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PGA Tour

PGA Tour’s Home Stretch

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DETROIT – The Rocket Mortgage Classic, which is being contested for the fourth time since its inception in 2019, is the 43rd of 44 events during the FedEx Cup regular season. With only two weeks remaining until the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, the Rocket Mortgage Classic provides an opportunity for players looking to secure one of the 125 spots in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Cam Davis returns to the Rocket Mortgage Classic after defeating 54-hole co-leaders Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann in a five-hole playoff to earn his first career PGA TOUR victory. At No. 76 in the FedEx Cup standings, the Australian enters the week with three consecutive top-20 finishes (T8/John Deere Classic, 6th/Barracuda Championship, T16/3M Open. Four defending champions have won this season, the most in a season since 2016-17 (4).

Reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking and No. 6 in the FedExCup, on the strength of one win (Zurich Classic of New Orleans) and eight top-10s, including his last two starts (T4/Genesis Scottish Open, T8/The Open Championship). Cantlay is making his Rocket Mortgage Classic debut. The seven-time PGA Tour winner has won twice when making his tournament debut (2017 Shriners Children’s Open, 2020 ZOZO Championship).

Four PGA Tour rookies are currently in the top 40 of the FedEx Cup standings, and three of them are in the field this week: Cameron Young (No. 13 in the FedExCup standings) Davis Riley (No. 24) and Sahith Theegala(No. 38). The Rookie of the Year as voted on by PGA Tour membership at the end of the season will receive the Arnold Palmer Award.

Will Zalatoris, the only player inside the Top 10 of the FedEx Cup standings without a win this season (No. 9), will make his first start since The Open Championship (T-28). The reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year has eight Top-10 finishes including three runner-ups, with playoff losses at the Farmers Insurance Open and U.S. Open. Zalatoris finished 77th in his lone start in the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Rocket Mortgage Classic | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan

YARDS/PAR: 7,370 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECT: Donald Ross

PRIZE Money – Purse: $8,400,000/$1,512,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Cam Davis

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

Finau Storms Back at 3M Open

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BLAINE – Beginning the final round five strokes off the lead, Tony Finau earned his third PGA Tour title by setting the largest final-round comeback by a winner in 3M Open history.

Sungjae Im earned his third career runner-up finish, while Emiliano Grillo collected his sixth on Tour.

Scott Piercy, who held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, played the final round 5-over (76) and finished T-4.

Defending champion Cameron Champ finishes T-16 in his bid to become tournament’s first repeat winner.

TPC Twin Cities now has the distinction of the most balls in the water on TOUR this season with (303).

3M Open | Final Leaderboard

Tony Finau 67-68-65-67—267 (-17)

Sungjae Im 65-70-67-68—270 (-14)

Emiliano Grillo 67-65-67-71—270 (-14)

James Hahn 69-70-67-65—271 (-13)

Tom Hoge 67-68-66-70—271 (-13)

Scott Piercy 65-64-66-76—271 (-13)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Piercy Leads at Wet & Windy 3M Open

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BLAINE – Scott Piercy set a 3M Open 54-hole tournament record in his bid for fifth career PGA Tour win and first individual stroke-play title since the 2015 Barbasol Championship.

Following his T-2 at the John Deere Classic three weeks ago, Emiliano Grillo is chasing his second Tour title and first since 2015

With one bogey through 54 holes (No. 1/R2), Doug Ghim’s score of (200) marked his lowest 54-hole score on Tour

Two years removed from his T-3 finish at the 3M Open, Tony Finau is in position for third career Tour title but is five strokes off the lead.

PGA TOUR rookie Greyson Sigg birdied seven of his last 11 holes for a 7-under (64) in bid for first title (36th start).

Leaderboard at 3M Open | After 54 Holes

Scott Piercy 65-64-66—195 (-18)

Emiliano Grillo 67-65-67—199 (-14)

Doug Ghim 67-68-65—200 (-13)

Tony Finau 67-68-65—200 (-13)

Tom Hoge 67-68-66—201 (-12)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Note: With the threat of severe weather, third-round tee times were moved-up and featured threesomes off tee Nos. 1 and 10 from 6:50 – 9:02am (local). Due to inclement weather, the third round was suspended from 10:57am until 5:35pm (6 hours, 38 minutes). High temps of 85-degrees. Winds E/SE 10-15 mph, with gusts to 20 mph. The round was completed.

Piercy Putts Way to 3M Open Lead

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BLAINE – Scott Piercy’s 36-hole (129) total is one stroke shy of his career-best on Tour and one stroke shy of the tournament record which was enough to provide him with a three-stroke lead heading into the third round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Emiliano Grillo shoot (65) on Friday to reach 10-under through 36 holes, marking his eighth round of (65) or better this season. In 2020, Grillo shot 64-65 on the weekend to finish T-3 at the 3M Open.

England’s Callum Tarren posted a (63) (-8) in the second round of the 3M Open, bettering his lowest 18-hole score on Tour by two stokes (65), four times, most recently R-3/2022 John Deere Classic).

The top three players on the leaderboard represent different countries: USA, Argentina, England.

Robert Streb is the only player without a bogey through 36 holes

This weekend marks first time in tournament history that the 36-hole cut is not under par (2019 (-3), 2020 (-2), 2021 (-2).

Defending champion Cameron Champ birdied four of his last five holes to make the cut on the number.

Leaderboard at 3M Open | After 36 Holes

Scott Piercy 65-64 – 129 (-13)

Emiliano Grillo 67-65 – 132 (-10)

Callum Tarren 71-63 – 134 (-8)

Five players – 135 (-7)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Two Tied for Lead at 3M Open

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Scott Piercy, Sungai Im Tied After 18 Holes at TPC Twin Cities

BLAINE – Scott Piercy’s 6-under (65) marked his lowest round of the season and he holds his ninth first-round lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour with Sungjae Im who recorded his third career 18-hole lead/co-lead on Tour with his opening round (65).

At T-3, the last time Tony Finau was inside top-three of the leaderboard after an opening round on Tour was the 2020 3M Open (finished: T-3).

Defending champion Cameron Champ (T-106) and 2020 champion Michael Thompson (T-51) seek to become the tournament’s first repeat winner.

First-round scoring average of 72.78 marks the highest scoring average in 13 rounds of 3M Open history.

Former professional tennis player and Minnesota native Mardy Fish opened with 10-over (81) in his PGA Tour debut.

Robert Garrigus (fatigue) withdrew during round one and Hideki Matsuyama (sore wrist) and D.A. Points WD after round one of the 3M Open.

Leaderboard at 3M Open | After 18 Holes

Scott Piercy 65 (-6)

Sungjae Im 65 (-6)

Five Players 67 (-4)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

PGA Tour: 3M Open Preview

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BLAINE – The 3M Open, which is being contested for the fourth time since its inception in 2019 and is the 42nd of 44 events during the FedEx Cup regular season. With only three weeks remaining until the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the 3M Open provides an opportunity for players looking to secure one of the 125 spots in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Three-time PGA Tour winner Cameron Champ returns to the 3M Open to defend his title. Champ is in his fourth season on the PGA Tour and has won in each of his first three seasons (2018 Sanderson Farms Championship, 2019 Fortinet Championship, 2021 3M Open). With a win, he would become the fourth player with a win in each of the last four seasons (including the current season), joining Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas. Four defending champions have won this season, the most in a season since 2016-17 (4).

Four PGA Tour rookies are currently in the Top 40 of the FedExCup standings and two of them are in the field this week: Davis Riley (No. 23 in the FedExCup standings) and Sahith Theegala (No. 38). The Rookie of the Year as voted on by PGA Tour membership at the end of the season will receive the Arnold Palmer Award.

World No. 40 Joohyung Kim, competing on a sponsor exemption, joined the PGA Tour this week as a Special Temporary Member. A native of South Korea, Kim is now eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season as he attempts to earn his Tour card for the 2022-23 season. To earn full status for the 2022-23 season, Kim must earn as many or more non-member FedEx Cup points as the final eligible player from the 2021-22 FedEx Cup standings to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Kim currently has 296 points, which would fall between Nos. 131 and 132 in the standings.

Former professional tennis player and Edina, Minnesota, native Mardy Fish, winner of six ATP Tour titles and silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games, is competing on a sponsor exemption. Fish is making his PGA Tour debut and is the first professional athlete from another sport to receive a sponsor exemption since former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo at the 2019 Fortinet Championship. Romo has made four starts on TOUR and missed the cut in each of them. Fish defeated Romo in a playoff to win the celebrity competition at the 2022 ClubCorp Classic on PGA Tour Champions and has won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions celebrity tournament three times.

When Brendon de Jonge WD from the 3M Open, he was not replaced as there were no more alternates available to play.

Players to successfully defend a title this season:

  • Rory McIlroy RBC Canadian Open
  • K.H. Lee AT&T Byron Nelson
  • Sam Burns Valspar Championship
  • Viktor Hovland World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba

2021 Masters Tournament champion Hideki Matsuyama is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 14 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Matsuyama has won twice on Tour this season (ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, Sony Open in Hawaii) and with a victory, would become the fifth player to win three times this season.

 

Cameron Smith Takes The Open

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McIlroy’s Open Champ Dreams Crushed at St. Andrews

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Making his 25th major championship appearance, Cameron Smith defeated Cameron Young by one stroke to win the 150th Open Championship. It marked his sixth win on Tour and first major championship title.

At 20-under, Smith equals the lowest score in relation to par in major championship history. With a 6-under (30) (including five straight birdies on Nos. 10-14), Smith carded the lowest closing nine-hole score by a winner in Open Championship history.

Smith’s (268) marks the lowest winning score by a champion at St. Andrews (269, Tiger Woods, 2000) while he became the fifth Australian to win The Open and first since Greg Norman in 1993. He joined Peter Thomson(1955) and Kel Nagle (1960) as Australian winners at St. Andrews.

Smith also joined Jack Nicklaus (1978) as the only players to win THE PLAYERS Championship and The Open in the same year.

This season marks the first time since the Masters Tournament began in 1934 that all four majors were won by players under the age of 30.

PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young’s runner-up finish is the best by a player in his Open debut at St. Andrews since Tony Lema won in 1964.

The Open | Final Leaderboard

Cameron Smith 67-64-73-64—268 (-20)

Cameron Young 64-69-71-65—269 (-19)

Rory McIlroy 66-68-66-70—270 (-18)

Tommy Fleetwood 72-69-66-67—274 (-14)

Viktor Hovland 68-66-66-74—274 (-14)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 17

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TL’s While We’re Young (Ideas) With Mid-Summer Thoughts; Classic, Open and Otherwise

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The annual “Mid-Summer Classic” marks the halfway point of the Major League Baseball season as much as it does the middle of summer in North America. After the MLB All-Star Break, baseball gets pretty serious, as does the stretch run for the PGA Tour, as The Open Championship and the (why do they even bother) Barracuda Championship mark a short four weeks remaining in the FedEx Cup regular season.

First, a quick look at Baseball:

Raise your hand if you predicted two of the three hottest teams in Baseball at the break would be the Seattle Mariners (10-0 over last ten and 13 in a row overall) and the Baltimore Orioles (9-1 over last ten). Those two teams, along with the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers (9-1 over last ten, as of Saturday morning) are the talk of baseball.

Seattle has won 13 in a row and is +1 game up in wild card standings and in position, along with Tampa Bay for postseason play. Baltimore is only 2.5 games out from a Wild Card place, trailing Tampa Bay, Seattle, Boston and Toronto, as well as a half-game behind Cleveland on the outside, looking in.

Seattle’s baker’s dozen in the W column includes victories at Texas, four in a row over Toronto, two at San Diego, and two out of three against the Orioles to start the Mariners’ streak.

Center fielder Julio Rodriguez has been leading the way with three of his 16 home runs, including a Grand Slam on Friday night, pacing the ball club along with a rejuvenated Eugenio Suarez , each with 50 RBI. First baseman Ty France is back from injury while left fielder Jesse Winker is swinging the bat again. Both Winker and Suarez were sent to Seattle from Cincinnati in a March 14, 2022 multi-player trade.

As far as Baltimore is concerned, the O’s 10-game winning streak came to an end on Friday night in a 5-4 loss at Tampa. Previously, they’d beaten the Cubs twice in Chicago, four against the LA Angels and three games against Texas. Since Fathers day, the Orioles are 16-7.

Outfielder Anthony Santander and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle are leading the way, while center fielder Cedric Mullins leads the club in hits. Tyler Wells and Jordan Lyles have been pleasant surprises on the pitching staff which lost ace John Means to Tommy John surgery early this season.

Although Seattle and Baltimore are simply darlings of baseball, there is no denying that the teams to beat are the LA Dodgers and New York Mets in the National League and the New York Yankees and Houston Astros in the American League. Division-leaders Milwaukee (NL-Central) and Minnesota (AL-Central) can not be ignored.

And on the links:

With The Open Championship heading into its final round, a quick look at the game of golf must address the impact of the new LIV Golf Invitational Series entity which grabbed dozens of popular PGA Tour players from mothership of all worldwide professional golf circuits. Some gold industry bigshots, including Royal & Ancient (R&A) CEO Martin Slumbers, are saying the LIV has “harmed the perception” of golf.

The United States Dept. of Justice is looking into the PGA Tour’s handling of member players and whether the Tour engaged in anti-competitive behavior during its ongoing battle with the LIV, the circuit being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The PGA Tour suspended players who jumped to the LIV.

Lastly, even basketball Hall of Famer and Turner Sports’ Inside the NBA studio commentator Charles Barkley is getting in on the act. After he participated in last week’s Celebrity Golf tournament, Barkley has been quotes as saying, “It’s nothing that’s imminent. I actually don’t know everything they want from me, or what they technically want me to do, but you’ve got to always look at every opportunity that’s available,” Barkley said. “So the answer to your question is, 100 percent yes, I’m going to meet with LIV.”

The PGA Tour has been countering with the announcement of bigger purses, a better schedule and more lenient qualification of young players turning professional. On this weekend, when The Open grabs most attention, shouldn’t the Tour stage a “once a year” Korn Ferry Tour midseason tournament where the winners from the previous full year play for a five-year PGA Tour card, winner take all?

One thing is for sure, the PGA Tour leadership must rethink their sport, their schedule, their approach and innovate, far more than just its great TV coverage, the PGA Tour Live cash cow on ESPN+ and ShotLink.

In hindsight, the Battle of the Bogey-boys seems reminiscent of the 1967-76 pro basketball landscape which pitted the mighty NBA against the up & coming ABA, complete with a red, white and blue basketball and a three-point field goal for long, terrible 26+ foot shots that have become the rage and analytic flavor of the day for the NBA in 2022.

Maybe the LIV should make its players hit red, while and blue golf balls and chip-ins from 100 yards or more would subtract a stroke or reward a monetary bonus of say, $1 million of that Green as Grass Saudi cash?

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

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TIGER: By shooting a cringe-worthy 78-75 (153), Tiger Woods missed the cut at The Open Championship and bid farewell to the Old Course at St. Andrews which next hosts the British Open in 2026, at the earliest. Woods’ performance again reminded sports fans of other players who could no longer compete at the ultra-high level they set during the prime years of their careers. … A while back, when Tom Brady switched teams and NFL jerseys from New England to Tampa Bay, we listed a few of the players who looked so strange in another team’s uniform. That list also coincides with this list, of players who stayed on a bit too long:

  1. Tiger Woods at The Open
  2. NY Jets all-time great Joe Namath with the Los Angeles Rams
  3. Giants all-time great Willie Mays with the New York Mets
  4. Bruins all-time great Bobby Orr with the Chicago Blackhawks
  5. Orlando/LA/Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal with Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston
  6. NYK’s Walt “Clyde” Frazier with the Cleveland Cavaliers
  7. Colts all-time great Johnny Unitas with the San Diego Chargers
  8. NYK’s Patrick Ewing with the Seattle SuperSonics
  9. Green Bay’s Brett Favre with the New York Jets
  10. Cowboys great Emmitt Smith with the Arizona Cardinals

McIlroy, Hovland Share Open Lead

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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – At 16-under, Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy share the lead heading into the final round of The Open Championship of 2022. Among Open Championships contested at St. Andrews, Hovland and McIlroy’s opening 54-hole score (200) is second only to Nick Faldo’s (199) total in 1990.

McIlroy is in search of his fifth major championship victory and first since winning the 2014 PGA Championship. He is 9-for-15 in converting a 54-hole lead/co-lead to victory, including a 4-for-5 mark in majors.

Hovland is seeking his fourth PGA Tour victory and is 2-for-2 in converting a 54-hole lead/co-lead to victory. With a victory, he would become Norway’s first major championship winner.

With a win, McIlroy would collect his 22nd victory and move to T-28 on the PGA Tour’s all-time wins list.

Reigning Masters Tournament winner Scottie Scheffler (T-5) and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick (T-8) are among six major championship winners in the Top 12 players on the 54-hole leaderboard.

First-round leader Cameron Young (T-3) trails by four strokes in bid to become the 11th player to win The Open Championship in debut appearance. The most recent was Collin Morikawa last year).

Second-round leader Cameron Smith (T-3) trails by four following a third-round 1-over (73). He’s hoping to join Jack Nicklaus (1978) as the only players to win THE PLAYERS Championship and The Open Championship in the same year.

The Open Leaderboard | After 54 Holes

Viktor Hovland 68-66-66—200 (-16)

Rory McIlroy 66-68-66—200 (-16)

Cameron Young 64-69-71—204 (-12)

Cameron Smith 67-64-73—204 (-12)

Si Woo Kim 69-69-67—205 (-11)

Scottie Scheffler 68-68-69—205 (-11)

Full Leaderboard: (The Open)

Great Weekend Ahead at St Andrews

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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Cameron Smith’s total of (131) tied the fourth-lowest opening 36-hole score in Open Championship history and is the lowest in The Open at St. Andrews. With a two-stroke lead over first-round leader Cameron Young, Smith holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the second time in a major championship (2020 Masters/shared 36-hole lead with four others before finishing T-2) and the fourth time in an individual stroke-play event on Tour. He is 1-for-3 in converting.

Making his 90th major championship start, three-time Open Championship winner Tiger Woods missed the cut for the fourth time in 22 starts at The Open. Woods shot (153) which is his highest 36-hole score at The Open and third-highest in a major championship.

Rory McIlroy trails by three strokes in bid for fifth major championship win and first since winning the 2014 PGA Championship.

At T-3, Viktor Hovland holds his best 36-hole position in a major championship. His previous best was T-17.

World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler sits T-6, the 16th time in last 19 major championship rounds inside the Top 10.

Four of six amateurs in the field made the cut: Barclay Brown, Filippo Celli, Sam Bairstow and Aaron Jarvis.

Collin Morikawa becomes the first defending champion to miss the cut at The Open since Darren Clarke in 2012 and all four past champions at St. Andrews missed the cut: Zach Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, Tiger Woods and John Daly.

The Open Leaderboard | After 36 Holes

Cameron Smith 67-64—131 (-13)

Cameron Young 64-69—133 (-11)

Rory McIlroy 66-68—134 (-10)

Viktor Hovland 68-66—134 (-10)

Dustin Johnson 68-67—135 (-9)

Full Leaderboard: (The Open)