Tiger Woods doesn’t seem ready to give back the green jacket

Absurd, improbable, preposterous, unlikely, doubtful. Pick whichever adjective you’d like. When a player is 11 strokes back of the lead with one round remaining, it’s easy to see how winning a tournament might not be front of mind. It just doesn’t happen. That was the plot at the 2019 Players Amateur in Bluffton, South Carolina. Leader Stewart Hagestad, a former University of Southern California golfer, showed no signs of slowing down, posting a score of 21-under through 54 holes at Berkeley Hall Club’s South Course to lead Alex Smalley by five shots. Hagestad looked like he was going to cruise to victory and earn the available exemption into the 2020 RBC Heritage. Spencer Ralston? He was the guy 11 shots back with 18 holes to play. Ralston, a University of Georgia senior-to-be, woke up Sunday on that warm July morning facing a huge deficit, and by that afternoon the seemingly impossible became possible. “When the day started, never did I think I had a chance of winning,� said Ralston. “I started the day with no expectations, and then that ended up happening.� The “that� was Ralston shooting a final-round 63, including an eagle and eight birdies. He signed for a four-day total of 269. Meanwhile, Chris Haack, Ralston’s coach at the University of Georgia, had been getting the play-by-play from rules official and good friend Bob Patton throughout the day as things began tightening. “When (Ralston) got to 6-under, [Patton] started texting me,� said Haack. “He told me that he got to 7-under, and then, wow, he made eagle and got to 9-under. It was exciting and crazy all at the same time.� Imagine how Ralston was feeling. Finishing his round close to 45 minutes before Hagestad’s final grouping, Ralston found a seat in the clubhouse with some other players who were eating lunch and watching Wimbledon on TV. Unbeknownst to Ralston, he was the clubhouse leader. With Hagestad taking a step back, Ralston realized he suddenly had a chance to win the tournament. “I knew I had played a good round but hadn’t looked at the leaderboard. One of the rules officials told me to grab something quick (to eat) and to warm up because I was only one or two strokes back,� said Ralston. That’s when he realized where he stood and that there was the real possibility for a playoff. A rules official joined Ralston on the driving range, and he kept Ralston in the loop via radio communication about what was happening on the course. As Ralston tried to maintain focus, he learned that a Hagestad bogey on hole No. 17 meant the pair was tied at the top of the leaderboard. Preparing for a potential playoff, it didn’t cross Ralston’s mind that on top of the Players Amateur title—and what was looking like a once-in-a-lifetime comeback—a win would also mean an invitation to his first PGA TOUR event. “I knew an exemption into the Heritage was on the line at the start of the week,� said the Bulldog captain. “But on that day, because I didn’t really think I had a chance of winning, it never really crossed my mind.� With Hagestad on the 18th green, Ralston multi-tasked, warming up while anxiously awaiting word from the rules official at the scene. “Three-putt,� Ralston heard, and that’s when he knew the victory was his. Hagestad had bogeyed three of his final six holes, shooting a final-round 75. All Ralston could do was turn around and hug his cousin and caddie Sims Griffith. “We’ll see you in April at the Heritage,� the rules official said to Ralston on his way back to the clubhouse. “That was a really cool moment that I will never forget,� said Ralston. “One of my goals is to play on the PGA TOUR, and I haven’t played in an event yet, so that is the next step. It felt like a big achievement to get that opportunity as an amateur.� Unfortunately, Ralston, like the rest of the world, had to put his plans on hold due to COVID-19. Following the final round of Mackenzie Tour Qualifying Tournament in Dothan, Ala., where he earned conditional status, Ralston learned that the TOUR was postponing the RBC Heritage. The Southeastern Conference had canceled its golf championship, slated for the next week, as well. “Seeing what’s going on around the country and the world, it’s crazy,� said Ralston, who tied for 30th in Dothan. “We got some more details from coaches the next day, learning that our tournaments had been canceled. It seems like every time you look at social media there is something new happening.� For a while, it looked like Ralston would have to wait until the 2021 RBC Heritage to make his TOUR debut in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Fortunately for Ralston, the TOUR rescheduled the RBC Heritage for June 18-21, a spot on the schedule originally belonging to the U.S. Open. With the NCAA canceling all spring sports, including golf, Ralston has been idle from tournament golf. Haack has kept in touch with all his Bulldog players via Zoom meetings throughout the crisis and is looking forward to his captain having the chance to take on Harbour Town Golf Links in June. He’s not surprised at the success Ralston has had since he first took notice of Ralston’s maturity level and skill at a high school recruiting camp Ralston attended. “Every time a guy has a chance to play in a PGA TOUR event, it’s a big deal and stepping stone to see what it’s like at the next level,� said Haack, who has coached six Bulldogs who have gone on to win PGA TOUR events: Brian Harman, Harris English, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson. “I’ve been telling [Ralston] and the other guys to just stay positive and not to let anything get them down,� Haack continued. “This might be a much-needed break, and they didn’t even know it. There’s always a way to put a positive spin on things.� After proving his ability to overcome a seemingly insurmountable lead this past summer, it likely won’t prove too difficult for Ralston to stay positive ahead of his PGA TOUR debut.

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CROMWELL, Conn. – There was a ride of roughly 700 miles ahead of them, but after some of the trappings that had punctuated this wildest journey of their lives, Zack and Courtney Sucher said Sunday evening they were going to enjoy the car time with daughters Hadley and Claire. Indeed, Courtney said the 9-to-10-hour drive from this bucolic town to Detroit’s Motown was going to feel like a sunset cruise compared to the stressful roller-coaster excursion their life has been of late. After all, it is easy to drive hundreds of miles with money in the bank and job security in the trunk, next to the golf clubs. You can float on your blessings. But to try and go from nowhere to somewhere on interest-free credit cards is a rough ride. You have to embrace faith. “I know with Zack, he doesn’t ever give up,� said Courtney. “He’s a true believer. I have faith in him, and I had faith in God that he would get him there.� Specifically, by “there�, Courtney Sucher didn’t mean Detroit Golf Club for this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. She meant to a place where you have peace of mind and the relief to know all your perseverance and trusts have been rewarded. It is a far more beautiful place than a golf course, no disrespect to venerable Detroit GC, which will host a PGA TOUR tournament for the first time. The peace of mind and relief are owed to the way the numbers fell in Sucher’s favor in a whirlwind of weekend golf at the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. He arrived at the tournament on one of two exemptions extended to players on the Korn Ferry Tour list; that spot appreciated because Zack Sucher is also on a medical exemption dating back to 2017 and knew he had just two tournaments left to generate 347 FedExCup points. If Sucher didn’t get overwhelmed by the task of piling up that many FEC points in such a short amount of time, perhaps it’s because real life had hit hard. “Coming back from medical,� he said, “we had seven months with no income at all coming in two years ago. During that time, we had to take out some credit cards.� Not a recommended course of action, but in 2017, Sucher had missed the cut in 11 of 14 starts before opting for surgery. Doctors in Birmingham, Ala., where he and Courtney live, went into Zack’s left leg to repair extensive ligament and tendon damage, and while they were there they fixed some issues his bad knee, too. The recovery time kept him out the rest of 2017 and all of the next season. When he returned to golf in 2019, Sucher tackled the Korn Ferry Tour and produced a T-2, a T-4, and enough money to sit 32nd and assure himself status out there for this year and next. Then, the former University of Alabama-Birmingham standout set his sights on the PGA TOUR, where he knew he was a long-shot. Which is OK, because a long-shot with an inner belief, a supportive wife, and a small circle of friends is in position to script an intriguing story. And Craig Mullinax, for one, couldn’t wait to be part of it. “Zack is as good as gold, a really good man,� said Mullinax, whose nephew, Trey Mullinax, also plays on the PGA TOUR. “I got to know Zack about two-and-a-half years ago. We hang out at Shoal Creek a lot and when he asked me to caddie for him, I was excited for the chance.� By now, the particulars to the story have been well documented: How Sucher in Round 3 went from six in the lead to six behind playing competitor Chez Reavie, thanks in large part to a horrific meltdown of a three-hole stretch and a back-nine 41, and how he played those same nine holes in 5-under 30 Sunday to sprint into a tie for second behind Reavie, rake in 245 FedExCup points and put himself in position to secure a PGA TOUR card for the rest of this year and in 2019-20. Yes, you can cue up any of the underdog music you prefer, but amid the wild scene in the scoring area Sunday, Courtney Sucher and Mullinax stood to the side and sang the praises of their husband and friend, not words to a song. And they focused not on the blur of that back-nine 30, but on the darker moments that Zack had to navigate to get here. “At Wells Fargo, when he made that double-bogey (on the 13th hole in Round 2 to fall one outside the cut), he didn’t give up,� said Courtney. “He told me the eagle he made two holes later changed his whole perspective to this comeback.� That eagle got Sucher into weekend play, but more importantly, it ignited a confidence within. “He’s never doubted his ability to stay in it,� she said. As for Mullinax, he watched as his man bogeyed the 10th hole Saturday, then followed it with ugly double-bogeys at 11 and 12. “It was a huge moment, but at the 13th tee I told him, ‘Look, we’ve got to get together here and work to make pars to settle this thing,’ � said Mullinax, whose older brother (and Trey’s dad) is Chip Mullinax, a former NASCAR driver. “When a car spins out, you get it back in gear and get back into the race,� Mullinax said. And clearly Sucher understood, because he made six straight pars after that stunning third-round stretch at 10-11-12 and that went a long way toward vaulting him into Sunday’s spectacular finish. “I wasn’t sure how I would handle it this weekend,� said Sucher. “I’ve done it on the Korn Ferry Tour a few times, but this was (different). Crowd-wise, everything is 10 times bigger out here, so to be honest, it was so much fun.� To study the logistics of his status Sunday night was to deflect enthusiasm away from a story that deserved good cheer. Courtney choked back tears, Mullinax kept shaking his head, and the man of the hour, having acknowledged that the share of second was worth $636,000, was true to his embrace of simple means. “I know that like two months ago, we had credit-card debt, so I know we don’t have that anymore.� While he’s still shy by 77 FedExCup points of what he needs to satisfy his medical-exemption target, it’s almost irrelevant. Having earned 126-to-150 status, Sucher will be able to play more than two tournaments, if he chooses, and the likelihood of finishing within the top 125 (he’s currently 126th on just four starts) is very good. A story with so many layers of inspiration and warmth, though Zack Sucher – who only moments earlier had bumped fists with Bryson DeChambeau who smiled and let out with a “Hell, yeah� – stood in the scoring area and tried to absorb it all. “It’s huge for us. It’s exciting. It’s awesome. (but) you know, honestly, I can’t wrap my head around it,� he said. Which is OK. That’s what the long drive to Detroit was for.

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Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari made Ryder Cup history on Saturday, but USA won the final two matches on the course to salvage hope for Sunday’s singles.

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