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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Before what promises to be an intense day at a Masters chock-full of contenders, the tournament got off to a genteel start with its traditional opening ceremony. Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus strolled out of Augusta National’s white clubhouse shortly before 8:15 a.m. on a chilly Thursday morning, parting the patrons as they made their way to the first tee. Augusta National’s new chairman, Fred Ridley, introduced the two honorary starters as “men whose legacies will live forever throughout the history of Augusta National.� The tee shots of Nicklaus and Player offered a quaint respite from a modern age focused on quantitative analysis. Even the fitness-crazed Gary Player doesn’t care about his swing speed. Jack Nicklaus is as competitive as they come – and of course he’d love to sneak his drive past Player’s – but we’re not worried about his launch angle. We’re honoring history. “I said, ‘Jack, don’t worry about outdriving me now. You’ve been outdriving me for 50 years,’� Player said. In an era obsessed with what’s next, this short ceremony offers a sweet sentimentality that can easily be lost in a cynical age. The rest of the day will be about parsing through the performances of the game’s best players. Instead of worrying about the future, the honorary tee shots are an opportunity to reflect on the past. With nine Green Jackets between them, they’re two of just five men who have won the Career Grand Slam. The tradition of honorary starters began in 1963 with Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod. Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead were the first tee’s legendary triumvirate from 1984-1999. The Big Three of Nicklaus, Player and Arnold Palmer reunited on Augusta National’s first tee from 2012-16. This is the second year that Nicklaus and Player have teed off together since Palmer’s passing in 2016. While it pains the two proud champions to no longer see their shots sail over the valley in the first fairway, the patrons are pleased simply to see the two legends swing a club and appear on Augusta National one more time. “Time moves on,� Nicklaus said. And now, a potentially historic Masters is officially underway.
LA QUINTA, Calif. – The American Express announced its initial wave of player commitments toward its 2023 tournament includes a foursome in reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, Long Beach native and UCLA product Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau. Together, the four American teammates from September’s victorious Presidents Cup squad, are ranked among the top 12 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking. Additionally, they will be joined at the 64th edition of The American Express by World No. 19 Sungjae Im – a two-time PGA TOUR winner, the PGA TOUR’s 2022 FedExCup Playoffs runner-up and the 2019 Arnold Palmer Award winner as the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year – and Idyllwild, Calif. native and Irvine, Calif. resident Brendan Steele, a three-time PGA TOUR winner and a 2005 graduate of UC Riverside. The American Express, featuring a record $8 million purse, will showcase 156 professional golfers and 156 amateurs playing at PGA WEST’s Stadium Course (host course) and Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif. from Jan. 19-22, 2023. The American Express is the first PGA TOUR regular season event in the continental U.S. each year and kicks off the TOUR’s West Coast swing. “We are grateful and thrilled to announce such a high-profile group of players committing this early to play in The American Express tournament next month,” said Pat McCabe, Executive Director of The American Express. “Our field strength continues to grow stronger year after year. Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau have been loyal to our tournament, and welcoming Xander Schauffele back to the desert gives the tournament three of the world’s top six players. Sungjae Im showed his class in September’s FedExCup Playoffs and Presidents Cup while playing for the International Team. Brendan Steele is a hometown favorite as he may end up being the player who grew up closest to our event.” Daily ticket options for The American Express are now on sale at the tournament’s website, www.theamexgolf.com. American Express Card Members receive a 20% discount on any online ticket price (terms apply). World No. 2 Scheffler and World No. 4 Cantlay are the PGA TOUR’s past two Players of the Year. Scheffler will make his fourth consecutive start in The American Express, since graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour as its 2019 Player of the Year. It will be the third consecutive start for Cantlay, the PGA TOUR’s 2021 FedExCup champion who was The American Express’ 2021 runner-up and owns eight PGA TOUR wins. Scheffler, the PGA TOUR’s 2021-22 Player of the Year, won his first four PGA TOUR titles in a six-tournament stretch from February to April that led to his ascent to the world’s No. 1 ranking. The PGA TOUR’s 2020 Rookie of the Year also finished runner-up in four tournaments last season, including the U.S. Open and the TOUR Championship. Schauffele, a native of La Jolla, Calif. and a San Diego State product, is set to make his third start in The American Express, and his first start since 2017. The world’s No. 6-ranked player won three of his seven PGA TOUR titles last season. Finau, ranked No. 12 in the world and one of the sport’s longest hitters, has broken through as a frequent winner on the PGA TOUR, having claimed four of his five PGA TOUR titles over the past 16 months. This streak began with him winning THE NORTHERN TRUST during the 2021 FedExCup Playoffs. He will make his fourth consecutive, and sixth overall, appearance in The American Express. Annually, The American Express has become a leading entertainment staple, combining golf and music, in the Coachella Valley. The tournament earlier announced that its upcoming Concert Series, which returns for its sixth year (after debuting in 2017), will feature a pair of three-time GRAMMY Award winners with iconic Southern California native Gwen Stefani and singer/songwriter Darius Rucker on the PGA WEST Stadium Course driving range. Stefani, born and raised in Anaheim; a singer songwriter and charismatic frontwoman of No Doubt, will open The American Express’ Concert Series after the conclusion of second-round play on Friday, Jan. 20. Rucker, who first achieved musical prominence as the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish and has since become a hugely successful Country artist, will take the stage after the tournament’s third round on Saturday, Jan. 21. The American Express also continues to be one of the desert region’s most charitable sporting events, giving back to its community. In November, The American Express announced a $1 million charitable donation to 37 local Coachella Valley organizations, bringing the event’s all-time donation to more than $64 million since its inception in 1960 as the Palm Springs Golf Classic. Follow The American Express on Facebook (www.facebook.com/theamexgolf), Twitter (@TheAmexGolf) and Instagram (@TheAmexGolf).
POTOMAC, Md. — Francesco Molinari delivered a record performance to win the final edition of the Quicken Loans National. Molinari holed a 50-foot eagle putt to start the back nine, and he never stopped until he turned the final round into a runaway Sunday at the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. The Italian closed with an 8-under 62 for an eight-shot victory, matching the largest margin this year on the PGA TOUR. Molinari followed that eagle putt with an approach to 2 feet on No. 11, one of the hardest par 4s on TOUR that had yielded only one other birdie in the final round. He made three more birdies and ended his round by missing a birdie putt from 8 feet. No matter. He finished at 21-under 259, breaking the tournament record by seven shots. “It was a lot easier than I thought,” Molinari said with a wide grin. “I played great. The start of the back nine was incredible.” Tiger Woods closed with a 66, his lowest final round in more than five years, and he was never close. Woods tied for fourth, his best result since a runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship three months ago, though he was 10 shots behind. “I was only four back at the time when I made the turn, and so I thought that maybe if I got on the back nine, I shot 30 — maybe 29 — that would be enough,” Woods said. “Evidently, I would have to shoot 24 on the back nine. What Francesco is doing back there is just awesome.” Ryan Armour closed with a 68 to finish second, earning one of four spots to The Open Championship. The other three spots went to Sung Kang, who finished third after a 64; Abraham Ancer, who tied for fourth after a 72; and Bronson Burgoon, who had a day he won’t forget. He played with Woods for the first time and experience larger crowds and louder noise than he had ever experienced. And with a birdie on the final hole for a 67, he tied for sixth to earn his first trip to The Open. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Burgoon said. Molinari’s decision to stay in America paid off in a big way. He is around the fringe of Ryder Cup qualifying, and the French Open was this week on the Ryder Cup course outside Paris. He also was No. 123 in the FedExCup, so Molinari decided to play the Quicken Loans National and the John Deere Classic in two weeks to improve his standing. The victory, his second on the PGA TOUR schedule, gives him a two-year exemption and moved him to No. 42 in the FedEx Cup. “That’s what I came here for,” Molinari said. “It was not easy to skip Paris and the French Open. I made the right decision.” Molinari previously won the HSBC Champions in 2010, a World Golf Championships event in Shanghai. But that was before the PGA TOUR recognized it as an official victory unless a PGA TOUR member had won the tournament. That victory was a lot like this one — a master performance by a player who relies on his tee-to-green game and thrives when the putter is hot. And the putter was as scorching as weather that approached 100 degrees. Molinari beat Lee Westwood by one shot, and no one else was closer than 10 shots in Shanghai. This time, he had the course to himself with a back nine that was close to perfection, much like his week. Molinari missed only 10 greens in regulation over 72 holes. Not many people saw it. Thousands were following Woods all week, even in the oppressive heat over the weekend. Woods came to life with a pair of birdies late on the front nine, and he was in range to get even closer when he hit a lob wedge to 6 feet on No. 10. He missed the putt. He missed the 13th fairway and took bogey for the second straight day. And then he missed a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 14. “Those are things that I can’t afford to do and expect to win a golf tournament,” Woods said.
