Weekend Wrap

Lots to cover, so we'll dispense with the preliminaries....

Dire Wolff - After careful consideration, I went with the obscure Grateful Dead reference....  I do hope you appreciate that care with which each header is constructed.  On the other hand, my choice to ignore this event could be second-guessed at this point:

Fulfilling one’s promise requires a certain gestation period, although everybody is different. Not everyone navigates the same learning curve. Some are notably and perhaps surprisingly shorter than others.

Matthew Wolff didn’t even arrive at a bend. He just barreled through it. Straight to a victory. 

As the world’s top amateur and coming off a six-win collegiate season that included the NCAA individual title, Wolff had the makings of a player to be reckoned with someday on the professional circuit. In just his third start as a professional and fourth start in a PGA Tour event, he already has become that guy. With remarkable poise that belied his age, Wolff drilled a 26-foot, gut-check eagle on the 72nd hole at TPC Twin Cities to outduel fellow All-American standout Collin Morikawa and World No. 8 Bryson DeChambeau, and capture the inaugural 3M Open.

This can't miss kid seems like he won't, you know, miss....  The Golf.com guys take on his prospects:

1. Matthew Wolff, the reigning NCAA champion who made only his fourth PGA Tour start this week (third as a pro), made a dramatic eagle on the final hole to win the inaugural 3M Open on Sunday in Minnesota. At just 20 he’s the youngest Tour winner since Jordan Spieth won the John Deere Classic in 2013, and he’s only the third player ever to win the NCAA title and win a Tour event in the same year (joining Tiger Woods and Ben Crenshaw). Is it too early to call him the Tour’s next superstar? 

Luke Kerr-Dineen: With all due respect to Wolff and every other young player out there, yes, it’s still far too early. His talent is undeniable, but even Wolff himself knows there’s a learning curve to winning week-in, week-out on the PGA Tour. 

Josh Sens: In sportswriting, “superstar” is like “legendary” — it gets tossed around too easily. But that closing eagle was quite the statement. As a compromise, how about we just call him the Tour’s brightest emerging star? At least until next week, when some other dude too young to drink legally wins.

Victor Hovland, call your office.

John Wood has some advice for the young man:

John Wood: I hope Matthew’s people leave him alone and don’t throw a bunch of temptations and outings and side gigs at him right now. I know you’re supposed to strike while the iron’s hot, but if he plays like this, the iron will be hot for quite a while. Now I don’t know if he will be a superstar or not, but I guarantee he won’t be if, at 20, he starts getting pulled in different directions and has to use energy and attention that aren’t about golf. If he’s going to be a superstar, he’s going to do it winning golf tournaments, so for the time being I hope he’s left alone. But yes, it’s too early to call him the next superstar.

Did anyone think to ask whether the kid has a passport, as I assume he's headed to Portrush.

This next query of the TC panel is the more interesting:

2. Are the rise of unconventional moves like Wolff and fellow young stud Viktor Hovland evidence in this era of robo-swings and Trackman that more young players should embrace the eccentricities of their swings? 

Michael Bamberger: To borrow a phrase of yesterday and today, a borderline cliche but

deeply true: “Swing your swing.” I wouldn’t say “should” — I would say be open to what works best for you, and if nobody else does it quite like that, so what? 

Kerr-Dineen: Lots of people like to talk about how distance is ruining the game, but let’s take a moment to appreciate how it’s making golf better. Matt Wolff is a living example. His swing is not efficient or, dare I say, even pretty. But it doesn’t need to be. It’s the product of raw, unabashed power. He grew up in an era where swinging hard was the first, second and third goal. That’s what led Wolff down this path. Finding creative ways to swing the club to generate speed. You no longer need to be textbook to make it to the very top of the sport, and golf is better for it.

I know his swing is off-the-charts weird, but I'm so distracted by that trigger mechanism that I can't even focus on the actual swing....

Sens: I remember the first time I saw Eamonn Darcy play in person, and I think he shot 64. So yeah. Own your swing. That doesn’t mean embrace idiosyncrasies just for the sake of them. But also don’t go changing quirks that work. 

Wood: It’s remarkable to me in this day and age of Trackman and video and making sure you’ve got a world-class teacher by age 11 to hammer out all of your eccentricities that two young players like this have made it this far and had so much success so early. It’s damn impressive. I think it gives license to young players to do exactly that, embrace the eccentricities of their swings. Will it result in everyone swinging like Matt Wolff in 10 years? No. But it will help guys realize a 65 is a 65 no matter how you swing it. 

Ritter: It’s ironic the guy Wolff clipped for the title, Bryson DeChambeau, is another young pro doing it his own way. I love it. The robo-swing isn’t dead — I mean, I could watch Rory, Oosty and Adam Scott hit shots all day — but the old adage remains: there’s more than one way to make a score.

All well worth it, if only for the Eamonn Darcy reference...

Good times.

And as long as we're on the subject of Ireland....

Rahmbolicious - I respect a well-crafted lede as much as the next guy, and this one goes deep:

The Spanish influences in these parts stretch all the way back to the Armada of 1588, to such a degree that place-names and even some bloodlines provide a reminder of how that long-ago storm inflicted disaster became part of its very fabric.

Didn't Seve play in the Spanish Armada at Valerama?

What followed was quite extraordinary, as Rahm rebounded from the bogey on 13 with birdies at the 14th and 15th and another on the 17th to stretch into an unassailable lead.

Indeed, Rahm had no fewer than 11 threes on his scorecard, including six in succession from the seventh with the sequence finished with an eagle three on the Par 5 12th, where he sank a 25-footer. By the time he reached the 18th green, he was ready for the coronation and the acclaim of those supporters among the final day crowd of 20,477 who took him to their hearts. 

“Every time I come, I feel like part of history is being made, and it’s just a humbling experience to come and play in front of this crowd. The list of winners, Faldo, McIlroy, Olazabal, Seve, the champions at this event, and to put my name on there is really special,” said Rahm.

A 62 with tow bogeys isn't something one sees every day, and you wouldn't think this quirky, shortish links would be where this basher would excel.

He'll draw quite a bit of action in a couple of weeks you'd think, especially as his first Irish Open win was at Portstewart, located next door to Portrush.

It seemed to be quite the great week for both the golf club and the village, props to Paul McGinley for the inspired venue choice.  They shut down the roads at night, and seemed to have a grand old time of it:

Small Is The New Big - Josh Sens has a fun feature on the best short courses in these United States, including these well-known examples:

THE CRADLE, Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, NC 

At Pinehurst’s birth, more than a century ago, the property was dubbed the Cradle of American of Golf. From that cradle grew an iconic resort that now boasts 10 courses, including, yes, The Cradle, a stellar Gil Hanse design with nine artful holes ranging in length from 56 to 127 yards.

THE PRESERVE, Bandon Dunes, Bandon, OR 

To architecture buffs, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are best known for such masterpieces of modern minimalism as Sand Hills, Old Sandwich and Streamsong Red. But the duo also do fine work on smaller canvases. Nestled in the bluffs along the Oregon coast, this 13-hole track mingles all the elements of wind-swept links-like golf with Coore-Crenshaw artistry in miniature. Think of it as par-3 golf as it was meant to be.

My last visit to each of these two resorts predates the completion of their short courses....  Of course, no hurry to return to Bandon Dunes, at least until they finish the Bally Bandon Sheep Ranch.

Pine Valley doesn't get a mention, though their short course has an interesting twist.  Apparently, they replicate the approach shots to some of their Par-4's....  I say apparently, because I'm still awaiting that invite....

Portrush On My Brain -  It's with great sadness that I move on from Lahinch, though that blow is cushioned by that which lies ahead.  Not the Scottish, though I'll for sure tune i to see Tom Doak's Renaissance Club, but we'll be obsessed with Royal Portrush the next two weeks.  You've been forewarned.....

Alan Shipnuck takes a crack (as an aside crack, or craic, is a word you'll hear often in the UK, meaning fun, humor and good times) at the longshot that was the Open's return to Portrush:

Graeme McDowell grew up in the tiny town of Portrush, on the northern tip of the Irish island. Like many before him, he came to America chasing a dream. In his case it was golf glory, which led McDowell to matriculate at the University of Alabama at 

The scenes of McDowell's youth.

Birmingham. He was baffled by more than just the accents and the cuisine. “I was overwhelmed by the patriotism,” McDowell says. “You go to a football or basketball game and it’s in the air, it’s part of the ritual. Even now having lived in the States for a long time, I still can get overwhelmed by it. I’ve never been patriotic because it’s very hard to be proud of where I grew up.” 

This has nothing to do with Portrush itself, which boasts gorgeous coastal views, a charming downtown and one of the most awe-inspiring golf courses in the world, the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush. It was good enough to host the 1951 Open Championship, the first time the event had left Scotland or England. Royal Portrush should have become a fabled part of the rota, but beginning in the late 1960s all of Northern Ireland was engulfed in the civil war which came to be known euphemistically as the Troubles. The roots of the conflict dated back centuries, but the modern violence was fueled by a toxic mix of nationalism, religion and partisan politics. The Troubles simmered for three decades, pitting neighbor against neighbor and leading to more than 50,000 casualties and 3,500 deaths, often from indiscriminate bombings and deeply personal doorstep shootings. This was the Northern Ireland of McDowell’s youth.

It couldn't have helped that the Open's traditional July date is marching season, when the Orangemen come out in force.  It's a little inside baseball, but it brings all those buried tensions to the surface.....

Give it a read in its entirety, but Alan also includes this wonderful photo of Max Faulkner, the winner, from that 1951 Open:

And this of the new eighth hole:

We'll have plenty of time to discuss these two new holes, as well as my faves from our visits there.  Just one last piece of eye candy, the magical fifth hole:

There may be better golf holes on the planet, but there can't be too many....

Alistair Tait captures the significance for the locals:

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Two days in Northern Ireland have me looking forward to a British Open like no other. The 148th running of the game’s oldest tournament could be one of the most memorable. 

To say the people of Northern Ireland are pumped about staging the Open is an understatement. They can’t wait for major-championship golf to return to the course they think is the Emerald Isle’s best. The R&A has released additional tickets to satisfy demand for the first British Open in Northern Ireland in 68 years since Max Faulkner’s 1951 victory. An extra 3,750 tickets per championship day have been released after the initial 40,000 allotment sold out in record time. 

I was in Portrush for the 2012 Irish Open when 130,000 spectators in all turned out despite miserable weather. I was at the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down when thousands of fans showed up to watch the amateur team matches. Rory McIlroy was the common denominator on both occasions.

Yes, Rory was at both, though that hardly seems the point.  That 1012 Irish Open was an audition for an Open Championship, and the Ulstermen and ladies turned out  in strength.

How can one not be happy for these long-suffering folks, who now have a chance to create a normal homeland.

The holes being abandoned, the original 17th and 18th are no loss, and the new ones are drawing raves:

Two new holes, Nos. 7 and 8, replace the old 17th and 18th to make the 7,344-yard, par-71 layout much stronger. Architect Martin Ebert has routed them into the dunes of the nearby Valley course. No. 7 is a 592-yard par 5 that runs parallel to high dune land separating the links from the sea, while the 434-yard eighth runs back parallel to the seventh. 

If you hadn’t played Royal Portrush before, you wouldn’t know the holes were new. They fit seamlessly into the dunes as if they had been there since Harry Colt first conceived the Dunluce Links in 1929. 

“They look like they’ve been here forever,” McIlroy said.

It's gonna be great....  Has everyone heard of Calamity Corner?

There may be better names for a golf hole, but there can't be too many....Don't worry, we'll cover all you need to know about this great Par-3, including Bobby Locke's Hollow.

I don't know how much links golf Brooks Koepka has played, though he does have this interesting home field advantage:

Luckily for Koepka, though, his caddie, Ricky Elliott, grew up playing Royal Portrush.

Koepka hopes Elliott, a Northern Ireland native, can offer insight into a course that hasn’t played host to The Open since 1951, as Koepka hunts his second major victory of the 2018-19 campaign.

“I hope he knows that golf course like the back of his hand,” Koepka said. “That was his home course growing up. It’s links golf. It’s always a bit different. I enjoy it, because I see about 10, 15 different shots every time I’m over the ball. … But [Elliott] knows that golf course probably better than anybody other than [Graeme McDowell].”

Does Brooks know that that'll only help on sixteen of eighteen?

Balls, said the Queen....  Fortunately, Martin Slumbers has a pair:

R&A tells John Daly to take a walk at British Open

“We have carefully considered the request from John Daly to use a buggy at The Open,” the R&A said in a statement. “We appreciate the difficulty John is facing and have full

sympathy for him as this is clearly a serious, long-term condition. Having considered all of the relevant factors, the Championship Committee has decided to decline his request. 

“We believe that walking the course is an integral part of the Championship and is central to the tradition of links golf which is synonymous with The Open. We must also ensure that, as far as possible, the challenge is the same for all players in the field. 

“The terrain at Royal Portrush is not suited to buggies and indeed the club itself does not permit their use. We have a serious concern that some parts of the course, where there are severe slopes and swales, would be inaccessible.

The TC panel gets into it a swell:

4. 1995 Open champ John Daly’s request to use a cart at this month’s Open Championship — as he did at the PGA Championship — was declined by The R&A. The governing body said walking is “an integral part of the Championship” and wants to make sure the challenge is the same for all players. Daly, who says he has bi-compartmental degenerative arthritis in his right knee, said he “could not disagree more” with The R&A’s decision but plans to tee it up at Royal Portrush anyway. Did The R&A get this one right, or is this ruling too harsh for a former champ? 

Bamberger: They got it right, but either way it would have been right. I think if they thought the ONLY thing that prevented a Daly or any other golfer the ability to play in its Championship was the use of a buggy, they’d permit it. At least, I would. But the threshold has to be incredibly high. Here, it apparently wasn’t. It’s not like he can’t walk. He can. 

Kerr-Dineen: It’s a tricky situation. I’d think a ruling like this would be too harsh in a number of different instances, but it feels like it’s fair in Daly’s case, because it feels as though he’s the one abusing this privilege. It’s not as though he’s helped his own cause; he showed up to the PGA in a cart with a cigarette dangling from his mouth and a McDonald’s cup in the cupholder. 

Sens: They got it right. To add to Luke’s point, Daly hasn’t just been open about his bad health habits in the past; he has profited from them, which made his use of a cart at the PGA seem a bit like a big thumbing-of-the-nose at the game. Beyond that, seems he actually can walk. He’s going to play at Portrush. Who knows. Maybe he’ll even discover, as many golfers have before, that he actually scores better walking, taxing as it may be.

All good points, but not for the first time, Mr. Dally has made a fool of everyone that takes him seriously.   Because, after petitioning the R&A based upon his inability to play the event otherwise....

John Daly, upset his request to use cart at Open Championship was denied, plans to play Royal Portrush anyway

Maybe if we all ignore him he'll finally go away?

Lots more Portrush coverage in the coming days...

Great Minds Think Alike -  It so happens that Bobby D. brought this subject up last night:

7. Automatic qualifying for this year’s Presidents Cup ends in less than two months, and Phil Mickelson, who has played in all 12 of the events, is on the outside looking in (14th with top eight qualifying). Luckily for him he appears to already be on captain Tiger Woods’ short list. “His phenomenal level of consistency over a long period of time is something we should not take for granted,” Woods told the Australian AP. Can you imagine a situation in which Woods would not use one of his four picks on Mickelson?

Given their recent bromance and intertwined economic interests, it's complicated, no?

Bamberger: Yes, for sure. If Phil does not contend between here and the end of August, I don’t believe Tiger will pick him. Tiger’s looking for points. He’ll let somebody else worry about TV ratings. 

Kerr-Dineen: The President’s Cup has become so uncompetitive in recent years that I can’t see a serious movement to leave Phil Mickelson off the team ever gaining momentum, regardless of how poorly he might be playing. He’ll have a spot on this team, whether he deserves one or not. 

Sens: Yes. Here’s a scenario: Phil’s game goes in the tank, and there are four guys playing much, much better. They may be more chummy than they once were. But the U.S has only lost this thing once in 12 tries. Tiger will do what he thinks needs doing to prevent it from happening a second time. Maybe that will involve Phil. Maybe not. There’s no guarantee. 

Wood: Of course he’s on the short list as he should be. If he stays close to where he is on the points list and shows some signs of good play, I think Tiger would pick him. All things being equal, Phil is phenomenal in the team room, if only for some entertainment, so Tiger would take that into consideration I’m sure. Besides, if Bryson makes the team Tiger will need someone to at least nod and pretend they know what he’s talking about.

Ummm, Josh, the man had about 114 penalty strokes on Thursday, so the tank has been achieved.  But Phil at his best is problematic, because you really can't play him in foursomes (I do hope Furyk is taking notes).

But this is just a deliciously ironic answer:

Ritter: I think Phil’s spot is safe, unless Phil himself feels so out of sorts this fall that he begs off.

Does anyone but me remember how Tiger treated Watson in '14, refusing to take himself out of consideration until the very last moment?  Payback's a bitch.

See you tomorrow.