How arm-lock putting became vogue on the PGA TOUR

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – His playing partners asked him to touch their putters, hoping that some of the magic would rub off. They compared him to Ty Webb. An incredible performance on the greens sent Simpson into unprecedented territory at THE PLAYERS Championship. The Stadium Course may have reined him in on its most infamous hole, but he still tied the course record. Simpson shot 63 in the second round to take a five-shot lead at THE PLAYERS Championship. He put his name in the record books despite a double-bogey at the 17th hole, where an inconsistent wind and inconvenient yardage led to a ball in the water. Simpson’s 15-under 129 also tied the tournament record for low 36-hole score. Friday’s round, the lowest of the day by three shots, was so impressive that it drew the admiration of his competition. Jordan Spieth called it “amazing.â€� Justin Rose called it a “miracle round.â€� When Simpson arrived at the 17th tee late Friday afternoon, he had recorded just 19 putts (he holed two more from off the green). He was 11 under par for the day, seven shots ahead of the field, and the first person with a chance to break 60 on the Stadium Course. “I heard someone yell out, ’59!’ and I was like, ‘What is that idiot talking about?’ said Simpson’s caddie, Paul Tesori. “You don’t expect to get on runs like that on this golf course.â€� Even Pete Dye’s penal design is no match for a man with a hot putter. Simpson needed just 23 putts Friday, and he gained 4.92 strokes on the greens. Of the 10 putts he holed Friday for birdie or eagle, seven of those putts were longer than 14 feet. Three were longer than 20 feet. Only two of them were shorter than five feet, and both of those came on par-5s. “It was a lot of fun. I felt like everything was working today. Putts that I’m just trying to get close are going in. I kind of rode the momentum and kept going,â€� Simpson said. He made the turn in 5-under 31 after an eagle at the par-5 second hole – where he holed a 34-foot putt – and birdies at 5, 7 and 9. All three of his birdie putts on the front nine were longer than 10 feet. Things got silly on the second nine. He made six consecutive birdies on Nos. 11-16, holing two putts from off the green in that stretch. The second one, from long of the 15th green, caused Simpson, Tesori and his fellow competitors to laugh. The ball was running hot when it hit the back of the hole and dropped in the hole. It likely would have run 10 feet past the hole. “Tyrrell (Hatton) wanted me to touch his putter for him on 15,â€� Simpson said, “which I think is within the rules.â€� It was after this putt that Hatton made his “Caddyshackâ€� reference. “I dropped my head and Tyrrell says, ‘I told you so! It’s Chevy Chase. Na-na-na-na-na-na,â€� Tesori said. “This is the moment where I couldn’t believe this is happening.â€� Simpson’s sixth consecutive birdie came after an up-and-down from left of the green on the par-5 16th. He needed birdies on the last two holes to break 60. Nos. 17 and 18 have been the two hardest holes this week, though. Simpson wanted to hit a hard sand wedge to the island green, but the wind changed directions and started blowing into him as he stood on the tee. He knew he had to hit it hard. “So normally my miss with that club when I’m trying to smash it is left, so it was a bit of a surprise that it came out right,â€� Simpson said. The ball bounced off the bulkhead in front of the green and went into the water. “Pete Dye and the golfing gods were watching,â€� said Golf Channel commentator Nick Faldo. His colleague, Terry Gannon, said, “A lot of dreams have been dashed at that cauldron that is 17 through the years. Today is where a possible 59 went to die.â€� But it was still an incredible round. It put Simpson in control of THE PLAYERS Championship.

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Patton Kizzire won his first PGA TOUR title on Sunday by beating Rickie Fowler in a 36-hole marathon in the rain-plagued OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Kizzire closed with rounds of 66-67 for a one-shot victory over Fowler, who fell four shots behind at El Camaleon Golf Club until staging a late rally that again fell short. Fowler had rounds of 67-67 on the final day. Kizzire won in his 62nd career start on the PGA TOUR, and it required some steady nerves on the back nine when it could have gotten away from him. Leading by four shots with seven holes to play, Kizzire saved par with an 8-foot putt on No. 12, a 10-foot putt on the par-5 13th and an 8-foot putt on the 14th. He had a three-shot lead with three holes to play when Fowler made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to close within one shot. But from the 18th fairway, Fowler sent his approach some 35 feet left of the flag and left the birdie attempt short. Kizzire had to stand close to his approach shot to keep his feet out the sand, and he hit 8-iron to 25 feet. After Fowler left his birdie attempt well short, Kizzire rapped his putt to within a few inches and tapped in for the winning par. “I was glad to get it done,” Kizzire said. “Rickie made me work hard.” Kizzire finished at 19-under 265 and earned his first trip to the Masters in April. The 31-year-old Kizzire also gets a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR and a spot in the field at the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua to start next year, and the PGA Championship, along with other select events on tour. Si Woo Kim tried to get into the mix until a double bogey in the middle of his back nine. He still closed with a 65 to finish third, his best finish since he won THE PLAYERS Championship in May. Charles Howell III (66) and Martin Piller (65) finished five shots behind. John Oda of UNLV, playing his first PGA Tour event as a pro, closed with a 70 to finish eighth. That gets him into the RSM Classic next week at Sea Island. Patrick Rodgers began Sunday in a three-way tie for the lead with Kizzire and Fowler, but he started and ended the third round Sunday morning with a double bogey for a 72 that took him out of contention, and he shot 70 in the afternoon to finish nine shots behind. Kizzire won the tournament with key putts on the back nine, but the tournament turned in his favor at the end of the third round. Fowler had a one-shot lead when he made bogey on the 17th hole and Kizzire made birdie. That two-shot swing gave Kizzire a one-shot lead, and he quickly expanded it in the fourth round. Kizzire saved par with a 10-foot putt on No. 1 as Fowler made bogey, and then Kizzire birdied the second hole and is lead was already at three shots. Fowler never got any closer until the final few holes, and by then it was too late. “We gave it a run, kept Patton honest, but he earned it out there today,” Fowler said. Fowler, the only player in the top 10 in the world who played anywhere in the world this week, was playing for the first time since the Presidents Cup five weeks ago. With his runner-up finish — the 12th time in his PGA TOUR career he has finished second — Fowler goes to No. 7 in the world ahead of Rory McIlroy.

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