There’s a reason Match Play is only once a year
AUSTIN, Texas – Rory McIlroy loves match play because he believes it is the purest form of golf.
Most would agree.
He also prefers single elimination, which he referred to as “straight knockout.” In simple terms, lose and go home.
Most players would agree on that, too, with a few exceptions.
It wasn’t much fun for Thomas Bjorn, who in two straight appearances flew from Dubai to San Diego and lost after 13 holes of the opening round. And for those who believe the word “upset” doesn’t apply at this level of golf, they probably didn’t see Ernie Els after he lost in the opening round to Phil Tataurangi.
What this World Golf Championship has shown is that golf is no longer all about competition.
This is the entertainment business.
It’s not just about birdies and bogeys. It’s television and corporate hospitality.
That’s why Match Play switched to group play in 2015, and it’s difficult to argue with the results. After 16 years of a few surprises – Jeff Maggert and Kevin Sutherland come to mind – the winners under the new format have been Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson.
McIlroy and Johnson joined Tiger Woods as the only No. 1 seeds to win. Day was the No. 2 seed. Watson, the two-time Masters champion, is considered the outlier in this context as the No. 35 seed.
So something is going right.
But even with the change, it still doesn’t solve one problem that exists in just about any format – the longer the tournament goes, the less interesting it gets because there are fewer possibilities.
Think back to The Players Championship two weeks ago when eight players had a share of the lead on the final day. In the Match Play, it comes down to two players over the final four hours, and that’s assuming it lasts that long. Watson only had to play 12 holes to win.
There are 12 matches involving 24 players on Saturday. There are four matches involving the same four players on Sunday, and that includes the consolation match, which is for world ranking points, FedEx Cup points, the difference of $138,000 and mostly something to fill dead time on television.
What would make the consolation match compelling is having Tiger Woods. In his 13 appearances, Woods has lost in every round except the semifinals. Put him in the consolation match, and it would be fun to compare which match had the biggest gallery and how much TV time each would get.
This is why the PGA Championship abandoned match play in 1958.
And it’s why the PGA Tour never once considered any form of match play to decide the FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship. It is good to have match play once a year because it is the purest form of golf. But no more than that.
“Wearing my player’s hat, I would love to see straight knockout again,” Paul Casey said. “But I understand it from trying to sell this from a corporate sponsor’s point of view, from an entertainment point of view. You want as much golf as possible on the weekend.”
They want as much golf as possible on the whole golf course.
Imagine having a corporate hospitality tent on the 18th hole. Last year, only three of the 16 matches on the weekend even reached the 18th hole.
“If I lose on Wednesday, I want to go home,” Casey said. “As much golf and excitement and drama to the end is ideal, but I don’t know what the solution is.”
Gone from the single elimination is the excitement of Wednesday, when half the field was sent home.
The group play still has a sense of urgency in the opening session, or at least it should. No one has ever lost on Wednesday and won since the switch to group play. Only eight players have lost their first match and won their group, with Bill Haas in 2017 reaching the semifinals.
Casey said one sponsor proposal sent to – and rejected by – the Players Advisory Council was match play until the weekend, two players from each group advancing and 32 players competing in stroke play over the final two days. That would be about the size of the Tour Championship field.
One problem.
“What would you call it?” Casey said, chuckling at the idea that stroke play would decide the Match Play champion.
He also has heard suggestions about stroke play for qualifying and then using only the back nine for 18-hole matches so the gallery and corporate clients in tents can see more action.
“There’s some outside-the-box thinking going on,” he said.
More changes are possible, if not likely. Remember, the championship match used to be 36 holes until it was changed to an 18-hole final in 2011. Is it possible to reduce the length of the matches to nine holes so there could be more matches, more players, more possibilities on the weekend?
Anything should be on the table.
Match Play is different. The lowest score, sometimes the best golf, over seven rounds doesn’t always win. That’s the beauty of this match play.
That part never changes.
Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada President Jeff Monday to retire
Ponte Vedra Beach, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today that PGA TOUR Canada – Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday will be retiring from the PGA TOUR after more than 30 years of service.
In 2012, Monday led exploratory efforts to determine the PGA TOUR’s role with the Canadian Tour, and he subsequently assumed the position of President when the TOUR agreed to assume operational control of the Tour starting with the 2013 season.
Monday has overseen significant growth of the Mackenzie Tour, with the schedule now including 12 official events with an average purse of $200,000 (CAD). Mackenzie Tour alumni since 2013 include 31 PGA TOUR players, including TOUR winners Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor, Aaron Wise, Tony Finau and Adam Long, and more than 190 Web.com Tour players. The Mackenzie Tour has also made an impact in the communities in which it plays, having donated $4.1 million (CAD) to charity since 2013, including more than $1 million in each of the last three years.
“Jeff Monday has made incredibly significant contributions to our business during his career at the PGA TOUR,” said PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Thanks to Jeff’s vision and leadership, establishing the Mackenzie Tour has been a cornerstone of our international growth over the last six years, and the Tour is set up to flourish well into the future. We can’t thank Jeff enough for his contributions and leadership over the last 30 years.”
Prior to his position with the Mackenzie Tour, Monday held leadership roles as Senior Vice President and Chief of Operations for PGA TOUR Champions; Senior Vice President of Tournament Development; Vice President of Tournament Business Affairs for PGA TOUR Champions and Web.com Tour; and Vice President, Retail Marketing. He joined the TOUR in January 1988, leaving to oversee the American Golf Sponsors for five years before returning to TOUR employment in 1995.
“It has been my profound honor to work for the PGA TOUR for these last 30 years. My first thought has been about the great people I have met and the experiences I have had. To be in an environment where you provide competitive opportunities for players while seeing the positive impact these tournaments have in communities has been something very special, and I will always value and treasure my involvement with that,” said Monday. “To work extensively on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, the Web.com Tour and, for the last seven years, the Mackenzie Tour has left me with a great appreciation for how many really good people there are in the golf world. It has been a true joy to be a part of this wonderful sport. I just feel so privileged and grateful.”
The transition in Mackenzie Tour leadership will include longtime Championship Management Executive Director Todd Rhinehart alongside current Mackenzie Tour Vice President Scott Pritchard.
Rhinehart will serve as a Managing Director for several of the TOUR’s international business interests, including the Mackenzie Tour. Previously, Rhinehart oversaw the PGA TOUR’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia as Executive Director, beginning in 2012, also assisting in the TOUR’s business development in Southeast Asia. Prior to his stint overseas, Rhinehart was the executive director of the TOUR Championship in Atlanta with additional responsibilities with various World Golf Championships events and the Presidents Cup. He has been with the TOUR since 1999.
Pritchard will continue to be based in the PGA TOUR’s Canada offices in Toronto, Ontario. As Vice President of the Mackenzie Tour, he will assume additional responsibilities overseeing tournament business affairs, marketing, sponsorships and scheduling. Pritchard is a veteran of the golf industry, having previously worked for the PGA of Canada in a number of roles from 2003 to 2011. He joined the PGA TOUR in February 2012 after working at the Canadian Tour as Director of Business Development and Communications.
Henderson ties for 8th at Founders Cup
PHOENIX – Jin Young Ko channeled her inner Dustin Johnson to win for the first time in the United States.
After an even-par 72 left her five strokes back heading into the weekend at the Founders Cup, Ko talked to fellow South Korean player Jennifer Song about the top-ranked PGA Tour star.
“She told me Dustin hit so bad and he didn’t get angry – put clubs in the bag and just walk,” Ko said. “So, I tried like Dustin yesterday and today. I just tried no angry, no happy, just focus. ”
It worked.
The 23-year-old Ko closed with bogey-free rounds of 64 and 65 at Desert Ridge to rally for a one-stroke victory Sunday. She birdied Nos. 14-16 and parred the final two to finish at 22-under 266, then won when third-round leader Yu Liu missed a 15-foot par putt on the par-4 18th.
Liu shot a 70 to tie for second with playing partner Carlota Ciganda and sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda. Ciganda closed with a 69, Jessica Korda eagled the two back-nine par 5s in a 64, and Nelly Korda shot 66.
Choosing to putt with the flagstick in the hole under golf’s new rules, Ko made a 4-footer on the par-3 14th, two-putted for birdie on the par-5 15th and made it three in a row from 3 1/2 feet on the par-4 16th.
“Lots of players thinks if there is a pin in the ball might hit the pin and come out,” Ko said. “I think it’s great to put the pin in because of it makes it easier for me to putt because it is a small target.”
A 10-time winner on Korean tour, Ko won the 2017 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship in South Korea to earn her LPGA Tour card and took the Women’s Australian Open last year.
She broke through in the U.S. on Sunday in the event that honours the 13 women who founded the LPGA Tour, a goal she said she thought about too much last year.
“But my friends told me, ‘You can do it.’ Also my manager and my parents, my caddie, all people say you can,” Ko said. “I got lots of confidence for this year. Really good for third win in the States.”
Ko has three top-three finishes in four events this year. She was second behind Nelly Korda last month in her Australian title defence and was coming off a third-place tie three weeks ago in Singapore.
The 23-year-old Liu missed a chance to follow Shanshan Feng as the second Chinese winner in tour history.
“It was amazing week for me,” Liu said. “First time being able to play in the final round, first time being in contention. Didn’t handle the way I wanted to, but feel like there is always room for improvements.”
The former Duke player wasn’t sure where she was on the leaderboard playing the 18th.
“I don’t know exactly where I stand, if I needed to make birdie or just save par and get to playoff,” Liu said. “So I wasn’t as focused as I would’ve liked. I think that’s why I made bogey.”
Ciganda played at Arizona State, helping the Sun Devils win the 2009 NCAA title.
“I would’ve loved to win,” the Spaniard said. “Always special here in Phoenix, but I couldn’t today.”
Jessica Korda returned from a left forearm injury to make her first start of the season.
“Obviously, playing pain-free. It shows,” she said.
She parred the last two holes, leaving a 20-footer an inch short on 17 and coming up well short on 18.
“I knew I had to post a low one just to kind of make the girls a little nervous,” she said. “A little disappointed with leaving that last putt short because I knew I needed to make it. I thought it was going to be downhill. Just the difference in the shade with the light I guess just confused me a little bit.”
Brooke Henderson (66) of Smiths Falls, Ont., tied for eighth at 18 under.
Nelly Korda had her fifth straight top-10 finish to open the season. She also parred the final two holes.
“I’m bummed, but I’m not too bummed because I played well this week and I’m happy with the way my game is trending,” she said. “I gave myself an opportunity on the last couple holes. Seventeen just burned the edge and then I lipped out pretty hard on 18, unfortunately.”
Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park faded after sharing the second-round lead with Liu. The Singapore winner had weekend rounds of 69 and 72 to tie for 14th at 15 under.
Mackenzie Hughes finishes T13 to lead all Canadians at Valspar
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Paul Casey became the first back-to-back winner of the Valspar Championship on Sunday by closing with a 1-over 72 for a one-shot victory over Jason Kokrak and Louis Oosthuizen.
Casey thought his biggest challenge would be Dustin Johnson, who was one shot behind. Instead, the world’s No. 1 player failed to make a single birdie for the first time in 31 tournaments worldwide.
The real challenge was Innisbrook, so tough that no one shot better than 68 in the final round.
Kokrak (71) and Oosthuizen (69) each had a share of the lead on the back nine. Kokrak missed an 8-foot par putt on the final hole. Casey was in a fairway bunker on No. 18 when he hit to just over 20 feet and two-putted for the win.
It was the first time since this event joined the PGA Tour schedule in 2000 that the winner was over par in the final round. The course was so dry and fast that no one shot better than 68, and the average score of 72.143 was the second-toughest final round his year behind rainy, windy Riviera.
Canadian Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., shot an even-par 71 to close the event at 3 under par — good for a share of 13th. Countryman Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., began the day in a tie for sixth but faltered down the stretch with a string of bogeys, finishing tied for 24th at 1 under.
Brooke Henderson shares 15th through 54 holes at Founders
PHOENIX – Yu Liu got through a stressful final-group pairing Saturday to take the Founders Cup lead, outplaying top-ranked Sung Hyun Park. She’ll have do it again Sunday, this time alongside Carlota Ciganda, to win her first LPGA Tour title.
Liu shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Ciganda into the final round at low-scoring Desert Ridge, while Park struggled with bogeys and missed birdie chances to drop four shots behind,
“I’m not very comfortable and not very used to playing in the last group,” said Liu, the 23-year-old Chinese player in her second year on the tour, “I’ve had two experiences before and I didn’t do very well. Today was definitely a turnaround.”
Liu played the final four holes in 4 under, making an eagle on the par-5 15th and birdieing the last two to reach 19-under 197 in the event that honours the 13 women who founded the LPGA Tour.
She broke a tie with Ciganda with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th with Founders Marlene Bauer Hagge, Marilynn Smith and Shirley Spork looking on from a stage on the edge of the green.
“Playing golf for a living is definitely not something that I take for granted,” Liu said. “I really appreciate what the Founders have done for us.”
The former Duke player rebounded from a bogey on the par-3 14th with the eagle on 15 – hitting a 5-iron from 190 yards to 20 feet – and made a 5-footer on the par-3 17th.
Ciganda shot a 63 to match the best score of the week, playing the final five in 5 under with an eagle and three birdies. She’s trying to become the second former Arizona State player to win the event, following 2017 champion Anna Nordqvist.
“When you make putts, it’s great,” Ciganda said. “I’ve been playing great, hitting lots of green, so it was a matter of making putts.”
She set up the eagle on the 479-yard 15th with a 7-iron to 12 feet.
“They put the tee up today,” Ciganda said. “I knew if I hit a good driver it was going to be a short iron.”
The Spaniard also made a 15-footer on 18. She won her two LPGA Tour titles in 2016 in South Korea and Mexico.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson (69) was tied for 15th at 12 under.
Angel Yin was 16 under after a 66.
“I’m going to try to do the same I’ve been doing the past three days and just play my game,” the long-hitting American said. “If it works, it works.”
Park, the winner three weeks ago in Singapore in the last tour event, had three bogeys in a 69. The South Korean star began the round tied for the lead with upstart playing partner Liu.
“I was just trying to get myself mentally prepared for the round and just play my own game,” Liu said. “She’s just a player that I’ve been looking up to a lot. I had a couple experiences playing with her, but I did really bad the previous few. Today I was just controlling my emotions and staying in my own game.”
Hyo Joo Kim (64), Jin Young Ko (64), Women’s Australian Open champion Nelly Korda (66) and Lydia Ko (67) matched Park at 15 under. Lydia Ko saved par on 18 with a close shot from the deep left bunker.
“To make an up-and-down from a place where it could have been a lot worse, I’ll take it,” Ko said. “I don’t even want to talk about the second shot. It was probably the worst shot of my whole time here in Phoenix.
Shanshan Feng, the only Chinese winner in tour history, had a 64 to join 2016 champion Sei Young Kim (67), Bronte Law (65), Jessica Korda (67), Charlotte Thomas (67) and Mi Jung Hur (69) at 13 under.
Azahara Munoz, Ciganda’s teammate at Arizona State, matched her fellow Spaniard with a 63 to reach 12 under.
Canadian Nick Taylor sits T6 ahead of Valspar finale
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – The final hour changed the dynamics of the Valspar Championship, just not the lead.
That still belongs to defending champion Paul Casey, and he saw only the upside of having his three-shot margin shrink to one, and going from a final round pairing with a player who is 0 for 195 on the PGA Tour to playing alongside the No. 1 player in the world.
On a Saturday at Innisbrook that began with all 70 players who made the cut still very much in the mix, Casey surged to a three-shot lead until a bogey on the 18th hole for a 3-under 68 that left him one shot ahead of Dustin Johnson.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for sixth, four shots back of Casey, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., was tied for 14th at 3 under and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., was tied for 27th.
That’ll work, @ntaylorgolf59 ?? pic.twitter.com/q1Cp3gPx9T
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) March 23, 2019
At stake for Casey is a chance to become the first back-to-back winner of the Valspar Championship since this PGA Tour event began in 2000.
Behind him is Johnson, who is going for his second victory in three starts.
“Of the guys on the leaderboard, he’s the one I would want to be paired with, so it doesn’t bother me,” Casey said. “Obviously, two shots would have been nicer than one, but one is better than level, or one behind.”
Johnson had some say in that final margin with one of his best shots of the day, a 9-iron from a bunker a few paces in front of a steep lip to the front shelf of the 18th green, 10 feet behind the hole. He made that for a 67 to get into the final group.
And that was good news for Casey?
“He’s the best player in the world. That’s why I work and I do what I do, because I want to play against the best in the world,” Casey said.
He also pointed to Johnson being the favourite, at least in the eyes of thousands of fans on a warm, sun-filled day at Innisbrook, the kind of buzz it had last year when Tiger Woods played for the first time.
“I actually feel very little pressure,” Casey said. “You look at my results versus Dustin’s. He’s the better player, so it’s pretty simple. If I go out tomorrow and beat him, I actually might win, plain and simple. Great scenario.”
Only it’s not that simple, and no one knows better than Casey.
A year ago, he rallied from five shots behind with a 65 and wound up winning by one shot over Woods and Patrick Reed. That’s a tribute to Innisbrook, which players regard as one of the purest tests of the year, certainly in Florida.
Casey was at 8-under 205. Eight players had a share of the lead in the third round, and 10 players finished within four shots of the lead.
That starts with Jason Kokrak, winless in his 195 starts as a pro over the better part of eight years. He showed how quickly fortunes can change when he made three birdies in five holes to start the back nine, and then smashed an 8-iron with a breeze at his back that rolled across the 15th green and into the cup for a hole-in-one .
“You can be three, four, five shots out at this golf course and really make some noise if you get it going early,” Kokrak said.
Kokrak shot 30 on the back for a 66 and was poised to play in the final group until Johnson made his birdie on the 18th. Luke Donald, a past winner at Innisbrook playing for only the second time this year – and first since January – grinded his way to a 70 and joined Scott Stallings (70) three shots behind. Louis Oosthuizen, who had a 66 despite two bogeys on the last three holes, and Jim Furyk were among those four behind.
Casey seized control with three birdies in a five-hole stretch to start the back nine. But on the final hole, after Johnson made his birdie, Casey went into the first of a series of miniature church-pew bunkers on the 18th, couldn’t get to the green and missed his 15-foot par putt.
Johnson looked to be giving up plenty of opportunities, especially on the par 5s. He had an iron into the green on Nos. 1 and 11, just missed and chipped to short range before twice missing birdie chances. And then he picked up a birdie on the par-5 14th in the most unlikely way .
From light rough with trees partially in his way, he tried to hammer a 5-wood 290 yards. But it came out with too much wind and floated into the wind, hit a tree well short of the green and nearly went into water that isn’t typically in play. Still, he had a tree between his ball and the green. Johnson hit a hard pitch from 73 yards to the right of the tree and let the hill bring it back to the green. And then he made a 35-foot birdie putt.
“Makes up for the other two,” he said, walking to the 15th tee.
But the big shot was on the 18th, and the birdie got him into the final group in his first trip to Innisbrook since 2010.
“I’m in a good position … because this golf course, it’s tough,” Johnson said. “If I can go out and shoot a good score, then I’ve got a chance.”
Brooke Henderson trails by three mid-way through Founders Cup
PHOENIX – Sung Hyun Park isn’t a big fan of birdie-fest golf. She’s still awfully good at it.
“Personally, I like the difficult course better than the easy course,” Park said through a translator.
The top-ranked Park shot her second straight 6-under 66 on Friday at the Founders Cup for a share of the lead with Yu Liu in the event that honours the 13 women who founded the LPGA Tour.
Coming off a victory three weeks ago in Singapore, Park birdied five of the first six holes on her final nine in perfect conditions at Desert Ridge. She lost the outright lead with a closing bogey on the par-4 ninth.
“Overall, I’m really happy with the play today, especially putting was really good,” Park said. “The shots were better than yesterday.”
The 25-year-old South Korean has six victories in her first three years on the tour, winning majors in far more testing conditions at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open and 2018 Women’s PGA Championship.
Liu had 10 birdies in a 64 to match Park at 12-under 132.
“I don’t expect this to happen every day,” Liu said. “When a day like this comes, I just am glad I was able to take advantage of it.”
The 23-year-old Chinese player teed off at 7 a.m. in the first group off the 10th tee.
“Definitely being the first off, the greatest advantage is pure greens and calm conditions,” Liu said.
Former Arizona State player Linnea Strom lost a share of the lead with a closing double bogey. With Arizona State’s players and coaching staff following her, she pulled her approach from the middle of the 18th fairway into a plugged lie in the face of the left bunker. The Swedish rookie took two shots to get out of the bunker, with the second racing through the green and almost into the exit tunnel under the grandstand. She got up-and-down from there for a 65.
“A bit unlucky on the last hole, but overall very happy with my round,” said Strom, a member of the Sun Devils’ 2017 NCAA championship team. “It was so much fun to play out there with my whole team supporting. This is like home for me to be here.”
Lydia Ko (67) also was 10 under with first-round leader Celine Boutier (70), Amy Yang (66), Mi Jung Hur (66), Angel Yin (67), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (69) and Monday qualifier Cheyenne Knight (68).
“Obviously, the golf course is known to have some low scores,” Ko said. “You just have to go out there, try to play your game, and maybe play a little bit more aggressive than any other golfcourse.”
Boutier eagled the par-5 15th – holing out from a greenside bunker after hitting a drive that bounced off a cart path and went 340 yards – to tie Park for the lead at 13 under, but dropped three strokes on the final three holes. The 5-foot Frenchwoman, the Vic Open winner last month in Australia for her first LPGA Tour title, bogeyed the par-4 16th and had a double bogey on the par-4 18th.
“I don’t feel great right now,” Boutier said. “Just not a good finish.”
Boutier teamed with Liu to help Duke win the 2014 NCAA title.
“She’s one of my closest friends out here,” Boutier said. “We played on the Symetra Tour two years ago together, we graduated together and then last year we had a pretty good rookie year on the LPGA Tour together.”
Defending champion Inbee Park topped the group at 9 under with Women’s Australian Open champion Nelly Korda (67) and Brooke Henderson (68) of Smiths Falls, Ont.
Na Yeon Choi followed her opening 65 with a 71 to reach 8 under. She’s playing her first event after an 11-month layoff because of a back injury.
The projected cut line was 2-under par.
Brittany Marchand (73) of Orangeville, Ont., was tied for 86th at even par. Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay (71) and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (72) were in a group at 2 over and Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee (75) was at 4 over,
Henderson 3 back after first round of LPGA Founders
PHOENIX – Na Yeon Choi feared the worst Thursday in her return from a back injury. She ended up high on the Founders Cup leaderboard.
Choi shot a 7-under 65 at Desert Ridge in her first tournament round in 11 months, leaving her a stroke behind first-round leader Celine Boutier in the event that honours the 13 women who founded the LPGA Tour.
“ Golf is really funny game. I didn’t expect any good score today because this is first day,” said Choi, the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open champion and nine-time tour winner. “I practice hard, of course, but it’s hard to tell how I’m going to shoot. Less expectation, I think, always give you better result.”
Close friend Jenny Shin waited around for Choi to finish and threw a cup of champagne on her in celebration.
“I’m just happy be on the fairway and walking with friends,” Choi said.
The 31-year-old South Korean tried to play through the back problem before finally shutting it down last April, taking the advice of friends and former tour stars Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon.
“I just kept playing golf and my swing got worse and worse and hitting my ball going left and right,” Choi said. “My mentally is like totally broken, so I just need my body get ready first.”
She took a two-week European vacation to help clear her mind.
“I didn’t think about golf,” Choi said. “I didn’t set alarm every day, you know. I just wake up whenever I want and I just eat whatever I want. It was different life I think. I think I was kind of robot when I was growing up and then playing golf well in LPGA Tour. I think I was like living in the box. I couldn’t do anything besides golf. Only golf, only golf. Like 100 per cent focused ongolf.”
When she got the golf bug again, she took it slow and relaxed.
“I try to drink some beer and get a little tipsy and playing golf,” Choi said. “Because we always play golf in serious mode. I just like to play more fun.”
Boutier closed her late round with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth. The Frenchwoman won the Vic Open last month in Australia for her first LPGA Tour title.
“It’s definitely made me more confident in my game, my ability to win out here,” Boutier said. “I feel like I was kind of lacking that confidence last year.”
Also Thursday, PXG announced it added Boutier to its tour staff.
“It’s super exciting because I’ve been playing their clubs a full year now,” the former Duke player said.
Alana Uriell, Charlotte Thomas, Jin Young Ko and Nanna Koerstz Madsen joined Choi at 65. Uriell won a Symetra Tour event two weeks ago in Florida in her pro debut, making an eagle on the first hole of a playoff.
“It’s given me a lot of confidence coming into the LPGA having a win under my belt,” Uriell said. “Feel a little more at home out here, so I don’t mind letting loose and seeing what I’m capable of.”
Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, Shin, Carlota Ciganda, Pornanong Phatlum and Monday qualifier Cheyenne Knight shot 66.
Former Phoenix high school star Sarah Schmelzel opened with a 67 in her third tour start. She was the 2011 Arizona high school champion at Xavier Prep.
“It was very comfortable looking over outside the ropes and seeing my boyfriend, my mom, my dad, and my brother and people from my golf club that I grew up at here,” Schmelzel said.
In 2001, her golf-loving father – alerted by a friend that Annika Sorenstam was tearing up their home course of Moon Valley in the Standard Register Ping – pulled her out of elementary school in time to watch the final nine holes of Sorenstam’s tour-record 59.
“I just remember I got called up to the office,” Schmelzel said. “I was like, ‘Oh, no. That’s not good.’ I saw my dad standing at the front desk and he said, ‘All right, we’re going to Moon Valley.”’
Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., also shot 67.
Highlights from @BrookeHenderson’s 5-under 67 Thursday at the @LPGAfounders. She currently sits T12. pic.twitter.com/y3QbFkVQ3v
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) March 22, 2019
Nelly Korda had a 68. She won the Women’s Australian Open last month for her second LPGA Tour victory and leads the money list.
Defending champion Inbee Park shot 69.
Xiyu Lin had a hole-in-one on the 17th in a 70. She used a 9-iron on the 142-yard hole.
Brittany Marchand (71) of Orangeville, Ont., was tied for 62nd, Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee (73) was tied for 90th, Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (74) was tied for 11th, and Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay (75) was tied for 128th.
Nick Taylor excited for challenge of Copperhead Course at Valspar Championship
This week’s Valspar Championship is playing right into Nick Taylor’s hands.
Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., is looking forward to taking on the difficult Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla., this week at the Valspar because it is just that – a challenging par-71 7,340 yards.
“It’s typically a difficult golf course. You have to keep it in play. Par’s not going to hurt you,” said Taylor on Wednesday. “I just prefer courses where 2- or 3-under par is a great score instead of being a shootout like some tournaments where the winner is 20- to 25-under.
“Here, 10- to 14- under is where winners have been and it’s where I would prefer it if I were to pick a tournament.”
The timing is great for Taylor, too. He’s coming off his strongest performance of the season, tying for 16th at 10 under at the hyper-competitive Players Championship.
“My iron play was really solid all week, made a few mistakes the first day. I felt the greens were tough in the afternoon,” said Taylor, who shot a 73 in the first round but recovered with a 69-69-67 line the rest of the way. “I played really well the last three days and cashed in a lot of opportunities on the Sunday to have my best round of the week so that was pretty much the difference.”
Pleased with his overall performance, Taylor isn’t looking to tweak anything about his game, instead focusing on maintaining what brought him success at the Players to the Valspar.
Taylor will be joined by seven other Canadians at the Valspar Championship, matching the record for Canadians at a PGA Tour event outside of the RBC Canadian Open. Monday qualifier David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, dual citizen Austin Connelly, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., will also play, with the latter being added to the field on Wednesday.
Already a tough course, Taylor played nine holes on Tuesday at Copperhead and another nine at the Pro-Am and said that the greens are firm.
“Early in the morning was a little chilly, but the course is in great shape,” said Taylor. “The greens are fast and pretty firm. If the weather holds up it might be tough.”
LPGA launches new “Drive On” brand campaign
The LPGA is unveiling its new brand positioning that embraces its history and pushes toward the future with two simple words: Drive On.
Drive On is clearly rooted in golf, but it’s a bigger idea. It captures the power and potential in each of us and celebrates the hard work, focus, and tenacity that it takes to achieve our goals.
That the LPGA has refined its brand positioning isn’t remarkable. What is remarkable is the process that led us here.
Over the past few years, the LPGA has had more new corporate partners come on board than at any time in its history. The growth of the LPGA and the strength of these partnerships reflects the quality of our Tour, the approachability of our athletes, the expertise of our Teaching and Club Professionals and the relentless dedication of everyone that is connected through our networks and associations.
In a very real sense, our sponsors, players and fans have led us to “Drive On.” More and more companies want to be associated with what the LPGA and its members stand for – on and off the golf course. They see our athletes as positive, visible leaders and role models who represent the important values of diversity, authenticity, a commitment to excellence and fierce determination. And they appreciate our nearly 70-year track record of “driving on” to break barriers and provide opportunities for women.
Drive On isn’t just about golf and it isn’t just about women. For girls and boys, women and men. It’s about the fire that burns inside you when you discover your passion. It’s about the motivating power of big dreams and the resolve to defy convention and stereotypes. It’s about finding the vision to see beyond what has already been done and to believe something greater is possible.
We think the time is right to celebrate that spirit of determination – that drive – within. This is the moment to shine a light on the stories of dedication, resilience and sheer grit that it takes to excel.
For nearly 70 years, the LPGA has been “driving on” to create greater opportunity for women. Standing on the shoulders of our 13 Founders and the other outstanding women who came before them, the members of the LPGA today are fully prepared to carry the future on their shoulders. Crushing it everyday so that today’s youth can crush it for the next generation.