11 Things you missed: Tour wins, Ryder Cup fall-out and Norman on Tiger
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11 things you missed: Tour wins, Ryder Cup fall-out from Team USA, fan blinded by golf ball, Bud Cauley returns to PGA Tour after car crash, Thomas & Fowler sport Tiger t-shirts and Greg Norman on why he doesn’t want everything to be all about Tiger again.
Bjerregaard claims Dunhill Links Championship, denies Hatton history
Lucas Bjerregaard clinched his second European Tour title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as Tyrrell Hatton blew a four shot lead over the back-nine on Sunday.
Tyrrell Hatton looked all set to become the first person to win the title for the third consecutive time at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday. After making four birdies in a row from the third in the final round on the Old Course at St Andrews he held a five-shot lead but his momentum stalled and he carded four bogeys on the back nine to trail Lucas Bjerregaard by two shots in the closing stages.
Bjerregaard was ten-under par at the start of the round but posted an excellent 67 in difficult conditions to claim his second European Tour victory.
A Bjerregaard bogey on his final hole left Hatton with a 12-foot putt to force a play-off but he could not make it and had to settle for a share of second alongside countryman Tommy Fleetwood.
Bjerregaard said: “It was a great day. Obviously one of the best rounds I’ve played all year. It didn’t really look like I had much of a chance. It looked like Tyrrell was going to run away with it. But I just kept going about my business.
“I knew the back nine was going to play tough, so I thought if I could throw in a few birdies there, I would still have a chance. I didn’t rush it and they just slowly came. The one on the 16th was really nice.”
Kevin Tway wins first PGA Tour title after playoff, joins list of father-son Tour winners with dad Bob
Kevin Tway birdied all three playoff holes in a row to win his first ever PGA Tour title at the Safeway Open, defeating Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Moore in sudden death.
Brandt Snedeker held a five shot lead with 11 holes to play but suffered a back-nine collapse that included three bogeys in a row from the 10th. He needed pars over his final two holes to win his second title of the year, but a bogey on the 17th instead left him in a three-way playoff at 14-under-par.
“I’m gonna look back on that one in a few years as, man, I really gave that one away,” Snedeker said. “It sucks right now. Playing next week so I’ll dwell on it, take the positives … I played 63 holes of really damn good golf and nine holes I’d like to have back.”
Ryan Moore came from 7 shots behind at the start of the day with three birdies in his final four holes, while Tway’s back-to-back gains on the final two holes of regulation play matched Moore and Snedeker’s total.
Snedeker was the first to be eliminated with an opening par, while Moore and Tway swapped birdies for the first two playoff holes. Tway then carded his third birdie in a row to secure his maiden PGA Tour victory.
“I’m kind of at a loss for words,” he said afterwards.
Tway’s father, Bob Tway, also secured his first victory in a playoff 32 years ago at Torrey Pines, making them the 10th father and son Tour winners.
“I think he’s probably crying, to be honest,” Kevin Tway said of his dad. “He’s pretty proud of me. It’s been a long ride but this is why you work hard right here.”
Korea win UL International Crown in front of home crowds
The top seeds of In Gee Chun, In-Hyung Kim, Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu closed out a four point win over the USA and England to claim the UL International crown in front of home crowds on Sunday.
The event was blighted by Typhoon Kong-Rey and halted any play on Saturday, meaning the third round fourball matches had to be finished on Sunday morning.
South Korea had topped pool A ahead of England after the third round of fourball matches, while the United States finished ahead of Sweden in pool B. These four teams, with the addition of Thailand, competed in the final singles matches after they elimated Australia, Japan and Chinese Taipei.
With a two point cushion heading in to the final singles matches, the Korean quartet secured 2.5 points from the final session for a combined for 15 points – four points clear of their nearest rivals at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon.
The final round saw South Korea drop only one point when world number one Park lost to Thai star Ariya Jutanugarn 2&1. Chun defeated Anna Nordqvist (SWE) 1UP, Kim defeated Bronte Law (ENG) 2UP, and So Yeong Ryu claimed half a point from her halved match with Lexi Thompson (USA).
“I think this week is really good experience for me,” said Chun afterwards.
“My golf game was not really well but I can say I can get a lot of confidence from this week.”
One of the clear standouts from the contest was the fans and their costumes, with one fan dressing up as an inflatable Michelle Wie.
Greg Norman doesn’t want golf to get ‘lost again in that Tiger talk’
Earlier this year the former World No.1 had said he was ‘disappointed’ that coverage of Tiger’s comeback had overshadowed that of other players, and it seems Norman’s position hasn’t changed on that matter.
Norman appeared on the Yahoo Finance Sportsbook podcast this week and complimented Woods for his ‘massive leap’ back to competing from where he was a year ago, as well as conceeding that there is no question he is good for the game of golf. What Norman clearly doesn’t want however, is coverage to become ‘all Tiger’ again.
“I think he’s done an excellent job going from where he was a year ago,” Norman said.
“Massive leap, quite honestly, in 12 months. God bless him. He did everything right, stepped up to the plate and won. It’s good for him, there’s no question, it’s good for the game of golf, no question.
“But I hope they don’t put all their eggs in one basket again and be all Tiger and forget about all this other wonderful, fantastic talent even coming out of Korea and Japan and South Africa and Australia. Unbelievable amount of talent bubbling up around the world, and I’d hate to see them get lost again in that Tiger talk.
“I see a really good base of great, young talent there today and a lot of those guys today (are) unintimidated by Tiger.”
He also spoke about the increased ratings this year, arguing the heightened golf ratings since Woods’ recent success has more to do with other players raising their games.
“TV ratings are up because of what Tiger Woods does to every other player,” Norman said. “It’s not just about the one player, it’s about all the supporting cast who are equal if not better than him. He’s just pulling them along to make them more standout.”
Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler help Tiger celebrate Tour Championship win with ‘I MADE TIGER GREAT AGAIN’ T-shirts
After Tiger won the final event of the 2017/18 PGA Tour season, there was no time to celebrate as Team USA headed straight to Paris for the Ryder Cup.
It seems there has been now though, as Justin Thomas posted a photo of him and Rickie Fowler posing with Woods at his restaurant ‘The Woods Jupiter’, while sporting new shirts apparently bought by Zach Johnson.
“Felt like a great night to break in the new shirts”, Thomas wrote on Instagram. “…fun night celebrating TW’s win in Atlanta! Us players and especially the game is golf is happy to have you back and healthy old man! Here’s to some more battles in the future”
Justin Thomas revealed his goals for the 2017/18 season… including the ones he made, and ones he didn’t
Last year, Thomas won his first major, won five times and claimed the FedEx Cup. But perhaps what was more impressive was that he had almost predicted what he could achieve at the start of the year, setting what to most would have seemed like some almost impossible goals and proving self-belief is stronger than statistics.
There would be no exception for this season. Thomas’ season was different in that there wasn’t a $10million bonus at the end of season and he didn’t win a major, but he did become the World No.1, played in the Ryder Cup and still three won titles.
For Thomas, setting goals is important, and he explained why in his latest post on instagram.
“Every year/season my team and I come up with goals for the year…,” he wrote. “it’s something I’ve always found important. A few goals that are very attainable, some that are going to require some hard work, then some that are extremely difficult.
“I ask every person in my on course team (caddie, dad, putting coach), to make a their own list. This keeps us all accountable the entire year that everybody is doing what they should be doing on and off the course to make sure we are as ready as possible every time I tee it up.
Time to get started on next years list! (And no I will not share it until the season is over) I challenge you guys to make your own list of goals and see how many you can achieve!”
Patrick Reed and family criticise Furyk, Spieth after Ryder Cup loss
Patrick Reed spoke to the New York Times after the U.S.A’s loss on Sunday, criticising the ‘buddy system’ of the visitors camp as he said that it was Spieth’s influence which split up the most successful American Ryder Cup pairing in history.
It certainly was a surprise to many when Jim Furyk decided to split up the natural pairing of Reed and Spieth, who had previously gone 4-1-2 in the biannual competition, and Reed himself said thought he was going to be paired with Spieth. But while Spieth and Thomas went 3-1-0, Reed only played in two matches with Tiger Woods, losing both times to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood. And he had a lot to say about it.
“For somebody as successful in the Ryder Cup as I am, I don’t think it’s smart to sit me twice,” Reed had said to the New York times, adding that after the American’s were whitewashed in the foursomes for the first time in European history, he expected the usual pairings to return.
“I thought he might go back with the groups that have worked in the past,” he said.
Yet when it came to making the calls on pairings, Jordan Spieth answered the question about the breakaway from Reed diplomatically, suggesting it was a collective decision.
“We were totally involved in every decision that was made,” Spieth said during the press conference. “Jim allowed it to be a player-friendly environment.”
Reed had been silent but had given Spieth a look before he jumped in, and said: “I was looking at him like I was about to light the room up like Phil in ’14,” referencing when Mickelson famously ripped in to USA Captain Tom Watson during his press conference after their defeat at Gleneagles in 2014.
“The issue’s obviously with Jordan not wanting to play with me,” Reed had said afterwards to the NYT. “I don’t have any issue with Jordan. When it comes right down to it, I don’t care if I like the person I’m paired with or if the person likes me as long as it works and it sets up the team for success. He and I know how to make each other better. We know how to get the job done.”
Earlier in the week, Reed’s wife Justine had also taken aim at Spieth, telling one person on twitter to ‘ask Jordan’ about why he hadn’t wanted to play with Patrick.
“I can assure you- you’re wrong. Patrick never said that he didn’t want to play with Jordan. Maybe you should ask Jordan why he didn’t want to play with Patrick. You don’t have to love the people you work with- but when you have chemistry and success, you go with it for the TEAM.”
Patrick’s mother in law then decided she would join in the post Ryder Cup arguments, leaving several comments on Golf.Com’s Facebook page – telling Spieth to ‘grow up’ while also blaming Furyk and Tiger in the process.
Other sources have since claimed Reed is lying, with one unidentified member of the Team USA team room telling the New York Post that Reed is “full of s**t” and that he “practically begged to play with Tiger Woods.”
What his (and his family’s comments) have driven is an uncertainty over Reed’s future in the Ryder Cup. Having burned so many bridges, who would he partner? And would airing the dirty laundry of the U.S Team see him overlooked as a pick if he needed it?
Justin Leonard, major winner and three-time U.S Ryder Cup player, spoke on a recent Golf Channel podcast and said he would find it difficult to pick him for a future side.
“He’s got a lot of work to do,” said Leonard
“I don’t remember anybody really burning bridges the way Patrick Reed has, the night after and the next day after the Ryder Cup. It’s a first for me.
“I mean, if he’s sitting on the fence of making a team, I don’t see how you pick him to be on your team at this stage unless he really does a lot of work the next couple years, between now and Whistling Straits, to mend some of those relationships, and ask for forgiveness and be contrite and do all the right things.”
Since then, Furyk has responded, rubishing claims that Reed was ‘blindsided’, suggesting that he knew for weeks he was going to be paired with Tiger. He also said Jordan being paired with Justin Thomas was a product of him wanting to put Woods with Reed, not the other way around.
Brooks Koepka denies infighting with Dustin Johnson
Brooks Koepka had a difficult start to the week. Multiple sources made claims he and good friend Dustin Johnson had to be separated in the European Team Room as the result of an argument, and it was further speculated the fall-out had begun on the flight over to Paris.
Speaking ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie, Brooks refuted the claims, stating that he thinks everyone is looking for excuses as to why the better-on-paper U.S team lost resoundingly in Paris.
“There was no fight, no argument. He is one of my best friends. We talked on the phoneyesterday so tell me how we fought, I don’t know.
“People like to make a story and run with it and it’s not the first time there’s been a news story that isn’t true that’s gone out.
“It’s actually quite funny to us as we are really good friends and there was no argument, no fight.
“We’ve never fought, that’s not our relationship. We’re two even-keel guys… I can’t even remember raising my voice to him and he’s never raised his voice at me, ever, in our four years of friendship, that’s not who we are.
“I saw one thing, we got in a fight on the plane over. We’re sleeping. It’s just laughable, it really is.
“You look at our demeanors, you see it, we’re pretty calm, cool, laid back and that’s just you guys trying to find why we lost and make an excuse.”
“I’d be curious though who would win in a fight, I feel like it would be pretty interesting” he added, laughing.
Fan loses eyesight after being struck by Brooks Koepka golf ball at Ryder Cup
49-year-old Corine Remande, who had travelled to the biannual event from Egypt, had been struck by Koepka’s golf ball on the par-four sixth hole on Friday and was said to be considering legal action after doctors told her she had lost the use of that eye.
“Doctors told me I had lost the use of that eye,” the 49-year-old told Agence France-Presse.
“It happened so fast, I didn’t feel any pain when I was hit. I didn’t feel like the ball had struck my eye and then I felt the blood start to pour. The scan on Friday confirmed a fracture of the right eye-socket and an explosion of the eyeball.”
Mrs Remande also criticised tournament organisers at Le Golf National for “not making contact” with her after the incident to find out how she was. She also claims there was “no warning shout’ from officials when it was heading to the crowd.
“Officials did not shout any warning as the player’s ball went into the crowd. More than anything I want them to take care of all the medical bills to make sure there is no risk of infection.”
Asked later by BBC Sport if she could have been even more seriously injured if the ball had missed her eye, she replied that she could have died.
“For me, it’s finished. I could not speak with you,” she said.
The video below shows that there were multiple warning shouts of fore before the ball struck Mrs Remande, although given the atmosphere in Paris and the distance away, it’s likely the shouts won’t have been heard.
When Koepka was asked about the incident during a press conference in St. Andrews, he became emotional.
“Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life,” Koepka said when he was asked about the incident. “My heart sank when I heard.”
“I haven’t had too many tragedies in my personal family where there’s been a loss or any kind of tragic accident, so I’ve been lucky in that sense.
“I’m not the biggest person on social media so when I got here and had about seven missed calls and 25 text messages I was like: ‘What’s going on?’
“Then I was told the news and obviously I am really heartbroken. My stomach sank. It’s sad and I’m really torn up about it.”
He also took to social media about the incident, explaining he was heartbroken and had reached out to her and her family.
Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said: “Our deepest sympathies continue to be with Mme Remande and her family. Brooks Koepka, who has said he is heartbroken by the incident, has also contacted the family.
“We take our responsibility for fan safety extremely seriously and we have been in regular contact with the family since the accident to offer our support and we will continue to do so.
“Millions of spectators attend and enjoy golf events each year. Incidents of this severity are extremely rare. The safety of our spectators is our paramount concern, and this will continue to be the case.”
Phil Mickelson applauds European tactics, but bemoaned the golf course’s small fairways and unplayable rough at Ryder Cup
Mickelson, who now holds the record for most Ryder Cup matches lost, has spoken out about his poor performance at the Ryder Cup and bemoaned the difficult set-up at Le Golf National which was ‘not the way I play’.
The five-time major winner, who was selected by Jim Furyk as a wildcard pick for this year’s contest and went on to lose both matches he played in, was speaking after he carded a seven-under-par 65 at the PGA Tour’s Safeway Open on Thursday.
And while Captain Furyk had been complimentary about the course and the set-up, Mickelson said that although the European’s tactics were ‘great’, playing a course like Le Golf National is ‘a waste of my time’, complaining about the small fairways and heavy rough.
“It’s a unique situation in that the way the Europeans did a great thing, they did the opposite of what we do when we have the Ryder Cup here,” said Mickelson. “The fairways were 14 to 16 yards wide.
“Ben Hogan, who was the greatest ball striker of all time, had a five percent margin of error.
“So, if you hit the ball 300 yards, we all hit it more than that, you need to have a 30-yard wide fairway to be able to hit them.
“The fact is, they had brutal rough — almost unplayable — and it’s not the way I play. I don’t play like that. Here, I can miss the fairways, I can get shots out of the rough up on the green and it’s playable.
“I’m 48, I’m not going to play tournaments with rough like that anymore. It’s a waste of my time.
“I’m going to play courses that are playable and that I can play aggressive, attacking and make a lot of birdies – the golf I like to play.”
Cauley returns from Car crash
Bud Cauley made his first return to the PGA Tour at the Safeway Open following his recovery from multiple injuries he sustained from a car crash in June.
Cauley had been in the car with three others when it had veered off the road and gone airborne before striking a tree, and suffered with a collapsed lung, concussion, six broken ribs and a fracture in his left leg.
Doctors inserted a tube to re-inflate his lung and another later to drain fluid from his chest. He also had surgery to attach titanium plates permanently to four of his ribs to stabilise them, while his leg simply healed with rest.
“It was really scary, first waking up,” Cauley told the PGA Tour . “Obviously, first in your mind is your quality life going forward. And then I thought about … golf and was I going to be able to play again and play the same way. All those things I worried about for a while.”
He first began to hit clubs in August, and recalls when he realised he was going to be O.K.
“Just to be able to go out there and work on my game and not be worried about it was kind of when I took a little bit of a breath was like … we’re going to be okay.
“From where I was a couple of months ago to now is night day as far as how, how good it feels.
“I’ve put in all the work at home to practice and get my game ready, and I have done everything I can (with) workouts, to get my body in shape.”
Cauley shot 71-69-69 during his first three rounds to head in to Sunday at eight-under-par before a final round 76 dropped him back to T46 – 10 shots behind eventual winner Kevin Tway. But while it may not have been the ending he had hoped for, Cauley was keen to take only positives from being able to play competitively for the first time in four months.
He took to Instagram on Sunday to write: “not the Sunday I was hoping for but it felt great to play competitive golf again! Was all smiles all week. Thanks a bunch to my good buddy @jdelp for caddying this week! Was great to get my feet wet on tour again and really looking forward to the rest of the fall. Cya in Vegas’
