Welcome to the new PGA Tour season! Wait, what? Didn’t the last one just end, like, two weeks ago? It sure did. And wasn’t the Presidents Cup last weekend? It sure was. But golf doesn’t really have an offseason (partly because it’s always 80 degrees and sunny somewhere).
To be honest, it doesn’t really feel like a new season — well, with the exception of all the new (and old) faces who have graduated from the Web.com Tour.
I definitely didn’t think I’d regret not staying up past my curfew last night to watch the Presidents Cup. I certainly didn’t think I’d miss anything but the standard U.S. routing or maybe the Internationals attempting a tepid comeback. I really didn’t think I’d be saying what I’m about to say, especially since any little interest I had in the Presidents Cup completely disappeared after the only thing I considered that could be slightly intriguing did not happen — which was obviously Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, the worlds nos. 1 and 2, respectively, facing off in what would naturally be an intense battle filled with lots of thumbs-up and fist-pumps for Sunday singles.
Well, to be honest, I doubt I would been awake to watch, anyway, since I was playing in a tourney at NGLA this weekend (yes, very important with at least a few hundred in pro shop credit on the line) and had an early-ish tee time. #sorrynotsorry
With four holes to play in Monday’s final round at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Patrick Reed trailed 54-hole co-leader Jimmy Walker by four shots. At the time, it may have seemed like an insurmountable deficit to overcome, but not for Reed, who credits his stubbornness for his success.
Chris Kirk wasn’t having the best week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. It wasn’t that he was playing poorly, but he wasn’t scoring, and silly mistakes were leading to big numbers on his scorecard. Following rounds of 68- 76-73, Kirk found himself in last place in the 33-man field and earned an early solo tee time for the final round at Kapalua’s Plantation Course.
Well, that combination worked for Kirk, who played lights out, not to mention fast — he finished in two hours, 48 minutes. Now, for any of you who have been here, then you know it isn’t the easiest track to walk (in fact, it’s the toughest trek on Tour all year). He also found his scoring groove. Kirk fired an 11-under 62, which included birdies on 7 of the last 9 holes, to tie the course record.
American Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson announced his wildcard picks in a glitzy press conference in New York City the day after the conclusion of the Deutsche Bank Championship. Just a day earlier, Billy Horschel had the chance to tie clubhouse leader Chris Kirk with a birdie on the par-5 18th, but he chunked his second shot into the hazard guarding the green (and it was so bad that it almost came up short). That probably didn’t give Watson the best impression of Horschel.
However, less than a week later, Horschel redeemed himself with a two-shot victory over Bubba Watson at the BMW Championship. That likely caught Watson’s attention, but unfortunately, it was a few days too late. Or maybe it wouldn’t have. After all, he didn’t pick Chris Kirk, who played alongside the world no. 1 Rory McIlroy over the weekend at TPC Boston and came out victorious at the DBC. So perhaps it still wouldn’t have been enough to sway Watson (though it should’ve)
If you think the pressure at the TOUR Championship does not make the players nervous, then you haven’t listened to Chris Kirk.
At a glitzy (slow-played) press conference at 30 Rockefeller in NYC, American captain Tom Watson revealed his three wildcard picks on Tuesday evening, deciding to go with a mixture of experience and form as he named Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson to round out the underdog U.S. team.
The trio join the nine players who automatically qualified for the squad based on points — Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Zach Johnson.
Tomorrow’s press conference will be of utmost importance for the players who failed to automatically qualify for Team USA. At 7pm ET, Captain Tom Watson will select the final three Americans, and his decision is easier than everyone thinks.
Geoff Ogilvy narrowly slipped into the field at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but he took advantage of the opportunity with a T2 finish alongside Russell Henley and Bill Horschel, the latter of which also kept his playoff hopes alive by moving inside the cutoff for the BMW Championship.
Chris Kirk was making his way through the crowd as he greeted his family and walking toward the scoring area. At that point, he was still unaware he had won the tournament. But then, Kirk saw his caddie Bill Harke celebrating in the hallway, and Jack Graham, CEO of Deutsche Bank, was shaking his hand congratulating him.
Live Chat
