The 35-year-old leads the way on 14-under, ahead of the giants of golf in Thailand, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Jazz Janewattananond.

Kemmer is an emerging story. At last year’s season-ending Indonesian Masters in December he agonisingly missed keeping his Asian Tour card by one place on the Order of Merit (OOM), but immediately bounced back with two top-four finishes on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), which helped to finish in the top 10 the ADT OOM, which also provides passage on to the Asian Tour.

He said: “[After the Indonesian Masters] I had to turn around the next week and go and play ADT and I did really well those two weeks. I came back nicely, and I was proud of myself, to earn my card from the ADT season.”

The American caught the birdie train again on Friday, making eight and dropping just two shots. He was 15-under with two to play but his final bogey of the day came on his penultimate hole.

“I have been hitting it nicely, struggled on the greens last week, but if I can get a few more of those to fall I will be right in there,” said Kemmer, whose best finish on the Asian Tour is third at the Bangladesh Open in 2017. “It would be great [to win this week], it was tough last year.

“The greens were super fast in the practice rounds, they have slowed down a little bit but they are still really good. You have to think your way into the greens, and around the greens. There are no easy two putts, especially above the hole, so it takes a lot of strategy and I enjoy going through that.”

Kiradech, the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion 10 years ago and a three-time winner on Tour, got off to a surprisingly slow start, going round his first nine in even, par but ripped through the second half in five-under.

“I am very happy with my first two rounds, especially the way I started today quite slow,” the Thai star said.

“My putter was a little cold, couldn’t sink any birdie on the front nine. One single birdie, one three putt. I woke up on the back, birdied five of first six holes, they helped me get back into it.

“I don’t think I am far off from my ‘A’ game, but to be honest I know I shot good scores over first two rounds, but it’s not my ‘A’ game out there, I left a couple of strokes out there. I think I know what I have in my pocket, I am playing quite smart, in middle of the green sometimes, which is not normally my game. But I am concentrating on everything and focusing.

Jazz, the Tour’s No. 1 in 2019, is enjoying performing well on what is his home course and where he says he rarely excels in tournaments.

“I’m pretty happy,” he admitted. “I mean, before the tournament I didn’t have much of an expectation, because it’s my home course and I’ve never really performed well, but just changed a lot of my mentality this year. Just take it easy, do whatever, if it comes it comes.”

Last year’s International Series Morocco winner added: “I feel like every year so far when I play my home course, I take it so seriously. I’m not even like stressed out about the tournament this time, but more like practising, grinding it out and stuff.

“Just because when I’m at home I feel like I have to practice, and if I don’t practice, I feel like I’m missing out. So, this year, I just take it very easy, didn’t even do much practice and just come out here and chill. And the score kind of perform a lot better than the past year, so maybe going forward I’ll do this.”

?ACE ALERT?@johnlyras96 sinks the first hole-in-one of the season on the 11th hole at the @bmgolfclub!?#ISthailand #InternationalSeries #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/5KU7RFUFzC

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 10, 2023

India’s Honey Baisoya came in with a 62, helped by a front nine of eight-under-par 28, but as preferred lies are being played it could be counted among the official records. Meanwhile, Australia’s John Lyras managed a hole-in-one on the 190-yard 11th hole with a 7 iron.

The post Dodge dives into halfway lead at International Series Thailand appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Sungjae Im and Brandon Wu (both through 11 holes when play was suspended for the day) share the lead at 12-under, and while Im is on the verge of completing another of his standard exceptional seasons — this time with less of an insane schedule, featuring “only” 22 events played — Wu has shot up 54 spots in the projected Fed ExCup standings, from 78th all the way to 24th. Considering that the top 30 make the lucrative Tour Championship, his performance at the Wyndham could be a game-changer. The key word in all that standings talk, though, is “projected.” It’s not official until the tournament is over, and if Wu can’t hold it together in his last 25 holes on Sunday, he could watch all that potential evaporate into thick air.

With a few more moments like the one he experienced on 11, though, just before the weather horn blew, he’ll be cruising into Atlanta:

Perfection from @BWu97 ?

Just before the horn blew to suspend play, Brandon Wu ties the lead with a hole-out eagle ? pic.twitter.com/L8TJy1yjkH

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 6, 2022

And comparatively, you could even say Wu has it easy — he’s at least clinched his spot inside the top 125, which means he’ll make the trip to Memphis for the first leg of the playoffs next week. Brian Stuard started the Wyndham in 137th place but has surged up to 120th by virtue of a 65-68 start that sees him at 10-under with 11 holes completed in his third round. If things ended now, he’d retain his full tour status and make the playoffs with a chance to do some damage.

Kiradech’s Hail Mary

You absolutely do have to love Kiradech Aphibarnrat, the big man who comes and goes out of the American golf consciousness, but who looms large when he’s relevant. It’s been tough going for him outside of Thailand in recent years, and we haven’t even seen him at a major since 2019. But with a shocking 63 on Saturday, he’s suddenly very much in the mix at the Wyndham, trailing the leaders by two.

To put in context how unlikely this is, Aphibarnrat is currently ranked 359th in the world, and in 18 tournaments this year between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, he’s missed 10 cuts and peaked with a T-28 at the Puerto Rico Open. Saturday’s 63 was his best-ever round on the PGA Tour, and he’s been laid up with everything from COVID to a knee injury in the last two years. He regained his tour card last September at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, but the struggles have continued. Now, it appears as though he’ll need a solo second place finish at the Wyndham to keep his card and make the playoffs. It always looked unlikely, but after his scintillating Saturday, a Greensboro Hail Mary is officially in play.

Runnin’ Max McGreevy captures our hearts and minds

There are rare situations, I guess, in which running to mark your ball could save it from camping out for a bit before betraying you wholly and rolling down a slope. There are not, however, many such scenarios that can be envisioned in which the ball would stay put for an entire jog from tee to green on a 224-yard par 3.

None of that stopped Max McGreevy from taking a 55-second run on the 12th to make sure his ball wouldn’t go rogue at the minute mark.

This earned rave reviews from Jim Nantz and especially Nick Faldo, and it wasn’t long before the comparisons to Sam Snead started flying. Check it out:

Faldo and Nantz can't get enough of Runnin' Max McGreevy pic.twitter.com/AyEn77RH9b

— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) August 6, 2022

McGreevy started out the week as the first man out in 126th place in the FedEx Cup standings. He’s 113th now and has a great chance to make the playoffs. If he pulls it off by a stroke, I think we can collectively agree to revise history and pretend it’s all because of his heroic run.

Ryder Cup captains cannot be stopped

We’ll start in Europe with Luke Donald, who pulled off this gem to prove that he’s more than just “management”:

Short game magic from @LukeDonald ? pic.twitter.com/qQN9fl6G10

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 6, 2022

And then there’s Zach Johnson, who we all now can still stroke it, and who was within whispering distance of the lead after this putt:

Moving Day fist pumps ? @ZachJohnsonPGA is one back of the lead @WyndhamChamp. pic.twitter.com/ekzfvrTz0f

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 6, 2022

Both caps are at six-under, six shots off the lead, and would have to get really hot to have a prayer of winning. If nothing else, though, this proves that while they’ll be neck deep in tactics for the next year, they can still hack it on the course.

Smalley’s gesture

An understated, sad, and heartwarming story from Helen Ross at PGATour.com feels like a good way to close things out. Alex Smalley, who is very much in the mix at eight-under, joined Sedgefield Country Club (the Wyndham venue) in 2020 and played with a man named Jeff Womack several times over the course of the last two years. About two weeks ago, he heard sirens while practising on the putting green, and the news was awful — Womack, 50, had collapsed and died on the course. He was a lumber salesman and a father of two, and this week, Smalley decided to wear the initials JW to honor a fellow member, a man he knew and liked, and who meant a lot to the club.

“I had a couple good breaks yesterday and I kind of thought, just kind of said, thanks Womack,” Smalley told Ross in reference to his first round. “I feel like whenever you can play for something more than yourself you kind of forget about golf.”

It’s possible to overstate the import of these things — initials on a hat can only do so much to mitigate a much larger strategy — but there’s something moving about the fact that Smalley took it on himself to acknowledge the life and presence of someone the golf world might otherwise never know. You can’t go wrong pulling for Smalley on Sunday.

The post PGA Tour: As storms hit Wyndham, FedEx Cup playoff hopes hang in the balance amid a crowded leaderboard appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The top man in a (weak) field wasted no time establishing himself as the guy to beat by shooting an opening 64 to grab a share of the Day 1 lead at seven-under par. Although there’s a lot of golf left, Rahm is in the driving seat already.

Rahm averaged 324.6 yards off the tee on Thursday while missing just one fairway at Vidanta Vallarta, a course hosting the PGA Tour for the first time. He hit 15 greens while gaining nearly 1.5 strokes putting. In other words, the World No. 2 had everything working during his bogey-free round, but he was particularly happy with his driver.

“Yeah, really comfortable off the tee,” Rahm told reporters. “It’s not like it’s ever bad, but today felt especially comfortable. It’s not the most demanding golf course off the tee, right, besides 10 and maybe 1. You’re not really in real danger of being in bad position, but even though it’s generous, when I’m hitting shots the way with the trajectory and the ball flight that I wanted, it just gives me more confidence for every other shot. I was really comfortable out there, so it reflected on the score.”

One of those tee shots found the green on the drivable par-4 seventh, and Rahm converted the 40-footer for his lone eagle of the day. However, he was most proud of a short-game shot early in his round.

“You know, I’m going to say the chip shot on 13, chipped that one in,” said Rahm, who started on the back nine. “I hadn’t hit my best iron shots early on, right? Misjudged it on 10, double crossed it on 11, double crossed it on 13 and got the first two up-and-downs and then chipped that one in from an uncomfortable lie and tough one, right? That was a huge bonus. I think a lot of people obviously would look at the eagle on 7, but that one early on was a huge booster.”

Incredibly, Rahm hasn’t won anywhere since capturing his first major last June at the US Open. But he’s certainly in position to end that drought this week.

Here are other takeaways from Day 1 at Vidanta Vallarta.

A PGA Tour Latinoamerica player proves he can hang

Rahm wasn’t the only player going low on Thursday, particularly during the morning wave when the wind wasn’t blowing as hard. In fact, there’s a six-way tie at the top that includes Bryson Nimmer. Yep, Bryson Nimmer.

Bryson Nimmer. Hector Vivas

You’re forgiven if you haven’t heard of this 25-year-old pro who joined the PGA Tour Latinoamerica this year and played his college golf at Clemson. Making just his ninth career PGA Tour start, Nimmer was four-under at the turn before a pair of bogeys to start his back nine. But after a couple pars, he caught fire down the stretch by shooting five-under over his final five holes to grab a share of the lead.

Nimmer got into this event by Monday qualifying, but it’s not the first time this year that his name has surfaced on a PGA Tour leaderboard. Just last month he finished T-11 in the Corales Puntacana Championship. Still, he knows how much an even bigger week could do for his career.

“It’s really hard. You just don’t know where you’re going to play, I think that’s the hardest part,” he said. “The Mondays, you know, it’s an opportunity, it’s just a chance to get out here. I’ve been trying to take advantage of it. This is the second one of the year that I’ve gotten through, so it’s really nice that we have those chances and those opportunities and it would be really nice to get some status though.”

Three more 64s and that won’t be a problem.

A rare (Jonathan) Byrd sighting

Another Clemson product — albeit a much older Clemson product than Nimmer — turning heads on Thursday was Jonathan Byrd. The 44-year-old is also part of that logjam at the top with Nimmer and Rahm (along with Brendon Todd, Trey Mullinax and Kurt Kitayama).

Jonathan Byrd. Orlando Ramirez

Byrd has just three PGA Tour top-10s in the past eight years and it’s been more than 11 years since his third and most recent win.

“I’m still trying to prove I’m 44 and I can compete with these guys,” Byrd said. “It’s getting harder. I played with Taylor Moore and Alex Smalley today, two new studs on the PGA Tour, and they hit it far and they hit a lot of quality shots. But I still have something to prove, I still feel like I can compete. Every week is an opportunity for me to have fun with it and see what I can do.”

After having to go back to Q school last year, Byrd was worried about the number of opportunities he would have this season. But his solid play, including a T-9 at Pebble Beach in February, has helped.

“I started the year thinking I might get in 15, looks like I might get in more like 20,” he said. “I’m just happy to have starts. And my game’s good, so trying to stay aggressive and see what I can make of it.”

An even rarer pair of aces

And, finally, congratulations to Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Scott Gutschewski for both making a hole-in-one on the par-3 fifth hole. And congrats to me as well for spelling both of their names properly. At least, I think I did.

Anyway, it’s just the fourth time in PGA Tour history that there have been multiple holes-in-one on the same hole during the same round of a tournament. The last such occasion? The final round of the 2016 Masters when Shane Lowry, Davis Love III and Louis Oosthuizen all aced the 16th hole. But that was a shorter hole with a much easier pin position, while Kiradech and Scott did it on the 188-yard par 3 at Vidanta Vallarta. Here’s Kiradech’s, which came in the first group of the day to reach the hole:

The first group to play the 5th hole today …@Kiradech drains it for the ACE! pic.twitter.com/gMBqRNGnNF

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 28, 2022

And here’s Scott’s:

The second ace of the day on the 5th hole!@S_Gutschewski one-hops it in for his second career hole-in-one on TOUR. pic.twitter.com/62TEOqraZY

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 28, 2022

And, yes, I’m purposely avoiding typing their last names one last time.

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The post Mexico Open takeaways: Rahm an even bigger favourite, a PGA Tour Latinoamerica pro proves he can hang, a rare pair of aces appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
VIRGINIA WATER, England — It was wild. It was wonderful. And it was ultimately ironic. As the endless intricacies of the European Ryder Cup qualification played out in the background, the BMW PGA Championship was claimed by an American, Billy Horschel. He won it well, too. The wedge Horschel hit to Wentworth’s par-5 18th green finished so close he didn’t need to take a proper stance before tapping-in. It was the Floridian’s 24th birdie of the week, closing out a seven-under 65 and took him to 19-under 269, just good enough to beat a trio of runners-up, Laurie Canter, Jamie Donaldson and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Horschel is the first American to win the European Tour’s most prestigious title since Arnold Palmer in 1975. His winning smile was matched only by those on the faces of Bernd Wiesberger and Lee Westwood. The Austrian and the Englishman clinched the last two automatic qualifying spots on the Old World side that will defend the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in two weeks.

But that is for the future. This was a day belonging to Horschel, whose distant devotion to London soccer team West Ham United guaranteed him plenty of encouragement from the sizeable galleries roaming the Burma Road course.

“The crowds are absolutely unbelievable here, and they supported me when I came over in 2019 and they supported me this year,” he said. “This is a huge event. In my mind, it’s equivalent to the Players Championship. I would love to win that one. But I have this one under my belt. I’m very happy.”

Still, that Horschel should play so well over the iconic West course at Wentworth—and move up to second place on the European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai standings—is no real surprise. Two years ago, Horschel made the trip across the Atlantic to the European Tour’s flagship event and was rewarded with a T-4 finish. Two rounds of 65 were the highlights of a 15-under-par 273 that left him alongside compatriot Patrick Reed, five shots behind the winner, former Masters champion Danny Willett.

The approach shot that sealed Horschel’s win ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/1TwjbBIiRz

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 12, 2021

There was one discordant note. On the back of a mediocre run of form after winning the WGC-Dell Match Play title earlier in March, Horschel wasn’t expecting a call from U.S. Ryder Cup skipper Steve Stricker to tell him he had made the team. But he didn’t get a call to tell him he wasn’t in either. Which was disappointing.

“It sucks not making the team,” Horschel said. “I didn’t play consistent enough and well enough after I won the Match Play to warrant a pick or to get enough points to be an automatic selection. But I was a little gutted I didn’t get a call this week. I didn’t think the call was going to say I made the team, but I was a little gutted that I didn’t get a call to say, ‘You didn’t make the team.’ I thought I would at least get that. There was a little more added motivation this week after that.”

As for the men in second place, all three will leave much encouraged by their performances. Aphibarnrat, once a mainstay in the world’s top-50, arrived in England on the back of a horrendous run of form. In 12 PGA Tour starts this year, the 32-year-old missed the cut in nine and had a high finish of T-37. His play in Europe wasn’t much better. In five events before this week his best effort was T-39. So a week bookended by eight-under-par 64s was a glimpse of how things used to be.

Donaldson was just as upbeat. The 45-year-old Welshman, who clinched the winning point for Europe in the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, has endured some tough times since the clear highlight of his career. But recent signs have been promising—he was third in last month’s Cazoo Classic, a trend he more than continued with his best finish since the 2020 South African Open.

“Am I disappointed?” Donaldson asked. “No. I played really well for four days. There’s not many shots, really, that I would want to play again. I’ve had a great week. I really fancied my chances today. I really felt great going out. But I’ve shot six-under. I can’t do much more, so quite happy.”

As for Canter, this was confirmation that a first victory on the European Tour can only be a matter of time. Many are the 31-year-old’s admirers.

“There is no questioning his talent,” says fellow pro Richard Bland. “He is just a really good player.”

“Laurie is awfully good,” agrees Eddie Pepperell. “For years he has looked like a quality player. It has taken him a bit longer to break through because he lacked a little bit of belief. He doubted he is as good as other people think he is. He just needed to get some evidence of that, which he has now.”

Still, for all those encouraging words, there was obvious disappointment in Canter after coming up one-shot short. The chip he thinned through the putting surface at the 71st hole will clearly live with him for a while.

“It was a good day,” he said. “I’ve been working so hard on my chipping. But it let me down. I was trying to play the right shot, hopefully stiff it and win the tournament. But I executed poorly. At the moment, I am disappointed. Probably more disappointed than I imagined after coming second. I would love to have the opportunity to win a huge event.”

A common refrain. But this victory belonged to another: Billy Horschel.

The post Billy Horschel pulls off a stunning win at the BMW PGA, makes history in the process appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Of the 25 men who claimed PGA Tour cards via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals last week, five are in the field at Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship. And two of those – Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Christiaan Bezuidenhout – are leading. At either ends of a long day on the Burma Road course, both shot eight-under-par 64s to sit one stroke ahead of former Masters champion Adam Scott.

Coincidence? Bezuidenhout doesn’t think so.

“It was a big boost for me to get my PGA Tour card last week,” said the 27-year old South African, whose round included seven birdies, an eagle, and only one dropped shot. “So I’m sure Kiradech is feeling the same way. My game was solid today, as it has been for a while now. Every now and then my putter has gone cold. And I’ve had days when I’ve not been finding the right places on the greens. It’s been a while since I played badly though. Things have been going very well for me. Which is great. We all know that golf is a series of ups and downs. But right now I’m doing the right things most of the time.”

That was certainly true at the 552-yard par-5 fourth. Just over the green in two, Bezuidenhout pitched in on the fly to complete a spectacular eagle, what was the highlight of an outward half of 30.

“I was playing solid the whole day,” he said. “I was driving it well the whole day. That gave me lots of chances. And the putter was going well. I just spoke to my coach last week. He said everything is there. Everything with my game feels better than a year ago.”

“You. Are. Kidding.”

Bezuidenhout with a slam dunk chip-in ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/RINeZeJKpD

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 9, 2021

Just as chuffed with his performance was Aphibarnrat. Nearing the end of a year that has contained a lot more missed cuts than top tens, the 32-year old Thai showed glimpses of the form that took him as high as 36th in the world rankings at the end of 2018 (he is now 516th). More than glimpses actually, especially on the back nine where he made seven of his eight birdies. He finished with a flourish, too. A 20-foot putt for par disappeared into the cup on the par-5 18th, making up for the two shots he had earlier expended in a fairway bunker.

“I’m just trying to get that (bad form) off my head,” he said. “I had a really hard time last two years playing with injury, hurting my right knee after the Masters. Then when the COVID was hit, I have to go back to my country. Was stuck there for eight months and couldn’t play much golf. When I came back out, I just couldn’t get the rhythm to play a golf tournament. I get nerves to go on the first tee, I don’t know how to move the ball. I didn’t feel comfortable on the golf course at all. After I get my PGA Tour card back, it just loosened me up. I feel free to play my own game. I feel more comfortable on the golf course.”

Andrew Redington

Still, of the two, Bezuidenhout’s 64 was superior, compiled as it was in the more difficult afternoon conditions. So the last word — something of a farewell — must go to the South African.

“It was just a matter of time for me to go over to the States,” he said. “It has always been my aim to play over there. I’ll still support the European Tour. I love playing here. But my main focus will be on the States.”

But not on the Korn Ferry Tour. Not any more.

The post How recent success across the Atlantic unites the two BMW PGA Championship leaders appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
The last two weeks on the PGA Tour were more or less a case of the rich getting richer—limited field Invitationals, no cuts, pristine golf courses, perfect scoring condition. And, apart from some lesser-known Asian players getting exemptions, fields of mostly established players.

This week’s Bermuda Championship has a distinctly grittier feel. Apart from an unseasonably calm day on Thursday, there’s been a multi-club wind for players to deal with all week. And these players—most of the names at the top of the leaderboard are not exactly superstars. It’s a mix of up-and-comers, journeyman 40-somethings and guys trying to regain form they’ve lost.

Here are four takeaways from Saturday at Port Royal Golf Club:

Someone’s getting a life-changing win on Sunday
Only three players in the top 10 heading into Sunday have won a PGA Tour event—Brian Gay, who has four wins but none since 2013, and Matt Jones and Ryan Armour, who have one each. The remaining seven are chasing their first victory, and because this Bermuda Championship is no longer an opposite-field event, the victory comes with the full plate of riches: 500 FedEx Cup points (up from 300 last year), a spot into next year’s Masters and PGA Championship, and a two-year exemption that would essentially function as a three-year exemption for someone like Ollie Schniederjans, who does not have status on the PGA Tour this season.

Gregory Shamus Doug Ghim plays his shot from the eighth tee during the third round of the Bermuda Championship

Schniederjans is two back of Doc Redman, who holds the 54-hole lead at 10 under after an impressive 67. Redman, 22, won the 2017 U.S. Amateur at Riviera and left Clemson University after two years to turn pro. Since then, he’s quietly established himself as one of the better young players on tour—sure, he’s been completely overshadowed by the Morikawa/Wolff/Hovland triumvirate, but those guys are unicorns, and Redman’s progress has been fantastic by any reasonable standard. The next step for him to take is getting that first victory, and he’ll have a great chance to do that Sunday.

The man Redman beat in the finals of that U.S. Amateur, Doug Ghim, is three back heading into Sunday. Gay is two behind, and at 48, a victory would make him fully exempt until he’s old enough to play the Champions Tour, which is kind of the dream. Hickock has just one top-10 finish in his 51 starts on tour. We could go on here, but you get the picture—a bunch of guys fighting for a career-changing victory. It’ll a different type of drama than what you saw last week, with three top-15 players fighting for another piece of hardware for their ever-expanding trophy cases.

Gregory Shamus
Kiradech Aphibarnrat plays his shot from the first tee during the third round of the Bermuda Championship.

Kiradech is back, we hope

You won’t find a more popular player among fans or fellow players than Kiradech Aphibarnrat, the lovable Thai player with a … relatable … physique. He was a fixture in the top 100 for a half-decade and reached as high as world No. 29, but the Barn Rat has been struggling big-time for the better part of a year—he’s missed eight of his last 11 cuts around the world and does not have a top 10 since last year’s CJ Cup. As such, he’s dropped all the way to No. 236 and only has conditional status on the PGA Tour. He’s three back heading into Sunday. A victory would be his first on the PGA Tour, but a high finish would go a long way in helping him qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and get his career back on track. We—and everyone else—are rooting for you, Kiradech.

Gregory Shamus
Will Zalatoris plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the Bermuda Championship.

Will Zalatoris is officially a PGA Tour player … kind of
As a colleague pointed out, the current leader in top 10s on the PGA Tour this season is not even a PGA Tour player. Will Zalatoris has been one of the better golfers anywhere since the June restart—the 24-year-old Wake Forest product was the best player on the Korn Ferry Tour this year and has continued his success on the Big Tour, with three top 10s on the young season already, including a T-6 at the U.S. Open. As a result, he’s now ranked No. 59 in the world, the highest-ranking of anyone without PGA or European tour status and ahead of guys like Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Corey Conners and Cameron Champ.

Zalatoris entered this week needing just over three FedEx Cup points to achieve Special Temporary Membership status, which would allow him to receive unlimited sponsor’s exemptions, rather than being capped at seven. He’s tied for 15th heading into Sunday after a third-round 67, meaning he has the Special Temporary status all but locked up. One of the best parts of professional golf is that at its core, it’s a meritocracy. Zalatoris is way too good a player to not be on the PGA Tour, and so the Golf Gods are seeing that he gets his tour card.

First Sunday with fans!
It’s not exactly a Sunday-at-a-normal-Masters atmosphere, but this week marks the return of fans to the PGA Tour. There aren’t grandstands or anything, but tomorrow will be the first Sunday back nine with (limited) fan noise as a soundtrack.

There’s been a lot of talk as to whether not having fans has benefitted younger players. The thought is, the kids don’t have experience closing the deal on a noisy Sunday, and the quiet finishes don’t feel markedly different from college tournaments, where they obviously had success. And again, Sunday won’t be electric, but it’ll be interesting to see whether having spectators will have any impact at all.

The post Life-changing win likely in Bermuda and three other takeaways from Day 3 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Let's just leave it to the pros to call "fore." (Wait for it)@Lexi ? pic.twitter.com/ivXE2orUOv

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 14, 2019

The response. The face. So good. But while the clip spread around Golf Twitter, it didn’t spawn a full-blown meme. I tried to push the issue, but like the word “fetch” in Mean Girls, sadly, it hasn’t really caught on:

Me when someone compares the Giants ownership to the Knicks. pic.twitter.com/Dv6Nr3pcbB

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) September 16, 2019

Maybe I went too regional with a New York sports joke? I had been workshopping “Me when someone criticizes my diet” or “Me when someone asks about my chocolate addiction.” Maybe those would have played better? Oh well, I tried, Lexi. In any event, we promise to talk about some more important things going on in golf. And in the meantime, better safe than sorry with those “Fore!” calls.

WE’RE BUYING

Suzann Pettersen: Many people questioned Pettersen’s spot on the European team after essentially being on maternity leave for the past two years, but wow, did she come through with arguably the year’s clutchest putt and potentially one of the greatest walk-off moments in sports history. As in actually walking off into the sunset. The two-time major champ buried this must-make putt to claim the Solheim Cup and then immediately announced her retirement from professional golf:

Suzann Pettersen wins it on the 18th

After an @allymc10 miss on 17, @suzannpettersen makes birdie on the 18th to win the Solheim Cup for Team Europe! ???? pic.twitter.com/6nYPDZ4azP

— LPGA (@LPGA) September 15, 2019

What a freaking mic drop.

Joaquin Niemann: From one player perfectly finishing a brilliant career to another beginning one in style, Niemann rolled in a long birdie putt to cap a six-shot win at The Greenbrier to open the 2019-‘20 PGA Tour season.

What a way to wrap up the win. ?

A birdie at the last for @JoacoNiemann.

He shot 31 to win by SIX @GBRMilitary. pic.twitter.com/oIZfDtBKQi

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 15, 2019

How about this kid? And we do mean kid considering he doesn’t turn 21 until November. A late-season run allowed him to keep his PGA Tour card following his rookie season and now, who knows how good this former World No. 1 amateur can be. In addition to being the first golfer from Chile to win on the PGA Tour, he also joined Seve Ballesteros and Rory McIlroy as the only foreign-born players under 21 to win a tour event. DECENT company.

Sergio Garcia: We’ll keep the international accolades going with Sergio’s KLM Open victory, his 16th career European Tour title. Frankly, it was good to see Sergio making news for something other than destroying a golf course or throwing a putter at his caddie. And I love a good Azalea sighting:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2eo4hjFUzD/?utm_source=ig_embed

We’re also buying the 18-year-old from Denmark, Nicolai Hojgaard, who he beat by one. I remember a teenaged Sergio challenging Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship like it was yesterday. Damn, I’m getting old.

Jack Nicklaus’ heroics: Jack may be closing in on 80, but the Golden Bear still possesses the magic that made him an 18-time major champ. First, here’s a walk-off putt to win a team event:

Good way to end the day!
Promised partner & longtime friend Tom Kelley I would share our fun. Tom & I won the Legends Division (small field?) today in 2-day @SycamoreHillsFW National Pro-Scratch Invitational.
Wanted to make sure on 18 that we didn't lose in a scorecard playoff! pic.twitter.com/8VSWYsmKH4

— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) September 11, 2019

And then he had a walk-off chip-in to win a charity contest:

UNREAL ?@JackNicklaus drained his chip for charity on 18 at The @AllyChallenge. pic.twitter.com/YgWtasd14o

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) September 14, 2019

You don’t win 18 majors by accident. What a legend.

WE’RE SELLING

Lexi Thompson’s week: What actually was that bad was Thompson’s 0-4 record. A tweaked back before her final match didn’t help matters, but if Thompson could have clawed even a half-point, Team USA would have retained the Cup. Ouch. Instead, America’s highest-ranked player got shut out, while the world’s 620th-ranked player wound up being the hero. That’s golf, folks.

Scottie Scheffler’s “shank”: This shot definitely didn’t need a “FORE!” call and yet the PGA Tour rookie was disgusted by it. Scheffler obviously hasn’t played with my boss, Sam Weinman, because he clearly has no clue what a shank is.

If this is a shank, then sign me tf up pic.twitter.com/Na7vxbPf2R

— Amanda Rose (@AmandaGolf59) September 14, 2019

And you wonder why kids react like this on tee shots that end up 15 feet from the pin:

12-year-old Vince Komen just beat the Pros! ?#KLMOpen pic.twitter.com/R5gpCxMrNj

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 12, 2019

Hideki Matsuyama, this is your fault.

Kevin Chappell’s weekend: First off, it was great seeing Kevin playing his first PGA Tour event in nearly a year after undergoing back surgery. It was even greater seeing him fire the 11th 59 in PGA Tour history on Friday at The Greenbrier. Yet with rounds of 73 and 72 over the weekend, he managed to finish T-47. In a tournament, he shot FIFTY-NINE! But again, that’s golf, folks.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship, AKA that event where the winner gets a rooster trophy. Meanwhile, the BMW PGA, the European Tour’s flagship event, will be contested across the pond. This event was moved from May to September with all the PGA Tour schedule changes this past season. It will boast a better field than the Sanderson Farms Championship, but not a rooster trophy. Advantage: Sanderson Farms Championship.

Random tournament fact: Cameron Champ won the coveted rooster trophy last year. But he is still looking for his first top 10 of 2019.

Matt Sullivan

Heavy lies the rooster crown.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Either event will produce a dramatic finish like the Solheim Cup: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds

—Joaquin Niemann will win again this week: 12-to-1 odds (Actual odds; the favourite to win that coveted rooster trophy!)

—Joaquin Niemann will win again at some point: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Move over, Alex Noren!

1,000 balls a day ?

Dutch amateur Koen Kouwenaar’s hands show how he's currently inside the Top 15 ?#KLMOpen pic.twitter.com/dhU7uNrtYP

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 13, 2019

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Move over, Brooks Koepka!

Warm weather practice for @Kiradech ? pic.twitter.com/E9QewCPu4e

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) September 13, 2019

Long live The Barn Rat.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I’m done. I’m closing it down tomorrow.” —Suzann Pettersen. Funny, I said the same thing after my latest disappointing round on Saturday.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITIES PLAYING GOLF

From backboards to sneakers to golf clubs, Zion Williamson destroys everything he touches:

“He literally broke the club!”

Grown. Man. Strength. ?@Zionwilliamson pic.twitter.com/uRd3cV6WX6

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) September 13, 2019

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION COMPETITION

Tiger Woods and his girlfriend, Erica Herman, went to a college football game pitting their alma maters (Stanford and UCF) against each other:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2eR1IWBPzw/?utm_source=ig_embed

And Erica’s Golden Knights are probably ready to declare themselves co-national champs again after drubbing Tiger’s Cardinal, 45-27. Ouch.

Julio Aguilar

That must have been a tense car ride home. And then Woods’ Oakland Raiders got run off the field by the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Tough weekend for Tiger.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PROS ARE JUST LIKE US

Justin Thomas shared his recent skin cancer scare and provided an important PSA for golfers everywhere:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Utje_BIq5/?utm_source=ig_embed

Also, JT, you might want to ask Phil for some calf exercises. Speaking of Phil. . .

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Phil philmed his latest edition of “Phireside Chats” from one of his phavourite restaurants in San Diego:

I was at Addison’s (best restaurant in SD and has 1 Michelin star) and I saw a fireplace. So I shot a quick Phireside with Phil. pic.twitter.com/jVqhxzcSDJ

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) September 15, 2019

We were wondering when he was going to start turning these into ads. Can’t wait for him to start slipping in some product placement! Also, Phil got word of this fantastic painting of him:

Now this is……….AWESOME ! https://t.co/i2DsU016e4

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) September 16, 2019

Hopefully, that artist got PAID.

THIS AND THAT

Tiger Woods announced the One Bahamas Fund to help raise money for the area after Hurricane Dorian. You can donate here. Check out our Brian Wacker’s piece on Dorian’s devastating effects and donate here. . . . Viktor Hovland tied Bob Estes’ PGA Tour record by shooting in the 60s for a 17th consecutive round. Sorry, Bob, but I think your record is going down. . . . More stats! With a pair of 20-year-olds, Matthew Wolff and Joaquin Niemann winning in the same year, marked the first time since 1931 that three players under the age of 21 won on the PGA Tour in the same year. . . . Speaking of Young Gunz, 17-year-old Akshay Bhatia will make his pro debut this week at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He makes Wolff and Niemann look like grizzled vets. . . . And finally, these cookies are a new addition to Costco:

Let’s just say I’m not mad about it.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Did Tiger and Erica make a bet on the Stanford-UCF game?

Did golf writers (over)use the phrase “Young Gunz” in 1931?

Is my chocolate addiction that bad?

The post Golf’s ultimate mic drop, Tiger Woods and his girlfriend square off, and the greatest meme that never was appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Branden Grace finished T-34 on Sunday at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, shooting a one-under 287 for the week at Leopard Creek Golf Club, but it was as good as a victory for the 30-year-old South African. The finish, 13 strokes back of winner David Lipsky, in the last European Tour event of 2018 will likely be enough to keep him at the No. 48 spot in the World Ranking when the year’s final list comes out in two weeks.

And with that he’ll be playing in the Masters in April.

All players in the top 50 in the year’s final ranking earn invitations to compete at Augusta National Golf Club. Grace is one of 13 golfers in the projected top 50 who hasn’t already qualified for the first major of 2019.

Here’s a look at the projected final ranking of the year:

The Top 50 at the end of 2018! #OWGR pic.twitter.com/vKkYtvDJTj

— Nosferatu (@VC606) December 16, 2018

And here’s a list of the others that are projected to qualify who weren’t in the field already:
Alex Noren
Tyrrell Hatton
Rafa Cabrera-Bello
Eddie Pepperell
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Ian Poulter
Li Haotong
Thorbjorn Olesen
Matt Wallace
Lucas Bjerregaard
Emiliano Grillo
Branden Grace

No. 51 on the projected final ranking is Aaron Wise, who already is going to Augusta by virtue of his AT&T Byron Nelson win in May. Of those between Nos. 51 and 60, seven must now find another way to earn a spot into the Masters.

52 Ben An
53. Shugo Imahira
54. Brian Harman
56. Abraham Ancer
57. Luke List
59. Alexander Bjork
60. Daniel Berger

Between January and April, winners of any PGA Tour event awarding full FedEx Cup points will earn a spot. Also players inside the top 50 in the World Ranking a week before the Masters will be added to the field.

To those still on the outside looking in, best of luck gentlemen. You’ve got your work cut out for you.

The post 13 golfers projected to earn Masters invites through the final World Ranking of 2018 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Ultimately it was Brooks Koepka who prevailed over a cast of challengers that included Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, pal Dustin Johnson, and recent green jacket winner Patrick Reed to claim his second major championship and become the first back-to-back winner of the U.S. Open since Curtis Strange in 1988-89.

Below, some of our favourite images from the final day at the Open.

Brooks Koepka plays his tee shot at the 12th tee during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. on Sunday, June 17, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Darren Carroll)

Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts to his putt on the 15th green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka hits from the 14th tee during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. on Sunday, June 17, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Darren Carroll)

Brooks Koepka kisses his girlfriend after winning during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. on Sunday, June 17, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Darren Carroll)

Brooks Koepka chips at the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. on Sunday, June 17, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Michael Cohen)

Kiradech Aphibarnrat reacts to missing a par putt at the sixth green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. on Sunday, June 17, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Michael Cohen)

Tommy Fleetwood of England reacts after a missed putt on the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Patrick Reed of the United States lines up a putt on the fifth green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka of the United States plays his third shot from a bunker on the 11th hole during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Dustin Johnson of the United States reacts to a missed putt on the ninth green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Daniel Berger of the United States plays his second shot into the third green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Tyrrell Hatton of England plays his third shot from a bunker on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Patrick Reed of the United States plays his second shot to the 12th green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Patrick Reed of the United States plays his second shot to the tenth green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka hitting his approach shot to the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. on Sunday, June 17, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Jason Miczek)

Brooks Koepka of the United States celebrates with the U.S. Open Championship trophy after winning the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Justin Rose of England reacts to a missed putt on the ninth green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka of the United States celebrates with caddie Richard Elliott on the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018, in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

The post U.S. Open 2018: The best photos from Sunday at Shinnecock Hills appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y.—Despite high scoring, most players have been complimentary of the USGA’s setup of Shinnecock Hills at the 2018 U.S. Open, calling it a tough but fair test. A relief, given the course’s infamous turnas tournament host in 2004. Unfortunately for the governing body, this era of good feelings came to a close on Saturday.

Following an interview with Phil Mickelson regarding his controversial swipe, FOX Sports’ Curtis Strange said that players coming off the course appeared to have issue with the USGA’s Saturday configuration. One of the first players to air such grievances was Zach Johnson. The two-time major winner did an interview with Sky Sports after his third round, and was blunt in his assessment of the USGA.

“We’re not on the edge. I thought we could be on the edge, but we’ve surpassed it,” Johnson said in an interview with Sky Sports. “It’s pretty much gone, especially the latter part of the day for us. It’s pretty much shot. It’s really unfortunate, because in my opinion, some of the best land and certainly one of the best venues in all of golf, especially in this county, is Shinnecock Hills. It’s as good as it gets.

“Unfortunately, they’ve lost the golf course. I feel for the membership, because I know many of them. I feel for the spectators because they are seeing pure carnage — unless that’s what they want. And I feel for the USGA because I don’t think this was their intent.

“But when you think of the things that happened in the past, you have to err on the side of caution. And that wasn’t done today.” That such strong words come from Johnson is a bit of a shock, as he’s considered as agreeable and level-headed as it gets on the PGA Tour. The 42-year-old also played relatively well on Saturday, turning in a two-over 72.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who turned in one of the few under-par excursions on the day, also felt Shinnecock was bucking its head.

“This course, when the wind picks up, is a completely different golf course,” said Aphibarnrat. “Really difficult to put the ball in the fairways, can’t hold the greens. When you hit the short iron, you have no spin on this green at all. And the pin was really tricky.”

And Johnson and Aphibarnrat teed off in easier morning conditions, as the course has continued to firm up in the late afternoon. The fervor hasn’t reached 2004’s controversial level just yet, but perhaps the afternoon wave will provide more color to this potential problem.

The post U.S. Open 2018: Players tear into USGA following Saturday’s round: “They’ve lost the golf course” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.