WE’RE BUYING

Tiger Woods: Remember when people were writing Tiger’s career obituary after that ugly first round at the Open in July? Even though he had won THE MASTERS just three months before? Whoops. Don’t underestimate this guy. Ever.

Ben Jared

Even after bogeying his first three holes on Thursday, he shot 64. Even after eating and getting stranded at a Domino’s on Friday, he shot 64 on Saturday. And even having to play 29 holes on Sunday, he maintained his lead and closed the deal on Monday for his 82nd career PGA Tour title, tying the great man he met when he was just a young Tiger cub drinking soda and already wearing red:

Aww, that’s adorable. But Tiger is now undefeated in official PGA Tour events since another special encounter:

Just saying …

Tiger Woods with a 54-hole lead: Viewers were more saturated with these stats than Narashino Golf Course after six inches of rain, but they can’t be pointed out enough. Woods is now 46 of 48 when it comes to closing out tournaments in which he holds at least a share of the 54-hole lead. That’s 96 per cent. And his conversion rate is a perfect 25 of 25 when entering the final round at least three shots in the lead. Amazing.

Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

There are so many staggering stats surrounding Woods’ 82 wins (Here, I made you a handy guide), but his ability to hold a lead might be the most remarkable. Speaking of stats, Woods’ career winning percentage is an absurd 22.8. With three wins in his past 14 starts, though, his winning percentage during that span is 21.4. In other words, he’s still winning at a ridiculous rate, so be careful when writing him off next time.

Narashino Country Club’s drainage system: This was the golf course on Friday:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4CVArrBhWs/?utm_source=ig_embed

And they played the next day! Sure, the par-4 10th was shortened to a par-3 distance, but even Augusta National and its fancy subair system had to be impressed. Like all winners, Woods thanked the grounds crew during the trophy ceremony, but this time, he really meant it. Those guys were miracle workers.

WE’RE SELLING

McCord and Kostis: In a surprising shakeup, CBS didn’t renew the contracts of either Gary McCord and Peter Kostis, letting two longtime broadcasters go (McCord had worked with the network since 1986, Kostis since 1992) rather unceremoniously. “Bottom line, they fired me,” McCord told Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski. I’m sad to see them go, especially in this manner. Gary once signed a golf ball for me in a parking lot when I was in high school. And Peter, well, just look at him lugging all that equipment around!

He might be the hardest-working man in the golf biz(hub). But seriously, they will be missed.

Trying this Bubba Watson tee shot: To be clear, I’m fine with Bubba going for this. In fact, it’s one of the most creative and impressive shots of the PGA Tour season. Seriously, I can’t stop watching:

This is the CRAZIEST golf shot I have ever seen in my life!! Wait till the end!!!! @bubbawatson giving a new meaning to cutting the corner on the par 5 @zozochamp ? ? pic.twitter.com/UTHf0nfGl6

— Seb Carmichael-Brown (@sebcbrown4) October 27, 2019

But think of the copycats out there doing this at their own munis? Golf courses all over the world should probably think about adding internal out-of-bounds signs to prevent injuries.

Tiger’s win total: As cool as it was to watch Woods tie this longstanding record, in reality, he passed it long ago. As I’ve pointed out before, using the same criteria for Snead’s total (including team wins!), Tiger should now have 96 wins—meaning golf fans should be charged up about him CHASING 100 (sounds cooler, right?) than 82.

Toshifumi Kitamura

Hopefully, someday, a panel of golf historians will gather to comb through Woods’ record and make this adjustment like those assembled in the late 1980s to officially establish Snead’s mark. And if/when they do, I’ll be happy to help.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Shanghai for the WGC-HSBC Champions, AKA that tournament with a lot of letters in the title. Those not fortunate enough to qualify for the event will be playing in the inaugural Bermuda Championship (or taking the week off altogether like Tiger).

Random tournament fact: Carlos Franco, Joey Sindelar and Paul Stankowski are among those in the Bermuda Championship field. Yes, it’s still 2019.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Bubba would try something like that at Augusta National (Maybe on No. 18?): 1 MILLION-to-1 odds

—Tiger Woods is picking himself for the Presidents Cup team: LOCK

—No one in Shanghai or Bermuda will ever threaten Tiger’s 82 wins: Also a LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

The bizarre scene caused by no spectators allowed on the grounds for Round 2 Saturday in Japan was a no-brainer:

Tiger on the 1st tee with no fans in the grandstands is not something you see often… pic.twitter.com/tufJnEopTB

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) October 26, 2019

Although, this spectator shot is pretty good too …

Interesting gallery East Lake. pic.twitter.com/4cS9ic82xE

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) October 28, 2019

Go Deacs!

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

We’ve seen plenty of Tiger golf clinic videos before, but probably never quite the reactions he drew from these Japanese fans:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4C_WV-lqhZ/?utm_source=ig_embed

And how about this video of Tiger nearly being taken out by a microphone?!

Mic check. Testing 1, 2. pic.twitter.com/cm4UHN5xHS

— Skratch (@Skratch) October 24, 2019

To think, he might still be “Chasing 82” if that had hit him a bit harder. Scary stuff. Let’s all promise to handle this guy with a little more care, OK?

QUOTE(S) OF THE WEEK

“I think the player definitely got the captain’s attention.” —Tiger Woods on the prospects of making himself a playing captain. Good answer, but Gary Woodland might have topped it when asked if Tiger should pick himself for Team USA. “If he doesn’t, that’s … dumb.” Good call, Gary.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

https://twitter.com/golf_strange/status/1188906036238999553

A classy, sharp, and self-deprecating tweet from the guy who has been ridiculed through the years for saying “You’ll learn” to a young Tiger Woods during an infamous interview. Well played, Curtis. Of course, I’d expect nothing less from a fellow Wake Forest alum.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

Golden Tate showed his love of Golf—and Golf Digest!—on his cleats:

Bringing my love for golf to the football field! ? made by: @MACHE275 #gamedaycleats #cleatheat #custom pic.twitter.com/VwIlhnHZDk

— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) October 27, 2019

As if I needed another reason to like this New York Giants wide receiver.

THIS WEEK IN PGA TOUR-WAG PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION (AND HALLOWEEN SPIRIT)

While Woods was winning in Japan, golf’s injured superstars were hanging out at quite the Halloween bash in Jupiter, Fla. Here’s Brooks Koepka invoking a classic Justin Timberlake “SNL” sketch and Jena Sims going with the classic “devil” look (What percentage of women dress as devils or cats? 80? 90? Tiger with a 54-hole lead?):

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Gvu8BBO3T/?utm_source=ig_embed

And how about Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky with a nod to “Semi-Pro”?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Ky6D9nf_w/?utm_source=ig_embed

Austin Johnson and Sam Maddox went as cops:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4LBIrCptyO/?utm_source=ig_embed

And not to be outdone, Tori Slater, went as Julia Roberts from “Pretty Woman” while boyfriend Daniel Berger played in Japan:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4K_UJrg700/?utm_source=ig_embed

Too bad, because Daniel could have pulled off a good Richard Gere:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOnglU7jCZK/?utm_source=ig_embed

I hope that didn’t cost the couple the party’s best costume prize! Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m not wearing a Halloween costume for about the 20th consecutive year, but my 19-month-old daughter is dressing up as a dog because she’s obsessed with dogs. So check back next week for photos.

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Wait … this can’t be right … Phil hasn’t posted anything on social media in more than a week? Has anyone checked on him lately?

THIS WEEK IN EDDIE BEING EDDIE

Eddie Pepperell is doing everything he can to find Martin Kaymer a girlfriend, including signing him up to appear on a British reality TV show called “First Dates.”

It’s now my life goal to find our Dear Martin the love of his life ? https://t.co/FhdCkgxrjw

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) October 25, 2019

What a great friend.

THIS AND THAT

The United States Postal Service will honour Arnold Palmer with a commemorative stamp in 2020. Considering how much money on postage he is said to have spent responding to fans, no one has ever been more deserving of such an honour. … Congrats to Ha Na Jang, who made a rare LPGA cameo in her home country and won the BMW Ladies Championship. She’s still got it after leaving the LPGA Tour two years ago. Then again, she’s only 27 so her still having “it” isn’t too surprising. … Congrats to Steven Brown, who was on his way to Q School for the seventh time in eight years before stunning the field at the Portugal Masters for his first career European Tour title. But has he done anything to help Martin Kaymer’s love life? … And a special congrats to the 30 PGA Tour pros who made Golf Digest’s latest Nice Guys list. With a top three of Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland, and Jordan Spieth, who says nice guys finish last?

Stan Badz

Well, Spieth finished pretty far down the board in Japan, but you get the point. …

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will I ever wear a Halloween costume again?

Who will inherit the Konica Minolta Bizhub Swing Vision Camera?

Seriously, is Phil Mickelson OK?

The post Tiger Woods’ record-tying win, Brooks Koepka’s bold Halloween costume, and the craziest tee shot in PGA Tour history appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

RELATED: Enter the Golf Digest Middle East Amateur Golf Series TODAY!

Thirty years ago this coming November, the World Golf Hall of Famer won the season-ending Nabisco Championship in a Monday playoff over Tom Kite at Pebble Beach, earning $360,000 and pushing his year-long haul to $1,147,644. “I guess the first one to do it is the one everybody will talk about,” Strange said at the time. “But a couple of years from now, four or five guys will be doing it. It’s kind of like Arnold Palmer becoming the first player to win $1 million in a career [in 1968]. Now there are 40 or 50 who’ve done it.”

Oh, how clairvoyant Strange proved to be. Fast forward to 2018 and through last week’s Northern Trust, the number of golfers who have cracked the $1 million in this latest PGA Tour season (official money) is an impressive 114, which is believed to be an all-time high. Indeed, every golfer in the field at this week’s Dell Technologies Championship is on this list.

The number of season-long millionaires is up from 102 during the 2016-’17 and 107 from 2015-’16.

As for the number of golfers who have earned at least $1 million in PGA Tour events during their careers, well that number is now at 556 and counting. Sam Ryder became the latest this past weekend at Ridgewood Country Club, taking home $59,850 for his T-28 finish. He didn’t earn enough FedEx Cup points to move on to the season’s second playoff event, but his cash reward pushed him to $1,046,166 in winnings on tour.

Makes you wish you had put a few more hours on the range when you were a teenager, now, doesn’t it?

Here is the current PGA Tour money list updated through the Northern Trust:

Rank, Player, Events (Wins), Money

1: Justin Thomas, 20 (3), $8,154,693

2: Dustin Johnson, 17 (3), $7,499,752

3: Brooks Koepka, 14 (2), $6,673,792

4: Bryson DeChambeau, 23 (2), $6,189,009

5: Justin Rose, 15 (2), $5,814,678

6: Bubba Watson, 21 (3), $5,242,048

7: Jason Day, 17 (2), $4,832,761

8: Tony Finau, 25, $4,805,338

9: Patrick Reed, 23 (1), $4,708,018

10: Webb Simpson, 23 (1), $4,670,167

11: Francesco Molinari, 18 (2), $4,650,042

12: Phil Mickelson, 21 (1), $4,270,332

13: Patrick Cantlay, 20 (1), $3,708,414

14: Rickie Fowler, 18, $3,703,337

15: Jon Rahm, 17 (1), $3,663,668

16: Rory McIlroy, 15 (1), $3,609,521

17: Kyle Stanley, 23, $3,538,586

18: Marc Leishman, 22, $3,472,421

19: Tiger Woods, 15, $3,439,862

20: Tommy Fleetwood, 16, $3,386,469

21: Patton Kizzire, 26 (2), $3,340,271

22: Paul Casey, 17 (1), $3,315,521

23: Kevin Na, 23 (1), $3,234,516

24: Xander Schauffele, 24, $3,224,138

25: Aaron Wise, 26 (1), $3,133,517

26: Pat Perez, 21 (1), $2,942,121

27: Kevin Kisner, 23, $2,881,076

28: Billy Horschel, 24 (1), $2,821,200

29: Cameron Smith, 21, $2,818,997

30: Chesson Hadley, 28, $2,749,423

31: Brian Harman, 23, $2,693,603

32: Ian Poulter, 18 (1), $2,692,985

33: Luke List, 27, $2,684,996

34: Chez Reavie, 26, $2,659,518

35: Gary Woodland, 24 (1), $2,623,228

36: Jordan Spieth, 21, $2,612,141

37: Henrik Stenson, 14, $2,602,547

38: Alex Noren, 16, $2,595,590

39: Andrew Landry, 25 (1), $2,575,939

40: Byeong Hun An, 22, $2,484,852

41: Ryan Armour, 30 (1), $2,422,169

42: Brandt Snedeker, 23 (1), $2,375,867

43: Austin Cook, 27 (1), $2,369,900

44: Beau Hossler, 26, $2,356,164

45: Keegan Bradley, 24, $2,277,664

46: Brendan Steele, 20 (1), $2,272,048

47: Andrew Putnam, 26 (1), $2,221,882

48: Emiliano Grillo, 23, $2,211,823

49: Si Woo Kim, 29, $2,200,345

50: Adam Scott, 19, $2,194,676

51: Rafa Cabrera Bello, 18, $2,153,769

52: Brian Gay, 28, $2,107,591

53: Charles Howell III, 26, $2,085,135

54: Jimmy Walker, 22, $2,009,672

55: Ryan Moore, 21, $1,968,968

56: J.J. Spaun, 25, $1,934,626

57: Ted Potter, Jr., 26 (1), $1,911,308

58: Zach Johnson, 23, $1,905,660

59: Whee Kim, 29, $1,903,240

60: Stewart Cink, 24, $1,868,038

61: Scott Piercy, 24 (1), $1,856,597

62: Hideki Matsuyama, 18, $1,781,477

63: Chris Kirk, 27, $1,748,342

64: Tyrrell Hatton, 14, $1,722,635

65: Adam Hadwin, 23, $1,722,608

66: Charl Schwartzel, 20, $1,710,179

67: Matt Kuchar, 23, $1,691,237

68: Daniel Berger, 22, $1,680,194

69: Louis Oosthuizen, 15, $1,656,950

70: Jason Kokrak, 27, $1,614,122

71: Peter Uihlein, 24, $1,596,340

72: J.B. Holmes, 23, $1,574,442

73: Kevin Chappell, 22, $1,566,769

74: Kevin Streelman, 26, $1,523,642

75: Branden Grace, 17, $1,500,429

76: Keith Mitchell, 27, $1,498,520

77: Jason Dufner, 21, $1,497,655

78: Russell Henley, 22, $1,496,548

79: Kelly Kraft, 30, $1,496,253

80: Joel Dahmen, 27, $1,476,838

81: Satoshi Kodaira, 17 (1), $1,471,462

82: C.T. Pan, 28, $1,469,287

83: Ryan Palmer, 20, $1,465,635

84: Anirban Lahiri, 23, $1,441,205

85: Russell Knox, 26, $1,395,170

86: Abraham Ancer, 28, $1,393,330

87: Nick Watney, 25, $1,383,663

88: Charley Hoffman, 24, $1,383,357

89: Michael Kim, 26 (1), $1,379,736

90: Jamie Lovemark, 25, $1,360,366

91: Kevin Tway, 30, $1,350,684

92: James Hahn, 25, $1,344,732

93: Tom Hoge, 30, $1,340,002

94: Troy Merritt, 26 (1), $1,326,989

95: Ollie Schniederjans, 26, $1,303,610

96: Patrick Rodgers, 30, $1,287,040

97: Brice Garnett, 28 (1), $1,258,999

98: Danny Lee, 29, $1,247,886

99: Sung Kang, 29, $1,243,309

100: Harold Varner III, 27, $1,223,064

101: Alex Cejka, 24, $1,198,541

102: Trey Mullinax, 24, $1,184,245

103: Bronson Burgoon, 23, $1,159,726

104: Brandon Harkins, 30, $1,148,115

105: Jhonattan Vegas, 26, $1,137,444

106: Scott Stallings, 29, $1,126,073

107: Rory Sabbatini, 27, $1,126,057

108: Sean O’Hair, 22, $1,104,865

109: Richy Werenski, 32, $1,081,283

110: Scott Brown, 32, $1,076,678

111: Grayson Murray, 22, $1,056,628

112: Sam Ryder, 26, $1,046,166

113: Brian Stuard, 31, $1,035,200

114: Martin Laird, 22, $1,017,580

The post Here’s everyone who has earned more than $1 million on the PGA Tour this season (and the number will amaze you) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
AKRON, Ohio — Goodbye iconic water tower. Goodbye chicken wraps and crunchy cream pies. Goodbye Arnold Palmer Bridge. Goodbye Monster.

Today’s final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is the PGA Tour’s farewell sojourn over the South Course at Firestone Country Club, which annually has hosted a professional golf tournament since 1954 when the Rubber City Open was elevated to an official tour event and moved to the facility that tire magnate Harvey S. Firestone built for his employees. Sure, the PGA Tour Champions will continue the tradition next year with the Senior Players Championship, but Firestone always has been a traditional home for the game’s top players, whether it was hosting the PGA Championship, the American Golf Classic, the World Series of Golf or 19 editions of this WGC event.

The tournament moves to TPC Southwind in Memphis next year, sponsored by FedEx, which pours an exorbitant amount of money into the FedEx Cup and wanted a WGC event.

“It’s a sentimental favorite,” said Paul Casey, who has nine top-25 finishes in his previous 13 appearances in this event. “It’s easy to like it here. We’ve made friends here. The whole community is wrapped up in it. There’s a nice familiarity that’s been built up through the decades here, and you can’t minimize how that makes a tournament special.”

Tommy Bolt won the first tournament played at Firestone, and four years later, as the reigning U.S. Open champion, he played a bit of gamesmanship on a young and unsuspecting Jack Nicklaus, who as an 18-year-old amateur was making his debut in a tour event.

“I remember Tommy putting his arm around me walking down the first hole. ‘Don’t you worry, Jackie boy, old Tommy will take care of you.’ He was giving me the business right off the bat,” Nicklaus recalled. “I missed six three-foot putts on the front nine, little short things. He got rid of me fast on that front nine. It’s part of the education of a golfer.”

After beginning the third round just one shot off the lead, Nicklaus slid to a 76. But he rallied with a 68 the last day to finish at seven-under 277, tied for 15th place. He would go on to win at Firestone seven times, including the 1975 PGA Championship.

“This has been a pretty special place for me,” the Golden Bear said in 2013 after visiting Firestone to receive the annual Ambassador of Golf Award that year from Northern Ohio Golf Charities. “I have so many great memories of Firestone and all the years I played here. I loved coming up here. I loved playing the golf course. It suited my eye. It suited my game. I always said, ‘I don’t care what’s going on. I’m going to get to Firestone, and I’ll be able to play well there.’ ”

Bettmann
Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus walk up a fairway in a practice round at the Firestone Country Club during a tournament in the 1960s.

Like Nicklaus, Tiger Woods first saw Firestone when he was an amateur, playing casual rounds on the South and North Courses—the facility has 54 holes—with his father, Earl. And like Nicklaus, Woods always seemed capable of raising his game when he arrived, winning on the South Course eight times, a tour record he shares with himself (at Bay Hill and Torrey Pines) and Sam Snead (at Greensboro). The last of his 79 tour titles came on these grounds in 2013 when he equaled the course record of 61 for a second time.

“It’s always been one of my favorite golf courses on the entire tour, and it’s unfortunate that it is leaving,” said Woods, who climbed from 696th in the world at the start of the year to 50th after the Open Championship to squeak into the field. “This has been one of the very few tournaments that is kind of a small-town atmosphere. It’s a very simple, straightforward golf course, which we don’t see very often anymore. This is away from the stadium golf that we seem to play a lot now on tour. As far as the future of this event, I know it has to move, and it has to go forward and off to Memphis, but it’s one of the reasons why I tried so hard to get in this event, is because it does mean something special to me.”

RELATED: 7 takeaways from the new 2019 PGA Tour schedule

Winners at Firestone through the years have included many of the game’s biggest names: Nicklaus, Woods, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, Nick Price, Greg Norman, Curtis Strange, Jose Maria Olazabal, Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

It has seen the ridiculous and the sublime. “Ridiculous” was the first word Palmer used to describe the long par-5 16th hole on the South Course, created in 1959 when Robert Trent Jones redesigned Bert Way’s truculent layout for the 1960 PGA Championship, won by Jay Hebert. Palmer was in the hunt until he suffered a quadruple-bogey 8 in the third round after hitting into the new pond in front of the green. Later he called it “a monster,” and the name stuck. Last year, a bridge near the 16th green was dedicated in honor of the late Palmer.

Ridiculous was the 8-iron Woods used to airmail the ninth green in the second round of the ’06 tournament. His ball ricocheted off the cart path, over the clubhouse roof and into a loading area, where it was picked up by a staff worker delivering crunchy cream pies. After a frantic search, Woods was allowed a free drop—the clubhouse was not deemed out of bounds—and saved par.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images
The water town at Firestone has become an iconic part of the Akron, Ohio, course.

Even more ridiculous was the melee that unfolded in the 1994 edition, played on the North Course, when an impatient John Daly hit into the group in front of him the final day. One of the players ahead was club pro Jeff Roth, whose father confronted Daly after the round and ended up scuffling with him.

The sublime includes the ridiculous 262 aggregate total Olazabal posted in 1990, well before the advent of the Pro V1 and grasp of trampoline effect. (His win in ’94 makes him the only man to win official events on each course.) Only Woods has bettered the mark, submitting a commanding 259 total to win by 11 strokes in 2000, punctuated by the “shot in the dark,” the 8-iron he struck in the gloaming that fell out of the sky and magically appeared two feet from the hole.

“Being there in person, it was inconceivable that someone could actually hit a golf ball and hit it on the green, find the green, much less land it within a foot of the cup,” CBS golf anchor Jim Nantz said recently. “Of the great shots Tiger hit all time, that would have to be on that pretty special list.”

Nicklaus also authored a memorable shot at Firestone. He blasted a 9-iron over a maple tree from 137 yards to the back of the 16th green to save par in the ’75 PGA. He called it “your basic miracle par,” and one of the biggest gambles he ever took in a major championship. Former PGA champion Bob Rosburg, working for ABC Sports, sized up Nicklaus’ prospects and uttered the words, “he’s got no shot,” that became his catch-phrase over his broadcasting career.

Because of Firestone’s long run and the fact that it hosted multiple events some years—in 1974 there were three events on the South Course: the World Series of Golf, CBS Golf Classic and American Golf Classic—it is believed that no facility, not even Augusta National Golf Club, has been televised more.

In all, there have been 88 tournaments here. Only three tour venues have had a longer consecutive run than Firestone’s 65 years—Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.

CBS golf producer Lance Barrow first came to Firestone in 1976 as a runner working for broadcaster Pat Summerall, and he couldn’t believe he was seeing the iconic water tower in person.

“I remember watching the CBS Golf Classic as a kid and then coming here and seeing it for real, and thinking that might be one of the great landmarks in golf,” Barrow said. “I couldn’t believe that I was actually here to watch them play golf. It’s probably one of the most recognisable golf courses in America. Later I loved listening to guys like [producer] Frank Chirkinian and [director] Chuck Will talking about all the years they did the CBS Golf Classic. You saw Nelson, you saw Hogan, you saw Snead, Sarazen, Palmer, Nicklaus. That was cool. It was like being in a history class.

Harry How
Tiger smiles as he receives an ovation for his win on the 18th green during at the 2005 NEC Invitational, one of his eight victories at Firestone.

“Tournaments come and go, but this is one where you look back and say I was fortunate to do that tournament, to see the players who have played here and who won here,” he added. “You come back to a place over and over and you get to know people. You invest a lot of your life in one place.”

Sadness. It’s a genuine reaction players express, Mickelson and McIlroy among them, when they ponder the end of a tradition at Firestone. And that’s the crux of it. It’s not an annual tournament. It’s a tradition—perhaps not the haughty “tradition unlike any other” that Nantz says of the Masters, but a tradition rich and warm and meaningful in its own right.

“Yeah, this is our last go-around for a while,” Woods said wistfully after Saturday’s third round and thinking of his final walk on the sylvan property. “This is one of the great classic golf courses. Leish [Marc Leishman] and I were talking about it today—all it is is about a month away from [being able to] host whatever major championship you want. Just dry it out, maybe grow in the fairway here and there, and you have a major. That’s what this golf course has been over the years and we’re going to miss playing it.”

The post Fond Farewell to Firestone appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
You might have heard about the historical oddity that transpired on Sunday at Shinnecock Hills. Walking beside Brooks Koepka as he became the first golfer since Curtis Strange to win back-to-back U.S. Opens was Curtis Strange himself. The World Golf Hall of Famer was following Koepka and Dustin Johnson as an on-course commentator for Fox. When Koepka joined the repeat U.S. Open winner club, Strange was there to give him his introductory hug (the instructions to the secret handshake are in the mail).

You probably did not hear, however, about another historical oddity that transpired on Sunday, one that also involves Koepka and Strange as well as the low amateur at the Open.

Back in 1989, when Strange successfully defended his title at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., the low amateur at the championship was a college golfer Greg Lesher. Lesher was a rising senior on the LSU men’s golf team who shot a 16-over 296 for the championship, finishing in T-63.

Turn the clock forward to this past weekend, and when Koepka successfully defended his title at Shinnecock Hills, one of the two golfers tied for low amateur at the championship was Luis Gagne. Like Lesher, Gagne is a college golf. In fact, he too is a rising senior at LSU … who shot 16-over 296 for the championship.

The only thing that would make this eerier is if Gagne also finished tied for 63rd. Instead, he (along with U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Matt Parziale) finished T-48.

If the name Gagne sounds familiar, you might recall that he was involved in another odd situation during local qualifying earlier this spring. Gagne was tied for the final spot out of their qualifier in Florida with Cristian DiMarco (son of former PGA Tour pro Chris DiMarco), but neither was around at day’s end to playoff for the spot. Officials thus broke the tie via a coin toss, which Gagne won, sending him off to Sectional Qualifier, where he advanced to compete in the national championship.

The post The mildly creepy connection between repeat U.S. Open winners and rising LSU seniors appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Sports talk radio was abuzz about the U.S. Open on Monday morning. And it had little to do with Brooks Koepka.

No offence to this year’s winner, who became the first golfer since Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989 to win the event in back-to-back years, but it was a man who has never won the national championship who was still the centre of attention. And not in a particularly good way.

Phil Mickelson stunned everyone by slapping at his golf ball while it was still moving on the 13th green during Saturday’s third round. Although, it looked like the birthday boy (Mickelson happened to turn 48 that day) had grown frustrated with Shinnecock Hills’ um, difficult conditions, the five-time major champ claimed that taking a two-stroke penalty (although, some believe he should have been DQ’d) was a strategic decision, adding another twist to what was already one of the strangest days in recent major championship history.

RELATED: Phil Mickelson offered to withdraw, according to his wife

So what should Phil have said instead? Sam Weinman and Ryan Herrington joined me to discuss in this week’s latest Golf Digest Podcast. We also talked about the crazy scene that day at Shinnecock, whether major championship titles are overrated, and yes, Brooks hoisting another U.S. Open trophy. Please have a listen:

https://soundcloud.com/user-96678684/us-open-wrap-up-brooks-goes-back-to-back-phils-improbable-rake-more-shinnecock-drama

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By Joel Beall
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y.—Despite high scoring, most players have been complimentary of the USGA’s setup of Shinnecock Hills at the 2018 U.S. Open, calling it a tough but fair test. A relief, given the course’s infamous turnas tournament host in 2004. Unfortunately for the governing body, this era of good feelings came to a close on Saturday.

Following an interview with Phil Mickelson regarding his controversial swipe, FOX Sports’ Curtis Strange said that players coming off the course appeared to have issue with the USGA’s Saturday configuration. One of the first players to air such grievances was Zach Johnson. The two-time major winner did an interview with Sky Sports after his third round, and was blunt in his assessment of the USGA.

“We’re not on the edge. I thought we could be on the edge, but we’ve surpassed it,” Johnson said in an interview with Sky Sports. “It’s pretty much gone, especially the latter part of the day for us. It’s pretty much shot. It’s really unfortunate, because in my opinion, some of the best land and certainly one of the best venues in all of golf, especially in this county, is Shinnecock Hills. It’s as good as it gets.

“Unfortunately, they’ve lost the golf course. I feel for the membership, because I know many of them. I feel for the spectators because they are seeing pure carnage — unless that’s what they want. And I feel for the USGA because I don’t think this was their intent.

“But when you think of the things that happened in the past, you have to err on the side of caution. And that wasn’t done today.” That such strong words come from Johnson is a bit of a shock, as he’s considered as agreeable and level-headed as it gets on the PGA Tour. The 42-year-old also played relatively well on Saturday, turning in a two-over 72.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who turned in one of the few under-par excursions on the day, also felt Shinnecock was bucking its head.

“This course, when the wind picks up, is a completely different golf course,” said Aphibarnrat. “Really difficult to put the ball in the fairways, can’t hold the greens. When you hit the short iron, you have no spin on this green at all. And the pin was really tricky.”

And Johnson and Aphibarnrat teed off in easier morning conditions, as the course has continued to firm up in the late afternoon. The fervor hasn’t reached 2004’s controversial level just yet, but perhaps the afternoon wave will provide more color to this potential problem.

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The 17-year-old Dubai-based Indian amateur No.1 was two-under at the turn in his opening round at Skokie Country Club but eventually mixed five birdies with as many bogeys (including dropped shots on 16 and 18) to sign for an even par 71. It left the dual Dubai Creek and Emirates GC member, ranked 66^th in the official world amateur rankings, in a 17-way share of 49^th place in the 156-player field.

The leading 44 players and ties after today’s second round advance to Thursday’s final 36 holes of stroke play. Thereafter, the top 16 progress to the ‘Sweet 16’, the historic event’s match play phase to be decided over Friday and Saturday.

Thomas tees it up at 8.40am (5.40pm UAE time) today and surviving the first cut would be another huge confidence boost after he missed the match play phase of The (British) Amateur in Northern Ireland by a solitary stroke before becoming the first Indian to progress to the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Flint Hills GC in Kansas last month (he was beaten 5&4 by eventual runner-up, Texan Noah Goodwin).

Thomas moved inside the top 1000 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) on the back of his U.S. Junior Amateur performance. To put his 972^nd rating into context, injury-sidelined former world No.1 Tiger Woods is currently ranked 1046^th.

The Emirates Golf Federation star is five shots adrift of the Western Am’s overnight leaders – Americans Stephen Franken, Dawson Armstrong and Collin Morikawa, Australian Ruben Sondjaja and New Zealander Nick Voke – and a sub-par round is likely to do the job Wednesday. Among other notable scores, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo shot 80 in his first big amateur event while defending champion Dylan Meyer ( Indiana), made two bogeys over his final five holes to finish with a 72. Morikawa is the world No.2 and 2013 Western Am champion while Armstrong captured the 2015 edition of the tournament first played in 1899.

The Western Am is one of the most prestigious events on the amateur calendar. Past champions include Francis Ouimet, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Chris DiMarco, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard, Woods, Ryan Moore and Danny Lee.

Catch the first round highlights here:

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ERIN, Wisc. — Players started getting to Erin Hills over the weekend in preparation for the 117th U.S. Open. But Dustin Johnson wasn’t one of them. And exactly when the defending champion will arrive isn’t entirely clear.

At issue is the birth of his second child. Johnson’s fiancée, Paulina Gretzky, had yet to deliver the baby boy as of Sunday morning. It’s expected that she’ll have the baby late Sunday or Monday. Depending on the baby’s arrival, the world’s top-ranked player isn’t likely to get to Erin Hills until sometime Monday and isn’t expected to practice until Tuesday at the earliest.

Johnson, whose pre-tournament press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. local time on Wednesday, already played two practice rounds at the course after missing the cut last week at the Memorial.

“He really liked the course and feels like it sets up beautifully for his game,” said David Winkle, Johnson’s agent. “He feels good about the venue and the state of his game.”

The last player to successfully defend at the U.S. Open was Curtis Strange in 1989.

Johnson, who didn’t play in the Masters after suffering a back injury the Wednesday before his opening tee time when he slipped on a few steps wearing socks in his rented home in Augusta, is scheduled to tee off at the Open for his opening round at 8:35 a.m. Thursday alongside 2014 and 2015 U.S. Open champions Martin Kaymer and Jordan Spieth.

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