The post GOLF’s Subpar: Mark Hubbard talks about one bizarre college incident appeared first on Golf.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: Mark Hubbard talks about one bizarre college incident appeared first on Golf.

Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by PGA Tour pro Mark Hubbard who shares why he befriended a turtle while playing in the conference championship at San Jose State.

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The post GOLF’s Subpar: Mark Hubbard is anti-LIV with one exception appeared first on Golf.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: Mark Hubbard is anti-LIV with one exception appeared first on Golf.

Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by PGA Tour pro Mark Hubbard who explains the one exception he has to being anti-LIV.

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Thanks to our official sponsor Dewar’s. Make sure to check out their Reserve Bar listings today: https://www.reservebar.com/collections/house-of-dewars

For the best speaker with the strongest magnets for use on your cart, go to www.Rokform.com and get 25% off using code SUBPAR

This week’s episode is presented by FanDuel Sportsbook. If you’ve never tried FanDuel Sportsbook, what are you waiting for? Go to https://www.fanduel.com/subpar or download the FanDuel Sportsbook app to get started. Be sure to sign up with promo code SUBPAR so they know we sent you.

Disclaimer: 21+ and present in AZ, CO, CT, IA, IL, NJ, NY, or WY. 1st online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable site credit that expires 14 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), Call 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (NJ, IA, IL), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY(467369) (NY), or 1-800-522-4700 (WY).

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The post Pro drops club in disgust, looks away, then makes wacky ace at Rocket Mortgage Classic appeared first on Golf.

The post Pro drops club in disgust, looks away, then makes wacky ace at Rocket Mortgage Classic appeared first on Golf.

Golf Gods, please look away. Same for you, amateurs at home who have never made an ace. Mark Hubbard is not your friend today. 

Hubbard was playing from the second group out off the 1st tee at Detroit Golf Club Thursday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He was one under on his front nine, which doesn’t really amount to much considering the winning scores over the years have eclipsed 20 under par. 

The 11th hole at DGC is a long par-3, playing around 215 yards, with tall trees flanking each side. There’s an obvious entry to the green, with bunkers on each side. In other words, hit it straight, you should be fine. At the worst, you’ll have a long putt. Hit it crooked, that’s another story. 

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Hubbard must have thought he hit it crooked. 

The man who goes by the nickname Homeless Hubbs dropped his long iron immediately after impact as his ball soared straight to the hole. He let his hands flail to his side in disgust, and then stared down at the club as it lay on the ground. As the ball cleared its apex and started to return to the earth, he peeked up. 

“He’s not liking that one,” a broadcaster said live. “Anytime you see the club let go so early…” 

One bounce.

A second bounce and a third.

The ball had landed on the front of the green and made an absolute beeline for the hole, glancing the flagstick, circling around the edge of the cup and eventually falling down into it. 

“Not like this!” the broadcaster shouted. “Not like this!” 

Yes, like that. Exactly like that. 

Hubbard turned away from the action again, this time in awe instead of disgust. He put his hand on his mouth and stood there without saying a thing. Frankly, it’s the same feeling we all probably felt watching along from home. If karma is a real thing in the golf world, well, Hubbard has probably used up every good ounce of it remaining. Check out the footage of the wacky ace below.

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The post PGA Tour pro Mark Hubbard is anti-LIV (with one small exception) appeared first on Golf.

The post PGA Tour pro Mark Hubbard is anti-LIV (with one small exception) appeared first on Golf.

How is it that one week, a PGA Tour field is filled with household names, but the next week, you don’t recognize a single one? 

Events offer different amounts of points towards the year long FedEx Cup Standings. Whether you’re Scottie Scheffler eying a $15 million check or, in our case, GOLF’s Subpar guest Mark Hubbard, this ranking system is vital to every single Tour member.

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According to the FedEx Cup point distribution, majors offer the most points; a handful of other tournaments offer more than the average event. Therefore, the weeks between the “point boosters” are often used as rest for the upper echelon.

The last few weekends have brought less widely known players to the spotlight. Events like the John Deere Classic, Barbasol Championship, and Barracuda Championship (where Hubbard’s heater included T13th, 3rd, and 4th place finishes, respectively) occur just before and during The Open, meaning the field is drawn from the bottom of the PGA Tour totem pole. 

Those in the top 125 on the prior year’s FedExCup points list (exemption category 20) are guaranteed into most events. It’s much more complicated for those in last year’s 126-150 spots (exemption category 32). Mark Hubbard is one of those guys. 

“You’ve got a ton of starts, dude!” co-host Drew Stoltz said to Mark Hubbard. “Are you surprised by how many starts you’ve gotten?”

Hubbard has recorded nineteen starts and counting this year (and, impressively, 15 made cuts), and you might be surprised who he has to thank. 

“Thank you, LIV Golf!” he exclaimed, raising his arms above his head. 

With players making the switch from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, more spots are opening up in the weekly fields. More importantly, players like Hubbard are moving up in the FedEx Cup rankings. Currently sitting at 81, Hubbard is eying the next category: the top 70 players make it to the BMW Championship, the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs. 

“There’s still four or five guys who are over there right now ahead of me. I could be sitting at 75 or 76,” he said.

LIV defectors are benefitting many players who are on the fence of different exemption categories. If you make the top 125, you don’t only get more starts. You get better starts.

It’s all one big butterfly effect. These bigger starts award more points and money to contenders, which then boosts their world ranking. This offers exemption into the biggest events like majors, WGCs, and invitationals.

This isn’t to say that Hubbard’s improvement to the next category is a matter of fate; he earned his jump up the rankings. 

“I definitely did some work on my end,” he said.

By work, Hubbard means seven top-25 finishes this year. He means over $1.1 million in prize money this Tour season. He means that although he doesn’t know if he will get to play next week, he almost always makes the cut when given the chance. 

While Hubbard is always chasing points, he’s chasing something much more important. He always tries to enjoy himself.  

“I don’t know why people don’t just rush to that tournament to go drink wine,” he said in reference to the Fortinet Championship in the beautiful Napa Valley. In a place like that, “who cares what they shoot.” 

He loves golf, but he loves to travel just as much. The Denver native has made memories nearly everywhere the PGA Tour and its affiliate tours stop – including his home town. The Tour provided the foundation for the best marriage proposal you’ll ever see. His days grinding on mini tours seem to be over, but as he climbs the ranks (hopefully to point-heavy events), Mark Hubbard will use the spirit (and LIV Golf) that got him this far. 

To hear more about Hubbard’s journey from couches to Tour cards, check out the full Subpar interview below. 

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The post Pro, on verge of missing cut, tries … a no-look putt? appeared first on Golf.

The post Pro, on verge of missing cut, tries … a no-look putt? appeared first on Golf.

Make the putt, and he would miss the cut. Miss the putt, and he would miss the cut. Mark Hubbard had nothing to lose. And everything to gain, at least in terms of potentially adding a little levity to the proceedings at the Wells Fargo Championship. 

So he hit a no-looker. 

“Is he going to no-look this?” announcer Jeff Eisenband said on the PGA Tour Live broadcast. “Hold on, hold on. He did.”

Indeed. In one of the lighter moments you’ll see, the affable pro lined up his 16-foot left-to-righter on the par-3 9th at TPC Potomac, then looked up and out to the right. And putted. He held his head in the position until his birdie putt missed to the right.   

And then Hubbard smiled. 

At that point, he was five-over, and the cut line was even. When he tapped in for par, he was still five-over and the cut line was still even. But we now have a memory. 

“Oh he should have made that,” announcer Doug Smith said on the PGA Tour Live broadcast. “Put that on repeat all day. If you’re going to miss the cut, miss it with some pizazz.”

Of course, Hubbard is no stranger to flare. 

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A little over a year ago, at the American Express, he was also on the verge of a missed cut. And on his final hole. So he introduced the masses to the Snail stroke. Don’t know it? It’s a Hubbard special. To do the Snail like him, you hold the putter with your left hand, gyrate yourself downward, grip the putter with just your right pinky at the bottom of the shaft — and hit. He missed the putt, but at least a few folks watched it. 

“What?” announcer Terry Gannon said on the Golf Channel broadcast at the time.

“What in the heck is that?” analyst Curt Byrum said.

“That is next level right there,” analyst Trevor Immelman said.  

All of which begs a question: What does Hubbard have in store should he be putting with nothing at stake again? 

He teased the answer on his Instagram account, next to the video of the no-looker. 

“Next up, the no look snail?”  

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The post This pro’s shot made another pro go to Twitter and swear in delight appeared first on Golf.

The post This pro’s shot made another pro go to Twitter and swear in delight appeared first on Golf.

Max Homa, during Saturday’s third round of the Genesis Invitational, had 81 feet to the hole on his second shot on the 304-yard, par-4 10th hole at Riviera Country Club. Between him and the pin, Homa had about 15 feet of green to work with, and between the pin and the back of the green, there was just another 15 feet. 

Oh, and Homa was in the right greenside bunker, his ball was a yard from the lip, and he had about 60 feet of sand in front of him. 

And that wind that had earlier delayed play for four hours? It was at his back. 

And the greens were dry and fast. 

“Yeah, Max Homa. Pffft,” analyst Frank Nobilo said on the CBS broadcast.  

“Surely there’s no way he can keep this on the green,” analyst Trevor Immelman said. 

Homa lofted his ball out, it bounced on the fringe and rolled to within 7 feet of the cup. He would roll in the birdie putt.   

“Got it clean,” Nobilo said. “Oh.” 

“Ha, ha, ha, ha. Best shot I’ve seen today,” Immelman said.  

One PGA Tour pro and a few of his followers on Twitter went further. 

Unlike the shot, “today” fell short. 

“Hey @PGATOUR stat guys…how many people in the history of Riv have hit it in the front of the front bunker on #10, got it up and down for birdie, and left it short of the pin on the green down wind? Nvm I know…it’s 1. 1 person. That was F@%&ING UNBELIEVABLE @maxhoma23,” Mark Hubbard tweeted Saturday night. 

“Hard to describe how great that shot was,” @DavidMcMichael4 tweeted. 

“Best bunker shot at Riviera, I’ve ever seen, on any hole, all my years out there as Fire Marshall from 2004-2018. You’re the pick at the “ Watch Party “.” @TapRoomCraig1 tweeted. 

“That bunker shot scared me and I was only following on shot tracker.” @Heavy_C tweeted. 

Two hours after Hubbard’s tweet, Homa tipped his cap to the virtual applause.

“Haha thanks Hubbs!!” he tweeted.

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The post Tour Confidential: Tiger’s surgery, Tyrrell Hatton’s ascent and here come the Kordas appeared first on Golf.

The post Tour Confidential: Tiger’s surgery, Tyrrell Hatton’s ascent and here come the Kordas appeared first on Golf.

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we discuss Tiger Woods’ surgery, Tyrrell Hatton’s victory in Abu Dhabi, the Korda sisters, Mark Hubbard’s unique putting stroke and more.

1. Tiger Woods, on Tuesday, announced he was undergoing his fifth back surgery, a microdiscectomy procedure to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was leading to nerve pain. In a statement, he said: “I look forward to begin training and am focused on getting back out on Tour.” But he did not say when he might return. Close friend Notah Begay said on Golf Channel that Woods became concerned when his clubhead speed was dropping. Perennial question: Where does this latest surgery rate on the worry-o-meter?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): On a scale of 1-10, I’ll give it a 5. Certainly not a major setback compared to what Woods has been through. Seems like a relatively minor cleanup job. With the caveat that the only minor surgery is surgery that happens to someone else. 

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Michael Bamberger, senior writer: I think the worrisome thing is that there’s this thing and then what’s next? And that’s a tough way to live, knowing there’s always likely to be another surgery for another problem. It’s tough. Going from 15 to 16 is like looking up the face of K2. Going from 82 to 83 is not as daunting, but getting that 16th major just seems like such a daunting task, in every way. But never bet against Tiger Woods.

Sean Zak, senior editor (@sean_zak): I think there’s a limit to how many microdiscectomies one can have before your back is un-golf-able, and Tiger is now closer to that limit. Recall that these surgeries of the past were just patchwork, healing Tiger for the temporary. He can’t get fused again, I presume, so my worry-o-meter is closer to 7. 

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): Team Tiger hasn’t exactly been transparent about his health in the past, but I do trust what Rory McIlroy offered earlier this week about Woods already being back hitting balls at the range. I don’t think this surgery in and of itself changes anything, but it certainly serves as a reminder of Woods’ tenuous health. I’ll go with a 5 for the sake of career achievement in surgery.

2. In the past 14 months, Tyrrell Hatton has won the Turkish Airlines Open; the Arnold Palmer Invitational; the BMW PGA Championship, the Euro tour’s flagship event; and, on Sunday, the Abu Dhabi Championship. Is Hatton the most dangerous player in golf right now?

Sens: Not as long as Dustin Johnson is still walking the planet.

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Bamberger: No, but he is most underrated. Until all those wins were put together in one sentence rich in semicolons, I had no idea.

Zak: He’s dangerous in the sense that we won’t take him totally seriously … and then he’ll bag another big victory. Could he win the Masters? TOTALLY. And then he’d seem even more dangerous. But as Sens said, DJ owns that title until he finishes outside the top 20 in any big event. 

Dethier: Hatton is among the 10 most dangerous players in golf right now, which seems like a high level of danger. There are still times that Hatton doesn’t seem wholly comfortable — he missed cuts at all three majors in 2020 — but hoo boy, when he’s in the zone, flagsticks get scared. 

3. Among the players Hatton beat in Abu Dhabi was Rory McIlroy, who led by one going into the final round only to do something we’ve seen time and again from him in recent months: come up short on Sunday; McIlroy shot an even-par 72 that left him five back off Hatton, in solo third. Meanwhile, at the American Express, in Palm Springs, 54-hole co-leader Tony Finau, who also has struggled to close out events, shot 68 to finish four back of Si Woo Kim. (Finau’s fourth-round score was two worse than that of any other player who finished in the top five.) See any similarities in this duo’s Sunday struggles?

Sens: Sometimes the obvious answer is the right answer. And the obvious answer is that it’s become a mental issue for them both. No one is immune to the hobgoblins in this game.

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Bamberger: I would agree. To paraphrase Bob Jones, there’s Thursday, Friday and Saturday golf, and then there is Sunday golf, and it is not at all the same thing.

Zak: I definitely do not want to equate the two. Finau can’t get it across the finish line anywhere. Rory contends so much he’s going to struggle to seal the deal at times. He’s probably thinking about it a good bit. I’ll get worried if he doesn’t win by summertime. 

Dethier: What’s most similar about their Sunday struggles is that they’re generally still playing solid, if unspectacular, final rounds of golf — and getting beaten by ridiculous performances by other golfers. It would be easier to criticize these guys if they were shooting, like, 79 every Sunday. But Finau shot 68 this afternoon! He’s hardly going to change careers anytime soon.

4. A day after shooting 60 (!) at the LPGA’s 2021 season opener, the Diamond Resorts event, Jessica Korda fired a fourth-round 66 to advance to a playoff, where she beat world No. 5 Danielle Kang on the first extra hole. Korda played in the final group on Sunday with her sister, Nelly, the fourth-ranked player in the world, which served as a nice reminder of the sisters’ combined firepower. What most intrigues you about these super siblings?

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Sens: The way they seem able to switch it on and off in a snap, from loose and laid back to fiery in an instant. You see Jessica today bopping to the music on the 18th tee, and then fist-bumping moments later? They both have that higher gear they can shift to in an eyeblink, but neither ever seems at risk of blowing a gasket.

Bamberger: The role that the athletic gene plays in determining who makes it and who does not. All that nature, in conjunction with all that nurture. The whole family is gifted. Mom, dad and bro, too.

Zak: What intrigues me most is we don’t know who is better! A great problem to have. Could we get two Korda majors in a single season? For sure. We’ve spent 2020 waiting for Nelly to break through in a major, but perhaps Jessica’s win could come first? They’re fun, that’s the bottom line. 

Dethier: Jessica pointed out on Saturday that she’d been winning plenty — five times, to be exact — before Nelly got on Tour. It was a lighthearted comment, but with some truth to it, too. This week’s victory was particularly intriguing because it flipped the recent script of Nelly as the ascendant talent and Jessica as the supportive older sister. Shooting 126 on the weekend is serious business.

5. On Friday, Matthew Wolff was hit with a penalty stroke at the American Express for an infraction he committed on Thursday. Any qualms with retroactive rules reviews?

Bamberger: I much preferred the old system. When you sign for your card, you own the card. It made the player responsible, as the player should be. This is completely different.

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Sens: Back when viewer call-ins were allowed, absolutely. But now, no. They make a lot of sense. I appreciate Michael’s point about owning your card. But if not all players are going to be equally willing to own their cards, I’d rather have a system in place that helps.

Zak: We’re stuck in this spot where players do things, explain themselves to rules officials and then the official takes them at their word, despite clear video evidence in hindsight. I don’t see a way to make the system better. From the video, it appears nothing but Wolff could have made the ball move. But what he says goes. Beyond that, I’d prefer that what happens on a Thursday be applied on Thursday, and not ensuing days. In other words, when the sun comes up, those scores yesterday are finalized. 

Dethier: Use video at the end of a player’s round to try to get it right, but don’t drag it out. I’m with Zak: When the clock strikes midnight, the former day’s penalties should turn into pumpkins. 

6. Mark Hubbard, on his last hole at the American Express during Friday’s second round and not close to making the cut, employed one of the more unusual putting strokes we’ve seen, when he putted with his left hand on the grip and just his pinkie on the bottom part of the putter shaft. What’s the wildest putting technique you’ve seen in action?

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Sens: Mike Hulbert putting one-handed back in the day comes to mind. So does Bernhard Langer’s yip-prevention grip around the time of his second Masters win, when he took to clutching his left forearm with his right hand. He looked like a guy trying to prevent himself from falling off a cliff. 

Bamberger: Snead, croquet style. 

Zak: That’s the one — Hubbard’s. Easily the winner here. At first glance, I thought he was injured! I’ve never seen anything like it. 

Dethier: A friend of mine is convinced that the ideal putting strategy is just to change grips every time you play, just to keep your brain guessing. So crazy it just might work!

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The post Why two pros rushed to finish and another decided to call it a day appeared first on Golf.

The post Why two pros rushed to finish and another decided to call it a day appeared first on Golf.

Zach Johnson stepped to the 18th tee at El Camaleón Golf Club and launched a ball into the sky. Minutes later he walked down the fairway and pumped his fist. But while Johnson and Mark Hubbard played the final hole of the Mayakoba Golf Classic on Sunday, the third member of their group, Carlos Ortiz, put his clubs away.

Ortiz, 28, who is still looking for his first career PGA Tour victory, decided not to play the final hole and will instead come back on Monday morning to finish. Ortiz is one of seven players who will return on Monday as the final round was suspended due to darkness on Sunday evening.

Johnson, Hubbard and Ortiz were grouped together for an early start on Sunday morning, as Thursday rains pushed back the start of the tournament. Those who finished on Sunday played 36 holes, and players were not regrouped for the fourth round on Sunday afternoon.

Tournaments

Monday finish ahead as final round of Mayakoba Golf Classic suspended due to darkness

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