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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.

The winning moment for The 121st Women’s Amateur Champion ?

And what a way to do it ? pic.twitter.com/WSyXQQaNLF

— The R&A (@RandA) June 29, 2024

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.

A classy up-and-down birdie for @CamDavisGolf.

He leads by one @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/HSrJuetSzD

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2024

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.

Richard Bland is making a charge ?

He grabs the U.S. Senior Open lead after back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15. pic.twitter.com/5lOxI3EyEA

— USGA (@USGA) July 1, 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.

Team @jeeno_atthaya and Ruoning Yin fighting for the solo lead ?

Tune in on @CBS to catch the rest of the action! pic.twitter.com/Y4CkPBF7sc

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 30, 2024

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.

The moment @SiemMarcel claimed his SIXTH Tour win ?#ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/YysmH9FKAh

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 30, 2024

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.

Back to the winner’s circle ??@MaxMcgreevy brings home his second title @MHChampionship. pic.twitter.com/LIqPI1iXnO

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 30, 2024

 

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco. For comments: [email protected] Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the Rocket Mortgage Classic gets underway. 1. Charlie Woods grouped with sons of other championship-winning dads at Future Masters Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Days after qualifying for his first USGA championship, Charlie Woods finds himself in a notable grouping at the one of the longest-running junior tournaments in the country.” “Woods, 15, who qualified last week for the U.S. Junior Amateur next month at Oakland Hills, will play in the Press Thornton Junior Masters, which begins Thursday at Dothan Country Club in Dothan, Alabama. The event, now in its 75th year, has seen the likes of Shaun Micheel, Stewart Cink, Hudson Swafford,Blayne Barber, Ollie Schniederjans and Robby Shelton win titles in the 15-18 age division.” “Woods will be grouped with Jacob Immelman, a Clemson signee and son of Masters champ Trevor Immelman; Liam Curtis, son of Open champ Ben Curtis; and Henry Kuehne, son of Hank Kuehne, a former U.S. Amateur champ who won twice on the Canadian Tour.” Full piece. 2. Open Championship qualifying fields set Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Final qualifying, which is 36 holes, will be held at four sites across the U.K. on Tuesday: Burnham and Berrow Golf Club in Burnham-on-Sea, England; Royal Cinque Ports in Deal, England; West Lancashire Golf Club in Blundellsands, England; and Dundonald Links in Troon, Scotland, just north of Royal Troon.” “Highlighting final qualifying is Justin Rose, who played 14 straight Open Championships until missing the 2022 Open at St. Andrews. Rose was low amateur at the 1998 Open, where he tied for fourth at Royal Birkdale, and owns three top-10s in 20 career Open appearances. He tied for 22nd at the 2016 Open at Royal Troon.” “Also teeing it up are 16 current LIV players: Sergio Garcia, Carlos Ortiz, Marc Leishman, Jason Kokrak, Sebastian Munoz, Sam Horsfield and Kieran Vincent at West Lancashire; Graeme McDowell, Branden Grace and Eugenio Chacarra at Royal Cinque Ports; Peter Uihlein and Danny Lee at Dundonald Links; and Anirban Lahiri, Abraham Ancer, Jinchiro Kozuma and Laurie Canter (reserve) at Burnham and Berrow…” Full piece. 3. Dutch golfer denied Olympics by their own country despite qualifying Kent Paisley for Golf Digest…”The LPGA Tour posted on Tuesday that Dewi Weber had qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and that could have been the culmination of a dream for the Dutchwoman. Text messages poured into Weber’s phone congratulating her on the accomplishment, a fitting celebration just a week ahead of her wedding.” “However, Weber, 28, has had to painfully answer that, despite being eligible for Paris, the Netherlands will not allow her to play. Her homeland had four golfers eligible—Anne van Dam being the other golfer on the women’s side, and Darius van Driel, Joost Luiten for the men—but because of the nation’s separate qualification rules for golf, only van Dam will represent the Dutch.” “Our own country is saying we don’t think you’re worthy of being an Olympian, and you’re not worthy of representing the Netherlands,” Weber told Golf Digest on Tuesday. “And that, honestly, that hurts. We even asked them, ‘Hey, is this about money? Like, we will pay for it ourselves. Our Federation will pay for it.’ Full piece. 4. Charlie’s odd autograph Our Matt Vincenzi…”LPGA Tour player, Charley Hull, is one of the most popular women’s golfers on the planet. The 28-year-old is a great golfer, but recently has gained popularity due to the fact that she openly smokes cigarettes on the golf course during events.” “This past weekend, Hull was once involved with a cigarette on the golf course, this time signing one for a fan.” “A signed cigarette is quite the souvenir, and I’d imagine that one cigarette that will never be smoked.” Full piece. 5. Waugh to leave PGA of America CEO role AP report…”Seth Waugh is leaving the PGA of America after six years as CEO, a period marked by a sharp boost in golf participation and PGA membership and the move of its headquarters from Florida to a massive complex in Texas. “Waugh was the CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas when he joined the PGA of America board as an independent director and then was hired to lead the 30,000-plus members in 2018.” “His contract was up for renewal on June 30, and Waugh decided not to renew.” “It feels like the right time, not only personally but professionally,” Waugh said. “We’ve accomplished an awful lot in the six years. The game has never been in better shape. Participation is at an all-time high. It’s growing in all the ways we hoped it would.” “The fastest growth is women and people of color. We try to make the game look like the rest of the world, and maybe have the world behave more like our game.” Full Piece. 6. Photos from the Rocket Mortgage Classic Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event! Full Piece.