Canada’s Nick Taylor goes wire to wire to win Pebble Beach Pro Am
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Canada’s Nick Taylor faced increasingly windy conditions, a hard-charging Phil Mickelson, and his own struggles in the back nine to come out on top at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Taylor led by as many as five strokes heading into the back nine before bogeys on holes 11 and 12 followed by a double bogey on No. 14 seemed to give Mickleson a window on Sunday. But Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., remained unperturbed for birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 for a 2-under 70 round and a four-stroke win over Kevin Streelman, with Mickleson fading to five shots back with three bogeys on his back nine.
Was Taylor really as steely as he seemed, though?
“On the inside? Probably not,” said Taylor with a laugh. “I did feel calm all week and today, but I definitely started feeling some nerves middle of the back nine with really difficult holes and making some bogeys.
“Phil was making bogeys alongside me so it’s not like I was making bad bogeys, it didn’t feel like. It was just playing so difficult.”
That winning putt to become the first Canadian champion at the @attproam ???? pic.twitter.com/TRX0ZlCtFe
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) February 10, 2020
Playing as the final pairing of the day, Taylor had Mickleson and his legion of fans in lockstep with him through the storied course. A partisan crowd was clearly hoping that Mickleson would win a record sixth tournament at Pebble Beach, his home course.
Both players had a disastrous No. 14 – Taylor double bogeyed and Mickleson bogeyed – but Taylor recovered with his two late birdies and Mickleson didn’t shoot below par again.
“It’s disappointing certainly to have not won, but I got outplayed,” Mickelson said. “I mean, Nick played better than I did. He holed a couple of great shots. That eagle on 6, the putts he made on 4, 5 and 7 … he just really played some great golf.”
Never count out Nick ???? pic.twitter.com/pDd7wBHSgA
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) February 9, 2020
Instead, Taylor won a PGA Tour event for the second time of his career and set himself up for an exciting 2020 season.
He’ll now join Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners and Mike Weir at the Masters, the most Canadians to ever play at Augusta. He also joins Hadwin and Conners as a potential member of Canada’s Olympic team at this summer’s Tokyo Games. Canada’s two highest-ranked male players in the world golf rankings will compete in the Olympics.
Winning at Pebble Beach guarantees Taylor a full exemption for the 2021 PGA Tour season.
Taylor also made a little bit of history.
Having won the Sanderson Farms Championship in November 2014, Taylor joined Mike Weir and Stephen Ames as the only Canadians in the modern era to win twice on the top men’s tour.
He’s also the first player to lead all four rounds at Pebble Beach since Mickleson accomplished the feat in 2005.
“It’s a unique week with having three different golf courses to play on,” said Taylor. “Each day is a new challenge, totally different. I think that helped a little bit. I won the Canadian junior championship before I went to college, pretty sure I went wire-to-wire there but it doesn’t happen very often to have a great start and back it up with another good round.
“It’s very rare and makes for a tiring week. Now I know 0.1 per cent of what Tiger Woods does every single day, having to talk to media and stuff like that.”
Taylor and Mickleson – who finished the day 2-over 74 – weren’t the only players to struggle with the wind.
Dustin Johnson shot a 78. Matt Every, in the third-to-last group, shot 80. Jason Day closed with a 75.
The best round and best finish belonged to Jordan Spieth, who chipped in to save par on his final hole for a 67. It was the low round of the day and enabled Spieth to finish in a tie for ninth. That narrowly moves him back into the top 50 and makes him eligible for a World Golf Championship in Mexico City in two weeks.
Streelman also left with a trophy. He teamed with Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald to easily win the pro-am for the second time in three years.
Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., shot a 3-over 75 to finish tied for 55th at even par.
Alena Sharp cracks top 10 at Victoria Open
MELBOURNE, Australia – Korea’s Hee Young Park, who came close to quitting golf last year, made par on the fourth hole of a three-way playoff Sunday to win the LPGA Tour’s Victoria Open from compatriots Hye-Jin Choi and So Yeon Ryu.
On a course swept by a boisterous wind and as evening closed in Park, Choi and Ryu returned repeatedly to the tee on the dog-leg par-5 18th to play out a gripping finale after finishing tied at 281, 8-under par.
Former world No. 1 Ryu dropped out on the second playoff hole when she missed a birdie putt but Park and Choi continued until luck and nature intervened.
Choi’s tee shot on the fourth playoff hole came to rest against a pine cone in light rough left of the fairway, leaving her with no choice but to chip out. Her attempt to do so came up short, she put her next into a hazard, dropped out, and finally reached the fringe of the green in six.
Park had an eagle putt to win the tournament on the first playoff hole but saw it slide by the cup. She faced three more holes in tough conditions before clinching her third LPGA title.
“Last year was the worst year in my life and I had to go to q-school and I was going to stop golf because I thought (there was) no more game in my mind,” Park said. “Then I made q-school and I had a chance to play another year this year.
“I never stopped and I think God gave to me this present.”
Hamilton’s Alena Sharp started the final round in third, two strokes back from the leader but struggled through a 5-over 77 to tie for ninth. It marked the 14th top-10 finish of Sharp’s career on the LPGA Tour and her first of the season.
The tournament at the 13th Beach Golf Links also featured a European Tour men’s tournament running alongside the women’s event.
After Saturday’s third round, the men’s and women’s fields were reduced to 35 players each plus ties. The final round was played on the Beach course which was one of two courses used in the first two rounds along with the Creek course.
Australia’s Min Woo Lee held his nerve on a day of high winds and high drama to win his first professional title in the same tournament his sister Minjee Lee won as an amateur in 2014 and again as a professional in 2018.
Minjee Lee, who finished in a tie for sixth in the women’s event, was beside the 18th green when Min Woo tapped in a birdie putt to win the title by two shots from New Zealander Ryan Fox.
Lee, 21, began the final round three shots clear of three-time European Tour winner Marcus Fraser and fellow Australian Travis Smyth. But his main challenge came unexpectedly from Fox who carded an 8-under 64 in his final round to move to 17 under for the tournament and to place pressure on the lead.
Lee led by two shots at 19 under coming to the 17th but bogeyed and reached his final hole with only a one shot lead over Fox.
He didn’t falter. He found the fairway, then the green to leave himself a 12 foot birdie put which ended just inches wide of the hole and tapped in for a win which has been long anticipated.
“I just played awesome and I’m proud of myself,” Lee said after embracing his sister.
“I was walking off 14 and I heard a roar and I was guessing (Fox) or someone in that group had made eagle or birdie. I just counted up and figured he could have eagled 16 or birdied 17 and eagled 18.”
He was right. Fox birdied 16 and eagled 18 to complete his charge up the leaderboard.
Fraser shared third with Robin Sciot-Siegrist of France who shot 68 to finish 14-under.
Canada’s Nick Taylor takes 1 shot lead over Phil Mickelson at Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The only person standing between Phil Mickelson and his first PGA victory of the season is Canada’s Nick Taylor.
Mickelson and his sublime short game delivered more entertainment than all the athletes and celebrities for the Saturday show at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Mickelson made the impossible look easy from a bunker behind the par-3 seventh green at Pebble Beach. He holed out from a bunker for birdie on the 13th, and chipped in from 90 feet for birdie on the next hole.
When he rapped in one last birdie, Mickelson had a 5-under 67 and trailed Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., by one shot going into the final round. Mickelson will be going for a record sixth title at Pebble Beach, and his first PGA Tour victory since he won this tournament last year.
Taylor had a cold and relatively quiet day, away from all the hits and giggles around the celebrity rotation at Pebble. He teed off at tough Spyglass Hill with a beanie and hand warmers because of heavy marine layer, warmed up as the sun broke through and made a 25-foot eagle putt late in his round for a 69.
Taylor was at 17-under 198 as he goes for his second PGA Tour victory, and first since he won the Sanderson Farms Championship in his fourth start as a tour rookie.
Mickelson hit a flop shot over the bunker on the par-5 18th – how did that one not go in? – to pull within one shot. They will be in the final group, along with their amateur partners. Mickelson has former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, while Taylor has Golf Digest editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde.
Taylor and Mickelson have never played together.
“It’s going to be a new experience for that reason, if I am playing with him,” Taylor said. “Obviously, if he makes a putt or great shot, the crowd’s going to go wild. I’ve just got to do my own thing, try to block all that out. Easier said than done, without having to do it before, but I’ll do the best I can.”
This is a two-man show; however, Jason Day posted a 70 at Spyglass Hill and was only three shots behind at 14-under 201.
For others, it was a waste opportunity.
Pebble Beach had more wind than earlier in the week, but still gentle enough that low scores were available. Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner at Pebble, was in striking range and could manage only a 72, leaving him eight shots back. Patrick Cantlay, at No. 8 in the world, played the final six holes in 2 over for a 72 and was nine shots back.
Mickelson started with a pair of birdies. He took a share of the lead with a birdie on the par-5 sixth.
And then the fun began.
His wedge on the 110-yard seventh hole that drops down into the Pacific went long and plugged in the back bunker, impossible because of the back pin and a fast green that slopes toward the front. He splashed out so perfectly that it took a few hops in the rough before reaching the green, slow enough to stop 2 feet away for a tap-in par.
Even for Mickelson, it rates among his best.
Then, his 50-foot bunker shot on the tough eighth rolled inches from the cup on No. 8. More trouble supposedly awaited on the 13th when his approach peeled into the left bunker. He raised both arms when that dropped. And on the par-5 14th, he made a mistake by not hitting his punch wedge hard enough. It rolled down the slope, off the green and back into the fairway. Mickelson’s long chip from 90 feet banged into the pin and dropped for birdie.
Mickelson missed two birdie putts from inside 10 feet. And while he hit only nine greens in regulation, he usually had a reasonable angle to the pin to save par – or make birdie, as was the case twice for him.
That leaves a Sunday with plenty at stake for the leading three players.
Mickelson said earlier in the week he would not accept a special exemption for the U.S. Open if he needed one. A victory at Pebble – the 45th of his career – would go a long way toward solving that.
Taylor can validate his first win since his rookie season, an opposite-field event at the time. The Canadian has never been to the Masters and has played in only four majors, two as an amateur.
Day, meanwhile, is a former No. 1 who spent most of last year injured and frustrated. He has gone nearly two years since his last win, and was in danger of falling out of the top 50 if he didn’t starting getting better results.
Alena Sharp sits solo 3rd heading into finale at Vic Open
BARWON HEADS, Australia – Ayean Cho shot a 2-under 70 on a difficult day for scoring to take a one-stroke lead over Madelene Sagstrom after three rounds of the LPGA’s Vic Open.
The tournament at the 13th Beach Golf Links also feature a European Tour men’s tournament running alongside the women’s event.
Choi had a three-round total of 12-under 205. Canada’s Alena Sharp was in third, two strokes behind Cho after a 70.
“I don’t really think about winning but know that it’s there and really just stay in one shot at a time like I did today,” said Sharp. “I didn’t get ahead of myself, it was one shot after the next. It wasn’t, oh, I’ve got to hit a good drive on this next hole. No, I’ve got to make this putt first. Really stay in the present and stick to the process.”
Sharp’s best career LPGA Tour result came at the 2016 CP Women’s Open, where she finished fourth. She has 12 other top-10 finishes, including a tie for sixth at the 2019 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
In the men’s event, Min Woo Lee eagled the 18th hole for 4-under 68 to take a three-stroke lead over three-time European Tour winner Marcus Fraser and fellow Australian Travis Smyth.
“I knew it was going to be difficult coming in, it was going to be a grind today,” Sagstrom told a television commentator before completing her round. “I am going to be tired after this.”
After Saturday’s third round, the men’s and women’s fields were reduced to 35 players each plus ties. The final round will be played on the Beach course. That course and the Creek course were used for the first two rounds of the tournament.
In the men’s event, Min Woo Lee eagled the 18th hole for 4-under 68 to take a three-stroke lead over three-time European Tour winner Marcus Fraser and fellow Australian Travis Smyth.
“There is so much wind, it’s so hard to figure out when to pull the trigger, I think it might be one of the best rounds I have ever played, regardless of the score,” Lee said.“
Lee had a three-round total of 15-under 201. Fraser shot 69 and Smyth 72.
Fraser said the windy conditions bordered on unplayable.
“My old man plays off 14, he’s a good golfer and I think he would have struggled to break 110 out there,” said Fraser. “I think that’s as strong a wind as I’ve played in anywhere.”
The tournament is also sanctioned by the Australasian PGA men’s tour and European Tour and the European and Australian women’s tours.
Nick Taylor holds 2-stroke lead heading into the weekend at Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Nick Taylor of Canada birdied four of his last five holes on Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to take his first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour.
Taylor, of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 66 and was at 14-under 129.
Jason Day was two shots back. He made two long birdie putts across the green, holed a 40-yard wedge for eagle on the dangerous par-5 14th, made a couple of big par saves and moved into contention with an 8-under 64.
“I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve actually been out there and felt the way that I felt out there today and played well like that,” Day said.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson also got in the mix with aburst of four straight birdies after the turn at Monterey Peninsula. He made bogey on the long par-3 ninth to finish his round of 7-under. He was three shots behind.
Mickelson has not had a top 10 on the PGA Tour since winning at Pebble Beach last year, though he finished third last week at the Saudi International and carried a little momentum into the event he has won five times.
The man is dialed in ??@ntaylorgolf59 pic.twitter.com/GeDyCobkmr
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) February 7, 2020
Day knows the feeling. Since last year at Pebble, the former world No. 1 has recorded just three top 10s, none since last June. He has not seriously contended. His back troubles have been so frustrating that at times he wondered how much longer he wanted to play. He described those at “dark times.”
His outlook Friday was as bright as the sunshine over the Monterey Peninsula, at least until a light marine layer or parts of the courses lowered the temperature.
Day birdied the par 5s and made a 45-foot putt from the fringe on the par-3 fifth at Pebble. He holed a 50-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th, another bonus. And then he surged into contention by holing out for his eagle on the 14th, and following that with a 15-foot birdie on the 15th.
There’s still one more round before this tournament played over three courses takes shape, and there’s no better place to be in relative calm than Pebble Beach.
“If you have really good weather, you can go low at Pebble,” Day said.
That’s what Taylor did, making birdie on all the par 5s for his 66. Ditto for Chris Baker, the 33-year-old PGA Tour rookie who played Pebble Beach for the first time in a practice round Wednesday, and really had a blast in his round of 64 on Friday that put him four shots behind, along with Charl Schwartzel (66 at Pebble).
Of the top five players, only Mickelson was not at Pebble Beach.
Monterey Peninsula played about two shots under par, while Pebble’s average was nearly 1 under. Spyglass Hill was nearly a stroke over par, so it was no surprise that only one player from the top 20 – Matt Every – was at Spyglass on Friday.
Dustin Johnson, a two-time Pebble Beach winner who finished runner-up to Ted Potter Jr. two years ago, appeared to be hitting his stride with great control of his irons and usual power off the tee. He lost a little ground on the final hole when he three-putted for bogey from about 25 feet on his final hole at Monterey Peninsula, missing a 3-footer.
That happens on poa greens with foursomes in each group, and Johnson shrugged it off. He’s used to odd things happening, even when it’s not all his doing.
Day was feeling particularly optimistic, especially after the year he had. His back gave him so much trouble that one of his routines is to blow into balloon for some 20 minutes to help get his rib cage aligned properly. He used to spend hours chipping and putting. He found it a small victory when he was able to putt for an entire hour.
“It’s hard because … you expect so much of yourself, and everyone does,” Day said. “But sometimes when you’re injured, like for the most part I was all last year, it gets frustrating. And not only do you get frustrated, you don’t get the results and you lose confidence and then you’re … just trying to find a solution into why I’m not playing well and why is this happening. And you feel like your world is kind of crumbling.
“It’s not a good feeling because there’s some dark moments in there that you got to kind of fight through.”
There were no dark moments Friday, not in weather like this. Day and Taylor now move over to Spyglass Hill on Saturday morning, while Mickelson, Johnson and the celebrities head to Pebble Beach.
Nick Taylor takes lead on glorious day at Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Canadian Nick Taylor opened with an eagle, closed with two birdies and made a gorgeous day feel even better with an 8-under 63 at Monterey Peninsula that gave him the lead Thursday in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Most of the interest over three courses in the rotation was at Spyglass Hill, which featured Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, along with five NFL quarterbacks that included Peyton Manning and his recently retired brother, Eli.
The iconic scenery is at Pebble Beach, especially when the surf turns a turquoise hue under so much sunshine.
Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., went about his business quietly, and most effectively.
Starting on the back nine at Monterey Peninsula, with a chilly breeze at his back, he hit 4-iron to a back pin that settled 4 feet away for an eagle, ht 3-iron out of the rough for a two-putt birdie on the par-5 16th and knew he was playing well when he hit 4-iron to 10 feet on the first hole, a 495-yard par 4 that feels even longer when the air is cold at sea level.
Better still was the finish – a 5-iron back toward the ocean to 5 feet, and then a wind-aided 3-iron from 240 yards on a back tee he had never seen to 20 feet.
“A nice start,” Taylor said, referring to his 4-iron that set up eagle and the 63 that matched his low round on the tour. “The weather helps out. If it’s raining, it’s windy, five-and-a-half hours is a long round. But we were very relaxed today, joked all day, and I felt like the mood was great.”
He led by two shots to par over Patrick Cantlay (Spyglass) and Chase Seiffert (Pebble Beach), who each had a 6-under 66.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson, whose third-place finish in Saudi Arabia last week was his best result in a year, was slightly disappointed with his 68 at Spyglass because of how well he felt he hit it off the tee.
“I drove it like a stallion,” said Mickelson, a phrase he once used in describing his play at the $9 million pay-per-view match he won against Tiger Woods in Las Vegas.
Cantlay made nine birdies at Spyglass and wasn’t even the best putter in his group. Some of his best views of this stunning day along the rugged coastline was watching champion surfer Kelly Slater on the greens, not in the pipe.
“He looked like the best putter on tour today,” Cantlay said of his amateur partner.
Cantlay, who tried surfing one time as a teenager and wisely gave it up, showed why golf has worked out OK for him. Despite two soft bogeys early in his round and a bogey on the par-5 14th from mud on his ball, he was among the leaders and feeling comfortable with all aspects of his game.
The two bogeys early came from a chip just behind the green at No. 2 that rolled out some 6 feet by the pin, and a birdie chance that turned into bogey with a three-putt from 18 feet on the skinny green at the picturesque fourth.
The rest of it was solid, and the number of birdies was encouraging.
Cantlay loves the Monterey Peninsula so much he could retire here, and he had even more reason to love it Thursday. His group was first off in the morning, giving them an entire front nine of fresh greens.
“Course was probably the best shape I’ve ever seen it and we’re getting perfect weather,” he said. “So yeah, it’s great.”
Dustin Johnson had a 69 at Spyglass, while Jordan Spieth checked in at 70. They typically play in the same group that does not lack in entertainment with their amateurs, hockey great Wayne Gretzky and country singer Jake Owen.
Gretzky hit into a bunker off the tee at No. 6, found the first of two bunkers in front of the green and went into the other bunker from there. Spieth delivered the good news: “There’s no bunkers left,” he said.
Such is the nature of this week, a blend of incomparable scenery and amateurs that include entertainers and athletes, and corporate titans who learn that a net worth topping $1 billion won’t calm nerves over a putt.
Among those at 5-under par were Charley Hoffman, who holed out from the fairway for eagle on No. 4 at Spyglass for the loudest cheer of the day, and Harry Higgs, the PGA Tour rookie who drew Commissioner Jay Monahan as his partner.
Mickelson ultimately was happy to be in range after his 68, though it wasn’t looking all that great when he failed to birdie any of the par 5s at Spyglass and had gone 10 holes without a birdie until birdies on his last three holes.
“I let a lot of opportunities slide,” he said. “But I shot a 4-under par round and it’s not going to hurt me.”
The hurt belonged to David Duval, whose scorecard contained a 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. He made one birdie in his round of 84.
Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Stephen Ames adapting on the Champions Tour
Stephen Ames is learning how to adapt on the Champions Tour.
The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member finished second at last weekend’s Morocco Champions, rocketing to fourth on the Charles Schwab Cup standings after his first tournament of the season. In his fifth year on the senior circuit, Ames says he’s learned the importance of being adaptable.
“I think it’s the fact that our bodies change as we progress as human beings,” Ames said from Florida. “At a younger age, we’re a little more supple, so we’ve got a lot more flexibility and as you get older things change in that respect.
“Some of us sometimes go through playing golf with pain. So they make they make adjustments in their swing for that pain that they’ve had.”
American Brett Quigley won the Morocco Champions at 15-under 201, a shot better than Ames.
The 55-year-old Ames says that taking more than two months off between the 2019 and 2020 seasons was beneficial for his game. He also started working with Montreal-based golf coach Shauheen Nakhjavani, exchanging videos by email.
“If you want to continue being competitive, especially at this age, you have to be in the gym and working out and doing all those things. So that’s what I’m doing,” Ames said. “I’m just sticking to that same routine. I love the guys that are out here but they don’t go to the gym and it shows because they don’t hit it as far.
“They’ve got a bigger midsection, all those kind of things. So the adjustments in the swing change because your body has changed.”
Ames joined the Champions Tour in 2015 and won the 2017 Mistubishi Electric Classic. His career high Schwab Cup rank is 13th, but this season he hopes to stay in the top 10 all year.
“I’d like to win a couple times and would love for one to be a major. That’d be nice,” Ames said. “It’s a long year. Certain courses are for certain horses. That golf course last week was nice. There are certain courses and certain events that I do really enjoy playing and there’s some that I have to learn to adjust to, obviously.”
The next Champions Tour event is the Chubb Classic at Lely Resort in Naples, Fla., starting Feb. 14. Ames tied for sixth at the event last year, two shots behind winner Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Canadian Laurent Hurtubise enjoying viral fame after hole in one at The American Express
Internet fame is suiting Laurent Hurtubise just fine.
It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for Hurtubise after a video of the one-armed golfer sinking a hole-in-one at The American Express pro-am tournament went viral. He’s been interviewed by a dozen media outlets and was invited to compete at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California.
“When you look at it, that’s what I call destiny,” said Hurtubise after practising at the famed Pebble Beach course. “We started on the back nine, so my first hole was No. 10. And when we got to the fourth hole, which was my 13th hole, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon.
“So the cameras were there all day, but the cameraman was there also. (Normally) I would have played that hole maybe at 10 o’clock in the morning. There probably wouldn’t have been a cameraman there and the story would have been ‘well, a guy made a hole in one on the fourth hole.’ without any more attention.”
This is the best thing you’ll watch all day ??⛳️#FridayFeeing pic.twitter.com/Ht8evqMANP
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 17, 2020
Born with no right arm, Hurtubise has enjoyed using his sudden fame to encourage disabled children to pursue their athletic dreams. Since the video of his 151-yard hole-in-one went viral he’s started an Instagram account and visited the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Montreal to meet with disabled children.
“It’s striking to see myself as inspirational because I was born like this,” Hurtubise said. “I’ve never seen myself as inspirational, except to the guys who play golf with me or played hockey with me. They were always saying ‘Wow, you’re good.’
“But it was always normal for me to do my best, so that hole-in-one made me really realize what a positive effect I had on other people.”
Hurtubise will be paired with California-based golf pro Scott DeBorba, but there will be some other familiar faces in the field for the Carignan, Que., native.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., ranked No. 28 in the FedExCup standings, will also be at the event. Hurtubise hopes to reconnect with Hadwin after the two played together at the 2017 CareerBuilder Challenge _ right before Hadwin became the ninth player in PGA Tour history to shoot a 59.
Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., will be the other Canadians in the field.
Hurtubise, who will be playing in his 17th pro-am tournament this week, asked to play in the Pebble Beach tournament back in 2013, saying it was reserved for big-name celebrities.
“You know, like the Kenny Gs and Alfonso Ribeiro and Bill Murray and Tom Brady. I reckon that it’s OK, it’s good for the sport,” said Hurtubise, who then approached the tournament organizers again after the video of his hole-in-one went viral. “I said ‘maybe I could get a shot at it?’ And (Monterey Peninsula Foundation CEO Steve John) says, ‘You never know.’ So he texted me on Saturday and said ‘You got a minute?’
“So he called me up and he says, ‘we have a spot for you in the AT&T, if you want to play.’ Wow! Yeah.”
Hurtubise joins a field of amateurs that include past and present NFLers Tony Romo, Matt Ryan, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Larry Fitzgerald. Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, hockey great Wayne Gretzky, surfing legend Kelly Slater, singer-songwriter Jake Owen, former U.S. Secretary of State Condi Rice, comedians Murray and Ray Romano, rapper Macklemore and sports broadcaster Chris Berman.
Organizers have kept a family feel for the tournament with Gretzky paired with son-in-law Dustin Johnson. The Manning Brothers are in a group as well, with Eli paired with Kevin Chappell and Peyton with Luke Donald.
R&A and USGA release key findings on impacts of distance in golf
The USGA and The R&A have issued the Distance Insights Report, which provides comprehensive research and analysis on the contributors to, and long-term impacts of, hitting distance in golf.
After extensive stakeholder research, the report features more than 100 years of data, informed by a library of 56 supporting documents. It is accompanied by a 15-page conclusions paper from the governing bodies that summarizes their perspectives on the long-term implications for the sport.
The reports and library have been publicly released and can be found at usga.org/distanceinsights or randa.org/distanceinsights.
To facilitate input from manufacturers and other stakeholders in the golf community, specific topics of further research will be identified and published within 45 days. It is expected that this important step in gathering input could take approximately nine months to one year.
Key findings of the project include
- There is a 100-year trend of hitting distance increases in golf, as well as a corresponding increase in the length of golf courses, across the game globally the USGA and The R&A believe this continuing cycle is detrimental to the game’s long-term future.
- The inherent strategic challenge presented by many golf courses can be compromised, especially when those courses have not or cannot become long enough to keep up with increases in the hitting distances of the golfers who play from their longest tees. This can lead to a risk of many courses becoming less challenging, or obsolete.
- Increased hitting distance can begin to undermine the core principle that the challenge of golf is about needing to demonstrate a broad range of skills to be successful.
- If courses continue to lengthen, it is at odds with growing societal concerns about the use of water, chemicals and other resources.
- Longer distances and courses, longer tees and longer times to play are taking golf in the wrong direction and are not necessary for a challenging, enjoyable and sustainable game.
- A concern has been identified that many recreational golfers are playing from longer tees than is necessary relative to their hitting distances, and, in particular that the forward tees on many golf courses are very long for many of the golfers who play from them.
“This is not about the last few years or the next few years but rather about the long-term future of the game,” said Mike Davis, chief executive officer of the USGA. “This report clearly shows a consistent increase in hitting distance and golf course lengths over the last 100-plus years. These increases have had a profound impact on costs to build, modify and operate golf courses and they have impacted golfers at all levels. We believe this problem will continue unless this cycle is brought to an end. With collaboration from the entire golf community, we have an opportunity to stem this tide and help ensure golf remains sustainable and enjoyable for generations to come.”
Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A, said, “We believe we have reached a pivotal moment in golf. The publication of this report is highly significant. The impact of long-term hitting distance increases on some of golf’s essential elements are now clear – including changing the strategic challenge of the sport, altering the balance of skills needed to be successful and risking courses being less challenging or obsolete. Our objective as governing bodies is to work with the key stakeholders in golf to address this issue in a way that brings the sport together and which ensures it continues to thrive for many years to come.”
No solutions have been determined as yet. The USGA and The R&A will now enter the next phase of their work by assessing potential solutions that can help end the cycle of increased distance. It is expected that the main topic for research and assessment will be potential changes in the Equipment Rules, along with further inquiry into the effects of course design, conditions and setup on hitting distance.
With this background in mind, a broad review of both clubs and balls will be conducted to understand and assess a full range of options for addressing these issues relating to hitting distance. Without limiting the scope of topics that may be considered, this review is expected to include the following:
- The review of overall conformance specifications for both clubs and balls, including specifications that both directly and indirectly affect hitting distances. It is not currently intended to consider revising overall equipment specifications in a way that would produce substantial reductions in hitting distances at all levels of the game.
- The assessment of the potential use of a Local Rule option specifying the use of reduced-distance equipment. Such an option could be available as a choice at all levels of play for competitions, courses and individual players.
- Guidance on the availability of short enough forward tees and the appropriate tee-to-hole playing distances for golfers of all levels.
- Several other topics including equipment testing processes, potential guidance on how design, agronomy and setup can affect hitting distance, and others.
All research and any work regarding potential changes to Equipment Standards in golf are guided by the Equipment Rulemaking Procedures, which were agreed upon and published by the USGA and The R&A in 2011 to ensure a transparent and collaborative process among key stakeholders in the game. These procedures can be found here: Equipment Rulemaking Procedures.
Simpson rallies to beat Finau in Phoenix Open playoff
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Webb Simpson was in big trouble when he drove into the right-side water on the par-5 15th.
“I didn’t think it was over,” Simpson said. “But I thought, ‘I’m going to really have to do something special to get back in it.”’
He did – at friend Tony Finau’s expense Sunday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open on a TPC Scottsdale course that played tougher with firm greens and a touch of wind.
Simpson birdied the final two holes of regulation to force a playoff with Finau, then won with a 10-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.
Two strokes ahead with two holes left, Finau missed an 18-foot birdie try in the playoff on the par-4 18th after driving left into the church pew bunkers.
Simpson two-putted from the fringe on the short par-4 17th and made a 17-footer from the edge of the green on the 18th. Finau, after hitting a 366-yard drive and an approach to 8 feet, missed a chance to win when his birdie try slid right.
Simpson closed with a 2-under 69 to match Finau at 17-under 267, setting up the fourth playoff in five years in the desert..
“Today was a lot different. Today played tougher,” Simpson said. “I thought the pins were very tough, by far the toughest day of pins, course was longer, we had wind. We hadn’t had wind all week, so everything today was harder.”
Finau shot 70.
“I hit good putts,” Finau said. “The first one I hit really good, I thought I made it. … Second one, similar line, a little bit farther, decided to play a little bit more break and it didn’t break.”
Simpson won his sixth PGA Tour title and first since the 2018 Players Championship. The 2012 U.S. Open champion improved to 2-5 in playoffs, three years after falling to Hideki Matsuyama in extra holes at TPC Scottsdale. Simpson also lost a playoff in November in the RSM Classic.
“I think getting frustrated after RSM led to being better prepared for today,” Simpson said.
Simpson visited instructor Butch Harmon on Monday in Las Vegas.
“I started the week off right, just getting a checkup from him,” Simpson said. “And two weeks of rest, I came in feeling ready to go.”
Finau missed a chance for his second PGA Tour victory. He also lost a playoff to Xander Schauffele in November 2018 in China in the WGC-HSBC Champions.
“I definitely didn’t give him the tournament,” Finau said. “Unfortunately, it’s how the cookie crumbles. … I love Webb. I think the camaraderie that I have with him as being one of my best friends out here, it would have been hard for either one of us to take this victory from each other. He got the upper hand this time, but I love that guy.”
Simpson felt for Finau.
“It’s hard. He is a great friend,” Simpson said. “Our wives are friends and he’s one of the best guys on tour. So it is a bit tough.”
A stroke ahead of Simpson after a third-round 62, Finau parred the first seven holes, limiting his birdie chances with sluggish iron and wedge play. He bogeyed the par-4 eighth to end a 57-hole bogey-free streak, leaving an 8-iron from the fairway 65 feet short.
Simpson took the lead with a 5-footer for birdie on the par-4 10th after Finau’s putter came to life on an unlikely 25-footer for par.
Finau pulled even with an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th, a day after Simpson aced the hole in a 64. Finau made a 9-foot birdie putt on the par-5 13th to take the lead, then only doubled the advantage with a par on the 15th after Simpson drove into the water.
They each parred the the par-3 stadium 16th, with Finau wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey on the rowdy hole. The PGA Tour cut the pin position in a tribute to Bryant, using his two Lakers uniform numbers. The pin was placed 24 yards from the front edge and 8 yards from the left edge, putting it in the back left corner. The flag had an 8 one side and a 24 on the other, and the numbers also were painted into the grass in front of the green.
Adam Hadwin (Abbotsford, B.C.) led the way for the Canadians finishing at 6 under in a tie for 40th. Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) closed one stroke back at 5 under while Nick Taylor (Abbotsford, B.C.) finished at 3 under.
Fourth-ranked Justin Thomas tied for third at 14 under after a 65, birdieing the 16th in a jersey from Bryant’s days at Lower Merion High School.
“It’s always a fun week here in Phoenix,” Thomas said. “Somehow it gets crazier every year.”
Bubba Watson and Nate Lashley also finished at 14 under. Watson closed with a 66, and Lashley shot 68.