Manziel, who last played in the NFL in 2015, is moving on from football to pursue a career in professional golf. Manziel has spent much of his time playing golf in Arizona over the past two years. And in a podcast appearance with former NFL player Chris Long, Manziel said that he hopes to break into pro golf by the time he turns 40.
“I’m giving myself 12 years to try to play professional golf. I’m gonna grind this out and see how good I can get and see if I can’t enter in some tournaments, and see if I can’t try and go play professional golf eventually,” Manziel said on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast. “I think it is a very uphill battle, but that’s what I’m setting for my goals. I have 12 years to try and make a PGA Tour event.”
According to Manziel, he’s currently around a scratch golfer. But there’s a big difference between a really good amateur golfer and an actual PGA Tour pro. So, the 28-year-old is giving himself 12 years to make that jump.
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Thursday tee times, TV and streaming info https://ift.tt/3r9VIrm
For the second consecutive week the PGA Tour is in Florida as it makes its annual stop at Arnie’s place.
Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, plays host this week to the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Seven of the top 15 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin men’s ranking are in the field, making for plenty of worthy fantasy golf picks.
Marquee groups include: Max Homa, Patrick Reed and Billy Horschel (12:45 p.m., No. 1); Viktor Hovland, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day (12:57 p.m., No. 1); Tyrrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy and Francesco Molinari (8:06 a.m., No. 10); Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth (8:17 a.m., No. 10).
From tee times to TV info here’s everything you need to know for the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. All times Eastern.
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Florida man drowns in pond, presumably looking for lost golf ball https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
A Florida man who was searching for a golf ball around a pond was found dead earlier this week.
Police rescue teams recovered the body of a 74-year-old golfer, Milo Jazmines, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, at East Lake Woodlands Country Club just 20 miles from Tampa. The incident happened on Sunday.
The man hit his tee shot off at the third hole and was last seen “looking for his ball near the green,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“Jazmines’ golf cart was parked on the cart path and his putter was found lying on the ground near the water.”
Police later found his golf cart on the path and his putter near the pond.
Soon after, divers found the man in the pond, not far from where the putter was located. Authorities believe he fell into the water and drowned. Police say his death does not appear suspicious
Arnold Palmer Invitational field by the rankings https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
The PGA Tour continues on its Florida Swing this week with its annual stop at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Florida, to honor one of the legends of the game. Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton returns as the highest-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking as he checks in at No. 6. Viktor Hovland, at No. 4, is the highest-ranked player by Golfweek.
The entire Arnold Palmer Invitational field is broken down below according to the Golfweek/Sagarins and the OWGR.
So far in the 2020-21 Tour season, the average ranking of the winner heading into the week in which he won a PGA Tour event has been 106.8 in the Golfweek/Sagarins and 116.8 in the OWGR.
Nearly five years since his death, Arnold Palmer's figure still towers over golf https://ift.tt/3rb7ulc
ORLANDO – The day after Webb Simpson won the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, it was logical to call up Arnold Palmer for a follow-up story.
The two are fellow Wake Forest Deacons, after all, and Simpson played his college golf on the Arnold Palmer scholarship.
Digits were punched and Doc Giffin, Palmer’s long-time right-hand man, picked up on first ring. There was a 15-second pause.
“Arnie’s on speakerphone.”
Think about that. In less than half a minute, Palmer, one of the most popular players the game has ever seen, a man who influenced golf so much and the lives of so many, who would become a King and lead his own army, took the call immediately without appointment and jubilantly talked about Simpson and how proud he was of the young man’s victory.
That was Arnie.
He often spoke to how much the game gave to him and in turn, his responsibility to give back. He gave back. And gave and gave and gave.
We’re coming up on five years now since Palmer passed on the eve of Ryder Cup week in 2016 at age 87. At this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, where a 13-foot bronze statue of Palmer in full swing stands tall by the first tee, his legacy will be remembered and celebrated as it is every year.
Arnie should be celebrated every week of the year.
“We still very much feel his spirit and his presence here at his own event, but also in the game of golf in general,” Henrik Stenson said. “So much work for charity. He’s a huge figure in the sport and big thanks for everything he did throughout his career and after.”
Arnie was there for one and all, from kids to the blue-collar worker to captains of industry to Presidents of the United States. He was the accessible common man, a philanthropist who raised millions for charities.
He was an experienced aviator who took flight on golf courses around the world as one of the game’s best to ever play. He was the bold, telegenic golfer with thick forearms and a thin waist, a whirlybird follow through and pigeon-toed putting stance who burst out of black-and-white TV sets and took the game to the masses while winning 62 titles on the PGA Tour, including seven majors.
He was a trailblazing marketing giant, a top-notch golf designer. Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2012, helped found the Golf Channel, helped usher in the Champions Tour.
He was Arnie, a folk hero with a driver in hand and a handshake after the round, who signed as many autographs, posed for as many pictures, chatted with as many fans in the galleries as any golfer who hit a golf ball.
“Arnold Palmer was the everyday man’s hero,” Jack Nicklaus once said. “From the modest upbringing, Arnold embodied the hard-working strength of America.”
Tiger Woods, a record eight-time winner of Arnie’s tournament whose two children were born at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando, which is near the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, said Palmer meant everything to golf.
“There was no one more important to the game than Arnold,” Woods once said. “He was a friend, we shared a lot of laughs, he was a legend.”
Jan 7, 1961; Los Angeles, CA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Arnold Palmer in action during the Los Angeles Open at Rancho Golf Course. Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY NETWORK
Palmer was a prolific writer, too. For decades, he sent thousands of letters to all winners on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, LPGA tour and Web.com Tour. Some winners of collegiate events, too, as some winners of overseas events. Whether hand-written or typed, each was personalized.
Of the many letters Rory McIlroy received, the one that arrived after he won the first of his four major championships in the 2011 U.S. Open, meant the most.
“You are now in a position where you have the opportunity to give back to the game that is making you famous, and I hope, and certainly feel sure, that you will live up to that obligation in the months and years ahead. Just continue to be yourself. Don’t change. Sincerely, Arnold Palmer”
“Those were good words of wisdom and words to live by,” said McIlroy, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2018.
Palmer meant so much to Rickie Fowler that he drove some three hours in 2016 to tell him he couldn’t play in the tournament that year.
“It was obviously a tough decision. It was all schedule-related,” Fowler said. “Just thought it would mean a lot if I at least made that announcement or discussed it and shared it with Arnold in person. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.
“It was like I was breaking up with a long-time girlfriend or something.
“He was a little bit in shock, but he understood.”
Arnold Palmer Invitational Fantasy Golf Power Rankings https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
The PGA Tour pays its annual homage to one of modern golf’s forefathers with this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge near Orlando, Florida. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings and odds for the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
A field of 123 descends on Bay Hill this week. Viktor Hovland is the top player in the field at No. 4 in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings. Rory McIlroy (No. 9), Bryson DeChambeau (No. 11), Will Zalatoris (No. 12) and defending-champion Tyrrell Hatton (No. 13) are also among the week’s betting favorites.
Xander Schauffele, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm, ranked No. 1-3 in the Golfweek rankings, respectively, can be expected to return to competition for next week’s Players Championship.
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational: Fantasy Golf Top 30
The long-reigning Open Championship winner tied for 48th at last week’s WGC-Workday Championship in his 2021 PGA Tour debut. He missed the cut in each of his three appearances in this event dating back to 2015.
29. Zach Johnson (+10000)
No one in the field has played more tournament rounds at Bay Hill than Johnson’s 66. He has averaged 1.38 strokes gained on the field per round.
28. Henrik Stenson (+10000)
Only seven players in this field average more strokes gained per round than Stenson’s 2.00 over 44 career rounds here. This will be his first PGA Tour event since a T-23 finish at The RSM Classic in the fall swing.
27. Kevin Na (+4000)
Tied for 11th last week at The Concession Golf Club with 1.42 SG: Around-the-Green per round. Doesn’t have a top-10 result in this event since 2015.
26. Si Woo Kim (+10000)
Missed the cut here each of the last three years but comes into the 2021 event with a win already this season and an average of 0.26 SG: Off-the-Tee per round.
25. Harris English (+4000)
Finished 66th in last week’s 72-man field following back-to-back missed cuts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and Farmers Insurance Open. Tied for ninth here last year and excelled on and around the greens.
24. Max Homa (+4000)
The winner of The Genesis Invitational tied for 22nd in last week’s elite field. He’s 33rd on Tour in Birdie or Better Percentage.
23. Louis Oosthuizen (+3300)
Tied for sixth last week for his best finish in three events this year. He tied for ninth here in 2015 but hasn’t won anywhere in the world since the 2018 South African Open.
22. Jason Day (+3300)
Started 2021 with back-to-back missed cuts but tied for seventh at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and for 18th last week. He’s averaging 0.50 SG: Off-the-Tee and 0.81 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.
21. Alex Noren (+8000)
Tied for 12th in a similar field at The Genesis Invitational. He gained 0.91 strokes per round on approach that week but also had one of his better performances of the season with the driver.
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20. Corey Conners (+8000)
Missed the cut each of the last two years here due to poor putting performances. He’s gaining strokes with the putter this season and is averaging 1.26 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.
19. Sam Burns (+4000)
Tied for 14th on Tour in Par 4 Efficiency: 450-500 Yards and should be one of the few able to score this week on one of Bay Hill’s most common but difficult holes. Made the cut in each of his first three appearances in this event.
18. Billy Horschel (+3500)
Tied for second last week with 1.39 SG: Putting per round on Bermuda greens. Also averaged 1.09 SG: Off-the-Tee last week and will need to lean on those same two strengths.
17. Jordan Spieth (+2800)
Oddly will make his very first appearance at this event. Tied for 15th at The Genesis Invitational following a T-3 in Pebble Beach and a T-4 at the Phoenix Open.
16. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+8000)
Finished T-18 in his debut at this event last year. Last year’s tournament was played in strong winds, and he leaned on his putter with 0.99 SG: Putting per round.
15. Hideki Matsuyama (+2800)
Hasn’t finished in the top 10 here since a T-6 in 2016. Tied for 14th in last week’s loaded field with 1.64 SG: Around-the-Green per round.
14. Will Zalatoris (+4000)
Averaging 1.00 SG: Approach and 1.61 SG: Tee-to-Green per round through 28 measured rounds on his rookie PGA Tour season. Will need to be better with the putter after losing 1.20 strokes per round on the Bermuda greens last week.
13. Tommy Fleetwood (+4000)
Finished T-10 in 2017 and T-3 in 2019 before a missed cut last year. He typically plays his best PGA Tour golf in Florida at this time of the year.
12. Jason Kokrak (+4000)
Won last year’s CJ Cup at a comparable course in Shadow Creek. His putting stroke returned to form with 1.05 SG: Putting last week. Has averaged 1.33 strokes gained on the field over 28 rounds played here.
11. Justin Rose (+6600)
Only three members of the field have more rounds played here than his 50 and his 1.42 strokes gained per round lead that group. He missed the cut last year but has a runner-up finish and two third-place showings since 2011.
Hasn’t played since a T-5 finish at Pebble Beach but already has three top-10 finishes in four international events in 2021, including a victory at the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
9. Marc Leishman (+5000)
The 2017 champion was the runner-up last year. He typically putts well on these greens, and he averaged 1.23 SG: Putting last week on Bermudagrass.
8. Sungjae Im (+2200)
Finished third or T-3 each of the last two years in this event. Last year’s tournament was the week after he got his first PGA Tour win at The Honda Classic. Leads the field with 2.99 strokes gained per round at Bay Hill.
7. Viktor Hovland (+1100)
Has already played this event twice with a T-40 finish in 2019 and a T-42 last year. His much-improved short game and putting should boost him into contention this year.
6. Francesco Molinari (+2800)
The 2019 champion withdrew last year due to a back injury. He’s returning to his old form with three top-10 finishes in just four PGA Tour events this calendar year.
5. Patrick Reed (+2000)
Has a top finish in this event of T-7 in 2018. He already has a win in 2021, and he tied for ninth last week with another strong putting performance.
4. Matthew Fitzpatrick (+2200)
Averages 1.31 strokes gained on the field per round over 20 career rounds at Bay Hill. Tied for ninth in poor weather last year and was the runner-up in better weather in 2019.
3. Bryson DeChambeau (+1200)
Leads this field and the PGA Tour with 1.22 SG: Off-the-Tee per round through 22 measured rounds on the season. Runner-up in 2018 and finished fourth last year. He’s fourth on Tour in Birdie or Better Percentage.
2. Tyrrell Hatton (+1800)
Last year’s champ was among the week’s leaders in SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green. He tied for 22nd last week with 1.13 SG: Putting but 1.63 strokes lost around-the-green per round.
1. Rory McIlroy (+850)
Second in this field by the Golfweek rankings and second in SG: Off-the-Tee. Seventh on Tour in BoB percentage. Won this event in 2018 and has three other top-10 finishes in his last four appearances.
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Check the yardage book: Bay Hill Club for the Arnold Palmer Invitational https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
The PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational has been at Bay Hill Club in Orlando since 1979, drawing great fields and a long list of top winners.
The par-72 layout plays 7,454 yards for the pros, and the scores tend to depend largely on the spring breezes in Florida. A strong north wind can make the course particularly difficult, and that is a very possible condition as late-season cold fronts push into Central Florida. Players can have their hands full if such winds dry out the course.
Arnold Palmer bought Bay Hill in 1974 and maintained a home there until his death in 2016. A statue of the King still stands near the clubhouse, marking the territory that has Palmer’s fingerprints all over it.
Thanks to fairway maps provided by Puttview – the maker of detailed yardage books for more than 30,000 courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges that players face this week. Check out each hole below.
Is Concession ready to become a yearly PGA Tour stop? Rory McIlroy and others weigh in. https://ift.tt/2NSFcxr
BRADENTON, Florida – Players at the first World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession Golf Club scored birdies, pars and bogeys. A few carded double and triple bogeys during the four-day event, but only one ace, on the par-3 sixth hole.
But the most impressive ace was reserved for The Concession itself, and anyone involved with the tournament’s production who helped make Ty Votaw one happy PGA head honcho.
According to the executive vice president of the International PGA Tour, with just 45 days to prepare for an event just below a Major, The Concession, in the parlance of baseball, hit it out of the park.
Ty Votaw, executive vice president of the International PGA Tour. (Doug Fernandes/Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
“It was an amazing week relative to what was able to be done, in a short amount of time, with a dedicated club in The Concession,” Votaw said. “I think the feedback from everybody … is it’s been a wonderful week. I think people of the Sarasota-Bradenton area who knew of The Concession, those people who have played The Concession, knew it was a gem.
“And now the rest of the world does, too, because of the worldwide television coverage that we enjoyed and how you’ve got a golf course that gives up birdies and eagles in bunches, and you’ve got a golf course that can jump up and grab you and give you a double, triple, quad.”
While a course record was set during the four days and more than 10 players finished at minus-10 or better, 32 players ended the tourney at even or in plus territory.
“All the way through the leaderboard,” Votaw said. “(The course) is a test. You want a golf course that tests you. You want a golf course that helps (you) score, but also you can’t be complacent. The people who are watching around the world are looking at this and seeing what the best players in the world are doing to it. Some are struggling, some are doing great.”
COVID-19 forced the event formerly known as the Mexico Championship to be relocated to The Concession. With a shortage of time to prepare, Votaw said the necessary infrastructure of food vendors, restrooms, security and volunteers wasn’t in place to allow more fans. Initially, it was thought no spectators would be allowed to attend, but tickets were made available to members, each costing $400, a price tag Votaw defended.
“These are the best players in the world,” he said. “Forty-eight of the top 50 players in the world, and it’s really a question of what the market will bear. Even with the number of fans that we had here, it’s been a success.”
With more time to prepare, Votaw said, a tournament buzz could have been created within the Sarasota-Bradenton area.
“More time to market the sale of tickets and create that momentum,” he said. Concession president Bruce Cassidy said he’d like his club to host a PGA event similar to the Workday Championship every few years.
For that, the course may have to be expanded to accommodate more fans and vehicles. “You’d have to make some adjustments,” Votaw said. “(Cut some) trees down. The good thing is, 10,000 people out here would look like 20,000 to some degree.”
So, Votaw will head back to his bosses at PGA Tour headquarters with a glowing report on The Concession and its first foray into hosting a major professional tournament.
“If there was a negative, I didn’t hear it.”
So what was the reaction from players?
Rory McIlroy walks the second green during the final round of World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession on February 28, 2021 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
What Rory McIlroy said about Concession
“It’s a great golf course. It’s sort of a typical Florida layout. It sort of reminds me a little bit of the Bear’s Club. I guess Jack had a hand in this with Tony Jacklin. Sort of generous off the tees, but if you start missing fairways, not much rough and you sort of get into trouble in the brush and the trees,” Rory McIlroy said after playing his practice round.
“It’s a big golf course, undulating greens, and I think that’s sort of the defense … you know, they can tuck some pins away here and put them in some difficult spots.
“I think this course has been really well received this week. Maybe there was a couple of greens that are a little severe, a couple of pin placements anyway over the weekend that were maybe a touch severe, but I think when we come back again that the guys who set the golf course up will know that. Yeah, I liked it, I think it’s convenient for a lot of guys and I think everyone enjoyed it.”
Jon Rahm plays his shot from the 15th tee during the second round of World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession on February 26, 2021 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
What Jon Rahm said about Concession
“It’s a great golf course. It’s a challenging golf course tee to green, difficult. Greens are difficult.
“This golf course right here, you’ve got a lot of like tabletop areas, right, where you hit a shot into the green and everything just runs away from the pin. A great example is the seventh hole, everything on the back right area, everything just goes away from the pin … if you can put the ball in the right spot, you’re going to be able to make some putts. It’s not easy. They’re tricky, they’re very difficult. Wouldn’t be surprised if statistically they play as some of the hardest ones all year.”
Billy Horschel plays his shot from the eighth tee during the second round of World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession on February 26, 2021 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
What Billy Horschel said about Concession
“I think this is a great golf course. I’ve always been a big fan of a course that, as I say, you can’t fake it. Maybe you can fake it one or two days, but you can’t fake it for four days. And this is one of those courses. You’ve got to hit the ball great every day, you got to hit it solid. You’ve got to have control of your golf ball from tee to green.
“You have to have control of distance, direction. You’ve got to think about where you’re hitting the shots into the greens or maybe even off tees. I think this is a great golf course. I think our rules staff did an unbelievable job this week of setting it up. I think they could have I think the superintendent would have loved to have seen the greens be a little firmer, a little faster. I’m sure he wasn’t happy 18 under won, but it’s such a fine line of maybe a foot faster or a little bit firmer and some of these pin locations become pretty stupid, and we look pretty stupid. And you don’t want to make us look stupid when we hit good golf shots.
“You’ve seen when that happens at a certain major and we don’t need to do that on the PGA Tour.”
In this special edition of the Forward Press, Golfweek’s David Dusek chats with Adam Schupak about Collin Morikawa’s win at the WGC-Workday Championship, the golfers from all over the world who are paying tribute to Tiger Woods, the upcoming Arnold Palmer Invitational Bay Hill, and much more.
As always, you can download the Forward Press podcast and listen on all of your favorite platforms, including:
