Weekend Wrap: Rain Wreaks Havoc In Palm Beach; Niemann And Green Win
Monday finish guts the First World's Seminole Pro-member field. Plus, Tiger to receive the Bob Jones Award, Shinnecock to host back-to-back Opens, Azinger opens up on NBC departure, This and That.
We don’t generally do advice here. But The Quad staff held a special Sunday Zoom and, against the legal department’s strongest admonitions, we voted in favor of taking a bold stance: if anyone associated with the PGA Tour offers an all-expenses paid trip to the palm-and-warm-breezes locale of your choice?
Hard pass. No one, especially Quad subscribers, should become the inspiration for White Lotus season four.
The PGA Tour’s run of horrendous luck may prompt a new Global Home search record for “definition of karma” after 1.72 inches fell on PGA National Sunday. The three hour-plus delay forces a dreaded Monday finish for what was already a dreadful event. And not just any Monday, but the one where the ultimate Old Boys Club event welcomes the pro-generates to their enclave known as Seminole.
Sunday’s sorta-forecasted wet stuff continued 2024’s nightmarish start for the Tour. Fields have been consistently light and the weather has been unkind. Set it all against Saudi Arabia’s LIV, where many names have fled in search of playing less often for more money, and it’s time for announcers to drop the “fields have never been deeper” nonsense to explain the no-names atop leaderboards.
But at least the American side in pro golf’s tug-of-war got a break when LIV’s crazy coot of a Commissioner couldn’t sit still and added an undeserving player to the rival circuit. Greg Norman is mired in the late stages of his well-chronicled case of acute Youth Desperation Syndrome and seems willing to blow up LIV’s recent progress by owning the whole Free Anthony Kim debacle.
We’ll get to that and much more, including feisty comments aimed at NBC and Jay Monahan from Paul Azinger, a big award for Tiger, and more majors that already have Shinnecock’s greens wilting. And it’s only March 4th.
But first, the 85th Masters field invite could be going out some time Monday depending on how the ridiculous-sounding Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches plays out. Austin Eckroat holds a one-stroke advantage over clubhouse leader Erik van Rooyen. Two back is last week’s winner in Mexico, Jake Knapp, while Keith Mitchell, Billy Horschel, Alex Noren and Shane Lowry are three back. Mitchell’s final round is finished and Horschel has just one hole to play.
Of the contending group only Knapp and Lowry are currently in the Masters.
Coverage of the CCITPBs resumes Monday morning at 8 a.m. ET on Golf Channel and Peacock.
Now, onward to another busy weekend as the March to Augusta picks up steam.
Niemann Wins Again
Back in 1891 when Her Majesty the Queen bequeathed regal status on Royal Guernsey, the old crown-wearer never could have imagined golfers playing a royal links subjected to background noise in the form of Avicii vs. Eminem. Wait, you said what? It was Royal Greens they played? I could swear jet-lagged Feherty said Royal Guernsey. My apologies to Queen Victoria.
LIV Jeddah Presented by ZainKSA—Official Telecommunications Provider of LIV who pre-install Pegasus spyware on your mobile device free of charge—turned up at the course most known for Sergio Garcia’s attempts at reshaping bunkers and re-grassing greens. LIV also curiously returned to Jeddah with what seemed like a pandemic-reenactment free of spectators. Conflicting reports suggest thousands of Saudi citizens merely came camouflaged as rye grass rough and rock-infested waste bunkers. Either way, the funereal vibe seemed an appropriate way to celebrate the credibility-zapping idea of hyping Anthony Kim’s return after his exclusive 12-year tour of America’s finest gentlemen’s clubs.
The morbid affair wrapped up Sunday in King Abdullah Despotic City with Joaquin Niemann capturing his second LIV title in three starts following a closing 66. The recent Masters invitee cruised to a four-stroke victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. On the team front, those wily old Bonecrushers captured the title while Asterisk Gooch and his Smush GC flailed down the stretch. The world’s most elite-golfer-not-invited-to-The-Masters managed only a six-way tie for 6th that also included Phil Mickelson.
I can confirm after a leaderboard perusal that 2022 Open Champion Cam Smith still plays golf. He landed T41 with Scott Vincent, Andy Ogletree and fellow-whatever-happened-to-him teammate Marc Leishman.
Niemann’s recent run of sensational play includes a win at December’s Australian Open and two of LIV’s first three events. This has him somewhere around 25-1 to 30-1 for the Masters.
In a sign that frustration over the lack of a framework agreement Events of June 6th merger weighing on the angry fanboys of Twitter, outrage flowed over Niemann’s post-victory attempt at humor. Standing on the 18th at resplendent Royal Greens, on-course reporter Dom Boulet asked Niemann if he’s a favorite to win a major this year. The Chilean replied, “How is that possible? I’m like 100 in the world.”
Yes the statement came laced with traditional LIV aggrievement. But Niemann’s remark also seemed fairly harmless. Though any complaints about a world rankings snub seemed especially ill-advised after Gooch’s recent asterisk remark and Kim’s free-pass to play the remainder of LIV’s 2024 events.
The peculiar and decidedly shortsighted idea to welcome Kim came from Commish Norman at the worst possible time for LIV. By guaranteeing a spot to such a high profile flameout, Norman and friends gave rivals and boards fresh evidence that LIV still functions as an exhibition tour unworthy of the validation world ranking points could offer.
Kim had not played an event of any kind since a 2011 PGA Tour run of 11 MC’s and, a year later, a dreadful 4 MC’s, 2 WD’s and 1 DQ before he disappeared.
Recording understandably rusty rounds of 76-76-74—with a shank and cold top tossed in—Kim flashed moments reminiscent of his past abilities. He ultimately finished 11 back of fellow free agent Hudson Swafford and 33 strokes back of winner Niemann.
But at least Kim completed 54 holes unlike Matthew Wolff and Wade Ormsby. Plus, he got a picture with his sugar daddies! How is this trio not in the Seminole Pro-Member?! It’s not like they kidnapped anyone! Well, technically we’re not sure yet.
“I'm more encouraged after playing this tournament and playing like ass, really,” said Kim the word artist. “But I'm very encouraged. I'm excited about what's coming. My game is starting to shape up. I'm doing things that I used to do before.”
Highlighting how long he’s been away from the game, Kim took more than double the allotted time to search for a lost ball, was not aware how the current drop procedures work, and needed the golfing scientist Dustin Johnson to explain how a launch monitor works.
The entire farce threatened to highlight a delicate conflict for LIV: will the circuit adhere to the Rules of Golf?
Common sense suggests any signs of lax rules enforcement would be a credibility killer. Yet with so many of its players known as Rules, eh em, adversaries, there will be a temptation to defy the USGA and R&A code. LIV has already had a few rocky moments with Rules of Golf matters. But for the most part the circuit’s staff has stuck to them knowing that such defiance could hurts its cause.
Then on Sunday came a wild twist. The LIV’s rules staff did something their rivals at the PGA Tour will never do again now that players run the show: they handed out a slow play penalty.
The grouping of Jon Rahm, Kevin Na and Adrian Meronk struggled to keep up during the intense final round. Waiting on galleries to move or quiet down was not an issue. So after not making an effort to hit a shot within 40 seconds, LIV’s head rules official, Slugger White, dinged Meronk with a one-stroke penalty. The decision cost the Pole $200,000 after he dropped out of a fifth place tie. The following statement was released:
Score one for Slugger to help offset the Shark’s silliness.
Green Wins In Singapore
Hannah Green made a 27-foot putt on the final hole to cap off a stunning HSBC Women’s World Championship victory one over Celine Boutier.
After an opening 74, Green posted three 67’s capped off by one-putts on the final three holes to hold off Boutier, the 2023 Evian champion who posted a bogey-free 67. “I almost won the championship in 2021 when I was playing it for the first time,” Green said. “I remembered I three-putted 17 and then three-putt again on 18 to lose. It feels great to have this trophy in my hands now.”
It was the 27-year-old Green’s fourth LPGA Tour title. And the former major champion’s first since 2023’s JM Eagle LA Open.
A four-way tie for third included Yuna Nishimura, Mi Hyang Lee, Brooke Henderson and Nasa Hataoka.
Tiger To Receive 2024 Bob Jones Award
An announcement involving Tiger Woods was anticipated at Saturday’s USGA Annual Meeting.
Just not this one.