David Leadbetter revisited his same critique from 2016; that former world No. 1 Lydia Ko is behind held back by her parents.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jordan Spieth gets his first shot at completing the career grand slam at this week’s PGA Championship. Check out PGATOUR.COM’s day-by-day coverage from Quail Hollow below. SPIETH’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SCORECARD Saturday: Hot streak, tough finish For the first seven holes Saturday, Jordan Spieth continued the frustrating play that has denied him a shot at history. Three bogeys had him free-falling down the leaderboard. But then he finally found the form — specifically, his putting stroke — that he had been seeking all week at Quail Hollow. A birdie from 10 feet at the eighth hole, followed by his longest made putt of the week, from 33-1/2 feet from the fringe at the ninth. Then four consecutive pars followed by three consecutive birdies, including a 23-foot putt at the 16th. His 5-under stretch in those nine holes had him on the verge of climbing inside the top 20 on the leaderboard. But on the final hole, his tee shot found the bunker and his second shot landed in the water. He ultimately suffered a double bogey, leaving him with an even-par 71 and 3 over going into the final round. It’s his best score of the week but even after his hot stretch, he had few illusions of becoming a contender. “If I had birdied one of the last two and I’m at even, it’s unrealistic,” Spieth said. “My goal was to try to work our way into a backdoor Top-10. Kind of stinks because it sets me back there. 18 is just a ridiculously hard hole today.” He’ll go into Sunday hoping to build some momentum going into the FedExCup Playoffs. Two months ago, he was out of contention at the U.S. Open but shot a final-round confidence-boosting 69. He said it was a catalyst to his wins at the Travelers Championship and The Open Championship. “Obviously any week you don’t have a chance to win, you’ve fallen short of where you would like to be,” Spieth said. “Disappointing would have been going home after two days. I think I saw some highlights today. “Like Michael [Greller, his caddie] was saying, we could break the season into quarters. This is the start of the fourth quarter. [Entering the] U.S. Open Sunday, I was out of it, but I gathered a little something off that Sunday round that led to two wins and two tournaments after that including a major. “Just one round like that can do that. That’s what I’m looking to do here.” — Mike McAllister Friday: Essentially out of it Jordan Spieth will start the weekend 11 shots behind co-leaders Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama. That means he has lots of ground to make up. Does he have a target score in mind for Saturday’s third round at Oak Hill? “54 would be nice,â€� he joked. Consider that Spieth’s way of saying he’ll likely have to wait another year to complete the career Grand Slam. His 2-over 73 on Friday leaves him at 3 over through two rounds and a tie for 46th, with some players yet to complete their second rounds. The good news for Spieth was that he did finish his round. The horn suspended play for darkness just before his chip shot onto the 18th green. Opting to finish the hole, Spieth chipped onto the green, then two-putted from 11 feet for bogey. It was that kind of day. Spieth posted just one birdie – he has just four through the first 36 holes – and never built any momentum. Instead, it was mostly just trying to scramble out of trouble. After a rain delay Friday afternoon softened the course and created prime scoring conditions, Spieth played even par once play resumed. He failed to birdie the drivable par-4 14th or the par-5 15th, missing a birdie putt from just inside 10 feet. He said he bailed out on both tee shots. He also thought 16 and 18 were playing easier, but he failed to take advantage of those opportunities others did, and consequently, he gave up ground quickly on the leaderboard. “It was more gettable after the rain delay than it was before, no doubt about it,â€� Spieth said. “I played even par after the delay and that’s not very good in my opinion on those holes that we had left.â€� So now his best chance is a Hail Mary on the weekend. “I kind of accept the fact that I’m essentially out of this tournament pending some form of crazy stuff the next couple of days,â€� he said. “I’m sure going to give it a try.” — Mike McAllister Thursday: Putting struggles Jordan Spieth has displayed a new skill set in 2017, and it’s one that we still have to get accustomed to. His ballstriking has been the key to his success, while his trusty putter has failed to live up to his standards. That was the case again Thursday as Spieth began his pursuit of the career Grand Slam at Quail Hollow. This is a course that requires players to drive the ball well, and Spieth leaned heavily on the longest club in his bag. It was the shortest one that frustrated him, though. “It was just the putter,â€� Spieth said after a first-round 72 that left him five shots behind leader Thorbjorn Olesen. Spieth had 32 putts Thursday, and didn’t make a putt longer than 5 feet. – Sean Martin Click here for the full story on Spieth’s opening round Preview: No added pressure Jordan Spieth enters the season’s final major with a rare opportunity to wipe out one of Tiger’s records. Having just turned 24 in late July, Spieth is about six months younger than Woods was at St. Andrews. Should Spieth win at Quail Hollow, he would eclipse Tiger as the youngest player to complete the career slam. Theoretically, Spieth will have many opportunities – two decades? three decades? – to finish the career slam. But he’ll have only one shot to do it faster than Woods did. “He can accomplish something that has to rank up there with the greatest records in the history of this 500-year-old sport,â€� CBS golf anchor Jim Nantz said. “It’s a huge story. … Golf could be on the precipice of one of the greatest achievements.â€� Thanks to his win at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale – along with his Masters and U.S. Open wins in his magical 2015 season — Spieth has put himself in this position. He knows the spotlight will be heavily focused on him at Quail Hollow. He calls it “noise.â€� Whether he’s feeling any additional pressure, however, remains to be seen. His preparation will not deviate just because it’s his first slam opportunity. His goal of winning majors – “The four events that we try to peak and think most about at the beginning of every year,â€� he said – has not changed. — Mike McAllister Click here for the full story on Spieth’s grand slam bid
Lexi Thompson shot a 6-under 65 on Sunday to finish off a wire-to-wire victory in the Kingsmill Championship with a tournament-record 20-under 264 total. Thompson broke the tournament record of 19 under at Kingsmill’s River Course set by Annika Sorenstam in 2008. The victory came in Thompson’s third event since she lost the ANA Inspiration in a playoff after being penalized four strokes for a rules violation reported by a television viewer during the final round. The victory, Thompson’s eighth, gave her at least one in five consecutive seasons. In Gee Chun, playing with Thompson, shot a bogey-free 67, but was no match for the leader, finishing five shots back. Thompson was also bogey free and
True, the on-ramp will arrive earlier and the exit number will be altered, but competitors will have no problem next year recognizing a familiar mile marker when they make their way along the Quail Hollow Club for the 2021 Presidents Cup. Danger and treachery are impossible to disguise. Especially when you’re talking about a stretch of three holes as heralded as those that conclude your round of golf at Quail Hollow. “Just great, great golf holes,� said Mark Russell, the PGA TOUR’s Vice-President of Rules, Competitions and Administration. So great, in fact, that when the match-play format of the TOUR’s biennial team competition was taken into consideration, there was unanimous agreement that “they are such a supreme challenge, we’ve got to get them into the mix,� said Johnny Harris, the president of Quail Hollow. In other words, it was imperative to get next year’s Presidents Cup matches to these demanding tests – the 16th, a par 4 of 506 yards; the 17th, a white-knuckle par 3 of 223 yards over water; and the 18th, a 494-yard par 4 that is guarded entirely on the left by a small creek that looks wider than the Atlantic Ocean. The Green Mile is the nickname that has stuck for 16-17-18 since it was born on a radio talk show live from the playing of the 2004 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow more than 15 years ago. A caller suggested it was like the Stephen King novel turned into a Tom Hanks movie by the same name, a tale about that final walk from death row. A bit grim, perhaps, but the Green Mile has since remained part of the dialogue on annual trips to Quail Hollow. Sadly, the visit was bypassed this year as this week’s Wells Fargo Championship was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. But when it returns to the PGA TOUR landscape in 2021, Quail Hollow will bring all its glory to the Presidents Cup, albeit with a different routing so that players get the full package of pressure and fans the complete complement of entertainment. (Next year’s Wells Fargo Championship will be played at TPC Potomac as Quail Hollow prepares for the Presidents Cup.) Thanks to the new routing, the Green Mile (annually, 16-17-18 rank the three toughest holes at the Wells Fargo Championship) will play as Nos. 13-14-15, and if you’re looking for the definition of “no-brainer,� consider this: At the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia, all 30 matches reached the 15th hole at Royal Melbourne, but 18 of them failed to get to the 18th. “It was probably part of our first conversation with the TOUR and Adam (Sperling, executive director of the Presidents Cup) and his team,� said Johno Harris, Johnny’s son and chairman of the 2021 Presidents Cup. “Everyone was on board and it was an easy conversation to have; we were all thinking that we wanted 16-17-18 to be in play.� (After playing the Green Mile as holes 13-14-15, the adjusted routing will take you to 16-17-18 – what is currently the par-5 10th, then the par-4 11th, then over to the par-4 ninth.) For all the passionate care he pours into Quail Hollow, Johnny Harris concedes that “it was almost by accident� that the re-routing will be seamless for the 2021 Presidents Cup. When players complete the short, dogleg right par-4 eighth hole, rather than turn left and head to what is the ninth tee, they’ll proceed to what is presently the tee box at the par-4 12th and close out their outward nine at a very tight driving hole that features a demanding approach to an elevated green. (The par-3 13th will serve as the 10th hole.) The path that is roughly 80- to 100-yards long meanders behind what is the 11th green and sets up beautifully. While making No. 12 the ninth hole will accommodate the desire to get 16-17-18 earlier into the mix, there is significantly more to the back than the Green Mile. The fun really starts when players step into a unique amphitheater beginning with the tee shot at the par-4 14th, which will be the 11th hole for the Presidents Cup. It’s a 344-yard par 4 that will entice players to try and drive a green that is protected on the left by an expansive body of water that will put a headlock on players’ attention. The water also serves as the centerpiece to an amphitheater designed by Tom Fazio that will be the source of electricity. “You have to step back and marvel at what Tom did to create that amphitheater,� said Johno Harris. “Players (on the 11th) will be looking across the water to see players (at 13 and 14). Crowds will be listening to crowds. That’s what’s going to be fun,� added Johnny Harris. “I’m not sure you get such a wide view anywhere else.� This dynamic stretch of holes – from the short 11th, to the par-5 12th that moves uphill right-to-left and will be reachable in two, then to the famed Green Mile stretch at 13-14-15 – brings water into play, but also the coveted risk-reward mentality. “Every one of those holes creates excitement,� said Johnny Harris, who has been at Quail Hollow since the day it opened and would be on a short list if you jotted down the most passionate and influential supporters of golf. Quail Hollow has hosted PGA TOUR tournaments dating to the 1960s, including annually since 2003, and he was the force behind the PGA Championship coming here in 2017, the first major held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Harris was 11 years old when his father, James, pitched the idea of Quail Hollow to a group of influential North Carolina businessmen. The guest speaker at the gathering in James Harris’ home was a man named Arnold Palmer, who had recently won the 1958 Masters. Not only did the evening help raise the funds for James Harris to build Quail Hollow, it poured the foundation to Johnny Harris’ lifelong friendship with Arnold Palmer. Not a bad introduction into a lifetime love affair with golf, eh? It’s one that Johnny Harris doesn’t take for granted and one that leaves him qualified to pass judgment on what works and doesn’t work in golf. And what works at that stretch of holes that will be played as Nos. 11-15 in 2021 is the “go or not go� mentality. Do you try to drive the green at 11? Go for 12 green in two? How aggressive will you be with your approach to 13 green, with water looming? Ditto your tee shot at the par-3 14th. Rip a driver at the tight 15th or lay back with a safer shot? “Those holes present a huge advantage or huge disadvantage in a match play environment,� Johnny Harris said. “The fans will love it.� The 24 players that week might view it differently, given the pressure they’ll be facing. But it’s not like they aren’t familiar with both sides of the risk-reward nature of those holes at Quail Hollow. Johno Harris points to one of the best shots he’s ever seen, Justin Thomas’ 7-iron at the par-3 17th (No. 14 in 2021) that pretty much sealed his win in the 2017 PGA Championship. Jason Day’s win at the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship was cemented with a brilliant birdie at the 17th. Then there was Rickie Fowler’s first PGA TOUR win at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship, his approach stuffed tight to a difficult pin on the 18th to beat Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points in a playoff. Ah, but the heartaches have been plentiful, too, starting with David Toms in the inaugural Wells Fargo Championship in 2003. Johnny Harris stood greenside and watched Toms take four putts to finish off an ugly quadruple-bogey – yet win by two. “It’s the only time I’ve been allowed to give a ride to the winner,� he laughed. Phil Mickelson has played Quail Hollow beautifully through the years (a second, two thirds, 10 top-10s) but has squandered chances to win on the Green Mile. He made three double-bogeys at 17 in 2005, bogeyed 16 and 17 on Sunday to lose to Derek Ernst in 2013, and never really recovered from a quadruple-bogey at 18 in Round 3 in 2016. Trevor Immelman, who will be captain of the International Team in 2021, three-putted the 72nd green, then lost the Wells Fargo Championship in a playoff in 2006. But he has always credited that visit to Quail Hollow with doing a lot for his career and embraces the re-routing of the holes. “We know the golf course, from the drivable 14th (No. 11) to 15 the par 5 (No. 12), then the Green Mile. When players have the opportunity in match play a little bit more aggressively,� said Immelman, “I think it is going to provide some pretty good entertainment and a nice opportunity for these guys to show off their skills.� It’s hard to argue with Immelman. But you might add that the entire 2021 Presidents Cup will enable Quail Hollow to flash its character and style.
