One hole with Gary Woodland made Amy Bockerstette a celebrity and forged a connection to the U.S. Open champion. But since that viral moment, Bockerstette has done so much more.
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Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club (par 70, 7,044 yards) in Honolulu 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. Nobody Beats the Kizz Patton Kizzire held off James Hahn over six playoff holes to win for the second time on TOUR this season. His first win involved fending off Rickie Fowler at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Now, he adds a six-hole playoff to his resume less than two months later. His recipe for success this week included painting the top 10 in SG: Approach the Green, SG: Putting and bogey avoidance. He circled 22 birdies, T4 on the week. The 31-year old from Tuscaloosa is an Auburn grad but I’m guessing he’s still having a very good year. This is his second win and fourth top 10 in seven events in the new season. Hahn Solo James Hahn’s 62 on Sunday was two better than the next best and secured his place in the epic playoff on 17-under-par 263. Hahn continued his excellent record at Waialae as he posted his sixth consecutive payday and his first podium finish. Of his 24 rounds on this track 20 are in red figures including in 15 of his last 16. He torched the par four holes to the tune of 13-under and that never hurts at this event! I can understand if gamers were skeptical entering the week as his low round in three events during the fall was just 68. Sandwiched Between Chalk this up as a great learning experience for Tom Hoge. Most guys holding the 54-hole lead for the first time rarely go on to win. Hoge had the lead at 18-under after a birdie on No. 12. His double on No. 16 knocked him out of the lead and he eventually finished solo third, his best finish on TOUR. Hoge has never finished better than No. 132 in the FEC standings but he’s picked up his second top 10 in his first six attempts of the 2017-18 season. Charlotte’s Webb His 63 on Saturday was the lowest of the day and his 65 on Sunday moved him up five more spots to T4. Simpson finished last year with a flurry as he finished T20 or better in six of his last seven events. He might have added another in The RSM Classic but he withdrew to be by his dying father’s side. He’s picked back up where he left off with his fourth top 10 in his last eight starts. The Life of Brian Brian Stuard played 31 events last season and made just 16 cuts. None of those weekends resulted in a top 10 and only four went for top 25’s. He’s exempt this year as he’s the last Zurich champion that didn’t have a partner. He’s found new life in the new season as he’s now made the cut in all six events he’s played and half of those have gone for top 10’s. This is also his third top 10 in his last five starts at Waialae. Gamers love when recent and course form merges! Hawaii 5-0 Technically it is Hawaii 5-6, as in 56-under-par in his last four trips for Gary Woodland. After MC in his first two trips he’s fired off T-3, T-13 and T-6 last year with all 12 rounds at par or better. He added four more rounds in the red this week and his 64 on Sunday leapfrogged him 14 spots to T7. He co-led the field in birdies with 24, tied with fellow T7 finisher Ollie Schniederjans. Kelly Green I’m usually ageist in fantasy golf but all rules have exceptions and Jerry Kelly at Waialae qualifies. His final round 66 moved him up to T14, his 13th top 25 in 21 career events. This is his WORST finish, when making the cut, in his last four trips. Not bad for 51 years young! Favorite Sons Defending champion Justin Thomas posted four rounds of 68 or lower and finished T14. Strangely he only made 15 birdies on the week but he did add two eagles. The last repeat champion will still be Ernie Els in 2003-2004. I didn’t see anything from the Bones-Thomas pairing that would suggest anything but business as usual moving forward. Jordan Spieth’s pair of 66’s on the weekend saw him cash T18. The backdoor wasn’t as cracked as much as gamers hoped and it was Spieth’s putter, strangely, that let him down. He ranked 58th in SG: Putting but he was first in GIR. I know which one of these two is easier to fix and it rhymes with cutting… Study Hall Wesley Bryan didn’t stick a driver in his bag this week and isn’t going to in the foreseeable future. He finished T32 and posted all four rounds at par or better…No magic Marc Leishman Sunday this week as the Aussie could only muster 68 and finished T47…Charles Howell, III never fired this week (T29) but he’s still never missed the cut at Waialae in 17 starts…Jason Dufner continues to have better results with the putter. He finished T18 for the week and 18th in SG: Putting…I hid Brian Harman down here as I have written about him the last three days. Fantasy players who had him this week will be disappointed that he didn’t close the deal. I’ll point out I was one of them but I’m not upset he didn’t win. Winning is really difficult out here and if he continues to rack up top 10’s, I’ll be able to live with my decisions! Have some perspective, folks! Only one guy can win each week!
Pack your bags, grab your passport, and make sure you have some sunscreen. Puma Golf is taking you on a journey to some of the most popular stops on the PGA TOUR with its Game That Travels Collection. The series of eight drops features apparel, footwear, and accessories inspired by some of the biggest tournaments and most desirable locales on the schedule. Each ensemble in the collection tells a story through intricate details and bold patterns that capture the attitude of the host site. Puma gave us a peek at the Game That Travels Collection back in December at the Hero World Challenge. With the Bahamas as the setting, the brand outfitted Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau and Gary Woodland in pieces from its Saltwater series. In creating the signature prints, Puma designers pulled inspiration from the sharks, stingrays and turtles known to inhabit the waters surrounding the islands of the Bahamas. This week, at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Puma brand ambassadors are debuting the second series of the Game That Travels line with the Island Time Collection. Throughout the tournament, you will see Rickie and Gary sporting signature prints inspired by Maui’s two iconic features—pineapples and palm trees. Fowler has often used the shores of Kapalua Bay to showcase his latest fashion flexes. Back in 2016, he had the social media world buzzing by rocking joggers and high-tops. Two years ago, he teed it up in an untucked Aloha shirt. This year he channeled those island vibes with a matching pineapple print shirt, shorts and bucket hat. When the TOUR heads to Torrey Pines for the Famers Insurance Open, Puma will introduce the Turfs Up Collection. Grab your board and your clubs as the laidback designs were inspired by the unique the surf and golf culture of the California Coast. As the TOUR travels to the east coast, the Game That Travels Collection takes a more refined tone. The second iteration of the X Collection celebrates Rickie’s progressive and elevated style as well as his 10-year partnership with the brand. Look for Fowler to wear tipped polos, skull prints, and PROADAPT kicks with gold chrome outsoles at THE PLAYERS Championship. The Game That Travels Collection will be in full bloom as players make the drive up Magnolia Lane for the Masters in Puma’s TournAMENt Pack. Vibrant green and pink floral prints signal a rebirth of the golf season by paying homage to Augusta National’s notorious White Dogwood, Golden Bell, and Azalea holes in Amen Corner. With two high-stress events in the rearview mirror and two more on the horizon, Puma will take us on a return trip to the Bahamas for a little relaxation with the Sweetness Collection. Inspired by Rickie’s infamous #SB2K trip, Sweetness is the perfect collection for kicking back and relaxing on a low-key golf vacation. Like Hawaii, the Bahamas is known for its abundance of pineapples and this collection will bring a new polo and trucker hat with a pineapple print to the fairways for Spring Break. Following a bit of rest and relaxation, the intensity of the golf season ramps up with two majors in quick succession. As the PGA Championship heads west for the rolling hills and free-spirited culture of San Francisco, Puma will celebrate the city’s famous Haight-Ashbury intersection, which served as the center of the hippie movement in the 1960s. At TPC Harding Park, the brand will tap into the groovy feels of the area by outfitting its players in polos, hats, and NXT Solelace shoes done in colorful tie-dye prints from the Love/Haight Collection. After leaving the funky streets of San Francisco, the golf world will return to Winged Foot for the U.S. Open. The club is known for the blue and white awning covering the terrace in front of the clubhouse and Puma pulled inspiration from that iconic feature for the Pars & Stripes Collection. The patriotic looks will be clean, technical, and rooted in performance—a nod to the highly skilled members of the club. Look for the Puma Golf Game That Travels Collection to be available upon individual releases throughout the year and available at the PGA TOUR Superstore.
The Regular Season wraps up at the Wyndham Championship with no shortage of drama set to unfold around the top 125 on the FedExCup Eligibility Points List as players jockey for their place in the FedExCup Playoffs. Kevin Kisner returns to defend after winning a six-man playoff a year ago. FIELD NOTES: Will Zalatoris will be the highest-ranked player in the field at Sedgefield Country Club… Past FedExCup champions Billy Horschel and Justin Rose are also in the field… Four of the six players from last year’s playoff are returning to action at the Wyndham Championship – Kisner, Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, and Si Woo Kim, who won the 2016 Wyndham… 2019 Wyndham winner J.T. Poston returns to action; Poston recently picked up his second career win at the John Deere Classic… Other notables include East Carolina alum Harold Varner III, U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Davis Love III (who won his third Wyndham Championship in 2015 at age 51), past PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im, and European major champs Danny Willett and Shane Lowry … William McGirt is playing in his final start of his Major Medical Extension… Sponsor exemptions include former college stars Chris Gotterup and Cole Hammer, along with former No.1-ranked amateur Trent Phillips of the University of Georgia. Gotterup, seventh in this year’s class of PGA TOUR U graduates, has made the cut in four of six PGA TOUR starts as a pro, highlighted by a T4 at the John Deere Classic. He’s already clinched his spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and now has his PGA TOUR card for 2023 in sight after making the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Hammer, best known for qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open at the age of 15, was fifth in this year’s PGA TOUR U Ranking presented by Velocity Global. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Sedgefield Country Club (Ross), par 70, 7,131 yards. The TOUR tees it up at a Donald Ross venue for the second week in a row, with Detroit Golf Club also a Ross design. Opened in the 1920s, Sedgefield has Ross’ typical small and undulating greens, although prior to last season is had yielded five straight winning totals of 20 under or lower. Sedgefield was restored to the original Ross design in 2007 but lengthened to accommodate the PGA TOUR. It has hosted each Wyndham Championship since 2008. STORYLINES: The Wyndham Championship marks the FedExCup Regular Season finale before the three-event FedExCup Playoffs get underway… Former Wyndham Championship winner Webb Simpson is seeking his second win at Sedgefield after several close calls. He has finished no worse than seventh in the last five Wyndhams, including two runners-up and two third-place finishes… Could there be another Chesson Hadley moment this season? Hadley was on the outside-looking-in a year ago, but fired a final-round 62 and moved to No.125… Sungjae Im and Billy Horschel have a chance to move into the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 with a good finish… The Wyndham Championship will mark the final television broadcast of long-time analyst and nine-time TOUR winner Sir Nick Faldo…Players also will be looking to crack the top 200 in the FedExCup Eligibility Points List to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. 72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Henrik Stenson (2017), JT Poston (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Brandt Snedeker (1st round, 2018). LAST TIME: Kevin Kisner emerged from a dramatic six-man playoff to capture his fourth PGA TOUR title after a birdie on the second extra hole. Kisner began the day four shots off the lead and shot a final-round 66, which included birdies on Nos. 16 and 17. Kisner had lost in five TOUR playoffs previously, including three in 2015. Kevin Na, Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim, Adam Scott, and Roger Sloan were the others in the playoff. Scott had the best chance to win in the first playoff hole, but his 4-foot birdie try slid by. It was the third six-man playoff on the PGA TOUR, and first since 2001. Fifty-four-hole leader Russell Henley was amongst the group who finished at T7, one shot out of the playoff. He reached 17 under after making the turn but bogeyed four of his final eight holes, including No. 18, to drop out of contention. Chesson Hadley fired a final-round 62 (the round of the day, which included the first hole-in-one of his life) and moved from No.132 to No.125 in the FedExCup standings, earning the final spot in the FedExCup Playoffs by a single FedExCup point. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes
