Tiger Woods, after finishing 47th in his return at the Masters, is playing a practice round at Southern Hills ahead of next month’s PGA Championship, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Click here to read the full article…
| Be sure to check the legality of online gambing in your state! Our partner Hypercasinos.com has a list of which US states allow online gambling. |
The Breakfast Club in the morning, fans racing to the 16th hole. Concerts at night – including Snoop Dogg, who takes the stage Friday. In between? Plenty of exciting golf at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where fun is in abundance and trash is non-existent (six consecutive years of Zero Waste). Oh, and the loudest cheers will be for the local college grad who’s making his record 30th start in this event. THE FLYOVER The closing stretch at TPC Scottsdale includes three holes with plenty of scoring opportunities — the 553-yard par-5 15th (just avoid the water on the left); the famed 163-yard 16th, the easiest par 3 on the course; and the drivable 332-yard par-4 17th, which yielded 10 eagles last year. Combined, those three holes play to a stroke average of 0.649 under par. Even the closing hole, the 442-yard 18th, is not particularly difficult, with a stroke average just a shade over par. LANDING ZONE The most difficult hole at TPC Scottsdale is the 490-yard par-4 14th, which played to a stroke average of 4.178 last year. A pinched-in landing zone makes it the second toughest fairway to hit on the course, and finding the green in regulation is even tougher, ranking No. 1 in lowest greens in regulation on the course. A year ago, Charlie Beljan smashed a drive in the first round 398 yards – 44 yards longer than any drive in the final three rounds. He could still only manage par. Here’s a look at where all drives landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “Dry weather is forecast for the first round of the tournament on Thursday, but clouds will thicken up Thursday evening with rain chances possible between midnight and 6 a.m. Skies will clear out on Friday with another warm day expected. Afternoon temperatures on Friday will reach the lower 70s. A stronger front is forecast to arrive in Arizona this weekend with rain chances possible Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. The best chance for rain at this time appears to occur Saturday night with total rainfall between a quarter and half inch.â€� For the latest weather news from Scottsdale, Arizona, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I think everybody appreciates what this tournament is and that is a special week, different than any other that we have on TOUR and guys that kind of embrace that and embrace this environment. BY THE NUMBERS 21 – Number of players inside the top 30 of the FedExCup standings who are in the field this week. That includes the top three of Xander Schauffele, Matt Kuchar (each a two-time winner this season) and defending champion Gary Woodland. 82 – Balls in the water at the par-5 15th last season. That was the second most of any hole on the PGA TOUR, exceeded only by the 15th at TPC River Highlands. 301.3 – Average driving distance at TPC Scottsdale last season, making it one of five courses on TOUR with a field average over 300 yards on all tee shots. -48 – Cumulative score under par by Jon Rahm in his three starts in the 2019 calendar year. He’s played all 12 of his rounds at par or better. SCATTERSHOTS ASU reps: Among collegiate programs, Arizona State alumni led the PGA TOUR in FedExCup points last season. Several ex-Sun Devil players are in the field this week – Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Chez Reavie and Grayson Murray. In addition, former ASU golf coach Tim Mickelson is caddying for his brother. High-ranking wins: World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion Justin Rose won last week at Torrey Pines, continuing a trend of high-ranking winners on TOUR this season. Of the 12 winners thus far, eight have been inside the top 40 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the time of their win. Fast starter: In his first 12 starts at TPC Scottsdale, Bubba Watson has played each opening round under par. Since 2007, he has more opening rounds under par at the WMPO than any other player (Mickelson, Kevin Na and Brian Gay are next on the list at nine). Those 12 opening rounds under par are the most for Bubba than any other tournament. Watson’s best results are a couple of T-2s.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Rory McIlroy let himself dream. He couldn’t help it. The enormous yellow scoreboard that stood stories above St. Andrews’ final hole stared back at him whenever he looked out the window of his hotel room. He imagined his name in the black, block letters standing atop the list, the same image he surely thought about countless times as a kid. The dream came true a day early. His name occupied the top space Saturday night, after a 66 that put him into a tie for The Open’s lead with Viktor Hovland. McIlroy spoke that evening about his “cocoon,” the place where he could divorce his process from the pressure. But each time he peered out his hotel-room window, he allowed himself to imagine what could have been the most important victory of his career. “You’ve got to let yourself dream,” McIlroy said. “You’ve got to let yourself think about it and what it would be like, but once I was on the golf course it was just task at hand and trying to play the best golf I possibly could.” Only Hovland was McIlroy’s equal over the first 54 holes of The 150th Open. They both shot 16-under 200, including matching 66s in Saturday’s second-to-last group to earn Sunday’s last tee time. They were four clear of the players in third place, Cameron Smith and Cameron Young. McIlroy wasn’t the only one dreaming of him winning in the Home of Golf. A win by Great Britain’s great hope in the game’s spiritual center made too much sense. It had been 12 years since he last played an Open at the Old Course, and eight years since his last major win. The greatest player of his generation, and one of the greatest Europeans of all time, McIlroy had endured close calls in majors earlier this year, finishing in the top 10 in each of the first three. Then on Friday, as he was starting his second round, he crossed paths with Tiger Woods as Woods’ career at St. Andrews likely came to a close. Woods was touched by McIlroy tipping his cap in respect as they walked past each other. Woods’ last Open at St. Andrews, where he won twice, could have concluded with the first win at St. Andrews for the best player since Woods. McIlroy was trying to join Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Europe’s two best of the modern era, Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros, by winning at the Old Course, a setting that carries extra significance. A win would have tied Ballesteros with five major triumphs and leave him one short of Faldo’s record for most majors by a European player since World War I. McIlroy is the player in today’s game who gives the most consideration to context. His legacy is his priority at this point in his career, and only a victory at Augusta National would do more for it. Like Jordan Spieth seven years earlier, the sentimental favorite didn’t win at St. Andrews, however. McIlroy was bogey-free Sunday but made just two birdies. His 70 left him in third place, two strokes behind winner Cameron Smith. Smith birdied the first five holes of the back nine and closed with 30 en route to a Sunday 64. TOUR rookie Cameron Young, who played with Smith in the second-to-last group, shot 65 to finish second. McIlroy led most of the day but fell behind after Smith birdied 14. McIlroy could only muster pars on the final holes, however. “I knew that I needed to respond,” McIlroy said. “I just couldn’t find the shots or the putts to do that.” It was a day that was relatively stress-free. He drove it well and didn’t make a bogey, but also couldn’t hit his approach shots close enough or take advantage of the Old Course’s drivable par-4s. This the first time in his career that McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in all four majors. He’s third in the world ranking and fifth in the FedExCup with two wins this season. He spoke this week about the trust he has in his game, and the freedom it has produced. He reunited with longtime swing coach Michael Bannon and won last month’s RBC Canadian Open while his caddie, Harry Diamond, was home with his wife and newborn child. It required him to make more decisions on the course and rely less on his longtime looper. “I’m in more control of my swing and my game,” he said. He left last month’s U.S Open saying he was “closer than I’ve been in a while.” But on Sunday, McIlroy struggled to trust his reads on St. Andrews’ slow greens and watched several birdie putts slide by the hole. While Smith was in the midst of his birdie streak, McIlroy couldn’t capitalize on two of St. Andrews’ drivable par-4s, Nos. 9 and 12, and parred the par-5 14th when a birdie would have pulled him even with Smith. McIlroy missed long birdie putts on 15 and 16, as well, and a 20-footer on the difficult 17th after Smith had two-putted from behind the Road Bunker. Smith’s birdie on the final hole meant McIlroy needed to make eagle on 18. It was over when his second shot ran past the hole. “There were a lot of putts today where I couldn’t just trust myself to start it inside the hole,” he said. “I was always starting it on the edge or just outside thinking it was going to move. More times than not, they just sort of stayed there.” McIlroy focused on the positives in his post-round press conference and tried to place the result in its proper perspective – “It’s not life or death,” he said – but the scene after he stepped away from the microphone painted a fuller picture. A golf cart waited to whisk McIlroy to the locker room. He sat down next to his wife, Erica, and rested his head face-down on her shoulder. He had no more energy to expend. The fight was over. The Old Course is a romantic setting for those with a deep connection to the game. A round on the historic grounds elicits a variety of emotions. Including heartbreak.
NEWBURGH, Indiana – Justin Suh closed out his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned victory with a 4-under 68 in the final round of the 2022 season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance. Suh made just three bogeys all week at Victoria National Golf Club, the fewest scores of bogey or worse by any player in the field, and finished at 21-under par, two strokes ahead of Austin Eckroat, who was among the 25 players awarded PGA TOUR cards via The Finals 25. By virtue of the victory and the 1,000 points awarded, Suh finished No. 1 on both the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Eligibility Points List and the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Eligibility Points List. As a result of sweeping the No. 1 rankings, Suh will have fully exempt status for the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season, an exemption for the 2023 PLAYERS Championship and, for the first time in history, an exemption for the 2023 U.S. Open. Suh joins world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (2019) and PGA TOUR winner Chesson Hadley (2017) as the only players in history to win both points lists. “My game has progressed so much over the course of the year and it feels extremely gratifying that it paid off,” Suh said. “I wasn’t really thinking about the overall season title. I wanted to win this event, especially since it’s the last Korn Ferry (Tour) event. I knew I could win out here. I’ve been close so many times. To put it all together, it feels great. “It’s one of the most important weeks of the year. I know it’s a lot of stress for guys fighting to get their (PGA) TOUR cards, but it’s an exciting week. I’m just really happy a couple of my friends got in.” Suh carried a one-stroke lead into the final round and maintained the outright lead for the majority of the day. The San Jose, California native birdied the par-4 fourth, bogeyed the par-3 seventh and immediately bounced back with a birdie at the par-4 eighth to turn at 1-under par. Suh birdied two of the first three holes on the back – the par-5 10th and par-4 12th – and put extra distance between he and Eckroat with a birdie at the par-5 15th. “After I birdied No. 12, I felt pretty good there,” Suh said. “It was a big par save on No. 14 and birdie on No. 15. I saw Tano (Goya)’s name at No. 25 on No. 15 and I was nervous for him because he just made a bogey on No. 12 and I knew he was on the bubble. Super happy for him. It was awesome to see him finish.” Goya, who played alongside Suh and Nicholas Lindheim in the final group Sunday, and eventually held on for his first PGA TOUR card as he played the final six holes at 1-under par. Another central figure of drama Sunday afternoon was Kyle Westmoreland, who played collegiately at the United States Air Force Academy and attained the rank of captain as he served a five-year stint with the United States Air Force after graduation. Westmoreland was anywhere from No. 23 to No. 26 on the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Eligibility Points List after he finished his round with a birdie at the par-5 ninth. After a relatively lengthy wait, Westmoreland finished No. 25 and became the first Air Force Academy graduate to earn a PGA TOUR card. The first man out of The Finals 25 was Joey Garber, who double bogeyed the par-4 14th but closed with four consecutive birdies for a chance at a return to the PGA TOUR. Garber signed his scorecard as the No. 25 players on The Finals 25, but Nicolas Echavarria’s bogey-free 6-under 66, highlighted by birdies on the par-5 15th and par-4 17th, ultimately knocked Garber out. The 2023 Korn Ferry Tour schedule will be announced Tuesday, October 4.
