Rose wins Fort Worth Invitational in Hogan-esque fashion

First Tee – Greater Trenton participant Raymond Jin is not the first person who has been impacted by the organization’s programming. He’s one of many. In 2019, Jin participated in the Wells Fargo Succeeding Together contest, in which he submitted an essay with hopes of winning the grand prize – a spot in the Wells Fargo Championship pro-am with any TOUR player of his choosing. “As I progressed through the program, First Tee completely changed me as a person,” wrote Jin. “Because of First Tee, I am able to make a difference in the lives of young people and those in my community. I am passionate about working with people and mentoring.” What was once a dream then became reality. Jin received a video recording from TOUR player Max Homa, sharing the news that he, out of all of the submissions, had been selected as the first-place winner. Two years later, with many top players in the field, Jin chose to be paired with Rory McIlroy in the pro-am. McIlroy, a supporter of First Tee, was able to mentor Jin and share some life advice. “You don’t have to try to make friends; rather, you naturally resonate with certain people and communities; find your people, and you’ll feel right at home no matter where you go,” said McIlroy. Just months later, through the RSM Birdies Fore Love Program, McIlroy earned $50,000 to donate to the charity of his choice for recording the most birdies at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. Already a supporter of First Tee and seeing how their programming impacts those like Jin, McIlroy decided to donate his charitable dollars to the youth development organization. The donation has helped to further the mission of growing the game of golf and preparing young adults for their future careers. Like McIlroy, fellow TOUR player Hideki Matsuyama also chose to support First Tee with the $50,000 he earned through the RSM Birdies Fore Love program at the 2020 Houston Open. Matsuyama kept the funds local, donating to the Greater Houston chapter. Although the First Tee – Greater Houston chapter is a newer program, Matsuyama’s donation has helped to ensure it doesn’t miss a beat in recruiting students in the local community. Classes began this year in March with full participation across all levels of programming. With Matsuyama’s donation, more coaches are being trained to expand upon the programming, helping to take more students off the waitlist and into the classrooms. In just seven months, First Tee – Greater Houston now has over 350 students in programs each week, developing their skills in golf and leadership in the community. A year from now, one could imagine how many more Raymond Jins will come through First Tee, all with the support of those with passions for junior golf such as McIlroy and Matsuyama and the RSM Birdies Fore Love program. More about RSM Birdies Fore Love In collaboration with the PGA TOUR, RSM Birdies Fore Love will again donate $1 Million to charitable organizations through an on-course competition over the first ten events of the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Season. In addition to weekly winners, the top three players who accumulate the most birdies (or better) throughout those events will earn $300,000, $150,000 and $50,000, respectively, for children- or family-focused charitable organizations of each player’s choice. Last year, Corey Conners (147 birdies or better) won the overall program, followed by Sepp Straka (141) and Sungjae Im (139). Conners chose to spread the love and donate $240,000 to the Corey & Mallory Conners Family Fund, $50,000 to the Ben Curtis Family Foundation, and $10,000 to Mia’s Miracles.

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We thought we knew how it would go. We had no idea. If there was a theme to the 2021-22 season, it was surprise. Scottie Scheffler hadn’t won, but then he captured the WM Phoenix Open in a playoff, opening the floodgates. Scheffler was the first player to win twice on the season, the first to win three times, and the first (and only) to win four. It all happened in a torrid six-week stretch in the spring. Will Zalatoris also got in the win column, capturing the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He was suddenly FedExCup No. 1 and the favorite to win it all when the dust settled at the TOUR Championship, but he hurt his back and didn’t play again. Defending FedExCup champ Patrick Cantlay captured the BMW Championship and could’ve taken the top seed to the TOUR Championship had Xander Schauffele not missed a putt on 18. Scheffler slid back into FedExCup No. 1; Cantlay suddenly started fighting his putter at East Lake; and neither ended up winning. That honor, of course, went to Rory McIlroy, who came into the TOUR Championship with a six-shot Starting Strokes deficit, opened triple-bogey, bogey in the first round, and came all the way back to win it all. Of course he did. Here are the superlatives from a very surprising season: Shot of the Year Matt Fitzpatrick, bunker shot on 18 at The Country Club, U.S. Open With a one-shot lead at the U.S. Open, Matt Fitzpatrick watched his tee shot drift left and find the fairway bunker on 18. Going for the green was risky, as it meant clearing a grassy knob; Jon Rahm had tried it the day before and made double bogey. But Fitzpatrick, who all year had struggled from fairway bunkers, knew he needed to make par to force playing partner Will Zalatoris to make birdie. He chose a 9-iron and, without deliberation, caught the ball perfectly flush. It cleared the lip of the bunker and soared into the cool, darkening sky, and when it landed on the green, he had hit what Zalatoris called one of the best shots in U.S. Open history. “It’s one of the best shots I’ve ever hit, there’s no doubt about it,” Fitzpatrick said. Best approximation of the Cal-Stanford Big Game Cal product Max Homa edged Stanford’s Maverick McNealy at the Fortinet Championship in nearby Napa, California. Best title defense Viktor Hovland at the World Wide Technology Championship; Rory McIlroy at the RBC Canadian Open (picking up where he left off in 2019); Patrick Cantlay at the BMW Championship Best (sort of) title defense Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Open at The Country Club, where he’d also won the 2013 U.S. Amateur with his little brother Alex as his caddie. Bravest shot Jordan Spieth from cliff’s edge, 8th hole, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Spieth’s tee shot nearly tumbled over the 65-foot cliff that juts into the par-4 8th hole at iconic Pebble Beach. Then Spieth nearly did. Michael Greller, his caddie, voted to take a drop, but after some deliberation Spieth addressed the ball and took a lash before scurrying backward, away from danger. The shot missed left, but he got up and down. “Michael hated it,” Spieth said. “He tried to talk me out of it three times. I don’t blame him, looking back. I’m just glad I made the par to make it worth it, because I don’t think I would have made par with a drop, but if I made bogey, it would have really not been worth it.” Most dynamic duo Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and are expected to figure prominently in the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club next week. Dynamic duo II Scottie Scheffler and Ted Scott joined forces at The RSM Classic last fall and hit it off in a way few player-caddie combos ever have. Starting with a playoff victory at the WM Phoenix Open, Scheffler won four times, including the Masters Tournament, in a span of six starts to become world and FedExCup No. 1. Best comeback Justin Thomas was seven back but won the PGA Championship. Sam Burns was also seven back but won the Charles Schwab Challenge. Rory McIlroy dug himself a 10-shot hole at the TOUR Championship, what with the Starting Strokes format (he began six behind Scottie Scheffler) and his triple-bogey, bogey start. To win after all that? Impressive. Best comeback, II Tom Kim quadruple-bogeyed the first hole and won the Wyndham Championship by five shots; Xander Schauffele shot the highest opening round by a winner, 72, at the Genesis Scottish Open. His 11-shot comeback over the next 54 holes was unmatched. Best performance in the soup Max Homa won his second Well Fargo Championship in sub-optimal weather (four days of cold rain) at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Best, last stand by a 40-something Chez Reavie became the only player in his 40s to win on TOUR for the entire season at the Barracuda Championship. Most appropriate champion Hideki Matsuyama, ZOZO Championship Matsuyama became the greatest-ever player from Japan when he won the Masters Tournament last year, and thrilled his home country again when he won the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, Japan’s only tournament on the PGA TOUR, by five. It was his seventh TOUR title, second TOUR win in Asia, and first since the 2016 WGC-HSBC Champions. He led the field in Greens in Regulation (81.94%) and co-led in eagles (2) and par-3 scoring average (2.75), and later won the Sony Open in Hawaii on the way to making the TOUR Championship for the 9th straight time, the longest active streak on TOUR. Best of the Midwest Tony Finau went from winless on the season to earning a spot on the U.S. Presidents Cup Team with back-to-back wins at the 3M Open, Rocket Mortgage Classic. Wildest ace Adam Hadwin, No. 16, Rd. 2, Memorial Tournament presented by Workday When the ball dropped for his first hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR, the normally stoic Hadwin threw his club skyward, pumped his arms, and began slapping hands of his playing partners and fans alike. His wife Jessica tweeted that she’d never seen him so excited. “I think I kind of blacked out for a second when it went in,” said Hadwin, who used a 7-iron for the shot, which spanned 194 yards and came in from left to right. Best flirtation with 59 Sebastian Muñoz became the first player to shoot two rounds of 60 in a single season at The RSM Classic and AT&T Byron Nelson, both in the first round. Best use of a captain’s pick Scottie Scheffler went 2-0-1 and beat Jon Rahm in the Ryder Cup. The result also foreshadowed perhaps the biggest story of 2022: The Rise of Scottie.

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Hinako Shibuno opened a 3-shot lead over Linn Grant at the U.S. Women’s Open, where Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson were among the notables to miss the cut.

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