The Aramco Team Series is a brand-new concept and the first team event series on any professional tour, where the world’s best compete in concurrent team and individual contests.

The New York event is the third leg of the four-tournament Series and heads States-side following successful events in London (UK) and in Sotogrande (Spain). Six of the world’s top 20 will be teeing it this week at Glen Oaks Club in Long Island (October 14-16).

That includes U.S. star Lexi Thompson played in the inaugural London edition alongside Laura Davies and horse racing legend AP McCoy.

“I love team formats in general,” said Thompson.

“Golf being such an individual sport, we don’t get this opportunity very often, so to be able to be part of a team, have two other pros, and an amateur in the mix is a great format that gives amateurs an insight into how we play and how intense we are.  It gives them an opportunity to play with us and help us out a bit.  I think it’s great for golf, said Thompson.

The event also marks the first standalone event for the Ladies European Tour (LET) in the US giving a chance for Solheim Cup stars from the USA and Europe to team up together.

“It’s great to have top notch LET players coming here to play with us. I got paired up with Laura (Davies) in London and it was so much fun.  I was middle of the pack of getting to pick and she wasn’t picked and I was like, “Laura is definitely on my team.” It was great to play with her and have other great players, as well.”

Using an ‘NFL-style’ draft system, 28 selected captains will again pick their first player, before being randomly allocated a third professional teammate. The fourth member of each team is an US amateur golfer who could make a vital contribution on the course and secure prize money for the professional players, a feat unique to world golf.

The innovative $1million Aramco-backed event sees teams of four battle it out for a share of an $800,000 prize fund, with a $200,000 purse for the leading individual scores over the weekend. As a full LET event, each tournament also carries World Ranking and Race to Costa del Sol – LET’s season-long competition to crown Europe’s leading lady golfer points which was won last year by Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen.

“The great thing about golf is you can play with anyone, any age, handicap or any gender,” said Pedersen.

“The Aramco Team Series is a great example of that and something fresh with amateur who can join us professionals for a pretty different experience”

Big-hitting Dutch star Anne van Dam feels the Aramco Team Series concept will grow in years to come as women’s golf looks to provide more opportunities to grow the game and close the gap between the men’s game with team events.

“Obviously we have a long way to go, but we have to take it step by step.  For me, as a player, every opportunity I have to grow the game, I’ll be happy to help and show my passion for it.  I think the things like this and the Solheim Cup was of course amazing to watch. It showed the game of women’s golf really well.  I think it’s only going to get bigger and bigger in the next few years and I’m just excited to be a small part of it.

“We play the same format every week.  72 holes stroke play. You’re always out there for yourself so I think it’s fun to play with others and have a team vibe going, added van Dam.  The Aramco Team Series – New York will take place at Glen Oaks Club, Long Island, from October 14-16.

The post Lexi Thompson backs innovative team format ahead of Aramco Team Series – New York appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The pioneering Aramco Team Series is headed to leafy Long Island

Tim Shifflett, the head professional at New York’s Glen Oaks Club since 2001, isn’t a huge fan of the comparison but the lofty billing has proved impossible to shake.

The private layout in the village of Old Westbury has been described as “the Augusta of the North” thanks to its leafy routing and superb conditioning. 

Originally designed by Joe Finger when the club moved to new land on the northern shores of Long Island in 1971, the former PGA Tour venue underwent a major renovation to its current state in the early 2010s. It has been compared to the home of The Masters ever since.

“I know people say that, but I just don’t like that expression,” said Shifflett. “It certainly wasn’t our intent when we renovated.”

Intention or not, the course will undoubtedly draw more praise when its makes its bow as a Ladies European Tour (LET) venue with the third leg of the Aramco Team Series (ATS) confirmed there from October 14-16.  

The LETs best are in for a treat, as PGA Tour winner Scott Brown discovered during his first visit in 2017. For context, Brown is a native of Augusta, Ga., and knows Augusta National well.

“It’s a fabulous golf course, similar (in style) to Augusta National in that you have to play shots to certain quadrants of the greens,” Brown told PGA Tour.com at the time. “It’s not crazy tight [nor is Augusta National] and it’s fun to play. The greens are firm and you have a lot of options for shots around the greens.”

Glen Oaks previously hosted the PGA Tour’s 2017 FedEx Cup playoff opener, The Northern Trust, when Dustin Johnson edged Jordan Spieth in a playoff.

Four years on, it is now home to the penultimate leg of the ATS, four $1 million events in London, Sotogrande (Spain), New York and King Abdullah Economic City (Nov.10-12) incorporating team and individual events over 54 holes.

The teams are decided by an NFL-style draft system where 36 designated captains pick another professional before being randomly allocated a third pro teammate. The teams are then completed by an amateur, in New York after a ‘Team Up’ pre-qualifier.  

It means a vital putt in the race for the $800,000 team prize fund could fall to an amateur. The remaining $200,000 is shared among the leading individuals.

Ashleigh Buhai and her winning team from round two. Tristan Jones

Team Buhai – featuring South Africans Ashleigh Buhai and Stacy Lee Bregman, Englishwoman Hayley Davis and Spanish amateur Ignacio Morillo (pictured above) – won the second team’s title following a playoff in Sotogrande last month.

American Alison Lee waltz away with the individual title – by five strokes from Buhai – for her maiden victory as a professional.

World Ranking and Race to Costa del Sol ranking points are on the line in each of the ATS events. Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, the ATS London runner-up, led the LET’s season-long Costa del Sol points list at the time of press. 

aramcoteamseries.com

The post From New York, with love appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Let’s start with the video of the mighty blow struck by Johnson’s driver that turned the long, uphill closing par 4 at Glen Oaks Club into a pitch and putt that the World No. 1 birdied to beat Jordan Spieth in a playoff. After missing right in regulation on 18 and needing to make a 20-footer to save par and force extra holes, Johnson took a much, much more aggressive aim with his tee shot the second time around:

Does anyone other than @DJohnsonPGA even consider this line off the 18th tee? #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/pgHJS1dFWV

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 27, 2017

But these three photos/graphics paint an even better picture of just how good — and bold — Johnson’s tee shot was. First, a side-by-side look at the extremely different lines Spieth and Johnson took off the 18th tee:

DJ's line vs. Spieth's line ? pic.twitter.com/R4IL20jSH2

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) August 27, 2017

A look at where their two golf balls wound up:

Two different tee shots for your leading men @TheNTGolf. pic.twitter.com/3TGCPRyg5q

— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) August 27, 2017

And finally, a look at the two players standing in the fairway. Well, if you can see Jordan way, way back there somewhere:

LOL pic.twitter.com/IJNKUwcFxP

— Golf Unfiltered (@GolfUnfiltered) August 27, 2017

With the victory, Johnson tied Justin Thomas for the PGA Tour lead with four wins. But DJ is going to need to do something special the rest of the FedEx Cup Playoffs to overtake JT — and even Spieth with his three wins, including a major — for Player of the Year honors. We’re going to go ahead, though, and give him the award for Tee Shot of the Year.

The post Dustin Johnson’s prodigious playoff tee shot as told through 3 ridiculous images appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
For the most part, Glen Oaks Club’s PGA Tour debut received rave reviews. Dubbed by some as “The Augusta National of the North” for its immaculate conditioning, the Long Island track proved to be a beautiful, but difficult venue for the Northern Trust. However, Kevin Kisner and some fellow tour pros weren’t big fans of the course’s closing par 4 — especially after it wound up determining the tournament’s winner in a sudden-death playoff.

In case you missed it, Jordan Spieth hit a fine tee shot that found the fairway and avoided a lake on the left. Then Dustin Johnson stepped up and bombed one over the lake to set up a short approach and an easy birdie to win. Here’s a look at the different line the longer DJ was able to take on the boomerang dogleg:

DJ's line vs. Spieth's line ? pic.twitter.com/R4IL20jSH2

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) August 27, 2017

And here were some of the reactions by PGA Tour pros after the playoff concluded. Wesley Bryan said it was a “shame” the tournament ended on the hole:

https://twitter.com/wesleybryangolf/status/901937280952217601

Ian Poulter also said the finish was a shame and called 18 the “worst hole of the golf course”:

Shame @Fedex playoff hole had to be on the worst hole of the golf course.. 18th hole suited 5 guys in the field. Congrats DJ unlucky Jordan pic.twitter.com/ms2WZrfq0X

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) August 27, 2017

And Kevin Kisner called it the “worst hole ever”:

Worst hole ever

— Kevin Kisner (@K_Kisner) August 28, 2017

Ouch.

Of course, the hole didn’t play as easy for DJ in regulation as his tee shot found the right rough and he had to lay up to near the spot where his drive a few minutes later wound up. But he made a 20-footer for par to force a playoff and set up the tee shot that had fans marveling and tour pros shaking their heads for a different reason.

Luke Donald, however, offered a lighter reaction to how the final hole played:

Just seen Dustin's drive on 18 in the playoff, funnily enough that's the same line I tried a couple of times – didn't quite pan out #wet ?

— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) August 27, 2017

Nothing to be ashamed of, Luke.

The post Kevin Kisner calls No. 18 at the Northern Trust the “worst hole ever,” other PGA Tour pros seem to agree appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Ever since Dustin Johnson’s stumble down a staircase and subsequent withdrawal from the Masters, we’ve seen glimpses of his pre-April self. Brief flashes of the guy who won three straight times, took over the No. 1 ranking in the world and did it with ease. On Thursday at The Northern Trust, D.J. made golf look easy again, posting a five-under 65 that has him just one back of leader Russell Henley.

The 2016 U.S. Open champion got off to a slow start, making bogey on the par-3 second at Glen Oaks Club, but quickly bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 third. From there, he played with steady confidence, adding five more birdies and not dropping another shot. After the round, he posed a scary though for the rest of the field.

“Today was the first time it’s kind of felt like I was in control, like I was leading into the Masters,” Johnson said of his swing.

Glen Oaks, a new PGA Tour venue hosting the first of the season’s four FedEx Cup Playoff events, sets up very well for Johnson, who is one of if not the longest hitters on tour. He averaged 323 yards off the tee in the opening round, ranking first in the field.

“It suits my eye well,” he said of the course. “If I keep hitting it like I’m hitting it, I’m going to like it a lot more come Sunday.”

Leading the way is Henley, who carded a six-under 64 with eight birdies and two bogeys. He looked comfortable around the greens, with just 24 putts on the round, and getting up and scrambling when he needed. Since his victory at the Shell Houston Open, Henley just one top-10 finish in 12 tries, but has made his last six cuts.

Two back at four under are Scott Brown, Chris Kirk and Camilo Villegas, whose round was highlighted by an eagle from 161 yards to the elevated par-4 18th green. He’s making his first appearance in the FedEx Cup Playoffs since the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship.

Six players sit three back at three under, including Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen.

Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm posted two-under 68s, while Jason Day and Jordan Spieth each carded one-under 69s.

Defending FedEx Cup champ Rory McIlroy struggled, making six bogeys and shooting a three-over 73.

The post Dustin Johnson one back of Russell Henley at Glen Oaks Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y — There are hard courses, there are absolute bulls, and there is Shinnecock Hills. One of the five founding USGA clubs, the Southampton venue is consistently ranked as one of the toughest tracks by Golf Digest panelists. It’s an opinion evidenced in past U.S. Open scores at Shinnecock, with just two players breaking par in the championship’s last visit. If a player wants to test their mettle, there’s no better examination in the country.

Unless you’re Justin Thomas, that is.

The Player of the Year favorite, speaking with the media at Glen Oaks Club on Wednesday ahead of the Northern Trust, mentioned that he and Rickie Fowler visited Shinnecock, home of next year’s U.S. Open, over the weekend. To say they tamed the beast would be putting it lightly.

“It was soft and slow. Rickie and I played it and we both shot the easiest 65s ever,” Thomas said. “I’m almost like upset that I did that because I know it’s going to be so impossible next year.”

“Easiest 65s ever.” Those crackling sounds you just heard were dozens of Shinnecock members choking on their prime-rib lunch.

“But you could see where they are going to narrow the fairways down,” the PGA champ continued. “I mean, the greens are going to be like (a table top). It’s going to be quite the test.”

Sam Greenwood

The 24-year-old also said he talked with USGA executive director Mike Davis, warning him not to get over-the-top with the setup.

“I just said, look, you have to be careful,” Thomas said. “It’s one of those courses you don’t need to do very much to it for it to be a U.S. Open course. It’s long. It has the slope…Yeah, it could be interesting.”

In one sense, the USGA should be wary of the layout, especially after Shinnecock’s last championship was draped in controversy over its ridiculous conditions. Conversely, after Brooks Koepka tied the U.S. Open scoring record — coupled with JT and Rickie lighting Shinnecock on fire — the governing body could be out for blood.

Of course, if Thomas carries over his dominance to 2018, putting pins in bunkers won’t be enough to slow this cat down.

The post Justin Thomas is on such a roll that even Shinnecock was a breeze appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.