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Nov 18, 2023

Morning 9: Ryder Cup picks are in

Published on By For comments: [email protected] Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as the dust settles on Zach Johnson’s wildcard picks for Rome. Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…“Justin Thomas’ worst

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Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as the dust settles on Zach Johnson’s wildcard picks for Rome.

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…“Justin Thomas’ worst season on the PGA Tour didn’t cost him a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.”

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”Koepka returned from a career-threatening knee injury and tied for second at the Masters before collecting his third Wanamaker Trophy in May. He tied for 17th in the U.S. Open and 64th at The Open. He finished 29 points behind Xander Schauffele for the final automatic roster spot.”

Golf Digest staff…

Golf Digest’s Luke Kerr-Dineen…”But around the greens, his similar technique had Hovland struggling to generate enough spin, and his mis-hits would often cause him to chunk shots by hitting too far behind the ball. It was why, a few years ago, Hovland admitted he “sucked” at chipping, and attempted to solve the problem by changing the way he was hitting the ball. Specifically, the way his wrists worked through the ball.”

Our Matt Vincenzi…”According to the former Tour winner, a player willingly took a ride from a cart knowing that it was a penalty due to the intense heat.”

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Holly Sonders, who worked at the Golf Channel from 2011-2014, has started her own topless sports league called “Exposed Sportz”.

Tim Schmitt for Golfweek…”Although the debate over what format best suits the season-ending Tour Championship continues to rage on, the current solution has captured the fancy of the viewing public, at least according to numbers released by CBS Sports on Tuesday.”

Adam Woodard for Golfweek…”Players who compete in all five of the LPGA’s major championships are guaranteed minimum payouts to help cover expenses. Starting this week, the LPGA will now be able to help offset player expenses at additional tournaments for the next five seasons thanks to a new multi-year partnership with Accenture.”

Morning 9: JT will get captain’s pick | Solheim Cup roster revealed | How Hovland took next step

GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

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Aug 30, 2023 at 4:42 pm

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Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as all roads now lead to Rome with the upcoming Ryder Cup.

Evin Priest for Golf Digest…”The biggest par save of the week, though, was at No. 14 when playing partner Schauffele was within three shots. An improved short game briefly deserted Hovland as he left his pitch shot 23 feet short but made the putt. “That putt was huge; two shots with four [holes] to go is a different [mindset] than three shot,” he said.”

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Whatever value U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson put on individual performances at the Tour Championship – and given Sunday’s finish at East Lake there was plenty for Captain America to digest – there’s only one step remaining: the phone call.”

Ewan Murray for the Guardian…”Zach Johnson is poised to ignore the poor form of Justin Thomas and select the two-time major winner for the US Ryder Cup team.”

AFP report…”US captain Stacy Lewis unveiled the complete American roster for next month’s Solheim Cup on Monday by adding Angel Yin, Cheyenne Knight and Ally Ewing to complete the 12-woman lineup.”

Gabrielle Herzig for SI…”Eugenio Chacarra captured his first non-LIV professional victory on Sunday at the Asian Tour’s inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship in dramatic fashion.”

Patrick McDonald for CBS Sports…”Every player who finished inside the top 150 of the FedEx Cup standings will receive some portion of this bonus, but nearly $60 million of it was still up for grabs in Atlanta. A player’s career earnings will not technically grow because of his performance in the postseason final, but that doesn’t mean the money is not astronomical.”

Todd Kelly for Golfweek…”John Davis, a 2019 inductee into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame and sports journalist for nearly 36 years, died early Monday after a long battle with cancer.”

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Viktor Hovland just won the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup in convincing fashion! Viktor played some amazing golf over the past few weeks and capped it off with a five-stroke victory over Xander Schauffele. As Hovland collected his many trophies from the win, he was wearing a rare and collectible Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in Pink Gold on his wrist.

Name: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-ThinReference: 16202OR.OO.1240OR.02Limited: NoDate: 2022Case: 18ct Pink GoldBezel: 18ct Pink GoldDial: Smoke Grey “Petite Tapisserie”Size: 39mmMovement: Calibre 7121, 33 JewelsPower Reserve: 52 HoursGlass: Saphire CrystalWaterproof: 50 MetersBracelet: 18ct Pink GoldPrice: $78,300 (~$130,000)

One of the most famous and collectible watches in the world is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. The Royal Oak has been in production since 1972 when Gérald Genta designed the sports watch. That was a time when cheaper quartz watches were booming and boasting more accuracy than the Swiss timepieces. The Royal Oak debuted as a very large and very expensive sports watch that many thought would never sell. Well, it did sell and is now an icon of luxury watch design. The watch Viktor is wearing could be the standard Jumbo or the 50th Anniversary model, but the only way to tell is to see the back of the watch.

Audemars Piguet’s “Jumbo” Extra Thin Royal Oak takes its size from the original 1972 watch that was so famous. The jumbo nickname stuck because at the time 39mm was a very big watch. The case is 39mm and made from solid, 18-carat pink gold with a display window in the caseback to view the movement. There is a matching pink gold crown on the right side of the case and screws down to help give the watch a 50-meter water resistance rating. The beautiful and famous octagon bezel sits on top of the case and is crafted from matching pink gold and held in place with 8 hex screws. This bezel holds the extremely scratch-resistant, glare-proofed sapphire crystal in place.

A smoked grey dial is finished with Audemars Piguet’s “Petite Tapisserie” pattern. The “Petite Tapisserie” texture features the smallest square pattern with a milling throughout it. Audemars Piguet used a similar tapisserie dial in the Royal Oaks from the 1980s and 1990s. AP currently uses the “Grande Tapisserie” with the Royal Oak and the “Méga Tapisserie” textures with the larger Royal Oak Offshore models.

Inside the Jumbo is Audemars Piguet’s self-winding Calibre 7121 movement. Made up of 268 pieces, the precise movement is engineered to keep the hours, minutes, seconds, and date. One can expect to get around 52 hours of power reserve out of the movement and it runs smoothly at 28,800 vph on 33 synthetic sapphire jewels. The winding rotor is made from solid 22k gold and features the AP initials in it. Now there is a version of this exact watch that celebrates 50 years of the Royal Oak. The difference is that the rotor on the anniversary model has a “50 Years” logo crafted into the rotor. A classic Royal Oak bracelet is attached and made from solid links of 18ct Pink Gold. The brushed finish on all of the lugs is done perfectly so all of the links have the same grain on them. An AP logo is etched into the folding clasp and brings the bracelet together.

If you can find one of these Royal Oak models at your local dealer, expect to pay $78,300 to get it on your wrist. On the secondary market, you will need to almost double that amount to get one, $130,000. If you want one of the 50th Anniversary models, add another $25,000 to that secondary market price.

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It’s time for golf to rest for a bit. Yes, there still are playoff chases on the LPGA, DP World, Korn Ferry, and PGA Champions tours, but none of them carries the gravitas of the conclusion to the PGA Tour.

The Solheim and Ryder Cups will be contested in back-to-back weeks, in glorious Spain and Italy, but that won’t happen for another month. That might be the coolest idea ever, but that’s a story for another column.

This week, we saw wins on five tours, plus a senior women’s open in the USA. That’s a lot of running, but we have the verbal legs, so let’s dash off with this week’s Tour Rundown.

59 ON A SUNDAY @DavidKocher21 makes birdie on the last to shoot the third 59 of the season @BoiseOpen. pic.twitter.com/k08rJ9IdvX

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 27, 2023

Over the last month, we saw two incredible fortnights of golf on the PGA Tour. First, it was Lucas Glover, winning back-to-back and inserting himself into every conversation on the golf planet. These last 14 days have given us the rise of Hovland, as Viktor Hovland stormed to greatness with wins at Chicago and Atlanta.

Speaking of conversations, it was supposed to be a fight to the finish, between Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm. As things turned out, it was Viktor Hovland who moved the party to his place. No doubt, Rahm will win the Player of the Year award, but Hovland certainly inserted himself into that conversation.

For those who crunch numbers, Hovland and Xander Schauffele posted equal totals of 261 strokes over the four days. Thing was, Viktor began the week with that five-shot advantage over the 2021 Olympic champion, that came from the year-long seeding process. For those who love minutiae, there will always be a conversation about who might have won a playoff between the two. Fact is, it’s fiction. Xander gave great chase, and might have closed the gap to two shots if Viktor had not drained the par putt that you see below.

With the win, Hovland earned his third victory of the year, and a FedEx Cup title. Now, it’s on to that first major title, which we believe should come in 2024.

This angle ? pic.twitter.com/xigXoILCIn

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 27, 2023

Waverley Country Club closes with two par-5 holes. With those two holes left to play, Trish Johnson had a three-shot advantage over Leta Lindley. Both had been close in this tournament in recent years. Johnson had T3 and T2 finishes since 2019, while Lindley was runner-up last year at NCR Country Club. Lindley made birdie at 18, while Johnson posted bogey at 17. In that flicker, the lead was one shot. Summoning all the strength and vibes of a career in touring professional golf, Johnson found her fifth stroke at the bottom of the 18th cup, just enough fuel to claim a one-shot, outright victory.

In truth, it was much closer than that. Catriona Matthew, Lindley, and Johnson came to the final four holes in a virtual tie. Johnson made birdies at 15 and 16, to stretch a margin. Matthew ultimately placed solo third at two under par. Lindley’s last-hole surge brought her to three-deep, while Johnson managed that 4-under finish by the width of a blade of grass.

Trish Johnson played like a champion! ?

With her #USSeniorWomensOpen victory, she earns the @Lexus Performance of the Day. #LexusGolf pic.twitter.com/za7G5zxXFU

— USGA (@USGA) August 28, 2023

Todd Clements is 27 years old. He does not have a Wiki page, which tells you much about his career. On Sunday in Prague, Clements played what he called the best round of his life. He made three bunches of consecutive birdies: 1-3, 6-8, and 10-12. Probably around the 13th tee, Clements realized what he was doing. He had caught countryman Matt Wallace, one of the hard-luck kids from England, and had a two-shot advantage. Wallace made a birdie at 14 but could make no more. He finished at 21-under par.

As for Clements, he parlayed his incredible opening 12 holes into a 63. He managed to par the remaining six holes, and when he picked his ball out of the cup on 18, the young man from Colchester had a life-changing scorecard to sign. With the title, exemptions, and invitations await, as 2023 just got a whole lot brighter!

The moment @golfclements found out he joined the winners circle on Tour ?#CzechMasters pic.twitter.com/TZgEM9oIZ2

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 27, 2023

This Chan Kim wanted in on the consecutive-weeks club. After Glover and Hovland, the Arizona State alum held off a hard-charging David Kocher to win again on the Korn Ferry Tour. How hard-charging? Well, Kocher posted a 59. Yup, that’s pretty speedy. As for Kim, he opened with 66, then went no higher over the next three rounds. 62 on Friday, followed by twin 64s on the weekend, gave him a two-shot advantage over the latest member of the sub-60 club.

Don’t think that Kim was unaware of Kocher’s magic. Despite the pursuit, the native of Korea was resolute in his mission and was able to claim the first playoff event of the KFT 2023 extra session. The tour moves on to Tennessee and Ohio after a two-week break, then concludes the season in Indiana. For Chan Kim, the future is bright, and it takes place on the PGA Tour.

ANOTHER birdie for Chan Kim ?

He leads by two shots thru 12. pic.twitter.com/v5jsJCiki9

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 27, 2023

Meghan Khang opened the door, unsealed the envelope, and let the field back into the chase for the Canadian Women’s Open in Vancouver. Jin Young Ko took advantage and finished tied with the young American at 9 under par. The pair went off to a playoff hole, where Kang was able to make a regulation par. Ko could not match, and the first LPGA victory arrived for Meghan Khang.

How did the pair reach that stage in the tournament? The final round was filled with potholes for Khang. By the time she reached the 11th tee, she had zero birdies and three bogeys on her card. Ko was 2 under on the day and had closed the gap. 11 was massive in the outcome. Khang righted course with a birdie, while Ko gave one back with bogey. Khang played the final six in even par, while Ko grabbed two more birdies to force overtime, but oh, what might have been, had the 11th hole been different!

ICYMI, check out @megan_khang1023's highlights from the @cpkcwomensopen final round! ? pic.twitter.com/SJNXC6X4R4

— LPGA (@LPGA) August 28, 2023

Vijay Singh was always the golfer we thought would dominate the senior circuit. The former great on the PGA Tour is 10 years into his second career and has five victories to show. Admit it, weren’t you thinking the same thing? Veej is tall and fit, completely committed to his game, so how does he average a win, every other year? Another story for another column.

This week in Michigan, Singh and company faced the task of catching Paul Goydos, who held a tenuous lead with 18 holes remaining. Goydos had an unfortunate, five-putt on Sunday’s 17th hole, and closed with 71 for a T3 finish. Mounting a charge, in addition to Fiji’s finest, were Jeff Maggert, Tim Petrovic, and Stephen Ames. Ames and Petrovic reached 12-deep to tie Goydos, while Maggert went one better, with 69 for minus 13. Despite bogey at 15, Singh’s total for day three was 68 strokes, precisely what he needed to outdistance the field.

Leading by one ??@VijaySinghGolf makes his third birdie in a row after this beautiful left-hand-low chip on 14 @AllyChallenge pic.twitter.com/TWz25wt5HZ

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 27, 2023

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