WiretoWire: Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim makes history with PGA TOUR win at age 20

AUSTIN, Texas — Three Americans and one Swede — or if you prefer, three ex-Southeastern Conference players and one from the Big 12. Those are the survivors who have advanced to the final day of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play The Sunday morning semifinals at Austin Country Club begin at 10 a.m. ET with Justin Thomas facing Bubba Watson, followed by Alex Noren vs. Kevin Kisner at 10:15 a.m. The winners will face off in the championship match Sunday afternoon. Noren — a Swede who graduated from Oklahoma State — will try to prevent an All-American final, while an All-Georgia Bulldog final could develop if Kisner and Watson win. Meanwhile, Alabama’s Justin Thomas, currently No. 1 in the world, could also move to world No. 1 if he beats Watson. Here’s a breakdown of each semifinal match: Justin Thomas vs. Bubba Watson Bubba Watson was supposed to go out of the country on vacation tomorrow. Due to the sheer uncertainty of match play, Watson bought plane tickets, never realizing that he would make it to the semifinals for the second time in eight Match Play appearances. “I figured I wasn’t going to make it, so I went ahead and scheduled a vacation,” said Watson, seeded 35th this week. “So I’ve got to call my wife now and tell her that I’m going to be a day late.” Instead of relaxing 40,000 feet up in the air, Watson will go head-to-head with Justin Thomas in a semifinal match that has extra significance for the second-ranked player in the world. Getting past Watson would guarantee Thomas the No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career. In an interesting twist of fate, Sunday’s match against Thomas will be the second time Watson has gone up against a player who needed a win to secure the No. 1 ranking. The last time was back in 2011 when Watson lost to Martin Kaymer in the Match Play semifinals. That win secured Kaymer the No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career. “I guess I’m good at that,” Watson said. “If you want No. 1, just beat me, and you’ll be No. 1.” Watson appears to be up for the challenge based on the way he’s played this week. After making it through the group stage, Watson held off Brian Harman in the Round of 16 before taking down good friend Kiradech Aphibarnrat in 15 holes. Watson went 1 down early in his match against Harman but never trailed against Aphibarnat. Thomas has been on a similar run this week. Before he went 1 down on the second hole against Kyle Stanley in the quarterfinals, Thomas had not trailed all week. Playing the role of front-runner has suited the 24-year-old well, who needed just 13 holes to take down Si Woo Kim before ending Kyle Stanley’s week, 2 and 1. Thomas was on the fence about playing in Austin following the removal of his wisdom teeth, which turned into a sore throat — a doctor told him it was likey strep throat — that saw him lose six pounds. “I had a pretty serious conversation with my dad on Monday if I was going to play,” Thomas said. “I never want to play in a tournament, first off if it’s going to hurt my health. If I was sick or really sick, me trying to play this week wasn’t going to do me any good. But also if I feel like I don’t have a chance to win, it’s also really — to me, I don’t understand the point of playing if I don’t feel like I can.” With the help of antibiotics, Thomas has regained his strength and has the look of someone who won the Honda Classic and finished runner-up in Mexico in his last two starts. On the verge of becoming No. 1, Thomas is relishing that possibility that it could happen tomorrow. “I don’t know what’s going to come with it,” Thomas said of the No. 1 ranking. “But I just hope it happens tomorrow.” Alex Noren vs. Kevin Kisner Alex Noren has played with Kevin Kisner only once since the two turned professional, but there’s a history between the players that dates back to their time at the University of Georgia and Oklahoma State University. Playing at two golf powerhouses around the same time meant Kisner and Noren saw a lot of each other. While Noren couldn’t recall who got the better of those battles on the course, he’ll have the chance to take on Kisner in a match that would move him one step closer to earning his first PGA TOUR victory. He’s looked the part of a player who’s on the verge of finding the winner’s circle this season, with a runner-up finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and a third-place showing at the Honda Classic. Then there’s the impressive run he’s been on this week that’s seen him go 9-1 in his last 10 matches at the event, dating back to last year. “I’ve always liked match play because I think it’s very — the outcome is quite direct,” Noren said. “Four days, sometimes it can — you can go through holes that maybe mentally you’re a little bit out of it and then you get into it when it’s 72 holes. “In match play, you’ve just got to be really focused all the time and anything can happen. And then you have to play good each round. You can’t just give up a round and then think you’ve got three more. Maybe that’s what I need to do in stroke play, as well, not give a round away. I’ve always liked it. You can be a little bit more aggressive.” Noren will face an in-form Kisner who recently found something with his game. Everything has clicked this week, as Kisner made eight birdies in a win against Matt Kuchar before rolling past Ian Poulter in the quarterfinals, 8 and 6. “A lot of range balls, a lot of time,” Kisner said. “I haven’t been very confident throughout the bag all year. Sometimes you have to get a little worse before you get better. We’re always trying to improve. And I’m not sure if I needed to. “It’s starting to click now. I started seeing some stuff on Tuesday. I played nine holes with Daniel Berger and started seeing good stuff that I hadn’t seen in a few weeks. That was starting to build the confidence there. And throughout the week I’ve gained a lot more confidence.” Confidence could be key in a match between two of the hottest putters in the field. Noren currently leads the field in strokes gained: putting this week while Kisner ranks fourth in the statistical category.

Click here to read the full article…

LOS ANGELES — The guy who grew up 40 miles away, first played Riviera as a teenager and was out of golf with a bad back returned Thursday and shared the lead at the Genesis Open. That would be Patrick Cantlay, not Tiger Woods. And the biggest difference was that hardly anyone saw it. Cantlay, the No. 1 amateur in the world when he was at UCLA, birdied all the par 5s and kept it smart the rest of the way around a firm Riviera course for a 5-under 66 to share the lead with Tony Finau. Woods, who grew up in Cypress and made his PGA TOUR debut at Riviera when he was 16, played this event for the first time in 12 years. He lost a tee shot in a eucalyptus tree and made double bogey as part of a rugged start, and then settled in with a series of key putts for a 72. Finau started with four birdies in five holes and finished with one last birdie for his 66. An unusually large crowd for Thursday at Riviera was out early to watch Woods, with fans standing six-deep around some of the greens. There still were not enough people to help locate his tee shot on the par-5 11th hole, presumably swallowed up by the tree. Woods is playing Riviera for the ninth time as a pro, the most of any PGA TOUR course without ever winning. His expectations are tempered now at age 42 and returning from his fourth back surgery. His game isn’t sharp, though it’s moving in the right direction. He made five birdies despite hitting only seven greens in regulation, and he recovered from being 2-over after three holes. “I’m not that far off to really putting some good numbers out there,” Woods said. “I’ve got to clean up my card — too many bogeys out there. If I can just clean that up, I can start making my way up the board.” Cantlay played with Jordan Spieth (71) and fellow UCLA alum Kevin Chappell (69), and as they finished in the twilight, the crowd had thinned considerably. They missed a clean round by Cantlay, whose only bogey came on the par-3 fourth hole when he came up short of the green and missed a 10-foot putt. Otherwise, he was smart, simple and confident. “I’m pretty familiar with the golf course, and you’ve just got to hit a lot of smart shots over and over and over again, and not get too greedy,” Cantlay said. He can’t remember how many rounds he has played at Riviera. The Bruins typically played at Bel-Air on Tuesday and Thursday, and Riviera about once a month. “I feel very familiar with the lines on the golf course, and it’s one of my favorite golf courses,” he said. “I think the architecture out here is definitely one of the best we play all year. I think it rewards really smart, safe golf a lot. I say safe, but just picking your spots, not trying to get overly aggressive.” He was a little aggressive, intentionally or not, with a 9-iron in the 13th that was left of the flag on a green that moves to the left. He holed a 15-foot birdie putt, and a small clan of Bruins-clad fans broke into a cheer, “U-C-L-A, UCLA fight, fight, fight!” Cantlay smiled walking off the green. Defending champion Dustin Johnson got off to a rough start, particularly on No. 5. He played his third shot from ankle-high grass and it flew over the green. His chip came back down the slope and the world’s No. 1 player walked off with a triple bogey. Johnson wound up with a 74. Sam Saunders, who last year started with a 64, was among three players at 67. Bubba Watson was in the group at 68. Twelve players did not finish the round before darkness. Woods played with Justin Thomas (69) and Rory McIlroy (71). They had the largest gallery of the day, most of them to see Woods, who had not played at Riviera since 2006. It was never hard to figure out where Woods was on the golf course, and that was particularly true for Saunders. He was teeing off on the par-3 fourth when he looked down the hill at Woods playing the 18th. “I looked over and watched because I grew up watching Tiger do what he did,” Saunders said. “And I’m a big fan like we all are out here and it’s really cool to see him out and we all want him to be out here every week and playing well. It just brings a different buzz to the tournament and it’s really good for the game of golf, so it’s cool for me to be playing in a tournament that he’s playing in and be able to compete against him, a guy that I grew up just in awe of basically.” Saunders knows all about the energy one player can bring to a tournament. He heard plenty of stories about his grandfather, Arnold Palmer, who first brought the masses to golf more than a half-century ago. “I think that’s why I have so much respect for what he did and admire his career so much, because I didn’t get to see my grandfather’s firsthand like I got to see Tiger’s growing up watching TV,” Saunders said. “I know there’s a lot of parallels there.”

Click here to read the full article…

FORT WORTH, Texas – We entered this week not really knowing what to expect. First PGA TOUR event in three months. No fans. No stands. Testing protocols and in-the-bubble existence. Masks required for most, thermal screening necessary for all. Now we’re 54 holes in and guess what? The Charles Schwab Challenge has turned into … a regular golf tournament. And that’s a good thing. Sunday’s final round will focus on which player on a leaderboard stacked with notable names will emerge as the latest champion this season. A big trophy, a plaid jacket, a nice check and 500 FedExCup points will be rewarded, just like previous years at Colonial. RELATED: RELATED: Leaderboard | Big names in contention at Charles Schwab Challenge “We’re … here to win a golf tournament,â€� said South African Branden Grace, one of five players a shot behind leader Xander Schauffele. “Whether there’s 40,000 people or four people watching, it doesn’t really make a difference.â€� Of course, Grace and all the players in this week’s field realize it’s been anything but a normal week on TOUR. Some received another dose of the new reality after their third rounds, as players scheduled to fly the charter to next week’s RBC Heritage at Harbour Town were required to again undergo COVID-19 testing in order to play next week. On Sunday, there will be no trophy presentation on the 18th green for the champion, although there will be a photo op. The winner’s press conference will be handled virtually, as have all media obligations this week. The charter leaves shortly after the event, so there’s no time to spend on other responsibilities generally required of a tournament champ. Still, it’s competition. A chance to beat your peers. The determining factor might very well be how players handle the unusual circumstances of a high-pressure environment without being able to feed off fans. Some may like it. Some may find it difficult to play their best. “I’m into it, and it’s a little bit more competitive honestly than I thought it would be,â€� said Justin Thomas, who joins Grace, Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland and Collin Morikawa as the closest pursuers to Schauffele. “I thought it was going to be very odd. I was hoping that I’d be in this position to where I’d have a good chance to win the tournament and see how I feel, but it is going to be different, especially come those last couple of holes if you have a lead or if you’re trying to chase someone down or if you’re tied for the lead. “It’ll be interesting to see how that adrenaline plays a role.â€� Schauffele, a four-time TOUR winner who grabbed the lead with a birdie on his final hole Saturday, leaving him at 13 under after his second consecutive 66, may be the perfect player to handle the atmosphere. The word “subduedâ€� was invented for him. “I’m kind of a quiet guy,â€� he said. “I don’t have like a huge effect on the crowd, I’d say, so not having fans isn’t the craziest thing for me. “It just does feel like I’m playing at home with some of my buddies. It’s quiet. You make three birdies in a row, you can kind of give yourself a pat on the back.â€� His playing partner in the final twosome is Gary Woodland, who also shot 66 to move into a five-way tie for second with Grace, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa. Woodland said it will simply be a matter of making his own noise. “When you get into contention and have a chance to win a golf tournament, that adrenaline starts pumping,â€� Woodland said. “It’s been a little different; the first two days there wasn’t too much adrenaline. There will be adrenaline going, which you have with fans or without fans. Tomorrow should be fun.â€� One person who definitely has fed off the Colonial crowd in recent years is Spieth, the Dallas native who won here in 2016. Spieth is the only other pro to reach 13 under this week, but a bogey at the 15th prevented him for playing in the final twosome for the second consecutive day. He shot 68 while playing with 36-hole leader Harold Varner III, who posted a 70 to drop two shots off the pace. Instead of becoming a normal tournament as the week has progressed, Spieth admitted “it’s felt weirder, in my opinion.â€� “Going in, I thought that Monday to Friday would be somewhat normal and then Saturday and Sunday would be a bit odd,â€� he said. “Today definitely felt a lot different for it being a Saturday afternoon in the last group. When you kind of think about the situation you’re in, you just don’t feel like you’re actually out there doing that. I just felt like I was playing a normal round with Harold, certainly knowing where I was at. “You know, I like to feed off the crowds.â€� So does Rory McIlroy, the world’s top-ranked player. McIlroy, making his first start at Colonial, followed his 63 with a 1-under 69 while basically flying under the radar. He’s at 10 under and will be another player trying to make his own noise. “I feel for a Saturday afternoon being in contention on the PGA TOUR, it felt sort of weird out there,â€� McIlroy said. “The first couple days it was fine, but definitely today it’s feeling strange. I’m sure tomorrow will feel pretty strange, especially with so many guys in and around the lead.â€� So many notables, to be more specific. The top 14 players on the leaderboard, all within 3 shots of the lead, includes the last five FedExCup champs (Spieth, Thomas, Justin Rose and McIlroy times two). Seven of the contenders played in the Presidents Cup last December. Woodland is the reigning U.S. Open champ; Grace holds the record for lowest round shot in a major. You get the drift. “It definitely has a major feel,â€� Woodland said. “You’ve got a lot of the top players in the world, and everybody is playing well. I think everybody is excited to be out here, and with no fans here, you get some big names up there that you definitely get the juices going.â€� Still, there’s no denying that this week has been unusual for all at Colonial. But a win’s a win – and this win Sunday, given the circumstances, may very well be as special as they come. “Listen, this is new to us all,â€� said Rose, trying to win at Colonial for the second time in the last three years. “It’s going to feel different for everybody, but it’s going to feel as rewarding to win. You’re going to have to beat a great field and it’s going to be a good leaderboard to contest against, and whoever wins tomorrow is going to have to go out and play some good golf. From that point of view, that’s all we’re looking at. “Ultimately, we all need to break down the golf course week in and week out and that doesn’t change tomorrow. Obviously, the crowd and the fans, they bring some of the atmosphere and the energy, but it doesn’t change the task.â€� Play the quiet game … or make your noise. Whoever figures it out the best may be the subject of a photo op late Sunday afternoon.

Click here to read the full article…