Major season superlatives: Schauffele’s second win caps year of U.S. golf dominance

Erik van Rooyen … It’s doubtful that the missed cut in his last start at the Made in Denmark dented the South African’s confidence. He finished T8 at the PGA Championship the preview week and ranked T9 in greens hit, ninth in proximity, eighth in strokes gained: tee-to-green and third in putting: birdies-or-better at Bethpage. That secured his exemption (via the top 10) into the RBC Canadian Open, which will be his fourth PGA TOUR start of the season and fifth of his career. He’s 19th on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai standings with a pair of runner-up finishes among five top 15s in the last three months. And now he’s fresh off qualifying for his first U.S. Open at the sectional in Columbus, Ohio. Danny Willett … Given that he won the Masters only three years ago, that he lands here is all you need to know about how far he’s separated from the main stage. The 31-year-old battled injuries in the interim but he was buoyed by a smattering of consistent results in the second half of 2018. The rise was punctuated with a victory at the DP World Tour Championship in November. As a renewed member of the PGA TOUR, he’s had only one top 25 since, but the waters are a-gurglin’. En route to a T41 at the PGA Championship, he ranked T3 in greens in regulation. Last week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, he finished T11 in GIR. Hot irons will play at Hamilton this week, so his next objective is to put four rounds together. Nick Watney … While the Zurich Classic of New Orleans presents as a twist to break up the routine of the season, it shouldn’t be overlooked as an opportunity to regain form. He and partner Charley Hoffman placed T9 for what was Watney’s first top-15 finish of the season. It also lifted him back inside the top 125 of the FedExCup standings and sparked a 3-for-4 run in individual competition entering the RBC Canadian Open. Even better, he’s reclaimed confidence with his staple as a powerful ball-striker. En route to a T8 at cozy Colonial, he ranked T4 in greens hit, seventh in proximity and led the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Last week at the bigger ballpark of Muirfield Village, he finished T11 in GIR and paced the field in proximity. The 38-year-old now sits a much more comfortable 98th in the FedExCup. Tyler Duncan … The PGA TOUR sophomore made news at the AT&T Byron Nelson where he struck his wife, Maria, in the head on the first bounce of his drive on the 13th hole of Trinity Forest in the second round. (She’s OK.) Despite that shot, he performed wonderfully and in line with his profile as a ball-striker, but it was improved putting that made the difference between another forgettable result and the career-best-tying T5 that he logged. And that was on large greens. Hamilton’s smaller targets project to accentuate his strength even more. Cameron Tringale … He’s had a helluva career and he’s still only 31 years of age. Most wouldn’t trade a record of 156-for-256 as a professional with eight figures in earnings, but the Georgia Tech product remains winless in PGA TOUR-sanctioned competition. It’s also been three seasons since he qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs and he’s currently 138th in points, but the RBC Canadian Open could springboard him back. In fact, it’d be a continuation of form first captured in earnest at the Valero Texas Open where he finished T17 while ranking T3 in greens in regulation and T5 in proximity. After a T5 with Roberto Castro at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Tringale posted a T23 at the AT&T Byron Nelson and slotted T4 in GIR and second in conversion percentage inside 10 feet (66-for-70). As he’s conjuring old form, it’s relevant to cite that he finished T19 at Hamilton in 2012, finishing T5 in GIR and 12th in strokes gained: tee-to-green. He also co-led the field in fairways hit. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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Justin Rose completed the final two holes of his second round early Saturday for a 3-under 69 and a one-stroke lead at the Indonesian Masters. Brandt Snedeker withdrew with apparent heat exhaustion on Friday on the 11th hole of the second round.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Alford of Shreveport, Louisiana, a regular practice partner of PGA TOUR pro Sam Burns, shot a three-under 68 to capture the APGA Tour Scottsdale title Tuesday at TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course. The 24 year-old former Louisiana Tech golfer and high school teammate of Burns, fired a 65-68-133 (9 under overall) to top 2020 APGA Tour Player of the Year Tim O’Neal by three strokes with Tommy Schaff of Ridgeland, South Carolina, in third place, another stroke behind. Willie Mack of Flint, Michigan, and Aaron Beverly of Fairfield, California, tied for fifth at 3 under. Mack, who has teed off in two PGA TOUR events this year, has another sponsor exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s Huntsville Championship April 29-May 2 in Huntsville, Alabama. Phoenix resident Doug Smith led a group of five players tied for seventh place at even par. “Told myself just try to keep it simple,” offered Alford, who is the fourth consecutive first-time winner in the APGA Tour 2021 season. “We had a good week.” Alford was on the leaderboard last week at APGA Tour Las Vegas before playing the final nine holes at 6 over. “I changed my mindset,” he continued. “Told myself to erase the bad and keep going with the good. Talent is not the issue. It’s just a matter of getting it done.” Alford was three-under on the back nine, including an eagle at the par-5 10th. A tap-in birdie on the par-5 17th provided some breathing room and Alford pocketed the first place check of $7,500 from the $25,000 purse. The other first-time winners on the APGA Tour this year are Jarred Garcia, who took the Black History Month Classic at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Rovonta Young, the victor at APGA Tour at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida, and Kamaiu Johnson, who won APGA Tour Las Vegas last week. The competition at the TPC Scottsdale Champions Course (7,115-yards, par 71) was the sixth tournament of the year for the 13-event circuit whose mission is to bring greater diversity to the sport of golf. A total of 62 players, including seven amateurs, competed in the tournament and all activities were conducted under social-distancing and health/safety guidelines in conjunction with regional authorities. Scores and additional detail are available at www.bluegolf.com. The APGA Tour 2021 season reaches its midpoint May 23-25 when APGA Tour Louisville is contested at famed Valhalla Golf Club, which is owned and operated by PGA of America.

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