The 10 Biggest PGA Tour Stories or Moments of 2017
The 10 Biggest PGA Tour Stories or Moments of 2017
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The 10 Biggest PGA Tour Stories or Moments of 2017
As 2017 winds to an end I thought for my next blog piece I would run down what I see as the 10 biggest stories or moments to emerge from the PGA tour in the year.
These could be one particular moment, round or shot in a tournament, or a tournament as a whole, or indeed a bigger news story which impacted the tour during the year.
In my eyes it’s been a fantastic year on the PGA Tour with so many great stories. I am therefore quite sure that I will have forgotten some glaringly obvious ones here, and that the ones I have included will be in an order that plenty of people disagree with, so please feel free to let me know your thoughts.
After all there’s nothing like a healthy debate to liven up the holiday season!
Oh and just before we reach the No 1 I’ve also for good measure thrown in my selection for non-event of the year on the PGA Tour!
So, starting at No 10 here we go.
No 10 - Jon Rahm’s putt for victory at the Farmers
Everyone and his dog knew that Jon Rahm was going to win on the PGA Tour in 2017. Indeed everyone and his dog was preparing to remortgage their house, sell their wife/partners jewellery, their diamond encrusted dog collar etc and throw the lot on Jon to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the beginning of February. This is an event he’d finished 5th in as an amateur and is played in Arizona, his college state.
Unfortunately though what everyone and his dog hadn’t seen coming was that Jon would make his debut at Torrey Pines the week before, hang around the leaderboard all week and then produce a magnificent round of 65 on Sunday, culminating in a 60ft eagle putt from the back of the 18th green.
After his wonder putt Jon had to wait in the clubhouse to see if any of the chasing pack could finish in a similarly spectacular fashion, which they couldn’t. Thus to the tune of collective groans from punters across the UK revising their Waste Management picks another PGA star was born.
No 9 - Si Woo Kim Winning The Players
The 22 yr old Korean played in 31 PGA tour events in the 16-17 season and his record in 30 of them read 11 MC, 5 WD and only 2 top 20s with a best placed finish of 10th.
In May however having been battling an ongoing back problem and with recent form figures of Cut 22 Cut WD, Si Woo rocked up to TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship, an event which he had only played in once before, and duly saw off what is arguably the strongest field that assembles in world golf each year.
Whilst there is no doubting the talent Kim has his win defied all previous logic in an event which time and again over the years has rewarded experienced players with a bank of course form and many worldwide wins.
Kim entered the final round two shots off the lead but whilst those above him struggled, or in JB Holmes’ case completely imploded, Si Woo shot 69 for the only bogey free round of the day to become the youngest ever winner of the event.
Well done to Si Woo and doubly well done to anyone who held a betting slip at the end of the week with the fancy odds of up to 500-1 which were available on him before the off!!
No 8 – The Emergence of Xander Schauffele
For the first few months of the PGA tour season it seemed that Mr Schauffele would only really be crossing the radar of us UK PGA Tour viewers when Rob Lee and Denis Pugh decided to have a chuckle over the pronunciation of his name in the Sky studio, however that all changed at the US Open in June when Xander bagged a top 5 finish.
In doing so he also became the first player on their US Open debut to shoot a bogey free round of 66 or better in round 1.
Whilst Xander had been ranked in the Top 10 amateurs in the world, his was not a name mentioned in the same company as Spieth, Rahm, Thomas or Cantlay when coming through.
There was nothing either in his play on the Web.com tour in 2016, or the early months of the 2017 PGA tour, that would have indicated this finish was coming, and one might have been forgiven for thinking this was just a ‘one off’ on a course that suited his power game.
Xander though had other ideas and after 2 more good results he followed this up [much to my delight as I was on him!] with his first PGA Tour victory at the Greenbrier.
As those of us who follow golf know only two well, unless you are a real superstar in the making a barren spell will often follow a young PGA Tour pro’s first win as they readjust there goals [think Cody Gribble]. Xander though was not done yet for the year and after a really solid run through the Play Offs got him in to the Tour Championship he saved his best till last and held of a world class field to win this event.
On the back of this Xander was deservedly named 2017’s PGA Tour Rookie of the year.
Undoubtedly Xander Schauffele is now more than a name to be reckoned with.
No 7 – Tiger….& his Comeback[s].
When talking about Tiger I think it’s important to separate Tiger the golfer from Tiger ‘the business’ as there’s no doubt that over the years those who follow golf [and I’m sure plenty who don’t] have found the latter and all the layers of subterfuge that have been placed around him by management and advisors hard to swallow.
What is completely undeniable though is that Tiger is basically responsible for the buoyant state of the PGA tour today and is the reason why we can all sit and enjoy wall to wall PGA golf on Sky Sports week in week out.
Furthermore what is undeniable is that along with Jack, Tiger ‘the golfer’ is one of the greatest two golfers of all time [for the purposes of this piece and so as not to get side tracked in to a different conversation altogether I’ll call it a tie at present!].
At the beginning of 2017, after a promising comeback in the 2016 Hero Challenge, Tiger embarked on a planned full playing return.
First up for Tiger was an appearance at the end of January at his beloved Torrey Pines at the Farmers Insurance Open, unfortunately though with rounds of 76 72 Tiger missed the cut. Still, Tiger found positives in his round of 72 on the Friday and with the understandable rust in his game improvement was anticipated next time out.
The ‘next time out’ in question was the following week at the Dubai Desert Classic and Tiger was in a positive mood in his pre event press conference saying his practice work back home had been going well.
It was with disappointment therefore Tiger carded a round 1 birdie free 77 and signs of discomfort were there to see.
Worse was to follow the following morning when Tiger withdrew from the event without hitting a ball in his 2nd round. His manager Mark Steinberg then reassured the media that although it was a back spasm it was not a flare up of the nerve pain that had kept Tiger out of the game for so long…
Later in February Tiger announced that due to his continued recovery from these spasms he would not play in either the Genesis Open or the Honda Classic as he had initially planned. Subsequently a similar announcement came for the Arnold Palmer Invitational before Tiger confirmed that he would miss the Masters as he was “not tournament ready”.
April then brought us the news that Tiger had undergone “successful back surgery to alleviate ongoing pain in his back and leg”. Further detail given included confirming the goal was to relieve the pressure on the nerve and to give the nerve the best chance of healing.
If this major setback in Tiger’s health wasn’t enough for his supporters to take, the end of May then brought a far sadder and darker twist to the story when Tiger was arrested for DUI [Driving Under Influence].
Subsequent toxicology reports showed Tiger had five different drugs in his system and at the beginning of July Tiger confirmed he had undergone a private intensive program in relation to an addiction to prescription painkiller medications.
For every golf lover who revelled in the amazing heroics Tiger produced in his heyday these revelations and the photo’s released around his DUI were a sad sight to read and see. One can only now hope that the treatment Tiger underwent has been successful and, regardless of whatever future he may have as a professional golfer, he can now be physically pain free and happy and content in his personal life.
So, roll on 6 months and Tiger has made his latest comeback, a promising one, in the 2017 Hero Challenge….I guess I’m not the only one wondering what 2018 will bring.
No 6 - Phil and Bones Split
To be honest I was in two minds whether to have Phil and Bones going their separate ways above the ‘Tiger story’ and had all but plumped for Tiger at No 6. Then though my sympathy for ‘Lefty’ and all the mauling’s he has had from Tiger over the years got the better of me and I decided to give the nod to Phil. Therefore pipping Tiger to the No 6 spot is the shock break-up of the most well known caddie/player partnership.
On the 21st June this year Phil Mickelson and Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay announced that they were ending a partnership on the golf course which had run for 25yrs.
Like most people I had assumed the union would continue for as long both were physically able to continue plying their trade, and I had a clear picture in my mind of a grizzled ‘Bones’ lugging the bag up the hill towards an 18th green as Phil won his umpteenth senior Major. This isn’t to be however as both players confirmed in their separate statements that it was ‘time to try something different’.
Over their 25yrs together they had won 41 PGA Tour events, 5 Majors and had represented the USA in 11 Ryder Cups and 11 Presidents Cups, however they never won a USA Open together agonizingly finishing runner up on 6 occasions.
Famously Bones had one veto he could use a season where he could tell Phil not to go for the [more often than not mad gamble of a risk] shot he was contemplating and he could tell him to play a ‘percentage shot’ instead. This veto has now passed on to Phil’s brother Tim who has taken over on the bag.
And so it is we’ll no longer get to enjoy Phil and Bones spending a couple of minutes on the course discussing the intricacies and nuances of a proposed shot before watching Phil ‘stiff it’ to 5ft from 220yds across water.
Phil’s loss on the course though is now our gain, as after having had double knee surgery at the end of 2016 Bones has sensibly decided that instead of lugging someone else’s golf bag around he would rather be driven in a cart whilst doing on course analysis for NBC.
To date he has proved a great addition to the commentary team.
No 5 – Branden Grace Shoots 62 at Birkdale.
On Saturday July 22nd Branden Grace finally broke through one of the toughest glass ceilings that has existed in golf over recent years by shooting a 62 in Round 3 of the British Open at Birkdale.
Prior to Grace’s round there had been 31 rounds of 63 in Major Championship Golf with the first coming from Johnny Miller at Oakmont and the most recent coming from Justin Thomas [more of whom later] in Rnd 3 of the US Open at Erin Hills. No one however had ever been able to find that extra birdie, or avoid a final hole bogey, so as to shoot that elusive 62.
I was at Birkdale that day and having invested a few shillings on Grace before the start of the tournament when I saw the round he was putting together I joined him on the Par 3 14th, just in time to see him roll in a good birdie putt. After this he picked up two more birdies at 16 and 17 to come home with an eight birdie, bogey free round.
Apparently Branden was so in the zone he was completely unaware that he had made history when he 2 putted for par on 18 and had to be told of his achievement by his caddie. His caddie in turn had been unaware of what was in the making until informed on 18 green by Jason Dufner who was in their group!
So there we have it, the first 62 in Major Championship history. Was it as good a round as Johnny Miller’s 63 at Oakmont though?....Well a bit before my time that one so I’m not really in a position to comment, but, I’m sure if you ever bump in to Johnny he’ll let you know his view on that…
No 4 - Dustin Johnson and a tale of Socks and Stairs
In April Dustin Johnson arrived at Augusta as the undisputed World No 1 and in the form of his life with form figures reading 1 1 1 3 in his previous 4 starts. The bookies were running scared and the talk was not whether he would win but how many he would win by.
Then on the Wednesday evening a story broke which would undoubtedly change the course of DJ’s season and potentially [and of course we’ll never know the answer to this one] change the course of Sergio’s life.
The story was that DJ had slipped down the stairs in his rental home when dashing out to move his car wearing only socks [and some other clothes one assumes].
I’ve not personally seen the offending staircase but I’m guessing it was wooden or marble and as anyone who has ever tried to descend one of these in a pair of socks will tell you this is not the smartest thing to do…
Apparently DJ slipped down the last three stairs with the left lower side of his back taking the brunt of the fall along with his left elbow.
All efforts were made over night and in to the next day with a regime of heat, ice and anti-inflammatory’s but it was all to no avail and DJ had to withdraw just before his 2.03pm tee time.
Besides Sergio the main beneficiary of this mishap would have been big money exchange traders as they would immediately have been able to secure some pre event profits based on market readjustment once the news of the accident broke.
Meanwhile DJ’s year was derailed and he had to wait over 3 more months until the end of July for his next top 10 finish.
No 3 – Justin Thomas
The No 3 entry could easily have been titled, ‘Justin Thomas shoots 59 in Hawaii and wins back to back events’, or ‘Justin Thomas wins his first Major’, or ‘Justin Thomas wins the Fedex Cup’ and so on we could go. Instead I decided that a simple title of ‘Justin Thomas’ would allow me to cover the story of the phenomenal year that the all conquering behemoth has had.
Having won the CIMB Classic in the Fall of 2016 JT began 2017 in fine fashion by winning the opening Tournament of Champions event in Hawaii. He then followed up a week later not only by winning the Sony Open but by becoming the youngest PGA Tour player in history to shoot the magical number of 59.
Things did tail of in comparison from there through the spring and early summer with a 4th place finish at Memorial being JT’s best result. He did though find time to throw in a round of 63 at the US Open [although nowhere near the best 63 in US Open history of course as reminded to us all by Mr Miller].
At this point Justin was only just getting started for the year as after a poor stretch including 3 missed cuts in June and July he caught fire at the beginning of August to land his first Major title at the USPGA at Quail Hollow.
JT had trailed the 3rd round leader Kevin Kisner by two shots entering the final round and initially fell three shots behind, but birdies at the 7th. 9th and 10th kept him right in the hunt. He then took the outright lead by two shots from his faltering playing partner Matsuyama courtesy of a chip in on the 13th.
After this a further birdie on 17 meant Justin could afford the luxury of a bogey on 18 and still close out a two shot victory when Kisner, in the group behind, was unable to make the unlikely eagle he required to tie.
After his win at the PGA JT rode the wave to a further win at the Dell Technologies Championship in the Play Offs. He then mopped up the $10 Million on offer for the winner of the Fedex Cup by finishing second at the Tour Championship. Then, for good measure he decided to hop over to Korea and pick up another $1.6 Mill or so by winning the CJ Cup.
So to recap 5 PGA Tour titles including a Major Championship and about $20 odd Million by my reckoning in prize money in the 2017 calendar year.
One hell of a year for JT.
No 2 – Sergio Wins the Masters
The 2017 Masters was Sergio’s 71st consecutive Major championship start and the annual ‘is this the year Sergio finally wins a Major?’ conversation had been going on for at least the last 40 of them. Many opportunities had come and gone and I’m sure many people thought ‘the big one’ had passed him by. After all who could forget his disappointment after losing out to Harrington at Carnoustie in 2007, and then in 2012 Sergio himself telling the media after a bad 3rd round at Augusta that he didn’t think he was good enough to win a major.
Sergio began 2017 with a great victory in early February at the Dubai Desert Classic. His form after this win was then steady if unspectacular leading in to the Masters and it would be fair to say he entered the week slightly under the radar.
There was though a new found ‘steel’ to Garcia’s game which had been seen in the way he closed out victory in Dubai. Sergio was also content in his personal life with his fiancée at the time [soon to be wife] , Angela Akins proving to be a positive influence to his on course game.
Sergio’s first three rounds at the 2017 Masters were 71 69 70 and he entered the final round in a tie for the lead at -6 with Justin Rose.
It would only be fair to point out at this stage that I had a vested interest in Rose having been on him from the outset at 25-1 and I was quietly confident going in to Round 4.
It became quickly apparent that this was going to be a two horse race and after 5 holes Sergio had opened up a 3 shot lead over Rose. Justin Rose though as we know is made of strong stuff and by the turn they were all square again.
Back to back bogey’s then followed from Sergio at the 10th and 11th and at this point based on all known ‘previous’ in Major’s I’m sure plenty of Rose backers like me were beginning to make that fatal mistake of mentally counting the money as Justin took a 2 shot lead.
What wasn’t lost on the ‘Golfing Gods’ though was that final round Sunday would have been the 60th birthday of Sergio’s idol and mentor, the late, great Seve Ballesteros and after a pair a pars on the 12th, the 13th hole proved to be a pivotal shift in momentum.
Sergio hit is tee shot at 13 in to an unplayable lie and was forced to take a penalty drop, however after taking his medicine he wedged his 4th to 6ft and duly holed for par. Rose meanwhile having been in the fairway off the tee hit his second through the green and was unable to get ‘up and down’ for birdie, missing a short birdie putt.
Whilst Rose’s two shot lead was still in tact you could then see the belief flood back in to Sergio and he followed with a birdie at 14 to close the lead to 1.
15 brought more Joy for Sergio and his fans with a magnificent eagle. Rose posted a birdie so it was all square going in to 16.
By now this had become an epic duel and both players hit great tee shots at 16. Rose then rolled his Birdie putt in but Sergio’s putting frailties reared their head as he hit a very tentative effort.
On 17 Rose opened the door again for Sergio by making bogey and with things all tied up again both players hit great approaches to 18. Rose putted first and missed his 8ft birdie putt, leaving Sergio with 5ft approximately to win the Masters….the putt dribbled right and it was off to a play off.
On the first play off hole Rose missed the fairway and after taking 2 more to reach the green he missed a 12ft par putt. Having hit a great second shot in this left Sergio with 2 putts from 10ft to win the Masters.
One is all he needed and Sergio Garcia was finally a major champion and I can honestly say that despite my 25-1 ticket going down the drain I was delighted for him. [Honestly I was, I promise!!]
So the good news is we don’t have to start 2018 with that old question of ‘is this the year Sergio finally wins a major?’. The bad news is instead we can start it with…. ‘is this the year Rickie Fowler finally wins a major?’…..
Non Story of The Year
Before we reach the No 1 spot I thought I would briefly turn my attention to the ‘Non Story’ of the year on the PGA Tour.
There were a few contenders for this and I nearly plumped for Rory’s season but after due consideration I have decided to give the vote to the US Open at Erin Hills.
There are three things guaranteed in life, Death, Taxes and that every May/June as the US Open approaches you will be treated to pictures and comments from players about how they have visited the up coming US Open venue and that the rough is 10ft high, players will never find their way out, never mind find their ball, and that if the wind blows the winning score could be +20 etc, etc.
The 2017 US Open was no different in build up and as the day approached we all looked forward with anticipation to what this wonderful and picturesque brute of a course on the shores of Lake Michigan would deliver.
Unfortunately what it did deliver was a damp squib of an event with wide fairways, soft greens and not a breath of wind until the last day.
Obviously you can’t control mother nature and I’m sure if the anticipated wind had blown it would have been a more interesting week. I’m afraid though it just wasn’t a US Open test for me as Brooks’ -16 winning score proved.*
Roll on Shinnecock Hills…
*Before anyone says it I fully acknowledge that if I had backed Koepka my view on the week would have been totally different!
No 1 – Jordan Spieth’s Unbelievable Finish at Birkdale
For the No 1 story we return to the windswept Merseyside Coast and this years British Open at Royal Birkdale.
There is also unfortunately a bit of a theme developing here in that similarly to the No 2 story a player I had backed proved to be on the receiving end of an inspired finish from someone else.
As mentioned earlier I was at Birkdale for the Open and as well as having Grace in my starting team I had also invested some of my ‘hard earned’ before the off on Matt Kuchar at 66-1.
Come Sunday morning I had pretty much decided in my head that perennial nearly man Kooch wasn’t going to pip serial winner Spieth to the Claret Jug. Based on leaderboard positions I also felt Smiley Matt was a lock for the place money so I made the decision to follow Grace again on Sunday to see if he could also secure some place money for me.
As I followed Grace around I was naturally keeping an eye on the leaderboard and as the gap at the top closed up I started to think that just maybe it could be Kuch’s day.
Realistically though I was still fairly certain in my mind Jordan would get the job done, however I started to think a bit differently just after Jordan hit his tee shot on 13 and I began the following text exchange with a mate watching at home on TV…
Him. You must be loving this mate.
Me. Why, what’s happening? I’m following Grace so don’t know what leaders are doing.
Him. Spieth’s having a mare. His head’s gone and he’s just carved his tee shot on 13 miles right. Looks like a lost ball and prob a D Bogey. Can’t see him coming back from this.
I trundled on my merry way with Grace and about 20 mins later the text exchange started up again…
Him. Spieth found his ball but had to take a drop. Took ages but ended up playing from somewhere over in the driving range and got it up near the green!
Me. Do you think he can make a 5?…
Him. Looks a tough up & down.
Him. He’s knocked it to 6ft
Him. He’s holed it…
Me. That’s Spieth for you…
After his miracle bogey at 13 we all know what happened next. He ‘stiffed’ his tee shot on 14 to make birdie, holed a 35ft putt for eagle on 15 and holed another long birdie putt on 16 after missing the fairway of the tee. A further birdie followed at 17 and by the time they reached the 18th green Matt had the look of a man who couldn’t quite believe what he had seen.
As for me I didn’t see it happen live unfortunately but even watching it back afterwards, and with a 66-1 winner gone up in smoke, you just had to shake your head in admiration.
So to sum up, for me the best moment[s] of the year delivered by the player who undoubtedly has the biggest heart, mental strength, Kahuna’s etc on the Tour.
If 2018 delivers anything nearly as good it’ll be another cracking year…