Kevin Na birdied four of the first eight holes and shot a 4-under 66 to cruise to a four-shot victory over Tony Finau at Colonial on Sunday.
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Here’s a look at the two players who Monday qualified for the Rocket Mortgage Classic. There was a four-for-one playoff to decide the last spot. There are two spots available at each Monday qualifier after the COVID-19 break. QUALIFIERS Kurt Kitayama (64) Age: 27 College: UNLV Turned pro: 2015 PGA TOUR starts: 10 PGA TOUR earnings: $174,249 Twitter: @Kurt_Kitayama Notes: Has played in five PGA TOUR events so far this year, making four cuts … His best finish was a T18 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am … He has 10 career starts on the PGA TOUR … He has played 31 career Korn Ferry Tour starts, making 13 cuts, with zero top 10s … Had a win on the Asian Developmental Tour in 2018 … Had two runner-ups and a fourth-place finish on Asian Tour in 2018 … At end of 2018 went to European Tour Q school and got thru all three stages, despite not ever playing in Europe prior to Q school … He then won the Afrasian Bank Open (co-sanction event with Sunshine Tour) and the Oman Open in the 2018-19 European Tour season … Ranked 1187th in world rankings at the beginning of 2018 and is now ranked 77th … Had a great career at UNLV, including top 15 scoring average in school history … Scoring averaged of 70.6 as a sophomore in high school … Was an All-Section point guard in basketball in high school both his junior and senior year. Donnie Trosper (67) Age: 23 College: Michigan State University Turned pro: 2019 PGA TOUR starts: 0 PGA TOUR earnings: Twitter: @DonnieTrosper Notes: This will be his first start on any of the PGA TOUR-sanctioned tours … Won in a three-hole playoff for the final spot … Lost in a playoff for the last spot in the Puerto Rico Open Monday qualifier this year … Is a 2020 Korn Ferry Tour member … Made it from Pre-Qualifying all the way to final stage at Q school … Shot every single round under par in Q school … Transferred to Michigan State after three years at Central Florida … At Central Florida, he was named conference freshman of the year and made All-conference twice … In his one year at Michigan State he set the lowest scoring average in school history (71.37) … Ranked as high 241st in World Amateur Golf Rankings before turning pro … won four American Junior Golf Association events in 2014, tying for second all-time with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson TROSPER Q&A A quick chat with Donnie Trosper after Monday qualifying at the Rocket Mortgage Classic: PGATOUR.COM: What does it mean to Monday qualify for you to get your first PGA TOUR start in your home state? TROSPER: You know, this course really set up for well for my game, it sets up really well for a fade and that is what I hit, so I was confident coming in. It just means a lot. I really can’t believe it right now. It hasn’t sunk in, I’m sure that will take some time. You always think you are going to eventually get there, but this is a really great feeling, like I said before, I just can’t believe it. PGATOUR.COM: There haven’t been many playing opportunities because of quarantine. What did you do to keep your game in shape and what were your expectations coming in to today? TROSPER: I used Dustin Johnson as some motivation, he came off of vacation and won at the Travelers [Championship], so figured I could come out of quarantine and play well. Luckily, I grew up on a golf range, so I worked really hard on game during the break and felt really good coming in. A lot of the guys here are in the same situation, without good status we all haven’t played much, so that was pretty equal across the board. PGATOUR.COM: You lost in a playoff for Puerto Rico Open. Did you learn anything from that playoff, that you were able to apply to today? TROSPER: Yes, for sure, just to not to put so much pressure on myself. I put a ton of pressure on myself in that playoff and I am sure it hurt me. I also learned a little from Daniel Berger then other day in the Charles Schwab Challenge playoff. He was on the range ripping drivers while Colin Morikawa was hitting wedges. I used that warming up for playoff, ripping some drivers really helped me get some of the tension out and loosened me up. I tried my best to enjoy myself. PGATOUR.COM: On the first playoff hole, you made a long birdie putt, but Andres Echavarria made one right after that. Is it hard to reset mentally, thinking you might have won it, only to have him make one also? TROSPER: I was really proud of that putt; I mean you dream of putts like that. And to make it was really cool. You play your whole life for a putt like that, and to make it was just awesome. But yeah, it’s disappointing for sure to have him make it right on top of me. On the walk over to the next tee, I really had to refocus. Then he made that great up and down on the second playoff hole, you just have to keep focused. PGATOUR.COM: How many times have you played Detroit Golf Club? Will you have some home course advantage? TROSPER: I just played there last week with (former Detroit Red Wing) Darren McCarty and (former Detroit Lion) T.J. Lang. It really helped me, I think, with playing it under pressure, I was really nervous playing with those guys. I really hope that helps this week. It’s so rare in golf to be able to sleep in your own bed and play in an event, let alone a PGA TOUR event. I really just can’t wait for this week. NOTES NOTABLE MISSES: Andrea Pavan 67, Andres Echavarria 67, MJ Daffue 68 STRENGTH OF TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP MONDAY QUALIFIER: Combined number of PGA TOUR starts: 36 Number of players with at least 1 PGA TOUR wins: Zero Combined number of PGA TOUR wins: 0 Combined PGA TOUR earnings: Over $125K Combined Korn Ferry Tour wins: Zero Player with most PGA TOUR wins in the field: None COURSE INFO Name of course: Oakland University Katke course; 6,878 yards; rating 74.3, slope 140 2019-2020 SEASON MONDAY QUALIFIER STATS Average Medalist score: 65.2 Average last qualifying spot score: 66.8 Total number of cuts made: 10 of 48 (20.8%) Most recent results (Travelers Championship): David Pastore MC (Chase Koepka WD) Money earned: $325,518 Best Finish: Garrett Osborn, T18, Sanderson Farms NEXT MONDAY QUALIFIER July 6: Workday Open Monday Qualifier, Country Club of Muirfield Village NOTES FROM OTHER TOURS Monday Qualifier Hayden Buckley birdied his last four holes at the Utah Championship presented by Zion Bank and finished in the Top 25. Paul Peterson finished T16 at the Korn Ferry King and Bear Classic two weeks ago after Monday qualifying. That earned him a spot in the Utah Championship presented by Zion Bank. He then finished in top 25 again, earning a spot in this week’s event.
Kiawah Island is the longest course in major championship history so it should be no surprise that a new driver has been key to Phil Mickelson’s success halfway through the PGA Championship. Mickelson, 50, held the lead after Friday’s morning wave thanks to rounds of 70-69. He ranked first in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, in the top 10 of Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and averaged 298 yards off the tee. This is the first week that Mickelson is using a custom Epic Speed head that effectively has 5 degrees of loft. The shaft is 47.9 inches, pushing up against the USGA limit of 48 inches. “It’s like working with a long-drive competitor at that point,” said Gerritt Pon, Callaway’s senior club performance analyst. “He’s not using it for accuracy. He’s using it for distance. Interestingly enough, he’s the type of player who does not necessarily lose accuracy with the longer shaft. Some lose a tremendous amount, some actually gain a little bit, but he’s the type of player who doesn’t lose accuracy. But he gains speed. “To swing the longer shaft, he’s trying to hit up on the ball a little more than with a normal shaft. He’s creating a lot of loft at impact to launch it high, so the main things that had to be accomplished was making the driver low-spin and fast.” Mickelson’s new Epic Speed, which was built especially for him, features Callaway’s aerodynamic Cyclone head shape. A second screw was added to the front of the head to lower the center of gravity. “With faster swing speeds, you see more benefit from the aerodynamically-designed head,” Pon said. “He has a driver that is fast, easy for him to draw, mitigates the left miss (for a left-hander) more than some of our other models that are popular on TOUR, and is very low spin.” Mickelson tested an 8.5-degree model of the Epic Speed that was lofted down to 6.5 degrees but that head created too much spin. He wants his draws to spin under 2,000 rpms and his fades to spin under 2,400, Pon said. If Mickelson were right-handed, the increased number of offerings available may have made it easier to find a match for him. Making a head that fit Mickelson meant designing a new head in CAD and then working with the foundries to have it produced. That is typically an eight-week process, Pon said. “We started with a baseline of the Epic Speed, which was a long time in the making, and then modified it with Phil in mind,” Pon said. “This particular model of the Speed is pretty new. Even though it looks like the same Epic Speed, it’s a customized version for a left-hander who’s trying to swing a long shaft with low loft and low spin. “So basically Phil Mickelson.”
AKRON, Ohio — Justin Thomas took all the drama out of the final World Golf Championship at Firestone, never letting anyone closer than two shots and closing with a 1-under 69 to win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational for his third PGA TOUR title this season. Sweeter than capturing his first World Golf Championship was the sight behind the 18th green Sunday. His grandparents, Paul and Phyllis Thomas, watched him win for the first time on the PGA TOUR. Paul Thomas was a career club professional and played at Firestone in the 1960 PGA Championship, missing the 54-hole cut. His son, Mike Thomas, also is a career club pro in Kentucky and a former PGA of America board member. “I got a little choked up when I saw grandma and grandpa over there,” Thomas said. “It’s really cool. They don’t get to come out very often.” They saw a one-man show. Playing in the final group with Rory McIlroy, the 25-year-old Thomas made only two birdies. That was all he needed on a day when just about everyone within range was making all the mistakes. McIlroy finished the back nine with consecutive bogeys and never recovered. Ian Poulter shot 74. Jason Day tried to make a run by making three straight birdies, only to play the final six holes in 5 over to shoot 73. Tiger Woods, an eight-time winner at Firestone, started 11 shots behind and figured he would go out with a bang by playing aggressively. He turned in a dud, and a birdie on the 18th hole gave him another 73 to leave him 15 shots behind. “Things could have certainly gone better,” Woods said. “But it is what it is, and on to next week.” Thomas must feel the same way. He had gone five months since his last victory, a playoff win at the Honda Classic. While he didn’t feel as though he were playing poorly, he didn’t have the results to back it up. Now he does, and Thomas heads to St. Louis next week for the PGA Championship, where he will try to join Woods as the only players to win back-to-back in stroke play. Woods did it twice. Thomas had not had a score better than 67, and he had not finished higher than a tie for 28th in his two previous appearances at Firestone. “I’m glad I finally played well around here, just in time to leave,” he said. Firestone has held tour events since the Rubber City Open in 1954. The World Series of Golf began in 1962, and it became an official PGA TOUR event in 1976. In many respects, it was the precursor to the World Golf Championships by bringing in winners from around the world. Bridgestone shifted its title sponsorship to the PGA TOUR Champions, which will bring its SENIOR PLAYERS Championship to Firestone next year. The World Golf Championship instead will move to Memphis, Tennessee. Thomas finished at 15-under 265 for a four-shot victory over Kyle Stanley, who got within two shots of the lead until bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes. Stanley closed with a 68. Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player who was coming off a victory in the Canadian Open last week, started the final round 10 shots behind and shot 29 on the front nine. A birdie at No. 10 put him three shots behind, but that was all he had. Johnson bogeyed the last hole for a 64 and shared third with Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark, who also had a 64. U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka had a 67 to finish fifth. McIlroy won at Bay Hill in March and has three runner-up finishes, and he had said Saturday afternoon he was tired of finishing second. Not to worry. His 73 gave him a tie for sixth. Thomas becomes the 21st player to win a World Golf Championship and a major, and his three victories tie him with Johnson and Bubba Watson for most on the PGA TOUR this year. The ninth victory of his career moves him to No. 2 in the world, with a shot to regain the No. 1 ranking next week at the PGA Championship. He set the tone early by hooking a pitching wedge over a steep lip in a fairway bunker to just short of the green and saving par with a 6-foot putt, then holing a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 second. “It was big because I was really nervous today,” Thomas said. “It felt like it had been a while, but I guess it hadn’t really been that long. I don’t know. I was very nervous, very jittery. To make that putt on 1 and again on 2 just kind of calmed me and got me going for the day.”
