By Brendan Porath
Saturday was a one-way moving day with players set in reverse at the Houston Open. A day after Scottie Scheffler posted a new course record of 62, this Tom Doak renovation (with Brooks Koepka’s assistance, you may have heard) pushed back on the field of elite tour pros. The rains that came earlier in the tournament dramatically softened a course that, we were told, was looking fairly firm and fast at the start of the week. But the water that rained down starting on Wednesday night will make any course gettable for a PGA Tour field.

In the third round, the course started to dry out, the winds picked up a little bit and changed direction, coming out of the north, and the tour played the ball as it lies, which sometimes feels like the exception rather than the norm on the PGA Tour. After two rounds of a lift, clean, and place, the preferred lies police arrived and the third round was played down. It may not seem like a massive change, but it at least brought the possibility of bad and funky lies into play, and there were several throughout the afternoon in the final groups.

“The wind was definitely swirling, at least I thought. I was having a hard time figuring out the wind and that definitely cost me a few shots on 17 and on 7,” said Matthew Wolff, who is one shot off the lead at six under. “So I think that was difficult, but I think it’s just firming up a little bit. It’s making the fairways more important to hit because beginning of the week it was pretty soft because we had so much rain, so being in the rough wasn’t as penalizing, whereas being in the fairways now is just really important with how fast and firm these greens have gotten.”

The low round of the day came from Jason Kokrak, who followed up his Friday 30-41-71 with a Saturday 66. So there was a number out there but, by and large, this was a field just hanging on and trying to steer it in a shot or two under par on the day. The leading number after 36 holes came back three shots to seven under as one player after another backed up. That leader, Scheffler, said the number stood at only seven under not because of “any crazy conditions” and gave full credit to the challenge of the Doak course.

Memorial Park is a unique venue for the PGA Tour, a city-owned municipal course that typically takes on a ton of recreational traffic. It was fun to see some of the run-offs and chipping areas brought back into play on Saturday, and the course not get bludgeoned over four days of the dartboard golf that’s ubiquitous on tour. Jhonattan Vegas, who will start Sunday just a shot off the lead described the challenge of those chipping areas at Memorial Park. “If you look at the greens, they have a lot of movement, a lot of slope,” Vegas said. “Chipping up some of these big slopes and it’s really hard to put spin on the ball. Usually spin’s your friend, but not here. When it comes down to that, like I said, with the movement these greens have, it’s just really hard to chip it close. Missing the green, you’re going to have to fight really hard to make par.”

Some top young players made a few moves, and the leaders came back to the pack, but Memorial Park was the star on Saturday. It also set up a …

Sunday horse race

With the leaders coming back, we have a wide open track on Sunday with dozens of possibilities. There’s the longshot dreamer in Martin Trainer, who looked like he was held together with duct tape that was rapidly losing its adhesiveness in the third round. Simply watching Trainer was a bit anxiety-inducing, as he yanked approach shots and blasted putts past the cup. As Justin Ray noted on Friday, no one has been more over-par on tour in recent years. After a three-over-in-three-hole stretch on the front, he did well not to all-out implode and with everyone else around him dropping shots, he’s still in contention for Sunday.

His lead, however, was long gone with elite young talents like Wolff and Scheffler chasing him down and passing. Kevin Tway, who has not had as acute a struggle as Trainer since his first victory, has gone three years since that first win in the fall of 2018. Tway opened with a bogey and went out in 37, but held the solo lead for a stretch on the back nine until giving two shots back in his final two holes. He’s only one shot back with 18 to play.

Carmen Mandato

In addition to Tway, there are ample “home state” favourites in the hunt. Longhorns Scheffler, Kramer Hickock, and Vegas are all inside the top five. “Lots of friends, lots of family around here,” Vegas said. “The city has embraced me ever since I came from Venezuela. It would be amazing to kind of share like a home title with everyone here in Houston. Like I said, it will be up there with if not the biggest win for me.”

There are 13 players within three shots of the lead, and it’s a nice mix of those young stars, local favourites, and longshot dreamers. This is what you want come mid November on the PGA Tour.

Wolff throttles down, splashes

It feels like we’re writing about Wolff almost daily in this space, and with good reason, as he’s been on the first page of leader boards almost every round he’s played this fall. A poor third round last week at Mayakoba erased his lead and chances there for a second career win, but he’s right back on the horse in Houston with a prime opportunity again. The refrain in Mayakoba, a course where he did not and could not use his driver to its full potential, was patience and sticking to his game plan to not get seduced into trying to bomb away at every point.

In Houston, he employed a distinctive strategy at the 17th hole, hitting a pitching wedge off the tee for what he thought would be an ideal or comfortable wedge into the green. Unfortunately for Wolff, he dumped his next ball in the water and is probably still mystified and muttering to himself about how and why it happened. It was the rare moment where he looked totally dumbfounded about what transpired after he thought he’d flushed it close.

Wolff said it was absolutely not a driver hole with the front pin, and we saw some players who did try to drive it up there really struggle to chip it close. Tway chipped it through the green and into the water. Wolff held back and still hit it into the water after he thought he’d given himself his best chance.

“I just didn’t really see a point of going for it, and on top of that, I hit pitching wedge off the tee, which I almost felt a little — I almost feel like I wouldn’t let myself hit pitching wedge on a par-4, and I knew it was the right club, and I hit sand wedge in,” Wolff said. “I knew I was going to be able to hit the fairway with a wedge and I would have another wedge in. Not many times I thought I would be making double with two wedges, but it is what it is and I have to live with whatever happened, but I just didn’t really see a point in going for it.”

He’s now three over on the hole for the week and it was a fairly costly double bogey coming into the clubhouse when a par would have had him solo first heading into the final round.

Climbing on Moving Day. ?

Back-to-back birdies move @Matthew_Wolff5 into the co-lead. pic.twitter.com/EAl8q1V9w6

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 13, 2021

“I feel like I’m really close,” Wolff told Golf Channel after the round. He cited just a bad break or two, or a wind misjudgment like at 17 on Saturday, from keeping him off the winner’s check. Sunday presents another opportunity but he’s not the player on the leaderboard with …

The most to gain

This will be only the second time Scheffler holds the 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour. For all his accomplishments, cash earned, and FedEx Cup points accrued, Scheffler has yet to win on Tour. You probably didn’t need that reminder and he certainly doesn’t need it.

No one doubts his ability to win, and wiping out world No. 1 Jon Rahm in Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup is about as strong an argument as one can make in the most pressurized cauldron in the game. Saturday’s round was far from the brilliance on Friday, but again he didn’t need a bunch of birdies to find himself on the solo lead at the end of the night. A chip-in at the 14th hole, followed by a birdie at 15 would be plenty with everyone else struggling.

Scheffler did not have a number in mind for Sunday, but did reiterate multiple times that he does like his chances on the harder courses.

“I think I always prefer the harder courses because I feel like I can take it deep on them still and get myself back in the tournament, which I did this week,” Scheffler said. “This golf course is pretty challenging, but it’s not a golf course where if you’re playing great golf, you can’t take advantage of it. There’s some scoring holes out there and I’m just going to do my best tomorrow to put myself in position and hopefully make some birdies.”

There are a handful of great stories on the leader board, but the player with the most to gain is Scheffler. His work on tour is deserving of a win, and checking that resume box and removing those questions about converting would be a welcome achievement heading into a year-end break. No one wants to undergo that narrative transition from “trendy young player” to “why hasn’t he won?”

Short game Scottie. ?

Scottie Scheffler gets within 2. pic.twitter.com/M8Swjn1T2m

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 13, 2021

Scheffler will also likely have the crowd on his side. Another great feature of Memorial Park, that’s also unique from most stops on the regular tour schedule, is that it’s close in to the city. Last year, it boasted a truly rowdy and loud crowd and there were plenty of shouts for Scheffler caught on Saturday. The crowds were large and full-throated, especially for this sleepy time of the season. Given Scheffler’s increased profile from the Ryder Cup and the Texas connection, expect the fans to be pushing him and Wolff late on Sunday.

Streamers only

Saturday featured the rare occurrence of the PGA Tour yielding the stage to another tour. Typically, the PGA Tour calls the shots, and everyone else just tries to get in where they can fit in. But with the altered schedule due to the inclement weather in the first round and the two days catching up, finishing at the originally scheduled 4 p.m. ET would have been impossible.

So with the Champions Tour playing their season finale Schwab Cup Championship, it was the PGA Tour’s turn to get out of the way for the senior circuit and the final two hours of the leaders on the back nine was relegated to streaming. That just almost never happens and I’m sure there were a handful of confused folks trying to find the streaming-only coverage.

The good news is that after three days of scrambling, we’re back on schedule for Sunday. No one wants a five-day tournament and Monday finish this time of year, with just two weeks left until a holiday break after an exhausting “super season” that rolled right into the next one this fall. So good on the Tour and mother nature for getting us back set up for the 4 p.m. ET finish with a strong Sunday leaderboard for this time of year.

The post Scottie Scheffler set up for 1st win, Memorial Park punches back, and Matthew Wolff’s wild double bogey appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
The impact of a breakthrough victory on the PGA Tour isn’t just from the win itself, but many times how it was achieved. When you perform with a measure of calm, stare down the No. 1 player in the world, tender a bogey-free 65 and cap it all off in style with a birdie on the 72nd hole when protecting a one-stroke lead, there are incalculable dividends to reap.

It might take some time for the benefits to manifest, for Carlos Ortiz to absorb the full measure of his victory Sunday in the Vivint Houston Open. But the young Mexican probably is OK with that. Because there is the win, finally. There is the validation. That’s enough, for now.

How he uses the experience is a story worth watching, yet one that can wait for another day. Maybe the tears he shed in the aftermath at Memorial Park Golf Course will water the seeds of potential.

On Sunday, at a refurbished course with enough bite to leave marks on the unsuspecting and untidy, Ortiz was rewarded for his punctiliousness, registering his maiden tour victory in his 118th start and joining an illustrious group of surprising fall winners. With all of seven top-10 finishes in his career and ranked 160th in the world, Ortiz, 29, somehow summoned the resolve to beat World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and fast-closing Hideki Matsuyama by two strokes.

“I knew I was capable of doing that because I know myself, but obviously validating that and then showing it, it definitely gets me more confidence. Overall, I’m just happy the way it played out,” Ortiz said after finishing at 13-under 267 at Memorial Park, which was hosting a PGA Tour event for the first time since 1963 after being renovated by architect Tom Doak with an assist from four-time major winner Brooks Koepka.

Ortiz, who earned $1.26 million, more than a quarter of his prior career earnings, is the third tour winner from Mexico, joining Victor Regalado and Cesar Sanudo. Regalado was the most recent winner from south of the border, claiming 1978 Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open by a stroke over Fred Marti.

It was easy to see that the victory, Ortiz’s first since a three-win season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2014, was incredibly meaningful to the slender man from Guadalajara. Tears welled in his eyes as he stood on the putting green after his right-to-left curling 22-foot birdie effort found the cup for the clincher. His voice trembled in his initial post-round television interview.

“I don’t even know what to tell you, just a feeling I’ve had before, I miss it and it’s unbelievable the way this feels,” he said. “I played great, and it was challenging at the end. I saw there’s a couple people playing really good, too, so I knew I couldn’t just like lay it up to the greens and then expect to win so I had to finish strong.”

Carmen Mandato
Ortiz held his ground against the World No. 1, Dustin Johnson, and former World No. 2, Hideki Matsuyama, which potentially could give him a psychological lift beyond simply grabbing his first career PGA Tour title.

In addition to the birdie on the home hole, Ortiz displayed his grit when he birdied the par-5 16th hole that broke a tie with Johnson. A 6-iron from 222 yards that dribbled to within eight feet of the cup, set up an easy two-putt for the lead.

Chalk that up as another arrow to stock his mental quiver. He knew it was in there somewhere. He knew he had the chops to execute under pressure and to win again.

“I just had to stay aggressive, stay patient, stay in the present. I wasn’t really worried about other people,” Ortiz said. “I know from experience that if I worry about myself and I do the best I can to stay aggressive, for the most part it’s going to work out.”

Ortiz qualified for the Masters, though not the one that commences Thursday. He will have to wait until April— hopefully, if it remains on schedule—to make his debut at Augusta National Golf Club, where his younger brother, Alvaro, became the first Mexican to compete in the tournament in 2019. The elder Ortiz will cool his heels at home in Dallas.

Meanwhile, some of the pre-tournament Masters favourites departed from Memorial Park without hardware but feeling a bit more hard-wired in form.

Start with Johnson, making his first start since testing positive for COVID-19. He bogeyed five of his first nine holes on Thursday and six in all in an opening 72 and then proceeded to shoot 66-66-65. The former U.S. Open champion, who finished in a share of second to Tiger Woods in last year’s Masters, suffered just three bogeys over his final 54 holes on a course that induced more triple bogeys or higher than any so far this season—and that includes the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

Matsuyama, who hasn’t won in more than three years, nearly pilfered the trophy. The Japanese veteran buried seven birdies in a tournament-low 63, a springboard to covet going into the year’s final major for a player who has finished in the top-25 in four of his last six major starts.

Then there’s Koepka, who joined Johnson (and Xander Schauffele) as runner-up to Woods 19 months ago. The Floridian also started slowly after an experiment with a new driver, a decision he admitted was “stupid.” You always get honesty from the four-time major champ. He ended up tied for fifth at eight-under 272 by posting consecutive 65 on the weekend.

“It was nice, build some confidence I guess going into Augusta scoring well,” he said. “The first two days, it’s a shame I put in a new driver. Never should have done that, probably cost me the tournament, but at the same time playing well, just got to play well next week.”

Koepka, who missed the U.S. Open in September to rest a knee injury that has hampered him much of the year, converted 20 birdies for the week. Local knowledge may or may not have been a factor. Oddly, none of his peers sought insight on the new venue. Then again, maybe they sensed where that might lead.

“No, nobody asked me for advice,” Koepka said, “but I wouldn’t give it up either way.”

Tough crowd in Houston. Carlos Ortiz can add that to his ledger of reasons for satisfaction.

The post The subtle reason why Carlos Ortiz’s Houston Open win could completely change his career appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Among the names who made a charge on Sunday at the Vivint Houston Open: Dustin Johnson (No. 1 player in the world), Hideki Matsuyama (former World No. 2) and Brooks Koepka (four-time major winner). Trying to fend them off was Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, currently ranked 160th in the world. Surely, he’d be no match for that trio of world-class players.

Not only did Ortiz hang with them, he flat out beat them. The 29-year-old shot a five-under 65 that featured a two birdies on his final three holes, including a 22-footer on the 18th that he walked in to win by two.

“That was amazing,” Ortiz said, fighting back tears after claiming his first PGA Tour title. “Me and my caddie, Eddie, have been working on staying patient and having a good attitude, stay positive. We did that great this week, and it paid off. I’m just really happy with the way I played.”

Despite having no wins in 117 starts, Ortiz never flinched on Sunday, as if he had been in the situation countless times before (Ortiz is a three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner). He was bogey-free, something he hadn’t done all week, and he gained strokes in every major strokes-gained category except putting.

Making the win that much sweeter was the fact it came in Texas, a place Ortiz called his “second home.” He went to college at the University of North Texas, and the smattering of fans on hand were firmly in his corner.

“There’s a bunch of fans here cheering for me, a bunch of Latinos, Mexicans and obviously people from Texas cheered for me, too,” said Ortiz as a group of fans began to cheer. “So it was awesome doing it in front of them, and I’m thankful to have them.”

With the victory, Ortiz became just the third Mexican-born player to win in PGA Tour history. The last man to do it was Victor Regalado, who won for the second time in 1978 at the Quad Cities Open. Cesar Sanudo was the other, his lone victory coming in 1970. Ortiz doesn’t get into next week’s Masters with the win, but he did earn an invitation to the 2021 Masters in April, where he’ll be only the second Mexican to ever play, his younger brother Alvaro being the first in 2019. That will be well worth the five-month wait.

Beyond Ortiz’s career-changing win, here are three other takeaways from Sunday at Memorial Park.

Maddie Meyer

Dustin Johnson seems to be just fine
Let’s make this clear: We are not doctors and we have absolutely no idea how Dustin Johnson is feeling. Only he knows how he is feeling.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we feel OK saying that based off his play, DJ appears to be just fine. He was humming along, pre-COVID-19 diagnosis, and that continued this week. Johnson went 66-66-65 after shooting 72 on Thursday and finished at 11 under, two back of Ortiz in a tie for second place. And that was with a par on the par-5 16th and two birdie putts that barely missed at 17 and 18. He could have easily won this thing, which is a very good sign for the world No. 1 come next week. It was fair to wonder if Johnson was about to watch another prime opportunity slip away in a major after getting the virus. Instead, he seems as ready as ever.

Guess who else looks like he’s feeling good heading into Augusta
Surprise, surprise, it appears Brooks Koepka has gotten back into game shape just in time for a major championship, too. Koepka, who returned at the CJ Cup three weeks ago after missing the FedEx Cup Playoffs and U.S. Open, shot a second straight 65 on Sunday, and that was with two bogeys on his final five holes. It was still enough for a T-5 finish. Shockingly, that’s just his second top-five finish since August 2019 on the PGA Tour. Somehow, the four-time major winner scored well despite hitting it quite poorly off the tee (28 of 52 fairways).

“It’s a shame I put in a new driver,” said Koepka following the final round, saying he played it the opening two rounds before returning to his old driver over the weekend. “Never should have done that, probably cost me the tournament. But at the same time, I’m playing well. I just got to play well next week.”

Last year, Koepka was among the log jam of guys at the top of the leader board trying to chase down Tiger Woods in the final round at Augusta National. Had he made what he felt was a straightforward putt on the 72nd green, he would have forced a playoff. One month later, he won the PGA Championship, then added a second-place finish at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and a T-4 at the Open Championship. He looked like he was ready to add another top-five major finish (if not better) at Harding Park in August, but stumbled on Sunday. Should he go on to win next week, it would be his fifth major victory in the last 12 majors.

Maddie Meyer

Next week is going to be l-i-t LIT
As if DJ and Brooks looking good wasn’t enough to get you pumped for the 2020 Masters, Hideki Matsyuama (T-2) and Jason Day (T-11) appear ready to contend as well. Mix in Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele, and it’s shaping up to be another all-time week at Augusta. When isn’t it an all-time week in Augusta, though? Just imagine if Tiger Woods gets himself into the mix again. OK, OK, we won’t ask for too much … maybe.

The post Carlos Ortiz makes history in stunning victory over Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama at the Houston Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
Houston, we don’t have a problem. Or at least Sam Burns didn’t on Friday.

Halfway through the Vivint Houston Open, Burns has a two-stroke lead over Jason Day and Carlos Ortiz following a sensational bogey-free seven-under 65 at Memorial Park Golf Course. Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, had lots of problems.

Here are our takeaways from Day 2 at the Houston Open.

Will Jason Day have his day this week?
Day is used to the question, and he got it again on Friday: “How’s your health?”

“I feel like I’ve had that question a lot in my career,” the 32-year-old Aussie said. “Yeah, I feel pretty good.”

Through two rounds, he’s played pretty well, too. After a second-round 68 he’s just two behind leader Sam Burns.

The last time Day was in the mix, he withdrew after the opening hole of the final round of last month’s CJ Cup at Shadow Creek.

Winless since the spring of 2018, Day said he’s been working on swing changes to alleviate back pain that has plagued him throughout his career. This summer, after parting ways with longtime coach Colin Swatton, there were signs of progress with Day posting four straight top-10s, which included a T-4 at the PGA Championship.

Since then, however, his game has gone cold and then came the withdrawal in Las Vegas.

“I guess I’m stuck in between patterns right now,” he said. “What I want to feel, my body just won’t handle it and sometimes it just compensates elsewhere. That’s why it happened to my neck at CJ.”

This week, at least, has been filled with more promising signs. After playing his first nine holes of the tournament in two over, he’s had just one bogey over his last 27 holes.

The full Phil
For someone who has been around as long as Mickelson, you might think there wouldn’t be much in the way of firsts for him. You would be wrong, at least on Friday.

Playing the par-3 ninth hole at Memorial Park, the five-time major winner dumped two shots into a creek before finally finding the putting surface with his sixth shot and then two-putting for an 8—his worst score on a par-3 hole in a PGA Tour event, “besting” his previous mark by a stroke, which happened five times.

The flipside?

A thrilling phinish. ?@PhilMickelson holes out from 193 yards on 18 to take some momentum into next week.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/yzlLWstFqX

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 6, 2020

Mickelson ended his day by holing out for an eagle on the par-4 18th. Of course.

Maddie Meyer
Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the Houston Open.

Still, it wasn’t nearly enough for Lefty to make the cut. After a 73 Friday he finished his week in Houston at nine over and now heads to Augusta National a little earlier than planned, 47-inch driver and all. With that longer driver, Mickelson hit just 23 percent of the fairways on Friday.

Brooks is (still) here
Brooks Koepka continues his slow climb back from injury and on Friday shot a two-under 70 that was highlighted by a couple of birdies over his final four holes to make the cut by two.

Whether he made it to the weekend or not probably has little impact on how he will play in next week’s Masters, but it is a chance for a couple of more competitive rounds in what has been a year that has lacked in that department for the oft-sidelined four-time major champ.

On Thursday, after opening with a 72, Koepka talked about the need to strike it better. A day later, he did—sometimes. Koepka made a couple of sloppy bogeys early but bounced back with some good approaches, particularly at the sixth and 12th, to set up a couple of short birdie putts on two of the more difficult holes at Memorial Park.

Yet his play on the venue’s three par-5s was a bit all over the place and he played them in even par with a bogey, birdie and par.

Carmen Mandato
Sam Burns reacts to his shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the Houston Open.

Give it time. Or at least until next week.

The secret to Burns’ success
So how did Burns go bogey-free around Memorial Park? Hitting 15 of 18 greens certainly helped.

“That’s the challenging part of this golf course, it takes a lot of discipline around here,” Burns said. “You get out of position, you just try to get it back to where you can get it up and down or get it in a section of the green where you can lag putt it. Fortunately, early we got some good looks and was able to convert.”

Burns birdied three of his first four holes by sticking his approaches, then he avoided trouble everywhere else and took advantage of the par-5s, tacking on two more birdies on the eighth and 16th holes, hitting it tight with a wedge on the former and avoiding water with his second shot on the latter before getting up and down from 40 yards.

Doing so puts Burns in contention for the second time in two months after a T-7 at the Safeway Open, where he started hot but faded on the weekend. But he says he’s learned from that experience.

“I think slowing down a little bit, really talking through the shot with [my caddie] and making sure we have a clear picture of what we’re trying to do,” he said. “I think that was really helpful to learn that.”

The post Jason Day’s health and game on upswing heading into Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tod Leonard
When Dustin Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 at last month’s CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, it meant that he had to self-isolate for at least 10 days. It also meant that he’d end up missing the following week’s Zozo Championship at Sherwood Country Club, too.

So how exactly did Johnson spend his time in quarantine while in Sin City?

“Stuck in a room for 11 days is not fun,” the World No. 1 said Wednesday at the Vivint Houston Open, where he’ll make his first start since tying for sixth at the U.S. Open in September. “I watched a lot of TV, but even then I ran out of stuff to watch. Yeah, it was really boring.

“The most movement I made was to the shower and then I had a little outside area, so I would go sit outside for a little bit. That was it.”

The good news for Johnson is that he said he experienced only mild symptoms and felt like he had a cold for a few days. But being stuck in a hotel room for nearly two weeks also meant no practice, which he said he didn’t resume doing until 10 days ago before arriving at Memorial Park for this week’s tournament.

“The first day I didn’t hit balls for very long because I got kind of tired,” he said. “Then kind of practiced a little bit more each day. My health is good. The state of my game is undetermined.”

While Johnson said he isn’t sure how he got coronavirus—everyone around him, including his fiancee Paulina Gretzky and two kids, River and Tatum, tested negative, he said—there is at least one positive he is happy about.

“The only good thing that came out of this,” Johnson said, “is I know I’m playing next week at the Masters.”

The post Dustin Johnson says there’s one good thing that came out of having COVID-19 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tod Leonard
The PGA Tour announced overnight that Harry Higgs has become the 14th player to test positive for COVID-19, and the 28-year-old from Camden, N.J., withdrew from this week’s Vivint Houston Open.

“While I am disappointed to have to withdraw this week, I am grateful that I drove to Houston by myself and was alone as I awaited my pre-tournament screening results,” said Higgs. “I look forward to returning to competition when it is safe to do so.”

Higgs, who is not an invitee to next week’s Masters, last played in the Zozo Championship two weeks ago in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The SMU product began the current season by finishing second to Stewart Cink in the Safeway Open. He missed the cut in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, tied for 21st in the CJ Cup and tied for 54th in the Zozo.

RELATED: Catriona Matthew and two others test positive for COVID-19 on LET

The most recent player to test positive before Higgs was Adam Scott, who withdrew before the start of the Zozo.

The Houston Open will be the second tour event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic to allow fans in attendance after last week’s Bermuda Championship. The tour has said 2,000 fans will be allowed on-site each day.

The post Harry Higgs withdraws from Houston Open after testing positive for COVID-19 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tod Leonard
The PGA Tour announced on Monday it will allow the most number of fans, by far—2,000—since the COVID-19 outbreak at the Vivant Houston Open in two weeks. That decision got the attention of Phil Mickelson. So much so that he is considering not playing the PGA Tour event as his final tune-up for the Masters, which is set for the following week.

Mickelson said on a Zoom call with reporters on the eve of this week’s Zozo Championship that he believes the tour has done an “incredible” job of managing its coronavirus protocols. But he questioned why it would take the risk of allowing fans in the week before the major championship.

“I think that they will do a very good, safe job in having 2,000 people at the Houston Open,” Mickelson said. “However, for me personally, I don’t like the risk that having that happen the week before the Masters. I just feel like the week before the Masters, like that’s a big tournament we have and I just don’t want to have any risk heading in there. So it has made me question whether or not I’ll play there.”

Mickelson later added, “Because I haven’t seen it before, because it’s the first one out on the tour with some people, I’m unsure and I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. I don’t go out to dinner, I don’t go out and socialize because I want to make sure that I have an opportunity to compete in the Masters.”

It has been Mickelson’s routine to compete in the week before a major, and he does have the option of playing on the PGA Tour Champions, the 50-and-older circuit on which he’s won in his first two starts. The PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Championship at Phoenix Country Club in Arizona is being played the same week as Houston. Mickelson previously said the Phoenix course would be too short for him in preparing for Augusta National, but he’s apparently now open to competing there because of the fan issue.

“If Phoenix does not have people, I’ll probably go there, to be honest,” Mickelson said. “If they’re both going to have galleries, I’ll probably go to the Houston Open.”

After Mickelson spoke, the tour said that spectators at the Charles Schwab would be limited to 350 club members per day. They would be screened with temperature checks, be required to wear masks at all times and there will be no hospitality.

Mickelson said one of his biggest fears is the potential for a false positive COVID-19 test leading into the Masters. In the tour’s second week back from the hiatus, Cameron Champ tested positive before the event. Champ announced five days later that he had tested negative three times and asserted that his positive test was false.

“There were a few false positives earlier on and those are the things that worry me because that’s the scare,” Mickelson said. “Because I know that I’ve been able to stay safe, that my circle of [coach] Andrew Getson and [caddie and brother] Tim and [wife] Amy and everybody has been safe, so we’ve all made those precautions, but the false positive is the thing that scares me.”

Mickelson praised the tour for what it has done in limiting the amount of coronavirus positives since play resumed in mid-June after a hiatus that started in early March. In all, 13 players have tested positive for COVID-19 on the PGA Tour, the latest being world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who was forced to skip last week’s CJ Cup and this week’s Zozo, and Scott, who withdrew from the Zozo on Wednesday.

“I think the PGA Tour’s done an incredible job—I mean, an incredible job—of getting the players to play and compete in a safe environment,” Mickelson said. “We’ve had a few people test positive. It has not spread from those people. They’ve kept everybody at a good social distance, so if somebody does have it, it hasn’t affected and carried through the tour. I think they’ve done a phenomenal job of having us feel safe.”

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Kyle Hogan picked the perfect time to pick up his first NCAA win at the Maridoe Collegiate, claiming also the exemption into next month’s Houston Open that came with first place. But the senior’s big breakthrough seems even more improbable when examing what led to it.

Hogan hadn’t qualified for either of Texas Tech’s first two events of the season. And in this third tournament, he still wasn’t part of the squad’s starting five, but playing as an individual instead.

But after rounds of 74, 68, and 73, Hogan was the only golfer to finish under par at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas. He won after Oklahoma State star Austin Eckroat bogeyed the final hole.

https://twitter.com/TexasTechMGolf/status/1318689085825961994

Hogan is currently No. 323 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and he has never cracked the top 300. And as Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine pointed out, Hogan only beat one player in a field of 264 at the U.S. Amateur just two months ago. But in two weeks (Nov. 5-8), he’ll make his PGA Tour debut at the Vivint Houston Open. Quite a turnaround.

Oklahoma State won the event while Texas Tech only finished eighth out of 12 schools with Hogan’s score not counting toward the team’s score. It’s probably a pretty safe bet that won’t be the case when the Red Raiders play next.

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By Tod Leonard
The PGA Tour has identified another event that will allow a limited number of fans to be in attendance. The tour and event organisers announced on Friday that the Houston Open, to be played Nov. 5-8, will offer 2,000 daily tickets, with the requirement that all fans, volunteers and essential workers wear masks at all times.

It was announced in late September that the Bermuda Championship, scheduled for the week before Houston, will also allow a limited number of general spectators, though it figures to be a much smaller gallery that in Texas. (September’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic allowed small groups of invited guests.) The PGA Tour hasn’t offered general admission into an event since the circuit originally shut downplay in March after the first round of the Players Championship. Houston falls the week before the Masters, which won’t have spectators.

Fans have been allowed to attend several events now on the PGA Tour Champions.

“We are very happy that we will have fans at Memorial Park for this year’s Houston Open. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the City of Houston, Dr. David Persse [Chief Medical Officer for the City of Houston], and the PGA Tour for working with us in developing a thorough Health and Safety Plan that has enabled this to occur,” said. Giles Kibbe, president of the host organization, Astros Golf Foundation. “The health and safety for all on property at Memorial Park and the City of Houston is our highest priority as we welcome members of the community to the newly-renovated venue and to watch the best players in the world compete.”

Among those previously committed to play in Houston is Dustin Johnson, who had to withdraw from this week’s CJ Cup after testing positive for the coronavirus. Others expected to play include Jason Day, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson. The defending champion is Lanto Griffin, who captured his first PGA Tour title at last year’s tournament.

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Griffin credited his good friend Willy Wilcox, among others, for helping him get to this point.

“Just my entire team, but Willy was huge, I learned so much on the mindset that you don’t have to win,” said Griffin, who caddied for Wilcox five years ago while he was still finding his way as a professional. “If you put all the pressure on yourself to win, that can backfire.”

Griffin began the day with a one-shot lead and ended it with a one-shot lead, shooting a three-under 69 at the Golf Club of Houston to edge out Mark Hubbard. His gutsiest moment of the day came at the final hole, where he intentionally played away from the water and drove it into the right rough, then found the green and two-putted from 60 feet to secure the victory.

“I felt eerily calm, I really did. I wasn’t that nervous. Where I hit it [on 18] was pretty much dead center of the fairway for me, I’m pretty good out of the rough and I just knew if I make bogey I have a job next year, and I just wasn’t going to put the water in play. I knew the angle to this pin was fine. I’m just so relieved it’s over.

“I played really solid, proud of the way I hung in there. I just felt calm, I don’t know why, but, it’s pretty surreal.”

What’s really surreal is Griffin’s start to the 2019-’20 season. He’s started in five events, finishing T-18 or better in all of them. With the win, he’ll take home $1,350,000, giving him well over $1.8 million in earnings already this season.

Tying for second with Hubbard was Scott Harrington, whose feel-good story came to light this past summer as he contended at the Korn Ferry Tour’s regular-season finale.

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