By Dave Shedloski
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – The artillery lobbed around the Old White TPC during this week’s A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier resulted in the kind of scoring that you would be tempted to call, ahem, explosive when it really was just the same old story at the start of a new PGA Tour season.

Joaquin Niemann, all of 20 years old, led the assault on a layout that offered good, old TLC, firing a closing six-under 64 for an easier-than-expected six-stroke victory, a tournament record. With a 21-under 259 total, one off Stuart Appleby’s tournament record, Niemann became the first player from Chile to win on the PGA Tour and, likely, the first player from anywhere to accept a trophy that was parachuted in by the Army Golden Knights just moments earlier.

He joined Rory McIlroy and Seve Ballesteros as the only foreign-born players in the last 95 years to win on tour before turning 21. He follows Matthew Wolff at the 3M Open as winners this year under 21, giving the tour its first set of multiple winners under the legal drinking age in a calendar year since 1931 when Tom Creavy, Ralph Guldahl and Chuck Kocsis triumphed.

“It’s really crazy,” said the youngster, who was overcome with emotion on the 18th green where moments earlier he sank the last of his six back-nine birdies, a 22-footer, and then punched the air twice in elation.

Just before pulling his ball out of the hole, he slapped his putter for good measure. And for good reason; he needed it just 25 times in the final round. For the week he made nearly 400 feet of putts and ranked first in strokes gained—putting (+8.788). Last year, Niemann ranked 141st in that statistic at minus-.170.

“Normally I’m not really like too excited any time. I normally like never do like fist pump and kind of those things,” said Niemann, who said his putting has improved thanks to a training aid, the Perfect Putter. “The emotions in that moment on the last couple holes was just crazy. I was just thinking on the first win I made when I was a kid and I was dreaming on this moment. So just make those putts on the last three holes was unbelievable. I couldn’t resist it.”

Niemann, who also shot 64 in the final round last year here to finish T-5, which secured his tour membership, essentially locked up his maiden victory with a key stretch early in the back nine to pull away from a tie with Tom Hoge.

He birdied the 10th from three feet to erase a weak bogey – just his third bogey of the tournament – to close out the front nine. Somehow, he crushed a 215-yard 8-iron through the green at the par-5 12th, but he got up and down from behind the green, sinking a nine-footer. Finally, at the long par-4 13th, Niemann, whose been working on “visualising shots,” stroked a masterpiece of a putt that would have made the late artist Leroy Neiman envious. The ball swirled in hard from the left and spilled over the front edge.

“When I make bogey on number nine,” Nieman said, “I saw the leaderboard and I was tied with Tom Hoge. And, yeah, I knew that if I just keep focus on my game I could do a lot of birdies. I got two more par 5s. Just keep focus on that.”

Hoge, coming off a trip to the Korn Ferry Finals where he regained his card, closed with a 65 to outdistance four others for solo second place at 15-under 265.

The Old White TPC proved a friendly place for the tour to begin the new season. It was relatively soft for three days and the wind blew weakly, if at all, for the tournament’s duration. The field’s cumulative scoring average of 69.145 was the second-lowest in the tournament’s history, and the layout became the first to surrender two sub-60 scores when Kevin Chappell fired an 11-under 59 in the second round. Chappell also tied Mark Calcavecchia’s tour record with nine straight birdies. Appleby had the first 59 here in the final round on the way to his 2010 triumph.

Niemann, who held at least a share of the lead from the second round on, tied Viktor Hovland for low final round score. Hovland, the rookie from Norway, equaled a tour record with his 17th straight round in the 60s.

The No. 1-ranked amateur for 44 weeks before turning professional in April, 2018, Niemann opened with a 65 and immediately started thinking about winning, reasoning that not only does he love the venue, but also, “I’ve got the game.”

Credit there goes to his coach, Eduardo Miquel, who was among the first to text Niemann after the last satisfying putt dropped. Introduced to the game by his father, Niemann can’t wait to go back to Chile to celebrate with Miquel and his family and friends, but that will have to wait until he goes home in December.

Perhaps with a stopover first in Melbourne? Niemann hoped Presidents Cup International Team captain Ernie Els was watching. “Yeah, being on the Presidents Cup is just a dream,” he said. But then again, so was winning.

Well, whenever he gets back, apparently, it’s going to be quite the party.

“We can’t talk about that,” Niemann, who earned $1.35 million, said sheepishly when he was asked what the celebration might entail.

He’d said enough already. He’s got the game. Or maybe around here, they’d call it weaponry.

The post Chilean Joaquin Niemann, 20, wins by six, puts his name alongside Seve Ballesteros and Rory McIlroy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – Joseph Bramlett surmises that every week on the PGA Tour a different player could emerge on the leader board with a story about his bad back. And already in the season opener, A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, we have the emotional return of Kevin Chappell, who fired a 59 in Friday’s second round in his first tour event after a 10-month layoff.

“Yeah, I think it was great to see what he did,” Bramlett said of Chappell. “I thought it spoke to his confidence to be able to come out having not competed and get in that position and just believe in yourself the whole way through.

“I feel bad for him, because no matter what amount of time it takes [to rehab] it feels like a lifetime.”

RELATED: Kevin Chappell is emotional after shooting 59 in first PGA Tour start since a back injury 10 months ago

Bramlett would like a piece of that. Not so much the score. He was plenty satisfied with a third-round five-under 65 Saturday on a breezy afternoon at the Old White TPC that has given him an outside chance at victory and a solid shot at posting his first career top 10 on the PGA Tour.

No, where Bramlett is a tad envious is Chappell’s time on the sidelines. For the one-time Stanford University standout, the wait was an agonizing, atrophying 4½ years.

In June of 2013, while competing on the Korn Ferry Tour, Bramlett suffered an annular tear to his L4 and L5 discs, which is a painful and debilitating injury. He consulted 15 spinal surgeons who offered a unanimous opinion: an operation would more than likely end his career. For three-plus years, as he sought an answer, he would rest, try to rehab, even try to play a bit, and then suffer a setback.

Dark days turned into many dark months. “Yeah, I’ve had those moments,” he said of the emotional toll his injury was inflicting.

His fortunes finally turned thanks to swing instructor John Scott Rattan, who works out of Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., and physical therapist Cody Fowler, based in Los Gatos, Calif., about 20 minutes from Bramlett’s home in San Jose. Without going into too many details, Rattan helped Bramlett rebuild his swing so he used his feet and hips properly, and Fowler worked on his flexibility, which was the source of his problems.

“It was just a ticking time bomb,” Bramlett, 31, said of his back injury. “I didn’t realize that I was putting myself at risk like I was at the time, but, yeah, we had to rebuild everything from the ground up. I had to, work on my footwork, develop control of my feet, control of my hips, and then, yeah, just go from there.”

This begs the question: How did Bramlett, who in 2002 was the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Amateur, remain so determined after so much time and so many setbacks? He had only one season on the PGA Tour, in 2011, lost his card and was in his second year on the developmental tour when he blew out his back. He did try an aborted come back in 2016, but that lasted all of three events.

He never lost belief. And he steadfastly refused to let his dreams die.

“It’s been my dream since kindergarten to play out here. I’ve had a one-track mind,” he said. “This is what I’ve always wanted to do. From when I first started playing golf I fell in love with the game and PGA Tour. That was my dream my whole life.

“I wouldn’t say I questioned myself through the injury until about three years in. I came across my coach and he gave me a new sense of we’re going somewhere and we’re making progress again. I’ve had great support from my family and girlfriend and agent, you know, people that are close to you in your life. They’ve really stepped up and helped me keep a good attitude.”

Bramlett returned to competitive golf again at the 2018 Panama Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour and just missed out on regaining his PGA Tour card after surviving the full season. “It’s one of those things that you believe, and you’re working towards, but [there are] a lot of setbacks along the way, too,” he said. “Even last year on the Korn Ferry Tour, I came up a shot short of getting my card in the last regular-season event and the last Finals event.”

This year, however, he got through, finishing 22nd in the Korn Ferry Finals with three finishes of 26th or better to earn one of the 50 available cards. A week off, and here he is making his fourth start in a PGA Tour event since his rookie season eight years ago.

“I’ve always told my friends I don’t cry happy tears. I don’t get it,” he said. “Yes, I certainly shed some happy tears after my first [Korn Ferry] event that I came back to play in, and then when I got my card last week, I got a little emotional on the drive over here as well.”

Bramlett stands at 11-under 199 after three straight rounds in the 60s, just the second time he’s posted three sub-70 scores in the same event on the PGA Tour. Only a handful of players are ahead of him on the leader board.

It’s a good position. More importantly, though, he’s in a great place.

“Yeah. I’ve played nicely so far,” he said. “Just feels good to be back out here, you know?”

The post Joseph Bramlett lost 4½ years to a back injury, rebuilt his swing entirely and is back on the PGA Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – Viktor Hovland, the standout All-American from Oklahoma State, has proven to be a quick learner after turning professional in June, nearly earning his PGA Tour card in just five starts before getting it done in the Korn Ferry Finals.

Some things, however, are going to take more time to master.

Hovland said Wednesday at The Greenbrier Resort, where he is competing in the tour’s season opener, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, that veteran Charles Howell III has been offering him some guidance the past few months. Howell also is a former Oklahoma State All-American who won an NCAA Division I individual title in 2000.

“I’ve been playing a few practice rounds with Charles, and he’s been great with me,” said Hovland, 21, a native of Oslo, Norway, who captured the 2018 U.S. Amateur title. “Obviously, he’s been out here for 20 years now. You know, it’s been really cool to be around him. He’s a former Cowboy as well and really cares about you, so it’s been nice to talk to him a little bit.”

A three-time PGA Tour winner, Howell is considered one of the more approachable and polite players in the game. So it was a bit surprising when Hovland, an easy-going spirit himself, shared a piece of advice from Howell that really hit home.

“He told me be selfish out here,” Hovland said. “You know, you want to be a nice guy and talk to everyone, but your time is valuable. You got to put your head down and do your business. You know, that’s essentially why you’re here.”

Usually found with a perpetual smile on his face, the Norwegian was asked what a selfish version of himself might look like. “Good question. I’m still working on that,” he said, with a smile, of course.

Asked later if he even knew what it meant to be selfish, Hovland shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly how to go about it.”

Perhaps that’s the next lesson. But given Howell’s amenable disposition, he might not be the best teacher.

The post Viktor Hovland, a PGA Tour rookie, receives advice he’s likely to find hard to follow appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
After competing in the Tour Championship for the third year in a row, Marc Leishman figured two weeks off was plenty, so he is entered in this week’s A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, the opening event of the new PGA Tour season that begins Thursday on the Old White TPC Course at The Greenbrier Resort.

His thinking is simple: You can’t start too early accumulating FedEx Cup points for another berth in the season-ending extravaganza that just paid winner Rory McIlroy a $15 million bonus. He isn’t alone. He is joined this week by Bryson DeChambeau, Sungjae Im, who just was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, and Jason Kokrak, all who played at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

“It’s so important now to get off to a good start early in the season,” said Leishman, who plans to make four official starts before competing in the Australian Open in his native country followed by the Presidents Cup. “I was lucky enough to do that last year at the CIMB in Malaysia, and that’s the plan again this year, is to try and get off to a good start.

“I would love to win a tournament in the four I’m playing, but more importantly just try and give myself a chance and just get a few FedEx Cup points so I don’t feel like I’m behind the eight ball before we get to Hawaii [in January].”

Last season, six of eight winners in the fall portion of the schedule – including Leishman and DeChambeau, who captured the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open – advanced to the 30-man finale in Atlanta.

“Yeah, you want to get off to a good start, right? I mean, that’s the whole key,” said DeChambeau, the only world top-10 player in the field here. “Last year I won Shriners and was able to vault myself up the FedEx Cup leader board really quickly, and that’s what we wanted.”

RELATED: Bryson DeChambeau and the extraocular: He wins again doing it his way

“This is as big as any other event except the majors when you’re looking at what you try to do every season, which is try to win, keep your card, build on your career,” said former PGA champion Keegan Bradley. “You really feel like you have to play. You see some guys in the Tour Championship at the end of the season and you look at where they played, and you see that they crushed the fall.”

Not everyone has his eye on the Tour Championship. Just making it to the Northern Trust, the first FedEx Cup playoff event reserved for the top 125 in the standings, would be enough if they should not happen to win. That would make them fully exempt for the following season.

Don’t be surprised to see a lot of the same names competing week after week in these early-season tournaments.

“I’m not sure everyone understands how important the fall has become, especially for the ran- and-file guys. I was talking to some members at my club about this,” said veteran Ryan Armour. “If you’re not getting into the WGCs and you’re not in the majors, you’ve got to gobble in the fall a little bit. It took more points to get in every playoff event than everyone at first thought, so you have to hit the ground running. I think the majority of the membership has to take a look at playing more before that break in November-December.”

Especially given the increase in the number of events considered part of the “fall” schedule, even though it’s still officially summer.

This week’s $7.5 million event is the first of a record 11 tournaments scheduled before the holidays. Both the Greenbrier and Houston Open were on hiatus last season so that they could be pushed into the fall, while two new events, the ZOZO Championship in Japan and the Bermuda Championship, have been introduced to the slate.

“The fall schedule is, what, about 25 percent of our season now. You can’t blow it off,” said Brendan Steele, who plans to make six starts this fall. “You have to play and play fairly often. I know that Safeway set me up for my best years. So I definitely know how important this opening stretch can be.”

Steele won the Safeway Open in consecutive years when it served as the season opener.

Patton Kizzire, who got his 2017-18 season going with a victory in the 2018 OHL Classic at Mayakoba, said he planned to play the first four events and then determine what else he might add. “I just had a month off,” he said. “What else am I going to do? Yeah, I need to go play and get a jump on things if I can.”

Kokrak qualified for his first Tour Championship last season. He figures to enter at least four tournaments this fall after making just three starts last year in which he earned just 18 FedEx Cup points. “I don’t want to fall behind, and I felt like I did last year,” he said.

Meanwhile, all 21 rookies are among the 156 players in this week’s field. They, too, have to take advantage of the early-season schedule, because once the calendar turns to January, playing opportunities tend to shrink dramatically. The first event of the new year is the winner’s-only Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui. As the schedule unfolds, there are the four majors, three World Golf Championships and several limited-field invitational tournaments, including the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club, which was designated as such starting next year. In addition, opposite-field events have been trimmed to 120 players.

All of which makes this early stretch crucial for many subsets of the tour membership.

“I just look at these events as a huge opportunity,” said Bradley, who might enter up to six of the 11 tournaments. “This is where you can get a bit of a jump on a lot of other guys. You might get a huge jump. It could literally make your season.”

And it could carry you all the way through to the end of it, too.

The post How the PGA Tour’s new fall schedule is causing players to rethink their own schedules appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.