PGA TOUR players set goals for 2020

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas came to the defense Wednesday of his friend and fellow Kentuckian J.B. Holmes. Thomas, off the past two weeks since his last start in Hawaii, was watching on TV as Holmes deliberated over his second shot at the par-5 18th hole in Sunday’s final round at the Farmers Insurance Open. The wind was gusting at Torrey Pines, and Holmes strategized for four minutes and 10 seconds before deciding to lay up. The lengthy wait agitated fans around the 18th green and set off slow-play debates. But Thomas was having none of it. Both Thomas and Holmes are in the field at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. “I have J.B.’s back all day on that situation,â€� said Thomas, who shares a coach with Holmes in Matt Killen. “It bothered me, and I hate it [bothering] him. I went up to him yesterday and told him it was a great week, first off. It was a great tournament for him. “But I have a hard time saying I wouldn’t do anything differently than he did. If you put me in 18 fairway and I need an eagle to win the golf tournament, or to have a chance to win the golf tournament, I mean, I knew the exact position he was in, and I would do the same thing.â€� Two shots behind playing partners Alex Noren and Ryan Palmer – with eventual champion Jason Day already in the clubhouse after finishing up his round — Holmes had 235 yards to carry the water. The wind had been tricky all day, and he found himself between a 5-wood and a 3-wood. He also lost track of time during the deliberations with his caddie, he told Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte. “If I messed him up, I apologize,â€� Holmes said of Noren, who needed a birdie at 18 to win the tournament but hit his second shot through a tunnel behind the green and could not get up and down. He settled for par before eventually losing a six-hole playoff to Day that extended to Monday. “He still made a good swing,â€� Holmes told Rosaforte about Noren’s second shot. “He smacked it.â€� “I don’t understand what all the big hoopla is about,â€� Holmes added. “I was just trying to give myself the best chance to win the tournament. I didn’t want to mess anybody up.â€� Asked afterwards if the wait affected his shot, Noren replied: “Not necessarily. … Just probably made me switch clubs.â€� Noren opted for 3-wood after contemplating a hybrid, but in retrospect said he probably should have laid up. The Holmes situation was the most visible slow-down of a slow day. At the par-3 third hole, C.T. Pan fell victim to the stiff breeze and twice hit his tee shot over the cliff behind the green, leading to a back-up in the field. Thomas said he would support efforts to speed up play, even to the point of players being dealt penalty strokes. “I think we should do it,â€� he said. “We’ve got to do something about the pace of play.â€� As for the specific situation with Holmes, though, he sees extenuating circumstances. He says he and Holmes have similar trajectories, and so he could imagine himself in the same situation. “I get it,â€� Thomas said. “Four minutes and 10 seconds is a long time, but nobody behind him, last hole, you need a three to win the golf tournament, you need to take as long as you can. “I mean obviously, there’s a point, you’re not going to sit there 10 minutes,â€� he added. “But it’s like, look: If I’m going to wait for the right wind, I’m going to wait for the right wind. I need to make a 3 here. And then people saying, ‘I can’t believe he wanted that long and laid it up into the rough.’ It’s like, do you think he was trying to lay it up into the rough? I mean, I think the bigger deal—and J.B., he’s gotten a lot better, and he’s trying to get a lot better with his pace of play — but it’s just the fact of the previous 17 holes.â€� Holmes told Rosaforte that while he was once too slow, he has improved. “I don’t get timed more than anybody else,â€� Holmes pointed out. Holmes eventually finished solo fourth at Torrey Pines, his best result since a solo third at the 2016 Open Championship. He comes to TPC Scottsdale as a two-time champion (2006, ’08). Said Thomas: “I hate it for him, how much he’s getting bashed and ridiculed.â€� 

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CROMWELL, Conn. – When he crossed paths with Roberto Diaz in the locker room at TPC River Highlands Tuesday, Chip McDaniel got a greeting that made him smile. “He called me ‘Mr. Monday,’ so I’ve already got a nickname out here, which is really cool,� said the 23-year-old McDaniel. “Here� being the PGA TOUR, where McDaniel longs to be full-time, “whether that’s next year or five years from now or 10.� That’s he’s “temporarily� on the PGA TOUR might not sound like much, but given the way McDaniel earned his spot into this week’s Travelers Championship, and for what he is playing for, there’s good reason why the former University of Kentucky golfer is gaining recognition. When he finished his fourth round at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Sunday (at 77 – 297 he was 78th), then flew the red-eye to Boston and drove 90 miles south to Monday qualify for the Travelers by shooting 67 and surviving a nine-for-three playoff, McDaniel’s story trended on social media. “It’s been a really cool experience,� said the young man whose real name is Tyler, though he’s been Chip ever since he was a kid and his mother’s favorite baseball player was Chipper Jones. Sort of fits “because I just so happen to be a golfer.� It’s the third time McDaniel has qualified for a PGA TOUR tournament this year (he was joint fifth at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in March and missed the cut in May at the Wells Fargo Championship) and what factors into the equation right now are non-member FedExCup points. If he accumulates a total equal to, or greater than what No. 200 is on the FedExCup points list at the end of the season, McDaniel would be eligible for the Korn Ferry Tour Final Events, a series of four tournaments that will reward 25 PGA TOUR cards for 2019-20. Presently, with 67.693 non-member points, McDaniel would rank 198th, and No. 200 a year ago was 74 FedExCup points, so clearly, that scenario is very much in play for the unheralded kid from Lexington, Kentucky. That’s why the coast-to-coast rush to get into the Travelers was made. It’s also why McDaniel is signed on for Monday qualifiers for the next three tournaments – the Rocket Mortgage Classic, 3M Open, and John Deere Classic. (Four weeks from now, McDaniel will be playing on a sponsor’s exemption in the Barbasol Championship in his native Kentucky.) Having failed to make it beyond second stage in the Korn Ferry Qualifying Tournament last fall, McDaniel has plenty of incentive to succeed in these rare PGA TOUR opportunities. He saw TPC River Highlands for the first time Tuesday, when he played in the rain, and felt like “all my lines were good,� so he is undaunted by the long odds. Why should he be? After all, McDaniel said, “I didn’t have too many expectations,� at Ellington Ridge Country Club Monday and that worked out nicely, so why change?

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NAPLES, Fla. – Kevin Na and Sean O’Hair teamed to shoot a 16-under 56 in the scramble format Friday to take the first-round lead in the QBE Shootout. Na and O’Hair had two eagles and 12 birdies on the Tiburon Golf Club’s Gold Course. O’Hair won the unofficial PGA TOUR event in 2012 with Kenny Perry and 2017 with Steve Stricker. "It felt pretty easy today just watching him putt and make everything he looked at," O'Hair said. "Just kind of kept the momentum going. There was a couple putts that were crucial I think to do that." RELATED: Leaderboard They eagled the par-5 sixth and 17th. "My job was to just put it in play, and Sean hit a lot of bombs out there, was 30, 40 yards ahead of me," Na said. "It was nice to hit a lot less club than I normally do. And he hit some great shots. His ball-striking was great. He made a good amount of putts. He was the one that always went first and I was able to see the line and I felt pretty good with the putter today." Ryan Palmer and Harold Varner III were second. They birdied 13 of the first 14 holes — only missing on the par-3 fifth — and added birdies on the final two holes. "It's a fun, good time out there," Palmer said. "We both putt the ball well and we were able to shoot a low one." The all-rookie team of Lanto Griffin and Mackenzie Hughes matched Harris English and Matt Kuchar at 58. Defending champions Rory Sabbatini and Kevin Tway were at 59 with Cameron Champ and Tony Finau. Ryder Cup captain Stricker and Daniel Berger were tied for seventh at 60. The 12 teams will play modified alternate shot in the second round and better ball Sunday. "Tomorrow's a tough format, the toughest format, but I think as long as we just keep it in play and make a few putts, we'll be right there come Sunday," O’Hair said.

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