Ewing beats Popov to win LPGA Match Play

Here’s a look at the four players, including a two-time PGA TOUR winner, who successfully navigated the Valero Texas Open’s Monday qualifier at Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas. JOSHUA CREEL (65) Age: 28 Hometown: Cheyenne, Wyoming Alma mater: Central Oklahoma PGA TOUR starts: None Notes: Creel has one top-10 in five career starts on the Web.com Tour. He also has 19 career starts on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, including a T5 in his debut in 2013. He won once on the Adams Pro Tour in 2017. PAUL McCONNELL (67) Age: 27 Hometown: Allen, Texas Alma mater: Texas-Arlington PGA TOUR starts: 2 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2016 Shell Houston Open; MC, 2016 Valero Texas Open Notes: McConnell also Monday qualified for his previous two PGA TOUR starts. He fired 73-75 at TPC San Antonio two years ago. He has two top-10s in 32 career starts on Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada. He finished T80 in his lone Web.com Tour start, at the 2015 Price Cutter Charity Championship. TROY MATTESON (67) Age: 38 Hometown: Leander, Texas Alma mater: Georgia Tech PGA TOUR starts: 274 Best PGA TOUR finish: Won, 2006 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open; Won, 2009 Safeway Open Notes: The two-time PGA TOUR winner hasn’t made more than 10 PGA TOUR starts since 2014. His last PGA TOUR win came in a playoff over a pair of promising first-year pros, Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark. Matteson has played just one tournament this year, finishing T19 at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. CURTIS REED (67) Age: 26 Hometown: Castroville, Texas Alma mater: Houston PGA TOUR starts: 2 Best PGA TOUR finish: T55, 2016 Valero Texas Open Notes: Reed, who grew up in nearby Castroville, received a sponsor exemption into this event two years ago. He has twice shot 57 at his home course, Alsatian Golf Course in Castroville. “My dad took me to watch the Valero Texas Open every year growing up, and it’s where I knew I wanted to play professional golf for a living,� he wrote in his PGA TOUR profile. HOUSTON OPEN QUALIFIERS T8. Julian Suri, 66-69-73-67 T68. Dawie van der Walt, 70-69-69-76 MC. Zach Cabra, 73-71 MC. Ryan Baca, 70-75 THIS SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualifiers: 51 Made cut: 18 Top-10s: 3 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax, T8 at Valspar; Julian Suri, T8 at Houston) Top-25s: 5 Most times qualified: T.J. Vogel (3)

Click here to read the full article…

Jordan Spieth’s Scotty Cameron 009 putter was once again the difference-maker in a major championship. Spieth fell out of the lead at The Open Championship for the first time in two days with a bogey on the 13th that dropped him one shot behind Matt Kuchar, but he rebounded in spectacular fashion over the next four holes with a birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie run that helped him claim his third major title.  The improbable four-hole stretch was highlighted by a 45-foot eagle putt on the 15th that produced a roar from crowd and a fist-pump from Spieth. The Anser-style putter has been in the bag for every one of Spieth’s victories since he turned professional. The 350-gram putter has 4 degrees of loft and a lie angle of 71 degrees. The head, which is made from a soft carbon steel, has an oil can finish that’s since worn off and rusted over time to produce a well-worn look. “The 009 was my favorite putter [as a junior golfer]” Spieth said. “Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy, two of my favorite golfers, used it, and that got me. I’ve been using it since I was 15, and I won’t be changing anytime soon.” As you’d expect with a putter used by one of the best golfers in the world, there are a few subtle differences between Spieth’s 009 and the retail Scotty Cameron Newport — namely a flatter, thicker topline, wider body from front to back and soft, rounded edges. Spieth made one change to his equipment at Royal Birkdale, removing his Titleist 916H2 hybrid and replacing it with a Titleist 718 T-MB 3-iron. While the club has the same Graphite Design Tour AD-DI shaft as his hybrid, Spieth opted to go up 10 grams from the 95X to 105X to give it a slightly heavier feel.   Titleist recently introduced the new T-MB, along with the rest of the 718 iron lineup, at Quicken Loans National. The latest version has a tungsten insert that no longer covers a majority of the sole but instead wraps around the heel and toe. The hot face has made it a popular long-iron alternative for Tour players.   Here’s a look at the rest of the Titleist equipment in Spieth’s bag.  Driver: Titleist 915D2 (Aldila NV 2KXV Blue 70X shaft), 9.5 degrees 3-wood: Titleist 915F (Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 7X shaft), 15 degrees Irons: Titleist 718 T-MB (3-iron; Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 105X shaft), Titleist 716 T-MB (4-iron; True Temper Project X 6.5 shaft), Titleist 716 AP2 (5-9; True Temper Project X 6.5 shafts) Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM6 (52-08F degrees; True Temper Project X 6.5 shaft), Titleist Vokey Design SM6 (46-08F, 56-10S and 60-04L degrees; True Temper Project X 6.0 shafts) Putter: Scotty Cameron 009 Prototype (SuperStroke Flatso 1.0 grip) Ball: Titleist Pro V1X

Click here to read the full article…

BRESCIA, Italy — Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark sunk a 10-foot putt on the final hole to win the Italian Open on Sunday and avoid a playoff with home favorite Francesco Molinari. Olesen finished one stroke ahead of the Italian for his fifth European Tour victory and first Rolex Series win. When Olesen stepped up to the tee at the par-4 18th at Gardagolf Country Club, he held a two-stroke lead over Molinari. But ahead on the green, Molinari sunk a 30-foot putt for birdie to slice the lead to one stroke and prompt roars from the crowd. Then Olesen hit his second shot into a green-side bunker after driving into the rough. Olesen held his nerve, however, and got up and down. “I knew from the start it was going to be tight,” said Olesen, who entered the final round tied with Molinari one stroke behind Lee Slattery. “I never had that final putt to win. That’s why this one feels so amazing,” Olesen added. Molinari, the 2006 Italian Open winner, was coming off the biggest victory of his career at the BMW PGA Championship last weekend. A bogey on the 17th — only Molinari’s second of the entire tournament — ended up being decisive. “I don’t think I could have done more,” Molinari said. “I’m very satisfied with what I did. Complements to Olesen. He played great today and yesterday and he deserved this victory. I can’t complain. I was aggressive until the end.” Olesen also claimed his first European Tour victory in Italy, at the 2012 Sicilian Open. Slattery finished third, two strokes behind. 

Click here to read the full article…