Top-ranked Pine Valley to allow women members

The ball was sitting in a pot bunker. Hunter Stewart was standing outside of it. It was a textbook example of the awkward lies that can occur on the links courses of Great Britain & Ireland. Stewart hadn't hit the ball there, but it was his job to extricate it. Maverick McNealy struck the tee shot that wound up in this trap. It was on the first hole of their first match of the Walker Cup, a competition that pits the United States' best amateurs against their peers from GB&I. "Brutal" is how McNealy described the lie Stewart faced. "I put him in some really bad spots that first day in alternate shot," McNealy recalled recently. "His first shot of the entire Walker Cup, he was standing on his head." Six years later, Stewart is still trying to help McNealy get the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible, but in a much different capacity. McNealy is in his second year on the PGA TOUR while Stewart, who has an economics degree from Vanderbilt, is in his second season working as a strategy consultant for TOUR players. Stewart's statistical analysis speaks the language of McNealy, a Northern California native who brings a Silicon Valley ethos to his career. "He's always coming up with ideas and ways to get better," Stewart said. "He innovates himself." McNealy finished 68th in the FedExCup last year. He made the cut in 17 of 23 starts, including six top-25s. A fifth-place finish at last year's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was his best of the season. The 25-year-old has four top-25s this season and is 87th in the FedExCup. McNealy has seen some of his peers enter the winner's circle before him, but he derives satisfaction from the improvement he's seen since turning pro. The son of former Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy, Maverick expressed interest in entering the business world after college. Knowing he could still get better - even after a stellar career at Stanford, where was the NCAA player of the year, won 11 times and was and a two-time Walker Cupper - was a deciding factor in turning pro. "I've been asked when do I think I wouldn't want to play golf anymore and the answer is, ‘When I don't think I can get any better, when there's no stone unturned,'" McNealy said recently. "I love the fact that there's always room to improve." Scott McNealy used to roam the hallways of Sun and ask, "If you were CEO for a day, what would you do?" Maverick does the same with his employees, conducting annual interviews where each member of his team reviews their performance and his. "I ask, ‘How did the year go? What did you do well? Where did you struggle? Is there anything you need to do your job better? And, if you were me, what do you think you would do differently on and off the golf course?" McNealy said. "My dad said one of the most important things you can do is listen and give your employees a chance to talk openly and freely." Stewart said McNealy runs his team "like a business, and he's the CEO. He's a businessman who happens to be a PGA TOUR player. "Everyone has a role, and he's made it very easy for everyone on his team to do their job to the fullest. That's great leadership on his part." McNealy's swing instructor is Butch Harmon, who helped him sort out his swing when he was struggling with his ball-striking on the Korn Ferry Tour. McNealy has had the same caddie, Travis McAllister, since turning pro. They spent two years together on the KFT before reaching the PGA TOUR. "He's very detail-oriented and probably more of a perfectionist than I am," McNealy said. Susie Meyers is McNealy's mental coach. While McNealy was recruited out of college by the largest agencies, he decided to sign with Peter Webb, who runs a one-man operation. His trainer Is Scott Norton and physical therapist Jimmy Greathouse helped him recover from a shoulder injury he suffered last year. Karen Hallstein, who was Scott McNealy's secretary, helps Maverick with his travel. And Maverick's grandfather, Paul Ingemanson, is his financial adviser. "He'll let me know if there's a $5 fee on one of my credit cards that shouldn't be there," McNealy said. "I'm still driving my mom's 2011 Ford Explorer and I have A-list preferred status on Southwest. I think a lot of my spending habits come from my grandpa." Stewart is one of the newest additions to the team. He's not the first person to parse the ShotLink data to help players save shots, but he's the only one with a top-10 finish on TOUR. Stewart finished 10th in the 2015 Mayakoba Golf Classic, just his third TOUR start as a pro. Earlier that year, he finished third in the NCAA Championship, behind only future TOUR winners Bryson DeChambeau and C.T. Pan. Stewart's pro career stalled out on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and in 2019 he decided to change careers. "I'm just trying to help them do the right thing on each shot," Stewart said. "It might not work on every shot because that's golf but the goal is to increase the probability of success." Stewart doesn't just help his players pick the right play on the course. He helps them set their schedule with events that fit their skillset, determine specific shots to focus on in practice rounds and set practice routines based on the state of their game and what an upcoming course may require. His goal is to help his clients save one stroke per tournament. That may not sound like much but it can have a huge impact on a player's season. McNealy uses the 12th hole at Detroit Golf Club, site of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, as tangible evidence of Stewart's impact. Stewart uses ShotLink to look at putts that players seem to consistently misread. In the practice rounds at Detroit GC, Stewart instructed McNealy to hit putts from a specific spot to the Sunday hole location. "When he tells me that, I know it's because guys never make that putt," McNealy said. He badly misread his first attempt but made an 18-footer on the same line when it mattered on Sunday. He finished T8, one of three top-10s last season. Stewart, a former SEC Conference Player of the Year and Kentucky native, also helps McNealy with his short game, especially with shots from the Bermudagrass common in the South. McNealy has learned to focus on shoring up his strengths instead of trying to fix every weakness. Stewart used Strokes Gained to devise a "winning formula" for McNealy, who was ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting last season. If he putts well, then he can garner a good finish by not losing strokes in Strokes Gained: Approach and avoiding penalty strokes with his driver. "I'm not in the business of asking guys to become something that they're not," Stewart said. "I think a lot of times people get bogged down in trying to become the best player in the world. The Tiger effect has skewed everyone's view of success in golf. I'm not saying we should limit what we try to do, but just because the Tigers and the Rorys of the world are winning all the time - they're great measuring sticks, but you shouldn't let that barometer of their success rob you of the joy of becoming the best player they can be." It's a journey that McNealy has enjoyed as he pursues his first PGA TOUR win.

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MAMARONECK, N.Y. — This was the Winged Foot everyone has heard about. This is the U.S. Open everyone expected. Patrick Reed answered the first big test Friday when the wind arrived out of the north, bringing a little chill and a lot of trouble. He never got flustered by bogeys and made enough birdie putts and key saves for an even-par 70. It felt just as rewarding as the 66 he shot in the opening round, and it gave him a one-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau, who powered and putted his way to a 68. The opening round featured soft greens, a few accessible pins and 21 rounds under par. Friday was the epitome of a major long known as the toughest test in golf. Three players broke par. Nine others shot even par. Everyone else was hanging on for dear life. As the final groups tried to beat darkness in this September U.S. Open, only six players remained in red numbers. “It’s almost like they set it up to ease our way into it, and then showed us what it’s supposed to really be like,” Reed said. Television showed his five birdies. What took him to the 36-hole lead at 4-under 136 was a collection of pars from bunkers and from thick grass just over the greens. He managed them all with grit, a common trait among U.S. Open champions. DeChambeau showed plenty of resiliency, too, bouncing back with birdies after all five of his bogeys and finishing the best round of the day with a pitching wedge on the downwind, 557-yard, par-5 ninth to 6 feet for eagle. Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain and Harris English each had a 70 and were at 2-under 138. They were joined by Justin Thomas, who opened with a 65 — the lowest ever at Winged Foot for a U.S. Open — and lost all those shots to par after 10 holes. Thomas then delivered a 5-wood from 228 yards into the wind on the par-3 third hole and made a slick, 15-foot, double-breaking birdie putt to steady himself. He scratched out a 73 and is right in it. Jason Kokrak (71) was the only other player under par at 1-under 139. “This isn’t exactly a place where you go out and try to shoot 6 or 7 under to catch up,” Thomas said. “I’m not going to worry about what everyone else is doing because you could shoot 80 just as easily as you could shoot 68. I just need to stay focused, and most importantly, go home and get some rest. Because I’m pretty tired.” There’s still 36 holes to go, and no indication that Winged Foot is going to get any easier. “The rough is still really thick. I don’t think they’re planning on cutting it,” Matthew Wolff said after salvaging a 74 that left him four shots behind. “The greens are only going to get firmer, and the scores are only going to get higher.” Tiger Woods is among those who won’t be around to experience it. He had a pair of double bogeys at the end of the back nine, and two birdies over his last three holes gave him a 77. He missed the cut by four shots, the eighth time in his last 15 majors he won’t be around for the weekend. “It feels like the way the golf course is changing, is turning, that anybody who makes the cut has the opportunity to win this championship,” Woods said. “I didn’t get myself that opportunity.” Neither did Phil Mickelson, who had his highest 36-hole score in 29 appearances in the one major he hasn’t won. Ditto for Jordan Spieth, whose 81 was his highest score in a major. PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole that cost him a chance to keep playing. Reed turned in a workman-like performance, making birdies when he had the chance, saving par when needed. This is the kind of golf he loves. It’s a grind. And it’s about feel. He was most pleased with his birdie on No. 1 after he made the turn, going with a chip 8-iron from 147 yards into the wind and riding the slope at the back of the green to tap-in range. “I love when it’s hard, when you have to be creative on all different golf shots,” he said. There were plenty of great rounds on such a demanding course, many of which fell apart at the end. Louis Oosthuizen was 3 under in the morning when he finished bogey-bogey-double bogey for a 74. Xander Schauffele was 3 under until he bogeyed three of his last five holes. “The wind can make a par-3 course difficult, so put that on a U.S. Open setup, it’s going to be even more so,” Schauffele said. “It’ll be a fun afternoon to watch on TV.” Rory McIlroy’s problems started early. He was 5 over through seven holes, including a birdie at the start, and shot 76 to fall seven shots behind. Dustin Johnson was bogey-free through 16 holes until a pair of bad tee shots led to bogey. He had a 76 and was in the group at 3-over 143. All of them still feel as though the U.S. Open is in sight. “I’m confident now, after seeing what was out there this afternoon, over par will win this tournament,” Adam Scott said a 74 left him nine shots back. “The greens finally dried out. If there’s any breeze, over par is winning.” It usually does at Winged Foot.

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Here are nine tidbits from the first two rounds of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. That sound you heard?  Whew. That was the collective exhale the almost 30 percent of gamers who selected Pat Perez in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. The cut was determined, finally, Saturday afternoon and ended up being 141 (-1). Perez was the only player with double-digit ownership (percentage-wise) this week. Whew. Started at the bottom, now we’re here: Chesson Hadley was the second-most picked in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO with almost 10 percent on board. All he needed to do on his final hole of the day was get up-and-down from hard pan next to the bleachers. He did and will have a chance in the final 36 holes to move up. It’s better than slamming the trunk, folks! Carnage or carnitas? Gary Woodland checked in as the third-most selected player in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. He also made the cut on the number. The odds of the top three most selected making the weekend on the number has to be pretty slim. Gamers, remember this down the road when it doesn’t work out your way! Not as funky as Fred, yet…Brian Gay is only 45, so he wouldn’t pass Fred Funk (51) as the oldest winner of the tournament. The 2008 champ is playing the weekend here for the eighth time in eight starts and is looking to add his fifth top 30 in those starts. He sits one off the lead entering the third round, and two of his last three top 10’s have been on windy tracks (Harbour Town, TPC San Antonio). Kids these days…John Oda is 21 and turned pro in August after deciding to skip his senior season of college. The three-time All-American performer at UNLV was a last-minute addition and is taking full advantage of his first start on TOUR as a pro. He’s racked up 12 birdies in two rounds, including eight in Round 2 on his way to 65. Noted. Check mark so far for Alex Cejka this week. He fell short after a furious rally at the Shriners last Sunday but is right back in the action after two rounds at El Camaleon. His mixed bag of results at Mayakoba over time has me concerned but his current form trumps those concerns. Oh, and he won on Paspalum at the Puerto Rico Open in 2015. Charley Hoffman didn’t discriminate this week as he wiped out ALL gamers in every format. He was the fourth-most selected PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO and fifth-most selected in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. Write down that he’s been fantastic over the years at TPC San Antonio, TPC River Highlands and TPC Boston and save it for later. As is ALWAYS the case, as shown above, every week a big-name player fails to meet the loftiest of gamer’s expectations. After opening with 67 and stalking the lead, Kevin Chappell, the seventh-most popular selection in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, followed up with 77 in round 2. I’m not the biggest fan of trying to make heads-or-tails of performances when big weather delays are involved. His recent record speaks for itself. Maybe I’m just BITTER because he was MY OAD this week. Just maybe… Glass half full or half empty? Gamers, keep your eyes on Charles Howell III and Chez Reavie as Round Three turns into Round Four. They are both off to flying starts late on Saturday and fit the profile of recent winners at Mayakoba. Howell is a LEGEND in the early part of the season, wins be damned, as he rakes from now until April. Reavie’s current form (T24 or better in his last five) and his T4 here last year suggests jumping in with both feet!

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