By Christopher Powers
Three years ago Troy Merritt won the Quicken Loans National in wildly impressive fashion, including carding a third-round, course-record 61 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club en route to a three-stroke victory over Rickie Fowler. It was his second 61 that season, and Merritt appeared to be the latest talented 20-something poised to make more noise on the PGA Tour for years to come.

That’s not been the case for the now 32-year-old Iowa native, having missed 37 cuts in his 81 starts since his breakthrough at the Quicken Loans. A stretch like that can humble even the most confident of players, but one good round can also have a way of flipping the switch. Merritt came up with that round on Thursday at the Barbasol Championship, tying the course record at Keene Trace Golf Club with a 10-under 62. Four marathon days later, he finished off his second career victory on Monday with a five-under 67, overcoming the weather and a stacked leaderboard that included PGA Tour champions like Billy Horschel and Hunter Mahan.

As his eyes welled up with tears, it was clear how meaningful this second victory was for Merritt, probably because he didn’t know if and when he’d ever get it.

“Man, it’s pretty special,” said Merritt, who finished at 23-under 265 to win by one. “It’s been a few years, I’m sure I’ll have a few emotions in the next 10 minutes, but it’s been a struggle, for not just myself but my family, always cheering me on. Are you going to keep going, keep going? And we’ve prayed hard and the good lord helped us out and I really appreciate him for that, but it’s just been a long time coming.”

Merritt’s win is the latest that highlights just how important this opposite week event has become for players at all different points in their careers. The tournament’s first winner, Scott Piercy, was coming off an injury-plagued season when he won in 2015 for the first time in three years, getting his career back on track. In 2016, Aaron Baddeley won for the first time in five years while playing out of the tour’s past champions category after failing to regain his PGA Tour card. Last year, Grayson Murray broke through for his first win on tour.

For Merritt, the win gets him a two-year exemption on tour as well as a spot in next month’s PGA Championship, where he’ll be making just his fifth start in a major championship. More importantly, it proves to himself he still belongs out there competing against the biggest names in the sport.

“Having played out in Maui (in the Tournament of Champions) back in ‘16 after the Quicken Loans win, I always wanted to get back, I always wanted to start my season there or at least start my year there. To get back there will be special.

“To get to play the PGA at Bellerive in a couple weeks, that’ll be nice. I’ve got some family there north in Iowa that might make the trip down. Just being able to play in those big events with the big names and to be able to compete against them, it’s always very special. Week in and week out we don’t get to see them every week, so when you get the opportunity to tee it up against the big boys you’ve got to relish that opportunity and make the best of it, and now we’ve got a couple more opportunities.”

Three players finished one back at 22-under 266, including Horschel, who had a great look at birdie at the par-3 18th and nearly holed it. His par gave him a five-under 67 and his second finish inside the top 5 this season, not including his team win at the Zurich Classic alongside the aforementioned Piercy. Richy Werenski and Tom Lovelady also had great looks at birdie at 18 that just slipped by the cup. The T-2 is the best finish of the season for both players.

J.T. Poston finished in solo fifth at 21-under 267, and Mahan tied for seventh at 19-under 269, giving him his first top 10 on tour since the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship.

The post Troy Merritt earns second career PGA Tour win on Monday finish at the Barbasol Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
On multiple occasions, this season, a relatively unknown player has given himself a legitimate chance at a breakthrough victory through 54 holes. Last week it was Kelly Kraft at The Greenbrier, and the week before that Mexico’s Abraham Ancer held a share of the 54-hole lead at the Quicken Loans National. Then there was Andrew Putnam, who had the unfortunate task of going up against Dustin Johnson at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in the final round.

What all three had in common is that Sunday didn’t go quite as planned, leaving them empty-handed walking off the 72nd green. Michael Kim, another young, under-the-radar player, hopes to buck that trend this week at the John Deere Classic and has given himself a good chance at doing so. After opening with rounds of 63 and 64, Kim fired a third-round seven-under 64 at TPC Deere Run on Saturday despite two suspensions of play due to inclement weather. It puts him 22-under 191, extending his lead to five heading into the final round.

Kim, who turned 25 on Saturday, has finished in the top 10 just once in 83 starts on the PGA Tour, that result coming in October of 2016 when he opened his season with a T-3 at the Safeway Open. Since then the 2013 Haskins Award winner has finished no better than T-12 (2017 Houston Open), and he’s recently missed five of his last six cuts. It’s been a below average year overall for Kim, but he could make it a memorable one with one more solid round on Sunday.

Kim’s closest pursuer is Bronson Burgoon, a former standout at Texas A&M who hasn’t found much success in his limited time on the PGA Tour. Burgoon vaulted up the leaderboard on Friday with a nine-under 62, then backed it up with a five-under 66 on Saturday and now finds himself in solo second at 17-under 196.

Matt Jones’ five-under 66 has him in solo third at 16-under 197. He’s in search of his second victory on tour, the last coming in miraculous, walk-off fashion at the 2014 Houston Open.

After struggling in the final round at The Greenbrier and eventually tying for fifth, Harold Varner III has put himself in contention once again, posting a five-under 66. He’s in solo fourth at 15-under 198, seven back.

Andres Romero, who is making just his second start on tour this season, carded a seven-under 64 to get to 14-under 199. He’s joined by Sam Ryder, who shot a six-under 65.

The post Michael Kim keeps it rolling with third-round 64, leads by five at the John Deere Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Tiger Woods might have finished 10 shots behind Quicken Loans National winner Francesco Molinari, but Tiger’s T-4 finish was his second-best of the season and third top-five performance of the campaign. While it was a fine display, especially given it marked his final tune-up for the Open Championship, Woods’ showing also moved him closer to playing in France this fall.

In the latest update to the Ryder Cup standings, the 42-year-old vaulted up 11 spots to No. 28 in the American rankings. It is the first time Woods has cracked the top 30 this year.

Woods, who is already signed up to serve as a vice captain to Jim Furyk, has entertained the idea of a playing assistant multiple times this year. Last week, Furyk was evasive on what it would take for Tiger to earn a spot.

The top eight point earners after the PGA Championship will automatically qualify for the team. The remaining four slots on the U.S. club will be picked by Furyk, three which will be announced after the Dell Technologies Championship and the final pick coming after the BMW Championship. With timing running out and Tiger slated to play in just a handful of events in that span, Woods would need to win the Open or PGA to automatically qualify.

The top eight are currently filled by Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau. Phil Mickelson is just outside this barrier at No. 10.

Woods’ last U.S. team appearance came at the 2013 Presidents Cup. This year’s Ryder Cup begins on Sept. 28 at Le Golf National. The Americans are the defending champs, but haven’t won in Europe in 25 years.

The post Tiger Woods’ latest performance vaults him up U.S. Ryder Cup team standings appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Joel Dahmen’s profile received a heightened spotlight thanks to a weekend pairing with Tiger Woods. The 30-year-old journeyman grabbed attention for a different reason Sunday night.

In the final round of the Quicken Loans National, Dahmen was paired with Sung Kang. On the 10th hole at TPC Potomac, Kang’s second shot found the hazard. What followed was a bizarre, rarely-seen sequence on tour.

Kang believed his ball crossed the hazard, giving him a drop on the side of the hazard closer to the hole. Dahmen disputed the account, asserting Kang’s ball failed to cross. The argument continued for so long that the group behind the duo, Ben Crane and Ryan Palmer, played through.

A rules official eventually sided with Kang, as the South Korean player was allowed to take a drop on the side of the hazard closer to the hole. He would save par on the 10th and turned in a six-under 64, a score that translated to a T-3 finish that earned him an invite to the 2018 Open Championship.

Dahmen, however, continued to feel Kang’s drop was unjust, airing his grievances on Twitter Sunday night.

When asked why Palmer and Crane played through, Dahmen was blunt: “Kang cheated. He took a bad drop from a hazard. I argued until I was blue. I lost.”

This accusation quickly drew follow-up inquiries on the matter, and Dahmen was happy to oblige. “It was a typical dispute about where or if it crossed the hazard,” he said. “It clearly did not cross the hazard. We went back and forth for 25 minutes and he ended up dropping closer to the green.”

In spite of his protest, Dahmen said he had to sign the card. “At that point there is nothing I can do. If I don’t sign the card, a rules official will. I would just be delaying the inevitable.”

Dahmen’s caddy Geno Bonnalie backed up his player, and confirmed the argument on the 10th. “We didn’t agree on the spot where it ‘crossed,’” he said.

Though the Rules of Golf 26-1/15—Procedures for Relief from Lateral Water Hazard allow a player to drop from the last point where the ball rolled into the hazard, Dahmen maintains 26-1/21—Example of Serious Breach of Lateral Water Hazard Rule was at play. But unless video proves Kang wrong, the ruling from the official that allowed Kang to take his drop stands.

The PGA Tour and Dahmen’s representatives have not yet responded to comment on the accusation, while attempts to reach Kang proved unsuccessful. Dahmen, a cancer survivor, has made 14 cuts on tour this season.

UPDATE — 11:30 a.m.: Kang’s representatives have responded to Dahmen’s accusations through the PGA Tour’s communication staff:

“He is standing by the ruling that was made by PGA Tour Rules officials on Sunday and will have no further comment, other than he is looking forward to focusing on finishing out the season strong, and he is excited about the opportunity to play in the Open Championship again in a few weeks.”

11:50 a.m.: Golf Digest received the following statement from the PGA Tour:

“During Sunday’s final round of the 2018 Quicken Loans National, there was a discussion between fellow competitors Sung Kang and Joel Dahmen as to where Kang’s second shot crossed the margin of the lateral hazard at the par-5 10th hole before ultimately coming to rest in the hazard.

“A PGA Tour Rules Official handled the ruling, interviewing both players, caddies and marshals in the vicinity. The official then took Kang back to where he hit his second shot, and Kang confirmed his original belief that his shot had indeed crossed the margin of the hazard. With no clear evidence to prove otherwise, it was determined by the official that Kang could proceed with his fourth shot as intended, following a penalty stroke and subsequent drop. The PGA Tour will have no additional comment on this matter.”

This story will continue to be updated.

The post PGA Tour player accuses fellow pro of cheating at Quicken Loans National (Update: Kang, tour respond) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Welcome to the Dew Sweeper, your one-stop shop to catch up on the weekend action from the golf world. From the professional tours, trending news, social media headlines and upcoming events, here’s every golf-related thing you need to know for the morning of July 2.

Molinari puts on clinic at Quicken Loans National
Got to feel for the field at TPC Potomac. Temperatures in the area hovered in the mid-90s most of the weekend, with humidity making it feel like triple digits. Conditions brutal in their own right. Especially so when you’re playing for second.

That’s what the Quicken Loans National was rendered to thanks to Francesco Molinari, who lapped his competition by a whopping eight shots with a final-round 62.

Related: Alex Noren sneaks off with the French Open

“Amazing, amazing. I still haven’t realized what happened today,” Molinari said. “It was a lot easier than I thought. I played great. The start of the back nine was incredible. Really proud of what I’ve done, and I hope a lot of guys back home [in Italy] are watching tonight.”

The 35-year-old is noted as one of the best ball-strikers in the game, and it was his second-shot prowess that propelled him at Potomac with a tournament-best 9.8 strokes gained/approach figure. Coupled with keeping the big numbers at bay (just two bogeys on the week), it was smooth sailing for the 17th-ranked player in the world.

Technically it’s Molinari’s first PGA Tour victory; he captured the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions, but it was not a tour-sanctioned event until 2013. Conversely, perhaps the display should have been expected, as Molinari had won the BMW PGA Championship and finished second at the Italian Open in the past month. Other notables included Beau Hossler, who followed a Travelers’ runner-up with a T-6, a 12th-place finish from Rickie Fowler, and a T-4 from a certain 14-time major winner…

Rob Carr

Woods gets back on track
Since stirring runs at Innisbrook and Bay Hill, Tiger Woods hadn’t been particularly formidable. There were flashes at Muirfield Village and Sawgrass, but the 42-year-old posted just one top-20 finish since the Arnold Palmer Invitational, including a missed cut at the U.S. Open. That trend looked to continue after a so-so opening round at the Quicken Loans. However, Tiger delivered an inspiring response, playing his final 54 holes 11-under par, good enough for a T-4 finish.

As that standing suggests, there were plenty of positives for Tiger. His 21 birdies tied for a tournament-best, his iron game remained steady (T-7 in greens in regulation), and he made a handful of bombs on the dance floors. In that same breath, his short game continued to frustrate, as he finished dead last in putting inside 10 feet. And though the 21 birdies were impressive, they also underlined Tiger’s inability to avoid bogeys, given Molinari, who also had 21 birds, finished 10 shots ahead.

“I’ve hit the ball well in this stretch, I just haven’t made anything,” Woods said. “I’m starting to hit some putts, I’m starting to make those putts you’re supposed to make from 10, 15 feet, but I’m also making some from outside 20.”

Nevertheless, it was a solid final tune-up before the Open. Woods has a nice track record at Carnoustie, and it’s historically a major where shaky putters can excel. In short, might want to snag those 25-1 claret jug odds while you can.

Rob Carr

Tiger’s USGA jab
Mike Davis and the USGA have taken their share of body blows for losing Shinnecock Hills, again, at this year’s U.S. Open. Judging by Woods’ roundabout jab on Sunday, those punches aren’t stopping anytime soon.

Following his fourth round, Woods was asked his thoughts on the upcoming Open Championship at Carnoustie. Tiger shared his experiences with the venerable links—he has finished 3rd and 12th at two previous Carnoustie Opens—which led to the following on commentary on the R&A, and what could be interpreted as an indictment on the USGA:

“One of the neat things about playing about the Open Championship, they don’t care what par is,” Woods said at TPC Potomac. “They let whatever Mother Nature has…if it’s in store for a wet Open, it is, if it is dry, it’s dry. They don’t try to manufacture an Open.”

When asked a follow-up if that was a shot at the USGA, Woods replied, “Come again?” and when the question was repeated, a handler escorted Woods away, saying, “I heard ya,” with a smile.

He’s not wrong, and certainly not alone in his USGA assessment. Still, bold move, considering Woods might have to rely on an exemption into the Pebble Beach field next year.

Gregory Shamus

Park snaps sophomore slump with PGA win
After sharing Player of the Year honors as an LPGA rookie, it had been a disappointing second go-around for Sung Hyun Park on tour this season, missing the cut in five of 12 events with just two top-20 finishes. But, after her Sunday performance, it’s clear that Park has snapped the dreaded sophomore slump. Park beat So Yeon Ryu and Nasa Hataoka in a playoff to win the KPMG PGA Championship for his second career major.

Park, who didn’t make a bogey over the final 30 holes, turned in a final-round 69 at Kemper Lakes to earn a spot in overtime. On the first playoff hole—the 18th, which had only been birdied once throughout the entire day—both Park and Ryu made red numbers to advance. Following a brief weather delay, the two came back on the 16th, where Park’s 10-foot birdie sealed the deal.

Fitting, as the 16th was also the site of a phenomenal up-and-down from the hazard that kept her in the running:

WOW! This is the definition of clutch at the @KPMGWomensPGA! pic.twitter.com/QyFVA1OXAc

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 1, 2018

A showing that brought the usually-stoic Park to tears.

“Even though it was a really tough year, I think I did really good play this week,” Park said, “and I think all the work I’ve done has paid off today. That’s what really made me cry.

“Actually this is my first time feeling like this kind of emotion, like being this emotional, and I was really happy.”

Robert Laberge

Toms wins U.S. Senior Open
David Toms picked a good time to break through on the Champions circuit. The 2001 Wanamaker winner closed with an even-par 70 at the Broadmoor to win the U.S. Senior Open by one over Jerry Kelly, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Tim Petrovic.

“First of all, it’s been a long time, obviously, the last time I held a trophy,” Toms said. “To do it in a USGA event is even more special. I didn’t really have the patience for U.S. Open searly in my career. I get better at it as my career went on. Never won one, but I got close. To finally have one, just means my patience is probably where it needs to be, finally.”

The tournament was up for grabs late into Sunday night, as six different competitors held the lead at one point on the final nine. Paul Goydos held the lead after a birdie at the 15th but stumbled with bogeys on the last two holes to finish two back. And it certainly wasn’t a flawless display from Toms, who hit just eight greens on the day. However, Toms’ putter saved the day, as the 51-year-old rolled in a birdie on the 16th, converted a difficult par save at the 17th and made work of a two-putt par on the closing hole for the W.

The post Tiger’s strong Open tune-up (and jab at the USGA), Molinari laps the field and Toms, Park win majors: What you missed this weekend appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Unfortunately for Woods and his rabid fans, Francesco Molinari decided to make himself part of the “rest of the field,” which meant that no matter what Woods did on Sunday at the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, he wasn’t going to win—even against about as weak a PGA Tour field as you are likely to see.

Molinari, who will almost certainly be part of his third European Ryder Cup team come September, shot a scorching eight-under-par 62 on an equally scorching day—the heat index was over 100 degrees for most of the afternoon—to extinguish any drama and win by eight strokes over Ryan Armour, also part of the rest of the field.

Molinari’s 62 gave him a tournament record (for any of the four courses where this event was played) of 21-under-par 259 and was the lowest winning Sunday round on tour this year.

“I thought I might have a chance when I got to the turn at 10-under,” Woods said after shooting 66 on the final day to finish tied for fourth. “But the way Francesco played, I guess I’d have had to shoot 24 on the back nine.” Twenty-four would have gotten it done. In fact, 25 would have put him in a playoff. Instead, Woods shot a very human one-under-par 34 on the back nine, making a 12-foot par putt on the 18th hole that caused the CBS announcers to react as if he had won the Masters.

Related: Francesco Molinari dominates Sunday at the Quicken Loans National

It was almost an hour later when Molinari and Abraham Ancer, who had started the day tied for the lead, got to the 18th green. They found a smattering of the crowd that had followed Woods waiting for them. In a field of 120 (74 players made the cut), with attendance certainly held down by the unbearable weekend heat, about 80 percent of those on property were following Woods. Another 10 to 15 percent pursued Rickie Fowler, who was in the field because of his contract with Quicken Loans. Fowler shot 67 on Sunday to finish 12th.

The “rest of the field” drew whatever fans weren’t with Woods and Fowler, and that wasn’t very many people. The few that followed the final group witnessed a bravura performance by Molinari, who took the lead early on Sunday and then ran amok at the turn, going eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie on the first five holes to remove any doubt about who the winner would be.

Rob Carr/Getty Images
The crowds following Molinari’s final pairing were far thinner than those ahead watching Woods.

Of course, most of those who showed up really didn’t care who the winner would be if his name wasn’t Woods. Once again, he played well; his final round was the best score he’s shot since his return to play in 2018. It just was not enough to make any kind of serious Sunday afternoon run at the winner.

As he heads overseas to compete in next play in the Open Championship at Carnoustie, new mallet putter in tow, Woods has now played in 11 tournaments in 2018. That alone is good news for him. There have been no WDs, no limp-offs, no glutes failing to fire. He has made nine cuts—missing only in Los Angeles and at the U.S. Open—and has four top-10s, including a T-2 at Valspar. In all, he’s been in the top 12 in six tournaments out of 11 and is now 47th on the FedEx Cup points list.

There remains, however, a disturbing pattern when he gets to the weekends: Play well enough to get into contention—or at least within shouting distance of contention—and then pull up. A missed short putt here. A wayward drive there.

On Saturday, Woods was briefly within one shot of the lead after birdieing the last three holes on the front nine to get to eight under par for the tournament. But he made a mess of the back nine, shooting a one-over-par 36 that included bogeys at 13 and 18 (where he missed the fairway right all four days) and a par at the drivable par-4 14th. That dropped him to six shots behind Molinari and Ancer entering the final round, meaning he would need something very low to even have a chance. As it turned out, even if he’d broken the course record with a 61 that would only have been good for second place—five shots behind Molinari.

In all, Molinari’s sparkling round was the highlight of an otherwise overheated, dreary week. Tiger Woods Foundation officials kept insisting that the tournament wasn’t dead in Washington, that they were still searching for a sponsor to replace Quicken Loans, which is taking its $8 million annual sponsorship to Detroit next year.

Rumours have flown that the tour might give the Woods people a fall slot next year, but the chances that Woods would want to be involved with a second-tier tour event that isn’t on network TV and goes up against the NFL are between slim and none, and slim was seen headed out of town soon after Molinari accepted the tournament’s 12th and final winner’s trophy.

Another rumor that might be more believable is that Woods is planning to put on some kind of exhibition event. That would cost a sponsor far less money and could be played early in a week over one or two days. Woods could undoubtedly round up a small group of players, hand them an appearance fee and Voila! save some face. Whether he and his agent Mark Steinberg want to make that sort of effort given that the Woods Foundation now runs the Los Angeles tournament at Riviera in February and the lucrative exhibition in the Bahamas in December, remains to be seen.

Woods’ presence did give the tournament a credibility it had lacked the last two years when he was injured and couldn’t play. Of course, there were also times when Tiger-mania swallowed up all the oxygen; based on television coverage, print coverage and social media that it felt as if the “rest of the field” didn’t even exist. Most of the local print reporters were banging out their stories before Molinari even finished, since all were writing about Woods. Cars streamed out of the parking lots while Molinari played his last three holes. And despite this being the finale for the event outside the nation’s capital, corporate interest this year was so low that only 39 of the 52 Wednesday pro-am slots were filled, even though the tournament offered deep discounts in the weeks leading up to the tournament.

Rob Carr/Getty Images
Molinari celebrates with the trophy after winning the 2018 Quicken Loans National as Tiger looks on during the closing ceremony.

Four players—Armour, Ancer, Sung Kang and Bronson Burgoon—earned spots in the Open Championship by being the top finishers who hadn’t already qualified to play at Carnoustie. Burgoon locked up the last spot with a birdie at the last to edge Ryan Palmer.

Burgoon deserved special credit for his two-under-par 68 on Sunday. Paired with Woods, about the only noise he heard that was connected to him in any way was the sound of marshals yelling “please hold your places” whenever Woods holed out before he did and people began running to the next hole.

Woods stuck around for the awards ceremony, although for some reason he wasn’t allowed to present the trophy. Some corporate suit handed the trophy to Molinari. It was a fitting end to a tournament that never quite got the script right.

Soon after Woods departed. The PGA Tour or, “Tiger Woods and the rest of the field,” have now left the building.

Related: Washington Shutdown: How the PGA Tour’s D.C. stop went from can’t miss to out of business

The post Tiger Woods is the story in the PGA Tour’s Washington, D.C. swan song—for better and worse appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Francesco Molinari already had his game working with rounds of 67-65-65 heading into the final round of the Quicken Loans National. But it was his performance on Sunday that got everyone’s attention and pretty much locked up a spot on the European Ryder Cup team.

Molinari fired a final-round 62, that left him at 21 under par for the tournament, allowing him to cruise to a eight-shot victory at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm.

Molinari made just two bogeys for the week and only one over his final 68 holes. Molinari led the field in greens in regulation and on Sunday posted a gaudy 2.236 strokes gained/putting mark with his custom Bettinardi DASS BBZero with a skull and crossbones stamp in the rear cavity in an Italian flag-themed paintfill. Molinari first put the putter in play at the Players Championship and later in May won the BMW PGA Championship with it. Molinari’s putter is only 32.25 inches in length with a loft of 2.5 degrees and a like angle of 70. The grip is Lamkin’s Deep Etch. The putting display was incredibly impressive considering that Molinari entered the week ranked 203rd out of 206 players in strokes gained/putting at -.706 strokes per round.

Molinari also uses a split set of irons, using TaylorMade’s P790 for his 4-iron, while the rest of his irons are the company’s P750 model with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold X100 steel shafts. For the week, Molinari hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation for a 86.1 percent clip.

What Francesco Molinari had in the bag at the Quicken Loans National
Driver: TaylorMade M4 (Mitsubishi Tensei White 60X), 8.5 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade M3, 13 degrees
5-wood: TaylorMade M4, 18 degrees
Irons (4): TaylorMade P790; (5-PW): TaylorMade P750
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (50, 56 degrees); TaylorMade Milled Grind Hi-Toe (60 degrees)
Putter: Bettinardi DASS BBZero

The post The clubs Francesco Molinari used to win the Quicken Loans National appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Five European Tour victories and nearly $8 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour make it odd to describe Francesco Molinari’s performance on Sunday at the Quicken Loans National as a breakout victory. But that’s exactly what his dominating final-round, eight-under 62 was, giving him his first career win in the United States in his 121st career start.

Molinari, 35, whose putting has kept him from raising a few trophies in America previously, could not miss on Sunday, most notably at the par-5 10th, where he dropped a 48-footer for eagle—his longest holed putt of the season—that began a stretch of five holes that he played in six under par. After his fifth straight birdie or better at the 14th, he cruised home with four straight pars, emphatically closing the door on an eight-stroke victory over Ryan Armour. Molinari completed 72 holes in 21-under-par 259.

“Amazing, amazing. I still haven’t realized what happened today,” said Molinari, who matched Dustin Johnson at the Sentry Tournament of Champions for the largest margin of victory on tour this season. “It was a lot easier than I thought. I played great. The start of the back nine was incredible. Really proud of what I’ve done, and I hope a lot of guys back home [in Italy] are watching tonight.”

What makes the win more impressive is that Molinari entered the event with the intention to earn more FedEx Cup points, something he needed to secure a spot in the playoffs at season’s end. It required him to skip the French Open, one of his favorite European Tour events and an tounament that could have helped his Ryder Cup status. But the strategy paid off.

“It’s what I came here for,” he said. “It was not easy to skip Paris and the French Open, but I think in the end I can say it was the right decision.”

Armour’s two-under 68 was good enough for solo second, his secon- best finish this season behind his victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship. It gets him into the Open Championship at Carnoustie, where the 42-year-old will be making his major-championship debut.

Joining Armour in Scotland will be Sung Kang (68), Abraham Ancer (72), Bronson Burgoon (67) and Beau Hossler (68), each by virtue of being the highest finishers at the Quicken Loans who had not already qualified to play at Carnoustie.

Tiger Woods, who carded a final-round 66, finished 10 strokes back in a tie for fourth at 11-under 269. It was another week without that elusive 80th victory, but his finish is a good one in terms of grabbing the World Ranking points he needs to earn a spot at the WGC-Bridgestone in August. That event at Firestone, plus the Open Championship, are the only two events Woods plans to play between now and the PGA Championship. Another good finish, or a win, at Carnoustie should be enough for the 14-time major winner to get into Akron.

The post Francesco Molinari dominates on Sunday at Quicken Loans National for first career PGA Tour win appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Tiger Woods caused a bit of a stir early in the week when he changed from his trusty Scotty Cameron by Titleist blade putter to a TaylorMade Ardmore 3 mallet at the Quicken Loans National. Of course, Tiger merely, well, breathing, often sends social media into a frenzy, but the putter change provided a legit point of interest–mainly, why the change and more importantly, how long will it last.

Woods’ history would suggest that he doesn’t often change just for change’s sake. Although some 20 percent of the PGA Tour might change putters on any given week, Woods has not been particularly fickle with his flat stick, save for a little back and forth between his Cameron and a Nike Method 003 mid-mallet in 2011 before settling on a Nike Method 001 blade that was similar to his Cameron.

Given that Woods holed close to 125 feet of putts on Sunday and his comments afterward, expect the Ardmore 3 to stay in the bag for a while.

“I did some good work last week,” Woods told CBS’s Dottie Pepper after his round Sunday. “I’m starting the ball on my lines again and I’ve got the speed. I hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in, which is fine. As long as I’m hitting good putts and seeing my lines … that’s something that I’ve been missing for a while now, for the better part of two months. This is the week I finally turned it around.”

Woods finished T-4 at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, with a solid 1.195 strokes gained/putting mark, including 2.954 on Sunday. That could mean his Cameron—which has a lengthy history—could be in for a lengthy benching.

The change to the Ardmore 3—a mallet with toe hang, something many tour players are starting to favor—came under similar circumstances to Woods’ change to the Cameron in 1999.

Woods came into that year’s GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic T-102 in putting on the PGA Tour and had won just three tournaments since a victory in the same event in 1997. At the ’99 Nelson, Woods put a Scotty Cameron by Titleist Newport 2 in his bag.

Woods was immediately successful with the putter as his putting average rank jumped to T-24 by the end of 1999. More important, he won seven of his next 11 starts with the club. In all, 13 of Woods’ 14 majors have come with the Cameron, and in his first eight full seasons he used the club (not counting 1999 and 2008 when he was ranked fourth before leaving the tour due to a knee injury), Woods ranked in the top 10 in putting average five times. Starting in 2004, which is the first year the tour has strokes gained/putting calculated, he ranked first, fifth, 21st, second and second, again skipping 2008 and 2010 when he did not play enough to be ranked.

Although TaylorMade declined to provide specs on the club, it’s likely that it is not far off the 35.25 inches Woods had his Cameron at. It also has the familiar Ping rubber grip that Woods has favored since his youth. The production model Ardmore 3 Black has 12 degrees of toe hang with a “fanged” mallet head shape. The insert is 6061 aluminum with grooves angled at 45 degrees to promote better forward roll. Regardless of specs, however, if Woods keeps performing on the greens that he did in Maryland, he’ll be giving everyone something else to talk about in the coming weeks.

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By Christopher Powers
The massive crowd following Tiger Woods on Saturday at TPC Potomac were treated to a few impressive moments, like his streak of four consecutive birdies on the front nine. Meanwhile, in the group just ahead, the little-known Abraham Ancer was putting together the most impressive round of the week.

After going out in four-under 31, Ancer backed it up with another 31 on the home nine, giving him a tournament course-record 62, the lowest round of his career on the PGA Tour. Through 54 holes of the Quicken Loans National, Ancer finds himself tied for the lead with Francesco Molinari at 13-under 197, a position he had yet to be in during any of his first 42 careers starts on tour.

“It feels great, I played awesome today,” said Ancer, who hit 12 of his 14 fairways, 15 of 18 greens and needed just 25 putts.”I didn’t really make any mistakes, played really solid, kept the ball in front of me, hit a lot of greens and made some putts. Feels good.”

Ancer, who was born in Texas but is of Mexican descent, does have professional winning experience, including one Web.com Tour victory which came at the 2015 Nova Scotia Open. This season, his second on tour, he’s made 14 of 22 cuts and collected two top 10s and five top 25s.

On Sunday, he’ll play alongside Molinari, who is also in search of his first PGA Tour win as well as his first top 10 this season. That’s part of the reason the Italian is making an appearance in D.C. this week as opposed to the French Open, which is being held at Le Golf National, site of this year’s Ryder Cup, an event Molinari will almost definitely be playing in.

“It wasn’t easy to skip France for me, it’s one of my favourite tournaments and a course where I’ve done well in the past,” said Molinari, who fired a five-under 65 on Sunday. “But it’s just the way I’ve played this year. Obviously, winning at Wentworth and playing well in Italy and not doing so well over here [in America] in the first part of the season. I just needed some FedEx points and so far, so good.”

Despite being a staple on the leaderboard in many of his 120 careers starts on tour, Molinari is still looking for that breakthrough. He’s had no trouble on the European Tour, though, winning five times, including this year’s BMW PGA Championship.

“It’s always going to be a little bit harder for Europeans to win over here,” he said. “We’re not used to the courses. Generally, when we come over here first it takes a little bit of time to get used to it.

“The other thing, I think everyone plays more aggressively over here, so you just need to keep your foot on the gas and keep going and make as many birdies as possible.”

Two back is Zac Blair, another player looking for his first PGA Tour win. Entering the week, Blair had made just six of his 13 cuts, finishing no higher than T-18 last fall at the Sanderson Farms Championship. This week he’s carded rounds of 67, 66 and 66 to get to 11-under 199, which has him in a tie for third with Ryan Armour.

First-round leader Andrew Landry is at 10-under 200, while Kevin Streelman is alone in sixth at nine-under 201. Streelman followed his course-record 62 on Friday with a three-under 67 in the third round. Landry recovered from a second-round 72 with a five-under 65 to get back into contention.

Despite some shaky play, Beau Hossler is still lurking at eight-under 202 thanks to a birdie at his final hole, capping off a back-nine 38 that included four bogeys. Tiger Woods is at seven-under 203 following his “frustrating” third-round 68.

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