by Gary Williams | Aug 5, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- Scottie Scheffler’s year will be defined by the Masters and then the Players repeat but the Olympics adds a unique wrinkle. The field of the Olympic golf competition is not as deep as the four Signature series events that Scheffler also won. Those wins are fantastic, and one came the week before the Players, another the week after he won the Masters, and the other two the week before and right after the U.S. Open. In the collective that achievement is wildly impressive, but the Olympics is a very big stage and the atmosphere felt big. Additionally, the 62 on the final day makes the Olympic gold medal the 3rd biggest achievement of a year that is already historically great.
- Scheffler also becomes the first player to win the gold medal in a year he also won a major. The Masters and Gold medal double presents the opportunity for a great photo opportunity for the green jacket holder draped in a gold medal. Winning another major along with the Masters is bigger but it’s not something that Augusta National can and would celebrate but the first reigning Masters champion to then win the gold medal in the same year is a special additive for the Masters Tournament to celebrate. Green and gold works and it will be a cool image to see.
- The Olympic golf competition is not a PGA Tour event but whether it was Scheffler or Xander Schauffele who won gold the members of the PGA Tour who vote on the Player of the Year would have computed the win into their voting. Scheffler was the favorite already because the tour members know that six is an insane win total in a season and that was likely to trump the two majors won by Schauffele.
- Tommy Fleetwood is good enough to win all the big stuff in professional golf. The silver medal is a symbolic achievement and a great one as well for Fleetwood. He has seven very good wins on the DP world tour and has Mollywood from Paris but he’s running a career trac that reminds me of tennis’ Andy Murray. Neither are the best of their generation, both had close calls in the biggest events, and both are universally liked and appreciated. Murray won the gold in Olympic tennis in London in 2012 and six weeks later won his first grand slam title at the U.S. Open. Presuming that Fleetwood will eventually win on the PGA Tour and maybe a major is dicey, but it would not be a big surprise if he started to pick off a big one in the next year.
- Victor Perez was the perfect guy to give Le Golf National juice on the final day. Playing out in front of the final groups Perez’ stretch of 6-under in five holes put him on the cusp of the medal stand and him feeding off the crowd added even more energy to the last hour of the competition. Perez equals Hideki Matsuyama best finish, T4, for a player in the competition from the host nation.
- Rory McIlroy had a moment late on Sunday which summarizes his last decade. So good, so close, so exciting yet there is a sense of being unfulfilled. Rory has made the big pivot about the Olympics, and he has evolved from a position in 2016 of cynicism about golf in the Olympics to suggesting after his final round Sunday that the Olympics can be as big as the Ryder Cup. Rory was close to touching the medal stand when he rinsed his second shot on the 15th hole from 141 yards. A massive blunder that led to a double bogey and out of medal contention. For the most part he’s always there in the big events and for ten years he’s not closed. The Olympics is not a major but Rory’s own suggestion that it can be massive amplifies that on a stage he considers big he had yet another dubious moment.
- Jon Rahm was eight holes from putting a positive spin on what has been a weirdly turbulent year. Rahm stood on the 11th tee with a four shot lead and less than two hours he was leaving without a medal. It was not an epic implosion but more like a subtle burn that started innocently enough with a three-putt bogey on the 11th hole. His 3rd shot on the 14th hole was the biggest mistake which led to a double bogey, and he never recovered. Rahm misses the things he values and only now does he know the value of the Olympic stage which make the failure to close even more stinging.
- Xander Schauffele will get a hall pass for recording the highest score among any player finishing in the top 33. One, he’s won two majors this year and secondly, he already possesses a gold medal. It doesn’t diminish the year in any way it was only going to enhance it, but it does provide the latest example that sure things any week or any day are extinct in professional golf.
- Wyndham Clark shot 75 day 1 and the criticism of his inclusion on the U.S. team was going to get louder and his final three rounds playing 15 under par will not stop, nor should it, the people who wanted Bryson DeChambeau in Paris. It may just serve as the week Clark found something that will allow him to finish the season in a similar manner to the way it started for him.
- The selection process for 2028 will be different. The main reason is that men’s professional golf will look much different in 2028. I do not think it will be as splintered as it is right now, but the world golf rankings and the algorithms used to currently rank players is going to be even more sophisticated in three years and while omissions will always be a part of sports the absence of a top 10 player in the world, like DeChambeau will not happen in 2028.
- Tom Kim was emotional after his final round knowing his opportunity to avoid military service in Korea was missed by not medaling. Korean players have either the Asian games or the Olympics to get a release from military service. At 22 Kim has many years and chances ahead of him since players have until age 35 to earn the release but being that close and getting it off his plate got to Kim when the event was over. Another story line that will follow all Korean players in Olympics to follow.
- I was hoping Joaquin Niemann would medal and then bemoan not being exempt into the archery competition. The year of the aggrieved golfer can’t end soon enough.
- The women’s competition should get great crowds as well this week. The LPGA is a more global tour than the PGA Tour and while much smaller in scale and interest the chances for Celine Boutier to medal and the ability for Olympic fans to walk around and see golf shots differentiates golf from all the other Olympic competitions. Another dramatic and bunched leaderboard will give golf their best Olympic fortnight and it won’t be close.
- Nelly Korda’s summer has been mystifyingly quiet. However, if she repeats her gold medal performance from Tokyo than she will bookend a historic year with a major still left in the women’s game. I expect Nelly to contend for gold after a big break to recharge.
- Seeing Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Smiley Kaufman and their boys take in an Irish golf trip was fantastic. The number of great players who have not seen so many of the best places in the world to play golf is not an indictment of them at all. It’s their job to play and carving out more to play recreational golf is not an impulse most top players have. But the game is about fellowship and JT and Jordan’s love for golf is not just the competition, it’s the time. It doesn’t foreshadow results good or bad, it just signals an appreciation for the game.
- Keegan Bradley’s appointment to the Presidents Cup staff should be mandatory. Meaning the reigning Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup captains should always be part of the staff of each event. The days of looking at this from the PGA of America and PGA Tour’s territorial standpoint should long be over. USA golf should always make the pursuit of team titles a collective. Own what you own but have a common purpose.
- Brendan Todd is currently the bubble boy for the FedEx Cup playoffs sitting in the 70th spot going into the Wyndham Championship. His year includes 2 top 10’s, 4 top 25’s and 17 of 21 made cuts. Additionally, he played in three majors and made the cut in all three. That is the profile of a person worthy of the cusp of the “postseason”. The number 70 for the playoffs is the right number.
- Rickie Fowler begins this week at 104th in the FedEx cup standings and he’s not really in any jeopardy since he will play wherever he wants next year apart from earning his way into majors but his future among the truly elite is up for debate. At 35 he has plenty of tread, but can he climb again to the top reaches with another generation younger than him already winning multiple majors. If he’s made his last Cup team, he too should be on Jim Furyk’s Presidents Cup staff. There is no other player with more friends and relationships than Fowler and he will wear a USA uniform in one form or another for the next 15 years.
by Gary Williams | Jul 29, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- Olympic golf could be great, and they are going in the right direction. I was in support of it returning to the Olympic program. The game is global, the inclusion will fuel interest in nations like China and India and I would argue the history of golf over so many other disciplines that are part of the Olympics only validates its existence. The weightiness of the accomplishment of winning a gold medal is likely to increase in time and the advancement of multiple competitions with team elements is a necessity. Many sports designated as individual pursuits have team components in Olympic competition. Swimming, track and field, gymnastics all have team elements and golf must do the same.
- Off his first win on LIV, Jon Rahm appears in the right frame of mind and body to contend for the gold medal this week. LIV players have won multiple major championships, Koepka’s PGA and Bryson’s US Open, and the addition of a gold medal would be a feather for the LIV Tour. What would the level of accomplishment be for Rahm if he would win the gold medal? It would be the same as Xander Schauffele’s gold medal. A unique accomplishment with gravitas and time is on the side of the gold medal.
- Having the top 25 players in the Olympic field is very good. The absolute best, with the exception of Bryson Dechambeau, are competing and the diversity of nations makes the competition feel grand. Players like Thomas Detry, Victor Perez, Guido Migliozzi, and Corey Connors are a reflection of the quality and that level of player only augments the biggest stars and the second level star like Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka and Alex Noren. The competition has come a long way since Rio.
- The global texture of the LPGA makes the women’s golf competition a very familiar experience for fans of women’s professional golf. The construct of teams from Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, France, Sweden are LPGA fixtures and the pursuit from World #1 Nelly Korda to repeat her gold medal performance gives the women’s side some real juice and they still have a major and the Solheim Cup to come after the Olympics.
- Keegan Bradley made his first decision as Ryder Cup captain adding Webb Simpson to his vice captaincy staff. Simpson was an assistant captain for the 2022 Presidents Cup, and he exemplifies the new system of leadership that this decision by the PGA was the big pivot. Depending on the performance of several young Ryder Cup veterans like Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth I’m sensing their inclusion at Bethpage one way or the other. The difference must be that the secret handshake society will not be handing out invites to members of the boy’s club. Bradley needs to construct his team, his way.
- KJ Choi is the consummate professional and in the grand scheme his career is underrated. Choi winning the senior Open Championship at Carnoustie is a wonderful story for a delightful person. Choi has represented himself and his nation with dignity and grace for decades and his respect amongst his peers is unmatched.
- I was in northern Michigan this past week and was able to get a quick tour of the re-birth of High Pointe, Tom Doak’s original design in Williamsburg, Michigan. The story of its revival is rich with nostalgia and vision and the land is top notch. It’s a tilted sandbox with very cool green complexes and the intent of the club is to build a communal culture where everyone on the property feels like they are sharing the experience. It’s the Ohoopee model, a very good model.
- The drive from South Bend to the shores of Lake Michigan and Sleeping Bear Dunes was a surprisingly cathartic four hours. Passing into the state of Michigan not far from the Notre Dame campus might surprise some people but the real pleasant surprise was the sheer beauty of the drive once you pass through Kalamazoo headed toward Traverse City. There were stretches that felt and looked like the eastern end of Long Island and stretches that reminded me of the Pacific Northwest. It is a magnificent part of the country where mile after mile showcases land begging for golf holes to build on them. Climate, charm, beauty and scale make northern Michigan one of my top three places to be in the summer along with New England and the mountains of North Carolina.
- The pleasure of returning to Crystal Downs a year after playing it for the first time last summer was immeasurable. It’s Norman Rockwell meets Perry Maxwell. It’s a gem in every way. The intended nature of the club being a summer retreat is felt from the moment you arrive. The first seven holes are the finest example of acreage usage and maximizing the contour presented to an architect you ever see. The contrast between the lower 7 and the middle of the back nine is sublime. The genius of the greens and the big scale as you looked toward Lake Michigan from the 14th green. It’s where time and excellence stand together and still.
- Bryson DeChambeau’s latest video with former President Trump got a ton a of views, which is of no surprise. The larger point is what DeChambeau is doing to differentiate himself from his peer group. Golf YouTubers range in skill from very good, like the Bryan brothers to garden variety chops. Bryson is the first big time star to enter the space in the middle of his ascendency as a player and as a popular figure to capitalize on the platform to a mass level. Phil Mickelson is way past his prime and the others are not all in like Bryson. His place in the game is unique, now in even more ways than before.
- Jhonattan Vegas loves late July. Three of his four wins have come on July 24, 28th and 30th. He also has shown the ability to extend his winning career by an additional seven years. There are some very good players Vegas has left behind with three career wins. Chris DiMarco, who lost two majors in playoffs and finished 2nd in a third major. Johnson Wagner who is now America’s TV analyst, and I’m here for all of it for a 5 Clubs teammate and Andy North, who also won three times but two of those wins were U.S. Open’s. Not all equal numbers are equal.
- The U.S. junior boys title won by Trevor Gutschewski at Oakland Hills is a great story. Gutschewski is the son of PGA Tour player Scott Gutschewski who was playing the 3M Open in nearby Minnesota. Trevor is a rising senior at Omaha Westside High School and winning a 36-hole final over Tyler Watts at Oakland Hills is a fantastic achievement and a rare feather.
- Does Tiger Woods carve out time to be at the Presidents Cup as a past captain and friend of the current captain Jim Furyk? Moreover, the Presidents Cup is a PGA Tour property that could use the boast in football season to have Tiger on the property in Montreal. I don’t think any member of the PGA Tour board would argue against him adding value to the week by being present.
- The curious case of Matt Kuchar. Kuchar had a chance to win the 3M and he received ample support on the ground in Blaine, Minnesota but his position amongst writers and content creators is interesting. Matt was once the smiling and mischievous darling amongst fans and media but the Mexico caddy-stiffing incident and a couple on course episodes have cast him into purgatory. He is a Vardon trophy winner, 9-time winner, Players Champion and would appear a viable member of the Ryder Cup staff except he’s not.
- Rickie Fowler sits at 102 in the FedEx Cup standings with one event left before the playoffs. Rickie will play in all events he wants to next year because of his popularity and appeal to top sponsors but the next year could portend what the rest of his career looks like. He is financially secure beyond his kids’ lives, and he was never one to overpower golf courses so is the willingness to dig deep like he did last year still there? It’s the human condition time will tell.
- The further we get from the major season the more I believe Scottie Scheffler’s peers will regard him with player of the year, especially if Xander doesn’t win another event. No player would trade two majors for one, but they all know the immense challenge to win and Scheffler won three times the number of events which included the Masters, The Players and four signature series events. Members of the PGA Tour will likely honor that haul over the 2 for 1 argument.
- The medal winners for the women’s Olympic golf competition will be… Gold-Jin Young Ko, Silver-Lilia Vu and Bronze-Celine Boutier. The medal winners for the men’s Olympic golf competition will be… Gold-Scottie Scheffler, Silver Xander Schauffele and Bronze-Collin Morikawa.
- The passing of Mark Carnevale a week ago is still very hard to process. Working with a group of people to produce live telecasts bonds you to each other for life. You must trust each other implicitly to do what’s best for everyone when the mics are hot. It’s also critical that you like one another because it shows when you don’t. Mark was a such a team guy, and he loved the game immensely. It’s so sad and our hearts remain extended to his family during what remains a very challenging time.
by Gary Williams | Jul 22, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- Xander Schauffele’s second major championship victory in a span of two months is eye opening on several levels. First, his conscious and meticulous pursuit of additional speed with the partnership with Chris Como is affirmation that it can be done and proven under the most stressful circumstances. Xander was topping 185 ball speed coming down the stretch when the event was still in doubt. Trust is powerful. Secondly, nobody in the 90-year history of the four major championships has won two majors in a year shooting 65 in the final round of both wins. Not Jack, not Tiger, not Hogan, not anyone. Wow. Finally, Valhalla and Royal Troon are like comparing apples and kumquats. We already know he can contend and adapt to all set ups and conditions but winning screams loud and clear, “Anywhere, anytime, anyplace!”. He’s here.
- Justin Rose has a very capable hall of fame resume. Global player, major winner, gold medalist, that will get weightier with time, and Ryder Cup stalwart. I’m not certain he needs a second major to eventually get in but the idea that we are even discussing him contending in majors is somewhat surprising. Major winners in their 40’s have and will continue to be rare. What’s most impressive is the pursuit. He’s made big money, and the human condition asks all of us at various times if it’s all still worth it. He’s dug in with Mark Blackburn on his golf swing and he’s found peace and comfort being reunited with Mark Fulcher on his bag. He is having some last chapters I didn’t anticipate two years ago. He will be at Bethpage either as a vice captain or as a member of another team. Impressive.
- Billy Horschel has had a very nice career but there are two areas that have been off. One, his major record is slim to almost none. He had never started a final round inside the top 40 of the Open Championship, and his two top 10’s in majors for his career doesn’t stand up for an 8-time winner and former FedEx Cup champion. He was the 54-hole leader and stood tall on Sunday, he was simply beat by a better performance. Secondly, Billy has been perceived as hyper and inclined to step in areas with his mouth that have not helped his persona. I’ve always seen him differently because of some heartfelt conversations about alcoholism and recovery as it touched his family like it has me. The last year has seen Billy sharing views with the content leaders in golf and his popularity has risen. His performance and comportment this week were top class.
- Thriston Lawrence surprised quite a few people on Sunday but no one who has played with him on the DP World Tour was surprised. He’s 27 years old, has four wins on the DP World Tour and he will be making his way to America more often and his place on a Presidents Cup team may have to wait until 2026 but it’s going to happen.
- Dan Brown was a found story, not just for Thursday but for four days. Pumping heaters while taking selfies on the 18th hole on Saturday summed up his week and his embracing of the moment. His buddies likely drank their way through the weekend as they started to arrive to support their mate and his story is why the Open Championship is the world Open.
- Scottie Scheffler put on a masterful ball striking display in the most demanding conditions players have faced in 2024 and when he birdied 7 and 8 on Sunday and was a shot back it appeared it was on. Just as quickly he double bogeyed the 9th and three-putted from 5 feet and was out of it. His putter was atrocious all weekend and on top the bad putting at the U.S. Open his major year closes with a phenomenal Masters performance followed by the strangest circumstance at the PGA we have ever seen and then the flat week at Pinehurst. He’s been historically great all year on the PGA Tour, but Xander’s double has created a topic of conversation around the POY that we never anticipated.
- Shane Lowry had a very good week at Troon, but he had a very challenging Saturday shooting 77 and then questioning the set-up of the golf course. He was chippy, in a foul mood and said some silly things. He was also verbal on the golf course which I have zero problem with, he’s working and got worked up. Lowry is a pugnacious battler and his comments about tee locations is something I believe he will come to want to scrub.
- Jon Rahm finished T7 and had a moment Sunday where you thought a super low one may be in the offing. That didn’t happen but he got something out of the week that may be a preview of 2025. Accept the perception that people may have of you or don’t give a shit about what people think about your decision to join LIV. He took a lost major season and likely planted a seed within himself that next year will be here soon enough. He also enters 2025 now tied with two majors with Scottie and Xander. This year changed a lot and don’t think they don’t all know the big scoreboard.
- Justin Thomas shot 68-78-67-77. That’s a psychotic week of scorecards. He had a nice homecoming at Valhalla, but he should be on the outside looking in on the Presidents Cup and unless he finds some consistency and better putting, he becomes a real question mark in 2025 for the Ryder Cup. Every great player has had an ebb, two year ebbs are far less frequent for the truly great players.
- Speaking of question marks, Jordan Spieth wraps up another flat major year and the lingering questions about his health will persist until he decides to have surgery on his wrist or simply declares that he’s as good as he will be and moves forward. He possessed magic and magic can appear as an illusion, that’s why its magic but he also had empirical data that showed he was more than just making long putts. That data has dried up as have the insane putting rounds. He was an artist that owned his idiosyncrasies, now it seems like he’s trying to avoid them. Hopefully he can get healthy and also simply be Jordan sooner than later.
- Collin Morikawa finished tied for 16th at the Open and completed a really impressive major season, but he must feel totally unfulfilled. He has been agitated about being overlooked among the top players and I love it. I appreciate his determination to prove he’s absolutely in that small group, which he is but not winning this season would be hard to believe, he’s simply been so solid.
- Adam Scott finished tied for 10th at the Open after being gutted by Robert MacIntyre at the Scottish the week before. His results are one thing but his admission that his golf swing has been off for a long time and saying he’s found it again means one thing, he’s going to win again.
- Brooks Koepka in the majors this year, T45-T26-T26-T43. He’s building his legacy on one thing, the four weeks from April to July and everything else is adaptive. He’s got plenty of tread on his tires, but years click by and the truth is its just more fun when he’s bro-strutting around a major venue deep into the weekend in the deep end of the pool.
- Bryson DeChambeau was likely due an off week and his willingness to do every solitary media hit on course in the lead into the Open seemed like overload. He was blown off course immediately and never recovered and was a cut casualty. It changes nothing about his year. He’s a massive winner in 2024 and he goes to Augusta having improved his results there and seeming to be solving the Augusta National rubik’s cube. ‘25 can’t get here soon enough for a lot of people’s champion.
- Tiger Woods’ season is over, and it goes without even one hour of drama or encouraging play. He can play majors as long as he wants, and it changes nothing and those saying it’s sad are being melodramatic. Time is a thug and a cold one. My favorite line from J.R. Moehringer and its as true as the day is long. Let’s hope he has a week next year where he has a sit forward, even for an hour.
- I picked Rory to win the championship. Nice pick. He was a non-factor and admitted he checked out 22 holes into the championship. Rory’s Rubicon gets wider as we head to 2025. Its extraordinary.
- The first American sweep of the majors since 1982 is kinda hard to believe since Tiger gave the other Americans head starts with multiple major winning seasons on four occasions, but the sweep is following a strong run of major winners from the United States. The American dominance is not likely to change in the years to come. The talent in America is absurd.
- Royal Troon is sneaky great. It doesn’t have Muirfield’s majesty or the aura of the Old Course, but it is so proper in its strategy and presentation as a links gem. It has a fantastic, diverse and varied list of champions. Those adjectives are how you describe a great links golf course. Thanks Royal Troon for being you.
by Gary Williams | Jul 15, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- Bob MacIntyre winning the Scottish Open is the best “home” win of this year and is right there with the Nick Taylor win minus the Adam Hadwin takedown. Add in the heartbreaking loss of last year to Rory McIlroy and the eagle on 16 and birdie make on 18 and you have a dream week for Bob and the Scottish Open. The co-sanctioned event with the DP and PGA Tours is a big hit. There should be at least one more each season.
- Adam Scott will eventually take consolation in the second-place finish at the Scottish Open and he should. He will lament not giving his birdie putt on 18 a better effort but his 2nd is his first top 10 since Phoenix in February. Scott was looking to become the oldest winner since Phil Mickelson’s win at the PGA in 2021. Winners in their 40’s is now a very rare species on tour and not likely to change so a chance from Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar, and Adam Scott or any other 40 something should be noted.
- Aaron Rai is playing the best golf of his PGA Tour career and with three top 5’s since the Byron Nelson and a very solid U.S. Open, he has become a player likely to win much sooner than never. He also moved to 50th in the FedEx Cup standings which actually mean something at this time of the year. 50th is the number for the 2nd playoff event and getting closer to 30th before the end of July is Rai’s next goal.
- Collin Morikawa finished T3-T4-T14 in the first three majors and he won the Open Championship in 2021. Collin had a solid putting week at the Scottish which is all that will keep him from being right in the thick of it next Sunday at Royal Troon. He’s a magical week away from having the best major championship season of his career and his chippy attitude about being overlooked has served him well.
- Ludvig Aberg has now gone five straight events, interrupted by a missed cut, without breaking 70 on Sunday. His 73 on Sunday at the Scottish included a 3 over 38 in the final nine holes. He’s a phenomenal talent and his habitual contending in his first season as a professional is widely impressive but he’s got a bad Sunday trend.
- I returned to Bandon Dunes this past week for two rounds and one overnight on the property. It’s my first visit since 2013 and the place is truly a mecca. To see the additional assets like Sheep Ranch, Shorty’s and the new food locations like the Ghost Tree Grill amplifies the resort’s determination to always be getting better. Driving only backroads from Portland on Wednesday gave me four hours to see the state of Oregon. Playing Pacific Dunes, first off, on Thursday in 25 mph winds was phenomenal. Seeing groups from all over the world of all ages only reinforces what I have said and written for years. Mike Keiser should be in the world golf hall of fame. You cannot impact the industry of golf the way he has, but more importantly given so many people such joy through the game and not be recognized.
- Spain had a very good Sunday. Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon, Spain won the Euro Cup by defeating England and Sergio Garcia won the LIV event in Andalucia, plus the Fireballs won the team title. Sergio is very proud of his home, and he argued after his win that the completion of the Spain sweep on Sunday would be one of the great days in Spanish sports history.
- Ayaka Furue became a major champion by winning the Evian Championship with a closing eagle on the last hole. Japan wins another major championship in 2024 and Furue crosses the major line for the first time. Evian is a major because it was given that distinction in 2013 and while I’ve never been there, I have zero interest in playing the golf course. I would enjoy looking over Lake Geneva, but the golf course looks absolutely dreadful.
- Nelly Korda finished T26 in the Evian and that’s her best finish in an event since her last win in the middle of May. For the presumptive player of the year the summer has been absolutely forgettable, but she can salvage it with a win at the Women’s British Open and a USA Solheim Cup victory. What appeared to be a year for the ages went weird and sideways on the third hole, the 12th, of the women’s U.S. Open.
- Royal Troon is an underrated member of the Open rota. It combines a wonderful list of champions with a secondary list of almost champions. Couple that with the routing of the course, the historic final rounds of several winners and you have a fantastic venue for the final men’s major of 2024. Bobby Locke, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson won at Troon in their illustrious careers and Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Weiskopf and Justin Leonard won their only majors at Troon. All three could have won more and in a nice touch Justin Leonard will have the honor of hitting the opening tee shot on the 1st tee on Thursday morning.
- Jon Rahm needs a week in the worst way. There are years in great players careers where they simply don’t fire during the majors but Rahm has had a dreadful major season in 2024 after departing for LIV. He’s postured in a way that is equally defensive and delusional. Missing the U.S. Open with the foot ailment was unfortunate but in a year of Bryson’s rebirth, the Scheffler dominance week to week and the Schauffele breakthrough Rahm has been a non-story in a PRIME year of his career.
- I always believed Tiger would age best at the Open. He’s a ground game genius, he sees what only others dream of seeing with his visualization and he drips into the history books and understands the weightiness of the Open. However, he has not even seen a spark this year in the majors, he has only one shot, the cut, and the potential for cold and wet at the Open makes his fragile body more vulnerable to failing him. Troon was his first Open championship as a professional and I hope this will not be his last as has been suggested by some. At some point he will wake up the echoes for at least one round in a major.
- Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson had one of the great final round showdowns in major championship history at Troon in 2016 and Phil also lipped out for 62 in the opening round that week. To me, it was not better than the duel in the Sun with Nicklaus and Watson. First, Jack and Tom were both historically more significant figures than Henrik and Phil. Watson was becoming the best player of his generation and Jack provided the heroics on the 18th that Phil did not to force Watson to answer where Stenson was free to close with a low score, but the more important chapter goes to Turnberry in 1977.
- Speaking of the old guard, Brendon De Jonge, on our 5 Clubs Open Championship preview declared that Ernie Els would have a good week at the Open. That was before Ernie won at Firestone to earn a berth in the 2025 Players Championship. The Open is generally kind to the elders so a solid week is not unrealistic for the 2012 champion.
- Scottie Scheffler is a borderline lock for player of the year but what if Xander Schauffele won the Open Championship? Wait, what if he then won a playoff event and the tour championship? In 2015 Jordan Spieth won the first two majors and finished 4th and 2nd in the final two but it was Jason Day he won the PGA and the first two playoff events to put real heat on Spieth for POY. Spieth shut down all the noise by winning the tour championship, but I think the door would be ajar, if, and only if, Schauffele wins the Open.
- Luke Donald gets the big chair for the Open Championship on NBC. Luke is very bright, and the major stage will prove his chops on the air. I would expect him to have a solid performance and what will be most interesting is if one of “his guys” Rory, Fleetwood, Aberg, get in the heat late and make a critical mistake how he expresses his viewpoint.
- There is no reason to think Bryson DeChambeau will retreat at Troon. His U.S. Open win was comprehensive, and his head space has never been better. Passing him over as a favorite will be a mistake.
- It is always darkest before the dawn. I think Rory will win the Open. The tangible reasons, he’s never been more complete of a player, his record at the Open is outstanding, and maybe this was the way it was going to have to be to get over the line again. I think his bounce back will measure among the greatest we’ve ever seen from on the mat to champion golfer in the span of a month.
by Gary Williams | Jul 1, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- Marcel Siem has had a rollicking ride in professional golf. Any player with 20 years between wins has shown an abundance of skill, determination, resolve and belief. On Sunday Siem defeated Tom McKibbin, 21 years old, in a playoff and in 2004 he defeated Raphael Jacquelin, who is now 50, in a playoff. Siem has seen multiple generations of players come and go and come again and he’s still battling, fist pumping and smiling his way across the globe in pursuit of the lowest score he can post. The Italian Open win marked his 6th career victory and resplendent in pink trousers and a floral top Marcel remains original on an increasingly homogenous landscape.
- Melanie Green became the first American to win the women’s amateur championship since Kelli Kuehne in 1996. It’s been 77 years since Babe Zaharias became the first American to win the trophy in 1947. Green, a native of Medina, New York, played college golf at the University of South Florida, and she earns spots in the AIG Women’s British Open, the U.S. Women’s Open, the Evian Championship and the Chevron Championship as well as a return trip to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur where she competed this past April. The invites are a bounty to look forward to, but she now has a remarkable achievement to look back on forever.
- The news this past week that Seth Waugh is stepping down as the CEO of the PGA of America is not surprising. He never needed the job but felt a sense of obligation to contribute at the level he did out of a debt of gratitude for all the game of golf has given him. Covid was the ultimate happy accident for golf as participation took off and has not waned, but it does not discount his impact. Membership in the PGA has accelerated in the last five years, the transition to Frisco was executed relatively smoothly which was a massive undertaking. The platform of the PGA has been solidified by his relationships and gravitas. Waugh was a respected insider investing in golf through his post running Deutsche Bank Americas. He helped foster more harmony with the PGA Tour, assisted in unifying USA golf, and left the position far more attractive to his successor. Additionally, the creation of deferred compensation for PGA members makes the career more appealing and more secure. Waugh was ideal to handle complicated and divergent conversations as someone schooled by his father, a teacher, to listen and advance the conversation and not make it more divisive. Seth always viewed himself as a fortunate friend of the game, filled with gratitude for the relationships and nourishment the game has given him. He was good for his organization and for that it was a job well done.
- 15-year-old Miles Russell shot rounds of 74-70 to miss the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic but another opportunity to watch him play competitive golf is like an optical illusion. It’s as though a 30-year-old 10-year tour veteran has been put in a 15-year-old body. The proliferation of young people into the upper reaches of professional golf is cresting and it’s not likely to abate but Russell stretches into junior golf not college golf. He is not a man child, his physical make up is reflective of his age but his process, his technical prowess and his game plan are spooky mature. Everyone’s journey is different, and his choices are his choices so the next couple years will be interesting to watch. One thing has been universal in the game, very few great players skipped steps. Winning at every level has crossed generations and the skill of winning is the most important one.
- Nelly Korda withdrew from her next start on the LET as the result of a dog bite. A month ago, she could make dogs fly and now she’s missed three cuts in a row and was bitten by a dog. The next women’s major, The Evian, is two weeks away and here’s hoping she can flip the script on what has been a very weird summer so far for the best player in the world.
- Newport Country Club played host to the U.S. Senior Open this week and it should have a special “anchor site” designation from the USGA. Whenever the club wants to host a USGA championship they should be immediately put in the Q. Senior championships and amateur championships should be played there at least once a decade. Seeing Newport from the air this past week for the first time with drone cameras showed it off in a way we’ve never seen it before. It’s as foundational a site as the USGA could ever hope to have as an original member of the USGA and also the site of the first U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur. A timeless place where championship golf can still be played.
- The report this week that Pierce County, Washington is interested in advancing a discussion with LIV about possibly hosting an event is not surprising. Chambers Bay is a wonderful site, albeit saddled with some extreme holes, and the county should be trying to monetize the course. They are not getting another U.S. Open and the great staff at Chambers Bay is still operating out of the tiny clubhouse they had a decade ago. In a part of the county with very few professional events it could be a market for LIV like Nashville. Give them great players and fans will support it. Chambers Bay is a great story, but it’s viability for another men’s major has been wounded by the tightening of the belt with anchored sites and with Riviera getting a shot again with the Open down the road, the west coast is accounted for.
- It’s July and the USA does not have a Ryder Cup captain and the PGA of America is shopping for a new CEO. Seth Waugh’s departure will not likely have any effect and whether Tiger Woods will choose to accept the post and Waugh will still be an advisor for the organization and the PGA’s greatest conduit to Tiger, but the clock is weirdly ticking. If Tiger balks and waits for Ireland, then what does the PGA do? Returning to their short bench of past captains would be beyond uninspiring.
- Neal Shipley, the low amateur in the Masters and U.S. Open had a very nice opener on the PGA Tour with a finish inside the top 25 at the Rocket Mortgage. Shipley is actually older than Akshay Bhatia because he exercised the complete college experience, but he has the cache because of his two special major weeks to garner some starts on the PGA Tour and his path ahead will be one to watch.
- Rocket Mortgage is working the same future bets model that Travelers has for years. Identify the best young talent and give them a shot in hopes of fostering some goodwill if they pop quickly on tour when they get there. Ben James, Luke Clanton, and Jackson Koivun were extended invites this past week and Clanton had a fantastic week and James made the cut and finished at 8 under par. It’s a tenuous time for players needing starts and the decision of sponsors to extend invites to non-members will always be a talking point. I have always believed they pay the bills so they own those invites and betting on futures for an event stuck in a riptide of signature events and overseas events on the horizon they can do what they want.
- I liked Aaron Rai at the U.S. Open as a sneaky pick to have a week and he did finish T19. Do not be surprised if he top 10’s at the Open Championship. He finished T19 in the Open in 2021 and he’s much better player now. You can also look at the previous three leaderboards at the Open at Troon and find some eclectic names in the top 10. Rai is rising.
- Min Woo Lee is a scintillating talent. He loves showing off and his place on the International Presidents Cup is waiting and he is poised to make a jump to the elite level of the PGA Tour in the next year. At 25 he’s polished his tools and contending is getting ready to translate to winning.
- Cam Young might win his next start; he also might not win for another year. I will lean to much sooner than later but there is something agonizing about seeing him contend because the closer he gets to the hole the more his deficiencies expose themselves, especially his putter. Him winning is an inevitable as anyone who hasn’t won but for someone who went to the Presidents Cup two years ago as the one everyone wanted to play with, almost two years later we are still waiting on win number one.
- Hiroyuki Fujita had a glorious week at the U.S. Senior Open, but his crowning achievement was bringing the “Master Bunny Edition” swag to Newport Country Club. C.B. Macdonald won the first U.S. Amateur at Newport in 1895 and he was the godfather of American golf design with a massive ego. I am not sure C.B. could pull off the mock turtleneck Master Bunny look for the final round of any event. Live long enough and you’ll see the bunny at Newport.
- Akshay Bhatia will be on the U.S. Presidents cup team and he’s becoming a truly elite level player at 22 but the manner in which he lost Sunday is gut wrenching. He appeared in control of the golf tournament. He got the break anyone needs when Cam Davis had his ball roll into the penalty area on 14. Bhatia missed a very makeable birdie putt on 17 to give him a shot lead on 18 and from the middle of the fairway he made bogey with a tentative three putt. He’s special but that loss hurts.
- Cam Davis tantalizes analysts with his ridiculous talent. He is somewhat of a tease. His repertoire and golf swing don’t jive with his results. Winning this week removes him from the playoff bubble and maybe it’s the ignitor for more consistent production. He is the player built in a lab for professional golf in 2024, it’s time for him to show it more often and to his credit he overcame the bad fortune on 14 to dig back into the lead and it was good enough.
- Richard Bland would be a dominant force on PGA Tour Champions if he was playing the tour full time. His golf swing is dynamic, and he would mutilate the par 5’s on that tour, instead he’s making big money on LIV. He could cherry pick senior majors and win five of them in the next three years.
- It’s three weeks away and my viewpoint may change but I have a feeling about Rory at Troon. Having walked with him in three of his last four starts he is displaying an arsenal of shots that is so impressive and suited for the finicky nature of the Open Championship and his results since winning in 2014 are outstanding. Its darkest before the dawn, I just have a feeling.
by Gary Williams | Jun 24, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- Amy Yang, at 34, had to wonder if she would ever cross the line in a major championship. First time major winners at that age are becoming even more rare. Twice Yang finished second at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2012 and 2015. Additionally, she had 11 top 5 finishes in major championships. Yang left little doubt at Sahalee that she would get the job done despite a modest amount of stress on a few of the holes on the inward nine. Her three-shot win gave her the crowning achievement of her career in her 75th major start. The large check, north of $1.5 million, plus the added bonus of earning a spot on the Korean Olympic team are a bounty beyond words for Yang.
- Nelly Korda’s second round of 81 was jolting. After a wonderful opening round the presumption was that she would build on it and play her way into contention. On the contrary, she imploded and has now missed three cuts in a row including rounds of 80 or higher in the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG women’s PGA. Life and golf can come at you fast and bad patches happen for everyone but the sensational nature of Nelly opening with 80 on day 1 of the U.S. Open, effectively ending her week after a few holes and the disastrous start on day 2 in Seattle were shocking. Exhale and a reset will do her some good.
- Lilia Vu missed almost three months with a back issue that required rest and recovery and prevented her from defending her title at the first major, the Chevron Championship. Now that she is healthy and having won the Meijer Classic last week and finishing second at the KPMG women’s PGA it’s reasonable to think she could have a monstrous second half of the season and with a couple majors left she will be a favorite in one or both. Her form and improving health also will ease the mind of Stacy Lewis knowing she will hopefully have the services of the second best American at the Solheim Cup in September.
- The social media posts last week of the new 176-acre practice facility at the University of Alabama is the latest and most robust example of the privately funded, overwhelmingly, race for top golf programs to keep up with the competition. The combined investment of just the eight schools that reached match play on the men’s side this year into their golf facilities over the last couple years is more than $70 million dollars and that does not include the new facility at Alabama that is being reported to have cost in the $40-million-dollar range. Knowing benefactors to several different schools the cost of a top recruit in NIL is now above $100k per player and coaches are asking for more donations to keep up and while golf is seeing a rise in television exposure it does not drive revenue, but it does drive giving. The private donors are golf centric and have pride in their schools, but the days of the tricked-out team vans have been replaced by hours on private jets. Golf.
- Gary Koch returned to NBC’s golf coverage this year including being a part of the U.S. Open broadcast last week at Pinehurst. This week he will play in the U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club. Gary qualified in his hometown of Tampa in an 84 for 2 qualifying site and 54 years after winning the US. junior amateur Koch returns to compete in another USGA championship. Gary is a total pro in every conceivable way, and he likely weighs now what he did when he won his last event on the PGA tour 36 years ago. Disciplined and dedicated, Gary’s calling cards.
- The U.S. Senior Open being at Newport touches a soft spot for me. First, they are part of the 5 Clubs family that was the inspiration for our name as the original construct of the USGA but the club itself is a time capsule. The clubhouse looks like it should be on a sound stage in Hollywood for a period piece set in the Roaring 20’s and the golf course holds as close to its origins as any golden age golf course does. Brown is a beautiful thing along the coast of Rhode Island and that’s celebrated and adhered to at Newport if the weather dictates it. This should be the anchor site for the senior open for women and men. Its where it all started for the U.S. Am and U.S. Open and who doesn’t want to be at one of the most charming places in New England in the summer?
- Tyrell Hatton won for the first time since moving over to LIV and it would not surprise me at all if he challenged for the most money won over the course of the season. He was already a global player; he has won under varying agronomic conditions, and he’ll never garner the attention of Brooks Koepka or Bryson DeChambeau, so his life and preparation are rarely interrupted by outside demands. He should be a second-tier favorite at the Open next month with his form and Troon was the site of his highest finish in a major when he finished T5 in 2016.
- At 25, John Pak is now a winner on the Korn Ferry tour by winning the Compliance Solutions Championship. Pak has New Jersey roots and moved to Florida as a junior before attending Florida State. He won the Haskins and Nicklaus awards as the top collegiate player and was flawless as a member of the 2019 Walker Cup team. Pak was as high an achiever as anyone of his vintage and his next stop will be the PGA Tour. One of his teammates on that Walker Cup team in 2019 was a 17-year-old Akshay Bhatia, who is now a two-time winner on tour at 22.
- Also by way of the Korn Ferry Tour, Harry Higgs is returning to the PGA Tour. In addition to two playoff wins Higgs finished in T4 this past week. Higgs will always have a job in golf, but it appears he’s found a balance between all the things associated with playing for a living. Harry Higgs being in the mix and being available to share thoughts on his play and just thoughts in general benefits the television show that is the PGA Tour.
- Our first event on the Underrated Tour in the United States this year was at Old Barnwell, south of Aiken, South Carolina. Steph Curry’s goal with each year is to continue to elevate the venues and Old Barnwell has already received a great deal of attention and the club is not even a year old. To really explore the land and be a part of the set-up team allowed me to get a thorough look at the work of Brian Schneider and Blake Conant. Inspired by the heathlands of England, they created a golf course with big scale, width and have blended the native vegetation into the presentation. The four days of hot and dry weather allowed for the golf course to play bouncy and quick and the kids thrived on the half par holes that are beautifully woven into the routing. Old Barnwell is all about access and the mission of its founder, Nick Schreiber is private but very public. Their kids course will be completed soon and it will continue to see its profile raised because it’s a great example of vision meeting great intentions. OB is fantastic.
- There was a stretch from Saturday into early Sunday that Cam Young was 15 under par in a 22-hole stretch. Travelers has always been a cupcake of a set up for tour fields as evidence by the historically low rounds and totals shot there over the years. Despite the alterations made after last year, the golf course was utterly defenseless. Players were completely liberated to leave the baked-out torcher chamber of Pinehurst to return to Cromwell, Connecticut and the softer and far less exacting conditions of TPC River Highlands. That will continue this week at Rocket Mortgage. This is essentially the Korn Ferry mindset portion of the schedule.
- Tom Kim has been trending. He hasn’t missed a cut since the Valero Texas Open to start April, he finished T30 at the Masters with a final round 66 and has back to back T26 at the PGA and U.S. Open. Additionally, his 4th at the RBC Canadian preceded his runner-up this week at the Travelers. Already a 3-time winner on tour at 22 years old he’s boys with Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth which is good for any young professional to be so close to two of the most adult members of the PGA Tour. Plus, Paul Tesori is as wise a soul among the caddy ranks. Tom is weaponized with great guiding lights and despite being too slow and not long he’s equipped to win again soon and repeatedly in the years ahead. Just get faster pulling the trigger, please.
- Scottie Scheffler is going full franchise QB. If you look at the salaries that quarterbacks are garnering in the national football league anybody who is entrusted by the franchises to lead their teams over the next five years are making $45-50 million dollars. With the performance bonus likely to be earned by Scheffler at the end of the tour championship it’s very possible that Scheffler will earn in the Mahomes, Burrow, Herbert, and Rodgers’ neighborhood. In a sport with very modest ratings, even when ratings are good, relative to the NFL for a player to earn based on performance solely what quarterbacks do is kind of ludicrous.
- Xander Schauffele is having a fantastic year. Won his first major, contended until the end at the Players and finished second. He has finished in the top ten in all three majors and has a second and a fourth in two signature series events. A spectacular year of production as we head towards July. He has earned more than 300 LESS world ranking points than Scottie Scheffler. 300!!! The 582 points that Scheffler has earned this year puts him in another category of achievement that harkens only to vintage Tiger. It’s just to give context but there are more and more things beyond statistics that are putting Scheffler in the Tiger orbit including a monstrous season of wins.
- With Travelers and the signature events over for the season the month of July in the United States for field strength on the PGA Tour takes a big hit. The Scottish Open is a wonderful event leading into the Open and early broadcast windows makes it delightful for morning viewing with a full day of summer activities available after watching some golf, but the domestic product is simply diluted. Great opportunity for starts for players needing points for employment but July is a loss leader for the tour in the home country.
- Ben Cowan-Dewar is building a very impressive portfolio of properties with his Cabot brand of high-end retail golf offerings. In just the last 18 months his team has introduced Cabot Citrus Farms, Cabot St. Lucia and the re-branding of Gil Hanse’s Castle Stuart into the coupling of the existing course with a new Tom Doak golf course to give them Cabot Highlands. It appears Cowan-Dewar is finalizing a deal for another acquisition in Scotland to be announced very soon that will be ambitious like all their properties are and word is that additional European locales are part of his vision. Cabot is combining original design with a partial or complete overhaul to existing properties to give golfers an embarrassment of high-end global golf destinations.
- The PGA Tour will do their best to protect members from conduct unbecoming, like foul language. Boom and field microphones are killed consistently on tour and many shots are shown plausibly live so an expletive laced outburst can be quickly removed. On LIV, Rahm f-bombs are in full bloom and they are coming weekly. It doesn’t necessarily mean he is more irritable now than he was a year ago, but he has been annoyed by some of the loud music on LIV that was caught on camera and it also means that LIV shows LIVE golf a lot with no veneer. You get what you see and hear. My guess is, players are not being fined on LIV for temper tantrums and evidenced by me witnessing Rory McIlroy dropping an F bomb on the 6th green at the U.S. Open after a three putt, its selective.
- Longest days of the year right now and makes me think about my favorite golden hour golf courses. I would list Crystal Downs, Misquamicut, Cap Rock Ranch, National Golf Links and Fishers Island as the greatest places to play holes with fading light on summer nights.
