Brooks Koepka to miss cut at Palmetto Championship at Congaree

Erin, Wis. – The United States Golf Association has implemented several changes to procedures to ensure another rules fiasco does not affect this week’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills. A year after eventual champion Dustin Johnson was embroiled in a final round rules drama the governing body has acted decisively. Johnson was initially cleared of causing his ball to move on the green early in his final round at Oakmont last year before being told the issue would come under further review and a penalty was likely. As such he played the final holes unsure of exactly how big his lead was but ultimately prevailed by three shots (a one-shot penalty was enforced post-round) to claim his first major championship. The uncertainty and resulting uproar prompted several changes. “After last year’s U.S. Open we made the commitment to review all of our championships and rules and related protocols and procedures and we’ve done that,â€� Senior Managing Director of Championships & Governance John Bodenhamer said. “Our focus over those months has primarily been three things. To expedite our ruling process to ensure that we’re more timely in our rulings. To be decisive in our decision making. And to more effectively communicate to the players and to all.â€� Steps to make it happen include:     • The ability to immediately mobilize their five person rules committee who will now be in close communication with each other at all times.     • The identification of Thomas Pagel, the senior director of rules, as the “white hat refereeâ€� who can make instantaneous decisions that will be deemed final.     • The enhanced use of technology with four on course video review locations and tablets in the hands of the committee to get quick access to vision if needed.     • The removal of walking rules officials for the first time since 1991, instead moving to static model whereby two officials will be stationed at each hole, giving them every opportunity to be ready for all possible occurrences in their jurisdiction.     • The adoption of the local rule introduced to golf back in December whereby a ball or ball marker that’s accidentally moved on a putting green can be replaced without penalty.     • And the adoption of the new decision from April that says the naked eye and reasonable judgment standards will be leaned on when it comes to reviewing issues. “These and other steps that we’ve implemented we think will allow us to really expedite our rule-making process and be decisive in our communications, which were two things that perhaps we fell a little bit short last year,â€� Bodenhamer continued. “But we’re committed this year to expedite it and we’re excited about it. Our main goal is for this week to be about the players and their journey to the final round. They’re the story of this championship. As such, we are very much looking forward to an exciting and great 117th U.S. Open”

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HAYWARD, Calif. — Stephen Curry missed the cut Friday night against professional golfers on the Web.com Tour. But not before leaving some of golf’s best players impressed that a two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors could enter their arena and look respectable. Curry opened with a 4-over 74 on the TPC Stonebrae and needed a career round to stay for the weekend. He shot a 74 again on Friday to finish tied for 148th. He missed the cut by 11 shots. Curry bogeyed two of the first three holes on Friday and shot a 39 on his opening nine. He made five straight pars and birdied No. 14 before playing the final three holes at 1-over with two bogeys and a birdie on 17. No matter. “That was awesome what he did yesterday,” said 2015 FedExCup winner Jordan on Friday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. “I think he certainly beat most everybody’s expectations, but I don’t think that really surprised him. It was pretty cool — really cool — to see. You see him fist-pumping out there, and just him talking about how nervous he was when he heard his name called, it just makes us feel a little better when sometimes some of the stuff he does looks like a robot.” Stanford alum Andrew Yun shot a 62 on Friday and finished two rounds at 8-under 127. Fellow American Brandon Harkins is two shots back after rounds of 64 and 65. One of the highlights for Curry in the opening round was a long birdie putt and telling his caddie to “Go get that” from the cup. That was the famous line Spieth said to his caddie at Royal Birkdale two weeks ago after a 50-foot eagle putt to take the lead. “To be honest, I think it’s pretty special for a two-time MVP to be able to shoot 74 at a pro event and beat other pros,” former PGA champion Jason Day said. No one expected very much out of Curry, who last year played in the pro-am at the PGA TOUR’s season opener in Napa, California. The field included players who have competed in majors this year, and seven players who have won on the PGA TOUR. The question in some corners was how high his score would be. “I was asked if I thought he was going to break 80, and that’s the hand grenade question,” Paul Casey said. “But 4 over is really good. It’s a lot of pressure, and he exceeded my expectations.” Zach Johnson, a two-time major champion, said he has a friend who knows Curry and said he was a good player. The score in the first round was enough to make a believer out of Johnson. “Clearly, he is,” Johnson said. “I don’t know that golf course. Someone said they shoot pretty low there often, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve still got to put the ball in the hole. First round as an amateur in a professional tournament? That’s pretty good.” Johnson vaguely recalled the time Jerry Rice, the Hall of Fame receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, played in the tournament. Rice shot 90. “He’s a good athlete. They’re both good athletes,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to be playing for the 49ers.”

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Golf has never been known to move quickly. Harold Varner III illustrated as much with thoughtful observations he posted on social media after civil unrest in America over the weekend reached levels not seen in more than 50 years. “I’ve received more messages than ever before, mostly from people who wanted me to speak up immediately because of who I am. I AM BLACK,” his post began. “But it’s not helpful to anyone when impulsive, passionate reaction takes precedence over clear-minded thought.” What followed from Varner, one of three PGA TOUR members of black heritage, was just that. He referred to the “senseless killing” of George Floyd, the handcuffed black man who died last week when a white police officer in Minneapolis put a knee to the back of his neck until he stopped breathing. “To me, it was evil incarnate,” Varner said. “There are objective truths in life. I think that’s one of them,” he wrote in his Monday post. Varner also cautioned against single-minded thoughts, that one can be against police killing a man while saying that burning businesses and police stations is wrong. “We can go beyond the trap of one-dimensional thinking. Once we do, our eyes will see the righteous, our hearts will feel the love, and we’ll have done more to honor all those subjected to evil and its vile nature,” he concluded. The more prominent voice is Tiger Woods, whose profile worldwide is so great that he chose early in his career not to get too opinionated on social issues. One example was two years ago at Riviera, during Black History Month, when he was asked during a news conference what concerned him about the plight of black Americans. Woods was smart in his delivery, short on substance, when he said African Americans have had their share of struggles, it has gotten better and there’s room for improvement. Accurate and safe. His tweet Monday night arrived shortly before 10 p.m. in Florida. It began with his heart going out to Floyd, his loved ones and “all of us who are hurting right now.” And while he said he has “the utmost respect” for law enforcement and the training involved to know how, when and where to use force, “This shocking tragedy clearly crossed that line.” Woods referenced the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992 — he was a teenager growing up in neighboring Orange County — and said “education is the best path forward.” “We can make our points without burning the very neighborhoods we live in,” he said. “I hope that through constructive, honest conversations we can build a safer, unified society.” Whether he said a little or a lot, Woods said something. That was important. Voices need to be heard, especially relevant ones. Golf doesn’t have many of those. It has a shabby history of inclusion, particularly when it comes to blacks, starting with the PGA of America taking until 1961 to drop its “Caucasian-only clause.” The PGA TOUR now attracts the best from every corner of the globe. It can be an expensive game, yet not even the privileged are assured of making it. Woods said in a 2009 interview on being the only black on TOUR, “It’s only going to become more difficult for African Americans now, because golf has opened up around the world.” And so where does golf fit in the discussion of equality and justice? The PGA TOUR is the only major sports league that did not issue a public statement or reference the views of its players on the homepage of its website. Would anyone have taken it seriously given the composition and color of the TOUR’s membership? Did it need to carve out a spot on the dais that already was crowded with voices from other sports that are far more germane to the issues? Commissioner Jay Monahan was searching for answers over the weekend and ultimately chose to keep his thoughts within the TOUR, sending a letter Monday to his staff and then sharing it with the players. “The hardships and injustices that have and continue to impact the African-American community are painful to watch and difficult to comprehend,” Monahan wrote. “And as a citizen of this country and a leader of this organization, I must admit that I’m struggling with what my role should be. But I am determined to help and make a difference.” Monahan said he had several “meaningful and emotional” conversations with colleagues and friends in the black community, “who — once again — showed me that sometimes listening and making a commitment to understand are the only things you can offer, and that’s OK.” “What I was left with was this,” he wrote. “Make no mistake about it — someone you know and care about is hurting right now, even if they haven’t told you that directly. … And if anyone at the tour is hurting, we should all hurt.” He also included a link from the Refinery29 website on the unseen pain blacks endure. “Too often we just move on when we are not directly influenced by the news of the day,” he wrote. “Yes, we have all been impacted by the global pandemic, but we should also be painfully aware and impacted by the dividing lines in our country. “We might not know exactly what to do right now, but we shouldn’t be deterred.” The PGA TOUR resumes next week at Colonial, back to its familiar world with little controversy and ample privilege. No other sport does charity as well as golf. This issue requires more than that. If the best it can do is listen and commit to understand, that’s OK.

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