Quick look at the U.S. Open

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico - Adam Long's wife Emily gave birth to the couple's first child, son Trevor, in late April. The PGA TOUR was in the midst of a three-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The golf world was on hold. Players, caddies and industry professionals waited in anticipation of not only when the TOUR would return, but how things would look upon its return. RELATED: JT goes low, moves into contention in Mexico All the while, Long was adapting to life as a new dad, learning how to balance his practice schedule with fatherhood. At age 33, Long has a long list of life experiences in his memory bank. After turning pro in 2010, he navigated various mini-tours and the Korn Ferry Tour before earning his first TOUR card for the 2018-19 season. The first time he contended on TOUR, The American Express in 2019, he made birdie on the 72nd hole to defeat Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin by a stroke. Fatherhood presented an opportunity for more new experiences, amidst the backdrop of COVID-19. "A lot of selflessness," reflected Long after a third-round 63 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN, playing his way into contention for his second TOUR title. "A lot of time management, organization. At home, I need to practice, but I also really want to spend time with Trevor and Emily. "Being able to prioritize some things ... it's taught me, more than anything, what matters. It makes this feel more like a game and a hobby, whatever you want to call it, but less of work. It's less stressful, because we have a newborn at home. Nothing else matters. Whatever happens in golf, it's great, but we have way more priorities now." The Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN marks the final FedExCup event of the 2020 calendar year, putting a bow on the TOUR's comeback that has seen 26 events contested since the Return to Golf in June, beginning at the Charles Schwab Challenge and spanning through this week at El Camaleon GC. The 2019-20 FedExCup winner (Dustin Johnson) was crowned. Three major championships were contested, with champions Collin Morikawa (PGA Championship), Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. Open) and Johnson (Masters Tournament). After the Mayakoba Golf Classic winner is crowned on Sunday, the FedExCup schedule will be put on hold until the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. As players moved into contention on a gentle Saturday amidst the Mayakoba mangroves, they expressed an appreciation for the opportunity to play this game for a living - reflecting back on the uncertainty prevalent during the pandemic hiatus. "We spent a good amount of time wondering what it would be like if we didn't come back to play golf," reflected Emiliano Grillo, who carded a third-round, 3-under 68 at El Camaleon to assume a one-stroke lead (16-under) into Sunday. "As golfers, we needed to start thinking about what we were going to do if it wasn't for golf. I think everybody was happy that we saw that we were going to come back, and how things are evolving and going the right direction right now." "I would say more than anything, just grateful for the opportunities we have," added Tom Hoge, who made five birdies in his final six holes Saturday to card 6-under 65 and move within one stroke of Grillo (15-under) into Championship Sunday. "I'm not very good at going at home and sitting on the couch for a few months. That was a long time for us to be off, not knowing when we were playing again next." For Viktor Hovland, the hiatus represented a chance to fine-tune his approach to practice on non-tournament weeks. The 23-year-old Norwegian admitted that full commitment on a practice day could be hit-or-miss in his early days as a pro. The pandemic hiatus provided time to think critically about his strategies and make necessary adjustments. "My personality trait is not great with moderation," said Hovland after a third-round 63 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, moving into solo third place at 14-under. "I looked at that period to try to get better and try to get my life straight ... I've become a little bit more disciplined and gotten some better routines in. "Making sure that if I'm going to go practice, it's not just, ‘OK, I'll hit balls for 30 minutes and play nine holes and call it a day.' It's more aim toward improving. You show up to the golf course with a purpose." An ethos of prioritization shared by Long, who began the third round in Mexico in a tie for 20th, but moved into solo fourth place with an 8-under 63. Long stands three back of Grillo, well positioned to take aim at his second TOUR title. As the contenders prepare for the final FedExCup round of an unprecedented year, they maintain a consistent appreciation for the opportunity to chase TOUR titles. "There's nothing like it," said Long of TOUR contention. "It's so fun to play out here, let alone have some chances on the weekends and some Sundays where if the right things go your way, you can win a golf tournament. "I'm definitely living out a dream, there's no doubt. It's been a heck of a ride."

Click here to read the full article…

As PGA TOUR members, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel have maintained bases in the United States for years now, residing and playing golf in Palm Beach, Florida, but they haven’t surrendered everything from their South African roots. In quality team golf, when a team mixes and matches effectively to keep momentum churning at opportune times, Americans might claim to have “ham ‘n egged it” very effectively. Oosthuizen and Schwartzel use a different term, gleaned from their early days across the globe: To mix well as a team is to dovetail. The two were asked if they had “dovetailed” to their satisfaction after their Saturday 9-under 63 at TPC Louisiana not only tied the day’s low four-ball score at the Zurich Classic, but propelled them atop the leaderboard at 19-under 197. “We dovetailed well, yeah,” Schwartzel said. To which Oosthuizen, with a smile, immediately retorted to the reporter who’d asked, “It sounds weird when you say it.” The pair’s comfort level is obvious, as they go back to playing golf with and against one another as pre-teens. That could prove to be a significant key as Oosthuizen and Schwartzel head into the tougher foursomes format on Sunday, trying to land victory in the PGA TOUR’s lone official two-man team event. Believe it or not, Oosthuizen, 38, owns 13 victories around the world (including the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews), but never has won a tournament on U.S. soil. How cool would it be if were able to do it with his good pal Charl, 36, the 2011 Masters champion, there by his side? “I think Louis obviously played really well in a lot of majors, and we’ve both won a lot of tournaments, and I feel like the more difficult it is, the better we both play,” Schwartzel said. “So the format for tomorrow in a way suits us, and if we execute the shots the way we see it, we’ll have a good chance.” The South African pair finished third in this event in 2018. They’ll face a tough combination on Sunday: A difficult format, a toughening golf course that is growing firmer each day and some talented tandems close behind that are very capable of catching them if they play well. Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith – the latter won this event with Jonas Blixt in 2017 to earn his PGA TOUR card – will join Oosthuizen-Schwartzel in the final pairing, just one shot back at 18 under after their own 63. (It was a popular number; six teams shot 63 Saturday.) Also one shot back will be Tony Finau and Cameron Champ, the long bombers who had played great for two-and-a-half days but hit a wall and stopped making birdies on the back nine Saturday. They shot 67 in best-ball one day after shooting 68 in alternate-shot, and look forward to getting back on track on Sunday. “Neither one of us had our best stuff,” said Finau, who made a good run at eagle on the par-5 18th to try to get into Sunday’s final group. He settled for birdie. “I made some birdies but made some bogeys. He (Champ) picked me up when I needed him to. We just kind of hung on today. I think it definitely gives us some confidence and some momentum going into tomorrow.” Bubba Watson-Scottie Scheffler (66) and the all-Norway team of Kris Ventura-Viktor Hovland (68) will start Sunday just two shots off the pace. Three teams are three back at 16 under: Thomas Pieters-Tom Lewis (63), Tyler Duncan-Adam Schenk (63) and Keegan Bradley-Brendan Steele (64). Schwartzel did most of the heavy lifting for the leaders through 10 holes, and then Oosthuizen, known for having one of the sweetest swings in golf, started to heat up, which finally would allow the team to take flight. Oosthuizen made birdie from 19 feet at the par-5 11th, Schwartzel birdied the next two holes, and Oosthuizen would add birdies at the last three, the highlight being a 34-footer he rolled in for an unexpected 2 at the difficult par-3 17th. “Now and then you get a putt like that where you feel like you’re actually going to make it,” Oosthuizen said, “you stand over it and just need to hit a good stroke. It was one of those.” After Schwartzel rinsed his approach at the par-5 18th, Oosthuizen would step up big again, reaching the green from 226 yards and two-putting for the team’s ninth birdie of the round. They fired 6-under 30 on the back nine. Leishman and Smith seemed to have a pretty stress-free day themselves. Leishman had some fun at the first tee when he emerged with a long, black mullet wig in a salute to his mullet-wearing partner, Smith. (“I committed to it, and it went all right,” Leishman said after the round.) Smith has told his wife that if he and Leishman, former World Cup partners, were to win on Sunday, the mullet would go, so there’s a lot more at stake on Sunday than two guys chasing silver championship belts and walking off with more than $1 million apiece. What will it take for the Aussies to prevail? “More of the same stuff,” Smith said after both players’ games had appeared very sharp on Saturday, Leishman bouncing back from a below-average performance on Friday. “More of the solid ballstriking we had today, and not a lot of stress.” Ah, but the stress is an inherent piece in foursomes, a seldomly played format that simply takes players out of their normal comfort zones. Two players, one golf ball to share, and so much can happen. The leaderboard is stacked tight, and it portends to be a thrilling Sunday finish on deck at TPC Louisiana. And that sits just fine with the low-key Oosthuizen. “I think anyone within four shots of the lead has got a chance with the format that it is tomorrow,” Oosthuizen said. “It’s going to be tough.” Which would make a first victory on U.S. soil taste that much sweeter.

Click here to read the full article…

NORTON, Mass. - When you claim you "hit the ball better … putted better … (and that) everything was just cleaner and better," and you're still sitting 16 strokes out of the lead, well, it sort of magnifies how poorly the previous rounds had gone. No argument there from Tiger Woods, whose closing 5-under 66 in Sunday's final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST made his exit from TPC Boston a little merrier and provided a little more enthusiasm for next week's FedExCup Playoff, the BMW Championship. RELATED: Full leaderboard | FedExCup standings "Today," said Woods, "was good all the way around." Indeed, the numbers support that, as he hit 10 of 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens, and while he would have preferred to have taken fewer than 31 putts, he did make 100 feet of them. That was a vast improvement from Friday (68 feet) and Saturday (45 feet) when he scored poorly, rounds of 71 and 73 digging a massive hole that left him a whopping 21 strokes behind Dustin Johnson through three rounds. Not that a round of 66 was going to be called an instant classic, because in this week of deep red numbers, a 5 under effort was ordinary. Indeed, three pairings later, Kevin Na matched the 66, then came a 65 by Troy Merritt and 63 by Robby Shelton. In other words, the 66 wasn't going to open much room for Woods, who started the day 67th and was still tied for 55th after signing for 6-under 278. More to his concern, he knew he was going to lose ground in the FedExCup standings. Having come into the week 49th, Wood was projected to be 55th at the close of his round and while his definitive place will be determined after all the scores are in, he took ownership of his dilemma. "I wish I would have played a little bit better this week to make it a little bit easier on me next week to try and get into East Lake," said Woods, who qualifies for the BMW Championship for being Top 70 and would need to be Top 30 to make it into the TOUR Championship. But, regardless of how he performed here these last four days, Woods knows if he plays well at the BMW Championship and gets into the TOUR Championship, "it's going to be a busy stretch, either way." Of course, he is factoring in the U.S. Open, scheduled for September 17-20 at Winged Foot, though it was another U.S. Open he was asked about. Namely, the 2003 edition, because it was at Olympia Fields some 30 miles south of Chicago and it hardly rates as a memorable experience. "I haven't been there since the (U.S.) Open, so I need to get back there and take a look at the golf course and see the changes they have made." It was his seventh U.S. Open as a professional, and he had already won the major twice. But at Olympia Fields he labored to a share of 20th place - at the time his worst finish as a pro in the national championship. He required 147 strokes on the weekend (75-72) and only three times in the 16 U.S. Open where he's made the cut as a pro has Woods shot higher in Rounds 3 and 4. "I didn't like the rough," said Woods. "It was one of the weeks I kept laying the club down (translation: he just wedged out of rough all week). Hopefully, it will be a little bit better this week."

Click here to read the full article…