Bad Lies


PGA Championship…

It’s always been the ugly cousin of major golf championships, which is unfair because more often than not it’s had the best field of all four.

The new date in May just may be the injection it needs to get the additional credibility, and respect it deserves.

This year it’s being played in New York at a great golf course called Bethpage Black. All the tickets have sold out and it’s pretty clear that Tiger’s win at the Masters played a role in that.

To pick a winner is impossible. All the best players are in form – Tiger, Rory, Phil, Rickie, Brooks, Francesco, Justin Thomas and Rose, and Dustin. Then there’s Jon Rahm, Paul Casey, Matt Kuchar, Tony Finau, Jason Day and Tommy Fleetwood… The only difference with this group is that I have to use their surnames.

Let’s not write off our local man, Louis, who is also in form, or Sergio Garcia, who’s almost back to his best. Good outside options are Matt Wallace; Li Haotong and South African’s Branden Grace and Justin Harding, who had a fabulous Masters and is clearly not intimidated by the big occasion.

Now for the golf course…
Bethpage is a public golf facility and the Black Course, designed by AW Tillinghast, is one of five courses. It has hosted two US Open’s plus it will host the Ryder Cup in 2024.

It’s nearly 7500 yards long and has been described as one of the most difficult, but also most fair golf courses. Some holes are tree-lined, others have long rough, and there are bunkers everywhere.

The shortest hole on the golf course is the par 3, 14th which has a very wide green, but is shallow from front to back. Once again there are gaping bunkers that will catch either off-line shots or shots that are miss-hit. There are three Par 4’s that are over 500-yards and three Par 3’s that are over 200-yards, with the longest hole on the course being the Par 5, 13th which measures 608 yards.

Not surprisingly, Tiger Woods is the favourite at 8-1
Dustin Johnson & defending champion, Brooks Koepka 10-1
Rory McIlroy 12-1
Justin Thomas; Rickie Fowler 16-1
Jon Rahm; Justin Rose 18-1
Francesco Molinari 20-1
Bryson DeChambeau; Jason Day; Xander Schauffele; Tommy Fleetwood 25-1
Jordan Spieth & Tony Finau 30-1
Matt Kuchar; Patrick Reed; Hideki Matsuyama & Patrick Cantlay 40-1
Paul Casey; Phil Mickelson; Adam Scott 50-1
Sergio Garcia; Webb Simpson; Louis Oosthuizen; Bubba Watson; Henrik Stenson; Marc Leishman; Gary Woodland & Ian Poulter 60-1

There are eight South Africans in the field – Dylan Frittelli; Branden Grace; Justin Harding; Shaun Norris; Louis Oosthuizen; Richard Sterne; Brandon Stone; Erik van Rooyen. Sadly Charl Schwartzel has tendonitis in his left wrist and thumb.

Here are their local US tee-times & some of the other interesting groups: -
7:18 AM/ 12:43 PM - Henrik Stenson David Lipsky Richard Sterne
7:29 AM / 12:54 PM - Mike Lorenzo-Vera Justin Harding Sam Ryder
7:29 AM / 12:54 PM - Shane Lowry Erik Van Rooyen Tommy Fleetwood
7:40 AM /1:05 PM - Sergio Garcia Justin Thomas Adam Scott
7:51 AM /1:16 PM - Charley Hoffman Louis Oosthuizen Patrick Reed
8:02 AM /1:27 PM - Rickie Fowler Bubba Watson Justin Rose
8:13 AM / 1:38 PM - Lee Westwood Shaun Norris Charles Howell III
8:24 AM /1:49 PM - Brooks Koepka Francesco Molinari Tiger Woods
12:32 PM / 7:07 AM - Eddie Pepperell Branden Grace Ryan Palmer
1:16 PM / 7:51 AM - Jon Rahm Dustin Johnson Jordan Spieth
1:38 PM / 8:13 AM - Rory McIlroy Phil Mickelson Jason Day
1:49 PM /8:24 AM - Kevin Tway Brandon Stone Bronson Burgoon
2:22 PM / 8:57 AM - Dylan Frittelli Andrew Filbert Kurt Kitayama

Catch all the action live on Supersport: -
Thurs, 16th - 14h30–19h00 (2nd Feed SS1); 14h30–01h30 (2nd Feed SS2) & 19:00-01:00 (Main Feed on SS1)
Fri, 17th - 14h30–19h00 (2nd Feed SS1); 14h30–01h30 (2nd Feed SS2) & 19:00-01:00 (Main Feed on SS1)
Sat, 18th - 15h00–01h30 (2nd Feed SS2); & 20:00-01:00 (Main Feed on SS1)
Sun, 19th - 17h00–20h00 (2nd Feed SS1); 20:00-01:00 (Main Feed on SS1) & 20h30–00h00 (2nd Feed SS2)

We have seen the difference that Tiger makes to the viewership of golf. In last year’s PGA Championship, where he came ever so close to winning, the ratings were up 69%. This year, with him having won the Masters and with the PGA now being the second major, I’m sure we will see those rating increase even more. Everything is Tiger-Tiger-Tiger!

The PGA of America have given 53-year old John Daly permission to use a golf cart during this week’s US PGA Championship because he has osteoarthritis in his right knee. The last player that was granted permission to use a cart in a major was Casey Martin, in the 2012 US Open. On the Champions Tour, players are allowed to use golf carts. John has a lifetime exemption to play in the PGA thanks to his win in 1991.

The gent that placed an $85,000 bet on Tiger to win the Masters has committed himself for the rest of the 2019 Majors too. After winning $ 1,9 million in April, he has taken $100,000 of it and placed it at 100-1 odds that Tiger will win the Grand Slam this year. No player has ever won all four majors in the same year. Tiger and Ben Hogan have both won three.

Supersport Shootout at Pearl Valley…

I’ll be down at Pearl Valley in the Cape this weekend for the annual Supersport Shootout, which sees a host of top businessmen, celebrities and sport stars downing their usual trade tools to hit the fairways in search of fun, friendship and of course a little rivalry.

The event will be broadcast live on Supersport:
Sat, 18th – 13h00 – 15h00 (SS2)
Sun, 19th – 11h00–14h00 (SS1)

 

When the Ball Hits Back…


At the Masters, Rory McIlroy missed his chance to join the five golfers in history to win the Grand Slam.

Gene Sarazen – 1935 – The Masters was his last
Ben Hogan – 1953 – The Open Championship was his last
Gary Player – 1965 – The US Open was his last
Jack Nicklaus – 1966 – The Open Championship was his last
Tiger Woods – 2000 - The Open Championship was his last

Legends who missed out on winning the Grand Slam are Arnold Palmer & Tom Watson (both who never won the PGA); Lee Trevino (who never won the Masters), and Sam Snead (who never won the US Open).

 

Around the world


Sung Kang won this maiden PGA Tour title at the AT&T Byron Nelson at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas. He had to play 27-holes on Sunday but made the final round count, shooting a 4-under 67 to finish at 23-under 261. He pulled away with three birdies in a row from the 14th and won by two over Matt Every and Scott Piercy. Brooks Koepka finished fourth a further shot back and Rory Sabbatini tied for 5th at 17-under. Another great performance by Justin Harding who finished tied for 10th at 16-under after a final round 6-under 65.

Marcus Kinhult won his maiden European Tour title at the Betfred British Masters at the Hillside Golf Club in Merseyside. He broke clear of a four-way tie for the lead when he finished with back-to-back birdies, winning on 16-under 272. He finished one shot clear of Matt Wallace; defending champion, Eddie Pepperell and Robert MacIntyre. Tournament host Tommy Fleetwood tied for eighth place on 10-under and Hayden Porteous tied for 25th at 7-under. Cobie Le Grange won the British Masters twice – in 1964 and 1969. Bobby Locke also won it twice – 1946 & 1954. Bobby was also the runner-up twice, as was I in 1975 and 1978.

• The final round of the Regions Tradition on the Champions Tour has been suspended to due to bad weather and will resume later today. Steve Stricker has a two-shot lead at 14-under 202 and is hoping to pick up his first senior major before heading off to play in the US PGA Championship. Bernhard Langer (a two-time winner of the Regions Tradition), David Toms and Billy Andrade are tied for second. Retief Goosen is lying tied for 19th at 4-under and David Frost is tied for 23rd at 3-under

Michael Gellerman had his first win on the Web.com Tour at the KC Golf Classic at Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City. Despite having to sit through three rain delays, he shot a final round 3-under 69 to win on 11-under 277. He finished one-stroke clear of overnight leader Nelson Ledesma and local favourite, Harry Higgs.

• Canadian Richard Jung won his second career PGA TOUR Series-China title at the Beijing Championship. He shot a 4-under 68 in the final round at the Topwin Golf and Country Club to win by two shots over American Ryann Ree on 19-under 269.

Antoine Rozner became the first back-to-back winner on the Challenge Tour since 2012 when he won the Prague Golf Challenge this weekend after winning last week’s Challenge de España. He shot rounds of 70-65-68-68 to take the title on 17-under 271, seven shots clear of Martin Simonsen; Richard Bland; Mark Haastrup and Mathieu Fenasse.

• Japan’s Yosuke Asaji won his maiden title at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup at the Sobu Country Club in Japan. He earned his spot in the tournament through Monday qualifying and shot rounds of 69-72-68-72 to win at 3-under 281 and also picked up a spot in the 148th Open at Royal Portrush in July. He finished one clear of Japanese amateur Ren Yonezawa and the US’s Micah Lauren Shin. Zimbabwean Scott Vincent tied for sixth alongside Korea’s Dongkyu Jang at level par. Jbe Kruger tied for 22nd at 5-over.

Duane Keun won the Big Easy IGT Classic #3 at Services Golf Club in a play-off with Wynand Dingle. He shot a final round 71 while Dingle shot 68 to tie on 9-under 207. Keun won on the first play-off hole. Tumelo Molloyi was third on 7-under and Werner Deyzel fourth at 6-under.
 
Kaylah Williams won The Pro Shop Gauteng Open A Division Championship at CCJ. She shot rounds of 66-69-73 to win on 8-under 208, six shots clear of Symone Henriques; Zethu Myeki & Caitlyn Macnab. 

Craig Kamps won the Vaal Senior Open at Maccauvlei on level par after two rounds of 72. William Skinner and Gordon Wessels tied for second on 2-over and Johan Krugel was fourth on 3-over.

• Our players are flying the flag across the globe. Thirteen South Africans teed it up in the British Masters this weekend, including long-hitting amateur Wilco Nienaber (who sadly missed the cut). There were six South Africans on the PGA Tour (including Rory Sabbatini); two on the Challenge Tour; three on the Web.Com; two on the Champions Tour and two on the Asian. While there was no LPGA or LET event, we have two representing us most weeks on the LPGA Tour and at least 2 on the LET Tour. Great to see and look forward to these numbers continuing to grow!

Zander Lombard is the first player to qualify for the 2019 Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player courtesy of winning the Sunshine Tour’s 2018-19 Order of Merit. This will be his debut in “Africa’s Major”, which will be played from 14th to 17th November. Sun International has also announced an Early Bird ticket special – if you buy tickets between now and 19 May, you will get them at the 2018 price. Click here to buy. It should be a truly festive affair this year as Sun City and the Gary Player Country Club are celebrating their 40th anniversary.

• As already mentioned, Tiger Woods collected his Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump last Monday. He thanked his supporters: - "You've seen the good and bad, the highs and the lows, and I wouldn't be in this position without your help. I've battled, I've tried to hang in there, to comeback to play the great game of golf again. I've been lucky enough to do it again."

Rory McIlroy has reportedly done an about turn and signed up for 2019 European Tour after all - just before their deadline on 1st May. Speculation is out as to what events he might play and realistically the Scottish Open, the week before the Open Championship is a likely choice for his first.

• Sixteen year-old Robert Keilch shot a course record 9-under 61 to win a US Open qualifier event at Oak Creek G.C in California. He has advanced through to the sectional qualifier at Newport Beach. Andy Zhang is still the youngest to play in a US Open at the age of 14.

• The European Tour will be holding two 36-hole events tournaments for Golfers with Disability alongside two of their Rolex Series events this year. In conjunction with the European Disabled Golf Association, and using the new World Ranking for Golfers with Disability, the EDGA Scottish Open and the EDGA Dubai Finale will be played on the weekends of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and the DP World Tour Championship. Well done to all involved in bringing this to fruition. Look forward to seeing it grow from strength to strength.

• On the home front the 2019 Canon South Africa Disabled Golf Open is taking place at the Magalies Park Golf Club this week and last year’s champion, Mike Browne is out from the UK to defend his title. You can be sure some South African’s will be doing their utmost to deny him a repeat, including four-time winner Daniel Slabbert. We wish all the participants the very best for the tournament.

• The 2020 European Ryder Cup qualification process was also announced. Qualification will begin at the 2019 BMW PGA Championship this September and will end at the same event next year. Padraig Harrington tabled one change and that is that the Wild Cards will be reduced from 4 to 3 players. So, the team will be made up the first four players from the European Points List, followed by the leading five players from the World Points List, and then 3 Captains Picks

Who’s up this week?
(Please note that this is the entry list as at Monday & is subject to change)

PGA & European Tour - PGA Championship - Dylan Frittelli; Branden Grace; Justin Harding; Shaun Norris; Louis Oosthuizen; Richard Sterne; Brandon Stone; Erik van Rooyen
LET - La Reserva de Sotogrande Invitational – Lee-Anne Pace; Stacy Bregman; Lejan Lewthwaite; Nobuhle Dlamini

 

Soap Box


Check out this list from the European Tour’s guide to its players on slow play, which is something we should all follow.

Things a Player Can Do to Help

• Be aware of your position with regard to the group in front.
• If you feel that your group is falling behind, advise your fellow-competitors.
• If your group is behind, try to catch up as soon as possible.
• If informed that the group ahead is being ‘Monitored’ or ‘Timed’, increase your pace of play immediately.
• Play a provisional ball whenever there is doubt as to where the ball is lying ‘through the green’.
• Do not wait until it is your turn to play before putting your glove on.
• Do not wait until it is your turn to play before calculating your yardage.
• Do not wait until it is your turn to play before assessing the wind direction.
• Look at your own line of putt while your fellow competitors look at theirs (within the bounds of normal etiquette).
• Do not concern yourself with the group behind – that is the officials’ responsibility.
• Forty seconds is a long time in which to hit a golf shot – if preparations take place before it becomes your turn to play, you will not have to rush your shot whatsoever.

 
Be ready to play when it is your turn to play.
 

Book review


The History of Golf in South Africa by Peter Sauerman

This is a book that every golf club in South Africa should have.

Peter Sauerman has had an interest in South Africa’s golf history for many years and as a Royal Cape member, collected some wonderful memorabilia over the years which is now in the Southern African Golf Hall of Fame / Museum.

He has written a book which contains not only photos of golf in the “old days”, but so many interesting stories, for example, about the first ever Springbok Team that traveled to Great Britain and the various exhibition matches played by South Africa’s two best players; Bobby Locke and Gary Player.

It covers Ladies, Men’s; Amateur and Professional golf as well as the many golfing administrators who made golf the wonderful game it is. There are so many golf clubs and people mentioned in the book that I have no doubt everyone’s memory will get a jolt.

There are 19 pages dedicated to Bobby Locke. His record is included and after reading this you will agree that he was one of golf’s all-time greats.

The book is available from Select Books:
Wed – www.selectbooks.co.za
Email - shop@selectbooks.co.za
Tel - (012) 424-6955


Tour news


European Tour, Sunshine Tour, PGA and LPGA Tour schedules. Take a look at all the events plus the international golfing events coming up soon.

On tour with Dale

 
 
Dale Hayes Golf appreciates the ongoing support of City Lodge & SkyNet.
 

The Driving Range


This month Elsabe Hefer recaps slopes, explaining the direction and distance the ball will go off different slopes.

This week she looks at chipping off a slope.


Elsabe Hefer is a Fellow Member of the PGA; a former Gauteng North PGA Teacher of the Year and PGA Top 20 Teacher. She is the Head Teaching Professional at Zwartkop Country Club.

And, to finish off


The rare hole-in-one, the perfect fluke ever, it’s the best feeling in golf. Celebrate – get the certificate and have bragging rights forever! For further information and to join, contact Margaret on (012) 654-1144 or click here to send an email.


The US PGA
"One of my attributes is that when I get ahead, I seldom fold. The trouble is I don't get the lead that often." Dave Stockton, on winning the 1976 PGA Championship


 

This mail was sent to {{contact.contact_email}} by Dale Hayes and is provided as a service for the members and guests of GOLF CHAT and has been supported and sponsored by advertisers in this email and our partner suppliers. For any queries contact us on 012 654 1144.

Sent on behalf of GOLF CHAT by
RetailTribe: Unit 8 | Blaauwklip Office Park | Stellenbosch | 7600 | 021 880 2693

Trouble viewing this newsletter? View it online | Download a printer friendly copy
Subscribe here | Unsubscribe here