With the pressure reduced, Patrick Reed wins the Masters

BROOKLINE, Mass. – The oldest player in the field played one final practice round Wednesday for the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club. Fans lined the gallery ropes three deep. Fran Quinn, 57, had built a buzz as the oldest player to survive U.S. Open Final Qualifying since the USGA began keeping such records in the early 1980s. And he did so as a native son, hailing from Holden, Massachusetts just 40 minutes west. On his final approach shot before teeing it up Thursday in the first group off No. 10, he holed a mid-iron from 186 yards. “Bet the mortgage on Fran!” yelled a fan from outside the ropes. Quinn nodded and smiled. Welcome to what at least one news outlet has called the story of this U.S. Open so far. Quinn, who grew up as one of seven siblings in Holden, Massachusetts, cultivated a gritty mentality that family and friends describe as “never-say-die.” He first earned a PGA TOUR card at 26. He earned his second TOUR card at 44. His son Owen, 23, also a professional golfer, calls him a “journeyman from Massachusetts.” And now, Fran Quinn, a high school quarterback before turning his full attention to golf, will tee it up against the best in the world in his home state. It’s a victory lap, to be sure, but it’s more than that, for his competitive fire remains very much intact. “It’s innate,” his wife Lori said of her husband’s drive. “He was born with that. Coming from a family of golfers, and he was just an athlete. Played hockey, football, really good quarterback. Playing with these young guys, it keeps him young. He hits it long, he walks with them. Fifty-seven is purely a number, and he’s not 57.” Quinn reinvented his game in his late 30s and early 40s, said Kevin Johnson, a fellow Massachusetts native and longtime travel companion on the Korn Ferry Tour. (They combined for 737 starts and 10 wins on that circuit.) He never stopped looking for that extra edge, even after fracturing a bone in his shoulder in summer 2019. The payoff: Quinn will hit the tournament’s opening tee shot off No. 10 on Thursday, a peak moment for a player who attended the 1988 U.S. Open at The Country Club as a fan after falling one stroke short at Final Qualifying. He also advanced to the final match of the 1987 Massachusetts State Amateur at The Country Club, falling to Johnson. While attending the 1988 U.S. Open, Quinn’s dad, Fran Sr., said Quinn would play for his national championship someday. Fran Sr. was correct, five times over – Quinn has also competed in the 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2014 U.S. Opens. At the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, Quinn was tied for second after the opening round and made the cut, leading to a memorable Father’s Day walk with Owen on the bag. This one, though, packs an extra punch because it’s so close to home. Lori caddied in Monday’s practice round before handing the bag to Owen for the remainder of the week. Fran was showered with adoration at every turn across Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds, punctuated by his hole-out. How is this happening? It goes back to the kids, and the fact that Quinn plays against him every chance he gets. He competes against players his own age on PGA TOUR Champions – he finished T21 at last week’s American Family Insurance Championship – but tees it up against Owen, nephew Matthew Quinn and various high school- and college-aged family friends when he’s home. It keeps him young. Matthew, a rising high school senior who completed an Algebra II final exam last Monday before tracking Fran’s hole-by-hole scores during afternoon play at Final Qualifying, said Quinn is a “guaranteed 4 under par” per round in their 2-on-2 best-ball games at Worcester CC. Others, too, have been impressed by his game. “He’s still got the distance, and I think that’s from playing with the young guys,” said Johnson, now a tournament referee on PGA TOUR Champions. “Competing with Owen and his buddies has kept Franny swinging hard. If he played with guys who dink it out there 250 all the time, you’re going to think you’re hitting it long when you’re hitting it 270. “He has not lost any distance,” Johnson continued. “It’s amazing. Even after his shoulder injury, he still hits it hard, and I think that’s why he’s been so competitive.” The injury was a fluke accident. In the midst of the 2019 PGA TOUR Champions season, Quinn tripped in a pothole in a crosswalk in New York City while visiting his son Sean. Fifty percent of his glenoid (right shoulder socket) was shattered. For a year, he couldn’t raise his arm above his belly button. He underwent a first and then a second surgery, the latter operation performed by New England Patriots head physician Mark Price. Thus began an 18-month recovery in which Quinn’s fire never waned. “I remember him being in his kitchen, when he was in his sling,” said family friend Joe Murphy. “He’d be like, ‘Murph, I’ve got my wedge going. I’ve got my wedge yards up. I can still beat you.’” Quinn hadn’t attempted U.S. Open qualification since 2015, but this year’s proximity to home piqued his interest – and when he learned his son and nephew would play Local Qualifying, those competitive instincts kicked in. “I was with Owen in Florida,” said Matthew. “I put myself in for Local Qualifying, and Owen put himself in. His dad was like, ‘Why don’t you put me in as well?’” Quinn was 3-over through nine holes at his Local Qualifying site, Taconic GC in Williamstown, Massachusetts. But he battled back to post 1-over, one stroke clear of a playoff. Owen carded the same 1-over total to advance, as well. From there, Quinn stayed the course at his Final Qualifying site in Purchase, New York – the same location where he missed qualifying for the 1988 U.S. Open at Brookline by a shot. This time, with Lori on the bag, he made amends. He was 2 under for 36 holes, then made birdie on the second hole of an 8-for-3 playoff to earn his spot in the field. “I was like, ‘Come on, you’re the most seasoned player here. You have the most experience in playoffs. Let’s get in,’” Lori said. “He’s like, ‘OK.’ And he did. He listens to me. What a good husband!” Quinn’s story has captured the hearts and minds in his native Massachusetts and beyond. “It’s to show his family, his son … it just shows that good things can happen if you just keep working hard,” said Johnson. “He was at the end of his rope after the shoulder injury, didn’t know if he was ever going to come back. But he just grinded it out. It just shows that hard work … he loves the game, and now to get this opportunity, it’s like the icing on the cake. “I know him,” Johnson added. “He’s not just going to go through it. He’s going to work his butt off. He can play well there. He’s trying to do really well. It’s not just a ceremonial, happy that he got there. I think he’s definitely going to do well.” “I’m just so proud of him,” added Lori. “He’s kind of the bionic man.” “Fran,” said family friend John Pagano, “is the man.”

Click here to read the full article…

Aiming to stylishly cap a rookie season that Hurricane Maria almost denied her, Maria Torres shared the first-round lead on 6-under at the final women’s golf major Thursday.

Click here to read the full article…

JACKSON, Miss. – Notes and observations from the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson. LEADING LIGHT Cameron Champ was an amateur this time last year. Now he’s a PGA TOUR winner. Champ, 23, claimed the Sanderson Farms Championship in just his second start as a TOUR member. He birdied five of his final six holes for a four-shot victory over Corey Conners. Champ shot a final-round 68 to finish at 21-under 267, the lowest score in the five editions of the Sanderson Farms at the Country Club of Jackson. And to think he almost didn’t turn pro last fall. He planned to finish his senior season at Texas A&M if he didn’t advance through the second stage of last year’s Web.com Tour Q-School. A third-round 75 left him outside the cut line with one round remaining. He closed in 68, including a birdie at the last, to advance to the final stage with three shots to spare. “It’s pretty unreal,â€� he said. “I can think back to second stage when I kind of almost choked with three holes to go. I made a great putt on 17 to move on to finals.â€� Advancing to Q-School’s final stage guaranteed him Web.com Tour status for 2018. He finished sixth on the money list, including a win at the Utah Championship, to earn his TOUR card. Now he has a guaranteed home on the PGA TOUR. The Sanderson victory comes with an exemption that will last nearly three years, through the end of the 2020-21 season. He also earns spots in THE PLAYERS Championship, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, PGA Championship and the TOUR’s invitational events. Champ’s booming tee shots should play well on the wide, sloping fairways of Kapalua’s Plantation Course. Champ can set his schedule instead of thinking about the reshuffle and keeping his card. He has the early, early lead in the Rookie of the Year race and moves to sixth in the FedExCup standings. He dominated the Country Club of Jackson’s back nine, which features two par-5s (Nos. 11 and 13) and the drivable, par-4 15th hole. He was 16 under on the course’s inward half and didn’t make a bogey. Champ’s trademark driving distance was key to his victory. He finished first in driving distance, averaging 308 yards on all holes and 334 yards on the measured holes. He was second in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, as well. Champ also finished second in Strokes Gained: Putting (+2.27 per round) and ninth in greens hit (55 of 72), despite hitting just 11 in the final round. OBSERVATIONS CANADIAN CHALLENGE: Conners put pressure on Champ for the majority of Sunday’s round. The Canadian caught Champ with a 13-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole and remained tied with him by matching his birdie at the par-3 13th. Conners almost tied Champ again on the 15th hole, but his 7-foot eagle putt on the drivable par-4 burned the edge. Champ birdied the next hole to take a two-shot lead. He carried that advantage to the 18th tee, eventually winning by four after Conners’ three-putt on the final hole. That bogey on the 18th hole was inconsequential. Conners finished two shots ahead of third place for his best finish in 40 PGA TOUR starts. He has conditional status this season after finishing 130th in the FedExCup. He’s 18th in this season’s standings. He can take confidence from his strong play under Sunday pressure, as well. This was the third time he started the final round of a PGA TOUR event in first or second place. He shot a final-round 77 at the Valspar Championship after holding a one-shot lead. He was in second at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship before a final-round 76. CASTRO’S CHARGE: Roberto Castro started Sunday in 19th place. He teed off more than an hour before the final group. He briefly pulled within two shots of the lead after making birdie on eight of his first 11 holes, though. He couldn’t keep up the pace. He bogeyed the 12th hole, then parred the last six. He finished T5 after a final-round 65. It was his best finish since the 2016 BMW Championship, when he finished third to qualify for the TOUR Championship. Castro, who graduated from the Web.com Tour in 2018, hopes another strong start to the season can result in his third trip to the TOUR Championship in his hometown of Atlanta. He’s 61st in this season’s standings. EAGLE HAS LANDED: Dylan Meyer is a first-year professional out of the University of Illinois. D.J. Trahan is a PGA TOUR veteran with two victories. They both parlayed sponsor exemptions into top-10 finishes at the Sanderson Farms Championship. They finished T7 at 13-under 275 to earn starts in next week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Meyer’s final-round 69 included an eagle on the par-5 11th hole. Meyer will have Web.com Tour status in 2019 after qualifying for the Web.com Tour Finals via his play on the PGA TOUR. He made the cut in five of seven starts as a pro, including a T17 at the Quicken Loans National and T20 at the U.S. Open. Trahan, who played in the final group alongside Champ and Conners, fired a final-round 71. It’s his first top-10 since the 2015 Sanderson Farms. QUOTABLE It doesn’t matter if you play good or bad. You go back to a little kid and they really don’t care.It really does help a lot just to get a little confidence going into the holidays and a few points. SUPERLATIVES Low round: Carlos Ortiz shot a final-round 64 to jump 16 spots on the leaderboard and finish in a tie for third. It was the best finish in 64 PGA TOUR starts for the 2014 Web.com Tour Player of the Year. Longest drive: Wyndham Clark hit a 369-yard drive on the sixth hole. He made par on the hole in his final-round 73. Clark, a Web.com Tour grad, finished T54. Longest putt: Brady Schnell made a 50-foot putt in his final-round 69. He finished T45. Hardest hole: The 209-yard, par-3 seventh hole played to a 3.3 scoring average, yielding just five birdies. Champ made one of the 19 bogeys there in the final round. Easiest hole: The 534-yard, par-5 third hole played to a 4.33 scoring average. There were six birdies and 38 eagles on the hole, compared to just two bogeys. CALL OF THE DAY  For play-by-play coverage of the PGA TOUR, listen here. SHOT OF THE DAY

Click here to read the full article…