By Joel Beall
A week after testing positive for COVID-19 and missing the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Tony Finau has withdrawn from the CJ Cup.

The PGA Tour communications department announced Finau’s WD on Tuesday afternoon but did not specify the reason why he would not be playing. As of this writing, Finau’s agent has not responded to a Golf Digest request for comment.

Despite last week’s positive result, Finau was listed as part of the 78-player field at this week’s event at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. He confirmed his intentions to play Tuesday morning via social media. “Yes I plan on playing this week,” Finau said on Twitter. “I have 1 more day left of my self-quarantine.”

Finau’s last start was at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, finishing in a tie for eighth. The 31-year-old finished 17th last season in the FedEx Cup, and entered the week 17th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Robby Shelton will replace Finau at Shadow Creek.

The news comes on the same afternoon as Dustin Johnson dropping out of the tournament. Johnson reported COVID-19 symptoms to tour officials, with a test confirming a positive result.

The post Tony Finau withdraws from the CJ Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

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By Joel Beall
Martin Laird was Las Vegas incarnate Sunday. He oscillated from the unbelievable to the ugly, building a castle of chips only to blink and see nothing before him. A dinner reservation of steak, lobster and wine seemingly secured hours before threatened to transform into a 3 a.m. trip to the seafood buffet. It was the experience the city never touts but is often its reality.

Oh, and luck. There was plenty of that. As Laird noted afterwards, that he was even there required an assist. Yet the fortune the 37-year-old Scotsman found at TPC Summerlin was not the byproduct of providence but of spirit and gusto and fortitude. And for that the journeyman is leaving Las Vegas with that so often sought but rarely seized fate: A winner.

“I’m going to really enjoy this one,” Laird said. “It’s emotional and I can’t wait to go back and see my kids and my wife and celebrate with them.”

It is not that Laird won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open but how. By shooting a final-round 68 at TPC Summerlin and defeating fledgeling superstar Matthew Wolff and grinder Austin Cook with a birdie on the second hole of sudden death, yes. That is true, but so is calling the Vegas Strip a fine display of exterior lighting. To appreciate said display requires a closer look.

Laird entered the day sharing the lead with Patrick Cantlay. The 28-year-old Cantlay was the favourite, looking to join Tiger Woods, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to finish first or second in the same PGA Tour event four consecutive years. Laird, well, he’s enjoyed prosperity in the desert too, winning the Shriners in 2009 and finishing runner-up in 2010. He also started the day ranked 358th in the world, played in a Korn Ferry Tour event in September and recorded his last top 10 in a standard tour event 30 months ago. Hell, Laird had to ask for a sponsor’s exemption just to make it into the field. Couple the Cantlay pairing with Wolff and the red-hot Will Zalatoris barking up the leader board, and Laird was presumed to be nothing more than a decorated observer.

RELATED: 5 takeways from the Shriners

Only Cantlay went south from the start, bogeying four of the first six holes on the uber-gettable Summerlin confines. Laird was steady, playing the first eight in one under par, and his adventures at the 558-yard par-5 ninth appeared to seal his victory. His second shot buried in the lip of a greenside bunker. Well, not so much buried as the ball had excavated a plot of sand and had begun pouring cement for the foundation. Forget saving birdie. By the looks of it, Laird—five months off of knee surgery—could only hope to avoid injury.

Of course, that’s why we watch and they play. Laird promptly turned that fried egg into fried chicken, holing out from the impossible for eagle.

“You know, obviously I wasn’t planning on holing it, but it was lying so badly right under the lip that I said to my friend, sometimes when they’re that bad it almost helped me because was it a tight pin,” Laird said. “It doesn’t matter how hard you hit it. They just kind of pop out and go nowhere.

Matthew Stockman

“So I was hopefully of getting that inside maybe ten feet if it came out pretty good. I hit it hard as I could. Obviously all the sand exploded and I couldn’t see anything, and I managed to open my eyes up as the ball landed and it started tracking. I mean, I enjoyed being down to the level of the bunker and watching that one go in. I’m not going to lie.”

The lead was up to three, and with the back nine playing a stroke easier in the round, Laird appeared to be on cruise control. Except there are no such things as extended runs in Vegas, any heaters promptly doused by a cooler. In this case, those coolers were Wolff, Cook and Laird. Laird’s bogey at the 10th was negated by birdies at the 13th and 15th, but he three-putted for par on the par-5 16th, a hole that Wolff had just eagled ahead. Cook began applying his own pressure with four red figures in a six-hole stretch. Hanging on to a one-shot lead at the par-3 17th, Laird proceeded to hit what can generously be described as a misaligned cut to a spot denoted on ShotTracker as “unknown.”

“There was no wind. The wind completely died. When we played in regulation it was blowing hard and off the left,” Laird said. “You know, I really have only been hitting one shot all week, a cut, and just starting it left if the wind is off the left. Well, that’s not really a hole you want to start it left. I would’ve had to start it in the water. I was trying to just start it just left of the pin, kind of left center of the green and hit a straight one, and just kind of leant on it a little bit and cut up into the air and the wind ate it up.”

From 30 yards right of the green, his ball sitting on a downslope with a tree in front of him and water lurking on the other side of the green, Laird executed an imaginative, gusty bump-n-run to 20 feet, and sunk what was left for an all-time, “Did you see THAT?!” up-and-down. Lead still at one.

At the 18th, Cook’s sidewinding 15-footer for birdie came revolutions short, and Wolff’s birdie attempt from 35-feet burned the cup. From the 18th fairway, all Laird had to do was hit the green and two-putt for the trophy. What he did was not that, missing the green right. He proceeded to chunk his chip. From 30 feet for the win, his putt was heading directly at the hole until it wasn’t, missing to the left by an inch. Lead blown; the bells tolled for sudden death.

Matthew Stockman

The players traded pars on the first playoff hole at the 18th, all of their birdies buzzing by the cup once more. Back to the 17th, weighing in just under 200 yards. None of the three were particularly close with their approaches, and Wolff and Cook didn’t do much better in their birdie attempts.

Laird, after missing close-out putts on the 18th and first hole of sudden death, made good on opportunity No. 3, his birdie putting dropping as his arm punched the sky. For the first time in seven years, he was the last man left standing.

“It’s been a while since my last one, and you have some doubts at times whether you’re going to get another one,” Laird said.

The moment was too raw for Laird to extrapolate what this means and where he goes from here. With his track record and age, it’s easy, arguably pragmatic, to chalk this weekend up as one of the handful of out-of-nowhere performances that are sprinkled throughout the tour calendar. And perhaps that is what ultimately comes to pass. But after years in the sport’s wilderness, perhaps the Shriners will spur a career revival. “Obviously there is a lot the doors open with the win,” Laird remarked.

After all, as the great Hunter S. Thompson once wrote of Vegas, “A little bit of this town goes a long way.”

The post Martin Laird made Las Vegas more exciting than it needed to be in victory appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
A shootout in Las Vegas turned into a three-man race. Martin Laird, Austin Cook and Matthew Wolff took different routes to their 72-hole totals of 23-under par 261s, but each found their way into a playoff for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin. In the end, Laird canned a 20-footer on the second extra hole for a feel-good victory. Here are five takeaways from an entertaining finish in the desert.

Martin Laird choked, and then he came through when it mattered most
It’s hard to win any golf tournament, let alone one on the PGA Tour. Martin Laird knows this. Coming into this week, the 358th-ranked player in the world, competing on a sponsor’s exemption, hadn’t won anywhere in more than seven years. For the longest time on Sunday, it seemed his drought was destined to end. How else do you explain a hole-out eagle from a plugged lie in the face of a bunker on the par-5 ninth? Or an otherworldly up-and-down after an extremely nervy push-fade on the par-3 17th? The 37-year-old Scot’s luck, however, ran dry at 18—needing a par to win in regulation, he necked a 3-wood, badly shoved his approach right of the green, mishit a chip and couldn’t convert the 28-footer for par.

He was a reeling man when he stepped to the 18th tee for the playoff, but a solid par on 18 kept him alive, and then he dropped a 20-footer on 18 for the victory. Because it just wouldn’t have felt right if his first win since 2013 came easy.

Matt Wolff is going to win so, so many golf tournaments

Matthew Stockman

The 21-year-old was making his first start since a solo second at the U.S. Open and nearly accidentally won this tournament. Three shots back with three to play, his chances seemed toast with Laird sitting on that lead with a reachable par 5 still to play. Wolff proceeded to make eagle on 16—he hit gap wedge for his approach—then darn near holed a 30-ish foot birdie putt at 18, which in hindsight would have been enough to win in regulation thanks to Laird’s stumbles coming home. Back to 18 for the first playoff hole, Wolff had a similar putt for birdie as in regulation, and came even closer to holing it. It wasn’t to be, but a second-straight runner-up finish will see him climb to No. 12 in the World Rankings. And, it’s worth mentioning again, he’s still just 21 years old.

Bryson DeChambeau posted a rather intimidating T-8, insomuch as that’s possible

Matthew Stockman

Here are Bryson DeChambeau’s nine-hole scores from this week: 32, 30, 34, 33, 38, 33, 31, 35. That front-nine 38 from Saturday—which could have been worse, as he was five over through seven before birdieing Nos. 8 and 9—cost him any chance to win this tournament. But in his first start since that seismic U.S. Open victory at Winged Foot, DeChambeau still picked up a top 10 and flashed some breathtaking displays of power. He had five two-putt birdies on Thursday and became the first player in the Shotlink era to drive the 380-yard par-4 seventh hole at TPC Summerlin … then he did it again on Friday. On Sunday, he drove the par-4 15th green with an iron and drained the eagle. You get the sense that if this tournament went a few more days, he’d win it, but the T-8 finish was still an ominous reminder to his competitors of what they’re up against. And, of course, he’s not letting up, with plans to debut a 48-inch driver for the Masters. The plight of players such as Matthew Fitzpatrick has never been more daunting.

Will Zalatoris, top-10 king

Matthew Stockman

Will Zalatoris is on a heater. It’s just that simple. In the last 17 weeks, the 24-year-old has played 15 events and has 11 top-10 finishes to show for it, including a T-5 this week. Most of those have been Korn Ferry Tour events, but the former Wake Forest All-American finished T-6 at the U.S Open and T-8 at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, meaning he now has three top-10s in his last four PGA Tour starts. He’s clearly good enough to play on the PGA Tour right now, and this most recent top-10 earned him yet another start, at the Bermuda Championship in three weeks. He’s just three FedEx Cup points away from receiving special temporary membership this early in the season, which would allow him to receive an unlimited amount of sponsor’s invites through next August. Zalatoris is creeping up on the top 50 in the World Rankings, and it looks like his days on the Korn Ferry Tour will not last much longer. Whether it’s through non-member points, or a win, or the Korn Ferry points list, he’s going to get his card

Justin Suh took his time, but he’s finally here

Jed Jacobsohn

At the 2019 Travelers Championship, which feels like a full decade ago, four kids who had just turned pro sat down for an introductory press conference: Matthew Wolff, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Justin Suh. Wolff, Hovland and Morikawa are all ranked inside the top 30 in the World Rankings and have combined for five PGA Tour wins and a major championship. Suh’s path has been a bit more circuitous.

The USC grad failed to gain status on any tour last year and just recently played two tournaments on a circuit called the LOCAL iQ Series. Undeterred, he turned a sponsor’s invite into the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship into a solid T-14 finish. He got another invite into this week’s event and shot 68-65-66-67 to finish T-8, his first top 10 on the PGA Tour. Of course, there’s no shame in taking a little bit of time—it’s only been 16 months since he turned pro—to get your footing on tour, but the success of his three peers had some wondering what had happened to Suh. The answer: nothing. His path is the normal one; those guys are the unicorns.

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Sitting at 21 under through eight holes at TPC Summerlin, one shot ahead of Matthew Wolff, Laird went for the green in two on the par-5 ninth hole, and proceeded to get one of the worst breaks you could imagine. His ball needed six more inches to cover the front bunker and land somewhere on the green to set up an eagle putt. Instead, it plugged in the sand. And not just anywhere in the sand. Right under the front lip.

The Golf Channel commentators were using all their favourite commentating innuendo to explain just how impossible the shot was. They mentioned that Laird had had knee surgery only five months before and that wrist injuries could frequently occur from playing these kind of bunker shots.

They made it sound like the shot was going to be hazardous to his health.

Yet Laird decided to play on, the warrior that he is. And this was the result.

This was almost impossible. ? ? ?

A contender for shot of the season from Martin Laird.

This eagle gives him a 3-shot lead @ShrinersOpen.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/vYzLTDdWvy

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 11, 2020

Of course when you see a shot like this, you risk being a victim of recency bias and want to praise the shot as the best thing since the remote control. But seriously, how amazingly good was that shot?

With the eagle—the third time he’d eagled the ninth hole this week—Laird went to 23 under and took a three-shot lead into the back nine at TPC Summerlin. Given how low scores are on this course, anything can happen. But we feel safe in predicting there will be no better holed bunker shot from a buried lie than this one for the rest of the day.

Or year.

Or decade.

The post Watch Martin Laird make the most incredible eagle by holing this impossible-looking bunker shot from a buried lie appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
The way Patrick Cantlay had been struggling, it seemed as though not even TPC Summerlin, where he’s gone first-second-second in three career starts, could get him out of his funk. As the late, great Charlie Murphy once said in the Rick James True Hollywood stories skit on “Chappelle’s Show” – Wrong. WRONG!

Not only has Cantlay snapped out of his funk, he’s gone nuclear, and he’s attempting to make some history in the process.

Here are our takeaways from Round 2 of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open:

Patrick Cantlay has beachfront property in TPC Summerlin’s head
There are horses for courses, and then there is Cantlay at Summerlin, where he’s now 66—SIXTY. SIX.—under par in 14 career rounds. His previous three starts have been WIN-2nd-2nd, and he’s two more low rounds away from adding a fourth straight second or better finish in the same event. As one astute reporter pointed out on site in Las Vegas, only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player have ever done that in one tournament. Pretty elite company, some would say.

“That would be great,” said Cantlay after hearing this information. “Every time I come here I feel like I have a chance to win. It doesn’t surprise me because I really like the golf course, but obviously I have to execute. I have so far, so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

Cantlay has made 16 birdies, the most of any player in the field. He ranks third in strokes-gained: around-the-green, ninth in putting, fourth in tee-to-green and a measly 23rd and 48th in off-the-tee and approach, respectively. That hasn’t stopped him from filling it up, which you have to do at this course. He knows that, obviously.

“I think especially around here you need to make so many birdies, and I’m just used to it out here. It never feels like I’m stressing because it feels like there are so many birdie holes. It actually allows me to be patient.”

Good strategy. It’s working. Hot take alert.

Matthew Stockman

That Bryson guy is playing OK, too
Bryson DeChambeau’s scores so far this week, if you include the Wednesday Pro-Am, look a little something like this: 59, 62, 67. The question on everybody’s mind is, what the hell happened on Friday?

Of course, we’re kidding. DeChambeau played just fine on Friday, but by his current standards a 67 at TPC Summerlin is losing ground. And yet, he’s just one off the lead, and he may have gotten his worst round out of the way. He actually played his first 14 holes in a paltry one under, only to come storming home with a birdie at the 15th and an eagle at the par-5 16th. At 18, he had just 14 feet left to tie for the lead, and missed by an inch. He’s first in strokes-gained: off-the-tee through two rounds (shocking) and fifth in tee-to-green. On Friday, he drove a 382-yard par 4, then made the 26-footer for eagle. Until he literally goes backwards, this is probably still his tournament to lose.

Matthew Stockman

No Sanderson hangover for Sergio Garcia
When you’re locked in, you’re locked in. That seems to be the case right now for Sergio Garcia, who rolled into the Shriners fresh off a win at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Rounds of 66 and 64 have put him in contention once again at 12 under, giving him a chance to win two PGA Tour events in the same season, something he last did in 2004 at the age of 24. Those two wins, which came at the Byron Nelson and the Buick Classic, came a month apart. Should he go on to win this week, he’d have two victories in seven days. So, yes, you could say he’s feeling pretty good.

“You know, it’s funny. Earlier in the year I felt like I was playing as well as I’ve been playing the last week and a half, just things weren’t really happening,” said Garcia, who had just one top 10 in his last 11 starts entering the Sanderson Farms.

“So obviously it’s a combination of playing well, confidence, a couple of good breaks when you need them at the right time that keeps your round going, and that’s what I did.”

If he does pull off the improbable and wins again, it’d be the first time he won in consecutive weeks since October of 2011 on the European Tour.

Matthew Stockman

New caddie, same old Stewart Cink
In early September, Stewart Cink made his season debut with his 23-year-old son Reagan on his bag. The father-son duo was a magical one, as Cink, now 47, went on to win the Safeway Open, his first win since the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry. In his very next start at the Sanderson Farms Championship, again with Reagan as his caddie, Cink tied for 12th. It was the first time he had posted consecutive top 12 finishes since June of 2018. It felt like the beginning of a very special partnership.

But Cink was quick to make it clear this wasn’t going to last for much longer, that Reagan had to get back to his own life. However, had they finished top 5 at Sanderson, he’d stay on for one more week. That was the deal they made. Cink gave it a great run with a final-round 65, but came up a little short. Veteran looper Kip Henley’s job was saved.

Henley was back with Cink on Thursday at TPC Summerlin, and they didn’t miss a beat. Cink opened the Shriners with a 67 and backed it up with a Friday 63, which puts him just a few off the lead at 12 under.

“Kip and I were on the same page a lot today, which is nice,” Cink said afterward. “I’ve had my son Reagan caddying for me for a couple tournaments now and he was great.

“Now Kip is back and we’re — we haven’t missed a step really. It’s been nice. We’re seeing things the right way and I’m executing pretty well.”

Cink did more than just execute well, he caught fire. His 63 included a pair of eagles, five birdies and just one bogey, the only bogey he’s made all week. Thanks to a few minor tweaks, he’s playing some of the best golf of his life as he closes in on 50.

“I’ve made some changes in my game the last month or so and paid off really quickly with a win, and now it’s just fun to get out there and wail on the driver and see the shots. Golf is a fun game when you got things going right, and hopefully let it last a long time.”

Matthew Stockman

These scores are ridiculous
First, quick hat tip to Austin Cook, Brian Harman, Peter Malnati and Martin Laird, who don’t have the name recognition of Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay but are at the top of the leader board as well. Great playing by this trio at 14 under so far. All three have PGA Tour wins and should absolutely be able to hang deep into the weekend.

For those keeping count, yes, five players are at 14 under. Twelve are 12 under or better. Twenty-freaking-five are double-digits under par. In order to make the cut this week, you had to shoot seven under. That is not a typo. Scott Harrington went 63-73. He trunk-slammed. Jason Dufner went 68-68. Thanks for coming out, bud. Will Gordon went 67-69. See ya later. Just insane scoring. Unfair, even.

The post Patrick Cantlay continues love affair with TPC Summerlin and other takeaways from Round 2 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Bryson’s continuing to break the game this week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. His latest feat was driving the green at the 382-yard par 4 seventh hole at TPC Summerlin.

There’s no way the hole has ever been described as “drivable.” Maybe until today.

A 382-yard par 4?

No problem for Bryson. ?pic.twitter.com/O2MQR48ojO

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) October 9, 2020

Yep, then Bryson drained the eagle putt:

Making par 4s look like par 3s.@B_DeChambeau sinks the eagle putt after driving the green on No. 7.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/UiUN63d6TK

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 9, 2020

Golf Channel reported that it’s the first time since at least 2002 that the dogleg left hole was driven. We’re going to say it’s very likely this was a first.

DeChambeau has driven the ball over 350 yards six times already this week, and he’s averaging 356 yards off the tee. Again, does any of that surprise you?

Of course, TPC Summerlin sits above elevation, so sure, we’ll admit those numbers are just a bit longer than usual. But we’ll be clear and say it’s absolutely impressive the way this 27-year-old continues to push the limits of what’s possible on the golf course. And he’s becoming appointment TV: you don’t want to miss what he’s going to do next.

The post Bryson DeChambeau drove the green at a 382-yard par 4 at the Shriners, because of course he did appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
It’s hard to imagine a bigger architectural and cultural contrast. The city of Las Vegas and the village of Virginia Water have virtually nothing in common, other than the fact that both are this week hosting professional golf tournaments. And that obvious dichotomy is also holding true on the two golf courses. While Bryson DeChambeau has blasted his way into the early lead at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Nevada, Matthew Fitzpatrick has taken a more subtle approach to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Tied at the top of the leader board alongside Open champion Shane Lowry at 12-under 132, Fitzpatrick was clearly more than happy with a second-round 65 that included seven birdies, an eagle and one lapse, a double-bogey 6 at the par-4 eighth. After a season on the PGA Tour the 26-year-old Englishman described as “hit and miss” and “just not as consistent as last year,” Fitzpatrick’s trip down the Burma Road course was built on sound foundations.

“Everything was solid, really,” he said. “Drove the ball well. Chipped well. Putted well. Iron play was good. It’s nice that it all come together. The last few weeks I’ve done three things well and one thing’s been off. But I’ve always loved this course and felt that it suited my game.

Fitzpatrick’s game, of course, is constructed around the consistency he has recently found elusive. But what his slimly-built figure does not allow him to do is launch the ball enormous distances off the tee. Last season on the PGA Tour, the world No. 20 ranked a ho-hum 68th in driving distance, despite averaging 309.8 yards off the tee. And Fitzpatrick isn’t afraid to say that trend of players maxing out on distance is not something he welcomes.

“I’m biased because I’m not quite the longest,” said the five-time European Tour champion. “But in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, fair play to Bryson, he won and shot six under. But the fairways were tight as hell. I drove it brilliantly and actually played pretty well [despite missing the cut by one stroke], but I was miles behind. He’s in the rough and miles up and he’s hitting wedges from everywhere. It just makes a bit of a mockery of the game.

“I looked at Shot Tracker yesterday, to see some of the places Bryson hit it,” Fitzpatrick said, referring to DeChambeau’s first round in Vegas. “He was cutting corners. And when he’s on, there’s no point. It doesn’t matter if I play my best. He’s going to be 50 yards in front of me off the tee, and the only thing where I can compete with him is putting. Which is just ridiculous. But we’re going to see people going harder and harder at it. Look at the college kids coming out now, Matt Wolff, Viktor Hovland. They just smash it, basically. Matt is a great player, but it seems to me the game is smash it and get after it and play the next one from wherever it is.”

Asked whether the R&A and the USGA should do something about the ever-increasing distances leading professionals hit their drives, Fitzpatrick, ironically, didn’t hold back.

“I really hope they do,” said the former U.S. Amateur champion. “In my opinion, it’s not a skill to hit the ball a long way. I could put on 40 pounds. I could go and see a bio-mechanist. I could gain 40 yards; that’s actually a fact. I could put another two inches on my driver. But the skill is to hit the ball straight. That’s the skill. He’s just taking the skill out of it in my opinion. I’m sure lots will disagree. But it’s just daft.”

The post BMW PGA co-leader Matthew Fitzpatrick speaks out against the distance boom: ‘It just makes a bit of a mockery of the game’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
The PGA Tour’s super season rolls on in Las Vegas this week with the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin. Can you take a wild guess at who is leading the tournament?

Yup, it’s big, bad, bulky Bryson DeChambeau, a former winner of the event. Will he ever lose again? We’re half-kidding … sort of.

Here are our takeaways from Thursday’s first-round at the Shriners.

Bryson DeChambeau steamrolls Summerlin
No, seriously, is he ever going to lose again? Obviously yes, it’s golf. But, maybe not? He’s legitimately breaking the sport, and he’s doing it at warp speed. Thursday’s 62 was another bomb-and-wedge fest, and it’s given him the solo lead. With no wind in the Nevada desert, it might as well be a pitch and putt for him right now.

“Yeah, it was a great day to play well,” said the U.S. Open winner. “There’s no wind out here for the most part, and I feel like you can bomb it everywhere and hit wedges close. And I was lucky enough to make a lot of putts to start off my day. Made a great 20-footer on 12 and that kind of jump-started everything. Great birdie on 15, 16. And then the birdie on 17 and 18 were stellar, just kept my momentum going.

“I didn’t hit it great today, but I still played really, really good and I’m excited for that.”

Didn’t hit it that great! This freakin’ guy. We’d like to believe him, but after one round he ranks first in strokes gained/off-the-tee, fifth in SG/tee-to-green, 17th in SG/approach and 10th in SG/putting. Oh, he ranks 81st in SG/around-the-green. Terrible. Embarrassing. Get to the short-game area dude.

“I’ll take a 62, I’m very pleased with how I played today. Didn’t hit it my best, but I put it in the right spots a lot of the times today. A lot of one-handed finishes, something I’m going to go work on, on the range. But I putted beautifully hopefully I can keep that up and clean up the driving a little bit.”

Whatever you say Bryson, whatever you say.

Matthew Stockman

Patrick Cantlay owns this course
By his own standards, Patrick Cantlay was in a serious slump in his last six starts. Translation: He failed to post a top 10, missed one cut and had a high finish of T-12. His four other finishes were T-43 or better. Not all that terrible for a regular PGA Tour pro.

But for Cantlay, this stretch was an eyebrow-raiser. Since the 2018 Shriners, Cantlay had 11 top 10s, seven top 5s and one win at the 2019 Memorial. That’s why a bunch of T-40s made it seem like his game was off.

Enter TPC Summerlin, where, with his Thursday 63, Cantlay has now played his last 13 rounds in 60 under par. Not a typo. 60. Under. Par. The craziest part is that the week he won at TPC Summerlin, the 2017 Shriners, he shot just nine-under total. He nearly matched that in one round today. He absolutely owns the place, and the tournament has showed up on his schedule at the perfect time in 2020.

Matthew Stockman

Can HV3 get it done?
Man, we sure hope so. And we’re not alone. Anytime Harold Varner III gets in the mix, it’s a good thing. There’d be no better story than HV3 finally breaking through, and there would be no happier dude than him if he does eventually get it done. He opened with an eight-under 63 on Thursday, putting him one off the lead. When asked if this golf course fits his personality, since it caters to the aggressive player, he could not have had a better answer.

“I think Vegas fits my personality more than the golf course, but that’s nor here or there,” Varner said.

Don’t worry, HV3, you’re not alone.

The hard part, of course, comes next. Last season, Varner was 13th on the PGA Tour in first-round scoring. As for the next two rounds, he was 68th and 91st. He’s well aware of this statistical fact, and would like it to change soon.

“I just would like to finish a tournament.”

Simple and to the point. If HV3 can finish, maybe this is the week.

Matthew Stockman

Rickie Fowler just can’t seem to avoid the big number
Keep in mind, the person writing this is a very salty bettor who has burned countless dollars on Rickie Fowler, and has zero stats to back up what’s he’s about to say. But it certainly feels like Fowler just cannot put a good, clean round together. Yes, he’s shot plenty of low ones, but you’d be amazed how many low rounds he shoots WITH a double bogey or WITH multiple bogeys. When the putter is on, he’s an absolute birdie machine. But he still has those moments where he just explodes out of nowhere.

Thursday was one of those days, as Fowler was four under and bogey-free through 12. Then, he bogeyed the par-5 13th, followed that with three straight birdies and then rinsed one at the par-3 16th and made double. Instead of shooting 64 like he should have (maybe even 63), Fowler finished with a 67. Good news: he’s first in strokes gained/putting, this after one of the worst weeks of his career on the green at Winged Foot. If he can clean up the approach game, and avoid the doubles, he should be able to get back to some good form.

The post Bryson DeChambeau steamrolls Summerlin and three other Thursday takeaways from the Shriners appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
Bryson DeChambeau is making his first start since winning last month’s U.S. Open this week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Lest anyone think he’s been relaxing and enjoying the spoils of his first career major. He’s already working on plans for the next one.

On Wednesday, DeChambeau revealed that he plans to unveil a 48-inch driver at the Masters next month, or a driver that’s a few inches longer than what most tour players use. It’s all in the name of chasing even more distance for a player who led the PGA Tour in driving distance during the 2019-20 season at 322.1 yards a pop and bashed his way to the trophy at Winged Foot.

“I think there is a lot of, I don’t know, I guess you could say advantages to having a 48-inch driver and being able to put it in play and keep it in play,” DeChambeau said Wednesday. “Still need to get some things worked out, but so far it’s been pretty amazing.”

So much so that on Tuesday at TPC Summerlin officials asked the 240-pound 27-year-old to stop hitting driver on the range because shots were clearing the fence and landing in the road beyond. The fence is more than 350 yards away.

DeChambeau backed up about 40 yards and still kept peppering the back of the range.

While the Masters is still a month away, DeChambeau is on his way to attacking Augusta National like it never has been. Not that he’ll hold back any this week. He sees as many as four drivable par-4s — the first, seventh, 10th and 15th — in the thin air at TPC Summerlin.

“There will be holes where I’m going to try and drive them, get it up as close to the green as possible,” he said. “It’s just fun having a 7-iron go 220 [yards]. That’s unique. And 4-iron, 265.

“At the same point in time it’s about putting, chipping, wedging. You still got to do everything else really well. So if I play well, ball strike it well, and putt well, I think I’ll have a good chance again.”

Still, it’s clear what part of the game DeChambeau derives his most enjoyment from.

“Driver,” he said. “I think it’s the most fun. I watched Happy Gilmore a little while ago and it just re-inspired me to try and hit it as far as possible.”

The post Bryson DeChambeau, re-inspired from watching Happy Gilmore, says he’ll put a 48-inch driver into play at the Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.