Golf insiders predict big year for Tiger

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Richy Werenski holed a flop shot from the 16th fairway for a five-point eagle and birdied the last for a one-point victory over Troy Merritt on Sunday in the Barracuda Championship. Werenski won for the first time on the PGA TOUR, scoring 13 points in the final round on Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Course — the first-time venue after 21 years at Montreux Golf and Country Club. The 28-year-old former Georgia Tech player won the event three years after losing to Chris Stroud on the second hole of a playoff. The fifth straight first-time winner in the TOUR’s lone modified Stableford scoring event, Werenski earned a spot next week in the PGA Championship in San Francisco. He and Merritt, also in the field next week at TPC Harding Park, secured spots in the U.S. Open in September at Winged Foot. Werenski finished with 39 points, with players getting eight points for albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie, zero for par, minus-one for bogey and minus-three for double bogey or worse. Merritt failed to convert the 54-hole lead into a victory for the second straight year. Last year at Montreux, Collin Morikawa rallied to beat Merritt. Merritt left a 30-foot birdie try short on the par-4 18th to give Werenski the victory. Matthias Schwab and Fabian Gomez tied for third with 37 points. Playing on a sponsor exemption, Schwab had 13 points in the round. He needed to finish in a two-way tie for second or better to earn special temporary membership on the PGA TOUR. Gomez had a 16-point day.

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MEXICO CITY — Rickie Fowler was penalized one shot Friday in the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship for dropping from the wrong height, a new rule he expects to be changed. Fowler hit a shank on his second shot of the round from the 10th fairway. He got a ball from his caddie and instinctively held out his arm at shoulder-height, then played his next shot to the green. The modernized Rules of Golf that began this year require drops to be knee-height. It’s not unusual for players to use a method that had been in place since 1984 — before Fowler was even born — but in all but one occasion on the PGA TOUR, someone noticed and the player was able to re-drop. In this case, neither Jon Rahm nor Patrick Reed watched him go through the drop, and his caddie was looking at the yardage book. Fowler said someone mentioned to Reed that the drop was shoulder-height, and that’s when Fowler realized what he had done. “It’s on me. I took the shot. It was no big deal,” Fowler said. “But I think with the new rules that have been put in place, it’s not doing any favors for our sport.” With the shank out-of-bounds and the penalty for the incorrect drop, he made triple bogey and shot 73. He called the knee-length drop a “terrible” change, adding, “I definitely think it will get changed.” Rules officials from tours around the world, led by the USGA and R&A, spent five years overhauling the rules to make them simpler and easier to understand for pros and recreational players alike. The change in the drop received most of the attention, mainly for the optics, as some players couldn’t figure out a smooth motion to get their hands at knee-length. This is Fowler’s third tournament of the year, and he said he had no problem the first time he had to take a drop because of all the attention. “We have been making fun of the knee drop for so long that it was ingrained that my first drop was going to be from the knee, like this iconic moment,” he said. “I get to drop from my knee and look stupid.” Fowler said he also didn’t like the rule that a ball dropped from the knee could not roll more than two club lengths away, which was a previous rule for some drops. Because the ball is only falling from the knee, the new rule says it must stay in a relief area one club length in a semi-circle. MUST READS: Round 2, WGC-Mexico Championship Tiger climbs leaderboard after second-round 66 That was the idea behind the change. When balls were dropped from the shoulder area, there were nine things that would have led to dropping again. Rules makers thought that by dropping from knee level, players would be able to get the ball in play quicker. “Maybe there’s a minimum at the knee — you can drop from the shoulder, whatever,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like we’re trying to gain some sort of advantage.” That’s been a common theme among PGA TOUR players, that the drop should be allowed from the knee to the shoulder without penalty. Fowler sees no reason why a shoulder-length drop that stays in the relief area shouldn’t count. The new rule (14.3b) says it must be knee high. “I haven’t heard many of the guys say that the drop from the knee has been a good thing, or that it looks good,” Fowler said. It was the second time this year Fowler has had a tough ruling. The other was on the 11th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, when after two drops on a slope next to the green, he was able to place the ball. After it was in play, and as Fowler was studying his shot by the green, the ball rolled into the water hazard. That rule has been part of golf for years and was not part of the overhaul. “I know that they’re going to bring up that rule, as well, when you’re getting assessed penalties for nothing, really,” he said.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. – 3M and the PGA TOUR today announced an agreement to bring an official PGA TOUR event to the Twin Cities beginning in 2019. Hosted by the nonprofit 3M Open Fund, the seven-year deal will bring the world’s top golfers to TPC Twin Cities in Blaine for a new FedExCup Season event, the 3M Open, beginning next summer. The 2019 dates for the 3M Open will be made official in the coming weeks as part of the PGA TOUR’s 2018-19 schedule announcement. The 3M Open will build off the success and momentum of the 3M Championship, the current PGA TOUR Champions event at TPC Twin Cities. The 3M Championship, which dates back to 1993, will be contested for the last time on August 3-5, 2018, with Paul Goydos defending his 2017 title. In 2019, the playing of the 3M Open will mark the first official PGA TOUR event in Minnesota since the 2009 PGA Championship, won in thrilling fashion by Y.E. Yang over Tiger Woods at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska. “3M is honored to welcome the top players on the PGA TOUR to the Twin Cities, and we look forward to the many opportunities this tournament will bring to support our community,� said Paul Keel, 3M senior vice president of Business Development and Marketing-Sales. “We’ve formed a great relationship with PGA TOUR Champions over the last 25 years and are excited to build on that partnership with the 3M Open.� “We are delighted to partner with 3M for this new PGA TOUR event in the Twin Cities, a community that has shown tremendous support for professional golf over the years with PGA TOUR Champions, the PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup, and has deservedly played host to the biggest events in sports – Super Bowls, Final Fours, among them,� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The 3M Open will also continue 3M’s commitment to charity and positively impacting lives.� 3M’s long-time PGA TOUR Champions partner Pro Links Sports will manage the 3M Open. Together, over the past 25 years, the 3M Championship has raised more than $26 million for Minnesotans and their families to lead healthier, fuller lives. Dollars raised from the event have built new operating rooms, funded cancer and heart research and improved emergency rooms in the Twin Cities. As the tournament transitions to the 3M Open, the 3M Open Fund will donate all the proceeds from the tournament to local organizations. “I would like to thank 3M for their tremendous support of PGA TOUR Champions golf, and with their continued commitment we now have the opportunity to bring PGA TOUR golf to the fans of Minnesota every year,� said Pro Links Sports Executive Director Hollis Cavner. “We’ve been able to donate millions of dollars to charity and we expect to do even more with the 3M Open. This is a true win for Minnesota.� The 2019 event will mark the first TOUR event in Minnesota since the 2009 PGA Championship. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR)

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