By Joel Beall
The USGA announced Wednesday that European Tour player Mikko Korhonen has withdrawn from next week’s U.S. Open.

Korhonen, 40, had just earned a spot in the field at Torrey Pines on Tuesday as one of the top aggregate point earners in the three-event European Tour Qualifying Series. The Finland native had finished T-3 at the British Masters and T-7 at the Porsche European Open.

According to the USGA, Korhonen’s cited reason for dropping out was due to travel concerns. Korhonen is No. 185 in the Official World Golf Ranking and has two career wins on the European Tour.

Replacing Korhonen is the field is Cole Hammer from the University of Texas. Hammer (above) was the first alternate thanks to a 73-65 at the Columbus U.S. Open qualifier. Hammer competed in a 5-for-4 playoff to grab the alternate spot. Hammer, 21, will be appearing in his third U.S. Open; he made his first start in the championship at age 15 at the 2015 event at Chambers Bay. Hammer has also been a part of the past two victorious U.S. Walker Cup teams.

The U.S. Open begins June 17. Bryson DeChambeau is the defending champ.

The post European Tour player WDs from U.S. Open due to travel concerns; Walker Cup star in appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Hammer, the former No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking has stayed busy by working on his short game. And in recent days he has perfected the art of skipping shots off a swimming pool—and into the hole. Check it out:

How are these shots even possible? ??

(via @cole_hammer6765) pic.twitter.com/5F4b9uwpNk

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 6, 2020

Impressive. Also impressive? That backyard setup.

Here was another trick shot from the UT sophomore:

Trick Shot Saturday with @cole_hammer6765 ?? pic.twitter.com/eEbBCIxeTN

— Texas Men’s Golf (@TexasMGolf) April 4, 2020

And here was his original thread that included the hashtag “bored.” Apparently, everyone is getting tired of being confined—even people confined to really nice practice areas.

Few different ways to get to the same place #bored pic.twitter.com/xerae2iN8D

— Cole Hammer (@cole_hammer6765) April 5, 2020

Again, wow. Even Phil Mickelson would be amazed by that side sauce. If the rules of golf change during this unexpected break to incorporate more swimming pools, this kid is really going places.

The post This future PGA Tour pro has perfected the art of skipping shots off a swimming pool appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
HOYLAKE, England — Sometimes genuine analysis and perspective means looking beyond the obvious. While a cursory glance at the scoreboard shows a two-point edge, 7-5, for Great Britain & Ireland over the United States at the end of Day 1 of the 47th Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool, deeper inspection reveals the true closeness of the contest. Remarkably, 11 of the 12 matches over Saturday’s two sessions reached at least the 17th green before coming to a conclusion. So far at least, this has been a snarling, scratching dog-fight that has left just about every protagonist breathless.

It is, of course, an immutable law of match-play golf that playing the 18th hole better than the opponent will almost certainly mean not losing the match. And that was perhaps the only difference between the two sides halfway through the biennial contest. After splitting the morning foursomes 2-2, almost without exception the GB&I golfer in each afternoon singles match hit the right shots at “closing time” to clinch a point for the home team.

In Game 1, Alex Fitzpatrick’s solid par won the 18th and revenge against World No. 1 Cole Hammer, who defeated him in the quarterfinals of the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.

In Game 2, Euan Walker followed his teammate’s example to beat Steven Fisk.

In Game 3, Sandy Scott’s closing 4 was enough to edge out U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree.

In Game 6, Conor Gough made 4 on the 446-yard par-4 to beat Isaiah Salinda.

Only John Pak’s stellar closing birdie stemmed the faster-finishing GB&I tide. Which was huge, and a fact not lost on the the Florida State All-American. One down with two to play against British Amateur champion James Sugrue, Pak had never led until the final putt disappeared into the cup. Which was perhaps not so surprising. In his post-match press conference, American skipper Nathaniel Crosby mention more than once how he has given Pak a “bad time” about being a slow starter in matches.

“That felt really good,” said Pak, who holed from 10 feet for the win before indulging in the loudest whoop of the day. “I knew we were down a few points, so that was a big moment for the team. I knew it was a bit of a risk hitting driver off the tee, but it came off. I must admit I pulled my approach a little bit. Middle of the green was what I was aiming for. But when I holed the putt I had to fist-pump and scream to get my team going.”

Peter Byrne – PA Images
GB&I’s Alex Fitzpatrick and USA’s Cole Hammer share a joke during their Saturday singles match at the 2019 Walker Cup.

That was much needed. Although Brandon Wu was approximately eight under par in defeating Tom Sloman on the 16th green in the eighth and final match of the session, and John Augenstein had been up all the way in defeating Conor Purcell, 2 and 1, until that point the scoreboard had contained a lot more British (and Irish) blue than American red.

Perhaps most depressed by that turn of events was Ogletree. In the wake of his 1-up loss to Scott, the Georgia Tech student was a disconsolate figure afterwards, having endured one of those days when his opponent had holed a series of unlikely and lengthy putts.

“I didn’t play great this morning, but this afternoon I felt like I played really well,” Ogletree said. “I hit it in the fairway a lot more and hit my irons great. But Sandy made about 200 feet of putts out there. That’s amazing on these greens. Every time I did something great, he did something great. So hats off to him.”

Not surprisingly, the British and Irish side was quietly content with their day out on a Hoylake links playing much easier than it had done in practice. Even the nagging thought that their lead could and maybe should have been bigger was not causing any disquiet.

“There is no disappointment,” said GB&I captain Craig Watson. “What happened is probably a good thing because my players will be ready for something similar tomorrow. If they had won convincingly this afternoon, they might have been looking around for someone else not get the winning points tomorrow. So the fact that the American kept things close could work in our favour. We’ll be ready for another fight tomorrow.”

Speaking of which, Crosby claimed incredulity at the number of putts holed by the home side and strangely won’t be making any adjustments to his already established foursomes pairings for Day 2. Three of the four pairs from Day 1 survive, but Steven Fisk and Cole Hammer replacing Pak and Salinda. Which will come as a surprise to all (especially the benching of Pak), except the American players themselves. On the eve of the matches, Crosby told his squad of his plans and nothing, not even a two-point deficit, is going to change those.

“These guys are adults,” Crosby said. “I can pat them on the back and tell them I love them, but there’s no words of wisdom or special secret sauce that I can give them to turn things around. They’re here because they have turned it around in bad circumstances for the last two years on occasion. They’ve been great front-runners many times and won a lot of golf tournaments. All I did today was tell them what was going on and say it would be great if they could win three of the next four holes. Simple stuff. One thing I do know, we won’t have an overconfidence problem going into tomorrow.”

Hardly inspirational stuff. Which, on the evidence of Day 1, is going to be needed if the U.S. side is to turn this thing around. Well, that and play the 18th hole a little bit better than the guys with the red lions on their chests.

SUNDAY MORNING FOURSOMES

United States vs. Great Britain & Ireland (All times Eastern)
3 a.m.—Brandon Wu/Alex Smalley vs. Alex Fitzpatrick/Conor Purcell
3:10 a.m.—Andy Ogletree/John Augenstein vs. Euan Walker/Sandy Scott
3:20 a.m.—Stewart Hagestad/Akshay Bhatia vs. Harry Hall/Conor Gough
3:30 a.m.—Cole Hammer/Steven Fisk vs. Tom Sloman/Thomas Plumb

SUNDAY AFTERNOON SINGLES
8:15 a.m.—Isaiah Salinda vs. Alex Fitzpatrick
8:25 a.m.—John Pak vs. Euan Walker
8:35 a.m.—Brandon Wu vs. Sandy Scott
8:45 a.m.—Alex Smalley vs. Caolan Rafferty
8:55 a.m.—Stewart Hagestad vs. Harry Hall
9:05 a.m.—Andy Ogletree vs. Conor Gough
9:15 a.m.—John Augenstein vs. Thomas Plumb
9:25 a.m.—Akshay Bhatia vs. James Sugrue
9:35 a.m.—Cole Hammer vs. Conor Purcell
9:45 a.m.—Steven Fisk vs. Tom Sloman

The post GB&I finds a way to finish strong in singles, takes 7-5 lead after Day 1 at Royal Liverpool appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
The 2019 U.S. Amateur didn’t end the way Cole Hammer had hoped. A three-putt bogey on the first hole of a 27-for-3 playoff to get into match play at Pinehurst Resort bounced the 19-year-old rising sophomore at the University of Texas from the championship. Thankfully for Hammer, however, it didn’t cost him another prize.

On Wednesday, the USGA and R&A announced that Hammer remained the No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and thus had secured the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading men’s player at the end of the summer.

With the honour comes exemptions into the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot and the 2020 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s, so long as Hammer remains an amateur when playing in the majors.

“This has been an incredible year, and I am honored to be recognized with the McCormack Medal,” Hammer said in a press release. “I am grateful to everyone who has helped me get to this level and thankful for my family and friends who continue to support me.”

RELATED: Tough love and a lot of bunker practice help Andy Ogletree become the U.S. Amateur champion

Hammer took over the top spot in June after closing out a first season at Texas that included three college wins and national freshman-of-the-year honours. This came after he won the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (with Garrett Barber) and Western Amateur the previous year, along with reaching the U.S. Amateur semifinals.

Hammer held off Japan’s Takumi Kanaya, who reached the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur to jump from No. 3 to No. 2 in the ranking. He also caught a break with Ricky Castillo falling in the Round of 16; had the 18-year-old set to start at Florida this fall advanced to the weekend, in theory he could have jumped from his No. 9 ranking to No. 1. Castillo instead settled for a jump to No. 5.

Hammer is among the 10 golfers who will be competing on the U.S. Walker Cup team next month at Royal Liverpool.

The post Cole Hammer wraps up McCormack Medal as top men’s amateur in 2019 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – In the most pressure-packed matches of their young lives, Cole Hammer and Isaiah Salinda combined for 11 birdies Saturday at Pebble Beach Golf Links, sank putts on top of their respective opponents and played well enough to reach the U.S. Amateur final.

They never stood a chance.

On a misty morning at the iconic course along the Pacific Ocean, the two could only watch helplessly as their dreams of playing in next year’s Masters and U.S. Open were dashed by a pair of golfers simply performing at a high level, perhaps higher than they have ever known before.

Viktor Hovland, 20, of Norway, a senior at Oklahoma State University, birdied his final five holes and dealt Hammer his second semifinal setback of the summer, winning 3 and 2. He’ll compete for American golf’s oldest trophy, a 36-hole final starting at 7:30 a.m. PDT Sunday, against UCLA sophomore Devon Bling, 18, of Ridgecrest, Calif., who outlasted Salinda 1-up.

No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Hovland made eight birdies in 16 holes and never trailed against Hammer, the first player in 32 years to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur in the same summer. Hovland’s amazing run began at the par-3 12th hole when he stole an apparent win from Hammer by sinking a 20-footer. It ended with an eight-footer at the 16th that closed out Hammer, who did win the U.S. Amatuer Four-Ball in May and was coming off a victory in the Western Amateur.

Hovland, who helped Oklahoma State win the NCAA Division I title in June, has trailed for just one hole over five matches, and that came early in his second-round win over Harrison Ott.

“First of all, the wind, it wasn’t blowing as hard, and the greens were a little softer, so the conditions were definitely conducive to making birdies,” he said. “But still, you’ve got to hit the shots, and you’ve got to make the putts. I think we just kind of fed off each other a little bit. He made a putt and then I answered, if not the same hole making a putt, I’d make a putt on the next hole, and we just went back and forth. Yeah, it was a really good match.”

Hammer, 18, of Houston, made five birdies but just couldn’t dent Hovland’s facade. “I’m not mad about the way I played, I’m just disappointed that I kind of ran into a buzz saw,” he said.

JD Cuban
Devon Bling, a UCLA sophomore, defeated Isaiah Salinda, 1 up, to advance to Sunday’s final in the U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach.

Likewise, Salinda, 21, of South San Francisco, Calif., played his best round of the week and yet he never led against his fellow Pac-12 golfer. Salinda plays for Stanford and Bling for UCLA. Both are competing in their first U.S. Amateur. Salinda took him down to the wire, but when he failed to birdie the 18th, Bling’s three-putt for par at the last pushed him through.

“I’ve got no complaints,” Salinda said. “I played well today. That’s all I could ask for. Devon played awesome.”

Indeed, Bling’s caddie, Andrew Larkin, assistant golf coach at UCLA, said he’s never seen him play better. (As an aside, Alan Bratton the OSU head golf coach, is caddying for Hovland this week.)

“You could see his game picking up and his confidence is growing, and he’s ready to go,” Larkin said. “The talent has always been there for sure, and it’s great to see it coming out this week.”

“I definitely played well today. I wasn’t even counting score,” said Bling, who will be the underdog in the final at No. 305 in the WAGR. “I hit it incredibly well today, putted well. All aspects of my game were firing on all cylinders. It was a battle against Isaiah. He played really well himself. I was really happy to come out on top.

“I’ve been working extremely hard on my game, trying to make it really good in every single area, just so when I needed the shot, I’m able to hit it,” added Bling, who has been dedicating this week to his late mother, Sara, who passed away in 2013 but always wanted her son to play in USGA events. “Man, I don’t know, it’s just … I love feeling the pressure. I like being nervous out there and knowing that I’ve got to hit a good shot here, and I’ve got to make this putt. I love that feeling.”

He’ll feel a lot more of that today. So will Hovland.

The post Viktor Hovland, Devon Bling prevail over stubbornly-stellar foes, will meet in U.S. Amateur final on Sunday appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Rayhan Thomas has U.S. left-hander Akshay Bhatia in his crosshairs as he looks to cap the first half of the most “awesome”  week of his young golf career in style.

The MENA Tour trailblazer will meet the 15-year-old North Carolina star at 8:40am local time (3:40pm UAE time) as the International team look to overcome a 9-3 deficit, and huge odds, to win the inaugural Junior Presidents Cup in New Jersey.

Bhatia, 8th on the American Junior Golf Association rankings, and will take some beating. David Toms’ captain’s pick for the U.S., Bhatia won both his fourball and foursomes matches on Monday at Plainfield Country Club and brought three 2017 wins with him to Edison, including victory in the Junior PGA Championship.

But if Thomas can replicate some of the shot making he displayed on the opening day, the Wake Forest lefty is in for a ding-dong battle.

The 17-year-old Dubai-born Indian No.1 holed a clutch putt on the 18th hole to fight back from 3 down to earn a half against Noah Goodwin and fellow Texan Cole Hammer in the first morning fourball match out. The WAGR No.31 again teamed with South African Garrick Higgo for the afternoon foursomes and while the International pair were well beaten 4&3 by Goodwin and South Carolina’s Trent Phillips, Thomas still battled gamely with shots like this birdie putt on Plainfield’s 7th hole:

@RayhanThomas is on ? with the flatstick at the #JrPresidentsCup. Another clutch bird at 7 cuts the deficit to 1down in pm foursomes pic.twitter.com/ntdVu4svpP

— Golf Digest ME (@GolfDigestME) September 25, 2017

There were also a couple of delightful chips:

The kid has serious game. @RayhanThomas bringing his @theMENATour upbringing to the fore at #JrPresidentsCup. You got 2B proud@JParsonsGolf pic.twitter.com/v82M6JkypX

— Golf Digest ME (@GolfDigestME) September 25, 2017

@RayhanThomas burns hole with another classy chip but US eagle to go 3up #JrPresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/qAVIxzVQUW

— Golf Digest ME (@GolfDigestME) September 25, 2017

Typically, Thomas doesn’t know when he is beaten and insists the U.S. haven’t got got their hands on the trophy just yet.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow’s round playing Akshay Bhatia. He’s a great player so I can’t wait to start and get things going and hopefully coming back from this large deficit and trying to win this thing,” Thomas told Golf Digest Middle East.

”We are all capable of winning our matches and I think if we put our hearts and souls into it, I think we can definitely pull it off. Overall I just want to have some fun. I’ve learned a lot this week and it’s not even the end of the week for me at least cause I stay on till October 1st for the [senior] Presidents Cup [starting at nearby Liberty National on Thursday].”

Thomas described Monday’s matches in tandem with Higgo as “super fun” and an “awesome experience”.

Related: Watch Rayhan Thomas make a clutch birdie to earn historic half at Jnr Presidents Cup

“To get that half in the first match was awesome, I mean we were down early, three down after 11,  but we got that half point which was huge against probably the top pair from the U.S. team.

“In the afternoon we sort of put ourselves in a bit of a hole early on which cost us. It took a lot out of us trying to get out of that hole which we could have done easily on the stretch from 10 to 13. We had a lot of good chances but…”

You suspect Thomas won’t leave any but’s or what if’s out there Tuesday against Bhatia.

The post Thomas to face U.S. lefty in Jnr Presidents Cup singles match after “awesome” opening day appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Rayhan Thomas has produced a clutch birdie on the final hole at Plainfield Country Club to secure a crucial half point for Trevor Immelman’s International team on the opening morning of the inaugural Junior Presidents Cup in New Jersey.

The Dubai star teamed with South African Garrick Higgo to fight back from three down with seven to play to halve with U.S. No.1 Noah Goodwin and fellow Texan Cole Hammer in the first fourball match out.

Here’s the nerveless birdie putt Thomas holed to ensure an unbeaten start to the biggest event of his young golfing career:

@Rayhan Thomas makes a clutch bird on 18 as Int. team come back from 2 down to earn half point in first #JrPresidentsCup fourball match. ? pic.twitter.com/SXDkdAlo2J

— Golf Digest ME (@GolfDigestME) September 25, 2017

After both teams produced four-under 68s on the picturesque 7110 yard course in Edison, NJ, Thomas faced a local TV reporter. The 17-year-old Dubai-born, Indian No.1 handled the occasion with trademark calm:

Remember the name! @theMENATour trailblazer @RayhanThomas doing the #UAE and #India proud! pic.twitter.com/suILWQmphA

— Golf Digest ME (@GolfDigestME) September 25, 2017

“Yeah it’s pretty awesome. It would have been nice had we got a point but half a point is good enough and hopefully we can do well this afternoon,” said the correspondence schooled Dubai Creek member, ranked 31st in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).

The Mena Tour trailblazer played a pivotal role in the comeback, a birdie on the 588 yard 12th getting the International team back to two down before both he and Higgo birdied the 14th for another gain. Higgo then got the match back to all square with another birdie on 17 before Immelman’s lead-out men held their nerve down the last.

What a moment for @RayhanThomas leading @TrevorImmelman's Int team out in the 1st Jnr @PresidentsCup. Fourball v US #1 @NoahGoodwinGolf pic.twitter.com/MEb2IRwPBx

— Golf Digest ME (@GolfDigestME) September 25, 2017

The half point shapes as crucial with David Toms’ U.S. taking a 5-1 lead into Monday afternoon’s foursomes. Thomas and his International team-mates will certainly need a big afternoon and a dominant performance in Tuesday’s 12 singles matches if they are to topple the hosts.

Immelman again paired Thomas and Higgo for the foursomes against Goodwin and South Carolina’s Trent Phillips.

The post Watch Rayhan Thomas make a clutch birdie to earn historic half at Jnr Presidents Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.