Wyndham Championship
What an incredible two weeks it’s been. Between Team USA winning gold in both men’s and women’s Olympic golf, Ambraham Ancer winning his first PGA Tour event, and the playoffs are right around the corner golf is booming right now. Before I get into Ancer’s first win I want to take some time to talk about Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda. These two players are just downright on fire right now, especially Nelly. These Olympics however were very special to Xander and his family, more specifically to his dad. Xander’s father’s Olympic dreams were cut short when a drunk driver hit him and injured him so badly he could never compete. Upon winning the gold medal Xander was emotional because not only was this his dream being lived out but it was his father’s dream too. Xander’s play throughout the week was flawless, in his Olympic debut he remained poised under pressure and was able to make a 5-6 foot putt for par on the 72nd hole to win by one shot. Over to the women’s side, Nelly Korda is undoubtedly the best female golfer on the planet. She is just winning everything this season and if she doesn’t win she’s top 10 at the worst. Nelly has won 3 times this year on the LPGA Tour including a major and now she has tacked on a gold medal as well. Korda is now currently the #1 player in the world and she is showing no signs of slowing down. I encourage golf fans to not only tune in to watch Nelly, but to watch The LPGA Tour as well. These women can play and it’s really fun to watch them get going.
In other Olympic news, Bryson DeChambeau has yet again found himself in the news in bad taste. Bryson contracted Covid-19 and had to withdraw from the Olympics. Upon further investigation it came out that Bryson was not yet vaccinated. This is where it gets bad. Bryson’s reason for not receiving the vaccine was that he wanted to save it for somebody who needs it. I’m not going to go into much more detail than this because frankly that was the weakest reason I’ve ever heard in my life and it doesn’t deserve the time of day. I’m sure in the next week or so we will see Bryson back in the news once again.
In much more exciting news Mexico’s Ambraham Ancer has captured his maiden PGA Tour victory at the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational. This was a long time coming for Ancer, he’s played so solid for so long and has just come up short more times than you can count. However this win did not come easy. Ancer’s last round was very average, only shooting 2 under par 68 for the day. While the rest of the field made huge moves. Sam Burns finished Sunday’s round with a 64 getting him to 16 under for the week and Hideki Matsuyama came in with a 63 to make it to 16 under as well. This put Ancer in a three man playoff. Ancer made quick work on the playoff making birdie on the second playoff hole to claim his maiden victory. I love watching first time winners on tour because the emotions are just one of a kind. The grinding, the practice, the traveling, when it all comes together the happiness and joy that fills you is unlike anything in this world. Hats off to Abraham Ancer, this man is going to do some damage in the future.
With the season winding down, we grow closer and closer to the coveted FedEx Cup Playoffs and that 15 million dollar grand prize. With the way things are shaping up there’s 30 guys at least that are capable of winning the cup and that’s probably the most exciting thing about the playoffs this year. Although before we get there we have one final event of the season: The Wyndham Championship. This is a huge week for some bubble guys that are either on the brink of the playoffs or in danger of losing their tour cards. This is always a fun week because it’s fight or flight for some of these guys and they are going to pull out all the stops to stay on tour. Tune in to the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club for some incredible golf this week. (Mike)
One thing to note about guys fighting for their spot in the playoffs is how poorly the PGA Tour has handled the Will Zalatoris situation. For those unfamiliar with the situation, he has to win this week to qualify for the playoffs. Usually this is a situation many guys face, but Will has played lights out all year since he got special temporary member status. He has three top 10’s in four starts this year. This included his coming out party at The Master’s where he burst onto the scene with a solo second. In the same week the Tour gave Xander exemption into the Tournament of Champions for winning gold it should would be nice to do the right thing and put Will in the playoffs.
I am sure we will talk about it more in next week’s blog, but there was a massive revamp announced today for the Official World Golf Rankings. This is such a welcomed change and a long overdue change. My first thought is that there is a lot I have left to understand about the changes. From what I understand, the changes are positive, but as we all get to learn more about the changes it is hard to have a firm opinion. Regardless, Mike and I have already talked about how stoked we are to see the revamp take place next year and see how it changes the game, if any. There is a lot to look forward to still this year, but the list is growing longer by the day for things to get excited about for next year. (Tyler)
Pick’s of the Week:
Tyler: My pick for the week is Tommy Fleetwood at 33-1. I think he finally gets a long overdue win to head into the playoffs with some momentum. Tommy is a guy that is so much better than his lack of wins indicate. He is going to get a handful of wins over the next few years, it is just a matter of when.
My sleeper pick is Branden Grace at 50-1. I like his ability to go low in a hurry. The Wyndham is notorious for giving us some crazy low rounds which bodes well for the golfer who has the lowest round in major history.
My notable to miss the cut is Matthew Wolff. I was skeptical of his game, then I became a believer and now I am back to being skeptical. I do not think he puts it all together this week and misses the cut by a stroke. I hope he proves me wrong because golf is better when the young guns are all out there firing. (Tyler)