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PGA Tour: Can Jordan Spieth win John Deere Classic again? pga,tour,can,jordan,spieth,win,john,deere,classic,again,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: July 1, 2024 By: admin

Jordan Spieth arrives at the John Deere Classic as one of the betting favorites, according to DraftKings. But the three-time major winner has hardly played like a tournament favorite throughout the 2024 season.

He has had a frustrating campaign, especially after missing the cut at Augusta National. Since then, Spieth has made eight starts. He missed the cut twice and did not post a finish better than T-29. That somewhat respectable result came at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he shot only one round in the 60s: an opening round 2-under 69.

But these last few months have served as a microcosm of Spieth’s career over the past seven years—a stretch filled with disappointment and agony, considering his stature and accomplishments. He has won only two tournaments since his Open Championship triumph at Royal Birkdale in 2017: the 2021 Valero Texas Open and the 2022 RBC Heritage.

Since then, he has had a few calls, finishing runner-up to K.H. Lee at the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson and losing to Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff at the 2023 RBC Heritage. He has 13 top 10s dating back to April 2022 but has missed 11 cuts since that juncture, too.

And yet, despite those ups and downs, Spieth, now 30 years old, has a tremendous perspective on where he is at this point in his career.

“Once I know what I’m capable of, I want to obviously stay there. If you fall from that even a little bit, it frustrates you, and then if you fall quite a bit from that, you can be wondering what in the world is going on,” Spieth said ahead of this year’s Charles Schwab Challenge in mid-May.

“It can overtake you, and it did for me for a little while. I think I have a better perspective now, but at the same time, the drive to get to where I know my ceiling has never been higher. So, every day I’m not there, I still walk away feeling like I progressed towards it; I walk away really pleased with my day. But some days, I feel like I didn’t, and instead of being okay with that, I lose a little patience because I know what I am capable of, and not sustaining that every year is something that I’m not okay with personally.

“I think it’s something I wouldn’t change anything that’s ever happened to me. I’ve accomplished pretty much all the goals that I had in golf, albeit, you know, in a short period of time, but the nature of sustaining that is something that I would like to have another opportunity at, and I’ll continue to work towards.”

Spieth went on to tie for 37th that week at Colonial, the course not far from his hometown of Dallas, Texas. He then missed the cut at the Memorial, tied for 41st at the U.S. Open, and most recently struggled at the Travelers Championship, finishing T-63—almost dead last.

But now, after a week off, Spieth arrives in the Quad Cities hoping to establish some momentum before the season’s final major. He has won the John Deere Classic twice, in 2013 and 2015, but nothing says he cannot make it a third time this year—especially since the best player in the field, Patrick Cantlay, withdrew.

Jordan Spieth, PGA Tour, John Deere Classic — Jordan Spieth won the 2013 John Deere Classic in a five-hole playoff. He was only 19 years old then.

And yet, the question is, how?

For starters, Spieth has to gain some confidence in his short game again, an attribute that has been very un-Spieth-like this season. He ranks 78th on tour in strokes gained around the green and 80th in putting—a surprising figure given how good he was with his flat stick when he was at the height of his powers.

Spieth also has to improve his ball striking. He is 110th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approaching the green, 70th in greens in regulation percentage, and 86th in proximity to the hole. He has especially struggled with his wedges, ranking 130th in approaches from inside 100 yards, another jarring statistic that is very un-Spieth-like.

So this week, at TPC Deere Run, a course that yields plenty of birdies, Spieth should play to the middle of the greens and look to avoid the big numbers. He already makes tons of par breakers, making more than four per round, but the problem is that Spieth drops too many shots. He makes bogey nearly 17% of the time this season, ranking 139th on tour in bogey avoidance—a reality that will not win you many golf tournaments.

Thus, Spieth must play conservatively and not press too much on a golf course that gives the player a green light in more ways than one. And if he can do that, Spieth will have a good chance of doing a victory lap in one of those famous green John Deere tractors on Sunday night.

That would undoubtedly shake off his frustrations.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

PGA Tour: Patrick Cantlay pulls out of John Deere Classic pga,tour,patrick,cantlay,pulls,out,of,john,deere,classic,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: July 1, 2024 By: admin

The John Deere Classic does not have the strongest field in golf year in and year out, but the event typically features a handful of stars.

Jordan Spieth will tee it up this year. As will defending champion and Ryder Cup star Sepp Straka. This year’s event also includes International stars Sungjae Im and Jason Day, 2023 American Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, and 2009 Champion Golfer of the Year Stewart Cink.

But Patrick Cantlay, who the tour had listed in the original John Deere Classic field, decided to withdraw on Monday. Scotsman Russell Knox will replace him in the field.

The tour did not specify why Cantlay withdrew.

Yet, if Cantlay had remained in the field, it would have marked his first appearance at the John Deere Classic. TPC Deere Run has hosted this event since 2000.

Another notable withdrawal is Cameron Davis, who won the Rocket Mortgage Classic this past week for the second time in his career. His win in Detroit also vaulted him up the FedEx Cup rankings and gave him exemptions into next year’s Masters, The Players, and all eight Signature Events. As such, Davis felt obligated to take the week off and soak in his victory, which certainly did not come easy both on and off the golf course. Had Akshay Bhatia not three-putted, Davis would have likely faced Bhatia in a sudden-death playoff, and who knows how that would have shaken out. But Davis was the lone man to finish at 18-under as he happily stood atop the leaderboard after 72 holes.

As for Cantlay, his last appearance came at the Travelers Championship, where he tied for fifth. The week before, the former UCLA Bruin turned in the best major performance of his career, tying for third at Pinehurst No. 2. It seems he has found something as of late, an impressive development given that Cantlay has had a sporadic season. Before the U.S. Open, his best two finishes came at Riviera and Hilton Head, tying for third and fourth, respectively. But he also struggled at the Players, the PGA Championship, and the Memorial. He did not have his best stuff at the Masters, either.

Cantlay is also not listed among the entrants for next week’s Genesis Scottish Open, the final tune-up for The Open Championship at Royal Troon. As such, all signs point to golf fans seeing Cantlay next at golf’s oldest major championship in two weeks’ time.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Rickie Fowler, PGA Tour players lurking for survival, spot in playoffs rickie,fowler,pga,tour,players,lurking,for,survival,spot,in,playoffs,sbnation,com,golf,us-open-golf,golf-majors,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: July 1, 2024 By: admin

Welcome to Playing Through’s morning ritual — Golf Talk Today.

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, where the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.

There are six normal events, a major championship and the Olympics until the FedEx Cup Playoffs are here. Only the Top 70 get into the Aug. 15-18 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

While there is still plenty of time to gain much-needed FedEx Cup points, the clock is ticking for some of these guys.

Last year, the PGA Tour moved the playoff number from 125 to 70 for its first event. From there, only the Top 50 survive to play in the BMW Championship. To cap off the three-week playoff, the top 30 make it to the Tour Championship in Atlanta, where a FedEx Cup champion will emerge.

Let’s take a way too early look at those on the outside looking in that need a solid finish to the regular season so they can live to fight another day in the playoffs.

Notable PGA Tour Players outside the Top 70

*as of July 1, 202

— Nicolai Højgaard (No.74)
— Justin Rose (No. 75)
— Keith Mitchell (No. 76)
— Nick Dunlap (No.87)
— Rickie Fowler (No. 93)
— Joel Dahmen (No. 103)
— Daniel Berger (No. 123)
— Webb Simpson (No. 131)
— Matt Kuchar (No. 140)

These are just a handful of players that will currently not make the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Rickie Fowler could miss the playoffs if he does not go on a solid run in the next few weeks. He has just two Top 25s on the season and has missed five cuts in 18 starts.

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy finished T31 last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Fowler finally got his second Top 25 at the Travelers as he was T20.

His best finish came at the RBC Heritage, a T18.

Nicolai Højgaard is another name that is interestingly outside the Top 70. He has a runner-up finish, a top 10, and two top 25s. The former Ryder Cup member has missed five cuts this season, though.

He has not completed a tournament inside the Top 20 since the Masters, where he was T16. Since that week, Højgaard missed three cuts, and his best finish came at the RBC Canadian Open in a T35.

However, he is still close enough with a strong stretch of golf and could see himself in Memphis for that first playoff event.

Justin Rose, who is ranked No. 75, is another who could make the playoffs.

It has not been the Englishman’s best season, with just one Top 10 and two Top 25s. He did finish T6 at the PGA Championship but missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

There is a lot of golf left for players to earn FedEx Cup points and a spot in the playoffs. Nonetheless, time is not on these golfers’ side, as they need a momentum boost to push their way into the Top 70.

ICYMI: Top stories across professional golf

Check out these stories:

U.S. Senior Open: Golfer makes mind blowing consecutive holes-in-one that will make your jaw drop

Cameron Davis wins Rocket Mortgage Classic thanks to Akshay Bhatia’s 3-putt

Former World No. 1s Ruoning Yin, Atthaya Thitikul prevail in LPGA team event

DP World Tour’s Italian Open sees ‘Comeback King’ Marcel Siem triumph in playoff

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Akshay Bhatia leads tournament, best dressed players

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

U.S. Senior Open final round suspended due to bad weather u,s,senior,open,final,round,suspended,due,to,bad,weather,sbnation,com,golf,golf-champions-tour,golf-news

On: July 1, 2024 By: admin

A little after 3:00 p.m. ET, the United States Golf Association (USGA) suspended play at the U.S. Senior Open as dangerous storms rolled into the Newport, Rhode Island area.

Tournament officials tried to get ahead of the weather, scheduling final round tee times to begin at 8:20 a.m. ET. But fog delayed play by two hours, putting the field in Mother Nature’s hands.

The USGA also hoped to resume the final round on Sunday, but storms dampened the course, and humid conditions called for more thundershowers later in the evening. As a result, the USGA called the shot to restart the final round on Monday morning, but an official starting time is TBD. The forecast calls for more rain in Rhode Island on Monday afternoon.

Hiroyuki Fujita holds a three-shot lead over LIV Golf’s Richard Bland, as Fujita sits at 16-under. Richard Green is 12-under, while Steve Stricker, the 2019 U.S. Senior Open champion, is at 11-under.

Players faced challenging conditions during the final round as a stiff breeze blew off the Atlantic Ocean and across Newport Country Club. But the one contender who thrived on Sunday was Bland, who won the Senior PGA Championship last month at Harbor Shores in Michigan. Bland birdied his first three holes to soar into contention and was 4-under through 10 holes when officials called players off the golf course. He owned one of the best rounds on Sunday, as only Ernie Els had a better day. The South African is 5-under through 15 holes but 10 back of Fujita.

The leaderboard follows below:

1. Hiroyuki Fujita -16 (10)

2. Richard Bland -13 (10)

3. Richard Green -12 (10)

4. Steve Stricker -10 (10)

T5. Vijay Singh -7 (15)

T5. Paul Stankowski -7 (10)

T5. Bob Estes -7 (10)

T8. Ernie Els -6 (15)

T8. Stephen Ames -6 (14)

T8. Thongchai Jaidee -6 (12)

T11. Padraig Harrington -5 (14)

T11. Y.E. Yang -5 (12)

T11. Steven Alker -5 (11)

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

PGA Tour: Cameron Davis wins Rocket Mortgage Classic for 2nd time pga,tour,cameron,davis,wins,rocket,mortgage,classic,for,nd,time,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 30, 2024 By: admin

One man’s loss is another man’s treasure, and that mantra certainly applied to the conclusion of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

With Cameron Davis in the clubhouse at 18-under-par, Akshay Bhatia arrived on the 72nd hole tied for the lead. The 18th hole is a long par-4, measuring 472 yards. This dogleg left ranked as the most challenging hole during the final round, as a creek bisects the fairway and snakes up the right side of the green.

But Bhatia had no issues off the tee. He striped his drive down the middle of the fairway and then knocked his approach to 32 feet away from the back right pin, with his ball nestling in the back left corner of the green.

Then disaster struck.

Bhatia hit a poor stroke with his birdie attempt, coming up four feet short. He then pulled his par putt, which lipped out on the low side and handed Davis the victory. It was the first three-putt Bhatia had all week.

“It sucks, no other way to put it,” Bhatia said after his round.

“Just sucks. It’s hard; you’ve got so much slope there, so you don’t want to run it five, six feet by. Yeah, just a little bit of nerves, honestly. I’m human, and the greens get slower throughout the day here; the poa annua is pretty tough.”

Davis, meanwhile, posted a 2-under 70, which included four birdies and two bogies. His first bogey came at the par-4 1st hole, and his second one came at the par-5 14th, thanks to an unfortunate break. The Australian hammered a 3-wood from 281 yards out and landed onto the front of the green, but his ball trickled back into the penalty area.

It looked like his chances had sunk there, but Davis bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 17th to get back to 18-under. He smashed his 3-wood on that hole again, as his second shot landed just short of the green. Davis then got up and down for birdie with ease.

With Davis at 18-under, a playoff seemed possible, but with the par-5 17th yielding plenty of birdies, somebody, like Bhatia or even Min Woo Lee, looked destined to reach 19-under and leave Davis just short of his second career PGA Tour victory.

But fate left Davis with his second career Rocket Mortgage Classic title, as he now hopes to make the International Team at the President’s Cup this Fall. He has the game to do so, so hopefully, this win will give him some momentum in the coming months—something he has not had as of late.

Before this week, Davis had not recorded a top-20 finish since The Masters, when he tied for 12th at Augusta National. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open and most recently tied for 48th at the Travelers Championship. But Davis proved to International Captian Mike Weir that he can turn things around quickly, a necessity for match play.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

LPGA: Dow Championship sees pair of former World No. 1s win title lpga,dow,championship,sees,pair,of,former,world,no,s,win,title,sbnation,com,golf,lpga-golf,golf-news

On: June 30, 2024 By: admin

Although Nelly Korda currently occupies the top spot in the Women’s World Golf Rankings, Ruoning Yin and Atthaya Thitikul looked like the best players on the planet on Sunday.

Yin and Thitikul, both 21, briefly held the World No. 1 moniker last fall but have since given that distinction to Korda. Yet, these two players, who hail from China and Thailand, respectively, carded an 8-under 62 in best ball format to win the Dow Championship by one.

The Dow Championship is not unlike the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour, which employs a two-man format with two rounds of Alternate Shot and two rounds of Best Ball. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry won this year’s event at TPC Louisiana, marking McIlroy’s 25th career win on the PGA Tour and Lowry’s third.

Sunday’s win for Yin and Thitikul marked their third career LPGA victory, as they defeated 54-hole leaders Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing by a stroke.

Kupcho and Ewing began Sunday’s final round at 15-under, while Yin and Thitikul sat at 14-under. The Americans went on to shoot a 6-under 64, but it was not enough. Kupcho and Ewing made pars over the final three holes, while Thitikul stuffed one inside of 10 feet on the par-3 18th hole. She then made the birdie putt for her and Yin, which proved to be the difference in the end.

The LPGA will have one week off before the Amundi Evian Championship, the fourth major of the season. France’s Celine Boutier won this title last year at the Evian Resort Golf Club, which sits along Lake Geneva on the French-Swiss border. Surely, Yin and Thitkul will arrive in France for the Amundi Evian Championship as two of the favorites.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

DP World Tour’s Italian Open sees Marcel Siem win in playoff dp,world,tour,s,italian,open,sees,marcel,siem,win,in,playoff,sbnation,com,golf,golf-dp-world-tour,golf-news

On: June 30, 2024 By: admin

The DP World Tour has officially awarded Marcel Siem as the ‘Comeback King,’ and rightfully so. The 43-year-old Siem underwent hip surgery in February, roughly one year after winning the Hero Indian Open, which marked his first title since 2014.

He subsequently missed three months, returning to the Soudal Open in late May, where he missed the cut. Siem said he felt old that week because of his hip, a far cry from the emotions he felt on the 18th green on Sunday. The German defeated Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland in a sudden-death playoff, making an 8-footer for birdie on 18 to clinch his sixth career victory on the DP World Tour.

“Holing that putt on 18 was one the coolest moments in golf for me, and doing it again in a playoff was fantastic,” Siem said.

“I love this sport, and these moments, I work really hard for them. When you get rewarded like this, it’s a very special moment. I think it’s the second-oldest trophy in mainland Europe. So I’ve got the French Open and this one now. I’m so proud of that. My journey is just beginning, it feels like.”

Siem looked in control of the tournament after birdieing the par-3 8th, as he went on to card a 3-under 32 on the front to make the turn at 13-under overall.

But the train veered off the tracks for Siem on his second nine. He bogeyed the par-4 11th, thanks to a terrible lie he faced to the right of the green. He then went on to bogey the 14th, 16th, and 17th holes, dropping him to 9-under-par for the championship and in a dire situation.

While Siem faltered down the stretch, McKibbin, who carded a 6-under 65 earlier in the day, waited in the clubhouse at 10-under-par. The 21-year-old from Belfast looked unflappable on Sunday, making six birdies to zero bogies. He posted the lowest round of the day at the Adriatic Golf Club Cervia—located on the Italian coast about 100 miles south of Venice. He waited three hours to see if he would make a playoff, but it was almost good enough for the victory.

Meanwhile, Siem, who has a penchant for bouncing back, did just that on the 72nd hole. He holed a 22-footer for birdie to match McKibbin and force a playoff, which he wound up winning.

Now, the German has two goals in his career: to play in the Ryder Cup and make it to the Masters. He has never played at Augusta National before. But if he can secure another victory this year on the DP World Tour and shoot up the season-long rankings, perhaps he will earn his PGA Tour card in December through the top 10 eligibility rankings.

Beginning last year, the top 10 players—not otherwise exempt—in the final DP World Tour standings received invitations to join the PGA Tour. Matthieu Pavon took full advantage of this opportunity—the Frenchman earned his PGA Tour card in December and then won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January, which booked his ticket to Augusta.

Maybe Siem can follow a similar blueprint, but he still has some work to do. His win propelled him 95 places in the Race to Dubai standings, yet he sits in 31st.

Nevertheless, he had already qualified for the Open Championship at Royal Troon, so perhaps the ‘Comeback King’ can make some noise there.

The same mantra applies to McKibbin, who, as a consolation prize, earned a trip to Royal Troon via the Open Qualifying Series. The R&A invited the top two finishers from the Italian Open—not otherwise exempt—to join the field of 156 in Scotland in three weeks. Sean Cocker of the United States received the other invite.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Rocket Mortgage final round tee times for the competitive birdie fest rocket,mortgage,final,round,tee,times,for,the,competitive,birdie,fest,sbnation,com,golf,us-open-golf,golf-majors,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 30, 2024 By: admin

Welcome to Playing Through’s morning ritual — Golf Talk Today.

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, where the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.

It is Championship Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai remained tied for the lead at 17-under. The 22-year-old remains the only player in the field without a bogey as he shot a 4-under 68 on Moving Day. Can Bhatia hold off this stacked leaderboard to go wire-to-wire and earn his third PGA Tour victory?

Eleven guys are within four shots of Bhatia and Rai, so anyone could pull off the win. Amateur golfer Luke Clanton from FSU shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to sit at 14-under. He could become the second amateur to win this season.

Min Woo Lee is also right there looking to take home his first PGA Tour victory. While Bhatia and Rai have been at the top of the leaderboard for most of the week, all it takes is one extremely low score to take home that first PGA Tour w

Brew a pot of coffee, grab some breakfast, and settle in as we get you ready for the fourth and final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Rocket Mortgage Round 3 Tee Times (ET):

*all tee off on #1

7:40 a.m. — Ryan Fox, Taylor Pendrith

7:50 a.m. — Luke List, Chandler Phillips

8:00 a.m. — Taylor Montgomery, Davis Riley

8:10 a.m. — Callum Tarren, Nicholas Lindheim

8:20 a.m. — Peter Malnati, Zach Johnson

8:30 a.m. — Maverick McNealy, Blaine Hale Jr.

8:40 a.m. — Aaron Baddeley, Kevin Streelman

8:50 a.m. — Brandon Wu, Matti Schmid

9:00 a.m. — Pierceson Coody, Ryan Moore

9:15 a.m. — Nico Echavarria, Mark Hubbard

9:25 a.m. — Robby Shelton, Nicolas Højgaard

9:35 a.m. — Ben Griffin, Nate Lashley

9:45 a.m. — Vince Whaley, Matt Kuchar

9:55 a.m. — Kevin Yu, Ben James (a)

10:05 a.m. — Joe Highsmith, Wesley Bryan

10:15 a.m. — Patrick Fishburn, Chris Gotterup

10:25 a.m. — Ryan McCormic, Carl Yuan

10:40 a.m. — Bud Cauley, Nick Hardy

10:50 a.m. — Ryo Hisatsune, Jacob Bridgeman

11:00 a.m. — Hrry Hall, Roger Sloan

11:10 a.m. — Andrew Novak, Max Greyserman

11:20 a.m. — Patton Kizzire, Ben Kohles

11:30 a.m. — Michael Kim Beau Hossler

11:40 a.m. — rico Hoey, Chris Kirk

11:55 a.m. — Jake Knapp, Justin Lower

12:05 p.m. — Neal Shipley, Jhottan Vegas

12:15 p.m. — Taylore Moore, J.J. Spaun

12:25 p.m. — Rickie Fowler, Dylan Wu

12:35 p.m. — Hayden Springer, Eric Cole

12:45 p.m. — David Skinns, Hayden Buckley

12:55 p.m. —‚ Troy Merrit, Ben SIlverman

1:10 p.m. — Nick Dunlap, Patrick Rodgers

1:20 p.m. — Joel Dahmen, Davis Thompson

1:30 p.m. — Luke Clanton (a), Min Woo Lee

1:40 p.m. — Sam Stevens, Erik van Rooyen

1:50 p.m — Cam Davis, Cameron Young

2:00 p.m. — Akshay Bhatia, Aaron Rai

ICYMI: Top stories from the Rocket Mortgage Classic and across professional golf

Check out these stories:

PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh stepping down; not renewing contract

Paige Spiranac reveals eye-popping handicap; quiets trolls with impressive receipts

Former Rocket Mortgage Classic champion making more memories, records first PGA Tour hole-in-one

Padraig Harrington deep dives into worst golf swing advice ahead of U.S. Senior Open

U.S. Senior Open: Golfer makes mind blowing consecutive holes-in-one that will make your jaw drop

Rocket Mortgage: Neal Shipley finds no learning curve, contends in 1st professional PGA Tour start

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

Rocket Mortgage: Sensational amateur Luke Clanton looks to make history rocket,mortgage,sensational,amateur,luke,clanton,looks,to,make,history,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 29, 2024 By: admin

Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton burst onto the scene Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic as he posted the score to beat.

He signed for a 7-under 65 to sit at 14-under and just a few shots behind the leaders.

Clanton recorded six birdies, an eagle and one bogey on the day. He was 5-under through 11 holes before he dropped a shot at the 12th.

“We stayed super calm and super in the process of what we’ve been doing,” Clanton said after his round on Saturday.

“I think that’s one thing I’ve been struggling with the last couple of months is not getting ahead of my game and looking into the future, but today, I think we did such a good job of not trying to force the birdies out there, but we just stayed really in our process today.”

Through three rounds, Clanton leads the field in strokes gained off the tee with +4.378. He is also No. 7 in strokes gained putting, picking up +4.346 on the rest of the field.

However, in Saturday’s round alone, he leads in strokes gained off the tee (+1.491), putting (3.801) and total (+4.712).

His flat stick was phenomenal as the Seminole golfer made 117 feet of putts during the third round. However, his eagle on 14 was a veteran-like shot that showed what kind of guts he has.

“I smoked a driver way down there, and that was probably one of the harder ones I hit all day,” he said. “Had the perfect 5-iron number with left-to-right wind. I looked at Jason and said this could be really good if I hit this good, and I flushed it. I said, “Be the right club,” and he said it. Hit it close and tapped in for eagle, so it was pretty sweet.”

His 7-under 65 put him right into contention to win a PGA Tour event. Can the 20-year-old make history this week? He made the cut at the U.S. Open and finished tied for 41st. Clanton was the second-lowest amateur behind Neal Shipley, who made his professional PGA Tour debut this week.

“To be able to be out here and even say I’m in contention to win a PGA TOUR event’s pretty nuts. It’s pretty cool, man,” he said.

“I shot 7 under today, it was amazing, but we could have made a couple more birdies out there. My game plan has been the same all week, pound driver as hard as I can, get it down there and make a few putts — it’s been good.”

The last amateur to win on the PGA Tour was Nick Dunlap, who won the American Express in January. He became the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on Tour.

Now, Clanton looks to add his name to the history books.

“Me and Nick go way back so it’s awesome to see him do that,” Clanton said. “It’s cool, man. I think amateurs now, we’re so good. I think a lot of guys have great chances of winning out here and to be in contention with one day to go is pretty sweet.”

The Florida State sophomore had one of the best springs with three consecutive victories at the Seminole Intercollegiate, the Valspar Collegiate Invitational and the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial.

Clanton recorded 10 top-10 finishes in 14 tournaments this past season, and he finished at par or less in 30 of his 40 rounds. He is currently ranked No. 6 in the World Amateur Golf ranking system.

If the Ben Hogan semifinalist wins on Sunday, it will be the first time in 79 years that two amateurs have won on the PGA Tour. Cary Middlecoff and Fred Haas were the last to win in the same season in 1945.

Clanton will likely be in one of the final groups on Sunday, as his 65 pushed him 22 spots up the leaderboard.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Will Zalatoris suddenly withdraws mid-round rocket,mortgage,classic,will,zalatoris,suddenly,withdraws,mid,round,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 29, 2024 By: admin

Will Zalatoris came into Saturday’s round at 7-under and just six shots off the Rocket Mortgage Classic leaders.

However, after eight holes, the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon withdrew from the tournament. Zalatoris was 3-over through eight when he chose to pull out.

The PGA Tour communications team cited a back injury as the reason for his withdrawal. However, CBS Sports analyst Amanda Balionis reported that Zalatoris’ hip caused him to withdraw from the tournament.

He told her he felt a “pop” in his hip on his “good side.” Zalatoris told her he felt like playing four weeks in a row caught up to him. The No. 42 golfer in the world played in the Memorial, U.S. Open, and Travelers Championship.

His agent, Allen Hobbs, released a statement about Zalatoris’ departure, per Jeanna Trotman, a Detroit sports anchor.

“Will experienced some discomfort after a swing today and out of utmost precaution, made the tough decision to withdraw,” the statement read. “It’s important that he listens to his body and gets some rest. He hates to withdraw from the Rocket Mortgage Classic and looks forward to getting back out on the course soon.

He has won one PGA Tour event in his short career — the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. Zalatoris had a microdiscectomy in April 2023 for herniated disks in his back, which caused him to sit out the remainder of the season.

Zalatoris cited earlier this year that Tiger Woods helped him cope with the back injury during his rehab.

The Dallas resident played in 15 events this season and made 11 cuts. He finished tied ninth at The Masters but has not finished inside the top 40 in the eight starts since. Zalatoris withdrew from the Byron Nelson in March when the back injury flared up, so this is not the first time he has chosen to be safe about it.

It is uncertain when his next event will be, but it seems the choice to withdraw was precautionary.