Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Australian Curtis Luck’s first Korn Ferry Tour win sets up possible U.S. Open start

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 02:23:45 +0000

Jamie Sabau

By Dave Shedloski
Curtis Luck finally broke through for his first professional title. And that was only half of the good news Sunday for the 24-year-old Australian, who fought his swing all day but counterpunched with his putter to record a one-stroke victory in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio.

Thanks to one-putt greens on three of the last four holes at the Ohio State University Scarlet Course, including a par save from seven feet at the 72nd hole, Luck converted his 54-hole lead into his first Korn Ferry Tour title. The 2016 U.S. Amateur champion closed with an even-par 71 and 11-under 273 total, one ahead of Theo Humphrey, Taylor Montgomery and Cameron Young, who missed a tying birdie try that was on the same line and just inches inside the putt Luck converted.

Five players finished at 9-under 275, including tour points leader Will Zalatoris, who stumbled with bogeys on the last two holes after briefly taking the lead.

In the process of rebuilding his swing – and he admits he’s “not on top of them yet” – Luck was all over the Scarlet Course on Sunday, which kept him from putting red on his scorecard until consecutive birdies on 15 and 16. Then he snagged tough pars on the final two holes for an unlikely victory in a season in which he didn’t have a top 10. Luck had missed the cut in his last three starts, but he did have good vibes about the Scarlet Course where in three previous appearances he placed T-19, T-5 and T-7.

“Luckily, I hit a few good shots coming down the stretch and holed some putts to save my skin,” said Luck, ranked third on the Korn Ferry Tour in putting average.

The win came with a potential bonus beyond the $180,000 prize money.

Luck should now get into the field at next month’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot. It would be his first. As U.S. Amateur champion, Luck earned an exemption into the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, but he forfeited it when he turned pro after the Masters. The Nationwide Children’s event is part of a three-tournament qualifying series that ends at next week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship. The top five in points make the U.S. Open field. Luck earned 600 points with his win, elevating him to second behind Stephen Jaeger, who won last week in Boise. Which makes Luck all but a lock, as it were.

“That’s obviously a bit of a cherry at the end of the year,” Luck said. “If I can lock up that spot is awesome.

“Golf’s really tough,” he added after winning in his 44th Korn Ferry start and after one disappointing year on the PGA Tour. “It’s probably not gone 100 percent to plan with the way I wanted to when I turned pro, but yeah, I’ve just stuck with it, and I’m still working hard. Obviously, to get a win out here is massive because not only does it give me status for the next couple years out here on the Korn Ferry Tour, it just shows that I’m able to compete, which is nice.”

Zalatoris added to his lead in the season-long points race. PGA Tour cards cannot be earned during this pandemic-shortened season, but the top-10 players in the Korn Ferry standings at the conclusion of next week’s final get rewarded with guaranteed entry into opposite field events on the PGA Tour next season. The race for 25 PGA Tour cards extends into 2021 and ends at the WinCo Foods Portland Open.

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Viktor Hovland, 21, continues stellar play, finishing fourth; up next is the Korn Ferry Finals

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 06:04:51 +0000

Hovland walks off the second tee during the final round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 04, 2019 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Tyler Lecka/Getty Images)

By Dave Shedloski
Viktor Hovland didn’t need to earn his PGA Tour card to prove he belongs on the circuit. The quality of his play in his last four starts offered plenty of validation. Unfortunately, FedEx Cup points usurp style points, so Hovland won’t be joining fellow All-Americans and new professional sensations Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa on the tour after each won a tour event in July.

At least not yet he won’t be joining them.

A final-round 65 Sunday in the Wyndham Championship earned Hovland his best finish as a professional, outright fourth place, but he needed no worse than a two-way tie for second in the final regular-season tournament to earn enough points as a non-member to earn a PGA Tour card for the 2019-’20 season.

However, the 308 points he did collect in his five professional starts was the equivalent of 143rd in the points standings. That’s good enough to qualify for the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals that begin in two weeks at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio.

Hovland, 21, can earn a PGA Tour card by placing among the top 25 in money earnings in those three tournaments. Considering that there could be up to 150 players in each field—possible, but not likely—the task is far from easy, though certainly attainable if his form holds. (It’s not likely because some players who fell short of the PGA Tour’s top 125, such as Brendan Steele and Austin Cook, remain exempt because of victories last season, making the Finals unnecessary.)

“I feel like I’ve just playing better and better every single week, and obviously this is my best finish throughout the five tournaments that I played [as a pro],” the native of Oslo, Norway, said. “I’ve just got to keep it going in the Korn Ferry Finals, and I should be OK.”

He’s probably not wrong in that prediction.

Hovland’s 19-under 261 total at Sedgefield Country Club, three strokes behind winner J.T. Poston, continued a scintillating scoring pattern that began with a final-round 64 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he surged to a T-13 finish. Since then he has posted 12 straight rounds in the 60s. And he has shown to be especially clutch on Sunday, shooting 65 for T-13 at the 3M Open, 64 in placing T-16 at the John Deere Classic, and then, of course, converting eight birdies in his closing 65 at Sedgefield.

Too bad he didn’t get credit for his play in the Masters and U.S. Open. He was invited to the year’s first two majors via his victory in the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links, and he was more than just respectable. Hovland shot three-under 285 at Augusta National to end up T-32, and then he returned to Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open and submitted a fine four-under 280 total fueled by a final-round four-under 67. He tied for 12th, one stroke out of the top-10 and an exemption into the 2020 championship.

“I already knew that it wasn’t going to count,” he said. “So, I mean, it is what it is. I just should have played a little bit better and it wouldn’t have been a problem. No, I don’t have any complaints.”

Hovland turned pro after the U.S. Open and made his debut at the Travelers Championship with Wolff. Two other college contemporaries, Morikawa and another All-American, Justin Suh, also received sponsor’s exemptions that week. Hovland’s road to a tour card was abbreviated—just five events—because he burned two of his allotted seven exemptions earlier in the season at the Mayakoba Classic and the Farmers Insurance Open. Interestingly, he missed the cut in both playing as an amateur.

That was during a period when he knew he wasn’t playing well, struggling particularly with his iron game. Nevertheless, he won three times in his final collegiate season. The struggle might have steeled him for his surge this summer.

“I remember after I came back from Christmas break, just hitting balls inside for four weeks, I was lost,” Hovland said. “I didn’t know where the ball was going really, and I really didn’t feel like I was hitting the ball that great in college my last semester. But I got a lot better at just playing the game and scoring with what I had. In that way, I’ve been really happy with just how I’ve been able to perform with the things that I’ve been playing with.”

He should be happy. He converted 24 birdies at Sedgefield, ranked second in the field. He was first in strokes gained/off the tee with a combined 5.477 average against the field. Tee to green he ranked third, and he was T-4 in greens in regulation for the week, finding 60 of 72.

A player who has shot 63-under par collectively in his last four starts definitely is tour material.

Still, more work must be done. That’s the hard math of it.

“I’ve played pretty solid, just very consistent,” he said. “Shot a couple of good rounds or really low rounds, but mostly it’s just been very consistent. I think that gives me a lot of confidence going into the playoffs [Korn Ferry Finals] because there are three tournaments, and I know that if I just play my game, I should make it through.”

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Justin Parsons: How an ‘angry little Australian’ helped Uihlein secure his PGA Tour card

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 11:08:50 +0000

Peter Uihlein’s victory in the first leg of the Web.com Tour playoffs was a major coup for his Dubai-based coach. But in his latest column, Justin Parsons pays tribute to another vital member of Uihlien’s team for helping the former U.S. Amateur champion secure his PGA Tour card for 2017-18.

Over the last few years, caddy’s have become a much more noticeable part of a players inner circle.

With that has brought more pay and even celebrity, a seismic change from the “turn up and shut up” bagmen of old. Peter Uihlein’s return to form, which lead to his victory in last week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Ohio, has been notable and his caddy of nine months, Ben Hayes, must take some of the credit.

In my role as coach, I have to interact with the caddy as together we form the support team for a golfer. Having worked with many, I can quickly ascertain their professionalism, dedication and most importantly their impact on the performance of the player with whom they work.

Ben is a tough, no nonsense Australian, the type who and calls a spade a spade. He does not tolerate or allow for weakness, is detailed and honest, always willing to share his thoughts whether they are praise or criticism. It’s been one of his great strengths, especially in working for a high profile player given Peter’s background (former U.S. Amateur champion and son of Wally Uihlein, longtime CEO of Acushnet, the parent company of Titleist).

His honesty and lack of fear has benefitted Peter greatly. This has allowed Peter to see a balance in his ‘on course’ self which has been evident as he has mentioned being able to ‘control his emotions’ better this season than before.

At the highest level, the traditional caddy duties – the ability to read yardage books, create strategies, club adequately, green read, not to mention travel and be punctual – are expected.

It is the coming together of personalities and how they interact that is more unique to the success or lack thereof, of any player-caddy partnership. The Aussie mentality has created a shift for Peter and Ben avoiding the softly-softly approach has instilled some steel into his talented employer.

As I reflect on the win at The Web.com Finals last week, I feel that Peter has met the right looper at the right time for him. As he plots his way on the PGA Tour, look for the ‘angry little Australian’ as Peter and I affectionately call Ben, to be by his side.

Justin Parsons is the Director of Instruction at the Butch Harmon School of Golf at The Els Club, Dubai. Among his pupils is celebrated Dubai-based Indian amateur No.1 Rayhan Thomas.

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The career detour Ben Crane didn’t want but has come to embrace

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 10 Sep 2017 05:26:16 +0000

By Dave Shedloski
The bogey hurt, he couldn’t deny it. And he didn’t hide it.

From the middle of the fairway at the par-4 18th hole at the Scarlet Course at Ohio State University Golf Club, Ben Crane pushed his approach to the green into a deep bunker on the right, on the short side. After watching his ball drift into oblivion, Crane doubled over, then crouched down and lingered over the scene of his crime.

He did well to give himself a look at par from seven feet, but the putt wouldn’t fall, and Crane got what he deserved. It was a microcosm of his season. He stared ahead as he left the green, seemingly stunned, distraught.

Instead of a share of fifth place last Sunday in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, Crane dropped to T-6. For a player closing in on $21 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour, the difference in take-home pay was hardly worth mentioning: $3,250. Yet it was significant. The money he did earn, $34,750, was a nice start in the Web.com Tour Finals. But it didn’t guarantee him a return to the PGA Tour.

It meant he’d have to keep playing, when he’d rather spend the next few weeks at home with his wife and family.

“I think sometimes it’s great to face your fears.” —Ben Crane

“Obviously, the goal is to play as well as you can early and maybe get a little bit of rest before the fall starts,” Crane said after signing for a three-under 68 and nine-under 275 total. “I was able to have a good week this week and get myself off to a good start. So you know, maybe I can play one more and be done.”

It’s not easy for a player like Crane, winner of five PGA Tour titles, to be in this position, essentially falling back to the developmental tour for a four-week qualifying series to regain his status. But he is hardly alone. Dozens of players take that step back each autumn.

Former U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup player Hunter Mahan was at OSU Scarlet. So were other former tour winners like Jonathan Byrd, Johnson Wagner and Ken Duke.

By any measure the Oregon native weathered one of the most difficult seasons of his 16-year tour career, posting just one top-10 finish and ending up 147th in the FedEx Cup standings. He finished 185th two years earlier when he failed to garner a finish inside the top 25 in 22 starts, but his win in the 2014 FedEx St. Jude Classic, which comes with a two-year exemption, meant he wouldn’t lose his card. This season he had no such protection.

And, strangely, for all the disappointment and poor play he endured, he was largely OK with it. When the sting of that last bogey had dissipated, Crane, 41, said he was encouraged.

Michael Cohen/Getty Images
To make it 17 straight years on the PGA Tour, Crane needs a good performance in the Web.com Tour Finals.

“You know, I think I always was concerned about if I lost my card, you know, would life be OK. And coming out here playing is really good for me,” Crane said, relishing the epiphany that there are worse things than having to grind out golf scores, even if the pay isn’t as lavish.

“It was really an encouraging week. I’m excited to have the opportunity to get my card back if I play well in this series.”

Crane’s task was a bit more challenging because he was missing longtime caddie Joel Stock, who is sidelined with a stress fracture in his leg. Ricky Romano, who caddied most of the year for Aaron Wise, stepped in.

“You know, he never said a negative thing all week. He just put his head down and went to work and played hard,” Romano said.

“It’s not easy to have to come back out here and get your focus, get your motivation. I don’t think Ben takes anything for granted. He came here with one goal in mind, and that was to play well.”

Which he did for the most part.

“I like the way I’m playing right now,” he said. “This is a great test of golf. This is one of the best courses I’m sure we play all year [on the Web.com Tour] and certainly would be one of the better courses on the PGA Tour. You could hold a U.S. Open on this place anytime. Just grow the rough up another couple inches and it’s all you want.”

Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Crane hopes one more good performance in the Finals Series and he can go back, spend time with family and rest up for the fall.

It was no wonder that, given a few minutes to chill, he was able to shake off that last bogey. He knew he had played some of his best golf in some time, and not just because his score in relation to par was his third-lowest of the season.

There was something else, though, and it was related to his earlier comment, that “coming out here … is really good for me.” What could that mean?

“I think sometimes it’s great to face your fears,” he explained. “I played on tour for 16 years consecutively, never lost my card. And I think it’s good to bust through that and go, ‘It’s not that big a deal.’ You know what I mean? I’m thankful for my family, and I’ve got great friends, and my family flew in today to watch me. And so I mean the important things are still the most important. It’s just good to be reminded of that.

“So, yeah, this has been good for me,” he added. “I’m taking a lot away from it.”

Apparently, he was taking away something much more valuable than cash or the chance to keep his job.

Discovery.

That’s good for anyone.

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Uihlein credits Dubai coach for career-changing Web.com Tour victory

Kent Gray — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 06:26:15 +0000

By Kent Gray
Peter Uihlein’s life-changing Web.com Tour finals victory in Ohio overnight had its roots in the UAE.

A year ago the former U.S. Amateur champion rolled into Dubai to entrust his game to The Els Club, Dubai-based Northern Irishman Justin Parsons on the recommendation of Claude Harmon III.

The rest, thanks to a not insignificant swing change, is now glorious history after Uihlein fired a closing 65 to capture the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship by a shot from local favourite Ryan Armour at Ohio State University Golf Club.

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Justin Parsons works with Peter Uihlein.

The win earns Uihlein exempt status on the PGA Tour for the 2017-18 season and is an understandably proud moment for Parsons, the Director of Instruction at the Butch Harmon School of Golf at The Els.

“It’s almost exactly a year since Peter made his first trip across to Dubai after we got started and it’s been an amazing ride to see him not only improve as a player and improve a lot of the areas of his game, but also take ownership of his dream to become a PGA Tour player,” said Parsons.

Justin Parsons with Peter Uihlein at the 2017 U.S. PGA Championship

“So we’re absolutely thrilled for him this morning. I had a bit of a late night watching it and I’m over the moon for him and all the things it’s going to mean for him coming into the 2018 season.”

The feeling is obviously mutual as this tweet from Uihlein shows:

Thanks to my coach @JParsonsGolf caddy Ben and @team_FIP @liammcdougall84 @H_Bomb009 @BradFaxon for all their hard work and belief in me ??

— Peter Uihlein (@PeterUihlein) September 3, 2017

Uihlein, who turned 28 last Tuesday, has played in Europe since he turned professional in 2012 and looks likely to juggle his schedule between the European and PGA Tours next year even after his big Ohio win.

Thanks for all the messages! Thrilled to have gotten it done ?? looking forward to being a member of the PGA and European tour next year!!

— Peter Uihlein (@PeterUihlein) September 3, 2017

He got into the Web.com Tour Finals as a non-member courtesy of earning enough FedEx Cup points to qualify with three top-25 finishes in seven PGA Tour starts this season. His $180,000 winners’ cheque means he’s now a lock for one of the Web.com Tour’s 25 PGA Tour cards for next season.

More success in the Web.com Tour’s remaining finals events would improve his status although his end-of-season schedule remains uncertain beyond the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews and the Italian Open and the co-sanctioned WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China later in October.

Most importantly thanks to my family and my girl @ChelseaGatestv for the support and belief. Couldn't have done it without them pic.twitter.com/BcY5ahxnT0

— Peter Uihlein (@PeterUihlein) September 3, 2017

Parsons deserves a great deal of credit for what shapes as a career defining win in Ohio for the son of Wally Uihlein, longtime CEO of Acushnet, the parent company of Titleist.

After recovering from surgery for a ruptured ligament in his left wrist in May 2016, Parsons went to work on creating a power fade swing to replace the draw Uihlein had gone to most of his career.

Uihlein described his Ohio triumph as a “nice validation” of Parsons work.

“This year in particular, with the way I’ve tried to change my game, I’ve become a lot more consistent,” Uihlein said. “It’s a good feeling to know that I can play golf just hitting it in one direction and eliminate one side of the golf course, which is something I’ve been just absolutely hammering. I really like where my game is headed.”

So pleased for @peteruihlein on securing his @pgatour card with a victory @webdotcomtour in Ohio. 65 final round- baller!! @benhayes78 @chelseagatestv @team_fip #teamtitleist #titleist

A post shared by Justin Parsons (@jparsonsgolf) on Sep 3, 2017 at 2:03pm PDT

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Peter Uihlein’s victory in Web.com Tour Finals opener gives him PGA Tour exemption … and options

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 05:41:15 +0000

Peter Uihlein holds the trophy after winning he Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship held at Ohio State University Golf Club. (Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)

By Dave Shedloski
The professional golf odyssey of Peter Uihlein didn’t end Sunday with his victory in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. It only became more complicated.

Which is a nice problem to have.

Destined for the PGA Tour since an All-American career at Oklahoma State and a victory in the 2010 U.S. Amateur, Uihlein finally earned his exempt status with a one-stroke triumph over local favorite Ryan Armour in the Web.com Tour Finals opener at the Scarlet Course at Ohio State University Golf Club.

And he had no idea how he was going to use his newfound status.

Uihlein, who turned 28 last Tuesday, has competed primarily in Europe since he turned professional in 2012. And in the immediate aftermath of his third professional title, he wasn’t inclined to alter his plans of another autumn abroad.

“I have to sit down and really look at the schedule,” Uihlein said after firing an “efficient” six-under-par 65 to blaze past Armour, a former Buckeyes golfer, to finish at 14-under 270. “There’s so many good events now in Europe. The Rolex Series they created … phenomenal. So many events you don’t really want to miss, because there’s countries I love going to, events I like playing, courses I really enjoy over there. It’s really tough. I just don’t know. I don’t know next year’s schedule in Europe. I haven’t looked at the PGA Tour schedule. I don’t know where I’m going to be playing, but I know I’m going to try and do both and we’ll see what happens.”

Thanks to three top-25 finishes this season in seven tour events, Uihlein earned enough FedEx Cup points to qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals as a non-member. Bryson DeChambeau took the same route to a tour card last year when he captured the DAP Championship in Cleveland.

The top-25 money winners from the four-event finals earn PGA Tour cards for the 2017-’18 season. With his $180,000 first prize, Uihlein is a lock after he overcame a four-stroke deficit to nip Armour with an impeccable round in which he missed just one fairway and one green. Still, he needed a little help, which Armour supplied when he bogeyed the 72nd hole after missing a 40-footer.

Uihlein, who had previously competed in this event twice as an amateur, still was digesting the ramifications of the victory. Additional finals starts could ensure a high priority ranking in the coming PGA Tour season, and the winner of the finals earns a berth in the Players.

Not that he was planning to use his exempt status much this fall.

The only PGA Tour event he envisioned entering is the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, in late October, which also is an official event on the European Tour. “That’ll count for both,” he said. “[But] I haven’t even looked at next year’s schedule. Like, I have no idea when the last [finals] event is. I don’t know when the first event is [on the PGA Tour]. I don’t have a clue. I don’t know anything.”

Well, he does know he is ready for some American cooking. At least part time.

The epiphany struck him after competing in the Shell Houston Open, where he finished T-23 and then flew home to Jupiter, Fla., in time to watch his beloved Boston Red Sox—Uihlein is a Massachusetts native—play the New York Yankees.

“Yeah, this is the first year I’ve really, really wanted it,” he admitted. “First time in my professional career I was home on a Sunday night after playing on a Sunday. Never once have I done that. You kind of like to sit back and be like that’s pretty convenient. Boys are doing it all the time. That kind of hit home a little bit. So, I was like, I really kind of want to at least get my PGA Tour card so I can have moments like that when I can spend a little time at home with my girlfriend and two dogs.”

Ah, but the world still beckons. Uihlein, the son of Wally Uihlein, longtime CEO of Acushnet, parent company of Titleist, feels like a more grounded individual thanks to the frequent-flyer miles he’s accumulated the last five years.

“I’ve been very fortunate with my upbringing and who my father is, the opportunities I’ve had,” Uihlein said. “Bradenton in high school [at the IMG Academy] I was in a bubble. I go to college at Oklahoma State, you’re in a bubble. All of a sudden my first event as a pro, I end up on a plane to India. You go there for the first time, really not leaving the country very rarely, and all of a sudden you go to India, totally different. It’s a different world, different cultures. Just a different environment. You get to see things I never would have seen if I didn’t leave America. Like I said, it’s just some places that are just phenomenal.

“We play an event this year in China where you can see the Great Wall of China. Incredible.”

So, what’s next? Well, it could be Boise, Idaho, in two weeks for the second finals event. No walls, but great potatoes. Uihlein wasn’t sure, but it’s all gravy. Golf’s renaissance man hasn’t done much domestic reconnaissance, his mind programmed for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews followed by the Italian Open on the European Tour.

But again, he’s in an enviable position. And after recovering from surgery for a ruptured ligament in his left wrist in May 2016 and retooling his game to commit to hitting a fade—after playing a draw most of his career—he believes he has the game for wherever he ventures next. Beating a quality field on a tough track is “nice validation,” he said.

And that’s the most important direction of all. No maps or compasses needed. His game is headed upwards.

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