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Morning 9: Super League meeting “underwhelming” ? | A tough sell? | A different Kiawah test awaits

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Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
1 “Underwhelming”
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”A group of managers representing some of the game’s biggest stars met with representatives from a proposed breakaway circuit Tuesday at Kiawah Island, but the meeting didn’t seem to bring any clarity to the situation.”
  • “One manager who attended the meeting characterized it as “underwhelming” and given how long representatives from the Super League Golf concept have been pushing for the new tour it’s likely going to continue to be a topic and a distraction for some time.”
  • “It’s a complete distraction,” Bryson DeChambeau said. “I would say from my perspective, I’d want to know what way to go and just let’s go, whatever it is. Whatever is best for the players and for the fans is what I would support.”
2. Bryson to unleash the beast
BBC report…”DeChambeau, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 322 yards, also warned those who do not hit it long will be in for a “tough week”.”
  • “This golf course is a beast,” said the US Open champion.”
  • “Hopefully I can unleash the beast, but you never know. I may hit it right or left, I don’t know. But I’d say for the most part you have to hit it pretty straight out here, even though I’m hitting it pretty far.”
3. Stricker restates interest in a Woods vice captaincy 
ESPN’s Bob Harig…”Stricker, speaking in advance of the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course on Wednesday, said Woods’ involvement with the team is welcome.”
  • “I’ve talked to him; I don’t know if we are there yet to commit to him being there,” Stricker said. “He’s still got a lot going on, and his spirits are great, though, as of late. We were on a Zoom call with him just last week, and he seems like he’s in a better place. He’s still got some ways to go.”
  • “But I’d love to have him there. Who wouldn’t, right? The guys really respect him, and he did a great job as [Presidents Cup] captain [in 2019], and he was an assistant of mine in 2017 [at the Presidents Cup] and he was unbelievable. He would do anything for you, and he’s totally, totally vested in the situation and the process, almost to the point of, he’s on it early and so much, it’s like, ‘Dude, we’ve still got months to go yet.’ He’s really good at being an assistant, and I’d love to have him be there if it’s at all possible.”
4. A tough sell? 
Eamon Lynch imagines the reality — and difficulty — on the ground of the Super Golf League…“Interest among players for the Super Golf League is a combination of many things: simmering resentment among top players that the Tour structure is too weighted toward rewarding mediocre performers, a simple desire to secure their financial futures, naked greed, or even a pressing need for cash to ameliorate past misadventures. Live like a Saudi prince and you’ll need a Saudi prince to bail you out.”
  • “But none of them can legitimately claim to be motivated by a desire for competition.”
  • “Imagine Gretzky having quit because Dancing on Ice offered more money. Or Jordan’s Bulls deciding that joining the Harlem Globetrotters was better than winning championships. Those who join the putative Saudi circuit are acknowledging that their competitive careers are over in any meaningful sense, that they’re no longer engaged in the pursuit of history or a legacy of excellence, or in measuring themselves against the greatest ever. It’s instead an admission that they’re not athletes but entertainers, mere vessels for marketing product, even if that product happens to be the currish reputation of a brutal regime.”
  • “But those philosophical matters aren’t even the most troublesome questions players who split will face…There would be a public relations war that rebel players seem fated to lose.”
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5. A different Kiawah test awaits
PGATour.com’s Ben Everill…”Nine years ago, this event was held in August. That means a much different challenge awaits this year’s field.”
  • “When Rory McIlroy destroyed the field with his eight-shot win in 2012 he was aided by summer storms that softened up the Ocean Course significantly over the weekend. There was also a searing swampy heat well into the 90s that felt like triple digits. And the winds never blew at full strength.”
  • “Weather forecasts are fickle, of course, but on the eve of this PGA Championship there is a 0% percent chance of rain, the temperatures are expected to be in the high 70s most of the week and the wind is due to sit around 15 mph with gusts towards the mid 20s. The wind will start the tournament out of the east and move to the northeast before flipping for the final round.”
6. On DJ’s knee
Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post…”The world’s top-ranked golfer had his left knee checked out last week after withdrawing from the Byron Nelson. He spent the week at his home in Palm Beach County, had an MRI and put together a plan with his doctor and physiotherapist.”
  • “The result: He’s feeling better and just in time for the PGA Championship, which is being played in his home state.”
  • “It just didn’t feel right,” Johnson said about the knee he had arthroscopic surgery on 20 months ago. “I got an MRI, everything was fine … and just put together a little bit of a plan to get a little bit stronger. It feels good, though.”
7. Bryson’s toughest test? 
Golf Channel’s Ryan Laver…”Bryson DeChambeau, say hello to the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, at a shade under 7,900 yards the longest course in major championship history.”
  • “They would seem a perfect fit, bullies, both brawny and brutish, but it’s not that simple. This PGA Championship will be the most challenging test of his transformation.”
  • “It’s probably one of the hardest courses I’ve ever played,” DeChambeau said after his practice round Wednesday. “You can’t miss it in certain areas. You can’t bail out left or right. You’ve just got to have your ball-striking on the whole day, and if you don’t, you’re going to get penalized.”
8. The essence of a PGA Championship
Paul Sullivan for the NY Times…”With an eight-shot buffer, McIlroy beat a stacked field that succumbed to the course. He also set a record for margin of victory, besting the one set by Jack Nicklaus when he won his fifth P.G.A. Championship in 1980.”
  • “That is exactly the kind of excitement the P.G.A. of America seeks when it selects a course for its major championship. It wants a bunch of players to have a chance to win, but it’s also happy if one player puts on a master class and pulls away from everyone else.”
  • “Our philosophy is we want someone to win it, not lose it,” said Seth Waugh, chief executive of the P.G.A. of America, which holds the P.G.A. Championship and the Ryder Cup. “We want birdies and eagles and bogeys and others. We’re not trying to create a torture test. That’s not what we try to do.”
9. From the Tour Truck Report…
As you might expect, players aren’t making many substantial changes being made the week of a major championship. Nobody is looking to replace the starting quarterback the week of the Super Bowl (yes, I know there’s no WITB trade deadline in golf).
That said, we still have some interesting notes from the Ocean Course to bring your way ahead of the PGA Championship.
TaylorMade
  • In a surprising move, Dustin Johnson is reportedly putting a SIM2 Max in play (10.5 degrees) with a LA Golf prototype shaft.
  • Sergio Garcia has switched from the TP5x to the TP5 golf ball.
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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Super Dumb League

    May 21, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    Super League … B.S…
    More millionaires not satisfied with being millionaires.
    Funds from Saudi Arabia? Gee, if this were a *liberal*-leaning sport, the outrage from the other side would be palpable.
    It was a pathetic thing when Greg Norman tried it, it’s pathetic now, and will be next time too.
    It’s a shame golf isn’t considered “essential service”… Most people in those walks of life make less than $50k/yr.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 John Deere Classic

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Jul 2, 2024

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GolfWRX is on site this week at the 2024 John Deere Classic. With the Scottish Open next week and The Open Championship two weeks away, those who have qualified will be looking to shore up their games in Silvis, Illinois, before heading to European shores.

On the equipment front, we spotted some new SuperStroke x Marvel grips and got an in-hand look at impressive custom Scotty Cameron putters. Our WITB galleries already feature a look at Jason Day’s wares, and general complement the spread.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more photos from TPC Deere Run!

General Albums

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See what GolfWRXers are saying about the photos and join the discussion in the forums.

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Protected: Highlights from the Wilson Golf Product Testing and Fitting Experience at Pinehurst

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Tour Rundown: #QueenMel and a “Bland” U.S. Senior Open

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Jul 1, 2024

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A wee bit to the north and east of my hometown is a jaunty little ‘burg called Medina, NY. No one would ever consider it to be a golf mecca, but for this week at least, it is. Why? The 2024 Amateur Champion of the world, Melanie Green, hails from Medina. With a sense of regional pride, I salute #QueenMel, who emerged from 36-hole, medal qualifying and six head-to-head matches, to win 2-up in the 36-hole final at Portmarnock. Miss Mel won the last three holes, two with birdies, to join great USA winners like Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs, and Kelli Kuehne.

Now, let’s run down all the world’s tours this week. We followed a national championship (Men’s US Senior Open) from storied Newport Country Club, the PGA Tour at Detroit, the DP World in Italy, the LPGA doing the tandem thing around Michigan, and the Korn Ferry down Illinois way. We’re spoiled during these summer months, full stop. Might as well enjoy these riches.

PGA Tour @ Rocket Mortgage

The results that came out of Detroit Golf Club on Sunday caused a few heads to be scratched. Nowhere to be found were the mid-60s numbers that traced across the leaderboards like sunflowers in Carmona. Missing, too, as the sun waned in the sky, were the expected, clutch performances of golfers chasing victory.

We’ve grown accustomed to birdies down the stretch, and numbers like Bhatia’s 72nd-hole bogey, and Young’s closing five-five-five, seemed strange and unfamiliar. Bhatia’s take that he knows how to close tournaments, and that it simply didn’t happen on this day, was equal parts explanation and compensation. Teachers teach well, writers write well, and golfers put the ball in the hole. That’s the measure of victory.

The lifting of the tournament trophy was left to Cam Davis, who did what the others could not. He concluded play with 70 for -18 on the week, hoping for a second RMC in four years. On his heels, all tied for second at -17, were Davis Thompson, Min Woo Lee, Aaron Rai, and Bhatia. Beyond Akshay, none has tasted tournament success on the US PGA Tour. Davis posted birdie at 17, then waited. Thompson made a late rush, with birdies at three of his final five holes. He needed one more. Lee took five shots at the final hole; he needed one fewer. As for the two-gloved Rai, his even-par 72 on the day left him a shot away from playoff.

USGA @ Senior Men’s Open

Any hope that Hiroyuki Fujita held for finishing off the US Senior Open at Newport, went distantly away, courtesy of two unregistered opponents: fog and rain. The golfer that had played so brilliantly over 3.5 days (16-under through 63 holes) was forced to consider the ramifications of his situation. The golfer whose five cuts made in regular-tour majors included zero, top-forty finishes, stood three shots clear of the field, with no tourist guide to bring him home. Sunday’s dawn proved that he was mortal, and the game was afoot.

No worse pursuer than Richard Bland might have appeared. The Englishman had won his last USA start, and it was also a senior major championship. Bland captured the Senior PGA Championship in late May, winning by three shots over Australia’s Richard Green. The SPGA runner-up was also among the chasers at Newport, but a top-five finish would once again be his destiny. As for Bland, he did what experienced winners do. Consecutive birdies at 14 and 15 on Monday served notice that there would be no easy stroll home for Fujita. The Japan Tour stalwart stumbled over the same stretch of holes, posting bogey on three of his first four holes on day five.

Precisely when it appeared that Bland would conclude matters in regulation, he posted bogey at the 18th and dropped back to 13-under par. Fujita found the same number, and the duo went off to the first, two-hole playoff in US Senior Open history, and the first overtime session since 2014 in Oklahoma. After two pars each in the regulation session, they went to single-hole elimination. Each made bogey at the 18th, but the fourth hole gave resolution. Bland was able to earn a sandy from the greenside bunker, while Fujita was unable to secure par. Congratulations to Richard Bland on a second senior major in 2024.

LPGA @ Dow Championship

Both Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) and Yin Ruoning (China) will represent their nations in the 2024 Paris Olympic games. Olympic competition is individual-only for golf, which is a missed opportunity. Teaming to win medals for your country is the epitome of Olympic success. It’s a bit odd, then that the two would find success in a team-style, warm-up event on the LPGA circuit.

For most of the week, two golfers from the USA appeared destined for victory at Midland Country Club. Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho finished 36 holes in 128 strokes. They gave one back on Saturday, with 67, but came home on Sunday with a third 64 for the week. Despite an early passel of birdies, they were unable to save a single shot over the closing stretch. They finished at 21-deep for the week.

Paired with them, Thitikul and Ruoning were also finding par after par as they headed for home. At the watery 18th, Thitikul stuffed her tee ball inside fifteen feet, then read the surface flawlessly, and hit her mark. The putt broke slightly right, into the center of the cup. With that closing birdie, a playoff was avoided and a send-off celebration of Olympic calibre was in the works.

DP World Tour @ Italian Open

16 months had passed since Marcel Siem last savored a DP World Tour win. His triumph at the Indian Open, in February of 2023, might have been a bit distant to leave residue of confidence. As he traversed the final arc of the Cervia golf course, his gaskets had unsealed and oil leaked everywhere. An outward 32 was undone by four bogeys from holes 11 to 17. The last one had dropped him from the lead, and only a majestic finish could return a chance at salvation. After he drove the fairway and reached the green at the closing trace, Siem assessed a 22-feet putt for birdie and found cup bottom.

In that moment, the round of 65 that England’s Tom McKibbin had fashioned, was no longer enough. He would need to do a bit more work, to secure a second Tour title. The duo returned to the final tee deck, and Siem once again faced a birdie putt. His approach was played brilliantly to about ten feet, but the putt drifted right. By the grace of gravity, it caught enough of the circle to fall downward, and a sixth career title belonged to the German champion.

Korn Ferry Tour @ MHC by LRS

Max McGreevy has tasted the bitterness of defeat and savored delicious victory on the professional golf tours. He has lost a playoff on the PGA Tour, and now won twice on the Korn Ferry orbit. This week, McGreevey overcame a wee miss on the penultimate hole, to secure victory at green 72, with a xxx birdie putt. He and runner-up Steven Fisk each clinched a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season, based on 2024 peformance.

McGreevy eased a 36-yard pitch within two feet of the hole, at the par-five 16th, on Sunday. He converted the birdie putt and moved a shot lower than Fisk, with two holes to face. At 17, he played safely away from the tucked flag at the watery par three, and eased his 55-feet putt to precisely the same distance (26 inches.) And then, he missed. Gone was the lead, and present were the doubts.

As champions do, McGreevy refocussed and found his spot on the 18th fairway. His approach from 186 yards settled a dozen feet from the flagstick, and his read on the downhill slider was accurate. The putt dropped, and McGreevy avoided overtime.

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