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Garrick Higgo’s Round 4 highlights from the Palmetto Championship
Monthly Archives: June 2021
KPMG BRINGS ANALYTICS TO THE LPGA TOUR AT THE WOMEN’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
The watchword in virtually all sports right now is “analytics.” The statistical breakthrough by Bill James in baseball decades ago now governs decision-making by owners, general managers, coaches and players, no matter what game they play. But when it comes to women’s golf, there was one major obstacle: The absence of data on which to make analytical decisions. Thanks to KPMG, that problem is no more.
The third major of the LPGA Tour season – the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – will usher in a major addition to the women’s game this week. A bold, new platform will use data gathered by caddies at Atlanta Athletic Club this week to help bridge the gap between the statistical analysis available to LPGA Tour players and those on the PGA Tour.
“As part of our long-term commitment to elevate the game of golf for women, we’re really pleased and proud to announce a new solution, a new data and analytics solution for the women’s golf game,” Paul Knopp, KPMG U.S. Chair and CEO, said Tuesday at Atlanta Athletic Club.
“It’s called KPMG Performance Insights,” Knopp said. “What’s really powerful about this tool is that it’s going to give the women that play this game the kind of data that they need to improve and diagnose their performance, and it’s going to be the same type of data that the men have on the men’s tour.”
The KPMG program will have caddies recording shots, club selections and the lie of every shot. They’ll turn in a special scorecard after every round and receive a stipend paid by KPMG.
“So for the first time ever, we’re going to bring our business leadership to bear to capture this data, to process the data, put it in the hands of the women golfers so that they can improve their game,” Knopp said.
On the PGA Tour, ShotLink technology gathers data that allows for such analysis as strokes-gained in various areas of the game, like off the tee, from the fairway and on the green. Similar information will now be available to LPGA Tour players, thanks to KPMG, a company that is all about data.
“We were surprised at that disparity,” said Knopp about the data gap between the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour. “And we very much wanted to be a partner in wanting to do something about it.”
There will also be data on how players perform from 25-yard increments and on proximity to the pin from certain distances. Also available will be shot dispersion charts, average birdie putt length and performance indexing over time against the field.
Since KPMG and the PGA of America partnered with the LPGA Tour in 2015 to elevate the LPGA Championship, the event has grown in prize money, the quality of venues and the television exposure available on the various NBC platforms, including Golf Channel and Peacock.
Now, thanks to the ingenuity and financial support of KPMG, the event first created in 1955 has taken another major step forward for the LPGA Tour. The data gathered through the KPMG initiative will bring analytics to the women’s game, narrowing even more yet another gender gap.
YUKA SASO COMPETES AS MAJOR CHAMPION FOR FIRST TIME – AND AS LPGA TOUR MEMBER
JOHNS CREEK, GEORGIA | When Yuka Saso tees it up Thursday in the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA, it will be the first time she’ll be introduced as a major champion. And It will be the first time she competes as an LPGA Tour member, a bonus that came along with the $1 million first prize at the U.S. Women’s Open.
And all of that heads her way at a very tender age. Saso, who was 19 when she won the U.S. Women’s Open, turned 20 on June 20. But make no mistake about it, she’s ready for the challenges ahead, just as she was ready for the major test she faced at The Olympic Club earlier this month.
Yuka made that statement loud and clear with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 in the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open to get into a playoff with Nasa Hataoka. And she put an exclamation point at the end of that declarative sentence with a birdie on the third playoff hole to win.
When told LPGA Tour membership came with her victory, Saso at first thought that meant she had to play the next tournament, which did not fit into her hectic post-major schedule. When told she didn’t have to play she just had to decide whether she would accept membership, Saso broke into a broad smile and flashed two thumbs up.
“I didn’t know that I would get an exemption to be a member on LPGA,” she said Wednesday at Atlanta Athletic Club. “So first, I’m very grateful and thankful that they’ve given me a chance of playing here. It’s been my dream. I think I’m more focused now on playing here and I think improving my game more, learn from the best golfers here in the LPGA.”
A lot has changed for Saso since becoming a major champion, beyond shifting her focus from the Japan LPGA to the LPGA Tour. She learned rather quickly the benefits that come with winning one of the premier events in women’s golf. Having a major championship trophy at home opens a lot of doors.
Saso built her golf swing by watching video of Rory McIlroy and when viewed side-by-side, the swings of Yuka and Rory are remarkably similar. After her victory at The Olympic Club near San Francisco, Saso traveled down the California coast to Torrey Pines to watch the U.S. Open – and meet her idol, with a little help from the USGA.
“It’s been great,” she said about post-U.S. Women’s Open life. “I met Rory. I met Phil. And (got a little) advice from Rory. I’ll keep it secret. But I walked with him for three holes and videoed his swing, my own video. He was very nice, and all the questions that I had, he answered me with honesty. I think he was very sincere.”
The victory in the U.S. Women’s Open also guarantees Saso a spot on the women’s team from the Philippines in the Tokyo Olympics this August. That will be a big deal both because she’s won twice on the JLPGA and because her father is Japanese.
“I think it will be a different experience compared to majors because I never really thought or watched golf in the Olympics,” Saso said. “I think it’s a good chance to meet different athletes from different countries and I think learn from them, too.”
Saso tied Inbee Park as the youngest U.S. Women’s Open champion at 19 years, 11 months and 17 days. And she joined a half-dozen other teens who’ve won LPGA Tour majors. Lydia Ko is the youngest at 18 years, 4 months and 20 days (2015 Amundi Evian Championship). The others are Brooke Henderson (2016 Women’s PGA); Morgan Pressel (2007 ANA Inspiration); Lexi Thompson (2014 ANA) and Yani Tseng (2008 Women’s PGA).
“Yeah, I did,” Saso said with a broad smile when asked if she slept with her trophy like Jon Rahm did after he won the U.S. Open last week. “I posted on Instagram. Actually, my trophy stayed on the bed and I stayed on the couch. No, just kidding. Yeah, I slept with my trophy, yeah.”
But while Yuka is enjoying the past, she also has her mind focused on the present and the challenge ahead at historic Atlanta Athletic Club.
“I think the heat,” she said about specific challenges. “I think it’s going to be really hot, very humid,” she said, which is a far cry from the chilly marine layer that enveloped The Olympic Club for most of the U.S. Women’s Open.
“And the golf course,” she said. “It’s very beautiful and long, and it rained three days in a row, I think, so it was a little bit wet, played longer. I think I need to hit good tee shots down the fairway so I’ll have a chance to get on the green.”
Part of the joy of Yuka Saso is that she combines the innocence of her youth with enormous physical skills and a disarming maturity for someone still a teenager. Saso is the newest major champion on the LPGA Tour, but everything about her suggests she is not a story that is going to get old very soon. There are more chapters to write.
Dustin Johnson looks to right the ship entering Travelers Championship
CROMWELL, Conn. – Were you to combine them, the developments in Dustin Johnson’s world the last few days would seemingly ignite a need for reaction.
But then you’d be reminded to consider the subject we’re talking about. Johnson appears incapable of angst or anxiety, the consummate picture of cool and collected.
So big deal that the reigning FedExCup champion turned 37 on Tuesday or fell from No. 1 in the world on Sunday. Even this business transaction, becoming part-owner of a National Lacrosse League expansion franchise, was met with a casual shrug.
“I don’t know a whole lot about (the game),” he said.
Understood. You’re a Low Country kid, so what’s this partnership with Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash, and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai in a new Las Vegas team all about?
“It’ll be fun and kind of a cool thing to be part of.”
He was similarly nonchalant about tacking on another year. He celebrated by spending Tuesday morning with his boys in Florida, traveling to the Travelers Championship, going to the gym, then having dinner with his finance, Paulina Gretzky, his brother, Austin, and a few other friends.
“Nothing crazy.”
As for falling out of the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, now No. 2 behind U.S. Open winner Jon Rahm, Johnson said it’s easily understood. “My play has not been good enough to hold (that spot),” he said.
But you’d be foolhardy to study Johnson’s stoic demeanor and judge him as aloof. Quite the contrary, he has a firm grip on the landscape, totally studies his game, and continually makes enhancements without ever touching the panic button.
This thing about falling from No. 1? Johnson’s history demonstrates how remarkably resilient he is. In the five previous times he lost his No. 1 rank, it didn’t take him much time to return to the top spot. Once it took just one week, another time it took him two weeks, then there were gaps of just four weeks and 19 weeks.
So, Johnson is totally at peace with Rahm leap-frogging him. “A good week this week, I think I could get right back there.”
He is correct, because if he were to win, Johnson would earn his seventh stint at No. 1. And winning at TPC River Highlands is something fresh on his mind. Last year during the pandemic, there might not have been fans at the Travelers, but Johnson put on a sizzling show in just his fourth visit.
Tied for 79th after opening with a 1-under 69, Johnson followed with 64, but was still six behind the leader, Phil Mickelson. “But if you can get it going here, you can shoot low scores,” said Johnson, whose weekend of 61-67 provided a one-stroke triumph over Kevin Streelman.
It was career win No. 21, which was followed by two more, then he reached No. 24 when Johnson climbed the top of the mountain at the 2020 Masters in November. Since then, there have been just two pedestrian top 10s in 11 tournaments and an acknowledgement that “since January, I haven’t played as well as I would have liked.”
But, remember, he is the ultimate Alfred E. Neuman of PGA TOUR members – “What, me worry?” So, if Johnson suggests his game “is starting to come around at the right time,” history shows you might want to believe him.
MIN LEE NOT BOTHERED BY RUNNER-UP FINISH
She only surrendered one bogey in the final round of the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, but Min Lee was far from disappointed in her 3-under par 69 performance on Sunday at Lake Merced Golf Club. The result is good for her first top-10 in her 93rd start of her LPGA Tour career.
“After she hit that shot [on No. 5], she left it short and very close to the hole [for eagle], and I knew she was going to make it because that was her day,” said Lee, who concluded the tournament at -12 overall. “The only thing I thought today was just play my game because I can’t control how she plays. She played really good and I’m happy for her. I’m practicing being in the position and trying to fight for it. Hopefully one day will come true.
“It’s not a tough pill to swallow. It’s definitely good to me and her because she has great experience, and me too. This is not really bothering me because it’s a good week. What else should I say, right? I think I played good today and obviously she played much better on the front. I’m not going to punish myself. It was a great week.”
MATILDA CASTREN FIRST FINNISH WINNER IN LPGA TOUR HISTORY
DALY CITY, Calif. (AP) — Matilda Castren became the first Finnish winner in LPGA Tour history Sunday in the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, pulling away on the front-nine at foggy Lake Merced and holding off Min Lee by two strokes.
“It’s a huge honor to be a winner as a rookie, and especially first one from Finland,” Castren said. “That’s a really big honor.”
Two strokes behind Lee entering the final day of the tour’s two-week run on the San Francisco Peninsula, Castren birdied the first three holes, eagled the par-5 fifth and birdied the par-5 ninth for a front-nine 30. She followed with eight straight pars and holed a 3-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for a 7-under 65.
“It’s been a dream of mine to win since I was a little girl, and to see it happen and just to win, it’s such an amazing feeling.” Castren said. “There is nothing that compares to it. One of my thoughts was, `Well, I don’t have to go to Q-School this fall.'”
The 26-year-old former Florida State won in her 15th career LPGA Tour start. She finished at 14-under 274 after tying for 30th last week in the U.S. Women’s Open at nearby Olympic Club.
“I was definitely nervous, so my mindset was just going in thinking one shot at a time, one hole at a time, and see what happens, and just trying to enjoy the day because it was my first time in the final group,” Castren said. “I thought it was great for experience no matter what happened. It just turned out I had a great day on the course and got the trophy.”
Lee finished with a 69. She cut Castren’s lead to one with a birdie on the par-5 15th, but dropped a stroke with a two-putt bogey on the par-3 17th.
“I think I’m playing good today,” Lee said. “Obviously, she played much better on the front, so I’m not going to punish myself because it was a great week.”
Lee missed a chance to became the first player to follow a Symetra Tour victory with an LPGA Tour win in her next start. The 26-year-old player from Taiwan won the Mission Inn Resort and Club Championship two weeks ago in Florida on the developmental tour.
“Winning a tournament you have to practice, and this is a great practice,” Lee said. “Maybe after couple times I will be there.”
Hannah Green (66) and So Yeon Ryu (67) tied for third at 8 under.
Lexi Thompson shot a 74 to tie for 34th at 1 over. A week ago at Olympic, she blew a five-stroke lead in the final round, playing the last seven holes in 5 over to finish a stroke out of a playoff that Yuka Saso won. Saso and Women’s Open playoff loser Nasa Hataoka skipped the event at Lake Merced.
Michelle Wie West closed with a 71 to tie for 40th at even par after missing the weekend cuts in her first four events of the year.
Monday Finish: Five things from Congaree
By Ben Everill
The new South African wave is well and truly here. While the likes of Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel have been the headliners over the last 15 years or so, Garrick Higgo’s win at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree is a serious statement.
Higgo held firm down the stretch to post in at 11 under while a raft of others couldn’t match it. Chesson Hadley lost a four-shot 54-hole lead and a two-shot buffer with three to play, Harris English dropped five shots in his last eight, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson stalked the lead before a late triple … but Higgo, at 22, is now a PGA TOUR winner
Here are five things you may have missed from the unique visit to Congaree Golf Club.
1. Higgo here to stay
It’s an incredible story. Garrick Higgo, a 22-year-old South African who lost his father to a car accident when just nine, claimed the Palmetto Championship in just his second PGA TOUR start. His first was the recent PGA Championship (T64) at Kiawah Island after earning a start thanks to a golden month on the European Tour that read T4-1-T8-1.
While players were crumbling all over Congaree, the left-handed youngster held firm and thanks to three closing bogeys from Chesson Hadley, he didn’t even need extra holes to become the first player to win in one of their first two starts since Jim Benepe in 1988.
Should he take up PGA TOUR membership as expected, Higgo will immediately slide into 80th spot on the FedExCup standings and be a potential giant-killer come Playoffs time. While others struggled on the back nine, Higgo was one of just five players to play those holes 6-under in the final two rounds making 113-feet, six-inches of putts in the process.
With Gary Player as a long-term mentor Higgo has always had plenty of support in the right places and at this rate he could become the first Junior Presidents Cup player to make the actual Presidents Cup in 2022, ironically under the same captain in fellow South African Trevor Immelman. Read more about his great story here.
Oh and he’s not the only young South African about to make serious waves… introducing the smash factor of Wilco Nienaber!
2. Chesson Hadley had the trophy in his grasp before a heart-wrenching finish
When Hadley won the 2014 Puerto Rico Open the common thought was the almost always smiling character wouldn’t wait long before another triumph. But assuming success on the PGA TOUR is always fraught with danger.
Hadley had runner-up finishes in the fall of 2017 and 2018 but had failed to notch up a top-10 in 2020 or 2021 when he turned up at Congaree. In fact he’d missed 12 of his last 14 cuts, including the last five straight.
So to say his four-shot 54-hole lead was a surprise was certainly an understatement. A couple of early fourth round bogeys could’ve been early killers but Hadley battled on and through 15 holes he found himself with a two-shot lead and on the verge of a drought breaking win.
But his approach game had proven problematic throughout Sunday and to that point he’d found only four greens in regulation. He wouldn’t find any of the last three and the bogey-bogey-bogey finish to fall one short will grate on him for some time.
“I was uncomfortable out there, and I could never really hit some good shots to try to settle me down… It was always an uphill battle. It was always putting for pars and bogeys. It caught up with me,” Hadley said.
“I hate the word choked. That’s not the right word because that’s a very negative word, but I didn’t handle it the way I needed to handle it … it sucks, right? I can only imagine what it looked like on TV because it looked freakin’ awful from my view. I could barely keep it on the planet.”
While it certainly stung, the good news is Hadley jumped from 151st in the FedExCup to 111th, and now has the chance to secure a spot in the August Playoffs if he can continue some half decent form.
“It was a good week. If I had shot 75 the first round and then 65, 66, 68, I’d be tickled,” Hadley said. “I made a nice jump today in the FedExCup, but I still probably need to just get some more points if I’m going to head on to Liberty National. Plenty of golf left to see if we can’t get in the mix a few more times and maybe seal the deal on one.”
3. The last time Bo Van Pelt had a runner-up finish the Twilight saga was ending and The Hunger Games was just beginning. He also had an extra rib
That was back in 2012 but Van Pelt produced a blast from the past to go close to a second TOUR victory (2009 U.S. Bank Championship). Playing with eventual winner Higgo, Van Pelt will rue bogeys on 16 and 18 on Sunday that cost him any chance.
Van Pelt remains on the comeback trail from a shoulder injury that occurred when trying to haul a backpack over a car seat in 2015 – a freak issue that would ultimately lead to Van Pelt needing to have one of his ribs removed and spend near three and a half years away.
Last season he made just four cuts and this season he opened with nine straight missed cuts before starting to find just a little form.
“I didn’t play 18 holes for over three years. I had three shoulder surgeries, so I thought I was done, to be honest,” Van Pelt admitted. “My hand kind of got numb. Got referred to a guy down in Dallas named Greg Pearl, who looked at me and said, I’ve got to take out your first rib. As soon as he did, my shoulder didn’t hurt anymore. I said, well, let’s see if I can get my game back in shape.
“It’s been fun. It’s been tough. It’s kind of like starting over. When you’re out of the game that long, all your old feels aren’t the same. My coach Mark Wood, who’s up in Charlotte now, we’ve been together 20 years. We’ve been working hard to try to get it back. He came up here this week and gave me a couple of good tips and kind of got me going in the right direction.”
Van Pelt rode a hot putter, finishing third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (+6.043), after Indiana based coach Bruce Rearick helped with a slight adjustment in his posture and setup, and “just kind of cleaned up my stroke a little bit”.
4. The early fruits of PGA TOUR University are starting to ripen
Davis Thompson’s pro debut at Congaree did not start according to plan when he was 5-over through eight holes. You’d be forgiven for putting a missed cut next to his name right there and then.
But the former University of Georgia star, who was second on the PGA TOUR U rankings before turning pro, wasn’t about to lie down and knuckled down to show some serious grit that makes one think he’s got a serious future ahead of him.
He was still five-over after 11 holes in the opening round but then exploded with five birdies, including four straight to close the day and shoot an even-par 71. Rounds of 69-71-70 followed for a very respectable T35 which made his mom, dad and sister in the gallery extremely proud.
“I got off to a terrible start. I don’t know if I was nervous, or I just wasn’t really thinking or calculating the right yardages in the fairway. I was landing everything hole-high, and it was going over the green. Made a nice adjustment on the back nine, or really starting on the ninth hole, was able to make birdie there and just turned it on on the back,” Thompson said of that opening round.
“I thought I did a lot of things well this week. It’s just there are some things I need to work on. Great experience, being my first professional event. It was great for me to make the cut. I learned some things, simple course-management stuff. I learned I have what it takes to compete. Just making a few less mental mistakes and I should be good.”
Thompson has starts locked in at the Travelers Championship and Rocket Mortgage Classic in coming weeks.
Former PGA TOUR U No. 1 John Pak also played his first pro event and although he missed the cut, he’s another to keep an eye on.
5. Koepka and DJ remain confident despite stumbles
FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson was seven shots back starting the final round in his home state and once again it appeared his ho-hum home results would continue. But then he birdied three of the first four holes on the back nine Sunday to rocket to 11 under (the eventual winning score) and become a serious threat and an ominous presence on the leaderboard.
There was almost a sense of inevitability around the place that he was going to surge to victory and head to the U.S. Open as the man to beat.
But then the 16th hole swallowed him up and spat him out with a disastrous triple-bogey and just like that he was gone. Despite the setback Johnson has clearly found some form by collecting his first top-10 since The Genesis Invitational back in February.
Four-time major winning Koepka, who was runner up to Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship, missed the cut meaning his incredible run of results since winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open reads 1-T38-T2-CUT-CUT-T2-CUT.
Despite missing the weekend Koepka was happy his troublesome right knee was feeling stronger and stronger.
“It’s good,” he said. “It’s in a really good spot. I like where it’s at. I’ve done enough rehab, strength’s coming around. I mean, I can almost squat down to read a putt like normal. Didn’t do it too much this week just because I don’t want to screw it up for next week.”
The First Look: Palmetto Championship at Congaree
The Palmetto Championship at Congaree is a one-time replacement for the RBC Canadian Open, as lingering concerns tied to the U.S.-Canada border and ongoing COVID-19 challenges made it too difficult to host Canada’s national open for the second year in a row.
This is the third PGA TOUR event contested in South Carolina this season (RBC Heritage and PGA Championship) while the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation will be hosted in South Carolina the same week as the Palmetto Championship.
FIELD NOTES: Reigning FedExCup champion and South Carolina native Dustin Johnson leads the field… The recently announced Ben Hogan Award winner, John Pak, is making his professional debut. Pak, who also won the Fred Haskins Award as the nation’s top men’s collegiate golfer this year, is the top-ranked played in the inaugural PGA TOUR University Class… Former No.1-ranked amateur in the world, Davis Thompson, is also making his first professional TOUR start. Thompson, a University of Georgia product, finished T23 as an amateur at The RSM Classic… Former PGA TOUR Player of the Year Brooks Koepka is making his first start since the PGA Championship where he was runner up… Fellow major winners Danny Willett, Jason Dufner, and Padraig Harrington (fresh off his T4 at the PGA Championship) are teeing it up… Also amongst the Sponsor Exemptions is Bluffton, South Carolina native Bryson Nimmer. The Clemson University product is playing his third TOUR event of the season and grew up less than an hour from Congaree.
FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.
COURSE: Congaree Golf Club, par 71, 7,655 yards. The 2017 Tom Fazio design in South Carolina’s Lowcountry (about 30 minutes north of Savannah, Georgia) is built on a 3,200-acre property with holes routed between trees that are up to 300 years old. It was built with the sandbelt courses of Australia in mind and will challenge the TOUR’s best with its length (the par-5 4th, for example, measures 645 yards while there are two par-4’s on the front nine longer than 520 yards) and natural hazard areas.
STORYLINES: The RBC Canadian Open will return to the PGA TOUR’s schedule in 2022, hosted by Toronto’s St. George’s Golf and Country Club which last hosted the event in 2010. Oakdale Golf and Country Club will host in 2023, while Hamilton Golf and Country Club will host in 2024… Other high-profile names who are choosing to play in South Carolina prior to heading to Torrey Pines for the U.S. Open include world No.10 Tyrrell Hatton, fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, and former PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im.
72-HOLE RECORD: N/A (first-time event)
18-HOLE RECORD: N/A (first-time event)
LAST TIME: In the spot on the PGA Tour schedule normally occupied by the RBC Canadian Open, the Palmetto Championship is a one-off replacement event as COVID-19 challenges were too great to overcome for the second year in a row in Canada. Rory McIlroy captured the 2019 RBC Canadian Open by seven shots – even flirting with a 59 in the final round – but will not be in the field in South Carolina. The previous years’ Canadian Open winner, Dustin Johnson, will be teeing it up at the Palmetto Championship, however, along with 2016-17 champion Jhonattan Vegas.
HOW TO FOLLOW
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TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast.
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