Ridgewood Country Club Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Dubai’s Josh Hill goes down fighting at US Amateur Championship

Matt Smith — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 11:30:48 +0000

By GolfDigestME.com
Dubai born-and-bred Josh Hill went down fighting at the US Amateur Championship on Wednesday, suffering a 2&1 loss to Campbell Kremer in the round of 64.

Hill had qualified for the match play section of the tournament by progressing placed T30 after two rounds of stroke play at Ridgewood Country Club and Arcola Country Club in New Jersey.

It was similar bad news for pre-tournament favourite Michael Thorbjornsen in the race to claim the Havemeyer Trophy.

Playing against No. 63-seeded Andrew Von Lossow, Thorbjornsen failed to reach the 17th hole, falling 3&2 to the 34-year-old from Spokane, Washington.

“That was awesome playing Michael,” Von Lossow said. “First time meeting him, had heard about him, and I know he’s a great player. Then seeing how he hits the ball and everything, it was awesome.”

Andrew Von Lossow. Kathryn Riley

Von Lossow created a bit of a buzz with the colourful shirt he was rocking Wednesday morning during the 15-for-11 playoff to reach the match-play bracket. After making par and advancing, he created far more buzz with his stunning upset of the sixth-ranked amateur in the world.

“Just apply pressure,” Von Lossow said of his strategy. “I didn’t hit every fairway but I could muscle a few out of the rough. Then my caddie, my buddy Brian, he caddies here, Brian Roth, and he got me in the right spots around the greens. Just around here you have to be below the hole or just know if you have more room left or right of the holes. Had a few good numbers on the back nine where I could kind of hit some flighted shots and some full shots.”

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Brandt Snedeker on his Ryder Cup chances, and the element he could bring to the U.S. team if chosen

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 05:25:03 +0000

Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
CHASKA, MN – OCTOBER 02: Brandt Snedeker of the United States reacts on the seventh green during singles matches of the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club on October 2, 2016 in Chaska, Minnesota.

By Christopher Powers
PARAMUS, N.J. — Brandt Snedeker didn’t look tired on Wednesday morning at Ridgewood Country Club, though he had every reason to be. The 37-year-old is coming off an emotionally, mentally and physically draining victory at the Wyndham Championship, one that included a history-making 59 on Thursday and a 29-hole, marathon Sunday that got way more nerve-wracking than he hoped it would. No one would have blamed him if he was running low on energy.

That was far from the case when he arrived at the Mastercard Club, where he’d be competing in a Topgolf event alongside Keegan Bradley and former USC football great Reggie Bush. Sneds was his normal upbeat, always-smiling self as he snapped photos with fans, trash-talked Bradley and, ultimately, won the competition on his final swing. The man can do no wrong.

He can only hope that trend continues this week at the Northern Trust, where he comes in 30th in the FedEx Cup standings after entering Wyndham in 80th. Suddenly, Snedeker would appear to be a legitimate threat to win his second FedEx Cup and, more intriguingly, a candidate to steal a captain’s pick on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

That was not a prospect he or anyone else was considering this time last year, when a nagging rib injury forced Snedeker to call it a season before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He was able to make a return at full health this past November, but up until June, didn’t appear to be much of a factor on tour, failing to register a single top-10 in his 15 starts back.

But as he’s proven in the last three months, while these comebacks take time, all it takes is one good week to flip the switch. A T-6 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic that included a second-round 62 was a good start, but a T-48 at the U.S. Open and a missed cut at the Travelers Championship soon followed. Still, Snedeker knew things were coming along nicely, something he proved two weeks later at the Greenbrier, carding a final-round 64 to tie for third, his best finish since a T-3 at the 2016 Wyndham Championship.

“I started hitting the ball better and playing better [at the Greenbrier], kind of getting out of my own way and started doing some positive stuff,” Snedeker said. “It was really good. Then I go to the British Open and play terrible after a couple good weeks, and then I end up going to Canada and find something, start playing good there.”

A T-8 at the RBC Canadian Open marked his third top-10 in six events as he continued to trend in the right direction. Two weeks later came an 11-under 59 at Sedgefield Country Club, which he backed up with 67, 68 and 65 for a wire-to-wire victory, his first since the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open.

“To be able to go out there last week and get it done, to know that this has been coming for awhile, I felt it for awhile and to be able to step up there and do it was really special.”

Those good feelings have bled over into this week, as Snedeker comes in re-energized and refocused, knowing there’s still much work to be done, especially if he wants to be seriously considered by American team captain Jim Furyk. Given how he’s played of late, it’s certainly a thought he’s entertained.

“Yeah, I mean it’s there, but I’ve got to go play great golf next four weeks to do that,” Snedeker said. “It’s always in the back of your mind because you want to be a part of it. But to do that I’ve got to go out there and play well.”

For Snedeker to earn this late-season consideration is not only a testament to this hot streak, but how well he fared at Hazeltine National in 2016, posting a 3-0 record and coming up clutch on the greens. But his best trait may have been that Snedeker energy, as he memorably ignited the Minnesota crowds and his teammates every chance he got. That’s the element that, if selected, he hopes to bring once again.

“I think I’m a great teammate, I do a lot of stuff that’s really important for match play,” he said. “I’m a very positive guy, easy to pair with, good short game. So I can help out in those atmospheres, and more importantly I just want to be a part of the guys. It’s fun when you’re on those teams being a part of it and enjoying that time together as a team. It’s something we always cherish and can’t get enough of.”

With Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods almost certainly taking up two of the four captain’s picks slots, that leaves very little margin for error for Sneds over these next few weeks if he wants one of the two remaining spots. Judging by how he responded to everything he’s faced over the last week, and the last year, you might not want to bet against him.

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PGA Championship 2018: A frustrated Rory McIlroy might skip the first FedEx Cup playoff event

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 23:47:20 +0000

Montana Pritchard/PGA of America

By Brian Wacker
ST. LOUIS — It has now been a full four years since Rory McIlroy last won a major championship.

Worse yet seems to be the state of the 29-year-old Northern Irishman’s game. The driver, his irons, wedge play and, of course, the putter have all been area of concerns, so much so that McIlroy is considering skipping the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Northern Trust at Ridgewood Country Club in two weeks, to get his golf right.

“I need to assess where I’m at,” McIlroy said after a ho-hum even-par 70 on Sunday at Bellerive, where he broke par just once in found rounds at the PGA Championship shooting a two-under 278 to finish well off the lead. “The best thing for me to do right now is take a couple days off and reflect on what I need to do going forward.”

Of perhaps greater consideration in that decision is the Ryder Cup, which takes place the week after the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship. Playing in all four playoff events would mean making seven starts in nine weeks. The last thing Europe needs is a worn out McIlroy.

As for his game?

“There’s a lot of room for improvement,” McIlroy said. “My swing hasn’t been where I want it to be. It was pretty good at the start of the year, but it has regressed as the season has gone on and you fall back into some of the habits you don’t want to fall back into.”

McIlroy did win this season, at Bay Hill, and there are more tournaments to play, so the year hasn’t been a total loss. But his major season? That’s been another story.

McIlroy quickly faded from contention in the final round of the Masters after playing in the final pairing, then missed the cut at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock. At Carnoustie, he began the final round of the Open Championship four strokes back and holed a long eagle putt to tie for the lead with four holes to play, but a slow start and an indifferent run of pars to finish was too much to overcome and he tied for second two strokes back.

As for how McIlroy will remember it?

“Probably won’t,” he said. “I don’t think there was anything all that memorable about it.”

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