The Card – Volume XLI

by Gary Williams | Jun 4, 2024 | The Card

18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…

1. Yuka Saso’s win at the U.S. Women’s Open makes her first two wins in the championship historic in several ways.  First, she joins the following list of players from outside the United States to win multiple U.S. Opens, Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, and Inbee Park.  Secondly, Saso is now the youngest two-time winner in the U.S. Women’s Open history.  Finally, she is the third player all-time to make both of her first two career LPGA wins majors, joining Se Ri Pak and In Gee Chun. It’s an amazing badge to conquer the toughest test more than once.  

2. The 2024 U.S. Women’s Open is the first professional major championship in either women’s or men’s golf history where players representing Japan finished 1-2.

3. Lancaster Country Club is a neat and special place.  It also was set up to push the best players to the limits physically and mentally.  The USGA has shown a willingness to walk that line recently with the Walker Cup at Seminole, the last couple U.S. Amateurs and the biggest and most important question is how edgy will Pinehurst #2 be for the men’s U.S. Open?  The men carry a loud voice and have pounced on the USGA for the last decade, sometimes with merit.  I’ll say what I say every year about the second oldest major in the game.  Be who we expect you to be and be accountable as well.  If you achieve both whether it matters to the organization or not the public will be on your side.  Be the U.S. Open of Joe Dey and P.J. Boatwright.  To paraphrase John Houseman, set up the U.S. Open the old-fashioned way, make them earn it.

4. I was trying to conjure up a comparison for the circumstance surrounding Nelly Korda recording a 10 on her 3^rd hole of the U.S. Women’s Open and I kept coming back to two situations for highly anticipated events and the individuals involved although both were gone from the event when they were both injured as soon as the events began.  Zion Williamson in his lone game for Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium against North Carolina in February of 2019 and Aaron Rodgers in his debut for the Jets last season in the first series of the game rupturing his Achilles.  Nelly trudged on but her chances of contending in the next major after her torrid first five months of the season including winning the first major of the year were shot.  It was deflating and disorienting for everyone on the ground at Lancaster CC and the event went on to a dramatic conclusion not unlike those two games.  Nelly created the buzz, and the event effectively overcame her absence on the weekend with the course starring as you hope it will in a USGA Championship.

5. Lexi Thompson’s retirement announcement, while surprising is not altogether stunning.  Since she became a public figure at age 12, turned pro at 15, won on the LPGA when she was 16 and won her lone major championship at 19, her retiring at 29 may seem early biologically but her breath of time competing and the role she was cast into, didn’t ask for contributed to why now is the right time for her.  The job itself is challenging in many ways, and the layer of being the unofficial face of women’s golf in the United States never felt like an easy fit.  It’s not supposed to be and while commercial appeal is lucrative, the ancillary responsibilities of being a big star appeared to be burdensome. Her lone major win at the old Kraft Nabisco in 2014 appeared to usher in her era especially the way she overpowered the golf course compared to her closest pursuer, Michelle Wei.  Lexi’s seconds in three of the other women’s majors were excruciating and the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open will be celebrated for Yuka Saso’s breakthrough at Olympic Club but the five shot lead enjoyed by Lexi with just over nine holes to go was a historic gutting. Lexi is a huge star and her appeal to cherry pick events going forward seems like the likely course.  Being the public face, playing with flair, and winning 11 times on the LPGA with a major is a fantastic career.

6. I thought smoking cigarettes was the most unattractive thing anyone could do in 2024 and then Charley Hull flipped the script.  Hull has always been captivating beginning with her drubbing of Paula Creamer in Solheim Cup singles 5 and 4 in 2013 and then subsequently asking Creamer for an autograph.  She has pizazz and plays with bravado but when she turned up this past week feverishly puffing on a heater while giving autographs something very weird happened.  Instead of being reviled by the act, which many Americans are, she became a viral social media phenomenon.  Including an overzealous and likely too confident fan throwing her his phone number mid round suggesting dinner was in the offing.  Hull explained that the cigarette kick is in attempt to curb another habit, vaping.  Whatever the reason, Hull is now likely more well known outside the nerdy golf bubble for of all things, dragging on a dart.

7. Robert MacIntyre has always appeared to be a delightful guy and his Scottish roots makes him even more appealing in the golf community because we associate the true origins of the game to the magical kingdom of Scotland.  His recent comments about the inherent challenges of being away from his homeland competing primarily on the PGA Tour in America revealed an additional layer to not only MacIntyre, but the vocation in general.  Add the layer this past week of putting his dad on the bag and you had a script you could sell.  Winning the RBC Canadian Open was icing until you heard his interview with Amanda Balionis of CBS.  The father and son grappling for words while fending off the tears was the kicker.  Being real is endearing and Robert MacIntyre has zero veneer, and a Scottish accent just needs to be heard more at the top levels of the game.

8. Rory McIlroy came off the drama of returning to Valhalla for the first time since his last major win in 2014 and fresh on the heels of the disclosure of him filing for divorce to finish in a tie for 4^th at the Canadian Open.  Rory doesn’t play any “road” games, but Canada and the Canadian fans have carved out a unique relationship with Rory.  The event rotates courses, but McIlroy has been loyal to the event since winning it for the first time in 2019 and the fans treat him like he scored a Cup-winning goal for the Maple Leafs.  Oddly, Rory doesn’t have a pristine record at Muirfield Village where he plays every year and will lead into next week’s U.S. Open.  Rory finished T23 at Pinehurst in 2014 where he followed that finish by winning the next two majors which were his last two major victories.  The width of #2 will play well into Rory’s desire to lean on his driver but his improvement around the greens will factor in his ability to contend for his 5^th major in the sand hills of North Carolina.

9. Mackenzie Hughes touched the lead on Sunday in his home country of Canada and he received a consolation prize for his tie for 7^th with one of the qualifying spots in the forthcoming Open Championship at Troon in July.  Hughes needs the major starts to audition as much as possible for International team captain Mike Weir for the Presidents Cup back in Canada in September.  Ben Griffin and Maverick McNealy also secured their spots as well in the Open Championship with their 2^nd and T7th finishes respectively.

10. Kaito Onishi won the Korn Ferry tour event in North Carolina.  Ryan French from the Monday Q Info twitter handle provided context about how perilous Kaito’s position on the Korn Ferry Tour was at the end of last year.  His final round 68 in the last event of the season moved him from 107^th to 100^th in points.  Just having some conditional status got him into a few events and with solid results he became fully exempt after the reshuffle.  Now with a win he has a solid shot at a PGA Tour card.  One stroke, in the last round of the last event changed many things for the immediate future of Kaito Onishi.  The slimmest of margins can separate so many from so much. 

11. This week is a Signature event on the PGA Tour but long before that distinction was created by the tour, the Memorial has truly been the signature event on the PGA Tour.  Natural amphitheaters created on the land at Muirfield village included around the closing hole, the finest conditioned golf course and player services decades ahead of the competition made Memorial the platinum standard for all events to strive to be, and then there’s Jack.  Jack’s presence is palpable, his inclusion on the network TV broadcast in his 80’s and his positioning near the 18^th green for the closing groups is precious stuff.  I’ve never taken Jack’s handshake with the winner for granted, like Arnold Palmer’s at Bay Hill and Byron Nelson’s as well.  Jack’s ability to express his views on the issues and challenges in the game with the media, pre-tournament, remains a must watch.  It’s Jack’s week, a special week.

12. LIV golf hasn’t conducted an event in a month.  The league returns this week in Houston and while Bryson DeChambeau was a star at the PGA Championship, the elongated period without events challenges the ability to build momentum.  The winner this week on Sunday will in some measure be swallowed up by U.S. Open week which begins the following day.  The luxury of weeks off at a time was appealing to many players but being dark for a month when golf is top of mind is simply counter intuitive.

13. Steph Curry is on the cover this month of Golf Digest and a large portion of the profile centers on his vision to expand opportunities for minorities in junior golf through his Underrated Tour.  I’ve shared formerly that I have been lucky to be involved with the tour on the administrative and tournament staff side from the outset two years ago.  Season three kicked off with the tour’s first event in Europe at Walton Heath in England.  The field was made up of kids from Europe with the exception of six kids from the U.S. who were brought over based on their performance last year.  Not surprisingly the kids from Europe had an experience of a lifetime competing at a storied venue and having their parents with them without incurring the burden of any costs associated with travel, hotel, food and swag.  Steph is jet fuel for a tour garnering elite corporate sponsorship and with the presence of global soccer star Gareth Bale for both tournament days on the first tee and being a part of the trophy celebration amplified the experience to another level.  The boy and girl winner earned a trip to the Curry Cup in September at historic Ridgewood Country Club and the fact that neither one of them has ever been to the United States is another example of how the game and the Underrated Tour can change the trajectory of young lives.

14. A week in England was good for the soul in part because of the cultural acceptance of dogs everywhere.  They are fortifying and to see dogs across the landscapes of several of the great golf clubs in England just reinforced what I’ve always thought we were missing in the States.  Dogs.  From Bandon to Bethpage and every Chicago Golf Club and Prairie Dunes in between can you imagine how wonderful it would be to see every breed at your club?  Dogs, they make everything better.

15. I played the Old Course at Sunningdale this past Saturday and it stood up to its reputation.  It’s an enchanted forest of superior golf holes and the clubhouse is as stately and warm as any I’ve had the pleasure of inhabiting.  The paint on the walls is endless and the fact that Harry Colt was the club’s first captain is perfect.  It is undoubtedly one of the finest 36-hole facilities in the world.  It was nice additive to have three-time Open Champion from England Sir Nick Faldo in the group in front of us with his wife and son.  As proper a weekend round of golf as you could have in the Commonwealth.  

16. Auburn claimed their first national title for the men this past week by defeating Florida State 3-2 in match play.  The Tigers enjoyed a remarkable 10-win season, and they have a superstar in Jackson Koivun.  Koivun went 3-0 in match play and polished off a historic freshman year.  A head beyond his years, Jackson is poised to enjoy very good income through NIL and it will interesting to see how many years of college golf he has in front of him.  

17. Among the many introspective and thoughtful reflections I heard from players regarding the death of Grayson Murray it was Shane Lowry who got to the heart of so many things.  Shane has never strayed far from where he’s from and in explaining that he has experienced the deaths of several lifelong friends to suicide he captured the essence of all of it.  It’s precious, never lose sight of that. 

18. Lastly, I’m humbled beyond appropriate words regarding the thoughts I expressed on Grayson’s death.  I am particularly grateful to those in the recovery community who reached out to share their own journeys.  I promise those truths and those shared experiences help me every day in my own journey of recovery.  It doesn’t matter whether you live with addiction, anxiety and depression, we all have our stuff.  Lean on each other, listen to each other, and be kind to yourself.