Rose Ladies Series suspended due to wild fire

As Taylor Lowe completed his round at Monday’s Fortinet Championship qualifier, the full-time golf professional thought ahead to some impending logistical challenges. Lowe works at Wildhorse Golf Club in the Sacramento region, and he had an estimated 15 or 20 lessons on the books across the next five days. The 30-year-old signed for an 8-under 64 in the qualifier at El Macero CC, then went about rearranging those lessons. Lowe successfully qualified into his first TOUR-sanctioned event, earning one of four available spots in the Fortinet Championship. He was joined at 8 under by Fresno State alum Alex Lee; Aaron Baddeley and Seung-yul Noh survived a 6-for-2 playoff at 7-under 65. As Lowe sat in his car after the qualifier, he reflected on the journey to this point. The beauty of a PGA TOUR Monday qualifier is that it gives players of a variety of backgrounds and circumstances a chance to compete against the world’s best. Often the roster of four qualifiers is comprised of full-time touring pros – a mix of conditional TOUR pros, Korn Ferry Tour members, developmental tour pros and the like. Sometimes Monday qualifying delivers on its everyman premise. This marked such an occasion. Lowe typically plays golf just once or twice a week – his day-to-day responsibilities include doing inventory in the golf shop at Wildhorse GC, giving lessons, working in the shop and making the schedule. The California native was an avid junior golfer but suffered injuries in his late teens, and college golf took a backseat. He graduated from Sonoma State, where he played one semester as a walk-on but did not qualify for a tournament. “If you look it up online, you won’t see my picture on the roster or anything,” Lowe said. “I was hacking it up, but I got to practice with the team. I was on the team; I could’ve qualified to play in the events, but I never played well enough to do that.” Lowe didn’t play competitive golf between the ages of 21 and 26. He spent time selling wine, then began working in the cart barn at El Macero – of all places – at age 23. He pulled out carts, picked the range, then worked his way into the shop and gave occasional lessons. Then his high school buddy Charlie Klein’s family purchased Wildhorse GC, and he “cruised over there.” How does Lowe explain his game ascending from college golf benchwarmer to TOUR event qualifier? He credits acclaimed golf instructor and social media presence George Gankas. “I just watched George Gankas on Instagram; I’m not kidding,” Lowe said. “Growing up, taking some golf lessons here and there, I was swinging a certain way. And then I watched some videos of George Gankas on Instagram like five years ago and started playing a lot better.” Easy as that. Lowe channeled his local knowledge at El Macero CC to the tune of seven birdies and an eagle, against a single bogey. This came after successfully advancing through last week’s pre-qualifier, where he carded 3-under 69 at Yolo Fliers Club to earn a tee time Monday. He carried his own bag Monday, and he’s not yet sure of his caddie plans for the week. But he’ll figure it out, just as he’ll figure out his teaching schedule. The membership of Wildhorse GC is behind him. “My phone is vibrating a bunch right now,” he said appreciatively. “They’re all congratulating me.” From there, it was off for a well-deserved celebratory IPA, and two days of preparation into his PGA TOUR debut. “If you’re playing good, you know you can do it,” Lowe said. “You definitely visualize and all that stuff … but I’m still in shock. It’s definitely surreal for sure.” Here’s a capsule look at the four qualifiers for this week’s Fortinet Championship … Taylor Lowe (64) Age: 30 Hometown: Davis, California Alma mater: Sonoma State PGA TOUR starts: 0 Notes: Full-time golf professional at nearby Wildhorse GC … Graduated from Sonoma State in 2014 with a degree in business administration and management … Spent nearly three years at El Macero CC in guest services and as an assistant golf professional before moving to Wildhorse GC in 2017 … Cites Jordan Spieth and Kevin Kisner as pros he admires … Drink of choice is a “double or triple IPA.” Alex Lee (64) Age: 25 Hometown: San Francisco, California Alma mater: Fresno State PGA TOUR starts: 0 Notes: Made nine birdies Monday against one bogey … Held conditional Korn Ferry Tour status in 2022, making two starts … Graduated from Fresno State in 2019 with a communications degree; garnered All-Mountain West Conference honors in 2018 and 2019 … Attended 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach as a fan, following Fresno State alum Nick Watney. Aaron Baddeley (65, advanced through 6-for-2 playoff) Age: 41 Hometown: Lebanon, New Hampshire (raised in Australia) Alma mater: N/A PGA TOUR starts: 476 Cuts made: 282 Best PGA TOUR finish: Win (2006 RBC Heritage; 2007 WM Phoenix Open; 2011 Genesis Invitational; 2016 Barbasol Championship) Notes: Made seven birdies Monday and kept a clean card … Holds TOUR Past Champion status after failing to improve status via Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Earned fully exempt 2023 Korn Ferry Tour status via “floor of five” category in Finals … Long renowned as one of the game’s premier putters … Recently began working with putting coach John Graham, who also works with Justin Thomas … Split time between the PGA TOUR (13 starts) and Korn Ferry Tour (11 starts) last season. Seung-yul Noh (65, advanced through 6-for-2 playoff) Age: 31 Hometown: Gangwon-do, South Korea Alma mater: Korea University PGA TOUR starts: 208 Cuts made: 123 Best PGA TOUR finish: Win (2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans) Notes: Made two eagles and five birdies Monday against two bogeys … Holds TOUR Past Champion status after failing to improve status via Korn Ferry Tour Finals … Made 13 cuts in 22 TOUR starts last season. Best finish was T30 at Butterfield Bermuda Championship … Fulfilled mandatory two-year military obligation in South Korea between 2017 and 2019.

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Brooks Koepka can barely bend down to get his ball from the hole. Phil Mickelson is battling father time before our eyes. While the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah was a celebration of youthful virtuosity (Rory McIlroy), the 2021 PGA has become a drama of the human condition. It’s about scar tissue both literal and figurative, and man’s animating quest to catch up to his younger self. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Final round: How to follow, tee times | Details on Mickelson’s new custom driver “I felt I had a very clear picture on every shot,” said two-time PGA TOUR Champions winner Mickelson (70), who despite some shaky moments on the back nine will take a one-shot lead over Koepka (70) going into the final round Sunday. “And I’ve been swinging the club well, and so I was executing. I just need to keep that picture a few more times. “So even though it slipped a little bit today,” he added, “and I didn’t stay as focused and as sharp on a few swings, it’s significantly better than it’s been for a long time.” Louis Oosthuizen (72) is two off the lead, and nine players, including major winners Bryson DeChambeau (71) and Gary Woodland (72), are within five. “I left a lot out there,” said Koepka (31 putts). “I’ve got a chance to win, so that’s all I wanted to do today is not give back any shots and be there tomorrow with a chance, and I’ve got that.” Unlike Mickelson, Koepka, who won the PGA in 2018 and ’19, has non-age-related issues. He won the Waste Management Phoenix Open for the second time in February, but shortly after that had surgery to repair a dislocated kneecap and ligament damage to his right knee. “Even though I’m not 100 percent,” he said earlier this week, “I can still hit the shots.” He was in obvious discomfort and unable to bend down to read putts or retrieve his ball from the hole at the Masters. He missed the cut. He also missed the cut at the AT&T Byron Nelson last week, but was pleased, he said, to be able to hit a variety of shots. Kiawah is a very long walk – at 7,876 yards, it’s the longest major venue ever – but at least it’s not hilly. And he’s proven himself correct; he really has hit all the shots. Mickelson would become the oldest men’s major winner, besting Julius Boros, who was 48 at the 1968 PGA. It would be his second PGA title (2005); sixth major (and first since the 2013 Open); and 45th PGA TOUR victory (first since the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am). The Ocean Course is a slippery stage, though, and even in his prime, Mickelson – now 115th in the world, 168th in the FedExCup – was one of the most accident-prone superstars. He led by five shots early on the back nine Saturday but showed cracks over the next two hours. The most glaring of these was his wild hook at the par-4 13th hole. The ball never crossed dry land, and although Mickelson made a valiant effort – hitting three from the tee and sticking his next shot to just over 11 feet – he failed to make the putt and carded a double-bogey. His five-shot lead was down to just one over Koepka and Oosthuizen, and although he striped his tee shot to just under 7 1/2 feet at the par-3 14th hole, his birdie try missed badly. The entire sequence – his failure to birdie the par-5 11th to his failure to birdie 14 – took only an hour. Older players have flirted with winning majors. Jack Nicklaus was 58 when he contended deep into Sunday at the 1998 Masters. Tom Watson was 59 when he nearly won the 2009 Open Championship. Fred Couples was 52 when he led after round two of the 2012 Masters. None of them won. With just two victories in the last seven years, Mickelson admits his mental game isn’t what it was. He has tried dietary changes, meditation, and marathon sessions of 36 to 45 holes a day. It’s a work in progress. What remains clear is that he’s having fun. He and Steve Stricker took on Zach Johnson and Will Zalatoris in a practice round earlier this week, and Mickelson birdied the first three holes. “Phil and I were 3-up after three,” Stricker said, “and he said it loud enough so everybody could hear, ‘You know, Strick, I thought we’d be more up at this point.’ And we were 3-up after three. “Typical Phil,” he continued. “It’s good to see him out here. He has such a good time in those practice rounds and seeing everybody it seems like. He still has a tremendous amount of desire to compete at this level, and that’s why he’s doing it and that’s why he’s playing well.” He’s still got one more day of fun, if that’s what this is. He’s still got people watching.

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