He played like one, too, shooting four straight sub-70 rounds and finishing T-9, his best performance since the previous November. Any fear that ditching his hirsute look would have a Samson-like effect on his game appeared to be overblown. (He also credited lots of practice with his swing instructor, Drew Steckel.)

The PGA Championship in August (top) was the beginning of the end for Perez, who played at Napa (bottom) with a new, clean look. (Getty Images)

The cleaned-up version of Perez was back again Thursday at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, shooting a two-under 70 to stay within view of the leaders.

Perez joked in Napa that he felt “40 pounds lighter” thanks to the trim, something that he says was overdue.

“I heard it all. Great moss, lettuce, hockey hair, you name it,” he recently told Golfweek. “It was just driving me nuts. It was so hot this summer and it just was like a drape.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

And then the hair was gone.

A post shared by Pat Perez (@patperezgolf) on Sep 4, 2020 at 11:28am PDT

During Thursday’s broadcast from the Dominican Republic, Golf Channel on-course reporter Trevor Immelman said that he’d asked Perez what was the last straw that finally compelled him to dig out the scissors.

“The real problem was on left to right winds. [My hair] kept hitting me in the face and covering my eyes.”

For those who preferred Perez in his caveman look, there is a little solace. Perez says that he is considering growing it all out again. Of course, if he continues to play well with the shorter locks, that might necessitate more regular visits to the barber.

The post Pat Perez has a way-too-golf-specific reason why he cut his hair appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
This day, this win, like his last one more than 11 years ago, didn’t belong solely and totally to Stewart Cink. This win, Sunday at the Safeway Open, at age 47, he still had to share. And he didn’t mind one bit.

But then, he didn’t mind sharing the spotlight more than a decade ago at Turnberry, either, when he cradled the claret jug while standing next to the man he vanquished, the man who nearly pulled off one of the most epic victories not just in golf but in all of sport.

Tom Watson came so achingly close to capturing the 2009 Open Championship at the inconceivable age of 59 until fate and Cink intervened. The Georgia resident was too good—and too much younger than a worn-out Watson—in the playoff and won easily, but so much of what is remembered about that day boils down to what could have been.

Finally finding the winner’s circle again, well-earned after a 65-65 weekend and the tournament record in relation to par, Cink deserved to take a bow alone after his two-stroke victory over Harry Higgs at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, Calif. Only he couldn’t. He wouldn’t let himself. Not when he had his son, Reagan, on the bag. Not when his wife, Lisa, a champion in her own right after fighting off cancer, was following every step of the way.

“I’ve got to share it with Reagan this time,” said Cink, who gave his son loads of credit for saying or doing the right things at the right time while caddieing for his dad for just the fourth time.

RELATED: The clubs Stewart Cink used to win the Safeway Open

Early in the final round, when Cink started two strokes behind leaders Cameron Percy, Brian Stuard and James Hahn, Reagan had an epiphany and said, “Dad, you know what, your tangibles are really, really good right now,” referring to the Ping clubs the elder Cink had dialed in during a visit to the equipment manufacturer’s headquarters in Arizona two weeks ago. He’s talking about the clubs. “Let’s just take care of the intangibles today.”

“That was great advice,” the father admitted.

Lisa did her part earlier in the day, too, reminding her husband of 27 years how good he can be, how good he still is. She had a feeling about the week. “One thing I always get from my wife,” Cink said, “is she always has this like … she will grab me by the shirt and say like, ‘Do you know how good you are?’ Sometimes it takes somebody around me who’s really close … to remind me like, oh, yeah, I’m pretty good, because I tend to wander away from that belief. So she has a good way of doing that and she did that a little bit this week. She did that this morning.”

David Cannon
Stewart Cink glances at the claret jug he won over Tom Watson in 2009.

As he walked off the 14th green, Stewart approached Lisa as she hovered near the ropes. He grabbed her arm and whispered to her. She has been such an inspiration to him, the way she battled and overcame breast cancer. Stewart took a leave of absence from the tour in 2016 to support her. “I just told her how grateful I was at that moment,” said Cink, a man of strong faith who underwent surgery on his nose in 2018 for skin cancer. “I just was feeling this great sense of gratitude.”

That feeling likely only got stronger when he birdied three of his last four holes after that to offset a three-putt bogey at the par-4 17th, just his second bogey of the week. He finished at 21-under 267 to register his seventh career PGA Tour title and end a winless drought of 4,074 days.

Long before capturing the season opener, which will keep him exempt on tour until he turns 50, Cink had come to terms with the possibility that he might never win again after that surreal day in Scotland, and that, “maybe age might have caught up with me.”

There’s some irony for you.

But, he added, “I wasn’t ready to concede that.”

Jed Jacobsohn
Cink walks on the eighth hole during the final round of the Safeway Open.

RELATED: Stewart Cink’s most special victory yet and three other Sunday takeaways

Cink got the sense that he wasn’t just around to make a decent check and that he could win the thing after the events at the 11th hole. He missed the green short at the par-3 but found his ball, “on the most beautiful, perfect lie. Perfect lie,” he said. “The chip basically became so simple that all I had to do was treat it like a putt and catch it on the clubface somewhere.”

Which he did so well that the ball went straight into the cup. “It was a little bit of an omen,” Cink conceded. “I just felt like that was a really big moment there that propelled me into like a real like lockdown type of focus.”

Cink, who fought his emotions during the round and lost that battle after when standing between Reagan and Lisa during a Golf Channel interview, felt compelled to share the credit for that, too. He gave a nod to his instructor James Sieckmann, his swing coach, who also has been helping him in recent weeks with the mental side of the game.

Geez, that spotlight is getting kind of crowded.

But that’s Cink, who said on Sunday that, “I don’t want winning to be something that I have to do to, like, fulfill myself.”

Sean M. Haffey Stewart Cink celebrates after his birdie on the 18th to finish -21 in the final round and win the Safeway Open.

Which is why, on that sunny day 11 years, one month and 25 days ago, he couldn’t begrudge anyone making such a big deal about the quality of golf that Watson produced over those four mystical days. Cink found it inspring. Why shouldn’t everyone else?

“I always felt that Tom deserved every bit of the accolades that he got from his performance that week,” Cink said. “People ask me this all the time. I feel like I won the Open Championship that year. I don’t feel like I took it out of Tom’s hands or I disappointed the world. I don’t care what they all think about that, and I don’t think Tom would ever think that either. I don’t mind sharing the spotlight with him for that.

“This week, yeah, it is special because I got to share it with Reagan, but if I had to share it with another player or if there was another person in the spotlight this week that was part of the story, too, I wouldn’t care at all.”

But, no, Cink deserves kudos alone. He proved to himself that he could still hit the shots under pressure, that he could keep his nerve. Forty-seven isn’t 59, but Cink, who had just one top-10 finish last season and missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs, persevered against competition that seems to get younger by the hour. He is the oldest winner on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson won last year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at 48.

Cink seemed ready to at least give himself a little credit. He talked about being clear-headed and calm down the stretch. “It just felt like the right place for me to be up near the top of the leader board,” he said before reverting to type. “Then when it came time for me to kind of wrestle the bull to the ground, we were able to keep our composure, me and Reagan both—at least it looked like it on the outside—and get the job done.”

Sure, they got it done. The Cinks, together. But just like at Turnberry, the story of the Safeway Open might have many characters deserving of mention, but only one man’s name is going on the trophy.

The post What made Stewart Cink’s unlikely Safeway Open win special is who was there to share it appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Heading into the weekend at the Safeway Open, the tournament seemed primed for a young breakthrough winner. Stewart Cink, 47, had other ideas.

Much like a dad at a college frat party, Cink barged through the front door at Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif., without telling anyone who he knew and made himself at home. His lights-out, 65-65 weekend earned him a stunning, two-shot victory, his first since the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry. He may be three years away from the geezers tour, but on Sunday he proved some geezers can still get it done on the big tour.

Here are our takeaways from Sunday at the Safeway Open.

Stewart Cink’s still got it
Just an insane sentence to type. Then again, it’s 2020, so it’s very on brand.

But seriously, where did this come from? In his last two seasons on the PGA Tour (30 total starts), Cink had one top 10 … ONE. He did sprinkle in a few surprisingly good results elsewhere (T-20 at 2019 Open Championship; T-9 at the 2019 Houston Open), but for the most part it was a whole lot of T-45s and missed cuts. Like many of us, Cink wondered if his time had passed.

“When you get to 47 like I am, you just don’t really know if you’re ever going to be able to close the door on another one,” said Cink, whose last top-five finish, a T-2, came at the 2018 Travelers Championship. “At times I’ve been in position to get it done and haven’t, but this was just a really special week where I had a lot of good things going with my golf.”

The golf was very good from Cink, who backed up a Saturday 65 with another 65 on Sunday to slam the door. A gutsy, 20-foot right-to-left birdie conversion from off the green at the 15th kickstarted an epic finish that included two more birdies at 16 and 18, which proved to be the winning strokes.

It also helped that his son Reagan, 23, was on the bag this week (more on that in a second). Cink’s wife, Lisa, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, causing Stewart to take a leave of absence from the tour at the time, was also on site, and the two shared a nice moment after Cink made par on the 14th. The vibes all aligned nicely for him, and he was able to turn back the clock and win for the seventh time on the PGA Tour. It’s seems silly to say this one was as special as his Turnberry win over 59-year-old Tom Watson, but with Reagan and Lisa by his side during his post-round interview, Cink put the two wins in the same conversation.

“I didn’t know if there’d be a more special moment than that, but there might be a new one now.”

Is Reagan Cink the next great caddie?

If you can’t tell, we’re kind of joking. We’re not in the business of predicting who the next all-time great caddie is going to be, nor is anyone in the golf media. If anything, Cink’s win is further proof that these guys can win with just about anybody lugging their bag around.

RELATED: The clubs Stewart Cink used to win the Safeway Open

But man, that was a pretty great performance from Reagan Cink! The 23-year-old was a perfectly calming presence for his dad all week, and how about this word of advice he gave to pops on Sunday?

“Reagan said walking out on No. 2 today, he said ‘Dad, your tangibles are really, really good right now. The set of clubs, the ball, the tangibles are good. You just take care of the intangibles today,’” Cink said. “That’s like, great advice for a kid who is 23 years old and only caddying in his fourth PGA Tour event.”

Sage wisdom from the kid. More importantly, it sounds like he and his dad had a blast, which is all that matters, win or lose.

“Reagan’s a great kid to be around, he knows his way around like he’s a PGA Tour pro himself. He did a great job of keeping me positive and keeping me loose out there. We just had a really great time all week.

“I can’t overstate how important he was out there. He understands golf at the highest level.”

High praise. Maybe having the right caddie does matter more than we think.

Sean M. Haffey

That was a highly entertaining solo second from Harry Higgs
We won’t go too long on Higgs, mainly for fear of hardo Golf Twitter saying that he’s their property. But like I wrote Friday evening, everyone—avid golf fans, casual golf fans, “I-just-watch-the-Masters” golf fans—should be allowed to enjoy this guy. The full lip of tobacco, the unbuttoned shirt, the heavy groans after bad shots, the incredible hook into 16 that led to an eagle, the hard F-bomb after the missed birdie putt on 17, etc., etc. The dude is an incredible presence out there. We need more Harry Higgs.

We are scary close to a Doc Redman victory
Thanks to a Sunday 62, Doc Redman locked up a T-3 in Napa. That’s his second T-3 in his last three starts, and the third finish inside the top three in his young career. The former U.S. Amateur winner is going to become a PGA Tour winner very soon. He’s an elite iron player, a solid driver of the golf ball and an above-average putter. One of these weeks it’s going to all come together and we’ll have another early 20s star to be excited about, as if we didn’t have enough already.

The post Stewart Cink’s most special victory yet and three other Sunday takeaways from Napa appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
When Stewart Cink won the 2009 Open Championship, along with being remembered for Tom Watson’s amazing run at the title at age 59, it also marked Cink’s first major championship. Unfortunately for Cink, it also was his last PGA Tour victory until he captured the 2020-21 season-opening Safeway Open in Napa, Calif.

Cink shot back-to-back rounds of 65 to hold off Harry Higgs and a plethora of others for his first PGA Tour win in 4,074 days.

On the front nine Cink converted four short birdie putts before rolling in a 20-footer on No. 11. Despite being 47 years old, Cink was able to average 315.6 yards off the tee and took a lot of pressure off by hitting 61 of 72 greens in regulation for an 84.72 percent clip.

Cink’s driver is Ping’s G410 LST, the company’s low-spinning version of its G410 driver family. Cink also uses Ping’s i210 irons with the interesting configuration of the set running all the way to his gap wedge, something common to everyday golfers but rarely seen on the PGA Tour. In another nod to the everyman, Cink also carries a 20.5-degree Ping G410 7-wood to go with a 13.5-degree G410 3-wood.

It’s unclear whether Cink hit the 3-wood or the 7-wood into the 72nd hole from 254 yards out (although judging by the height of the shot, it would be difficult to elevate a 13.5-degree club that much), but it helped deliver a crucial shot in deciding the tournament in setting up a finishing birdie—even if it was a long time coming.

What Stewart Cink had in the bag at the 2020 Safeway Open:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Ping G410 LST (Graphite Design Tour AD XC), 10.5 degrees
3-wood: Ping G410, 13.5 degrees
7-wood: Ping G410, 20.5 degrees
Irons (4-iron through gap wedge): Ping i210
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (58, 60 degrees)
Putter: Ping Vault 2.0 Ketsch

The post The clubs Stewart Cink used to win the 2020 Safeway Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
The conclusion of the first tournament of the 2020-‘21 PGA Tour season—what, you thought there was an offseason?—won’t lack for drama. Not with three players (James Hahn, Cameron Percy and Brian Stuard) tied atop the leader board and another 14 lurking within three strokes with one round to go at the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif.

How did we get here? Here are our five takeaways from Saturday’s play at Silverado.

Better late than never
At 46 years old and with 153 events under his belt, Cameron Percy is still looking for his first career win on the PGA Tour. That could change on Sunday after a second-straight 68 that leaves the Aussie with a share of the lead.

How big a deal would that be to Percy?

“It would mean the world to me,” he said. “It would mean I get to go to Augusta, which is a goal. I’ve never been to Augusta, which is the biggest goal you have when you come over here. I just thought I’d get there, I haven’t got there yet, so it’s a big deal.”

One reason he’s in that position: putting.

At last month’s Wyndham Championship, Percy saw Justin Rose practicing with a laser that he used to line up his putter. The concept was intriguing, so Percy used Rose’s and then bought one of his own. He also switched to a SIK putter.

This week, Percy has been one of the best in the field with the flat stick, including on Saturday when he made a half dozen birdies, with three of those coming from outside 15 feet.

“That’s half the battle, lining up where you’re looking,” he said. “I hit a lot of putts on line this week.”

Jed Jacobsohn
James Hahn reacts to a shot from the bunker on the fourth hole during round three of the Safeway Open.

Hahn’s recipe for success: Watching Peppa the Pig
Though most everyone’s status on the tour for this season was already secure because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s not true for James Hahn.

He’s on a major medical, so he has only 14 events this season to earn enough points to keep full playing privileges. Three rounds into that journey, he’s off to a good start. After a 67 on Saturday, he’s in position for his first victory since the 2016 Wells Fargo Championship.

“[The pressure] is the same as trying to win a golf tournament, because you’ve heard it before, winning takes care of itself,” Hahn said. “The medical is just something in the back of my mind.”

At least he shouldn’t have a hard time clearing his mind between now and Sunday afternoon. Hahn is staying with family in the same house that he grew up in in Alameda, an hour south of Napa.

“The last thing I want to do is be alone in a hotel room having a million thoughts go through my mind and try to play out all the scenarios,” he said. “It’s easier just to watch some Peppa Pig with my daughter. Most guys don’t have that luxury of watching Peppa Pig, but I do.”

Jed Jacobsohn
Phil Mickelson watches his tee shot on the 16th hole during round three of the Safeway Open.

Mickelson: Worst he has played in ‘three months’
How’s Phil Mickelson doing on the eve of next week’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot, where (as you might have heard) he infamously double bogeyed the 72nd hole to lose by one?

“This is the worst I’ve played in the last three months,” he said Saturday. “It’s deceptive ‘because I didn’t make a bogey, but I didn’t drive it well, I didn’t chip it well and I didn’t putt well. I turned a 64 into a 70 and I’ve got some work to do.”

To his point, the 50-year-old Mickelson, who two weeks ago won in his PGA Champions debut, had more birdies (two) than fairways hit (one). Classic.

If there was an upside, as mentioned, Mickelson didn’t make a bogey, extending his blemish-free streak to 42 straight holes this week. It also marked the first time since the 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge (now the American Express) that he posted back-to-back bogey-free rounds.

Now he’ll have one more round to straighten things out before heading to Winged Foot.

“Heading into this week or the last three, four weeks, I was playing really well,” he said. “So hopefully it’s not far away.”

Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire
Sahith Theegala tees off during the second round of the Safeway Open.

Theegala finding his rhythm

To say Sahith Theegala’s career has gotten off to a rough start would be an understatement. Since the Haskins Award winner out of Pepperdine turned pro, he’d missed three cuts in four starts coming into this week.

Still, even though he could have returned to school for another season after the NCAA granted eligibility relief because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he didn’t regret the choice.

Saturday perhaps showed why.

Playing the weekend on tour for just the second time his young career, the 23-year-old shot a sizzling 64 to race up the leader board and into a tie for 12th at 13 under.

Driving it straight helped. Hitting 15 greens did, too. And so did making 115 feet of putts, including one from 38 feet on the par-3 16th. Theegala, in case you haven’t noticed, also has a unique putting style, using a cross-handed grip for short putts and a conventional one for longer putts.

And now he seems to be finding his rhythm with the rest of his game, too.

“I was just really excited and a little bit nervous the first couple [of starts],” he said. “I was just so excited I’m out here with guys that I grew up watching, all of a sudden I’m competing against them. The last couple weeks, Barracuda and here, I’ve felt so comfortable. I’m just out there playing golf as I know it and I think just having that mindset’s definitely helped a lot.”

Akshay’s crazy eagle
Another young pro who seems to be finding his footing this week? Akshay Bhatia.

Unlike Theegala, Bhatia turned pro out of high school. And like Theegala, he has, not surprisingly, struggled early on. After turning pro last fall, he promptly missed the cut in each of his first four starts. This year hasn’t gone much better with two more missed cuts on the PGA Tour and another on the European Tour.

But last week he tied for 13th at the Invitational at Auburn University Club in the LocaliQ series. Then came Saturday and his second 66 of the week.

Like Theegala, he rolled the ball well, taking 106 feet of putts. But the best highlight of the day? An eagle at the par-5 fifth where he “shanked” a 5-iron into a tree and off a road, got relief, and chipped in.

“It’s probably the craziest eagle I’ve ever made,” Bhatia said. “I told my caddie, ‘I’m just trying to give myself a putt,’ and I mean, I hit a good chip but it landed like pretty firm and just railed the flag and went in.

“That hole went from basically like a 7 to a 3, which is crazy how golf works like that.”

The post Cameron Percy is dreaming of Augusta and four other takeaways from Day 3 of Safeway Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
After three long days and a one-hour “fog” delay, the PGA Tour returned in Napa Valley at Silverado Resort, site of the first event of the 2020-’21 “Super Season,” the Safeway Open. This year’s field is even leaner than usual, as many of the world’s best are gearing up for next week’s U.S. Open on the other side of the country.

But a certain 18-year-old is threatening to make this week’s Safeway a must-see event on the weekend. We are of course talking about lanky lefty Akshay Bhatia, who shot the lowest round of his still nascent pro career on Thursday in Cali. Those who have followed his junior career know he is going to be special, but immediate success was always going to be a very tall order.

That could change with another strong round on Friday, which would put Bhatia in the hunt in just his eighth career PGA Tour event. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, here are our five takeaways from Day 1 of the Safeway Open.

The Akshay Bhatia era has begun
Collin Morikawa? Old news. Viktor Hovland? Flash in the pan. Matthew Wolff? Never heard of him. The PGA Tour now belongs to Akshay Bhatia.

OK, OK, that screech you hear is me slamming on the brakes, but an 18-year-old shooting a six-under 66 on the big tour will always be impressive. What’s more impressive, though, is that it came in his 16th career round on tour. It already feels like this kid has been around a while and he literally hasn’t even gotten started yet. For those who need a refresher, Bhatia was the former top-ranked junior player in the world and finished runner-up at the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur at Baltusrol. He then skipped college entirely and turned pro at 17, his first pro start coming at the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship. A year earlier, he played in his first PGA Tour event on a sponsor’s exemption at the Valspar.

This week’s Safeway marks Bhatia’s eighth tour start, and he has not made the cut in any of his previous seven. Barring a second-round 78, he should safely make the weekend in Napa, which would be the biggest accomplishment to date in his young pro career. Something tells us he has much bigger aspirations than making cuts, though.

Sean M. Haffey
Russell Knox putts on the 13th hole during round one of the Safeway Open.

We see you, Russell Knox
Well, considering he’s at the top of the leader board, everyone sees him, but it’s somewhat shocking to read his name there. When you think of Knox, two things immediately jump to mind: 1. The hat throw celebration when he holed the winning putt at the 2016 Travelers Championship and 2. His implosion at the 17th at the 2016 Players (which included a shank). In other words, this guy has had some very high highs and some very low lows. At one point in 2018, the Scotsman climbed all the way to 18th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He then fell as low as 116th before getting all the way back to 49th. At 35 years old, he’s seen all the ups and downs.

Coming into this week, Knox had fallen to his lowest ranking ever, 208th. On Thursday, he shot a bogey-free nine-under 63, with just one of his birdie putts coming from longer than 14 feet. He’s always been a machine with his irons, but poor play off the tee and some even worse putting have plagued him even during his good years. Last season was arguably his worst on the PGA Tour, ands it featured a stretch in which he missed 10 consecutive cuts. But as he’s shown throughout his career and particularly on Thursday, he has the ability to keep grinding away and eventually snap out of his funk. Don’t be surprised if he keeps up this stellar approach play through the weekend and remains in contention until the very end.

Jed Jacobsohn
Jordan Spieth walks on the third hole during round one of the Safeway Open.

Jordan Spieth did Jordan Spieth things (not a compliment)
A few years ago, that sentence would lead you to believe Spieth was hitting his irons better than anyone in the field and holing putts from everywhere. Today, in September of 2020, that sentence means Spieth was erratic with his driver (he lost 0.905 strokes off the tee), not great with his irons (he lost 1.063 strokes on approach) and didn’t make anything with his putter (he lost 1.880 strokes putting). All that added up to a one-over 73 on a course where 32 players are currently four under our better. To his credit, he made two late birdies, but those feel a lot less like momentum heading into Friday and a lot more like Spieth patching up a torn apart teddy bear with a couple of pieces of scotch tape. It’s bad right now, real bad. We’re writing about Jordan Spieth’s (three-time major champion Jordan Spieth) middling round in the Safeway Open a week before Winged Foot right now. THAT kind of bad. It goes without saying since it’s been said roughly a billion times now, but we’re all pulling for him to get it together, but it’s not happening this week and it’s definitely not happening next week either.

It’s so good to have live golf back in our lives

I’m sorry, I had to. Let’s all agree that that’s the final “how about that offseason!” dad joke, OK?

The post The Akshay Bhatia era has begun and other takeaways from Day 1 of the Safeway Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
The PGA Tour will open its 2020-’21 season with a surreal backdrop.

The Safeway Open once again serves as the tour’s kickoff event at Silverado C.C. in Napa. However, Northern California has been battling the LNU Lightning Complex fires for the past month, which is made up of a series of fires impacting the areas of Solano, Sonoma, and Napa counties.

As of the evening of Sept. 8, more than 90 percent of the fire had been contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and evacuation orders for the area have been lifted. It is far from the first time Napa has dealt with these issues; in 2017, grandstands at the Safeway Open were swallowed by flames mere hours after the event’s conclusion. Nevertheless, the blaze has engulfed more than 375,000 acres and 1,500 structures, and though the fire is mostly contained, it is still burning, creating a supernatural vista at Silverado C.C.

From tweets from the PGA Tour communications department to photos from the folks at Getty Images, here are some of the wild scenes from the Safeway Open. And to donate to those that have been impacted by the fires, click here.

It’s almost 10 a.m. PT Wednesday morning at the ⁦@SafewayOpen⁩ at ⁦@SilveradoResort⁩ #spooky pic.twitter.com/zdtssoLhA8

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) September 9, 2020

Lights are placed near the practice putting green @SafewayOpen this morning due to the smoky haze pic.twitter.com/ENX6CzUJSU

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) September 9, 2020

The post California wildfires create surreal scene at PGA Tour’s Safeway Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
On Monday, Dustin Johnson captured his first FedEx Cup title, thus bringing to a close the PGA Tour’s most challenging and bizarre season yet, given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it’s on to the 2020-’21 season, which starts Thursday. Yes, this Thursday, at the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif.

The offseason might have been short, but with no golf for three months this summer you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone complaining. Here are nine storylines to keep an eye on as the tour rings in another season this week.

1. There will be 50 tournaments—including six majors—in the 2020-’21 campaign, the most in a season since 1975, when the tour had 51 tournaments. No, there aren’t any new events on the calendar. This year’s U.S. Open and Masters were postponed to September and November, respectively, thus explaining the increase. That’s hardly the only change, though, which we wrote about here in our breakdown of the upcoming schedule.

Gary Kellner
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort will host the 103rd PGA Championship.

2. We know the upcoming U.S. Open will be played at Winged Foot and, of course, the Masters is always at Augusta National. What about the other major venues for 2021? The PGA Championship returns to the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, where Rory McIlroy won in 2012; the U.S. Open is back at Torrey Pines for the first time since Tiger Woods’ epic victory there in 2008; and the Open Championship goes to Royal St. George’s, where this year’s tournament was slated to be held before being cancelled. Darren Clarke hoisted the claret jug the last time it was played there in 2011.

3. Because of coronavirus, fans haven’t been allowed at tournaments since the Players Championship in March. So when will we see them again? Though it’s not entirely clear, the tour is moving closer to allowing spectators on site. This week, the PGA Tour Champions event in South Dakota will have fans—case numbers are relatively low in the sparsely populated state (though there have been sharp spikes of late) and it figures to be a good test run for the PGA Tour. Also, the tour will reintroduce pro-ams this fall and already has allowed for a small number of sponsor guests at select events in recent weeks. In other words, expect to see fans again sometime in early 2021, if not sooner.

4. What can we expect from Tiger Woods? Since winning the Zozo last fall, Woods has made just seven starts, with his best result a T-9 at the Farmers Insurance Open. The rest of the year he was a non-factor, and he once again missed time due to injury. Woods will also turn 45 in December. Translation: While he has shown that he can still contend and even win on occasion, his schedule is slowing down. But if he can stay healthy, it’s possible he could make as many as 15 starts or more, a number that’s boosted by a busier-than-usual fall.

5. Will Jordan Spieth end his winless drought? It’s been three years and counting since Spieth won, and he showed flashes at times, but in the end the 27-year-old three-time major champ finished the season with just three top 10s—the fewest of his career. Just about every facet of his game, save for his strokes gained/around-the-green, was mediocre at best, and there was little from this past season to indicate that he will suddenly turn it around in 2020-’21. By the way, he’s not the only star riding a three-year winless streak: Hideki Matsuyama is, too.

Brett Carlsen
Already a winner on the senior circuit, Phil Mickelson has shown he can still compete on the PGA Tour.

6. WWPMD? Phil Mickelson is 50 years old, yes, but it’s clear he isn’t moving to the senior circuit to take everyone’s cash full-time just yet. Mickelson is teeing it up this week in Napa and will be in the field for the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. He also showed he still has enough game to occasionally compete with the younger set, finishing second at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and third at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Like Tiger, he still has the ability to dial it up on the rare occasion.

7. How big will Bryson get? Eventually he’s going to reach a point of diminishing return, but he’s not there yet. If anything, 2019-’20 proved that all his added bulk and increased clubhead speed paid off in a big way. His ultimate goal: Drive it 400 yards (and straight) every week—something that would be an enormous advantage. Improving his wedge play and short game would also help immensely, something he is also keenly aware of.

8. Can Brooks’ body hold up? Like the much-older Woods, Koepka, just 30, was limited by injury in 2019-20. Even when he did play, his performances were rarely feast and mostly famine with just two top 10s, a final-round implosion at the PGA Championship and five missed cuts. Of course if Brooks is reading this it will probably provide all the motivation he’ll need for another big year.

Gary Kellner/PGA of America
Whistling Straits is set to host the Ryder Cup in 2021.

9. Don’t forget about the Olympics and the Ryder Cup. The two biggest marquee international events fell victim to coronavirus in 2020 and were pushed back to next year. As such, that means the men will have until June 21, 2021, to accumulate points for the Tokyo Games. Meanwhile, the top six point-getters through the 2021 BMW Championship will automatically earn a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and Steve Stricker will have six captain’s picks instead of the usual four. The European team will freeze its qualifying process until the start of 2021.

The post Yes, the new PGA Tour season starts this week(!), and here are 9 storylines to watch appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

No, I won’t reveal what we were talking about. That’s private. I also can’t remember because it was such a blur. But basically, it was just two dudes yucking it up over golf. No big deal. Kidding. It was a BIG deal. And Tiger, I was also kidding about not washing my hand since our encounter. Totally kidding … I swear … so let’s do it again sometime. In the meantime, here’s what else is going on in the world of golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Cameron Champ: I wasn’t expecting the end of the Safeway Open to get me to cry, but there I was tearing up watching a young golfer hug his father in celebration while on the phone with his dying grandfather, PaPa Champ, who got him into the game. What a moving scene. As someone whose own grandfather did the same (RIP Poppa Myers), it hit me about as hard as Champ hits a golf ball.

Daniel Shirey

Speaking of which, Champ became just the eighth golfer in the past 20 years to win a PGA Tour event while leading the field in driving distance and scrambling. And he showed off both those aspects of his game on the 72nd hole with a 369-yard drive down the middle and a beautiful chip to set up his winning birdie.

All the emotions.

The winning moment for @Cameron__Champ and his family @SafewayOpen. pic.twitter.com/FzM6nqokVK

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 30, 2019

That was a special moment, and Champ is a special player. And with the Sanderson Farms rooster to go along with the Safeway Open wine barrel, he’s got quite a special trophy collection already.

Tony Romo: I’ll admit, I thought the Tony Romo PGA Tour experience had worn out its welcome a bit with him accepting his fourth sponsor’s exemption into an event where he had no local ties. But Romo had the sports world talking (Hence, why tournaments keep inviting him) following an opening 70 that put him in great shape to make the cut. Romo beat his first-round playing partners—PGA Tour members Beau Hossler and Michael Gellerman—by a combined 10(!) shots on Thursday. How ‘bout that Cowboy!

Jonathan Ferrey

Of course, his Friday performance, a four-over 76, wasn’t quite as spectacular, but Romo did beat a dozen tour pros even while missing the cut. He returned to his day job for CBS on Sunday, and after watching parts of that Bears-Vikings game he and Jim Nantz were forced to sit through, I can see why the former QB wanted to get out of work so badly.

Rory’s bunker lessons: A couple of weeks ago, Rory McIlroy gave Justin Timberlake a bunker lesson. Now Timberlake is doing things like this:

In a pot bunker. Over a burn. @jtimberlake has game. ?#DunhillLinks pic.twitter.com/Rdg5ckJU9T

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 26, 2019

Sign me up for a lesson, Rors.

WE’RE SELLING

Rory’s “course setup” complaints: I love Rory McIlroy. I love that he speaks his mind. I just think in this case, he’s not properly representing the whole story. McIlroy roasted the European Tour for its easy setups, but the timing was bad considering he had just finished the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which is a pro-am. A pro-am in which Rory played with his dad, Gerry, who shot a gross 69 (three under) at Kingsbarns!

Ross Kinnaird

Can you imagine being so good at golf that you complain about a course being too easy? Must be nice, am I right? Also kudos to Gerry for carrying his son to a T-1 finish in the team competition. Sadly, the McIlroys lost on a tiebreaker to Tommy Fleetwood and his partner because Fleetwood shot a lower score (64) on Sunday than Rory (67). Way to let your dad down, Rory. Kidding. Sort of.

“Spitgate”: Romo’s score had sports fans abuzz on Thursday, but a shot he hit on Friday wound up setting Golf Twitter aflame. The QB accidentally hit into triple coverage (the threesome in front) on a par 5 with a 3-wood from 278(!) yards to five feet. Then this happened:

pic.twitter.com/X9QPuUNIUA

— Jason Parnell (@jasondean2000) September 28, 2019

Here’s how PGA Tour rookie Kristoffer Ventura explained it:

I definitely did not spit here. I moved my head to see if I had left any spike marks because I knew I was close to his line, hate to disappoint you guys

— Kristoffer Ventura (@krisventura95) September 28, 2019

We’ll take your word for it, Kris. A (OSU) Cowboy wouldn’t do that to another Cowboy.

“Flipgate”: Former PGA Tour pro and current Korean Tour money leader Bio Kim was suspended for three YEARS for flipping off a fan whose cellphone made noise during a tournament he eventually won:

A THREE-year ban, for this! pic.twitter.com/O3HZPueY2s

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) October 1, 2019

Allow me to echo Ryan’s sentiments. A THREE-YEAR ban for this?! Wow. That is harsh. And how about that photo of Kim kneeling before the Korean media begging for forgiveness? Geez, it’s not like he killed the fan with the cell phone. Anyway, let’s just say it’s a good thing Sergio Garcia doesn’t play on the Korean Tour …

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, AKA that tournament Smylie Kaufman won. Man, I can’t believe four years have passed since that. Keep grinding, Smylie. Hopefully, you’ll be back on tour full-time next year.

Random tournament fact: Patrick Cantlay has won and finished runner-up the past two years in Vegas. That’s a lot of money to play with at the blackjack tables.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Someone will spit on Brooks Koepka’s golf ball this week: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds

—Phil Mickelson will win the Shriners Open: 100-to-1 odds (Actual odds. Wow.)

—Vegas casinos will get a boost this week: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Jonathan Ferrey

Again, what a scene. All the best to the Champs during this bittersweet time.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

This compilation of PGA Tour stars hitting tee shots over the corner of the Old Course Hotel on the famed Road Hole is mesmerizing:

Which line are you taking on the 17th hole at the Old Course at St. Andrews? ?pic.twitter.com/xcHHv0XGvr

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 29, 2019

Juuuuust a bit different from this video that made the rounds a couple of weeks ago:

How NOT to play the famous Road Hole at St Andrews…?? pic.twitter.com/DtFCPBHRSO

— Golf Unplugged (@golfunpluggedhq) September 10, 2019

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“No matter if I win one more tournament, 10 more tournaments, whatever it may be, this will be the greatest moment in my golfing career for sure.” —Cameron Champ

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS (NOT NAMED TONY ROMO)

Michael Strahan participated in Tiger Woods’ newest charity golf event, the Nexus Cup, and challenged the host to a putting contest on Liberty National’s 18th green. Not only did Woods roll a 20-footer in on his first attempt, but he celebrated as he had just won the Masters. Check it out (40-second mark):

.@TigerWoods is back on top of his game, so @michaelstrahan thought it would be a good time to challenge the golf great to an epic re-match.

The golf legend talks #NexusCup, his legacy and what he wants his kids to learn from him. https://t.co/i9rZzYNwW0 pic.twitter.com/Mz4Zz9fJ7X

— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 27, 2019

That and Strahan arguing with Lawrence Taylor over QB sack supremacy were the highlights of the event. Well, other than meeting Tiger. Did I mention I met Tiger?

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Mickelson struggled at the Safeway Open, missing the cut in his first event of the 2019-’20 season, but he really stepped up his game when it came to his latest “Phireside With Phil” video.

Paying tribute to Larry David and all the people who continue to love and play the game – even if their childhood dreams of being a hall of fame golfer were ripped away by a jealous brother. Enjoy this special #PhiresidewithPhil on #TributeTuesday. pic.twitter.com/SoHYgpVbP2

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) September 24, 2019

Larry David?! After playing golf (Would that be called a “Round and chat”?) with the comedic legend? Pretty, pretty, pretty good. Yeah, yeah, everyone else already made the same joke, but I don’t care. The part when they talk about Phil’s Hall of Fame jacket was particularly good. Netflix, pick up this show already!

THIS WEEK IN EDDIE PEPPERELL BEING EDDIE PEPPERELL

"I would actually ban children and have dogs instead."@PepperellEddie never holds back. ?pic.twitter.com/dWQhm4HjcE

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 27, 2019

He should legally change his name to Eddie PeppereLOL.

THIS AND THAT

M.J. Hur won the LPGA’s Indy Women in Tech Championship by four shots at Brickyard Crossing Golf Club. You could say she “raced away with the title.” Get it? Sorry. … Congrats to Victor Perez on winning his first European Tour title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Perez shot a final-round 70 and still finished (Look away, Rory!) 22 under par. … Five golfers, according to a Reuters report, had their drivers fail tests ahead of the Safeway Open now that the PGA Tour has really started to crackdown. Kinda makes you wonder how many hot clubs have been in players’ bags in recent years. … China’s Yuxin Lin won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, earning an invitation to next year’s Masters. It will be the second trip to Augusta National for the 18-year-old. Impressive. … And finally, Costco had to refund its latest batch of golf balls because they were cutting too easily. Bad job making the balls, but good job reacting by my favourite store. And if they are looking to hire someone for quality control their golf balls, I have just the person:

My daughter needs to start earning her keep at some point.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Did anyone test Tony Romo’s 3-wood?

Is Costco ever going to bring back chocolate froyo?

Should I go for the bro-hug with Tiger next time?

The post Tony Romo’s wild week, Phil Mickelson’s funny chat with Larry David, and my meeting with Tiger Woods(!) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Cameron Champ’s emotional victory celebration with his father and terminally ill grandfather via phone was one of the most moving sports scenes in recent memory. But how the 24-year-old moved his golf ball around Silverado Resort and Spa to earn his second PGA Tour title was pretty special as well.

Champ led the Safeway Open field in both driving distance (337.1 yards) and scrambling (84.21 percent), quite the effective combination of power and finesse. It’s also a rare statistical feat as pointed out by PGATour.com’s Sean Martin:

In the last 20 years, eight players have won while leading the field in driving distance and scrambling:

Cameron Champ
Justin Thomas
Rory McIlroy
Jason Day
Dustin Johnson
Bubba Watson
Harrison Frazar
Tiger Woods

— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) September 30, 2019

Martin also noted there have now been 12 such instances of a player pulling this off in the past 20 years. Tiger Woods has done it four times, Rory McIlroy twice, and six players, including Champ, once. Pretty good company.

Both of these parts of Champ’s game were on full display on the 72nd hole. Needing a birdie to beat Adam Hadwin, Champ bombed this 369(!)-yard drive down the fairway:

Nerves of steel.@Cameron__Champ launches a 369-yard drive on 18. ? pic.twitter.com/DYtijQuUjf

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 30, 2019

Then after an 8-iron missed the green on his approach to the par 5, Champ hit a beautiful chip to set up his winning putt from four feet.

All the emotions.

The winning moment for @Cameron__Champ and his family @SafewayOpen. pic.twitter.com/FzM6nqokVK

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 30, 2019

He also chipped in for par on No. 11:

What. A. Recovery.

Cameron Champ saves par to maintain a three-shot lead.pic.twitter.com/DMSo28CxD8

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 29, 2019

Champ called the win, “the greatest moment in my golfing career.” But while his touching tribute to PaPa Champ will be tough to top, that kind of touch around the greens to go with the fastest swing on tour all but guarantee more future titles.

The post Cameron Champ accomplishes rare statistical feat in Safeway Open victory appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.