Fitness with Averee: The two iron warm up https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
Have you ever been in a crunch to make your tee time? You begin to rush and you begin to pray to the golf gods that your group will allow you a “breakfast ball” because you didn’t have time to hit the range?
We have all been there and know the wave of panic that comes over you before you tee off. In the latest episode of, “Fitness with Averee,” Averee Dovsek demonstrates how to utilize a warm up technique that will only take a couple of minutes and will save you strokes.
Combine what you learn through “Fitness with Averee” with Steve Scott’s instruction series and you will be a different golfer on and off the course.
Bryson DeChambeau angry with putt that drops; weather delays Saudi International https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
A lengthy lightning delay and then fading sunlight forced the second round of the Saudi International to be suspended early, but some big names were near the top of the leaderboard as Friday’s action concluded.
Ryan Fox shot his second straight 65 and is officially the leader at 10 under, although Stephen Gallacher has the same score after completing 10 holes of his second round.
Action will resume early Saturday morning and the third round will be a two-tee start as organizers try to get caught up at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City.
Dustin Johnson is in a four-way tie for second at 8 under, two shots off the lead, although he had an interesting moment when he struck a marshal with his drive midway through the round.
Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose are both 7 under while Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau and Tyrrell Hatton are among those at 6 under.
Bryson DeChambeau struggled on the day, posting a pair of late bogeys before play was halted, and is currently 4 under 32 holes of play.
The reigning U.S. Open champ did have one of the funnier moments of the day, however, as he was upset with a par putt on the 6th hole and started to follow the ball angrily.
Watch: Dustin Johnson's drive in Saudi Arabia drills a volunteer (who drops like a rock) https://ift.tt/3muUKmc
One thing’s for certain if you’re working a professional golf tournament — make sure you keep an eye on those teeing off on the hole you’re working.
That advice was lost on a volunteer at the Saudi International who wasn’t watching when World No. 1 Dustin Johnson pulled out his booming driver during Friday’s second round of European Tour action.
Johnson, who shot a 67 in Thursday’s opening round, was playing well again through the front on Friday when he scorched a drive long and left on the 10th hole.
A volunteer working the event was struck in the back and dropped immediately after being hit.
Bailey Tardy missed out on her LPGA card by $343. It left her sour, but she's ready to fight. https://ift.tt/3rkuY6U
Last year Bailey Tardy missed out on an LPGA card by $343.
When the Symetra Tour season was over, Tardy laid in bed at night replaying all the shots she could’ve saved. Holes she would’ve played differently. Putts she’d like to have back.
When she’d go out to the course at home in Georgia, her mind would wander to a tournament, making quality practice nonexistent. She used words like “sour” and “bitter” to describe the mood and likened her predicament to being one number off on the lottery.
“I kind of just removed myself from golf,” she said of the resulting six-week break.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the Symetra Tour season to 10 events, only five cards were awarded last season. Tardy didn’t have great status on the developmental tour, but because so many international players didn’t come back for 2020, she got into all 10 events. And she made the most of it, finishing sixth on the money list with three top-five finishes.
Typically, 10 cards are awarded each season. And usually if a player finished 11th on the money list, she’d punch a ticket directly to Q-Series with a chance to earn LPGA status. Except Q-School was canceled in 2020. The former Georgia standout finished last season exactly where she started – 151st on the priority list in Category I.
“I still don’t have great status,” said Tardy, who isn’t entirely sure how many events she’ll get in this season.
On Wednesday, the Symetra Tour announced a 2021 schedule of 20 events with $3.8 million in total prize money. As frustrating as the $343 gap turned out to be, Tardy knows that something good came out of those 10 events: confidence.
“I didn’t even play my best golf last year,” she said, “and still was able to contend most of the weeks.”
Tardy can’t put a price-tag on that feeling of belonging. It wasn’t all that long ago that she saw her name on the leaderboard at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open and nearly broke down crying, she felt so overwhelmed.
“Now,” she said, “I’m getting comfortable seeing it up there.”
Tardy recently headed down to Florida to get ready for the mid-March opener in Mesa, Arizona. She hired a putting instructor over the offseason, fully aware that the number of three-putts she’d had over the course of a three-round tournament, as many as eight, was keeping the former Curtis Cup player out of the winner’s circle.
Mentally, Tardy says, she has taken big strides since college.
“In college,” said Tardy, “I didn’t have a mental game.”
Last offseason she hired Bob Rotella and said the way she looks at her golf game is night and day.
“People would always be telling me, ‘You have one of the greatest golf swings,’ ” said Tardy. “I don’t know why I would never believe that.”
At a U.S. Women’s Open, she’d see people watching her on the range and worry about them nitpicking her swing. It was the same on the putting green.
“No one is even looking at you,” she’d tell herself.
Bailey Tardy and her mother Kim (photo courtesy Alison Palma/Symetra Tour)
A more confident Tardy hit the road last year with her mother Kim, whose real job is real estate agent, as her caddie.
Mom is there for comic relief, said Bailey, and they make a great team.
Two years ago when Florida Tech won the NCAA Division II title, a volunteer assistant coach convinced one his players – who was 6 down through 12 holes – to go into a tree pose to work on deep breathing in the middle of the fairway. Kim Tardy read that story and as a yoga enthusiast, now jokingly tells Tardy to go into a tree pose when she gets nervous.
(By the way, that Division II player rallied to win the match after that yoga pose.)
Mom will be back on the bag for the first part of the 2021 season, at least until work brings her back to Georgia.
Tardy met Sophia Popov for the first time at the LPGA stop in Portland last year, after the Symetra Tour player from Germany broke through with that inspiring victory at the AIG Women’s British Open.
From Symetra Tour player to major champion in the span of one week gave hope to countless grinders who are still waiting for their big break.
“She has fought to get to where she is,” said Tardy. “You may have one setback, but it doesn’t mean anything. I kind of related to that.”
South Carolina course near Hilton Head Island gets new ownership https://ift.tt/3jsfQSn
A South Carolina golf course is changing owners, but it will still be known as “The Sarge.”
Sergeant Jasper Country Club in Ridgeland — which sits about 35 minutes north of Savannah, Georgia, and a similar distance west of Hilton Head Island — has been a staple in the community since the 1960s. The Congaree Foundation announced last week it has acquired the nine-hole course.
“The new, revamped Sergeant Jasper Golf Club will support access to the game of golf by providing a new home to area high school teams, as well as a quality public golf course for the Lowcountry,” a news release said.
The Congaree Foundation said local golfers can tee off at the revamped club March 2. The release said it also will provide opportunities to learn new skills and serve as a pipeline of talent for other courses in the region.
“The acquisition of Sergeant Jasper is a natural continuation of the Congaree Foundation mission: to positively impact the lives of young people locally and around the globe by providing opportunities through the game of golf,” said John McNeely, executive program director for the foundation. “The re-opening of the course reflects our commitment to serve the local community.”
Sergeant Jasper Country Club has new ownership, but it will still be open to the public. The Congaree Foundation recently acquired the nine-hole golf course in Ridgeland.
Sergeant Jasper board president Bradley Bonds said the club had many stockholders, but most have passed away and its membership has dropped dramatically the past few years.
His father and fellow board member Buzz Bonds said the club started with about 130 members and dwindled to 10 at one point, though it has rebounded to 45-50 members.
“The club was in need of financial assistance and Congaree had approached the board about taking over ownership of the club to utilize it, in part, for youth golf,” Bradley Bonds said. “We went through the process with Congaree to make it public.”
Bonds said with Congaree Foundation assuming ownership there will be “a lot better product with lots of improvements.”
“We were in need of financial help and Congaree came in to help,” he said. “They explained they wanted to have youth golf programs and still have golf for the public. This facility was not going to be there much longer had it not been for Congaree Foundation saving the golf course.”
The foundation said it plans to allow high school teams to play at no cost.
“Access to the course will also offer an opportunity for area high schools to establish new boys and girls golf programs,” McNeely said. “The club will host events for the local First Tee chapter.”
Sergeant Jasper Country Club has new ownership, but it will still be open to the public. The Congaree Foundation recently acquired the nine-hole golf course in Ridgeland.
Congaree has helped several schools in Jasper County, beginning in 2018 when its first girls’ golf instruction introduced more than 300 students to the game.
In partnership with Congaree Golf Club in Gillisonville, the foundation also hosts underserved students for its Congaree Global Golf Initiative. It welcomes students from around the world, including many from South Carolina and Georgia. They participate in an intensive camp that provides golf instruction and college admission prep.
“Congaree Foundation is looking forward to making Sergeant Jasper a full-service course for the entire community to enjoy,” McNeely said.
Mark Hubbard 'might break out' crazy snail putting grip at Phoenix Open https://ift.tt/3cJ4nwz
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Might the snail re-emerge from its shell once again?
Mark Hubbard indicated that fans just might get to see perhaps the wildest, goofiest, silliest putting stroke in golf sometime this week. But only under the right circumstances.
Hubbard shot an opening-round 63 on Thursday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open and took the co-lead with Matthew NeSmith at TPC Scottsdale, thanks in part to 28 putts made using his traditional grip.
“For whatever reason, I really like this place a lot, and it always kind of seems to kick me into gear right around this time of the year,” said Hubbard, who is from Colorado and played collegiately at San Jose State. It was there that the goofy snail thing got started. The term was coined by one of his college teammates.
Hubbard broke out the snail on the Friday of the American Express. On his way to a 76, he was pretty much playing out the string in the second round when he decided to showcase the move. But then he missed the putt.
“It usually makes for an automatic putt inside five feet,” Hubbard said. “Little disappointed I missed that one.”
But since that tournament two weeks ago, Hubbard has been working on his putting. Like, working on his real putting stroke.
“I’ve worked on it a little,” he said, while admitting “I haven’t done much of the snail, but we were joking on 16 that if I had hit it to a tap-in’s length that I would have had to have done it.
“But who knows, we might break it out this week.”
“Yeah? The snail could be in play?” he was asked.
“Ideally a tap-in on 16 or a tap-in with like a two-shot lead on 18 for the win, those would be the two situations to break it out,” he said.
Hubbard’s in the final group teeing off on the 10th tee on Friday at 3:20 p.m. ET. The rough math says that should get him to the 16th green a little after 5 p.m. or so. With the sun starting to set in the Arizona desert, perhaps it’ll be the perfect time for the snail to make another appearance.
Phoenix Open: Steve Stricker shoots 65, says, 'I feel like I still have a little bit of game left' https://ift.tt/3pniElm
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Waste Management Phoenix Open includes five of the top 10 players in the world, but in the first round they were all beaten by the 460th -ranked player, a PGA Tour Champions regular who thought his days of whipping up on these young whippersnappers were over.
That old timer would be none other than U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker, who shot six-under 65, the lowest score of the afternoon wave at TPC Scottsdale, and proved he’s not just here to scout potential players for his 12-man side later this year.
“I made some putts,” he said. “Felt like the old Steve Stricker. I am old, but I don’t feel 53 or 4. I feel like I still have a little bit of game left in me.”
Stricker, who turns 54 later this month and won the last of his 12 PGA Tour titles in 2012, sits in fifth place after the opening round, two strokes behind Matthew NeSmith and Mark Hubbard.
Stricker thought he’d be put out to pasture this year and be a full-time Champions tour pro, but the Ryder Cup postponement due to the global pandemic changed his plans. He’s still playing against the young bucks—this is his third Tour event in a row—so that he can keep an eye on his potential players. That included a practice round with Patrick Cantlay at the American Express and conversations with Patrick Reed at the Farmers Insurance Open and Justin Thomas this week.
Stricker’s wife Nicki was on the bag and their kids followed along making it a family affair. It didn’t hurt that Stricker was also grouped with fellow 50-something and pal Jerry Kelly and European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington.
“Walking off the first tee I said, ‘Paddy, we got two Badgers against you today. He was like, ‘Well, I need to get used to that I guess.’ So, he knows what’s coming when he comes there in September,” Stricker said of Whistling Straits, site of the biennial matches.
As he walked off the 18th green, he took a long glance at the scoreboard and couldn’t help but notice that his name was above the likes of Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson, and Thomas, who all have Ryder Cup experience, and Euro stars Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy.
“I love to watch who is playing well and look for potential players on the Ryder Cup team, friends, how they’re playing. Just get the lay of it. I study it a lot it seems like nowadays just trying to get a feel for what’s going on and how guys are playing,” he said. “It was good to see my name up there on the top, and the challenge will be to come out tomorrow and try to keep that ball rolling.”
His trusty putter, an Odyssey White Hot putter he’s used for more than 20 years, decided to behave and he made seven birdies against just one bogey to shoot the lowest score by a 50+ year-old golfer in the Phoenix Open since Tom Lehman in 2011.
Hubbard, who was followed by his pregnant wife, straightened out his putter, too. On his way to a forgettable round of 76 and a missed cut at the American Express two weeks ago, Hubbard used an unconventional putting technique, extending his right arm and wrapping his pinky finger around the lower portion of his shaft for support on a 5-foot putt. Hubbard said the maneuver was coined “the snail” during his days at San Jose State. When asked what his teammates thought of his technique, he said, “They all know I’m an idiot, so they just expect it from me.”
Hubbard said it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that the snail would make an encore performance this week.
“We were joking on 16 that if I had hit it to a tap-in’s length that I would have had to have done it,” he said. “It drew a little more at the end, so I had five feet and it was kind of outside that range. But who knows, we might break it out this week.”
Hubbard finished with a flurry of birdies, five in his last six holes, to shoot his lowest round of his career after making a slight swing adjustment.
“I think earlier in the day I was kind of whipping it a little inside, so I kind of straightened my takeaway a little bit, and that kind of got things in motion, and I putted pretty good all day,” he said.
Matthew NeSmith plays his second shot at the second hole during the first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic/USA Today Network)
NeSmith went out early and carded six birdies and an eagle when he holed a bunker shot at No. 13. He hit 16 greens in regulation and took just 27 putts. NeSmith is winless on Tour and doesn’t need to be reminded that a victory would earn him an invite to the Masters.
He grew up less than 20 minutes from famed Augusta National Golf Club, just across the border in South Carolina and his father was a part-time caddie there. He has fond memories of attending the tournament as a kid.
“I’d try to get my dad to let me skip school on Thursday and Friday to watch it when we were going,” he said.
Nate Lashley, who attended University of Arizona and makes his home in Scottsdale, is one stroke back along with Same Burns after shooting 64s. Spieth ranked second in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting en route to signing for 4-under 67. That was a stroke better than Koepka, the 2015 Phoenix Open champion, who posted 3-under 68, his lowest opening-round score since last year’s PGA Championship. Koepka, who is trying to end a streak of three straight missed cuts, made 149 feet of putts, his most in a single round since 2018.
Rahm, an Arizona State alum, tied Koepka with 68, while McIlroy overcame a slow start and Thomas took a costly triple-bogey 7 at No. 17 as both opened with 1-under 70. Simpson, the defending champion, struggled to 2-over 73 as did Fowler, the 2019 champion, who is in danger of missing the cut after shooting 74.
Asked what Stricker would say to Team USA vets such as Xander Schauffele, who shot 66, Fowler, Spieth, Koepka, Thomas and Simpson, who are all looking up at The Captain’s name on the leaderboard, he said, “Well, it’s only one round. But it shows that I’m still out here trying to compete with them, trying to play, trying to beat them.”
Waste Management Phoenix Open: Friday tee times, TV information https://ift.tt/3cGyxjT
The PGA Tour’s West Coast swing moves from the San Diego coast to Arizona this week for the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
Matthew NeSmith and Mark Hubbard are tied atop the leaderboard at 8 under after the first round of a quiet “People’s Open” due to limited crowds, followed by Nate Lashley and Sam Burns, who sit T-3 at 7 under. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker rounds out the top five at 6 under.
From tee times to television information, here’s everything you need to know for the second round of this week’s event in Scottsdale.
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At Phoenix Open's 16th hole, a different vibe for fans and players amid COVID concerns https://ift.tt/3cGyxjT
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Two things not associated with the Waste Management Phoenix Open were in abundance at Thursday’s opening round of the tournament.
Space, and relative serenity.
The masses of humanity that would have TPC Scottsdale teeming with activity in a typical year—hence, the event known as “The People’s Open”— were drastically limited to allow fans to move about freely and without being stuck in bottlenecks along the course.
At the PGA Tour’s most notorious hole, the 16th, reactions were subdued compared to how involved fans and players get with each other in a typical tournament.
It was more like The Few People’s Open. But some fans were just fine with that.
“I kind of like it to a certain degree,” said Scottsdale resident Chad Scuncio at the 16th hole on Thursday afternoon.
By mid-afternoon, there was more of a buzz at hole, with boos from the crowd for hooked tee shots from players Tyler Duncan and Grayson Murray.
“You can watch more golf without the madness. Walking around has been great. You can get as close to the green as you can,” Scuncio said.
The only drawback for Scuncio, who expects the atmosphere to be more lively on Friday and Saturday, was the absence of independent drink stands outside of the 16th hole.
It was quiet there in the morning hours as Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Daniel Berger walked up the tunnel to the tee. Schauffele and McIroy got a few shouts of encouragement from the handful of spectators in the reconfigured stadium hole, where suites replaced seating areas.
McIlroy dropped in a chip from just off the green for a birdie on the par three hole, and a fan yelled “Welcome to 16, Rory!”
McIlroy had never played the Phoenix Open before. It had never fit his schedule with him playing abroad at this time of year, and he admitted that the size of the crowd under non-pandemic circumstances was a drawback.
But the Open still offered an atmosphere, with more fans allowed than at other tournaments McIlroy has played in, and McIlroy decided to take part. He seems willing to return, in part because he likes the course and he wants to experience an actual 16th hole atmosphere, where there are thousands of fans right on top of the action and making noise.
“Yeah, I think I have to experience a real Phoenix Open at least once in my career. I think it’s important to do that. I’ll definitely be back when things are more normal,” McIlroy said.
“It was nice to play in front of people (Thursday),” McIlroy said. “Yeah, just to get clapped for some good shots and good putts and get encouragement from some greens to tees, it was really nice to see people out here.”
Jason Day hit his tee shot at 16, and a fan shouted “Dayyyyyy-yoooo!” Bubba Watson just missed a 36-foot putt on the 16th green that would have gotten him a birdie, and some groans came from those in the suites above the green.
The 16th hole is known for the cheers and boos fans rain down on the players, the boos for errant tee shots. In 2015 when Francesco Molinari aced the hole—the most recent player to do so—the crowd went so wild that they tossed cups of beer onto the grass. The cleanup delayed play.
In “normal” years, fans line up in the predawn hours to wait for the course gates to open and make a dash for the general admission seats at 16. But there was none of that this year. The limited general admission tickets had been sold out for weeks.
First-time attendee Brandon Blum of Kansas City said he’s watched the Phoenix Open on TV for years and knew the raucous atmosphere wouldn’t be there, but decided to watch from the 16th hole anyway.
“We accepted it. Actually it’s almost an advantage because you can see better. Of course, the vibe is more mellow. We can see the tee box and we can see the pin,” Blum said.
Matthew Nesmith fired a 63 on Thursday to finish tied for the overall lead, which included a near-ace at 16.
“I probably made the quietest almost hole-in-one ever on 16. I got about six claps there and hit it to six inches. But yeah, it was really nice,” Nesmith said. “It was really nice to have fans again. It’s really nice to feel a little nerves. It’s been kind of quiet and it’s just been like we’re all kind of playing together at home or something like that. So it’s really nice to feel a little bit of the nerves and get some claps. I’m sure they’re having a really good time out here. It’s beautiful.”
A couple watches the action at the 16th hole during round one of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic/USA Today Network)
Schauffele ended the day at minus-5, which put him in the top 10 on the leaderboard before the afternoon wave came through. At one point, though, the four-time PGA Tour winner overheard a fan after he didn’t hit a chip well.
“When there’s a lot of people it almost becomes white noise,” Schauffele said. “Out here I chunked my chip and some guy was like, ‘Dang, he duffed it.’ I’m like, ‘yeah, you’re right, I just duffed the crap out of that chip.’
“You can kind of hear certain small comments more, which when you show up here you know exactly what you’re walking into, but it is weird, though, overall sort of quietness here. It is strange to me.”
Million-dollar shot contest
To recognize small- and medium-sized businesses, many of which were impacted by the pandemic, Waste Management is putting up $1 million for 20 of its business customers in a hole-in-one contest during Saturday’s third round.
The 20 companies from around the U.S, who were chosen randomly as contest finalists, will be assigned a threesome of golfers playing on Saturday. If a hole-in-one is made on the 16th hole the company wins $1 million. If there is no ace, the company whose group has the lowest aggregate score on 16 will win $100,000. Multiple aces will result in the price being split evenly, and there is a closest-to-the-pin tiebreaker if needed for tied aggregate scores.
