Mon., March 28, 2022 Edition
‘My head is spinning’: How Scottie Scheffler went from first PGA Tour win to World No. 1 in 42 days
– Dave Shedloski, Golf Digest
Per Dave: “It’s been kind of a crazy past few months,” said Scheffler, 25, a Dallas native enjoying a home game of sorts and, thus, enjoyed a couple of episodes of joyful sobbing in the aftermath as he hugged family, friends and most everyone within an arm’s length. “I really don’t know how to describe the emotion. I’ve thought about winning this tournament ever since last year. It left kind of a poor taste in my mouth getting so close and ultimately coming up short. So, it feels really good to finish the job this time around.”
Getting the job done doesn’t appear to be much of a chore anymore.
Scheffler, who improved to 10-2-2 in the event, didn’t trail in his last 57 holes and took down two tenacious opponents on Sunday, each who was unbeaten before locking horns with the former University of Texas Longhorn.
He will be among the favorites at the Masters after becoming the 2021-22 season’s first three-time winner and the first to win three events leading into the year’s first major since Johnson and Justin Thomas won as many before the 2017 Masters.”
B&B POV – Two months ago we put $20 on Scheff to win The Masters. We got better odds then than we can get now. Ha! Let’s goooooooooo!
How good was Kevin Kisner’s Match Play rally? It’s never been done before.
– Nick Piastowski, Golf.com
Per Nick: “Well, it’s not looking good’ is about the closest you’ll get to an early concession from the 36-year-old South Carolinian. Still, there Kisner was during his Saturday morning round of 16 match against Adam Scott, down three holes with four to go, and history says it was actually looking bad.
In a mind-blowing stat from data guru Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group, 228 players had faced that deficit or greater at Austin CC after the Saturday round of 16 — and went 1-221-6. You can probably guess the ‘1.’ (After the quarters, it dropped to 1-222-6, but more on that in a sec.)
On the par-4 15 against Scott, Kisner stuffed a wedge to 4 feet and birdied. He was two down with three holes to go.
But maybe to best understand why Kisner is a match for match-play, listen to what he told reporters after he said, “Well, it’s not looking good.”
“But I don’t ever give up. I knew I needed to make some birdies. I knew I needed him to start thinking about it.
“That’s what I’m always trying to do is get the opponent to think about what I’m doing instead of what they’re doing, and I was able to do that, I think, when I holed that bunker shot on 16.”
B&B POV – We’ll eat a big ol’ bowl of coot poop if Kiz doesn’t make the US President’s Cup squad this fall. Arguably the best match play golfer in the world the past 5-years, the shifty Georgian deserves his spot on the roster. And with his penchant for making big putts, we’re laying odds right now that if selected, he’ll play all 5 matches. And rightfully so.
LPGA: Thai rookie sensation Atthaya Thitikul wins JTBC Classic
– Beth Ann Nichols / Golf Week
Per Beth: “As Koerstz Madsen put the finishing touches on a 2-under 70, Thitikul stretched and worked on her short game a bit but never went to the range as she kept tabs on the scoreboard. The Thai phenom closed with an 8-under 64, the round of the week, Sunday at Aviara Golf Club to finish knotted with Koerstz Madsen at 16-under 272 for the tournament.
Only three players have ever won their first two events on the LPGA in consecutive starts. Koerstz Madsen looked to become the fourth, joining Trish Johnson (1993), Emilee Klein (1996) and Ariya Jutanugarn (2016).
Thitikul, No. 14 in the Rolex Rankings, has four wins on the Ladies European Tour, making history when she won the first at age 14. The LPGA rookie looked to win for the first time in just her fifth start in 2022.”
B&B POV – At 19, Thitkul is one of the next great teenage sensations in women’s professional golf. The LPGA Tour has the sweetest swings and purest putting strokes in the world on display 30+ weeks a year. If you’re not watching, you should. Your improved golf game will thank you for it.
Last call: The LPGA and ‘The Dinah’ make their bittersweet farewell to the California desert
– John Strege / Golf Digest
Per John: “Dinah Shore was an entertainer’s entertainer, talented, smart and charming, who lent more than her name to what began as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle in 1972. She sold the tournament with her celebrity, yes, but more so with her passion for the game and its players, infused with genuine warmth on a par with the California desert sun in late March.
“It became the Masters of women’s golf,” World Golf Hall of Famer Amy Alcott said.
High praise, to be sure, but parallels do abound. It is the LPGA’s first major championship of the year, has been played annually on the same pristine course in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on the same week on the calendar, with an elite limited field, and with its own tradition, the popular winner’s leap into Poppie’s Pond.
But in its 51st year, the tournament is preparing to move on. The Dinah, now known as the Chevron Championship, begins here Thursday and will be the last played on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club, on Dinah Shore Boulevard. Next year, it will move to the Houston area.”
B&B POV – The Dinah has been steep in tradition; and for 51 years has been played on arguably one of Palm Spring’s most iconic golf courses. We’re sad to see Mission Hills C.C. and Poppie’s Pond (the winner’s wet leap) being sunsetted for a course (and new corp sponsor) in Houston starting in 2023.
Don’t get us wrong, we are ecstatic that next year the ladies will be playing the first major of the season with a considerably bigger purse, but that doesn’t take away the saddened, nostalgic feeling we have knowing The Dinah will cease to exist.
Chad Ramey wins windswept Corales Puntacana Championship for first PGA Tour title
– Associated Press / ESPN
Per the Press: “Chad Ramey won the windswept Corales Puntacana Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, beating Ben Martin and Alex Smalley by a stroke.
Ramey closed with a 5-under 67, completing a two-putt par on the par-4 18th after Martin missed a 6-foot birdie try that would have forced a playoff.
“It was honestly like I always thought it would be,” Ramey said. “It was very stressful, very nerve-wracking coming down the stretch, but I just grinded it out, kind of stuck to my process, stayed within myself and pulled it out.”
B&B POV – With the tourney played opposite the Dell Match Play, the field at the Puntacana Championship resembled a Korn Ferry Tour event, except for a major champion or two. Nonetheless Ramey took home his 1st ever PGA Tour victory and a two-year Tour exemption — and $666,000 greenies. Congrats!
WITB: Scottie Scheffler at the 2022 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft), 8 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft), 16.5 degrees
Utility: Srixon Z U85 (3-iron; Nippon Pro Modus3 Hybrid Tour X shaft)
Irons: Srixon ZX7 (4-iron; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shaft), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts), Titleist Vokey Design 2021 Proto (60K degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tour type GSS Tour Prototype
Golf ball: Titleist Pro V1
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
B&B POV: If I were Scheff I would make sure these clubs never leave his side until after The Masters. He shouldn’t risk losing the hottest clubs on the planet right now.
FEATURED LESSON
“Tommy Fleetwood’s 5 IMPORTANT golf tips!“
Tommy Fleetwood, Professional Golfer
Video by Rick Shiels Golf
Become a better golfer and playing partner by having a quicker and smoother rhythm to your pre-shot routine
Enjoy this weekend’s recap!
-B&B