McIlroy turns attention to PGA Tour in 2019

KAPALUA, HI – Despite being in idyllic Maui, it was getting tough for Viktor Hovland to sport his trademark smile. The Norwegian superstar arrived on the island for the Sentry Tournament of Champions on the Dec. 29, set for a week of preparation after a holiday break in his home country. Alas, his golf clubs failed to join him. Flying high after recent wins at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba and the Hero World Challenge during the last two months, Hovland had put away his clubs in Oslo’s winter conditions to reconnect with family and friends over Christmas. He was content the week in Maui would bring sufficient time to get his swing back into a groove. But in the end the world No. 7 had just 24 hours to prepare after his trusty Ping sticks failed to follow him on a travel adventure halfway around the world. Hovland flew from Oslo through Paris and on to Seattle where he was left waiting for his bag for half an hour. Then he was told it had inadvertently been sent off course. “My duffel bag and my mom’s duffel bag was there, but we waited 30 minutes for my golf bag and it didn’t show up,” Hovland said. “I asked someone and they said they sent it through Salt Lake City, apparently.” The delay meant a missed connection to Maui forcing him onto another airline which complicated the search and saw his clothes delayed. “It was a big headache,” Hovland added. “But we got the clothes the next day and then it seemed the golf bag was just somehow sitting in Seattle for five days straight. “They didn’t really know where it was, so I was concerned they lost it initially. And then after a couple of days, they said they physically had it. That got me more frustrated. If you can see the bag, it shouldn’t be that hard to put it on the flight.” That left the 24-year-old doing what most do in Maui. Vacationing. “I really didn’t do anything. I worked out, ate, went to the beach… just had a vacation essentially,” he said. “I really haven’t touched a club since the Bahamas so I was planning on getting here to practice the whole last week and get back into it. Obviously, the preparations haven’t been ideal this time around.” Hovland resorted to using the clubs of his caddie Shay Knight for a little bit of practice. “He has Ping clubs, so that was good. But obviously different specs and different clubs so it wasn’t ideal but at least when you haven’t hit balls, the main thing is to just kind of get a feel for it.” Hovland’s drama wasn’t over. Replacement irons overnighted by Ping from Arizona got delayed in Honolulu and didn’t beat his regular bag which finally arrived late Tuesday night. The bag was roughed up and his back up driver had been snapped. At least he hadn’t planned to use it. In fact, he is still using a driver that belonged to James Hahn – one he was able to borrow in Mayakoba when Danny Lee accidently broke Hovland’s own driver on the range while testing out a speed drill. He would go on to win that week and subsequently still has it. With expectations now lowered for this week, would Hovland struggle to smile like has become his custom or would this equipment fiasco once again prove a good omen? “I was pretty frustrated there a couple of times,” he admitted. “But it’s not ideal that I have to spend these next couple of days to try to get back into things and find my swing. “It’s a little different case because I was playing pretty good and then testing James’ driver, it was really good. I’m still playing that driver … It’s a little different this week, but I’m getting better every day.”

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Dustin Johnson didn’t have a great day, but it still led to an even-par 70 and a 1-shot lead over Sungjae Im after the second round of the Tour Championship on Saturday.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR announced today that Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard has accepted Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the 2018-19 PGA TOUR Season. Bjerregaard, currently ranked No. 44 in the Official World Golf Ranking, brings the total number of active international PGA TOUR members to 90 from 27 countries. Forty-six of the top 50 players in the world, including all of the top 35, are now TOUR members. Through seven starts during the 2018-19 season, Bjerregaard’s best result came at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, where en route to a fourth-place finish, he defeated Tiger Woods 1-up in the Quarterfinals before falling to Matt Kuchar in the Semifinals. In all, Bjerregaard has made 10 starts on the PGA TOUR and has three top-25s. The only current TOUR member from Denmark, Bjerregaard becomes the second player to join as a Special Temporary Member during the 2018-19 season, joining Matthew Fitzpatrick. As a Special Temporary Member, Bjerregaard is eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the 2018-19 season as he attempts to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2019-20 season through the Non-Member FedExCup Points List. Special Temporary Members are not eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs, but Special Temporary Members or non-members who subsequently become regular PGA TOUR members by winning an official event during the season will be counted on the FedExCup points list, along with any FedExCup points earned as a non-member (excluding those won at World Golf Championships events as a non-member) and thus be eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs.

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