WE’RE BUYING

Rory McIlroy: The world’s best player put on the best performance overall when it came to showing off his golf game and personality. McIlroy was by far the chattiest player in the star-studded foursome, and while the FedEx Cup trash talk may have induced some cringes, at least he was trying. Oh yeah, McIlroy also delivered in dramatic fashion with the winning closest-to-the-pin effort on the final swing of the day:

When $1.1M is on the line, the World No. 1 delivers.#DrivingRelief pic.twitter.com/4KGNQAtG8r

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 17, 2020

Also, perhaps learning from the mistake of fellow four-time major champ Brooks Koepka, McIlroy had the good sense to not allow his significant other to give him a quarantine hair cut.

Lockdown Rory…. pic.twitter.com/NtYl9bmGzh

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) May 13, 2020

Smart man. Although, if he lived in New York, that might be a different story. I’m starting to get desperate.

Rickie Fowler: It’s too bad this guy didn’t play during the Skins Game Era. He could have challenged Freddie Couples as the King of the Silly Season. Taking advantage of the light atmosphere—and some local knowledge as a three-time Seminole Pro-Member winner—Rickie ripped off seven birdies to nearly pull off the upset with partner Matthew Wolff. Fowler’s back was probably pretty sore when he woke up on Monday morning. And not just from carrying his own bag, if you know what I mean.

Seminole Golf Club: If I’m being totally honest, the historic track making its TV debut didn’t come across amazing on TV. But all the architecture geeks were geeking out and they know a lot more about this stuff than I do so I’ll defer to them.

Matthew Wolff’s pop: The 21-year-old was admittedly nervous, but he managed to launch his two best drives when it mattered most, easily winning both long-drive challenges with blasts of 356 and 368 yards.

∙ 368-yard drive
∙ $350K for charity

All in a day's work for Matthew Wolff.#DrivingReliefpic.twitter.com/iPsO1afBF1

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 17, 2020

Wolff made a lot of money for the CDC Foundation with those two drives. He also made a lot of new fans.

WE’RE SELLING

Matthew Wolff’s Fu Manchu: The kid gets his big break on the big stage and he does this?

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

In the words of Curtis Strange, “You’ll learn.”

A closed U.S. Open: The USGA announced there will be no open qualifying for our national championship, which is the reason why it’s called the U.S. Open in the first place. While I understand the decision given the current situation, that doesn’t make this any less disappointing. Local and sectional qualifying provide some of the tournament’s best stories each year. And not to mention, they have produced some winners through the years, including Lucas Glover (2009), Michael Campbell (2005) and Ken Venturi (1964). On the bright side, if you’re a scratch golfer, you can tell everyone this would have been the year you were finally going to qualify.

Greg Norman’s ranch: As in, The Shark is selling his expansive and expensive ($40 million!) Colorado property that is so big a river literally runs through it. Here’s a photo of the 14,000 square foot lodge on the 12,000-acre property from the listing:

And here’s another photo from the listing of Greg and his wife horseback riding through the snow:

Looks nice, Greg, but I’m just not sure if it’s enough space for me.

ON TAP

Another week, another live televised event for charity! This time it’s THE MATCH Part II, AKA The Match: Champions for Charity. And it will feature Tiger Woods partnering with Peyton Manning to take on Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. What a foursome. Oh, and Charles Barkley will be part of the announcing crew. This should be fun.

Random tournament fact: Phil topped Tiger for $9 million in their first made-for-TV matchup in 2018. While even more money is up for grabs this time, it’s all going to COVID-19 relief efforts so the guys are going to play nice. “It’s his home course, but Tom and I are going to go down there and put it to them,” Mickelson told Golfweek. “And we’ll make it that every time Tiger shows up at his home course, he’ll have a bad memory.” Never mind. The gloves are off!

PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Phil won’t mention beating Tiger the last time: 9 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Phil will show off his throwing arm during the event: Even odds
—Phil will wear shorts to show off those calves: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Mike Ehrmann

Shorts? Stand bags? What a sight. Pros are just like us! At least, until they put those bags down and start hitting shots.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Brooks Koepka has a dartboard with Brandel Chamblee’s photo on it:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CASS5UOlXEW/

Amazing.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ABS

Beefcake Bryson caused quite the stir with the following photo:

While the full results of his weight-gaining experiment—now up to 230 from 195!—remain to be seen on the course, you gotta admit the guy looks good. OK, well, I’m admitting it. If the PGA Tour does a shirtless calendar to raise money for charity, you should make the cut.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS MICHAEL JORDAN GOLF STORIES

Thanks to colleague Chris Powers for clipping these from the final two episodes of “The Last Dance.” Although they are criminally under-liked, he’ll probably have the Internet police all over him now. Anyway, MJ took a dig at Larry Bird’s golf game after eliminating his team in Game 7 of the 1998 NBA Eastern Conference Finals:

pic.twitter.com/EdoGsKaanP

— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) May 18, 2020

And then after winning the 1998 NBA Finals, his Airness still had golf on his mind:

Post 91, 7:15 pm, emergency 9 vibes pic.twitter.com/P9ZhkzWMuZ

— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) May 18, 2020

What a legend.

THIS WEEK IN GOLFERS GOLF MEDIA BEING QUARANTINED

One of my bosses, Ryan Herrington, built this version of the Big House:

Yes, he went to Michigan. And another one of my bosses, Sam Weinman, adopted a small dog:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAQ3rqDlrbd/?utm_source=ig_embed

At first, it seems like Sam has the clear advantage. But Ryan is going to have a lot easier cleanup, so tough call.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Hey, DJ, is this a waste bunker?” —Matthew Wolff provided the dagger of the year on Sunday. It was especially impressive considering Wolff was only 11 when that happened to DJ at Whistling Straits during the 2010 PGA.

THIS AND THAT

Sportsbooks said the action on the TaylorMade Driving Relief was similar to a major. It’s good to see our country is still filled with degenerates, including a few from the office who shall remain nameless. … Unfortuantely, the NBC broadcast didn’t quite reach major-level ratings, but the 2.35 million total audience delivery is nothing to sneeze at. And it gives Tiger/Phil something to shoot for in addition to raising money for charity. … Mike Weir, who recently turned 50, was this week’s guest on the Golf Digest Podcast. The 2003 Masters champ sounds ready to take down the geezers on the senior circuit:

Congrats to Hyun Kyung Park for winning the Korean LPGA Championship:

Chung Sung-Jun

And before you get upset over her hugging her caddie, that’s her dad. … And finally, congrats to Golf Digest supervising producer and Grind video teammate Michael Sneeden on making his first eagle:

I’m so happy for you, Mike—especially since it wasn’t a hole-in-one. Then things would have gotten awkward.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

How many thumbs up will Phil flash on Sunday?
How many people think golf events end with a tape measure now?
What does Bill Murray’s Costco shopping list look like?

The post Rory McIlroy’s walk-off wedge, Bryson DeChambeau’s bold photo, and Brooks Koepka puts his nemesis on a dartboard appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
There was an appreciated sense of normalcy in the voice of Hyun Kyung Park, even in these less than normal times. With three straight birdies early on the back nine, the 22-year-old South Korean erased a three-stroke deficit before closing out a one-stroke victory on Sunday at the Korean LPGA Championship.

“I was so disappointed not to have been part of that winner’s group last year,” said Park after her closing 67 left her with a 17-under-par 271 total at Lakewood Country Club in Yangju. “I am so happy that I got the first win out of the way in the first tournament of the year.”

At any other time, the story in its entirety would have been about the up-and-comer, No. 92 in the Rolex Women’s Ranking, finally breaking through. But with the backdrop of the KLPGA Championship being the first significant women’s professional tournament conducted since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with no fans in attendance, Park’s maiden victory on the KLPGA circuit, in her second season on tour, will always be remembered for more than that.

That’s guaranteed by the victory celebration on the 18th hole, where Park’s father, who also worked as her caddie for the week, hugged his daughter while wearing a protective mask that all caddies wore throughout the tournament.

Players were required to wear masks before and after rounds (during the round was optional), dined at separate tables in the clubhouse and replaced post-round hugs and handshakes with elbow bumps during the four-round event. Various health protocols were in place, including thermal screenings and UV sanitizing stations. Players were not administered tests unless symptoms required doing so.

As Park and her father walked off the 18th green, other players, keeping their distance, threw flower petals to honour the new champions.

Three of the top-10 golfers on the Rolex Women’s Ranking competed in the event. Sung Hyun Park, the highest-ranked among them (No. 3), missed the cut in her first tournament start since withdrawing from the last round of the LPGA’s CEM Globe Tour Championship last November.

“I played in this tournament to see where my game was, in terms of my swing and short game,” Park told the Yonhap News Agency. “I was able to test myself in a competitive setting. I identified my issues and I know in which direction I should move going forward.”

No. 6 Sei Young Kim, finished T-46, 15 strokes back, while reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 finished T-15, eight shots behind the winner.

Chung Sung-Jun

The next scheduled KLPGA event is not for two weeks, although there’s potential for that to change. On Friday, the Korea Golf Association announced the cancellation of the men’s Korea Open, set to be held in June, out of concerns with the coronavirus. Past winners of the event include Vijay Singh, Y.E. Yang and Rickie Fowler. It will be the first time in the event’s 62-year history that it won’t be played.

With South Korea farther along in the fight against the coronavirus, the LPGA Tour is still two months away from resuming its schedule. Last week, tour officials announced that the restart date had been pushed back one week, to July 23 at the Marathon LPGA Classic in Ohio.

The post Up-and-comer wins KLPGA Championship, as women’s pro golf takes first step in return to play appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.