Patton Kizzire Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

A Sony Open champ is anxious to win again at Waialae — just without the mid-tournament missile alert

Matt Smith — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 08:41:47 +0000

Patton Kizzire will tell you he is a “momentum” player, which a lot of professional golfers happen to be, but for a few years now he has been trapped in the conundrum of trying to first create some momentum before he can ride it.

If only he can conjure his performance five years ago here at Waialae Country Club, when he outlasted James Hahn in a record six-hole playoff and won the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii for his second win in four starts over a two-month span.

Kizzire — which rhymes with desire, an emotion he is not lacking — is back on Oahu hoping that he can once again find the gear that produced his only two victories on the PGA Tour. The Auburn product won the 2017 OHL Classic at Mayakoba and then was able to maintain his form to collect a second trophy and springboard into the top 50 in the world.

“I was very opportunistic, which you need to be, but I just remember I had a lot of confidence coming off the win at Mayakoba and I took advantage of my form at the time,” Kizzire said. “I feel like I am a better player now than I was then, but I got my game into a really good place, and I was really doing a great job of just making a score. That’s what I am looking for again, getting a spark, because I’m a momentum player and a momentum putter.”

How a player creates that momentum is the key.

“I’ve really elevated my game,” he said. “It’s just taking all that work you’ve done to the golf course, every hole and every round and just staying after it.

Ranked 237th in the world, Kizzire, 36, is coming off a season that wasn’t his best but that didn’t leave him discouraged. He qualified for the FedEx Cup playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons. He’s optimistic about his prospects for this week given that his best finish so far this season is a T-10 at Mayakoba. The 6ft 5ins Alabama native has his comfort courses.

Waialae is one of them.

“I love this golf course. It’s a great challenge. I love country-club old-style golf courses with big greens,” he said. “I’m definitely excited about being back here.”

Just two years ago Kizzire shot 18-under 262 to finish T-7. That performance happened to be one stroke better than the year he won, when a final-round two-under 68 earned him a tie with Hahn, who shot a closing 62. They then embarked on a six-hole playoff in which Kizzire emerged with the victory with a par.

Kizzire remembers nearly every shot, but he also recalls how “peculiar” were the proceedings that week. Most significant was the false missile alert that Saturday morning of the third round that had many players scrambling to find safe haven and calling their families at home if they had not accompanied them.

Just after 8am local time, players received an emergency phone notification that read: “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill”. A banner with the same message also appeared on TV screens. It took 38 minutes before a second message was sent notifying everyone that the first was sent by accident.

“It was a wild week. I know this sounds a little weird, but one reason I played so freely was because of that missile scare,” Kizzire said. “I mean, we thought it might be a nuclear missile. No one really knew. But after that passed, I remember feeling grateful that I was playing golf, and I just played loose and put together a good round.”

Kizzire, in fact, shot his second-straight 64, which got him in the hunt. The next day, he converted for his second career victory.

He’s hoping that he doesn’t have to wait much longer for his third. He’s not frustrated. He just misses the feeling.

“I’m a better ball-striker than I was then. I hit the ball farther. I feel like overall my game is better,” said Kizzire, who is paired with David Lingmerth and Hayden Buckley for the first two rounds. “I’m working on the stuff that really matters for winning a golf tournament — short game and putting. I really want to start putting it all together. I love the game, but what I really love is winning. I love beating my opponents, beating the golf course. I’m focused on that.”

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US Open 2022: Abraham Ancer withdraws late before Round 1, Patton Kizzire takes his place

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 12:51:06 +0000

By Stephen Hennessey
Less than an hour before the first groups teed off in the 122nd US Open, Abraham Ancer was announced as a late withdrawal. The only reason given was “illness”, which is a shame as Ancer had a good PGA Championship at Southern Hills and seemed to be recovered from an injury earlier this season.

Ancer was replaced by Patton Kizzire, who was the first alternate, having been the first man out from the Roswell, Georgia, US Open qualifying site.

That also means Rickie Fowler, who was second alternate, is the next man up. His buddy Jordan Spieth, who it was reported by the Golf Channel was battling a stomach bug, wasn’t seen until about 45 minutes before his tee time on Thursday, but did arrive at The Country Club and does appear ready to tee it up. So Rickie will need to rely on another competitor’s misfortune to find himself in the field this week.

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Watch this epic, volcanic meltdown by Patton Kizzire in which he destroys putter and hat

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 00:49:05 +0000

Icon Sportswire
Patton Kizzire loses his temper and throws his club after hitting his tee shot on the 6th hole during the 2021 John Deere Classic.

By Shane Ryan
OWINGS MILLS, Md.—Patton Kizzire knew he needed an excellent showing at this week’s BMW Championship to move from 66th in the FedExCup rankings to the top 30 position he’d need to qualify for the Tour Championship. Unfortunately for him, a double bogey on his final hole Friday left him with a below-average 72 on a day when the leaders were posting a variety of obscenely low scores. Stuck in tie for 48th, miles from the top, Kizzire likely understood that his mission to make Atlanta was all but doomed. This clearly didn’t sit well, and after missing his short bogey putt, he gave himself body and soul to the gods of rage in what amounts to one of the best meltdowns on the PGA Tour in this or any other year. Watch:

Patton Kizzire channeling his inner Bo Jackson ? pic.twitter.com/xc7nfmGkXz

— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) August 27, 2021

This is becoming something of a brand for Kizzire, who broke a driver last week at the Northern Trust:

LOOOOOOOOOL pic.twitter.com/y0fnCs1ril

— Jason Rouslin (@DFSgolfer23) August 23, 2021

In the case at Liberty National, Kizzire originally contended that he didn’t break the driver in anger and asked to have it replaced. But after Jordan Spieth offered his opinion, Kizzire decided not to call from another driver.

All of this is extremely relatable, and with respect to Dan Hicks, if I were a spectator in that crowd watching Kizzire go to town on his own hat, I’d be far from dismayed; I’d be thrilled! Nobody got hurt, so what’s a little golf rage between friends?

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8 PGA Tour pros whose 2018 seasons have been going far too under the radar

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 01:43:01 +0000

By Luke Kerr-Dineen
There’s been lots going on this golf season. So much that at times it’s hard to know, exactly, what to focus on. Tiger Woods is back (perhaps you’ve heard). Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson are all obviously still knocking around. And with the Ryder Cup approaching, there’s been an ascendant group of young stars like Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau, and Xander Schauffele getting American golf fans excited about the future—not to mention some fine play by several European players that has everyone anticipating a tight match in September.

With so many interesting storylines developing, it’s the kind of situation where several players who are having compelling years to date aren’t getting the attention they likely deserve. We’re talking about seasons that would’ve ordinarily garnered far more buzz that are simply not getting much love. So, in an attempt to offer credit where it’s due, here are eight players we’d like to salute for their accomplishments thus far.

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Tim Bradbury

8. Jason Day
Admittedly, Day may be a stretch to include in this list, but it’s worth remembering that the Australian hadn’t won in almost two years before this season. But with victories at Torrey Pines and Quail Hollow, he’s one of seven players to grab more than one title in 2018. Plus he has a T-5 at the Players Championship, fifth in the FedEx Cup standings, and leads the tour both in strokes-gained/around the green and strokes-gained/putting. He’s not back to his best just yet, but he’s very close.

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Sam Greenwood

7. Patton Kizzire
His recent form—which has been nothing short of dire—is the reason he’s not higher on this list. But thanks to his early season hot streak, with wins at Mayakoba and Honolulu, the history books will read that in the 2017-’18, Kizzire proved he could play against maybe of the game’s best.

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Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

6. Chesson Hadley
The Georgia Tech grad’s lone PGA Tour win came as a rookie in 2014 and seemed to signal bright things ahead, but the dawn never lifted. He finished 159th on the FedEx Cup points list in 2016 and 211th in 2017. This season, however, he’s up to 18th, thanks to his 20 made cuts in 25 events, including two top-threes and 11 other top-25s.

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Jeff Gross/Getty Images

5. Beau Hossler
The former college player of the year at Texas has been getting some hype, but his first season on the PGA Tour has been genuinely impressive in lots of different ways. The 23-year-old is currently on a streak of 12 made cuts and co-leads the tour in most rounds in the 60s with 41.

Related: The contradictions of Bryson DeChambeau

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Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

4. Brian Harman
Harman is having a legitimately impressive season and warrants more Ryder Cup buzz than he’s getting. He’s registered a top 10 in almost half his starts this season (nine of 20), the second most on tour. This includes three in three starts at WGC events.

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Jamie Squire

3. Henrik Stenson
A lack of wins is keeping him from ascending any higher, though his good play perhaps warrant more attention, especially considering his recent injuries. The consistent Swede has eight top-25s in 11 PGA Tour starts, is fourth in total scoring average and third in strokes-gained/tee-to-green.

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Francois Nel

2. Justin Rose
At 37, Rose is squarely in the prime of his career—and he’s playing like it. He ranks second in money won per start on the PGA Tour ($438,581) and top-10s. He’s made every cut in his 13 PGA Tour starts, boasts eight top-10s and has two wins. You could make a solid case he’s currently the best player in the world. Yet it seems like we don’t hear much about him.

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Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

1. Webb Simpson
The only real narratives surrounding Simpson since his 2012 U.S. Open win have centered around trying to get comfortable with the anchoring ban. But this season he’s come out of obscurity and looks even stronger than he did when he won a major. He ranks sixth in strokes-gained/putting and 14th in strokes-gained/overall. His results show the improvement: He won the Players in a stroll, has finished T-10 and T-12 in his last two majors and has five other top-10s. Simpson is playing some truly excellent golf, one deserving of a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

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Tiger Woods ‘very pleased’ with opening-round 70 at PGA National

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 03:49:59 +0000

David Cannon/Getty Images

By Brian Wacker
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Part of what makes PGA National one of the more difficult courses on the PGA Tour is the wind. Blowing out of the east from the Atlantic coast at a steady 15 mph on Thursday morning, it wasn’t exactly a day for low scores, with Alex Noren claiming the early lead at four-under 66 and only 18 players from the morning wave shooting par or better in the opening round of the Honda Classic.

That group included Tiger Woods, who, in just his seventh round and third tournament of the year, posted an even-par 70, matching his lowest first-round score in five career starts in the tournament. Along the way, he made one bogey, one double bogey and three birdies—the most impressive of which came on his second hole of the day, the par-4 11th, where he hammered an iron 297 yards up the right side of the fairway, hit his approach from 150 yards to 20 feet and made the putt.

“It was easily my best ball-striking day,” Woods said. “I was very pleased.”

With good reason.

Though he hit just seven of 14 fairways, 10 of 18 greens and didn’t birdie either of the par 5s, Woods controlled his ball well, for the most part, in the breeze. Some of those misses off the tee came with driver, which he hit five times, only finding the short grass once (and once hitting a pretzel stand). When Woods hit 3-wood or iron off the tee it was a different story. He missed just one fairway, by a few inches.

The best of his iron play came on the toughest hole on the course, the 17th. While playing partners Brandt Snedeker and Patton Kizzire found the hazard on the 193-yard par 3 over water (Snedeker tried to play his from the muck, and that didn’t go well, making a triple-bogey 6), Woods flushed a 5-iron into the wind. The ball trickled off the green, but the shot was pure.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Woods got up-and-down to save par, something he did successfully six of eight times on Thursday, which was another area of his game that looked sharper than his last round when he missed the cut at Riviera.

“I felt like I had good touch, but more importantly, I made a lot of the key short putts for par,” he said. “It was really tough. Some of those putts were a little bit bouncy.”

Asked if it was the best he has hit the ball this year, Woods said, “Easily.”

To that point, his proximity to the hole on Thursday was 28 feet, 11 inches—or more than 11 feet better than in his first two starts of the year at Torrey Pines and Riviera. His strokes gained-tee to green was also the best since the 2015 Wyndham Championship.

“I’m very pleased,” Woods said. “Today was not easy. It’s going to get more difficult because these greens are not the best. It was tough all around today. The wind was playing really hard, the rough’s up and it’s really tough to make putts out there.”

The only real hiccup came on the par-5 third, where Woods drove into a fairway bunker, laid up to 150 yards, hit 6-iron into a greenside bunker, pitched out to only the fringe, chipped five feet past the hole and missed the one coming back before tapping in for double.

His only other bogey was on the par-4 16th, where despite finding the fairway with a 2-iron, he tugged 7-iron into the sand and didn’t get up and down.

But given the windswept conditions, it was hardly that bad.

“I felt very comfortable today,” Woods said. “I felt like I hit the ball really well, and it was tough out there. I had to hit a lot of knock-down shots. I had to work the golf ball both ways, and occasionally downwind, straight up in the air. I was able to do all that today, so that was very pleasing.”

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6 takeaways from this year’s West Coast swing

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 06:05:35 +0000

By John Feinstein
If I’m reading my handy-dandy wrap-around calendar right, courtesy of the folks in Ponte Vedra Beach, the PGA Tour’s “regular season” is now more than one-third over, 15 of the 44 tournaments that lead to “The Playoffs” having already been contested. Never mind that my actual calendar says it’s only February.

It makes as much sense to me as the fact that winning a major championship is worth 600 FedEx Cup points but winning the first playoff event, the Northern Trust Open, is worth 2,000 points. Of course it is.

What I’m more willing to accept is the tour’s West Coast swing finished on Sunday with Bubba Watson proving yet again that he is the ultimate horses-for-courses player, winning at Riviera Country Club for the third time in five years in what used to be the Northern Trust Open but is now the Genesis Open. Don’t try to figure that one out.

Watson now has 10 PGA Tour wins and seven of them have come on three courses: he’s won twice at Riviera; twice at the TPC River Highlands outside Hartford and twice at Augusta National—which, let’s face it, is a pretty good place to play some of your best golf.

Watson’s return to the land of the golf living makes him one of 43 players now favored to win the Masters. If you don’t believe me, just watch TV for a while. Every time a player makes back-to-back birdies, someone with a microphone says he’s ready to win the Masters. Unless the player is Tiger Woods. In that case, it only takes one birdie.

So, what did we learn from the seven-event West Coast odyssey that began with Dustin Johnson destroying the Plantation Course on Maui and ended with Watson’s Hollywood finish?

A few thoughts:

• It isn’t that mere mortals can’t win on the PGA Tour anymore, but being able to hit the ball into outer space is becoming more and more of an advantage. The West Coast winners included Dustin Johnson, Watson, Jon Rahm, Jason Day and Gary Woodland—all bombers. Ted Potter Jr. and Patton Kizzire (who looks like he can hit the ball miles) were the only guys who came out on top who don’t hit the ball from one county to another on a regular basis.

Warren Little/Getty Images

• Slow play remains a huge issue, and the tour needs to stop trying to deny it. This has become an emperor’s new clothes type of deal: Commissioner Jay Monahan insists slow play isn’t an issue, so it’s not an issue. Even if you claim that J.B. Holmes appearing hypnotized for more than four minutes in the 18th fairway at Torrey Pines is an outlier, watching players prepare to play has become torture. Heck, even baseball has recognized the need to speed up play; does golf have to be even slower to get its act together? There’s only one way to do it: Penalize players strokes when they dilly-dally and give rules officials the authority to say, “You’re too slow, add one to your score.” NO APPEALS unless you can prove that an act of God was the reason why your threesome was playing at a six-hour pace.

• Tiger Woods, the official touring pro of the Golf Channel, has come a long way back after essentially not playing for more than two years. But he also still has a long way to go. Remember he made the cut on the number in San Diego and putted like a madman to finish T-23. Last week at Riviera, he putted well enough Thursday (25 putts) to give himself a chance to make the weekend, then fell apart Friday and missed the cut comfortably. The good news? He feels healthy enough to try to play in back-to-back events, teeing it up this week at the Honda Classic. But it’s a long way from here to the back nine on Sunday at Augusta.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

• Phil Mickelson can still play. He still hasn’t won since the 2013 Open Championship, but there’s clearly some magic in those lefty clubs even as he closes in on birthday number 48. (I can already hear the crowds at Shinnecock Hills singing Happy Birthday to him off-key on every tee during the third round of the U.S. Open). Mickelson had three straight top-six finishes out west where he always seems to play well: T-5 in Phoenix; T-2 at Pebble Beach and T-6 in L.A. He never seriously challenged to win, but played well enough each Sunday to give his fans legitimate hope that there’s one last moment of glory left in Lefty.

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

• The two best stories out west had nothing to do with all the glamour boys who came out to play. Ted Potter Jr., who looks like he’d fit right in with most Saturday foursomes, held off the likes of Johnson, Jason Day and Mickelson to win at Pebble Beach, reminded us that you don’t have to look like you’re heading for a GQ shoot once you hole out on 18 to win on the tour. His win at Pebble wasn’t quite as unlikely as Vaughn Taylor coming out of golf purgatory there to hold off Mickelson two years ago, but it was pretty remarkable. And Woodland’s win at TPC Scottsdale had to tug at your heartstrings: He and his wife, Gabby, lost one of the twins she was carrying last March and their son, Jaxson, was born 10 weeks prematurely in June—but is doing fine now. When Woodland holed his final putt to beat Chez Reavie in a playoff he signaled to the sky to let his unborn daughter know he still loved her. That was the sweetest moment of the year to date.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

• And the best news for golf? No, it wasn’t the non-stop analysis of all things Woods or even Rory McIlroy coming back to play well twice in the desert (Dubai, Abu Dhabi) and reasonably well (T-20) in Los Angeles. It was the return of Day (above), who was the best player in the world not named Jordan Spieth in 2015, but also went through a rough 2017 that included dealing with his mother’s cancer, his wife Ellie suffering a miscarriage and more injury woes. Day won in San Diego, beating Alex Noren in a two-day, six-hole playoff, and then finished T-2 at Pebble Beach. Add him to the list of favorites at Augusta. That makes 44.

Now comes the Florida-Mexico-Texas-Dominican Republic swing. You have to love golf’s traditions.

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The clubs Patton Kizzire used to win the Sony Open in Hawaii

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 06:36:38 +0000

HONOLULU, HI – JANUARY 11: Patton Kizzire of the United States lines up a putt on the 15th green during round one of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 11, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

By E. Michael Johnson
It took six extra holes—the longest playoff in Sony Open in Hawaii history—but Patton Kizzire downed James Hahn for the win to become the first player on the PGA Tour in the 2017-18 season to have two wins.

Almost two months to the day since Kizzire won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Kizzire captured the Sony Open with a two-putt par on the par-3 17th. “It wasn’t necessarily pretty but it was nice to come out on top,” said Kizzire.

Although Kizzire stumbled on the greens a bit Sunday (-.717 strokes gained/putting) he still had a good week putting with a 1.711 strokes gained mark with his Scotty Cameron by Titleist GoLo Tour putter. Kizzire also used a split set of Titleist’s relatively new 718 line of irons. Kizzire had a 718 T-MB 4iron, a pair of 718 CB irons for his 5- and 6-irons and the rest of his iron set the 718 MB along with a Titleist Vokey SM7 pitching wedge.

The equipment Patton Kizzire used to win the Sony Open in Hawaii

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Driver: Titleist 917D3 ((Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec 6X shaft), 10.5 degrees

3-wood: Titleist 917F2, 16.5 degrees

Hybrid: Titleist 913H, 19 degrees

Irons (4): Titleist 718 T-MB; (5-6): Titleist 718 CB; (7-9): Titleist 718 MB; (PW): Titleist Vokey SM7

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (52, 56 degrees); Titleist Vokey prototype (60 degrees)

Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist GoLo Tour

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Patton Kizzire defeats James Hahn on sixth playoff hole to win the Sony Open in Hawaii

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 06:25:17 +0000

Patton Kizzire reacts after making a par putt on the sixth playoff hole to defeat James Hahn and win the 2018 Sony Open. (Tim Bradbury)

By Christopher Powers
It took an eternity, but that likely won’t matter to Patton Kizzire, who was able to outlast James Hahn in a sudden-death playoff at the Sony Open in Hawaii, ending it on the sixth extra hole with a par. It’s the second victory of his career, the first coming just two months ago at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

“It wasn’t necessarily pretty,” Kizzire said of the longest playoff in Sony Open history, adding, “but it was nice to come out on top. James played a great round today. It was kind of a marathon playoff. I was hoping I could make an eagle on the first hole and end it quickly, but I’ll take it any way I can get it.”

It looked as though the playoff might not have even reached the second hole, when Kizzire left his third shot on the first extra hole short of the green and in the bunker at the par-5 18th. But he came up big on his next, hitting it to within tap-in range for par, which was good enough to extend when Hahn missed his birdie putt. After four more holes of the pair going shot for shot, Kizzire took advantage at the par-3 17th, beating Hahn’s bogey with a par for his second win in his last four starts. Even after this dream start to his 2017-’18 season, Kizzire is still hungry for more.

“This is huge for me, huge for my confidence. One win doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot, two means a little more, and three’s even better. I’m always looking for the next one, I’m super excited right now.”

The victory makes him the first player to two victories on the season, and it’s expected to move him from 105th to inside the top 55 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Hahn entered the final round five shots off the lead, but found himself in the playoff after posting the round of the tournament, an eight-under 62 to join Kizzire at 17-under 263. Hahn, a two-time tour winner was previously 2-0 in playoffs, beating Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson in the 2015 Northern Trust and Roberto Castro in the 2016 Wells Fargo. Unfortunately, that record is no longer perfect, but the runner-up finish is his best since his solo third at last season’s AT&T Byron Nelson.

“I had opportunities to win, didn’t pull it off,” Hahn said. “So, for me, I’m a competitor. I’m a grinder, love to compete, I hate losing. It’s going to push me to be better.”

Tom Hoge, the 54-hole leader, cruised along for most of the day, making three birdies and just one bogey through 15 holes to grab the solo lead at 18 under. Three pars would have earned him his first PGA Tour victory, but he ran into major trouble at the par-4 16th, hitting his approach into a greenside bunker and walking away with a disastrous double bogey. Still, he had chances on the 17th and 18th to earn a spot in the playoff, but neither of his birdie looks fell. He ended up with an even-par 70 to finish in solo third at 16-under 264.

“I played well. I would have liked a few more putts to go early on in the day. Ultimately, it’s a swing on 8 and swing on 16, same ones,” Hoge said. “I was kind of in between yardages on both of them. I was trying to play kind of a low draw to get to the back pins there and just kind of flipped to the bottom left. I was in a tough spot on 16 in the bunker there.”

“I hit two good shots on 17 and 18 to give myself a chance. Hit good putts, just didn’t quite find the bottom. That’s how it goes.”

A potential breakthrough win for Hoge will have to wait, but the solo third is the best finish of his career on the PGA Tour.

For Brian Harman, it was another tough weekend in paradise after holding the 36-hole lead. He played his final two rounds in just two under, including a final-round even-par 70 to finish at 15-under 265 in a tie for fourth. The two-time PGA Tour winner won’t be pleased with walking away without the victory, but the T-4 does mark his fifth top 10 finish in as many starts this season, and his third straight inside the top four.

Harman was joined at 15 under by Webb Simpson and Brian Stuard, who both vaulted into the top 5 with five-under 65s on Sunday. It’s Stuard’s second T-4 finish of the season, and third inside the top 10. For Simpson, he’s now finished T-20 or better in three of his four starts this season.

Gary Woodland, Ben Martin and Ollie Schniederjans finished in a tie for sixth at 14-under 266.

Defending champion Justin Thomas will leave Hawaii without a victory this season, but a final-round two-under 68 earned him a T-14 finish at 12-under 268. One behind Thomas was Jordan Spieth, who carded a second straight four-under 66 to finish in a tie for 18th at 11-under 269.

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Tom Hoge leads Brian Harman, Patton Kizzire by one stroke at the Sony Open in Hawaii

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 14 Jan 2018 12:14:28 +0000

HONOLULU, HI – JANUARY 13: Tom Hoge of the United States reacts after a birdie putt on the 17th green during round three of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 13, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

By Christopher Powers
Tom Hoge was likely not a name many had on the radar heading into this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, and probably not even heading into Saturday’s third round at Waialae Country Club.

A bogey-free six-under 64 on moving day has changed that quickly, vaulting the TCU alum to the top of the leader board at 16-under 194. He takes a one-stroke lead over Brian Harman and Patton Kizzire into Sunday’s final round in search of his first PGA Tour victory.

Hoge, 28, played solid all day, making four birdies on his opening 10 holes, followed by six straight pars to keep pace with the leaders. Then, at the par-3 17th, he dropped a birdie from 40 feet to get to 15 under, and added one more at the 18th to take the solo lead. While it’s not a spot he’s found himself in many times in his previous 75 starts on tour, he remained optimistic.

“Yeah, a new position. It’s a good one obviously. I’ve been close to the lead a few times in the fall. So a little bit to draw on there,” Hoge said. “Haven’t quite pulled it off yet. Just getting a little more belief in myself, and hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day for me.”

Close behind are Harman and Kizzire, who shot by far the most impressive round of the day, a six-under 64 that started with a double bogey on his opening hole. It wasn’t until the par-4 sixth when he finally made up ground, beginning a streak of five consecutive birdies that did more than just right the ship.

“I just want to stay patient until I get hot. That’s what I say at home. That’s what I say to my caddie,” Kizzire said. “I told him, after I made double, I said, Well, I’m not trying to not mess up anymore. Sometimes you go out there, and you’re just trying not to mess up, which is a terrible mindset, but guys do it. So I went ahead and messed up and took advantage of the free wheeling after that.”

He rode the momentum to three more birdies at the 14th, 16th and 18th to get to the clubhouse at 15-under 195, earning a spot in the final group on Sunday. A win would not only be the second of Kizzire’s career, but the second in his last four starts, the first coming at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in November.

As for Harman, his two-under 68 wasn’t the prettiest round of his week, but it was enough to remain in excellent position to win on Sunday. Doing so would give him a victory in back-to-back seasons and mark the third of his career.

Kyle Stanley is in solo fourth after firing a five-under 65 that featured four birdies, a bogey and an eagle at the par-5 18th. The former Clemson standout continues to enjoy somewhat of a career resurgence, one that’s already included two top-25s and a T-5 at the WGC-HSBC Champions thus far in the 2017-’18 season.

Six back is defending champion Justin Thomas, who carded a four-under 66 to get to 10-under 200.

Jordan Spieth posted his low round of the week on Saturday, a bogey-free four-under 66 to get to seven-under 203 for the tournament. That puts him nine back in a tie for 28th.

The post Tom Hoge leads Brian Harman, Patton Kizzire by one stroke at the Sony Open in Hawaii appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Chris Kirk rides hot putter to first-round 63 and the lead at the RSM Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 07:51:11 +0000

LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 02: Chris Kirk hits his tee shot on the fourth hole during the first round of the Shriners Hospitals For Children Open at TPC Summerlin on November 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

By Christopher Powers
Sea Island Golf Club, host of this week’s RSM Classic, is the home course of a large group of tour pros that reside on St. Simons Island in Georgia. It’s safe to say it’s a “home game” for most of them, but no resident has taken advantage of the local knowledge in his career quite like Chris Kirk, who earned his second PGA Tour victory at the RSM Classic in 2013. The following season he finished T-4, and followed it up with a T-18 in 2016.

On Thursday it was more of the same in the Peach state for Kirk, who posted a bogey-free, nine-under 63 that featured seven birdies and an eagle at the par-5 18th on the club’s Plantation course. He leads by one over Joel Dahmen.

“I love it (here), I lived here for six-and-a-half years before we moved back to Athens to get closer to our families,” the University of Georgia alum said. “It’s two golf courses that I really enjoy playing and I know the greens really well and thankfully hit a lot of good shots out there today, and made a few putts too.”

Kirk, 32, needed just 23 putts for his 63, the second lowest round of his career. He also led the field in putts per green in regulation, averaging 1.35.

“I hit a lot of really nice putts, which was a little bit of a surprise,” he said. “It’s just nice to see them going in. That’s kind of been what I’ve struggled with the last year or so.”

His trouble on the greens explains why Kirk finished inside the top 10 just six times total in 2016 and 2017, after racking up three victories the previous two seasons, including two in 2014 when he ranked 22nd on tour in strokes gained: putting. In 2017, He ranked 125th in that same category, and hadn’t shown much improvement in his first three events of 2018, ranking 143rd.

“This was the first time in awhile where it doesn’t feel forced,” he said. “I’m just kind of looking at it, lining it up and whack it. That’s where we all aspire to be, but it’s nice to have that feeling for a change.”

Dahmen, who also opened his week on the Plantation course, carded a bogey-free eight-under 64, the low round of his career on the PGA Tour. After a rookie season that saw him make just seven of 16 cuts in 2016-2017, Dahmen is off to a respectable start this season, making two of four cuts and finishing T-23 at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

Three players sit at seven under, including another St. Simons Island resident and University of Georgia alum, Hudson Swafford. He’s coming off his breakthrough season on the PGA Tour, one that included his first victory last January at the CareerBuilder Challenge, four top 10s and six top 25s. Swafford is tied for third with Brian Gay and Jason Kokrak.

Back at home and fresh off his first PGA Tour victory, Patton Kizzire opened with a four-under 66 on Sea Island’s Seaside course. He sits five shots off the lead, one stroke ahead of Brian Harman, Kevin Kisner and Brandt Snedeker, who is making his first start since being sidelined with a rare rib injury last June.

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