Green Repeats At Wilshire; McIlroy & Lowry Take The Zurich
Plus, Kinnings opens a Ryder Cup door he insists was always open, more NBC woes, and Greg Norman feels sorry for everyone who underestimated his vision.
Hannah Green’s affinity for firm conditions and refined design continued at Wilshire Country Club as the Australian defended her JM Eagle L.A. Championship title thanks to a final round, 5-under-par 66.
A winner here last year in cooler and slightly softer conditions, Green blew past the field with the second-lowest score Sunday. Green’s love of sandbelt golf’s emphasis on precision was once again evident at an architectural gem dropped from the Jazz Age into the center of Tinsletown.
Wilshire’s small, difficult-to-read greens took on a grey sheen Sunday under bright sunshine and low humidity. As pursuers faded away, Green took advantage when all but runner-up Maja Stark backed up.
“With my ball flight it kind of helps when I'm able to land the ball a little bit better and be able spin it a little bit more,” the 27-year-old Green said. “I really love it here, obviously. It does feel somewhat like home in a sense that I have so many people that come and watch me. There are a lot Aussies come as well and cheer me on.”
Stark, the fiery Swedish runner-up last week in the first women’s major of 2024, put up a valiant fight Sunday by posting final round 69. Green was aware of her nearest chaser but proceeded to chip in for birdie at the par 3 12th, then birdied the three-shot 13th before sealing her fifth LPGA victory with eagle at the reachable par 5 15th—despite having to wait for 8 minutes at tee and just as long in the fairway.
“That was the big momentum,” Green said of the 12th hole chip for a birdie two. “When that went in it definitely switched the momentum. Then obviously making birdie on the next hole. I think the putt on 15 was the one that really sealed the deal. Kind of unexpected, but went in with pace.”
Green was one of only two players to make a pair of eagles for the week and Sunday’s round saw her hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens. She had 27 putts. According to KPMG Performance Insights, in the last four years at Wilshire, only three players have beaten Green against a combined 572 opponents at the Hancock Park course.
Green loves the Larchmont Village neighborhood near Wilshire and thanks to a late tee time, once again hit her favorite breakfast sandwich spot, the hipster haven Great White.
“That was my go-to this year,” Green said. “It's like a burger bun. It's not very healthy. It was a burger bun, bacon, cheesy hash, eggs, and avocado. And special sauce.”
The performance came as a mild surprise after Green missed the cut in last week’s Chevron Championship. But after another JM Eagle triumph she takes home the $562,500 winner’s check and sets sight on the four remaining majors, including the KPMG Women’s PGA where Green was the 2019 champion.
Sunday’s triumph in the JM Eagle is her second win of 2024 after late February’s HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Green also became the first LPGA Tour winner in almost two months not named Nelly Korda.
Also…
Third round Chevron Championship leader Haeran Ryu shot a final round 69 to finish T3.
LPGA rookie Jin Hee Im made the cut on the number Friday (2-over 144) but still had a chance to win after her record-setting, 8-under 63 on Saturday. Im tied for fourth with Jin Young Ko, who posted 67 after starting the day T21.
Russian golfer Nataliya Guseva finished T6.
The Saturday atmosphere at Wilshire was noticeably ebullient thanks to almost 1,000 children from various local youth organizations. In addition to free admission, the wee ones enjoyed a fun putting course, simulator shots inside the TGL’s mobile Los Angeles Golf Club truck, and a clinic with Maria Fassi. The day was all courtesy of sponsor JM Eagle, who also sent the kids home with loads of free stuff including personalized hats. Participating organizations included the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation, 61 Golf, DEA Educational Foundation, LA Golf Club, the Watts Labor Community Action Committee and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach.
Wilshire is set to undergo a second renovation by architect Kyle Phillips to convert greens to bent while reclaiming more elements lost to barranca erosion, turf conversion and to resolve flood control issues that have prevented a full restoration of the club’s once-infamous 18th hole (17th in the JM Eagle). You can watch this animation of the upcoming restoration work here:
Continuing a sad broadcast downgrade theme discussed later in this Quad, Comcast’s race to the cost-cutting bottom claimed a crane camera at Wilshire. The high-up view provided incredible shots of Wilshire’s captivating closing holes and the surrounding city. The camera had been a staple of Golf Channel coverage in six playings of this event and helped fuel newfound nationwide appreciation for Norman MacBeth’s design and the club’s remarkable Hollywood-adjacent location. The likely saving cost to the network: around $20,000 for the week.
On the opposite end of the spending spectrum, the JM Eagle LA Championship purse was raised $750,000 this year to $3.75 million. That makes it the largest payday available on the LPGA Tour outside of the majors and the CME Group Tour Championship. Since taking over the event in 2022, JM Eagle CEO Walter Wang has raised the purse by $2.25 million.
Elsewhere in golf…
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry parred the first sudden-death playoff hole to win the Zurich Classic over Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer. The Irish duo were making their Zurich Classic debut. They birdied the last hole in Sunday’s alternate shot format to force the playoff with Ramey and Trainer, who had combined for a stunning 63 to tie the Zurich’s foursomes scoring record.
The official victory counts as McIlroy’s 25th on the PGA Tour tying him with Tommy Armour, Johnny Miller and Macdonald Smith at 23rd on the all-time PGA Tour wins list. The victory is his first since the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open.
Third-round leaders and former BYU teammates Zac Blair and Patrick Fishburn finished T4 after an even-par 72.
Yuto Katsuragawa took his homeland’s DP World Tour stop in Japan with a final round 63 to win the ISPS HANDA Championship by three strokes over Sweden’s Sebastian Söderberg.
Katsuragawa continues a historic run for Japanese players on the DP World Tour. Beginning with Ryo Hisatsune's win at last season's Cazoo Open de France and 2024 wins by Rikuya Hoshino’s at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and Keito Nakajima at the Hero Indian Open, the current crop of Japanese players have matched the total number of DP World Tour wins by golfers from Japan prior to 2023.
Katsuragawa said after his round that he’ll be joining the DP World with hopes of earning one of the ten season-ending cards granting PGA Tour access. “I knew that if I could get into the top ten on the DP World Tour (at the end of the season) I could also go onto the PGA Tour, so yes I will become a DP World Tour now and I aim to be a PGA Tour member in the future.”
Brendan Steele captured LIV’s Adelaide event by one stroke over Louis Oosthuizen while the all-Australian Ripper GC’s took the team title in a first-ever team playoff. A six-way tie for third included Charl Schwartzel, Jon Rahm, Andy Ogletree, Joaquin Niemann and Dean Burmester.
Brooks Koepka, who defends his PGA Championship title in two weeks, finished T9.
Kinnings: Door Open For Rahm, Hatton Ryder Return
New DP World Tour head Guy Kinnings signaled a subtle change in direction from his predecessor. In his first London media briefing since officially taking over for Keith Pelley, Kinnings dropped two newsworthy items signaling a less-strident position toward LIV defectors and negotiating with rival. At least compared to his “strategic alliance” partners at the PGA Tour.
By insisting the rules have always been in place for LIV-departees Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton to be part of Europe’s next Ryder Cup team, Kinnings also admitted to fuzziness on a few details in confirming he had to consult with the DP World Tour’s rules department to understand the apparent non-loophole loophole allowing for suspended members to retain Ryder Cup eligibility.
Until taking over for Pelley, Kinnings oversaw the European Tour’s Ryder Cup operation. So if he wasn’t clear on the Ryder Cup rules then how were the rest of us to have know Rahm and Hatton’s options?
From James Corrigan’s Telegraph story:
“I think there’s been a slight misconception because the reality is, under the current rules, if a player is European, and is a member of the DP World Tour, and abides by the rules as they currently are – so if you don’t get a release and you accept the sanctions – there is no reason why players who have taken LIV membership and maintained DP World Tour membership, could not a) qualify and/or b) be available for [wildcard] selection,” Kinnings said.
Kinnings, a former lawyer, is aware that many will be surprised by this news – not least, perhaps, “strategic alliance” partner the PGA Tour, which has issued effective lifetime bans for all the LIV rebels.
Rahm and Hatton did not resign their memberships in contrast to former Ryder Cup stalwarts Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson.
This means the duo can serve suspensions in non-LIV weeks while needing to play four DP World Tour events. The Olympics can also count as one of those appearances, helping Rahm, who has already said he’s likely to play the Andalucia Masters. That likely leaves two season-ending Middle East stops if he so chooses.
That Kinnings chose to clarify this publicly highlights the European Tour Group’s different approach to a coveted team event. Albeit one with massive financial ramifications for the Tour’s coffers. Still, in stark contrast, the PGA Tour has already made clear via International Presidents Cup captain Mike Weir that his side cannot consider LIV-defectors for September’s matches in Montreal.
Kinnings also suggested that all key parties with a stake in the professional game have yet to sit in a room to discuss the giant mess they’ve made of non-major championship golf.
From Martin Dempster’s Scotsman story on the gathering:
“I was talking to the guys from the Strategic Sports Group (which struck a billion dollar commercial agreement with the PGA Tour earlier this year) and I said ‘listen, we’ve got to get together, we’ve got to pull it all together, we’ve got to find the product that works - it probably won’t be until 2026 but beyond there - and is good for the game, something that fans like and works for everyone. But, at the end of the day, it has got to be something that is appealing to them. It’s got to work for all parties and everyone is going to have to do things they don’t necessarily want to, a compromise. But that’s what you do if you strike a deal, it won’t happen until we get everyone in a room together.”
Thoughts and prayers for the parties to find flights on Expedia within their budgets and the necessary free time to all get together for a chat.
NBC Still Has No Lead Analyst As Majors Near
