Thompson was just one stroke back while playing the par-3 17th hole, his tee shot finding land on the treacherous island green but some 50 feet from the hole. His birdie putt came off nicely, rolled smoothly to the hole and … clank. The ball appeared as if it was going directly into the middle of the cup, but it ricocheted off the pin and ended a couple feet away.

It’s a cruel game.

Davis Thompson was THIS close to tying the lead on 17 @TheAmExGolf. pic.twitter.com/Ygj9MURRvJ

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 22, 2023

RELATED: Rahm makes winning look easy

There were collective gasps. Thompson dropped his putter and put his face into his hands. All anyone could wonder was if the ball would’ve dropped had the pin been pulled.

Thompson made the easy par. Rahm, who had a 20-foot birdie putt of his own, made par, too, leaving him one ahead with one to play.

When the two reached the home hole, Thompson’s approach on the par 4 went over the back of the green. His chip for birdie was a good one, but he settled for par to finish one shot behind Rahm, who has now won both his starts this year, following a victory two weeks ago at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

“I usually always leave the stick in from a long distance,” Thompson said after shooting a three-under 69 for a 26-under 262 total. “I feel like it helps me with my speed. I’ll probably play the ‘what if’ game in my head for a long time, unfortunately.

“I had a great read. I probably hit it too firm. If it had great speed it would have just hit the flag and dropped. But we’ll never know. I’m proud of myself for this week.”

And he should be. As Rahm was in the midst of claiming his ninth tour title, Thompson was playing in only his seventh PGA Tour event since earning status off the Korn Ferry Tour last summer, and just the 20th of his career. Thompson’s total earnings on the PGA Tour before this week were $611,871 (his runner-up check was worth $872,000).

That’s not to say Thompson shouldn’t have had big expectations. He was a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 and a two-time first-team All-American during his college days at the University of Georgia who also topped the World Amateur Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2021.

“What a heck of a player he is, he’s doing all the right things,” Rahm said of Thompson. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins soon. He gave me a real battle today. It was a lot of fun. I’m sure there will be many to come.”

This week in the desert, Thompson opened with 62-64 to jump into contention. A third-round 67 put him in the final grouping with Rahm and JT Poston. He made three birdies in the opening nine holes with one bogey, and after birdie on the par-5 11th hole, Thompson found himself on the par train for the remainder of the round with seven consecutive to close.

“I had a great week,” Thompson said. “Competing against the best in the world is my dream and I did that today and proved that I can hang with ’em. It was a lot of fun.”

The post WATCH: ‘What if’ game will haunt Davis Thompson after brutal birdie miss off flagstick costs him at the Amex appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Although he only climbed one place to World No. 3 — don’t get the man started about the Official World Golf Ranking — Rahm is officially the hottest man in golf.

RELATED: The OWGR is adding a new 54-hole series — and it’s not 
Jon Rahm labels OWGR as ‘laughable’

Playing in the final group in the California desert with overnight co-leader Thompson and JT Poston, Rahm scraped together a four-under 68 on PGA West’s Stadium Course. His 27-under 261 total was enough to beat Thompson (69) by one, while Xander Schauffele, who made a stunning albatross at the par-5 fifth for a 62, tied for third alongside Chris Kirk (64).

Thompson was making the 20th start of his PGA Tour career as he got into a Sunday showdown with former World No. 1 and US Open champion. Yet the 23-year-old former World Amateur No. 1 didn’t back down, making the turn at two-under. He tied for the lead when Rahm made bogey at the par-3 13th.

The turning point — and most obvious sign it was Rahm’s day (again) — came when the two played the par-5 16th. After Thompson hit a poor tee shot and Rahm was in the fairway, 243 yards out, he seized the opportunity with an aggressive second shot that skirted the edge of the 19-foot-deep bunker and stayed up just shy of the green. He two-putted from 98 feet for birdie to reclaim a one-shot lead.

Rahm hung on with pars over the last two holes, watching Thompson’s long-range birdie putt on par-3 17th track toward the hole only to ricochet off the flagstick, and then seeing him nearly chip-in from off the green on the par-4 18th.

“It was tough, I’m not going to lie,” a relieved Rahm said. “[Thompson] gave me a real battle today and it was a lot of fun.”

Thompson was simply unable to match Rahm’s ball-striking. He hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation. “I felt really in command of my swing. Every time I’ve felt like this in the past, I’ve ended up going on to win. That’s a really unique zone to put yourself in.”

Davis Thompson was disappointed to finish second, but for a rookie making just his 20th career start on the PGA Tour, the finish was hardly a failure. Meg Oliphant

Although Thompson failed to secure his maiden PGA Tour win, he walked away with more self-belief. Oh, and $872,000 for finishing second place, which is more than the total prize money he won from his previous 19 starts on tour.

“I had a great week,” he said. “Competing against the best in the world is my dream. I did that today and proved I can hang with ’em. It was a lot of fun.”

For Rahm, the question is how does he stay on this roll? A run that includes victories at the DP World Tour Championship and his native Spanish Open last fall.

In the short term, returning to Torrey Pines will help. Rahm secured his breakthrough PGA Tour win there in 2017 as well as his first major title when he won the 2021 US Open on the South Course. He also proposed to wife Kelley around the cliffs of La Jolla.

“I’m going to go to Torrey, a place that I’m already very confident at, with very high hopes, knowing that I’m doing all the right things,” he said of next week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

In the long term, Rahm says his work ethic will be how he stays in this rich vein of form. He’ll take inspiration from his idol, the late NBA great Kobe Bryant, who Rahm watched with keen interest while in college at Arizona State. Just as Rahm was readying to turn pro in 2016, Mamba famously put up 60 points in his farewell NBA game — the 122nd time he had registered 40-plus points.

Rahm sees in himself the same perfectionist traits Bryant demonstrated.

“In college one [athlete] who got very near to my heart, if we go outside of golf, was Kobe Bryant,” Rahm said Sunday night. “I [saw] a lot of similarities between us and in the way we approach our crafts. Craft is a key word for Kobe; having that obsessiveness that we both have over our game. Work ethic beats talent every day of the week, period.”

Rahm is also strengthening his ability to win in different ways. He came from behind in his victory at Kapalua with a closing 63, while at the DP World Tour finale in November he cruised to a two-shot win. That followed his six-shot triumph at the Open de Espana.

“In a weird way, I’m glad today went the way it went,” Rahm said. “I’ve enjoyed some runaway victories [and] some comebacks, but today was certainly a struggle. I really didn’t make any [long putts]. But I just kept battling.”

Rahm congratulated Thompson for the battle and predicted the University of Georgia alum would join the winner’s circle before too long. “What a heck of a player he is, honestly, and he’s doing all the right things … I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins soon.”

But winning soon, for a lot of players, will be tough if Rahm keeps playing at this level.

The post Jon Rahm is making winning look easy, even when he does it the hard way appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Thompson, who had two eagles on Thursday, added three more on the par 5s on Day 2 of The American Express in La Quinta, California, and in shooting an eight-under-par 64 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, he’s got a two-shot lead over World No. 4 Jon Rahm.

Thompson has already tied the PGA Tour record for most eagles for a 72-hole event, and it’s only halfway done. Recounting his eagles Friday, Thompson, who teed off No. 10, forgot one of them.

“No. 4 [his 13th], I hit 5-iron to about 15 feet and made [the eagle],” he said. “Then on 7, I hit a really good 6-iron and made like a 20-footer. So, it was really nice to see some really good execution with those holes.”

“The one on the back nine today?” A reporter asked.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” Thompson said. “No.11, I hit a 7-iron in and made about a 20-footer.”

Tom Kim, JT Poston, Jason Day, Sungjae Im and Tyler Duncan are tied third at 13-under.

Here are some of the takeaways from round two at The American Express:

Rahm lurking

Rahm, who won the Sentry Tournament of Champions two weeks ago for his eighth PGA Tour title, fired a second straight 64 — this time on the Nicklaus Course — and has 17 birdies and just one bogey on his two cards.
“It’s been very organised golf, is what I can say,” Rahm said. “I wouldn’t say I’ve got my ‘A’ game, but even [my] mis-hits, a lot of them are in play and I could take advantage of them. So, hopefully, I tidy up a bit of that for tomorrow; the [Pete Dye-designed] Stadium Course is a little less forgiving. But my short game feels really good. I’m rolling the ball really, really well on the greens and that’s going to give me a lot of confidence through the rest of the game.
“Obviously I have a lot of good visuals going into a lot of these holes. I’ve done a lot of good things around all the golf courses here and I’ve posted good scores. My level of comfortability is very high. I’m looking forward to playing the weekend.”
In his interview, the Spaniard briefly thought his 16-under total was the same relative to par as the 2018 edition, which he won in a playoff. It’s actually one better; Rahm was 15-under (62-67) through two rounds that year [when it was called the CareerBuilder Challenge]. Still, close enough.
Either way, we’re guessing that’s enough to make Thompson look over his shoulder. Did we mention that Rahm has won three of his last four starts between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour?

Jason Day of Australia plays his shot from the ninth tee during the first round of The American Express. Meg Oliphant

Jason had a Day

Former World No. 1 Day showed flashes of his 2015 and 2016 brilliance on Friday when he shot a 64 on the tougher Stadium Course. The 12-time PGA Tour winner from Australia sits 13-under and five back of Thompson, but has the more forgiving La Quinta Country Club on Day 3.
Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner, has struggled on the course the past few years and has fallen down the World Ranking to No. 115. But he’s had some solid results in the 2022-23 season, including a T-8 in Las Vegas and three other top-25s in the autumn.
Day credits the improvements to a healthy body — he has struggled with back injuries in recent years — and swing changes made with his coach, Chris Como, who previously worked with Tiger Woods. Day said his swing was more shallow and allowed for more body rotation and less arm action.
“My swing has changed dramatically,” Day said. “I feel those changes are slowly cementing. I’m shallowing out more compared to last year. It took me a year and a half to get the body correct before I could shallow out.”
Day would typically skip The American Express in his schedule and either start his calendar year in Hawaii if he was eligible for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, or at Torrey Pines, where he’s won twice. But Day had a good excuse for adding the AmEx to his schedule — the 35-year-old is in the California desert anyway, using it as a practice base for several weeks while his adopted home of Columbus, Ohio, is too cold for a pro golfer.
“I feel like it’s a good opener for the start of the year,” Day said. “I felt like I was playing like a US Open times a thousand [in the Farmers Open] when you go from doing nothing for a month and you go straight to Torrey.”

The post Rookie is 18-under after two AmEx rounds and still has Jon Rahm breathing down his neck appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The juices were flowing by this point, just like the rest of us when we have a good round going.

Could I shoot my best round ever (to this point a 63 on the PGA Tour)? Will I win this tournament? But wait, what if I screw up? Oh, please don’t mess up.

It’s only natural for such thoughts to start entering your head. The difference between a PGA Tour player like Thompson and the rest of us is that he knows the drill, and not even the allure of shooting 59 can distract him.

Career low round for Davis Thompson ?

The 23-year-old birdies the last for an opening-round 62 @TheAmExGolf. pic.twitter.com/hIbAkjzrqn

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 19, 2023

“My biggest challenge today was staying present minded and trying to put one foot in front of the other,” Thompson said after finishing his round. “Your mind definitely starts to wander a little bit. But I played enough rounds to where I try to teach myself over and over you can’t get ahead of yourself.”

Alas, a sub-60 round wasn’t to be. A couple of birdies and no bogeys on the back was good enough for merely a 10-under 62. But that was good enough for a two-shot edge on his five nearest competitors, the second time in his young career that he’s been the Day 1 leader.

Along with Thompson’s impressive start, here are three other takeaways from the first round in the California desert.

Feisty Rahm

Jon Rahm. Katelyn Mulcahy

Among those chasing Thompson is Jon Rahm, who opened with a 64 on the same course to put him, alongside Sam Burns, in the crowded pack at T-2.
Outside of Rory McIlroy, Rahm, winner two weeks ago at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, may be the best player in golf today. He’ll surely be trying to prove that this week, even if the Official World Golf Ranking seems to be conspiring against him. Rahm is one of those players best when he’s got a fire lit under him. And this week, he sounds like a man who’s been given a spark.
“Really badly,” he said in response to a question about how much he wants to capture another win here (he was the Amex champion in 2018, the second of his eight career PGA Tour wins). “What gives me more confidence is I never finished outside the top 14 in this tournament. I’ve been consistent every single time and I’ve given myself a chance.”
Let’s just call this what it is: A warning shot to the rest of the field.

Scouting Xander

Xander Schauffele. Ben Jared

It’s reasonable to says that 2023 feels like a big season for the Xander Schauffele. In 2020 and 2021, the 29-year-old California native combined for four major top-10s but zero tour wins (OK, he did grab an Olympic gold medal in that time). Then last season he won three times only to claim zero major top-10s in exchange.
Predicting what’s ahead for Schauffele would have been challenge enough before he had to WD from the Sentry Tournament of Champions two weeks ago with a back injury. He returned to play this week, posting an impressive opening-round 65 at La Quinta that hints the pain he was feeling in Hawaii might be a short-term issue.
“Yeah, it’s a little sore,” Schauffele said on Wednesday. “Trying to be as patient as possible to take things as slow as possible in terms of getting too many reps in and I guess being stupid in that sense. But I’m known to try to practise too much at times. I’m trying to take this one slow so I don’t hurt it again or do something of that nature.”
Schauffele feels like one of those players whose gift and curse is seemingly always having the potential to do more. His opening round leaves him inside the top 10 through 18 holes. His performance this week won’t define his season — far from it. But these early West Coast swing events may provide a clue for what’s ahead of Schauffele. Will this be the year he truly, and fully, ascends?

Big Toe Burmester

Dean Burmester. Meg Oliphant

Finally, a special shout-out to Dean Burmester, who joins Schauffele at T-7. Like Xander, Burmester is playing hurt, although the 33-year-old South African’s injury comes with an unusual backstory. After a routine power outage at his home, Burmester was playing the role of handyman husband — only to have it backfire.
“Our solar power kind of tripped,” he said. “I was on my way to fix it. My wife was in the shower. I was on my way trying to be the valiant knight, I was trying to be the man to the rescue. And I ran into a chair and broke my baby toe,” he says.
It’s causing him to hang back on his right foot through the ball, Burmester says, rather than transfer weight over to his lead side. He’s also not swinging as hard as he usually would. So far, however, his score doesn’t show any sign of injury.

The post Dream start for rookie and a bizarre broken toe: Day 1 takeaways from Amex appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Seven amateurs have been added to the 2020 U.S. Open field.

The USGA’s flagship event, which will be comprised solely of exempt players due to the cancellation of local and sectional qualifying in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, bestowed exemptions to the top seven in the World Amateur Golf Ranking on Wednesday. The seven are Takumi Kanaya, Ricky Castillo, Chun An Yu, Davis Thompson, Eduard Rousaud, Sandy Scott, John Pak.

Kanaya, 22, is the World No. 1 amateur, who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur in 2018 and finished runner-up in the event last year. He also tied for third in December’s Australian Open. Castillo was a first-team All-American at Florida in his freshman campaign, with Thompson also earning first-team honours at Georgia. Scott and Pak both competed in the Walker Cup in 2019. Yu will be playing in his third straight U.S. Open, while Rousaud won two events in Spain this year.

The addition of these seven brings the U.S. Open amateur pool to 13, joining Andy Ogletree and John Augenstein (the 2019 U.S. Amateur champion and runner-up, respectively), Preston Summerhays (U.S. Junior Amateur), Lukas Michel (U.S. Mid-Amateur), Cole Hammer (Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world’s top-ranked amateur in 2019) and James Sugrue (2019 Amateur Championship).

The 120th U.S. Open begins on Sept. 17 at Winged Foot Golf Club West Course in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Gary Woodland is the defending champ.

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