Jim Herman closes out ‘very satisfying’ win at the Wyndham Championship

Click here to read the full article…

Three trips around Pete Dye's dastardly Stadium Course at PGA West, and not a single bogey. Si Woo Kim remains unflappable to the end and birdies two of his last three holes for a one-shot victory over Patrick Cantlay at The American Express. It's the third PGA TOUR win for the 25-year-old Korean, and the first since he won THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017. It also moves him up 60 spots to ninth in the FedExCup. Here are five stories you may have missed from The American Express. 1. Kim gets first W since THE PLAYERS Si Woo Kim looked like he might never lose again in winning THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017, but had gone 1,352 days without a victory. He had struggled with back pain, shooting an opening-round 87 in the first round of The American Express last year, and course strategy. "So when I missed the win, when I had the chance to have a win, I didn’t play very well," Kim said after tying his career best with eight final-round birdies. "I had a lot of ups and downs; I tried to play aggressive and then that actually made me lose." He tossed and turned Saturday night despite taking melatonin. He thought about what his coach had said, that he would have plenty of chances to win, to be patient, to believe in himself. "So that’s what I tried to do," he said after going 16 for 16 from inside 10 feet on the greens in the final round. "And then I tried not to be emotional and that helps me to the win." Kim hit 116 of 144 greens in regulation at The American Express and the Sony Open in Hawaii (T25), the most of any of the 97 players who competed in both tournaments. 2. Cantlay dazzles with wild weekend Just a single point separates FedExCup No. 2 Patrick Cantlay from front-runner Dustin Johnson after Cantlay shot 61 to break the course record and finish second at PGA West (Stadium). "I played about as good as I can possibly play," Cantlay said after beating the course record by two. His final round featured a 38-footer for birdie on 18, and recalled the 10-under 60 he shot as an amateur at the 2011 Travelers Championship. He called the two rounds "very comparable." Cantlay was trying to become the first player since Brandt Snedeker at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open to win on TOUR after making the cut on the number, and there wasn't much more he could have done. His 18-under total on the weekend tied Rocco Mediate (2003) for best score in relation to par over the final two rounds of a 72-hole event on TOUR. One misstep: He bogeyed the par-5 eighth hole on the way to shooting 65 on Saturday. 3. Finau settles for another top-10 Although he shot 68 to finish fourth, Tony Finau wasn't looking at The American Express as his 35th top-10 finish since his lone PGA TOUR victory at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. Instead, the 54-hole co-leader was looking at the AmEx more positively in light of his lackluster T31 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions two weeks ago. (He had gotten into the field as part of the exception made for players who qualified for last season's TOUR Championship.) "A couple of those guys just went really low today," Finau said from PGA West, where he birdied the first two holes but could only manage to go 2 under the rest of the way. "I had some opportunities, I think, to shoot a number. But, man, I’m kind of leaving today pretty encouraged. "I played nicely," he continued. "I’ve been working on some things in my golf swing, changed up the putter this week, some positives for me and I like where the game’s at. It’s real early in the calendar year. I didn’t play very good in Maui, so this is actually pretty encouraging for me." 4. Davis enjoys career-best result Cameron Davis made eight birdies for a bogey-free, 8-under 64, and his solo third-place finish was his best result on TOUR. What's more, the 2017 Australian Open winner wasn't all that far removed from his previous best, a T6 at the Sanderson Farms Championship last fall. "Yeah, I’ve been trending in a good direction for a while now," said Davis, 25. Everything just clicked, he added, contrary to other final rounds where he's been in the mix. "I had a bad ball-striking day and a good putting day and a couple of good ball-striking days and didn’t make any putts," he said. "I think for me to get over the line it’s just having four solid days in a row where I keep up every part of my game. I’m getting closer to it, it’s obviously great to keep seeing personal bests ... because that keeps you excited and keeps you working hard." 5. Ancer finishes strong Davis wasn't the only promising talent to make a run at his first victory. Mexico's Abraham Ancer, the runner-up finisher in The American Express last season, birdied his last three holes for a final-round 66 and a T5 finish. At 15 under par, he was eight back, and won't have to look far to find where he could have improved. His scoring line: 69-65-73-66. The 2019 Presidents Cup standout, who is not in the field for this week's Farmers Insurance Open, bogeyed the third hole but heated up with an eagle at the eighth before his back-nine heroics. Mexico's Carlos Ortiz - 10th in the latest FedExCup standings - remains the last first-time winner on TOUR after winning the Vivint Houston Open in early November. TOUR Top 10

Click here to read the full article…

The 121st United States Open returns to Torrey Pines South this week, bringing memories of Tiger Woods’ playoff victory over Rocco Mediate in 2008. have changed 13 years later – the most jarring being Woods’ absence due to injuries sustained in a single-car accident in February. Xander Schauffele, one of the pre-tournament favorites this week, was a teenage fan watching from a tree in ’08. The golf course, which Rees Jones renovated again in 2019, is also different. It has hosted the San Diego City Amateur, the Junior World, the Farmers Insurance Open, and now, for the second time, it will be the setting for the U.S. Open – with a few subtle changes. Here are nine things about Torrey Pines South. 1. It is named for a tree – and a man The Torrey pine – which is featured in the trophy for the Farmers Insurance Open, the annual PGA TOUR stop – is native only to the 36-hole golf complex, Torrey Pines State Reserve next door, and Santa Rosa Island (near Santa Barbara). The tree features clusters of five pine needles, and because it is protected, when some 30 Torrey pines were removed from the South Course they were simply relocated and transplanted. Although early Spanish explorers certainly knew of the tree, Dr. Charles Christopher Parry, a botanist for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary Survey, officially discovered it. He named it for his mentor, Dr. John Torrey, who had co-written “A Flora of North America” and was the solo author of “A Flora of New York State.” Torrey never visited the region, but Parry sent him samples of the tree. 2. It was a military training camp Camp Callan opened on what is now Torrey Pines Golf Course in 1941, just prior to the Pearl Harbor invasion. It was used for anti-aircraft artillery replenishment, and roughly 15,000 people lived on site. There were movie theaters and chapels, among other conveniences. After WWII, the government sold the land and buildings back to the city of San Diego. Lumber from the buildings would be used to build housing for veterans. 3. It was a racecourse The term “driver” once meant something completely different at Torrey. After Camp Callan, the land was repurposed to build a grand prix racecourse, hosting car-racing contests that included some of the biggest names in driving. Among them were Carol Shelby, who was played by Matt Damon in the movie “Ford vs. Ferrari.” The last race was held in 1956. 4. A father-son team built the golf courses William P. Bell, who was born in 1886 and apprenticed under Willie Watson and George Thomas, Jr., was a turf consultant for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during WWII, and shortly after that was joined by son William F. Bell in the family golf course design business. A special city election in ’56 led to the dedication of roughly 100 acres of the former Camp Callan being set aside for the creation of a golf course. William P. had the original vision for Torrey Pines, but he had died by the time Torrey Pines was built. His son, William F., oversaw its creation in the late 50s. The City of San Diego Parks & Recreation has called them “California’s First Family of Golf Course Design,” noting their work on Torrey Pines, but also the father’s contributions to Bel-Air, Riviera and Los Angeles country clubs, and the son’s involvement in Sandpiper and Industry Hills golf clubs, and Bermuda Dunes Country Club. 5. It has had many redesigns Rees Jones (2001, 2019) isn’t the only one to have a hand in transforming Torrey South. Billy Casper, perhaps the most famous golfer in San Diego history, and architect David Rainville oversaw the first redesign in the mid-1970s. Stephen Halsey and Jack Daray, Jr., redid it in ’88. In the spring of ’99 the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation began a five-year capital improvement program for the courses. Jones moved four green structures and added 10 new tees to stretch the course from 7,000 to nearly 7,600 yards. The most difficult hole in ’08 was the narrow, 501-yard, par-4 12th, which often plays into the wind coming in off the Pacific Ocean. Two new bunkers were added in the ’19 Jones redesign, but that’s not all he changed. A new tee and two new bunkers down the left side have added a new wrinkle to the 612-yard, par-5 13th hole. A new tee has added 37 yards to the par-4 15th hole, as has a new low chipping area front-left of the green, which will collect errant shots. A new tee has been added to the left of the previous tee on 17, creating a new angle that favors a draw into the fairway. The hole features the shallowest par-4 green, 26 yards. 6. There will be similarities to ’08 The fairways and rough are still mostly kikuyu, the greens poa annua. Devlin’s Billabong, the large bowl of soup fronting the 18th green, is still the only water hazard (other than the Pacific Ocean). The 387-yard second hole is still the only par 4 under 400 yards. Additionally, the picturesque, 195-yard third hole, which plays downhill into the prevailing wind, is still the signature par 3. With multiple teeing areas and wind directions, it can call for anything from a pitching wedge to a long iron. As in ’08, the dogleg-right sixth hole, which plays as a 560-yard par 5 during the Farmers Insurance Open, will be converted to a 515-yard par 4. The easiest hole in ’08 was the 568-yard, par-5 18th (4.79 average), the site of the do-or-die Woods’ putt, and Dan Hicks’ call: “Expect anything different?” Expect it to be the easiest this time around, as well. 7. Torrey Pines Lodge has transformed, too The sprawling hotel nestled up against the 18th hole has also changed appearances. It was originally built as a 74-room inn in 1961. It was closed in 2000 for a total remodel, and reopened in ’02 as a 170-room luxury hotel in early California craftsman style, with two restaurants and lounges. It has an AAA Five Diamond rating. 8. Tiger isn’t the only big name there In addition to winning the ’08 U.S. Open, Woods has won the Farmers Insurance Open seven times – including four straight from ’05 to ’08 – at Torrey South. But Tom Weiskopf is another big name at Torrey. He redesigned the North Course in 2016, and won what would become the Farmers in its first year using Torrey South in 1968. (It used a variety of sites, primarily Stardust Country Club, before that.) Jack Nicklaus won in ’69, so you could say Torrey South got off to a solid start. 9. Phil Mickelson still has good vibes Phil Mickelson, who is coming off a stunning victory at the PGA Championship last month and needs only to win the U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam, has admitted to struggling at Torrey South since Rees Jones redesigned it in 2001. Paul Azinger speculated on an NBC conference call that he lost his advantage of knowing the greens. Mickelson faulted his too-aggressive style of play, especially on approach shots. Still, it’s worth remembering that he won what we now know as the Farmers Insurance Open in 1993, 2000 – halting Tiger’s six-tournament winning streak – and 2001. “I tried to force it,” Mickelson said recently of his struggles since then. “A lot of pins you can’t go to, you have to play 60, 50 feet away and a lot of holes I get overly aggressive, obviously that’s my nature. There’s a proper way to play it, and I’ve seen it and I want to have the discipline to do it and so I want to spend some time out there to develop a good game plan.”

Click here to read the full article…