Category: The Majors

2021 Masters Preview

The Masters Tournament

With the schedule change to the fall last year, it feels like only yesterday when we watched Dustin Johnson lift the 2020 trophy at Augusta National, and it feels like Christmas came early this year with the Masters back where it belongs—the best golf week of the year. With the weather warming up, flowers coming into bloom, birds chirping, the golf season starting up, and four days of watching the best players in world compete at one of the most beautiful and iconic settings in golf, you really can’t ask for a more. We missed out on that feeling last year, and it’s making 2021 all the more special. The Masters was founded in 1934 by golf legend Bobby Jones and his friend Clifford Roberts. Jones and Roberts built the course on a beautiful piece of property that had previously been a nursery, with trees and plants coming from all over the world. When they decided to host their own championship, it was originally called the “Augusta National Invitation Tournament,” and held that name until 1940, when it became “The Masters Tournament”. Since inception, The Masters has been played in the first week of April, and Bobby Jones’ immense popularity combined with the sheer beauty of the course, immediately made the event one of the most popular on tour. Masters week begins with the Champions Dinner on Tuesday evening, with all of the previous winners in attendance and the reigning champion selecting the menu. On Wednesday, players compete in the famed Par-3 contest (interestingly, no winner of the Par-3 has ever gone on to win The Masters). Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Par-3 contest will not be held this week.

The Field

Since Bobby Jones remained an amateur throughout his career, The Masters field includes a large number of accomplished amateurs, including the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and runner up, as well as winners of the British Amateur, Asian Amateur, U.S. Public Links and U.S. Mid-Amateur championships. Amateurs competing in The Masters also have the opportunity to stay at the “Crow’s Nest,” located in the clubhouse above the locker room—an experience that every talented young golfer dreams about. The Masters has the smallest field of all the majors, generally between 90 and 100 players. In addition to the amateurs, the top 50 players in the world automatically qualify along with players who have won the PGA Championship, U.S. Open, or Open Championship within the last 5 years. In addition, past Masters champions receive a lifetime invitation, allowing each player to decide for himself when the time has come to withdraw from the field. The favorite this week has to be Jordan Spieth. With a host of top ten finishes in 2021, fresh off a win at the Valero last week, a Green Jacket already hanging in his locker and a white-hot putter, Jordan has to be licking his chops. As the number one ranked player in world and reigning Masters champion, Dustin Johnson should be at the top of the list as well, but he’s been struggling with the driver as of late. Perhaps the familiar surroundings and positive vibe will rouse him—Augusta has always been a friend to the big hitter. And speaking of big hitters, Bryson DeChambeau will no doubt make his presence felt this week. Also keep an eye on Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm—all power players likely to be in the mix on Sunday. One of the great things about Augusta though, length means a lot—but not everything (remember Ben Crenshaw with a pair of Green Jackets). And the Masters can be entirely unpredictable as well—maybe we’ll see an amateur making history this week (Ollie Osborne perhaps?).

Augusta National Golf Club

Augusta National was established by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts in 1933. The course was originally designed by the legendary Alistair Mackenzie, with a great deal of input from Bobby Jones. Over the years, some of the great names in golf course architecture have lent their abilities to maintain the essence of Bobby Jones’ vision and keep the course current in the face of changing equipment, including Perry Maxwell, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and Jack Nicklaus. In addition to the eighteen-hole championship course, Augusta National also includes one of the finest par 3 courses in the world.

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2020 PGA Championship and The Wyndham Preview

Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro NC (Donald Ross)

PGA Championship Wrap-Up

Last week saw a riveting finish to the PGA Tour’s first major of the year. Collin Morikawa fired off a blistering final round 64 to join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in winning the PGA Championship at the tender age of 23. Morikawa was calm and collected throughout with a sold round tee to green, while displaying a silky-smooth putting stroke–but two magnificent shots carried the day. On the difficult 14^th hole, facing a delicate uphill chip from a tight lie with little green to work with, where getting it up and down to save par under major championship pressure was no easy task—he chipped in for birdie. And then on the reachable par four sixteenth hole, where many in the field were laying back with irons or hitting 3 wood to leave a short chip, he pulled out his driver and drove the green, shaping a gorgeous fade to about eight feet—and then drilled the putt for eagle. With his two-shot victory over Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson, Morikawa moved all the way up to number 2 in the FedEx Cup standings, closing in on Justin Thomas, who retained his number 1 spot (for now). And with all of the excitement surrounding Morikawa’s huge win, John Rahm’s move to number 1 in the world rankings went almost unnoticed. Brooks Koepka, the pre-tournament favorite and reigning PGA Champion, faded early on Sunday and finished well back with a final round 74. Koepka stirred up a bit of controversy on Saturday with a comment he made about 3^rd round leader Dustin Johnson. When asked if he thought he could catch him and make it three in a row, Koepka pointed out that Johnson only had one major title under his belt, and said “I like my chances.” The comment raised more than a few eyebrows, and brought on a response from Rory McIlroy who said “…sort of hard to knock a guy that’s got 21 wins on the PGA tour, which is three times what Brooks has.” Tiger’s performance was largely uninspiring, and his trusted putter seemed to let him down on every hole, finishing well back at 1 under par (T37). With the level of talent on the PGA Tour right now, Woods will have to raise his game a couple of notches to compete as we head into the FedEx playoffs. And Morikawa wasn’t the only youngster opening eyes at the PGA either, as Scottie Scheffler (Age 24, T4 at -10), Matthew Wolff (Age 21, T4 at -10) and long hitting Cameron Champ (Age 25, T10 at -8) all made a strong run at the championship. When you add so many fresh young faces to an already star-studded field, the next few months is guaranteed to be exciting.

The Wyndham Championship

The Field

The week following a major often doesn’t include a particularly deep field, but with so much talent on the tour right now, in a truncated season, the Wyndham will include plenty of big names, with Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and PGA runner-up Paul Casey all teeing it up. It will be interesting to see how Koepka rebounds from his disappointing finish at the PGA, particularly in light of the remarks he made about Dustin Johnson. Don’t be surprised if Brooks puts the hammer down with big a week at the Wyndham; and keep in mind that Paul Casey went out of his way to say that his wonderful play on Sunday at the PGA was helped by the class Koepka displayed while struggling with his own game in that final round.

The Event

First played in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open, The Wyndham Championship is one of the oldest events on the PGA tour. Currently held at the venerable Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC, Sam Snead won the championship an astounding eight times. In addition to Snead, champions include legendary players such as Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Billy Casper, Gary Player, Raymond Floyd, Julius Boros, and Seve Ballesteros. J. T. Poston is the reigning champion, and he will be in the field this week to defend his title.

The Course

Sedgefield Country Club, founded in 1925, is an original Donald Ross design that was updated over the years by notable architects including Gene Hamm and Willard Byrd. In 2007 the course was lengthened to accommodate current equipment, and restored to the original Ross layout by Kris Spence, acclaimed for classic course restorations including Memphis Country Club (Donald Ross), Forsyth Country Club (Tillinghast/Ross), and Mimosa Hills Golf Club (Donald Ross).

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PGA Tour Schedule Update

Image from the Harbor Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, SC that includes the famous lighthouse and view of the 18th hole. — Harbor Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, SC

Up-coming Tour Schedule

Now that the PGA Tour is back, I’m sure we’re all excited to watch golf on a weekly basis again. COVID-19 and the cancelation of nine events from March through May has forced the Tour schedule to be completely reorganized. Let me take you through what the next few months of tournament play will look like. Following this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town Golf Links is up next. There’s a chance that Tiger may make Hilton Head his first tournament back (his yacht is reportedly headed there), but tournament officials have had no official commitment from Woods thus far on whether he will be playing. Not to worry, there will be plenty of big names teeing it up regardless. Stars like four-time major winners Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy, John Rahm (ranked 2 in the world), Justin Thomas (fourth ranked), Dustin Johnson (fifth ranked) have already committed, so all of the top 5 players in the world will be there. After that comes the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands, where Koepka, McIlroy, Thomas, Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, and Jason Day will be competing. The Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club is next, with Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson having made firm commitments so far. With fields like these, packed with superstars, tour fans should be gearing up for some great golf in the next month. After that, Muirfield Village and Jack will be hosting two consecutive tournaments, a newly sponsored event called Workday, Inc., and the Memorial Tournament—taking place from July 6 to July 19.

The fans come back!

The governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, recently announced that the Memorial will have spectators, so golf fans get ready to grab your tickets, but also be safe, and remember to follow the rules for social distancing. To be extra safe, the tour is also planning to have mandatory temperature readings. While this may sound like a pain in the neck, it’s the prudent way to keep everybody safe while cheering for our favorite pro. The 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minneapolis, MN will be held the week after (July 23-26) followed by the FedEx St. Jude Classic (now a WGC event) and The Barracuda Championship (the same week). Then comes the PGA, the first major of the year. The Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro North Carolina is after the PGA, followed by the FedEx Cup playoffs. The playoffs will be held in similar fashion as previous years, with the Northern Trust, BMW Championship, and the Tour Championship taking place from August 23 through September 7. After that, the Safeway Open is scheduled to play at Johnny Miller’s Silverado Country Club in Napa, California.

The Majors

Unfortunately, the R&A has decided that The Open Championship will not be held this year (The Memorial will be played that week instead). The PGA Championship will be held from August 6-9 at TPC Harding Park, a renowned municipal course in San Francisco, CA. The PGA has not been held on the west coast since Sahalee in 1998, and it will be interesting to see how the players fare in the moist and cool conditions of San Francisco. The U.S. Open will be played from September 17-20 at historic Winged Foot in Westchester, NY, and in addition to the notoriously tough track there is no doubt that fatigue will be a factor, with such a rigorous FedEx Cup playoff schedule leading up to it—although all of the players are welcoming the challenge (at least for now). Winged Foot is a course that demands perfection and is arguably the hardest course in the open rotation. The USGA strives to make the Open a test of mental strength as much as shot making skill, and this year’s schedule is likely to provide exactly that. The Masters will be played from November 12-15, so the players will have a little time to recover. It will be fascinating to see how Augusta plays in the fall, with cool and windy conditions. Also, the course will play much longer than the players are accustomed to (while the greens should still be nearly as fast). Something tells me that that the scores may be quite a bit higher than we’ve seen in the Spring, and it will be fun to see how the players approach the different challenges.

Ryder Cup

If the Open at Winged Foot isn’t enough excitement for golf fans, the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Haven, WI follows the very next week. Many changes are taking place for the Ryder Cup this year, as Captains will now be allowed six picks—up from the usual four due to the short season with many players not accumulating enough points to qualify in the normal way. Those who have qualified for the U.S. team so far include Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland, Xander Schauffele, and Webb Simpson. For the Europeans, only four players have qualified thus far with Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Victor Perez, and Rory McIlroy securing their spots. As of right now, it’s still up in the air on whether patrons will be allowed to attend. This has caused a bit of early controversy, as the Ryder Cup has come to be synonymous with rowdy, patriotic fans, and a whole lot of heckling. Brooks Koepka in particular has been vocal in opposing a Ryder Cup with no patrons, and has alluded to a player boycott if fans are not allowed to attend (and other stars, including Rory McIlroy, have expressed the same sentiment). Steve Stricker, the Captain for the U.S. team and Wisconsin native, has assured fans that a compromise can be reached, suggesting that a Ryder Cup with 50% patron capacity would be fine by him. We’ll have to wait and see how it all shakes out, but one this for sure—the next six months are going to be fun for golf fans.

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