What you missed: Henderson’s record, Pan’s victory, DJ’s collapse and Tiger’s first green jacket outing
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What you missed: Wins, records and the aftermath of Tiger’s Masters win
C.T Pan might have become the first native of Taiwan to win on the PGA Tour in over 30 years, but he wasn’t the only one making records last week as Brooke Henderson matched a Canadian record with her title defense at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii.
Elsewhere, Dustin Johnson suffers uncharacteristic final round collapse, Tiger Woods’ caddie shares what his boss said to him, and the green jacket gets its first outing.
C.T. Pan wins maiden title on PGA Tour
Listen to your wife was the clear message that came from C.T. Pan as he claimed his maiden PGA Tour title at the RBC Heritage on Sunday: Without her influence, he might not have even played.
He was hoping to help with his first AJGA event in Houston, but his wife decided to handle it, and told him to go to Hilton Head instead.
“My wife told me to be here,” Pan explained. “Just listen to your wife and you will have a good life. She’s right, always.”
Pan began the day two shots behind overnight leader Dustin Johnson, and joined the top of a bunched leaderboard thanks to a tap-in birdie on the 5th and a five-footer on the ninth to get to 10-under-par.
With the likes of Shane Lowry and Matt Kuchar chasing, Pan quickly added two more with approach shots within 10 feet on both the 10th and 12th holes to move clear. A late bogey on the par-five 15th had him tied with Matt Kuchar, but he quickly bounced back with a gain on the 16th, earning a one-shot victory over the American.
Pan became the first native from Taiwan to win on the PGA Tour in over 30 years, and said this one was finally for his dad, who has passed away.
“I can remember all the late nights watching the Masters or watching the PGA Tour events, watching Tiger Woods winning,” Pan said after becoming the 7th first-time winner this season.
“And my dad would tell me, hey, I want you one day to do that for me.
“And, Dad, finally, we’ve done it.”
Brooke Henderson ties record with title defense in Hawaii
Brooke Henderson tied a Canadian record as she successfully defended her title at the Lotte Championship, equalling the record for the most wins by a Canadian golfer on the LPGA and PGA Tours
The 21-year-old began the day tied for the lead with Nelly Korda, but as the American faded away, it was Henderson who consolidated her position. She completed her four shot victory in Hawaii with a two-under 70 to finish on 16-under-par, securing her eighth LPGA Tour title in the process.
The record tied Sandra Post’s number of LPGA Tour wins, while Mike Weir and George Knudson each had eight on the PGA Tour.
“It’s amazing to be mentioned in the same sentence with Sandra, and to tie Mike Weir too,” said Henderson.
“It has just been surreal the last few years. I’m so happy.”
DJ’s uncharacteristic collapse at the RBC Heritage: From the 54-hole lead to T28
Just a week after finishing second at the Masters to Tiger Woods, World No.1 Dustin Johnson looked set to pick up his third victory of the year.
He had a one shot lead heading in to the final round of the RBC Heritage, and despite failing to find a rhythm early on a level par front nine (one birdie, one bogey) left him just one shot behind heading in to the back-nine.
And then he uncharacteristically fell apart.
He couldn’t rescue a par after driving into the native area on 11, and followed it up with more dropped shots on 12 and 13, having barely managed to get out of a bunker on the latter and throwing his club at his bag in frustration.
From there, Dustin needed to take penalties after bad drives on both 14 and 15, and it resulted in back to back double bogeys, derailed any chance of contending. He would end up making a birdie on the 18th, signing for a six-over 77 to finish T28.
Joe LaCava shares message Tiger sent him
Tiger’s caddie Joe LaCava was lauded with plaudits for pushing Tiger away after their intial ‘we did it’ celebration, clearly to make the 15-time major winner enjoy the moment by himself.
Since his victory just over a week ago, LaCava, who also caddied for Fred Couples when he won the Masters, shared his memories of the victory in an exclusive for the caddie network.
“We just kind of looked at each other and soaked it all in,” LaCava said of what happened in the immediate aftermath in the scorers hut. “It was still only seven minutes since he putted out and it’s hard to take it all in at that point, but we just took a deep breath. Nothing was really said. He basically said, ‘we did it,’ again. But we got to share the moment and smile at each other. It was such an achievement, a proud moment more than anything.
“Nothing needed to be said because we could read each other’s minds.”
After Sunday, Woods then sent a message to LaCava – one of 670 that he receieved.
“Tiger did send a message that said, ‘We did it, appreciate you hanging in there with me, I love you like a brother,’” LaCava said. “And I sent one back very similar to that. Hopefully we’ll have a nice sit-down dinner and rehash everything at the next tournament and not necessarily celebrate it, but enjoy it and reminisce a little bit.”
The green jacket’s first stop: Tiger’s restaurant
Wimbledon, the top of the Eiffel Tower, all over New York– just a few of the places Masters champions have shown off their green jacket in the last three years. But the first place Tiger took his was somewhere with a lot more casual: his own restaurant, The Woods, in Jupiter, Florida.
Teaming it with a pair of shorts and a baseball cap, the now 15-time major winner looked very relaxed as he showed off after claiming his fifth Masters title.
