Yuka Saso took advantage of a late collapse from 54-hole leader Lexi Thompson, beating Nasa Hataoka in a playoff to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
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HONOLULU, Hawaii – Former FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy has revealed he has a heart irregularity that he must monitor throughout his career but hopes it’s not a major issue. The 13-time PGA TOUR winner and four-time major winner made the stunning admission in an interview with The Telegraph but then clarified the seriousness on his Instagram account. McIlroy, who suffered from a rib injury for most of last season, is slated to return to the PGA TOUR at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February after playing in the Middle East on the European Tour. He has had nearly four months off. “The rib’s fine, no problems whatsoever – I had an MRI scan on my thoracic spine and all was OK,� McIlroy told the Telegraph. “But I’ve got a bit of an irregularity with my heart that I have to keep on top of. “I have a flat T-wave and I’ll have to get an echo [cardiogram] on my heart every six months and an MRI scan every year.� McIlroy, reacting to the news exploding across the golf community, took to his social media to quash alarm. “It’s really not that big of a deal and nothing to worry about, apart from getting an annual check up, like you should do anyway,� he said in part of his Instagram post. “I feel there’s been a big reaction to it in the media which there really shouldn’t be. I’m fit and healthy and can’t wait to get my 2018 season started in Abu Dhabi next week.� In the original newspaper interview McIlroy went on to explain the problem originated after falling ill in China a year-and-a-half ago. “I suffered a really bad viral infection in China 18 months ago and they told me that’s the reason that I have this thickening of my left ventricle and there’s a bit of scar tissue,� he told the paper. “For now, I just need to stay on top of it and have to stay fit. Hey, I was planning on doing that anyway.� The 2016 FedExCup champion will get a chance to test the strength of his heart with plans to play possibly six times in seven weeks on the PGA TOUR once he returns.
THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM Strap yourselves in because despite an incredible 2017 season from Jon Rahm, you ain’t seen nothing yet. In his first full season, the young Spanish sensation made 21 of 23 cuts with the highlight being his back-nine blitz at Torrey Pines to take the Farmers Insurance Open title. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule He had 11 top-10s in all with huge chances to win at the World Golf Championships–Mexico Championship (T3), the World Golf Championships–Dell Match Play (2nd), the Wells Fargo Championship (4th), the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational (T2) and all four FedExCup Playoff events where he finished T3, T4, T5 and T7. Add the fact he won two events on the European Tour and you have quite a rockstar effort. In June 2016, he was 766th in the world rankings. Now he’s comfortably in the top five. Even with all the achievements, we expect even bigger things in 2018. He has power off the tee and precision into the greens. His putting is better than most on TOUR. And he has desire and passion. The 23-year-old hates to lose and will do whatever it takes to win. Aggression is his forte. At Torrey Pines, the event looked headed for a multiple-man playoff until he shot 6-under 30 on the back nine — including two eagles to crush the field. In all his chances to win, he went down swinging. Rahm will never play for second place. This alone makes him fun to watch. The goal for the new season has to be more of the same, but with better results in the majors. While his WGC efforts were grand, his best major effort was T27 at the Masters. He was T72 on debut at THE PLAYERS. BY THE NUMBERS How Jon Rahm ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 151st Playoff appearances: 1 TOUR Championship appearances: 1 Best result: 5th INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Jon Rahm in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit It’s going to be hard to top last season for the big-hitting 23-year-old from Spain, but we may be just beginning to understand how good he is. Consider how close he was to winning the entire FedExCup: Rahm finished fifth after registering top-10 finishes in all four Playoffs events. The only way to improve from here will be to turn some of those close calls (11 top-10 finishes, one win at the Farmers Insurance Open) into victories, and to show his “Aâ€� game at the majors. Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton With proper respect to older 20-somethings who have won majors and achieved more, the Spaniard is in a class of his own. If it’s possible for someone with lofty expectations to have already shattered them, he’s the guy. He cannot be overvalued. As a first-year PGA TOUR member in 2016-17, he put up video-game numbers en route to ranking second in the all-around. Yet for all of his angles at which he can score and contend, perhaps most impressive is his blend of drive with humility sitting right out there on his sleeve. And he turned only 23 years of age just last month. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Won the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship with a yet-to-be-released “Hi-Toe” TaylorMade Milled Grind wedge. His win with Spider Tour Red at the Farmers Insurance Open coincided with the putter’s meteoric rise in popularity on TOUR. Rest of his TaylorMade setup consists of the company’s M2 driver, M1 3-wood, P750 irons and Milled Grind wedges. Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte As explosive as Rahm’s game is, his style is just the opposite as he has a penchant for simple looks with modern designs and high-tech fabrics. He could improve his style in 2018 by matching his belt to his pants to create a smooth transition from top to bottom. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter
GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – Scottie Scheffler added a green jacket to his wardrobe this year, but he’s wearing something slightly more casual on this Wednesday evening. A Dunder-Mifflin Paper Co. T-shirt and sweatpants cover the thick, 6-foot-3 frame of this former high-school basketball player as he sprawls out on a couch in a rented home in the Memphis suburbs, recovering after a long day in the summer heat at the end of a long year. Sam Burns and his wife, Caroline, walk in the front door carrying plastic bags filled with the barbecue that this area is famous for, and soon the dining room table is obscured by enough red meat to give a cardiologist chest pains. The next day, Scottie and Sam will tee off in the headlining group of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but tonight they feast. Scheffler and his wife, Meredith, sit at the table alongside the Burnses and Brad Payne, the president of College Golf Fellowship and one of the leaders of the TOUR’s Bible study. Plates are filled with brisket, ribs and macaroni and cheese. Sarcastic barbs are exchanged, existential matters discussed. The conversation shifts at whiplash speed between the mundane and the profound. The scene feels exceedingly normal considering two of the participants are among the best golfers in the world. Professional golfers, they’re just like us. The desire for normalcy is a fundamental part of the relationship between Scottie and Sam, one that’s been mentioned on television broadcasts and in articles throughout the year as the two 26-year-olds have continued to win – seven tournaments combined and counting this season. It’s easy to forget that the two friends, promising prospects since their amateur days, began this season with one TOUR title between them. So much has happened, so fast. Burns has cracked the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time and Scheffler reached No. 1. They were the top two players in the FedExCup for much of the season, as well. “When we get home every night, we are with our wives doing the exact same thing we did a year ago,” says Scottie. “If we are 100th in the FedExCup next year, it’s going to be the same. I harp on that a lot; we don’t want our lives to change a lot off the course. (Staying with the Burnses) is such an easy reminder. If my head actually gets too big, he will be the first to say, ‘You’re being a real jackwagon.’” To which Sam quickly replies, “I would love to.” His smile shows the pleasure he would take in putting the Masters champion in his place. Both couples enjoy a simple existence, even as they’ve earned millions of dollars. Scottie famously drives a decade-old SUV and the Burnses still live in the small Louisiana town of Choudrant, which had less than 1,000 residents and no Chipotles as of 2020. Scottie and Sam have known each other since they were teenagers, but their bond has deepened on TOUR, as has their faith, which they credit as the foundation of their friendship, even more than college football or their shared vocation. The couples have shared rental houses at most TOUR stops this year. They’ve vacationed in Europe together and competed in everything from board games to a spot on a Ryder Cup team and a PGA TOUR trophy. They want to win but also to encourage each other, embodying the famous proverb that says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” They share tips on course strategy and putting drills, but also support each other on those weeks when the center of the clubface feels the size of a pinhead and trade counsel on how to live out their faith and love their wives well. “It has everything to do with who they are in Christ,” says Payne, who’s also their occasional housemate. “Because of that, there’s an elevated sense of security and depth of friendship. They’re not just friends. They’re family. “When you know, ‘I’m not alone,’ there’s a rest and a peace there.” Or, as Scottie says, “We know it’s OK to not be OK.” That’s why he could say after his Masters win that he “cried like a baby” before the final round, a rare admission for a new major champion. It was the most memorable moment from his victory, more than the crucial chip-in on the third hole or the shocking, but inconsequential, four-putt on the final green. The adversity faced by professional golfers pales in comparison to what others may overcome, but there are universal struggles shared across stations. A missed cut is still frustrating, and a stretch of several in a row can send the mind spiraling. Tough times can feel interminable. Isolation can make it worse. That’s why a trusted friendship is invaluable in the lonely world of an individual sport. C.S. Lewis wrote, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’” When Burns went nearly two months between made cuts at the start of the year, Scheffler reminded him that he’d gone through the same thing a year earlier. “When I tell Scottie, ‘Hey, I feel deflated and golf feels impossible,’ he’s most likely felt that exact same thing,” Sam says. They try to be transparent and open with each other, speaking honestly about their fears and struggles instead of blaming poor play on bad breaks or missed puts. Sometimes, simply observing how other navigates their new status in the golf world is enough. Scottie likens it to growing up at Dallas’ Royal Oaks Country Club, where he learned by watching TOUR players like Justin Leonard, Ryan Palmer and Colt Knost. Just as players in the same group feed off each other’s good play, Scottie says he and Sam have done the same this year. The relationship took on a new dimension last fall, when they were both candidates for the final Ryder Cup roster spot. When U.S. Captain Steve Stricker called Sam to tell him that he wouldn’t be on the team, he felt conflicting emotions because he knew the spot would go to Scottie. The Schefflers called soon after, and the couples spoke for a half-hour to process the emotions. “That can ruin a friendship if it’s not something that’s talked about,” Scottie says. He beat Jon Rahm, then the world’s top-ranked player, as part of the U.S. win. Burns won his second PGA TOUR title the next week at the Sanderson Farms Championship. At the time, Scheffler was still without a PGA TOUR win. Sharing those doubts with Burns – “Is this really ever going to happen?” Scheffler admits wondering – helped ease the burden. “Golf will put you in bad places real quick,” Scheffler says. They’ve also been able to share in each other’s successes. Sam missed the cut in his Masters debut this year, but as he and Caroline left their Augusta house on that Saturday morning they asked how they could pray for the Schefflers before the most important 48 hours of Scottie’s career. A month later, Scottie and Sam were in a playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Sam made up a seven-shot deficit, posting a 65 early, while Scottie shot 72, the wind whipping as he navigated the back nine. Scottie made par on 18 just to force a playoff. “You didn’t think I’d let you off that easy, did you?” he asked when he saw Burns before the playoff. No, but Burns sank a 40-footer for birdie to win on the first playoff hole. Undoubtedly frustrated after not making a birdie in the final round, Scheffler was still smiling as he embraced his victorious friend. When asked about the early days of their friendship, Sam mentions a pool stick and Scottie lights up at the reference to junior golf-hijinks. During a tournament, Sam broke a pool cue in the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse while using it like a baseball bat to hit a ping-pong ball. The broken piece flew into a window and broke a shutter. “The next year, we were changing our shoes in the parking lot,” Scottie says with a chuckle. They saw less of each other when Scottie went to college at Texas and Sam decamped for LSU, but they reconnected when Scottie joined Sam on TOUR for the 2020 season. Their first time staying together was the two-week stretch in Ohio for consecutive events at Muirfield Village Golf Club. The Schefflers were engaged, and Meredith was still working in Dallas. She was astonished when Scottie texted her to say he was eating pasta made from chickpeas, a healthier option she’d been unsuccessful in convincing him to try. “Who is this saint that’s getting my husband to eat chickpea pasta?” she remembers thinking. It was Caroline, who quickly became friends with Meredith when she joined them on the road after she and Scottie got married later that year. The group’s conversations cover a wide variety of topics when they’re together in the evenings, but golf is rarely one of them. Scottie and Sam cover that during their infamously mediocre practice rounds. The ongoing joke is that if one of them can break par on Tuesday, he’ll probably win that week. They bicker like brothers, arguing over Scottie’s slow response to text messages or Sam’s selective hearing when looking at his phone. The competitiveness that serves them well on the course spills over to the board game Sequence or gin rummy. While some play games for the conversation, for Scottie and Sam it’s admittedly about winning. Sometimes each couple is a team. Other times, it’s husbands versus wives. Caroline, who ran track in high school, shares Sam’s competitive streak. Debating who would win a 60-yard dash between her and her husband turns into accusations about Sam’s false start the first time they lined up. He sarcastically responds that his reaction time is simply superior. “We try not to let them be on the same team too much because if they lose, they fight,” Scottie interjects, hoping to fan the flames. Sam responds, his expression deadpan: “We’re very competitive, so if we don’t see the other one giving their best effort then we need to let them know.” Meredith is the least competitive. “Except when she’s playing against me,” Scottie says. She is known more for being a peacemaker and for her popcorn, which she makes with a machine she brings from home. Garlic hummus is another staple in their house. Even in their sarcasm is their affection apparent. The evening is coming to an end and Payne wraps it up with a soliloquy on the importance of friendship. “We were created for community and fellowship,” he says in closing. And, with that, it is Scottie’s turn to do the dishes.
