Reliving some of 2021’s high-profile rulings

BLAINE, Minn. – The fist pump said it all. Minutes earlier, Michael Thompson had deposited the 101st golf ball of the afternoon into the pond that hugs the right side of the fairway and guards the green on the 18th hole at TPC Twin Cities. His lead at the 3M Open was down to a stroke after a careless tee shot led to a bogey on the previous hole, and Thompson knew he needed to step up on the par 5. So, he took his drop in the intermediate rough some 267 yards from the green. While his third shot didn’t hold the short grass and bounded into a bunker, Thompson came up with a great save, blasting out to 7 feet and draining the putt for par. After he picked the ball out of the cup and walked to the side of the green, the understated Alabama grad clinched his fist in modest celebration. RELATED: Full leaderboard | After long layoff, Van Pelt finally likes where his game is going “To finish with that par on 18 is huge,” Thompson said later as the raindrops started to fall. “I really wanted that par. I didn’t want to compound the mistake I made on 17. I think that’s going to bode well for me tomorrow.” Thompson will start the final round of the 3M Open tied with Richy Werenski, who made an 8-footer for birdie, his third in the last four holes, just before that par save. With his win at the 2013 Honda Classic well back in his rear-view mirror, it’s hard to imagine a bigger momentum boost for Thompson. “To be able to do that, hit a good, quality golf shot that almost held the green and then to get that up and down with that bunker shot, I mean, I’m honestly just proud of myself for stepping up,” said Thompson, who shot 68 on Saturday to finish at 15 under. Despite the fact that the 28-year-old Werenski said he just “plugged along” on Saturday, he has momentum, too, after that torrid finish. The Georgia Tech product has held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds and is primed for his first win in his 99th PGA TOUR start. Werenski, who will be playing with Thompson again on Sunday, has four top-three finishes during his career, including a playoff loss at the 2017 Barracuda Championship. He thinks the strong finish to the third round will give him a boost, too. “I think it’s an advantage,” Werenski said. “I feel really good this week, everything feels solid. There’s still a lot of golf left. I just kind of want to keep hanging around and hopefully something happens.” Behind Thompson and Werenski, though, is an interesting mix of players who also have something to prove. Two strokes in arrears is one the game’s hottest players in Tony Finau, who has had more top-eight finishes in the last four years without a win – 24 — than any other player on TOUR. But the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup veteran can’t quite seem to get over the hump and win for the second time. Last week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide was another example when Finau held a share of the 54-hole lead but ended up finishing eighth. On Saturday, he felt he didn’t have his best stuff, hitting just seven fairways, but he still ranked first in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and Approach The Green. “I’m definitely proud of myself on just being mentally strong and emotionally strong,” Finau said. “It was a tough finish last week, but every week is a new week. Every week you have an opportunity to prove yourself. That’s what I love about the game. “Doesn’t matter how well you played the last week or how terrible you played, you have a new week to prove yourself and I’ve gotten another opportunity to try to prove myself tomorrow.” Finau says getting off to a quick start will be key on Sunday. “I think I’ve been a little slow out of the box in some of my round fours,” he said. “I think if I get off to a good start, get some momentum, I’ve got the ability to put the gas on the pedal and make some birdies. “As long as I don’t shoot myself in the foot early, I think we’re going to have a shot tomorrow. “I’m excited to put myself in those positions. Disappointing at times when you can’t get the job done, but for me, I have to welcome it at this point and just keep fighting and hopefully the door comes down eventually.” Charl Schwartzel, the South African with an immaculate resume that includes the 2011 Masters, is tied with Finau at 13 under after shooting 66 on Saturday. The wrist injury that prematurely ended his 2018-19 season is a non-issue but he’s just now starting to score. “I don’t know if I’m hitting it on all cylinders, but I’m managing to put a score on all cylinders,” said Schwartzel, who came to Minnesota on the heels of four missed cuts. “There’s a lot more to this game than just hitting it well. I feel like I’m managing my way around the course pretty good.” Schwartzel has really prospered on the par 5s this week. He’s the only player in the field to make birdie or better every time he’s played one in the first three rounds – playing them in 11 under – a first for his career. He likes the course, shooting 63 in a practice round, and is primed for a strong finish. “I think I’m definitely going to rely on my past wins and the experience I’ve got,” he said. “You don’t win it on the first hole, you’re going to have to hang in there for 18 more holes and keep with the process, and if I’m doing what I’m doing now, there’s no reason why I can’t post a good score.”

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The youngest competitor in the PNC Championship's history also may be its most anticipated. Eleven-year-old Charlie Woods will make his debut in the annual exhibition alongside his father, who just happens to own 82 PGA TOUR victories. Snippets of Charlie's swing, shot by clandestine cameramen, have been shared on social media but the PNC will be the public's first opportunity to see his game on display. The PNC will allow fans to see another side of Woods, as well. He has largely shielded his children from the cameras, but all 36 holes of this week's event will be televised, allowing us to watch Tiger mentor his son the way Tiger's dad, Earl, did for him. Earl used to jangle change in his pocket and slam on cart brakes to develop his son's focus while standing over the ball. Now the son has become the father, deploying some of Earl's old tricks and some of his own, too. Woods has been teaching Charlie in South Florida, and at the Masters gushed about how much fun he's having. Jack Nicklaus, who knows a thing or two about being a golf dad, said Woods told him at the Champions' Dinner how he'd put Charlie in a set of blade irons because they are harder to hit and improve hand-eye coordination. "He says, ‘I’m having more fun out with Charlie and Sam, and watching them do different things and be vulnerable,'" Nicklaus said. Charlie has already shot under par for nine holes in competition and shares his father's love of the needle. His competitive side has generated bemused chatter. "For some reason, Charlie just always wants to beat me, it doesn’t matter what it is," Justin Thomas, a friend of the Woods family, said at the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN last week. "Although he’s never beaten me in golf or a putting contest, he still talks trash just like his dad. "It will be fun," added Thomas, who also will make his PNC debut with dad Mike, a PGA professional. "We’ll have that like inner tournament within a tournament, trying to shut his little mouth up, but it will be fun." In an interview with GolfTV and Golf Digest, Woods confirmed Charlie's love of the needle, calling his son "a little on the chirpy side, just like I am." With the press, Woods has talked about wanting his kids to see him at his competitive best. He ticked that box when he won the 2019 Masters and embraced Charlie on the 18th green the way he and his father Earl had embraced in 1997. "To come full circle," he said, "from me being with my dad and seeing my son there and the same embrace, 22 years apart, pretty good bookends." Now, though, with Charlie taking on more competition, the focus is shifting. "Yeah, Tiger and I talked about it a bunch," Thomas said. "He brought it up a while ago that Charlie wanted to play, and Charlie really wanted to play with us. I’ve obviously gotten to know him well, and he knows my dad a little bit as well." Thomas admitted he'll probably be more nervous for his dad than for himself. The same will most likely be true for 82-time PGA TOUR winner Woods, who said that like many golfers, Charlie got more into the game during the pandemic. "Because everything was shut down, the only thing that was available to us was golf," Woods said. "He started to pick up golf, but this pandemic allowed us to play more golf and be with one another. And we just started playing a lot, and he started getting the bug for it, and so did I. It kept me competitive, kept me in it when we didn't have any tournaments. "But I had a tournament every day with him, and that was the fun part," he added. "Was just like me growing up with my dad." The PNC, which will use a scramble format for all 36 holes, starts Saturday and will air on NBC, Golf Channel and Peacock.

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ORLANDO, Fla. - By now, you know the name, if not the golfer. Christiaan Bezuidenhout. It's a whopper. Twenty-two letters, with an extra ‘a’ thrown into the first name for good measure. As names go, not only is Bezuidenhout cumbersome to stitch onto a golf bag, but it is not very autograph-friendly. Like, say, a Ben An. How unfortunate. If Bezuidenhout maintains the trajectory he has shown the past 22 months, tasting success around the globe, there should be many youngsters chasing after it. Bezuidenhout, from South Africa, is only 26 years old, and already has ascended to 35th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Scaling that highly comes with nice perks. In addition to playing six major championships in 11 months, Bezuidenhout - C-Bez, as his manager calls him - will tee it up this week in the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin. He is in Group 7 along with former Masters champions Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson, as well as talented Chilean Joaquin Niemann, against whom he will play his first match Wednesday at Austin Country Club. Bezuidenhout has won on South Africa's Sunshine Tour, on the European Challenge Tour, and on the European Tour, winning back-to-back on the latter in December. When he captured the Alfred Dunhill Championship (by four) and South African Open (by five), he became the first European Tour player to win back-to-back since Justin Rose in 2017. Bezuidenhout owns three European Tour victories, defeating Spaniard Jon Rahm on Rahm's home soil at the 2019 Andalucia Masters for his first victory in Europe. His next conquest: the United States. Bezuidenhout has set up camp in a condo within a few hundred yards of the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Arnie's Place, and is hoping to play good enough in 12 allotted PGA TOUR starts to pile up enough FedExCup points to earn temporary membership for 2020-21. Helped by a T7 at Bay Hill a few weeks ago, he finds himself with 160 points, more than halfway to the 288.035 points that he needs. "The goal is to get myself based over here and and play full-time," he said. "I want to compete against the best players in the world, and the PGA TOUR is the ultimate place to play golf." He has a game that isn't all that flashy, but rounded, solid, and unfailingly rock-steady. Bezuidenhout is not overly long off the tee, but can move it out there 300-310 yards when he is striking it well, which is long enough. His strength is in his short game. He's a quality chipper and a very good putter. He loves to work on the putting, typically spending two-and-a half hours a day on the practice green performing drills, honing his touch. Through 16 PGA TOUR rounds this season, he ranks first in Strokes Gained: Around-The-Green and is 25th in Strokes Gained: Putting. On the European Tour in 2020, he ranked third in average putts per round (27.98), nearly a stroke and a half ahead of the European Tour average. "He putts it really good," said South African Branden Grace, who, like Bezuidenhout, rose through the junior ranks as part of the Ernie Els Foundation. (Bezuidenhout enjoys a terrific relationship with Els, who has has provided him valuable advice. He often visits with him, or exchanges texts with him.) "Christiaan played really well at the end of the year, winning those last two events in South Africa. It really pushed him up in the World Ranking. He's a great player. Keep an eye on him." Bezuidenhout's story is one of early adversity, plenty of personal pain, and ultimately, of significant triumph. At the age of 2, Bezuidenhout was with his parents in a supermarket in South Africa when he reached for a random two-liter Coca Cola bottle and drank from it. When his parents turned around to check on their son, he was on the ground, unconscious, foaming at his mouth. The bottle from which he drank had rat poison in it. Young Christiaan was rushed to the hospital and spent a couple of weeks in Intensive Care. The poison impacted his nervous system, and would affect his speech. Since his youngest days, Bezuidenhout has spoken with a stutter. He was diagnosed at 4 with severe anxiety. He had a difficult time speaking publicly, and dealt with challenging days when he was in primary school. Sometimes the words in his head didn't come out at all. He often was bullied when trying to speak, or read, in class. "I never showed that it hurt me," he said. "When somebody laughs, I'd just laugh with them. I never wanted them to see that it affected me. I'd let it go. And then when I got home from school, I'd just do my own thing, you know?" Christiaan's "thing" became golf. The game soothed him. He came from a golf family, and was hitting balls by the time he was 4. Self-admittedly a loner, and having no interest to compete in team sports, Christiaan found golf to be the perfect escape. He didn't need anyone else to hit balls, or play, and didn't need to talk to anyone. On the grounds of his humble golf club in Delmas, a small farming town outside of Johannesburg, Bezuidenhout would venture to the third fairway of the town's little nine-hole course, empty his shag bag of balls, and hit 7-irons and 9-irons at a tall tree in the middle of the fairway. When he needed to hit longer clubs, he'd gather up his golf balls and head to a lengthier par-5 hole, smashing them for hours. For him, every golf ball struck was therapeutic. When he started to win junior tournaments, officials knew his situation, so he'd be allowed to gather his trophy and go, not making the traditional winner's speech. When Bezuidenhout wasn't playing junior events, it was back to Delmas, hitting balls until his hands gave out, or the sun dropped from the sky. "We had about 60 members at the club, very small," he said. "Not a great golf course. Nine holes. So I'd play nine holes, 18 holes, 27 holes, hit balls. chip and putt. Play some more holes. That's what I did, every day, after school. I never wanted to be anything else but a professional golfer." He was on medications for years, and at 14, as his golf was beginning to blossom, drew a two-year suspension from competition for taking beta blockers. (The suspension later was reduced to nine months.) It kept him from competing at the World Amateur, and crushed his spirit for a time. For Bezuidenhout, it was one more setback to fight through. Three years ago, Bezuidenhout was bumping along as a young professional, sitting outside the top 500 in the World Ranking, when he met up with fellow South African Grant Veenstra, a former professional who had turned to coaching after a 12-year career on the Sunshine Tour. Veenstra is short and stocky and in-your-face direct, and will openly tell you his style isn't for everyone. He has had some nice success as a coach, mentoring pros such as Richard Sterne, Dean Burmester, Haydn Porteous and promising up-and-comer Jayden Schaper, who finished second to Bezuidenhout at the Dunhill. Bezuidenhout showed up as anyone might with a potential new instructor. He brought his clubs and figured he'd hit some balls. Veenstra had other thoughts. "Pack your clubs away," he told him. "We're going to the pub." There, over a handful of brandy and Cokes, Veenstra wanted to explore Bezuidenhout's story. What were his fears? Did he ever back off down the stretch of a tournament to avoid the champion's duties of speaking at a trophy ceremony? And just how good did he want to be? "I wanted to hear it from him, and we cleared up all of that," Veenstra said. "We had a great talk. It broke the ice. The next morning at 8 a.m., we started hitting golf balls." The two keep a regimented program of maintenance for Bezuidenhout's game (four hours of golf, then physio and strength work), and have worked recently to push Bezuidenhout into becoming a more consistent ballstriker. His solid hits, especially with the driver, are fine; one of Bezuidenhout's biggest strenths is how straight he hits the ball. His mis-hits, however, often come up woefully short, which in turn leaves him long irons in, which makes it difficult to hit greens, and consequently, to score. Surprisingly, even when he has won, Bezuidenhout said he only had one, sometimes two good ballstriking rounds in those weeks, relying mostly on his razor-sharp short game to pull him through. "I tend to change my clubface angle at the top (of the swing), and it falls open. It doesn't start online," he said. "That's why I'm working a lot on getting my clubface squarer, stronger, so that I can hold that position in my swing. As soon as I master that, I think I'm going to be a different player, more consistent in my game. That's what's been lacking the last couple of years - putting four solid ballstriking rounds together. If I'm a more consistent ballstriker, and iron player, then those top 30s can become top 10s." Even with a costly bogey/double bogey finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Bezuidenhout tied for seventh, his best finish on the PGA TOUR. He will play this week's WGC-Dell Match Play, the Masters and the RBC Heritage, hoping to wrap up his FedExCup points quest, and then re-assess his schedule going forward. Veenstra marvels at Bezuidenhout's consistency, his mental toughness, and his ability to adjust to what he has in his game on a given day. He said Bezuidenhout does not get down on himself. Case in point was the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Bezuidenhout had a grand opportunity on Sunday, playing in the second-to-last group alongside Rory McIlroy. But he struggled mightily in very tough conditions, shooting 79 and plummeting to T18. Four days later in the first round at THE PLAYERS, Bezuidenhout bounced back by shooting 65. That next morning, Commissioner Jay Monahan announced the PGA TOUR season was on hold because of COVID-19. Bezuidenhout returned home to South Africa for three months. "The ability to bounce back, that's the sign of a great player," Veenstra said. "Christiaan's 15th club is his mind. He has a very strong mind on how to turn it around, and he rarely lets a round get away from him. "He is a man who is all about structure. To see him climb, and to see his game improve, it's been amazing. We still have goals to achieve going forward. We want to be top 20 in the world for 20 years - that's where we are going with it." Just as he has grown as a player, Bezuidenhout has grown to be very comfortable with who he is, and how he speaks. His thoughts and words have eloquence, and just take a little more time to be delivered. Told that his story of perseverance could serve to inspire young children who are dealing with situations similar to his, he nods modestly in affirmation. "Hopefully, I do," says the man who has as much depth to him as his 22-letter name might suggest. "Golf has helped me a lot. It helped me to deal with it. ... It's not a secret. I don't have to hide it, or be ashamed of it, or who I am. I'm fine with it. I'm happy with who I am."

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