Bubba Watson, caddie Ted Scott split up 'after 15 incredible years'
They’re still friends, Bubba Watson insists, but on Thursday night the booming lefty announced he and long-time caddie Ted Scott were parting ways.
Watson called it an “incredible 15 years together” in a social media post. Watson joined the PGA Tour in 2006 and has 12 victories, including the 2012 and 2014 Masters. Scott was on the bag for all of them.
It was the second big player/caddie split of the day, as a Golf Channel report earlier Thursday said Jim “Bones” Mackay accepted a full-time gig to work for Justin Thomas.
As for the Watson/Scott split, Bubba wrote that it only came about after some “deep talks” not only about golf but life.
Watson said, “Teddy deserves more credit than anyone can imagine for our success on the golf course” and called it a “blessing and privilege” to have him there all these years.
After 15 incredible years together @jtedscott and I have decided to end our on-course partnership. Don’t worry! We’re still friends. Read the rest in my photos… #LoveYouTeddypic.twitter.com/tb6JTuMplR
Watson has been known for swinging a pink Ping driver, but golf fans also know he and Scott share an affinity for footwear, be it Watson’s shoes or Scott’s socks. No word yet on who Watson plans to replace him with or what Scott intends to do next.
Bubba Watson wears his G/FORE men’s checkered disruptor golf shoes while his caddie wears Anthony Davis socks during the final round of the 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana. Photo by Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Bryson DeChambeau blasts his way into final day of long-drive World Championship
Forget experience. Forget the faster hitters. Forget the social media naysayers.
All that matters: Bryson DeChambeau advanced to the final day of the Professional Long Drivers Association’s World Championship in Mesquite, Nevada Thursday. The same Bryson DeChambeau who four days earlier helped the U.S. team claim the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
With gusty, erratic winds blowing into the players’ faces, the 2020 U.S. Open champion – at golf golf, not long-drive – won two of his first four sets against three other competitors to lock up one of 16 total spots on Friday’s final day of competition.
Players competed for points in five sets, with an early-afternoon group of 16 players competing for eight spots and a late-afternoon group of 16 competing for eight more spots in the final field. DeChambeau was in the late-afternoon group, and he finished tied for fourth among those 16 long-ball bashers to advance.
NEW: Bryson DeChambeau has advanced to the Championship Round (Final 16) of the PLDA World Championship. pic.twitter.com/5YuvSz8Au1
DeChambeau’s longest blasts in each of the five sets traveled 358, 338, 359, 333 and 333 yards. His drives of 358 and then 359 were among the top five balls hit by all 16 competitors in his group.
Those blasts into the wind were quite a bit shorter than on Day 1, when DeChambeau hit five balls past 400 yards. But long is relative in this muscled-up sport, and none of Thursday’s 32 competitors hit anything close to 400 into the breeze. After Tuesday’s favorable winds on Day 1, the 64 competitors who made it to Wednesday’s Day 2 also faced headwinds.
Those winds have proved favorable to DeChambeau, who doesn’t swing as fast as several of his competitors. But dead-solid contact with a controlled ball flight can pay off into the breeze. DeChambeau’s Trackman launch monitor numbers, when available, have been impressive – his best ball in his fifth set came with 144-mph clubhead speed, 213-mph ball speed, 227 yards of carry and a peak height of 121 feet to travel 333 yards total into the breeze off the right, as reported by the YouTube commentators during the livestream. The ball rolled considerably down the dryer right side of the landing grid.
None of DeChambeau’s long-ball success should be a total shock, even if the 28-year-old faced some social media criticism before the event that this is all a publicity stunt and he was going to be out of his league. He has proved those doubters wrong day after day in Mesquite in his first effort at elite long-drive competition, crushing the ball past much more experienced long-ball veterans.
DeChambeau led the PGA Tour in the recently concluded 2020-21 season with a 323.7-yard driving average, and his longest drive on Tour in that season was 414 yards. His average measured clubhead speed on drives was 132.25 mph, but he has said he can go faster in training and has backed that up at the World Championship. The top players in elite long-drive competitions frequently surpass 140 mph in clubhead speed, and DeChambeau showed he can get it past that 140 mark on the launch monitor in competition.
Keep in mind, all this is new to DeChambeau, winner of eight PGA Tour events. He even has a new club in his hands to max out his yardage. He’s swinging a 48-inch Cobra RADSpeed driver with an LA Golf Tour AXS Blue shaft – designed to create a low-spin, low-loft launch – that has been tipped an inch, making it even stiffer. On Tour he normally swings a Cobra driver that is less than 46 inches and much easier to control.
The longest drive of Day 2 came from Wes Patterson, who sent one 381 yards in the early-afternoon group. Colton Casto and Kyle Berkshire, the defending champion after winning the event in 2019 and with the 2020 competition having been canceled because of COVID-19, both hit balls 380 in that same Group A.
The longest drives in DeChambeau’s Group B came from Scottie Pearman and Martin Borgmeier, both of whom reached 367 yards. Ryan Steenberg hit one 361 in the same group.
The players who qualified out of Group A were Justin James, Casto, Bryce Verplank, Berkshire, Brandon Flynn, Patterson, Hyeon Jun Hong and Josh Koch. In Group B the players to advance were Ryan Steenberg, Borgmeier, Zack Holton, Nick Vorbeck, Ryan Gregnol, Pearman, DeChambeau and Taiga Tazawa of China, whose celebratory antics have gained fans on social media.
Friday’s final will progress from group play to a head-to-head match between two players to lock up the title. The finals begin at 6:45 p.m. ET (3:45 local time) and will be livestreamed on the PLDA YouTube channel.
Stewart Hagestad leads U.S. Mid-Amateur after 18 holes at Sankaty Head Golf Course
NANTUCKET, Mass. – Not sure if there’s a better place on earth than the Northeast in the fall. Do I say this as someone who grew up in New Hampshire? Yup.
The only thing that could make it better: head down to Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 65-degree weather to watch the 40th U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sankaty Head Golf Course.
The long week included 36 holes of stroke play, with the low 64 players entering a match-play bracket. Then after two days of matches, the last four players teed it up Thursday morning in the semifinals.
Stewart Hagestad, Nicholas Maccario, Mark Costanza and Hayes Brown were those last four standing, with a trip to the 2022 U.S. Open and 2022 Masters on the line.
Hagestad, 30, was matched up against Brown, who became the first 64 seed to advance to the semifinals in the 40-year history of the Mid-Am. In fact, Brown, 32, was bidding to become the first 64 seed to win any USGA championship since seeding began in match-play championships in the mid-1980s.
Hagestad, meanwhile, is an experienced player, with a resume that includes low-am at the Masters in 2017. He got out to a quick lead, winning the first three holes with pars. They went back and forth for much of the match, and walked off the 12th green with Hagestad still 3 up. He then made eagle on the par-5 15th to close out the match 4 and 3.
The 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Siasconset, Massachusetts. Photo by Chris Keane/USGA
In the other semifinal match, Costanza, 32, took advantage of a 3-under front nine, and made the turn 4 up on Maccario, the Massachusetts native who was seeded 59th. Maccario fought back on the second nine, with wins on Nos. 12 and 13, but Costanza immediately returned to 3 up after a birdie on the par-3 14th.
Maccario, who got married on Sept. 18 and had his wife Meredith on the bag this week, was able to stay alive on 16 with a birdie, although the match was pushed to dormie. Each player made a 5 on the par-5 17th , and Costanza advanced to the finals with a 2-and-1 win.
On to the final
After the USGA trophies were placed on the No. 1 tee, the first 18 holes of the 36-hole final match got underway, and it was a nervy start for Costanza.
His opening tee shot found the hazard area left of the fairway, forcing a provisional. He would immediately go 1 down after making a double bogey. They halved three holes in a row, with Costanza getting up-and-down on multiple occasions to stay alive, while Hagestad was hitting fairways and greens.
But Hagestad’s win on the par-4 5th started a dominating stretch. He won six of the next seven holes, pushing his lead to 7 up through 11.
On the par-5 17th, Hagestad hit a great chip from short of the green to all but guarantee a birdie. Costanza hit an average shot from the right greenside bunker to about 12 feet, but buried the must-make putt.
On 18, Hagestad and Costanza found the fairway, and both had wedges in hand to attack for closing birdies. Costanza found the green with his approach; Hagestad made a rare mistake and flew the green long, leaving a difficult down hill chip from an awkward lie.
Costanza two-putted for par, while Hagestad struggled with his chip, leaving it 12 feet short, and then missing a sliding par bid.
Hagestad will sleep on a 5-up lead but knows it’s not over.
“I haven’t done a thing,” said Hagestad, who is now 19-3 in match play in this championship and could win his 20th on Friday. “[Costanza] gave me a couple holes early, but he’s got a ton of firepower. It’s a good start, but it’s not much more than that.”
On Friday, the two will resume their 36-hole final at 7:30 a.m. ET with Hagestad holding a 5-up lead.
The champion will earn a gold medal and will take possession of the Robert T. Jones Memorial Trophy for one year, as well as exemptions into the 2022 U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, the 2022 Masters Tournament, the next 10 U.S. Mid-Amateurs and the next two U.S. Amateurs.
Sanderson Farms Championship tee times, TV info for Friday's second round
It’s always tough for the event after a Ryder Cup to live up to the incredible head-to-head play. The emotion, the spectacle, the level of players involved with the event.
Regardless, the PGA Tour returned to Mississippi this week for the Sanderson Farms Championship, where tournament officials say they actually like being the first event after the biennial intercontinental battle.
After a 7-under 65 on Thursday, Harold Varner III is back in contention once again. Off the course, he and his wife, Amanda, are expecting their first child next week.
Birdies and eagles rule in this event, so much so that the average winning score in the past five editions was 19 under. That scoring trend seems likely again this year as players lit up the leaderboards with red numbers in Thursday’s first round.
Keegan Bradley, Harold Varner III, Matthew NeSmith
8:16 a.m.
Brian Stuard, Rory Sabbatini, Bronson Burgoon
8:27 a.m.
Camilo Villegas, Tom Hoge, Doug Ghim
8:38 a.m.
Brian Gay, Dylan Frittelli, Adam Long
8:49 a.m.
Kevin Tway, Jimmy Walker, Kevin Stadler
9:00 a.m.
Hudson Swafford, Kevin Chappell, Charley Hoffman
9:11 a.m.
Andrew Putnam, Cameron Tringale, Sepp Straka
9:22 a.m.
Ryan Moore, Chris Kirk, Tyler McCumber
9:33 a.m.
Ben Kohles, Nick Hardy, Lee Hodges
9:44 a.m.
Michael Gligic, Dawie van der Walt, Cameron Young
9:55 a.m.
David Lipsky, Brandon Wu, Kyle Reifers
10:06 a.m.
Taylor Pendrith, Aaron Rai, Davis Thompson
1:00 p.m.
Adam Hadwin, Emiliano Grillo, John Huh
1:11 p.m.
Mackenzie Hughes, Patrick Rodgers, Henrik Norlander
1:22 p.m.
Bill Haas, Kevin Streelman, Roger Sloan
1:33 p.m.
Seamus Power, K.H. Lee, Richy Werenski
1:44 p.m.
Cam Davis, Martin Laird, Zach Johnson
1:55 p.m.
Sam Burns, Sungjae Im, Corey Conners
2:06 p.m.
Joel Dahmen, Carlos Ortiz, Matthew Wolff
2:17 p.m.
Nick Watney, Matt Wallace, Wyndham Clark
2:28 p.m.
Kurt Kitayama, Chad Ramey, Andy Ogletree
2:39 p.m.
Brett Drewitt, Sahith Theegala, Taylor Moore
2:50 p.m.
Davis Riley, Curtis Thompson, Sam Saunders
3:01 p.m.
Lucas Herbert, Seth Reeves, Quade Cummins
10th tee
8:05 a.m.
Brendan Steele, Scott Stallings, Bo Van Pelt
8:16 a.m.
Aaron Wise, Austin Cook, Kramer Hickok
8:27 a.m.
Russell Knox, Anirban Lahiri, J.J. Spaun
8:38 a.m.
Si Woo Kim, Lanto Griffin, Sung Kang
8:49 a.m.
Nick Taylor, Nate Lashley, Martin Trainer
9:00 a.m.
Gary Woodland, Brandt Snedeker, Chesson Hadley
9:11 a.m.
Sergio Garcia, Sebastian Munoz, Peter Malnati
9:22 a.m.
Ryan Armour, Will Zalatoris, Stephan Jaeger
9:33 a.m.
Cody Gribble, Greyson Sigg, Paul Barjon
9:44 a.m.
Mito Pereira, Hayden Buckley, Jared Wolfe
9:55 a.m.
Joseph Bramlett, Alex Smalley, Cohen Trolio
10:06 a.m.
Adam Svensson, Max McGreevy, Greg Sonnier
1:00 p.m.
Seung-Yul Noh, Kelly Kraft, Doc Redman
1:11 p.m.
Jonas Blixt, Luke List, Sam Ryder
1:22 p.m.
Scott Piercy, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Adam Schenk
1:33 p.m.
Andrew Landry, C.T. Pan, Keith Mitchell
1:44 p.m.
Robert Streb, Brendon Todd, Patton Kizzire
1:55 p.m.
Michael Thompson, Chez Reavie, William McGirt
2:06 p.m.
Lucas Glover, Tyler Duncan, J.T. Poston
2:17 p.m.
Brice Garnett, Denny McCarthy, Brandon Hagy
2:28 p.m.
Vincent Whaley, Matthias Schwab, Joshua Creel
2:39 p.m.
Trey Mullinax, Scott Gutschewski, John Augenstein
2:50 p.m.
Andrew Novak, Callum Tarren, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra
3:01 p.m.
Dylan Wu, David Skinns, Grant Hirschman
TV, streaming, radio information
All times listed are ET.
Friday, Oct. 1
TV
Golf Channel: 4-7 p.m.
STREAMING
PGA Tour Live: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
RADIO
PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 1-7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 2
TV
Golf Channel: 4-7 p.m.
RADIO
PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 1-7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 3
TV
Golf Channel: 4-7 p.m.
RADIO
PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 1-7 p.m.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
Chasing his first PGA Tour win (with a baby on the way), Harold Varner III is cool as ever at Sanderson Farms Championship
JACKSON, Miss. — It’s been a big few months for Harold Varner III.
On the course, the 31-year-old is rolling. Over the last three months on the PGA Tour, he’s earned five top-20 finishes over eight events, including a T-16 two weeks ago at the Fortinet Championship in California, the first event of the new season. After a 7-under 65 on Thursday in the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at Country Club of Jackson, Varner is back in contention once again.
“I putted well in Napa and I feel like I’m still doing the same thing. The place is pretty pure right now, if you hit a lot of good golf shots you’re going to get a lot of looks and you just got to be patient,” said Varner of his round. “And the way I’m putting it right now I just need to get it on the green.”
Off the course, he and his wife, Amanda, are expecting their first child next week. Now you may think that would weigh heavy on a player’s mind or distract their focus on the course. But not for Varner.
“Yeah, I don’t really think about it at all out there because there’s nothing I can do to make that kid come out, that kid’s going to come whenever he has to come,” said Varner. “And the doctor though, she goes to school for a hundred years and still doesn’t know when these kids come. So it is what it is. So nothing we can do. I’ll be prepared.”
The East Carolina grad was the lone player to crack the top five on the leaderboard from the afternoon wave after Thursday morning’s birdie and eagle fest. Sahith Theegala took the lead with a bogey-free 8-under 64 and holds a one-shot advantage over Varner and Nick Watney entering Friday’s second round. Trailing the trio are Roger Sloan, Kurt Kitayama and Si Woo Kim, who each sit T-4 at 6-under after first-round 66s. Defending champion Sergio Garcia, who compiled a 3-1-0 record last week at the Ryder Cup in a losing effort to the United States, is at 2 under.
Varner qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the sixth consecutive time last season and earned his best finish on Tour with a runner-up at the RBC Heritage. All that said, he’s still chasing that elusive first win on Tour, and he’ll need to continue to go low to make it happen. The average winning score at the Sanderson Farms the last five years is 19 under. The want to win paired with the need to go low has to add pressure for the North Carolina native, right?
“No, the media’s the only thing that adds pressure because I’m going to answer that question after every day. And it’s just, it is what it is,” explained Varner. “And I’m learning how to deal with it and I hate when people, not ask you, but I hate when people are just always like, ‘When you going to win?’ It’s not like I’m not trying. It’s not easy.
“So it’s a great opportunity, it’s always going to be a challenge I’m just excited for it and I’m not too worried about what anyone else is doing. I used to get caught up in that and I’m just super thankful to be over that step in my life.”
5 months after surgery, former U.S. Amateur champ Andy Ogletree makes his move at Sanderson Farms
Andy Ogletree is doing just fine.
Five months after hip surgery, Ogletree charged up the leaderboard during the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship on Thursday.
The Union High School graduate and Little Rock native shot 5-under-par 67 to open the PGA Tour tournament at Country Club of Jackson, putting him in a tie for fifth at the time his round ended.
“Regardless of the score, playing pain free that’s most important to me right now,” Ogletree said. “It’s kind of freed me up, I mean, I don’t really have any expectations. This is my first PGA Tour event in six months. Obviously, I’m pleased with the start, but I’m more happy to be pain-free and just to be playing golf.”
The Sanderson Farms Championship was the tournament Ogletree had aimed to make his return to golf after a few months of rehab. It was a homecoming of sorts for the 23-year-old, who left his home state for Georgia Tech after high school and went on to win the 2019 U.S. Amateur. After his media session, he was welcomed by two lines of supporters, whom he greeted.
“I’m really happy to be playing in Mississippi,” Ogletree said. “A lot of familiar faces out here this week. A lot of friends and family are watching, so it’s a good time and I’m glad everyone gets to see me play.”
Ogletree said he plays better with spectators. His first nine PGA Tour events did not include crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The feeling of playing near home was intensified by his pairing Thursday with fellow Mississippi native Chad Ramey, who shot 2-under 70. Kurt Kitayama, a Chico, California, native, also was in the group.
“Really comfortable pairing today obviously playing with Chad, he went to Mississippi State and I’ve kind of had a lot of connections with him,” Ogletree said. “I had some connections with Kurt as well. We had a good time and everyone’s playing well, so I think that kind of momentum piece off of each other and makes it a lot easier.”
Ramey and Ogletree are two of five Mississippians participating this year, in addition to Cohen Trolio, Davis Riley and Hayden Buckley. Ramey, 29, is the oldest player among the locals, with the others 25 or younger.
“Everyone’s kind of making their way up on the PGA Tour now so it’s really cool to see all the young guys from Mississippi, it shows a lot,” Ogletree said.
Ogletree, who will tee off Friday at 1:28 p.m., gave credit to the Mississippi Junior Golf Association for the state’s success. The association began in 2000 and is highlighted by a Ryder Cup-style tournament against Louisiana’s top junior golfers. A junior amateur champion is crowned every season, according to its official website. Ramey was the junior amateur champion in 2009 and 2010, and Trolio, Buckley and Ogletree were all on Team Mississippi rosters against Louisiana.
“I think we all played that when we were super young,” he said. “I think people don’t realize how good the talent level is in Mississippi and it’s good to see everyone doing well.”
Contact Rashad Milligan at 601-862-6198 or [email protected]. Follow @RashadMilligan on Twitter.
Photos: Sanderson Farms Championship 2021 at Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi
After a week-long hiatus for the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, the PGA Tour is back in action with its second event of the new season this week in Mississippi.
Country Club of Jackson hosts the Sanderson Farms Championship for the eighth time in 2021, with Sergio Garcia back to defend his 2020 title. The course will play to 7,461 yards with a par of 72 for this year’s event. The key to success at the Sanderson Farms? Go low. Nick Taylor’s 16-under in 2014 is the worst score to win in Jackson, with the average winning score the last five editions coming in at 19-under.
Check out the best photos of the week from the 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship.
Blakesly Brock goes one-for-one in U.S. Women's Mid-Am appearances with big win at Berkeley Hall
Blakesly Brock hasn’t seen a U.S. Golf Association championship field for nine years. Back in 2012, she was just a 17-year-old competing in the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Now, in a whole new age bracket when it comes to USGA events, Brock is a USGA champion.
The 25-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur on Thursday in her first start in the championship. She took down another tournament first-timer, Aliea Clark by a 5-and-4 margin in the final match at Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, South Carolina.
“I’m speechless,” Brock said. “This has been an absolute dream week for me. I’m so happy.”
Brock isn’t ranked in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, but she just won the Tennessee Women’s Mid-Amateur on Sept. 22, which set her up well for re-entering the world of USGA championships.
“I just had a feeling it was going to be my week,” she said. “I played great at the Tennessee Mid-Am, and I knew I was good enough to win this golf tournament. I came in not really expecting to win but knowing that I could, and that gave me a lot of confidence.”
Over the course of the week, Brock won three matches that went to extra holes – including over Megan Buck in the Round of 32, over 2019 runner-up Talia Campbell in the Round of 16 and over Clare Connelly in the quarterfinals.
Brock lamented letting go of a big lead in some of those matches but was proud of herself for dealing with what she called “the most pressure I’ve ever felt ever on a golf course.”
“It feels absolutely incredible. I’m so happy right now. I’m still in shock.”
Against Clark in Thursday’s final match, Brock won the first hole with a par but lost the second to Clark’s birdie. She caught fire a few holes later, winning Nos. 7 through 12 to build an insurmountable 5-up lead. The two players tied Nos. 13 and 14 with pars but Clark eventually ran out of holes.
Among the spoils of a U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur title is a spot in the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open. Brock will appear in the field in 2022 at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” she said when asked who she’d like to play a practice round with that week. “This is still kind of kicking in.”
It's another par-busting party at Sanderson Farms Championship
We all know the familiar adage whenever the U.S. Open is contested.
Par is your friend.
Well, that doesn’t ring true at the Country Club of Jackson, home to the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi.
Birdies and eagles rule in the Sanderson Farms, so much so that the average winning score in the past five editions was 19 under. Here, you go low or go home.
That scoring trend seems likely again this year as players lit up the leaderboards with red numbers in Thursday’s first round. There were 20 scores of 68 or better – and that was just out of the morning wave of players. Defending champion Sergio Garcia was eight shots back when he went to the first tee for his afternoon round.
Par busters were so frequent that Corey Conners, who shot 5-under-par 67, didn’t realize he made five consecutive birdies.
“I really didn’t even know I made five in a row until I was signing my scorecard and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’” he said. “I just tried to play with freedom, was able to roll in some putts and, yeah, able to string some birdies together.”
Many others put plenty of circles on the scorecards on a day featuring light winds, overcast skies and warm temperatures. And with pure Bermuda greens, the players had a field day at the Country Club of Jackson.
“The greens are some of the best greens we play on all year,” Conners said. “I think it’s a very underrated golf course; it’s right in front of you, but you got to be really on, or you can have some trouble.”
Sahith Theegala had no trouble in a bogey-free 64 to grab the clubhouse lead. The 2020 winner of the Haskins, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan awards honoring the best player in college is making his 15th start on the PGA Tour.
3-time All-American. Ben Hogan & Fred Haskins award winner. Finished @PeppGolf with lowest scoring average in the nation (69.04).
“Really stress free,” he said of his round. “Probably the best way I can describe it. Just drove it really well. I was really working it well. I got my slider back. I was hitting a pretty good cut, probably 25 to 30 yard cut out there and this course kind of allows it because the trees around the tee box aren’t that close to the tees, so I was just working my ball flight in there and just felt really comfortable all day.
“Being in the fairway helps so much.”
Having the right attitude, especially when facing the heightened expectations Theegala had to deal with when he turned pro, helps, too.
“I think the main thing is that everyone that’s gotten to this point, they know their game is good enough to at least be out here and I think knowing that in the back of our mind, it sounds cliche, but just really have a good time out there,” Theegala said. “I would like to think pretty much everyone loves the game and that’s why they’re playing it and they just happen to be really good at it, so that’s kind of the mindset I’m going to keep having, just go out and have a good time.
“If the golf is there, fantastic. If it’s not there, there’s more to life and live to play another day kind of thing.”
Nick Watney signed for a 65. Roger Sloan and Kurt Kitayama were each at 66.
A large group at 67 included Conners, Adam Hadwin and Sungjae Im. Sam Burns, the highest ranked player in the world at No. 25, shot 68.
Despite the scoring binges, players said they don’t feel any extra pressure to go low to keep up.
“I’ve never done well if I thought, ‘Oh, I have to shoot X-under. I think I do my best when I go out and try to play the shot in front of me,” Watney said. “I know that’s super cliche, but that’s truly how I play my best. That’s what I was even trying to do today. Just to execute my best on that shot.”
Added Kitayama: “I feel like most tournaments scores are low so you kind of know what you gotta do and if you can get to that 20-under number, you can have a good chance to win any week. And if it’s lower, it just happens.”
East Tennessee State turns in gritty performance to win Golfweek Red Sky Classic
East Tennessee State spent the week at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colorado, juggling numbers. Golf at elevation – especially for a team coming from the Volunteer State – requires quite a bit of math.
“Obviously it was an adjustment and then when the winds picked up, it made it even more – you’re shooting the flag, you’re throwing up for the wind, you’re taking off for elevation, you’re adding for slope because it’s not a flat golf course either,” said ETSU head coach Stefanie Shelton.
Under such conditions, it’s important to pick a number and ultimately commit to it, and the Buccaneers were able to do it on their way to winning the Golfweek Red Sky Classic. When a storm passed over the area during Tuesday’s second round, chopping up the day and causing the tournament to be reduced from 54 holes to 36, ETSU players gritted their teeth and kept going. The Bucs had already secured a share of the lead in the first round and wouldn’t let go.
ETSU opened its season close to home earlier this month at the Tennessee-hosted Mercedes-Benz Invitational and finished 10th. Shelton said her players expected more from themselves.
Real “college-golf conditions,” as she called the weather at Red Sky, set up an opportunity to test that. Shelton said the whole team tried to relax as conditions worsened.
On the individual leaderboard, Tereza Melecka finished second, Sera Hasegawa tied for third and Hollie Muse tied for sixth. ETSU’s 6-under team total left them one shot ahead of Denver.
“I thought this team was extremely tough this week and really never showed signs of letting up or letting anything bother them,” Shelton said. “Of course it was cold and windy and we all had our gloves on and needing umbrellas and things but yeah, they just accepted it and kept playing. I was very proud of that.”
Last spring, ETSU won the Southern Conference title to earn an Automatic Qualifying spot in the postseason. They were sent to the LSU-hosted NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which was controversially canceled. As a result of no golf being played, the top six seeds were selected to advance from the site. ETSU was No. 16.
The turnover from that team was significant as Shelton graduated three players and brought in some new blood for this season. Shelton, however, remembers not only the frustration but the realization that came from being a championship team. Both are motivating for her, and the two returners from that squad.
“The two that came back, being part of a championship team – that does give you the confidence that we are champions and we’re coming everywhere to play and play well and I think the newcomers, they’re stepping into a team that just won a championship and want to play well,” she said.
Two tournaments in, Shelton likes the vibe.
“Really seem to have that tough and go play, do-anything mindset.”
Tyrrell Hatton's dad is excited (but tired) while his son is again shining at Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Jeff Hatton is an accomplished teaching pro and club fitter, the owner and operator of Hatton Golf, a specialty shop about 30 miles outside of London.
While Hatton works on clubs and helps perfect swings, one thing he doesn’t have much time to do is play golf. So this week, playing with his son Tyrrell — the 19th-ranked golfer in the world — has presented some new challenges.
For example, although Jeff is Tyrrell’s swing coach, the two haven’t had time to work through any tweaks or changes during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which is played at St. Andrews Old Course, Carnoustie and on Thursday, Kingsbarns.
“He hasn’t sort of looked at my swing on the range or anything,” Tyrrell Hatton said on Thursday. “I think he’s been a bit too excited to play these courses for the first time, and actually he’s probably quite tired. He normally plays once every six weeks. And he did 18 holes on Tuesday, he did nine holes yesterday and obviously another 18 today.
“So the old boy is gonna be tired tomorrow, that’s for sure.”
Just because his father’s a bit winded doesn’t mean that Tyrrell is feeling the effects of a busy week. After returning from the Ryder Cup, Hatton was in fine form on Thursday, using a scintillating 29 on the back to finish at 64 after the opening round. Adri Arnaus, Nicolas Colsaerts and Haotong Li are also sitting tied atop the leaderboard with Hatton.
But the topic of focus in a post-round interview was Hatton’s father, who had promised that he wouldn’t get the jitters playing in the event.
“He admitted that he was nervous, which he said, sort of in the whole build-up to this, he was like, no, I won’t be nervous, I won’t be nervous. And he actually played quite nicely in the practice rounds and he’s gone out there today and obviously not played to the level that you’d like to,” Tyrrell said. “But I think he enjoyed it and we’ll have a good day tomorrow.”
Hatton certainly had fun, using an eagle on the 12th hole to negate the blemish on his card, a bogey on No. 7. He’s looking for his third win in this event after winning the title in both 2016 and 2017. The only other player to win this tournament twice is Padraig Harrington, who captained the Ryder Cup team at Whistling Straits last week.
In terms of the course rotation, Hatton pondered when asked which was his favorite before offering a predictable answer.
“I’d probably just say St. Andrews,” he said. “I think just with the history of it and it just it feels more special when you’re playing there and we’ll look forward to playing there on Saturday.”
Report: Jim 'Bones' Mackay is headed back to his original career as Justin Thomas's full-time caddie
Jim “Bones” Mackay, former longtime caddie for Phil Mickelson, has become a familiar voice on golf broadcasts. Since transitioning off the bag for the six-time major winner to a role with NBC Sports/Golf Channel in 2017, Mackay has intermittently made caddie appearances, most notably for Justin Thomas but also for Matthew Fitzpatrick in 2020.
“It came out of left field very recently. I have just tremendous respect for [Thomas] as a person and a player,” Mackay told Golf Channel on Thursday. “It was an incredible phone call to get and I said yes.”
That doesn’t mean he’s abandoning the headset completely, however. Golf Channel reports that he will continue his work as an on-course reporter when time allows. In the short-term, that includes next week’s Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.
“I love to caddie and I loved my role with NBC/Golf Channel,” he told the network, “but it’s Justin Thomas.”
Thomas has long worked with Jimmy Johnson – since Thomas started out as a rookie in 2015. Johnson was even inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame.
Johnson was on the bag for Thomas for many major milestones, including the 2017 PGA Championship (which remains Thomas’s sole major title), the 2017 FedEx Cup title and most recently, his 2021 Players Championship victory.
Mackay caddied for Thomas when he won the 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
Is Kohler's new 'championship' course near Whistling Straits being groomed for majors? It's doubtful.
SHEBOYGAN, Wisconsin — Following the Ryder Cup, Whistling Straits owner Kohler Co. has no other major tournaments scheduled at its Sheboygan County golf courses — and a new Kohler course proposed in Sheboygan likely won’t host such events, the company told The Sheboygan Press.
Like Whistling Straits, where the U.S. trounced Europe last week in what Herbert V. Kohler Jr. has described as “the granddaddy of all golf tournaments,” Kohler’s proposed new course is on the Lake Michigan shoreline and was designed by late Straits architect Pete Dye to be one of the world’s best — often described by Kohler as a “championship” course.
But while Whistling Straits was built with the intention of courting major tournaments, the new course would not be, the company said.
“It is our expectation there will not be any large-scale major golf tournaments on the site,” said Dirk Willis, vice president of golf, landscape and retail for Kohler Hospitality, in a statement.
Local officials who spoke to The Sheboygan Press say that, from the beginning, Kohler representatives said the company had no plans to host major championships at the proposed course. But people from elected officials to concerned residents questioned whether that meant Kohler had ruled them out, and Dye himself had speculated that it might host majors.
Whistling Straits has hosted three PGA Championships and a U.S. Senior Open in addition to last week’s Ryder Cup, and Blackwolf Run, Kohler’s nearby golf course complex, has hosted two U.S. Women’s Opens.
The proposed new course, after years of legal challenges, is still not approved. Willis first said in a statement to the Press last week that, if it gets approval, there “will not be any major tournaments on the site” of the new course, later clarifying that the new course has an intimate design that isn’t as well suited for major tournaments as Kohler’s other courses.
Kohler’s hopes for majors have been unclear in official documents
The chair of the Town of Wilson board, John Ehmann, said that whether the course would host major championships was “a question (the board) asked more than once” when Kohler was first applying for a conditional use permit, before the city of Sheboygan annexed the land from the town.
“Their standard reply was, they had no plans to hold major tournaments. It was obviously in their best interest to reply that way, because then they did not have to address traffic and congestion concerns that the town would have had as a part of the permitting process,” Ehmann said.
But other statements portrayed the course as angling for a U.S. Open and other top events.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2015 that Dye (who died in January 2020) said the course could host major championships. And after an interview with Herbert V. Kohler Jr., executive chairman of Kohler, Wisconsin Golf reported in 2019 that the course could be pitched to the United States Golf Association as a tournament venue in the future.
The Department of Natural Resources’ updated draft environmental impact statement for the course in November 2017 said it was unknown what special events would be held at the course, but it was anticipated that the course “may” host tournaments including the PGA Championship, U.S. Senior Open, the Ryder Cup and the U.S. Women’s Open.
The final EIS in 2018 said, “Kohler has stated that it hopes that the course will be a site for future major professional golf championship events.”
In response, local officials and residents opposed to the course have worried it would be too small for the crowds and traffic that Kohler’s other courses have accommodated. People also raised concerns about the potential environmental impacts of major tournaments.
An extensive permitting process and a half-dozen court challenges have meant Kohler has had many chances to officially describe its ambitions for the course, but it has made little mention of major tournaments, instead describing the course as a “championship” course that Kohler hopes to make into one of the world’s top 50.
A “championship” course is a subjective label with no agreed-upon meaning in the golf world. Company representatives said that a golf course can be world-ranked and championship-level without hosting a major championship. It’s ultimately up to golf associations such as the USGA and PGA of America to decide which courses host major championships, the company said.
“Many public and private top-ranked golf courses have not hosted major tournaments, and that does not diminish their quality and rankings among golf enthusiasts,” Willis said in a statement.
Course still faces environmental objections, legal hurdles
Herbert Kohler Jr., 82, made it his mission to bring championship golf to Wisconsin. And one of his signature courses — Whistling Straits — hosted the 43rd Ryder Cup.
The proposed course is currently mired in ongoing lawsuits after surviving other challenges — some of them similar to those faced by Whistling Straits, and others unique to the new course.
In 1995, DNR officials were reluctant to approve wetland permits for the construction of Whistling Straits. The project’s DNR water regulation specialist declined to sign the permit, and her boss signed the permit but told reporters it was a “tough decision” ultimately swayed by Kohler’s economic arguments, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 1996.
Similarly, environmental advocates challenged the wetland permit for the proposed new course
Kohler applied to fill 3.7 acres of wetlands between the Black River and Lake Michigan for the proposed course in 2017. Six months later, the DNR approved the permit, but then Friends of the Black River Forest — a local nonprofit with the mission to preserve the Black River area — challenged the decision.
Two former DNR employees have said the wetland permit did not meet state standards and, according to court documents, the DNR received over 1,400 total pages of public comments on the issue. In 2019, an administrative law judge overturned the wetland permit. Kohler has sued, seeking to reinstate the permit, a case still open in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
Other lawsuits and processes that have delayed construction of the proposed course include:
Storm water permit. The Friends challenged the DNR’s approval of a storm water permit, a case now moving forward in Sheboygan County circuit courts.
Land swap. Kohler’s proposal included the use 4.6 acres of state-owned land in Kohler-Andrae State Park and an easement over another nearly 2 acres, and the Friends challenged the legality of DNR’s plan to approve a land swap with the company, a case now in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Historic resources report. Before the golf course can be constructed, the state historical society must approve a report on limiting damage to historic resources on the property. Researchers are still cataloging around 38,000 historic and 214,000 prehistoric artifacts found on the property from Native Americans who lived in the region between 800 to 2,500 years ago, as reported by Wisconsin Watch.
Conditional use permit. The land eyed for the new golf course was originally in the Town of Wilson, but Sheboygan successfully annexed the land and approved the golf course in 2020 — after a lawsuit from the Town of Wilson that went to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The course layout is not suited to major tournaments, Kohler says
The 43rd Ryder Cup brought tens of thousands of golf fans each day to Whistling Straits, which owner Kohler Co. says was designed and built to accommodate such events, unlike a new course proposed in Sheboygan.
When asked why the proposed course will not host majors, Kohler Co. said that major tournaments require a lot of resources and amenities beyond a quality golf course experience.
Tournaments require temporary infrastructure including grandstands, hospitality stands, a merchandise shop, food vendors and parking.
“Our proposed golf course is intimate and cloaked with trees, whereas our other courses were built to host large-scale major golf tournaments,” Willis said.
As of March 2017, the layout of Kohler’s proposed golf course, which was designed by late course architect Pete Dye with the ambition of making it one of the world’s best.
Former Sheboygan mayor Mike Vandersteen similarly said that the proposed course’s limited space for traffic and crowds is one reason it was never his impression that there would be major tournament events there.
“It was going to be a minimalist course, which means that if you weren’t on the green, you were many times on some really rough stuff,” Vandersteen said.
Willis also said that professional golfers today hit the ball much farther than in the past, which lengthy courses like Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run can better accommodate.
Whistling Straits, a 560-acre property, has two 18-hole golf courses and other amenities including a 13,000-square-foot clubhouse. It played nearly 7,400 yards for the Ryder Cup last week.
The new proposed course, with only one 18-hole course, would sit on slightly less than half of that space, nearly 250 acres, but also include an up-to-16,000-square foot clubhouse with a 9,000-square-foot footprint, a 22,000-square-foot maintenance building, an observation tower, an irrigation pond, golf cart paths and roads.
As of Wednesday afternoon, a Kohler spokesperson hadn’t responded to a question about the new course’s yardage.
Reach Maya Hilty at 920-400-7485 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @maya_hilty.
Tiger Woods is trophy hunting for his 2022 World Golf Hall of Fame induction
Tiger Woods is back to hunting down golf trophies, just not on the course.
The 82-time winner on the PGA Tour and 15-time major champion shared on Twitter that he’s seeking out his favorite trophies for his World Golf Hall of Fame exhibit and included a photo of his 1996 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year hardware.
It was 25 years ago that Woods stormed on the professional scene, winning two events in his first full season on Tour. Woods claimed the five-round Las Vegas Invitational at 27 under after a playoff with Davis Love III and two weeks later took home the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic at 21 under, one stroke ahead of Payne Stewart.
I was trophy hunting trying to pick out some favorites for my Hall of Fame exhibit and found this guy. Excited to see it all come together soon. pic.twitter.com/MNPK7Q7iTt
The World Golf Hall of Fame announced in December of 2020 that the induction ceremony for the 2021 class would be postponed to March 9, 2022 during the week of the Players Championship. Joining Woods in the hall will be four-time major champion and 11-time LPGA winner Susie Maxwell Berning, former PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and female golf pioneer Marion Hollins (posthumously), bringing the total member total to 164.
Photos: Walt Disney World turns 50 this week and golf has been along for the whole ride
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – When Arnold Palmer first laid eyes on what would become the golf courses at Walt Disney World near Orlando in 1971, it wasn’t just what would later be billed the “Happiest Place on Turf” that caught his eye. Looking north toward what would become the hub of the resort, the King wanted a special ride from the Polynesian Village Resort to the Magic Kingdom.
Always a fan of transportation tech – he set multiple records as a pilot, including a global circumnavigation record in 1976 – Palmer had spied the new Walt Disney World Monorail. It was too good to pass up, and Palmer climbed aboard for a preview ride on the elevated system that Disney says now carries more than 50 million passengers a year.
So royalty really does have its privileges, be it for Disney princesses or golfers.
Those courses that Palmer checked out that day turn 50 this year, as does Walt Disney World. The resort kicks off the heart of its 50th anniversary celebration Oct. 1, the date in 1971 on which Magic Kingdom opened its gates. The months-long bash will be known as “The World’s Most Magical Celebration.”
Arnold Palmer at Walt Disney World (Courtesy of Walt Disney World)
Much has changed over the years – Epcot opened in 1982, Hollywood Studios in 1989 and Animal Kingdom in 1998 – but much has remained the same, true to the vision of founder Walt Disney.
Golf was part of that vision all along.
On his original maps of Disney World, Walt Disney – not a golfer himself, but a visionary for what might work in Central Florida – laid out an area dedicated to the game not far from Magic Kingdom and the Polynesian. That area is still home to three of the resort’s four courses: the Palm, the Magnolia and the short, nine-hole Oak Trail. The resort’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course is farther east, closer to the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and what is now Disney Springs.
Palmer, who later lived part of each year at nearby Bay Hill, had been hired as a special consultant for the PGA Tour’s first Walt Disney World Open Invitational in 1971. It didn’t hurt the new tournament that Jack Nicklaus won the first three years. The event, played on the Palm and Magnolia, continued under various branding names through 2012 with a list of winners that included Payne Stewart, Raymond Floyd, Larry Nelson, Davis Love III, Ben Crenshaw and several other Hall-of-Famers. Tiger Woods won his second PGA Tour title there in 1996 and again in 1999.
Palmer never did take the title, but his influence continues today, even after his passing in 2016. His eponymous management company took over operation of the courses in 2011, and in 2013 he renovated the Palm that, along with the Magnolia and Lake Buena Vista courses, had originally been designed by prolific architect Joe Lee.
The PGA Tour event evolved over the years, as well. It became the Walt Disney World National Team Championship in 1974, with Hubert Green and Mac McLendon pairing up to break Nicklaus’ grasp on the Disney title. It remained a team event through 1981, with Hal Sutton beating Bill Britton in a four-hole playoff after resumption of individual competition in 1982.
It was always a special stop for many PGA Tour players who would battle it out during the day, then retreat to the theme parks with their families in the evenings. Disney World was the one Tour stop where players’ kids demanded their dads tee it up, perhaps as important to the youngsters as major championships were to the fathers.
The Mickey Mouse golf cart at Walt Disney World is a famed spot for photos at the resort and is normally parked in front of the clubhouse, but not all the carts in use sport the famous film star in such extravagance. (Courtesy of Walt Disney World)
The LPGA also staged events at Walt Disney World, with Karrie Webb then Michelle McGann capturing titles on the Lake Buena Vista course in the HealthSouth Inaugural in 1996 and ’97 before that event was moved to nearby Grand Cypress Resort. Pat Bradley won the event in 1995 on Disney’s Eagle Pines course, a layout that no longer exists, in what was Golf Channel’s first-ever live broadcast of an LPGA event.
Walt Disney World also hosted the Senior PGA Championship from 1975 to 1979 on the Magnolia Course with Charlie Sifford, Joe Jimenez and Jack Fleck among the winners.
The tour events are gone, but the golf certainly carries on with hundreds of thousands of rounds played each year. The Mickey Mouse golf cart still welcomes guests to the main clubhouse, and the Mickey bunkers are still in play. The four layouts attract a diverse group of players, with some there just for the golf while others are taking a break from the theme parks that attract some 58 million visitors a year.
The Palm and Magnolia still are the stars of the show, each evolving over time to match the modern game while presenting consistently good playing conditions. Holes are tweaked from time to time, but Walt Disney’s plans to make golf part of the experience are still being played out.
Check out a variety of Walt Disney World golf photos below.
3-time All-American.
