Lydia Ko makes hole-in-one on hardest hole at U.S. Women’s Open, tells media to enjoy a beer (after work, of course)

Police in Dublin, Ohio, released a report Tuesday that provided more details about the crash in which PGA Tour player Bud Cauley and three other people were injured Friday night near Muirfield Village Golf Club.

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It's hard to believe it’s been a decade since Anthony Kim's last PGA TOUR victory, at the 2010 Vivint Houston Open. And it goes without saying the fiery Californian's dynamic presence is sorely missed. The talent, the swagger, the energy, and the passion were an inspiration, even to his U.S. teammates during the 2008 Ryder Cup and 2009 Presidents Cup. Kim last appeared on the PGA TOUR eight years ago, at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship. No one really knows the state of his game these days, nor his plans for the future. All we have are the occasional videos and candid pictures on social media, some of which show him hitting a few balls or grabbing lunch in West Hollywood. Imagine watching Kim in full flight against the Rorys, Rahms, and Koepkas of today's world, or even the new breed of challengers like Wolff and Morikawa. It's safe to say the whole golfing world wants Kim back, but until that day comes, we'll content ourselves with the remembrance of things past—in this case, Kim's gear from that win at the 2010 Vivint Houston Open. Houston was his third win on the PGA TOUR. He was just 24 years old. He finished third in the following week's Masters, his best showing in a major. Kim, who was a head-to-toe Nike athlete (before Nike left the hard goods business), had a one-shot lead going into the 72nd hole. Needing a par to win, he bogeyed the final hole to fall into a playoff against Vaughn Taylor, which Kim won with a par on the first playoff hole. His bag was always pretty locked in, from irons down to wedges. He worked with then-Nike master craftsman Mike Taylor (now of Artisan Golf). Kim was very specific about turf interaction and ensuring that a left miss was all but impossible. The woods are a different story. Kim tried multiple setups during his career, going from a driver, low-lofted hybrid, 2-iron setup all the way to a driver, 3-wood, 5-wood setup. It wasn't until his third full year on TOUR that he finally found a 3-wood he liked. WRX spoke with then-Nike Tour Technician Ben Giunta about Kim's gear. This is what he had to say GolfWRX: Not sure if TrackMan was really a thing back then but what kind of numbers did Kim put up? Giunta: So, this was kind of weird in an era where TrackMan is everywhere but I honestly don't recall using a Trackman with Kim. In those days, we used the big grey Nike talking box and don't remember any of his data. I bet he was a 175-178 mph ball speed guy. GolfWRX: Did Mike Taylor do anything special to his irons, or were they standard Nike blades? Giunta: I'm sure Mike Taylor touched his irons a bit, as he did for every Nike athlete, but he was pretty much a stock blade guy out of the box. His wedges, on the other hand, were MT specials. Fifty-four and 59 degrees every time with some specific toe-heel grinding on the 59. He was an incredible wedge player. GolfWRX: Anything special overall you did for his equipment that stands out? Giunta: He was an incredible ball striker, but when he missed it was left. I felt like we were always messing with woods. Always open, always flat. Kim wasn't much of a tech guy, didn't care much about what the product should do, just wanted it to work. One hundred percent feel. Let’s take a look at what he had in the bag for his win at Houston in 2010. Driver: Nike VR Pro LTD (9.5 degrees @10) Shaft: UST AxivCore Tour Black 79 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Burner TS (13 degrees) Shaft: UST AxivCore Tour Black 89 X 5-wood: Nike Sasquatch Dyno (19 degrees) Shaft: UST AxivCore Tour Black 89 X Irons: Nike VR Pro MB (3-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Wedges: Nike VR Pro "MT Grind" (54, 59 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select Circle T Newport 2 Grip: Scotty Cameron Pistol Red Full Cord Grips: Golf Pride BCT 60R Ball: Nike One Platinum

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This is an important week for Morgan Hoffmann and his inspirational attempt to continue his PGA TOUR career after being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. The Travelers Championship marks the final start of the medical extension he was granted after being diagnosed with the disease. The Oklahoma State alum returned to the TOUR earlier this year after spending two-and-a-half years away from competitive golf as he immersed himself in the world of alternative medicine and took a holistic approach to managing the disease, including moving to Costa Rica for a time. After returning to the TOUR, Hoffmann missed the cut at both the RBC Heritage and Wells Fargo Championship, leaving one start remaining on his medical extension. Hoffmann’s medical extension began in the 2018 season, so all his points earned since the start of that season are combined and compared to the FedExCup standings for that season. He was fully exempt for 2018 after finishing 81st in the previous year’s FedExCup but made only nine starts before stepping away from the game. Here’s a closer look at what Hoffmann faces this week in that final start of his medical extension. Hoffmann, who has earned 139.04 FedExCup points since the start of 2018, will be looking to surpass the 150th position in the 2018 FedExCup standings (266 points) to earn conditional TOUR status for the remainder of the season or No. 125 (383) to have full status for the remainder of the season. He is credited with all points earned since 2018, and judged against the 2018 FedExCup standings, because that is the season that was interrupted by injury. Hoffmann needs to earn 238.42 FedExCup points this week — equivalent to a two-way T2 or better — to remain fully exempt on TOUR for the remainder of the season. He needs 127.098 FedExCup points – a solo fourth or better — to remain conditionally exempt on TOUR and play out of the Nos. 126-150 category for the remainder of the season. Should Hoffmann fail to cross those thresholds this week, he will still have conditional Korn Ferry Tour status for the remainder of the season because he already has surpassed No. 200 in the 2018 FedExCup standings. Even if he does not earn any FedExCup points this week, he can play on the Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of the season out of the category for Nos. 151-200 on the previous year’s FedExCup standings. He cannot qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals entry based solely on the FedExCup points he earned during his medical extension, however, because he already competed in the 2019 Finals while on this same extension. Hoffmann could qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, however, if after this week he earns enough points to finish among the top 75 on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points Ranking. He also could play in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals this year if he earns more non-member FedExCup points than No. 200 in the FedExCup standings after the Wyndham Championship (points earned this week would count toward that total), though he will need to rely on sponsor exemptions and Monday qualifying for starts if he does not fulfill his extension this week. His TOUR status for next season will be determined based solely on his points accrued via this season, with no carryover from previous seasons. He has missed the cut in both of his PGA TOUR starts this season. He also can go to the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament to earn Korn Ferry Tour status for 2023. He is exempt into the second stage of Q-School by virtue of having made 100 combined cuts on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour. Hoffmann is scheduled to tee off at 8:15 a.m. ET Thursday alongside Bill Haas and Trey Mullinax.

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