Unfortunately, for Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, there was a little too much “sorry partner” on the par-3 ninth hole on Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The duo was one under for the day in their final round at TPC Louisiana, tied for 26th at 16-under for the tournament, when they got to the tee box on the 183-yard hole, with water left and front of the green.

Brown began with a towering tee shot that moved just a little too much right to left. It hit land but bounced in the water forcing the pair to take a drop.

“Sorry partner.”

Kisner played next, hitting the team’s third from 92 feet away. Sadly, his ball got too much air, hit the front bank and also bounced into the penalty area.

“Uh, sorry partner.”

Now playing their fifth shot, Brown proceeded to … well … there’s no real polite way to say other than he chunked the chip and hit it again in the penalty area.

“Uh … uh … sorry partner.”

Finally, Kisner hit the green with the team’s seventh shot, leaving Brown with a 12-footer. To Brown’s credit, he put all the trouble in the past and rolled the ball into the centre of the hole.

But the damage was done: a quintuple-bogey 8. It’s all right here to see:

An 8 on the par 3 9th ?

Golf is hard. pic.twitter.com/oTJdyiUht2

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 24, 2022

While the duo made two birdies on their back nine, they finished the day with a two-over 74 and in 35th spot.

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By Joel Beall
Scott Brown was born in Augusta, Ga., but the 10-year vet has never played the Masters. He’s damn close to making that dream a reality.

Brown made nine birdies on Saturday for an eight-under 63, a performance that moved him from middle of the pack to near the top of the board in the John Deere Classic.

“Drove it really well to start off with and then was able to hit the ball close with my irons and capitalize on the putting,” said Brown who sits at 14 under for the week. “Kind of a momentum carrying over from last week a little bit on Sunday’s round. Started to see some putts go in, and just carried it over to this week a little bit.”

While the Masters is the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, Brown’s been more focused on getting out of the rain. It’s been a rough season for the 38-year-old, missing the cut in 15 of 25 starts and entering the week 180th in the FedEx Cup, placing Brown in massive danger of losing his card. It’s a standing that Brown is trying to use to his advantage. “At this point my FedExCup position, I kind of need to win, so it kind of frees me up in a way,” Brown said Saturday afternoon. “I have one goal, and it’s to come in here and win.”

This tournament has been palliative to Brown in the past, posting six top-25s in eight career starts, and Saturday proved to be an analgesic. Despite losing strokes to the field off the tee, Brown gained over four shots on his competition on the greens and another three in approach, a combo that allowed Brown to paint the course red. Impressive as those nine birdies were, it was an up-and-down out of a greenside bunker on the 18th for par that was the exclamation point on his day.

That par has him on the precipice of a life-changing walk. It won’t be easy, not with a crowded board of viable opponents. Brown’s lone win on the PGA Tour came at the alternate-event Puerto Rico Classic in 2013, and with over 260 career starts under his belt no one has to tell him how rare such opportunities are. There’s a heck of a lot on the line for Scott Brown Sunday. He’s waited 38 years for this moment. What’s another 18 holes?

“It’s been a tough year, but I’ve been trying to stay positive. I’ve got a good team around me saying just keep doing what you’re doing,” Brown said. “You just never know when it’s your time.”

Three other takeaways from Saturday at the John Deere Classic.

Packed at the top

Since TPC Deere Run took over as this event’s venue in 2000, no course on tour has surrendered more birdies. Should that trend continue Sunday … strap in, folks.

Sebastian Munoz sits in the lead at 16 under thanks to a four-under 67. There are a whopping 11 guys three shots or closer to Munoz. That pack includes Brandon Nagy at 15 under; Brown, Adam Long, Ryan Moore and Cam Champ at 14; Maverick McNealy, Chez Reavie, Luke List and Jhonattan Vegas at 13. Even major winners in Jason Dufner and Lucas Glover at 12 under are close enough to make a run.

Sunday’s forecast calls for rain, which should leave the course extremely vulnerable. Expect a shootout, and perhaps sudden death. There have been back-to-back playoffs heading into the John Deere Classic, and Saturday’s board has the trappings for a third.

Andy Lyons
Cameron Champ plays his shot from the second tee during the third round of the John Deere Classic.

Champ back from the wilderness

Fans and media tend to embellish or hyperbolize when a player is in a slump. That’s not the case for Cam Champ, whose struggles—especially against his immense talent—have gone somewhat under the radar.

The two-time tour winner has not posted a top-25 finish in 2021 and entered the week 149th in the FedEx Cup. Worse, the woes were not just one facet of the game but systemic; Champ ranks 163rd in approach, 199th in SG/around-the-green and 206th in SG/putting. His driving remains prodigious (seventh in SG/off-the-tee), but even in today’s modern game, that will only take you so far.

However, Champ has emerged from the wilderness, making five birdies in his first six holes on Saturday and is in the mix heading into the final round.

“I got off to a great start, obviously I would want to keep that momentum going, but I hit a few squirrely shots and I made some great pars and great putts,” Champ said after a 65. “So for a Saturday in kind of getting me up there close within a few shots, obviously there’s guys finishing, it could be, I could have, I could be done one, two, three, who knows, but at least I’m within reach.”

He hasn’t been flawless through three days in Silvis; his second shots leave much to be desired, as does his wedge work around the green. Yet his putter has been lights-out and he’s managed to keep the big numbers at bay, highlighted by a bogey-free round on Saturday.

Champ is not in danger of losing his card thanks to his win at the 2019 Safeway Open. In that same breath, he seemed to be on the verge of big things after contending at the 2020 PGA Championship last August, and the returns since TPC Harding Park have not lived up to the billing. He also alluded to off-the-course matters that have made him focus on his mental health.

“One of our purposes is to win, to win golf tournaments, to be the best as we possibly can, but for me, coming to the realization of a lot of things; I have many other purposes I want to achieve,” Champ said. “For me it’s not all about golf. Obviously as a kid and coming out here trying to get on tour it had to be because that was my situation and I had no other choice.

“But now that I’m out here and I got married, I’m maturing in levels, I’m starting to kind of figure out myself and what works for me. So obviously I’m going to put a hundred percent effort into this game, I love it, it’s given me so much. But also I have my family, I have other things that mean more to me than this game. So for me it’s just kind of balancing that and figuring that out and how I can manage both of those to have my ultimate success. … I talked to my wife, I talked with my coach, and just try to have a more open-minded process and enjoy the game more, not be so hard on myself and as long as I put the work in, then results will come.”

No matter what happens Sunday, this week has underlined that those results are near, and that Champ can return to that big-time trajectory.

Kevin Na remains a human highlight machine

We suppose there might be fans who are tired of Kevin Na’s walk-in celebrations, similar to how there are people who think a hot dog is a sandwich. But just because these heathens exist does not mean we have to acknowledge their foolish opinions.

Which is a long way of saying: Kevin Na was dropping premature celebrations again on Saturday, and it was a delight:

Fist-pumping before it drops. ?

Kevin Na is 1 back after back-to-back birdies. pic.twitter.com/GgvucXeXFI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 10, 2021

Our only qualm is it’s time for Na—whose Saturday 66 has him in contention—to take his act to the next level. Whip his hat to the ground like Tiger Woods at Bay Hill. Turn to the crowd and twirl his hand to his ear, letting the roar that ensues be his signal. Go full Incredible Hulk and tear his shirt into two.

Should these suggestions come to pass … please, Steve Stricker, give the man a captain’s pick on the Ryder Cup.

The post Augusta native has shot at first Masters berth, Cam Champ stays hot and Kevin Na continues to be human highlight machine appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
This time, it’s official. A decade and a half after Adam Scott “won” a rain-shortened 36-hole tournament here, which isn’t formally recognized by the PGA Tour as a victory, the 39-year-old Aussie emerged victorious once more on a frenetic Sunday at an unseasonably fiery Riviera Country Club. A final-round 70 was good for a hard-earned two-shot triumph over Sung Kang, Scott Brown and Matt Kuchar at the Genesis Invitational.

Scott has always loved this golf course, his—and seemingly many other’s—favourite on tour. But he’s only kind of been able to call himself a past champion. There was no asterisk on the portrait of him in the clubhouse, but there may as well have been. Now? There’s no doubt, no footnote, no equivocations. Adam Scott has conquered Riviera.

“It’s incredibly satisfying to win a tournament of this stature on a golf course of this stature,” Scott said. “It was a wonderful week. It was incredibly enjoyable just being here with the weather like this, the course in perfect condition and a great field. Even better to come out on top and kind of have your game really tested today. It was not easy, and that was most enjoyable—to kind of see that my game is holding up.”

Officially, Scott’s Sunday win is the 14th of his PGA Tour career. (Chris Trotman)

The victory in 2005 didn’t count toward his career PGA Tour win haul, which now totals 14. This one—his first on the U.S. circuit since March 2016, though he did win the Australian PGA Championship in his last start before this, in December—could count double, given how tough it came, the course he won it on and the field he beat.

Nine of the top 10 in the world teed it up—including new World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, who started the day in a three-way tie for the lead with Scott and Kuchar but flamed out of contention with a triple-bogey 7 on the fifth hole Sunday.

Scott was ranked No. 14 at the start of the week. But he will jump inside the top 10 on Monday for the first time in nearly two years, as he’s projected to reach No. 7 when the new World Rankings drop Monday.

“My career is in a good spot,” he said. “You know, even before winning this week, I feel like physically and somewhat mentally I’m OK after 20 years out here. I really do believe if I can maintain motivation and focus, the next five years can be my best years on tour.”

At his best, no one makes hitting a golf ball look simpler than Scott, his picture-perfect swing long-serving as a model for junior golfers everywhere. He’s equally smooth off the course, with his measured cadence and soothing Australian accent. He’s just … easy.

But Sunday was anything but.

After a room-service dinner and a phone call to his daughter Bo-Vera, who turned 5 over the weekend, Scott slept on a share of the lead Saturday night knowing he was in for a challenge. At the start of the final round, there were 16 players within four shots of the lead, including McIlroy—who Scott called a “benchmark of the game” on Saturday—and Kuchar and Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.

Scott took the lead alone with birdies on the first and third holes, but he found himself playing catchup after going bogey/double bogey on Nos. 4 and 5. he bounced back with a birdie after nearly holing his tee shot on the par-4 sixth and then made six straight steady pars.

“On four and five, it could have really slipped away, but it’s in those moments where you just have to cliché everything and get back in your process, or stay in the moment and just do what’s been working well,” Scott said. “It’s not time to kind of get flustered and try something new on the sixth hole of the final round. I just really tried to do what I had done all week on that next swing and made a good swing and made a good putt.”

Chris Trotman

Pars were good currency all day in what can only be described as major-like conditions. February in Los Angeles usually brings with it some measure of moisture, but a dry couple weeks led to a dry course and firmer greens than any Genesis in recent memory. That, as well as a breezy afternoon and brutal pin conditions, created a golf course that simply didn’t yield many birdies. The lowest score of the day was three-under 68.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be as difficult as it was,” McIlroy said. “But everyone was finding it tough out there.”

Indeed they were. Added Kuchar: “It was one hard day out there. [Caddie] John Wood pulled me aside on the driving range—he knew I wasn’t playing my best, and he said, ‘Listen, those pin locations are harder today. You play smart, par’s going to be good on every hole.’ That was my game plan.”

Kuchar hung around all day, as did Dustin Johnson before two late bogeys cost him. Hometown boy Max Homa was in with a shout until his tee shot on the par-3 16th plugged in the bunker, and Joel Dahmen had an outside chance before missing a must-make birdie at 17. It was that kind of day—no less than 10 players looked to be legitimate threats to win at varying points of the afternoon. Tournament host Tiger Woods was not one of those players, as he shot a six-over 77 after yet another brutal day on the Poa annua greens, finishing last in the field for all players who made the cut.

Amid all the movement around him, Scott never wavered, even after he found a plugged lie in a bunker of his own on 15 and had to summon a brilliant flop shot to save bogey. After a solid par on 16, he sealed the win with a birdie on the par-5 17th, set up by a 338-yard drive that split the fairway. A two-putt par on the iconic 18th finished it.

“Hopefully it does just give me the confidence to play a little better, and certainly those feelings of what it’s like being in contention is good. Especially coming into the majors.”

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By Christopher Powers
We’re only in year two of the team format at the Zurich Classic, but it’s starting to feel like Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown have been doing this for a long time. The duo from South Carolina backed up their strong first and second-round performance with an eight-under 64 in Saturday’s best-ball format, giving them a one-stroke lead heading into the final round.

On Friday, Kisner said it would take something low to stay in the mix, predicting Saturday would be “kind of a shootout day.” He was right, as 12 of the remaining 36 teams shot 64 or lower, including three 61s. Kisner and Brown were on pace to be one of those 61s early, making birdies on five of their first seven holes and turning in five-under 31. But it wasn’t nearly as clean on the back nine, where they made five more birdies and three bogeys to finish with a 64, putting them at 20-under 196.

One off the lead at 19-under 197 is the team of Tony Finau and Daniel Summerhays, who fired a nine-under 63 that included four birdies on their final five holes.

“We had four birdies in a row I feel like on some of the tougher holes on the golf course,” said Finau. “We just ham-and-egged it really nicely. You know, I birdied 14, he birdied 15, I birdied 16, 17.”

While their finish was clutch, the shift in momentum came at the 10th hole, where Summerhays saved the day after Finau hit his drive out of play.

“The momentum-changing part about our round was on 10. I hit it out of play and (Summerhays) made a clutch birdie. That kept the momentum going for us when we really needed it. Kept me in it for a couple of holes that I didn’t have my best stuff,” said Finau. “So, the great thing about this format is it’s a team format, and we’ve been picking each other up nicely throughout these last three days. We’re going to need that tomorrow.”

This is the second season the two Utah natives have teamed together, and last year they missed the cut. Summerhays believes a little more trust in each other’s abilities has propelled them to the top of the leaderboard in their second try at the Zurich.

“I think, you know, it’s been interesting this week. Last year we were kind of all up in each other’s space. Hey, come read this putt. Let’s read together. What do you think here? This year we’ve just completely backed off everything. I called Tony in to read one putt yesterday and that’s basically it,” said Summerhays.

“In three rounds. I think it’s the underlying trust, right? So it’s, Hey, I’m trying my 100 percent best. So at the end of the day, it’s not like, Oh, how could he have done that, put me there?

“He’s trying his darnedest to get me in a good spot. I think that’s the great thing about having a close friend. We’ve played so much golf together. There isn’t any of that judgment,” he said.

Also at 19 under are 36-hole leaders Michael Kim and Andrew Putnam, thanks to a six-under 66 in the best-ball format. After carding one of the better alternate-shot rounds on Friday, a three-under 69, Putnam and Kim can’t be overlooked on Sunday at TPC Louisiana.

Chesson Hadley and Brice Garnett, who carded an 11-under 61, are two back at 18-under 198. Three teams are tied at 17-under 199, including Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy and Jason Dufner and Pat Perez, who each also posted 61s.

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By Christopher Powers

Most weeks, following up a nine-under 63 with two rounds in the 70s would send a tour pro way down the leader board on the PGA Tour, giving them a deficit many wouldn’t be able to recover from. For Justin Thomas, a 74 and Saturday’s two-under 70 has been more than enough regain a share of the lead at nine-under 207 in the windy conditions at Nine Bridges Golf Club in Jeju Island, South Korea. It was so difficult in fact, that the FedEx Cup champion even impressed himself with Saturday’s performance.

“You can’t put it into words, but I know for a fact I played better today than I did on Thursday when I shot nine under,” Thomas said. “It’s just so hard out here, I’ve never played a place where the wind swirls as much as it does here.”

Despite that, Thomas still hit 12 of 18 greens, 11 of 14 fairways and needed just 28 putts on the challenging putting surfaces at Nine Bridges. His round began with a birdie and six pars, before making a costly double-bogey 6 at the par-4 eighth. Thomas rebounded, going two under on his final 10 holes to take back his Thursday lead.

“I knew that I would have to stay patient, and I did,” he said. “Today was a round I felt like I had at the end of the year, where I felt really like I was playing my best.”

If he’s able to find his best on Sunday, that gives the rest of the field an uphill battle to climb. A win would make it seven in Thomas’ nascent career, all coming within the last two years.

Also at nine under is Scott Brown, who carded a one-under 71 with three birdies and two bogeys. It’s his third-straight start of the 2017-’18 season, already having registered a top-25 in the CIMB Classic. Brown is looking to win for the second time in his PGA Tour career, the first coming at the 2013 Puerto Rico Open.

Two back at seven-under 209 are Presidents Cup teammates Anirban Lahiri and Marc Leishman. Lahiri’s three-under 69 was one of the strongest rounds of the day, while Leishman’s one-under 71 gives him three consecutive rounds of even par or better. They’ll play together in the penultimate group on Sunday in South Korea, with India’s Lahiri hoping to break through for his first career victory and Australia’s Leishman looking to notch his fourth.

Cameron Smith, Lucas Glover and South Korea’s Whee Kim sit three back in a tie for fifth at six-under 210.

The round of the day belonged to another South Korean, Byeong Hun An, who shot a five-under 67 that has him just four back at five-under 211. He’s joined by 36-hole leader Luke List, who struggled on Saturday, posting a four-over 76.

Six players are at four-under 212, including Kyle Stanley, Brian Harman and Paul Casey.

World No. 9 Jason Day is at three-under 216, six shots behind Thomas.

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By Christopher Powers
Ever since Dustin Johnson’s stumble down a staircase and subsequent withdrawal from the Masters, we’ve seen glimpses of his pre-April self. Brief flashes of the guy who won three straight times, took over the No. 1 ranking in the world and did it with ease. On Thursday at The Northern Trust, D.J. made golf look easy again, posting a five-under 65 that has him just one back of leader Russell Henley.

The 2016 U.S. Open champion got off to a slow start, making bogey on the par-3 second at Glen Oaks Club, but quickly bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 third. From there, he played with steady confidence, adding five more birdies and not dropping another shot. After the round, he posed a scary though for the rest of the field.

“Today was the first time it’s kind of felt like I was in control, like I was leading into the Masters,” Johnson said of his swing.

Glen Oaks, a new PGA Tour venue hosting the first of the season’s four FedEx Cup Playoff events, sets up very well for Johnson, who is one of if not the longest hitters on tour. He averaged 323 yards off the tee in the opening round, ranking first in the field.

“It suits my eye well,” he said of the course. “If I keep hitting it like I’m hitting it, I’m going to like it a lot more come Sunday.”

Leading the way is Henley, who carded a six-under 64 with eight birdies and two bogeys. He looked comfortable around the greens, with just 24 putts on the round, and getting up and scrambling when he needed. Since his victory at the Shell Houston Open, Henley just one top-10 finish in 12 tries, but has made his last six cuts.

Two back at four under are Scott Brown, Chris Kirk and Camilo Villegas, whose round was highlighted by an eagle from 161 yards to the elevated par-4 18th green. He’s making his first appearance in the FedEx Cup Playoffs since the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship.

Six players sit three back at three under, including Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen.

Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm posted two-under 68s, while Jason Day and Jordan Spieth each carded one-under 69s.

Defending FedEx Cup champ Rory McIlroy struggled, making six bogeys and shooting a three-over 73.

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