DJ, Tiger, Rory, Kuchar and why there’s no way it’ll be a boring weekend in Mexico

2021 Valspar Championship, Round 1 Scoring Conditions: Overall: +0.13 strokes per round Morning wave: +0.22 Afternoon wave: +0.05 Current cutline (top 65 and ties): 65 players at -1 or better (T45) Top 3 projected cutline probabilities: 1. 1 under par: 40.8% 2. E: 32.8% 3. 2 under par: 15.7% Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Keegan Bradley (1, -7, 11.3%) 2. Emiliano Grillo (T2, -5, 7.2%) 3. Justin Thomas (T28, -2, 7.0%) 4. Max Homa (T2, -5, 6.0%) 5. Abraham Ancer (T7, -4, 5.3%) 6. Viktor Hovland (T28, -2, 4.6%) 7. Ryan Moore (T2, -5, 4.4%) 8. Joaquin Niemann (T14, -3, 4.3%) 9. Sungjae Im (T14, -3, 4.0%) 10. Jason Kokrak (T7, -4, 3.8%) NOTE: These reports are based off of the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cut”, “Top 20”, “Top 5”, and “Win” probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Valspar Championship, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page.

Click here to read the full article…

NICHOLASVILLE, Kentucky — The highlight of the week? That’s easy. It has to be the grip gap wedge – one of her favorite shots – that Brittany Lincicome played from 116 yards out at the par-5 17th on Saturday that tracked into the hole for eagle. “So cool,â€� Lincicome said with a big smile of satisfaction as she talked with reporters after her round. “When it went in that couldn’t have ended my week any better.â€� Then she proceeded to make everyone’s else’s day, patiently signing every ball, glove and ticket thrust her way. She posed for photos with little girls and boys — and grandparents, as well. “The fans were incredible,â€� Lincicome said. “It was so great feeding off their energy. They were cheering for me every time I hit a shot, every time I got it in the fairway, got it on the green.   
“It made me feel way more comfortable.â€� That comfort zone showed in her performance on Saturday at the Barbasol Championship as Lincicome rebounded from a disappointing opening round of 78 to shoot 1-under. She made that eagle and five birdies – including three straight — while dropping five shots to par. Lincicome is only the sixth woman to ever play in a PGA TOUR event, and just the second to break par. Only two women have completed 72 holes in official TOUR events: Babe Didrikson Zaharias at the 1945 Phoenix Open and the 1945 Tucson Open and Shirley Spork at the 1952 Northern California-Reno Open. “I would’ve liked to have shot better (Thursday),â€� acknowledged Lincicome, who had a triple bogey and a double in the first round.  “Obviously today was a pretty nice day, so I guess ending with today’s round it’s a good way to kind of leave, I guess.

“And then holing out on 17 is pretty cool. I can’t wait to watch the replay later.â€� Conrad Schindler said it was a treat to play with Lincicome as she made history in the first two rounds. He gave their gallery something to cheer about on Saturday, too, firing a bogey-free 64.    “To get to have a front row seat in the group, it’s a unique aspect,â€� Schindler said. “A lot of people get behind her, but you also can get some fans out there rooting for you, so it’s definitely nice to have.â€� Schindler said he likes to chat between shots, just like Lincicome does. They talked about the differences between their two tours, and at times the conversation shifted to their dogs – his two, a lab-pit mix and a Catahoula Leopard-Great Dane hybrid and her Rottweiler who lives with her grandmother. Lincicome, who loves to fish for goliath grouper and spend time on her boat, also wants to get a Labrador. “That’s what helps me in my element when I’m playing well, is not thinking about golf as much, just kind of deviating away from it,â€� Schindler said. “When it’s time, we only spend about 30, 40 seconds on the shot. “So it’s nice to have someone else out there that you’re strolling the fairways with talking to.â€� Schindler, who turned 30 on Friday, said he came away impressed with Lincicome’s game. She was tied for third in driving accuracy, hitting 22-of-28 fairways and took 51 putts, including just 23 on Saturday. “It’s really consistent,â€� Schindler said. “You know, she does the same thing every shot. She just knows where it’s going to go. Great short game. Maybe the first day just a little nerves, but each day she gained confidence.â€� Lincicome, who has won eight times on the LPGA Tour, thinks that playing in the Barbasol Championship could help her as she goes after her third major at the Ricoh Women’s British Open Aug. 2-5 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Hitting shots inside the ropes this week wasn’t the hard part – although the Lincicome admitted she had to force herself not to try to swing out of her shoes when she saw her playing partners outdriving her by 20 or 30 yards. But the media attention, the fan curiosity and the expectations all were heightened this week. Lincicome called World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam to get her advice on Wednesday night. Sorenstam was the first woman to play on the PGA TOUR in 51 years when the world No. 1 teed it up in the 2003 Bank of America Colonial. Sorenstam told Lincicome to look at the big picture and how this week at Keene Trace Golf Club will help her handle her nerves in the future. Sorenstam also said to relax by watching a movie that night. But Lincicome, who was renting a home for the week with her husband, parents and caddy, had too much going on to follow that advice. “This is obviously a much bigger stage or different stage than I’m used to,â€� Lincicome said. “With a major coming up, hopefully that first tee shot I won’t be as nervous. “I’ve learned to kind of play through the nerves this week, which is great. Just in the future I think that’ll really help me.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

AUSTIN, Texas — Bubba Watson made the final of the Dell Technologies Match Play look as though he were on vacation all along. Watson won his second World Golf Championships title Sunday with the biggest blowout since the championship matched switched to 18 holes in 2011, a 7-and-6 victory over Kevin Kisner. He picked up 550 FedExCup points to move to fourth in the standings.   Watson wasn’t as sharp as he was in the semifinals against Justin Thomas, whom he beat in 16 holes to deny Thomas going to No. 1 in the world ranking. He didn’t have to be in the final. If not for missing a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 sixth, Watson would have won the first seven holes. Kisner had a lot to do with that. After escaping in 19 holes against Alex Noren in his semifinal match, Kisner didn’t put up much of a fight. He made four straight bogeys and only twice on the front nine was putting for birdie. Watson had scheduled a family vacation out of the country on Sunday, which he had to postpone. Watson figured he hardly ever makes it this far in golf’s most fickle format, so it was a good problem to have. There was nothing fickle about his game, especially on the final day. Watson never trailed in the 28 holes he played Sunday, and he was never seriously threatened. The tougher match was against Thomas, the PGA champion who needed only to reach the championship match to replace Dustin Johnson at No. 1 in the world. Watson went out to a 3-up lead on the front nine, and when Thomas closed to 1-down at the turn with his first birdie putt, Watson won two of the next three holes to regain control. Thomas didn’t make another birdie until the par-5 16th, and by then it was too late. Watson made his birdie from 3 feet for a 3-and-2 victory. Thomas said he was too consumed with what was at stake in the semifinals. “I haven’t had such a hard time not thinking about something so much. And that really sucked,” Thomas said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it, to be perfectly honest. And I think you’re constantly getting questions about it with the media. But I need to be mentally stronger than that, and understand that it’s just a match.” Noren beat Thomas in the consolation match, 5 and 3. One year after Watson disappeared from among the elite in golf, he has won his last two starts. He was No. 117 in the world when he arrived at Riviera, where he won for the third time in his career. With his 11th victory on the PGA TOUR, he now is back up to No. 21. And the two-time Masters champion added his name to the growing list of contenders at Augusta National. “I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully I can get this focus and my putter rolling like it is,” Watson said. Watson played 109 holes over seven matches, going to the 18th hole just once when he halved his match with Julian Suri on Friday. Through it all, he said he wasn’t committed to only four or five shots. He was hitting high draws, low cuts, all the shots he created as a kid in the Florida Panhandle when he was just a boy with a club and a wild imagination. He wouldn’t have imagined such an easy time against Kisner in the all-Georgia Bulldogs final that ended with the fabled “dog license” score in match play. A dog license in Britain used to cost seven shillings, six pence (referred to as 7 and 6). Watson holed a 10-foot birdie on the opening hole, and then Kisner took care of the rest. His drive was short and to the right on the hill at No. 2, and he did well to get it just short of the green, failing to get up-and-down. Kisner then hit just inside the hazard and had to play up short of another hazard. Then, he found a bunker on the par-3 fourth hole. His next drive went right into the trees on the reachable par-4 fifth. Watson missed his short birdie putt to win the sixth hole, but not to worry. Kisner’s next shot bounced off a spectator’s head and next to a fence, and he had to chip off loose soil across the green for another bogey. This can happen in match play, and Kisner saw it Saturday in his 8-and-6 victory over Ian Poulter. “I don’t know what was going on. It was just pitiful,” Kisner said. “I’ve just got to forget this 12 holes and get back to working on the things that got me here.” Even in a final match that lacked any drama, Watson still managed to shed a few tears. His mother was with him in the gallery on the weekend, and they shared a warm embrace after he made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole to win the match. “It’s crazy to think about it,” Watson said. “I’ve got two World Golf Championships, and two majors. It’s unbelievable to think about that, giving my mom a hug. Six years old, having one golf club for a year, no lessons. I can sit here and make up stories all day, but it’s absolutely remarkable that I’m able to life a trophy like this.” As for that vacation? Watson was cryptic as ever. “I’m going on vacation tomorrow, no matter if it’s at home or wherever it is, it’s vacation,” he said. “Golf clothes will not be seen until next Saturday.”

Click here to read the full article…