Brian Harman was under par at the U.S. Open until four-putting from 5 feet and making triple bogey Saturday at Torrey Pines.
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The season’s third World Golf Championship kicks off on Thursday at the Club de Golf Chapultepec. Dustin Johnson looks to defend his title in Mexico City. Will someone claim their first WGC win? Round 1 tee times Round 1 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN TELEVISION: 2 — 7 p.m. (Golf Channel) PGA TOUR LIVE: 12:15 — 7 p.m. RADIO: 1 — 7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on Sirius XM and PGATOUR.COM) NOTABLE PAIRINGS (All times are ET) Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson 12:51 p.m. off the 10th tee Sergio Garcia, Alex Noren, Tommy Fleetwood 1:03 p.m. off the 10th tee Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, HaoTong Li 1:15 p.m. off the 10th tee Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler 1:51 p.m. off the 1st tee More on Featured Groups MUST-READS Ancer returns to represent Mexico Top players and great moments in WGC history How does being nearly 8,000 feet above sea level effect yardage? A quick look at the 2018 WGC-Mexico Championship
When Webb Simpson came home to Charlotte after THE PLAYERS Championship was canceled on March 12, he could already see the hospitality structures starting to take shape at Quail Hollow Club. Five days later, Simpson learned that the Wells Fargo Championship, which would have been played this week, would become one of nine PGA TOUR events and one major championship shuttered in the wake of the coronavirus. “It is very strange,â€� Simpson says. “I mean, it was sad to realize the Wells Fargo wasn’t happening. I love that golf tournament for so many reasons. Being a member, living there, I know the hard work they put into the event.â€� This would have been a busy week for Simpson. He would have appeared at the clinic his caddie, Paul Tesori, hosts for special needs youngsters. There likely would have been activities with some of his sponsors, too. Oh, and of course, golf at a tournament he’d dearly love to win. Now, though, Simpson looks ahead to June when the TOUR tentatively plans to return to golf at the Charles Schwab Challenge. This is already the longest break he’s taken from the game since his rookie year in 2009. Obviously, staying safe and healthy during this pandemic is of paramount importance. And for Simpson, so is helping those affected by the coronavirus – which is why he’s created a sweepstakes for a round of golf with him at Pinehurst No. 2 for the Chipping In COVID-19 Charity Relief Golf Auction. At the same time, the six-time TOUR champ is trying to maintain the competitive edge that saw him beat Tony Finau in a playoff at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and post three other top-10 finishes in five starts this season. “Even though it’s definitely like another off-season I wasn’t expecting, I don’t want to lose any momentum that I’ve had,â€� explains Simpson, who ranks fifth in the FedExCup. “I’m still working out as much. I’m still doing my mental stuff. I’m still playing golf. “I’m still doing these things that I was doing before, but obviously mentally I know that I’m not going to be teeing it up in competition for a while.â€� The home gym helps. So does the availability of the practice facilities at Quail Hollow, which Simpson says is in “awesome shape.â€� But he’s taking North Carolina’s stay-at-home order seriously, and there are five kids under the age of 9 – a son and four daughters – to keep Simpson and his wife Dowd busy there. Simpson and Dowd talked about the uncertainty they felt as they drove home from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, that Friday in March after THE PLAYERS was canceled. They realized they could rely on each other, as well as their strong faith, to get them through these unsettled times. Simpson says the couple has been as honest as possible with their children, given their tender ages, about why the coronavirus has altered life as we all knew it. “They’re pretty in tune with it,â€� he says. “We’re watching the news and we always want to tell them what’s going on, you know, without scaring them. But I don’t think they know the extent of like how global it is and how widespread it is.â€� Dowd has home-schooled their children in the past so transitioning to at-home learning again hasn’t been as much of a challenge as it might have been. The key, Simpson says, is sticking to a schedule that allows time for reading, writing, arithmetic and creative activities, as well as rest, play and other outdoor pursuits. “We just kind of made up our minds we’ve got to stick to that as best we can and that’s going to help our kids do better,â€� Simpson says. “… Thankfully, living on the golf course is nice because we can walk around. I took them to play golf yesterday to hit balls on the range. “So, I guess I’m definitely more PE than instructional. Like when it comes to reading, writing or any subjects, she’s way better.â€� The added time with his family has been the silver lining in the overlying cloud of uncertainty for the 2012 U.S. Open champion. “I’m just never home for this amount of time in a row,â€� Simpson says. “And so, it’s nice, you know, being at the dinner table every night and breakfast table every morning and then not saying goodbye to the kids on a Sunday night heading to a tournament.â€� That is, until June rolls around.
AVONDALE, La. – On Sunday morning, with her husband on the verge of his first PGA TOUR win in nine years, Jennifer Palmer and their son Mason hopped on a plane from Dallas to New Orleans. Daughter Madelyn opted to stay back home. Normally, Jennifer would’ve been here all week. After all, she explained, “it’s New Orleans. Yummy food, and everything else.â€� But she had mom duties. Mason was involved in a middle school play, “Shrek Jr.â€� Opening night was last Thursday, with more performances the next two nights. Plus, he had weekend hockey practice. He wanted to see dad, though, so he skipped Sunday’s practice to join his mom. The trip was worth it. The 42-year-old Palmer ended his lengthy drought, partnering with 24-year-old Jon Rahm to claim the Zurich Classic of New Orleans by three strokes over Sergio Garcia/Tommy Fleetwood. RELATED: How Palmer and Rahm paired up | Jennifer Palmer’s cancer battle | Final leaderboard | FedExCup For Rahm, it’s his third victory in as many years on TOUR, and his seventh worldwide win since turning pro. The Spanish youngster’s future is as bright as they come. “He’s got a special art, that’s for sure,â€� Palmer said. “He’ll be winning lots of tournaments, multiple majors … [I’m] honored to be a part of his story.â€� The most touching story on this day, though, was the one Palmer has been through. 2017 was a difficult year for the Palmers. Jennifer was dealing with breast cancer; she had started chemotherapy the previous fall on Ryan’s 40th birthday. Meanwhile, inside the ropes, his career had reached the tipping point. He couldn’t putt. “He had the yips,â€� recalled his long-time caddie and good friend James Edmondson, uttering the one word no golfer never wants to hear. And certainly never wants to admit. “I’m not going to use that word,â€� Palmer said “… but it was getting close to it.â€� It was indeed bad. Two-footers were troublesome. In 2012, Palmer was a top-20 putter on the PGA TOUR. In 2017, he ranked 190th. He didn’t even know there were that many players to be ranked. At the time, Palmer was 7 years removed from his last win. Edmondson, who’s been on his bag since 2002, worried about his good friend’s future. “I thought he was done,â€� he admitted. “It was really, truly hard to watch. I just had to tell him – you gotta change something.â€� Palmer always has used a conventional putting grip. It has served him well, with three TOUR wins. But now at a crossroads, he was willing to make an adjustment. At first, he looked at changing putters – he went to a golf store in San Antonio and bought six different putters. Later, he was testing out 10 different putters. But he decided to stick with his old putter but, on the advice of coach Randy Smith, change hit putter grip to a Flat Cat, which is essentially four-sided instead of rounded. That resulted in a grip change, as he moved away from conventional and opted for the claw grip. His first tournament using the changes was the 2017 John Deere Classic. Results weren’t immediate, but he stayed with it, worked diligently on his putting that off-season. “Just kept grinding and grinding with it,â€� Palmer said. Then at the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open, he was part of a three-man playoff. Jason Day won the tournament that day, but for Palmer, it solidified his confidence in the new grip. “It was a last-ditch effort to change the putting stroke,â€� said Edmondson, an accomplished golfer himself, having won the club championship multiple times at Colonial in Fort Worth, where he and Palmer are members. “That’s what kept him out here the first 10 years and it almost took him off. “For him to battle that, along with everything else that was going on at home, just shows the character he has and the hard work he put into it.â€� The renewed confidence still wasn’t translating into victories. He had a couple of sniffs last fall, including THE CJ CUP @NINE BRIDGES in Korea when he tied for third. He was top-5 at The Honda Classic in February. But at age 42, and with kids like Rahm making noise, not taking advantage of those opportunities can make an veteran wonder just how many are left. Palmer never lost faith. “One round kind of kept me out of it each time,â€� he said. “But I just kept believing in what I was doing. I knew my game was good enough.â€� On Sunday, in the Foursomes alternate-shot format that may be the cruelest in all of golf – Geoff Ogilvy, as noted many times on the TV coverage Sunday, once called it a “ 4-1/2 hour guilt tripâ€� – Palmer certainly never wanted to leave his partner hanging. He was putting not only for himself but for Rahm. At the eighth hole, he saved par by rolling in a 6-footer. At 11, he saved par with a 7-footer. At 14, he rolled in an 11-footer for birdie. One hole later, Rahm followed with a 24-foot birdie putt that essentially sealed the deal. That allowed Palmer and Rahm to join their walk toward the 18th green at TPC Louisiana, soaking in a victory that, while shared, felt just as sweet as their individual accomplishments. Certainly it did for Palmer, who – even though he is a Dallas Cowboys fan — loves New Orleans and is a good friend of Saints coach Sean Payton. Minutes after the last putt dropped, when asked about the nine-year journey, the tears started to come from a man who, like most Texans, usually plays it close to the vest with his emotions. Palmer then hugged his wife, hugged his son, hugged his friends from his hometown of Amarillo who also made a special trip to see him win. Jennifer is cancer-free now, although she still must attend to things in hopes of staying that way. Ryan, meanwhile, has his favorite part of the PGA TOUR season coming up with events back home in Dallas and his beloved Colonial at the Charles Schwab Challenge. And now he’s back in the winner’s circle — not that it’s really any surprise to his caddie, who offers not only tough love, but unwavering faith and devotion. Around Christmas time, buoyed by that close call in Korea, Edmondson told some of his buddies that Palmer was not done winning. He never told that to Palmer himself, but he believed in his man. One friend said it was all talk. Edmondson said he would put it into writing, and so he did, signing his name to a document that Palmer would win in 2019. It may not be notarized, but the evidence is there in case anyone needs proof. And now? “We’re going to Maui,â€� said Edmonson, looking ahead to next season’s Sentry Tournament of Champions. “It’s been awhile.â€�
