LPGA cuts March tourney over missed payments

HOUSTON – For the 17th and last time, the Golf Club of Houston is the host location this week for the PGA TOUR’s annual stop in America’s fourth largest city. Starting next season, the Houston Open will move closer to the downtown area, returning to a renovated Memorial Park, the tournament course between 1951-63. Three things you could usually count on in the first 16 years at the Golf Club of Houston: 1) The possibility of a playoff (six times since 2005); 2) Australians in the mix (three winners at the Golf Club of Houston; nine times overall); and 3) A potential first-time TOUR winner (four times since 2008). There have been plenty of interesting moments since 2003 when the Golf Club of Houston first hosted the event (at the Members Course until 2005 before switching to the Tournament Course). Here’s a countdown of the top 5 moments at the Golf Club. NO. 5: JONES’ DRAMATIC FINISH Australian Matt Jones started the final round in 2014 six shots off the lead held by Matt Kuchar. He was still three strokes behind with three holes to play. But Kuchar bogeyed two of his last three holes and Jones made a 46-foot birdie putt on 18 to force a playoff. Jones then produced an even bigger shot, holing out from 42 yards with a 54-degree wedge for birdie to win for the first time on TOUR. It was the largest comeback in the history of the Golf Club of Houston – and it gave Jones a chance to hobnob with former President George H.W. Bush, who was at the trophy presentation. “He just said congratulations,� Jones said. “He liked the trophy. Big trophy.� NO. 4: POULTER’S MASTERS INVITE A week before arriving at the 2018 Houston Open, Englishman Ian Poulter was mistakenly told that he had qualified for the Masters after reaching the quarterfinals at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, which was thought to be enough to move him inside the top 50 in the world rankings. As it turned out, he needed to win the quarterfinals match against Kevin Kisner. When he didn’t, he left Austin deeply disappointed, and contemplating not even playing Houston before opting to give it a go. Still, an opening 73 didn’t help matters. But then Poulter turned things around, entering the final round tied for the lead with Beau Hossler. At the 18th on Sunday, Poulter needed to make a 19-foot birdie putt to force a playoff. He did … and then won the tournament with a par. This time, there was no doubt he had qualified for the Masters. “Last week was painful,� Poulter said. “To come here this week, I was tired. I was frustrated on Thursday. … I was patient. I waited my time. And this is amazing.� NO. 3: MICKELSON’S FIRST WIN AT AGE 40 Phil Mickelson arrived at the 2011 Houston Open as the reigning Masters champion and soon-to-be World Golf Hall of Famer (he was voted in the previous November, with the induction ceremony a month away). But since he had turned 40 the previous June, he had not won on TOUR. That changed in Houston when he shot 63-65 on the weekend to win by three strokes, with his 63 matching the course record. The victory was emotional on another level, as Phil had often made trips to Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center with his wife and his mother, both of whom had battled breast cancer. “To be able to spend some time with the people that helped us these last couple of years has been very special, too.,� Mickelson said afterwards. “They’re just incredible doctors that are at an amazing facility.� NO. 2: SCOTT STARTS HIS TEXAS SLAM Australian Adam Scott is the only player to complete the Texas Slam, winning all four PGA TOUR stroke-play events in the Lone Star State. The 2007 Houston Open was the first of his four Texas wins, as he shot 65-66 on the weekend. He ended the final round with a flourish, making a 48-foot par-saving putt on the 18th hole to seal his three-shot win over fellow Aussie (and defending champ) Stuart Appleby and Bubba Watson, the latter having held a three-shot lead after 54 holes. A year later, Scott won the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas, then in 2010, he won the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. Finally in 2014, he completed the Texas Slam by winning the Charles Schwab Championship at Colonial in Fort Worth. But his connection with Houston may be the strongest because of his ties to the Harmon family of golf coaches – including Dick Harmon, who had passed away at age 58 the previous year. “Maybe Dick was on my side coming down the 18th today,� Scott said. NO. 1: LOCAL HERO COUPLES WINS In the first year of the move from TPC at the Woodlands to the Golf Club of Houston, Fred Couples became the first University of Houston alum to win the local TOUR stop. He opened with a 65 at the Members Course and never let up, shooting four rounds of 68 or better to win by four shots. Although Couples is a Seattle native, Houstonians have considered him one of their own since his college days when he played on a team that included fellow PGA TOUR pro Blaine McCallister and CBS golf broadcaster Jim Nantz. Asked afterwards who was happier to win, himself or the city of Houston, Couples just smiled. “Well, we’ll call it a tie.� The win was an emotional one for Couples, as he ended a five-year drought. It would also be the last of his 15 PGA TOUR victories in a career that eventually landed him in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

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THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM How much better can it get for Justin Thomas? That’s the biggest question posed towards our current FedExCup Champion and gives us plenty of reason to watch him closer than ever. His 2016-17 season was off the charts as Thomas won five times, including his maiden major championship and of course the season-long FedExCup. Oh, and he shot a 59 in Hawaii and a 63 at the U.S. Open. Given the benchmark is so high, how will he guard against a letdown? Already he has win No. 1 for the new season after a playoff victory over Marc Leishman at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Korea. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We counted down one new player each day in December. Click here for full list. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule So, it appears as if his star will continue to rise and perhaps shine even brighter. But given he’s prone to wearing his emotions on his sleeve, will he cope well with added scrutiny and expectations? Having struck up a friendship with Tiger Woods, who backed up multiple-win seasons over and over again, Thomas has at least one confidant he can garner advice from. Another is good friend Jordan Spieth, who found himself unfairly wielding off criticism when he didn’t back up his first five-win season with similar results. But at the end of the day Thomas is his own man. He grew up in golf, lives and breathes golf, bleeds golf — he wants nothing more than to push himself as far as possible in the sport. He strives to be the greatest and won’t give in until he gets there. If he could improve anything it would be driving accuracy – he was T162 last season at 55 percent – but given he bombs it so far down there, he’s usually able to get at the greens anyway. Thomas keeps his goals close to his chest but we are going to guess that winning another major, getting to world No. 1 and being the first player ever to defend the FedExCup title are on the list. We’re not going to bet against him ticking all of those boxes off in 2018. BY THE NUMBERS How Justin Thomas ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 7th Playoff appearances: 3 TOUR Championship appearances: 2 Best result: Reigning FedExCup Champion. He is the second-youngest FedExCup champion, trailing only Jordan Spieth. INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Justin Thomas in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit There’s only one thing to do when you get on a roll like Thomas did last season: Keep it going as long as possible. So far, so good, with his victory at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the first-year tournament in South Korea. Thomas will have to manage his own expectations after running the table last season, perhaps redefining success. He’ll want to somehow dig deep and summon his absolute best if and when he goes eye-to-eye with his pal Jordan Spieth. And keep an eye on Thomas’ Strokes Gained: Putting numbers. He was in negative numbers and 131st on TOUR in 2016, but last season he jumped up to +.289, 47th best on TOUR. Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton Yes, he earned this spot after a five-win season that included his first major, but there’s a dose of week-to-week inconsistency that all but makes him unownable in DFS where his price tag can also cost you depth. Perhaps he’ll continue to explore the less-is-more formula and keep shaving starts as he’s done since breaking onto the PGA TOUR with 30 in 2014-15, or perhaps he’ll stick with something close to 25 because that total yielded the FedExCup last season. Either way, to earn this position in draft leagues, he’ll need two or three more seasons of similar production to convince us about taking a pass on Jordan Spieth at No. 1. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Thomas switched from Titleist’s 917D3 driver to 917D2 to pick up extra forgiveness and distance. Plays a custom set of 718 MB irons with no offset. A traditional blade putter user for most of his life, Thomas switched to a Scotty Cameron Futura X5 Flow Neck mallet during last year’s FedExCup Playoffs. Has “Radar” stamped on his wedges due to his ability to get the ball near the target with regularity. Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte JT has established himself as one of the best-dressed players on TOUR. His fun prints, vibrant pops of colors, and old school brogues turn heads for all the right reasons. He also accessorizes his looks exceptionally well with exotic skin belts and old brogue-style shoes in custom colorways that perfectly sync up with his outfits. Don’t change a thing in 2018, Justin. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The first sign of contender futility came, fittingly enough, on the opening hole Sunday at The Open Championship. Shane Lowry hit a “ropyâ€� tee shot into the rough. Playing partner Tommy Fleetwood hit two “great’ shots to set up a birdie. Lowry was left with an 8-foot putt just to save bogey. What started as a four-shot lead for Lowry could’ve been reduced to one in a flash. With 17 holes left, the entire field would’ve received a boost. Instead, Lowry made his clutch bogey putt. Fleetwood missed his short birdie attempt. Yes, Lowry’s lead was reduced to three shots, but it could’ve been much worse. Related: Final leaderboard | Lowry goes from despair to Claret Jug | Hometown club cheers for Lowry And in the end, no chaser was really able to apply much pressure on Lowry, who ended up winning by six shots – the largest margin in a major in five years and the largest at The Open since Louis Oosthuizen’s seven-stroke win in 2010. “The first few holes, when you start four back, pretty crucial,â€� said Fleetwood after his 3-over 74. “I didn’t do a good enough job of pressing at that point.â€� No one did. Lowry did his part, shooting a 1-over 72, a terrific score given the pressure of holding the lead and the intense weather that kicked in mid-round. He never gave anyone an opening, forcing the rest of the field to make moves. Fleetwood had his opportunities but missed too many early putts. He failed to convert a birdie chance at the par-5 second, and then missed a short par putt at the par-3 third after his nice recovery off a poor tee shot. He hit a lull in the middle of the round when rain, then strong winds made their presence known. And when Lowry did stumble with a bogey at 14, Fleetwood responded with double-bogey. “14 was killer,â€� Fleetwood said, who finished solo second. At least he was close to keeping up. J.B. Holmes, who started the day six back of the lead, opened with a double bogey at the first on his way to a front-nine 41. Then it got worse. Holmes had been the tournament leader in fairways hit and ranked T-2 in greens in regulation, but his tee-to-green game failed him Sunday. He started the back nine with triple bogey-double bogey en route to a 16-over 87. Holmes’ playing partner, Brooks Koepka, showed he was human after 15 impressive rounds in majors this season. Koepka started with four consecutive bogeys to shoot himself out of it. Still, his 74 left him at 6 under and tied for fourth to go along with his win and two runner-up finishes this season in the majors. He also moved into No. 1 in the FedExCup standings with just two weeks left in the regular season. It’s the first time in his career he’s led the FedExCup at any point of the season. “As a whole it’s awesome,â€� Koepka said of his results. “That’s what I’m striving to do, play well in the big events. And I sort of did that. This week is disappointing, but the rest of them have been — it’s been great. I’m not going to lie. It’s been fun. I would have liked to have just made a few more and finished it off with a bunch of second places.â€� With the challenging weather – Lee Westwood called it “some of the toughest conditions I’ve played in an Open Championshipâ€� – few players were able to find red figures. In fact, of the top 10 on the final leaderboard, only Bob MacIntyre (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (69) shot under par. Tony Finau managed an even-par 71 to finish solo third. That’s his best finish in any major – and his fifth top-10 in his last eight major starts. “My game travels,â€� Finau said. “I continue to just prove to myself one day I can win one of these. No doubt.â€�

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