strokes. The largest winning margin was eight shots. Dustin Johnson (Sentry Tournament of Champions), Francesco Molinari (Quicken Loans National) and Michael Kim (John Deere Classic) each won by a touchdown and two-point conversion. There were 37 scores of 62 or lower this season, highlighted by Brandt Snedeker’s 59 at the Wyndham Championship. Snedeker is one of five players to shoot 62 or lower multiple times this season. Kevin Na is the only player to do it three times. Na and Fleetwood did it multiple times in the same event. 59, Brandt Snedeker: Wyndham Championship, first round 62, Brandt Snedeker: FedEx St. Jude Classic, second round 61, Kevin Na: Fort Worth Invitational, fourth round 62, Kevin Na: Fort Worth Invitational, first round 62, Kevin Na: BMW Championship, second round 61, Webb Simpson: A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, first round 62, Webb Simpson: Wyndham Championship, fourth round 62, Brian Gay: AT&T Byron Nelson, second round 62, Brian Gay: Wyndham Championship, third round 62, Tommy Fleetwood: BMW Championship, second round 62, Tommy Fleetwood: BMW Championship, third round Lowest 72-hole scores 257 (27-under), Michael Kim, (63-64-64-66), John Deere Classic 259 (21-under), Francesco Molinari, (67-65-65-62), Quicken Loans National 259 (21-under), Brandt Snedeker, (59-67-68-65), Wyndham Championship 260 (20-under), Justin Rose, (66-64-66-64), Fort Worth Invitational 260 (20-under), Justin Rose, (66-63-64-67), BMW Championship 260 (20-under), Keegan Bradley, (66-64-66-64), BMW Championship Low finish by a winner 62 (8-under), Francesco Molinari, Quicken Loans National 63 (7-under), Bubba Watson, Travelers Championship 64 (8-under), Rory McIlroy, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard 64 (7-under), Gary Woodland, Waste Management Phoenix Open 64 (6-under), Justin Rose, Fort Worth Invitational 64 (6-under), Kevin Na, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier 64 (6-under), Keegan Bradley, BMW Championship Largest 54-hole lead 7 strokes, Webb Simpson, THE PLAYERS Championship 6 strokes, Dustin Johnson, World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions* 5 strokes, Ryan Armour, Sanderson Farms Championship 5 strokes, Michael Kim, John Deere Classic * – Did not win Biggest come-from-behind victory (entering final round) 8 strokes, Justin Rose, WGC-HSBC Champions 6 strokes, Satoshi Kodaira, RBC Heritage 6 strokes, Bubba Watson, Travelers Championship 5 strokes, Paul Casey, Valspar Championship Most consecutive rounds of par or better 24, Patrick Reed 24, Justin Thomas

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