Kenya Open on European Tour postponed due to virus concerns

JACKSON, Miss. – Move over youngsters, there’s still room at the top for the old guys. On the same weekend 37-year-old Justin Rose won the WGC HSBC Champions, 41-year-old Ryan Armour polished off a sensational week of golf on Sunday at the Country Club of Jackson, shooting 4-under 68 to run away with the Sanderson Farms Championship. For more of what unfolded in Jackson, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. Armour’s fourth straight round in the 60s was good for a five-shot victory over Chesson Hadley, and his first PGA TOUR title, in his 105th TOUR event. He won $774,000, and 300 FedExCup Points. He is the fifth first-time champion in the last seven years for this event, but unlike the last three winners here, Armour is far from a fresh-faced 20-something. Instead, he’s a journeyman who joined the TOUR 10 years ago and has split his time between the PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour, going four years (2011-14) without making one PGA TOUR start. At some point, he said, he realized he needed to quit trying to stay with the young, big hitters, and stick to what he does best, a somewhat boring but awfully effective game of fairways and greens, fairways and greens. He did it remarkably well on Sunday, hitting 15 of 18 greens and 10 of 14 fairways. After a windy, bone-chilling third round on Saturday, the weather was a bit warmer on Sunday – and Armour stayed hot. For the week, he ranked third in driving accuracy, first in proximity to the hole on approach shots, second in strokes gained putting – and next-to-last in driving distance. He also led the field with 28 birdies for the week, including six on Sunday. And even when he did experience a hiccup with a three-putt bogey on No. 16, he followed that with a 45-foot birdie bomb on No. 17. It was a remarkable display of cool, calm and collected for a guy who showed very little emotion all week. Armour started with a five-shot lead and was never really challenged, even when local favorite Jonathan Randolph shot 29 on the front and shot up the leaderboard, at one point getting within three strokes of Armour. “What he did today was phenomenal,â€� said Scott Strohmeyer, who was in the final group with Armour. “Coming out of the gates, knowing he was probably nervous, every shot was just where he wanted it, and then he made some putts. His putter was hot this week.â€� Armour said it probably wasn’t his best putting week, but… “The combination, the fairways, the greens, the putts – that was the best it’s ever been.â€� The win, said Armour, is “a big monkey off my back, I’m not going to lie. There’s a lot of emotions running through my head right now. … It’s great. It’s job security, which I’ve never really had out here. It’s vindication, I guess. That wouldn’t be a good word. Validation is a better word, that you don’t have to hit it 330 in the air to win golf tournament. I hit a lot of fairways. I hit a lot of greens. I made a lot of putts.â€� Strohmeyer, who shot 71 and finished T4 in his first TOUR event, led the tournament in average driving distance at 314 yards, some 50 yards farther than Armour. There were times Sunday when the two didn’t seem to be in the same zip code while hitting their second shots. Asked how he ignores the longer hitters and sticks with his game plan, Armour said: “First, you giggle. It’s pretty funny how far Scott hit it today. He’s the longest guy I’ve ever seen, without a doubt. But somehow you have to believe in something out here, which is I don’t hit it 330. “The fact is, I hit fairways and greens, and somehow that works.â€� Going back to the Wyndham Championship in August, when he finished T4, Armour has made 63 birdies and been 41 under par in his last 10 rounds. He said his coach gave him a new five-year plan in April. “Maybe I’m getting there a little quicker,â€� he said, smiling. “I made some tweaks this summer, and right before Greensboro I made some equipment changes that have paid off.â€� OBSERVATIONS ON FIRE: Randolph, who grew up in the Jackson area, played at Ole Miss and calls CCJ his home course, poured in seven birdie putts on the front nine to go from T9 to alone in second place at 14 under when he made the turn. The fun stopped on No. 10, with a bogey, and he played the back in 2-over 38, good for the second-best round of the day, 67. He finished T3, far better than his previous best TOUR finish of T8. “I never got nervous,â€� Randolph said. “I wasn’t shocked about that, but it was really relieving to feel like I belong out here. … To not execute on the back nine stings a bit, but there will be more years.â€� VIVA LAS VEGAS: Strohmeyer’s 71 included five birdies and two costly double-bogeys. Still, his T4 was a fantastic finish when you consider this: It was his first PGA TOUR event, and he earned his spot in the tournament by holing out a bunker shot on the third playoff hole in the Monday qualifier – after having to go through the Thursday pre-qualifier. He has no playing status on the PGA TOUR or Web.com Tour, but the top-10 finish earned him a spot in next week’s Shriner’s Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. “I’m just excited to have another tournament to play in,â€� said Strohmeyer. “After missing at the first stage (of Q-School), I didn’t know if I was going to play again this year.â€� Asked what the last 10 days have been like, he said: “If I got in, it was like, ‘I know I can do this,’ but then to actually do it, to play in the final group, and (finish) in the top 10, it’s truly a dream come true.â€� BIG MARGIN: Armour’s five-shot win marked the largest margin of victory for this tournament since Frank Connor beat Brian Mogg by that amount in 1988. MOVING UP: Hadley’s second-place finish following a T3 at the Safeway Open moved him from No. 24 to No. 6 in the FedExCup. QUOTABLE “We used to call those Randolph runs, and I got on one today. My college coach used to tell me, you better keep making birdies when you can, because eventually it’s going to stop.â€� – Jonathan Randolph, on his front-nine seven-birdie binge “I think the love of competition, which is what drives most of us. I have loved to compete since I was a kid. Plus, I don’t know what else I would do.â€� – Ryan Armour, on what has kept him motivated during some of his lean years as a pro. SUPERLATIVES Low Round: Ricky Barnes fired a bogey-free 6-under 66 to move from T43 to T10. Longest Drive: Scott Strohmeyer hit it 374 yards on the par-5 14th. Longest Putt: 46 feet, 8 inches, by Steve Wheatcroft. Toughest Hole: The par-4 16th hole played to an average of 4.507, yielding just four birdies. There were 25 bogeys, seven doubles, and one triple made there on Sunday. Easiest Hole: The par-5 11th played to an average of 4.64. There were two eagles made there, plus 31 birdies and 34 pars. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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adidas Golf continues to unveil new colorways of its TOUR360 shoe. The latest is a limited-edition version inspired by the iconic Ryder Cup trophy that will be awarded to the winning team Sunday in Paris. For more than 90 years the United States and Europe have exchanged the trophy. adidas Golf has captured the tradition, history, and pride of the biannual competition in this unique colorway. This limited-edition TOUR360 shoe takes on the characteristics of the Ryder Cup itself with a cleated TPU outsole that resembles the wood grain finish of the trophy’s base. The metallic gold accents on the top plate are a tip of the cap to the top of the trophy. The clean design is completed with the adidas logo and the words “Limited Edition� stitched into the tongue in gold thread. No matter which side of the pond fans are pulling for, adidas allows wearers to support their team with special sockliners. Each pair of shoes includes two pairs of sockliners—one for Team USA and the other for Team Europe. The sockliners are printed with the respective flags for each team along with the final scores of the Ryder Cup matches since 1979. This is intended to replicate the results engraved into the base of the trophy. The shoe also comes with a limited-edition shoe bag. “We know how much the Ryder Cup means to fans all over the world,� said Masun Denison, global footwear director, adidas Golf. “It’s the most competitive event in golf and brings out a level of emotion that you don’t normally see in the sport. Possession of the Ryder Cup trophy is what both of these teams and fans are after, so we looked to it for inspiration when designing this TOUR360.� adidas Golf introduced this generation of the TOUR360 last fall and Dustin Johnson promptly won his first tournament where he laced up the shoe. Since then, adidas has released several new colorways and special editions of the TOUR360 including models with colored BOOST midsoles and Primeknit uppers.

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Curious about the top performances in golf’s Grand Slam events? We’ve compiled them for you below. No surprise, but the names Nicklaus and Woods appear on this list several times. Rory McIlroy has a growing presence here, as well. LOW 72-HOLE SCORE (with relation to par) Masters Tournament 18 under, Tiger Woods: 1997, 70-66-65-69; Jordan Spieth: 2015, 64-66-70-70 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. U.S. Open 16 under, Rory McIlroy: 2011, 65-66-68-69 at Congressional Golf Club in Bethesda, Maryland Open Championship 19 under, Tiger Woods: 2000, 67-66-67-69 at St. Andrews (Old) in St. Andrews, Scotland PGA Championship 20 under, Jason Day: 2015, 68-67-66-67 at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin LOW 18-HOLE SCORE Masters Tournament 63, Nick Price (1986, third round); Greg Norman (1996, first) U.S. Open 63, Johnny Miller (1973, fourth round); Jack Nicklaus (1980, first); Tom Weiskopf (1980, first); Vijay Singh (2003, second); Justin Thomas (2017, third). Open Championship 63, Mark Hayes (1977, second round); Isao Aoki (1980, third); Greg Norman (1986, second); Paul Broadhurst (1990, third); Jodie Mudd (1991, fourth); Nick Faldo (1993, second); Payne Stewart (1993, fourth); Rory McIlroy (2010, first); Phil Mickelson (2016, first); Henrik Stenson (2016, fourth). PGA Championship 63, Bruce Crampton (1975, second round); Raymond Floyd (1982, first); Gary Player (1984, second); Vijay Singh (1993, second); Michael Bradley (1995, first); Brad Faxon (1995, fourth); Jose Maria Olazabal (2000, third); Mark O’Meara (2001, second); Thomas Bjorn (2005, third); Tiger Woods (2007, second); Steve Stricker (2011, first); Jason Dufner (2013, second), Hiroshi Iwata (2015, second); Robert Streb (2016, second). YOUNGEST CHAMPIONS Masters Tournament Tiger Woods, 1997 (21 years, 3 months, 14 days) U.S. Open Johnny McDermott, 1911 (19 years, 10 months, 14 days) The Open Championship Seve Ballesteros, 1979 (modern era, 22 years, 3 months, 12 days); Tom Morris Jr., 1868 (pre-modern era, 17 years, 5 months, 8 days) PGA Championship Gene Sarazen, 1922 (20 years, 5 months, 22 days) OLDEST CHAMPIONS Masters Tournament Jack Nicklaus, 1986 (46 years, 2 months, 23 days) U.S. Open Hale Irwin, 1990 (45 years, 15 days) The Open Championship Roberto De Vicenzo, 1967 (modern era, 44 years, 3 months, 3 days); Old Tom Morris, 1867 (pre-modern era, 46 years, 3 months, 10 days) PGA Championship Julius Boros, 1968 (48 years, 4 months, 18 days) OLDEST FIRST-TIME MAJOR WINNERS Jerry Barber (45 years, 3 months, 6 days, 1961 PGA Championship) Roberto De Vicenzo (44 years, 3 months, 1 day, 1967 Open Championship) LONGEST TIME BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND MAJORS 11 years, Julius Boros  (1952 U.S. Open-1963 U.S. Open) 11 years, Ben Crenshaw (1984 Masters-1995 Masters) PLAYERS WINNING THE WEEK BEFORE A MAJOR (since 1934) 2014, Rory McIlroy (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational-PGA Championship) 2007, Tiger Woods (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational-PGA Championship) 2006, Phil Mickelson (BellSouth Classic-Masters Tournament) 1988, Sandy Lyle (Greater Greensboro Open-Masters Tournament) 1971, Lee Trevino (Canadian Open-Open Championship) 1959, Art Wall (Azalea Open-Masters Tournament) 1949, Sam Snead (Greater Greensboro Open-Masters Tournament) 1946, Ben Hogan (Winnipeg Open-PGA Championship) 1945, Byron Nelson (Chicago Victory Open-PGA Championship) 1939, Ralph Guldahl (Greater Greensboro Open-Masters Tournament) 1939, Henry Picard (Scranton Open-PGA Championship)   Read more stories about the Grand Slam

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