The post Jon Rahm forced to withdraw from Memorial with 6-shot lead due to positive Covid-19 test appeared first on Golf.

The post Jon Rahm forced to withdraw from Memorial with 6-shot lead due to positive Covid-19 test appeared first on Golf.

DUBLIN, Ohio — This was supposed to be a story about where Jon Rahm was headed.

How he stood on the brink of becoming only the second player ever — next to Tiger Woods — to win back-to-back Memorial Tournaments. How he shot 10 under-par in a rain-extended 23 holes, including an ace on his first go-round at the 16^th.  How on his second try at the 16^th, he’d turned to caddie Adam Hayes and expressed mild surprise when his ball landed 30 feet from the flagstick. “I thought that was in when I hit it,” he told Hayes. (A few minutes later, he poured in the birdie putt for good measure.)

It was supposed to explain how Rahm had befuddled even the greatest ever, Jack Nicklaus, who watched as the 26-year-old Spaniard dismantled any notion of a tightly contested tournament.

“It is competitive, except for Rahm,” Nicklaus said on CBS’s broadcast shortly after Rahm extended his lead to six.

But this isn’t a story about where Jon Rahm is headed. It’s a story about where he is not.

The news of Rahm’s positive Covid-19 test and subsequent withdrawal bowed him over in shock just after 6 p.m. local time. We know this because we saw it on television. PGA Tour medical officials stopped Rahm just yards from the 18^th green and shared with him the test results that had been confirmed just minutes earlier.

“Oh my god,” CBS cameras heard Rahm say. “Not again.”

We would later learn that Rahm had been tested by the PGA Tour’s contact-tracing program as a result of a close-contact with a fellow positive test. Andy Levinson, a spokesman for the Tour, later explained that Rahm was asymptomatic, but the results of the test were conclusive.

“No, the CDC’s protocol regarding people who are confirmed positive for Covid-19 is clear, and that is 10 days of isolation unless someone is asymptomatic and is able to produce two negative tests of a minimum of 24 hours apart,” Levinson explained. “Unfortunately, the timing would not allow Jon to continue to participate.”

There is the question of Rahm’s vaccination status. The Tour would not comment on his status, but referred to its contract-tracing rules, which stipulate that fully vaccinated players need only receive testing if they become symptomatic. Rahm was asymptomatic at the time of his positive test, which would assume he was not fully vaccinated at the time of his close contact. The Action Network’s Jason Sobel reported that Rahm received a vaccination at the beginning of tournament week, but remains several days removed from the two-week threshold for “full vaccination,” as outlined by the CDC.

“If someone had been fully vaccinated, and fully vaccinated under our protocol is, and it’s defined by the CDC, is 14 days past the full cycle of a vaccination. They do not have to test as a result of being a close contact…unless they develop symptoms,” Levinson said.

There is also the question of his playing partners. Between the latter portion of his second round, and the entirety of his third round, Rahm played with both new co-leaders Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa on Saturday. Cantlay told reporters after his round that he hasn’t yet received a vaccination, but that he did have a prior infection.

According to the Tour, both players are undergoing interviews Saturday evening to determine whether they will also have to enter the contract-tracing program.

“I’ve already had COVID, so, yeah, I got to imagine I have antibodies, so I don’t feel too concerned,” Cantlay said after his round. “Obviously it is somewhat of a concern, but I got to imagine that I had it earlier this year, so I’m feeling pretty okay about it.”

An added gut punch to the situation: the Tour is set to stop testing players for Covid-19 at the end of the month — a decision reached, in part, by rising vaccination numbers among players. On Saturday, the Tour confirmed the number of vaccinated players is now north of 50 percent.

For his part, Rahm was upbeat in a statement released Saturday evening.

“I’m very disappointed in having to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament,” Rahm posted on Twitter. “This is one of those things that happens in life, one of those moments where how we respond to a setback defines us as people. I’m very thankful that my family and I are all OK. I will take all of the necessary precautions to be safe and healthy, and I look forward to returning to the golf course as soon as possible.”

The fallout from Rahm’s positive test means he will be barred from competition until at least June 15^th, or two days before the U.S. Open is scheduled to begin – save for today’s result coming back a false-positive, which won’t be known until Monday at the earliest.

It also means he won’t be able to compete on Sunday at the Memorial Tournament, a tournament in which he tied the 54-hole scoring record on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s kind of the worst situation for something like that to happen,” Cantlay said of his playing partner. “He played awesome today and it’s just, it’s really, it’s a shame. It’s unfortunate.”

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The post 3 courses that absolutely owned Jack Nicklaus, according to Jack Nicklaus appeared first on Golf.

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The wild and windy Ocean Course at Kiawah Island isn’t for everyone. Ask Xander Schauffele.

“I had somewhat of a bad attitude about the golf course,” Schauffele said Tuesday at the Memorial, recounting his disappointing week at the PGA Championship, where he shot 73-77 to miss the cut by one. “I just didn’t really like it.”

And his game suffered because of it.

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“I’m not saying I had enough game to win that week, but I definitely had enough game to compete, and for me to miss the cut was a bit reckless and kind of stupid,” he said. “Moving forward, even if I don’t like a course, I got to wash that out of my mind and move along.”

On Tuesday at the Memorial, tournament host Jack Nicklaus was asked if had ever experienced what befell Schauffele: Had a course ever been so deep in his head that it rendered him more or less powerless?  

“Oh, are you kidding? Sure. Absolutely,” Nicklaus said.

First up: Pecan Valley, in San Antonio, site of the 1968 PGA Championship — that was the week Julius Boros, at 48, became the then-oldest-ever major winner, a record Phil Mickelson broke at Kiawah. In five of Nicklaus’s previous six PGA Championship starts, he had finished in the top 3. That week, at Pecan Valley, he missed the cut.

“I never got interested,” Nicklaus said Tuesday. “It was ridiculous. You only got four majors a year. What in the world are you doing? I mean, that’s stupid. … You’re not supposed to fit the golf course to your eye, you’re supposed to fit your eye to the golf course. In other words, you’re supposed to fit your game to the course.”

Among the other designs at which Nicklaus was never comfortable was Oak Tree National (nee Golf Club), in Edmund, Okla., which played host to the 1988 PGA Championship. Oak Tree is a hilly, windy brute where uneven lies are common. Its designer? Yep, Pete Dye!

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“I didn’t prepare properly for Oak Tree and then I had to stay over, after I missed the cut I had to stay over to do television?” Nicklaus said. “There’s nothing worse than staying over the weekend and talking about somebody else playing golf after you missed the cut. I promise you that. It’s not a lot of fun.”

Neither is getting an earful from your better half, in this case, Barbara Nicklaus.

“There is no excuse for not being properly prepared,” Barbara told her husband that week. To which Jack says, “She’s absolutely dead right.”

Jack said weeks when he was either unprepared or unmotivated or mentally dominated by a course were infrequent, but they did happen, on both sides of the pond. Among the courses on the British Open rota, Nicklaus said this year’s venue, Royal St. George’s, was “the one that I could never get to fit my eye.”

His results showed it. In three Open starts at Sandwich, Nicklaus twice missed the cut (in 1985 and ’93) and tied for 23rd (1981).

“If you got [a course] that doesn’t fit you, you got to work a little extra hard to make it fit it,” he said. “That’s basically all it is. You don’t arrive on Monday and expect it to get there. If you don’t like what you’re doing, go in the Monday before and play some practice rounds and you need to get it there if you want to win.”

Call it a lesson both Jack and Xander learned the hard way.

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The post Inside the Muirfield Village redesign: 6 things to know about the Memorial venue’s new look appeared first on Golf.

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This week the PGA Tour returns to Muirfield Village, in Dublin, Ohio, for the Memorial Tournament. The elevated status tournament — now in its 46th year — is one of the Tour’s premier events outside of the majors, and fans are quite familiar with the host site.

But this year, the course will have a new look.

The 2021 edition of the Memorial will be golf fans’ first look at Jack’s place since an extensive renovation that took place over the last year. New tees were installed, every green rebuilt, fairways reshaped, bunkers added and removed — all with the dual goal of making Muirfield Village both a better test for the pros and more enjoyable experience for members. (For a behind-the-scenes at the redesign process, watch the video above.)

To get more insight on the ins and outs of the project, we caught up with Chris Cochran, a senior design associate at Nicklaus Design. (Nicklaus Design and GOLF.com are affiliates of 8AM Golf.) Here are 6 takeaways from Cochran about the latest renovations to Muirfield Village.

1. Jack was deeply involved

You might assume that with the amount of day-to-day operations involved with a renovation of this scope that the Golden Bear might take a hands-off approach, but according to Cochran, it was quite the opposite.

“Jack was there all the time,” Cochran said. “We never had to wait on him for anything. When we needed him, he was there within days.”

2. The course is ‘better’ for all skill levels

Something Nicklaus stressed when going through the renovations at Muirfield Village was that his goal was not to make the course harder, but to make it better — and not just a better course for Tour-caliber players, but also for the membership of the club.

New back tees make the course play 150-plus yards longer, but new forward tees make it play 250 yards shorter. Fairways were tightened where the pros typically land their tee balls, but widened in the members’ typical landing zone.

“At the end of the day,” Cochran said, “Jack says he just made it better.”

3. Every green complex was rebuilt

Often, a renovation will only need to rebuild certain greens, but at Muirfield Village, it was a complete overhaul. In addition to rebuilding every green on the course, the Nicklaus team also pushed back seven greens.

4. Expect big changes to No. 15…

According to Cochran, the most noticeable change for fans will be on No. 15, where the back tee was lengthened by 37 yards and the first landing area was lowered by 15 feet. Also, the large mounding to the right of the green that kept the creek mostly out of play was removed, bringing the water much more in play.

“It has some dramatic changes,” Cochran said.

5. … and to No. 4, too

On the old green at No. 4, the pitch on the right side was far too severe to be pinnable. To fix this, Nicklaus designed a whole new contour for the putting surface. What was once the smallest green on the course is now the largest.

The back tee box was also lengthened to challenge even the longest hitters and the existing bluff short of the green was shifted to give the hole an even more dramatic look from the tee.

“No. 4, in my opinion, was the weakest looking hole on the golf course,” Cochran said. “Now, I think it’s a very good-looking hole. It has a much more dramatic look.”

6. The process was ‘crazy fast’

Fans might remember the scene last summer at the Memorial as the grounds crew began tearing up the course right as players were finished. As soon as eventual winner Jon Rahm made the turn, work began on the front nine. This was by design. The deadline was a tight one.

“How quickly we had to do it was the tough deal,” Cochran said. “The last sod on the last green went down 59 days after we started. That is crazy fast.”

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Jon Rahm’s opponent had him on the run. It was Sunday afternoon at the 2020 Memorial Tournament, and the Spaniard was on the cusp of arguably the biggest win of his young career. Clinging to a four-stroke Sunday lead on the back nine, Rahm trod carefully. On the surface, he glistened with sweat. Beneath it, he was locked in the late stages of a high-stakes chess match.

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Rahm’s sparring partner, Muirfield Village, was no pushover. Conditions were tough, with pins that were barely on the putting surfaces. Thick rough and a stiff breeze left pros hacking and cussing their way to scores in the high 70s and 80s. From home, golf fans watched with glee.

Gone for at least a weekend were the days of final-round 63s on the PGA Tour. To win on Sunday, Rahm would need to play by the rules of tournament host and Muirfield Village designer Jack Nicklaus — he’d have to defeat not only the field but also the course.

None of that mattered to the group of a few dozen who’d gathered on the front nine. As Rahm metaphorically battled Muirfield Village, the crew behind him was literally tearing it apart. One by one, the group walked over to Muirfield’s preciously manicured green complexes and began uprooting them. The sun had not yet set on the year’s Memorial Tournament, but for these workers the focus already had shifted to 2021.

This week, the fruits of that group’s labor will be on display as the Memorial returns to the newly redesigned Muirfield Village. The effort was spearheaded by Nicklaus himself, with a supporting cast that included Chris Cochran from Nicklaus Design and Muirfield Village director of grounds operations Chad Mark to help see the vision through to reality. (Nicklaus Design and GOLF.com are affiliates of 8AM Golf.)

“When my dad first mentioned that he wanted to come back to Muirfield Village, I shook my head,” Nicklaus’ son, Jack Jr., said in One Last Bite, a new documentary from GOLF.com that chronicles the redesign (see top of this article). “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me, Dad? This is one of the greatest golf courses, in my opinion, of all-time.’ But then as I started hearing his thoughts and his process on what he wanted to do, it was absolutely amazing. He’s always had the ability to step back and see things from 30,000 feet.”

Technically, this is only Muirfield’s second formal renovation, but the number of tweaks the course has undergone since it first opened in 1974 is far greater. Nicklaus — the course’s creator, designer, benefactor and one-time course-record holder — has maintained a reputation for regularly altering the setup in order to properly combat the advancements of the pro game.

The two-year, two-part renovation process began on the back nine in 2019 and shifted to the front nine on the Sunday of Rahm’s win.

“My legacy really is here,” said Nicklaus, who is 81. “This is what the world sees on television. This is what the players see. This is set up for people to come here, to see it and play.”

Nicklaus has long viewed the course as a part-passion project, part-legacy-builder. He’s been involved with Muirfield Village in some form or another since the mid-1960s, when he bought the land upon which the course sits with the goal of building a gift for his hometown, Columbus, Ohio.

The most recent edits reflect all that has changed in golf in the time since. Structural changes, including the installation of a sub-air system, were made to the entire course, and all but two holes saw architectural updates. The course now plays 163 yards longer, tipping out at just shy of 7,400 yards. In addition, each of Muirfield Village’s 18 greens was resurfaced from a bentgrass/poa annua hybrid to solely bentgrass, and every green increased its overall pinnable area.

For the membership, Nicklaus says his team examined each tee box to ensure the course maintained consistent strategic themes and challenges from each set of tees. As a result, the forward tee boxes are nearly 250 yards shorter.

The Nicklaus team worked to create a course that is simultaneously more playable for its everyday membership and more challenging for the game’s best players. That meant widening fairways in the landing areas most amateur golfers reach while tightening them in the spots where the longest hitters fly their drives. Pin positions will also play a key role in the process of making the course more playable (or more toothy), depending upon the audience.

“I don’t think when we’re done here it’s going to be a tougher golf course, I think it’s going to be a better golf course,” Nicklaus said. “That’s what I want here. I want a better course for our membership. Make sure the members can play the golf course, that I haven’t added anything stupid for them. But also that I have the ability to move the tees back, hide the pins and have the Memorial Tournament.”

This week, the new-look venue will have its coming-out party when seven of the top 10 players in the world — Rahm among them — descend on Muirfield for the 2021 Memorial. The defending champ will be tested in ways that he was not a year ago.

Or at least Nicklaus hopes that’ll be the case. After all, that’s why he has regularly tweaked Muirfield Village since the 70s, and why he sent a crew out to tear up the greens on tournament Sunday last July. Building a course is easy, building a course-design legacy is not — even for the greatest player ever.

“When somebody comes in from the outside to play Muirfield, I’d like for them to say not, ‘Where can I go play tomorrow?'” Nicklaus said. “But more like, ‘What time can I get out there tomorrow?'”

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The post ‘One Last Bite’: Inside Jack Nicklaus’s final Muirfield Village redesign appeared first on Golf.

As chronicled in a new documentary from GOLF.com, Jack Nicklaus’ latest wave of changes to Muirfield Village were made with both pros and members in mind.

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The post Justin Thomas’ father does it all, from teacher to buddy to — caddie?! appeared first on Golf.

Over the past 30 years or so, there have been a few player fathers who became regulars at golf’s biggest events. Phil Mickelson Sr., periscope of his own invention in hand. Earl, of course. Sergio’s father, a club pro and teacher. Gerry McIlroy, a good amateur player with fast hands and a genial manner that could mask his intensity. Most recently, Mike Thomas, father of Justin. Mike is Justin’s teacher, buddy, father, buddy, sounding board, bill-payer, travel agent. Also his buddy.

And on Sunday, at Memorial, in a fill-in appearance, his caddie.

Justin’s first shot of the day, on the short par-4 first at Muirfield Village, was so bad that Justin hit a provisional. Not an ideal way to start the day, but attitude is everything, right?

“I wasn’t worried,” Mike said later. “He can always make a 3 on the second ball, and he has 17 holes after that.”

This is Mike’s parenting/teaching philosophy: Justin is hard enough on himself; be doesn’t need more of that from me.

If you see Justin on a golf course, his father is likely nearby, white-haired and fit, despite a herniated disk and bad hip. He has the rolled, forward-leaning shoulders that so many of the game’s lifers have. (Seve and his brothers come to mind.) Mike and Jani Thomas have one child, Justin, who is 27. On paper, Mike Thomas has him by 33 years. Well, Fred Couples is class of ’59, too. Neither man really seems 60, whatever that means.

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On Sunday, for about four hours, Mike was wearing the white mesh, polyester, zipper-front caddie jacket that the Memorial requires. Mike first jumped the rope line on Saturday afternoon, when the heat, humidity and hills drove Justin’s regular man, the veteran caddie Jimmy Johnson, in. As a precaution, Johnson stayed on the bench on Sunday.

On Saturday, Justin was paired with Jimmy Walker. Two winners of the PGA Championship paired together, as it happens. On the back nine, Walker’s caddie called Mike Thomas over.

“Jimmy’s really struggling,” the caddie said.

Mike Thomas was confused. Jimmy Walker looked fine, and what could Mike Thomas do mid-round if Jimmy’s game was off? The name Jimmy Johnson did not immediately come to mind.

Jimmy Johnson is not one to reveal much anyhow. He’s quiet and stoical. He’s a Texan. He caddied for Nick Price and Steve Stricker for years, and played the South African tour half a lifetime ago. While playing in South Arica, Johnson developed a friendship with a man, Zack Rasego, from a small tribal village and they have remained close. Rasego is a veteran caddie who won the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews with Louis Oosthuizen. He is one of the few Black caddies on Tour today. (In the 1970s and ‘80s, there were scores of Black caddies.) Rasego and Johnson are partners on the road, often staying together and eating meals together. Professional golf used to have a lot of that. There’s less of that now.

Before long, Mike realized that Jimmy was Jimmy Johnson, not Jimmy Walker. Mike could then see that the caddie was struggling.

“I can’t make it,” Johnson said.

“Are you OK?” Mike Thomas asked.

“Yeah, just dehydrated,” Jimmy said.

Mike, about the only spectator the twosome had, put on the bib. On Sunday afternoon, he put it on again. Sunday was hotter yet. The caddie jackets get washed each night. They might make for a tidy appearance on TV, but the caddies can’t stand them.

Justin, with his trim-fitting Polo clothing and his playful, articulate interviews (and TV commentating at The Match II in May), seems like the quintessential modern American golf star. Smooth, corporate, appropriate, young, trim. Jimmy Johnson, on the other hand, is the tough and taciturn and you can see the years and the miles on his face. He’d be an unlikely person to see at a yoga class. It would seem like a case of opposites attracting. They’re more similar than you might think.

Mike Thomas says that his son, like Johnson, is an old-schooler at heart. A circa 1958 golfer wrapped in a 2020 package. Mike’s father, Paul Thomas, was a well-known club pro and player in Ohio who made the cut in the 1960 PGA Championship. Mike says there’s a lot of his father in his son.

“My dad was brutal on himself, and Justin was hard on himself, too,” Mike said. He was referring to Justin’s first two years on Tour, in 2014 and 2015. “So instead of me piling on, it was pretty easy for me to pull back with Justin and say, `Look, it’s not all that big of a deal. Let’s just move on.’”

Which gets us to the first tee on Sunday at Memorial and Justin’s wild drive. They found the first ball. It was in thick rough, under a tree. A dead twig was hitting Justin’s head. Justin is good on the rules. He removed the twig, when he determined it was not attached to the tree. He talked over the shot with his father just he talks over most shots with Johnson. He made a one-putt 5. He played the next 17 holes in one over. A 74 on Sunday was good enough to move him up the board. On Sunday night, Justin was heading to South Florida and Mike was heading to Kentucky. He was due to give a lesson Monday morning at 8:30. He’s a former head pro at Harmony Landing Country Club outside Louisville who is now a teaching pro there. Justin is his best-known student.

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Father and son don’t stay together on the road and they don’t typically travel together. But if Justin is on a Tour range, Mike is often right behind him. You won’t see the father put his hands on Justin’s golf club, or on his shoulders getting the tilt just right. “I’m not that kind of teacher,” he says. Mike Thomas teaches by talking and listening. Where do you want to hit this? What did that swing feel like? Is the clubface open at impact? Little adjustments. It’s a game of tweaks, Mike Thomas will tell you.

He hasn’t caddied often for his son. He was asked if his father had ever caddied for him. Mike laughed.

“We wouldn’t have made it to the first fairway,” Mike said.

Oil and water?

“I would say it was oil and oil,” Mike said. “I was probably too much like him.”

When Justin was coming up in golf, Mike Thomas vowed to be gentle with him.

“As a club pro, I’ve seen things done poorly so many times,” Mike said. “It’s pretty easy for me to look at parents and I see their children’s reaction and feel that. I know what that kid is feeling. It’s not what these kid wants to hear. I’ll hear, `How could you do that?’ Well, it’s not like the kid was trying to do that. It’s not like he intentionally made a double bogey.”

On Sunday afternoon, at 5:15, the weather at Muirfield Village flipped. Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas were coming up the 18th fairway. Both had hit tee shots right of the fairway, but neither knew exactly where either ball was. Neither did their caddies. There were no spectators or anybody else on hand to help sort things out. Things were getting hairy.

The sky was getting darker, the air was getting cooler, the rain clouds above them were not practicing social distancing. And now there was a 20-knot wind in their faces. Before long, there was a clap of thunder, seemingly from a boom box on the nearby driving range.

Kessler Karain, Reed’s brother-in-law and caddie, helped straighten things out quickly enough. Reed’s ball was in the front part of a fairway bunker, Justin Thomas’s was about 20 yards ahead, in the same bunker. Mike Thomas jogged ahead, golf bag on his back and grabbed a rake.

Justin went from the fairway bunker to a greenside bunker. It seemed like the horn could signal at any moment, stopping play immediately. As the air cooled noticeably, heavy raindrops started to fall. Justin holed out, Reed holed out. Justin ran for cover, yelling behind him, “Good putt, nice playing with you.” His father was right behind him. Justin then saw a Tour official and asked some pointed questions about an earlier rain delay, when it was unclear whether the players could practice or not before play resumed. Mike watched and listened and said nothing.

“I’ve seen him in that kind of situation many times,” Mike said. “He will tell you what he believes. What I’ve always told him is, ‘Just make sure that you’re nice to the person.’ You’ve got to be nice to somebody when you’re trying to get your point across. You can attack an idea, but don’t attack the person. I’m a club pro. Members have attacked me for 40 year. I’ll say, ‘Look, I’m just doing what the board told me to do. Don’t attack me.’ When you make it personal, nobody wins. Also, someday you may need that guy in your corner.”

A lot of fatherly wisdom in that. Mike is more than Justin’s buddy.

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Tiger and Justin play a lot of practice rounds together, including at the Memorial. Tiger has paired himself with Justin at his annual December tournament in the Bahamas. At the Presidents Cup, he made Justin his playing partner.

“Tiger has been great to Justin,” Mike said. “I told Tiger, ‘I really appreciate, how you’ve kind of taken him on.'”

They call each other princess, a shorthand for saying that each mocking the other as a prima donna, when each is anything but. (Both are from the grind-it-out school.)

When Justin saw Tiger holing out on the short par-4 18th, he called out to him, “Hey princess, just make sure you make your 5 there.”

Justin, in a locker room prank a few years ago, once affixed his signature to Tiger’s sandals. Tiger responded by loading Justin’s shoes with shaving cream. Justin has learned you’re not going to out-prank Tiger Woods. But that doesn’t stop him from trying. When you watch Justin playing a practice round with Tiger, as they often do at Augusta, the needles are out from start to finish, but you can see Justin watching and absorbing and learning all the while, Jimmy Johnson beside him, Mike Thomas nearby. It’s a strong team.

“When we started with Jimmy, there was a learning curve for Justin and for Jimmy,” Mike said. “We would chat. He had never worked with anybody of Justin’s power or aggression. Justin’s more than willing to try some crazy stuff. Jimmy was like `I’ve never caddied for people that did that.’ They have grown together. All three of us have. We’ve figured out what to say and when. Jimmy has been a home run for us.”

The next time Justin will be in the lineup will likely be at the Memphis tournament, the week after next. It will be a broiler there, too. Mike Thomas fully expects that Jimmy Johnson will be ready to go, and that Mike can assume his regular position, on the other side of the ropes.

Michael Bamberger may be reached at Michael_Bamberger@golf.com.

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The post The wedge behind Jon Rahm’s controversial chip-in bogey appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Spotted on Tour, where we’ll highlight buzzy apparel, gear, gadgets and more that caught our eye over the weekend. Better yet, we’ll help you get your hands on your own.

Jon Rahm woke up on Monday morning on top of the golf world — literally. The 25-year-old has been one of golf’s brightest young stars for some time, but Monday, he woke up as Memorial Tournament champion and only the second Spaniard ever to hold the title of World No. 1.

It’s been a week worth remembering for Rahm, if for no reason other than the ridiculous (and controversial) moment that dominated the last three holes of his final round.

On the par-3 16th hole, Rahm hit the shot of the tournament (and perhaps the shot of the year), holing out for birdie from DEEP in the rough behind the green to solidify his lead.

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Of course, what followed — a review that deemed Rahm’s ball moved at address and assessed the leader an ultimately meaningless two-stroke penalty — ignited a good, old-fashioned golf rules debate. But the rules infraction shouldn’t minimize the complexity and impressiveness of the shot itself.

Rahm’s hole-out represented a near-perfect intersection of skill, touch and response. If he were to hit another 99 shots from the same location with the same TaylorMade wedge, he might not hole any of them. But in the right moment with the right club in his hand, he fashioned what is sure to be the most memorable chip-in bogey of his career.

Speaking of the club in his hand, Rahm’s TaylorMade Milled Grind 2 deserves at least some of the credit for the shot of the weekend (even if its thickened head might hold some responsibility for the millimeter shift in his ball that caused the penalty).

ZTP raw grooves in Rahm’s Milled Grind 2 cut deeper to provide zippier shots, while CNC milling ensures consistency throughout the lead edge and sole of the wedge. The club’s raw finish means it rusts with age, but that’s the price of a wedge designed for premium performance when you need birdies — erm, bogeys.

TaylorMade Milled Grind 2 Wedge

Made from 8620 carbon steel, the Milled Grind 2s are precision milled with raw faces for extra spin and feel. A “thick-thin” construction optimizes CG location, while TPU inserts in the back cavities dampen vibration. The faces will rust, but the rest of the head will maintain its finish.

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The post Jack Nicklaus reveals he tested positive for Covid-19 in March appeared first on Golf.

In a surprise announcement during CBS’s broadcast of the final round of the Memorial Tournament Sunday, 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus revealed he and his wife Barbara tested positive for Covid-19 in mid-March.

Nicklaus, who is 80 years old, revealed he suffered from a sore throat and cough, while his wife Barbara, who is the same age, was asymptomatic.

“Back in mid-March, Barbara and I both contracted coronavirus,” Nicklaus told Jim Nantz in an on-camera interview. “Barbara was asymptomatic and I had a sore throat and a cough. It didn’t last very long and we were very, very fortunate. Barbara and I are both of the age, both of us 80 years old, that is an at-risk age.”

Nicklaus said he tested positive on March 13, the same day the PGA Tour postponed the season due to the spread of the disease.

“We were home from the 13th of March and we were done with it by about the 20th of April,” he said. “We stayed at home for the next month to make sure we were well.”

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The 18-time major champion said he tested positive four times for the virus, while Barbara tested positive three times.

“Our hearts go out to those who did lose their lives and their families,” Nicklaus said. “We were just a couple of the lucky ones.”

In the time since his recovery from the virus in April, Nicklaus has established a charitable campaign aimed at providing personal protective equipment for frontline health care workers.

To that end, the “Wear The Bear. Show You Care” campaign has raised more than $250,000 for the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Covid-19 relief fund, with the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation matching every donation dollar-for-dollar.

“The workers are the people who are sacrificing their lives every day,” he said. “We feel very strong about trying to work with the people that are working with and are taking care of those that have Covid-19.”

Earlier this week, Nicklaus raised eyebrows when he said he’d shake hands with the eventual winner of this week’s Memorial Tournament. In his interview with CBS, Nicklaus walked back his initial statement, but noted he’d tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies as recently as this week (which scientists believe may provide some form of protective immunity from the disease). Ultimately, Nicklaus said, he’d still be open to shaking hands with the eventual winner.

“They asked me if I was going to shake hands on the 18th green with the winner,” he said. “If the winner wants to shake hands that’s fine, but I wouldn’t want to put them in that position.”

Those who wish to donate to Nicklaus’ “Wear The Bear. Show You Care” campaign can do by purchasing a hat ($100) or making a custom donation HERE.

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The post Here’s why Muirfield Village could wreak havoc on the PGA Tour on Sunday appeared first on Golf.

The post Here’s why Muirfield Village could wreak havoc on the PGA Tour on Sunday appeared first on Golf.

Three rounds are in the books at the Memorial Tournament, but the carnage has only just begun.

Following a Saturday in which only two players managed to break 70, Muirfield Village and the PGA Tour released a final-round pin sheet so diabolical, one could be forgiven for thinking it a work of satire.

Of the 18 holes at Muirfield Village on Sunday, only the 17th hole, a 478-yard par-4, has a pin that is more than five yards off the edge of the green in both directions. Tallied together, the average distance of the pin from the right or left edge of the green is 3.94 yards.

Of course, those numbers are to say nothing of the positions the pins are placed within the greater context of the green. Many holes are tucked between bunkers, require a shot over water, or feature some other hazard in close quarters to the flagstick.

All afternoon, players at the Memorial will be forced to hit tiny slivers of bentgrass with great precision in order to put themselves in position to make birdie. When factoring for the 30 mph wind gusts and greens rolling at a 13 (or faster) on the stimpmeter expected Sunday, it’s no wonder Jon Rahm contended his Saturday 68 could be “one of the best rounds of golf that I’ve played in my life.”

It’s possible (and perhaps likely) that we’ll see havoc Sunday akin to some recent U.S Opens. In fact, tournament host Jack Nicklaus admitted Thursday he uses the conditions at the national championship as a barometer for the Memorial.

But it’s also possible that’s a good thing. That the 65 golfers teeing off Sunday at Muirfield Village represent a large percentage of the best players in the world, a fact that should be represented in the difficulty of the courses they play. That the chaos is fun.

It’s also possible that the carnage is equitable. That good shots will largely still be good shots, even as bad ones are punished. That the course is not inherently unfair, even if some players see bad breaks on good shots,. After all, each of the 65 players teeing off will play the same 18 holes, and most of those who wind up near the top of the leaderboard will play them in the same conditions.

Sure, the course might leave some players miffed, but challenging setups often do. In 2018, the conditions on Saturday at Shinnecock Hills led Zach Johnson to famously assert the USGA had “lost the course,” while Phil Mickelson was nearly disqualified for backstopping his own putt rather than seeing it roll off the green. A day later, Brooks Koepka became only the second player in 66 years to win consecutive national titles, his star legitimized by conquering the conditions as much as the field.

For the second time in two decades, the PGA Tour is seeing courses dismantled and detoothed by massive distance gains. By tweaking the setup, Nicklaus and company have ensured the Memorial will crown a worthy champion, not just a long one.

“The USGA has got to wake up sooner or later, the R&A,” Nicklaus said Thursday on the Golf Channel’s broadcast of the first round of the Memorial. “They can’t keep burying their heads to this. They see it, they watch television, they see where these guys hit the golf ball. It isn’t about how far they hit it. You just can’t keep making golf courses longer. You just don’t have enough land. You don’t have enough money to do it.” 

Between last week’s Workday Charity Open and the Memorial, MVGC director of grounds operations Chad Mark and his staff have done a masterful job crafting a course setup not only capable of withstanding eight tournament rounds, but equally adept at growing more challenging with each passing round. On Sunday, they deserve credit for showing us golf as it is in 2020 (at the Workday), and as what it too often isn’t — carnage and all.

So, will Muirfield Village wreak havoc? Maybe. Will it be boring? Hell no.

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The post 2020 Memorial Tournament purse: Payout breakdown and winner’s share appeared first on Golf.

The post 2020 Memorial Tournament purse: Payout breakdown and winner’s share appeared first on Golf.

It’s Sunday at the Memorial Tournament and nobody forgot to tell the grounds crew. Muirfield Village director of grounds operations Chad Mark and his crew have worked tirelessly over the last two weeks to host eight PGA Tour rounds, and they’ve saved the best for last.

A downright sadistic pin sheet greets players who managed to trudge through the first 54 holes at Muirfield. But if the course setup has taught us anything this weekend, maintaining a score around par is likely to serve those in contention well.

Speaking of the leaderboard, Jon Rahm has been locked in all weekend at Muirfield Village, posting three rounds in the 60s en route to a four-stroke lead heading into the final round of play. Tony Finau and Ryan Palmer are tied for second at 8 under, while Jason Day and Patrick Cantlay (last year’s Memorial winner) round out the top 10.

But even if the grounds crew is looking to send off the Tour in style (read: leave a few players struggling to break 80), the final round at Muirfield Village is sure to deliver the sort of entertainment deserving of a tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus.

Below is the winner’s share and payout information for the Memorial’s massive $9.3 million purse; you can watch all the action beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on Golf Channel and continuing at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

Memorial Tournament payout breakdown, winner’s share

1. $1,674,000

2. $1,013,700

3. $641,700

4. $455,700

5. $381,300

6. $337,125

7. $313,875

8. $290,625

9. $272,025

10. $253,425

11. $234,825

12. $216,225

13. $197,625

14. $179,025

15. $169,725

16. $160,425

17. $151,125

18. $141,825

19. $132,525

20. $123,225

21. $113,925

22. $104,625

23. $97,185

24. $89,745

25. $82,305

26. $74,865

27. $72,075

28. $69,285

29. $66,495

30. $63,705

31. $60,915

32. $58,125

33. $55,335

34. $53,010

35. $50,685

36. $48,360

37. $46,035

38. $44,175

39. $42,315

40. $40,455

41. $38,595

42. $36,735

43. $34,875

44. $33,015

45. $31,155

46. $29,295

47. $27,435

48. $25,947

49. $24,645

50. $23,901

51. $23,343

52. $22,785

53. $22,413

54. $22,041

55. $21,855

56. $21,669

57. $21,483

58. $21,297

59. $21,111

60. $20,925

61. $20,739

62. $20,553

63. $20,367

64. $20,181

65. $19,995

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