Arnold Palmer, in a fun commercial for the USGA a few years back, promoted speeding up play. After watching an actor stretch on the tee, waggle his driver, stop, walk over to a beverage cart and order the seven-time major champion’s namesake drink, the man himself appeared. “While we’re young,” Palmer said, playing on a line from Caddyshack.
His grandson did him proud.
Sam Saunders teed off at just after 7:14 a.m. on Sunday. And was done before 9. Playing as a single during the final round of the Club Car Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, Saunders signed for his six-over 78 in 1 hour, 36 minutes, one of the fastest-ever rounds across the PGA Tour’s tours.
Speedy Saunders joined the @PGATOUR track team today 😳@joaconiemann: 1 hour, 53 minutes @playofffinale
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) April 3, 2022
Sam Saunders: 1 hour, 36 minutes @clubcarchamp@wesleybryangolf: 1 hour, 29 minutes @BMWchamps pic.twitter.com/vcXCOAYPr1
“I was on the bag, official time was 1 hour 36 minutes,” tweeted Saunders’ caddie, Hunter O’Mahony, in a response to the Fire Pit Collective’s Ryan French, who first spotted the round.
But was it the fastest Tour-based round? Almost. At the 2017 BMW Championship, Wesley Bryan raced around Conway Farms in 1 hour, 29 minutes — and as French tweeted updates of Saunders’ round on Sunday, Bryan jumped in.
“Nice try Sam,” Bryan tweeted in response to French tweeting Saunders’ final time.
Still, Saunders was far from Sunday-strolling. Across the Landing Club’s 6,877 yards, Saunders averaged just under 1 minute, 15 seconds per stroke. According to French, Saunders was at one point a whopping nine holes ahead of the group behind.
His grandpa would be proud.
