Callaway releases 'Night Mode' versions of the Paradym, Paradym Triple Diamond drivers

Callaway released the Paradym, Paradym X and Paradym Triple Diamond drivers in early January, and since that time, those clubs have been used by stars like Jon Rahm, Sam Burn, Chris Kirk and Si Woo Kim to win on the PGA Tour, and now Rose Zhang used one to win in her LPGA debut.

A key technology in the Paradym drivers is a 360-degree carbon fiber wrap that encircles the middle of the head and is made using forged pieces of carbon fiber. Callaway gave it a deep navy color, but now for golfers who love all-black clubs, Callaway is releasing Night Mode versions of the Paradym and Paradym Triple Diamond.

Like the standard versions, the Paradym and Paradym Triple Diamond Night Mode drivers feature faces that are designed using artificial intelligence (AI) to help maximize ball speed across a larger portion of the hitting area. Using triaxial carbon fiber in the crown and forged carbon fiber in the sole reduces weight by 44 percent. That allowed Callaway designers to redistribute weight in the Paradym Night mode to a 15-gram sliding weight in the back of the head that helps players create a draw or fade bias.

In the Paradym Triple Diamond Night Mode, Callaway added a weight screw behind the leading edge to pull the center of gravity position forward, which lowers spin, decreases the launch angle and increases ball speed.

The Paradym and Paradym Triple Diamond Night Mode drivers will each cost $699 and be available in 9 and 10.5-degree versions and come standard with a Project X HZRDUS Black GEN4 Night Mode shaft and Golf Pride New Decade MCC Black grip.

Source: golfweek

2023 Charles Schwab Challenge odds, predictions: Favorites and picks from the field

Last week we won big on Brooks Koepka (+2200 at FOX Bet) at the PGA Championship. Let's see if we can replicate the magic as we turn our attention to the Colonial for the Charles Schwab Challenge.

The par-70 track is 7,209 yards long with Bentgrass greens. The 87-year-old course has hosted the tournament since 1946, making it the longest-running non-major tournament at the same venue. This helps us from a betting perspective, as we can dig through plenty of data to help us narrow down our card.

Sam Burns won the tournament last year in a playoff over Scottie Scheffler. Burns comes into this week at +2200 to repeat, while Scheffler is the clear-cut favorite to win, +400 at FOX Bet. We'd be remiss if we didn't talk about PGA professional Michael Block, who was the real hero of last weekend outside of Koepka. Block, a sponsor’s exemption this week, is listed at +30000 to win the tournament.

I can go on and on about how good Scheffler is, but his number is just too short for me to throw down some pizza money on. 

Now that we teed off with the basics, let's approach the favorites and my outright portfolio for this tournament.

Charles Schwab Challenge Odds & Field

Scottie Scheffler +400 (bet $10 to win $50)
Jordan Spieth +1400 (bet $10 to win $150)
Viktor Hovland +1400 (bet $10 to win $150)
Tony Finau +1400 (bet $10 to win $150)
Collin Morikawa +1600 (bet $10 to win $170)
Sungjae Im +1800 (bet $10 to win $190)
Max Homa +2200 (bet $10 to win $230)
Sam Burns +2200 (bet $10 to win $230)
Justin Rose +2500 (bet $10 to win $260)
Rickie Fowler +2800 (bet $10 to win $290)

Odds for the complete field at FOX Bet

Outrights

Tony Finau (+1400 at FOX Bet)

Jordan Spieth (+1400 at FOX Bet)

Colin Morikawa (+1800 at FOX Bet)

Tommy Fleetwood (+3300 at FOX Bet)

Cam Davis (+3500 at FOX Bet)

Chris Kirk (+3500 at FOX Bet)

Just missed: Sungjae Im (+1800 at FOX Bet)

Source: Fox Sports

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2023 PGA Championship leaderboard: Brooks Koepka wins fifth major, third PGA in return to elite form 

Scaling the mountaintop once is difficult; staying there is nearly impossible. Returning to the summit is almost unheard of, but don't tell that to Brooks Koepka. Four years removed from capturing his last major championship, Koepka stood victorious at one of the sport's premier tournaments winning the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club by two strokes over Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler.

The victory is first for Koepka (-9) at a major since the 2019 PGA Championship. It marks a return to form for one of the game's brightest stars, who had been plagued over the last three years by knee injuries that led him to question whether he had a future atop the sport he once dominated.

Koepka scored consecutive 4-under 66s to storm to the top of the star-studded field over the weekend, adding a 67 on Sunday to join Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the third golfer to win three or more PGA Championships in the stroke-play era. He also becomes the fifth player to win as many PGAs and at least two U.S. Opens -- standing alongside Woods, Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen -- and the 20th in history with at least five major titles on their mantle.

While Koepka had seven top-10 finishes across the 13 majors he played since that 2019 PGA victory, he finished no better than 55th with two missed cuts in last season's four majors. To start 2023 with a pair of top-two finishes at the Masters and PGA, there's no question that Koepka has returned to form.

It all confirms what many already believed: Koepka is one of the great major championship competitors ever.

"I look back on where we were two years ago, everything that's gone on, I'm just so happy right now that I'm kind of at a loss for words," Koepka said after hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy. "To be with those group of names is absolutely incredible, something, I'll be honest, I'm not even sure if I dreamed of it as a kid winning this many."

Despite what the final score may suggest, Koepka's fifth major came with its fair share of adversity -- not only in the years leading up to it but just last month at the 2023 Masters (where he stood as the 54-hole leader only to finish second) and Sunday within the final round of the PGA Championship itself.

Kick-starting his day with three consecutive birdies on holes 2-4, Koepka saw his overnight lead balloon to three. And then he hit a speed bump. When his tee shot found the penalty area on the difficult par-4 6th, Koepka did well to just drop one before dropping another on the next.

All his hard work had temporarily been erased, and the added cushion he had built over Hovland suddenly evaporated. He made the turn in 1 under, as did Hovland, and went to the back nine face-to-face with the 25-year-old as Scheffler, the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year, was up ahead making a charge of his own.

Two birdies sandwiched a bogey on the 11th for Koepka, and while the par breakers added some breathing room, it was a par conversion on the par-5 13th that was vintage. Missing the green with his third and chipping his fourth to 10 feet above the hole, the 33-year-old successfully navigated a slippery par save to maintain a one-stroke edge over a surging Hovland.

Scheffler clawed his way to two back, but that would be as close as the Texan came to Koepka. Running out of holes, Scheffler's inability to apply pressure down the stretch -- along with birdies from Koepka and Hovland on the 14th -- meant the three-horse race was down to just the final pair.

Pars were exchanged on the tricky 15th, and the championship's deciding moment came soon after. With Hovland scrambling after hitting his second shot from the fairway bunker and into the lip, Koepka saw his moment to pounce. From the lush rough, his second tumbled towards the pin on the 16th and settled near tap-in distance for his seventh and final birdie of the day.

Koepka entered the hole leading by one and left up four. After that, Koepka's fifth major victory and spot among golf's immortality was secured.

Here's a breakdown of the rest of the leaderboard at the 2023 PGA Championship.

T2. Viktor Hovland (-7): For the third straight major championship, Hovland found himself with a legitimate chance to win. Unlike the first two, he still had that opportunity heading into the back nine as he matched Koepka punch for punch nearly the entire day. Birdie conversions on holes 13-14 maintained his one-stroke deficit before disaster struck two holes later. Hovland's chance to become the first major champion from Norway vanished when his second from the fairway bunker on the 16th embedded in the lip and led to a double bogey. 

To make matters worse, Koepka went on to birdie the hole and stretch his lead to four. Hovland was able to cut the lead in half when all was said and done, but this major finish has to be more disappointing than the two prior given how close he was entering the back nine. Hovland is fun-loving, wide-smiling and capable of playing with the best of 'em.

"It's cool," said Hovland. "First place is a lot better than tied for second, but it is fun to even just have a chance to been one of these. Just making the cut and finishing 20th, you know, that's -- you haven't played poorly, but you've been a non-factor in the tournament. So to be in the last group, that was my second time and been in contention for three of these. That's pretty cool."

T2. Scottie Scheffler (-7): The world No. 2 once again snuck up on the field on Sunday. Stalling in the initial portion of his final round, Scheffler found some birdies before the turn just as Koepka began to struggle. He went from seven down to three down in the span of 30 minutes and suddenly launched himself into the conversation. Scheffler got as close as two with birdies on Nos. 13-14, but it ultimately proved to be too little too late.

After getting to 5 under at the 36-hole mark, Scheffler played his final 36 in 2 under lowlighted by his third-round 73. A victory would have been Scheffler's second major in six tries and his third rather large trophy (including the Players Championship). While it was not meant to be, Scheffler continues to stake his claim as the best player in the world -- he will steal that No. 1 spot from Jon Rahm on Monday when the Official World Golf Rankings are updated -- and he hasn't finished outside the top 12 on a leaderboard since October 2022.

T4. Bryson DeChambeau, Kurt Kitayama, Cameron Davis (-3): Golf is better when DeChambeau is playing well. He shot out the gates with a 4-under 66 only to play his final 54 holes in a 1-over fashion to claim his first worldwide top five since the 2021 BMW Championship. After gaining nearly six strokes with the big stick the first two days, the 2020 U.S. Open champion struggled with off the tee but showed a ton of guts in the process. 

T7. Rory McIlroy, Sepp Straka (-2): McIlroy's up-and-down final round was an encapsulation of his week. The 34-year-old arrived on site with a visible chip on his shoulder, lamenting that he was feeling less than 100% physically. Then, he got off to yet another poor start in a major championship. The world No. 3 battled back Thursday and continued his march over the next 54 holes. He again showed that he had more than enough firepower to contend down the stretch. McIlroy carded 10 birdies over the weekend, but the mistakes piled up. Where does Rory go from here? Now nine years removed from his last major triumph at the 2014 PGA Championship, he appears to be searching for his identity as he leaves yet another one inside the top 10 but without a trophy.

"I'll look back on this week as proud of how I hung in there, and I guess my attitude and sticking to it, not having my best stuff," said McIlroy. "Probably not a ton of memorable golf shots hit. My playing partner today hit a couple memorable golf shots, though. Yeah, the atmosphere out there, playing with Michael [Block], was unbelievable. We both got amazing support, but you know, he got unbelievable support, understandably so, being in this position as a club pro and playing so well and, you know, competing into the latter stages of a major championship. It was really impressive."

T9. Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Smith, Justin Rose (-1): It will go down as Cantlay's fourth straight top 15 finish in a major championship, but even he knows there is still work to be done. The world No. 4 got off to a dreadful start Thursday and played his final 54 holes in 5 under. He polished off his time in Rochester with a 4-under 66. Cantlay ranked second in strokes gained off the tee on a course that demanded excellence with the big stick but fell woefully short on and around the green. He was never close to sniffing contention.

T15. Michael Block, Tyrrell Hatton and two others (+1): What more is there to say? The club pro from Southern California took New York by storm in his fifth appearance at a PGA Championship. He nearly touched the lead Friday and got welcomed into the weekend with tee times alongside 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose on Saturday and McIlroy on Sunday. As if that wasn't enough, Block gave the rowdy Rochester faithful even more to cheer about with a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th. Even that wasn't his best moment in the final round as the 46-year-old converted an unlikely up-and-down on the 72nd hole to secure his spot in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla. 

Source: CBSSports

Jason Day breaks five-year winless drought, wins 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson

Rain pelted Jason Day as he lined up his approach shot from the fairway.

With a wedge in hand, he fired at the back right pin on the par-5 18th hole at TPC Craig Ranch. His ball landed just right of the flag, took one small hop and then spun back to two feet.

It has been five years since Jason Day won on the PGA Tour, but his winless drought is over. Day was phenomenal Sunday at the AT&T Byron Nelson, carding a 9-under 62 to win by one shot at 23 under in the same tournament he picked up his first career win 13 years ago.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Day said. “I came into the week after missing last week’s cut, and I was kind of fed up with having to go over like a lot of technical thoughts with my swing. So I just decided I’m just going to go out and just try and play some golf.”

For Day, it’s his 13th PGA Tour victory and first since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship.

Si Woo Kim, who played with Day in the penultimate pairing, birdied the 18th, as well, to momentarily tie the Aussie at 22 under, but Day tapped in his approach in a steady downpour before walking off the green and embracing his family.

“I was very close to calling it quits,” Day said of his thoughts during his struggles. “I never told my wife that, but I was OK with it just because it was a very stressful part of my life.

“Ellie (Jason’s wife), she never gave up on me trying to get back to the winner’s circle again. She just always was pushing me to try and get better.

“Yeah, I don’t know. It feels strange to be sitting here. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

It rained off and on throughout the day, but a downpour started once Day’s group reached the 18th tee. There were even claps of thunder as the final group approached the 18th green.

Day, 35, started his round with a pair of pars before three straight birdies on Nos. 3-5. He then birdied the ninth to turn in 4-under 32.

A birdie on 10 moved him to 19 under and into a six-way tie for the lead. But it was his chip-in birdie from the fringe on 12 that gave him the solo lead and put him in the driver’s seat the rest of the way.

“A couple years ago with all the stress — the stuff that was going on personally, it’s just strange that all that stuff kind of adds up and it’s nice to be able to — feeling like I’m on the other side of that,” Day said.

Austin Eckroat, one of the three 54-hole leaders, had an eagle putt on the final hole to tie Day, but he left it short. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old Tour rookie made the birdie to finish at 22 under and closed with a bogey-free 6-under 65 for his best finish on Tour. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week.

“I felt great all day,” Eckroat said. “Slept good last night, really surprised myself with how I felt. When I came out and birdied the first hole, it really settled the nerves a little bit. Everything was solid, and I really felt like I played well enough to win.

“It’s just hard to beat a guy that goes out and shoots 9 under. A lot of positives to build off of.”

Marty Dou and Ryan Palmer, the other co-leaders, each shot 3-under 68 to finish at 19 under and T-7.

C.T. Pan matched Day with a 62, which including a pair of eagles on the back nine. It also was the lowest round of his PGA Tour career by two shots.

Dallas native Scottie Scheffler, who would’ve moved to No. 1 in the world with a victory, shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 on Sunday, but he finished T-5 at 20 under.

Now, Day heads to Rochester, New York, site of the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. Day won the 2015 PGA at Whistling Straits.

Source: GolfWeek USA

Rickie Fowler experiencing career resurgence in 2023 leads to renewed hope for first victory in four years

Here is a non-exhaustive list of players who have been statistically worse than Rickie Fowler since the start of 2023: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Sam Burns, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Tom Kim.

Again, that's non-exhaustive.

Fowler hasn't received the praise I certainly expected because, after three years of wandering, he still hasn't won since the 2019 Phoenix Open. Make no mistake about it, however, he's playing at an incredible clip worthy of inclusion in discussion among the best players in the world.

On Monday, Fowler was invited to next week's PGA Championship at Oak Hill based on the number of PGA points (separate from FedEx Cup points) he's earned so far this season. He also rose to No. 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings, his highest placement on the list since November 2020. As Brentley Romine of Golf Channel pointed out, if he can maintain that level in the OWGR, he will also qualify into the U.S. Open in June and Open Championship in July.

Fowler has only played three majors since the November 2020 Masters. He got an exemption into the 2021 PGA Championship, where he finished in the top 10, earning a spot in the following year's PGA. He also got into the 2021 Open Championship, which Collin Morikawa won. He missed six other majors because he fell to nearly No. 200 in the OWGR. 

He's been a menace on the course so far this year. Top 20s at Torrey Pines, Phoenix and Riviera were followed by a T13 at the Players Championship, a T10 at the Texas Open and two top 15s in a row at the RBC Heritage and Wells Fargo Championship, both of which carry the new designated event status on the PGA Tour schedule.

"It's definitely been a bit more consistent," Fowler said of his play so far this year before a T14 at the Wells Fargo. 

"Feel like it's been weeks where I've been able to rely on maybe one or two parts of the game. Really haven't had everything yet, but I'd say the state that I feel like I'm at in the last few years, that would be a missed cut or finishing in the back of the pack and now being able to manage and keep things moving forward, build momentum, that's turning those weeks into top 20s and top 10s."

Fowler's iron play -- always a signature of his game -- had dropped way off the last several years. He went from consistently being a top 25 approach play golfer in the world to hitting approach shots at a worse-than-Tour-average clip. 

Much of this happened as Fowler transitioned away from swing coach Butch Harmon to John Tillery. Fowler recently reunited with Harmon, and the results have been evident. (Fowler credits Tillery for setting him up to take off again with Harmon.)

Fowler is having the single best season he's ever had when it comes to approach play. And while his driving has been average to above average, he's thriving because of his iron play. Among players with at least 25 measured rounds since January 1, only Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm have been better on approach shots. Combined wins: seven. It's pretty great company to keep.

Now Fowler sets his sights on something bigger than just getting into the field at majors. Harmon predicted a win at some point this year, and what may have sounded crazy four months ago no longer sounds crazy. Fowler is a legitimate threat to win every time he tees it up, even if nobody has realized it yet.

That's a good thing, too. Because no matter how you feel about the former Oklahoma State superstar, it's almost impossible to deny this fact which will play out in obvious ways at the PGA Championship and beyond: Rickie Fowler is great for golf, and professional golf is better off when he's playing at the highest level.

Source: CBS Sports

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Can all the king’s horses and all the king’s men put golf’s Humpty Dumpty back together again?

Tiger Woods is sidelined for an indefinite amount of time after undergoing surgery on his right ankle to address post-traumatic arthritis caused by injuries suffered in his single-car crash in Los Angeles in February 2021. Woods withdrew during the rain-delayed third round of this year’s Masters in April after showing considerable discomfort walking the hills of Augusta National in bad weather.

Jack Nicklaus, whose record of 18 majors is looking more safe with every passing day and every injury Woods sustains, prefaced his comments about Woods during a press conference ahead of his appearance in the Greats of Golf exhibition Saturday during the Insperity Championship on the PGA Tour Champions.

“I don’t know a lot about what he’s been through,” Nicklaus began.

“He’s showed a lot of guts and courage to play and try to be part of what’s going on with the way he’s been,” he continued. “He’s actually swinging pretty well; he just can’t walk.”

Nicklaus recounted how he sat next to Woods at the Champion's Dinner at the Masters, as he does most years.

“We talk quite a bit,” Nicklaus said. “He said, ‘I’m really playing well. I’m hitting the ball great. My short game’s great. My putting’s good.’ He said, ‘I just can’t walk.’ And he says, ‘If it helps where I can walk, I’m willing to do it.’ ”

That’s about as good an explanation for why Woods agreed to go under the knife yet again as we’ve heard to date.

“He wouldn’t be having the operations if he wasn’t interested in wanting to continue to play,” Nicklaus said. “He’s a very motivated and dedicated young man to continue to play the game of golf.”

Nicklaus added of the 47-year-old golfer, whose body has been through the ringer: “The dedicated young doesn’t last very long.”

Annika Sorenstam, winner of 72 LPGA titles, walked away from the game on her own terms and has returned to play a handful of celebrity events, last year’s U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which she won in 2021. She has a keen eye for Woods’ plight.

“I can just see it from a fan’s standpoint,” Sorenstam said. “I think he’s in more pain than he lets everybody know. I think it’s a lot more serious. But he is so tough. And so courageous.”

How long Woods will be sidelined this time is anyone’s guess, but his participation in this year’s remaining three majors – the PGA Championship in May, U.S. Open in June and British Open in July – seems unlikely.

“I think we’d all like to see him play,” Sorenstam said. “He adds so much to the game every time he tees up. Whether he makes the cut or not, he adds to the tournament in so many ways.

“But you don’t want to see anybody in pain. You don’t want to see anybody, they’re hurting. Especially in his case. So hopefully this surgery will be the last of it. And will be good for him. Who knows.”

At this stage, not even Woods knows whether Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again.

Source: Golf Week

Winning on the PGA Tour is difficult. Each and every year, the circuit is replenished with fresh new talent while the mainstays remain at the top. Just ask Davis Riley and Nick Hardy who are in the middle of their second seasons and claimed their first career titles at the 2023 Zurich Classic at 30 under after rounds of 64-66-63-65.

"This is so special and to share it with one of my best friends out here on Tour is a dream come true," Riley said. "The progression of playing high school, college golf and playing PGA Tour golf is super special and to share this moment with Nick is pretty cool."

While Riley wasn't even supposed to play in this event after he teamed up with injured Will Zalatoris in 2022, Hardy originally sought the services of his former collegiate teammate Thomas Detry. The Belgian decided to pair with a potential European Ryder Cup teammate Victor Perez, and as such, Hardy looked in the direction of Riley, a fellow PGA Tour sophomore and longtime friend.

Their relationship that began at the age of 14 proved to be fruitful as they set the all-time tournament scoring record and surpassed the mark set by defending champions Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Beginning the day three strokes off the pace set by Wyndham Clark and Beau Hossler, the winning duo didn't really get into gear until the back nine on Sunday. Turning in a respectable 2 under, Hardy and Riley found their stride with five back-nine birdies including a near ace on the par-3 14th struck by Riley.

"All I had to do was hear it," Hardy said of Riley's shot. "It was the purest 5 iron I have ever heard, I didn't even watch it and it almost went in obviously. It was really solid down the stretch and it just feels great to close."

This would pull them into a share of the lead with a surging Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and a sputtering Hossler and Clark. With the Canadians setting the clubhouse lead at 28 under, the young guns kept their heads down and went to work. A clutch birdie on the short par-4 16th put them in control before an unlikely bid from off the green on 17 slammed the door shut on Hossler and Clark who were behind them on the golf course.

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The first Masters in 1934 was won by Horton Smith, who pocketed $1,500 for his historic win. In 2023, Jon Rahm earned a record $3.24 million for winning his first green jacket and second major championship.

The money has certainly changed over the years. Jack Nicklaus played in 45 Masters and made a record 37 cuts. His career earnings at the tournament are $772,359. Arnold Palmer, who played in 50 Masters and made 23 cuts, earned $204,013.

Tiger Woods, who made the cut for a record-tying 23rd time in 2023, held the top spot on the all-time money list for the Masters, but he didn’t collect a paycheck in 2023 after withdrawing just ahead of the final round. Couple that with Phil Mickelson’s surprising tie for second and there’s a new No. 1 on this list.

Also new in 2023: Brooks Koepka enters the top 20 as he is the 15th golfer to surpass the $3 million in Augusta earnings. That means Ernie Els drops out of the top 20.

There have been 87 Masters. Here are the top 20 money winners all-time at the event.

Source:Golfweek

There were 144 players in this year's Valero Texas Open, and 133 of them could have earned a Masters berth with a win. Instead, it was Corey Conners, one of the 11 who had already secured a spot at Augusta National, who came out on top after a steady Sunday performance that saw him overtake Patrick Rodgers early and hold off a charging Sam Stevens late. His 68 gave him a total score of 15 under, good enough for a one-shot victory a week before the year's first major. This was Conners' second PGA Tour victory, and it came in the same place as the first; four years ago, he grabbed his maiden win at this same tournament.

Conners started the day one back of Rodgers at TPC San Antonio but capped an almost workmanlike front nine with a 17-foot birdie to post a 33.Meanwhile, Rodgers was fading in his quest for his first PGA Tour win, suffering a particularly brutal stretch of three bogeys in four holes. By the time they made the turn, Conners held a four-shot lead and had a chance to coast to the win. Rodgers couldn't recover in time to give the 31-year-old Canadian any trouble, but a pair of Sams, Ryder and Stevens, began to make Conners' life uncomfortable as the afternoon wore on. Ryder made five birdies on the back nine, including a nine-footer on 18, to reach the clubhouse at 13 under, and then Stevens did him one better, hitting the drive of the day on the short par-4 17th to set up a nine-foot eagle putt. When he made that, he was just one behind Conners at 14 under, and seemed poised to tie him as he stood over an eight-foot birdie putt. That effort slid by on the right, and Conners, who had played consistent, unspectacular golf on the back aside from a massively important downhill 17-footer for birdie on 15, came to 18 needing just a par to secure victory.After his second shot found the greenside bunker, and he caught his third shot slightly fat, he needed to continue his streak of not three-putting a single green to hold on (the asterisk here is that he did four-putt once, on Friday). A solid if slightly aggressive lag left him three feet for the win, and when he poured it in, he flashed a modest smile as his wife and new daughter greeted him on the green."I've drawn from some of the experience I had here, and really happy with the way that I hit the ball and got myself in position," Conners said. "Drove it great, hit a lot of really good iron shots. Yeah, just kept things simple, felt relaxed. It was certainly challenging and a battle out there, but just an amazing day and can't believe it. It's a relief that it's over"

Conners, who has struggled with the putter in the past, including in his rough 0-4 showing at the 2022 Presidents Cup, was respectably middle of the pack in the strokes gained/putting department, finishing 41st in the field, and that allowed his iron game to flourish—he finished first in both in SG/approach and SG/tee to green. It was a tremendous ball-striking display from start to finish, and in the end even the hot putting of Stevens wasn't enough to bring him down. The fact that he kept up his level in Sunday's stiff wind impressed his competitors."Hats off to Corey, he played amazing," said Rodgers. "I'm not sure he missed a shot for 18 holes and it was really impressive on this golf course and in the wind.""There were a lot of shots that you kind of had to step up and execute or else it was going to be a potential big number and he just, he didn't miss one," added Matt Kuchar, his other playing partner. "Every time, [he] stepped up and just hit beautiful shot after shot. It was a clinic that he put on. It was impressive."The 26-year-old Stevens was sure Conners had it "in the bag" after he missed his birdie putt on 18, but in the aftermath he felt positive about his effort and his ability to compete on tour.

"I told everybody, or not everybody but a lot of people, I feel like I've been playing really well," Stevens said. "Not really well, but fairly well all year, just getting more and more comfortable. In Puerto Rico I had a chance, or kind of had a chance, I was a couple back going into the last day and that was a learning experience for sure … I'm getting more confident, more comfortable and I feel like yeah, hopefully I can get in contention again soon."As for Rodgers, it's another disappointing Sunday for the man who has now had four 54-hole leads without registering a win.

"It's one of those golf courses where it doesn't take much to get pretty far off and that was my day today," he said afterward. "Disappointing result, but I'll be back strong."Prior to the Valero, Conners had not registered a single top 10 in 2023, and when asked what percentage chance he would have given himself to win at the start of the week, he reacted with typical self-effacement."Probably not very likely," he admitted. "I felt great about my game, but it's so difficult to win on the PGA Tour. Feel like I've been working really hard and haven't been able to get it done for the last four years, but it sure feels sweet."And while the Listowel, Ontario native is plenty patriotic about his home country, he couldn't resist a kind word for the place that has delivered him his two greatest career moments to date:"I definitely love Texas."

Source: Golf Digest 

A year ago at this time, the official website for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur picked 10 “Players to Watch” for the 2022 championship. The list included most of the top-ranked entrants at the time, including Rose Zhang, Amari Avery and Ingrid Lindblad.

Scottie Scheffler’s game is made for Pete Dye’s House of Horrors.

One day after he shot 65 to seize control of the tournament, Scheffler withstood a windswept Sunday and shot 3-under 69 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass to win the Players Championship by five strokes over Tyrrell Hatton and returned to World No. 1.

“He an artist,” said Scheffler’s longtime instructor Randy Smith, “and when you give him this canvas he wants to paint on it.”

The reigning Masters champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year crafted a masterpiece after a sluggish start in which he didn’t make a birdie in his first seven holes, but once he did the floodgates opened and he reeled off five in a row to blow the tournament wide open.

Australian Min Woo Lee, whose sister Minjee is the reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion, grabbed a share of the lead with a birdie at the first and a bogey by Scheffler at the third, but it was short-lived. His third shot at the fourth hole spun off the green and into the water and he made triple bogey.

“It happened really quick,” Lee said. “It’s one of those things where it’s Sunday and you just make a couple bad decisions and it all kind of falls down.”

He was hanging around after rolling in a 28-foot birdie putt at the seventh to cut the deficit to two strokes, the same amount he trailed by at the start of the day. The Gold Man trophy was still up for grabs. But then Scheffler chipped in for birdie at the par-3 eighth and low-fived with caddie Ted Scott.

“I knew he was going to chip that in,” Smith said later. “When he gets up on the green, he’s sitting there looking at the break and the landing point and kind of smiling at Ted, there’s a good chance it’s going to go in.” 

Scheffler stood in the bunker left of the green but his ball was sitting pretty on the grass and when it disappeared in the hole, he pumped his right fist.

“He’s got great hands,” said Jordan Spieth.

Max Homa compared Scheffler’s short game wizardry to Spieth.

“It looks just kind of homegrown, which I always feel like works pretty well,” Homa said. “Obviously they have great mechanics, but it feels like they do it a different way, which means they typically own it a bit more. So I feel like he just knows what he’s going to do. He has this stabbing spinner. He’s got the really good kind of soft one out of the rough. I feel like he’s just very artistic in that way. I feel like he sees them going into the hole. I’ve played a lot more with Jordan, and you can just kind of see him painting that picture and making them, and they make a lot of them. So that would be my guess. But he’s obviously just really good at pretty much every aspect of golf.” 

It was Scheffler’s 11^th hole-out of the season on the PGA Tour, which no less than Spieth, one of the game’s foremost wedge-game wizards, declared “pretty darn good,” considering the calendar says it’s only March. A day earlier Scheffler let it be known that his chip-in for eagle at the second hole won him a season-long bet with Scott.

“I think that Teddy made a very bad bet,” Spieth said. “I had it with Michael (Greller) and we’ve had it at 15 or 16 before. So I think Teddy will probably reevaluate considering we’re not even midway through March. So I don’t know if Scottie – it actually might be a good bet because it’s already over and he’ll make a new one and win the press.”

Scott equated the chip-in birdie to an interception in a football game.

“It shifted the momentum,” he said. “It just felt like good things were about to happen.”

Lee missed a 6-foot par putt at eight, made another seven at the par-5 11^th and was out of the picture, tumbling to a share of sixth with a final-round 76.

“It’s funny how yesterday I felt like I had the best swing in the world, and then today I just felt like nothing could go right,” Lee said.

As Lee began to sputter so did Hideki Matsuyama (68), who made a final-round charge until a double bogey at 14 and finished fifth. Hatton was the only one to mount a charge and not run into trouble but he ran out of holes, tying the back-nine scoring record of 29 and signing for 65 and a 12-under total. That was good for second and a check for $2.725 million, with Viktor Hovland (68) and Tom Hoge (70) T-3 at 10 under. But just as Hatton climbed within a stroke of the lead, Scheffler went on the offensive and pulled away for good with his birdie binge to win $4.5 million, the richest prize on the Tour.

“I mean, he hits it long, he hits it high, he’s going to be able to play any golf course,” said Hoge, who set the course record on Saturday with a 62. “There’s no weaknesses.”

Scheffler poured in a 20-foot par putt at 18 and pumped his fist as he capped off his sixth win in his 27 starts over the last 13 months.

“You can’t limp in on this golf course,” he said. “You’ve got to hit the shots.”

He posted a 72-total of 17-under 271 and joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to hold both the Masters and Players titles at the same time.

Scheffler’s former college teammate at Texas Kramer Hickok has watched as Scheffler has blossomed into the best golfer on the planet and is none too surprised.

“The best way I can put it is he’s always been so confident,” Hickok said. “I think if you asked him, it’s no surprise that he’s No. 1 in the world.”

Hickock echoed Smith in describing Scheffler’s creativity as one of his super powers.

“Golf courses where he can be creative show off his best attributes because he’s such a great athlete,” Hickok said. “I don’t know if people know this but  Scottie’s unbelievable at everything he does. Pickle ball, basketball, he’s a freak athlete that has this mental capability that he can go into a tunnel vision and shoot low numbers.”

And what better place to show his gifts to the world than on the great canvas that is Dye’s TPC Sawgrass.

Source: GolfWeek USA

Kurt Kitayama is a golfer with several nicknames.

Arnold Palmer, the golfer known simply as “The King,” would appreciate that Kitayama claimed his namesake event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, grinding out a pair of weekend 72s at Bay Hill Club and Lodge to prevail over a stacked leaderboard for his first PGA Tour title.

“I’ve always dreamed of winning on the Tour and to finally do it, yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” Kitayama said after tapping in for par at 18 and overcoming a triple bogey earlier in the day. “It’s pretty unbelievable, really.”

Indeed, it is, considering that Kitayama, a 30-year-old from Chico, California, took a circuitous route to the winner’s circle, traveling all over the world, playing on tours in China, Asia, Japan, South Africa, and Australia.

“We call him Quadzilla or the Quadfather,” said Xander Schauffele, who plays frequently with Kitayama when they are both home in Las Vegas.
“He’s got really big legs. So I call him Quadz with a Z at the end.”

Asked to name the strength of Kitayama’s game, Schauffele said, “He hits it a mile. He hits it far, putts it well, he does everything good.”

That, however, was hardly the case when he showed up at UNLV in 2011, where they called Kitayama “The Project.”

“I don’t think he was very good at anything,” said J.C. Deacon, men’s golf coach at the University of Florida and Kitayama’s swing coach since 2017.

Back then, Deacon was an assistant at UNLV during Kitayama’s four years there and recalled that Kitayama could barely break 75 upon his arrival. But then-coach Dwayne Knight recognized his potential and loves his grit. “He just worked so hard,” Deacon continued. “You tell him something to do and he’d be out there for 10 hours doing it. He always outworked what you asked him to do.”

That tenacity and perseverance served Kitayama well when he struggled to earn status on the Korn Ferry Tour and instead went seeking a place to play wherever that happened to take him.

“Not finding success early here was, yeah, it’s disappointing, but it took me somewhere else to grow,” he said. “And it was growing more than just in golf, really. You get to experience the different cultures, travel. I mean, you find yourself in some interesting spots. Places that you probably wouldn’t ever go. So I think just as a person I was able to grow.”

Kitayama slowly established himself in the world of golf, winning twice on the DP World Tour in 2019. In the past two seasons, he’s finished second three times on the PGA Tour, finishing second to World No. 1 Jon Rahm at the Mexico Open, Schauffele, No. 6, at the Scottish Open and Rory McIlroy, who rose to No. 1 at the time, at the CJ Cup. On Sunday, the 54-hole leader buckled but refused to break. Fourteen players were within three shots of the lead coming down the stretch, including four major champions and there was a five-way tie at the top with just three holes to play.

Kitayama built a two-stroke lead with three birdies in his first seven holes, including rolling in a 46-footer at seven. But on the ninth hole, he tugged his tee shot left and it stopped out of bounds by six inches, leading to a triple bogey. It could’ve easily led to a free-fall into oblivion. Instead, on a day at Arnie’s Place where the greens became so baked that players complained of little friction, Kitayama never made another bogey.

Still, this was anyone’s race. Jordan Spieth charged first with four birdies in his first five holes as his trusty putter came alive. He took just 12 putts in his first 11 holes but down the stretch he couldn’t get them to drop. He made three bogeys in a four-hole span starting at 14 and signed for 70 and a tie for fourth.

“I wouldn’t have hit any of the putts differently. I hit my line on every single one of ’em. I misread all four by just barely,” Spieth said.

Rory McIlroy, who won this tournament in 2018, had an inauspicious start with two bogeys but rallied with birdies at Nos. 12 and 13 to take the lead at 9 under. However, he still thought he was one or two strokes behind the lead and tried an aggressive line at the par-3 14^th and made the first of consecutive bogeys to slip back.

“As I was walking to the 14th green, I looked behind me at the scoreboard, and I was leading by one. And if I had of known that, I wouldn’t have tried to play the shot that I played on 14, which was unfortunate,” said McIlroy, who shot 70 and missed a 10-foot birdie putt that could have forced a playoff. “Game’s rounding into form for the bulk of the season. Even though I didn’t get the win, I’m still pretty happy with how everything went this week.”

Scottie Scheffler had a chance to regain World No. 1 and defend his second title of the season. One back, he had a wedge in his hand from the fairway at 18 but instead managed to make bogey to finish at 7-under and share fourth.

“I put up a good fight,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t have my best stuff today. I still gave myself a chance.”

So, too, did Englishman Tyrrell Hatton (72) – “I just didn’t have it today on the greens in the end when I kind of needed it most,” he said – and American Harris English (70), who tied for second with McIlroy and recorded his best finish since winning the 2021 Travelers Championship.

“I love playing in U.S. Opens and this is as close to a U.S. Open setup as we play on the PGA Tour,” English said.

The API’s first year as a designated event lived up to the hype and seemed destined to be headed to a wild five- or six-man playoff until Kitayama took care of business. He regrouped after the triple and made seven straight pars. But the last of the bunch was a three-putt from 56 feet at the par-5 16^th. Tied for the lead, he stepped up at the 217-yard, par 3 and drilled a 6-iron like it was a Tuesday practice round.

“I just ripped it and it started leaking little right, but I hit it good enough to cover and it was perfect,” said Kitayama, who finished with a 72-hole aggregate of 9-under 279.

He poured in the 14-foot birdie putt and was tagged with his latest nickname, this time from NBC’s Paul Azinger, who described him as a junkyard dog feasting on a bone.

Kitayama had to grind out one more par at 18. As he walked off the tee after pulling his tee shot into the rough, he had the self awareness to realize he was walking too fast.

“I was like, slow down,” he recalled. “J.C. was on the putting green earlier and he said, ‘You know, just relax and just make sure to take some deep breaths and walk slow.’ So I thought of that and I was able to recognize it, luckily, and just kind of calm down.”

Kitayama earned his first Tour title in his 50^th career start, banking $3.6 million and improving to No. 19 in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest position of his career. What a long strange trip it had been to the winner’s circle.

“I think just finding those little successes around the world” he said, “and making it out here, putting myself in those, in contention, you start to really believe in yourself, that you belong out here.”

Source: GolfweekUSA

Chris Kirk outduels Eric Cole in a playoff to win 2023 Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The emotions came streaming out for Chris Kirk as the final putt in the final Honda Classic settled into the bottom of the cup.

Kirk, four years removed from taking a leave of absence from the PGA Tour to get his life back on track, was a winner again, outlasting Eric Cole on the first playoff hole Sunday at PGA National.

“I just have so much to thankful for,” Kirk said. “I’m so grateful for my sobriety. I’m so grateful for my family. I’m so grateful for everyone that’s supported me throughout the past three or four years especially.”

Kirk gave up the lead on 18 after his second shot hit a stone wall and splashed down just feet from the floating Honda Pilot Trailsport (both players finished 14 under). He then won it on 18, the first playoff hole, with a birdie.

The win was Kirk’s fifth on the PGA Tour, first since 2015 at Colonial. The 37-year-old takes home $1.512 million and will go down as the last winner of the Honda Classic. The tournament is seeking a new title sponsor with American Honda ending its sponsorship after 42 years.

Kirk took an indefinite leave from the sport in May 2019 to deal with alcohol abuse and depression. His life was in a downward spiral and he attempted to get it back on track on his own.

But his game slowly has been coming back to form since. From the start of the 2020-21 season to this week, he had 10 top-10 finishes, including a runnerup in the 2021 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Kirk’s last three starts entering Honda: third at the Sony Open in Hawaii, tied for third at the American Express, missed cut at the WM Phoenix Open.

“Coming down the stretch I felt good,” he said before admitting he made a “bad swing at the wrong time,” on the 72nd hole.

Talking about his past problems

Kirk has never backed away from talking about the darkest days of his life. He has said the reason never was to send a message to others. But when a professional athlete uses his platform to open up about something so personal, that can be powerful and impactful.

“I think more than the time, just how much my life has changed in that time, getting close to four years of sobriety, and that is the reason why I’m able to play,” he said. “It’s the reason why I have such a great relationship with my family. Everything that I have is because of that. I have to remember that first and foremost, and it’ll sink in eventually, but it certainly hasn’t right now.”

So when Kirk is on an emotional rollercoaster coming down the stretch of a PGA Tour event, he’s faces more pressure.

Kirk entered the final hole of regulation in control. He ceded that control when the ball narrowly missed dinging the final Honda to be floated of the 18th green.

But he found new life when Cole, seeking his first PGA Tour career win, sent a chip past the hole and into the opposite side fringe up against the rough.

Cole got his par, forcing a playoff after Kirk’s bogey.

Cole regained the advantage off the tee on the first playoff hole when Kirk’s drive landed in the rough and took an unfortunate bounce behind a palm tree. He punched out to 108 yards.

Cole’s adrenaline on playoff hole hurts his shot

Cole, meanwhile, was staring at a second shot 242 yards from the flag when his adrenaline got the best of him. He sent the ball past the stick and into a bunker.

Kirk’s approach shot bounced a few feet past the hole and it spun back to 16 inches from the cup. Needing to get up and down out of the bunker, Cole’s shot settled 11-feet from the hole.

His putt lipped out.

“I just fought really, really hard today,” Kirk said. “I didn’t play my absolute best, but I never gave up.”

Kirk was pleased to hear TV analyst Paul Azinger say he played like an “emotionless robot.”

“I loved that,” he said. “I absolutely loved it. I said today, I’m going to be an emotionless robot and I’m going to go stick to my guns and play aggressive and try to do the best I can.”

Tyler Duncan was solo third at 12 under. Monday qualifier Ryan Gerard was solo fourth at 10 under, earning a spot in the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open next week. The Arnold Palmer Invitational, a designated event, is also next week in Orlando.

Source: GolfweekUSA