Ian Poulter birded the 18th hole to tie Beau Hossler at 19-under and force a playoff, then won when Hossler butchered the first playoff hole.
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Sunday’sTaylorMade Driving Relief match at Seminole finally gave us live golf to watch and discuss. Here are five observations from five PGATOUR.COM writers. McIlroy is still golf’s alpha By Cameron Morfit I’ve been watching a lot of “Billionsâ€� during the pandemic, which is one of Rory McIlroy’s favorite shows. I know this because he’s been golf’s ne plus ultra tastemaker since long before the TaylorMade Driving Relief match at Seminole on Sunday, from reading (his fellow pros have started buying some of his recommendations) to exercise (he leads golf’s Peloton pack). He’s No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and in ways OWGR doesn’t even begin to measure. We found out Sunday, when McIlroy hit a 121-yard shot closest to the pin – securing his and Dustin Johnson’s 11-7 skins victory over Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff – that even after two months of no competitive golf, that hasn’t changed. The defending FedExCup champ remains the game’s alpha. RELATED: Final scores, pledges made | Team Rory/DJ win | More than $5 million raised so far | How to donate McIlroy made a kick-in birdie from the bunker at the par-4 16th, then a big par putt on 17 to keep the skins carrying over. His final blow in sudden death, the closest-to-the-hole effort from the front tees and with the wind gusting at the 17th hole, earned another $1.1 million (of $1.85 million) for the American Nurses Foundation, his and Johnson’s beneficiary. With that, McIlroy delivered the day’s last fist pump. Fowler-Wolff won $1.15 million for the CDC Foundation. “It’s a huge effort from everyone involved,â€� McIlroy told Steve Sands on NBC. They were talking about how the event, which, with donations from viewers, generated $5.5 million for front-line health workers, came together. Not surprisingly, McIlroy was in the middle of it. UnitedHealth Group, which donated the $3 million for the skins contest, is one of McIlroy’s corporate partners. Gerry McIlroy, his dad, is a member at Seminole. And John Pinkham, McIlroy’s partner in their pro-member victory there, was the one who first hatched the idea for a charity match in the first place, according to NBC’s on-air interview with club president Jimmy Dunne. What’s more, McIlroy had the best one-liners, explaining that he’d won two FedExCups (for a cool $25 million) and wasn’t going to be unnerved by a short par putt at the first hole. After Wolff blew his tee shot into the dunes at the second, McIlroy casually thanked him for social distancing. And while Fowler also has won the Seminole pro-member, it was McIlroy who utilized his course knowledge to intentionally hit his drive at the sixth hole onto the fourth tee on the way to making his first birdie. True, Fowler had more birdies, 7-5. True, Wolff had cooler (rainbow) shoes and a righteous ’stache. But no one came up bigger in the biggest moment than McIlroy, which was just one more reason among many that for an afternoon, at least, all seemed normal and right with professional golf. Golf in the age of social distancing By Ben Everill Admit it. When Rory McIlroy touched his face a few times, you noticed it. This once innocuous move that previously lived outside your field of consciousness is now part of the everyday norm for most of us. And so with the PGA TOUR due back inside a month, the social distancing and health measures on display were one of my main curiosities when tuning in to the TaylorMade Driving Relief match. Just how might the new normal for golf play out? While this was a special event with some special exceptions — like having a personal flag remover in Mark Russell, the PGA TOUR Vice President of Rules and Competitions — for the most part this star-studded quartet played under conditions the rest of us mere mortals must adhere to as golf courses across the world adjust to life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeing them carrying their own bags was cool ,and it was fitting to see Johnson throw his over one shoulder and saunter around like he was Robin Hood slinging arrows. From the first tee, the combatants stood nicely spread out, doing their best to implement the minimum 6 feet of social distancing recommended by the CDC. With each aerial shot, we could see how the players, and those essential to the broadcast, continued to do so throughout. Matthew Wolff and Rickie Fowler gave us an insight into celebration changes on the 11th hole. As Fowler dropped in a long birdie, the silence was deafening. Usually it would bring huge roars but without fans, clearly the dynamic changes. So Wolff produced a celebration dance thrust for his friend. Fowler still waved to an imaginary crowd. “You hear all those cheers,â€� Fowler smiled at Wolff. “Yeah, I still hear them, they’re going crazy!â€� his partner answered before Fowler joked about going to press play on his speaker for a crowd sound effect (a call-out to his new Travelers ad). With limited production staff, we were treated to players with microphones. The insight was incredible and if that one day becomes a new normal on TOUR, we’d all be cheering. When McIlroy won $1.1 million for charity on the 19th hole closest-to-the-pin tiebreaker, he gave out a cheer, a fist pump and turned to celebrate with Johnson … only to realize a simulated air high five was his best option. “Would have loved to give my partner a real high five, it was a team effort,â€� McIlroy admitted. “It would have been nice to give him one or a little hug or something, but obviously we can’t in these times.â€� Still, it was clearly a fun day and with over $5 million raised for COVID-19 relief, the new normal was something Johnson can get on board with. “It was fun and all for a good cause, so I really enjoyed being out here today,â€� he said. “This is how it is going to be for the most part when we come back. It was nice to get out here and kind of see what it will be like.â€� Golf does its part to inspire By Sean Martin No offense to Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and the other legends of the game, but my 3-year-old son knew something was up. And I’m not sure he liked it. The grainy footage was the first giveaway. As were the smaller clubs they used from the tee. “Is he hitting 3-wood?â€� my son asked as Jack Nicklaus teed off in a Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf match against Sam Snead. I’m only 37, but that number felt like it grew exponentially when I had to explain to him that no, son, there used to be a day when the drivers were made out of wood. How would he know? His clubs already have graphite shafts. So, whenever he’s seen golf on the television in a recent weeks, he’s always asked if I’m watching “old golf tournaments.â€� On Sunday, the answer was finally no. TaylorMade Driving Relief started during nap time, but when he awoke, he quickly spotted his favorite player, Rory McIlroy. “Is that Rory?!?!â€� he said excitedly. My wife once heard him announce himself as McIlroy while hitting shots in our backyard. “Now on the tee, Rory McIlroy,â€� she heard him say before he took a swing with his 7-iron. He’s a Matthew Wolff fan, as well. When he first saw Wolff, back in the 2018 NCAA Championship, he howled. This was back when he associated animals with their noises. Maybe one day he’ll think it’s cool that dad grew up at the same course as Wolff. He loves the game. It’s one of the few things he watches on TV. But I was a bit surprised when he only watched one hole before heading outdoors to hit balls of his own. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he opted for the outdoors. But I thought he’d take more interest in the first live golf in months. But then he reminded me that the real purpose of golf isn’t to get us to sit on our couch. It’s to inspire us. And golf did that today. Seminole makes a splashy debut By Jim McCabe Much of what has been said in defense of allowing and encouraging golf in this pandemic was on display Sunday in the TaylorMade Driving Relief charity event. Four of the world’s best players demonstrated the game is conducive to social distancing, no one needed to hand off rake bunkers or flagsticks, and while the lack of crowd emotion made for a different feel, it didn’t dull the competition whatsoever. Did watching Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson compete against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in a team skins game quench our thirst for live golf? Not totally. Our tanks were that dry. But we were thrilled to have it back. There were scores and numbers to report, of course – an improvised 120-yard shootout allowed McIlroy and Johnson to win the skins game, 11 to 7, and money count, $1.85 million to $1.15 million, and more than $5.5 million was raised for COVID-19 causes overall – and that lent an air of competition to the 18-hole match. But in all due respect to the powerful drives and the snippets of elite athleticism shown by McIlroy, Johnson, Fowler and Wolff, the star of the show was the stage, Seminole Golf Club. Prominently positioned in any mention of America’s great golf courses, Seminole is in many ways a mystery to those who aren’t members or those who’ve had the great privilege of an invitation. While it has hosted an annual pro-am for years that is jam-packed with PGA TOUR stars and is famously connected to the iconic Ben Hogan, Seminole is otherwise a blank canvas to many golf fans. That’s because, before Sunday’s competition, the golf course had never been on television. That, of course, cannot be said of Pebble Beach or Augusta National, of Shinnecock and Oakmont, of Riviera and Muirfield Village . . . iconic courses, yes, but all of them have had their share of TV time through the years. Cypress Point and Pine Valley are vaunted courses less known than the above, but even they have had more TV exposure than Seminole. Among the many appeals that sets golf apart from other sports is that the stage needs to be mentioned prominently. For the same reason famed violinist Isaac Stern pointed out a standard in his world: “Everywhere in the world music enhances a hall with one exception: Carnegie Hall enhances the music.â€� This isn’t to suggest that Seminole is to golf what Carnegie Hall is to musicians. But it is to suggest that if you didn’t come away enamored with, or intrigued by, Seminole, then we’ll have to agree to disagree. With a brilliant blue sky, pulsating sunshine, marvelous palm trees (planted with social distancing in mind), breathtaking vistas, and a set of greens that demand everything of your iron play, it was Seminole in all its glory. A little bit rusty, a lot of fun By Mike McAllister I don’t care if they were rusty. Don’t care if all four players failed to make a birdie on the first two holes despite eight approach shots with wedges (those dang Donald Ross domed greens!). Don’t care if Matthew Wolff and Dustin Johnson seemed to take turns off the tee finding the sandy waste areas or the water. As Rory chided Wolff after an early errant drive, “Thanks for doing your part for social distancing.â€� The only thing that mattered was that live golf was back, the first time in 66 days when THE PLAYERS Championship was shut down after the first round. Instead of having to cancel or postpone another tournament, this time the news was good, even if the golf wasn’t exactly crisp at historic Seminole for the TaylorMade Driving Relief match. Really, what did we expect? Johnson said he put the clubs away for nearly two months. No wonder he uttered the phrases “bad swingâ€� and “that’s badâ€� during the telecast. Still, there were enough highlights. • Wolff ripping drives of 356 and 368 yards to win $450,000 for charity on the two longest-drive holes; remember, his competition included two guys who basically cornered the market in Strokes Gained: Off-the-tee the last 10 years. • Fowler heating up with birdies to win skins on three of four holes in the middle of the round. Certainly he’s very familiar with Seminole, having won the Pro-Member three consecutive times. • And McIlroy with the clutch shot of the day to win $1.1 million and the final six skins on a closest-to-the-pin contest from 120 yards on the extra hole, the par-3 17th. It came after Wolff teed off first, challenged by his partner Fowler. “Gotta hit a shot,â€� Fowler told him. “Just being honest. Rise to the occasion. Show me something.â€� Wolff did show something by finding the green; Fowler, alas, followed by missing it. Johnson also missed the green, setting up McIlroy — described earlier in the telecast by Bill Murray as “The Irish Fellowâ€� — with one swing for $1.1 million. He made it count. It was the world’s best golfer coming through in the clutch. After the past 66 days, that’s exactly what we needed to see. We needed to see live golf played by the world’s best players, a small indication of hope that things will get better. “It has been awesome,â€� McIlroy said. “Nice to get back on the golf course and to get back to some normalcy.â€�
Emiliano Grillo made birdie on half of the holes Friday on his way to an 8-under 63 that gave him a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. No one was close enough to catch Grillo, who was at 12-under 130. It will be only the fifth time in 136 starts on the PGA Tour that he has a share of the lead after any round.
The adjectives used to describe 2020 are cliché. The word unprecedented speaks to our collective human experience. Lives and careers were uncertain. We suffered painful losses. But as we navigated the new reality golf was well-positioned to lead. The socially distant nature of the sport, spread across acres outdoors, gave the PGA TOUR a chance to safely resume play faster than other sports. Golf thrived in the crisis. The TOUR's robust schedule included the TOUR Championship, a World Golf Championship and trio of majors. With a makeshift easel of tournaments, the world's best players painted impressively. These are the best PGA TOUR statistics of 2020. Hovland, Im set early mark Viktor Hovland and Sungjae Im won in consecutive weeks at the Puerto Rico Open and The Honda Classic, marking the first time in eight years that players age 22 or younger won in back-to-back weeks on TOUR. At the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, England's Tyrrell Hatton survived brutally tough conditions at Bay Hill: The field hit the green in regulation just 50.5% of the time that week, the lowest rate for any non-major TOUR event since the 2005 Canadian Open. Hatton hung in there for his first TOUR win. As players headed north for THE PLAYERS Championship, defending champion Rory McIlroy entered the week on a streak of seven straight top-five finishes. He had been in the top-ten after 14 consecutive rounds on TOUR and looked poised to make a run at becoming the first player ever to win in back-to-back years at TPC Sawgrass. Then, after just one round, on the evening of Thursday, March 12, the TOUR cancelled the tournament and paused the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Play would not officially resume for nearly three months. Return to Golf featured precious little rust Before 2020, the Charles Schwab Challenge had never featured the top two players in the Official World Golf Ranking. This year each of the top five were there, the result of players' pent-up desire to play. Daniel Berger beat Collin Morikawa in a playoff to end the week in dramatic fashion. Berger was in the midst of a remarkable scoring streak - it was his 28th consecutive TOUR round of par or better. His run would end at 32 in a row, which was impressive but well behind Tiger Woods' record of 52 straight from 2000-2001. Berger wasn't the only player who showed no hiatus-induced rust; in fact, the quality of play was unusually high. At the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the next week, a record six players finished 19-under or better. For context, just two players from 1969 through 2019 finished 72 holes that many strokes under par at Harbour Town. Morikawa bounced back at the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village, hitting eight approach shots inside 10 feet in a dramatic final-round duel with Justin Thomas. Later it was Thomas' turn as he won the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational to become the third-youngest player since 1960 to reach 13 TOUR wins, behind only Woods and Jack Nicklaus. Post-hiatus statistical leaders included Johnson, Thomas Of the 177 players with 20 or more ShotLink-measured rounds since the restart, only Dustin Johnson has averaged 2 or more Strokes Gained: Total per round (+2.02). Xander Schauffele (+1.86) is second, Bryson DeChambeau (+1.74) third. Justin Thomas leads in Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green at 1.67 per round. He's second in Strokes Gained: Approach (+0.94) among players to play 30 or more measured rounds in that stretch, trailing only Russell Henley (+1.12). Strokes Gained ‘long game' combines a player's numbers off the tee and on approach shots. Unsurprisingly, Johnson leads in that statistic (+1.50), with Henley (+1.32) and Bubba Watson (+1.29) ranking second and third. Mackenzie Hughes leads all players in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining more than a full stroke (+1.03) per round. Morikawa surprised in San Francisco Over the closing 36 holes at the PGA Championship, Collin Morikawa needed just 129 strokes - the fewest by any player over the last two rounds of any major championship in history. His eagle at the 16th hole was unforgettable, and Morikawa won his first major in just the 27th start of his professional career. Since 1970, only two players have won majors with fewer pro starts under their belts: Tiger Woods (17th start) and Jerry Pate (18th). Maybe even more impressive was Morikawa's statistical triple-play: He led in driving accuracy, approach-shot proximity and Strokes Gained: Putting. There have been 737 TOUR events held since 2003 where those statistics were all tracked, and Morikawa is the only player to win while leading in all three of those statistics. Johnson kicked his season into overdrive At the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs, THE NORTHERN TRUST, Johnson became just the third player in TOUR history to finish a tournament 30-under or better. He was the first to do it outside of the Hawaiian islands. His 11-stroke margin of victory was the largest on TOUR since Phil Mickelson won by 13 in Atlanta in 2006. And his ridiculous total score over the final three rounds - 187 - was the lowest across three rounds in TOUR history. The drama hit a fever pitch as world No. 1 Johnson faced No. 2 Jon Rahm in a playoff at the BMW Championship the next week, the first time Nos. 1 and 2 had clashed in extra holes since the 1995 World Series of Golf, when Greg Norman beat Nick Price. Rahm won with a 66-foot birdie putt - his longest make of the season - marking the first time a sitting world No. 1 had lost a TOUR playoff since Billy Mayfair beat Tiger Woods at the 1998 Nissan Open. Bryson impressed with his bombs He grabbed more headlines than anyone in 2020, and justifiably so: Bryson DeChambeau radically altered his physique, generated unprecedented power with his golf swing, and vaulted into the world top five. DeChambeau finished the 2019-20 TOUR season averaging a TOUR record 322.1 yards off the tee. At the Rocket Mortgage Classic, he averaged 350.6 yards on his eight official measured drives - a TOUR record for a tournament winner. But he was hardly one-dimensional. In winning the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, DeChambeau led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green, was third in scrambling, and ranked sixth in average distance of putts made per round. Meanwhile, six players averaged longer off the tee for the week. When the FedExCup race resumes in January, DeChambeau will sit in second place, trailing only Johnson. Records tumbled at Augusta National Johnson re-arranged the Masters record books in November, recording the lowest 72-hole total in tournament history (268, 20-under-par). His 60 greens hit in regulation for the week were the most by any player since Tiger Woods in 2001, and his four bogeys were the fewest ever by a Masters champion. Johnson gained 13.82 strokes on the field on his tee shots and approach shots combined, a staggering five full strokes more than any other player. And his five-stroke margin of victory was the largest at The Masters Tournament since Woods' historic 12-shot win in 1997. For the second straight year, Augusta National yielded the lowest scoring average (71.75) in Masters history. Cameron Smith became the first to shoot in the 60s for all four rounds. Sungjae Im posted the lowest score in tournament history by a player making his debut (15 under). Both set the mark for lowest score by a non-winner at Augusta. Johnson's five-shot win and DeChambeau's six-shot win marked the first time there were multiple majors won by five strokes or more since 2000, when Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open by 15 and The Open Championship by eight. Wild rounds and record-breakers Xinjun Zhang took just 18 putts in the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, tying a TOUR record. The downside? He hit only two greens in regulation and shot 75. Zhang holed out four times from off the green, the most by any player in a single round in 2020. Scottie Scheffler carded the 12th sub-60 round in TOUR history in the second round of THE NORTHERN TRUST. His 10.6 Strokes Gained: Total was the most by any player in a single round in 2020. Later that day, eventual winner Johnson carded a 27 on the front nine at TPC Boston, one stroke off the lowest nine-hole total in TOUR history. Jim Herman shot 61-63 over the final two rounds to win the Wyndham Championship. His closing 36-hole total of 124 tied the lowest by a winner. Stuart Appleby also carded 124 (65-59) at the 2010 Greenbrier Classic. Matthew Wolff finished in the top four in his first two majors, the PGA Championship and U.S. Open - the first to finish fourth or better in each of his first two major starts since Ned Cosgrove at the 1880 and 1881 Open Championships.
