One & Done: Houston Open

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — As it turned out, Sergio Garcia could’ve made bogey, but he didn’t know that at the time. After a wild 18th hole that saw him twice take free drops, Garcia salvaged a hard-working par for a final-round 69 that left him tied for 12th place at the BMW Championship. More importantly, he moved from 34th to 25th in the FedExCup standings and qualified for the TOUR Championship and a chance at the FedExCup. “I thought I needed to make five,â€� Garcia said of the last hole, where he hit his second shot into the lateral hazard that runs in front of the green, a rocky creek bed with a thin trickle of water. What ensued was a bizarre ruling — Garcia was ruled to be interfered with by the grandstand, and got a free drop within the hazard — that took so long it recalled Jordan Spieth’s misadventures on the driving range at the Open Championship earlier this summer. After twice dropping his ball and watching it carom toward the green, Garcia placed it in the hazard so that he could get a club on it. From there, he was able to stab at his third shot, which hit the grandstand behind the green. He got another drop, and scrambled to salvage a par on the 585-yard hole. “It was one of the goals for the year to get to Atlanta,â€� said Garcia, who at 37 enjoyed a life-changing season that saw him win the Masters in April. His prospects dimmed, though, as he finished well back at The Open and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational; missed the cut at the PGA Championship; and skipped the FedExCup Playoffs opener, THE NORTHERN TRUST. Garcia tied for 35th at the Dell Technologies Championship two weeks ago and started the week ranked 34th in the FedExCup standings. He was one of four players outside the top-30 bubble who advanced to East Lake; Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay were the others. Garcia’s playing partner Phil Mickelson was also hoping to advance, but his eagle try clanked off the flagstick on 18. He made birdie to finish tied for 20th and 34th in the FedExCup standings. “I was feeling bad for the people behind me and for Phil because they were waiting,â€� Garcia said. “But it was an important moment, and I wanted to make sure to … do what was best for me at that time, and obviously within the rules, and that’s what we did.â€� Asked what he was thinking during the lengthy wait on 18, Mickelson said, “I was thinking this is what my playing partners go through most of the time.â€� TOP FIVE WATCH Here are the top five players in the FedExCup standings who will control their own fate at the TOUR Championship, with BMW Championship winner Marc Leishman moving inside the top five, and Hideki Matsuyama moving out. Should any of these five players win at East Lake, he will claim the FedExCup. In addition, there are certain scenario advantages for each player that could lead to a FedExCup title without winning the TOUR Championship. 1. JORDAN SPIETH … Shot a 6-under 65 – his second 65 of the week – to finish tied for seventh at 13 under. Becomes first top seed headed to East Lake without a win in the Playoffs. 2. JORDAN THOMAS … Shot an even-par 71 to finish tied for 47th at 5 under. 3. DUSTIN JOHNSON … Shot a 7-under 64 – his best round of the week – to move into a tie for 33rd at 8 under. 4. MARC LEISHMAN … Completed wire-to-wire with a 4-under 67 to finish at 23 under and win by five strokes. Advancing to East Lake for just the second time in his career; his first time was in 2009. 5. JON RAHM … Shot a 4-under 67 to finish tied for fifth at 15 under. It’s his third consecutive top-5 finish in these FedExCup Playoffs. NOTE: Hideki Matsuyama began the week as No. 4 in the standings but tied for 47th and dropped to seventh. FEDEXCUP TALK Obviously that was kind of my goal today, to maintain the No. 1 position. We’ll go into East Lake really trying to win the golf tournament and trying not to focus on anything else. BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players who moved inside and outside the top 30 that advance to next week’s FedExCup Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship. ELIMINATED PLAYERS Forty players were officially eliminated from the FedExCup Playoffs following the BMW Championship. Included among those 40 were four past FedExCup champions – defending champ Rory McIlroy, 2014 champ Billy Horschel, 2013 champ Henrik Stenson and 2011 champ Bill Haas. That leaves Jordan Spieth as the only past FedExCup champ in the field at East Lake. Louis Oosthuizen Henrik Stenson Brendan Steele Phil Mickelson Bill Haas Mackenzie Hughes Hudson Swafford Francesco Molinari Charles Howell III Wesley Bryan Billy Horschel Chez Reavie Scott Brown Charl Schwartzel Lucas Glover Kevin Na Cameron Smith Keegan Bradley Bryson DeChambeau Zach Johnson Luke List Ian Poulter Anirban Lahiri Stewart Cink Si Woo Kim Martin Laird Jamie Lovemark Ryan Moore Rory McIlroy Sung Kang Ollie Schniederjans Rafa Cabrera Bello Sean O’Hair Robert Streb Bud Cauley Grayson Murray Emiliano Grillo James Hahn Kevin Tway Danny Lee FEDEXCUP NOTES • Dustin Johnson has qualified for the top 30 in each of the last nine seasons – he’s the only player to have achieved that feat. Phil Mickelson was attempting to match him but shot a 1-under 70 to finish tied for 20th. That left him 34th in the standings after he started the week in 36th. “It’s disappointing, but I like the fact that I’m starting to play well,â€� Mickelson said. … • Justin Rose has top-10 finishes in each of the first three Playoffs events – T-10s at THE NORTHERN TRUST and Dell Technologies Championship, and a tie for fifth at the BMW Championship. That last result moved him from No. 17 to No. 8 in the standings heading to East Lake. “I think it’s been a nice Playoff run,â€� Rose said. “If I can keep trending the way I have, I have a chance.â€� • Tony Finau figured 13 under would be good enough to advance, and he teed off on the par-5 closing hole at 12 under. “Obviously I was nervous out there,â€� Finau said. “I think the tee shot on 18 showed that.â€� Indeed, Finau’s tee shot sailed to the right, but he received a free drop from a temporary immovable object, and he took advantage of the good fortune. He eventually chipped in from just off the green for birdie to get to 13 under and finish tied for seventh. “It’s such a gratifying feeling right now,â€� Finau said … • Patrick Cantlay made the TOUR Championship in just 12 starts this season. It helps that he never missed a cut. He sealed the deal with a tie for ninth at Conway Farms, his fourth top 10 of the season. “I feel like I’m just getting started, just starting to get rolling and getting comfortable playing,â€� Cantlay said. “My game is in good shape and looking forward to Atlanta.â€� … • Things weren’t looking good early for Xander Schauffele, who was 2 over on his round through the first 12 holes. But he fought back to shoot 67 and seal his spot at the TOUR Championship. “I didn’t have to look at a leaderboard,â€� he said. “I knew what I had to do. To be able to pull it off is pretty special.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

The unknown teenager from the Continent impressed with a game that was equal parts erratic and electric. The American, known for unmatched iron play that allowed him to rival the great man named Nicklaus, was seeking a second major title to complement a historic victory. These storylines intersected more than four decades ago at Royal Birkdale. It was a year before the famed “Duel in the Sun,” but the 1976 Open Championship also saw two future World Golf Hall of Famers go head-to-head over 36 holes on a links course baked out by an unseasonably warm summer. Johnny Miller and Seve Ballesteros were the two who took center stage in ’76. But unlike Watson vs. Nicklaus, this wasn’t a showdown between longtime rivals that went down to the final hole. The 19-year-old Ballesteros was a new face on the major stage, playing in just his second Open Championship. Miller, on the other hand, was arguably the greatest player on the globe, having won 19 PGA TOUR titles since his win in the 1973 U.S. Open, where he shot the round that would define his career. Not one of those post-Oakmont wins had come in a major, though. Ballesteros was two shots ahead of Miller after two rounds, and maintained that advantage into the final day. The Spaniard’s lead quickly disappeared because of his wayward tee shots and another one of Miller’s stellar final rounds in a major. It wasn’t quite the 63 he produced three years earlier, but Miller’s 66 at Royal Birkdale was the low round of the week. Ballesteros’ final-round 74 dropped him into a tie for second with Jack Nicklaus. They finished six shots behind Miller, who celebrated the United States’ bicentennial by taking the Claret Jug across the Atlantic to the New World. Miller was just 29 years old when he won at Birkdale, but he called the victory the “capper” of his career. The 1976 Open was his final victory in a major, and his last PGA TOUR win for nearly four years. A growing family, and his well-documented putting struggles, kept him out of the winner’s circle until March 1980.    While Miller’s time as one of the game’s elite was coming to an end, Ballesteros’ career was just beginning. He’d win his first Open Championship three years later, eventually claiming the Claret Jug three times and winning the Masters twice. Miller will be back at Birkdale this week to call this year’s Open Championship for NBC/Golf Channel. At 9 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Golf Channel will air an hour-long film, entitled “Summer of ‘76â€�, recounting Miller and Ballesteros’ memorable week. He recently spoke to PGATOUR.COM about his victory and the venue for the 2017 Open Championship. (Note: Interview shortened for brevity.) PGATOUR.COM: What should we expect from Royal Birkdale? MILLER: It’s a great piece of property. For years, it didn’t get as much glamour as the Scottish (courses), but actually it’s pretty darned tough. When (Padraig) Harrington won there in 2008, there were only 21 rounds in the 60s all week. You have to play from the fairway, and the fairways are not that wide. If you hit it wild there, it’s pretty tough. That’s what happened to Seve that last round when I beat him. The first hole is one of the hardest opening holes in championship golf. PGATOUR.COM: What stands out when you reflect on your win there? MILLER: My caddie really won it for me. I can’t say that too often. I usually go with my decision. My caddie was a furniture mover from right there in Southport, Ted Halsall. He was a good player, about a 4 handicap, and he was good at reading the greens. He knew all the nuances of the golf course. He played it all the time. They’d been having a drought, and it was running super fast and firm. In fact, it was probably the firmest major championship in modern history. He just said, ‘You’re not going to hit your driver.’ He saw how well I was hitting that Slazenger 1-iron that I had. I can’t remember ever missing a fairway with that 1-iron. It won me the championship because it let my irons finish it off, and my mid- to short-irons were maybe the best in golf at that time.  PGATOUR.COM: Were there any similarities between your 66 at Birkdale and the 63 at Oakmont? MILLER: It was a pretty flawless tee-to-green round. I’ll bet you 90 percent of the tournaments I won I was No. 1 in greens hit that week. That’s just the way I won golf tournaments, by hitting it close enough that a few putts were going to go in. I didn’t do it with great putting. The only really good putting I had was in 1973, ’74 and ’75. Before that it wasn’t too good, and after that it was really not good. By ’76, I was getting yippy enough that I took my wife’s red fingernail polish and put a dot right on the bottom of the grip below my right thumb. When I putted, I would just watch the little red dot go one-two, one-two. PGATOUR.COM: That was your last major, and your last win for four years. What caused you to fall into a slump after winning at Birkdale? MILLER: We had babies in 1970, ’72, ’74 and ’76, so by 1976 — my son, Scott, was born May 12 — I put a really high priority on being home a lot for my young family. And then we had two more kids in ’78 and ’80. If I would have had any brains after that Open, I would have taken at least six months off of the game. I wouldn’t have played the first half of ’77. I had done pretty much all that I wanted, and I wasn’t practicing. I just wanted to be home. It was a great run, but it was a lot of years of hard golf. That one (the 1976 Open Championship) was sort of the capper. I gained 20 pounds of muscle in the fall of 1976, working on that first ranch that I bought. I couldn’t even feel the club. It felt like a pretzel in my hands. I had never had a slump in my life until ’77. I played terribly. I didn’t practice, I didn’t play very many tournaments. I wanted to play a little bit, but I should have taken some time off. That would have quieted my nerves probably a lot. 1976 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD 1. Johnny Miller, 72-68-73-66 (-9) T2. Seve Ballesteros, 69-69-73-74 (-3) T2. Jack Nicklaus, 74-70-72-69 (-3) 4. Raymond Floyd, 76-67-73-70 (-2) PGATOUR.COM: What shot stands out for the week? MILLER: The chip-in for eagle on 15, the par-5, in the final round. That gave me a five-shot lead, and then Seve remembers that I got real friendly after that. He said, ‘He didn’t talk to me for two days and now all of a sudden he’s talking Spanish to me.’ He exaggerated a little, but I knew just a little bit of Spanish from school. Yeah, I can get friendly when I have a five-shot lead with three holes to go. PGATOUR.COM: How familiar were you with Seve before the week? MILLER: I didn’t know who Seve Ballesteros was. Neither did hardly anybody else. He was just a 19-year-old, good-looking guy with a big swing who played super aggressively. You could feel his confidence and feel his determination and his drive and his passion. I know he had a really good hand action down at the bottom of the swing, but he was slightly over the plane when he came down. If he released it, it would go left. And then he would undercut it to the right sometimes. I knew he was a little bit askew with the driver. He didn’t hit them exactly where he was aiming too often. But he was very confident, very proud, and he had a calmness. He was a great putter. He had a big backswing on his putter, and sort of a gliding follow-through, a lot like Ben Crenshaw. Just a real long, smooth, gorgeous putting stroke. You could definitely see he was going to be a super, super player. PGATOUR.COM: Your housemate that week was Sam Snead, who was 64 years old at the time. The Sports Illustrated story from your victory says that he lectured you after the third round, when you slammed your visor to the ground and kicked it in disgust. He told you, ‘You don’t throw your cap to the ground, son. That’s not you. Hit golf shots is what you do best.’ How did you guys end up rooming together? MILLER: That was totally cool. Ed Barner of Uni Managers International had a bunch of players like Grier Jones, Jerry Heard, Jim Simons, Ed Sneed, J.C. Snead, Billy Casper and myself. He was good friends with Sam, being his manager, and so — I can’t believe Sam was even playing in that British Open — it was a hoot staying with him all week.  That was one of the greatest memories of that win, just watching him kick the top of the doorjamb at his age. (Note: Snead was competing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his win in the 1946 Open Championship. He shot 79-75 and missed the cut in 1976.) PGATOUR.COM: You’ll be at Birkdale this year to commentate on The Open Championship. What do you miss about calling the U.S. Open, and what do you enjoy about your new role? MILLER: As a young boy, my dad just instilled that (the U.S. Open) was going to be the one he was going to work with me towards winning. Everything was groomed towards winning the U.S. Open. There’s a time and a season for everything, and I miss it, but I’m proud that I was given the opportunity to cover our national championship. It’s changed a lot. I grew up with narrow fairways at the U.S. Open and long rough, and honestly it’s been really tough for me to see the changes in the U.S. Open for the last several years. It’s just a more gentle championship off the tee than it used to be. I miss the long rough and I miss the rough around the greens where you had to chop it out. It’s hard for me to see the direction the U.S. Open is going. I guess I’ve just got to get with it and accept it. But I’d like to see it go back to where really accuracy is rewarded, not scrambling. Last year’s Open was probably one of the greatest majors in the history of golf, with Phil shooting 65 and Stenson shooting 63. It was just a great, great day of golf. The history of The Open is one thing, and it really is the world’s championship.

Click here to read the full article…

Playing on the course her grew up on, Rory McIlroy got off to a bad start at The Open, scoring a quadruple bogey on No. 1.

Click here to read the full article…