Six Lessons From a Season Watching Really Good Golfers

Click here to read the full article…

GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – As if he could ever forget his gold-medal-winning performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Xander Schauffele will soon have a new reminder of that 24-karat accomplishment. On his feet. In celebration of the one-year anniversary of Schauffele’s golden moment, Adidas has created a limited-edition gold inspired TOUR360 22 model golf shoe. It is not for commercial sale but will be featured in a global giveaway for adiClub members. The shoe features a golden outsole and a white upper with gold detailing. The global giveaway will run Aug. 10-31, only on the adidas app. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been roughly a year since it occurred,” Schauffele said upon trying on the shoes at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. “It’s a reminder I welcome with open arms. I’ve known about the shoes for a little bit; Adidas talked to my team and said they wanted to do something cool in memory of it. “I’m not really a super-flashy kind of guy,” he added. “I think putting a gold trim on a shoe is just right for me.” Fans who are adiClub members can sign up for a chance to win the limited-edition shoes at https://www.adidas.com/us/adiclub. Five winners per region will win. Schauffele won’t be the only one with a new pair of TOUR360s. He gave a matching pair to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patient Riley, 5, who was diagnosed at 19 months with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Riley, who underwent two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy at St. Jude Children’s, loves dinosaurs and chasing frogs. Riley’s grandmother, Kim, has been with FedEx for 33 years and is currently a transportation dispatcher. “He’s been inside for too much of his life,” Schauffele said of Riley. “I’d hope every 5-year-old that’s fortunate enough can spend all their time outside. I’m happy that he seems to be open to being outside, chasing frogs. “It’s nice to give back and make a kid happy,” he added. “It’s the least I could do.” Schauffele is coming to the end of another solid season. He captured the Travelers Championship in June, making birdie on the 72nd hole to win by two. It was his first individual PGA TOUR victory since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions. In his next start, at the Genesis Scottish Open, co-sanctioned for the first time by the PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour, Schauffele won again, making him one of three players to win in back-to-back starts this season. Along with his team victory with Patrick Cantlay at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – ending a run of eight runner-up finishes without a victory since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions – Schauffele has three wins in 2022. He also finished a shot out of the Scheffler/Cantlay playoff at the WM Phoenix Open, was in the top 15 in three of the four majors, and is a near lock to make the U.S. Presidents Cup Team that will take on the Internationals at Quail Hollow Club in September.

Click here to read the full article…

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Emiliano Grillo had an early eagle in a 17-point round in smoky conditions Friday to take the second-round lead in the Barracuda Championship, the only PGA TOUR event that uses the modified Stableford scoring system. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Harris English maintains lead after 36 holes at WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Players receive eight points for an albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par. A point is subtracted for a bogey, and three points are taken away for a double bogey or worse. Grillo, the 28-year-old Argentine player who won the 2016 Frys.com Open for his lone PGA TOUR title, had a 29-point total on Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Course. “Left a lot of putts short today,” Grillo said. “It could have been really good out there. Hit the ball well. Kept the ball in the fairway. Gave myself chances for eagles on the par 5s, which is kind of the key for this format.” Adam Schenk was two points back after a 19-point day. He eagled the par-5 sixth. “Just really have been driving the ball really well the last couple of days,” Schenk said. “Make a few putts, hit a few wedge shots close. Take care of the par 5s. It’s definitely out there for you.” First-round lead Joel Dahmen was three points back at 26 after a 10-point round. Andrew Putnam, Scott Piercy and Scott Harrington had 25 points, with Piercy 144th and Harrington 176th in the race for FedExCup Playoff spots and PGA TOUR cards. “I feel like my game’s pretty good right now,” Piercy said. “Putter feels good. I feel like I’ve got control of my golf swing. Equipment’s right. I’ve got to go put it together.” The smoke from wildfires made it difficult to see balls in flight. “You couldn’t really see the ball in the air very well,” Piercy said. “But you could see it take off and some holes you could see it land and roll. But the nice thing was the wind stayed down because it was down in the morning.” Grillo scored nine points on the first three holes, birdieing the par-4 first, making the eagle on the par-5 second and adding a birdie on the par-3 third. “It was super cold in the morning,” said Grillo, 49th in the FedExCup standings. “Just trying to hit it as long as you can. Trying to stay warm. And I was able to start with … like nine points. That was key. When you are going off on a good day you want to start good the next round. And I was able to do that today.” He added birdies on the par-5 sixth, par-4 eighth, par-5 12th and par-4 16th. The winner will earn a spot in the PGA Championship next year but not the Masters because the event is being played opposite a World Golf Championships — the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee. Defending Richy Werenski was tied for 10th with 19 points. The top 125 in the FedExCup standings after the Wyndham Championship next week will earn spots in the Playoff opener at Liberty National. No. 129 Cameron Percy had a 13-point day to move into a tie for 12th with 18 points. No. 122 Scott Stallings was tied for 45th with 12 points. No. 126 Patrick Rodgers and No. 127 Camilo Villegas made the cut on the number with 10 points. No. 121 Matt Kuchar and No. 124 Nate Lashley missed the cut. The three Olympians in the field — Mito Pereira of Chile, Rafael Campos of Puerto Rico and Thomas Pieters of Belgium — played together the first two rounds. Pieters had 12 points, while Pereira and Campos missed the cut.

Click here to read the full article…