Morning 9: What Tiger thinks about over the ball | Driver testing overdue? | Bermuda courses focused on relief

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected]; @benalberstadt on Instagram)

September 6, 2019

Good Friday morning, golf fans

1 Round 1 from Green Eagle

EuropeanTour.com report…”Paul Casey powered his way to the top of the leaderboard following a first round 66 at the Porsche European Open.”

“The Englishman is playing in his first non-co-sanctioned event of the campaign at at Green Eagle Golf Courses and showed why he is World Number 17 with powerful driving and precise iron play on the third longest course of the European Tour season.”
“Casey was among the late starters – playing alongside 2018 Masters Tournament winner Patrick Reed and defending champion Richard McEvoy – with the clubhouse target set at four under par by star rookie Robert MacIntyre, Englishman Ben Stow and home favourite Max Rottluff.”

Full piece.

At the time of this writing, Casey trails Robert Macintyre by one stroke, having carded a second-round 73.

2. Driver testing overdue

Golfweek’s David Dusek…“The old protocol involved the USGA randomly testing the Characteristic Time (CT) of drivers collected from tour vans at various times throughout the year, at the PGA Tour’s request. The higher a driver’s CT, the greater its trampoline effect, which in turn boosts distance. The USGA and R&A’s cap on CT is 239 milliseconds, but clubs can exceed that number because there is a manufacturing tolerance of 18 milliseconds allowed by the game’s governing bodies. So, a driver with a CT of 246 can be used in a tournament, but one with a CT over 257 is said to be non-conforming.”

“Counterintuitively, the only drivers that were getting tested, however, were the drivers no one was using. Clubs that players already had in their bags and intended to play were not included in those tests. That is now set to change, with random testing of players’ drivers beginning next week.”

Full piece.

3. Courses rally for hurricane damage

Golfweek’s Jason Lusk…”In the devastating wake of Hurricane Dorian, the operators of the two highest-ranked golf courses in the Bahamas are focused on relief efforts and supporting the basic needs of people on the ground. There will be plenty of time to assess the golf courses later, they said.”

“Dorian hit Abaco as a Category 5 hurricane over the weekend before effectively parking for more than a day atop nearby Grand Bahama. The storm’s winds were a sustained 185 mph with gusts to 220 mph, and the storm surge exceeded 20 feet across the low-lying islands.”
“As of mid-day Thursday the official death toll in the Bahamas was 20, but that was expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue. Marsh Harbour on Abaco has been described as effectively destroyed.”

Full piece.

4. Secret weapon?

John Huggan on what could fell the Americans at the Walker Cup…

“A couple of weeks after an unexpected heatwave blistered the nation, an autumnal cool has descended from the north just in time for the 47th Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool. More importantly, a bit of a “hoolie” (strong wind) over the last few days has given the United States side a taste of the conditions that have carried Great Britain & Ireland squads to five wins in the last six matches on this side of the Atlantic. It was so bad on Wednesday that the visitors played only six holes in the 50 mile-per-hour gales before retiring to the clubhouse.”

Full piece.

5. Haley’s GoFundMe

Golfweek’s Forecaddie…Thanks to a $6,190 donation from a group of riders known as “The Peloton XXL Tribe,” Haley Moore’s gofundme page has surpassed its $30,000 goal. For this, the Forecaddie tips his cap to a golf community that rallied for all the right reasons.

Tis a beautiful game.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think it was going to get the response that it did,” said Moore’s mother, Michele, of the recent Golfweek article that detailed the financial hurdles Haley, and many players like her, face in trying to get to the LPGA. When the story was posted last Sunday, Moore had $6,530 in her gofundme account.

Donations quickly rolled in from all fans across the country who were inspired by Moore’s story of triumph over bullying and body-shaming and impressed with her immense potential. Airline miles and hotel points have rolled in by the hundreds of thousands. Some offered to open up their homes and even caddie for Moore at upcoming tournaments to cut down on expenses.

Full piece.

6. DJ’s knee surgery

AP report…”Dustin Johnson had arthroscopic surgery Thursday to repair cartilage damage in his left knee and is expected to return this fall.”

“The star golfer’s manager says the procedure was considered routine. He likened it to the surgery on Johnson’s right knee at the end of 2011.”

“Johnson typically does not have a big fall schedule. He is expected to be playing again before the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and the Presidents Cup in Melbourne in early December.”

Full piece.

7. What Tiger thinks about over the ball

Peter Morrice for Golf Digest...

“To hear Tiger’s pre-shot thinking-his club selection, his shot choice, his constant monitoring of conditions-is one of the fascinating segments in “Episode 3: My Iron Play.” Here’s Tiger on one particular shot: “It’s 206 right now and about 180ish to the front. Wind’s coming off the left, but it’s bouncing back and forth. As of right now, it’s a 6-iron. Now we just got a puff of wind, more downish, so I realize if I hit a full 6-iron, it’s out of here. Ten seconds ago, it was more like I had to lean on a 6-iron to get it there. So trying to get a feel for that, and understand that I may have to use one of the two shots. I’ve got to make that decision once I get up to the golf ball. I’ve got a feel for both shots, and right now [the wind] is down, so I’m going to take something off of this. It’s still down so I’m going to go with it.”

Full piece.

8. Jack: Tiger won’t pick himself

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”If he qualified 11 or 12, yeah I think he should pick himself,” said Nicklaus. Woods finished 13th behind Tony Finau, Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed. The eight players who automatically qualified: Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar and Bryson DeChambeau.”

“I don’t think Tiger will pick himself because he probably thinks it’s in the fair play of the game that the guys ahead of him should play,” Nicklaus explained. “If someone else was a captain other than Tiger, he’d pick Tiger in a heartbeat. I’d always want Tiger on my team.”

Full piece.

9. 2019-2020 rookies to watch

Zephyr Melton at PGATour.com…Here are the top-10 PGA TOUR rookies to watch, after successfully earning 2019-20 TOUR membership via the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour.

1. Viktor Hovland. The star-in-the-making out of Oklahoma State was one of the top storylines this summer after turning professional. Along with Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa, Hovland became a household name over the last six weeks of the PGA TOUR Regular Season, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship. Unlike his compadres, Hovland failed to earn a TOUR card prior to the FedExCup Playoffs and proceeded to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. It didn’t take the 21-year-old long to join Wolff and Morikawa, however, as he finished T11-T2 in the first two Finals events to solidify his TOUR status.

2. Scottie Scheffler. There was no player on the Korn Ferry Tour who played as high-level, consistent golf in 2019 as Scheffler. The University of Texas graduate racked up two wins, 10 top-10s and missed just four cuts over the course of the season. He also led the Tour in birdies and scoring average during his rookie campaign, taking the No. 1 spot on both The 25 and The Finals 25 to earn fully exempt status on TOUR next season.

Full piece.

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