Doug Ghim Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Genesis Scottish Open: Cameron Tringale holds onto three-shot lead at Renaissance Club

Matt Smith — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 20:13:10 +0000

By Matt Smith
Despite the loaded field at the Genesis Scottish Open, with 14 of the top 15 in the world playing at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, relative surprise first-round leader Cameron Tringale maintained his three-stroke lead with two rounds to go ahead of the 150^th Open Championship at St Andrews.

A second-round 72 was good enough for seven-under for Tringale to enjoy a bit of breathing space over fellow Americans Gary Woodland and Doug Ghim, who shot rounds of 72 and 69 respectively.

MORE: The Scottish Open third-round tee times

Tringale began the day three clear of Woodland after producing a course-record-equalling 61 at Renaissance on Thursday, and stretched his advantage after starting his second round at the 10th, picking up shots on the 11th after an approach to four feet and the short 12th by sinking a 26-foot birdie putt.

By the 13th, he was bogey-free for the first 22 holes of his tournament, with 11 pars and 11 birdies, but after a first bogey arrived at the 14th, when he took three from the fringe at the front of the par three before bouncing back with a birdie on the 15th, four dropped shots in a row followed from the 16th.

He birdied the fourth but gave it back at the tricky sixth before parring his final three holes on a much tougher day than Thursday, with the wind continuing to blow on the links in south east Scotland.

A four-strong group sit one shot further behind Woodland and Ghim, and leader Tringale will be looking over his shoulder at the big names waiting to pounce.

Matt Fitzpatrick is among them. The US Open Champion was flawless until bogeys at his last two holes but he signed for a 66.

Xander Schauffele went one better and his 65 was the lowest round of the day. Joining Fitzpatrick and Schauffele on three-under are Jordan Smith — who bagged a new car each for him and his caddie after an ace at the 17th — and Kurt Kitayama.

Tyrrell Hatton’s was on two-under alongside Rafa Cabrera Bello, Rickie Fowler, Rasmus Hojgaard and Joaquin Niemann.

Tringale, who is searching for his maiden victory on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour in this co-sanctioned tournament, said: “It was definitely more difficult for me today. Yesterday, it seemed pretty easy, and today, it seemed like every hole was a grind to make par.

“So anyway, happy to be done and happy to be off the course and get some rest.

“I just want to keep going out and trying to play the best I can and hopefully get a good low one in tomorrow.

“I mean, the course I think is still gettable, honestly, even in the wind, I just need to play the par-fives a little better, and you know, work on those into the wind shots and I should be all right.”

The post Genesis Scottish Open: Cameron Tringale holds onto three-shot lead at Renaissance Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Who is Doug Ghim? And how did he get into the penultimate pairing at the Players?

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 01:51:37 +0000

Kevin C. Cox

By Christopher Powers
PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Following his third-round 68 at TPC Sawgrass, Doug Ghim was asked a somewhat long-winded question by a local reporter. The gist: Did he think Sunday at the Players would have a Ryder Cup vibe, given how many Europeans are at the top of the leader board, along with standout Americans like Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau, who will almost certainly make Steve Stricker’s U.S. squad in September. Ghim is nowhere near Ryder Cup team territory yet, which is why he began sheepishly smiling as the question was being asked.

“Yeah, I don’t know if you noticed, I’m like 257th in the world,” Ghim said.

Ghim’s self-deprecating answer summed up the question many casual golf fans likely asked themselves when they tuned in to the coverage on Saturday as he climbed up the leader board: Who is Doug Ghim, and how is he in the penultimate pairing at the Players Championship?

Ghim, 24, was born in Des Plaines, Ill., to father Jeff, a Korean-born architect and former military man, and mother Susan. He attended college at the University of Texas, where he was a standout on the golf team for all four seasons. He truly exploded his senior year (2017-18), when he won the Ben Hogan Award given to the nation’s top collegiate golfer, earned All-Big 12 honours and earned medalist honours at the Big 12 Championship and the NCAA Raleigh Regional.

The crowning achievement of Ghim’s amateur career was his performance in the 2017 U.S. Amateur at Riviera Country Club, where Ghim made the final match. He held a 2-up lead with two to play against Clemson’s Doc Redman, who stunned Ghim by going eagle-birdie at the 35th and 36th holes. On the first hole of sudden death, Redman made birdie to Ghim’s double-bogey 6, giving him the victory. It was not all bad for Ghim, though, as his runner-up finished earned him a spot in the 2018 Masters, where he tied for 50th and earned low amateur honours.

Ghim’s amateur success has not yet translated to the PGA Tour. Since turning pro in 2018, he has just five top-10s in 68 starts worldwide. Just one of those has come on the PGA Tour, where he’s made only 41 starts. Ghim spent the bulk of his early career on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he made the Tour Championship in 2019, earned his PGA Tour card and delivered one of the great reactions you’ll ever see on the final green.

After a particularly rough rookie year in 2020 (11 missed cuts in 16 starts) Ghim has started flashing on leader boards in 2021. His best week to date came at The American Express in January, where he tied for fifth. That, plus five other top-20 finishes in the 2020-21 “Super Season” are what got Ghim into this elite Players Championship field, though he did need some help from Zac Blair, Bud Cauley, Brooks Koepka, Matthew Wolff and Tiger Woods, who all could not play for a variety of reasons. To fill out the field, golfers outside the top 10 of the FedEx Cup standings as of Feb. 28 who were not eligible for the Players gained entry in order of position. At 63rd in the FedEx Cup standings, Ghim was the first man on that list.

Now, he’s in the second-to-last group at the PGA Tour’s flagship event, playing alongside World No. 3 Justin Thomas. No pressure, kid.

“It’s the Players Championship; you’re going to be nervous,” Ghim said of how he handled himself Saturday. “Best players in the world on a hard golf course. I did good managing those nerves, and I’m sure they’ll be there [Sunday], but again, it’s a great thing that I feel nervous. It means that I care. It means that I have a chance, and yeah, I mean, the best way for me to get more comfortable is to keep putting myself in that position.”

There’s no hiding the fact that Sunday will be the biggest, and toughest, day of Ghim’s golfing life. Leader Lee Westwood, 47, is three shots clear of Ghim, and still hungry for what would be the biggest win of his career. DeChambeau is two shots back of Westwood and hoping to win in consecutive starts. Thomas shot 64 on Saturday and seems to be “having fun again” after a few rough months. Oh yeah, guys like Jon Rahm, Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia are also right on Ghim’s heels. All these players have been in the fire before, many times in big spots. Ghim has not. He still likes his chances.

“I have the same amount of chance as everybody else. … I’m sure there’s odds that say that other players have a better chance. But at the end of the day there’s no defense being played on my ball more than anybody else’s, so I if I go and play the way that I know how to play, and if I play the way that I did today, I don’t see why I couldn’t win. I’m not saying that I have the most chance to win, but who knows, we’ll see.”

Who is Doug Ghim? He is the 257th-ranked golfer in the world, and he’s on the brink of a life-changing victory.

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11 PGA Tour sleepers to watch in the 2019-’20 season

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 06:50:59 +0000

Getty Images (4)

By Alex Myers
With another PGA Tour season starting at this week’s A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, it’s time for our annual tribute to golfers not to be overlooked as we head into 2019-’20. This year’s list of sleepers is a bit different than past editions. While we kept the same criteria—a player has to be younger than 30, with no PGA Tour titles and no appearances in the Tour Championship—the make-up skews younger than years past. And that’s even with Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa playing their way off this list thanks to quick maiden victories on tour in 2019.

Although fewer returning PGA Tour players made our cut than normal, most of the youngsters below already have serious name recognition. They obviously have serious game as well. So we’re pretty confident that a handful will join Wolff and Morikawa as PGA Tour winners this season—and add to our prior success (Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Champ, etc., etc.) in picking breakthrough stars.

Viktor Hovland

Streeter Lecka

It almost feels like cheating to include this Norwegian native who turns 22 next week, but technically, he meets our super-scientific criteria. Hovland waited to turn pro in 2019 until after he used his U.S. Open exemption from winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur, then narrowly missed earning his PGA Tour card from his play in the summer while competing on sponsor’s exemptions. He earned his spot in the big leagues through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and is the frontrunner to win Rookie of the Year. Take a look at these stats!

Strokes Gained leaders since June:

OFF-THE-TEE
1. Viktor Hovland, +1.13
2. Rory McIlroy, +1.09

APPROACH
1. Adam Scott, +1.35
2. Viktor Hovland, +1.01

(minimum 20 rounds)

— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) September 9, 2019

Like I said, leaving him on this list feels like cheating. Anyway, Hovland has also quickly become a pressroom favourite:

Viktor Hovland is now a living legend. pic.twitter.com/ufA4knxDB2

— Skratch (@Skratch) July 10, 2019

Yep, this kid is going places.

Scottie Scheffler

Richard Heathcote

There was a two-month stretch during the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour season in which Scheffler didn’t finish worse than T-7, winning one tournament and finishing second two other times. The 23-year-old Texas product added another victory in the postseason and is No. 1 on the priority rankings of guys coming from the developmental tour. That means Scheffler is the only 2019 Korn Ferry Tour graduate to be fully exempt on the PGA Tour for 2019-’20, which includes a spot in the Players. If Hovland is the clear favourite for ROY, Scheffler is probably No. 2.

Joaquin Niemann

Andy Lyons

Welcome back, young fella! Although not the youngest player on this list, Niemann, who turns 21 in November, is certainly the youngest with a full PGA Tour season under his size-28 belt (we don’t know his actual belt size, but the kid is skinny). And it was a solid season at that. After getting off to a slow start to his official rookie campaign (Niemann earned his PGA Tour card through sponsor’s exemptions the previous year), the native of Chile found his form once summer rolled around. Starting with back-to-back T-5s at the Travelers Championship and Rocket Mortgage Classic, he finished worse than T-31 only once over his final eight starts while racking up four top-15s.

Beau Hossler

Michael Reaves

Another returner, Hossler is breaking a record he didn’t know existed by making our list for a third time. In a way, that’s not a good sign for his career—when’s he finally going to make good on his potential? But in another, it bodes well in that so many people still believe he’s going to turn into a big-time player. Hossler briefly lost his PGA Tour card this past season, but he quickly got it back with a runner-up finish in the first Korn Ferry Tour Finals event. And now he’s back on this list. Again. So congrats on the record, Beau. Until you break it again next year …

Robby Shelton

Steve Dykes

Like Scheffler, this former college All-American broke out this past season with two Korn Ferry Tour titles. Shelton struggled trying to earn win No. 3 and that battlefield promotion to the PGA Tour, but the 24-year-old still enters this season No. 4 on the priority list of the top 50 grads. In other words, he’s in good shape to get a lot of early starts. We look forward to Shelton and Justin Thomas bragging about how good Alabama football is all season. (Kidding. We’re not looking forward to that.)

Wyndham Clark

Andy Lyons

Clark’s solid rookie season on the PGA Tour finished with top 20s in four of his final seven starts, including a T-5 at the 3M Open. The University of Oregon golfer certainly has the skills for success in today’s tour. Clark ranked fifth in driving distance and eighth in strokes gained/putting this past season. Only 25, there’s plenty of upsides here. And plenty of opportunities for cheeky Wyndham Rewards commercials.

Doug Ghim

David Cannon/Getty Images

The University of Texas golfer (yeah, this list is getting a bit Longhorn heavy) became the latest example of the razor-thin margins at golf’s highest ranks. At the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, Ghim converted an eight-foot curler on the 72nd hole to earn his PGA Tour card and give us one of the best reactions of the year in sports.

For a @PGATour card…. pic.twitter.com/x7wdT33Dqu

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) September 2, 2019

In addition to being the low amateur at the 2018 Masters, Ghim has had four top 25s in his 11 starts as a pro on the PGA Tour. That proves the 23-year-old can hang with the big boys—and that clutch stroke certainly won’t hurt his confidence going forward.

Tyler McCumber

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The son of 10-time PGA Tour winner Mark McCumber has steadily climbed pro golf’s ranks the past few years. First, through the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, then with a dominant three-win campaign on the PGA Tour Canada in 2018 and, finally, a solid rookie effort on the Korn Ferry Tour in which he finished 24th on the regular-season money list despite no victories. At 28, he’s the old man on this list, but he’s also got great genes from his old man.

Maverick McNealy

Michael Cohen

Yes, this is the guy who tied Tiger Woods’ record for victories at Stanford. Yes, he’s the son of a billionaire. Yes, he’s the dude dating LPGA star Danielle Kang. In many ways, McNealy has already established himself as a known commodity in pro golf, but he’ll get his first full-time crack at the PGA Tour after finishing 23rd on the Korn Ferry Tour’s regular-season money list. He’s certainly got the talent to be a star, and if this whole golf thing doesn’t work out, we’re pretty sure he’ll be OK.

Kristoffer Ventura

Steve Dykes

Another stud from that incredible Oklahoma State 2018 title team, Ventura graduated and spent this past season trying to make it as a pro. With no status on any tour as of June, a trip to Q school looked like a given until he turned a sponsor’s exemption at the Korn Ferry’s BMW Charity Pro-Am into a T-3. Three weeks later, Ventura won the Utah Championship and added another victory at the Pinnacle Bank Championship the next month. Quite a heater. Between Ventura and Hovland, Norway is suddenly a golf powerhouse.

Akshay Bhatia

Matt Sullivan

He’s definitely the youngest player on this list, and he probably won’t earn any PGA Tour status this season, but … just in case … we don’t want to be late to the party when it comes to predicting big things for this 17-year-old phenom who is turning pro this month. The clear-cut top-ranked junior golfer in the country, Bhatia became the youngest player ever to earn a spot on the U.S. Walker Cup team. He begins the 2019-’20 season with no status on any professional tour, but the lanky lefty should get his full allotment of sponsor’s exemptions. Hopefully, he has his driver’s license as he begins life on the road.

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Tiger Woods roots for Rafael Nadal, Brooks Koepka’s dad goes after Brandel Chamblee, and the luckiest bounce of 2019

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 04:00:21 +0000

By Alex Myers
Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we are sadder than anyone to see the end of summer. For others, fall golf is a real thrill—OH, LOOK! FOLIAGE!—but the temps are way too cold for my delicate taste. Heck, on Sunday it wasn’t even 60 degrees when I teed off at 7:27 a.m. I had to wear a vest AND a jacket! On Sept. 1! The horror! Anyway, bundle up, everyone. And in the meantime, let’s talk about everything else happening in the world of golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Korn Ferry Tour Championship: I’m not one of these golf purists who is going to tell you the KFT season finale was better than the Tour Championship, but it contained incredible drama in its own way, as usual. Watching guys go back and forth from having a job on the PGA Tour next season to being on the outs was riveting, and Doug Ghim provided the event’s lasting moment when he sunk this tester for par on 18 to graduate to the big leagues:

Intensity.
Passion.
Jubilation.@DougGhim is #TOURBound. pic.twitter.com/sz8tlOIkK6

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) September 2, 2019

What a fantastic reaction by Ghim, who was one of nine players to jump into the all-important top 25 of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals points list. Of course, there were others who wound up outside the bubble. But let’s stay positive here. Putting up with the end of summer is sad enough.

Tom Lewis: This 28-year-old Brit needed no such drama at Victoria National. The former can’t-miss prospect couldn’t miss all week, winning by five shots to earn his PGA Tour card for the first time. Even more impressive is this was Lewis’ first start on the Korn Ferry Tour this season. And we don’t just mean since the Web.com Tour switched to being called the Korn Ferry Tour. No, this dude just carpetbagged his way to a PGA Tour card.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

But good for him. And now he has the “good problem” of choosing whether to play predominantly on the European Tour or PGA Tour next season. Just a gue$$, but Lewi$ will play more in the U$A.

Sebastian Soderberg: The 28-year-old Swede (It was a good week to be 28) won a five-man playoff at the Omega European Masters that included Rory McIlroy. Not a bad way to pick up his first European Tour title.

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Kudos to Rory as well for not just showing up and going through the motions for a sponsor following his Tour Championship/FedEx Cup triumph. Or maybe he was just going through the motions, but he’s that good.

Lucky bounces: Especially when you haven’t won in nearly five years. Wes Short Jr. looked like he’d come up short again when his final approach shot came up short, but he used the rocks in the hazard to his advantage (Savvy!) and wound up two-putting for birdie and the win at the Shaw Charity Classic.

Can’t make this stuff up …

Wes Short Jr.’s second shot into the par-5 18th looked like it was heading into the hazard.

Thanks to the help of a rock, the ball landed on the green and Wes went on to make birdie for the @ShawClassic win. pic.twitter.com/KAQY6KDobi

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) September 2, 2019

“Good, clean living!” as my friend Roks used to say.

WE’RE SELLING

(My) unlucky weather: For important events, that is. Three weeks after playing only three holes in my first PGA Tour Pro-Am, I played a total of four holes in the only member-guest I was invited to this year. Womp-womp. This time, I managed to show up to lovely Aspetuck Valley Country Club on the one part of the one day that it stormed amid two weeks of perfectly glorious weather. At least it wasn’t raining (torrentially) when we took our group photo. That happened seconds later.

Thanks to my buddy Al for the look, but seriously, everyone, do NOT invite me to any important golf function going forward.

Paragliding: We’ve seen people doing this at places like Torrey Pines, but in Switzerland, Rory McIlroy had to back away from a shot because he was worried about hitting them:

Wait, a Paraglider? ?

Everyone wanted to see Rory McIlroy today… pic.twitter.com/7LhYX3X9t8

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 29, 2019

How rude! Also, this looks dangerous! You couldn’t pay me Rory McIlroy FedEx Cup money to go up on one of those.

Brandel vs. Bob: Brooks Koepka’s dad, Bob, went after Brandel Chamblee on Twitter over the weekend. I love seeing someone stick up for his sons, and the back-and-forth was entertaining, but it was also a bit silly considering how much crow Chamblee has eaten regarding his Koepka commentary:

They say the NBA offseason has become more interesting than the season. If this is how golf’s offseason is about to go, sign me the hell up.

Brooksy’s dad taking runs at Brandel. America’s Guest catching multiple strays. Let’s light this candle and really live under par in Q4! pic.twitter.com/fquHoMcJRP

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) September 3, 2019

Not that I’m complaining. Keep this Twitter beef going, guys!

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—There will be another five-man playoff on the European Tour: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Tiger will win another major: 3-to-1 odds (Actual odds. Um … tempting.)
—I will never go paragliding: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Tiger and mini-Tiger watching Rafael Nadal (Sorry, Roger) at the U.S. Open:

Like father, like son. ?@TigerWoods and his family attended the men's singles match between Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic at the U.S. Open on Monday. pic.twitter.com/mREsyxTPir

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 3, 2019

So cute. Tiger also unleashed a pretty ferocious standing fist-pump and I’ve never felt more excited watching tennis:

Game recognizing game. ?pic.twitter.com/xqLFNnFhDi

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 3, 2019

Good to see. That surgically repaired knee must be feeling better.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (TOUR PRO DIVISION)

As my colleague, Chris Powers, so eloquently put it, “Eddie Pepperell can’t stop, won’t stop roasting Bryson DeChambeau for slow play.”

We don't deserve Eddie Pepperell. pic.twitter.com/DurrrQJEFz

— Chris Chaney (@Wrong_Fairway) August 30, 2019

Good stuff, Eddie. Golf needs more mid-round interviews.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (NON-TOUR PRO DIVISION)

Introducing Silvia Rosenberger. She’s from Germany and she can putt the freaking lights out. At last week’s World Amateur Handicap Championship, Rosenberger won a $5 putting contest and got one crack from 60 feet for $25,000. You can guess what happened:

ICYMI: Epic moment at the Myrtle Beach World Am last night when this German golfer casually drains a 100 footer to win $25,000!

How much beer do you think she had to buy everyone after???#MBWorldAm #MyrtleBeachGolf pic.twitter.com/v0a0zthMmv

— Myrtle Beach Golf (@MyrtleBeachGolf) August 31, 2019

Well done, Silvia.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“To have it all come down to one putt is pretty surreal. It’s one of those things where if you make the putt, it does wonders for you, and if you miss it, it could go the opposite way. Now that I’ve finally made the putt, it feels like I have the opportunity to make some noise on the big tour and I’m just really, really excited.” —Doug Ghim after earning his PGA Tour card on the 18th at Victoria National on Monday.

Good to hear, Doug. Because you only get one week off before the PGA Tour season starts.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITIES PLAYING GOLF

When Justin Timberlake needs a bunker lesson, he goes to one of the best: Rory McIlroy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1rFfrRn9U_/?utm_source=ig_embed

And how about the Green Bay Packers dressing up as “Happy Gilmore” characters?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1uCidahZV0/?utm_source=ig_embed

Impressive. But … where the heck is Shooter?!

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Phil had Justin Thomas on an episode of “Phireside with Phil” to tell another great story about Phil (although, we’re still waiting for that second part … ):

One of my favorite people on Tour …

My man JT (@JustinThomas34) joins me for a 2-part series to tell stories when we first played together. #PhiresideWithPhil pic.twitter.com/e0OhAcVYow

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 29, 2019

And Mickelson reminded everyone how great his calves are:

Let us not forget. #CalvesLikeAdonis pic.twitter.com/raP1uIUB6I

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 27, 2019

Running on the beach while holding weights is going to be featured prominently in his “Body By Phil” fitness series.

THIS AND THAT

It looks like Patrick Reed has a sweet new ride:

Great to be back in Hamburg, Germany for the Porsche European Open! Before I left, I broke in my commemorative Masters GT2RS! Excited to play the next three events on the @EuropeanTour. #PEO @KLMOpen, @BMWPGA #1of1 pic.twitter.com/SP5XGIzJcb

— Patrick Reed (@PReedGolf) September 3, 2019

It’s good to be a Masters champ. … Congrats to Hannah Green for winning her second LPGA title by one shot over Monday qualifier Yealimi Noh. Congrats to the 18-year-old Noh for even coming close. She’ll be back. … Shout-out to Golf Digest Executive Producer of Video Christian Iooss, who broke his leg in a surfing accident over the weekend. Yet another reminder of why you should retire from all sports and activities other than golf once you turn 25. Feel better, Iooss. … And finally, my daughter is convinced I’m Tim Robbins/Andy Dufresne from “The Shawshank Redemption”:

My daughter is convinced I’m @TimRobbins1 as Andy Dufresne (?), so, yeah, it’s a great day… pic.twitter.com/7tOSsyjFPC

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) August 29, 2019

And I don’t plan on correcting her anytime soon! Also, Tim Robbins liked this tweet. Man, I love Twitter.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What’s the best movie of all time (Other than Shawshank)?
Does Silvia lose her amateur status after winning the $25K in the putting contest?
How do you say “Quid pro quo” in German?

The post Tiger Woods roots for Rafael Nadal, Brooks Koepka’s dad goes after Brandel Chamblee, and the luckiest bounce of 2019 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Watching the sheer joy of a young tour pro holing a putt to win his PGA Tour card doesn’t get old

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 04:46:44 +0000

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

By Ryan Herrington
Indiana’s Victoria National Golf Club, host of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, has the reputation of being a brute. Earlier in the week, a tweet from Cameron Percy made the social media rounds as the tour pro noted how the participants in his pro-am group had lost 27 balls … in nine holes. Another tweet showed a wooden box with a glass front filled with golf balls on the 18th tee with the word “EMERGENCY” written on it. In 2018, seven of Victoria National’s 18 holes were ranked among the 30 toughest on tour for the season, including the first, second and third hardest.

This was the stage for Monday’s final round of the final event of the three-tournament Korn Ferry Tour Finals Series, and the Golf Channel announcers had viewers bracing for the corresponding carnage that would determine who would get the 25 PGA Tour cards on the line.

If that’s what you spent your Labor Day looking for, however, you were probably disappointed. One by one, the players on the top-25 bubble starting the final 18 holes mostly held up to the pressure of knowing a good day meant they’d be playing for millions in 2020 and a bad day meant playing for, well, not millions.

It started when David Hearn, a 40-year-old PGA Tour veteran, made a par putt on the par-4 18th hole to finish tied for fourth in the event. That moved him up in the Playoff Points standings from 42nd at the start of the week to 13th.

Tyler Duncan was in a similar spot, finishing up with a closing 66 to get to T-4, and move from 41st to 12th in points.

Hank Lebioda made double bogey on the 14th hole, but four pars over the last four holes allowed him to stay at 19th on the points list and return to the PGA Tour.

Chris Baker, an Indiana native with more than a dozen friends and family in the gallery, had just made double bogey on the 17th hole, then hit his drive on 18 into a fairway bunker. But his approach found the green 30 feet from the hole, and his two-putt par meant earning PGA Tour membership for the first time.

Richy Werenski made birdies on the 15th and 16th to finish tied for seventh for the tournament and move from T-53 to T-24 in points.

D.J. Trahan, a 38-year-old who won twice on the PGA Tour but hadn’t had a full card in eight years, made bogeys on the 12th and 14th holes, only to birdie the 15th and 18th to shoot 70. He, too, was T-7 for the tournament but moved from T-53 to T-24 in points.

All told, just one player who started the day inside the projected number fell out of the top 25 (Jose de Jesus Rodriguez). Meanwhile, nine golfer who started the tournament outside the top 25 worked their way inside and earned PGA Tour cards, including tournament winner Tom Lewis.

Happily, then, instead of showing a video of utter despair from a player who missed a putt on the last hole to lose his card, let’s show one of sheer joy for coming through in the clutch to earn a card. The winner here is from Doug Ghim.

The 23-year-old, a former U.S. Amateur runner-up from outside of Chicago, played on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 after graduating from the University of Texas in 2018. As he got to the 18th hole on Monday, Ghim had just bogeyed the 17th hole, meaning he had to make par on the last to earn his PGA Tour card. Ghim hit his tee shot in the fairway, but pulled his approach into the rough left of the green. His chip stopped 10 feet from the hole, leaving him with the biggest par putt of his young pro career.

“I have never felt nervous like that before and I’ve been in a lot of nervous situations,” Ghim said. “I [said] yesterday that the only way I’d be devastated is if I had a putt to make it [on the PGA Tour] and I didn’t make it. And that thought occurred when I got there.”

And yet Ghim didn’t flinch.

For a @PGATour card…. pic.twitter.com/x7wdT33Dqu

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) September 2, 2019

“To have it all come down to one putt is pretty surreal,” Ghim said. “It’s one of those things where if you make the putt, it does wonders for you and if you miss it, it could go the opposite way. Now that I’ve finally made the putt it feels like I have the opportunity to make some noise on the big tour and I’m just really, really excited.”

Join the club.

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USGA tests Walker Cuppers with a 78-yard par 3 at Los Angeles C.C.

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 10 Sep 2017 16:10:46 +0000

David Cannon/R&A
Will Zalatoris of the United States team plays his tee shot on the 78-yard, par-3 15th hole in his match against Matthew Jordan of the Great Britain and Ireland Team during the afternoon singles matches in the 2017 Walker Cup at the Los Angles Country Club.

By Ryan Herrington
Who says it’s all about the long ball in golf these days?

At the Walker Cup on Saturday afternoon, the USGA moved up the tee on the par-3 15th hole at Los Angeles Country Club’s North course from the 133 yards it played in the morning to 78 yards, making it the shortest recorded hole ever in a USGA championship.

That’s not to say the hole was a push over. The pin position on the right side gave players a landing area of only seven yards, requiring plenty of touch to have a realistic chance at making a birdie. Plus players had to decide just how hard to actually swing given that it was less than a full wedge for all of them.

“Half the battle was trying to decide whether to use a tee or put it on the ground,” said U.S. team member Doug Ghim, who halved the hole with a birdie before defeating David Boote of Great Britain & Ireland in their afternoon singles match.

“I don’t recall ever playing a hole that short since I was like maybe 6 years old, and I used like a 7-iron then. But, yeah, that was pretty wild. I was just lucky enough to just barely get it over the bunker and have enough spin to keep it on the green. But, yeah, it’s a cute little hole; really enjoyed it. It’s just a little unnerving to have 80 yards off a tee box.”

The hole turned out to be a pivotal one in the anchor match of the afternoon singles session. American Maverick McNealy saw his wedge shot just stay on the back of the green and then spin down to just off the front right of the green, while his opponent, GB&I’s Scott Gregory saw his ball bound over the green into a back bunker. McNealy used a putter to roll in a 15-footer for birdie to take a 1-up lead. McNealy then won the next to holes for a 3-and-1 victory that gave the U.S. team a decisive 8-4 overall lead entering Sunday play.

? for @MavMcNealy, curling it in on the right side to go 1 up. #WalkerCup https://t.co/H0L3gibs9f

— The Walker Cup (@WalkerCup) September 10, 2017

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U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman, runner-up Doug Ghim selected to U.S. Walker Cup team

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 05:59:49 +0000

Doug Ghim and Doc Redman, teammates on the U.S. Walker Cup team. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

By John Strege
U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman and runner-up Doug Ghim both were named to the 10-man U.S. Walker Cup team that will face a Great Britain & Ireland team at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, Sept. 9-10.

USGA president Diana Murphy made the announcement in the immediate aftermath of Redman’s victory over Ghim on the 37th hole of the Amateur at Riviera Country Club.

Joining Redman and Ghim are Maverick McNealy, Stewart Hagestad, Braden Thornberry, Norman Xiong, Cameron Champ, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.

McNealy is No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and the only player on the U.S. roster with previous Walker Cup experience. Thornberry is No. 3 in the world after winning the NCAA individual title and the Sunnehanna Amateur this summer. Hagestad is the reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion who in April became the first Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut in the Masters.

The captain is Spider Miller.

“It’s a committee decision,” he said, “but the committee has always held a spot for our current U.S. Amateur champion. But Doc went out and earned that spot, and I’m very proud of him. I’m looking forward to a great competition. I have a wonderful team and I’m very excited.”

Missing from the U.S. team was a second mid-amateur representative, with Scott Harvey believed to be on the short list for the team. Also on the outside looking in was LSU’s Sam Burns, college golf’s Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year honoree in June who announced he would turn pro in September in hopes of still having a chance to play on the U.S. team; Oklahoma’s Brad Dalke, the 2016 U.S. Amateur runner-up, Illinois’ Dylan Meyer, who won the 2016 Western Amateur, was a semifinalist at 2016 U.S. Amateur and is currently ranked No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

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Doug Ghim is playing in the U.S. Amateur final and taking his dad to Augusta National

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 05:24:42 +0000

Doug Ghim reacts to winning his semifinal match of the 2017 U.S. Amateur at the Riviera Country Club. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

By John Strege
The American dream is alive, its manifestations varied, and for Jeff Ghim, a South Korean immigrant, it has played out with the successes of his son.

Doug Ghim will play for the U.S. Amateur Championship at Riviera Country Club here on Sunday, and following his 2-and-1 victory over Theo Humphrey, he and his father embraced.

“We made the Masters,” Jeff said to him.

The two finalists receive Masters invitations. Doc Redman, a Clemson sophomore, earned the other one by defeating Mark Lawrence Jr., 1 up. Ghim and Redman will play in the 36-hole final beginning at 7:30 a.m. (PDT) Sunday.

The happiest man on the premises on Saturday likely was neither Ghim nor Redman, but Ghim’s father, his son’s caddie and the only golf instructor he’s ever had.

“The Bible says the child is the crown of the parents,” Jeff said. “This is my crown. This is kind of my American dream.”

Together, they take on Augusta National next April.

“I’m not really sure if I can quantify what it means to me to be out there with him tomorrow,” Ghim said. “We’ve shared so many good moments and so many really difficult ones. To mention in 2014, that night after, I think I was OK, but I don’t think the significance dawned on me, what I just did in blowing a 1-up lead on the 36th hole.”

Three years ago, Ghim made the final of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and wound up losing to Byron Meth. Only the winner was invited to play in the Masters.

“The difficult part was knowing that I could have walked out on the fairway of Augusta with my father, and that was kind of basically taken away from me,” he said. “That was difficult. Then when that putt on 17 dropped [Saturday] it was the first thing that popped in my head. We’re going to the Masters.”

Ghim had a 2-up lead on Humphrey going into the par-5 17th hole. He hit his third shot to the fringe, leaving him with a downhill, left-to-right putt that he ran 5½ feet past the hole. Humphrey had a shorter birdie putt on a similar line that he narrowly missed.

So it came down to Ghim’s par putt and the demons with which he acknowledged wrestling.

“I was just trying to feel my hands,” he said. “I’m sure it was visible I was trying to calm myself down. So many thoughts in your head are going at that moment. For me, I’ve got a little bit of demons because of the Pub Links from three years ago. I was just trying to make sure I stay calm. Don’t make the putt more than what it was.

“I’m a spot picker, so I picked a spot. I said, If it starts on this line it will go in.”

And now, Ghim, a University of Texas senior, has an opportunity to deliver an Amateur double for the Longhorns. Last Sunday, Sophia Schubert, a Texas senior, won the U.S. Women’s Amateur at San Diego Country Club. (And Riviera is a course where the Longhorn men also won their last NCAA title in 2012.)

Any final at this elite level promises to be a difficult one. Redman, 19, is less experienced than Ghim, but formidable nonetheless. He finished second in the prestigious Western Amateur earlier this month and also tied for sixth in the Northeast Amateur.

“He’s a sneaky match-play guy,” Ghim said.

Redman said he played “horrendous” in the 36-hole stroke play and snuck into match play in a playoff.

“I’m so excited to be able to compete for the championship tomorrow, especially after how I played in stroke play,” he said. “I didn’t think after I finished it I had any chance of moving on to match play.

“I think, as everyone knows in golf, you can’t play well every week and stuff like that happens. It was disappointing more than anything that I didn’t play better. But I knew if I could get in match play that it would be kind of the reset button and I would be OK.”

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Texas’ Doug Ghim emerges the favourite (for what it’s worth) heading into the semifinals

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 05:49:07 +0000

Doug Ghim (shown here) will face Theo Humphrey in a U.S. Amateur semifinal match Saturday at Riviera Country Club. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

By John Strege
Match play — once Tiger turned pro, at least — is susceptible to what often is described as vagaries, which, in golf circles, means only that anything can happen. Nonetheless, a favourite has emerged in the U.S. Amateur heading into Saturday’s semifinals.

It is Doug Ghim, 21, a senior at Texas, who was a 2-and-1 winner over Connor Syme of Scotland at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Friday. Ghim has momentum that includes a victory this summer in the Pacific Coast Amateur. He is the highest-ranked player left in the field, No. 7 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. And on the experience front, he once reached the final of a USGA event, the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 2014.

His next opponent will be Theo Humphrey, who defeated Chun An Yu of Chinese Taipei, 1 up, on Friday. In the other semifinal match, Mark Lawrence Jr. will play Doc Redman. Lawrence defeated Dawson Armstrong, 3 and 2, while Redman beat Travis Smyth of Australia, 1 up.

Neither Ghim nor Syme were especially sharp in their match. Ghim made six bogeys, Syme four and one double bogey. Smyth had never trailed in his previous three matches, but fell behind at the third hole and never led. Ghim won the par-3 16th hole with a bogey to go 2 up, then finished it off with a par at 17.

“The wind definitely showed up today,” Ghim said, attempting to explain the quality of play. “It was a little stronger than yesterday. And whenever you’re in the quarters or the semis or the finals, its gets a little bit more nervy. I think both Connor and I had tremendous respect for each other. It just made it that much more difficult because we knew how good the other side was. Fortunately it ended up in my favour.”

Humphrey, 21, a senior at Vanderbilt, is No. 42 in the World Amateur Ranking and was the fourth seed entering match play. He is playing in his fourth U.S. Amateur.

“I’ve played many times with Doug over the past five, six years,” Humphrey said. “Doug’s an excellent player, so it should be a great challenge. I know I’ll have to play my best tomorrow.”

Lawrence, 21, who plays college golf for Virginia Tech, has to qualify as the long shot among the four semifinalists. He is No. 386 in the World Amateur Ranking, though earlier this year he won the Virginia State Amateur, a tournament his father won in 1980.

His semifinal opponent, Doc Redman, 19, is a Clemson sophomore who is No. 70 in the World Amateur Ranking. He has had a strong summer, finishing second in the Western Amateur and tied for sixth in the Notheast Amateur.

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Doug Ghim of Texas keeps Longhorn sweep of amateur championships alive

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 05:22:08 +0000

Doug Ghim, a University of Texas senior, advanced to the quarter-finals of the U.S. Amateur at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

Texas’ footprint in Southern California golf circles is legendary and growing, the latter courtesy of the University of Texas’ Sophia Schubert, who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in San Diego on Sunday.

A Longhorn sweep of the amateurs now is in play, as Doug Ghim, a Texas senior, advanced to the quarter-finals of the U.S. Amateur at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Thursday.

Ghim defeated Sahith Theegala on the 19th hole in the morning, then beat Joey Vrzich, 3 & 2, in the round of 16 in the afternoon.

Riviera is known as Hogan’s Alley (not to be confused with the Hogan’s Alley at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas) by virtue of the Texas’ native’s three victories in two years there, including the 1947 U.S. Open. Moreover, the University of Texas won the men’s team championship at Riviera in 2012.

Ghim, the Big 12 Player of the Year and No. 7 in the World Amateur Ranking, took the lead for good at the sixth hole and finished off Vrzich by holing a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.

“I was definitely nervous this morning,” Ghim said. “I haven’t made it past the round of 32 yet in my four tries. I knew Sahith would be a tough competitor. To be honest, I didn’t have a very good warmup session this morning. So I was a little worried.”

Ghim said he gained confidence from his morning victory, and had a better warmup session preceding his afternoon match.

In his quarter-final match on Friday morning, Ghin will meet Connor Syme of Scotland, a 1-up winner over Kristoffer Ventura in the round of 16. Ventura, in the round of 32, had eliminated medalist Hayden Wood, his Oklahoma State teammate, 3 and 2.

Chun An Yu of Chinese Tapei, meanwhile, defeated Collin Morikawa, 2 up. Morikawa is No. 6 in the World Amateur Ranking.

Complete results can be found here.

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