News

Morning 9: LIV Pros head to Asian Tour | Cabrera returns to PGA Champions Tour | Solheim Cup assistants

Published

1 min ago

Feb 21, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads to Mexico this week.

1. Niemann, 21 LIV players set for Asian Tour event

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”In total, 21 LIV members are teeing it up beginning Thursday at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat, Oman, including three still ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking – No. 80 Lucas Herbert, No. 81 Joaquin Niemann and No. 95 Dean Burmester.”

“With LIV still not able to award world-ranking points, playing in the International Series remains one of few avenues for LIV players to boost their world ranks and potentially earn spots in major championships…”

“No. 137 Louis Oosthuizen, No. 141 David Puig (last week’s Asian Tour winner), No. 154 Mito Pereira and No. 165 Abraham Ancer are also entered in the Oman field, which also includes these LIV members all ranked outside the top 300 in the OWGR: Charles Schwartzel, Kieran Vincent, Jinichiro Kozuma, Matt Jones, Eugenio Chacarra, Scott Vincent, Anirban Lahiri, Matthew Wolff, Branden Grace, Carlos Ortiz, Sebastian Munoz, Peter Uihlein, Hudson Swafford and Danny Lee.”

Full piece.

2. Cabrera returns to Champions Tour action

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romain…”Angel Cabrera has already been cleared to play in PGA Tour-sanctioned events. He returned to competitive golf late last year in his native Argentina, and he will make his PGA Tour Champions return this week in Morocco.”

“But that’s not all: The 54-year-old Argentine and two-time major champion also is set to compete again in his first world-ranked event in nearly five years.”

“Cabrera, who was released from an Argentina prison last August after serving 30 months for gender violence against two former partners, has been extended a sponsor exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s 117 Visa Argentina Open, according to multiple reports and confirmed by GolfChannel.com. Cabrera’s invite was allotted by the Argentina Golf Association, and he will have a chance to compete for an Open Championship exemption, which is awarded to the winner.”

Full piece.

3. Beall: Is the PGA Tour in a slump?

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Conversely, the bigger, overarching worry from the past seven weeks is what fans didn’t see. Rory McIlroy was a tour de force in the Middle East but has been so-so in his two tour starts. Reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland has struggled. Max Homa usually feasts on the West Coast but hasn’t posted a top 10 in five appearances. Collin Morikawa hasn’t done much and an expected Sunday battle between Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay at Riv turned out to be a dud. Then there is Scottie Scheffler. The two-time PGA Tour Player of the Year is posting the best ball-striking numbers since in-his-prime Tiger … but that performance has been weighed down by his continued putting woes, which have prolonged to the point they can no longer be classified as a funk. Scheffler knows it too; this weekend alone featured images of Scheffler tossing his putter like a baton after missing a putt and dropping to his knees after another, the normally stoic Texan unable to hide his indignation at his flatstick’s betrayal. The putter has single-handedly kept him from a generationally-great 18-month stretch, and as golf has sadistically proved over and over the present (in this case, Scheffler’s tee-to-green game) is no guarantee of the future.|”

“Seven weeks is a small sample size. In that same breath, the tour is nearing the quarter mark of the season, and the very stars tasked with keeping the lights on have been dimmed. Which brings us to LIV Golf. For the first two years of LIV’s existence there has been a general belief from tour headquarters that the tour’s depth was its hydra: When one star leaves he would be replaced by another. Generally, that held true. But Jon Rahm’s defection seemed to be a tipping point of sorts. LIV has now taken both a significant portion of the tour’s frontline firepower (Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith) along with a sizable bite out of the second and third-tier rank. Perhaps it’s a coincidence that five of the tour’s seven winners in 2024 were outside the top 50 in world ranking … but maybe it’s not. That Rahm won three times during this stretch last season only exaggerates the perceived power void.”

Full piece.

4. Nantz to amateur rules sleuths…

Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers…“A number of rogue videos of the supposed incident have already been removed from social media. But they had been spreading like wildfire, as all potential rules controversies do. The CBS Sports crew must have known this was the case, because Jim Nantz quickly brought in rules and review analyst Mark Dusbabek explained that there was no foul play from Matsuyama.”

“Here was the incredible exchange between Nantz and Dusbabek:”

“Nantz: They’re playing a game of ‘gotcha,’ they think, with Matsuyama behind the 17th a moment ago and saying ‘hey that ball moved! This isn’t right!’ Let’s bring in, with some reasoning here, Duse (Dusbabek).”

“Dusbabek: Yes Jim, the ball did not move. The ball just shifted a little bit, but it stayed in its same position. The ball has to move to a different position, up, down, to the side, it doesn’t matter. It just didn’t move its position.”

“Nantz: Go find somebody else to pick on.”

Full piece.

5. Cannizzaro: Woods should have been at Genesis trophy presentation

The NY Post’s long-time golf writer…Speaking of the champion, Matsuyama and the thousands of spectators ringing the natural amphitheater of the 18th green were deprived Sunday of seeing Woods, whose foundation hosts the event, present the winner’s trophy.

Tiger Woods’ withdrawal from own event is golf great’s latest bizarre episode. Woods was nowhere to be found, presumably back home in Florida recuperating from the flu.

“I never question an athlete’s injury or illness because only the person who’s injured or ill knows how bad he or she is feeling. But for Woods, two days removed from the flu diagnosis, not to be at Riviera on Sunday to present the trophy wasn’t a great look. The sponsors who pump millions into the event to benefit Woods’ foundation could not have been happy about his absence.”

“I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to take a picture with Tiger today,’’ Matsuyama said after he won.

“It’s difficult to imagine Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer not powering through the flu to make sure they were on hand to present the trophy to the winner of the Memorial or Arnold Palmer Invitational at the end of the tournament.”

Full piece.

6. Finau feeling ready

Field Level Media report…”Finau, 34, hasn’t missed a cut in five starts this season. He finished T6 at the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 24-27 and T19 at the Genesis Invitational last week…”

“Yeah, I feel prepared. I’ve done some good work in the offseason with my body just to be strong,” Finau said Tuesday. “This golf course yields some birdies and I can really swing the driver with some freedom out here as there’s a few holes that are pretty lenient as far as hitting areas, so I love that, being able to hit it hard and play this type of golf course. I do feel like I’m prime to go on a run starting this week.”

“Finau expects to be a busy man, however. He told reporters Tuesday that he will be playing competitive golf during the day and with his family on the par-3 course at night.”

“I think we reserved a tee time there about 8:00 every night and we’ll be there with my boys playing pretty much every evening,” Finau said. “That’s definitely at the top of our list of things we enjoy here at Vidanta.”

Full Piece.

7. 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup assistants revealed

Beth Ann Nichols for Golfweek…”Paula Creamer returns to the Solheim Cup for the first time in seven years in a new role as assistant captain. She’ll be joined by Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Angela Stanford. It’s up to the host captain to determine the number of assistant captains, and for the first time in Solheim history, Stacy Lewis has appointed four women to the job.

“This year’s Solheim Cup will be contested Sept. 13-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.”

Full Piece.

8. LIV Golf chief to play PGA Tour pro-am

Ben Parsons for Bunkered…”LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan will tee it up in a pro-am at a tournament sanctioned by the PGA Tour as negotiations to unify golf continue.

“Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) bankrolling LIV, has been attempting to broker a deal with the PGA Tour ever since the announcement of a shock framework agreement between the warring factions last June.”

“PIF’s involvement in golf’s new landscape has come into question in recent weeks after a group of US billionaires known as the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) invested $3billion into the PGA Tour’s new for-profit company named PGA Tour Enterprises.”

“Al-Rumayyan has been listed to play in the Trophy Hassan II pro-am at Royal Golf Dar es Salam in Morocco alongside Indian veteran Arjun Atwal.”

Full Piece.

9. Inbee has no plans to play in 2024

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…”As the LPGA returns to action this week in Thailand, one past champion is notably absent. Inbee Park, who last teed it up on the LPGA in August of 2022 at the AIG Women’s British Open, has no plans to compete this year either, according to her manager.”

“Park, 35, gave birth to her first child, daughter Inseo, in April 2023.”

“The 21-time winner was announced as one of 32 candidates for the IOC’s Athlete’s Commission. Park, of course, won gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She plans to focus on promoting herself for the upcoming elections in the coming months.”

Full Piece.

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Tour Photo Galleries

A mysterious prototype 3-wood and 10 interesting gear photos from the Tour

Published

2 hours ago

Feb 21, 2024

Andrew Tursky

If you’re a fan of golf equipment, then last week at the 2024 Genesis Invitational must have felt like the Super Bowl.

Aside from Tiger Woods and TaylorMade teaming up to create a new brand called Sun Day Red, GolfWRX.com also got full WITB photo coverage from top players such as Woods, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Sepp Straka, Denny McCarthy and Si Woo Kim among others.

It was a huge week for equipment photos, so let’s waste no time getting to the recap below. If you want to check out all of our photo galleries from the 2024 Genesis Invitational, don’t forget to head over to our GolfWRX Forums.

Now, let’s get to the gear.

Hovi’s flatstick is growing up so fast

Now over four years old, Hovland’s Ping PLD “Hovi” putter is starting to show some signs of aging, which makes it that much cooler, in my opinion. As a reminder, Hovi’s custom PLD putter later became the inspiration for Ping’s DS72 head model, and Ping has even sold limited-edition versions of the “Hovi” putter.

To keep his longtime putter safe and secure, Hovland uses a “Hovi” putter cover, with a Viking graphic on top.

See Hovland’s full 2024 WITB here

Matt Fitzpatrick’s mysterious prototype fairway wood, and new Blueprint S irons

At the end of 2023, Matt Fitzpatrick was still using Ping S55 irons, which were first released to the public back in 2013.

I was starting to wonder if he’d ever change them out.

Well, last week at the 2024 Genesis Invitational, we noticed that Fitz is now using a set of new Ping Blueprint S irons (5-PW), to go along with a Ping i210 4-iron.

Pour one out for the S55’s.

That wasn’t the only noteworthy gear news in Fitzpatrick’s bag, though. We also noticed he had a unique prototype 3-wood in the bag, which appears to have no branding or identifying logos.

After further review, however, the sole weight designs and placement seemingly verify that he’s using a Cobra Darkspeed X prototype.

Here’s a photo of a retail Cobra Darkspeed X fairway wood for comparison:

What do you think? Is Fitzpatrick’s new proto fairway wood a Cobra Darkspeed? Or something else?

See what GolfWRX members are saying in the forums

Straka stays strong with the Tuttle

We looked at every club in Straka’s bag last week, and he’s using a set of TaylorMade Qi10 metalwoods, to go along with Srixon irons and Cleveland wedges.

He’s also still going strong with his longtime Odyssey Stroke Lab Tuttle design, which has 3 lines on its bubbly crown for better alignment. With all of the modern-day mallet options on the market, it’s cool to see that Straka is sticking with what works.

Sepp Straka’s full 2024 WITB

Tiger still loves his M3

On Wednesday before the event, Woods confirmed that he’d be switching into a new TaylorMade Qi10 Tour 3-wood, and he also revealed why he still has the old M3 5-wood in play:

“Well, the [new TaylorMade Qi10 Tour] 3-wood is in play. I feel very comfortable with the 3-wood. I had to find the right shaft for it and decided to switch the shafts and go with what I have on my driver. My 5-wood’s different, it’s old, a little beat up, but it still works. But the 3-wood, I wanted to find something I could draw a little bit better and this one is definitely that.”

Rors Proto irons

McIlroy appears to be locked into his WITB setup for 2024, including new TaylorMade Qi10 metalwoods, a mixed set of TaylorMade P-760 and Rors Proto MB irons, MG4 wedges, a Spider Tour X putter, and a new TaylorMade TP5x golf ball.

By all accounts, his Rors Proto irons have to be some of the most famous irons in golf at the moment, and they’ve got the bag chatter to prove they’ve stood the test of time. It’s always a pleasure getting an up-close look at the Rors Protos.

Tommy 2 Drivers

Speaking to the gearheads, if Tommy Fleetwood wasn’t already on your list of top-5 favorite PGA Tour players, then maybe this will help you reconsider: Fleetwood is currently using a TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver (9 degrees), and a TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver (13.5 degrees), and both are equipped with Fujikura Ventus TR 6X shafts.

Tommy Fleetwood’s full 2024 WITB

New shafts spottedAt the 2024 Genesis Invitational, we spotted new Fujikura Ventus Blue shafts, as well as Aretara shafts, which is a new company started by Alex Dee, formerly of Fujikura. Click on the respective links to learn more about each new release.

A special putter for a special exemption

Chase Johnson, one of the recipients of a sponsors exemption at the Genesis Invitational, made the cut using an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini with white-red-white alignment lines and a knuckle neck construction, to go along with a Cobra Darkspeed Max driver.

Johnson is certifiably equipped with ultra forgiveness, and it helped him make the cut last week.

See Johnson’s full 2024 WITB here

The view for one of golf’s best putters

Denny McCarthy finished first in Strokes Gained: Putting in 2018-2019, first in 2019-2020, and second in 2021-2022, and he still uses this Scotty Cameron Tour-Only GoLo mallet putter currently. This photo shows what he looks down at while he’s making basically every putt he sees.

See McCarthy’s full 2024 WITB here

Are new Toulon putters on the way?

On Tuesday at the 2024 Genesis Invitational, we spotted a slew of new models from Toulon. The putter pictured above, called “Alcatraz,” bears a strong resemblance to Odyssey’s “Jailbird” putters, in both looks and nomenclature.

Is something bigger on the way from Toulon? We’ll keep an eye out for testers and switchers on the PGA Tour next week at the 2024 Cognizant Classic at PGA National.

And, with that, we say goodbye to the 2024 Genesis Invitational, and the 2024 West Coast Swing. We’ll see you next week on the other coast!

Browse all of our photos from the 2024 Genesis Invitational here

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News

Morning 9: Zalatoris’ heavy heart | Augusta makes hole alteration | Norman rips OWGR

Published

1 day ago

Feb 20, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads to Mexico this week.

1. ICYMI: Zalatoris’ finished 2nd with a heavy heart

Cameron Morfit for PGATour.com…”He’d been asked about his emotions, and the question landed heavier than anyone could have expected.”

“I didn’t say anything all week,” Zalatoris said, “but I – sorry.”

“The tears welled up, the silence expanding. Zalatoris had shot a final-round 69 to tie for second…”

“The runner-up finish was a long time coming, his best result since coming back from career-threatening back surgery last year…”

“I lost a family member on Thursday,” Zalatoris said, “and she was – so she was with me all week. You know, was pretty special on Friday to make the hole-in-one after – sorry. Pretty special to make the hole-in-one on Friday after I found out on Thursday. She was with me all week.”

Full piece.

2. A signature win for a Signature Event

Golf Digest’s Tod Leonard…“What transpired on Sunday at Riviera Country Club is exactly how world-class golf tournaments are supposed to play out. A major champion from a golf-crazed country crafts a mind-boggling charge on a classic track to win a grand prize.”

“That’s a mouthful, but there was so much to admire about Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama coming from six shots down at the outset and shooting nine-under-par 62 for a stunning three-shot victory in the Genesis Invitational. The 31-year-old from Japan took home, by far, the biggest cash prize of his career of $4 million because this was a $20 million signature event on the PGA Tour.”

“It doesn’t get much more “signature” than what Matsuyama did on the back nine at Riviera—twice hitting approaches to a few inches from the hole among his six birdies in a back nine of 30. What’s more, Matsuyama came within inches on his birdie putt at 18 of setting the course record at vaunted Hogan’s Alley.”

Full piece.

3. ICYMI: Cantlay ill at Riviera

PGATour.com staff report…”Cantlay struggled to find a rhythm Sunday while playing in the final group at Riviera alongside close friend Xander Schauffele, who shot 70 to share fourth place with Cantlay and Adam Hadwin.”

“Following the final round of The Genesis, Golf Channel analyst Johnson Wagner shared that Cantlay woke up Sunday with a temperature exceeding 100 degrees and some sort of illness, per Cantlay’s coach Jamie Mulligan.”

“Cantlay didn’t meet the media after the final round, saying he was feeling under the weather.”

Full piece.

4. LIV golfers head to Asia

SI’s Bob Harig…”The first International Series event of the year takes place this week in Oman and the event will have a slew of LIV Golf players competing a week before they are all scheduled to play consecutive tournaments in Jeddah and Hong Kong.”

“The International Series consists of 10 elevated events that are part of the Asian Tour and are funded by LIV Golf Investments. All will have a minimum purse of $2 million and the leader of the Order of Merit earns a fully exempt spot with LIV Golf next year.”

…”As of now, there are 21 LIV Golf players in the field, including Joaquin Niemann, who won the first LIV Golf event of the year two weeks ago and has been trying to qualify for the Masters via the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.”

Full piece.

5. Pro asks Tiger to fix hole at Riv

6. Rory’s putting advice for Scottie? Try a mallet

Drew Powell for Golf Digest…”During a week when no one hit the ball better or chipped better, Scheffler made just three putts outside of 10 feet. His week was best encapsulated by the 18th hole on Sunday, where he hit a towering iron shot to 10 feet on one of the toughest holes on the course, only to badly misjudge the speed on the putt, never giving it a chance.

“That miss prompted CBS Sports’ Amanda Renner to ask Rory McIlroy—who was joining the telecast after finishing his round—what advice he would have for Scheffler as he works through his putting struggles.”

“I’ve certainly been through my fair share of putting woes over the years, and I finally feel like I’ve broken through and become a pretty consistent putter,” McIlroy said. He was in a similar position to Scheffler back in the mid-2010s, hitting the ball beautifully but ranking outside the top 100 on tour in putting.

“For me, going to a mallet was a big change,” McIlroy said said after a final-round 70 at Riviera. “I really persisted with the blade putter for a long time, but I just feel like your stroke has to be so perfect to start the ball on line, where the mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error.

“So, I’d love to see Scottie try a mallet,” McIlroy concluded. “But selfishly for me, Scottie does everything else so well that he’s given the rest of us a chance.”

Full Piece.

7. Augusta makes one change for 2024 Masters

Mike Hall for Golf Monthly…”With The Masters less than two months away, it has been confirmed that the second hole at Augusta National will be longer by 10 yards for the 2024 tournament.”

“Pink Dogwood is a par-5 dogleg left that, despite the presence of bunkers on the right-hand fairway and around the green, offers an early scoring opportunity for players, helped by its downward slope.”

“That was generally the case in 2023, too, when it was the easiest hole over the four days. However, it may prove a touch more challenging this year, with the length of the hole now increased from 575 yards to 585 yards.”

Full Piece.

8. Hideki nets gambler huge win

9. Norman once again rips ‘laughable’ OWGR

Ben Parsons for Bunkered…”The Aussie chief posted an image on Instagram of the OWGR top 50 compared to rankings made by Sports Illustrated, The Universal Golf Ranking and Data Golf.”

“LIV currently has five players in the official top 50, but three of those were the marquee signings during the recent off-season in European trio Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk.”

“The alternate top 50 lists include more LIV names, including Talor Gooch, who won the circuit’s individual prize last season but is down in 408 in the rankings.”

Full Piece.

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News

Tour Rundown: The cruelest month

Published

2 days ago

Feb 19, 2024

Ronald Montesano

April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

The opening verses to “The Waste Land” might be applied to the late-February, early-March stretch of professional golf. Rarely are there four or five events to cover. Were it not for the PGA Tour’s reliability, we might go a fortnight without much to discuss. Whatever lilacs are offered, we will receive them with gratitude and hope. We’ll also consider three events that settled matters this week, in our February 19th edition of Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour @ Genesis Invitational: Hideki’s unexpected surge delivers 9th Tour title

Hideki Matsuyama had previously won eight times on the US PGA Tour. His most recent victory came two years ago, in Hawaii. The massive talent of the 2021 Masters champion lay in wait, hibernating like a great bear. On Sunday, along Hogan’s Alley, it emerged from its slumber.

Matsuyama began Sunday with birdies at each of the first three holes. He motored through the remaining six holes of the outward half with pars, then struck thrice again, at holes 10 through 12. Over the closing stretch, Hideki was once again composed and precise. Birdies at 15, 16, and 17 were blended with pars at the rest, for an incomprehensible 62. The total was one off the course record of 61, set by Ted Tryba in 1997.

Matsuyama teed off at 1:42, local time, three groups behind Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Neither of the leaders made any noise on Sunday, which relegated them to pleasant, top-five finishes. Cantlay was one-over 72 on the day, while Schauffele went one-under 70, to tie him and Adam Hadwin at fourth spot. They finished four shots back of the champion.

Making wee moves on Sunday were Will Zalatoris and Luke List. The pair teed off together at 2:04, in the penultimate group. Their play, combined with the missteps of Schauffele and Cantlay, might have brought them to the top of the podium. Instead, they ended tied for second at 14-under par, three behind the victor.

This win will certainly set minds a-whirring and tongues a-wagging, as the Players Championship and Masters approach. Matsuyama will be thrust into the role of favorite at one or both, given the precise and somewhat-penal nature of Riviera. A course that has never recognized Nicklaus nor Woods as champion, is certainly some sort of other-world test. For Matsuyama, it is assurance that his strategy and execution are strong, and that his role is once again that of feared entrant.

189 yards to 8 inches
160 yards to 6 inches

… ? https://t.co/2dBdKSDRqe pic.twitter.com/8Xcs28U2kj

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 18, 2024

Asian Tour @ Malaysian Open: Puig escapes pursuers with Sunday 62

David Puig and Jon Rahm have at least three things in common: they are Spanish, they spent time at Arizona State, and each abandoned PGA Tour potential for another league. On Sunday in Malaysia, Puig added a note to his wiki page that Rahm cannot claim: Malaysian Open champion. Puig played the weekend in 124 strokes (62-62) to secure a two-shot win, his second in four months on the Asian Tour.

If it were not for Puig’s pyrotechnics, the headline of this section might have focused on Jeunghun Wang or Denwit Boriboonsub. The Korean and Malaysian (respectively) contestants each signed for an extraterrestrial score of 61 at The Mines. They reached 21 and 20-deep, with Wang claiming solo second, and Boriboonsub finishing tied with John Catlin of the USA for third.

Puig made the 36-hole cut on the number, then found lightning in a bottle, to earn a spot at The Open in July at Royal Troon.

Congratulations to David Puig on his second @asiantour win in the last four months, earning him a spot in the @TheOpen this summer.

David has been working hard with @mytpidave to develop mechanics that are not only more repeatable and consistent, but a better match for his… pic.twitter.com/O4Dj88YS9E

— TPI (@MyTPI) February 18, 2024

PGA Tour Champions @ Chubb Classic: Rains crown Ames as Chubb champion

For the second time in February, Mother Nature decreed that a US Tour event would not see its expected completion. Following Wyndham Clark’s 54-hole triumph at Pebble Beach, Stephen Ames received the unanticipated gift of a 36-hole title at Florida’s Tiburon Golf Club.

Ames positioned himself for a Sunday battle with a Saturday 64. His work included nine birdies and an inexplicable bogey at the par-five 16th hole. His day-two performance moved him four shots up the ladder, past first-round leader Rocco Mediate. Mediate’s second-round score of 71 was marred by two bogies and a double. He anticipated a final-day battle with Ames and his other pursuers, but that day never came.

The PGA Tour Champions moves across the waters to the Trophy Hassan II in Morocco, then returns stateside, three weeks later, for Arizona’s Cologuard Classic.