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AUGUSTA, Georgia – We are just days away to one of the most anticipated Masters tournaments in living memory. Here are some notes and observations from Monday at the Masters. ROSE GETS THORNS OUT OF THE WAY Justin Rose deliberately came up to Augusta National Golf Club a few weeks ago to rid his brain of all of the second guessing and pain associated with last year’s playoff loss to Sergio Garcia. Knowing a walk around the property would likely bring up memories the Englishman wanted all of it out of the way well before tournament week. “It was just important just to come and walk the grounds. Clearly you’re going to kind of go through memories and shots you hit and shots that didn’t come off, et cetera, et cetera, so I just wanted to have that walk,” Rose said. “Just what might have been. Hitting the putt on 18 thinking why didn’t it break and those sorts of things – things I didn’t really want to be doing tomorrow or Wednesday.” Rose is now a two-time runner up in the tournament having finished second behind Jordan Spieth in 2015. In his 12 appearances he has never missed a cut and has seven top-15 results. With a win at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions and three further top-10s on the PGA TOUR this season in the lead up Rose is considered one of the key favorites. “The golf course doesn’t recognize what happened last year. There’s not a blade of grass that’s here that was here last year,” he said. “I’m kind of coming in with high confidence but also low expectation, in the sense that I can’t control so many variables that are going to be out there this week. My skillset should produce a chance to win if all goes well.” SCOTT BUSTS OUT OLD FOOTAGE IN PREP Five years ago Adam Scott claimed the 2013 Masters, breaking a personal major drought and an Augusta National famine for his country. It appeared he might head towards winning many more majors but instead the Australian has failed to kick on as much as he would have liked. Between 2011 and 2015 Scott had 15 top-15 finishes, including his win, in 20 major starts. But in his last eight majors he has just one top-15 result, a T9 at last year’s Masters. After a slow start to this PGA TOUR season that has yielded no top-10 finishes in seven starts Scott turned back the clock for motivation. He decided to relive his winning effort where he made a clutch putt on the 72nd hole and then ultimately beat Angel Cabrera in a playoff and it opened his eyes to the fierceness of his mental game that has since been lacking. “I watched the playoff last week for the first time in a long time which was really great – it is instantly emotional – it still feels quite close by,” Scott said. “That was fun to watch, took some good stuff out of that going into this week. Good vibes obviously but also to see the intensity – where my intensity level was at – that’s where you have got to take yourself to be competitive.” With all the hype surrounding the likes of Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy the 38-year-old Scott is quietly confident. “There are a lot of great stories coming into this Masters and I’d like to in a sense spoil the party – and make another story,” he smiled. UNDER RADAR DAY READY TO RUMBLE Jason Day returned as a player to watch this season after a long winless stretch of 18 months was broken with victory at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. He backed up the win with a T2 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before taking a small hiatus from the PGA TOUR to visit with his mother. Since his return Day has shown a mediocre T22 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and a T36 finish at the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play taking him out of the top headlines leading into the Masters. But the 30-year-old Australian – who has three top 10s from seven Augusta National starts including a runner up and third place – isn’t concerned. “I don’t care what I come into an event like this, I just want to win,” he said bluntly. “If it is underdog, great. If it’s a favorite, great. If I’m not too worried about that, I just got to put it out of my mind and just try and focus on winning. “I am kind of under the radar only because there’s a lot of talent in the pool now and there’s not really too many big finish anymore. There’s like just a lot of medium‑large fish that are just trying to chomp at each other.” This is the first Masters Day has faced without Colin Swatton on his bag having made the switch to using two of his friends last year. Rika Batibasaga, who caddied in the win at Torrey Pines, returns for the first time since Pebble Beach, taking the bag back from Luke Reardon. “Hopefully that will make things a little bit more light out there for me and a little bit more fun, because over the last few years it’s been more of a grind trying to get that win because a lot of people have come up to me and said: This is your year, this is your year, you’re going to win one,” Day said. “That can add a little bit more pressure so hopefully I have my good close buddy out there with me and we can make things a little less stressful and go out there and have fun.” NICKLAUS RECORD TO FALL SAYS LANGER Jack Nicklaus holds the record for the oldest Masters winner at 46 but two-time champion Bernhard Langer feels it will be broken soon enough – and the 60-year-old believes he could be the man to do it! It’s certainly not the silliest concept given top-25 finishes at Augusta National in three of the last five years. “My goal is certainly to be in contention, and two out of the last four years I was in contention,” the 1985 and 1993 champion said. “I would like to be on the leaderboard and have a chance on Sunday to win the trophy or the Green Jacket in this case.” Langer says it is only a matter of time before Nicklaus’ record falls. “There’s several reasons. The guys are much fitter nowadays than golfers have ever been,” Langer added. “You have guys like Mickelson, Fred Couples and a few others in the future that are still long enough to temper this golf course or to have a chance if their short game is good. “And it’s going to be more of them in the future because we’re learning to be real athletes. “Years ago some took care of their bodies, some don’t, but now you go out there and you don’t see too many overweight, big bellies out there. They have physical trainers, mental coaches, whatever it takes. They watch the diet. And that will give you longevity.” RESTED WESLEY It has been a long year of waiting for Wesley Bryan who punched his first ticket to the Masters with his win at the 2017 RBC Heritage – played the week after Sergio Garcia won his Green Jacket. But the Augusta resident, who grew up in nearby South Carolina, is finally between the ropes in tournament week rather than outside them. Bryan recalls multiple occasions he came as a patron, including getting a ball thrown his way by Billy Andrade as a kid, but can’t wait for his first crack at a Green Jacket. Especially since he hasn’t played a PGA TOUR event in five weeks and missed the cut in the last three he played prior to the sabbatical. “I felt like I was going in a direction that I wasn’t seeing any results for the first half of the year, and I knew that I was really close,” Bryan explained. “And I’ve never been one to play my way into form. You’ll see guys like Patrick Reed go out and play nine or 10 events in a row and get a little bit better every single week. I feel like I’m one of those guys that has always done really well off of rest.” He might have a point. He had three weeks off before winning at Hilton Head last year and his first Web.com Tour win came after a five-week break. His other two Web.com Tour wins also came off rest. “I’m one of those guys, I kind of know what I got to do to get better and I don’t need tournament golf to round me into form,” he says. “So I’ve been working really hard these last five weeks. It’s definitely not been a vacation by any stretch, probably worked harder than I’ve ever worked in my entire life to get ready for this one event.” FOWLER FRIENDS FIRE HIM UP Rickie Fowler seems to constantly be around to congratulate his friends in big tournaments. But now he says it is his turn again. “It’s fun to see your friends win. It’s fun to see them play well,” THE PLAYERS 2015 champion says. “But it is a motivation factor in a way. It also is kind of a kick in the butt to get yourself to kind of keep pushing forward. You want to be in that position and you want your buddies to be there, whether they decide to be there or not, it’s kind of a nice bonus, a nice touch. “It’s fun to have the bragging rights over your friends.” Fowler sat one-shot behind Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose through 54 holes last year at the Masters before fading with a Sunday 76 to be T11. His best Masters finish came with a T5 in 2014. “I know that I can hit every shot that I need to on this golf course,” he said of his chances. “If I am able to really commit to the line and the swings that we’re trying to make at that exact time, then it’s going to be a good week.”
LONDON, UK/PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA/DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, is pleased to announce a multi-year partnership with the PGA TOUR and LPGA in the first-of-its-kind Aon Risk Reward Challenge. The season-long Aon Risk Reward Challenge will highlight the world’s best professional golfers as they tackle the most strategically challenging holes across both the PGA TOUR and LPGA schedules. The player from each Tour on top of the Aon leaderboard at the end of the regular season will each receive $1 million in prize money. As an Official Marketing Partner of both Tours, Aon receives the following designations: the “Official Risk, Retirement and Health Advisor of the PGA TOURâ€� and the “Official Professional Services Firm of the LPGA.â€� “At Aon, we use proprietary data and analytics to advise our clients and provide the insights they need to stay a step ahead of the competition,â€� said Greg Case, Chief Executive Officer, Aon. “The same is true in golf, where players must take calculated risks that improve their performance. We are excited to showcase the best strategic decision makers from across the world of golf through the Aon Risk Reward Challenge.â€� The Aon Risk Reward Challenge will be brought to life through a multi-platform strategy that includes broadcast integration with CBS and Golf Channel, the use of PGA TOUR and LPGA digital platforms, and the opportunity for Aon to bring clients and colleagues inside the ropes with exclusive experiences and business networking events around the world. “We are extremely pleased to welcome Aon as our newest Official Marketing Partner and to align with a globally respected brand that we know will be a tremendous asset to our business,â€� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The Aon Risk Reward Challenge is an authentic fit for our sport that will resonate with players and fans while providing Aon an intuitive way to reinforce how their firm creates value for its clients.â€� The PGA TOUR and LPGA entered into a strategic alliance in 2016 designed to further promote the growth of golf. Aon will collaborate with both Tours to create a season long program that spans the sport, and both Commissioners are hopeful that they will continue to see examples of such collaboration. “We are thrilled to welcome Aon to the LPGA family of partners,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “The Aon Risk Reward Challenge will bring an exciting new season-long competition to our Tour with a very significant $1 million prize for our winner. The fact that Aon is providing equal prize money for the men (PGA TOUR) and women (LPGA) has made a huge statement to our players, and we couldn’t be more appreciative.” Additional Details About the Aon Risk Reward Challenge · Winners from each Tour will receive the Aon Trophy and $1 million in prize money. · Aon Risk Reward Challenge will run across regular season tournaments (28 PGA TOUR; 30 LPGA). · CBS Sports (PGA TOUR) and Golf Channel (LPGA) are official broadcast partners and the Aon Risk Reward Challenge will be brought to life through feature segments including hole flyovers, player interviews and on-air commentary. · Final details on scoring and the schedule of holes for each Tour will be released later this year. · The Aon Risk Reward Challenge Leaderboard will highlight player performance across the season.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Si Woo Kim narrowly missed a second hole-in-one on consecutive days and saw his four-shot lead trimmed to one over Monday qualifier Corey Conners after Saturday’s third round of the Valero Texas Open. Kim, the 2017 THE PLAYERS Championship winner, aced the 16th hole at the TPC San Antonio on Friday, and he missed it by inches on the way to a third round 3-under 69. He was at 15 under, and Connors, trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR since 2010, was a stroke back after shooting a 6-under 66. Charley Hoffman, the 2016 Valero Texas Open winner, moved up the leaderboard with a birdie-birdie-eagle finish and the week’s best round of 64. He was two back of Kim at 13-under. Scott Brown turned in a second straight 67, and Jhonattan Vegas also shot 67. Both were at 11 under with Kyoung-Hoon Lee (69) and four strokes back. Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth started the day tied for second, four shots back. Both finished eight shots out of the lead after ballooning to rounds of 1-over 73. Kim flirted with the 16th hole on the second bounce on Saturday. This time, the ball rolled past the hole to inside four feet for what looked like an easy birdie. He missed, Conners made his from inches shorter and they shared the lead again. But Conners returned the favor on the next hole, missing a birdie from inside seven feet. Kim got out of a greenside bunker at the par-5 18th and sank a four-foot par to get the one-stroke advantage. Conners is trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR since Arjun Atwal nine years ago. Before that, no one had done it in 24 years. He birdied the opening three holes, including a near-ace at the third, and almost had a fourth to start the day when his 58-foot putt rested a couple of inches from the cup on No. 4. He birdied again at the fifth, which gave him a share of the lead with Kim, and joined Kim in birdieing the seventh. Conners, 27, was a finalist in the 2014 U.S. Amateur, but he has not won on the PGA TOUR or any of its affiliate tours. This season he has finished second in the Sanderson Farms Championship and, after Monday qualifying, was third at the Sony Open. Hoffman’s hot finish came with a birdie at the 14th. He wrapped it up with a 22-foot birdie putt at 16 and a 15-footer at 17 before he reached the green in two at the downwind 607-yard finishing hole. Fowler bogeyed his first two holes, part of five on the day. Even with an eagle on the 18th, Fowler dropped 14 spots to 16th and 7-under. Spieth was in the last group of the day with leaders Kim and Conners, but he quickly joined Fowler in going the other way. He didn’t hit a fairway until the 11th hole and by that time had two double bogeys. After his front-nine 42, Spieth’s first birdie came on the 12th. He added four more on the backside.
