The First Look: Zurich Classic

Welcome to the Monday Finish, the day after one native Ohioan (Cleveland-born Jason Dufner) dug deep in winning on the Golden Bear’s home course while another (Akron-born LeBron James) saw his Cavs dig a 2-0 hole by losing on Golden State’s home court. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Not sure how many recent PGA TOUR winners have endured the kind of rollercoaster ride Jason Dufner experienced at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. After 36 holes, he led by 5 shots. After 54 holes, he trailed by 4 shots. After 72 holes, he won by 3 shots. Talk about highs and lows. For a guy who’s always displayed a fairly low-key disposition (Dufnering, anyone?), it had to be challenging to keep his emotions in check. Even Dufner acknowledged being angry after his Saturday 5-over 77 sent him tumbling down the leaderboard. So he went to the range to burn off some steam and release some frustration. “I didn’t want to go home mad,â€� he said. It paid big dividends. He came back on Sunday with a positive outlook … and ultimately, a winning performance. 2. Tom Weiskopf (born in Massillon) couldn’t do it in 11 starts at Muirfield Village. His best finish was a T-4 in 1980, three shots behind David Graham. Ben Curtis (born in Columbus) couldn’t do it in 13 starts. Same number of attempts for Steve Flesch (born in Cincinnati). John Cook (born in Toledo) had 24 starts and couldn’t do it. He tied for second in 2002 and was solo third in 1994. Until Sunday, tournament founder/course designer/Mr. Columbus Jack Nicklaus had been the only Ohio-born winner of the Memorial. Dufner, in his sixth appearance at Muirfield Village, now becomes the second. “I grew up here,â€� Dufner said after his win. “I wasn’t living here for a long time. I moved away when I was about 9 or 10. But I have a lot of friends and family here, a lot of support out on the golf course. It’s hard to have equal support when you’re playing with Rickie Fowler, but I felt like I had it today.â€� 3. It’ll be fun to watch the fluctuations in the Presidents Cup standings for the rest of the season. Dunfer’s win allowed him to move from 25th to 6th, while Matt Kuchar’s T-4 moved him from 14th to 10th in the U.S. Team standings. The top 10 players after the Dell Technologies Championship – the second event in the FedExCup Playoffs – will get automatic spots for the Presidents Cup. There was no movement inside the top 10 for the International Team. The most significant move belonged to India’s Anirban Lahiri, who closed with the low round of the day, a 7-under 65, to tie for second. That elevated him from 22nd to 15th, and no doubt caused captain Nick Price to take notice. Lahiri was on the International Team two years ago, the first player from his country to make the team. Alas, he lost all three of his matches – including his singles match to Chris Kirk that reached the 18th hole. The U.S. won by just a single point. A better performance could’ve been the difference. No wonder Lahiri would like another crack at the U.S. squad. “I have unfinished business,â€� Lahiri said. “I’ve said that before. I would like nothing better than to go out there and get points.â€� 4. Call it the power of a handshake. Daniel Summerhays, looking for his first win in his 185th start on TOUR, suffered through a miserable Sunday. Having entered the final round with a 3-shot lead, he dropped three shots in his first four holes, and then after making the turn, dropped five more strokes on the back nine. A double bogey at the 18th left him signing for a 6-over 78, barely hanging on to a top-10 finish. But there was Jack Nicklaus greeting him after his round, helping to brighten up a frustrating afternoon. “He’s looking me straight in the eyes and giving me encouragement,â€� Summerhays said. “I’ll bounce back really quick. A handshake and a little something from Jack Nicklaus will prove to be very useful.â€� 5. In December of 2015, Columbus resident Jason Day and his wife Ellie were sitting on the front row of a Cavs home game when LeBron James chased after a loose ball toward the sidelines. James knocked over Ellie, who had to be taken to a hospital. Released the next day, she compared it to a minor car accident. On Wednesday, Jason will be back on the front row for Game 3 of the Cavs-Warriors NBA Finals. Ellie will not be in harm’s way this time. “The wife isn’t coming,â€� Jason said with a laugh. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Jason Dufner is one of the best ball-strikers on TOUR. No surprise that his iron play was key to Sunday’s win at Muirfield Village. Dufner ranked first in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. He gained an average of 2.670 strokes each round on the field in that category. That’s the most by a TOUR winner this season. It’s the third time this year the eventual tournament winner has led the field in that category. 2. Speaking of hitting greens … Dufner hit 17 of 18 greens in his opening round. That’s the 14th time he’s gone 17 of 18 in a single round in his TOUR career. 3. It was a legendary bounce-back performance for Dufner on Sunday, who shot a 4-under 68 after shooting a 77 the previous round. Since 1983, only one tournament winner (non-major) has ever shot a third-round score higher than Dufner’s 77. That came at the 1986 Honda Classic, when Kenny Knox shot 80 on Saturday, then followed it up with a 70 to win by a stroke at TPC Eagle Trace. Knox’s 80 came on a day in which nobody in the field could break par. The best score was a couple of even-par 72s. Of the 72 players who made the cut, 37 ended up shooting 80 or higher in the third round, Unlike Dufner, who suffered a swing of 9 shots (5-shot lead to 4-shot deficit), Knox had a less dramatic swing. He went from a 1-shot lead to a 2-shot deficit. 4. Rickie Fowler’s last drive of the tournament went 350 yards. But it wasn’t his longest drive of the week. Fowler busted a 370-yard drive at the 13th hole in the first round. Overall, he had 22 drives of 300 yards or longer. Here’s the kicker – he actually dropped four spots on the TOUR’s driving distance ranking this season, going from 27th to 31st. Even with all those 300-yard drives, his overall average went from 299.7 yards to 299.2 yards. 5. Not sure if you caught the cut differential but it was pretty amazing. Dufner led at 14 under after 36 holes. The cut was 3 over. The 17-stroke difference not only was a tournament record, it was the first time in 12 years that it’s been that large at any event. The last time there was a 17-stroke difference after 36 holes was in 2005 at Harbour Town. Darren Clarke led at 12 under, and the cut was 5 over. TOP 3 VIDEOS 1. Rickie Fowler’s shot from the bunker behind 18 green on Thursday sidespun its way into an impossible birdie. 2. In the middle of an all-time great two-day stretch at Muirfield Village, Dufner’s shot on 18 fit in nicely. 3. Dufner picked the perfect time to drain his longest putt of the week, pouring one in for par to lock up his fifth TOUR win.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Joel Dahmen has earned nearly $10 million on the PGA TOUR. He’s kept his card for five consecutive seasons, won for the first time in 2021 and contended at this year’s U.S. Open. Yet Dahmen admits that he was afraid at the start of this season. Why? Because if playing professional golf is akin to tightrope walking — both professions have severe penalties for those on the wrong side of small margins — then Dahmen embarked on the 2023 season without a safety net. The two-year exemption that Dahmen earned with his win at last year’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship expires at season’s end. He’ll have to earn his return to the TOUR for 2024, and if there is one thing that Dahmen does not want to do it is lose his TOUR card. “I’m scared to death of having a job,” said Dahmen, whose vocational experience includes working at a golf course and as a valet. “Golf is very hard and it can go sour quickly,” he added. “Teeing it up in Napa (in September for the season-opening Fortinet Championship) was like OK, we’re back at square one. If you don’t play well, you don’t have a job. I was very aware of that.” Dahmen doesn’t have to dust off his resume quite yet. His quest to keep his TOUR card is off to a good start. He arrived at Sea Island ranked 19th in the FedExCup, including top-10s in his previous two starts. He’s made his last five cuts and four of those finishes have been T16 or better. Dahmen also is just a shot off the lead at The RSM Classic’s halfway point and in good position to earn another of those coveted two-year exemptions. He opened this week with a 67 on Sea Island’s Seaside Course and a 64 on Friday at the Plantation. Dahmen played the first two rounds with FedExCup leader Seamus Power, another player who’s saved his best golf for his mid-30s. They offer a stark contrast to the young studs on The RSM leaderboard, such as Sahith Theegala, Cole Hammer and Chris Gotterup. Hammer and Gotterup are both competing on sponsor exemptions after turning pro earlier this year. Gotterup was this year’s collegiate player of the year, while Hammer is a former No. 1 in the world amateur rankings who made headlines after qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open at age 15. Theegala was college golf’s top player just two years ago and is coming off a rookie season that concluded at this year’s TOUR Championship. Hammer holds a share of the halfway lead at 12-under 130 (64-66), while Theegala (68-63) is one back and Gotterup (65-68) is three back. Gotterup and Hammer were each in the top 10 of this year’s class for PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global and have Korn Ferry Tour status for next year. Dahmen and Power first met during their freshman year of college, so along ago that the course they were playing (Arizona State’s Karsten Course) no longer exists. They both spent several years on the mini-tours before making it to the Korn Ferry Tour, then waited a few more seasons for that first TOUR title. Now one of them could start 2023 atop the FedExCup standings. Power currently holds that position after earning his second career TOUR win at last month’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship and then finishing T3 in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Power is just four off the lead at The RSM after shooting 66-68. “I’m like, if I can keep up with Seamus it means I’m probably in a really good spot today,” said Dahmen, who’s 35 years old. “It wasn’t so much competition, it’s like, hey, this guy’s kind of leading right now and he’s ahead of the game, so if you can hang with him, you’re probably going to be in a good spot.” They were tied with four holes remaining Friday, but Dahmen made three birdies while Power played those holes in even par. Dahmen said his ability to convert some breaking short putts on Sea Island’s slick greens was one of the most satisfying parts of his play this week, “I’ve been improving a lot on my putting. Stats aren’t showing that, but I promise it’s improving. My short game’s improved a ton this fall,” Dahmen said. “Obviously this fall’s been really good for me, but I think my best golf is in front of me, yes.” Fear can be a great motivator.

Click here to read the full article…