J.J. Henry continues family tradition at Travelers Championship

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Collin Morikawa took one last look at the Claret Jug when he woke up Monday morning. After a year together, Morikawa finally had to say goodbye to the oldest trophy in professional golf. “It sucked. It really did,” he said about returning the prize for his triumph in last year’s Open Championship, when he became just the fifth player since World War II to win in his Open debut. “But I don’t want to dwell on the past,” he added. “I always look forward to what’s next.” This week, Morikawa will try to master one of the game’s most unique tests, the Old Course at St. Andrews. Jack Nicklaus called it golf’s toughest course to learn and said “there is nothing remotely like it,” thanks to its blind shots, dramatic humps and bumps and enormous greens. What’s next for Morikawa also may be a new approach to the aspect of the game that’s most responsible for his quick success as a pro. He’s been known as one of the TOUR’s top iron players since turning pro three years ago, but now he’s seeking to become more of a shot-shaper instead of relying almost exclusively on his trademark fade. Morikawa said last week that he “worked the ball more than ever” at the star-studded J.P. McManus Pro-Am that preceded the Genesis Scottish Open last week. That should be an asset this week, as firm conditions should only accentuate the effect of the Old Course’s slopes and swales. The crosswinds that blow across the historic grounds put a premium on players who can curve the ball both ways, as well. Nicklaus won here in 1970 after reluctantly tweaking his setup to hit right-to-left tee shots that held up against the prevailing wind. Morikawa said his emphasis is on playing the “right” shot for each occasion. His iron play is often compared to that of Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods, two players who consistently rank near the top of the TOUR’s Strokes Gained: Approach statistic. Now he’s trying to emulate them, as well. It was Woods who told Thomas years ago that he needed to add more shots to his repertoire. The constructive criticism came after the two played together in the 2018 Genesis Invitational. Thomas took it to heart and turned into one of the game’s best shot shapers. That skill was on full display during the second round of THE PLAYERS Championship, when high winds buffeted the course during a week of wild weather. Morikawa was playing with Thomas that day and was impressed with what he saw, calling it one of the best rounds he’d ever seen. “He had full control of his golf ball,” Morikawa said. “He worked it both ways. And the few times I’ve played with Tiger, … he worked the ball when he needed to. He played the right shots.” Perhaps a new approach could help Morikawa end the longest winless streak of his career. Last year’s Open Championship remains the most recent of Morikawa’s five PGA TOUR victories. The Open is his 20th start since that win. He still ranks 21st in the FedExCup thanks to two runners-up and top-five finishes in two of the year’s three majors. Those high finishes have come on the strength of strong Sunday rounds, however. “I am looking for something,” he admitted Monday. “I really haven’t been in contention at all this year in any tournament and it sucks because I love being in those spots.” Playing well at the U.S. Open even though he couldn’t call upon his usual left-to-right shot was a revelation, however. At times, he’s tried to force the fade even when it wasn’t working. But at Brookline he didn’t fight the slight draw that his swing produced that week. “That’s the biggest thing is having those nine windows, nine different shots, every little shot,” said Morikawa, referring to a phrase often used by Woods that represents every combination of height and shot shape. Especially at the Old Course. There may not be a course where such creativity is more important than the Old Course.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…

A strange thing has developed for the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Tiger Woods has risen as a default play. But first, I was surprised at the minimal outcry that Rory McIlroy sat No. 1 in my Power Rankings on Monday. I’m never provocative on purpose, but I can understand how it can appear that way from the other side. In a field loaded with potential No. 1s, there’s reason why he doesn’t deserve the top spot. So be it. The more relevant narrative in the context of the Power Rankings is who wasn’t plucked from this loaded field of 120 at Muirfield Village, but that’s a different debate. From McIlroy all the way down to Rickie Fowler at No. 7, there are no wrong answers for One & Doners. The problem is, none stands apart from the others for this week’s fit. So, what we have is a genuine seven-course meal from which to choose our favorite based on the traditional variables like overall league position, available golfers and length of your season. If Justin Rose (No. 4) wasn’t fresh off a convincing victory, he’d make a lot of sense. In a vacuum, he’s perfect for those in pursuit, and I just might have taken that bite if there wasn’t a boatload of options. Behemoths like Fowler, Justin Thomas (No. 2), Jason Day (No. 5) and Dustin Johnson (No. 6) are coveted almost everywhere, of course, and I wouldn’t talk you out of any, but again, there’s no reason to pitch you hard on any, either. So, pivot to your long-range planning. For example, I’m reserving Fowler for the U.S. Open. I’ve been saving him for a major and he’s gushed about Shinnecock Hills. That leaves Marc Leishman (No. 3) among the subset. Unless you’re targeting him for The Open Championship, he’s the ideal man for the job at Muirfield Village. The wind might even blow a bit early in the tournament. C’mon Aussie! At No. 8 in the Power Rankings is Woods. He’s the bridge to the bottom seven on the page, including Tony Finau (No. 9), Emiliano Grillo (No. 11), Jordan Spieth (No. 12), Matt Kuchar (No. 13) and defending champion Jason Dufner (No. 15). While I’ll give you that Finau and Grillo present a lot like Leishman, there are concerns about the other guys. That brings us back to Woods. I went on the record on multiple media platforms before the Hero World Challenge, later in December and early in 2018 that we need to let Woods come to us, impossible as that might sound. Successful gamers understand that value of patience and timing. We invest with our heads, not our hearts. We listen to the negative rhetoric (for honesty) and dismiss the positive (as obvious self-belief). After Woods decided that he could commit to a regular schedule of competition, and then added the Valspar Championship because he missed the cut at the Genesis Open, we were encouraged. When he finished T2-T5 at Copperhead and Bay Hill in consecutive weeks, we were convinced that he belonged back on the board. But it wasn’t until after he polished off a T11 at THE PLAYERS with refreshing candor about the improved state of his game – both physically and mentally – and an assurance that he was all the way back with his competitive feel when were we sold. Since THE PLAYERS, I’ve added the Memorial to his short list of Future Possibilities. It slots behind the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, but he’s yet to qualify for a final spin at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. As much as we believe that he’ll be there, he’s the guy who fills the blank at the Memorial. And who knows, he just might give your heart what it wants, too. Two-man gamers can roll out of bed and find the target in the dark this week. Kevin Streelman, Luke List, Kyle Stanley and Peter Uihlein are raising their hands. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Kevin Chappell … St. Jude (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Jason Day … U.S. Open (2); Canadian (11); WGC-Bridgestone (9); PGA Championship (1); THE NORTHERN TRUST (8); Dell Technologies (5) Jason Dufner … Memorial (3; defending); U.S. Open (4); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (7) Tony Finau … Memorial (3); Greenbrier (2); Canadian (4) Rickie Fowler … WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Branden Grace … U.S. Open (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) Bill Haas … Wyndham (2) Russell Henley … Greenbrier (2) Charley Hoffman … Travelers (2); Canadian (3) J.B. Holmes … Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Dustin Johnson … Memorial (12); St. Jude (8); U.S. Open (13); Canadian (10); WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Zach Johnson … John Deere (1); Open Championship (5); WGC-Bridgestone (6); TOUR Championship (8) Kevin Kisner … Memorial (5); Wyndham (6) Russell Knox … Dell Technologies (7) Matt Kuchar … Memorial (2); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Martin Laird … Barracuda (1) Marc Leishman … Memorial (5); Travelers (2); Open Championship (1) Hideki Matsuyama … Memorial (10); U.S. Open (6); WGC-Bridgestone (8; defending) William McGirt … Memorial (4) Rory McIlroy … Memorial (9); Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (7); Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Phil Mickelson … St. Jude (1); Open Championship (5) Ryan Moore … Travelers (2); John Deere (3); TOUR Championship (6) Kevin Na … Memorial (10); John Deere (9); Wyndham (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (11) Louis Oosthuizen … U.S. Open (5); PGA Championship (4); Dell Technologies (3) Patrick Reed … Travelers (5); PGA Championship (8); Wyndham (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); Dell Technologies (2) Justin Rose … Memorial (6); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (7); TOUR Championship (2) Charl Schwartzel … Memorial (4); U.S. Open (5); Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Adam Scott … U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Jordan Spieth … Travelers (6; defending); John Deere (7); Open Championship (9; defending); WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Henrik Stenson … Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (4); PGA Championship (7); Wyndham (8; defending); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (2) Kevin Streelman … Memorial (1); Travelers (2) Justin Thomas … Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Tiger Woods … Memorial (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3)

Click here to read the full article…