Jimmy Walker | Wei Under Par

Apr

3

2017

Follow-up on Lexi’s controversial penalty: Don’t shoot the messenger

By Stephanie Wei under LPGA

Leave it to yet a(nother) incredulous and absurd rules controversy to cloud the discussion and news coming out of Augusta National on Monday of arguably the biggest week in golf. In a regard, I’m glad the ANA Inspiration, one of the five majors in the women’s game, is actually getting attention, and the stories aren’t lost in the usually overwhelming joy and coverage of Masters previews as they have in years past.

Unfortunately, the spotlight isn’t on celebrating a great champion, but it’s golf’s latest rules debacle, which isn’t exactly the most flattering look for a niche sport that seems obsessed with the never-ending discussing on “growing the game.” Well, letting absurd rules incident play out dramatically on live television isn’t doing golf any favors.

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#2017 ANA Inspiration, #2017 Masters, #Augusta National, #Brandt Snedeker, #Jimmy Walker, #Justin Thomas, #Lexi Thompson, #R&A, #Rickie Fowler, #Rule 20-7c, #Rules of Golf, #USGA

Sep

29

2016

Ryder Cup Friday Morning Preview: Foursomes

By Jon McCarthy under Ryder Cup

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Match 1: Justin Rose (Ryder Cup record: 9-3-2) Henrik Stenson (Ryder Cup record: 5-4-2) vs. Patrick Reed (Ryder Cup record: 3-0-1) Jordan Spieth (Ryder Cup record: 2-1-1)

No wasting time. The marquee match of the morning has Europe sending out this year’s British Open champ and Olympic champ. Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson went 3-0 as a team at the 2014 Ryder Cup. Team USA kicks off its latest redemption mission by reuniting Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, who were the only Americans who did anything two years ago at Gleneagles. Then, they were both rookies with very little expected of them. Now, they are expected to be America’s best. This is all good so long as they win. Now, it’s not exactly Phil and Tiger from 2004 (wait, wasn’t that Hal Sutton’s fault?) but a Spieth-Reed loss could start to deflate an American team that spent two years trying to pump itself up.

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#2016 Ryder Cup, #Andy Sullivan, #Darren Clarke, #Davis Love, #Dustin Johnson, #hazeltine, #Henrik Stenson, #Jimmy Walker, #Jordan Spieth, #Justin Rose, #Lee Westwood, #Patrick Reed, #Phil Mickelson, #Rickie Fowler, #Rory McIlroy, #Sergio Garcia

Jul

31

2016

Wonky weather at PGA: Walker’s par grounds Day’s eagle on 72nd hole

By Stephanie Wei under PGA of America

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Even on Monday ahead of the PGA Championship, the vibe at Baltusrol GC was a bit strange,
with scorching heat and grounds were rather quiet for the first day of a major championship week. It turned out to be the hottest day of the week–with temperatures reaching at least 96 degrees at 4pm (but it “felt like” 119 degrees), but it’s not like Tuesday and Wednesday’s heat index provided much relief from the sweltering sun and suffocating humidity.

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#2016 PGA Championship, #Andy Sanders, #Baltusrol, #Henrik Stenson, #Jason Day, #Jimmy Walker, #PGA of America

Jul

31

2016

Strange situation: Preferred lies in final round of the PGA Championship

By Stephanie Wei under PGA Championship

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It’s been an interesting — perhaps the better word is “strange” — turn of events this weekend at the PGA Championship. With play suspended due to inclement weather in the area around 2pm Saturday, only 37 players finished the third round, with around 50 either still on the course or yet to tee off, including the last 5 groups (i.e. top 10 players on the leaderboard).

Players and media questioned the PGA of America’s decision to *not* start the third round with threesomes teeing off both nos. 1 and 10, given the forecast Saturday looked extremely questionable with a high chance of thunderstorms. However, PGA of America Championships Officer (set-up man) Kerry Haigh defended the decision, claiming that the weather was supposed to be similar to the first two rounds.

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#2016 Farmers Insurance Open, #Brandt Snedeker, #Jimmy Walker, #K.J. Choi, #Torrey Pines

Jan

14

2016

Tidbits from Wednesday at the Sony Open

By Stephanie Wei under PGA Tour

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Pardon the delay in posting about the main storylines and happenings from Wednesday at Waialae CC. I had a nice chat with Adam Scott, Kevin Na, Jimmy Walker, Tony Finau, among others this afternoon. I had to do some other stuff late this afternoon, so I didn’t get a chance to write my behind-the-scenes column for Wednesday yet. I am heading back to Seattle first thing tomorrow morning, so the plane will be a perfect place for me to write. What did we do when all planes didn’t have WiFi??? It really wasn’t even that long ago! So, I apologize for the delay, but stay tuned for some fun tidbits from Wednesday.

[*UPDATED–SEE FULL POST BELOW]

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#2016 Sony Open, #Adam Scott, #Jimmy Walker, #Kevin Na, #Marc Leishman, #Steve Stricker Tony Finau, #Waialae Country Club

Jan

12

2016

Odds and ends from Tuesday at the Sony Open

By Stephanie Wei under PGA Tour

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Welcome to the first full-field event of 2016 with the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club. This tournament used to mark the unofficial “first day of school” on the PGA Tour when it kicked off the new season, but with the advent of the wraparound schedule, it’s just a new year. However, it was a bit more exciting to meet the rookies after Q-school and the veterans who had to deal with the harrowing experience to get their cards back. (Weird to think that there have been two sort of major changes since I started covering the Tour regularly in 2011.)

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#2016 Sony Open, #Anchoring ban, #Boo Weekley, #Graham DeLaet, #Jimmy Walker, #Matt Kuchar, #Robert Allenby, #Tim Clark, #Waialae Country Club

Jan

6

2016

Pre-tourney odds and ends from Kapalua

By Stephanie Wei under PGA Tour

Happy New Year! Before I get started with the meat of this column, I’d like to pass along my best wishes for everyone in 2016. As I’ve mentioned, 2015 was a bit of a strange year, but it was also one of the greatest, and by far, it was the most memorable season for all four majors that I’ve witnessed in my young career. That said, I’m back covering PGA Tour events (along with as many European Tour ones I can do) and I’m ready for the new year.

As many often do when a new year rolls around, I’ve done some reflecting in the last couple of months, particularly when it comes to WUP. It’s no secret that my priorities have changed a bit in the past two years since I started doing more on-camera work (which I enjoy greatly and broadcasting has always been the ultimate goal for me when it comes to career development). Unfortunately, that’s taken time away from writing and looking after WUP with the passion that I have in its earlier years.

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