Expert Picks: Presidents Cup

Ready for some overseas golf? The PGA TOUR’s Asian Swing begins with this week’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia, followed by tournaments in South Korea and China. Unique venues and cultural experiences await (as do late-night viewing opportunities on the Golf Channel!). THE FLYOVER The 634-yard 18th is the most difficult par 5 on the course, playing to a stroke average of 4.763 last season. For most players, it’s a three-shot hole. Look for a back-right pin for Sunday’s final round. LANDING ZONE The 16th hole at TPC Kuala Lumpur is the easiest par 4 on the course, playing to a stroke average of 3.830 last year. That ranks in the top 10 percent of all easiest par 4s on the PGA TOUR. At 318 yards, it’s certainly drivable, although with water down the left side, it’s also potentially hazardous. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Willis Young: “A daily risk for showers and storms remain in the forecast each day through the week, although slightly drier atmospheric conditions Friday through Saturday could delay the onset of storms until the early evening hours and after play finishes. Light west to northwesterly winds are expected through the week.� For the latest weather news from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I always feel it’s important to play in the fall because you don’t want to get too far behind.Even though I won it, I’m not going to put any extra pressure on myself to win it again. BY THE NUMBERS 67 – Justin Thomas’ scoring average in 12 career rounds at the CIMB Classic. That’s the best average of any player with eight minimum rounds. 550 – Number of FedExCup points earned by Justin Rose last year during the Asian Swing. That’s the most of any player in a single year since 2013-14. 2 – Number of Malaysian players in the field – Ben Leong, who has a win and three other top 10s in his last seven starts; and Kim Leun Kwang, who qualified for the event by winning the CIMB National Championship in a playoff two weeks ago. SCATTERSHOTS TPC Kuala Lumpur has undergone a makeover since last year’s event, with TifEagle Bermuda grass now on the greens and Celebration Bermuda on the fairways and tees. That’s identical to the grass used at TPC Sawgrass, home of THE PLAYERS Championship. “I can’t even get over how good it looks,� Justin Thomas said. “It’s not that I ever had any doubt; it’s just hard to do and it’s really hard to make it look as good as they have and be in as good of shape.� It’s about a 750-mile flight from Bangkok, Thailand, where Kiradech Aphibarnrat was born, to Kuala Lumpur. Perhaps it’s fitting that his first start as an official PGA TOUR member comes so close to home. “It is such a good moment for me,� said Aphibarnat. “… It feel like home, especially the weather and people around, the golf fans.� The course should also be a comfortable one, as he won the Malaysian Open here in 2013 and also finished T-3 at the CIMB Classic that same year. There are 19 Nando’s restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. It’s likely that defending champ Pat Perez will dine out at one of them this week. “Nando’s is fantastic,� Perez said about the chain that originated in South Africa. Shubhankar Sharma leads the list of 10 players who qualified via the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He’s also one of four players from India in the field. “It just shows that we have so much depth now in golf,� Sharma said. “… It’s a limited-field event and four Indians playing, I think it’s absolutely great.�

Click here to read the full article…

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – There was a storybook quality to it all. Tony Finau kept wearing his Kobe Bryant jersey to play the rowdy 16th hole, and kept hitting great shots and gesturing swish with his right hand after the ball dove in the hole. RELATED: Leaderboard | Simpson rallies for sixth TOUR win He hadn’t made the cut in his last four trips to the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, but now he was a Scottsdale resident, having moved here in the off-season. That meant he could be closer to his coach, Boyd Summerhays, and it meant that the entire Finau family could come out and watch him earn his first victory since the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. And it was happening. It was happening. Finau had looked only slightly wobbly and still nursed a one-shot lead over Webb Simpson as he walked to the 18th tee on Sunday. “C’mon, Tony!� a fan yelled. “Show the 801! Let’s go!� The 801, as in Utah’s area code. Utah, where a winter storm warning was in effect Sunday night into Monday, but Finau no longer lives there in the winter. He’s making some changes. The story, alas, did not have a happy ending. Simpson birdied 18, Finau watched his downhill attempt from 8 1/2 feet slide by on the right, and they were tied. When Simpson birdied the first playoff hole, also the 18th, from a similar line to the one he’d seen in regulation, it was over. Finau took it well, congratulating Simpson for his two birdies on 18 in a span of 20 minutes, but there was no mistaking how much this one hurt. The choked sobs of Finau’s oldest boy, 8, who was waiting greenside with two of his siblings and his mother, said it all. A two-shot lead with three to go had evaporated, and the playoff had ended quickly and mercilessly. “He got the upper hand this time,� Finau said, “but I love that guy, and that’s one hell of a finish. If you’re going to birdie 18 a couple of times, you’re probably going to win.� True, the runner-up hadn’t lost it, as Finau did nothing more egregious than make a handful of pars coming in. He just couldn’t convert short birdie tries on 15 and 18 that would’ve sealed it. “I had some looks to win the golf tournament and they didn’t go my way today,� he said. Simpson and Finau are Presidents Cup teammates, and they are friends. Although the winner was pleased to earn the trophy after four runner-up finishes since last summer, it hurt him just a little that the player he beat was Finau. For everyone else, it was a reminder that sometimes golf is cruel. “Yeah, it’s hard,� Simpson said. “I actually thought about that out there. He’s one of my good friends on TOUR. We’ve talked about playing together in team events as partners. I’m comfortable with him. I love his caddie, Greg. And so that part’s hard. “I mean, we’re after the same thing,� he added. Finau had nothing to feel bad about, Simpson continued, after making clutch birdies on 12 and 13. He hit great shots coming in, he’s a world-class player, he will be around for a long time. True. All of it. “I had a great chance to win this week,� Finau said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but my game’s better than it’s ever been. I have more confidence than I’ve ever had. And again, if you know anything about me, I’ll persevere through anything.� Whether you want to call this a stumbling block or a learning experience, Finau said, he remains intent on victory No. 2. “I’ll knock it off soon,� he said, “and will be on my way.�

Click here to read the full article…

CALENDON, Ont. – Gerry Dee ended his experience at the Osprey Valley Open in a much better way than he started – in fact, he did something Friday he had never done in his golfing career. Dee, a Canadian comedian and actor who has played golf most of his life (including teeing it up as a youngster against Mike Weir) played this week at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on a sponsor exemption and made an eight on his first hole of the week. He ended, however, by making back-to-back birdies on No’s 8 and 9 Friday – his final two holes of the day. “I’ve never birdied my final two holes, ever. And I’ve played a lot of golf,� said Dee with a seemingly never-ending chuckle. It was all part of a week for Dee where he got to see up close how talented members of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada are. The 50-year-old Dee plays to a five handicap and is a member of The National Golf Club of Canada, long believed to be the country’s most difficult layout. He shot 84-79 to miss the cut this week, however, he said there were some great takeaways the last two days. “You learn a lot on a golf course, which is why I think I’m so fascinated by the game mentally. There’s an embarrassment factor for me. I never wanted to embarrass myself and let my friends and enemies take a dig at me. I didn’t light it up and there are so many better golfers than me that are not on this Tour, but for me as a comedian and a dad and 50 years old, I’m proud of how I bounced back and how I shot today,� said Dee. Dee played with fellow Canadians Russell Budd (68-69) and James Allenby (69-69) and said he learned a lot from the two of them. Allenby, who was in the final group on Sunday at the Canada Life Open earlier this year, said playing with a celebrity gave this week a bit of flavor. “I was impressed with his game. He hits it pretty solid with his irons. There were a couple things where if he had time to work on things he’d do even better, like the feel with his putting, but breaking 80 on the second day… I was pretty happy for him,� said Allenby. Dee said it was “a treat� to watch Allenby and Budd play up close the last two days. Dee admitted he didn’t want to get in their way while they played for their livelihood, but he did get a little help from the two pros and pick their brains about junior golf, since Dee (who is a father of three) has kids who are playing in their own golf tournaments these days. “They were easy-going guys, phenomenal players. Both of them are in position to win this. I’m going to watch it assuming I didn’t make the cut,� said Dee, tongue firmly in cheek. Dee, who has played with members of the PGA TOUR before, said it was obvious that members of the Mackenzie Tour are pretty close to that level, too. He alluded to Doc Redman – who is ninth on the Mackenzie Tour’s Order of Merit – finishing runner-up on the PGA TOUR three weeks ago in Detroit as an example of someone that was on the Mackenzie Tour but can still make noise at a higher level. “I was saying to Russell, ‘you’re all capable of having that weekend.’ That’s the level it’s at. For people who are watching and thinking ‘20-under, oh it must be an easy course because it’s Mackenzie Tour,’ they’re just as good,� said Dee. “As you’ve seen with (Mackenzie Tour) alumni who have gone and dominated on the PGA TOUR… they get it going and they get it together. “I saw shots – putts, flops, drives, and everything was just impressive. These guys are good, man.� Dee said it was more of a mental grind this week than a physical one, joking that he hopes he didn’t actually make the cut because he was so drained. “On the course I can’t check texts, I can’t check emails, I don’t know what time it is, I don’t know what the cut is… you’re just out there on an island, stressing. Every shot I was stressing. Every shot,� said Dee. “I’d be looking, at the fifth hole, and I was just counting how many holes I have left. It’s too draining. I was watching (Allenby and Budd) and at one point James was on the cutline, and I saw what a grind it is. I might have quit.� When the final birdie putt of the day fell, Dee doffed his cap to the assembled crowed around the final hole of the day, shook hands with his playing competitors, and that was that. For a career funnyman, he put on a serious performance this week. He couldn’t help but get in one last laugh, though. “It was a great time. I was so glad I did this. I wasn’t sure if I should, but I learned a lot about a lot of things. Now I’ll probably have a bath. That’s what you do at my age, have a bath,� said Dee. “How many guys out here are having baths?�

Click here to read the full article…