Niemann opens with 66 to lead at Kapalua

Luke Donald has been named Team Europe captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup, to be contested September 29 – October 1, 2023 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. Donald represented Europe in the Ryder Cup four times as a player, being part of a winning team on all four occasions and compiling a 10-4-1 overall record. He also has served as a vice captain in the last two editions of the biennial contest, under Thomas Bjørn in 2018 and Pádraig Harrington last year. The 44-year-old Englishman held the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Ranking for a total of 56 weeks, and in 2011 he became the first player in history to win both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR money lists in the same year. “I am incredibly proud to be named European Ryder Cup captain for 2023,” Donald said. “It is truly one of the greatest honors that can be bestowed upon a golfer, to lead a team of your peers and be an ambassador for an entire continent. “I feel extremely privileged to have been given that responsibility and it is a responsibility I do not take lightly. Some of my best experiences in golf have been in the Ryder Cup and I would not swap those for anything. It is an event like no other, and I cannot wait to create more special memories in Italy next year. “I love everything the Ryder Cup embodies, from the camaraderie and companionship of being part of a team, to the history of the contest, but most of all playing for something bigger than yourself. “Rome will be a fantastic host city, and I have always enjoyed spending time there. It is a city rich in history and hopefully we can create some of our own in 14 months’ time.” Donald has confirmed that both existing vice captains – Thomas Bjørn and Edoardo Molinari – will continue in their respective positions. “In my opinion, it was essential that Thomas and Edoardo remained part of the team,” Donald said. “They were the first two calls I made once I got the nod to be captain and I’m delighted that they are fully on-board. “Nobody needs any explanation of how important Thomas is to the Ryder Cup – one glance at the history books will show you that. He has lived and breathed European golf for the past 30 years and having his know-how behind me, not least as a winning captain, will be vital. “Furthermore, Edoardo has blazed an impressive trail for himself in the world of stats and his knowledge in this area with the players who will be on the team, in addition to extra-special Italian element he will bring to the entire occasion, is an extra bonus for Team Europe.”

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Jack Nicklaus was watching for something intently in Patrick Cantlay’s final round at the Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide. It wasn’t the crisp irons under pressure. It wasn’t hip turn, or club head speed, face angle, or anything else Trackman might measure. It was a smile. “He did it at 15!,â€� Nicklaus interjected in Cantlay’s winners conference when it was suggested Cantlay hadn’t smiled until he putted out on 18 to all but secure his second PGA TOUR victory. The reason Nicklaus was looking for it was some advice he had passed on to Cantlay on Friday at Muirfield Village. You see Cantlay has always had a special relationship with Mr. Nicklaus. From the time he was awarded the Jack Nicklaus Award as the best collegiate player in America in 2011 the two have had a kinship. Nicklaus goes as far to say Cantlay, and all of the other previous winners of the award, are “in many ways my children.â€� But on Friday, having seen Cantlay not turn his stellar talent into more wins since he won in November 2017 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, Nicklaus seized an opportunity. “I was in there having lunch after the early morning round on Friday, and he grabbed me aside and said, you need to go out there, have a good time. Look around when you’re out there. Look at all the people having a great time. And then you need to have a great time and realize that that’s why you’re there and relax and go have fun and go win the golf tournament,â€� Cantlay recounted of Nicklaus’ advice. Related: Cantlay’s comeback from tragedy | Tiger cards final-round 67 | FedExCup standings | Final leaderboard “And I definitely said that to myself down the stretch today on the back nine. It put me a little more at ease, and I hit a lot of really nice quality shots with the lead, coming down the stretch.â€� It wasn’t the first time the two had conversed on golfing matters. In fact a few years ago Cantlay went to Nicklaus’ house and the two spent 90 minutes going over strategy for Muirfield Village. Clearly that was time well spent. But this week the 18-time major winner had something he really wanted to get across. “He reminds me a lot of me,â€� Nicklaus said. “I get so wrapped up in what I’m doing I forget about everything else that’s going on around me. And I sit there and say, you know, if I can help them, pass that along, maybe it will help them. And if it did, that’s great. If it didn’t, it didn’t make any difference, he won a golf tournament, either way.â€� The thing with Cantlay is whether he is aware of it or not, he always looks serious. Like Batman serious. He’s locked in. He’s all business. You never see the Phil Mickleson thumbs up to the masses or a Rickie Fowler selfie session. It’s just not his style. “I understand that’s my look. I try and be natural. So I try and be how I am all the time. And that’s kind of how I am all the time,â€� Cantlay shrugs. “I was walking in this morning and somebody said, ‘it can’t be that bad, can it?’ And I don’t even realize that’s the look on my face. I was in a great mood this morning. “But I feel like if I tried to be any way else, it wouldn’t be me. I’d be trying to force it. So I just try and be me out there. I definitely am focused and intent on what I’m doing. And I think that’s part of me and I think that’s part of why I have success.â€� And he had plenty of success on Sunday. His 8-under 64 is the best ever final round by a winner at the Memorial. It pushed him to 19-under 269. Only Tom Lehman (268 in 1994) has been lower over four rounds. He joined Tiger Woods as the only former Nicklaus award winner to win Nicklaus’ tournament. Cantlay is not surprised though. Well he is surprised … but only that he hasn’t won more. This was a guy who spent eons as the world’s best amateur and was touted as better than Jordan Spieth in the junior years. The delay was heavily due to a serious back injury that killed almost three years for him. But once he came back healthy and won, he thought he’d keep winning. “I definitely feel like I’ve had a lot of close calls since my last win. I’m a little surprised it’s taken me this long,â€� Cantlay said. “I really did (think the first win would open the floodgates). I’ve played a lot of really good golf, a lot of really solid golf. And so I think I was closer than it seems. So maybe this one will do it.â€� Maybe it will indeed. And if it does both Patrick and Jack will be smiling.

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His career has been filled with oh-so-close finishes, but no major wins. That changed Sunday. Schauffele overcame a home-country favorite and won a gold medal for the United States.

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