Langer ties Nicklaus with 8 senior major titles

Brooks Koepka did not have many details to share regarding his upcoming post-Thanksgiving showdown with long-hitting Bryson DeChambeau – the newest addition to Capital One’s The Match series that will air Nov. 26 on TNT. Asked when conversations for such a mano-a-mano television event even began, Koepka smiled and answered, “You can ask Bryson.” But on the eve of competing in the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, Koepka did convey considerable respect for DeChambeau’s significant transformations, and had praise for DeChambeau’s surprising performance at last week’s Professional Long Drivers Association’s World Championship. DeChambeau made it through to the quarterflnals at the Long Drive, falling just shy of the four-man finale. DeChambeau achieved a swing speed of 219 mph and his longest drive on the grid was 412 yards. Kyle Berkshire eventually would win his second title (his winning drive measured 422 yards). A few of DeChambeau’s peers on the PGA TOUR could not help but take notice of his spirited march through the competition. Koepka said Wednesday that adding length has become a huge theme on the PGA TOUR, and will continue to have a big impact as younger players make their way out to the game’s top level. “I think you kind of saw it maybe coming out of COVID,” Koepka said at TPC Summerlin after playing nine holes in a pro-am. “I think you saw even other guys (other than DeChambeau) trying to hit it further. Swing a little harder, trying to maximize their distance. I think it’s going to change the game of golf forever, personally. If you’re going to hit it that far and you find a couple fairways, it’s tough to beat. It does get very difficult when you got wedge into hole where guys got 6-iron. Your odds are going to be in your favor. “That’s what he (DeChambeau) has done. It’s impressive to be able to actually change a body, change the way you swing, and yet still compete out here. I think that’s probably the most impressive thing. It’s one thing to do it and then just kind of mess around with it at home but not bring it to an actual tournament. So the fact he’s able to do that, the fact he did at the Long Drive, I don’t think anybody really thought he was going to get that far. The fact he did was quite impressive.” This new PGA TOUR season is but a few events old, but the driving average on TOUR thus far is 304.7 yards. A year ago, the average distance TOUR players hit their drives was 296.2. DeChambeau led all players in distance last season, averaging a record 323.7 yards through 83 rounds. Koepka doesn’t exactly bunt it off the tee; he averaged 310.7 yards and ranked 12th. Scottie Scheffler partnered with DeChambeau in two Four-ball matches at the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits two weeks ago, and knew DeChambeau was as excited about the Long Drive as he was about the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. “He was definitely pretty interested in it last week,” Scheffler said. ”We had a great time playing together. He’s a great (Four-ball) partner and he’s a great alternate-shot player as well because he’s such a talented player. We had a great time in the team room. “His performance in the Long Drive was pretty cool. I think he told us his goal for the Long Drive was to make it to the final 16, I think he said that would have been a really big accomplishment for him. … I’m sure he’s feeling really good about his performance. It was pretty fun to watch.” Koepka, 31, is playing for the sixth time at Shriners (he was a runner-up in 2017), and will play next week at THE CJ CUP @ Summit, a second event in Vegas. Koepka said his 2020-21 season, which was slowed by knee and wrist injuries, was a disappointment, and that this season he’d like to not only win multiple events, but stay healthy throughout. One aspect of his game that held him back last season: Green-reading. He said he has worked on integrating AimPoint into his routine to better read breaks on the greens, which hopefully will lead to better results with the putter. “I’ve fallen off, to be completely honest,” said Koepka, an eight-time TOUR winner and four-time major champion now ranked ninth in the Official World Golf Ranking. “I’ve fallen off going to World No. 1, injuries, all this stuff, and I haven’t been where I expected myself to be. I think that’s been the disappointing part, so I was kind of kicking myself and trying to figure out how to get better, and that (AimPoint) was just one of the ways. “… There’s some things where you’ve got to keep improving year after year. You look at it, traditionally, 30 or 35 is when guys have their prime out here, and I’m just kind of starting that prime at 31. So hopefully that holds true. But you got to find a way.” Koepka and DeChambeau, who bantered through social media through much of 2021, will partake in a 12-hole match on Nov. 26 at the Wynn Golf Course at Wynn Las Vegas. DeChambeau, ranked seventh in the world, was part of a previous version of The Match, joining NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers in taking down the tandem of Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. Koepka and DeChambeau were teammates on the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team two weeks ago, and, at the behest of U.S. team member Justin Thomas, even embraced in a playful embrace following the team’s final media session. As for more details on The Match? We’ll have to wait for those. “I think we’re excited,” Koepka said. “It’s going to be good. You’ll see it.”

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OPELIKA, Ala. – Add Grayson Murray to the growing list of golfers born in 1993 that have won a PGA TOUR event. On the same day Justin Spieth (who turns 24 this week) won The Open, Grayson Murray won his first PGA TOUR event by capturing the Barbasol Championship at the RTJ Golf Trail at Grand National. “It’s impressive,� Murray said. “There’s probably another dozen or 20 that could win it next week. Bryson (DeChambeau) won last week, Xander (Schauffele) won the week before, Jordan wins the Open today. Daniel Berger, Justin Thomas, Rickie (Fowler). Although Rickie’s kind of old compared to us.� Berger, who won the FedEx St. Jude Classic, is already 24, as is Justin Thomas, who most recently won the Sony Open. Schauffele, who won the Greenbrier Classic, will turn 24 in October, a month after DeChambeau and two months after Spieth. A youth movement that started in 1993 seems to be taking over the PGA Tour. “I guess it just means we’re more prepared coming out of school,� Murray said. “We’re not afraid. I think when you see the success Jordan has had – he’s about to be 24 and he had his 11th win today on TOUR, three majors – that makes a lot of 22, 23-year-olds less scared, I think, because he’s done it all. “But I don’t compare myself to any of those guys because we’re all on a different timetable. Hopefully, I’ll get to 11 (wins) sooner rather than later but right now I’m taking it one step at a time.� Murray won in just his 24th start with a one-stroke victory over Chad Collins. The North Carolina native, who competed on the Web.com Tour last year, finished with a 21-under-par 263, a tournament record. FEDEXCUP MOVERS There were plenty of golfers at the Barbasol Championship who are on the bubble in the FedExCup rankings and a good showing definitely boosts the confidence of those hoping to make the FedExCup playoffs. “A lot of positives,� said Ryan Blaum, whose sixth-place finish helped his ranking (105th) entering the week. “One of my goals is to wrap up the first two playoff events. I’m not sure what that number is, but just get as many points as you can.� “I think I was 115 starting the week, so that’s probably going to put me in pretty good shape,� said Brian Gay. “It’s not any fun coming down to the last few events knowing you’ve still got to do some more work, but I think I did enough this week.� Among those on the bubble who helped their cause, in addition to Blaum and Gay, was tournament championship Grayson Murray, who entered the week ranked 124th; Ben Martin, who was one spot behind Murray in the rankings and finished sixth; and Cameron Percy, who was 135th entering the week and finished tied for 12th. At No. 147 in the standings was 17-time PGA TOUR winner and 2010 FedExCup champion Jim Furyk, who posted rounds of 69-68-68-68 to finish tied for 35th at 11-under-273. LOOKING FOR THAT ELUSIVE 60 Chad Collins and Scott Stallings put themselves at the front of the pack with a tournament-record 60s as Collins took the lead on Friday and Stallings surged into the lead on Saturday. On Sunday, it was Ryan Blaum who looked as if he may join the elite club. Through 11 holes, he had seven birdies and four pars for 36. “On a Sunday, though, especially when you’re in contention, you’re just looking to get to a number, catch the leaders and get ahead of them,� Blaum said. “The front end today was very encouraging. My goal for the day was to reach 20, 21 (under). I knew it was out there.� Three pars and a bogey later, his magical run was over. He would finish with a 65, the third lowest round of the day, and finished with a 19-under 265, good for third place. “Going into about the last four holes, I thought if I could get two more (birdies) maybe I would have a shot or at least get up there really close,� Gay said. “I hit a good shot, I just didn’t quite get over the ridge on 18.� Gay finished tied with Scott Stallings and Tag Ridings, two others ho flirted with the lead but couldn’t stay on top. Stallings, the leader entering the day, pulled back within a stroke with a birdie on No. 16, but missed an 18-footer for birdie on No. 17, then finished with a bogey on 18. Ridings led for part of the final round but saw his chances slip away with a double bogey on No. 16. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sam Burns celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday with a ninth-place finish at the Barbasol Championship after making the cut and finishing as the highest-rated amateur in the event. The LSU junior-to-be, who plans to turn pro in the next couple of months, tied for sixth at 18 under after shooting 66 for the third consecutive day. “I think I played pretty well today,� he said. “I think it’ll definitely give me some confidence going forward to know that I can play out here.� He plans to compete in the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur as well as the Walker Cup before turning pro and was satisfied with his performance in his first PGA TOUR finish. “Any time you’re playing on the PGA TOUR on your birthday, it’s always a nice feeling,� he said. Aa he left the course with his parents, the Shreveport, La., native couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate his birthday.     “I don’t know,� he said. “I think we’re going to head back home.� FINISHING STRONG John Merrick, by his own admission, hasn’t had strong finishes to tournaments. That’s why his hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth hole and his eagle on the par-4 11th hole was a little surprising, even to him. “My second hole today, No. 11, I pulled an eight-iron from the fairway for a two,� Merrick said. “That shot was 150-something. I hit the right edge of the green and it came in. I hit a six-iron on No. 8. I hit a good shot and it hit the right slope and came in. Just blind luck. Two hole-outs on one round? I’ve never done that in my career.� Merrick has just one career PGA TOUR win since turning pro in 2004, but finished 73rd in the John Deere Classic last week after failing to make the cut in four of his previous five tournament appearances. On Thursday, he closed out with a bogey and two pars, and on Friday, he bogeyed the final two holes, so he was appreciative of the Sunday round that lifted his finish. “I feel like, lately, I’ve been doing the opposite, so to finish like that feels really good,� he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get some momentum going into next week.� SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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