The First Look: PGA Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. – A short, and selective, memory is important for a professional athlete. Quickly forgetting poor results, while putting a white-knuckle grip around the good ones, is key to success. Harold Varner III is fighting for a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs, and his PGA TOUR card, this week at the Wyndham Championship. He had opportunities to clinch his spot in the all-important top 125 in his previous two starts, but struggled both times. When asked if he used those close calls for motivation, Varner said he didn’t remember them. At least until he was reminded of them by a reporter. “I had already forgotten until you said something,â€� said Varner, who’s 138th in the FedExCup. “It’s just a part of golf. I didn’t execute the shots like I did today and I learned from it.â€� Varner got off to another strong start at the Wyndham Championship, shooting a 7-under 63 in the first round. He’ll need a high finish to qualify for next week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST. So far, so good. He’s tied for third place, two shots behind leader Matt Every, and projected to jump 25 spots in the FedExCup standings. “I knew I needed to play well,â€� Varner said. “It was nice to do that.â€� He wasn’t the only bubble boy to shoot 63 on Thursday. Sam Saunders, who’s trying to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time, made birdie at his last hole to also shoot 7 under par. Saunders is No. 127 in the FedExCup. Saunders and Varner both played Thursday afternoon, and will benefit from easier morning conditions Friday. Saunders is just seven FedExCup points behind No. 125 Geoff Ogilvy, who shot 70 on Thursday. Varner, who’s 39 points behind Ogilvy, likely needs a top-20 finish to crack the top 125. “It almost makes it easier because you let it go,â€� Varner said. “If you try to hold on to something, you’re not going to do as well.â€� Varner is in a unique position. He’s fighting for his TOUR card after playing a World Golf Championship in his previous start. He qualified for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational after winning last year’s Australian PGA. He was T13 halfway through two rounds in his birthplace of Akron, but fired 7 over par (73-74) on the weekend to fall to 50th. He earned just seven FedExCup points that week. One week earlier, he was T11 after 54 holes at the RBC Canadian Open. He fell 12 spots on the leaderboard with a final-round 72 (on a day when the scoring average was 70.5). Saunders is coming off consecutive top-20 finishes, a T19 in Canada and an eighth-place finish two weeks ago at the Barracuda Championship. His two top-10s this season match his career-high, while his seven top-25s are the best of his career. “I was pretty nervous, to be honest, coming into this week because I know it’s an important week for me,â€� he said. “The anticipation is the hardest part. Once you get out there and start hitting balls, you realize, ‘I’m playing really good golf and I’ve got control of what I’m doing.’

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Rich Beem’s victory at the 2002 PGA Championship – coupled with Beem being the dad of a teenaged son who is pretty good at golf – made him eligible to play in the limited-field PNC Championship for winners of major championships. For years, he never received the call. Recently, Beem even resorted to starting a playful promotional campaign on Twitter, showing off the family trophies and telling PNC tournament officials that “Team Beem” would be ready if called. And then came the email to Beem from PNC Championship director Teo Sodeman. The Goosens – two-time U.S. Open champion Retief and his son, Leo – had to withdraw. Would the Beems like to join this year’s field? “I couldn’t choke it out fast enough to say ‘Yes,” Beem said, laughing, as he stood on the practice tee at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, site of this week’s PNC, which begins today. So here they are, Beem, 51, and his 18-year-old son, Michael, a high school senior, ready to rock at the PNC. Beem always knew receiving an invitation would be something special, and the event has somehow managed to exceed his high expectations. The Beems attended a cocktail reception on Wednesday and were headed to a gala dinner on Friday evening. Practically everywhere they turn will be a Hall of Fame player, or in the case of the LPGA’s Nelly Korda, the event’s first current No. 1 player. “It’s almost going to feel like the [PGA Championship] Champions Dinner for me,” said Beem, who won the PGA at Hazeltine in 2002, holding off a hard-charging Tiger Woods, who closed with four consecutive birdies. It was the most high-profile triumph of Beem’s three victories on the PGA TOUR. “It’s that same caliber, if not better, seeing all the great champions,” he said. “I could sit there and follow Lee Trevino around all day long, just listening. He came over and spent about 10 minutes with Michael (at breakfast Thursday). It meant the world to me, but Michael, he was beside himself. Just seeing all these guys here, it’s very special.” Rich Beem kept a busy schedule in 2021. He worked 24 events as a commentator for SKY Sports and made eight starts on PGA TOUR Champions, his best finish being a tie for 11th at Sunningdale in the Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex. Rich Beem is 5 feet 8; his son is 6 feet 5. Michael’s sudden high school growth spurt required him to make big adjustments in his swing that have started to show nice results. The last few months he has been playing nicely, hopefully opening some doors to play at the collegiate level. (He already has been accepted to a couple of schools through his academics.) With Dad on the road working, Michael broke 70 for the first time at the Fredricksburg (Texas) Open, shooting 69, and followed the next day by shooting 63 to win the event. Rich Beem said that he didn’t break 70 for the first time until he was a sophomore in college. The two will venture out this morning – they are first off, playing alongside Nick and Matthew Faldo at 10:30 a.m. – looking to play well and to make an already terrific week even better. “We are probably living and dying more by their shots than our shots, by a long stretch,” Rich said. “I will go watch Michael play in junior tournaments and walking outside the ropes, I feel helpless sometimes. But that’s just it. That makes this game so great – there is always something to learn. That’s why Tom Watson is out here [on the practice tee] working on something right now.” Being part of the elite 20-man field has made for some long days and late afternoons on the range (“I’m ready for a nap about now,” Rich joked on Friday afternoon), but Team Beem would not have it any other way. “All the sons out here and their dads are grinding,” Beem said. “It’s what we love to do. We want to put our best foot forward for our sons.”

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Viktor Hovland won again on the PGA TOUR, this time without a clutch finish. The Norwegian star was too dominant to give anyone else a chance Sunday in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Hovland seized control with three birdies on the front nine, and never let Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas or anyone else get closer than three shots the rest of the way. He closed with a 4-under 67 for a four-shot lead over Carlos Ortiz of Mexico, making him the first repeat winner since Mayakoba began in 2007. Hovland won last year with a birdie putt on the final hole for a one-shot victory. He also made birdie on his last hole when he won the Puerto Rico Open in the spring of 2020. There was no need for that this time. For the final two hours, everyone was playing for second. “I wish I could putt like I did today more often,” said Hovland, who made 28 birdies for the week at El Camaleon. “It was just a blast all week.” Hovland finished at 23-under 261 and moved to No. 4 in the FedExCup standings and No. 10 in the world ranking. Ortiz made a 30-foot par putt after a plugged lie in the bunker on the 18th for a 66 to finish alone in second, a difference of $144,000 if he had two-putted for bogey and tied with Thomas, who also saved for on 18 for a 69. Thomas had an early bogey and didn’t make as many birdies to make up a three-shot deficit on Hovland, especially the way Hovland was putting. “I just didn’t drive it well, didn’t get off to a good enough start to really put any pressure on Viktor,” Thomas said. The strongest challenge came from Scheffler, who starred on the final day in the Ryder Cup and is hopeful his first PGA TOUR victory is around the corner. Sunday wasn’t the day. Scheffler missed a pair of short-range birdie putts only to ram in an 18-foot birdie on the 12th to get to within three shots. Hovland answered with a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 9, and the lead was back to four shots. Scheffler’s chip just right of the 13th green hit the pin and bounced about 5 feet away, which he made for eagle. Hovland made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 11th moments later. Scheffler blinked first. His tee shot on the 14th peeled to the right into the mangroves. After a penalty drop, he did well to get it up near the green, only to pitch over the back on to the collar and make double bogey. Scheffler shot 66 and finished alone in fourth. “Viktor’s playing some good golf so he’s obviously going to be tough to catch,” Scheffler said. “I had to make a few more birdies towards the end and wasn’t able to do that.” Matthew Wolff, the 36-hole leader who fell out of the mix with a 74 in the third round, bounced back with a 65 on Sunday to tie for fifth with Joaquin Niemann (66). Hovland is the fifth consecutive foreign-born winner on the PGA TOUR, a streak that began with Sungjae Im of South Korea winning in Las Vegas. He was followed by Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Lucas Herbert of Australia.

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