Minjee Lee, Atthaya Thitikul have one last chance to make their moves for Aon Risk Reward's $1 million prize
Minjee Lee and Atthaya Thitikul have much to play for as the LPGA season winds down, including a couple of seven-figure checks. In addition to the CME Group Tour Championship’s record-setting $2 million winner’s check, they currently top the standings in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge.
Both players are in the field at this week’s Toto Japan Classic, where the challenge hole is the par-5 13th at Seta Golf Course, set at 476 yards. The Aon insight says that from the fairway, 27 percent of the field is expected to successfully reach the green.
The winner of the season-long race earns $1 million. When Lee won the U.S. Women’s Open in June, she earned a first-place check of $1,800,000. So far this season, 22 players have crossed the $1 million mark in earnings.
Players take their best two scores from each Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, with the winners having the best average score to par at the end of the regular season. Only two events remain before a winner will be decided. Neither Lee nor Thitikul will be competing in Pelican LPGA Championship, Nov. 10-13, which means this is their final event to make a move.
Atthaya Thitikul looks on on the 6th hole during day two of the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Lee currently holds the lead with a season-long average score to par of -0.912. Thitikul, who just moved to No. 1 in the world, is at -0.891.
If Lee records two birdies this week, her season-long average would move to -0.917, requiring Thitikul to record an eagle and a birdie to tie her score.
If Lee makes a par and a birdie on the hole, her score will move down to -0.899.
Should Lee make a birdie and an eagle, she’d all but lock up the competition.
Thitikul could move into first place with a pair of eagles. A birdie and an eagle would move her to -0.917, which would tie Lee, should she record two birdies.
China’s Xiyu Lin is not in the field in Japan. She’ll need at least one eagle, possibly two, at the Pelican next week to have a chance.
Thitikul and Lee are tied for 12th on the LPGA in par-5 scoring at 4.62. Lin is second at 4.56 behind Jennifer Kupcho (4.54).
Previous winners of the Aon include Carlota Ciganda and Hannah Green. Scottie Scheffler won the Aon Risk Reward Challenge on the PGA Tour and the $1 million prize a year ago.
Conversations with Champions: Seamus Power is 'absolutely over the moon'. Here's everything he said after winning the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Seamus Power was 34 before he broke through for his first PGA Tour win. Now, 15 months later, he’s got another one.
He had 28 birdies over four days at Port Royal Golf Course, breaking the old mark by one. Three of those came on the 16th hole on each of the first three days; his bogey Sunday on the par-3 ended that streak.
The highest-ranked player in the field, he was No. 48 before the action got started. On Monday, Power found himself in the No. 32 spot.
Here’s everything Power said after his win Sunday in Bermuda.
SP: “It was an interesting day. I felt great all day, played very nicely for the first, honestly, for the first 14 holes, played very, very nice golf, but it’s so tough coming in. I was able to hang on somewhere close to Ben there. He made quite a few birdies there through 11, but I was able to just do enough coming in. But it was tough going. It was a kind of day full of all sorts of emotions because, again, same as yesterday, you knew once you get to 12 tee that the next hour and a half was going to be really tough going. So I was able to make a couple birdies on the front and then kind of hang on there coming back in. I’m absolutely over the moon. The first one was amazing but to be able to win again, it’s fantastic. I get whatever, it’s pretty much a three-year exemption and all the kind of cool things that come with it. It’s just you’re kind of so proud and it’s amazing to be able to do it again.”
Q: Three-year exemption, plus you’re now No. 5 in the FedEx Cup and No. 32 in the Official World Golf Ranking. All those things combined, what does this do for you going forward?
SP: “The thing when you don’t have the exemption is like every year is year to year and it’s tough going, so an extra couple years is fantastic. To be able to focus on just practicing and improving and just playing my own game and not really worrying about all that stuff. I noticed that last season having the winner’s exemption for ’21-’22, I was really able to play much more freely like when you’re up near the lead and I think that’s a nice thing to be able to do. That’s also a goal to be doing anyway, but sometimes it’s a little harder than normal. So it’s going to be great. It gets a lot of bonuses. I mean, one of my favorite memories in golf was in Maui last year and being able to go back there year again, and having a three-year exemption is just fantastic. It opens doors as you get higher in the world rankings, all those kind of things are just all positives. So yeah, once it sinks in, I think some of the other stuff will kind of hit me like in probably the next few days, but for now just over the moon, just delighted to get the win.”
Q: You have a pretty solid fan base here, cheering and a lot of people outfollowing you. Give us some info on that.
Irish fans pose with a flag in support of Seamus Power during the final round of the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 30, 2022 in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
SP: “It’s amazing. I had such a good experience in Bermuda. It’s one of my favorite places I’ve ever been and just I’ve been lucky enough to make some really good friends here. It’s just even at Bay Hill, like I have friends here who also have a house at Bay Hill and like Simon [Keelan, Power’s caddie] stayed with them for there, and we had like my birthday’s around that time and a big group of them were there and had a birthday party. Just really like good friends that I just kind of clicked with. Mick works for Butterfield and obviously he’s connected to the tournament. It’s just been kind of a special, kind of unusual, kind of unexpected thing that I’ve kind of stumbled across. But absolutely love coming here. Simon and I talk about this event like months in advance. It’s one of those weeks you look forward to, there’s something about the island that’s nice and obviously I played decently here before and obviously getting the win now, I just can’t wait to come back.”
Q: How would you describe how the last hour and a half of this tournament played out?
SP: “Obviously it’s very up and down, but it it’s kind of what I expected. It’s the same as yesterday, like once you get to, even 12 today was playing tough. I’m hitting, I have 100 yards to the pin and you’re guessing if it’s a pitching wedge I hit 145 yards or if it’s a gap wedge, and it’s just pure guessing. That goes slightly over and you’re standing on the next and it’s dead into the wind and you’re probably talking about, I thought I hit a good shot and it came up short of the green. It’s a good 30 yards short, probably 25 yards short. Fourteen is tough, the wind’s off the right whipping, and then 15 and 16 are just brutal today. So you know that stretch is coming and it’s just there’s only so much you can do. I think the toughest thing for me in that stretch is trying to putt, you’re trying to putt on 15 and 16. I had a putt on 16 and I’ll never understand what just happened to the ball. Just you’re getting wind gusts, the wind’s up and down. I missed the hole from I don’t know what it was, four and a half, five feet, and I felt like I hit a good putt. I just saw Ben before me do the same thing. It’s tough going out there, but I was able to do just enough. You know, birdie on 17 was nice. Made a bit of hard work of 18, but just did enough. But kind of what you’d expect. It seems it’s reasonably easygoing for the first, kind of the first 11 holes barring maybe No. 8. You’ve got a lot of good chances. I got a couple, not as many as I would have liked, but same as yesterday, you’re just trying to hold on for dear life.”
Q: When things kind of started to go a little bit south for Ben [Griffin], are you just kind of focused on what you’re doing? Do you see what’s kind of going on?
SP: “It’s a bit of both. You obviously are trying to focus on your own thing. Ben was in some trouble [on 14] on the left and before I kind of get into my routine, you just have to give a conscious effort to get back into your own thing. I hit a really good shot and made the putt for birdie and that ended up being a big birdie. It’s tough, but he didn’t do a ton wrong. It’s just, as I said, he hit a shot on 16 on the wrong side of the wind and it’s the only ball I’ve seen go left on 16. I didn’t think he hit that bad a shot, but it’s just one of those days, it’s so exposed and it’s just a little small golf ball floating around there. If you get a wrong gust, you’re in trouble. I hit a really good shot I thought into 16. Three-quarters of the way through the flight you get a huge gust, it gets stood up and it’s a good 20 yards short. But you couldn’t convince me to hit one extra club on the tee. It’s difficult. You know it’s coming and you’re just kind of trying to do your best. But that birdie on 17 was nice. It was playing really short, but still to get one there, give myself a (indiscernible) up the last.”
Seamus Power plays a shot during the final round of the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Q: Getting that first win, was it harder getting the first one or chasing that second win? Now you have that second win, do you maybe have an answer?
SP: “I thought it was a little easier today. It’s never going to be easy, but I certainly felt very comfortable right from the get-go. My three shots on the first hole were three of my nicer shots this week and I think that showed I was in a very good place mentally. Certainly a little easier even down the stretch even though I didn’t kind of play that way, but I felt more comfortable. So I think it’s probably a little bit easier. Knowing that you’ve done it before just helps.”
Q: You didn’t take the lead in the final round until the 14th hole when you made birdie and Ben made bogey. Did you feel like an experienced veteran out there compared to Ben’s experience and playing with him, and what was that dynamic like for you?
SP: “Yeah, I just kept reminding myself I know this course well enough. I wasn’t making many mistakes and I was very confident. He birdied 10 and 11 to get two ahead again and I had a couple chances there that I just missed. But again, I just kept reminding myself if I could just stay in there. I knew that that stretch, there’s very few people not going to drop shots there. I knew if I had a chance standing on 12 tee, I thought a little bit more experience having been there before, having played this tournament a few times before, I thought it would stand to me and it just about did in the end.”
Q: You were coming in this week 48th in the world ranking. With this win you get that likely invitation to the Masters. What’s it kind of feel like to get that, to come here, get that win, take care of that and not worry about the top 50?
Seamus Power hits his first shot on the 17th hole during the final round of the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 30, 2022 in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
SP: “Yeah, it’s really nice. It’s kind of a funny thing. I didn’t really pay attention to world rankings until I got into like the top 10 in the world and now it becomes very, very relevant. Even close to the match play and then obviously the cutoff for some of the majors starts approaching. So it’s nice, as you said, to be able to kind of get a bump away from that 50. It’s nice. It opens up so many doors. All of a sudden like you’re looking at changing your schedule and you’re going to add Maui and tournaments like that, and even knowing that you’re going to be in the Playoffs and all this kind of stuff. It makes things a lot simpler, that’s for sure. You’re not looking — not as if you’re doing it all the time, but you’re sometimes looking over your shoulder a little bit, especially because I was up maybe in the 30s and just hadn’t played great since like the middle of the summer. So, as you said, just slipping down, down. And you know the cutoff for the top-50 is coming up soon, there’s not much golf left in the year, so it’s nice to get away from that, for sure. It’ll definitely like clear your thoughts, clear your mind going forward.”
Q: On 14, what did you hit off the tee and what did you hit?
SP: “2-iron.”
Q: And what did you have left in and what did you hit?
SP: “I had 148 or 9 yards, 148 yards. I hit gap wedge, landed about pin high and probably just rolled to the back edge maybe 25 feet past, yeah.”
Q: Simon said you guys were talking about how you wanted more wind when you were here Friday. Was it ever a case of like be careful what you wish for?
SP: “No, I was absolutely fine with the wind the last couple days because I’ve been lucky enough to play here a few times and I’ve seen this course in a lot of different wind directions and I’ve seen how — just a bit of experience. Even on 16, like I hit a very, very good shot aimed at the left hazard line. I’ve done it before here and it ended up online with the pin. It’s having a little bit of extra confidence knowing that my ball was going to come back and do what it’s supposed to do versus other guys, it’s hard to aim in the ocean and hit a shot. When you’re not used to doing it, you haven’t done it before, it’s hard to trust that it’s going to come back, but I’ve played it before. I played here last year and the tee was back and you’re hitting a long iron starting out into the ocean, same thing. You just learn to trust it a little bit more. Same with No. 8 today, you’re very sheltered on that tee box, but I’ve played in that westerly wind before. Once it gets out past the tee it gets hammered and it gets hit hard and it goes left. So I hit a very confident shot starting to a right pin, starting probably 10 steps right of the pin, which normally I wouldn’t be comfortable doing, but I’ve been able to do it before here and just I knew the ball would come back if you just kind of trust it.”
Q: Back in Ireland, you play a lot of junior golf with Simon?
SP: “I would have, yeah. Simon’s from like an hour away from me so we would a played, yeah, a bunch of different like championships and all that stuff. More so against each other, more junior golf and championships and stuff like that, yeah.”
Q: When you turned pro, were you one of those guys that said, ‘Okay, I’ll give myself three years, four years, five years’, or were you in it for no matter what?
SP: “I don’t know, to be honest. I always said like if I thought that I was good enough to win on the PGA Tour, I was probably going to keep playing. If I thought for a second I wasn’t, I would have stopped. Honestly, if I thought it in six months, I would have stopped in six months. That was my mentality going into it. I didn’t have any interest in playing not at the highest level for a long time. I wanted play at the highest level and I thought if I didn’t think I could win, I would have stopped probably early on.”
Q: A lot of Irish players have been playing really well lately.
SP: “Yeah.”
An Irish flag on the bag of Seamus Power during the final round of the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 30, 2022 in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Q: Rory recently and Shane in…
SP: “Wentworth, and Padraig. Yeah, it’s been great. You know, it’s one of those things that you just, you know, whatever there’s some sort of once you see like other guys you know win, it just gives you a little bit of a boost knowing that you can get back there yourself. Yeah, it’s huge. Like Rory and Shane have played amazing golf this year. Rory’s play since this summer has been incredible. And then like Shane as well, he didn’t get the win out of Wentworth but he was up there at a lot of big tournaments. He was high in the Masters, he played well in so many other big tournaments. So it was great that both those guys got the win. Padraig, yeah. I mean, Padraig absolutely smashed his way through Champions Tour there. It’s great for Irish golf. We have Leona Maguire on the LPGA as well. It’s a good time for Irish golf and hopefully, you know, you’re always hoping it’ll kind of inspire some more junior golf in Ireland.”
Q: We talked earlier in the week about the Ryder Cup and Luke Donald. Did you get a chance to chat with him this week at all?
SP: “I did briefly on Wednesday night at that party in the hotel. Yeah, we just chatted briefly. There’s a new event, he was just telling me some of the details about it, GB&I vs. Europe team event and just some of the options I might have. As I said to him, like my, before this week, like how I played in that was going to affect some of my schedule, so obviously this helps a lot, gives me more flexibility going forward. So something I’m going to talk to him about it again now that I have a little bit more freedom to play where I want. So it’s going to be, yeah, I’m going to talk to him and see what he recommends. You might as well see. You know, if it doesn’t match up, it doesn’t match up, but I certainly want to ask his opinion and I don’t want to come next September and finding out if I would have done this, I would have been on it. So it’s something, this certainly helps, but I’m going to talk to Luke and see what happens.”
Q: You had 28 birdies this week, which set a tournament record.
SP: “Nice.”
Seamus Power putts on the 16th hole during the final round of the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Q: Can you comment on that?
SP: “As I came here on Tuesday, it’s the best I’ve seen the greens. I was excited because I putted well here in the past and as soon as I’d seen the surface, I knew I was going to be able to make some putts and that’s what I did. I felt my wedge play was good, I had some easy putts, and you kind of do, I did the things that you need to do to make birdies. I putted well, hit some wedges close and I played the par 5s well.”
We’ve already taken a deep dive inside Power’s Winner’s Bag but now we get to open up the champion’s closet and see how Seamus dressed for success at the 2022 BMW Championship.
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Thai teen sensation Atthaya Thitikul ascends to No. 1 in the world, overtaking Jin Young Ko
Atthaya Thitikul has officially supplanted Jin Young Ko as the No. 1 player in the world. Thitikul, 19, becomes the second teen to ascend to No. 1, following in the footsteps of Lydia Ko, who was 17 years, 9 months and 9 days when she reached the top spot in 2015.
Ko, who has held the top spot since Jan. 31, 2022, first became No. 1 in April 2019 and has spent 152 total weeks atop the rankings. Lorena Ochoa holds the record at 158 weeks.
Thitikul, a rookie who has two wins this season, also joins Ariya Jutanugarn as the only Thai players to reach No. 1. Thitikul joins Sung Hyun Park as the only rookies to reach no. 1. She currently leads the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year race and is in the mix for LPGA Player of the Year.
“It means a lot for my team, my family, my supporters and myself. It is such an honor to have my name at the top amongst the biggest names of the game,” said Thitikul in a release. “It is very special to get to the top but it is much harder to retain it. I still have a lot to learn from all the legends and current players both on and off the course. I will continue to work hard for my family, my team, my fans and my country.”
Prior to joining the LPGA, Thitikul became the youngest player ever to win the Ladies European Tour’s Race to Costa del Sol in 2021 while also securing Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors. At 14 years, 4 months and 19 days, Thitikul also became the youngest golfer to ever win a professional golf tournament with her victory at the LET’s Thailand Championship in 2017.
Golfweek's Best 2022: Top public and private courses in Nebraska
Nebraska’s golf scene has exploded onto the national stage in recent decades with layouts that take great advantage of the state’s sand dunes and other natural wonders. The No. 1 modern course in the U.S., the private Sand Hills, is in the Cornhusker State, and the top public-access layouts that followed in its wake are nothing short of astounding.
And the progress hasn’t slowed. Two new layouts, Landmand Golf Club and Lost Rails Golf Club, opened in 2022 and promise to join the Golfweek’s Best rankings as they garner enough votes. There’s more to come, too.
Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with that of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.
(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960 (c): Classic course, built before 1960
Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses.
Lydia Ko, instructor Sean Foley part ways after successful two-year run
Lydia Ko parted ways last month with instructor Sean Foley. The former world No. 1 took to Instagram to make the announcement, noting that they decided to go their own ways as a coach and player for “logistical reasons,” but that Foley will always remain a close friend and mentor.
“When I first met Sean, I was in a place where I didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself and in my game,” Ko wrote. “Over the past two years he has helped me evolve as a better player and person. Our time together was full of so much learning, laughter.”
Ko, 25, recently won at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea for her 18th career title, calling this her most consistent year yet. A two-time winner this season, Ko leads the LPGA in scoring, and she leads the Rolex Player of the Year race with 11 top-5 finishes in 20 starts.
Currently No. 3 in the world, Ko was ranked outside the top 50 when she began working with Foley during the summer of 2020.
“I’ve been looking at lots of my videos or swing videos,” she said a month after starting with Foley. “Kind of weird to Google or YouTube yourself, but I’ve been doing that to just see my swing as an amateur.
“He’s, I think, gotten me not to think too much about the lines of everything. I’ve tried to change my mindset of not trying to take a video of my swing every single time I’m on the driving range.”
And then this kicker: “It doesn’t need to look like a perfect swing for me to just play golf.”
Foley urged Ko to look inward, reminding her that the ingredients that led her to be the youngest to ever reach No. 1 were still there.
She snapped a 1,084-day victory drought with an absolute dart show at the Lotte Championship in April 2021. There’s no question that Foley helped resurrect Ko’s confidence and changed the trajectory of her career. Ko won three times on the LPGA and once on the LET while working with Foley.
Now, with a chance to become No. 1 again for the first time since 2017, she continues a new chapter with only a handful of events left in the season. Ko’s sister and manager Sura told Golfweek that Ko has been casually working with instructor Ted Oh again, but nothing is yet full time. Ko first started working with Oh ahead of the 2018 season.
Ko worked with Jorge Parada prior to Foley. Her list of former instructors also includes David Whelan, Gary Gilchrist and David Leadbetter. As an amateur, she worked with New Zealand’s Guy Wilson.
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Dustin Johnson's 4Aces win LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami, claim $16 million prize
DORAL, Fla. — Four teams were left standing for Sunday’s final round of the LIV Golf Team Championship and it was Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC who came out on top.
Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC were out of the picture for the majority of the day, leaving the battle for the top three to the 4Aces, Cameron Smith’s Punch GC and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC. The latter fell off later in the round, leaving a two-way race to the finish.
The 4Aces led by one stroke with one hole to play before Punch’s Marc Leishman tied the 4Aces at 6 under with a late birdie, just his second of the day. Patrick Reed then delivered a birdie on his final hole to reclaim the lead at 7 under and eventually earn the win after his teammate Johnson made par on the last.
The 4Aces were unbeaten on American soil this year and were the dominant team for most of the season after winning four consecutive events during the series’ U.S. swing. Johnson also claimed the season-long individual title a week before the regular-season finale in Saudi Arabia. The win earns the team the top prize of $16 million, with $4 million going to each player.
Smith shot the low round of the day, a 7-under 65, as his Punch finished one shot back in second at 6 under to take home $8 million. Smash finished in third, 11 shots behind the leaders at 4 over, to take home $6 million. Stinger closed out at 10 over to win $4 million.
Seamus Power hangs on for victory at windswept Butterfield Bermuda Championship
As the top-ranked player in the field at No. 48 in the world, Seamus Power played with the knowledge that he was the favorite in a PGA Tour field for the first time. It didn’t bother him one bit.
Power poured in a 25-foot downhill birdie putt at No. 14 and withstood a couple of late bogeys to notch a one-stroke victory at the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
“I knew it was going to be really hard coming in and it was,” Power said. “I made hard work of it at the end, but delighted to get it done.”
Power, the 54-hole co-leader, closed with a 1-under 70 on Sunday at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda, for a 72-hole total of 19-under 265 to beat Belgium’s Thomas Detry (67).
In windy conditions that must have reminded the 35-year-old Irishman of home, Power earned his second Tour title by making three birdies in his first seven holes and hanging on as the conditions worsened.
“It was a challenge on every putt, every tee shot,” said Detry, who holed a bunker shot at the last for birdie to secure solo second. “It was a commitment out there.”
Ben Griffin, who just 21 months ago had quit the game and had been working as a mortgage officer, made six birdies on his first 11 holes to stake himself to a two-stroke lead before his game unraveled. The second nine is more exposed to the wind and Griffin’s game was blown away by the howling gusts and the growing pressure of trying to close out his first win. He made four consecutive bogeys and a double bogey to shoot 1-over 72 and tumble into a three-way tie for third. (It marks his best career result.)
“I had a couple shots get loose in the wind and you’ve got to be a little bit better, more precise when it gets windy like that or else you can kind of grind for pars and bogeys quick. That happened to me,” Griffin said. “It’s a learning experience and I’m just happy to be out here competing. I know my time will come soon.”
Power can relate to how hard it is to win. Fifteen times in his Tour career, Power had been in the top 10 heading into Sunday and only once had he improved his position, which was his victory at the Barbasol Championship last summer. This time, Power believed in himself and the birdie at the par-4 14th proved to be the turning point just after Griffin hooked his tee shot into trouble and made bogey. That two-stroke swing gave Power the lead and he never let go of it.
“They talk about trying to win for the first time or the second time, usually the guys who’ve been there before when the door is open, they smell it,” Golf Channel’s Curt Byrum said. “They stand there and they walk right through that opening.”
Power gave a stroke back at 15, then took three putts from 70 feet at 16, but bounced back with a birdie at 17 and needed the cushion because he bogeyed the last. Power relied on the confidence in his game that he gained from winning a six-hole playoff last summer at the Barbasol for his maiden victory.
“Just close your eyes and just picture some of those shots,” Power said. “That’s where some of your practice and your training comes in, when you know what to do when those thoughts do come.”
Harrison Crowe books Masters and British Open berths with Asia-Pacific Amateur title
Overnight leader Harrison Crowe rallied on the back nine to edge China’s Bo Jin by one shot and claim the 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Chonburi, Thailand, on Saturday. With the victory, Crowe receives invitations to the 2023 Masters and The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool.
“It means so much. I played a lot of really good golf early in the season, but towards the middle of the year when I traveled overseas, I didn’t play very good golf at all,” Crowe said. “I came out here this week with something to prove, and I’m just really proud of myself the way I handled myself on and off the course.”
At Amata Spring Country Club, Crowe, ranked No. 43 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, fell three shots behind Jin when he made the turn at 3-over par. However, four birdies in a five-hole span starting at No. 11 and a clutch up and down for par from the back of the 18th hole helped him to shoot even-par 72 and hang on for a one-shot victory with a 72-hole Toal of 13-under 275.
“I certainly had to dig deep,” said Crowe, who turned 21 on October 15. “At the turn, I kind of told my dad and his mate, that I just needed one to go in, just one to drop, and from there, I backed myself to keep it going. I had not had a birdie all day, and the one on 11th got my momentum going forward,”
Japan’s Ryuta Suzuki (73) and Crowe’s compatriot, Jeff Guan (69), tied for the third place at nine under par.
Jin (71) started the day two behind Crowe but made his move with an approach to tap-in distance for a birdie on the first hole as the Australian slipped to an opening bogey.
Jin looked to be in a strong position after an eagle from the bunker at the back of the par-4 12th hole, but Crowe holed out for a birdie to stay three behind. He tied things up when he made his fourth birdie in five holes on the par-5 15th. But his share of the lead would be fleeting as Crowe missed the 16th green and bogeyed the hole.
The island green par-3 17th would play a major factor in the outcome as Jin’s tee shot to the 129-yard hole came up short in the water and he took a double-bogey five, giving Crowe a one-shot lead going to 18. But his approach at the home hole flirted with the water and he needed to rescue par.
“I think it was going to go in the water. I pulled it, but I flushed it,” Crowe said. “I was just hoping that it just caught a bit of green.”
Crowe becomes the third Australian player to win the AAC trophy and will have the opportunity to defend his title when the championship returns to Royal Melbourne next year.
Jin was bidding to add another AAC trophy to his family cabinet alongside the one won by his brother Cheng in 2015.
“This is not the position I wanted to be in, but I am very proud of the way I played this whole week. You just can’t take anything away from Crowe and the way he played the back nine,” said Jin, who earned a spot in British Open final qualifying. “I have got another year in the college, so if they invite me back, I am definitely coming to Melbourne next year and try this all over again. Hopefully, I will finish one position better.”
In 2009, the Masters Tournament, The R&A and the APGC announced the formation of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in an effort to further develop amateur golf throughout the region. The field is comprised annually of the top male amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region representing the 42 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation affiliated organizations.
Bob Vokey found the perfect wedge grind for me. Here's what I learned
Bob Vokey is the Master Craftsman at Titleist and is known for his signature Vokey wedges. I have been a competitive golfer for years, but I never have paid any attention to the grind of my wedges and only have looked at the loft when picking them out.
I had the pleasure of getting to work with Vokey himself and we went through the wedge fitting process at the Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside, California.
I’ll admit that I was embarrassed by my lack of knowledge when it came to how certain wedges are grinded and what they do. He assured me that I wasn’t alone and this was common among high-level players.
Vokey gave me a 60 degree wedge of three different grinds but wouldn’t tell me which one I was hitting. He was noting my feedback, facial expressions and divot patterns. Some grinds made the club dig more in the grass and some less, but the most important thing was what felt good to me.
We ended up settling with an S grind SM9 Vokey wedge and I holed out two balls in front of the master himself.
The S grind has a fairly straight sole, but a portion of the heel has been grinded out to make it easier to open up. The S grind is the most forgiving out of the three.
Vokey showed me the importance of getting properly fit for wedges. I never would have thought that the grind of a club could make such a difference, but it is important to find a wedge that fits your game.
Keiser remains No. 1 in Oct. 28 Bushnell/Golfweek’s NAIA Coaches Poll
Fresh off its 14-stroke victory at the 2022 SEU Fall Invitational, Keiser remains at No. 1 in the Oct. 28 Bushnell/Golfweek NAIA Coaches Poll. The Seahawks received seven first-place votes and 283 points in the process.
Ottawa (AZ) (279 overall points) and Bellevue (one first-place vote and 275 points) were within eight points of Keiser. Lindsey Wilson (two first-place votes), Dalton State, Southeastern, Houston-Victoria (two first-place votes), Cumberlands, Wayland Baptist and Taylor completed the top 10. Lindsey Wilson jumped nine spots up to No. 4, Houston-Victoria from No. 24 to No. 7, Cumberlands from receiving votes on September 30 to No. 8, and Taylor from No. 18 to No. 10.
William Carey (No. 18), Lawrence Tech (No. 20), Park (No. 23), and Central Methodist (No. 25), who were all unranked on Sept. 30, made appearances in this poll. William Woods, from receiving votes to No. 24, also entered.
Truett McConnell, Reinhardt, Menlo, Mount Mercy, Morningside, Bethany, Point Park, St. Ambrose, Lewis Clark State, and Webber International received votes.
Rank
Team (First-place votes)
Points
Previous
1
Keiser (7)
283
1
2
Ottawa-AZ
279
3
3
Bellevue (1)
275
4
4
Lindsey Wilson (2)
257
13
5
Dalton State
234
6
6
Southeastern
225
5
7
Houston-Victoria (2)
215
24
8
Cumberlands
212
RV
9
Wayland Baptist
205
10
10
Taylor
191
18
11
South Carolina Beaufort
190
2
12
Oklahoma City
173
7
13
Southwestern Christian
151
16
14
Embry-Riddle
142
23
15
British Columbia
139
11
16
The Master’s
110
21
17
Texas Wesleyan
104
8
18
William Carey
102
NR
19
Coastal Georgia
98
9
20
Lawrence Tech
60
NR
21
Point
46
12
22
Kansas Wesleyan
37
20
23
Park
35
NR
24
William Woods
25
RV
25
Central Methodist
22
NR
Others receiving votes: Truett McConnell (20); Reinhardt (19); Menlo (15); Mount Mercy (11); Morningside (8); Bethany (7); Point Park (6); St. Ambrose (5); Lewis Clark State (4); Webber International (1).
Hutchinson, South Mountain men's golf maintain top spots in Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Coaches Polls
After receiving four first-place votes and 67 points, Hutchinson remains No.1 in the Oct. 28 Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Division I Coaches Poll. New Mexico JC (three first-place votes and 59 points) is keeping pace at No. 2, and Dodge City, Midland and Odessa round out the top five.
Eastern Florida State, Western Texas, Indian Hills, McLennan, and Central Alabama complete the top 10. Barton CC, Garden City, Jefferson State, and Ranger were others receiving votes.
Div. I
Rank
Team (First-place votes)
Points
Previous
1
Hutchinson (4)
67
1
2
New Mexico JC (3)
59
2
T-3
Dodge City
39
5
T-3
Midland
39
T-7
5
Odessa
37
4
T-6
Eastern Florida State
33
3
T-6
Western Texas
33
T-7
T-8
Indian Hills
28
10
T-8
McLennan
28
6
10
Central Alabama
16
9
Others receiving votes: Barton CC (3); Garden City (1); Jefferson State (1); Ranger (1).
Div. II
South Mountain (AZ) received two first-place votes and 37 points en route to the top spot in the Oct. 28 Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Division II Coaches Poll. Glendale (two first-place votes and 35 points), Kirkwood (31 points), and Parkland (27 points) were within 10 points of the Cougars.
Iowa Central, Southeast (NE), Walters State, Mississippi Gulf Coast, Meridian and Sandhills, making its first appearance of 2022-23, complete the top 10.
Abraham Baldwin, Cleveland State CC, Northeast Mississippi, Des Moines Area, and Northeast were others receiving votes.
R&A CEO on LIV Golf members and the Open: 'We’re not banning anyone. We are not going to betray 150 years of history and have the Open not be open'
The 151st Open Championship is in 264 days. We’re a long way from the opening tee shot at Royal Liverpool, a venue last visited in 2014 where now world No. 1 Rory McIlroy captured his Claret Jug.
However, we won’t have to wait that long to hear the R&A’s plans for LIV Golf members.
Fast forward three months and his message remains the same.
“We’ll go public in January/February with what we are going to do with regard to LIV golfers. But if you want a guide, go back to what I said in July. We’re not banning anyone. We are not going to betray 150 years of history and have the Open not be open,” Slumbers told Golf Digest this week at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship hosted by the R&A, the Asia-Pacific Golf Federation and the Masters.
“What we will do is ensure that there are appropriate pathways and ways to qualify. I’m looking forward to seeing Cam Smith tee up around 9:40 a.m. on the first day of the Open next year. The Open needs to set itself aside from what’s going in terms of disagreements and make sure we stay true to our principle, which is to have the best players in the world competing.”
Martin Slumbers, the CEO of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, speaks to the media during his pre-tournament news conference ahead of the 150th Open at St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)
Smith, the current Champion Golfer of the Year, is now a member of the Greg Norman-led circuit backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
At St. Andrews earlier this year, Norman was excluded from the Champions Challenge and Champions dinner.
“With everything that was going on, it was clear to me that there was a reason why he wanted to be there this year,” Slumbers said. “If he had been there, it would have been about noise. The Open has to be distinct from all that. I didn’t want to have noise between two rival tours and two big personalities. It would have overshadowed what was happening that week.
“I wanted the 150th Open to be special and perfect. I didn’t want other issues going on around it, ones that would have undermined it in the eyes of the public. I was very polite and very deferential to Greg. I asked him to understand my perspective. And I did so privately. I did not make it public. I never said anything and never commented on it.
“That week was supposed to be about the first event in our game’s history reaching its 150th playing. On arguably the greatest course in the world. I was never going to lose focus on that.”
In regards to our fractured game, Slumbers understands the consequences of splitting the talent pool.
“To me, this is not about ‘them and us.’ I have no issue with the players. People play for a living. I note that Saudi Arabia wants to invest a lot of money in the game I love and care about,” he said. “That’s a good thing. But I want to preserve the pathways and meritocracy on which our game is built. Sport without that isn’t sport. So I want to make sure we have the best players competing week in and week out.
“If the game is not played with high value and respect, I have no chance to grow the game. Maybe the consequence of where we are is that we only get to see all of the very best players together four times a year. So we’ll enjoy it four times a year.”
Looking ahead to 2023, just to make you feel a bit better about how far we are from meaningful golf, the Masters begins in 158 days.
2022 Golfweek Senior Desert Showdown kicks off year-end rush for Player of the Year points
The Sewailo Course at beautiful Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona, plays host to some of the best senior amateur golfers in the world beginning November 2nd. The 2022GolfweekSenior Desert Showdown tees off on Wednesday with players beginning to make their final pushes for their chance atGolfweekPlayer of the Year honors.
With just three events remaining for this year’s POY title, the race is tight between No. 1 Rusty Strawn and No. 2 Kevin VandenBerg. With Strawn not in the field in Tucson, VandenBerg can take a bite out of the 1,930 points that separate the two men.
As the only player within nearly 4,000 points of Strawn, VandenBerg is mathematically the only challenger that can overtakeGolfweek’s No. 1 as the season ticks down. Nonetheless, players inside the top 10 are all jockeying for strong finishes to gain momentum heading into the 2023 POY race.
No. 7 ranked Steve Maddalena is the next highest-ranked player in the field this week. A first-place finish this week would catapult him all the way to the No. 4 spot thanks to the 1,200 POY points that come with a win.
While it won’t put him close enough to challenge Strawn, Maddalena would most certainly use the late-season push as a building block for next season.
The field also includes Craig Larson, who went wire-to-wire in his victory back in late September.
In all, four different age divisions will duke it out over 54 holes in the desert. Four new champions will be crowned with winners being invited to the year-endGolfweekTournament of Champions.
If you want to play elite golf courses across the country against some of the best senior amateurs in the world, check outGolfweek’sevents schedule. There’s still time to register for the three remaining events that round out the calendar year. TheGolfweekPlayer of the Year Classic in January kicks off the 2023 race for Player of the Year honors. We hope you join us!
'A lot of stuff is going to happen': Phil Mickelson looks to the future after turbulent first year with LIV Golf comes to a close
DORAL, Fla. – One of the fan favorites at the LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami is heading home early.
Phil Mickelson lost to Cameron Smith on the final hole on Friday to seal the deal for his team’s defeat to the Aussie’s Punch GC in the quarterfinals of the Saudi Arabia-backed series’ $50 million finale, putting to bed a turbulent year for the six-time major champion.
After becoming the oldest major champion in history in 2021 at the PGA Championship, Lefty continued to dominate golf headlines in 2022, but for all the wrong reasons. First, in February, he said the PGA Tour was obnoxiously greedy, and then he told the Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck – who wrote a book on Mickelson – that the Saudis were “scary mother(expletive) to get involved with,” and downplayed the murder of Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi and the Kingdom’s deplorable human rights record because he saw a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.” The ensuing backlash forced Mickelson into a self-imposed four-month hiatus before he returned to the game at LIV’s first event outside London.
From there Mickelson struggled to find form in the 48-player, 54-hole, no cut LIV events, finishing inside the top 20 just twice (in two of his last three events), with finishes of T-33 or worse in his other five starts. He also missed the cut at both the U.S. Open and British Open.
“I’m in the majors for the next three years, so I hadn’t really planned on playing this year and I had to reprogram my mindset to get out here. I didn’t play well starting out,” explained Mickelson. “I’m starting to start to play some pretty good golf, so heading into this offseason, I’m gonna put in a little bit of work and see if I can make a nice run the next couple of years and play a level that I know I can. I’m starting to start play a lot better.”
Eternally an optimist, Mickelson looked to the future after Thursday’s round and praised how far the upstart circuit had come over the last eight months since his incendiary comments.
“I’m pretty surprised at how far LIV has come because there was a lot of uncertainty, like who would play in London. You look at the strength of the league now and you have a lot of really strong players and you have a lot of really strong characters in the game,” said Mickelson. “Whether you love them or hate them, there’s a lot of guys here that people want to see.”
The 52-year-old also couldn’t help but mention a desire for more LIV events to go international next season when the series transitions to the 14-event LIV Golf League, going as far as saying, “We’re having a lot of current tournaments on multiple tours coming to us wanting a LIV event.” Does that mean a bridge could be built to cover the widening gap between LIV and the PGA and DP World tours? Time will tell.
“I’m not sure about that. I’m not sure where all that should go or could go or might go. I think there’s a lot of possibilities and I’m not sure how it’ll play out,” said Mickelson. “I just know that in the next, over the course of the next year, a lot of stuff is going to happen, and things will kind of iron themselves out.”
