Obviously, Spieth is one of the most popular players in the game—not just with fans but his fellow players. So Hurley has a tough fight ahead with the 24-year-old “Golden Child” in Tuesday’s election. Conversely, Hurley might’ve swayed some votes with this hilarious video he shared on social media on Monday.

For those of you who don’t know, I am running against @JordanSpieth for Chairman of the @PGATOUR Player Advisory Council. One final push for the voting that ends tomorrow pic.twitter.com/dO2uLiTg3B

— Billy Hurley III (@BillyHurley3) February 12, 2018

Fabulous work by Hurley, the winner of the 2016 Quicken Loans Invitational, who served five years in the U.S. Navy after graduating from the Naval Academy. You know even Spieth cracked up after watching this.

The rest of the 2018 PGA Tour Player Advisory Council, which was named in January, includes Justin Thomas, Steve Stricker, Paul Casey, Roberto Castro, Ben Crane, Andres Gonzales, James Hahn, J.J. Henry, Matt Kuchar, Geoff Ogilvy, Rod Pampling, Harold Varner III, Johnson Wagner and Tim Wilkinson.

The post Billy Hurley III calls Jordan Spieth ‘disgusting’ and a ‘thief’ in satirical attack ad that is absolute gold 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.”

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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.

By Brian Wacker
With two missed cuts and a WD in a three-year span at the Wyndham Championship, there’s little wonder that Henrik Stenson for years chose to skip the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale. Not to mention it comes amid a busy stretch of golf and precedes the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

The 41-year-old Swede decided to return to Sedgefield Country Club this year, though. First and foremost, adding the trip to Greensboro, N.C., would help him hit his minimum number of tournaments required on the tour.

He ended up getting a lot more out of it than that.

Stenson bookended a couple of 66s with an opening 62 and a closing 64 to win by one stroke over Ollie Schniederjans. It was Stenson’s first victory since the 2016 British Open and first in the U.S. since 2013.

“It’s funny how it goes,” Stenson said. “Sometimes it’s just a coincidence why you decide to go to a tournament and make a change in your schedule.”

The victory reminded him of one he had late in 2012, winning in South Africa. It was his first in three years and kickstarted Stenson on a run of terrific golf that included three wins, four runner-up finishes and three third-place finishes in 2013.

Playing in the Wyndham this year means that Stenson will make five starts in a six-week span, culminating in the Tour Championship and a chance at a second FedEx Cup title to go with the one he won in 2013.

Martin Flores, meanwhile, is just thankful to have another week to play. All it took was a hole-in-one.

After starting the week 139th in the FedEx Cup standings and in need of a good performance to move inside the top 125 to advance to the postseason, the 35-year-old aced the 175-yard 16th with an 8-iron, then birdied the last at Sedgefield.

RELATED: Watch pro make an ace to possibly secure a PGA Tour card

“I knew exactly what I needed to do, especially when I was at the 15th fairway, the par 5,” said Flores, who tied for seventh in the tournament to move to 118th in the FedEx Cup standings. “I knew I needed two more [strokes] and I was fortunate to get three. I’m extremely happy.”

Rory Sabbatini, Harold Varner III and J.J. Henry also played their way into the postseason with Sabbatini moving from No. 148 to 122 by virtue of his tie for fourth after a closing 64. Varner, meanwhile, tied for 10th to climb from 138 to 123, and Henry 16th-place showing, thanks to birdies on two of his last three holes, allowed him to become the last guy in, jumping from 134th at the start of the week.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve won three times and played on a Ryder Cup and this was probably some of the most pressure I’ve felt, playing today,” said Henry, a 17-year PGA Tour veteran, after shooting a closing 67.

Then there were those who were less fortunate: Zac Blair, David Hearn, Seamus Power and Daniel Summerhays all fell out of the top 125 in Greensboro, and saw their seasons come to an end.

It was a difficult outcome for each.

The tournament-within-the-tournament vibe was perhaps best described by Geoff Ogilvy.

“There is a level of tension and stress in your body that’s just on a different level,” said the Aussie, who came into the week 125th in the FedEx Cup but secured his spot thanks to rounds of 66-66-67 the last three days to tie for 16th in the tournament. “I haven’t felt that since Q-School.”

The post FedEx Cup bubble boys sweat through Sunday at the Wyndham Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Welcome to the Dew Sweeper, your one-stop shop to catch up on the weekend action from the golf world. From the professional tours, trending news, social media headlines and upcoming events, here’s every golf-related thing you need to know for the morning of August 21.

Americans lap Europeans at Solheim Cup

This year’s Solheim Cup lacked the drama and theatrics of its predecessor, but — thanks to the exploits put forth by the Americans — the event did not fall short in entertainment. After an utterly dominating two-day display in Des Moines, Juli Inkster’s squad took care of business on Sunday, earning six of 12 available points to win and retain the cup by a 16½-11½ margin.

Entering the day with a five-point lead, the Yankee tone was set early by Lexi Thompson, who recovered from a 4-down deficit to halve her match. Followed up by Ws from Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr, the Europeans’ comeback bid was effectively kaput.

Afterwards, all the players credited Inkster for bringing out their best.

“It was my job to bring fun back to the Solheim Cup. And whether we win or lose, you know what? It doesn’t matter,” she said. “It’s the memories you create. It’s the bonding you create. It’s the atmosphere you create.”

Judging by the record crowds, team camaraderie and the butt-whoopin’ on the score board, safe to say Inkster’s mission was a success.

Ain’t love grand?

With just two weeks left in the Web.com Tour regular season, Martin Piller sat in 26th in the circuit’s earnings, right on the precipice of securing his tour card for 2018. But instead of competing at the News Sentinel Open, Piller was at the Solheim Cup last week, and with good reason: he was cheering on his wife, Gerina.

My handsome date @solheimcupusa ??

A post shared by Gerina Piller (@gerinampiller) on Aug 16, 2017 at 9:31pm PDT

Making her third appearance for Team U.S.A., Gerina scored two points for her country in the resounding victory.

As for Martin, he has one tournament left to grab a promotion to the big leagues, although will need a top-10 finish and a little help. And, on the bright side, he now has a comeback for life if Gerina every gives him hell for playing too much golf.

Chris Keane

Just what the Doctor ordered

Los Angeles is known for manufacturing its share of sensational endings. On the stage of Riviera, Doc Redman delivered a performance worthy of a standing ovation.

The Clemson sophomore, down 2 to Texas senior Doug Ghim with two holes to play, drained a 60-foot eagle putt at the par-5 17th (35th hole of the match) and backed it up with a birdie on the 18th, winning both holes and sending the match to overtime. In sudden death, Ghim struggled in the greenside bunkers on the 10th, conceding Redman’s birdie putt for the win.

“It was a lot of fun to be a part of it,” Ghim said. “As disappointed as I am not to win, I still had a lot of fun. I’m definitely gong to look back at this as one of the best accomplishments that I’ve had and move on.”

It wasn’t a total lost cause for Ghim; he still earned an invite to the 2018 Masters, and was named afterwards to the American Walker Cup squad.

Nevertheless, it was Redman who walked away victorious from what Walker Cup captain Spider Miller called, “the greatest match that I’ve witnessed in my four years of following intently the amateur game.”

“It was about never giving up and believing in myself,” Redman said afterwards. “You never know what can happen.”

An ending, and summation, straight out of a Hollywood script.

Jared C. Tilton

Stenson, sans driver, wins Wyndham

The Wyndham Championship had not been kind to Henrik Stenson: in three previous visits, the Iceman had two missed cuts and a WD. However, the 41-year-old needed another event on his schedule to fulfill the tour minimum requirement, which is how Stenson found himself at Sedgefield. The Swede made the most of his visit, leaving Greensboro with the one-shot victory over Ollie Schniederjans for the tournament title.

“Sometimes it’s just a coincidence why you decide to go to a tournament and make a change in your schedule,” Stenson said after his round, “and this time it certainly worked out for a lot of good.”

Stenson accumulated his 22-under score thanks to a curious strategy: keeping the driver in the bag. He didn’t make a single swing with the big stick, choosing the precision of his 3-wood over distance. The game plan worked: Stenson was eighth in the week in driving accuracy, setting up clean approaches (third in GIR) and plenty of birdie opportunities.

Proving chicks may dig the long ball, but money is made in the iron game.

Pro earns card via hole-in-one

Bubble boy J.J. Henry birdied his final hole to just make the cut into the postseason and, more importantly, secure his tour status for another season. Martin Flores also gained entrance to the Northern Trust, albeit in slightly more spectacular fashion.

Outside the Wyndham top 20 at the start of Sunday, Flores needed a miracle to capture enough points to move from 139th into the top 125. He got it at the par-3 16th, thanks to this beauty:

What a time to make an ACE!

This hole-in-one may get Flores into the #FedExCup Playoffs!#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/2qpM0oUNW5

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2017

The ace, along with a birdie at the 18th, moved Flores inside the cut for the PGA Tour postseason. Now THAT is how you finish strong, sports fans.

The post Dew Sweeper: U.S. Amateur drama, America’s big Solheim Cup win and a hole-in-one for the ages appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.