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2 Masters sleepers are hiding out in the open at Augusta National

James Colgan — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 23:30:46 +0000

AUGUSTA, Ga. — It’s hard being the new guy.

At the Masters, Ludvig Aberg knows. He’s new. Brand-new. Not only to Augusta National, where he’ll play this week in his first-ever Masters — but also to all of major championship golf.

It’s easy to forget that Aberg’s career number of major starts is zero. Most players of his caliber have major championship peach fuzz by the time they’ve reached their early 20s, usually by way of amateur championship victories or special exemptions. Aberg is not one of them. He played valiantly as an all-world youngster at Texas Tech, a player talented and decorated enough to earn an invitation onto the PGA Tour straight out of school. He contended regularly and even won as a Tour rookie, then starred in the Ryder Cup in Rome as a particularly fearsome piece of a dominating European side. Now he’s the ninth-ranked player in the world and easily one of pro golf’s most gifted young’uns — talented enough to earn a Masters pre-tournament press conference before ever playing a tournament round.

That resume does not equate to zero major championship starts. But that’s where Aberg finds himself on Tuesday afternoon in Augusta — a Masters rookie on the brink of his first-ever major start.

Wyndham Clark knows the feeling. He wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told the reigning U.S. Open champ he’d win a major championship before he earned a start at Augusta. But the hardware on his mantel and the glimmer in his eyes Tuesday indicate otherwise.

Until about 11 months ago, Clark wasn’t on anybody’s pro golf radar. But then he broke through at the Wells Fargo for his first pro win, and then again, a month later, at the U.S. Open. And then again, eight months later, at Pebble Beach. Now, he’s entering the Masters as the fourth-ranked player in the world — and a Masters rookie on the brink of his first-ever start.

It would be a stretch to call these two golfers sleepers, what with their prodigious ability and history of tournament success. Vegas, which has both golfers among the tournament favorites, agrees. But there’s a small bit of history working against them: Not since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 has a player arrived at the Masters a rookie and exited a champion.

But among the flood of press conferences on Tuesday at Augusta National, there was the prevailing sense that these two rookies might be different from the rest.

The difference, it seems, starts on the cellular level. Both Clark and Aberg are prolific ball strikers, the kind who can overpower a golf course with the sheer force of their golfing might. On Tuesday at the Masters, both golfers smothered the range with blistering drives that carried on tight fades, flushed irons that hit small targets, and hit crisp chips that scared pin placements.

But on a morning when Tiger Woods spoke at length about the experience and headiness needed to survive at Augusta National — and about how that experience benefits those playing in the event well into their 40s — it also became clear that both Clark and Aberg possess something deeper than athletic ability. Every Masters rookie has a driver they can hit far and straight, but not all of them have the mental makeup to do it for 72 holes under immense pressure. These two Masters rookies do — and that’s what sets them apart.

“I think there’s a difference between people who can win consistently on the PGA Tour and majors and maybe someone who wins every once in a while,” Clark said Tuesday. “I think if you win once every blue moon, I think that’s just a great week and you really had everything clicking that week. But I think to win multiple times and in major, I think that there is a little bit of a mental shift. I’m not saying I know what that shift is, but I know I worked really hard in the mental game. And so when I found myself leading the U.S. Open and then winning a U.S. Open, it felt like a regular event. I think maybe that’s the shift, I think that’s what needs to be done.”

Aberg agreed.

“I’m trying to embrace it,” he said. “I’m not trying to push it away. I’m not trying to fight it. I think that’s one of the key things.

“It’s also just golf, and it’s just me and my 14 clubs.”

This attitude is what endeared Aberg to his current caddie, the veteran looper Joe Skovron, who jumped from Rickie Fowler’s bag to Tom Kim’s, and then jumped from Kim’s to Aberg’s.

“He’s just so mentally mature,” Skovron told me recently. “He’s got a good perspective when something goes wrong. He can deal with it and move on. His ability level is super high, and yet he just wants to keep getting better.”

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Aberg says he’ll be leaning on Skovron’s advice this week to help him navigate the more nuanced difficulties of Augusta National — and he’ll need to. The Masters is a brute of a tournament for the most experienced players. For those without experience, it can be easy to get out of place.

“This golf course gets you to chase things a little more than other golf courses,” Rory McIlroy said Tuesday. “If you make a bogey or if you get yourself out of position, it always tempts you to do something you think you can do.”

The temptation of Augusta National is a frequent cause of youthful ejection. But so is the pressure. The Masters is golf’s Super Bowl, as even the hilariously underwhelmed Aberg admitted on Tuesday. There’s no knowing how you respond until you have to.

But perhaps it helps that these guys just don’t know yet. There’s callous in youth, but also confidence.

“My first four or five years on the PGA Tour I learned all the ways how not to win and how not to handle myself in pressure moments,” Clark said. “As I’ve now found myself in more of those moments, I feel so much more relaxed. My thoughts are slower. I’m taking everything as it comes.”

Of course, it’s easy to speak confidently from the comfort of a Tuesday presser — and a little harder from under the gun in the shadows of Amen Corner late on Sunday afternoon. How will Aberg and Clark respond, should the chips fall in a historic way for either of them?

Their answers Tuesday were revealing.

“I mean, stats like that are meant to be broken,” Clark said defiantly when asked about the rookie winless streak.

Aberg was even less impressed.

“I honestly didn’t know that stat up until just now,” he said with a laugh.

The post 2 Masters sleepers are hiding out in the open at Augusta National appeared first on Golf.

This PGA Tour player's scary golf swing impact drill, explained

Luke Kerr-Dineen — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 16:29:00 +0000

Welcome to Play Smart, a game-improvement column that drops every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Game Improvement Editor Luke Kerr-Dineen to help you play smarter, better golf. Today, we’re talking about PGA Tour player Wyndham Clark‘s interesting swing drill.

CROMWELL, Conn. — You see a lot of amazing things at PGA Tour events. Stuff that recreational golfers would have no chance at emulating. A 350-yard high draw into the fairway; a snaking lag putt to within inches; a stinger through a gap in the trees.

And, occasionally, a golf swing drill that would terrify the rest of us.

Which brings us to Wyndham Clark, a rising star on the PGA Tour who used an eye-catching drill during his practice round on TPC River Highlands’ drivable 15th hole.

Clark took his setup, then his caddy pulled the driver from his bag and held it about about an inch over the bottom-end of the grip as Wyndham took his swing.

Would you try this drill? pic.twitter.com/oGmQ1iIPpn
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) June 22, 2021

Clark’s coach, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Boyd Summerhays, who’s on-site this week at the Travelers Championship, has a simple message for the golfers looking to learn from this drill: “Clubface is king.”

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The direction the clubface is pointing at impact primarily determines where the golf ball is going to go. Clark’s tendency is to roll the clubface shut through impact. This drill is designed to help with that, he says: By giving him an obstacle to swing around, it forces Wyndham to keep his hands lower at impact, and release the club more around his body — all of which help him control the clubface, which again, is king.

As for those of you at home looking to learn from this drill: Stay away from it if you’re a slicer. If you tend to get stuck, with a miss that’s either a high hook or a block, this could potentially help. Though we suggest using a pool noodle or something else you wouldn’t mind breaking by mistake if the drill goes wrong. Clark, being a Tour player, doesn’t have to worry about that.

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2021 Genesis Invitational purse: Payout information and winner's share

James Colgan — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 15:31:03 +0000

A crowded leaderboard (and crowded day for golf) greet Sunday at Riviera for the final round of the 2021 Genesis Invitational. Below is everything you need to know about the tournament’s purse information, including payout and winner’s share.

Genesis Invitational final round preview

It’s Sunday at the Genesis Invitational and we’ve got an absolutely packed day for golf. The top half of the field will play somewhere between 18 and 27 holes on Sunday after third-round play was suspended due to darkness on Saturday.

As for where things stand on the leaderboard, Sam Burns leads (as he has for the majority of the week) by a handful of strokes over the remainder of a crowded leaderboard. Burns (-9) is up by two strokes over the remainder of the field as he makes the turn during his third round of play Sunday. With just about 25 holes to protect his lead (and plenty of challenges and challengers lurking), Burns has his work cut out for him to emerge victorious Sunday afternoon.

Jordan Spieth is once again in the thick of things, though high winds and fading sun eventually played a role in five bogeys throughout his third round Saturday. Spieth (-4) has his work cut out for him to climb back into contention Sunday.

Also in the mix is Dustin Johnson. The World No. 1 is 7 under, two strokes back of Burns and alongside Matthew Fitzpatrick and Max Homa in a tie for second place.

Below is the payout information for Riviera’s $9.3 million purse; you can catch the action from 1-3:00 p.m. ET on Golf Channel and from 3:00 p.m. to the tournament’s completion on CBS.

Genesis Invitational payout information, 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

The post 2021 Genesis Invitational purse: Payout information and winner’s share appeared first on Golf.

Brian Gay rallies to win Bermuda Championship in playoff

James Colgan — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 19:28:26 +0000

A Sunday filled with leaderboard jockeying led to a photo finish at the Bermuda Championship from Port Royal Golf Course. Here’s how it all went down.

The winner: Brian Gay (seven-under 64; 15-under overall)

How it happened: Doc Redman held the 54-hole lead at 10 under, but a lackluster Sunday performance opened the door for someone to kick down — and a trio of players obliged. Denny McCarthy came out of nowhere to vault himself into contention with a final-round, eight-under 63. The blistering performance was enough to land him comfortably inside the top five, but not enough to force a playoff with either of the names above him on the leaderboard.

Instead, the tournament came down to two: Brian Gay and Wyndham Clark. Gay (-8) and Clark (-9) entered Sunday neck-and-neck, and the two would battle all afternoon at Port Royal. Clark jumped out to an early lead, building a three-stroke advantage over the field with seven birdies through the first 11 holes, but it wouldn’t be enough to separate himself from Gay late. The two pulled even after Clark bogeyed the par-3 16th (his first bogey or worse on the closing stretch all week), but Gay gave the stroke right back after making bogey on the 17th.

After a miraculous birdie on the 18th by Gay, he and Clark headed into a playoff, where a birdie on the first playoff hole sealed the deal for Gay.

Biggest shot: There’s no question, the best shot of the day belongs to Gay, who stuffed his approach from the rough on the 18th to a little over 2 feet, then made the birdie putt to tie for the lead. Not only did the birdie cement Gay atop the leaderboard, but it also placed all the pressure on the 26-year-old Clark, who had just teed off on the 18th behind Gay.

A beauty when he needed it most.@BrianGayPGA dials up a dart on 18 to make birdie and move into a tie for the lead. 👏#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/BFRb4dHDrA
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 1, 2020

Why it matters: The win is the first for Gay since the Humana Championship in 2013 (!). The 48-year-old Gay now holds five career PGA Tour victories, the same number as Rickie Fowler.

A card confirmed: Will Zalatoris earned special temporary membership on the PGA Tour on Sunday. The Korn Ferry Tour star finished the week in Bermuda at eight under and finished T-16. With the finish, the 24-year-old secured himself entrance to every PGA Tour event through the remainder of the 2021 season. The membership is just the latest feather in Zalatoris’ cap following a T-6 finish at the U.S. Open in September.

What’s next: The PGA Tour turns up the heat in the last open field event prior to the Masters, the Houston Open. Memorial Park Golf Course is expecting many of the game’s best players in attendance as they take advantage of the final opportunity to prepare for Augusta National. Viktor Hovland, Jason Day and Phil Mickelson are among the players in the field in Houston this week.

The post Brian Gay rallies to win Bermuda Championship in playoff appeared first on Golf.

Wyndham Clark Interview: Will he be the next Bachelor and chasing his first Tour win

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 02:35:13 +0000

On this week’s episode, rising PGA Tour pro Wyndham Clark joins former PGA Tour pro Colt Knost and his close friend and on course rival Drew Stoltz for an exclusive, in-studio interview. The rising star talks about the chances he may be the next Bachelor, going to high school with NFL running back Christian McCaffery, and chasing his first Tour win.

The post Wyndham Clark Interview: Will he be the next Bachelor and chasing his first Tour win appeared first on Golf.

This simple advice from David Duval can help your game when you're nervous

Luke Kerr-Dineen — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:44:26 +0000

Whether you’re on the first tee at a PGA Tour event, or facing a big putt against your buddies, at some point, we all get nerves when we play golf.

But even though the nerves happen for different reasons, the way golfers of all skill levels deal with them can be remarkably similar.

For that, just ask Wyndham Clark.

The up-and-coming PGA Tour player has played his way into contention a handful of times so far in his career, but every time he’s felt the nerves.

“The thing about the Tour is that winning changes your life,” Clark says. “You’re a little bit tighter, you’re a little bit shorter with your swing, it’s not that anything changes, you can just feel it.”

That’s what led Wyndham to ask some PGA Tour veterans for some advice on how to handle pressure, which he discussed on his recent appearance on GOLF’s Subpar podcast.

According to Wyndham, some guys said it was simply a matter of getting reps, plain and simple.

But Clark said his best advice came from David Duval, the former British Open champion who won an astonishing 11 times in 18 months between the end of 1997 and the start of 1999.

“He said ‘it’s amazing what happens when you hit fairways and greens”

He continued, relaying what Duval told him:

“Try to hit every fairway, try to hit every green. It doesn’t matter where it is [on the fairway or green], but just try to hit all of them and add it up at the end.”

Now, of course, recreational golfers aren’t going to be able to hit every green like a pro might be able to, but the principle is the same.

When you’re playing a big match against your buddies, are competing in the club championship, or even just trying to play well at your first time at a nice course, follow Duval’s advice to Wyndham: Forget about chasing at pins or bombing drives.

Try to hit it anywhere in the fairway, and aim for the middle at greens. When you’re done, add up the number of fairways and greens, and see how you did.

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Golf.com Podcast

Wyndham Clark Interview: Will he be the next Bachelor and chasing his first Tour win

March 10, 2020SUBSCRIBE: APPLE PODCASTS

On this week's episode, rising PGA Tour pro Wyndham Clark joins former PGA Tour pro Colt Knost and his close friend and on course rival Drew Stoltz for an exclusive, in-studio interview. The rising star talks about the chances he may be the next Bachelor, going to high school with NFL running back Christian McCaffery, and chasing his first Tour win.

98 min

The post This simple advice from David Duval can help your game when you’re nervous appeared first on Golf.

Wyndham Clark discusses David Duval's advice to him on how to win on Tour

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 20:19:05 +0000

On this week’s episode of Subpar, Clarke shares the key to success according to the 13-time PGA Tour winner is to simplify things by trying to hit every fairway and every green.

The post Wyndham Clark discusses David Duval’s advice to him on how to win on Tour appeared first on Golf.

Could this PGA Tour pro be the next 'Bachelor'? (He’s not saying no!)

Zephyr Melton — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 20:16:19 +0000

ABC’s reality show The Bachelor, now in its 24th season, has a long history of sportsmen who have played the lead role on the show, from former NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer (Season 5), to pro soccer player Juan Pablo Galavis (Season 9), to fisherman Byron Velvick (Season 6).

Could a pro golfer be next?

The topic came up on this week’s episode of Subpar with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz in their interview with Wyndham Clark (watch video above), the second-year PGA Tour player who had the 54-hole lead at the Honda Classic two weeks ago — and who has an “in” with The Bachelor‘s decision-makers. Clark recently played with the show’s host, Chris Harrison, during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

“Can you speak on the rumors and if they’re true as to if you are the next Bachelor?” Stoltz said. “There’s a lot of chatter that [you are] the next Bachelor.”

Clark at first laughed it off and said he’d have a hard time watching himself on TV.

“But would you do it if Chris Harrison called you?” Knost asked.

Turns out, Harrison had already asked Clark. Over a couple of cocktails at the Tap Room at Pebble Beach, someone suggested that Clark would be a good bachelor.

“[Harrison] goes, ‘Oh that’d be perfect,” Clark said. “We’d start off in Ireland and then we go to these golf courses.’”

There’s just one small hitch. To be the Bachelor, you must be on the show before being the lead. But for those of you who fit in the Venn diagram intersection of golf fan/Bachelor fan, there may be hope yet.

“I said, ‘Hey, if you want a current athlete, then let’s do this,’” Clark said. “I’d be an incredible Bachelor.”

Clark even went so far as to cast George Strait as his musical guest who would serenade the ladies on his behalf.

The rest of the interview covered a handful of topics ranging from Clark’s high school classmate, NFL star Christian McCaffrey, to practical advice Clark received from David Duval on how to win (see video below). Check out Subpar every Tuesday for more in-depth interviews with the biggest personalities in golf.

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Golf.com Podcast

Wyndham Clark Interview: Will he be the next Bachelor and chasing his first Tour win

March 10, 2020SUBSCRIBE: APPLE PODCASTS

98 min

The post Could this PGA Tour pro be the next ‘Bachelor’? (He’s not saying no!) appeared first on Golf.

Wyndham Clark on whether he'd like to be the next star of 'The Bachelor'

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 20:10:00 +0000

On this week’s episode of Subpar, the PGA Tour player discusses very early discussions he had about headlining the hit ABC dating show and claiming, “I’d be an incredible one.”

The post Wyndham Clark on whether he’d like to be the next star of ‘The Bachelor’ appeared first on Golf.

One of the best putters on tour reveals his unique green-reading method

Luke Kerr-Dineen — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 22:43:21 +0000

When recreational golfers think about how to improve their game, their minds inevitably drift to the flashy stuff. Booming drives and flag-hunting approaches and flop shots. All that helps, of course, but you know what could help even more? Becoming rock-solid inside 10 feet. Suddenly you’ll be getting up and down more, saving more pars, preventing disaster holes and even snatching a few birdies along the way.

And to help with that, there are few better people to consult than Wyndham Clark, who explained his approach in this fascinating and informative GOLF TV clip.

Clark led the PGA Tour in putting inside 10 feet and three-putt avoidance during the 2018-19 season, but his approach to green-reading differs slightly from the mainstream approach. Rather than using a line on his golf ball to aim at an exact spot, Clark locks his eye on the hole itself and shuffles around until he feels like he’s aiming at the correct spot.

“If you were to roll something to a spot on the green, I’m not going to aim six inches out. You look at the spot, and then you just roll it.” Clark says in the clip. “If it’s so easy this way, why would it be any different with putting?”

But if you’re looking for a magic bullet, take note: Clark also explains that one of the other important reasons he’s so good inside 10 feet is because he practices a lot from inside that range.

Watch the full GOLF TV clip below. It’s well worth your time.

Have you seen our new “Subpar” series? Check out the first installment featuring John Rahm below!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL SUBPAR INTERVIEW WITH JON RAHM ON YOUTUBE

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Wyndham Clark made 91% of putts inside 10 feet last season (best on Tour).

Yes, ninty one percent!

Here's his unique approach to why that was. pic.twitter.com/lxfHQuYOjI

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) February 12, 2020

The post One of the best putters on tour reveals his unique green-reading method appeared first on Golf.