Will Watson make it number four at the Travelers?

The First Look: Travelers Championship

Bubba Watson lands third win at Travelers

Bubba Watson defends his title and seeks to join the late Billy Casper as the only four-time winner of Connecticut’s annual PGA TOUR stop, as the circuit switches coasts back from Pebble Beach for its 36th visit to TPC River Highlands.

Brooks Koepka is slated to make the trek one week after his quest for a historic third consecutive U.S. Open title, while Phil Mickelson is set to end a 15-year absence from a place where he became the tournament’s only back-to-back winner in 2001 and ’02.

FIELD NOTES: Patrick Cantlay, whose first visit to Greater Hartford as a 2011 amateur featured a 60, is back for his fifth appearance. He’s just three weeks removed from winning the Memorial Tournament for his second TOUR win. … Paul Casey, who couldn’t close out a four-shot lead heading to last year’s final round, is back in search of an elusive Hartford win. He also was a playoff loser to Watson in 2015. … England’s Tommy Fleetwood will get his first look at TPC River Highlands. … Outgoing U.S. Amateur champ Viktor Hovland and Oklahoma State teammate Matthew Wolff are set to make their professional debuts. Two other freshly minted pros accepted invites – Collin Morikawa makes his third pro start and Justin Suh his second.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.

STORYLINES: Watson, who preceded last year’s victory with playoff wins in 2010 and ’15, now sets his sights on Casper’s Hartford standard. Casper captured what was then the Insurance City Open in 1963, following with victories in ’65, ’68 and ’73. … A Watson triumph also would lift him alongside Mickelson as the event’s only back-to-back winner. … Mickelson sets foot at River Highlands for the first time since 2003, when he tied for 58th in his bid for a three-peat. That’s when the event was played in August, rather than following the U.S. Open. … Each of the past five Travelers champions has won after playing the U.S. Open, though Russell Knox’s 2016 victory gets an asterisk. An Olympic shakeup that year moved the Travelers back to August. … Just four New Englanders have won in Hartford, though two came back-to-back in 2005 (Brad Faxon) and 2006 (J.J. Henry). The others are Paul Azinger (1987, ’89) and Bob Toski (1953). … The Travelers has gone to a playoff in each of the previous three odd-year editions – 2017 (Jordan Spieth), 2015 (Watson), 2013 (Ken Duke).

COURSE: TPC River Highlands, 6,841 yards, par 70. Located about midway between Hartford and New Haven, River Highlands is the third course to occupy the property and enters its 36th year as a PGA TOUR venue. Pete Dye oversaw a complete redesign of the former Edgewood Country Club in 1982, and Dye protégé Bobby Weed offered an upgrade nine years later in consultation with former TOUR pros Roger Maltbie and Howard Twitty. The spotlight falls on Nos. 15-17, which play around a four-acre lake and create a finish considered among the most thrilling on TOUR. River Highlands is the site of the TOUR’s only 58, when Jim Furyk reeled off 10 birdies and holed out for eagle at the par-4 No.3.

For those visiting Greater Hartford, must-play courses include Lyman Orchards GC (Middlefield, Conn.) and Richter Park GC (Danbury, Conn.). Book your reservations via TeeOff.com.

72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Kenny Perry (2009).

18-HOLE RECORD: 58, Jim Furyk (4th round, 2016).

LAST YEAR: Watson wiped out a six-shot deficit for the second time at River Highlands, chasing down Casey with a 7-under-par 63 for his third victory of the 2017-18 season. After posting 33 on the front side, the lefty heated up with five birdies after the turn. A birdie at the drivable par-4 15th lifted Watson into a tie with Casey, and he moved in front when his second shot at No.18 stopped 3 feet from the flagstick for a closing birdie. Casey followed up a Saturday 62 with a 72, falling into a share of second with Stewart Cink (62), Beau Hossler (66) and J.B. Holmes (67). Watson also overcame a six-shot deficit to win in 2010, eventually capturing a playoff with Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank for his first PGA TOUR victory.

HOW TO FOLLOW

TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:030 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 13:00 to 22:00.

RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

SOURCE:  PGATOUR

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This will be Mickelson’s 27th U.S. Open in his professional career – Will this be his year?

Phil Mickelson’s quest to end US Open nightmare is on its last legs

Phil Mickelson will turn 49 Sunday, the day of the final round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

What are the chances that he’ll be standing on the first tee at Pebble on the final round with a chance to win on that day?

Regardless of his age, because of who he is, how he embraces the big moments, how motivated he remains and what he’s done, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he is in the mix to win the U.S. Open on Sunday.

If he is in the hunt, this is what Mickelson will face: Completing the career Grand Slam as a winner of all four major championships.

It’s a feat that’s been accomplished by only five players in the history of the game — Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and most recently Tiger Woods.

Since Mickelson won the 2013 British Open at Muirfield, this week will mark his sixth attempt at completing the Slam.

Mickelson has finished runner-up a record six times in the U.S. Open, the most recent his second-place finish in 2013 at Merion.

A U.S. Open is something Mickelson desperately wants to win for a couple of reasons. The Slam, of course. But it always has been his most coveted major championship title, even before he won his first major, the Masters in 2004.

His realistic window of opportunity, of course, is closing before his eyes.

What if it never happens after all of those close calls?

“No matter what, he’s going to be one of the greatest players that’s ever played this game,’’ Tiger Woods said. “How he’s viewed and whether he wins the career Grand Slam or not, I still think he’s one of the best players to ever pick up a golf club.

“There’s only five guys that have done it, so that’s the hard part,’’ Woods went on. “It’s just one of those fickle things. You’ve had some of the greatest champions of all time that have been missing one leg of the Grand Slam [Arnold Palmer, for example, never won a PGA Championship].

“So, for a person [Mickelson] who we all know hasn’t driven the ball as straight as he would probably like, he’s had six seconds in the U.S. Open. That’s incredible to be there that many times. He’s figured out a way to play well in the U.S. Open. It just happens to be one of those things where he hasn’t won, but he’s been there. And wouldn’t surprise me if he’s there again.’’

There is some mojo going for Mickelson, too, at Pebble Beach, where he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. He’s won the AT&T four times and the last time the U.S. Open was played at Pebble, he finished tied for fourth in 2010.

Overall, this will be Mickelson’s 27th U.S. Open in a professional career that has included 44 victories and five major championships.

“There’s not much I could do right now that would do anything to redefine my career, but there’s one thing I could do, and that would be to win a U.S. Open,” Mickelson said. “So if I were to do that, it would change the way I view my career because there are only, what, five guys that have ever won all the majors. And you have to look at those guys differently.”

“The difficulty is not the age,’’ he said. “The difficulty is that when you’re in your 20s you feel like you have multiple chances’. And when you’re turning 49, you’re like ‘I’ve got two more chances, this year and maybe [in 2020 at] Winged Foot [where he finished runner-up in 2006] and that’s about it. With that being the only one in the four that I haven’t won, and what it would offer me and how I look at my career, I put more pressure on it. That’s the difficult thing.

“It would be pretty special to be part of the elite players that have won all four. To me that’s the sign of a complete game. It would redefine my career.’’

“I don’t think about [the Grand Slam] a lot,’’ he insisted, but added, “I do think about what I have to do to win a U.S. Open. And it’s getting increasingly difficult.’’

Paul Azinger, the former player who is now an analyst for NBC, wonders whether Mickelson’s burning desire to finally win a U.S. Open will increase the degree of difficulty. But he, too, believes this week is set up well for Mickelson.

“Of course he wants it too much,’’ Azinger said. “[But] he’s going to a place that he knows like the back of his hand. There’s not a better scenario for Phil Mickelson to get a U.S. Open. Expectations will by sky high … off the charts. He’s already trying to deflect — saying his winning there [in February] has no bearing whatsoever [on the U.S. Open]. He’s an artist at redirecting pressure. The redirect is a great gift.

“But I can’t tell Phil how to think; he can’t teach me how to think,’’ Azinger went on. “He knows how to think. Phil is disciplined enough and he knows what he’s doing. Phil has proven he can play in the elements and he knows the greens. You’ve got to know how the ball is going to bounce and react on those poa annua grass. A lot of guys are going to misjudge that first hop. But Phil won’t. He’s been there for most of his life.’’

Mickelson’s grandfather, Al Santos, was one of the first caddies at Pebble Beach. Mickelson said his grandfather carried a 1900 silver dollar in his pocket while he worked, and passed it down to Mickelson, who uses it as a ball marker whenever he plays there.

“What an American dream,’’ CBS golf commentator Jim Nantz said. “Instead of what his grandfather was making, 25 cents a bag, now he’s going to close out the career Grand Slam on the sacred sod of Pebble Beach, what a story that would be. The story is too good and his record is too good there for me to overlook it.”

Said Azinger: “I think six seconds should equal one win. I’d lobby for that.’’

Of course, golf doesn’t work that way.

“I have such great memories here,” Mickelson said. “I would love to add to it.”

SOURCE:  NYPost

 

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Pebble Beach turned out to be the perfect venue for McDowell’s game: precise iron play and deadly putting. 

Graeme McDowell’s career is back in gear — at just the right time

When Graeme McDowell surprised the golf world by winning the 2010 U.S. Open, he was a twentysomething swinging bachelor just beginning his ascent into a world-class player. Now the Ryder Cup star returns to another Open at Pebble on the cusp of turning 40, married with two kids and a stepdaughter, a partner in a thriving business (Nona Blue, an Orlando tavern) and having just brawled his way out of the longest slump of his career. “It’s definitely been the fastest and craziest ten years of my life,” McDowell said recently in his lilting Northern Irish brogue. “What a ride it’s been. And I’m not ready for it to be over just yet.”

McDowell’s breakthrough at Pebble Beach actually began two weeks before the Open, when he went 64-63 on the weekend to win in Wales, his fifth victory on the European Tour. He spent the ensuing three or four days “celebrating with the boys” at his home base in Lake Nona, Fla. McDowell’s game was so sharp and his confidence so palpable that Ricky Elliott, a pal who now caddies for Brooks Koepka, was all set to plunk down $500 for G-Mac to win the U.S. Open at 66-1 odds.

“I said, ‘Listen, I’m feeling good, but I’m probably not going to win,’” McDowell recalls with a chuckle. “‘Just to be safe, place the bet each way to cover your a–.’”

Pebble turned out to be the perfect venue for McDowell’s efficient game, built as it is on precise iron play and deadly putting. After a second-round 68, he held a two-stroke lead. That night he strolled into Brophy’s Tavern in Carmel, which McDowell calls “the unofficial caddie headquarters of the U.S. Open.” Billy Foster, who was then looping for Lee Westwood, broke out into song: Queen’s “We Are The Champions.” That tune played in McDowell’s head throughout the fraught final rounds.

The Sunday leaderboard was spectacular, with Tiger, Phil, Ernie and Dustin all factoring in the drama. But only McDowell refused to crack. He became the first European winner of our national championship since Tony Jacklin in 1970, and that night wound up, inexorably, in a boozy celebration at Brophy’s. “When I got behind the bar and started spraying people with the soda gun,” says McDowell, “I think that’s when my friends started saying, ‘Okay, let’s get this guy back to the hotel.’”

McDowell made another run at the 2012 U.S. Open, narrowly missing a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to fall one stroke short, and he kept piling up wins, rising as high as fourth in the World Ranking. Along the way he hired the former Kristin Stape to decorate his house in Lake Nona, and then wound up marrying her, in late 2013. A daughter and a son soon followed. “Fatherhood is the greatest thing in the world,” he says, “but it was certainly an adjustment. Golf very quickly was no longer the most important thing in my life.”

Pebble Beach turned out to be the perfect venue for McDowell’s game: precise iron play and deadly putting.

Add in swing and equipment changes, and by early 2019 McDowell was on the outside looking in, with tenuous Tour status and without a spot in the field at the upcoming Open Championship in his hometown of Portrush. All this was the backdrop to the explosion of goodwill that followed his PGA Tour win in the Dominican Republic in March 2019, McDowell’s first worldwide victory since 2015. “It was relief more than anything,” he says. “I was like a flame flickering. I was feeling my mortality. I was becoming aware that all of this could go away very quickly. So to finally win again, a giant burden has been lifted.”

Just like that, McDowell’s expectations are very different for Pebble Beach (champs are exempt into the ensuing ten U.S. Opens) and Royal Portrush (where he has a golden opportunity to play his way into the field at this week’s Canadian Open). Is it time to run out and start placing bets again?

“Well, let’s not get carried away,” McDowell says. “But I was never going to be satisfied returning to Pebble as a ceremonial golfer. It’s not the legacy, it’s not the impact I want to have in this game. I know I have one more big run in me. I have a vision of getting back to the top of the game one more time. How cool would it be if Pebble Beach is once again the launching pad?”

SOURCE:  Golf.com

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Tough Weather and Play Conditions this week at Bethpage Black

In cool, wet conditions, Bethpage Black will play tough, long for PGA Championship

When it was announced that the PGA Championship was moving from August to May, some pundits and fans balked at the idea of holding a major championship in the Northeast or upper Midwest because of days like Monday at Bethpage State Park.

After about an inch of rain fell on the Black Course on Sunday, scattered showers and chilly temperatures persisted as a Nor’easter developed off the coast of southern New England, bringing showers and a chilly eastern wind that kept temperatures in the high 40s.

It could have been worse: the same system is expected to bring several inches of snow to higher elevations of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine on Monday.

Bethpage Black’s scorecard yardage is 7,459 yards, but in conditions like Monday’s, it played even longer.

“Hole seven is playing as a par 4 and we played from where the 520 tee is. I hit a really good drive and I still had 255 to 260 yards to the center of the green,” said Billy Horschel, who is currently ranked No. 43 on the Official World Golf Ranking. “And that distance doesn’t even account for the wind and the cold weather, so that shot was probably playing 280 or 290.”

Horschel added that he typically hits his 7-iron 180 yards, but on the second hole on Monday morning, he hit one that only went 150.

The official tournament forecast calls for the rain to subside early Tuesday morning, with clouds and warmer conditions expected on Wednesday. There is a 30 percent chance of rain on Thursday morning, but temperatures are expected to rise into the mid- and high 60s on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens were contested here on wet golf courses, and it looks like the first PGA Championship that Bethpage Black will host is also going to be played on a soft, long course.

SOURCE: USAtoday

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For More Power, Avoid Sliding Toward Target

Keep The Lead Hip Firm For A Solid Swing
For More Power, Avoid Sliding Toward Target

One of the most prevalent issues that I see with my students is sliding the left, or lead hip (right-handed golfer) too far toward the target in the downswing.

Most of us, when we first started playing the game, were told to hit against a firm left side. When the left hip moves well past the left foot, there isn’t a whole lot of firmness. And, there isn’t a whole lot of rotation. And without rotation, power is dramatically reduced.

Here is an analogy that might help put you back on track:

Maybe you have a fenced-in back yard with a gate. If you don’t, humor me and just pretend that you do. If the post that the gate is attached to is straight up and down, the gate opens and closes perfectly. If the post is tilted, good luck with the gate. Same with your golf swing. At impact, if the left hip is over the left knee and left ankle, forming a straight vertical line, your right hip will rotate perfectly just like the gate. If the left hip slides past the left foot, rotation is diminished along with power and accuracy.

Here is a drill to help you get the hang of it:

Stand in a doorway with the outside of your left foot touching the door jam. Cross your arms across your chest. Make a backswing turn and then a through swing turn. During the latter allow your left hip to move laterally just enough to make contact with the jam. That amount will put you in a vertical left leg position, the perfect place for maximum lead hip rotation. And hip rotation translates to more power, which we all want.

John Marshall is a two-time American Long Drivers Association super senior national champion and five-time RE/MAX World Long Drive finalist

SOURCE:  golftipsmag

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Postitive Outlook for the Golf Industry

While golf participation is stable, Tiger effect gives industry a boost

As golf industry leaders gathered in the nation’s capital Wednesday, there were likely self-congratulatory messages, obligatory selfies and a celebration by those who see further proof that they continue to grow the game.

But there should also be a moment of thanks to the man who has the biggest impact on the game worldwide just by showing up and, even more significantly, by winning the most coveted major championship in golf.

Tiger Woods wasn’t in Washington for National Golf Day, but there was plenty of talk about the impact his fifth Masters victory has on the industry. According to the latest Golf Industry Report released by the National Golf Foundation, 74 million people watched or read about golf without playing in 2018, an increase of about 12 percent year over year. Part of the growth is “attributable to Woods,” the NGF says.

“When you go beyond the hard-core golf enthusiast and you’re trying to capture the casual masses, it is Tiger. It is only Tiger,” says Patrick Rishe, director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis, when asked about the impact of Woods’ latest win at Augusta National.

It’s no secret that golf faces tough challenges – as demonstrated in the continued trend of course closures in the U.S. (198.5 18-hole equivalent courses closed last year while 12.5 of the same type of courses opened) and the competition the sport faces in trying to attract busy adults and teens who don’t have free time or the resources to play.

But a Tiger resurgence changes the conversation around the state of the game, sports economists say.

“Even if you’re not a fan of his, you can at least appreciate the moment, if you’re being unbiased. You can appreciate the sense of history, and it adds that cool factor back to the sport when he’s playing as well as he’s playing,” Rishe says.

Even if Woods, 43, doesn’t add to his 15 major championships, the industry benefits just from having him compete on Tour.

“It’s going to be great for golf to potentially ride a second wave of Tiger Woods even if all he’s doing is contending; he doesn’t have to win by 15 shots,” says Todd McFall, an assistant teaching professor in economics at Wake Forest. “As long as he’s contending, it’s going to be really great for golf for as long as it happens.

“If you called me in a year and Tiger Woods won another tournament and contended in three or four, golf’s going to be in a lot better place than it would be otherwise.”

Outside of the Tiger effect, the National Golf Foundation provides a fairly positive outlook for the industry, not surprisingly, reporting that the sport’s participation base remains stable. It says about 24.2 million people played golf on a course in 2018, which was up from 23.8 million the previous year. The NGF counts anyone over age 6 in that participation figure.

The report says another 9.3 million exclusively played an off-course form of the game at facilities such as Topgolf or Drive Shack. The game’s overall participant pool was 33.5 million, up 4 percent over last year.

Steve Mona, executive director of We Are Golf, describes the industry as stable and evolving. “Golf used to mean an 8 a.m. tee time wearing khaki slacks, a golf shirt, a visor on forward and metal spikes, playing with a regular group you’ve been playing with for 10 years,” Mona says.

“But now it can mean 8 p.m. wearing cargo shorts and flip flops, an untucked shirt and a hat on backwards at a Topgolf or a Drive Shack. Just like almost any other form of recreation has evolved, so has golf. What we need to do as an industry, in my judgment, is to be open to the fact that people are going to come into the game in different ways.”

Mona acknowledges that not every person who hit balls at Topgolf will go on to play 18 holes on a course. But he’s optimistic that quite a few Topgolfers will get hooked. “We definitely think that that’s complementary to the on-course experience.”

SOURCE:  Golfweek

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Check out the keys to the Tiger swing

Five steps to copy Tiger Woods’s swing technique

As last season proved, a healthy Tiger is a scary Tiger. While his technique is ever-evolving, it’s always worth studying, to say nothing of copying. Check out the keys to his swing below.
Muscle Matters
There’s no denying it—Tiger’s arms are still jacked! And they’re not for looks. Woods understands that at the highest levels, golf is a power game that taxes every muscle. Tiger continues his legacy as the original Tour gym rat, and if his arms are any indication, he has zero plans to let the youngsters on the Tour outwork him.
High Flyer
You can tell from his finish below that Tiger has launched a higher-than-normal approach. He’s extending his lower spine up and toward the target. It’s a great move for any swing— if your back can take it. Looks like Tiger’s finally can.
Back in Business 
Players with bad backs rarely swing to a full finish, let alone a high one like this. As with his knees, Tiger’s back looks ready for prime-time— the slight lean back or subtle “reverse C” is impossible to achieve when the back is in distress.
Bottom Gear
Is there really something to “glute activation” after all? You bet. There’s no better way to produce serious clubhead speed than by firing your glutes and squeezing your thighs together through impact. The combo causes your body to decelerate at just the right moment, allowing the club to pick up speed and whip through.
nee Brace 
Tiger’s healed left knee below can once again handle the torque created by his swing. His left foot is nearly flat on the ground, even this deep into his followthrough, providing the stability he’s been missing for years. If your knees aren’t as healthy as Tiger’s, set up with your feet flared, or allow more weight to roll to the outside of your spikes.
SOURCE:  GOLF
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