Now that Rickie Fowler has finally won again, he seemingly can’t stop winning. The Rocket Mortgage Classic victor ended his four-year winless drought in July and has now followed that triumph by buying the driving range where he learned the sport of golf.

Fowler took up the game as a child with lessons from his grandfather, Yutaka, at the Murrieta Valley Golf Range. They went every Wednesday and it’s where the six-time PGA Tour winner became obsessed with the sport that has now made him enough money to buy the range back. Just 90 minutes from Los Angeles, Murrieta Valley, which opened in 1992, quickly became a home away from home for Fowler. It wasn’t just a safe haven but a place of work for the Fowler family.

Really cool story here! ?

Rickie has purchased the driving range he grew up on! He makes a promise to his hometown to keep the range running. Cool stuff. Worth a read! https://t.co/vr9L0Fp3sr pic.twitter.com/kUwkvdbCcu

— Rickie Fowler Tracker (@Rickie_Tracker) July 12, 2023

“I always wanted the range to be around and it to be open for the next generation,” Fowler told Golfweek. “I wanted kids to have the same opportunity as me if they were interested.

“My dad used to deliver the sand for maintenance and gravel for the parking lot in exchange for me to hit balls.”

According to its website, the Murrieta Valley Golf Range “is an all-grass golf practice facility with a 15,000 square foot putting green, three chipping greens, and a 60,000 square feet of driving space.” It opened in 1992 and has programs and community events for juniors, adults and families of all skill levels.

An anecdote in The Athletic after Fowler’s comeback Rocket Mortgage Classic win goes to show you how important the range was to the golf prodigy (and also how good he was at the sport at such an early age).

“In December of 1992, a 3-year-old Rickie Fowler walked into Murrieta Valley Golf Range with his grandpa. Young Rickie hit a bucket. Then he came back the next day and hit another bucket. Then his parents asked if the range offered any lessons.

“They signed up with one of the range’s pros, Mark Quinlan. He taught Rickie for the next year or so before moving on. [Teaching pro Barry McDonnell] took over. A year or two later, Barry pulled Bill aside. He said, ‘This kid is the one.’ ‘And I said, Jesus, Barry, he’s only 8!’”

PETER MUHLY

Rickie Fowler’s mother even mentioned that her son wanted to buy the driving range one day while walking along a fairway during a 2006-’07 high school tournament, according to Golfweek.

Fowler has hired Kemper Sports, a golf hospitality management company to assist with the upkeep and “week-to-week business stuff,” but he has no plans for any big changes on the horizon. The sale had been in the works for a couple of years after being delayed due to the pandemic. Ninety balls still go for $12 at Murrieta Valley, so hopefully that stays the same.

With his outstanding career and name recognition, Fowler could probably hit golf balls at basically any course in the world, but there’s no doubt that the Murrieta Valley Golf Range holds a special place in his heart.

MORE: I re-watched the final round of the 2006 Open Championship and saw ‘sheer perfection’ from Tiger Woods and a fashion faux pas by Sergio Garcia

The post Rickie Fowler continues incredible hot streak, buys childhood range where his dad worked appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Following his drought-breaking playoff win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday, nobody asked Rickie Fowler specifically about the Ryder Cup. But he mentioned it anyway.

“One of the end goals was to be a part of the Ryder Cup team and that’s still what we’re focusing on right now,” he said, in response to a question from a PGA Tour rep about the rest of his season. “Been a part of a handful and that’s—they’re very special weeks, so that’s where I have my eyes.”

It’s worth noting, too, that this came in response to just the second question he was asked. On a personal level, it’s obvious that winning a PGA Tour event for the first time in four-and-a-half years, and officially ending the long slump that sent him careening down the World Ranking, was its own individual reward. Clearly, though, Fowler saw it as something more—a heck of a bullet point on the resume that American captain Zach Johnson will look over when he’s making his team this fall.

Since making his first Ryder Cup team in 2010, Fowler has missed the team event just twice; in 2012 at Medinah, and in the fall of 2021 at Whistling Straits, when the Americans won in a rout. That last absence must have particularly stung, and as he made clear in Detroit, his chief goal beyond winning was to work his way onto the roster that will attempt to beat the Europeans in Italy.

He was 16th in the US standings coming into the week and moved into the top 12 with this win, but he’s still far from securing one of the six ironclad automatic qualification spots. A hot finish certainly makes that possible, but if he can’t crack that, he’ll have to rely on a captain’s pick. Working in his favour there is the fact that there are six captain’s picks to be doled out, he’s an incredibly popular figure among his peers, and—at least for now—he’s got one of the hottest hands in the sport.

Johnson hasn’t made any comments specifically about Fowler–most of his press conferences have been dominated by LIV Golf discussion—but that time is coming soon, and you can bet he’s eyeing recent results very carefully. This win, of course, did not come out of the blue, and follows on the heels of success Fowler has had at the US Open and at other big tournaments this year, including the WGC-Match Play, where he defeated Jon Rahm head-to-head.

The Ryder Cup is coming quickly, but it’s still early for much speculation. We can’t say definitively where Fowler sits from US leadership’s perspective in the pecking order, and we don’t even know if he’s squarely on Johnson’s radar. What we do know, and what Fowler made clear Sunday, is that the Ryder Cup is very much on his radar. And with his first win in 1,610 day, he took a big step in the right direction.

The post Rickie Fowler really wants to make this year’s US Ryder Cup team appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Believe it or not, this post is not about reigning US Amateur winner Sam Bennett, who regripped his club 10 times over an 85-yard wedge shot on Sunday at the U.S. Open earlier this month. That was nothing new for Bennett, who has been open about his struggles with anxiety on the golf course before. 

Bennett has absolutely nothing on two-time PGA Tour winner Brian Harman, the man who regripped his club a dozen times before a similarly straightforward wedge shot on Thursday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. This one needs to be seen to be believed:

Jail. Life sentence. pic.twitter.com/dLu8tk01pg

— Golf Bet Caddie (@GolfBetCaddie) June 29, 2023

Yep, that’s a box of ProV1s worth of regrips, folks. Honestly, it’s mesmerizing to watch if you can get over the fact that this is a pace-of-play nightmare. It almost seems like a GIF. 

Again, though, hard not to sympathize a little. We’ve all got some demons over certain shots, or all shots for some of us. Then again, Harman is seven under right now, just a few shots off the lead, so it’s not like he’s struggling. Waggle away, Brian. Pace of play on tour ain’t improving any time soon anyway.

The post You need to see how many times this tour pro waggles pre-shot to actually believe it appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

That said what might have felt inevitable wasn’t guaranteed. So when Fowler holed the 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole at Detroit Golf Club to beat Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa and win the Rocket Mortgage Classic, it was only natural for the man who had just won for the first time in nearly four-and-a-half years to show some emotion.

A champion once again ?

The winning moment for @RickieFowler @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/LEQ8f05gHN

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2023

Containing his emotions was something Fowler had done well during the back nine Sunday when some makeable birdie putts on the 14th and 15th holes didn’t fall, and his lead coming into the final round had disappeared. The CBS crew marvelled in the way that Fowler didn’t let on whether he was frustrated or not, instead just moving forward.

MORE: ‘It’s been a long road’: Rickie’s comeback win is special for reasons only he can understand 

Similarly, Fowler didn’t get too high after hitting one of the most clutch shots in his PGA Tour career. Needing a birdie on the par-4 18th to get into a playoff—a hole that had only yielded five birdies on the day—Fowler hit this approach shot that got a lot of people excited if not the golfer himself.

This fan view of that @RickieFowler dart on 18 is delightful. pic.twitter.com/oGgt5pehrs

— Skratch (@Skratch) July 2, 2023

And then there was his expressionless reaction when hitting this approach shot in the playoff to set up the winning putt.

What a shot from @RickieFowler!

He’s left with a 11-footer for birdie @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/gnufBYIFIY

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2023

So it was that when Fowler finally could officially savour victory, it let out a wry little smile that had been held in for quite a long time.

The post This Rickie Fowler expression says all you need to know about what it felt like to win for the first time in 1,610 days appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Of all the painful ways to lose a golf tournament, “death by a thousand pars” has to be one of the most torturous. We’ve seen it most recently and prominently from Rory McIlroy at this year’s US Open and last year’s Open Championship, and we’ve seen it from Rickie Fowler on more than one occasion at majors in the past. The phenomenon is exactly what it sounds like: You’re not melting down, but you simply can’t make enough birdies to win, and par follows par in a slow, frustrating march of failure.

Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, before finally grabbing his first win in nearly four-and-a-half years and punctuating a comeback that has seen him rise into the upper echelons after a sustained slump that brought him as low as 185th in the world late last year, Fowler seemed to be mired in that old familiar morass. And if “death by a thousand pars” makes it tough to win a major, it’s an impossible formula for a PGA Tour stop like this one, an unrestrained birdie fest where you only triumph if you confront and dominate Detroit Country Club four times in a row.

Fowler’s start was anything but quotidian, but after three birdies in seven holes, he settled into the familiar slog. An astounding 10 straight pars from holes 8 through 17 took the air out of the Fowler faithful in the gallery, and brought a predictable consequence: the lead he carried into the mid-morning start (tee times were moved up due to a dire afternoon forecast) vanished as he stood on the par-4 18th. The hole had yielded precious few birdies, and now Fowler trailed Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin by a shot. While Fowler had been running in place, Morikawa was in a full sprint and nearly reached 25 under with a birdie putt on 18 that tantalized and then lipped out. Fowler appeared much like he had at Los Angeles Country Club, his body language telegraphing premature disappointment, and his drive to the intermediate rough on 18, while not a disaster, didn’t exactly help.

Then, just when deflation seemed to be the order of the afternoon, Fowler reignited his chances with what has to be one of the most important shots of his career, and certainly the most critical in recent memory. The brilliant approach came entirely against the run of momentum:

Clutch shot from @RickieFowler!

He has a 3-footer left to force a playoff @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/A5CvpZYaBI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2023

With that, Fowler did what he couldn’t do at the US Open, which was to conjure the perfect shot at the perfect moment. He later said he felt like his back was to the wall, and when he delivered under those tense circumstances, he was left with a gimme to make the playoff.

Moments later, facing Morikawa and Hadwin at 18 again as the first playoff hole, Fowler seemed to give the impetus right back to his opponents with a slice off the tee, while they hit perfect draws to the left side of the fairway. To his good fortune, though, the grass was tamped down by the gallery, and he had a relatively clean look at the hole. He took advantage, rolling his approach to 11 feet below the hole:

What a shot from @RickieFowler!

He’s left with a 11-footer for birdie @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/gnufBYIFIY

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2023

The minute this second approach rolled to a stop, it was like the golf gods decided then and there that he’d been tested enough, and all the difficulties, all the struggles of the past years, evaporated in an instant, and the fates lined up on his side as lightning hovered outside the Detroit area. Hadwin over-spun his approach, leaving a long birdie putt that had the added trouble of giving Fowler a perfect read; Morikawa flew his even easier approach into the back rough and duffed the comeback ship; Fowler, facing down a putt to bury his winless demons, and telling himself to hit it hard enough, tucked it into the right side of the hole.

The brief look skyward, the breath that exhaled 1,610 days of futility just before his caddie Ricky Romano embraced him and the first smile appeared, probably said more than any words could, but Fowler had some good words anyway.

“It’s just been a long road,” said the now six-time PGA Tour winner. “I’ll get emotional at some point, whether it’s … in here or when we’re heading home or over this next week.”

RELATED: Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic

Fowler, 34, seemed to be teary-eyed as he held his 1-year-old daughter Maya in his CBS interview with Amanda Renner, but largely held it together later in front of reporters. He’ll head home for a few days now, and then to London for a pre-Open trip with Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and all their wives. But as he spoke Sunday, his mind was drifting to another European event a couple months after Hoylake.

“This was definitely one of the main goals this year was to win,” he acknowledged. “Outside of that … one of the end goals was to be a part of the Ryder Cup team, and that’s still what we’re focusing on right now. Been a part of a handful, and they’re very special weeks, so that’s where I have my eyes.”

Cliff Hawkins

When asked whether he always had confidence he’d return to the winner’s circle, Fowler answered with his usual honesty.

“Not always,” he admitted. “You never really know with this game. You definitely learn to appreciate the good times and when you’re playing well. Yeah, you hope the struggles don’t last, but sometimes they last longer than you would hope for … even when you’re playing well, it’s not going to last forever.”

While Fowler’s win will deservedly overshadow almost anything else that happened in Detroit this past week, the surprise resurgence of Morikawa might end up being almost as impactful.

Rickie Fowler celebrates with his daughter, Maya, after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Cliff Hawkins

“Playoffs suck when you’re on the wrong side of them,” he said bluntly, but the rest of his post-round interview was almost effusively positive. “It’s kind of the old Collin hopefully back … I’m in this little lull and this hopefully is just that boost to just get me out of it.”

Morikawa will skip the Scottish Open and take more time to practice on the links to prepare for the Open Championship, and will hope that a return to form there and in the FedEx Cup playoffs rounds out his season in style and perhaps leads to a spot on the Ryder Cup team.

As for Hadwin, if he was disappointed in not winning—he’s now in the midst of a six-plus-year streak himself—you certainly wouldn’t be able to tell from his own presser.

“I’m stoked, I’m through the roof right now,” he said. “I mean, I got myself into a playoff at the end of the day, that’s what you want. You want a chance to win a golf tournament and I guess I kind of had a chance coming up 18, an outside chance. Then I hit two of the best golf shots I’ve hit all day in a playoff and really even that putt, it just didn’t go in. You know, I can take nothing but positives away from this week.”

It’s a rare tournament when everyone in the top three can feel good, especially after two of them have just lost in a playoff, but something was in the air in Detroit, and positive vibes were the order of the day. The last word belongs to Fowler, who hearkened back to that brief millisecond after the winning putt fell and he seemed to find a kind of quiet oasis; a storm’s eye between the stress he’d just endured and the celebrations to come.

“I was kind of just still and quiet and everyone was going crazy around me,” he said. “It was a nice moment just to kind of feel like the weight on my shoulders was finally off.”

The post ‘It’s been a long road’: Rickie Fowler’s comeback win is special for reasons only he can fully understand appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rickie Fowler, the 54-hole leader entering Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, has been in contention enough lately that even casual golf fans knew the drill. The 34-year-old was trying to win his first PGA Tour event since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open, claim his sixth career tour title (and a $1.584 million first-place prize money payout) and put an exclamation point on a career turnaround that had seen him fall outside the top 150 in the World Ranking only to return to No. 35 entering this week at Detroit Golf Club.

The final hurdle for Fowler remained crossing the finish line on Sunday. The popular pro was leading entering the final round for the 11th time in his career but had gone on to win just twice in the previous 10 attempts, the most recent stumble occurring when he shot a closing five-over 75 at the U.S. Open two weeks ago, letting Wyndham Clark take the title as Fowler fell to T-5.

But Sunday was different, even when it didn’t look like it would be. After holding the lead much of the afternoon at Detroit Golf Club only to watch Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa surge past him late, a birdie on the 72nd hole gave Fowler a four-under 68 to tie him with Hadwin and Morikawa at 24 under. And then a birdie from 11 feet, 10 inches on the first extra hole, the same par-4 18th, gave Fowler that win he’d been so desperately looking for, four years, four months and 29 days since his last.

“It’s hard to put it all into words,” said Fowler, holding in 1-year-old daughter, Maya, on the 18th green. “Obviously, a lot of good stuff this year … I knew it was just a matter of time with how I’ve been playing.”

The overall purse at Detroit Golf Club is $8.8 million. Here are the prize money payouts for each golfer who made the cut in Detroit.

Win: Rickie Fowler, 264/-24, $1,584,000
P-2: Adam Hadwin, 264/-24, $783,200
P-2: Collin Morikawa, 264/-24, $783,200
T-4: Taylor Moore, 267/-21, $370,333.34
T-4: Lucas Glover, 267/-21, $370,333.33
T-4: Peter Kuest, 267/-21, $370,333.33
7: Adam Schenk, 268/-20, $297,000
8: Justin Lower, 269/-19, $275,000
T9: Brian Harman, 270/-18, $222,200
T9: Stephan Jaeger, 270/-18, $222,200
T9: Peter Malnati, 270/-18, $222,200
T9: Alex Noren, 270/-18, $222,200
T9: Aaron Rai, 270/-18, $222,200
T-14: Chris Kirk, 271/-17, $160,600
T-14: Taylor Pendrith, 271/-17, $160,600
T-14: Carl Yuan, 271/-17, $160,600
T-17: Cam Davis, 272/-16, $129,800
T-17: Zecheng Dou, 272/-16, $129,800
T-17: Troy Merritt, 272/-16, $129,800
T-17: Chad Ramey, 272/-16, $129,800
T-21: Keegan Bradley, 273/-15, $99,586.67
T-21: Max Homa, 273/-15, $99,586.67
T-21: Nicolai Hojgaard, 273/-15, $99,586.66
T-24: MJ Daffue, 274/-14, $73,480
T-24: Sungjae Im, 274/-14, $73,480
T-24: Vincent Norrman, 274/-14, $73,480
T-24: Davis Thompson, 274/-14, $73,480
T-24: Dylan Wu, 274/-14, $73,480
T-29: Sam Bennett, 275/-13, $58,960
T-29: Chez Reavie, 275/-13, $58,960
T-29: Brett Stegmaier, 275/-13, $58,960
T-29: Callum Tarren, 275/-13, $58,960
T-33: Doug Ghim, 276/-12, $45,948.58
T-33: Ben Griffin, 276/-12, $45,948.57
T-33: Chesson Hadley, 276/-12, $45,948.57
T-33: Garrick Higgo, 276/-12, $45,948.57
T-33: Ryan Palmer, 276/-12, $45,948.57
T-33: Davis Riley, 276/-12, $45,948.57
T-33: J.J. Spaun, 276/-12, $45,948.57
T-40: Ludvig Aberg, 277/-11, $33,000
T-40: Trevor Cone, 277/-11, $33,000
T-40: Satoshi Kodaira, 277/-11, $33,000
T-40: Kelly Kraft, 277/-11, $33,000
T-40: Sam Ryder, 277/-11, $33,000
T-40: Adam Svensson, 277/-11, $33,000
T-40: Vince Whaley, 277/-11, $33,000
T-47: Tyler Duncan, 278/-10, $23,707.20
T-47: Brice Garnett, 278/-10, $23,707.20
T-47: Russell Knox, 278/-10, $23,707.20
T-47: Alex Smalley, 278/-10, $23,707.20
T-47: Kevin Tway, 278/-10, $23,707.20
T-52: Luke Donald, 279/-9, $21,076
T-52: Harry Higgs, 279/-9, $21,076
T-52: Kyle Reifers, 279/-9, $21,076
T-52: Carson Young, 279/-9, $21,076
T-56: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 280/-8, $19,888
T-56: Ryan Gerard, 280/-8, $19,888
T-56: Nate Lashley, 280/-8, $19,888
T-56: Greyson Sigg, 280/-8, $19,888
T-56: Scott Stallings, 280/-8, $19,888
T-56: Robert Streb, 280/-8, $19,888
T-56: Brendon Todd, 280/-8, $19,888
T-56: Nick Watney, 280/-8, $19,888
T-64: Charley Hoffman, 281/-7, $18,656
T-64: Chase Johnson, 281/-7, $18,656
T-64: Andrew Landry, 281/-7, $18,656
T-64: Hank Lebioda, 281/-7, $18,656
T-64: Ryan Moore, 281/-7, $18,656
T-64: Sepp Straka, 281/-7, $18,656
T-70: Zach Johnson, 282/-6, $17,776
T-70: Martin Laird, 282/-6, $17,776
T-70: S.Y. Noh, 282/-6, $17,776
T-70: Robby Shelton, 282/-6, $17,776
T-74: Will Gordon, 283/-5, $17,072
T-74: S.H. Kim, 283/-5, $17,072
T-74: Sam Stevens, 283/-5, $17,072
T-74: Danny Willett, 283/-5, $17,072
T-78: Justin Suh, 284/-4, $16,456
T-78: Matt Wallace, 284/-4, $16,456
T-78: Kyle Westmoreland, 284/-4, $16,456
T-81: Ryan Brehm, 285/-3, $16,016
T-81: Henrik Norlander, 285/-3, $16,016
T-83: Paul Haley II, 287/-1, $15,664
T-83: Matthias Schwab, 287/-1, $15,664

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

After his disappointing finish at the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club two weeks ago, Rickie Fowler could have sulked or taken a mental holiday or even questioned just how much progress he has truly made in what has been a comeback year.

Instead, he has just kept the comeback theme going. And going.

Fowler hardly even seems fazed by that final-round 75 that spoiled an otherwise impressive week at LACC, one in which he opened with a major championship record 62 (equalled soon after by Xander Schauffele) and held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds of the 123rd U.S. Open before he dropped to T-5. Case in point is his play the last two days at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Thanks to a bounce-back chip-in eagle on the par-five 17th, Fowler carded a seven-under 65 and trails co-leaders Taylor Pendrith and Taylor Moore by a stroke through 36 holes at Detroit Golf Club. Fowler is tied for third with impressive newcomer Ludvig Aberg with a 12-under 132 total. Fowler’s performance comes on the heels of a respectable T-13 showing at the Travelers Championship, where he fired a career-low 60 in the third round.

Since he finished T-13 at The Players in March, Fowler has missed just one cut, that coming at the PGA Championship, while finishing no worse than T-17 in his other eight starts. Last season he missed nine cuts and posted just one top-10 finish and three in the top 25; this year he has missed only two cuts while collecting seven top-10s and 14 top-25s in 19 events.

“I think, obviously, this year there’s been a lot more Thursdays, Fridays where I put myself in a comfortable position going into the weekend,” said the 34-year-old California native, who drew huge galleries playing alongside Joel Dahmen and defending champion Tony Finau. “Yeah, it makes it a lot easier and a lot less stressful on the game to at least be in the mix versus having to go shoot a low one, kind of like what I had to do last week to kind of get up in the mix, even though Keegan [Bradley] was a little too far out.”

Ranked 35th in the world, Fowler won the last of his five PGA Tour titles at the 2019 WM Phoenix Open. Naturally, given his consistency of late, he was asked if he was close to capping his comeback with a victory.

“The biggest thing, we can’t try and press too hard. I definitely know we can win,” he responded. “How I’ve played is some of the best, if not the best, I’ve felt about my game and on the course really, ever. We’ve won a few times, I know we’re capable of doing that. … Continuing to put ourselves in good positions and playing some good golf, we’ll just keep knocking at the door.”

Fluff can’t stay away

Mike “Fluff” Cowan, shown at the 2022 US Open, is caddying for Kyle Reifers this week in the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Warren Little

Ohio native Kyle Reifers, who for the second week in a row got into the field via Monday qualifying, also made it worth his while for the second straight start, advancing to the weekend after a second-round 69 gave him a 36-hole total of 139.

The 39-year-old veteran also made it worthwhile for his caddie. Reifers has famed veteran Mike “Fluff” Cowan on his bag this week. The 75-year-old looper usually caddies for Jim Furyk, but Furyk, one of eight players to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open, is not in this week’s field at the 43rd U.S. Senior Open in Wisconsin. He withdrew on Monday night without giving a reason.

Golf Channel coverage reported that Furyk told Cowan “to go get a bag for the week,” and he returned to Michigan, where he made his debut as a caddie. Cowan worked his first PGA Tour event at the 1976 Buick Classic and he was on the bag when Peter Jacobsen won the 1980 Buick Classic to mark his contribution to a victory.

Moore’s Murray method

Taylor Moore hits from the ninth tee during the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. NurPhoto

Second-round co-leader Taylor Moore is taking a page out of his playbook from his junior golf days, and the swing key—not that he would know this—is one that actor Bill Murray used to transform himself from a glorified hacker into a decent amateur golfer.

Moore, who won his first tour title at the Valspar Championship, came into the Rocket Mortgage Classic having missed the cut in his last three starts. To remedy his poor ball striking, he decided to start holding his follow-through for an extra second or two. When Murray, the star of “Caddy Shack,” sought to become a respectable player in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he turned to noted instructor Kip Puterbaugh, who among other things advised Murray to hold his finish. Anyone who saw Murray before and after going to Puterbaugh witnessed quite a transformation.

As for Moore, he just revisited a key fundamental from his amateur days.

“I feel like I’ve been a little bit impatient with my golf swing,” Moore said after his second-round 67. “I feel like my golf swing’s been good, but I haven’t necessarily driven the ball great the past few weeks. Really just wanted to hold some finishes, and that’s kind of just always been something for me as a junior golfer all the way through my golf career; that’s kind of brought me back just to hitting better shots, and just kind of staying there until the ball’s finished. That’s something I’ve tried to bring back this week.”

It worked for Murray. It’s working for Moore. No joke.

The post Another week, another shot for Rickie Fowler to end his win drought appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

First-round leads generally mean little, but specifically can be surprisingly newsworthy, as was the case with Peter Kuest on Thursday. Peter who?

Kuest, 25, was a Monday qualifier for the Rocket Mortgage Classic and as such is among the least likely players in the field to make news on Thursday. Yet he had six 3s and two 2s on his scorecard of eight-under-par 64 at Detroit Golf Club to lead the morning wave of players. At the end of play, he was tied for the lead with Taylor Moore.

He was asked what he would be doing had he failed to Monday qualify. “Probably finishing back in Utah,” he said. “I probably would have gone Tuesday, probably in the afternoon today after practice. I’d probably be finishing right now.”

Kuest, who played college golf at BYU, has some Korn Ferry Tour status, though he has been unable to get in a tournament on that tour. So he’s been turning his focus to the PGA Tour and Monday qualifying. “I’ll definitely play more PGA Tour Mondays,” he said.

This last Monday, he played his way into a playoff—four players for three spots—but got in when one of the players, Hayden Springer, was found to have 15 clubs in his bag and was disqualified.

On Monday, @Peter_Kuest secured his spot @RocketClassic via open qualifying.

After a career low round today, Kuest currently leads by one at Detroit Golf Club. pic.twitter.com/p9nZzIR4wV

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2023

This is Kuest’s fourth PGA Tour start this season. He made the cut in two of his previous three starts, including a tie for 14th at the AT&T Byron Nelson, a tournament to which he received a sponsor invitation.

“It gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “The tournament committee gave me a spot there so that was nice, really grateful for that. To go play well, it was a bonus. It solidifies that I can play out here. Now it’s just doing it week in and week out.”

Here are other takeaways from the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Ludvig Aberg continues to warrant attention

Ludvig Aberg watches his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. Raj Mehta

Sweden native Ludvig Aberg is only weeks removed from college golf at Texas Tech yet the quality of his golf continues to prevent the spotlight from venturing too far away from him.

That he is a player to watch again was reinforced in the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He hit all 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation, shooting a seven-under 65.

Video game numbers.

A clinical opening round from Ludvig Aberg @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/iZr0XrNWM0

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2023

Aberg finished first in the PGA Tour University, earning him a full PGA Tour exemption through the 2024 season. He posted a T-25 and a T-24 in his first two starts.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play a few of these events before so I’ve been exposed to this a little bit, but I think just going back-to-back weeks is a little bit different from what I’ve done before,” he said. “It’s just going to take a little time. I think being OK with being a little bit uncomfortable at times is going to be key. All in all, it’s super fun. It’s so much fun to play these events and I’m looking forward to playing a lot more.”

Justin Thomas’ woes continue

Justin Thomas plays his second shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Cliff Hawkins

The season has been an anomaly in Justin Thomas’ career, which otherwise is a Hall of Fame one in progress, featuring 15 victories and two majors, all before he turned 30 in April. He has won at least once every year since his first victory in 2015, yet he has none this year, and is 66th in FedEx Cup points.

His World Ranking is still a respectable 17th, up from 18th the week before, the highest it has been since the first week of 2017, when he was ranked 22nd.

A tie for ninth at the Travelers Championship last week provided a glimmer of hope that was erased by Thomas’ first-round score of four-over-par 76, placing him tied for 150th in a 156-player field.

On the eve of the tournament, Thomas expressed optimism. “Definitely saw a lot of great signs last week,” he said. “I’m just a couple events away from being right there. And a lot of things can happen. The unknown is the fun and bad part about this game, so we’ll see where it takes us.”

Back to the drawing board was not on his radar.

Taylor Moore shakes slump

Taylor Moore plays his shot from the fourth tee during the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. Cliff Hawkins

Taylor Moore has had a strong year that includes a victory in the Valspar Championship in March. Yet he came into the Rocket Mortgage Classic in a month-long slump. He tied for 72nd in the PGA Championship, then missed three straight cuts.

But in the opening round on Thursday, Moore, 29, posted a bogey-free 64 to claim a share of the lead with Kuest. Funny game, this golf.

“With the current state of my game I’ve kind of been stuck in neutral, so this has been really good for me to see,” Moore said. “I felt like I’ve been really, really close and obviously was just stoked to see some putts go in and post a good number.”

The post A Monday qualifier co-leads Rocket Mortgage, Ludvig Aberg continues to shine and Justin Thomas’ woes resume appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

According to ABC 7 WXYZ Detroit, club superintendent Stephen Moynihan informed membership that the 11th and 12th greens on the North course were believed to have been hit with herbicide glyphosate, which essentially kills off weeds and grass. Photos posted on Facebook by MasonGolf show large brown patches in zig-zag and figure-eight patterns on the greens.

Though the grass has suffered severe damage, Moynihan told members that the roots of the grass remain intact. The Detroit Free Press published part of Moynihan’s letter, with Moynihan stating: “The greens will need to remain closed to allow the fastest possible recovery time and to keep any undue stress off the plants. The length of time the greens will take to recover will continue to be weather dependent, the colder the weather, the slower the recovery. I will be working in conjunction with the PGA Tour Agronomy Department to develop an appropriate plan for optimal recovery.”

According to local outlets, police are pursuing leads to track down the parties responsible for the damage, while adding additional security and lights to the club.

Detroit Golf Club was founded in 1899 and features two Donald Ross courses on the property. The club has hosted the Western Amateur and US Mid-Am, and has served as host of the Rocket Mortgage Classic since the tournament began in 2019. The 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic is scheduled to begin in two months. At the time of writing the PGA Tour had no comment on the matter.

The post Police investigating vandalism and chemical spill at PGA Tour stop appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

In fact, Finau passed an impressive PGA Tour earnings milestone thanks to his wins at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic. Those first-place checks moved him over $30 million for his career.

After earning $1.512 million in Detroit, Finau is up to $30,927,102, which puts him No. 41 on the all-time list. Finau lept over Xander Schauffele (for now), Stuart Appleby, Geoff Ogilvy, Hunter Mahan, and Bill Haas with Sunday’s victory.

That figure, however, doesn’t include FedEx Cup bonuses. So Finau still trails Haas, who won the $10 million bonus back in 2011.

Tiger Woods is the PGA Tour’s all-time leading earner with $120,895,206. There’s Phil Mickelson in second at $94,955,060, and then No. 3 Jim Furyk at $71,507,269.

Finau earned his first PGA Tour cheque ($7,960 for a T-70) at the 2007 US Bank Championship in Milwaukee shortly after turning pro at 17. But he didn’t cash another PGA Tour cheque until becoming a full-time tour member for the 2014-2015 season.

With more than $5.5 million in earnings during the 2021-2022 campaign, this marks the third season Finau has gone over $5 million. But considering his red-hot form and the big-money playoff events coming up, he’s got his eyes on a much (much) higher number.

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