takeaways

Travelers: Scottie Scheffler wins another jacket; 5 takeaways travelers,scottie,scheffler,wins,another,jacket,takeaways,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 24, 2024 By: admin

The Travelers Championship in Connecticut always delivers, and this year’s edition echoed that sentiment once again.

Scottie Scheffler won his sixth event of the year, becoming the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to win six PGA Tour events before July 1 in a season. The win marks Scheffler’s fourth Signature Event title, along with his impressive victories at TPC Sawgrass and Augusta National.

But unlike his five prior wins in 2024, Scheffler needed to prevail in a playoff this time around. He defeated Tom Kim on the first playoff hole—the par-4 18th. Kim dunked his approach into the greenside bunker as his ball nestled in a buried lie. Scheffler, meanwhile, stuffed his second shot to 11 feet, which all but secured the title.

The 22-year-old Kim could not get up and down, and Scheffler lagged his putt next to the hole—a fresh cup thanks to the chaos that ensued on the 18th hole in regulation. Minutes before, protestors invaded the green, spraying colorful substances all over the putting surface and leaving marks everywhere. Consequently, the PGA Tour’s agronomy team had to cut a new pin location for the playoff: 11 steps on and five from the right. The interruption paused play for 15 minutes.

Then, after police had subjugated the trespassers, Kim rolled in a 10-footer for birdie to force a playoff with the top-ranked player in the world, who also dubs as one of his best friends. It produced a surreal moment at TPC River Highlands, one that both players will soon not forget.

5 Takeaways from Travelers Championship:

1. It’s Scottie Scheffler’s world

Scottie Scheffler bounced back with a vengeance after his worst performance of the season at the U.S. Open. He carded two rounds of 64 and a pair of 65s to finish at 22-under par in regulation, seven days after posting 7-over. Scheffler was locked in all week, mainly due to a putter that rebounded nicely after a brutal week at Pinehurst No. 2.

The two-time Masters champion gained 2.540 strokes with the putter in Connecticut, good for 16th in this limited field. To help put that in perspective, Scheffler lost 1.51 strokes to the field last week, ranking 71st of 74 players who made the cut.

Granted, TPC River Highlands pales in comparison to No. 2 as it relates to green complexes and overall difficulty. But to win at this golf course, you have to shoot 4-or-5-under every day to have a solid chance to win.

“You have an off day; all of a sudden, it’s much harder to catch up,” Scheffler said.

Scottie Scheffler, Travelers Championship — Scottie Scheffler chats after his win.

“I feel like sometimes at the harder golf courses, you can fake it around a little bit for a day or two and hang around and hang, but sometimes these golf courses when they’re a little bit softer and not as demanding, there’s always a lot of birdies, just because the fields out here are so deep, and once you get behind, it can be harder to catch up.”

Scheffler made the putts when he needed to and failed to make a single mistake down the stretch. He looked unflappable for all four days, yet Scheffler burned a few lips on the back nine on Sunday. Imagine if a couple more of those putts had fallen.

Now, he will take three weeks off to rest and recuperate before The Open Championship at Royal Troon, leading many of Scheffler’s fellow professionals to breathe a sigh of relief.

2. Tom Kim is here to stay

Kudos to Tom Kim, who brought the World No. 1 to the brink on Sunday in Connecticut. Kim held a piece of the lead on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, an impressive feat at any PGA Tour event—let alone the eighth consecutive one you have played.

He did not have his best stuff with him early, as his even par 35 on the front nine reflected that. Despite that, Kim played spectacularly on the back nine. He got a big boost of momentum on the par-4 10th, where he knocked his approach to nine feet and subsequently drained the putt for birdie.

Three more birdies for Kim followed, none more important than the one on the 72nd hole. But Kim also took advantage of the scorable holes on the back nine: the par-5 13th and the drivable par-4 15th. You have to make birdie on those holes, or you will lose strokes to the field. Look no further than Akshay Bhatia, who was in the mix but faded thanks to lackluster pars on the 13th and 15th.

Tom Kim, Travelers Championship — Tom Kim reacts to his birdie on the 18th green during the final round of the 2024 Travelers Championship.

Kim did not fade from the limelight, however. He shined in it, proving that he can take on any player in the world head-on. The Seoul, South Korea native will only get better from here.

“I fought hard. I really did. I played really well this week,” Kim said.

“I was really close, really, really close, but I was just a shot short. Unfortunately, when you’re going against Scottie, who I know very, very well, I knew that I had to play really good golf [on Sunday], and I felt like I did. It got tough out there with the wind, but I fought hard. It was just shy, but I’m taking some positive things going into the rest of the season.”

Unlike Scheffler, Kim will keep the pedal to the metal at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the Detroit-area tournament that will mark his ninth tournament in a row.

3. Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay: close, but no cigar… again

At one point late in the day, you saw Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay’s names pop up towards the leaderboard. Finau tied the lead at 20-under with a birdie at the 15th hole, while Cantlay crept up to 19-under, thanks to back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes.

Could this be the week for Finau, who has not won since the 2023 Mexico Open? Or could Cantlay pick up his first trophy since the 2022 BMW Championship?

But their sealed was fate on the par-3 16th, which measured only 158 yards on Sunday. The large pond in front of the green, coupled with a front left-hole location and a devilish swirling wind, made things nearly impossible. It turned this short par-3 into a bear late in the day on Sunday, ranking as the second most challenging hole during the final round.

Patrick Cantlay, PGA Tour, Travelers Championship — Patrick Cantlay during the final round of the 2024 Travelers Championship.

Cantlay played in the group ahead of Finau and pulled his iron shot long and left. It settled up against the rough while sitting below the putting surface, thus making it all but impossible to save par. A bogey there dropped him back to 18-under, as he ultimately tied for fifth. Cantlay tied for third at Pinehurst No. 2, his best career finish in a major. He could be someone to watch out for at Royal Troon, as his game finally looks to be in shape.

Finau, meanwhile, came up woefully short from the tee, as his watery demise led to a double-bogey five. He went on to tie for fifth, one week after tying for third at the U.S. Open. But, like last week, a mistake cost Finau a chance at glory. The chipping and putting mistakes did him in on the 13th hole on Saturday, while a poorly struck approach into the wind cost him today. At any rate, Finau will be back. It’s a matter of when, not if, he wins.

4. Signature Events need work

We need more players in Signature Events.

I understand that the PGA Tour wants top players to compete against the best, but 72 players are not enough in one of the season’s marquee events. At a minimum, 100 players need to play. Too much talent in professional golf exists for the PGA Tour to roll out the red carpet for only a third of its members. Plus, golf is the most random sport of them all. Anything can happen on any given round on any given day, so why not add to the drama and expand Signature Events by 30 people or so?

So, in 2025, when the Travelers Championship will once again act as a Signature Event on the heels of the U.S. Open, I hope to see more than 72 players in the field. One hundred has a nice round number to it; plus, it’s not as if there is a night-and-day difference between the 72nd-ranked player and the 102nd. Heck, anyone of the top 1000 players in the world realistically has the game to contend in a PGA Tour event. Just ask ninth-alternate John Daly.

Nevertheless, the Signature Event model is here to stay, but it certainly could use some enhancements. Adding more players who deserve an opportunity would be a good start.

5. TPC River Highlands: too easy?

Once again, TPC River Highlands yielded plenty of birdies and not a lot of bogies. That’s fine if you like surreal scoring, hoping somebody wins at 30-under par. But it just does not provide the entertainment value that other demanding courses do.

As Scottie Scheffler alluded to in his post-round presser, it’s almost more of a challenge to set ‘par’ at a 5-under 65, knowing that if you do not shoot a 65, you are losing strokes to the field. Look at Tom Kim, who shot a 4-under 66 as the final-round leader and lost—a tough pill to swallow.

But at 6,835 yards, the modern game has likely passed TPC River Highlands by. With that said, this course has committed itself to hosting the PGA Tour’s best once again in 2025 and should do so once again. It deserves it. The layout is spectacular, with the final four holes always producing drama. And the community embraces this tournament like a major championship. Plus, the hospitality for players, volunteers, media, and fans alike is all top-notch, a true five-star experience.

Yet, we have an idea: what if the Travelers Championship became the Northeast’s premier Signature Event, rotating around a bevy of top courses within the region? Obviously, this region has plenty of capital. So, perhaps Bethpage Black hosts one year while Liberty National slides in during another. Maybe TPC Boston will get back in the mix. Or Aronimink in Philadelphia. Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey would be another viable candidate.

At any rate, the tour has an opportunity to take things a step further regarding its Signature Events by rotating courses in and out. Yes, the Hartford, Connecticut community would be heartbroken to see this tournament leave, but the Travelers Championship could always return to this area, too.

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.

U.S. Open: Bryson DeChambeau wins; 5 takeaways from Pinehurst u,s,open,bryson,dechambeau,wins,takeaways,from,pinehurst,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,us-open-golf,golf-majors,golf-pga-tour,golf-news,liv-golf

On: June 17, 2024 By: admin

Bryson DeChambeau is now a two-time U.S. Open champion, clinching the title at Pinehurst No. 2 four years after he did so at Winged Foot in New York. He did not have his best stuff on Sunday, but he found a way to get the job done, thanks partly to Rory McIlroy, who made three bogies over his final four holes to lose by one.

With his win, DeChambeau enters rare territory, joining Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods as the only players to have ever won a U.S. Amateur and multiple U.S. Open titles—pretty good company to join. On the flip side, McIlroy’s major drought continues, as his downfall on Sunday was perhaps the most heartbreaking moment of his illustrious career.

Here are five takeaways from the sandhills of North Carolina:

1. An all-time classic U.S. Open

The 124th U.S. Open will go down in the history books as one of the best ever. We had two of the best players in the world—Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy—duking it out on a challenging golf course on the back nine, leaving everyone on the edge of their seats.

You can not ask for anything more at a major championship. Every shot was a must-watch, from DeChambeau’s third shot on the 10th all the way to his heroic sand save on the 18th hole. Rory McIlroy produced magical moments, too, until his putter went ice cold on the 16th and 18th holes, which shocked the world and left everyone in disbelief.

But this is a tournament people will remember for a long time.

In the post-round press conference, Kevin Van Valkenburg of No Laying Up said to DeChambeau, “It doesn’t feel like too much hyperbole to feel like this is one of the great U.S. Opens in history.”

Before Van Valkenburg could finish his question, DeChambeau chimed in, saying, “Wow,” doing so in disbelief after a rollercoaster day that could have gone either way.

DeChambeau then said that he felt “thankful” to have been a part of it. But in all seriousness, the golfing world should count their blessings to have witnessed such a great championship amid so much division within the sport.

2. Bryson DeChambeau—second best in the world?

Bryson DeChambeau has played better across the three major championships than any other player, including Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler won The Masters, The Players, and three other Signature Events this season. But in the tournaments where he has played alongside DeChambeau, the LIV Golf star got the better of him twice.

DeChambeau tied for 6th at Augusta National and then finished solo second to Xander Schauffele at Valhalla. Now, he is the U.S. Open champion, triumphing on a course where Scheffler sorely struggled for four straight days.

Scheffler is still the top-ranked player in the world, but at this point, DeChambeau should slide in as the number two.

Bryson DeChambeau, U.S. Open — Bryson DeChambeau raises his arms after winning.

He has proven himself on the biggest stages this season, demonstrating a skillset that stretches beyond his ability to hit 350-yard drives. His short game was incredible all week; he made putts when needed, except on the par-3 15th on Sunday. DeChambeau stepped up and hit the shots when he had to, with no bigger one coming on the 18th hole, where he got up and down from the bunker 55 yards short of the green.

Best of all, golf fans have embraced DeChambeau. They used to view him as a pariah; now, he’s arguably the sport’s biggest star.

3. Rory McIlroy’s collapse worse than Mickelson’s in ‘06, Dustin Johnson’s in ‘15

I’m not so sure Rory McIlroy can ever recover from what transpired down the stretch on Sunday.

Let’s start with the tee shot on the par-3 15th, a hole that he bogeyed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. At that point, McIlroy sat at 8-under par, with firm control of the tournament. He had just made birdies on the 9th, 10th, 12th, and 13th holes to pull ahead and into the solo lead.

But on this very hole, McIlroy knew that any shot long was dead. So, from 205 yards out, McIlroy pulled a 7-iron. He then hit a lower draw than normal, trying to pound one into the center of the green. But since McIlroy hits a draw, and a right-to-left ball flight does not land softly, his shot bounced hard on the firm surface and rolled off the back of this ‘Turtleback’ green. It settled up against wiregrass, assuring a bogey.

Rory McIlroy, U.S. Open — Rory McIlroy walks up the 15th hole.

So, why in the world did he attempt to rocket a hard, low 7-iron, instead of a high fade, perhaps with a 6-iron? Even if he came up short, he could have saved par to that hole location. But as soon as he went over, the collapse was on.

Then came the difficult par-4 16th.

McIlroy hammered a drive, played a smart second shot, and a par looked all but assured—until he missed his par attempt from 2-feet-9-inches. That miss shocked the world, as it marked McIlroy’s first miss from inside three feet all season, per Justin Ray.

Suddenly, McIlroy sat at 6-under, with DeChambeau tied right behind him. Two more pars would likely force a playoff, and a birdie on either 17 or 18 would win, thus snapping the drought.

He missed his tee shot left into the bunker on 17 but managed to save par. Then, on 18, McIlroy pounded a drive again, but it missed the fairway left and nestled up against the wiregrass. Why McIlroy did not opt to hit a 3-wood here is another pressing question in his decision-making.

Anyhow, he scurried his second shot from the native area to about 20 yards short of the pin, right in front of the green. He then hit a solid chip, but it carried a bit too much pace, settling 3-feet-6-inches above the hole. That set the stage for a slippery, downhill slider that nobody would want to have in a U.S. Open.

McIlroy missed that, too, signing for a 1-under 69 and finishing the U.S. Open at 5-under overall. DeChambeau, of course, made his miraculous par behind him, thus winning the title and leaving McIlroy sick to his stomach.

But why does this collapse rank higher than Phil Mickelson’s mishap on the 72nd hole at Winged Foot in 2006 and higher than Dustin Johnson’s three-putt gaffe at Chambers Bay in 2015?

Both Mickelson and Johnson faced the music after their respective collapses.

McIlroy did not.

Mickelson, after blowing it on 18 and handing the title to Geoff Ogilvy, famously said, “I’m in shock, I can’t believe I’ve just done that. I’m such an idiot.”

Johnson, meanwhile, received 11 questions from the media in 2015, each of them primarily focused on what transpired on the 18th green, where he gifted the championship to Jordan Spieth.

“Disappointed,” Johnson said on that fateful Father’s Day in the Pacific Northwest.

“I had all the chances in the world. I’m really proud of the way I hit the ball. Proud of the way I handled myself all day.”

Do you know how many questions McIlroy fielded on Sunday?

Zero.

Instead of talking to the press, or to anyone from NBC Sports for that matter, McIlroy bolted to his car before DeChambeau even accepted the trophy. His private plane was in the air by 7:30 p.m. ET, roughly 40 minutes after he missed on 18, and he landed in South Florida an hour and 14 minutes later, per Radar Atlas.

Phil Mickelson, U.S. Open — Phil Mickelson after the end of the 2006 U.S. Open.

I understand that facing scrutiny in the age of social media and 24/7 news coverage is demanding and difficult, especially in moments of heartbreak and agony. I also know that he has a lot going on in his personal life. But McIlroy makes millions of dollars to play golf. Hundreds of people also cover the sport, making nowhere close to what McIlroy earns. It’s their job to share McIlroy’s perspective with millions around the world in an effort to grow the game and provide a viewpoint on one of the biggest events in the sport.

It’s also McIlroy’s duty to explain what happened.

Do you think Scott Norwood of the Buffalo Bills wanted to meet the media after he missed the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XV? No. But he did. Norwood answered every single question—just like Mickelson and Johnson.

That’s what professional athletes do. McIlroy fell short of that, and because he blew off the media and failed to explain himself, his collapse tops those seen in 2006 and 2015.

McIlroy knows that too—hence his decision to get out of dodge.

4. Props to Pinehurst No. 2

Take a bow, Pinehurst No. 2.

You delivered a marvelous, thrilling championship that entertained everyone for an entire week.

We saw diabolical shots, ‘Ping-Pong’ games, putts off greens, surreal chip-ins, unthinkable holes-in-one, and an all-world finish that we will remember forever.

The strategy required on this golf course is also second to none, as this Donald Ross masterpiece made players think more about angles than anything else.

The 4th fairway at Pinehurst No. 2 during the 2024 U.S. Open.

The greens, as crazy as they are, starred like an Oscar-winning actor.

The native wiregrass that lined every fairway, with 75 different plants scattered about, left everyone wondering what would happen next on every single shot that went there.

The layout of the course is also a thing of beauty. Tricky par-3s befuddle the player towards the end of each nine, while the 5th and 10th holes—both par-5s—provided rare birdie opportunities earlier on.

All in all, the course delivered, but there is one thing that Pinehurst No. 2 can do for when this championship returns in 2029: make the wiregrass more abundant and more penal. Plenty of players had clean shots from there all week. The U.S. Open prides itself on being golf’s most demanding test, so why not add more of a challenge to the waste area? It will only entertain everyone else even more.

5. An ode to Johnson Wagner, Golf Channel’s biggest star

After the championship concluded, Johnson Wagner of the Golf Channel decided to re-create the shot Bryson DeChambeau hit on 18.

Mind you, Wagner has become a golf celebrity in recent months simply because of these short segments on live television.

Since The Players Championship in March, Wagner, on ‘Live From,’ has: hummed balls into the side of a hill, roped a punch shot off a tree, climbed into the woods to asses a Xander Schauffele ruling, twice got the yips on air, and then, this week, he walked through why Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg collapsed on the 13th hole.

But nothing could top what he did on Sunday.

After rocketing an attempt over the green, DeChambeau pulled up to the spot where he played his now-famous shot and embraced Wagner. Then, DeChambeau told Wagner to hit another one, with the champion as a witness. He also provided some insight on how to play the shot.

With a 50-degree wedge in hand, Wagner hit a perfect chunk and run. His ball landed on the green and rolled towards the cup, just as DeChambeau’s did in regulation.

But Wagner’s ball stopped even closer than DeChambeau’s, which elicited a massive celebration from the now-reigning U.S. Open champion and Golf Channel’s newest, and now, biggest star.

Even Scott Van Pelt of ESPN referred to Johnson as such, an honor worthy of tremendous recognition. So bravo, Johnson, for closing out a memorable week at Pinehurst No. 2 in style.

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.