WEDGES:Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (46, 52 degrees), SM9 (56 degrees bent to 57 and 60 degrees bent to 61), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 shafts
Sepp Straka gets lesson in yin and yang of golf at Pinehurst.
The golfing gods taketh away, and the golfing gods giveth. Just ask Sepp Straka after his hole-in-one on No. 9 in Friday’s second round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
Straka was the recipient of the worst kind of bounce early in the round. His approach shot on No. 3 was good … too good. It doinked off the flagstick and rebounded backward into a greenside bunker. From there Straka butchered his recovery, sending his bunker shot over the green and eventually making triple-bogey 7. Among the toughest of tough breaks.
He faced no such bad bounce on No. 9. The two-time PGA Tour winner’s approach to the 194-yard par 3 bounced perfectly on the line and rolled into the cup just like a putt for the ace. It was the first hole-in-one at this year’s U.S. Open and the third in the Opens held at Pinehurst, along with Peter Jacobsen (2005) and Zach Johnson (2014). All three aces have come on the ninth hole.
“Yea, 7-iron. Perfect number for me,” he said. “Tried to land at 185. It was a really good swing. Middle of the face, went right at it. Fortunately rolled out and went in the hole.”
Playing with good friend J.T. Poston made it even more special.
“Had one of my best friends playing with me today, J.T. He was there for my ace at Augusta during the Par 3, as well. Our celebration this time was a little bit better.”
Straka opened with an even-par 70 in the first round. The triple bogey had knocked him back substantially, but the ace got the Austrian back to 2 over for the week.
Late in the day, Francesco Molinari would ace the ninth as well to become the fourth hole-in-one there in U.S. Open history.
‘BAD’ book makes its way back to Bryson DeChambeau.
PINEHURST, N.C. – It’s always something with Bryson DeChambeau.
If he’s not putting his foot in his mouth or saying something outlandish then he’s usually got some new-fangled training aid or piece of equipment he’s testing. On Thursday, DeChambeau lost his yardage book ahead of the first round of the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s No. 2 Course.
DeChambeau, arguably the player most devoted to data, guessed his yardage book, with his initials “BAD” on the cover, dropped out of his pocket in a courtesy car on the way to the 10th tee.
“Definitely it’s a bit of a comfort thing. It’s not a superstitious thing, but losing it was — that’s the first time I’ve done that in a long time. I just left it in the car,” he said. “Usually I’m not going into a car before playing my round. Must have fallen out when I got out. Is what it is.”
It didn’t seem to cause a problem for DeChambeau, who carded a 3-under 67 in the first round and shared third place with Matthieu Pavon. He noted that his caddie carried a backup yardage book. And his copy did surface and was returned to him. Who was the Good Samaritan?
“Luckily I got it back thanks to the officers,” DeChambeau said.
Asked if all his secrets remained intact, he replied, “Everything. All the secrets.”
The USGA honors the memory of Grayson Murray at Pinehurst.
PINEHURST, N.C. — The United States Golf Association is honoring the late Grayson Murray this week at Pinehurst Resort, which is hosting the 2024 U.S. Open.
The USGA has adorned a locker with a message about Murray, a Raleigh native and two-time PGA Tour winner: “The USGA remembers Grayson and pays tribute to the playing accomplishments that merited his place in the 124th U.S. Open Championship,”
The bottom of the plaque has a quote that reads: “Be kind to one another.”
Murray, who was open about his battle with alcohol issues and depression, was set to compete at Pinehurst as the 59th-ranked player in the world. The 30-year-old golfer died May 25 and his parents, Eric and Terry Murray, released a statement the following day saying their son’s death was a suicide.
Murray attended Wake Forest, East Carolina and Arizona State. He won the 2017 Barbasol Championship and 2024 Sony Open. Murray graduated from Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he won a state championship as a sophomore in 2010.
The 20-time major winner looks good swinging a club, too.
Roger Federer, who is now 42 and retired from the world of men’s professional tennis, which he dominated for more than two decades, appears to be finding a new way to enjoy his free time.
The 20-time major championship winner took to social media on Wednesday and posted a quick video of his golf swing.
On the tennis court, Federer was known for his graceful movement and effortless power, and it appears those traits have transitioned to his iron game because Federer’s move looks as solid as his iconic serve and legendary one-hand backhand.
The comment area was quickly filled with praise for the Swiss tennis star’s golf swing, including notes from Nelly Korda (“Do you need a coach? 💁♀️🙋♀️”), Jessica Korda (“Of course it looks pure.”), Adam Scott (“🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥”) and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald (“Smooth as your backhand Rog 🙌🏼”).
Federer’s long-time rival on the court, Rafael Nadal, is already a golf lover, so as the Spaniard nears retirement, now the two legendary tennis players will have a new way to extend their competition.
Tour pros teed off on the par-3 16th at Muirfield Village last year.
A familiar voice rang out as Jack and Barbara Nicklaus wheeled their golf cart past the 17th tee Wednesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
“Love No. 16,” Matt Kuchar yelled from No. 17 tee.
Nicklaus waved thanks and kept driving, presumably satisfied that at least one PGA Tour player was giving his redesign of the maligned par 3 a thumb’s-up.
Not all players were as enthusiastic with their praise.
“It’s better than it was. Put it that way,” said Jordan Spieth, one of several players who met with Nicklaus after the 2023 Memorial Tournament to share their misgivings about the hole at Muirfield Village, which ranks as the No. 1 private course in Ohio.
If Nicklaus was looking for a universal ringing endorsement of his changes, well, professional golfers seldom are 100 percent thrilled when confronted with a challenging hole.
And No. 16 is dastardly, forcing right-handed players to draw the ball – lefties must fade it – 218 yards into a narrow green with water on the left and a bunker back right. It has undergone several transformations through the years, but none has satisfied everyone.
No hole in the 49-year history of the Memorial Tournament has been criticized by players like the 16th, which took heat in the early days of the event when George Archer complained that no par 3 should be longer than 200 yards.
The complaints reached another level last year when several players took dead aim at the hole.
“It’s a stupid hole,” Westerville resident Jason Day said, echoing the sentiments of many.
Nicklaus took the feedback to heart, changing the hole by moving the tee about 30 yards to the right, which took more of the greenside pond out of play. More significantly, he removed a bunker just to the right of the green, replacing it with a grassy slope.
Jack Nicklaus drives his wife, Barbara, through a crowd of fans during a practice day for the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
What hasn’t changed is the firmness of the green, which is difficult to hold when tee shots land past the first 20 feet. That is after Nicklaus reshaped the putting surface in 2021 to help keep balls from bouncing off the green even on good shots.
“I’ve always really liked the hole,” Sahith Theegala said, before shooting holes in it. “But there does come a point where you’re hitting a shot and you feel you have no chance of holding the green, whether you hit a good shot or a bad shot, there needs to be a change made. I’ve landed a few balls like four paces on, in the middle of the green, and they went over the back of the green.”
The recent alterations Nicklaus made won’t change that, Theegala said.
“But because the angle changed if you hit a draw in there you can land it on the green and get one close, whereas before the angle was too straight on to be able to do that,” he said. “You’re going to see some guys hit some pretty big draws into the hole, taking less club, just because that bailout area front right is pretty easy now. Before, you pretty much chalk it up to a 4 and move on. It’s easier and a better hole now.”
Collin Morikawa explained that moving the tee actually has less impact than Nicklaus removing the front-right bunker.
“The bunker was never bad, but it’s not like you wanted to be in it,” he said. “The little runoff on the side isn’t as drastic as I thought it would be, so you could actually putt it or chip it across the green. It’s still a tough tee shot, don’t get me wrong. You’re still hitting 7-iron, 6-iron, 5-iron, depending on the wind, to a small, narrow green that doesn’t have a lot of depth.”
Xander Schauffele agreed with Morikawa that removing the bunker makes the 16th more gettable.
“It’s more fair now,” he said. “Taking that bunker out allows you to be as defensive as you would like, without sort of laying up with a 50-yard pitch shot. You’re going to see a lot of balls end up in that little area, especially those front two pins.”
Star-Lord pairs up with Peyton Manning, Rory McIlroy in celebrity pro-am pairing.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” star Chris Pratt joined join Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and former Ohio State wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez in a group with PGA Tour players Rory McIlroy and Jason Day at Wednesday’s Workday Golden Bear pro-am leading up to this week’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Pratt, Manning and Gonzalez teed off at 7 a.m. local time with McIlroy, and Day will sub in for McIlroy on the back nine.
The pro-am, which is part of Memorial Tournament week, also features a handful of other celebrities, including actor Rob Lowe playing with defending Memorial winner Viktor Hovland, and former NFL quarterback Steve Young playing with reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
Other current or former professional athletes teeing it up include Andre Iguodala (NBA), Buster Posey (MLB) and Harris Barton (NFL).
Charges were dropped, but the memory of arrest lives on for Scottie Scheffler.
Scottie Scheffler knows hisjail mug shotthat went viral on social media is here to stay.
The world’s No. 1-ranked golfer is relieved charges were dropped last week following his May 17 arrest for atraffic incident at the PGA Championshipin Louisville, Kentucky. Scheffler was handcuffed and briefly jailed after a Louisville police officer claimed the golfer failed to stop his SUV when ordered to do so. The officer claimed he was dragged and injured by Scheffler’s vehicle.
But while relieved, Scheffler said Tuesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club that having the charges dropped was “kind of only the beginning of kind of getting past it.”
Friends and golf fans now feel freed up to ask Scheffler about the traffic incident.
“I’m hoping to get there (to normalcy), but it’s almost more appropriate for people to … make jokes about it and stuff like that,” he said.
Even if he never has to answer another question about the arrest outside the gates of Valhalla Golf Club, Scheffler said the trauma will always be only a flashback away.
“That’s something that will always, I think, kind of stick with me,” he said. “That mug shot, I’m sure, is not going anywhere anytime soon.”
Scottie Scheffler with his caddie Ted Scott during the final round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Matt Stone-USA TODAY Sports)
The Memorialis Scheffler’s first tournament since thecharges were dropped, but he said the chaos has not negatively impacted his golf.
“When it comes to on the golf course, I’m always prepared to go out and play,” he said. “Even after I got arrested I went out on Friday and had a good round of golf. … No matter what the circumstances are off the course, if I’m showing up at a tournament it’s not some sort of ceremonial deal. I’m here to play.”
His record at Muirfield is impressive. In three appearances he has two third-place finish and a tie for 22nd.
Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, was prepared to seek legal action against the Louisville Police Department if the case had gone to court.
“If we needed to use it, I think Steve was more than ready … just because there was a ton of evidence in our favor,” Scheffler said. “There were eyewitnesses on the scene that corroborated my story. All the evidence pointed to exactly what my side of the story was.
“But at the end of the day, I did not want to have to pursue legal action against Louisville, because the people of Louisville are then going to have to pay for the mistakes of their police department, and that just doesn’t seem right.”
Going through what he did in Louisville does not change his perspective on the criminal justice system or whether he would now think twice about assuming someone is guilty of a crime.
“I try to believe people are innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “So when someone is accused of something … I try not to see people for kind of their bad sides. Just because somebody’s accused of something doesn’t mean they actually did it, or maybe they did do it and maybe they just made a mistake.
‘I know the whole club is hurting. I know all the members are going to miss him.’
JUPITER, Fla. — The guilt, even for casual friends, can be overwhelming when someone takes their life.
What could I have done? What could I have said? Could I have in some way prevented this tragedy?
This is what PGA Tour professional and Jupiter residentDaniel Bergeris feeling today, since learning fellow professional golferGrayson Murray died by suicide May 25.
Berger had lunch with Murray at Colonial Country Club on the Tuesday before the Charles Schwab Challenge. Two days later, they each played their first round of the tournament in Texas.
On the following Saturday, Murray was back at his home in Palm Beach Gardens after withdrawing from the event the day before. That morning, he took his life.
Now Berger, who is 31 and was born the same year as Murray, wonders if there is anything he could have done to help Murray.
“What if I could have said one thing,” Berger said Monday at the Bear’s Club after qualifying for next week’s U.S. Open. “If I asked him is there anything you needed. Maybe that could have made a difference.”
Daniel Berger at the 2024 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)
Murray was a member atDye Preserve Golf Clubin Jupiter. Dye’s roster includes several professionals who live in the area, like Berger.
Several of Murray’s peers from Dye and from the area played Monday’s final qualifying at Jack Nicklaus’ Bear’s Club and remembered their friend.
Luke Donald,who lives in Jupiter, was one of the first to react to the news on social media, saying how devastated he was and how Murray recently asked him for advice on how to play Augusta National, site of the Masters.
Donald said Monday that conversation was at Dye Preserve.
“He came over and just started asking me,” Donald said. “It was his first Masters and it was a few week before Augusta. He wanted to know a lot about how I prepared and what I did, what’s the secret to be successful around there. I shared some of the stuff I thought was helpful.
“He looked like he was in a good spot.”
Dean Burmester, the LIV golfer who lives in Jupiter, met Murray at Torrey Pines when they were playing on the Korn Ferry Tour. He describes Murray as “a grinder.”
“It’s tough,” said Burmester, a Dye Preserve member who also qualified Monday for the U.S. Open. “You miss seeing him on the range. He was a grinder. He found a way to practice pretty often. I know the whole club is hurting. I know all the members are going to miss him and all the pros are going to miss him a lot.”
Dye member Joaquin Niemann from North Palm Beach had not practiced with Murray at the course, but spoke with him a few weeks ago at the PGA Championship in Louisville.
“It’s a big loss,” Niemann said. “It’s kind of like a weird feeling. You know someone, you saw him there, you competed against him and all of a sudden you see the news. It’s super sad.”
Murray was open about his mental health issues, revealing in 2021 his struggles with anxiety, depression and alcohol. His peers were aware of his past, but some said he appeared to have overcome those issues in recent months.
“Everybody is fighting their demons,” Niemann said. “He was obviously fighting his demons and he was able to stand up to them. He was able to play good golf and win a golf tournament.”
Murray won his second PGA Tour event in January at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
“It looked like he was on a good path,” Donald said.
Andrew Kozan got to know Murray while on the Korn Ferry Tour. The two then started playing rounds together at Dye.
“He was always fantastic to me, always checking to see how I was playing, always wanting me to play if we were in town,” said Kozan, who lives in Jupiter. “I felt like he really cared about me, always cared about others.
“It’s definitely tough. He was a great guy, great friend, great person. Definitely made everyone better around him.”
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf writer for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
Tee times have changed, the field is smaller and the 16th hole received another renovation.
In most ways, this week’s Memorial Tournament will feel familiar as always. Muirfield Village Golf Club likely will get hit by a thunderstorm Wednesday (though Thursday through Sunday look good), the 14th hole will be party central and spectators will attempt to traverse the rolling terrain without spilling a drop of their favorite malted beverage.
But in one big way, the 49th Memorial will look drastically different. For the better part of three decades fans could show up early and spread out across the 220 acres of manicured golf course to watch the pros play the front and back nine simultaneously. The previous field of 120 forced the PGA Tour to send players off No. 1 and No. 10 in threesomes to make sure everyone finished before dark. In other words, there were golfers everywhere you looked.
Not anymore.
Pros at Memorial Tournament all will tee off No. 1 in twosomes
Fans who arrive early and set their lawn chairs up on No. 10 through 18 may wonder where the players went. The back nine will be relatively barren for a couple of hours in the morning before the first group off No. 1 makes the turn. And instead of seeing three players in each group, the fans will only see two, because the smaller field (from 120 down to 73) allows it.
Logistically, the smaller field should lessen the impact of weather delays. Fewer players means an easier time getting the round finished after any rain and lightning pass through.
The change in sending all players off No. 1 also means more fans gathering around fewer holes, and concession stands will be more crowded. On the plus side, the atmosphere should make Thursday and Friday feel more like Saturday and Sunday as fans race across nine holes instead of 18 to find the players making the most birdies.
A few other changes fans should be aware of:
Rickie Fowler tees off on the 16th hole during third round of the 2023 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. (Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch)
No. 16 at Muirfield is more – and less – of a watering hole
After players voiced their displeasure − again − with the 16th hole last year, tournament host Jack Nicklaus changed the par 3 by moving the tee to the players’ right, which brings the greenside pond less into play. He also replaced a right greenside bunker with a slope of grass.
Fans will notice a new drinking establishment adjacent to the 16th green. The Simply Spiked Lounge features a variety of drinks. Also new at No. 16 is “The Hill on No. 16,” a seating area with Adirondack chairs available to watch players continue to shake their head at a hole they have never liked.
Pose at Memorial with your favorite PGA Tour player
If you can’t meet your favorite pro in person, at least you can pose with him by walking into an interactive screen at a new kiosk located in the Champions Pavilion and Golden Bear Club. Just don’t try asking for an autograph because, “pssst,” they’re not really there.
Folds of Honor Friday to honor military, first responders
Fans are encouraged to wear red, white and blue clothing Friday as a display of unity with the families of fallen or disable military members and first responders. Also, the Patriot Parachute Team will execute a flag jump onto the 18th green as the national anthem is played immediately following the conclusion of the play.
