By John Strege
This was not how anyone would have plotted Patrick Rodgers’ career trajectory, not in 2014, when he turned professional in the wake of a college career that shared similarities with that of another Stanford prodigy, Tiger Woods.

Yet there he was on Sunday, back in his home state of Indiana, facing the prospect of losing his PGA Tour job, when he took another page from the Tiger playbook, delivering a clutch performance that ended with a fist pump on the 18th green.

Rodgers, 29, shot a final-round 67 in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind., to move from outside the top 25 and into a tie for 15th to regain the PGA Tour exemption he was on the verge of losing when he finished 128th on the FedEx Cup points list to miss the PGA Tour playoffs for the first time since becoming a PGA Tour member in the 2015-2016 season.

“I am so grateful,” he posted on Twitter shortly after concluding his round.

Another Stanford player, Joseph Bramlett, won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship with a final-round seven-under 65 and a 72-hole total of 20-under par 268 to retain his PGA Tour card for the 2021-2022 season.

Rodgers shares the Stanford record for most tournament victories with 11 and actually produced a better career scoring average than Woods. Yet his PGA Tour career, though profitable (more than $8 million in earnings), has not been notable. In 191 career starts, he has yet to deliver a victory.

When he missed making the FedEx Cup playoffs, he chose to enter the three-event Korn Ferry Tour playoffs. A tie for 20th and a missed cut in the first two events required a high finish in the Tour Championship for him to secure one of the 25 PGA Tour cards available in the tour playoffs.

Entering the final round, he was outside the top 25, bogeyed the first hole, then began a steady climb up the leader board with five birdies and an eagle on the next nine holes. Though he made two bogeys on the back nine, he added a birdie at 17 and secured his PGA Tour job with an 18th-hole par.

Bramlett, meanwhile, began the final round trailing leader Trey Mullinax by four and swept past him with a back-nine of six-under-par 30 to win by four. Bramlett, who had not made the FedEx Cup playoffs in any of his three seasons on the PGA Tour, shot consecutive 65s to close the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

Mullinax, an Alabama teammate of Justin Thomas’ who was attempting to complete a wire-to-wire victory, bogeyed three of his final five holes in a round of 70, though he regained his PGA Tour card for the first time since 2019.

The others earning their PGA Tour cards were Aaron Rai, Bronson Burgoon, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, J.J. Spaun, Hayden Buckley, Sahith Theegala, Matthias Schwab, Vincent Whaley, John Huh, Alex Smalley, Joshua Creel, Lucas Herbert, Callum Terren, Scott Gutschewski, Dawie van der Walt, Kelly Kraft, Michael Gligic, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Austin Cook, Kurt Kitayama, Peter Uihlein and Justin Lower.

The post Patrick Rodgers rallies to retain PGA Tour card, while Joseph Bramlett wins Korn Ferry Tour Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
Patrick Rodgers has endured a season of torture. But unlike a lot of his peers who showed up at this week’s regular-season finale, the Wyndham Championship, fighting for their playing status next year, Rodgers doesn’t have to worry about that.

But that hasn’t made things easy on the former Stanford All-American.

First, he fired weekend rounds of 61-62 in the RSM Classic in November in a bid for his first PGA Tour title only to lose in a playoff to Charles Howell III. More recently he was forced to spend 16 weeks on the sidelines with wrist and thumb injuries while watching his place in the FedEx Cup standings drop each Sunday night.

But had it not been for that career-best finish in Georgia, Rodgers would have been fidgeting on his sofa a bit more nervously. When he shut it down after a missed cut at the Valspar Championship in late March, he was 38th in the FedEx Cup standings. He showed up this week ranked 96th, well inside the top 125 that ensures retaining his card.

“It’s been a tough year. It’s been a really tough year,” said Rodgers, 27, the top collegiate golfer in 2014. “I didn’t really know what was going on with my injury for a couple of months, and I just kind of had to sit and watch myself fall down the FedEx Cup. After getting off to such a great start, that was frustrating. But it’s really nice the way the FedEx Cup is formatted, you can make a nice little run here late in the year and that’s my intention.”

That run got off to a halting start with a missed cut at the Barbasol Championship and a T-59 finish at last week’s Barracuda Championship, but he seems back on track after an opening seven-under-par 63 Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., his best round since that closing 62 at the RSM Classic.

That effort put him one stroke behind leader Byeong Hun An and Sungaje Im.

Among the tour’s putting leaders, Rodgers converted eight birdies against one bogey thanks to holing more than 160 feet of putts. He ranked first in stroke gained/putting with a 5.220 average.

“It’s funny when all you can do is putt, sometimes that might be the rustiest thing,” he said. “But no, it’s been good. I’m probably playing better than I could have hoped for coming off an injury. I played actually really well the last couple of weeks, kind of getting back into it, and this was the first round that I really put together and that was cool to see and I’m excited for the next three.”

The post Patrick Rodgers, having survived ‘a really tough year,’ opens Wyndham Championship with a 63 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Mike O’Malley
Yeah, a day can make a big difference.

The 118th U.S. Open, engulfed in controversy just 24 hours earlier, featured open water faucets and benign pin positions for Sunday’s final round, dramatically changing course conditions and scoring. Call it a transfusion and a transformation. How to document it? Let’s go to the numbers, fellow stat geeks.

—It didn’t take long to notice things were different. The first 19 players to finish Sunday under the more docile setup—the USGA estimated that green speeds were generally 10-12 inches slower than Rounds 2 and 3—improved by an average of 7.63 strokes versus the day before. After an 84 on Saturday, Rickie Fowler rebounded with a five-under-par 65, the 19-stroke swing marking the biggest improvement from Round 3 to Round 4 in Open history. Patrick Rodgers was better by 16 shots (83-67) and Hideki Matsuyama by 13 (79-66). Fowler’s playing competitor, Phil Mickelson, beat his previous effort by 12 (81-69) after some drama on Saturday, when he shot his highest score in 27 years of Opens. (You might have heard about that.)

—Tommy Fleetwood, teeing off 14 groups before the final pairing, shot a seven-under-par 63 to match the all-time low for a U.S. Open shared by Johnny Miller (1973 at Oakmont), Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf (1980 at Baltusrol), Vijay Singh (2003 at Olympia Fields) and Justin Thomas (2017 at Erin Hills).

—Fleetwood made eight birdies but missed an eight-footer for another one on the 72nd hole, leaving him one stroke shy of winner Brooks Koepka hours later. A ninth birdie by Fleetwood would have matched the Open record for a round shared by Miller, Thomas (whose round last year at Erin Hills included an eagle), Rives McBee (1966 at Olympic) and Gary Koch (1982 at Pebble Beach).

—The first three rounds produced 21 scores in the 60s; 15 players broke 70 on Sunday.

—The field scoring average improved more than three strokes from Saturday (75.327) to Sunday (72.179). And there was certainly no rerun of the Shinnecock Shambles in 2004’s final round, when the field averaged 78.727. Before this year’s Open, USGA officials promised there would be no repeat. Saturday came close. But Sunday? It was another day.

The post U.S. Open 2018: How much easier did Shinnecock Hills play on Sunday? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers

Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Rodgers were two of the top amateur players in recent memory, both of whom brought lofty expectations to the PGA Tour. And while both have had some professional success, neither had had a breakthrough victory, and on the back nine of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run on Sunday, it came down to the two of them, and DeChambeau prevailed.

Entering the final round, DeChambeau, 23, was four shots behind Rodgers, and that deficit had grown by the time he reached the 10th hole at even par for the day. The 2015 U.S. Amateur champion caught fire on the home nine, making birdies on four of his next five holes to get to 16-under. After a wayward drive on the 17th, DeChambeau pulled off a 270-yard recovery shot to reach the par-5 green in two and two-putt for birdie.

Rodgers was just a few groups behind, and sitting at 18-under. DeChambeau found the green in regulation on the 18th, with a 12-foot left-to-right putt to finish at 18-under. As it neared the cup, it looked as though it would just slide by on the right side of the hole, but it caught the lip, dropped in, and DeChambeau went wild. Rodgers would go on to bogey the par-5 17th and par the 18th, giving DeChambeau his first win in his 40th start on tour.

Afterwards, DeChambeau was emotional, and pointed to the fact that the John Deere Classic was where he played one of his first few events on tour as an amateur in 2015. Winning at TPC Deere Run just two years later was a special moment, and it gets him a spot in next week’s Open Championship.

For Rodgers, the solo second matched his career best T2 finish at the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship. It was his third top 10 this season, and second top-15 finish at the John Deere Classic in his career. His Open Championship debut will have to wait.

Wesley Bryan posted one of the low rounds of the day, a seven-under 64 that featured a six-under 30 on his back nine to finish at 16-under 268. The former trick shot artist continues to impress during his strong rookie season, already having picked up his first victory at the RBC Heritage and finishing in the top 10 four times. He’ll be making his first appearance at the Open Championship next week, and just his third start in a major in his career.

Tying Bryan for third was Rick Lamb, who shot a final-round five-under 66. Lamb, 26, has made just four cuts in 14 events this season, with just one top-25 finish. His rookie season hasn’t been nearly as successful as Bryan’s, but the T3 is his best result this year.

Three-time John Deere Classic winner Steve Stricker began three-over through eight holes on Thursday, but played the remaining 64 holes in 18-under to finish in a tie for fifth. His final-round seven-under 64 earned him his second top 10 this season. The President’s Cup captain will be making his 15th appearance at the Open Championship next week at Royal Birkdale.

Zach Johnson, Jonathan Byrd and Scott Stallings also finished at 15-under in a tie for fifth.

The post Bryson DeChambeau birdies 17th and 18th holes to earn first PGA Tour victory appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rodgers, 25, has had plenty of highs and lows in his young tour career. He’s finished in the top five four times over the last three years, but has also missed 13 of 22 cuts in 2017 alone. Friday’s round at TPC Deere Run was his lowest of the season and came at a course he’s had mixed success at, having missed three cuts and finishing in the top 30 twice in five tries. A breakthrough week for the Indiana native would not only give him his first tour title, but also earn him a spot in next week’s Open Championship.

Two strokes back is another player with a decorated amateur career, Bryson DeChambeau, who posted a six-under 65 and sits at 11-under 131. Much like Rodgers, DeChambeau has struggled with expectations in his limited time on tour, but is beginning to find the form that won him the NCAA individual championship and U.S. Amateur in 2015. In his last three events, DeChambeau has finished T-26, T-17 and T-14. A win this week also would be the first of his career.

Zach Johnson and Charles Howell III are three back at 10-under 132. The two veterans have already wrapped up spots in next week’s major at Royal Birkdale.

Four players are four strokes back at nine-under 133, including Chesson Hadley, fresh off his Web.com Tour victory a week ago at the LECOM Health Challenge. Hadley, 30, posted a bogey-free seven-under 64 that featured birdies on three of his last five holes. The former Georgia Tech All-American went from PGA Tour winner and rookie of the year in 2014 to losing his card at the end of the 2016 season, but has shown resilience, and is taking advantage of his latest opportunity this week. It’s just his fifth start on the PGA Tour in 2017.

Kevin Tway, also at nine under, shot an eight-under 63. The former U.S. Junior Amateur winner made seven straight birdies beginning on the par-3 16th (his seventh), the most in a row on the PGA Tour this season. He’s tied with for fifth with Hadley, Chad Campbell and J.J. Henry.

The post Patrick Rodgers shoots 64, leads by two at the John Deere Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.