Emergency 9: Valero Texas Open, final round

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Justin Harding was playing the Valero Texas Open last week when he asked fellow South African Ernie Els for advice on how to play Augusta National. Preparing for his first career start in the Masters Tournament at age 33, Harding figured there was no one better to ask about it than Els, the 2019 Presidents Cup captain, who amassed six top-10 finishes, including two runner-up finishes, in 23 starts. Els proffered some advice on where to aim and where not to miss, adding that he’d never hit it in the water at the tricky, par-3 12th hole. “I said, ‘Thanks a lot, you just jinxed me,’â€� Harding said with a laugh after shooting a 3-under 69 in his first-ever round, good enough to take the early first-round lead despite a bogey at 18. Harding made par at the 12th, and if anything could only fault his play on the four par-5s, which he played in just 1 under par. Otherwise, nothing much bothered the late-bloomer, who uses a long putter and is mostly unknown to American fans. He was 422nd in the world a year ago, but his maiden European Tour win in Qatar earlier this season, plus a T2 the next week and three other top-10 finishes, pushed him all the way to 49th and punched his ticket to Augusta. “It’s more about, I guess, how I’m handling myself out on the golf course,â€� Harding said after hitting 10 of 14 fairways, and only 10 greens in regulation but taking just 25 putts. “Not really getting too worked up, no longer going through the highs and lows of emotions.â€� Also, he added, now that he’s started playing well, he can’t seem to stop. “Golf is purely momentum-based,â€� Harding said. “If you take enough confidence into the rounds then you’re bound to play well just pretty much need to get out of your own way.â€� Harding has worked his way up to seventh in the International Presidents Cup standings, meaning he could be playing for Captain Els at Royal Melbourne in December. “It’s in the back of my mind,â€� he said, “but way in the back.â€� Conners rides momentum after win In other news with Presidents Cup implications, Canada’s Corey Conners, who won last week’s Valero Texas Open to get to 10th on the International list, opened the Masters with a 2-under 70. The round was 10 shots better than his Masters debut in 2015, when he went 80-69 to miss the cut. He was first off the tee at 8:30 a.m., and watched Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial first tee shots. He also accepted congratulations from Nicklaus on his first PGA TOUR win. “That felt pretty special,â€� Conners said. “Never thought in a million years that Jack Nicklaus would know who I am and it just felt pretty cool.â€� Weir shoots best round in five years It’s been a rough stretch for Canada’s Mike Weir, 48, the 2003 Masters winner and eight-time PGA TOUR winner who has been trying to fight his way back on the Web.com Tour. After going 3 over for his first seven holes, Thursday looked like more of the same, but Weir, who has a new coach (Mark Blackburn) turned it around with three birdies to card an even-par 72. It was his best round since a second-round 72 in 2014, the last year he made the cut here. “All in all, very happy,â€� said Weir, who will serve as one of Els’ assistants at the Presidents Cup in December. “Hit the ball great. I’ve got to sharpen up the putting a little bit.â€� Weir took 31 putts.

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As a boy, Peter Thomson learned to play golf at the nine-hole Royal Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. For his 12th birthday, he received a 2-iron and began practicing constantly. A year later, he received another gift, this time a full set of clubs and a membership to Royal Park. His initial handicap was 20. Two years later, he won the club championship. From those early years, golf was at the center of Thomson’s life, and his club championship win was a harbinger of things to come, as Thomson did plenty of winning after that. Thomson, a prolific tournament champion who is best remembered for his five Open Championship victories and his work as a three-time International Team Presidents Cup captain, died June 20. He was 88. Born August 23, 1929 in Brunswick, Australia, Thomson became one of Australia’s first internationally-renowned golfers. However, he was much more than just a golfer. Thomson studied and earned a chemistry degree but elected to pursue a professional golf career instead of becoming a chemist. But Thomson was always a man with numerous interests. He developed an awareness in rehabilitating those suffering from drug addiction and was instrumental in opening the Melbourne Odyssey House. During his early days as a professional, he also wrote newspaper columns and articles for the Melbourne Age. In 1970, he joined John Harris and Michael Wolveridge to form South Pacific Golf, now known as Thomson Perrett. As an architect, Thomson and his team has worked on golf course design projects around the world, with most of the company’s focus on Australia and New Zealand, as well as all of Asia and, more recently, Europe. Yet it is Thomson’s success in The Open Championship that cemented his place in golf history. Thomson won the tournament in 1954 (at Royal Birkdale), 1955 (at St. Andrews), 1956 (at Royal Liverpool), 1958 (at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s) and 1965 (again at Royal Birkdale). He is the only player post-19th century to win the Open three consecutive times. “Peter was a champion in every sense of the word, both on the course and in life. Many know him as a five-time Champion Golfer of the Year or as a three-time Captain of the Presidents Cup International Team,� said former PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “But he was also a great friend, father, grandfather and husband. He was golfing royalty, and our sport is a better one because of his presence. Our hearts are with his wife, Mary, and the entire Thomson family at this time as we remember the significant impact Peter made on us all.� Thomson won the national championships of 10 countries, including the New Zealand Open nine times. He captured 34 Australasian and 26 European Tour victories and competed on the PGA TOUR in 1953, 1954 and 1956. His first of 26 European Tour titles came at the 1954 News of the World Match Play Championship at St. Andrews. That same year, he teamed with Kel Nagle and won for Australia the World Cup played at Laval-Sur-Le Lac in Montreal, Canada. The duo won the World Cup again in 1959, a sweet victory for the team with it coming at Royal Melbourne Golf Club. In 1956, playing in just eight PGA TOUR tournaments, he won his lone TOUR title on U.S. soil, the Texas International, a tournament now known as the AT&T Byron Nelson. He also tied for fourth at the U.S. Open. Thomson enjoyed a successful playing career after turning 50, winning 11 tournaments. His finest season—and one of the best in PGA TOUR Champions history—came in 1985, when he won nine times, including half of the circuit’s first 10 events. He finished atop the money list that year. Thomson’s last tournament victory came at the 1988 British PGA Seniors Championship. Thomson was also instrumental in the growth of the Presidents Cup as an important, international, biennial event. He captained the International team in 1996, 1998 and 2000. It was the 1998 tournament where the International team broke through and defeated its United States counterpart for the first and only time, winning 20 ½ to 11 ½ at his beloved Royal Melbourne Golf Club, where Thomson had served as the club professional. In 1962, Thomson began a 32-year run as president of the Australian. In 1979 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his service to golf, and in 2001 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to golf as a player and administrator, and to the community. In 1988, he received golf’s highest honor as he entered the World Golf Hall of Fame, inducted with Tom Watson and Bob Harlow. Thomson is survived by his wife, Mary, his son Andrew, and daughters Deirdre Baker, Pan Prendergast and Fiona Stanway, their spouses, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Funeral services pending.

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