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.

The post Watch: How not to play foursome golf, via Kisner and Brown at the Zurich Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

When Burns tugged his drive into said water, it created another decision of sorts: Where exactly did the ball cross into the penalty area?

A discussion ensued between Horschel, Burns, Jason Day (who was playing with Jason Scrivener in the same pairing) and an on-site rules official. Horschel believed that the ball hit the bank before bounding left into the water, which TV replay confirmed. The question, though, was whether the ball hit outside the red line marking the penalty area, in which case Burns and Horschel could take their drop beside the green, roughly 30 feet from the hole? Or did it land inside the red line, in which case Burns and Horschel would have to take a drop farther back toward the fairway, at least 50 yards from the green?

The PGA Tour posted a video of the discussion on Twitter.

As you can hear, Horschel did not see precisely where the ball landed but felt that the ball likely hit outside the red line because he believed that he would not otherwise have been able to see the ball bounce from the tee box given the elevation difference from the teeing area. Day said he didn’t see the ball splash but didn’t pay attention to where the ball crossed.

Unfortunately, the angle of the TV replay did not show specifically where the ball landed, either. Because of that, in consultation with head rules official Gary Young, it was determined that given the information Horschel and Burns had and using their reasonable judgement, they could drop beside the green as if the ball did bounce outside the red line.

From there, Horschel played his third shot to two feet of the hole and Burns rolled in the par putt.

Still within two shots of the leaders, Horschel had the tee on the par-3 17th but proceeded to overcook it. He and Burns wound up making bogey on the hole to fall three shots back, essentially ending their bid at victory.

After the round, Horschel and Burns, who finished the day with a four-under 68, talked more about what happened.

Billy Horschel and Sam Burns discuss a drop after their tee shot finds the water on No. 16. pic.twitter.com/4kYXbSscdv

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 24, 2022

“So, from where we were, Sam pulled his drive a little bit and it was coming back,” Horschel said. “Conversation was did it land above the red line? Well, I saw a ball land and bounce. From the tee box and everything, you really can’t see the red line.”

“The ball was six inches into the water,” Burns interjected. “If it lands close to the edge, it’s going to kick pretty hard in, but if it lands higher up it’s going to kind of …”

Horschel then continued: “It’s going to take a couple bounces. From what I saw and not being able to see the red line and where the red line was, I couldn’t see below that from the tee box when I got up there, so I figured that ball had to land up on top of the red line. We asked TV and everything, and TV didn’t have clear-cut evidence. Travis, [Burns’] caddie, saw the ball bounce.

“I’m one to play it safe, but I was pretty confident that ball landed above the red line.”

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The post Billy Horschel, Sam Burns break down 16th hole penalty drop at TPC Louisiana appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

With a closing four-under 68, Burns, a Louisiana native, and Horschel, a Floridian, put a little Cajun heat on the sensational Californians, who for three days were body-slamming the rest of the field in the two-player team event with the ease of an NBA security guard. But in the final accounting, Cantlay and Schauffele collected the victory that appeared destined from the start when they opened with a record 13-under 59 in four-ball play on Thursday.

And so it came to pass, even with a final-round 72 that almost backfired. Cantlay and Schauffele played cautiously and away from trouble — because they could afford to — in the foursomes format at which they have proven impervious in their team match-play forays in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. They still won by two strokes, giving Cantlay his seventh PGA Tour title and Schauffele his fifth.

“We definitely bring out the best in each other, and we enjoy being out here together,” Cantlay said after he and Schauffele finished at 29-under 259, which is among several records the duo set over their four days that brushed aside the notion of the ham-and-egg bromide in favour of something more … lavish. This was a ribeye-and-lobster effort, with a side of crawfish, of course. And lots of hot sauce.

High quality golf.

Cantlay, 30, is used to that. The reigning FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year had been sniffing around the lead almost all year, posting five top-10 finishes that included playoff losses to Scottie Scheffler at the WM Phoenix Open and to Jordan Spieth at last week’s RBC Heritage.

The 28-year-old Schauffele, meanwhile, hadn’t won on tour since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions, and only once had he finished in the top-10 this season — although he did pick up a nice parting gift in last year’s Olympic Games when he won the gold medal. Schauffele said he needed to see some good golf, and he found the perfect partner for inspiration. When they added a third-round 60 in Saturday’s four-ball, which, by the way, isn’t their specialty in other competitions, the pair had built a record five-stroke lead and broke the 54-hole scoring record at 29-under 187.

Together they became the first pair to win the event in wire-to-wire fashion since the event took on the team component in 2017. Seemed like a formality with South Africa’s Branden Grace and Garrick Higgo their nearest pursuers. Burns and Horschel were among three teams six back after three rounds.

Horschel and Burns were the only pair to apply pressure on Cantlay and Schauffele, cutting their lead to one shot on the back nine.

“I obviously found a really good partner,” Schauffele said. “He played unbelievable golf this week, made me feel comfortable. He brought the best out of me on the course. Yeah, there’s a lot to take from this week.”

The two men already were becoming fast friends before US captain Tiger Woods — yes, he’s responsible — paired them together in the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, where, as rookies, they went 2-2, winning both times in foursomes. On the 23-hour flight to Australia they drank coffee, stayed awake, played countless hands of rummy and in the process each decided the other was good company. They travelled to Napa with their girlfriends prior to last year’s Ryder Cup for more bonding and won twice more in foursomes at Whistling Straits to assist in America’s record romp over Europe.

Each exudes a palpable coolness on the golf course, and that certainly helped them maintain a sense of equilibrium on a breezy day that threatened what appeared to be, appropriately, a Big Easy march to victory.

On consecutive holes around the turn, Schauffele missed a pair of par putts of less than 10 feet, and in that same span Burns/Horschel made a pair of birdies at 10 and 11. Suddenly, a five-shot lead was down to one. A bounce-back birdie at the par-5 11th from ‘Team Schaufflay’ restored order, and they calmly closed it out despite a bogey at the last while Burns and Horschel played their remaining seven holes in one over par.

“We played really well on the front and we were right there with six holes left to play, and then we just couldn’t make anything happen,” said Horschel, who had a goal of 10-under —i n foursomes! —a t the start of Sunday. “Sort of sucks like that once in a while when you feel good and you’re trying to chase down some leaders, but sometimes you just can’t make it happen, and that’s what it was for us on the last six holes.”

Despite their coolness, Cantlay and Schauffele are intense competitors. They came to Avondale determined to improve on their T-11 showing a year earlier. “I was, personally, and I think Pat was, as well, looking forward to coming back. We’ve done so many team things together that we know we’re capable of doing better than last year,” said Schauffele, who has been inspired since college by “Patty Ice,” as Cantlay has become known because of his stoic demeanor.

“I definitely can be exactly myself with Xander, and I don’t think twice about it,” Cantlay said. “He knows exactly who I am. I think that really benefits both of us. We both feel like we can be exactly ourselves and don’t have to put anything extra on.”

“I felt like I did half as much work as a usual win,” Cantlay added. “I probably won’t be as tired tomorrow. Xander played great all week. I think anytime you can share success, I think that makes it just a little sweeter. Similar to a Presidents Cup or a Ryder Cup, winning a match and then winning both the Cups that we’ve played in together, it just adds to it and makes it a little more … like I said, a little sweeter because shared enjoyment and shared success is just that much better.”

It’s almost a foregone conclusion that they will be an item at the Presidents Cup in Charlotte this September, but Cantlay wasn’t taking that for granted. “That’s up to the captains,” Cantlay said. “We’ll take it one at a time. If you can get DLIII [captain Davis Love III] on the horn, he’ll let you know.”

Nah. We already know.

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The post Why good friends Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele make for even better partners appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

David Lipsky and Aaron Rai prepare to putt on the ninth green during Thursday’s first round of the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Sarah Stier

By Ryan Herrington

There are ways to prepare for a PGA Tour event. Being involved in a car accident is not among those recommended.

Thankfully, David Lipsky wasn’t hurt, nor was anyone else in the fender bender the 33-year-old tour rookie was involved in Tuesday morning as he was driving to TPC Louisiana ahead of a practice round at the Zurich Classic.

Lipsky said that he was changing lanes to avoid a car ahead of him that was broken down when he was hit from behind by another vehicle. “Yeah, it was a little bit of a hectic beginning to the week,” Lipsky said.

Your @Zurich_Classic co-leader David Lipsky, who is teaming with Aaron Rai, already had an eventful week. He was involved in a car crash on Tuesday heading to the course. He said no one was hurt in the accident. pic.twitter.com/EobINlcQ4B

— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) April 21, 2022

Yet not so hectic as to keep him from sitting near the top of the leader board after the opening round on Thursday. Paired with England’s Aaron Rai, the duo shot a 10-under 61 during four-ball play to sit one off the lead after the morning wave.

Lipsky, a California native who lives in Las Vegas, made six birdies on his own ball in the best-ball format as well as holing out for an eagle from 113 yards on the par-4 eighth, the team’s second-to-last hole.

“David played some incredible golf, hit some shots really close, putted well,” Rai said. “And David made a lot of birdies, especially early on and around the turn, which really got things going for us.”

This is the first time Lipsky and Rai, also playing his first year on the PGA Tour, have competed in the Zurich Classic, and while it might not seem like the American and the Brit have much in common, the two had become friendly competing together on the DP World Tour the past half-dozen years. Additionally, their caddies often room together on the road, which is how the pairing came to be.

“It’s just a comfortable fit for us,” Lipsky said. “We know each other from the European Tour. So we always have that in common. I think it was meant to be.”

After earning his PGA Tour card via Korn Ferry Tour finals last fall, Lipsky had missed the cut in six of his first seven tour starts. Since then, the two-time European Tour winner made seven of nine cuts, including a T-7 finish at the Corales Puntacana Resort Championship in March.

Similarly, Rai, 27, had success in Europe, winning twice in the previous three years, before earning his card via the KFT Finals, but has been slow to find his footing on the PGA Tour. He’s posted just one top-10 finish (T-6 at Farmers) in 16 starts.

The comfort of sharing the load this week seemed evident on Thursday but will take on a different complexion Friday when the pair compete in alternate-shot play. “I’ve never played foursomes before,” Rai said. “So tomorrow will be the first time.”

How about Lipsky?

“There’s an event in Europe, it was called the GolfSixes. You only played like six holes. Every hole had like a different theme. One was alternate shot, one was best ball. So I played like two holes alternate shot like five years ago.”

With Lipsky already having an unusual week, perhaps not knowing what you don’t know will be a good thing.

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The post From car accident to Zurich Classic leader board, tour rookie Lipsky has already had an eventful week appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Collin Morikawa is employing an interesting strategy on Day 1 at the Zurich Classic at New Orleans. The strategy being, “Let’s try to put the ball in the hole without using a putter.”

And through the first nine holes it was a strategy that paid dividends.

Paired with Viktor Hovland in the tour’s only team-centric event, Morikawa provided his first highlight at TPC Louisiana’s 13th hole (the young guns started their round on the back nine), making his approach from just inside 100 yards disappear for eagle.

Dripping it in from 94 yards ?@Collin_Morikawa was ALL over it. pic.twitter.com/Ve4c43Oh1a

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 21, 2022

Which, while impressive, is not necessarily that surprising; Morikawa led the tour in SG/approach last season and ranks inside the top 10 this year. The man has a habit of working magic with his irons.

What Morikawa is not known for is his short game, entering the Zurich 183rd in SG/around-the-green. In that vein, catching what the two-time major winner did at the par-3 17th from just off the dance floor was, weirdly, even more surprising.

You can briefly see Hovland flashing a smile at the end, and with good reason: There is no better feeling than picking up a birdie putt because your partner has made the attempt inconsequential.

Morikawa and Hovland were the favorites entering the week, with the belief that the only thing holding the supergroup back could be their putting. Looks like Morikawa has figured out a work-around.

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The post Collin Morikawa can’t stop, won’t stop dunking shots at the Zurich Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Jay Haas was 19 when he made his first start in a PGA Tour event, the Greater Greensboro Open back in 1973 as an amateur. Forty-nine years later, at 68, he’s teeing it up for the 799th time (second only to Mark Brooks’ 803) when he partners with his son Bill at this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Despite all the years and all the experience, Haas, a nine-time tour winner, appeared to have some trepidation after a couple days of practice at TPC Louisiana.

“Yesterday didn’t help me in any way because I didn’t play very well,” Haas said on Wednesday. “So hopefully I’ll get better as the week goes on. It’s just fun being here, again being with Bill, getting the adrenalin flowing, and hopefully we can do better than I’m anticipating I’m going to do.”

Modesty aside, Haas hasn’t played a PGA Tour event since the 2010 Players Championship. The last time he made the cut was the 2006 PGA Championship. Since then, he’s been a regular on the PGA Tour Champions, winning 19 times on the senior circuit, but he knows this is a different test. Jay says Bill is outdriving him by as much as 50 yards and TPC Louisiana is playing at 7,425 yards this week, making the course a true challenge.

Even so, there’s a level of excitement given the chance to play with Bill, who approached tour officials earlier in the year to confirm Jay was eligible (he is still a tour member so that was fine). After getting approval, Bill asked his old man about the opportunity, noting that it would be fun to compete by his side but also to have him offer some friendly advice.

“I love him watching me play,” said Bill, who teamed with Jay to win exhibition competitions in 2004 (CVS Charity Classic) and 2012 (Umpqua Bank Challenge) and played for his dad at the Presidents Cup in 2015. “Last week he came down and my mom [Pam] came down and watched me at Hilton Head. I just enjoy him being out there. He listens to me go through my rounds on the phone or in person sometimes. When he’s there, he sees what I’m talking about, and he helps me with my game.

“So I think it’s just a good opportunity to play golf and enjoy it and have fun, but also inside the ropes be competitive and him be able to see what I’m talking about when I say either I’m struggling or here I hit a good one, what do you see here? I do that anyway.”

Jay was appreciative of the offer but admitted he wondered if Bill might change his mind.

“The first week or so, I kind of kept thinking, ‘well, he’s going to come to his senses and find Nick Watney or somebody,’ you know, one of his buddies,” said Jay (they’re coincidentally playing with Watney and Charley Hoffman on Thursday and Friday). But the more I thought about it, the more I’m loving it. All the guys out here have been great. So many people have said this is unbelievably cool that you’re getting to do that. It seems like I’ve become Pops out here. I’ve heard that a bunch. Hey, Pops, good shot and all that stuff. It’s been very cool. Very cool.”

Haas has a history with the New Orleans tournament, or at least when it was a traditional 72-hole stroke-play event. He’s played in the tournament 13 times, the first coming in 1977 when it was called the First NBC New Orleans Open and played at Lakewood Country Club. His best finish was a tie for second in 1983 when he cashed a check for $29,866 (finishing 22nd this week will earn him that much).

While a bit nostalgic, Jay also wants to hold up his end of the bargain this week. He knows Bill—making his 442nd career PGA Tour start—is still grinding things out this season, having played in 18 events but sitting 168th on the FedEx Cup points list. Bill, who turns 40 in May, hasn’t missed a cut in his last six cuts dating back to the Honda Classic in February, but his best finish in that time is a T-25.

Should the duo make the cut this week, it would be the 593rd time in Jay’s career, extending the tour record he already owns. He would also become the oldest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour, breaking Sam Snead’s record of 67 years two months, 21 days when he did it at the 1979 Westchester Classic. In the process, Jay and Bill would become the first father-son duo to make a cut on tour since Davis Love III and Dru Love at the 2018 RSM Classic.

“Obviously just being out here and teeing it up and hearing our names called tomorrow, hopefully I can hit some good shots and make some birdies and everything,” Jay said. “But ultimately this is just … to be with my son, again, on the grandest stage here, that’s what I’m trying to take from it.”

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The post Jay Haas is playing in his 799th PGA Tour event. So why does he sound so nervous? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Fast forward 15 years and Horschel is a successful PGA Tour pro who still doesn’t hide his feelings on the golf course. If there’s a putter twirling in the air in frustration, the six-time winner is a likely culprit. (Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath at The Shotgun Start podcast have dubbed Horschel ‘Baton Boy’ for the number of times he gets his clubs airborne.) It’s got him into trouble at times, most notably at the 2021 Masters where a club-tossing fit caught on camera eventually required a public apology.

Horschel acknowledges, for better or worse, that he plays golf with a passion that’s hard to keep in check. He’s said he’s made a conscious effort in recent years to cool things down, but that he can’t inherently change who he is.

“My competitive fire burns the way it burns,” Horschel said ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he’ll compete along with Sam Burns in the two-player team event. “I wish I could … I’m not going to say I wish because I don’t think if I was this way it would make me a better player. But I envy Scottie Scheffler and some of these guys that they hit bad shots, they’re not playing well, you can’t tell. They’re just enjoying the game of golf and they’re having fun and laughing.

“I can be that way for a little bit, but it just runs way too hot inside me, and I can’t stand not being able to play to the level that I expect of myself on a day-to-day basis. There [are] times that it boils over, and you know what, it happens. I’ve apologised many times for it, and I’ll apologise in the future for it, too. But that’s me. I just hope people understand that not everyone is cut from the same cloth.”

Horschel’s 2021-22 PGA Tour season had included 11 starts, 11 made cuts, seven top-25 finishes — including a T-2 to Scheffler at the Arnold Palmer Invitational — but no wins. The close calls are tough to take and at some point, holding in his feelings becomes counter-productive. It’s why Horschel noted that he’ll continue to try to control his mood, but he won’t run away, even in the face of his critics.

“I think I’ve done a better job of handling it and trying to do it in a proper way, especially in a way that doesn’t affect anyone I’m playing with,” Horschel said. “Like I said, that’s me, and that’s the way it’s always going to be. This is going to sound blunt, it’s going to sound bad, but if you don’t like it, I honestly don’t care anymore. I’ve cared enough over the last 13 years of my career to try and please everyone that watches me, and you know what, I can’t do anything more. I’ve done everything I can. If you don’t like me for some reason, I don’t care anymore.”

The best part of the Zurich Classic is you’ve got a partner there to have you back. And Burns — more like Scheffler than Horschel in his own demeanor — did just that as his teammate paused.

“If he gets running too hot this week,” Burns joked, “I’ll just go give him a hug and calm him down a little bit.”

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The post Billy Horschel is done appeasing his haters: ‘If you don’t like it, I honestly don’t care anymore’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
The team-centric Zurich Classic of New Orleans returns this week. The PGA Tour’s only team event is now in its fifth year, transforming a tournament that was often lost in the post-Masters doldrums into one of the more captivating showcases of the spring. This year’s field boasts a number of star squads in Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay and defending champs Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman.

However, the intrigue doesn’t stop at the marquee attractions. We compiled our favourite teams for this week’s Zurich Classic, a list fueled by our winning prediction, curiosity and sheer excitement.

Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland

The favourites, and for good reason: only Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith have enjoyed better seasons than these two. Both rank inside the top 10 in SG/approach (Hovland third, Morikawa seventh) and birdie average (Hovland fourth, Morikawa eighth), and Hovland had a good run at last year’s Zurich with Kris Ventura before a final-round 78 submarined their title hopes. Their short-game struggles could make the alternate-shot portions of the event a bit dicey. Still, their collective muscle is simply too great to overlook.

Scottie Scheffler and Ryan Palmer

It’s been three years since this observation …

Love that journeyman Ryan Palmer has played with Jordan Spieth (twice!) and Jon Rahm at tour’s only team event, simply by asking them before anyone else had the chance to. Lesson to all high-school guys: if you wanna go to prom with the pretty girl, pop the question in October

— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) April 28, 2019

Palmer went on to win the 2019 event, allowing him to run it back with Rahm in 2021 (the 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic) and this year he’s playing with … check’s notes … world No. 1 and reigning Masters champ Scottie Scheffler. Don’t get us wrong, Palmer has enjoyed a prosperous career, making more than 450 tour starts and racking up $30 million in total earnings. Conversely, it’s a résumé that pales in comparison to those of his Zurich teammates. Perhaps it is a byproduct of Palmer’s audacity and gumption, or maybe other players procrastinate in teaming up. Personally I like to think the young guys look at Palmer as golf’s version of Robert Horry, a veteran who brings good vibes and always comes up clutch. Whatever the reason, keep shooting your shot, Ryan.

Joaquin Niemann and Mito Pereira

Pereira ranks 22nd in SG/tee-to-green in his rookie season on tour and enters the Zurich 41st in the FedEx Cup. That standing could be higher if Pereira could hole a putt. Despite ranking 14th in approach and 12th in GIR percentage he’s 155th in birdie average. Though Niemann is not a player known for his short-game prowess he does make the most of his opportunities, ranking 10th in scoring and 18th in birdie average. If a bit of that can rub off on Pereira, watch out.

Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman

Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman. Mike Ehrmann

We could discuss Smith’s campaign, which has seen him go from top-30 player to vying for world No. 1. We could discuss Leishman’s super sneaky solid year (24th in strokes gained, 14th in birdie average) and how his massive odds for the Open Championship seem like a sound investment for those that would like to retire early. We suppose we should discuss these two are the defending champs. Instead, we like to make our annual appeal to the Zurich Classic to change Saturday’s format to a scramble (to see how stupid low these guys can go) and Sunday to worst ball or reverse scramble (for chaos).

Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III

Varner is no longer the little engine that could, contending at the Players and the RBC Heritage and logging a top-25 finish in his Masters debut. He still needs to figure out the final round (91st in Sunday scoring), but he’s close to a big-time breakthrough. As for Bubba, it’s fair to wonder at 43 how much gas is left in the tank, and the results in just six starts this year haven’t been promising. However Bubba is at his best when there’s an emphasis on creativity, and though TPC Louisiana does not necessarily lean into that forte, the event’s format does. Coupled with Watson’s history at this course (including a win in 2011 and T-8 last year) expect ‘good Bubba’ to show up this week.

Adam Hadwin and Adam Svensson

Big fan of guys with the same names teaming up. Frankly, it’s appalling that none of the 11 Camerons are together this week.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele

Whatever the over/under is on Ryder/Presidents Cup mentions with these two, bang the over. Cantlay and Schauffele finished T-11 at last year’s Zurich, betrayed by a 74 on Friday. Schauffele is having an odd season, ranking 17th in strokes gained but turning in just one top-10 in 10 starts. Who better to get right with than Cantlay, coming off a runner-up finish in Hilton Head and owning five top-10s in just nine outings. And because we have nothing else to add: There’s no word if walk-up music is returning to the Zurich, so in case officials are waffling on the idea, let’s just say that while we appreciated the effort, unless it’s in front of a Ryder Cup first-tee amphitheater, the entrance songs do more harm than good.

Max Homa and Talor Gooch

They’re right next to each other in strokes gained (Homa 25th, Gooch 26th), and there’s a formidable balance in their games. Homa has been better off the tee, Gooch is able to keep the big numbers at bay, both have been efficient with their second shots. Though Gooch’s FedEx Cup standing (fifth) is mostly the result of a strong autumn, he has remained quietly solid in 2022 boasting a T-7 at Bay Hill and a T-14 at Augusta National with Homa not far behind with five top-20s in eight starts this year.

Jay and Bill Haas

Jay and Bill Haas. Cy Cyr/PGA Tour

We had to confirm with tournament officials but that is indeed the Jay Haas, winner of nine tour events, captain of the 2015 United States Presidents Cup team and father of Bill. Jay checks in this week at 68 years young, so we don’t want to hear another word about Tom Brady still playing in the NFL at 44. Of course, Jay has some work to do to become the oldest player to tee it up at a tour event; that honour belongs to Jerry Barber, who appeared in the 1994 Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines two months shy of his 78th birthday.

Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia

After a rough few years Tommy is showing signs of revival, posting seven top-25s in his last nine starts. Plus, he has a solid track record at this event with a runner-up and T-4. As for Garcia (who earned a silver medal with Fleetwood here in 2019), he’s been OK halfway through the tour season, ranking 44th in strokes gained. Then again, this is a man who transforms from a very good player into a tour de force at team events. Don’t be surprised to see these Ryder Cuppers contending on the weekend.

Will Zalatoris and Davis Riley

Look, since this tournament went to a team format the common mistake has been the infatuation of young guns joining forces only to see said young guns fail to make the weekend. We say that to say this: There is no scenario where Zalatoris (T-6 or better in four of seven starts; first in SG/tee-to-green) and Riley (23rd in birdie average, runner-up at the Valspar last month) don’t win this by six shots.

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The post Our 11 favourite teams at the 2022 Zurich Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
It’s no surprise that Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith would birdie the short par-4 16th en route to victory at the 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The 302-yard drivable hole was one of the few on the back nine at TPC Louisiana where players could think birdie in the alternate-shot format.

But it was the way the Aussies made that birdie that will make it that much more memorable.

With the pin cut short and left on the green, bringing the water to the left of the hole in play, Smith hit 3-wood off the tee hoping to catch a part of the right side of the green. But the ball started to draw before taking a big hop left … and into the water.

The good news? The ball crossed the hazard line only a yard or so short of the green, allowing Leishman to take a drop and play the team’s third shot from only 23 feet from the hole.

As Leishman measured the shot with his eye, Nick Faldo on the CBS broadcast noted it was a makable chip. And sure enough:

WOW!@MarcLeish chips in for birdie on No. 16.

Team Smith/Leishman are now tied for the lead @Zurich_Classic. pic.twitter.com/Y1EQPlRPHT

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 25, 2021

The end results was a big momentum turner as the Aussies had taken the lead on the front nine, then squandered it only a few holes before.

Too bad their celebration wasn’t as spot on as the shot itself. Do you do fist bump—Leishman’s play—or high five—Smith’s preference?

It was one time that Team Mullett seemed to be out of synch.

The birdie meant the Aussies had tied South African’s Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel at 21 under. Both teams bogeyed the 17th hole but parred the 18th to jump into a sudden-death playoff. And then the Aussies made the birdie count when they won the title on the first playoff hole with a par.

The post Watch Marc Leishman chip-in for birdie, then hilariously botch the high-five celebration with Cam Smith appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The PGA Tour extended the cancellation of its tournaments for four more weeks, running through the AT&T Byron Nelson scheduled for May 7-10. The PGA of America, meanwhile, said that it was postponing the PGA Championship, slated for May 14-17 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, until later in 2020.

The decisions, both reported earlier in the day by Golf Digest, come as much of the United States continued with more cancellations, postponements, travel restrictions and closures made in hopes of slowing down the spread of the coronavirus.

Members of the Tour’s Player Advisory Committee were on a phone call Tuesday afternoon in which tour officials outlined the tour’s moves. Players were notified shortly afterwards.

The newest round of cancellations on the PGA Tour include the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town in South Carolina, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, and the Byron Nelson in Dallas.

“The health and safety of everyone associated with the PGA Tour and the global community is and will continue to be our No. 1 priority as we navigate the ongoing health crisis related to the Coronavirus Pandemic,” read part of the PGA Tour’s statement. “As we receive more clarity in the coming weeks, the Tour will be working with our tournament organizations and title sponsors, in collaboration with golf’s governing bodies, to build a PGA Tour schedule for 2020 that ensures the health and safety for all associated with our sport and a meaningful conclusion to the season. We will provide further updates when those plans come into focus.”

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Justin Rose attempts a putt on the 18th green as Rory McIlroy looks on during the final round of the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club.

According to a source, it’s expected that the start of the Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, currently scheduled for The Northern Trust on Aug. 13-16 at TPC Boston, will be pushed back a week, which would open the door for the PGA Championship to be played in the open slot.

PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh did not specify when the PGA Championship might be rescheduled, but noted in the PGA of America release: “We are and have been working in concert with Commissioner Jay Monahan and our partners and friends at the PGA Tour to find an alternative date that works for all. We are all very hopeful for a great outcome.

“We are also in dialogue with Mayor Breed and her team at the City of San Francisco and look forward to hopefully bringing the 2020 PGA Championship to TPC Harding Park at a date this summer when it is once again safe and responsible to do so.”

The PGA Tour’s release also stated that Tuesday’s cancellation of events through May 10 applies to all six tours operated by the PGA Tour. However, the Regions Tradition, originally set for May 7-10 and one of the PGA Tour Champions’ five majors, has been rescheduled to Sept. 24-27.

Meanwhile, the Official World Golf Ranking—one of the determinations for who qualifies for majors and other events such as the World Golf Championships—will be frozen until play across golf’s major tours resumes, according to a source.

Last week, the PGA Tour cancelled the Players Championship in the hours after the first round at TPC Sawgrass and announced that it was cancelling all tournaments through the Valero Texas Open, which was slated for April 2-5. The following morning, Augusta National followed suit, announcing the Masters, originally scheduled for the week after the Valero, would be postponed, and on Monday the club sent a letter to its members that it was closing the course this week. That brings the total of PGA Tour events cancelled due to the coronavirus to nine.

The news comes after the CDC suggested on Sunday cancelling or postponing events with 50 or more people throughout the country for the next eight weeks and a day after the PGA of America announced that it was postponing the PGA Professional Championship, which was scheduled for April 26-29 in Austin, Texas.

The post PGA Championship postponed as PGA Tour also cancels events through mid-May appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.