By Christopher Powers
Any time Jordan Spieth is leading and in the final group on a Sunday, he is the story. Add in the fact that he’s going for his second win in the last nine weeks, and he’s pretty much the only story.

But both Jason Kokrak, who is one shot back after matching Spieth’s third-round 66, and Sergio Garcia (five back, 68), each with a win already in this PGA Tour season, might have something to say about that. Garcia struck first at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October, closing out the tournament with one of the shots of the year on the 72nd hole. Kokrak won two weeks later at the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek, holding off Xander Schauffele, who you may have heard of, with a scintillating final-round 64 in Sin City.

Two pretty impressive victories, some would say, and both Kokrak and Garcia would love another, the former to bolster his fringe Ryder Cup resume and the latter to pick up career win No. 2 at Colonial, 20 years after his first. Two worthy storylines, no doubt. 

But alas, Spieth is in the mix, in his home state, at a course at which he’s already won, with a pair of runner-ups, too. He’s the focus, as he should be. When Spieth is running pure, it’s his world and we are all just living in it. 

RELATED: Tiger Woods on his rehab – ‘more painful than anything I have ever experienced’

Tom Pennington

Ian Poulter makes a monster move

Speaking of the Ryder Cup, Ian Poulter, a European team staple, is very much on the outside looking in right now. He’s always in captain’s pick territory, of course, but he’s hardly shown much form recently outside of an OK week at the Match Play, which he could get up for no matter how bad he’s playing.

Now that it’s officially Ryder Cup SZN (you’re going to hear this stuff every week until September), perhaps Poults is about to heat up. He certainly did on Saturday, shooting a six-under 64 to skyrocket 25 spots up the leader board. He’ll likely need something similar, or lower, to have a serious chance on Sunday, but the third-round 64 might be something to build on. Any signs of life from now until September and it will be hard for Padraig Harrington to leave him off the squad. 

The end of a (rules) era

You probably didn’t even know it, but two rules legends—Slugger White and Mark Russell —are calling it a career, together, this week. Isn’t that just adorable? The longtime buddies combined for 80 years of service on the PGA Tour:

End of an era at the @CSChallengeFW as Vice Presidents of Rules & Competition Slugger White and Mark Russell work their final event together on the @PGATOUR.

Congrats to both on distinguished careers that combine for over 80 years of service on TOUR. Well done gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/eESGz1byvC

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) May 29, 2021

As someone who has been watching golf for two decades, this truly does feel like the end of an era. These guys have been a part of our Sundays for years, often because of wacky rules situation that end up making for gripping television. And every time, they both handled it in as professional of a manner as they could have. They are both the embodiment of the term “pro’s pro.” 

“Doesn’t get any better than this,” said White. “Mark and I have been friends for 40 years plus, and that will continue. … It’s kind of a bittersweet thing. But we understand that it’s time to pass the baton and we’ll be just fine. Everything will be good.”

“Same here,” Russell added, “I’ve been coming to Colonial for 40 years and I’ve ran this golf tournament for probably 25 years now, and Slugger and I, we don’t work together very often, but he realized what an awesome event this is, and he would come here and work. We don’t get together very often, but it’s great that he’s been here for so many years with me and certainly going to miss him. But we’ll stay in touch. We’ll hook up from time to time.” 

Thinking about White and Russell hanging out in retirement is filling our hearts with gladness. Just a couple of guys being dudes, talkin’ rules. Actually, we hope for their sake that they have something much more interesting to talk about in retirement than the Rules of Golf.

Erik Compton putts on the 18th hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. Tom Pennington

Erik Compton looking for first top-10 in a loooong time

If you missed our story on Erik Compton from Thursday, it’s definitely worth reading now. Compton didn’t light it up on Saturday, but his even-par 70 kept him inside the top 10. Should he stay there on Sunday with a low round, Compton could lock up his first top-10 on the PGA Tour in a very, very long time. 

How long? Compton’s last on tour, a T-10 on the dot, came at the 2015 Humana Challenge in La Quinta, Calif., now known as The American Express. It should be noted that this is only Compton’s third PGA Tour start since 2016, as the 41-year-old has spent the majority of the last six years on the Korn Ferry Tour attempting to get his tour card back. He won’t earn it with a top-10 on Sunday, but it would be his biggest week in pro golf in years, making for arguably the best non-Spieth storyline of the final round.

The post Jordan Spieth on the brink of another ‘W,’ Ian Poulter makes a move and two rules legends call it a career appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Monday qualifying is the purest rendition of golf meritocracy. That is the diplomatic explanation, at least. At its core, stripped of refinement and nuance, it’s cannibalistic. Absolutely and unequivocally merciless.

But out of this cauldron often comes inspiring tales and feel-good stories, and perhaps none fit that billing like Erik Compton.

Compton, you may recall, is a former 2014 U.S. Open runner-up, yet is more well-known for surviving two heart transplants on his way to reaching the apex of golf’s professional ranks. Unfortunately Compton, now 41, hasn’t played full-time on the PGA Tour since 2016, and became so frustrated with the game he once told Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski, “I’m thinking about packing it in. I just can’t get it done anymore.”

But Compton has continued through the struggle, and though he currently resides outside the top 100 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, Monday brought good tidings. Compton earned himself an invite to this week’s Honda Classic thanks to shooting 65 in the event’s qualifier at Banyan Cay in West Palm Beach.

“I played great today,” Compton told the Palm Beach Post. “I’ve been playing well lately, hitting a lot of fairways and greens, so I figured why not give it a try? It feels great to earn my spot again.”

It will be Compton’s first PGA Tour start since the 2019 Honda Classic, which he also played himself into via Monday qualifying. Compton, who lives 70 miles down the road in Miami, has enjoyed a prosperous run at PGA National in his career, with his T-4 at the 2013 Honda his best finish on tour outside the silver medal at Pinehurst.

And his return to the tour isn’t the only cause for celebration: Last week Compton got remarried.

“I’m having a little resurgence,” Compton said.

Other Monday qualifiers were Marcelo Rozo (who shot 63 despite a double-bogey), Zach Zaback and Stephen Stallings, with Stallings knocking off Mickey DeMorat in a playoff.

The post Two-time heart recipient earns way into Honda Classic through Monday qualifier appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
Getting into a tournament on the PGA Tour through Monday Qualifying is at best a long shot. It usually takes a score in the low 60s to earn one of four spots against a field of typically more than 100 players ranging from rising young hot-shots, to wily veterans and guys who have won on tour before.

Making it through the Monday qualifier at the Honda Classic is even tougher. It typically has the strongest field of any Monday event, thanks to the tournament being held in South Florida, where many of these young players live.

None of that seemed to faze Erik Compton. He’s handled more pressure than merely playing in a golf tournament. The 39-year-old Miami native is the only known professional athlete who is a two-time heart-transplant recipient.

Compton proved he was up to the golf challenge on Monday, shooting a seven-under 65 to share medalist honours with Drew Nesbitt at Banyan Cay Resort & Golf in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday, and earning the right to play in his first PGA Tour event since 2016.

RELATED: Erik Compton isn’t done chasing his dream

Having competed on the Web.com Tour each of the past two years, Compton last played in a PGA Tour event at the Sanderson Farms Championship three years ago, where he missed the cut.

Just as impressive as Compton’s Monday round, which included six birdies and an eagle on the par-5 18th, was who Compton beat to earn a spot in the field at PGA National. Among the 132 players vying for four spots were a number of tour winners, including Sangmoon Bae, Will Mackenzie, Daniel Chopra, Robert Allenby, Derek Lamely, Frank Lickliter II, Brendan Todd, David Lingmerth, George McNeill and Olin Browne, among others.

Thus far in 2019, Compton has played in four Web.com Tour events, making the cut three times with a T-25 finish at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club his best result. It was that event in which Compton held the lead entering the final round only to shoot a closing 83.

Compton’s lone professional victory came at the 2011 Mexico Open on the Web.com Tour and his best finish on the PGA Tour was a runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. He last played in the Honda Classic in 2016, tying for 51st. His best finish in six starts in the event is a tie for fourth in 2013.

The post Erik Compton set to play first PGA Tour event since 2016 after Monday qualifying for the Honda Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Feinstein
Erik Compton was in his car Sunday afternoon, driving across Florida from Sarasota—where he had just finished T-47 in the Web.com Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic—to his home in Miami.

“I’ll have time to do my laundry, re-pack and then wake up at 2:30 to catch a flight to Puerto Rico,” he said with a laugh. “I hope my eyes will be open on the first tee.”

Compton was pushing himself to try and qualify for the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open. While the tour’s stars will be in Mexico this week for the WGC-Mexico Championship—with more than $10 million on the line and no cut—the tour’s non-stars will tee it up in Puerto Rico for a $3 million purse.

Compton was hoping he could be one of the non-stars in that field. “It’s 19 for one,” said the 39-year-old Florida native, referencing the fact that 19 players had entered the Monday qualifier with one spot in the field available. “Odds are against me, but heck, I’m used to that. I’ve done it before, maybe I can do it again. It’s been a while since I got a start on the PGA Tour.”

And it would continue to be so, Compton shooting a one-under 71 at TPC Dorado Beach on Monday that left him tied for fourth, three strokes back of medalist Alexander Hicks.

Compton’s last PGA Tour start was in October 2016, when he missed the cut at the Sanderson Farms Classic. He had just lost his full status on the PGA Tour after finishing 173rd on the money list that year in 24 starts. Even though he finished tied for second in the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, he has no status on the tour currently and can only get into a field by Monday qualifying or by receiving sponsor’s exemptions.

“There are times when I feel forgotten,” Compton admitted. “Then, other times I see people wondering why I withdrew from an event or questioning whether I’m really still committed to playing. I guess the good news is that they’re noticing that I am playing. Believe me, I’m committed, I’m grinding.”

The questions about his commitment date to the end of the 2016 season when he went to the four-event Web.com Tour Final Series and failed to play his way back to the PGA Tour. Walking to his car after dropping from a tie for sixth to a tie for 24th during the last round of the Nationwide Children’s Championships in Columbus, Ohio, Compton told Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski: “I’m thinking about packing it in. I just can’t get it done anymore.” A moment later he added, “I’ve become a three-round player.”

The last comment was important and instructive. Although people in golf seem to have somehow forgotten, Compton has been through two heart transplants—one at 12 and one at 28. His profile on the PGA Tour’s website makes no mention of the two transplants although it does say that he visits severely ill children almost every week he plays on tour—PGA or Web.com.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Compton’s runner-up finish at the 2014 U.S. Open remains a headlight of his career.

Compton takes major doses of medication every day of his life—often between 20 and 30 pills. His meds are constantly being adjusted by doctors who monitor his heart regularly to try to prevent his body from rejecting the transplanted organ. The meds affect him in different ways, but fatigue has often been a problem during his career. Compton doesn’t like to complain about it, but there have been times when he has been forced to withdraw from tournaments—even when playing well—because he’s simply too sick on a given morning to play 18 holes of golf.

“Right now, I feel good,” he said Sunday. “In fact, I’m playing well. I’m hitting the ball very well, but struggling with the putter. The difference between succeeding out here [on the Web.com] and the big tour isn’t very much. The golf courses are different; you never know what you’re going to get from week-to-week. But you have to play very well out here to succeed, same as on the PGA Tour.”

It didn’t take Compton long after his “I may pack it in,” comment to realize he had no desire to pack it in. He still loved to play and compete and was a long way from being ready to become a full-time motivational speaker.

“I was in a very bad place in my life when I said that,” Compton said. “I was going through a divorce, and I’d played badly all year. Did the divorce affect my golf? Probably, but a lot of guys go through those kinds of issues.”

But NO ONE in golf—check that, no one in professional sports—has ever gone through the health issues Compton has faced, and still faces. He had his first transplant at 12 after contracting viral cardiomyopathy, which ended his career as a promising young baseball player. Instead, he became a very good golfer, going to the University of Georgia and then turning pro after two years of college, nervous his pro career would be played on borrowed time.

Compton was working his way up the professional ladder when he had a heart attack in the fall of 2007 while in his car. He drove to the emergency room and called his parents to say goodbye before being taken into surgery because he thought there was a good chance he wouldn’t survive.

He did and then had to wait six months until doctors could find a heart to replace the one that had failed after 16 years. He knows he’s likely to face another crisis at some point in his 40s, but refuses to obsess about it.

“All I can do is worry about how I feel today,” he said. “I have to go in for a heart check-up again soon, but that’s just part of my life. For now, I’m trying to focus on my daughter [Petra] and my golf.”

His golf steadily improved after the second transplant. He won the Mexico Open on the Web.com Tour in 2011 and that helped him finish 13th on the money list for the year, elevating him to the PGA Tour in 2012. He finished 163rd on the money list that year, but finished T-7 in the Q-school finals that year (arguably his most impressive performance since he had to play six rounds) to get his status back for 2013.

“There are times when I feel forgotten. Then, other times I see people wondering why I withdrew from an event or questioning whether I’m really still committed to playing. I guess the good news is that they’re noticing that I am playing. Believe me, I’m committed, I’m grinding.”

His performance at the Open at Pinehurst in 2014, helped him finish 64th on the money list with just almost $1.8 million in official money and allowed him to live his dream of playing in the Masters. He made the cut there in 2015 and finished T-51.

But his health soon became an issue again. The doctors kept adjusting his meds to lessen the side-effects, and the grind of tour life made it difficult for him to play with any consistency.

“I always knew I was never going to be one of those guys who’s on a leader board every single week,” he said. “But I can pop up there every once in a while, especially on difficult golf courses when I’m feeling good. That last year still on tour [2016] was just difficult in a lot of ways.”

In addition to his “normal” health issues, Compton had a bout with gout (initially misdiagnosed) that led to a serious problem with arthritis in his foot. By the time the year ended, he was a hot mess.

After he and his wife, Barbara, separated, Compton lived over his parents’ garage for a while. He had made a lot of money during his five full years on the tour, but much of it—and his house—went away in the divorce. Now, he has a new house, a new girlfriend and spends a good deal of time with Petra—who’s now 10. She was with him this past weekend in Sarasota.

Stacy Revere

Five years ago, after he and Rickie Fowler finished tied for second at Pinehurst, Compton was a media darling. There were calls about potential documentaries on his life, and he became the “Tuesday story” for the local media at almost every tour stop. It had been that way early in his career, when he often received sponsor’s exemptions (30 in all) before he was an exempt player because of the uniqueness of his story.

Now, it seems as if tournament directors who once saw him as a potential ticket-seller, have forgotten about him. He’s stopped writing to ask for exemptions because he knows what the answer will be.

But he’s a long way from packing it in. A year ago, he finished 59th on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list, with three top-15 finishes, including a T-3 in Portland.

In the second tournament of 2019, he shot 69-65 the first two rounds of the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic to take the lead. He was still tied for the lead after three rounds but then blew to a final-round 83, dropping him to a tie for 25th.

“I don’t think it was fatigue,” he said. “It’s more about anxiety because I never know day-to-day how I’m going to feel. That round was very disappointing to say the least. I got off to a bad start, two three-putts the first four holes in the wind. Then, it went completely bad on the eighth hole.”

Compton hit his drive way left on that tee and ended up making a quintuple-bogey 10 after taking two unplayable lies on the hole. The rest of the day was almost as disastrous.

“But I know I can still play,” he said. “That’s what I took away from that week. I’ve already beaten the odds in my life in a lot of ways. I don’t think I’m done doing that yet.”

And so, even if nobody is noticing these days, Erik Compton keeps grinding. There’s no give-up in him. If there was, he probably wouldn’t still be around.

The post Erik Compton isn’t done chasing his dream appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
There was a giddiness to J.J. Henry’s voice on Monday night. “Glad to be in the state of New York!” he yelped over the phone, his spot in the PGA Tour’s first FedEx Cup Playoff event, The Northern Trust out on Long Island, secure. “Livin’ on the edge. I couldn’t sleep last night. I was wired.”

Henry is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour and played in a Ryder Cup. This wasn’t far off when it came to the high the 42-year-old was feeling after birdieing two of his last three holes at the Wyndham Championship to sneak into the Playoffs on the number, Mr. 125.

“It’s a huge monkey off back,” Henry said. “I’ve been thinking about it for months. I never wanted to be in this position, but it’s nice to know when I had to play my ass off with no margin for error that I did it.

“It’s a whole different scenario playing for your job.”

In truth, Henry, given the upcoming Web.com Finals not to mention his veteran status, would have likely gotten plenty of starts next year on the PGA Tour. He knew it, and that helped ease some of the tension.

But there was deep-seeded pride at stake.

Far more often than not golf is about grinding it out than it is about winning. Even Tiger Woods at the height of his career won only about 35 percent of the time.

One of the accomplishments Henry, who grew up in that golf, ahem, hotbed of Connecticut, is most proud of is that he had never lost his card in 16 straight seasons on tour.

Then came last week’s Wyndham Championship, where he needed a good finish to lock it up for another year. Henry led the field in driving accuracy and greens in regulation, and his putter finally cooperated enough, too. Henry’s tie for 16th was just enough.

“I never felt like the game passed me by because of my length and ball-striking, but no question it has changed. It’s much more of a power game,” he said, noting all the 20-somethings who have won this year. “It’s a totally different game now.

“I’d like to think I can still play, but it does become a struggle mentally and physically. I’m not 25 years old anymore. I’ve got two kids and a wife at home. It feels more like a job than it did at 25.”

And most of the time that job is finding a way to play a tournament within the tournament, week after week, month after month, year after year.

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INKSTER’S SOLHEIM BET PAYS OFF

When Juli Inkster picked Paula Creamer to replace an injured Jessica Korda on the U.S. Solheim Cup roster, it raised a few eyebrows. Though Creamer had finished T-13 and T-16 in her last two starts, the 31-year-old had also missed the cut in seven of 16 starts this year and plummeted to 112th in the Rolex Rankings.

When asked why Creamer was left off the initial roster, Inkster said she hadn’t seen a lot of good form lately. Now here she was on the team set to play at Des Moines Golf & Country Club.

Paula Creamer plays a shot during her Saturday afternoon fourball matches at the Solheim Cup. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Inkster’s pick was a calculated one, given Creamer had been a stalwart on previous teams. And the risk was rewarded when Creamer went posted a 3-1-0 record last week as the U.S. won overall in a blowout.

“For her to play me four times as an alternate, it means that she believes in me,” Creamer said. “And I’m so glad that I came out and played my game, didn’t let any other noise bother me. And I just have had such a great week. It’s been awesome.”

It could lead to something else—a turnaround for the former U.S. Women’s Open champion who ranked as high as No. 2 in the world at one time.

In 2009, Greg Norman used one of his captain’s picks for the Presidents Cup on a struggling Adam Scott, who had missed the cut in 10 of 18 starts that year and ranked 159th in driving accuracy, 165th in greens in regulation and 189th in putting. Scott, also a veteran presence on the team, was an abysmal 1-4 at Harding Park and the International team got thumped by five points. So much for that idea.

Still, the faith that Norman showed meant a lot to his fellow Aussie, and the following year, Scott won once each on the PGA and European tours. By 2014, he was the No. 1 player in the world.

“You go through peaks and valleys in your game and I’m definitely—I’m beyond motivated,” Creamer said. “I want to win. I want to be in contention.   “All the hard work that we’re doing is paying off. And we’re going to continue to do that because I want to be back in there. I really do. So hopefully this will jump-start it.”

[divider] [/divider]

ANOTHER ANXIOUS SEASON-FINALE AWAITS

While the FedEx Cup Playoffs kick off at Glen Oaks on Long Island this week, another end-of-season drama will be playing out across the country at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon. This week marks the final regular-season event on the Web.com Tour.

The top 25 on the money list following the event get PGA Tour cards for 2017-’18, with Nos. 26-75 moving on to the four-tournament Web.com Finals, where another 25 cards will be doled out.

It will be every bit as pressure filled as last week’s Wyndham Championship, if not more so given that most of these guys are truly playing for a place to play next year.

Compton is trying to play his way into the Web.com Tour’s top 75 in order to be eligible for the Final Series. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

Among the more notable names on the outside looking in going into the event: Robert Allenby, who is 108th on the money list, and Erik Compton, who is 101st.

It was just three years ago that Compton finished second in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Now, the two-time heart transplant recipient is faced with playing for his literal future.

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THREE THINGS I THINK I THINK

I think the U.S. Walker Cup selection process is clearly flawed when the top collegiate player in the country, Sam Burns, who also tied for sixth in a PGA Tour event just last month, isn’t on the team. It’s not the first time the super-secretive selection committee has snubbed a seemingly deserving player, nor will it be the last. Granted, team selection aren’t an easy process. But if you’re the top college player with a resume that screams of being one of the best amateurs in the world, and you stay an amateur in order to be a part of an otherwise terrific premier amateur event, you have to ask yourself why bother when it’s possible you won’t get picked anyway. …

I think last week will go down as one of the best of the year from a competitive golf standpoint. From an incredibly high level of play at the Solheim Cup, to the final day of the regular season drama at the Wyndham, to a thrilling U.S. Amateur that saw Doc Redman rally from 2 down with two to go to win, it was an incredibly few days for the game across the board. …

I think if I’m the powers that be, I figure out a way to convince Juli Inkster to captain the Americans for a third time in 2019. With all due respect to candidates in the wings, Inkster is simply the best person for the job.

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WHO I LIKE THIS WEEK

Rory McIlroy has won four Playoffs titles in his career, which is more than any other player. There’s also the old adage of beware the injured golfer, or something like that. And yet, his wedge game and putting aren’t sharp enough for my taste. Keegan Bradley, meanwhile, is the only player really familiar with the new venue, Glen Oaks, though it has been modified significantly since his days playing it while at St. John’s. Hideki Matsuyama enters the Playoffs atop the points list but he surprisingly has never won a Playoffs event in 12 tries. Justin Thomas? He was wiped out from the aftermath of his PGA victory. All of this is just a longwinded way of me getting to Charley Hoffman, who has six top-five finishes, including a pair of runner-up finishes, in the last six months. The only thing missing is a win. He’ll get it this week.

Gregory Shamus

The post Playing with your job on the line, Paula Creamer’s career restart and a Walker Cup selection stumble appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.