Schauffele ties course record to win at Kapalua

He’s known about the induction for nearly 18 months. He even visited the World Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida, to get ideas for his exhibit and the locker that will be there in perpetuity. But Monday night, the magnitude of what he’s accomplished really hit home for Davis Love III. There he was, with fellow inductees Lorena Ochoa Reyes, Meg Mallon and Ian Woosnam, at a dinner at One World Observatory, a stunning venue with sweeping views of New York City that is nestled atop the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. A host of other Hall of Famers were there to welcome them into the exclusive club. “It was like the ultimate class reunion,â€� Love said. His son Drew got to talk fitness with Gary Player, who toasted the incoming Hall of Famers, while Chi Chi Rodriguez gave the 23-year-old advice on his swing. Many pictures – the cell phone variety and other more official ones – were taken during the convivial evening of good cheer. “My wife, Robin, said, ‘You know, we’re going to get to do this every year,’â€� Love said. “To have that kind of setting that we’re going to be part of this class, this group, this club, for the rest of our lives. “It was an incredible night.â€� Tuesday night’s induction at the Cipriani Wall Street provided a more formal recognition of the class of five that also includes the late British journalist and broadcaster, Henry Longhurst. During the morning’s teleconference, Love, Mallon, Ochoa and Woosnam reflected on some of the highlights of their careers. Love first saw the World Golf Hall of Fame when it was housed in a building behind the fourth green at Pinehurst No. 2. He noticed it while he was playing the course as a kid but he never went in until recently in St. Augustine, where the Hall relocated and reopened in 1998.  And even as he was compiling a resume that includes 21 PGA TOUR victories, among them the 1997 PGA Championship and two PLAYERS Championships, Love didn’t get ahead of himself. It wasn’t until his good friend Fred Couples was inducted in 2013 that Love started thinking he might be Hall of Fame material, too.  “I guess I really thought I might get in, or it was actually a goal after Freddie Couples’ induction ceremony,â€� Love said. “I always looked up to Freddie and tried to hit it as far as him and be as cool as him but it never worked. “To think when he got in and he gave his speech and he mentioned me a few times — we’re basically the same year and did the same things in the game, and that’s when I realized I might actually get in.â€� Love has been a mainstay of the U.S. in international team competition – playing on six Presidents Cup and six Ryder Cup teams. He will spend the rest of the week at nearby Liberty National working as an assistant to Steve Stricker for the U.S. Presidents Cup team, his second such stint, and has captained two of the last three American Ryder Cup squads. A year ago, Love made the difficult decision to leave Bubba Watson, then ranked seventh in the world but not playing his best golf at the time, off his victorious U.S. squad at Hazeltine National. Watson was disappointed by wanted to contribute, asking if he could be an assistant, and Love gladly accepted. “He said, ‘(I) want to be in the Hall of Fame and I want to be a Ryder Cup captain. They are really the same thing,’â€� Love recalled. “And to think that I have done that over the last few years is just an incredible blessing. I just hope this class can carry forward what the classes behind us have done and grow the Hall of Fame.â€� Ochoa Reyes, who started playing golf at the age of 5 in Guadalajara, Mexico, accomplished a great deal in an abbreviated career. She won 27 times, including two majors, in seven years before retiring in 2010 to start a family and continue her charitable works at the age of 28.  She spent 158 weeks as No. 1 in the world, including the week she retired. “It’s great to see the change in the game,â€� Ochoa Ryes said. “Today in my country, there are many, many boys and girls playing. More than a hundred players are playing in the different schools. They have a scholarship in the States. I think we are going in the right direction, and so it’s great to be able to help in that way and make a change and have more golfers representing México in the different tours.â€� Woosnam, who won the 1991 Masters and played on eight European Ryder Cup teams, has been in New York City since Friday, doing a little sightseeing before the festivities began. He won 42 times around the world and twice on the PGA TOUR. The Welshman was part of a stellar group of five European golfers all born within 12 months of each other – joining Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer and Seve Ballesteros. Now they are all in the World Golf Hall of Fame. “(I am) very excited and very emotional the closer we get to being inducted into the Hall of Game with the greatest players ever,â€� the diminutive Welshman said. “It’s a big deal.â€� Mallon retired the same year as Ochoa Reyes but had played the LPGA Tour for 23 years. She won 18 times, including four major championships, two of which were U.S. Opens captured 13 years apart. She played on eight Solheim Cups and captained the team in 2013. Among Mallon’s favorite memories is the birdie putt she made on the 72nd hole of the 1991 LPGA Championship. It was her first major title, two weeks before she won her second, and Mallon converted when Pat Bradley and Ayako Oakamoto, who joined her in the final group that day, couldn’t. “It was the storybook where all three of us had a chance to win a major and I was the last one to putt,â€� Mallon recalled. “… It was a 10-footer to win a major, and you know, when you make the putt like that and you get to jump into your caddie’s arms and have that moment, it was really cool.â€� Monday’s dinner and Tuesday’s induction were, too.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – News and notes from Thursday’s first round of THE NORTHERN TRUST, the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs. Russell Henley has the clubhouse lead after an opening 6-under 64. PHIL BEGINS HIS AUDITION Phil Mickelson teed off Thursday with eight rounds to make a good impression on U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Steve Stricker. A 2-over 72, on the surface, doesn’t seem a score he could point to as proof his game is coming around. But Mickelson was happy that he hit 11 of 14 fairways and “hitting iron shots with ease.� His confidence level appeared much different than two weeks ago, when he missed the cut for the first time in 22 starts at the PGA Championship, admitting afterwards he had lost focus. “I’m going to have a good week,� Mickelson insisted Thursday. “I know that it’s not the greatest start, but it’s not bad, either.� He needs a good week. Ranked 18th on the U.S. team list, it’s unlikely Mickelson will move into the top 10 that earn automatic spots after next week’s Dell Technologies Championship. But two good weeks could convince Stricker to make him a captain’s pick and extend his streak of Presidents Cup appearances. He’s played in every one since the event’s debut in 1994. “I would love to be on that team, but I’ve got to bring something to the table,� Mickelson said. “… I’m very optimistic on the way I’m playing, but the scores are not reflecting that yet.� Stricker has indicated he would ask Mickelson for an honest assessment of his game before making the captain’s picks. Mickelson promised he “will be� honest. After missing the cut in the last two majors and posting only one top-10 in his last 11 starts, Mickelson now sees positive signs. “I feel like my game’s coming around,� he said. “I hope it’s in time to make the team.� UNDER THE RADAR Two years ago, Jason Day started the Playoffs ranked No. 2 in points. A year ago, he was No. 1. This week, he starts off 49th. It’s his lowest starting point in the last five seasons. It’s the reason he had no pre-tournament media obligations, and that his tee time was earlier-than-usual on Thursday. He was also a sponsor’s pick for Wednesday’s Pro-Am instead of having one of the spots reserved for players higher up in the FedExCup standings. “I’m like, whoa, what’s going on here?� Day said with a laugh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been one of those.� Ranked ninth in the world, Day said he’s flying under the radar this week. He doesn’t mind it, and his 1-under 69 on Thursday leaves him well-positioned to make a move in the next three rounds. But he understands why he’s not in heavy demand at Glen Oaks. “It’s humbling being in a position like this because I know I’ve had it good for a long time,� Day said. “Through some poor play this year, I haven’t been in the position that I would like to be, and humbling as in I need to work a lot harder than what I’m doing right now.� BAD TURNS TO GOOD In Russell Henley’s last two starts, he finished T-66 and T-71. Outside of his five missed cuts, those are the worst results he’s had all season. His explanation was a simple one. “My attitude was just bad,� he said. His 12-over performance in his last start at the PGA Championship left him frustrated. He also felt tired, as he’s still trying to figure out the balance between practice and rest. But now the Playoffs are here, and he feels energized. Entering Glen Oaks 19th in points (thanks mostly to his Shell Houston Open win), Henley needs simply to maintain his position through the first three events in order to advance to the TOUR Championship for the second time in his career. Unfamiliar with the course, he took a conservative approach Thursday and it paid off. The 64, which included eight birdies, was just his third round in red numbers in his last 13 rounds on TOUR, and matches his second-lowest score of the year. Will he maintain his conservative play the next three days? He’s not sure. “I don’t know if that’s necessarily the way to do it,� he said. Seems like it was certainly the way to do it Thursday. QUOTE OF THE DAY I don’t think they were quite sure they were going to play No. 1 as a par 4 or 5 yet, so I played it as a par-5 when I came – which I liked a lot better. ODDS AND ENDS Glen Oaks was playing to favorable reviews in its first competitive round as a PGA TOUR course. Superintendent Craig Currier was at the players’ entrance to the clubhouse, seeking opinions and suggestions from the pros. He was hearing lots of good things. Consider this from Patrick Cantlay after his 3-under 67: “I think the golf course is great. It rewards really good shots and penalizes mediocre ones.� … Justin Thomas, in his first round since winning the PGA Championship, was 2 over through his first eight holes and finding it difficult to get focused. He turned to his caddie Jimmy Johnson and said, “I’m having a hard time with this today and I need your help.� A 24-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole – his ninth of the day – got him back on track, as he rallied to shoot a 2-under 68. “I’m more proud of rounds like today than I am when I play really well,� Thomas said. … Thomas’ good friend Jordan Spieth burned several edges with his putts en route to a 1-under 69. “I burned high lip, low lip, left lip, right lip today for most of the round,� Spieth said. “Felt like a 4- or 5-under round.� … After shooting a 4-over 74, FedExCup points leader Hideki Matsuyama spent time on the practice green. He needed 33 putts on his round, connecting on just two putts outside 8 feet.

Click here to read the full article…