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Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by 2-time PGA Tour winner J.T. Poston who explains how ESPN mistook him for Justin Thomas.

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The post GOLF’s Subpar: Jim “Bones” Mackay on one of the first times he ever caddied for Justin Thomas appeared first on Golf.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: Jim “Bones” Mackay on one of the first times he ever caddied for Justin Thomas appeared first on Golf.

Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by legendary caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay who talks about one of the first times he ever caddied for Justin Thomas.

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The post Jordan Spieth’s unique brand of golf is hard to explain. Ask Justin Thomas appeared first on Golf.

The post Jordan Spieth’s unique brand of golf is hard to explain. Ask Justin Thomas appeared first on Golf.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There are many ways to describe the strangeness of Jordan Spieth golf. Let us try a few.

Jordan Spieth golf is like flying economy and getting upgraded to first class. It’s like getting hit by a bus and finding a winning scratch-off ticket on the windshield. It’s like using the sidewalk to cook a perfect souffle. And at the Presidents Cup, Jordan Spieth golf is … surprisingly tame?

At least, that’s what Spieth’s teammate, Justin Thomas, thought after watching his pal’s performance on Friday afternoon’s fourball matches.

“Today? That was nothing,” Thomas said with a laugh. “It’s not even, like, remotely close to some Jordan Spieth golf that I’ve seen before.”

And yet, Friday’s Jordan Spieth golf included a moment that, even by Spieth standards, was utterly bizarre. It came on the 15th hole (normally Quail Hollow’s 18th), a narrow par-4 guarded down the left side by a winding creek.

After pumping their drives into the right rough, a 3-up Spieth/Thomas pairing looked to close out their match on 15 with a birdie. Thomas hit his approach first and blew it into the water. Now, the pressure was ratcheted up on Spieth, who needed to preserve par to fend off Cam Davis and Adam Scott.

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Seconds later, Spieth rocketed his own shot left of the green and recoiled. His ball was headed straight for the water. He’d just lost his team the hole.

Then Jordan Spieth golf happened.

When Spieth’s ball finally returned to earth, it did not go into the creek. Rather, in a miraculous stroke of luck, it ricocheted off a rock and rolled out onto the green. When Thomas saw Spieth’s ball bounce back in play, he could only laugh.

“Yeah, I was happy,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s Jordan. I was kind of pissed it didn’t stay on the green. I feel like it very well could have stayed on the green, but you’ve got to take what you get, I guess.”

Thomas knows better than to try to understand Spieth’s penchant for both utter disaster and good fortune. The two golfers have been teammates in their last three Ryder and Presidents Cups. Thomas knows that when it comes to playing with Spieth, weird is, in fact, normal.

“I’ve said this in the team events before in the past. It is just really, really nice having Jordan as a partner and him being over a 20-, 25-footer and actually being on his team,” Thomas said. “Or seeing him in a bunker and him being on my team. You know what I’m saying?”

On team weeks, Thomas says, playing with Spieth is a little bit more fun.

“I love him to death,” he said. “But no, I’m not rooting for [the lucky breaks] every single shot over the course of the entire year. This week, to be able to do that, is nice.”

Spieth, the man in the driver’s seat of this rollercoaster, enjoys the change of pace, too. At least this week, he won’t be alone on the ride. “I think when my ball bounces out of the water, I got a little different reaction from [Justin] than I would normally get in a tournament,” Spieth said with a laugh.

The weirdness has worked wonders for team Thomas/Spieth this week. The pairing is 3-0-0 through three sessions at the Presidents Cup, due in no small part to their decision to embrace the insane.

With Spieth, you don’t really have a choice.

“Anything and everything he does on the golf course does not surprise me,” Thomas says. “I’ve seen crazier, that’s for sure.”

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “I like me some me.” 

At least sometimes. 

You may remember when Justin Thomas mouthed those words. Sampling the line from NFL star Terrell Owens, he shouted it in exhuburation after he and Tiger Woods won a Friday foursomes match at the 2019 Presidents Cup. To amplify the moment, Thomas putter-dropped, hugged Woods and pushed him away. 

At Quail Hollow on Thursday, in the first U.S.-International clash since then, Thomas’ day was maybe more Goldilocks golf. 

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Not too hot. 

Not too cold. 

But in the end, just about right. After all, he and partner Jordan Spieth defeated Sungjae Im and Corey Conners 2 and 1 in a foursomes match, part of four U.S. victories as the Americans jumped to a 4-1 day one advantage. 

“Oh, it was a big grind,” Thomas said afterward. “I mean, you know, we played a really, really good team, a team that hits a lot of fairways, a lot of quality shots. I hit some unbelievably questionable shots, and I think that’s why we make such a great team. We can salvage when we don’t have our best stuff on a day like today.”

How questionable were a few? So odd was one that Golf Channel analyst Paul Azinger labeled it “one of the worst shots you’ll ever see a good player hit.” We’ll just let the stats tell our story. On the 168-yard, par-3 4th, Thomas teed off, caught as much turf behind the ball as ball itself, and hit it 126 yards. 

Doing the math, that left Spieth with a 44-yard pitch.    

“I’m just laying you up to a good yardage,” Thomas joked to Spieth, according to the broadcast.

Later, on the par-5 16th, Thomas hit from the left greenside bunker, barely escaped, lifted his right hand in confusion and gave a wide-eyed nod. Of course, you also know that Thomas and Spieth clinched things a hole later, so onto the good. 

On the par-4 1st, Thomas holed a 7-footer to halve the hole. On the par-4 3rd, Thomas hit to 20 feet, and he and Spieth took a 1-up lead. On the par-4 5th, from 149 yards out, Thomas hit to 7 feet from a fairway bunker, and he and Spieth grabbed a 2-up lead. On the par-3 6th, Thomas hit his tee shot to 20 feet, and he and Spieth went 3-up. On the par-4 8th, Thomas rolled in a 10-footer to halve the hole. 

The biggest moment came on 15, though there, too, things got a little wacky. Spieth teed off. Thomas hit just over the green. Spieth rolled one just off, in the other direction. 

And Thomas parred, from 26 feet away.

This time, with him and Spieth going 2-up, he shouted: “That’s what I’m talking about.” He paced around the green. He slapped Spieth’s right hand. He shouted again: “Wooooo.”    

On that same green five years ago, Thomas won the PGA Championship for his first major. 

“I mean, it’s the best,” Thomas said of his opening match. “I feel like there’s four or five holes out here that have a little bit bigger setting and gallery than others. Was fortunate enough, just really tried to use that moment. I mean, those switches are so big in match play.”

“He’s enjoyed that green before,” Spieth said. “It’s one of his favorite greens.”

“Yeah, what Jordan said,” Thomas said. 

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The post The best Presidents Cup prop bets: 3 picks our expert loves at Quail Hollow appeared first on Golf.

The post The best Presidents Cup prop bets: 3 picks our expert loves at Quail Hollow appeared first on Golf.

On paper, it’s looking like a beat down.

That’s how Vegas sees it, anyway.

With the 2022 Presidents Cup on tap this weekend at Quail Hollow, the 6.5-point spread in the Philadelphia Eagles/Washington Commanders game is not the most lopsided line in major sports.

Team USA vs. the Internationals takes that honor, with oddsmakers listing the Americans at -700, or 1 to 7 favorites.

You can still bet the Americans, of course. Or put your money on their underdog opponents.

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Just be warned: Andy Lack has no interest in either side of that wager. GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator is looking at the menu of proposition bets instead. Also known as props, these are wagers not tied to the final outcome of the event.

The prop board includes three plays Lack really likes.

You can check out his picks — and his reasoning — below.

If you’d rather make plays on the Presidents Cup without risking real money, download Chirp. The free-to-play mobile platform (and GOLF.com affiliate) has prizes to give away, including a $500 credit to the GOLF.com Pro Shop for Day 1. Check out the full slate of prizes here:

Andy Lack’s Presidents Cup Plays

Top Overall Points Scorer: Justin Thomas (10/1)

Odds available on FanDuel

There are three questions that we must keep in mind when betting top points scoring props for the Presidents Cup. How many matches will they play? Who will they partner with? And does their game fit Quail Hollow? Although official pairings will not be unveiled until Wednesday afternoon, Thomas is the safest bet to play every session. A veteran of team competition, Thomas holds a 6-2-2 record in the Presidents Cup, and carries a combined 6-0-2 record in four balls and foursomes.

Between Presidents and Ryder Cups, the world No. 7 has built a solid rapport with Jordan Spieth as a partner. This duo will be one to watch once again in Charlotte. As for course fit, Thomas won the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail, and ranks top-five among this week’s competitors in the following categories: driving distance, birdies or better gained, strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained around the green, strokes gained total on courses longer than 7,400 yards, and overall strokes gained per round at Quail Thomas should be the favorite in this market, and I’ll gladly back him at 10/1 to be the top overall points scorer. 

Top International Points Scorer: Sungjae Im (6/1)

Odds available on DraftKings

While I have less of a sense of the direction that International Captain Trevor Immelman will go with his pairings, Im and Hideki Matsuyama both feel like locks to compete in every session. No wonder they are co-favorites to be the top points scorer for the Internationals.

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I am generally not one to bet favorites, but the back end of the International team is so weak that I expect Immelman to do a lot of mixing and matching. Im is a top-three talent on the squad, and I expect him to be utilized heavily. A potential pairing with countryman and friend, Tom Kim, is one to keep an eye out for.

Quail Hollow is one of the longest courses that players will see all season, and over the last year, the world No. 19 has been the best long-iron player in the entire Presidents Cup. Sungjae Im to be one of the lone bright spots this week for the Internationals. 

Top Rookie Points Scorer: Sam Burns (5/1)

Odds available on DraftKings

I’ve been eagerly awaiting Sam Burns’ team competition debut, as I believe he possesses the ideal skill set for both this format and for Quail Hollow. The world No. 12 ranks top five out of all competitors in Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda greens, birdies or better gained, and SG: Off the Tee. With three of his four PGA Tour victories coming on Bermuda, Burns should be more than comfortable in Charlotte.

A wager on Burns is also a prediction that the LSU product will have the opportunity to play with his vacation buddy and close friend, Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world. A Burns/Scheffler pairing should be dominant, and even if Burns plays with Billy Horschel as well, I like their prospects. Zurich Classic teammates are competitive every single year at the New Orleans team event, held on a comparable Bermuda-grass course.

I believe United States captain Davis Love will use Burns heavily this week, making him the best value in the Top Rookie Points Scorer market. 

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s hot out. And how do we know, outside of the developing sunburn and continuous sweat drip? The volunteer on the 15th tee corrects you when you say it’s “warm.” “This morning was warm,” he says. “This? This is hot.” 

Good to know. The buddies apparently do. The week is just starting here at stately Quail Hollow so Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, who have just been joined by golf’s latest winner, Max Homa, aren’t going to play 18 today. Or 16 or 17. Or really not even all of 15. Which actually used to be the old No. 18, but in advance of this week’s Presidents Cup, 16, 17 and 18 — the Green Mile, they call it  — have been rerouted as 13, 14 and 15 in hopes of drama in this match-play event, and that’s what we have brewing on the new 15/old 18 green. 

Zach Johnson, next year’s U.S. Ryder Cup captain and a Presidents Cup assistant this year, starts things off. He appears to be an expert at this game and is trying to bait his young troops to join. With bravado, Johnson walks about 40 feet, stops abruptly and drops his ball near the hole — and screams. You get the game now. Johnson’s eyes were closed. And he believed he could pace the distance blind. Homa, Homa’s caddie, Joe Greiner, and Thomas are sold and want in. And they miss. It isn’t easy. 

But let’s go bigger! So in a semi-circle in front of the green, from another 40 feet away, Johnson, Thomas, Spieth, Homa, Greiner and Thomas’ dad, Mike, go at it. Together. Bodies almost collide. No ball hits the hole. It’s fun. It’s odd. It’s not over. We need a winner. So the game changes. 

The concept here is more recognizable, but no less difficult. Toss the ball from about 30 feet. In, and you win. The Thomases, son and father, miss. Homa and Greiner miss. Johnson misses. Spieth drips his into the left side of the cup. And he collects. Thomas yells out that he’s glad he didn’t play for what Johnson “wanted to.”

But we’re curious. What was on the line, Mike?

“Jordan did well,” he tells you as he walks to the parking lot. “He made four figures.”

Not bad. 

How best do you encapsulate the friendly, nearly brotherly, vibe between Spieth and Thomas, who will help lead Team USA against the Internationals starting Thursday. It’s a whole lot of this. And a joke about a fan rope. [You may already know who’s involved.] And golf. And some football watching. No fans were here on Presidents Cup Day 1, so this was a chance for them to be them. 

Let’s tag along. 

Hole 3 

Practice rounds are a bit loose today — Homa, in fact, was in California as of early Sunday night East Coast time — so we catch Thomas and Spieth here. On the golf side of things, they hit multiple tee shots. And multiple second shots. And putts, chips and pitches, from all kinds of angles. Mike Thomas, from behind, watches nearly every shot. Johnson is driving in a cart with his name on it; he’s likely been assigned to this duo by captain Davis Love III, and they will very likely be Johnson’s stars next year at the Ryder Cup in Rome. 

JT hops on the cart as they speed up 3 fairway. 

“Playing speed golf is great,” he says. 

Hole 4 and 7 

They play 4, which Spieth and Thomas believe has a different tee from when the Wells Fargo Championship is played here, then skip over to 7. After the tee shots, Johnson talks to Mike Thomas about the weather at a previous event. 

On a short pitch shot to 7 green, Spieth hits a brick embankment ahead of the green, and it caroms into the water. He screams. A volunteer then pulls up in a cart. He’s a golf fan, and he can’t believe it’s just the world’s seventh-ranked golfer, the world’s 13th-ranked golfer and, well, him and you. 

“It’s surreal,” he says. 

On the green, Johnson is going over some sort of analytics. “We’re the 95th percentile,” Spieth shouts to Thomas. 

Hole 7-8 rope 

To the left of 7 green is the 8 tee. And between the two is a rope that will divide the players from the viewing folks this week. But on Monday, it’s a prop. 

As they walk up, Thomas, Spieth and Johnson are all talking about another rope. And Bryson DeChambeau. And how DeChambeau, on Sunday during the LIV Golf event in Chicago, was clotheslined by that rope after hitting a shot. They had all seen it. You probably have, too. Anyway, one of the members of the party comes to the Quail Hollow rope, hits it, drops to a knee and rolls about 5 feet backward. 

Everyone is dying. 

Hole 8    

Thomas hits one tee shot, then wants to hit a second as the gang steps ahead. He shouts at Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, that he’s about to hit, Greller moves one — one — step to the right, is good and Thomas hits a left-to-righter over his head. You probably don’t do this in your Monday games. 

Up ahead, to the left of the fairway, the groundscrew is taking it all in.  

“It’s kind of chill today,” one worker says. 

Hole 9 

On 9 tee, Mackay imitates a swing and points out to the trees on the left. On 9 fairway, Spieth grabs his cellphone from the cart and makes a call, and Thomas is watching something on his phone and doubling over. On the green, Mike Thomas is talking to Johnson, and in the background, three workers are coordinating a video board, while watching ESPN’s highlights of Sunday’s NFL games. There’ll be more NFL in a sec. 

Hole 10 

On 10 tee — which if you have the means this week, try to get to the viewing area above the tee box — Johnson opens up the cooler from the back of his cart and pulls out a baggie that holds snack bars, a Snickers bar and, according to him, a “PB and J.” He tosses Thomas one of the snack bars. 

Holes 11 and 12 

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On 11, Thomas and Spieth each hit thrice off the tee. On 12 tee, you have three options on the dogleg left — play it straight, try to pop it over trees that are on the left, or hook one lowish around the trees. Thomas tries the latter two. 

It’s here you may start to wonder what the feeling is like here, of being buddies and playing buddy golf while, you know, also trying to win an international team event, so you ask someone in the know. Mike Thomas is also his son’s coach, and he had a thought on it all. 

“I mean, they always have a game,” he says. “They’re always going to have a game just to keep their interest. Get more done without the fans. The fans are great, but to have a day without fans, you kind of focus on what you’re doing and not have to turn down autographs and pictures and things like that. It was nice. A lot of these guys have seen this golf course multiple times so it was just getting back out there and getting a feel for it.” 

Hole 13 

Shh…Johnson has pulled up his cart to the tee box. The tires must be soft. On the cart of Fred Couples, another assistant captain, Homa pulls up as Thomas and Spieth are putting. 

Hole 14 

It’s here, on new 14/old 17, where Thomas clinched the 2017 PGA for his first major championship. On Monday, the video board is showing Packers-Bears highlights. Spieth is mesmerized, though he’s a Cowboys fan. Mike Thomas comes up and congratulates Homa on his win. Walking off the tee, Couples watches 49ers highlights, sees Jimmy Garappolo run for a score and shakes his fist. San Fran fans may have had different feelings.  

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Hole 15 

On the green, the games are played, and Thomas tells Johnson and his dad that he wants to go to the range to hit “10 balls.” And all of the parties go their own ways.  

But we’ll end things this way. The day was lighthearted, and this moment was touching. 

Spieth had hit a fairway bunker shot, and Greller was meticulously raking the sand. A woman walked up to within about 10 yards to his right and softly said: “I’m glad you’re here.” 

Greller smiled. 

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The stage is set for for the 2022 Presidents Cup where 24 of the PGA Tour’s top golfers — 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world (except for Europe) — will meet for the biennial matches.

Due to the pandemic, this will be the first Presidents Cup since 2019, when the Tiger Woods-captained U.S. team narrowly edged the Ernie Els-led International squad with a miraculous come-from-behind win in Sunday singles.

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The U.S. team holds a dominating 10-1-1 record in the matches and most expect a similarly dominate performance with LIV Golf defectors being ineligible to play in this year’s event and taking the hardest toll on Trevor Immelman’s International team.

Without further ado, let us introduce you to the players who are playing this year.

United States Team

*denotes captain’s pick

Captain: Davis Love III

Love was a six-time member of the U.S. Presidents Cup team and compiled a 16-8-4 record in those matches. Love — who was born in Charlotte, N.C., home of this week’s host, Quail Hollow Club — won 21 times on the PGA Tour, including one major win at the 1997 PGA Championship. He also notably won the 2015 Wyndham Championship at the age of 51, becoming the third-oldest winner in PGA Tour history. Love was an assistant captain on the 2013, 2015 and 2017 Presidents Cup teams and captained the 2012 and 2016 Ryder Cup teams.

Sam Burns

Career Presidents Cup record: First appearance

Burns may have been overshadowed by close friend Scottie Scheffler in the early part of the 2021-22 season, but the Louisianan had a break out year himself, winning three times, including taking down Scheffler in a playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. This will be his first appearance at either the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup.

Patrick Cantlay

Record: 3-2-0 in one appearance (2019)

Cantlay had another solid year in 2022, winning once while defending his crown at the BMW Championship in Wilmington and teaming up with Xander Schauffele to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He played all of his matches in 2019 with Schauffele and figures to do so again. Cantlay was also very successful at last year’s Ryder Cup where he compiled a 3-0-1 record at Whistling Straits, the one tie coming in the only match he wasn’t paired with Schauffele.

Tony Finau

Record: 0-1-3 in one appearance (2019)

The big-hitting Finau had a slow start to the season before catching fire over the summer, notching five top-5s in a stretch of eight events, including back-to-back wins at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic in July. He somewhat surprisingly did not notch a win in his only Presidents Cup appearance in 2019. He only had one loss in four matches, however, and he’ll be looking for a new partner as both his partners from 2019, Matt Kuchar and Bryson DeChambeau, are not playing this year. He’s picked up three wins in his two Ryder Cups in 2018 and 2021.

Max Homa*

Record: First appearance

Homa comes in as perhaps the hottest player in the matches. He won in dramatic fashion last week at the PGA Tour season opening Fortinet Championship, holing a chip shot from off the 18th green to win. He also finished a career best tied for fifth in the Tour Championship in his previous start. This will be his first team match appearance.

Billy Horschel*

Record: First appearance

If you were shocked to learn Horschel is making his first ever appearance in either the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup this week, you’re not alone. Horschel’s career resume includes seven PGA Tour titles, including this year’s Memorial Tournament, and the 2014 FedEx Cup. He’s had a mixed bag of a season, missing four of last eight cuts on the PGA Tour, but with the win in Columbus sandwiched between two of them. He did earn a top 10 in his most recent appearance during his title defense at the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship.

Kevin Kisner*

Record: 2-0-2 in one appearance (2017)

Kisner is the oldest player on Team USA’s roster and has become known as somewhat of a match play savant, including a win at the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and owning an undefeated record at the 2017 Presidents Cup. His best finish this past season was a second at — you guessed it — the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, but he did rack up five other top 10s. Kisner will also be looking for a new partner as he played with Phil Mickelson in all three team matches in 2017.

Collin Morikawa*

Record: First appearance

Morikawa came out just as hot as his first three years on Tour to begin this season with five straight finishes of T7 or better, but he fell back to earth a little toward the end of the year, his first on Tour without a win. Although he did lead the U.S. Open through 36 holes, he struggled Saturday and was out of contention by Sunday. The two-time major winner, who is still just 25 years old, showed better form at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August with a T5 finish, but needed to be one of Love’s six captain’s selections to make it to Quail Hollow. He led the U.S. team in qualifying for the Ryder Cup last year and went 3-0-1 at Whistling Straits, his lone tie coming in singles.

Xander Schauffele

Record: 3-2-0 in one appearance (2019)

Like Finau, Schauffele also had a strong end to the season, finishing in the top 20 in all but one of his last 11 events. Again, like Finau, he notched back-to-back wins at the Travelers Championship and Genesis Scottish Open. He also teamed with Cantlay for a team win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and figures to see a lot of his close friend whom he has a 4-2-0 record with in Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup matches.

Scottie Scheffler

Record: First appearance

Scheffler has come a long way from being a captain’s selection at last year’s Ryder Cup. The Texan notched his first four PGA Tour wins last season, including a major victory at the Masters, and earned the World No. 1 ranking. While he didn’t come away with the FedEx Cup title, PGA Tour Player of The Year honors are a decent consolation — as well as the $5.75 million he got for finishing T2 at East Lake. He went undefeated, going 2-0-1 at Whistling Straits, teaming with Bryson DeChambeau in two four-ball matches. He also beat Kisner at this year’s WGC-Match Play.

Jordan Spieth*

Record: 8-5-1 in three appearances (2013, 2015, 2017)

After missing the 2019 matches, Spieth is back on the U.S. team at just the right time. With stalwarts like Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed absent this year, Spieth and Justin Thomas are the only players with multiple Presidents Cup matches under their belt coming into the week. The 29-year-old notched a win at the RBC Heritage this season and finished a respectable tied for 13th in the FedEx Cup. He carries a career 16-12-4 record in U.S. team cup matches and played with Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed in all of his partner matches in 2015 and 2017. At last year’s Ryder Cup, he paired most often with good buddy Justin Thomas.

Justin Thomas

Record: 6-2-2 in two appearances (2017, 2019)

Thomas may not have met all of his preseason goals, but he notched 11 top 10s last season and his second major title at the PGA Championship. He brings with him the most impressive U.S. team match record, going 12-4-3 across two Presidents Cups and two Ryder Cups. In his two previous Presidents Cups, he paired with Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Daniel Berger, all of whom are not playing this week. He figures to play more with Spieth as he did twice at Whistling Straits.

Cameron Young*

Record: First appearance

Young had a debut season to remember, notching six top-three finishes and was one of two rookies to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship. Those top finishes also include just missing out on the playoff at the PGA Championship by one stroke, and the memorable eagle finish at the Open Championship at St. Andrews to earn the runner-up spot.

International Team

*denotes captain’s pick

Captain: Trevor Immelman (South Africa)

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Immelman is the youngest captain in International team history at just 42 years old. The South African is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, including one major, holding off Tiger Woods to win the 2008 Masters. He’s also picked up six victories around the world on the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour. He’s a two-time veteran of the Presidents Cup and served as assistant captain under Ernie Els in 2019. Many fans will know him now for his broadcasting as he is expected to take over as the lead analyst for CBS’s golf coverage, following Nick Faldo.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout* (South Africa)

Record: First appearance

Bezuidenhout had a solid rookie year, making 20 cuts in 24 starts on the PGA Tour with 10 top-25 finishes. He’s perhaps better known in Europe, having a breakout year in 2020 while notching three victories including the Alfred Dunhill Championship. His best finish on the PGA Tour in 2022 was a T2 showing at the John Deere Classic and he advanced to the second FedEx Cup Playoff event at the BMW Championship. He’s one of five Presidents Cup first-timers selected by Immelman.

Corey Conners (Canada)

Record: First appearance

Conners played his way to the Tour Championship for the third time of his career thanks to 20 made cuts in 25 starts and four top-10 finishes. One of those top 10s came last month at the BMW Championship where he finished in T5, but he missed the cut last week in the PGA Tour’s season-opening Fortinet Championship. The Canadian has one win under his belt on the PGA Tour, coming at the 2019 Valero Texas Open.

Cam Davis* (Australia)

Record: First appearance

Davis notched five top-10s in 25 starts last season on the PGA Tour. His best golf came toward the end of the season when he made his last 10 cuts in a row. His best year on Tour came a season ago when he made 21 of 26 cuts and notched his debut win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. His cuts-made streak broke last week at the Fortinet Championship where rounds of 74 and 70 sent him to Charlotte early.

Sungjae Im (South Korea)

Record: 3-1-1 in one appearance (2019)

The iron man of the PGA Tour, nobody plays more golf than Sungjae Im. Im had another strong season on Tour in 2021-22, winning for the second time at the Shriners Children’s Open and finishing strong with three T2 finishes in his last five events, including at the Tour Championship. The World No. 19 will be heavily relied upon as one of just four veterans on the International team with Presidents Cup experience. All three of his partners from Royal Melbourne — Adam Hadwin, Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith — are not on the team this year.

Tom Kim (South Korea)

Record: First appearance

Kim burst onto the scene in 2022, finishing third at the Genesis Scottish Open, seventh at the Rocket Mortgage, and then capturing his first win at the Wyndham Championship in August to secure his PGA Tour membership and even qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He was only a special temporary member when he won, but had earned enough points to get his full status for 2023. He’s now exempt through 2024 and he auto-qualified for the International team.

K. H. Lee* (South Korea)

Record: First appearance

Lee has two PGA Tour titles and both have come at the AT&T Byron Nelson. At this year’s tournament, Lee outdueled Jordan Spieth down the stretch to defend his title. The rest of his season wasn’t much to write home about, with almost as many missed cuts (7) as top-25s (8), until he used T20 and T5 finishes in the first two Playoff events to catapult his way into his first Tour Championship appearance.

Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)

Record: 6-7-4 in four appearances (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)

Hard to believe the 30-year-old Matuyama is about to start his fifth Presidents Cup, but the Japanese star heads to Quail Hollow as the alpha of the International squad. It was another good year for the World No. 17 on the PGA Tour, finishing 11th in the FedEx Cup after winning twice, with one of those victories coming last fall in his home country at the Zozo Championship. Only one of his previous partners, Adam Scott, is on the roster this week and they haven’t played together since Matsuyama’s Presidents Cup debut in 2013.

Sebastián Muñoz* (Colombia)

Record: First appearance

Munoz hasn’t quite played up to the same level as he did in his breakout season in 2019-20 when he got his first win at the Sanderson Farms Championship and then went on to finish 8th in the final FedEx Cup standings thanks to a solid performance at East Lake, but his 2021-22 campaign was enough to earn a captain’s pick. He had two runner-up finishes on the season.

Si Woo Kim* (South Korea)

Record: 1-2-0 in one appearance (2017)

Kim was the only one of Immelman’s captain’s selections with previous Presidents Cup experience, winning a four-ball match and losing in foursomes and singles matches in New Jersey in 2017. That season was also the year of his signature win, The Players Championship. He won in early 2021 at The American Express, but has not played well as of late, only recording one top 10s in 21-22, last fall at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Both of his partners from 2017 are not on this year’s team.

Taylor Pendrith* (Canada)

Record: First appearance

Normally for a rookie, an injury can be devastating. Taylor Pendrith missed time between The Players in March and the Barbasol Championship in July because of a rip injury, but it didn’t stop him from earning nine top 25s in 16 starts. Since coming back from the injury, Pendrith finished worse than T13th once in six starts, including a tie for second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and a tie for eighth at the BMW Championship.

Mito Pereira (Chile)

Record: First appearance

Heartbreak at the PGA Championship overshadowed what was otherwise a very respectable debut season on the PGA Tour for Pereira. He opened the year with a solo third at the Fortinet Championship and had two other top 10s, including at Southern Hills. Of course his season will be remembered for the leading the PGA through 71 holes, only to hit his tee shot in the water on 18, leading to a double bogey and missing the playoff. Pereira was rumored to be joining LIV Golf, but reportedly is waiting to jump so he could play in the Presidents Cup.

Adam Scott (Australia)

Record: 16-22-6 in nine appearances

The 42-year old hasn’t missed a Presidents Cup since 2001 and is by far the most experienced player on either team, having more appearances than the entire International team combined and as many as the entire American team combined. His 10th appearance will break his own record for the Internationals. He also has a chance to tie or pass Ernie Els’ International record of 21 points this week. Aging like fine wine, the 42-year-old didn’t win on the PGA Tour this year, but only missed two cuts all year and had five top 10s. His back-to-back T5s to start the FedEx Cup Playoffs helped him play his way into the Tour Championship from outside the top 70 at the end of the regular season. Matsuyama is the only teammate his paired with before on the International roster.

The post Who’s playing in the Presidents Cup? Meet the U.S. and International teams appeared first on Golf.

The post Star leaderboard, big money and LIV Golf: The biggest storylines for Sunday at the Tour Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post Star leaderboard, big money and LIV Golf: The biggest storylines for Sunday at the Tour Championship appeared first on Golf.

After a stormy Saturday, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Co.. will have plenty of golf to play on championship Sunday at the Tour Championship.

Third-round play, at 6:36 p.m. ET Saturday, was suspended for the second time due to lightning in the area, and the PGA Tour called play for the day shortly after 7 o’clock. Fourteen players, including leader Scheffler, will resume their third round at 9:45 a.m. Sunday.

Assuming no major delays on Sunday, the FedEx Cup will awarded, along with it the $18 million first-place prize.

With that, here’s four stories to follow for Sunday’s action:

Long day ahead

Thankfully, the Tour Championship features just a 29-man field, which will make it much easier to get everyone around the golf course on Sunday.

That said, the final twosome of Scheffler and Schauffele were in the 13th fairway when play was suspended, and will have five-and-a-half holes to complete when play resumes. Scheffler, who is even for the round and 19-under for the week, will sleep on a one-stroke lead over Schauffele, the smallest after any day of the tournament.

Many others in contention for the huge FedEx Cup bonus purse will be playing extra golf on Sunday. That is except for Justin Thomas, who has just a 2-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole left to play. That would get him to 15-under for the tournament.

Going down the leaderboard, Sungjae Im, in third, has four holes to play; Rory McIlroy, in fourth, has two holes remaining; and among those tied at 14-under and in a tie for fifth is the penultimate pairing of Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay, who will play their second shots to the 14th hole when play resumes.

Close race

Scheffler’s lead, which was at one point seven shots during Friday’s second round and started at two to begin the week, is now just one over Schauffele. Schauffele twice pulled even with Scheffler on Saturday, but the pair mostly held in place, with Scheffler playing even-par golf for 12 holes, and Schauffele shooting one-under.

What looked like a two-horse race at one point has become anything but, with eight players within five shots of the lead going into Sunday. Schauffele started the day two back of Scheffler, but four clear of anyone else.

News

“I wasn’t playing my best, but I was kind of hanging in there,” Scheffler said in a brief media session. “I was looking forward to giving myself some opportunities at the end, but then the horn went off.”

Im has a 4-under round through 14 holes going to jump into third at 16-under. Rory McIlroy was 5-under and is at 15-under. There’s a group of four players at 14-under, including Thomas, who is very likely to move to to 15-under once he makes his shorty in the morning to cap off a round of 63.

Big money on the line

In case you haven’t heard, a ton of money is at stake, as this is the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. A total of $75 million is on the line Sunday, including $18 million to the winner.

Second place will net $6.5 million. Even the last-place finisher on Sunday will cash a considerable check, at $510k. Will Zalatoris technically finishes last because of his WD earlier in the week and gets $500k, but that is still more that Tour’s leading money winner from 1984 [Tom Watson] made that season.

LIV Golf rumors

Of course, no story talking about the PGA Tour and looking ahead these days can be done without mentioning LIV Golf. Several outlets reported Saturday that two golfers playing in the Tour Championship — Open Championship winner Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann — would be joining the controversial, Saudi-backed league.

Smith completed his third round on Saturday, firing a 2-under 68 to sit at 8-under and in a tie for 18th after starting the week sixth in the FedEx Cup standings and with a 4-under starting score.

Niemann still has four holes to play and is at 12-under and in a tie for 10th.

The reports indicate that both players, along with several others, including Harold Varner III, Mito Pereira and Mark Leishman, will be in the field for next week’s LIV Golf Invitational Boston.

Quotable

Scheffler on his Saturday night plans: “Just go home and get some sleep and food — sorry, food and then sleep.”

The post Star leaderboard, big money and LIV Golf: The biggest storylines for Sunday at the Tour Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Justin Thomas’ surprise playoff gear change appeared first on Golf.

The post Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Justin Thomas’ surprise playoff gear change appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Wall-to-Wall Equipment, the Monday morning gear wrap-up in which GOLF equipment editor Jonathan Wall takes you through the latest trends, rumors and breaking news.

Big things ahead

Putting is a game of inches — or half inches in Justin Thomas’ case.

Coming off a win at the PGA Championship with a relatively new Scotty Cameron T5 Proto, Thomas appeared primed for a big summer after finding a replacement (Scotty Cameron T5 Proto) for the Phantom X 5.5 that played a role in 13 Tour wins, including his first major title.

The big change for Thomas’ T5 was going away from a slant neck into a custom “knuckle neck” — the neck takes almost a day to weld, cut and sandblast the knuckle — that offered slightly less toe hang than his previous putter. While the neck improved Thomas’ start lines and closure rate, there was another potential alteration still being tested behind the scenes.

Earlier this year at the Genesis Invitational, Thomas tried out Scotty Cameron mallets in three different lengths (34.5, 34 and 33.5 inches) to see how they affected his setup. Thomas ultimately stuck with his usual 34.5 inches, believing it was the best length. Things seemed to be going well until Thomas started to notice his left shoulder was creeping up post-PGA, which prompted him to ask Scotty Cameron Tour rep Drew Page for a 34-inch version of his current T5 Proto — a half-inch shorter than his previous gamer — in advance of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

On Tuesday of the BMW Championship, Thomas’ new 34-inch T5 putter (SuperStroke Traxion Pistol GT Tour grip) arrived, replete with a JT logo in the back cavity and thumbs-up stamp on the toe side. Thomas initially thought he might take the putter home, but after rolling putts with it on the green and noticing his shoulders level out, he chose to give it a shot.

“[A shorter putter was] something we looked at earlier this year and we were going to mess with this off-season, but I haven’t been putting great for how I feel like I should be, and it was just one of those things,” Thomas said. “I’m like, if this is going to be an easy adjustment that’s going to help me improve, then why wouldn’t I do it.”

As for why Thomas decided to have a new putter built instead of shortening his previous T5, Page said it came down to Thomas “not wanting to touch the gamer.” In other words, if the shorter length doesn’t stick, Thomas knows he has a 34.5-inch T5 sitting in the locker ready to go.

For the moment, however, Thomas doesn’t appear to be wavering in his decision to switch. Following Thursday’s opening round, he praised Cameron for building him a new putter that felt the same as his previous T5, but at a shorter length.

“I switched because it was the exact same feel,” Thomas said. “Scottie did an unbelievable job. It’s very difficult to make putters the exact same in terms of feel. They may be the same but none of them are ever the same in terms of clubs in general. But it feels identical, so getting adjusted and acclimated to the speed wasn’t difficult, but just being a little bit shorter was so much easier for me to get in a good setup.”

It also didn’t hurt that Thomas gained nearly two strokes on the field on the greens during the opening round. (The rest of the week was a mixed bag for Thomas, who lost nearly six strokes over the final 54 holes.)

“It felt great,” he said. “It was the best I’ve putted in an extremely long time. Every single putt I hit was exactly where I wanted, the speed I wanted it. It was nice. I hadn’t felt that in a while.”

As we saw at the PGA Championship, a hot putter makes Thomas extremely dangerous. If Thomas can find a way to replicate Thursday’s round on the greens, watch out.

Trusty rusty

Joaquin Niemann and Taylor Moore were among the first pros to take Ping’s Glide Forged Pro Raw wedges for spins around Wilmington Country Club. The latest iteration of Ping’s popular wedge features a non-plated finish that allows the head to patina, and eventually rust, over time.

Instead of breaking in a wedge or two, both Niemann and Moore chose to change out their entire wedge set — a good sign for Ping as it begins to seed the raw wedges on Tour.

Busy week

Ping Tour rep Dylan Goodwin spent a chunk of his time in Deleware dialing in putters for several pros who were attempting to advance to the Tour Championship, including Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira and Chez Reavie.

“Worked hard with Sebastian Munoz and [PGA Tour putting consultant] Stephen Sweeney,” Goodwin told GOLF.com. “Sebastian can get caught up on alignment so freeing him up to focus more on the read and where he wants to roll the ball over is key. Switching to a PLD Anser Milled with no sight lines had definitely helped and was in the bag for several months. Now he wanted something a little more stable but still visually subtle and not distracting, so we experimented with various mallets. We found the Oslo H was a great fit for him. Still has the Anser neck like his current gamer but in a more stable model of the Oslo. It’s all matte black with a small white topline.”

For Reavie, it was video work to check his contact point and lie angle with a Ping PLD Anser 2D. The session verified Reavie’s putter was good to go, and he was on his way.

Similar to Justin Thomas, Pereira only needed a minor length adjustment to get back on track. To keep Pereira’s shoulders from pointing left and affecting his stroke, Goodwin lengthened the putter from 35 to 37 inches, which allowed him to stand taller and reduce the tension in his shoulders and arms.

Quick-hitters: Viktor Hovland added a Ping Glide 2.0 58TS lob wedge (bent to 60 degrees). … Kevin Kisner was spotted with a 10.5-degree Ping G425 LST driver. … Collin Morikawa had TaylorMade’s original SIM driver in the bag.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

The post Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Justin Thomas’ surprise playoff gear change appeared first on Golf.

The post Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm were given a note from a girl. It may melt you.  appeared first on Golf.

The post Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm were given a note from a girl. It may melt you.  appeared first on Golf.

Justin Thomas’ piece of paper was of a horse galloping under a sun drawn with coloring pencil. Above it were the words: “Racing to the next win.” Jon Rahm’s was similar. His piece of paper was also of a horse under a sun, with the words: “Taking it easy today.” 

Each had a message on the back. 

The pros entertain and inspire, and it’s one of the reasons why you tune in. Though we’ll argue the entertainment and inspiration can be even greater when the reverse happens. The best in the world are touched? You can be too! Win, win. Not only are players’ defenses dropped, but the reasons why typically have all the feels. But you know this. Back to the pictures and the messages.

Thomas and Rahm each shared their notes on Instagram after their Saturday play at the BMW Championship. A young girl had given each player one at Wilmington Country Club, though slightly different. On the back of Thomas’ were these words:

“To whoever I give this to: I wish you good luck in your golf adventures! You were chosen by the universe to play golf. The reason why you are here is to change people’s lives through golf! You inspire thousands or even millions of people around the world! If you ever feel sad or want to give up, things will get better! Don’t get distracted by fans yelling things like mashed potatoes or get in the hole. Focus on yourself and you’ll be just fine!”

And these were the words on the back of Rahm’s note: 

“To whoever I give this to: I wish you good luck in your golf adventures! You were chosen by the universe to play golf. The reason why you are here is to change people’s lives through golf! You inspire thousands or even millions of people around the world! If you feel sad or want to give up, remember that things will get better. Life is like a hard golf course with lots of obstacles. But even if the course is hard, that won’t stop you from winning!”

Both Thomas and Rahm had their own words in response. To note, Rahm is pretty inactive on social media.

“Thank you Bay for the kind message after my round! You are an inspiration to all!” Rahm wrote.

“Got this from a young girl while signing autographs after the round… she told me to look at it when I’m down or not having a good day,” Thomas wrote.

“So amazing and at the perfect time. I’m as competitive as they come, but this was a great ‘bigger picture’ moment. Positivity should be spread like this more often in the world. Thank you, Bay!”

Consider it shared.

The post Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm were given a note from a girl. It may melt you.  appeared first on Golf.