After a trade that sent him to the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers will be seeing a lot more of Josh Allen this season in the AFC East. But forget about being division rivals, these two quarterbacks’ biggest beef with each other remains about golf.

Let’s back up a second to February when Rodgers won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Well, he won the Am portion along with PGA Tour pro Ben Silverman (Justin Rose won the main competition). Rodgers was ecstatic to earn his biggest sports title since winning the Super Bowl over a decade before, but not everyone was as pleased with what turned out to be a controversial victory.

As you can see from the photo above, Allen wasn’t thrilled, specifically with Rodgers getting 10 strokes in the competition when his handicap hovers around a 3 (and he’s proven to be that good in multiple editions of Capital One’s The Match). In fact, Allen’s partner at Pebble, PGA Tour winner Keith Mitchell, went as far as to call Rodgers’ handicap “crap.” And we can’t say that we disagree.

Anyway, fast forward about six months and Allen was asked about the situation on Barstool’s Pardon My Take. The Bills QB agreed Rodgers had cheated and sandbagged “the world” during the win. He stopped short, however, of a proposed jail sentence for the offence. Have a look and listen:

Aaron Rodgers: CHEATER?!@rhoback pic.twitter.com/XZ9xufogrZ

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) August 2, 2023

Looks like we just found the perfect battle for the next Capital One’s The Match!

Again, it’s hard to argue with Josh here. Rodgers’ handicap was extremely sketchy, not that he’s the first to draw attention for that (*cough* Larry Fitzgerald *cough*). And again, these guys are going to face off on the football field (at least) two times this season. Get your popcorn ready

The post QB quarrel: Josh Allen says Aaron Rodgers sandbagged ‘the world’ in controversial Pebble Beach Pro-Am win appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
PEBBLE BEACH — Two weeks ago at The American Express, Tom Hoge was playing so well he thought there was almost no way he could lose. After eight holes on Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he thought he was making too many mistakes to have a chance to win—especially when he was trying to chase down Jordan Spieth, who seemed to have destiny on his side.

Such is the world of tournament golf, not to mention the world spinning inside a player’s head, that the outcome is rarely predictable, the narrative constantly in flux. Up is down. Tables turn. A player whose last win was something called the Bobcat North Dakota Open breaks through for his first PGA Tour title on one of the game’s most iconic venues, and all it took was that lesson in losing and nine impeccable holes coming home.

While everyone else on a bunched leader board spun their wheels, Hoge surged, converting birdies on three of his final five holes for a two-stroke victory over Spieth and three over Beau Hossler. In a career-defining final 90 minutes, the 32-year-old made up four shots with a series of solid shots and clutch putts. It was as impressive as it was unexpected.

“It feels pretty good, almost in shock,” said Hoge after closing with a four-under 68 at Pebble Beach Golf Links and posting 19-under 268 to break through in his 203rd tour start. “It was a grind. But I hung in there really well.”

Just the third player from North Dakota to win a tour event, Hoge also carded 68 in the final round in Palm Springs but finished second by two shots as Hudson Swafford put on a furious rally. Hoge learned something from that experience. And he has learned from other recent experiences, too, having finished fourth or better in his last five starts.

For starters, being in contention helps.

“I would say that was probably the hardest night of sleep I had at Palm Springs, because I felt like I was playing great golf and I felt like it was my tournament to win,” said Hoge, who began that final round one stroke off the lead. “And I was very nervous on the first tee there, I felt great today. I felt very calm today. So it was a good day for me.”

It didn’t appear that a good day was developing when Hoge misjudged the wind at the short par-3 fifth hole, found the front bunker and chopped it around for a double bogey. He birdied Nos. 6 and 7, but another bogey at the eighth was felt like a crusher.

‘I was very nervous on the first tee there, I felt great today. I felt very calm today. So it was a good day for me.’ — Hoge on the difference between contending at the AmEx and at Pebble

“I missed some makeable putts on 1 and 2 right out of the gates,” said Hoge, who began this final round tied for the lead with Hossler and Andrew Putnam. “I birdied 6 and 7, I followed it up real well. But you play the first seven holes here at one under par you know you’re losing ground to the rest of the field. So, I felt like I was still a ways back at that point.

“And then the bogey on eight really kind of got to me again,” he continued. “So that’s where I felt like I just made too many mistakes early on to really be in the mix. And I was surprised, looking up, I think the first board that we saw there was walking down nine fairway over by 14 tee box. And I think there were four guys tied at 16 under, one shot ahead of me. So that was kind of a big boost for me to know that I was still right there in the mix with some hard holes to play ahead.”

At one point, seven players had at least a share of the lead on a day that was long and slow-moving but offered one more blast of glorious sun-splashed weather. The finish was all about the spotlight on Hoge—the one he stole from Spieth—who was attempting to convert his Saturday theatrics into his second victory on the Monterey Peninsula.

Winner here in 2017, Spieth broke from the pack with consecutive birdies on 12 and 13, and after his 63 on Saturday and the harrowing stroke he played at the eighth that he converted into a miracle par, the three-time major winner seemed poised for his 13th tour win. But he, too, stalled coming home.

“I’ll look back and kick myself for not winning this tournament just having the lead,” said Spieth, who closed with a 69, making bogey on the 17th and stumble home with a par on the 18th. “Looking back at where the pins were on the last four holes and say, you know, there’s one or two under there. … So that’s where I’ll be, but certainly if you told me I would have the lead on Sunday on the last Thursday I would have said I’ll take that.”

Hoge was simply unstoppable, though, hitting all nine greens in regulation on the back nine and finally getting putts to drop on 14 from 17 feet and on the 17th from 22 feet that put him two in front. The shot of the day came at 16, when he nearly holed out with a wedge he drew in from 142 yards—reminiscent of the Spieth’s hole-out on the same hole a year ago in the third round. Hoge’s stopped nine inches from the cup.

Hoge remembered that Spieth shot. He’ll remember his more, of course.

The victory was worth $1.566 million. Hoge won $10,000 for his Dakota title that he won on his home course, Fargo Country Club. Now Pebble Beach, where he is the first player to claim his maiden tour win here in 11 years, is becoming something of a home away from home after finishing 12th a year ago. He enjoyed it so much that he brought his family to Pebble Beach on vacation last summer. Paid the full greens fee of $575. He made out OK in the balance.

Orlando Ramirez
Tom Hoge celebrates with his wife Kelly after winning his first PGA Tour title in his 203rd tour start.

Hoge had been playing as much as possible of late to move into the top 50 in the world in time to earn a Masters exemption. Now he is 39th in the world but has an automatic invite thank to the victory. After 11 years of grinding as a pro, and eight seasons on tour, he is discovering himself and still making discoveries on the golf course, still digesting how “weird” things tend to work out.

“I think as I’m getting older now just, that’s golf, you know? Whether it’s the double bogey on 5 or making some of those nice putts, that there’s so many tough golf shots out here ahead,” he said wistfully. “Still, just keep your head down and keep going and you never know where you’re going to end up.”

The post How Tom Hoge got hot when he played it cool on the back nine at Pebble to win his first PGA Tour title appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Some professional golfers might be inclined to say that the game isn’t life and death; it’s more important than that. Jordan Spieth validated the adage on Saturday at Pebble Beach Golf Links when he elected to play a shot at the edge of a cliff that had anyone watching, whether in person or on television, genuinely concerned for his well-being.

“Looking back now, it was not smart. I wish I hadn’t done it. In fact, I regret doing it,” Spieth said with genuine remorse after putting together a scintillating nine-under-par 63 that featured eight birdies, one eagle, one bogey and one of the gutsiest, craziest, most dangerous (take your pick) passes at a golf ball ever captured on live television.

The stroke that will have people most assuredly talking for years came at the par-4 eighth, one of the most famous holes in golf. Spieth hit what he called “a missile” off the tee and thought he had pured it through the fairway and off the bluff overlooking Stillwater Cove. The ball came to rest in the hazard—beyond the red line—but stopped just short of the precipice, no more than two feet. After cautiously tiptoeing to his ball and then testing the ground to ensure he could take a stance, he asked caddie Michael Greller for a 7-iron, two clubs more than he would usually hit for a shot of 155 yards.

Spieth said that Greller three times asked him to reconsider hitting the shot. Greller declined a request for comment.

“This is downright terrifying right now.”

This shot from Jordan Spieth was quite the situation. ? pic.twitter.com/sq04R96GXQ

— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) February 5, 2022

“He [Greller] said, ‘I just don’t see the point, stuff like that,” Spieth confirmed. “He said that next time, if that were to happen again, he’ll walk up, grab my ball and throw it in the water, so that I can’t hit it. He said, ‘I just didn’t know what to do myself.’”

In truth, Spieth wasn’t sure what he was doing, either.

“The footing was solid, but I didn’t have much room past where my left foot was, and the problem was it’s down-sloped,” he explained. “Like, if it was flat, it’s no issue at all. It’s the downslope that worries you because you’re getting more forward to your left side on a downslope in order to get the strike, right? You want your weight with the slope. I didn’t want my weight with the slope that time.”

But he couldn’t reverse-pivot to his right side too aggressively for fear of thinning the shot into the ocean. He aimed left to ensure just a sliver more safety, delivered the club to the ball, and immediately jogged backwards away from the edge. “There was no reason to stay up there,” he said, grinning slightly.

The ball went long and left into the rough, and after gathering his emotions, Spieth chopped out to 12 feet and then somehow rolled in the par save.

“It was probably the most nerve-wracking shot I ever hit,” Spieth, 28, admitted, not yet realizing it was likely the most nerve-wracking shot ever executed on the PGA Tour, considering that it could have ended tragically if he’d fallen to the rocks roughly 100 feet below. “When I got to the green, I had almost an anxiety attack. I was almost crying, thinking to myself, ‘what am I doing?’ I was l just glad I saved par and made it all worth it.”

He didn’t know what he was going to say later to his wife, Annie, or to his parents, who were in attendance. It’s the first tournament in which Annie brought their son, Sammy, who was born in November.

“Yeah, I’m not really sure what’s going to happen there,” he said of the coming explanation he owed his high school sweetheart. “I just saw the blimp shot from overhead, and it really bothered me. So, I can’t imagine while she was watching that live.”

Other observers were equally troubled as the drama unfolded.

“I couldn’t believe he hit it,” said fellow Texan Colt Knost, working for CBS Sports. “I went over there and tried to take a stance and thought, ‘no way could I hit a shot.’ He could take a stance, but you don’t know what that left foot is going to do throughout the swing. It could slip out, who knows? I was genuinely concerned for him.”

“I’m still not right,” Jay Danzi, Spieth’s agent, said with a tight grin as he stood behind the 18th green.

“I actually couldn’t see how close he got to the edge, but I knew he was close enough, and I let him hear about it when we got to the green,” said Ryan Palmer, his professional playing partner. “I was like, ‘You know, this is just a tournament.’”

It’s a tournament that Spieth has won before, in 2017, and was poised to win last year when he led after 54 holes before Daniel Berger rallied past him. And he certainly has an outstanding opportunity to win it again because of his performance on the other 17 holes Saturday. At 14-under 201, the three-time major winner finds himself one stroke behind a trio of leaders—Beau Hossler, Andrew Putnam and Tom Hoge after beginning the round 11 shots behind Seamus Power. Reigning FedEx Cup champion and player of the year Patrick Cantlay and Joel Dahmen also came in at 14 under par.

Still battling an intestinal infection that plagued him through two rounds of last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, where he missed the cut, Spieth played brilliantly, finding 10 fairways and 15 greens in regulation. He ranked first in proximity to the hole on his approaches with an average of 18 feet, 7 inches and first in strokes gained/total at 7.096.

And yet, he left some shots out there, he said, missing several early birdie looks. He made up for that, however, with the shot of the day—regular variety—at the par-5 sixth when a 7-iron from 200 yards that bounded up the hill and curled to within three feet of the cup for an easy eagle. “I was sort of off and running from there,” he said.

His irons were so precise that twice, on the 11th and 17th holes, he hit the flag with approaches, and on the second, it prevented his ball from bounding into the rough behind the green. Of course, he made the most of that break, too, rolling in the eight-foot birdie.

The only thing left to do now is to take advantage of his breathtaking threatrics and win the tournament.

“I think I just kind of learned a little from last year,” he said of his closing 70 that left him tied for third. “Last year I went in with the lead, and I was a little tentative early, and Berger came out firing, I think went like birdie, eagle to start. I think not being in the final group, I just kind of approach it like today where I feel like sometimes it can be a little easier not in the final group [and] to go ahead and fire away. You almost just set a goal for a number for the day and pretend you got to get there in order to win.”

Spieth has set the bar on firing away. And he lived to tell about it.

The post Jordan Spieth lives to tell about ‘the most nerve-wracking shot I’ve ever hit’ on Pebble Beach cliff appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dan Rapaport
The PGA Tour has granted conflicting-event releases to members who have petitioned to play in the Saudi International, an Asian Tour event whose Feb. 3-6, 2022 date coincides with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Xander Schauffele are among a number of PGA Tour players committed to playing in the tournament, which has been controversial since its inception as a European Tour event in 2019. The tournament is put on by the Saudi Arabian government, which has come under international scrutiny for its human rights record. A second layer of controversy developed when the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund established LIV Golf Investments this fall, naming Greg Norman its CEO and announcing it would pump $200 million into the Asian Tour with the idea of potentially establishing a series of events in the future that could challenge the PGA Tour’s position atop professional golf.

The PGA Tour announced its decision in a memo distributed on Monday to its membership, outlining the tour’s conflicting-events policy and explaining its reasoning in this instance to grant the releases. Under PGA Tour rules, players are prohibited from playing in any other golf tournament or event on a date when the player is eligible for that week’s PGA Tour event. There are, however, a few limited exceptions: an event on a foreign player’s “home circuit,” major championships/Olympics/team events, and when the player obtains an advance written release.

More than a dozen tour players sought permission through such a release, which are limited to three per season per player. But, as the memo reads, “the Commissioner may deny any particular request if he determines that such a release would cause the PGA Tour to be in violation of a contractual commitment to a tournament sponsor … or would otherwise significantly and unreasonably harm the PGA Tour and its partners.”

There was some speculation that the tour might use that final clause to deny these requests, and previous reports predicted the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) would do so. (The DP World Tour has not yet announced a decision, though it is expected to follow the PGA Tour’s lead).

Instead, the tour essentially opted against a conflict with some of its biggest stars. “As noted above, [the PGA Tour handbook] fully supports the denial of these requests. However, in an effort to allow these members the opportunity to play in a single sanctioned tournament outside North America on a recognized tour, we have decided to approve all of these releases.”

There are, however, conditions. If a player has played Pebble Beach at least once in the past two years, he must play in either the 2023 or 2024 event. Those who have not played the tournament in the last five years will be required to play in two of the next three AT&Ts.

The memo also noted that the tour did not consider the decision to grant the releases as “precedent-setting.” “We’ll evaluate all future release requests (for this event and any other events) individually and decisions will be based on the facts and circumstances in accordance with the Regulation.”

The decision will be a popular one with players, even if it will embolden LIV Golf Investments in its pursuit to loosen the PGA Tour’s grasp on the top players.

“I think we’re independent contractors and we should be able to play where we want to play,” said Rory McIlroy, chairman of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council, earlier this month at the Hero World Challenge. “So in my opinion, I think the tour should grant releases. It’s an Asian Tour event, it’s an event that has official golf world rankings.

“I do see reasons why they wouldn’t grant releases,” McIlroy continued. “But I think if they’re trying to do what’s best for their members and their members are going to a place other than the PGA Tour and being able to earn that money, I mean, we’re independent contractors and I feel like we should be able to do that if that’s what our personal choice is. My personal choice is not to do that, but obviously a lot of players are doing that and I think it’s fair to let them do that.”

The post PGA Tour gives players releases to compete in Saudi International appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
The debate over whether Jordan Spieth is “BACK!” or not rages on, but the three-time major champ never left when it comes to being one of the top draws on the PGA Tour.

After a disastrous start to the 2020-2021 season that dropped Spieth to 92nd in the Official World Golf Ranking and extended his winless drought to more than three and a half years, the 27-year-old has turned things around the past two weeks with back-to-back top-five finishes in Phoenix and Pebble Beach. Sure, he was disappointed to not convert having at least a share of the 54-hole lead at both, but there were plenty of positives to take away. And his presence was clearly felt as evidenced by Sunday’s ratings.

According to CBS Sports PR, an average of 4.193 million viewers tuned in during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, an increase of 19 percent from the previous year. That equated to the most-watched regular-season PGA Tour event on any network in two years and the most-watched regular-season PGA Tour event on CBS in four years. Impressive.

To be sure, many were also impressed by Daniel Berger’s 65 to win the golf tournament. No offense to Beger, though, but we’re fairly sure Spieth was the main cause for the spike. Not too surprising considering the former World No. 1’s popularity among fans.

Also of note is the fact that celebrities not playing this year due to COVID-19 didn’t negatively affect ratings. Again, not too surprising.

In any event, these were great numbers for CBS, especially given all the talk of what a weak field it was. And it’s a great sign for the network heading forward.

The sport’s biggest attraction, Tiger Woods, remains sideline while recovering from a fifth back surgery. But for TV networks, a resurgent Jordan Spieth—who will play again this week at the Genesis Invitational—might be the next best thing.

The post Pebble Beach’s Sunday TV ratings soar, proving Jordan Spieth is still a top draw on the PGA Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
PEBBLE BEACH — The eyes of the golf world fixated upon Jordan Spieth on Sunday. Hard to blame them, really, considering the storyline in play: a win, at this iconic golf course, to end The Slump. If someone was going to steal the win from him, it’d be Patrick Cantlay. Cantlay shot 62 on Thursday, and he’s one of the best ball-strikers in the world. Scratch that: It was Nate Lashley, who elbowed his way into the lead with birdie after birdie early in the final round.

All the while, plodding along just out of focus, was Daniel Berger. Which, of course, is nothing new for him. Berger has been golf’s Forgotten Man—the guy who couldn’t get a Masters invite despite being a top-15 player in the world. The first man out from the high school Class of 2011 discussion, not quite on the Thomas-Spieth-Schauffele-DeChambeau tier.

Maybe it’s because Berger doesn’t say much, or because he’s not the front-man for a giant equipment company, or because his sui generis swing and low fade aren’t exactly instruction-book material.

We’re running out of justifications for overlooking Berger. Especially after the 27-year-old won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a superb final-round 65, capped by macho eagle—his fourth of the week, and a four-shot improvement from his Saturday double-bogey on 18—that clinched a two-shot victory over Maverick McNealy.

“One of the best finishing holes I’ve ever played,” Berger said.

The golf gods made sure the 30-footer at the last did indeed find the bottom, giving Berger his fourth career tour title and avoiding the nightmare scenario of McNealy losing by one after he was dealt a brutal one-shot penalty for accidentally causing his ball to move on the fifth hole Saturday.

Steph Chambers
Berger plays his shot from the 7th tee during the final round at Pebble Beach.

McNealy, whose family used to own a summer home on the Monterey Peninsula, took nothing but positives from this week. It was the best showing yet on the PGA Tour for the former World No. 1 amateur who shares the record at Stanford for most individual wins with one Tiger Woods.

“It gives me a lot of confidence. I’ve always been a guy that has to earn my own confidence,” McNealy said, before launching into an explanation worthy of a college philosophy class. “I can’t stand there and just tell myself I’m good at something or I’m doing something right. I have to earn it with myself, too. I feel like I earned a lot of confidence this week. I’m excited to get playing again.”

For Berger, perhaps this is the week that finally get him his due. His win at the Charles Schwab Challenge last June didn’t quite do the trick, despite a field featuring seven of the top 10 players in the world. There were no top-10 players in the field this week, but Sunday’s final round stumbled upon one helluva leader board. There was Berger and McNealy and Spieth and Cantlay, as well as Paul Casey and Jason Day and Max Homa. Big names, on a big-time stage—Pebble Beach has a knack for getting its hands on any hint of drama and multiplying it by 10. Nothing about this victory felt small-time, especially not the finish.

A day after fanning a drive out-of-bounds and making double bogey on the home hole, Berger stepped onto the 18th tee in a tie for the lead and ripped his signature tumbling cut, this time finding the sliver of safety between the tree in the fairway and the bunkers right of it. He then ripped what he called the best 3-wood of his life, a laser that plopped onto the front right edge of the green and sat quickly. Then came the clincher.

Ezra Shaw
When Berger made the 30-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole Sunday, he deserved to get excited.

Only five players have won multiple times since the PGA Tour returned from its COVID-hiatus last June: Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau … and Berger. The first four players on that list will all but assuredly be present and accounted for at the Ryder Cup in September at Whistling Straits. Want to bet against Berger being there, too?

“I do feel like I’m overrated, but that’s OK with me. I just think it puts a little chip on my shoulder, which is totally fine. … You look at some of the other guys and what they have accomplished, I’m kind of right in line with that. So I just want to continue to get better. I feel like my goal has always been to be the No. 1 player in the world. Some people will laugh at that, and that’s fine. But that’s something that every day I wake up and strive for.”

He might not be there yet, but he’s been pretty impressive as he’s worked to achieve that goal. With 26 straight rounds of par or better, Berger holds the longest active streak on tour. And he has 10 top-10 finishes in his last 19 starts dating back to last March.

His play over the last eight months has been a revelation, especially considering the depths he reached toward the end of 2019. Struggling with a nagging wrist injury, Berger fell outside the top 150 in the world and even played the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Championship, where he finished tied for 39th.

“When I was hurt, I thought, Man, I’m never going to be able to play golf again without being … without feeling like I was going to be hurt and not be able to do the things I know I needed to be able to do to prepare and play my best golf. I thought I didn’t really love the game until it was taken away from me for three or four months, and then I was really sad. I think I was a bit lucky to have the team of doctors that I had to really get me back to a hundred percent. Now it’s a nonissue. I never think about it.”

Berger has better things to worry about now, like getting into the top 10 in the world—he’s projected to move to No. 13 with this win—making that Ryder Cup team and winning majors. Yes, he’s that good. It’s time we all noticed.

The post It’s time we start giving Daniel Berger his due appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
PEBBLE BEACH — Jordan Spieth needed a Jordan Spieth moment. Two back, in a divot in the 14th fairway, a wedge in his hand on the par 5 and his chances on life-support at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, this would’ve been a fantastic time for a third hole-out eagle of the week. He’d have settled for a birdie, of course, given how rare those have been for him on Sundays of recent vintage.

Spieth’s longtime caddie/professional listener, Michael Greller, suggested one club more. It was a complex calculation, at least by golf’s standards, the type that laughs in the face of a rangefinder. In the more-club corner: uphill, into the breeze, soft greens, false front. In the less-club corner: adrenaline, the type that comes when you’re trying to punctuate the sport’s most talked-about slump.

The player is always right in these back-and-forths, so when Spieth said “I like this one,” the back-and-forth was over.

He went with the shorter stick, and it made all the difference. Spieth’s approach ballooned into the wind, just as Greller feared, landed a good five yards short of where they wanted and kicked back down into the rough. He needed three from there, and that bogey assured that this comeback party will have to wait.

For the second straight week, Spieth entered Sunday with the 54-hole lead. And for the second straight week, Spieth left the course without the trophy, his two-under 70 putting him three back of fellow 27-year-old Daniel Berger’s winning total of 18 under.

“I didn’t feel as good over the ball today as I did in the back nine yesterday, to be honest,” Spieth said. “And that’s going to happen. I just didn’t quite have a great groove early in the round to where I could trust some of the shots that I wanted to hit.”

Yet Spieth fans take solace. There is reason for continued optimism—after these past two weeks, there is plenty more reason to believe that his 2017 Open Championship victory will not be his last. It will just take more time. As the hype train gained speed throughout the week, Spieth urged caution. He knew his swing tweaks haven’t quite taken yet, that he doesn’t feel as comfortable with his move as he did at his world-beating best.

Even so, this recent stretch cannot be seen as anything but monumental progress. Last week, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he chipped-and-putted his way to a T-4 finish. Which is fine, of course—it’s not how, it’s how many—but it wasn’t exactly a stripe-show, nor did it feel particularly repeatable.

This week, then, went a long way toward assuaging any ball-striking fears. Spieth finished 39th for the week in strokes gained/off the tee, 10th in strokes gained/approach and 46th in strokes gained/putting. Whereas he seemed to squeeze every last stroke out of his game last week, he left more than a few out there on the Pebble Beach Poa.

Especially early in Sunday’s final round. Spieth had an eight-footer for birdie on 1. Par. An uphill 15-footer for eagle on 2, the perfect opportunity to jump-start the round. Miss. Another eight-footer for a crucial par save on 3. Bogey. This was Berger’s day, with an eagle on 18 wrapping up his closing 65, but Spieth didn’t do himself any favours with the flatstick.

Harry How
Unlike the first three days for Spieth, birdie putts didn’t want to fall in the hole on Sunday at Pebble.

Spieth has now squandered his last three 54-hole leads—this week, last, and the 2018 Open Championship—and played those rounds in a combined five over par. And yet, he leaves the Monterey Peninsula feeling better about his game than any point over the last three years. It’s one thing to trust a new move on the range, another to do it in competition, another on the back nine on Sunday, with the Pacific Ocean begging for a ball.

“I’m as confident as I’ve been in a long time,” Spieth said. “Not only the current outlook but also looking forward. So it’s still mechanics. It’s still dragging on. It’s still going too long and therefore getting late into the ball and I made some really, really good swings this week under pressure and I made some not so good swings under pressure and there were more good ones than there were last week.”

The good news for Jordan Spieth is that he’s Jordan Spieth, and he’s somehow still just 27 years old. This is not a win-now-or-else situation, because Spieth is not a prisoner to our collective restlessness. Would he have liked to win this week? Of course. There are no bad wins on the PGA Tour, especially when you haven’t done it in ages. Disappointed, yes, but hardly discouraged. On to the next.

The post The big thing Jordan Spieth can take from Pebble despite coming up short for a second straight Sunday appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

McNealy also showcased a sensational club twirl game in this most pivotal moment of his young career. With a chance to win or end up in a playoff with Berger, McNealy found himself one shot back and needing to do something clutch. McNealy hit a spectacular fairway-wood approach at the iconic 18th hole at Pebble Beach—but perhaps just as impressive was the majestic club twirl the former Stanford golfer unleashed from the fairway.

Early contender for “club twirl of the year” belongs to Maverick McNealy. pic.twitter.com/ibi2YeonXS

— Skratch (@Skratch) February 14, 2021

To do so in that scenario was incredibly saucy. It conjured memories of the club twirl Tiger Woods gave during the Presidents Cup at TPC Harding Park back in 2009.

MAV! pic.twitter.com/nv0mRW76s6

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 14, 2021

McNealy’s girlfriend, LPGA star Danielle Kang, also loved the swag she saw from her bae.

Club Twirl. Walk Off. 20ft for Eagle. pic.twitter.com/3pT6GiLpcc

— Danielle Kang (@daniellekang) February 14, 2021

We have seen some impressive club twirls in recent memory. In this situation, with a potential tournament win on the line—at Pebble Beach’s 18th hole … it’s going to be tough to top McNealy’s sauce show on Sunday at the AT&T.

The post Maverick McNealy’s vicious club twirl at Pebble Beach’s 18th hole was an instant classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
It’s no secret what the majority of golf fans we’re rooting for on Sunday at Pebble Beach: Jordan Spieth completing his comeback. Daniel Berger, who Spieth famously walked off at the 2017 Travelers Championship, was not interested in such fairy tales.

Here are four takeaways from the 2021 AT&T.

Daniel Berger has all kinds of guts
After Saturday evening’s stunning reversal of fortune on the final three holes, it was fair to wonder if Daniel Berger, at least in this tournament, was cooked. To suffer such a body blow from Jordan Spieth, the same guy who ripped his heart out at the 2017 Travelers, would simply be too much to overcome. In reality, it may have been a blessing, because there is nothing Berger loves more than coming from behind to win. He did it again on Sunday at Pebble Beach, closing with a seven-under 65 that included a door-slamming eagle on the 72nd hole. After starting the day two shots back of Spieth, he wound up finishing three clear of him. Major guts.

Berger now has four wins on the PGA Tour, and his final rounds in those victories are as follows: 67-66-66-65. In that Travelers Championship he lost to Spieth in a playoff, he also shot a 67. The former Florida State All-American is not scared of the Sunday heat, which will serve him well at the Ryder Cup, should he make the team. He entered the week 12th in the U.S. team standings, but this victory makes him all but a lock.

Ezra Shaw

We’d like a lot more of Maverick McNealy, please and thanks
Prior to this week, the former No. 1 ranked amateur in the world had been in the mix a handful of times in his young PGA Tour career, and almost always because his putter kept him in it. This week, though, we saw the full McNealy package, which included one of the cockiest, sauciest club twirls in club-twirl history in the 72nd fairway. He didn’t make the eagle putt, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway (well, it would have if not for that ridiculous penalty from Saturday).

If you know McNealy’s backstory, you’re well aware he could quit the game tomorrow and do just fine in life. He doesn’t need pro golf, and, let’s be honest, pro golf doesn’t need him either. But after Sunday’s saucy performance, we’ve found ourselves clamouring for more Mav. What a name. What a talent. He’s another one of these young studs who is close to “putting it all together,” as they say, and the more of those guys the merrier.

Harry How

Does Jordan Spieth have the Sunday scaries?
In fairness to Jordan, that he’s contended in back-to-back weeks is solid proof that he’s returning to his old self. This is a great thing. The sport is better with Jordan consistently in it. We are all rooting for this to continue. BUT … are we in the trust tree? OK, good. The Sunday swoon trend is very real.

You may be asking, how can it be a trend if he’s just starting to contend again? Well, if you look at the few times he has been in contention since 2017, the Sunday numbers are not good save for that Sunday 64 at Augusta in 2018. Since then though, it’s been SundayScariesVille.

With the 54-hole lead at Carnoustie in 2018 he shot 76 on Sunday. At Colonial in 2019, he began the final round just two off the lead, and he wound up finishing T-8 after a two-over 72. The following week at Muirfield Village he shot a one-over 73 on Sunday after starting the day just four back. In the first post-restart event at Colonial, Spieth was one shot off Xander Schauffele’s 54-hole lead. He posted a one-over 71 to tie for 10th.

And now he has last week and this week to add to that not-so-great collection. At WMPO, with a share of the 54-hole lead, he finished with a one-over 72. This week, he led by two at the beginning of the final round, and ended up finishing three back. He did shoot a two-under 70, which you could argue is progress. But he knows better than anyone that that usually doesn’t get it done unless you’re up by seven or eight on Saturday evening. We should urge the same patience he is exercising in this comeback process, but these Sunday stumbles have become the norm since Royal Birkdale.

Harry How

That Nate Lashley debacle on 16 was NSFW
Nate Lashley’s victory at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic was one of the great feel-good stories in recent memory. Part 2 of that story seemed to be playing out on Sunday at Pebble, where Lashley was in full control for 15 holes. Then came the 16th green, where this utter debacle took place:

4 putts from 13 feet.

Nate Lashley was tied for the lead before this triple bogey. pic.twitter.com/kGR3YQbUzG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 14, 2021

As if the four-jack wasn’t ugly enough, Lashley slammed his putter down on the green as he walked off, which the above clip conveniently cuts out. Letting out frustration is fine, so long as you don’t damage the golf course (cough, Sergio, cough). Not the best look for Lashley, but hopefully he learns from it. He’s too nice of a guy to have his character called into question over one brief lapse in judgement. By the way, we do not condone damaging the putting surface, but that pin position was downright cruel. Lashley was within his rights to helicopter his putter into the ocean.

The post Daniel Berger overcomes disastrous double bogey on Saturday with a gutsy 65 on Sunday at Pebble appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Pros do commonly hit driver at the cliffside hole in an attempt to get as close to the putting surface as they can. Usually playing closer to 330 yards, potentially with a stiff breeze off Stillwater Cove, the fourth hadn’t been driven in nine years coming into this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach. Daniel Berger changed that on Saturday.

In 4,273 tee shots on the 4th hole at Pebble Beach during the @ATTProAm only 2 players have successfully driven the green:

2012: @Love3d
2021: @DanielBerger59#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/psisyCF3FW

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 13, 2021

The tee was moved up about 30 yards at the fourth, and Berger took advantage—becoming the first player since Davis Love III in 2012 to drive this green. Most impressive was how precise Berger was with that tee shot—the mouth of the green is only about six yards wide—and the fourth green is just about 2,300 square feet, one of the smallest putting surfaces on tour.

Green mapping: Courtesy of StrackaLine

Berger, playing in the final group alongside Jordan Spieth and Henrik Norlander, converted the eagle to take sole possession of the lead for the moment. The 27-year-old is on an incredible stretch of golf, with nine top-10 finishes since 2020, including his win at the Charles Schwab.

And he appears to be poised to contend for yet another win here at Pebble Beach.

The post Watch Daniel Berger drive Pebble Beach’s short par-4 fourth hole, making impressive history in the process appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.