Archive for July, 2009
July 24, 2009
Kevin Na hustled to finish his rain-delayed round in the Canadian Open. He ended up running the tables at Glen Abbey.
Na birdied the final five holes and nine of his last 12 for a 9-under 63 and a two-stroke lead over Retief Goosen, Scott Verplank and Joe Durant on Thursday during the suspended first round of the 100th Canadian Open.
By finishing in fading light, he avoided an early trip back to the course Friday.
Thats all I was hoping for, said Na, winless in six seasons on the PGA Tour. I was just trying to get to the tee real quick and hit. Ended up being we had 10, 15 minutes to spare, but you never know when theyre going to call it.
After playing one hole in the morning, Na waited out a 7 1/2-hour rain delay in the tournament plagued by wet conditions for the second straight year. Ninety-eight players were unable to finish the round, and 39 of them didnt even begin play.
I had my manager go to the hotel and grab my computer, Na said. For a couple hours I watched TV shows that I downloaded, and just ate a couple times and went to the car and took a nap. I swear, I mean, I got to the 11th hole where I was starting and I looked at the guy and I said, `Man, it feels like Friday. It was a long day.
Na moved to the United States at age 8 and took up golf a year later. At 17, he skipped his senior year of high school to turn professional. Now 25, he has seven top-11 finishes in 18 events this year, including a seventh-place tie Sunday in Milwaukee.
Once in a while we get it, he said.
Jimmy Walker was 6 under with four holes to play when play was suspended for the day because of darkness.
Mike Weir, trying to become the first Canadian to win the national championship since Pat Fletcher in 1954, opened with a 70.
It was not what we wanted for this event, Weir said. Its kind of playing soft - a dart show. Its too bad because the course is really good. Its in really good condition, but super soft.
Na closed his first nine, the back nine at Glen Abbey, with birdies on the par-5 16th and 18th, added birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 and birdied the final five for a front-nine 28, matching the tournament record set by Vijay Singh on the same nine in the second round of his 2004 victory.
The greens are holding, so you can get aggressive with the irons, Na said. But off the tee you must put yourself in the fairway. The rough is very thick.
Durant had a hole-in-one on the seventh hole.
It was like 147 to the hole, which for me was kind of an in-between shot, Durant said. I hit a nice little smooth 8-iron. It hit about 4 feet past and drew back in.
He also was relieved to finish the round.
We were running the last couple holes to try to get done, Durant said. Itll be nice to sleep in.
Goosen played the four par 5s in 5 under, making eagle at the 13th after the long rain delay and birdieing Nos. 16, 18 and 2.
Been a long round. Thirteen hours from tee-off to finish, said Goosen, coming off a fifth-place tie Sunday in the British Open. Ive been up since 4:30.
After the round began on time at 7 a.m., heavy rain forced the suspension of play at 8:38. The rain stopped just before noon and course workers needed more than 4 hours to drain the flooded bunkers and get the clay-based layout in shape to play.
If you play out here long enough, youre going to have some days like this, said Verplank, the 2001 winner at Royal Montreal. So, you kind of figure out what to do, and just go with it. Thats the way it is.
Because of the wet conditions after about 1 1/2 inches of rain hit the course overnight and in the morning, players were allowed to use preferred lies in the fairways - just as they did in all four rounds last year.
DIVOTS: The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame opened an exhibit honoring Weir on Thursday. Weir will be inducted into the hall later this year. The exhibit includes his green jacket from the 2003 Masters. … Defending champion Chez Reavie shot a 73. … Bob Tway, the 2003 winner at Hamilton, withdrew during the round because of personal reasons. Steve Flesch withdrew before the round because of a neck injury.
July 24, 2009
Scores Thursday from the Canadian Open, a $5,1 million US PGA Tour event at 7,253-yard, par-72 Glen Abbey Golf Club.
Partial First Round
98 golfers failed to complete first, they will complete the round Friday
Kevin Na 28-35-63
Scott Verplank 29-36-65
Retief Goosen 33-32-65
Joe Durant 32-33-65
Dean Wilson 31-37-68
Harrison Frazar 33-35-68
Patrick Sheehan 34-34-68
Chris Riley 31-37-68
Kevin Sutherland 33-35-68
Steve Elkington 33-35-68
Frank Lickliter II 31-37-68
Jason Dufner 33-35-68
Billy Mayfair 34-35-69
Y.E. Yang 35-34-69
Brian Bateman 36-33-69
Ryan Palmer 33-36-69
John Merrick 35-35-70
Charlie Wi 36-34-70
Steve Allan 33-37-70
Bob Heintz 34-36-70
Craig Barlow 31-39-70
Mathias Gronberg 33-37-70
Jeff Klauk 32-39-71
Scott Piercy 35-36-71
Luke Donald 36-35-71
Chris DiMarco 33-38-71
Mike Weir 36-35-71
Mark Calcavecchia 36-35-71
Trevor Immelman 37-34-71
Bryce Molder 35-36-71
Brad Adamonis 33-38-71
Webb Simpson 36-35-71
Troy Kelly 35-36-71
Omar Uresti 34-38-72
Jonathan Byrd 35-37-72
J.P. Hayes 37-35-72
Michael Bradley 33-39-72
Joe Ogilvie 35-37-72
Jeff Maggert 35-37-72
Tyler Aldridge 35-37-72
Billy Andrade 35-38-73
Sean OHair 37-36-73
J.B. Holmes 36-37-73
Ryuji Imada 32-41-73
Chez Reavie 35-38-73
Jason Gore 34-39-73
Mathew Goggin 37-36-73
Peter Lonard 36-37-73
Vaughn Taylor 39-35-74
Ian Leggatt 36-38-74
Tom Pernice, Jr. 36-38-74
Eric Axley 35-39-74
Bubba Watson 35-40-75
Matthew Borchert 37-39-76
John Daly 35-42-77
Mark Brooks 40-38-78
Bob Tway WD
Steve Flesch WD
—
Leaderboard at time of suspended play
SCORE THRU
1. Kevin Na -9 F
2. Scott Verplank -7 F
2. Retief Goosen -7 F
2. Joe Durant -7 F
5. Jimmy Walker -6 14
6. Dean Wilson -4 F
6. Patrick Sheehan -4 F
6. Jason Dufner -4 F
6. Leif Olson -4 16
6. Peter Tomasulo -4 15
6. Derek Fathauer -4 15
6. Harrison Frazar -4 F
6. Kevin Sutherland -4 F
6. Frank Lickliter II -4 F
6. Steve Elkington -4 F
6. Chris Riley -4 F
July 23, 2009
Defending the banks sponsorship of a golf tournament in a slumping economy, Deutsche Bank Americas CEO Seth Waugh said on Wednesday the event has been a good investment while providing needed money for the charities and local businesses that depend upon it.
You can think of the golf tournament as a silly little thing in terms of whats going on in the world, but these are the bricks that can build the economy back up, Waugh said, citing studies that estimate the economic impact of the Deutsche Bank Championship at $40 break break to $70 million annually. Nobody in the worlds going to want to take 70 million less.
Speaking to leaders of Boston businesses and charities at the Four Seasons Hotel, Waugh bristled at complaints that Northern Trust, a recipient of more than $1.5 billion in federal bailout funds, was wining and dining clients and employees at a February tournament it sponsors in Los Angeles.
Among the critics was Barney Frank, the chairman of the congressional financial services committee. Franks district includes the TPC Boston course in Norton, where the Deutsche Bank Championship is held. Frank and other members of his committee wrote to Northern Trust CEO Frederick H. Waddell to demand that the bank reimburse the federal government for taxpayer money spent on lavish events in conjunction with the Northern Trust Open.
Six months ago, it was at a fever pitch. That was too bad. Its calmed down, Waugh said, stressing that Deutsche Bank did not take any federal bailout money. Northern Trust was in the crosshairs. (It was) being treated unfairly. It really boiled down to the fact that Sheryl Crow was singing.
The September stop on the U.S. PGA tour, the Deutsche Bank Championship has become one of the more prestigious tournaments on the calendar - thanks largely to its association with Tiger Woods. Woods, who won the event in 2006 and finished second twice, is involved in running the tournament, and his foundation is its primary charitable beneficiary.
The tournament gave $3.5 million to charities last year and $14 million since it began in 2003.
When you delve into the what golf does for the charities and the community impact for the local economies, I dont think it would be too beneficial to see that go, said Mark Steinberg, who runs the golf division at IMG and is Woods agent. I think that the numbers speak for the benefit.
July 23, 2009
Mike Weir is well aware that a Canadian hasnt won the Canadian Open in 55 years, and that it has been 95 years since the tournament crowned a Canadian-born champion.
Its our national championship, and all us Canadians, we want to put to rest that its been so long since one of us has won one, Weir said on Wednesday, a day before the start of the 100th edition.
Pat Fletcher, born in England, was the last Canadian winner, taking the 1954 event in Vancouver, British Columbia. Carl Keffer is the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914. Albert Murray, also born in England, won in 1908 and 1913.
The odds are pretty much staked against us, said Stephen Ames, a naturalized Canadian from Trinidad and Tobago. Fifteen playing this week in a field of 156. … It makes things difficult to some extent, but at the same time, we have what we call the 15th club in our bag with the crowd.
Weir is making his 19th appearance in the national championship, back at Jack Nicklaus-designed Glen Abbey for the second straight year and 25th time overall.
The 2003 Masters champion, an eight-time winner on the U.S. PGA Tour, came close to breaking through in 2004 at Glen Abbey, losing to Vijay Singh in a playoff. Last year, Weir tied for fifth, five strokes behind winner Chez Reavie.
Weir missed the cut in his first nine starts in the tournament - eight at Glen Abbey and one at Royal Montreal - and also dropped out early in 2005 and 2006.
Just the experience of playing the course, I think helped me adjust. And I think my games just evolved over the years, the 39-year-old from Ontario said. I think a number of the rounds and cuts I missed here I was playing on the Canadian Tour, and I wasnt a PGA Tour-caliber player then.
He was never better at Glen Abbey than he was Monday in his charity pro-am event, playing the back nine in 9-under 28. He was 8 under on the final six holes, making two eagles and four birdies. I wish I could do that in a tournament, Weir said.
Nick Taylor and Matt Hill, the Canadians who hold the top two spots in the world amateur rankings, are paired together for the first two rounds. The top-ranked Taylor, from Manitoba, was the low amateur at the U.S. Open and reached the U.S. Amateur Public Links final last week. Hill, from Weirs hometown of Brights Grove, won the U.S. college individual title in May.
Its cool to be in a PGA Tour event, but being back home in Canada with a bunch of people working and pulling for you, thats going to be fun, Taylor said.
Anthony Kim is back at Glen Abbey after tying for eighth last year. He closed with a 75 in a final-round pairing with Reavie after opening with rounds of 65, 69 and 64.
I like the golf course, Kim said. It sets up well for me and it really is a drivers golf course, and I feel like that is a strong suit in my game. If I can manage to keep the ball in play, it should be a good week.
Kims agent, Chris Armstrong, is Canadian, and the 24-year-old American has tournament title sponsor Royal Bank of Canadas logo on his bag.
Carrying the RBC bag, Ill have a couple more fans following me, Kim said.
RBC is in its second year at the Royal Canadian Golf Association-run tournament, which didnt have a title sponsor in 2006 and 2007.
I dont recall a time in my tenure where weve had a better overall working relationship between ourselves, the title sponsor, RBC and the RCGA, U.S. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. It really is working very, very well.
Last year, Reavie won his first tour title, beating Billy Mayfair by three strokes on the water-logged course south of Toronto.
You never know when its your time, Reavie said. Youve just got to go out there and play as hard as you can every day. When you add them up, hopefully youre the lowest guy out here.
July 23, 2009
Stewart Cink came home to show off his latest trophy and new nickname.
Cink, a former Georgia Tech golfer who lives near Atlanta in Duluth, Wednesday talked about his British Open championship after returning to Atlanta.
The biggest win in Cinks career was not popular with golf fans who were pulling for 59-year-old Tom Watson.
Cink tied Watson, the five-time Open champion, with what he called the biggest putt of my career by far on the 18th hole of the final round on Sunday. Cink defeated Watson in a four-hole playoff by six strokes for his first major victory.
After spoiling Watsons fairy-tale ending, Cink was roasted in some local newspapers.
The Scottish Sun called him Stewart Stink. The Telegraph referred to him as the giant ogre in a childrens story, and the Shrek of Turnberry.
Even so, the claret jug awarded to Open champions belongs to Cink for a year.
He said he has used the claret jug for more than the celebratory pint of Guinness he poured in after his victory.
Cink drank champagne from the trophy with friends in Atlanta on Tuesday night, shared pictures of it with his Twitter followers and joked that he had trouble deciding which cup to use for his morning glass of orange juice.
He said he has also let his children drink water and Coca-Cola from the jug.
Its not going to see a lot of case time, Cink said.
Cink flew from New York to Atlanta Tuesday night in time to watch his appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. Cink said he hopes his visit with Letterman will help earn him a new nickname he would prefer to ogre or Shrek.
Item No. 3 on Lettermans Top 10 list, read by Cink, was the suggested nickname: 50 Cink, a reference to rapper 50 Cent.
Im hoping that one sticks, Cink said. Tiger (Woods) calls me Kitchen and he thinks he came up with it.
Of all the congratulatory calls and e-mails Cink received, the NHL fan said he was most excited about messages from his favorite hometown team.
Cink said the messages from Atlanta Thrashers players were the ones he had to show off.
When I got those messages, I had to show all my family, Cink said. That was an extreme cool factor.
Cink said he also received messages from Jack Nicklaus and Andy Roddick.
Cink is the second former Georgia Tech player to win the British Open this decade. David Duval won the tournament in 2001.
Cink has six career PGA Tour wins, but this was his first win in a major.
July 15, 2009
Nick Taylor of Canada earned the top seed in qualifying at the at the US Amateur Public Links.
Taylor, who was the low amateur at last months U.S. Open, shot a 1-under 70 on Tuesday and o maintained first place in qualifying on the Jimmie Austin Golf Course on the University of Oklahoma campus. He shot a 66 in the first round of stroke-play.
Rickie Fowler of Oklahoma State was among three players who tied for second place, four strokes behind Taylor.
Defending champion Jack Newman of Des Moines, Iowa, missed the cut by one stroke after finishing at 8-over 150. He competed in the John Deere Classic over the weekend, then drove through the night to make it to Oklahoma for the first round of qualifying Monday.
July 15, 2009
A federal judge denied a pro online poker players request Tuesday to have his amateur golfer status reinstated.
Dusty Schmidt had filed a complaint seeking a preliminary restraining order that would have allowed him to keep his USGA amateur status and play in a series of events in the Pacific Northwest.
The USGA has maintained that Schmidt gave up his amateur status when he threw down a $1 million challenge to anyone who could beat him at 72 holes of golf and at poker.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman turned down the request, saying Schmidt did not meet a legal standard of having a contract with the USGA.
Its disappointing, obviously, Schmidt said, because I wanted to play golf.
Schmidt was a promising golfer from Southern California who went professional after a year at UC Irvine. But at age 23, he suffered a career-ending heart attack.
While recuperating, Schmidt took up online poker and eventually make a profession of it.
Several years passed and Schmidt, now 28, was cleared to play golf again. He applied for, and was granted, amateur status with the USGA. It allowed him to compete in USGA-sanctioned events in the Pacific Northwest.
But earlier this year, Schmidt publicized his Million Dollar Challenge to anyone to could beat him at 72 holes of golf and several poker hands.
The USGA revoked his status, claiming that the golf-poker challenge violated a rule aimed at actions detrimental to the best interests of the amateur game, and another related to gambling and the spirit of the rules.
Schmidt claimed that because no one took him up on it, it was moot.
While the USGA allows him to appeal the decision, Schmidt claimed the process was not timely enough for him to compete in events over the summer that he had already paid registration fees for.
Representing himself in court on Monday, Schmidt made an emotional appeal, borrowing from amateur great Bobby Jones: There is golf and there is competitive golf and the two are entirely different things.
Schmidt said he entered an inferred or implied contract with the USGA when he applied for his amateur status and paid a $125 fee.
But Lee Abrams, an attorney representing the USGA, claimed that any contract was essentially completed when Schmidt was granted his amateur status.
Mosman, while prefacing his ruling by saying `a part of my heart always roots for the underdog, turned down the request because Schmidts status did not meet the legal threshold of a contract.
Schmidt is proceeding with an appeal of his status through the USGA. He could also pursue other aspects of his legal complaint, but he said Monday he has not decided if he will do that.
July 14, 2009
Carolyn Bivens resigned as LPGA Tour commissioner Monday, bowing to pressure from players who were upset about the organizations economic woes and her leadership.
Marsha Evans, a retired rear admiral in the Navy who also has led the American Red Cross and Girl Scouts of the USA, will take over as interim commissioner. Shell serve until the LPGA board finds a replacement, which it hopes to do by the end of the year.
Bivens departure seemed increasingly likely after a group of players wrote a letter last week to the LPGA Tours board of directors calling for her to quit. Her uncertain status created a distraction over the weekend during the U.S. Womens Open.
We reached a point which made it difficult for Carolyn herself to see herself going forward and being able to lead in this environment, board chairwoman Dawn Hudson said. We had to change something.
Hudson said Bivens resignation was a mutual decision between the former commissioner and the LPGAs board of directors. She praised Bivens for helping the tour think big even as the economy worsened.
But Bivens four-year tenure also was plagued with difficulties and controversies.
The tour has lost seven tournaments since 2007, and last year Bivens was widely criticized when she proposed an English-only policy for tour players. It was never instituted. The LPGA includes 121 international players from 26 countries, including 45 from South Korea.
In October 2006, she was accused by officials of the now-defunct tour event near Atlantic City, N.J., of backing out on a promise to maintain a longtime event.
I love the LPGA and have been proud to serve as its commissioner for the last four years. I am also proud of what the LPGA has accomplished during my tenure, Bivens said in a statement Monday. It is time to turn this organization over to someone who can build on the solid foundation weve established.
Bivens supporters credited her with integrating another tour into the LPGA, securing ownership of the LPGAs own major tournament, upgrading the quality of courses, increasing coverage of child care, implementing the first drug-testing program in professional golf and signing new television partnerships.
Carolyn did a lot of great things. She tried to stand up for the LPGA, which no one has done in a long time, said Juli Inkster, a tour veteran and member of the board. I just think her delivery on the whole thing was not the best.
Evans has limited experience in professional golf; she only began serving on the LPGA board this year and her only prior work was on an LPGA commissioners advisory council in 2007 and 2008.
She intends to stay in the job only while the job search for a permanent replacement continues. Her top priorities are reaching out to the players and signing up tournaments that currently are being negotiated despite an economic climate in which corporate sponsors are cutting costs.
What I would hope during this period when I have the privilege of serving is that we can move beyond the controversies and really focus on the players, Evans said.
LPGA player and board member Christina Kim said it has been a very interesting last 10 days juggling the U.S. Open with numerous conference calls about the LPGA leadership. But she was thrilled with Evans interim appointment.
I havent met anybody more compassionate, more compelling and with more passion for the future of the organization, Kim said.
The LPGA Tour also has appointed former star Annika Sorenstam as an adviser to the board of directors.
She has relationships and a point of view about the golf world that I think will be helpful in some of our tournament negotiations, Hudson said. She is able to understand things from a players eyes but also understand from a business standpoint what some of the opportunities and obstacles are. She will be a sage voice in sometimes reconciling those two.
Inkster said some tournaments that are in danger of being canceled can be salvaged.
Sometimes when you send a different team, a different delivery, things can work out, Inkster said.
July 14, 2009
Padraig Harrington believes his experience winning the British Open the last two years will give him an advantage over almost everyone at Turnberry. The hard part will be giving himself a chance.
The Irishman is trying to become only the second player in the last century to win golfs oldest championship three successive years. He has won three of the last eight majors, the highest rate since 2007 of any golfer, including Tiger Woods.
The trouble is, Harrington has obsessed so much with retooling his swing that his game is out of sorts. He has missed five straight cuts on the U.S. and European tours coming into Turnberry, although he did capture the Irish PGA last week outside Dublin.
The one thing I know is that if I get in position, I can win. Thats the nice thing, Harrington said Tuesday. Others can get there, but they wont win. So at least I can do it if I can get into position.
Can I get into position is whats in doubt.
Harrington is working with Bob Torrance on his swing and with Bob Rotella on his brain.
After a dismal spring, following by constant tinkering, he finally had what Harrington calls an intervention with his wife, caddie and Rotella, with instructions to start competing instead of spending so much time on mechanics.
But it remains a work in progress.
Harrington thought he turned the corner last week when he played two practice rounds at Turnberry, only to feel his swing had deserted him at the Irish PGA, even though he won by seven shots at The European Club against a weak field.
Golf is always - for me, anyway - a juggling act of keeping all the balls in the air and keeping everything working together, he said. And Ive always concentrated on one ball a lot and a few of the other ones have fallen on the ground, and its a question of picking them up and getting them all together again.
He believes hell be a better player when he sorts through the latest round of swing changes.
Even so, Harrington knows this will be a tough week. He was overlooked at Royal Birkdale last year when he showed up with a wrist injury. He caught many by surprise when he won the PGA Championship last year at Oakland Hills, becoming the first European to win successive majors in the same season.
Going for three in a row at the Masters, he was overshadowed by the return to majors by Woods.
But now?
Obviously, Im going for three in a row, so the spotlight is on me, Harrington said. Its not made it harder, but its certainly made it more high profile. Its probably a little harder to do when its as high profile. Its not as easy to do your own thing and just work away at it. But going forward, Im going to be a better player and thats all that counts to me.
July 13, 2009
All around him, players were making runs at the lead.
Steve Stricker didnt flinch. He simply outlasted them.
Stricker followed the lowest round of his career with 36 solid holes Sunday to win the John Deere Classic by three strokes.
Stricker, who tied the course record Saturday, fired a 7-under 64 in the fourth round after starting the day with a third-round 68 to finish at 264 for the tournament. That was good enough to give him his second PGA Tour win this year and sixth in all, not to mention a heavy dose of momentum heading into the British Open to go with the $774,000 winnners check.
Ive just given myself a lot of chances to win, said Stricker, now second behind Tiger Woods in the FedEx Cup standings. Some didnt go my way and some have.
This one did because he showed the poise and buried enough shots to hold off a tight field.
Local favorite Zach Johnson (64, 66), Brandt Snedeker (68, 65) and Brett Quigley (62, 67) all tied for second at 17 under. Quigley also qualified for the British Open, but he wont be making the trip to Turnberry.
Instead, hes going to Milwaukee and will also attend a memorial in Indiana for golfer Chris Smiths wife Beth, who was killed last month in an auto crash that critically injured their two children.
My hearts not into playing the British, said Quigley, who did not bring his passport.
He was, however, locked in Sunday.
Strickers biggest challenge, though, came from Tim Petrovic, who was in his group and was two strokes off the lead heading into the 36th and final hole of the day. But he hit the pond on No. 18 and double-bogeyed the hole, leaving him at 16 under along with Matt Jones (63, 69) and J.J. Henry (66, 68). Second-round leader Darron Stiles (70, 71) finished at 14 under.
Some of those scores, those guys had started on the back, Stricker said. And we kind of felt all week that you could maybe shoot a little lower on the back side. We just were trying to be patient, knowing that those guys were playing the back first and were going to have to come to the front and finish on some tougher holes.
A Wisconsin native and Illinois graduate, Stricker began the day three shots off the lead after he leaped into second place Saturday with a 61 that tied 2002 champion J.P. Hayes course record and matched the lowest round of his career. Duplicating that would have been tough. Hell take this, though.
His approach to the 13th green in the fourth round stopped three feet from the cup, setting up a birdie that put him at 19 under, but he just missed two birdie putts on the 15th and 16th holes. His 11-footer on No. 15 rolled around the rim, and his 12-footer on the par-3 16th stopped a few inches from the cup. Stricker finally went to 20 under on the par-5 17th, tapping in for birdie after his 50-footer hit the rim.
His best shot was when he holed out from the fairway for an eagle on the par-4 No. 6 in the fourth round, his 98-yard shot clearing a bunker and landing in the cup to put him at 17 under. That tied him for the lead with Johnson, who was off the course long before Petrovic and Stricker.
I kind of felt like this could be my week, Stricker said. I did that twice this week, holing out from the fairway, and that kind of got my momentum going, kind of made me feel like if I continue playing the way Ive been playing, Id have a chance of winning. When that went in, it felt like this could be the day.
Johnson, a tournament board director who grew up just over an hour away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, hadnt fared particularly well in seven previous appearances. His highest finish was a tie for 20th in 2004.
This place has really done a lot for me, he said. John Deere gave me two sponsors exemptions. Now, Im on the board of the tournament. I come here because I love the golf course for sure, family, friends.
Thousands cheered every shot as he made his way up the leaderboard, even simple par putts. And when he was finally finished after 36 holes, he waved his white cap as he walked off the ninth green.
Golf is a game of confidence, Johnson said. Its a totally different golf course, but Im hitting the ball solid and reading my lines.
