Patton Kizzire earned more in Napa, California, than he had in 18 previous starts in 2024.
Patton Kizzire earned more this week in Napa, California, than he had all year in 18 previous starts this season on the PGA Tour.
Kizzire shot a final-round 70 at Silverado Resort’s North Course on Sunday to claim his first victory in six years, eight months and one day at the Procore Championship. With a purse of $6 million, the tournament is the smallest they will play for during the FedEx Cup Fall but Kizzire won’t be complaining.
He banked $1,080,000 for his third career Tour title, which bumped him to more than $13.5 million in career earnings and just inside the top 160 all-time on the Tour. He passed the likes of Jose-Maria Olazabal, Trevor Immelman and Ludvig Aberg (for the time being).
Patton Kizzire turned into a tree hugger this week, then hugged his wife in victory on Sunday.
Patton Kizzire came to California this week and hugged his first tree at the suggestion of his new sports psychologist. Days later, he hugged his wife, Kari, on the 18th green at Silverado Resort’s North Course as the champion of the Procore Championship, his third career PGA Tour title and first victory since 2018.
“It feels so good,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard and to come out and play like I did and pull away from the field and keep the pedal down and play like I can play, that was so much fun.”
Kizzire closed with a final-round 2-under 70 on Sunday in Napa’s wine country to post a 72-hole total of 20-under 268 and a tournament-record five-stroke victory over David Lipsky.
Kizzire, 38, lost his full-exempt status at the end of last season and broke down and cried when a reporter asked what it meant to him to be a member of the Tour.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid,” he said in November at the RSM Classic. “They asked me what I wanted to do when I was in second grade and I said I want to be a professional golfer and I’ve never changed my mind, so here I am.”
NAPA, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 15: Patton Kizzire of the United States is sprayed with champagne after winning the after winning the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 15, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Kizzire wrote for sponsor invites and pieced together a schedule that included 18 starts during the regular season, but his struggles continued — just two top-10 finishes and both at opposite field events — and entered the week at No. 132 in the season-long standings. After missing the cut in his last two starts and enduring a stretch from late January through March in which he missed six consecutive cuts, Kizzire failed to make the playoffs and had a month off at home in Sea Island, Georgia. He decided that his mental and physical part of his game both could use a boost.
“I think what was wrong, you couldn’t see it in the stats,” he said.
He started working with a new mental coach, a woman based near his home, who took him out of his comfort zone with a different approach to getting in the right frame of mind to make birdies. At first, Kizzire conceded he was skeptical. Among the things she has introduced into his regimen includes hugging trees, walking bare foot and helping pick the range and taking time to look at flowers.
“Not joking. I hugged that tree right there,” he said, pointing to a tree along Silverado Resort’s 16th tee on Friday. He added, “I’ve hugged one tree in my life and that was this morning.”
Whatever works. Kizzire said he was trying to find “the best version of me,” and he was unflappable. He opened with 66 on Thursday, birdied his first hole after hugging that tree and then made pars on the rest of the front nine. He said he didn’t have his best stuff but remained patient.
“That was it,” Kizzire said. “I could have gotten frustrated or talked about a bad shot or worried about why am I not hitting it like I want to or all those different things, but I chose not to do that.”
He carded six birdies on the back nine to shoot 65 on Friday, tacked on a 67 in the third round and never relinquished the lead. Lipsky, who birdied two of the first four holes and closed in 71, mounted an early charge in his bid to win for the first time on Tour, but Kizzire chipped in for eagle at the par-5 fifth and never looked back.
“When that ball went in, I had a jolt of confidence,” he said. “I felt like I had the tournament again.”
Lipsky, who settled for second, a career-best finish that likely secured his card for next season, called it a small victory. “I was pretty depressed through the middle of the season with my game and I couldn’t be happier right now,” he said. “It means the world to me.”
Even when he made bogeys at Nos. 9 and 11, Kizzire bounced back with birdies at Nos. 12 and 13. This week, he scribbled a note in his yardage book that said, “I am here, I am now.”
“I kept going back to that and that helped me be disciplined and stay present,” he said.
It didn’t hurt that Kizzire had a splendid putting week, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining nearly nine strokes on the greens. “I didn’t feel like I played that well, but I putted great,” he said.
Patrick Fishburn, who shot 71, finished alone in third for the second time in his last four starts. Ben Silverman posted 71 to tie Mackenzie Hughes (72) and Greyson Sigg (72) for fourth; for Silverman and Sigg, they also recorded their best career finishes on Tour.
But this week belonged to Kizzire, who hit the reset button and found the power of positive thinking could be the difference in his career. Six years, 8 months, 1 day and 176 starts later, he held a trophy again.
“It’s just so sweet to go through the ups and downs, that’s life,” he said. “There’s ups and downs, you’ve just got to stay positive and that’s what led me here to right now.”
Kizzire’s third-round 67 has him in great position to chase his first PGA Tour win since the 2018 Sony Open.
Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes — both players will represent the International Team at the Presidents Cup — are part of a group tied for third at 13 under, five back.
Silverado’s North Course is a par-72 track measuring 7,123 yards.
The purse at the Procore Championship is $6 million with $1.08 million going to the winner.
While most eyes were glued to the Solheim Cup in Virginia, PGA Tour action continued Saturday at the 2024 Procore Championship across Silverado Resort’s North Course. And with 18 holes left to play in Napa, California, the leaderboard is cluttered behind the man up top.
Patton Kizzire, who entered Moving Day in pole position, is alone in first at 18 under after a 5-under 67.
David Lipsky is his closest pursuer at 14 under, while Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes — both players are members of the International Team for the Presidents Cup — are part of a group of four at 13 under, five back.
“(I) made some really nice putts coming down the stretch and hung in there and kept myself in it and that’s all I can ask for when I don’t have my A-game from tee to green.” Lipsky said of his day.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala is 12 under through 54 holes and is tied for seventh.
If you missed any of Saturday’s action, no worries, we have you covered. Here are five things to know from the third round of the Procore Championship.
Patton Kizzire of the United States hits his tee shot on the fourth hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Kizzire was in the driver’s seat entering Saturday’s third round and got off to a hot start with three straight birdies on Nos. 3-5. Even better, he chipped in for a clutch par on the seventh after missing the green with his tee shot and second.
After making the turn with a 3-under 32, Kizzire three-putted for bogey on the 10th but got the shot right back with a lengthy birdie make on the 11th.
Two birdies later (Nos. 15 and 17), Kizzire signed for his 67 that was aided heavily by his putter — he ranked second on Saturday in SG: Putting.
“This (course) is very similar to Sony,” he said. “This course has a little more undulation on the greens. The greens were fantastic. The maintenance crew has done a fantastic job, the agronomy team has done a fantastic job. They’re rolling really nice. I’m seeing the greens well and putting it on the line, it’s holding. This is a golf course I really enjoy playing and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Kizzire, who entered the week with three missed cuts in his previous five starts to end the season, hasn’t won since the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Mackenzie Hughes is dialed for Presidents Cup
Mackenzie Hughes of Canada hits his tee shot on the seventh hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
In a few weeks, Mackenzie Hughes will head to his home country of Canada for the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club. Hughes is one of the 12 members of the International Team, and he’s getting dialed in for the biennial event by contending at the Procore.
After opening with a 2-under 70 on Thursday, Hughes has now posted rounds of 67-66 and is tied for third, five back of the lead.
The Canadian, who hasn’t won since the 2022 Sanderson Farms, made three birdies on each half of Silverado Resort’s North Course, gaining nearly 3½ strokes with his iron play (first in Strokes Gained: Approach). If his putter cooperated a bit better, his round could have been special.
“I actually — I had a lot of chances,” he said. “I felt like — I’m not sure what my strokes gained approach would have been today, but I felt I had a lot of close looks that I wasn’t able to convert.”
If the flat-stick heats up on Sunday, watch out for Hughes.
Corey Conners continues to roll
Corey Conners of Canada hits his tee shot on the seventh hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Like Hughes, Conners will don the black and gold at the Presidents Cup for the International Team — Hughes, Conners and Taylor Pendrith are the three Canadians playing at Royal Montreal.
In 22 starts this season, Conners never missed a weekend. That’s a lot of money, but what he failed to do was win.
That could change Sunday with a special round as he sits at 13 under in a tie for third thanks to rounds of 73-64-66.
After making the turn with a 2-under 33, Conners made four birdies on his final six holes to catapult up the leaderboard.
Like it has been all year, Conners’ tee-to-green game was outstanding on Day 3 — he ranked fourth in both SG: Off the Tee and Approach.
International Team captain Mike Weir must like what he’s seeing from Hughes and Conners.
Wilson Furr credits bachelor trip for ‘reset’
Wilson Furr of the United States hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
It was a tough 2023-24 Tour season for Furr. In 18 starts, he made just four cuts with his best finish coming at the Texas Children’s Houston Open where he tied for 36th.
But over the break — his last Tour start came at the Wyndham Championship, the final event before the FedEx Cup Playoffs — Furr went on his bachelor trip and credited it for a much-needed reset.
“I had my bachelor trip over the break and I felt like it was an amazing reset,” Furr said. “We went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, went fly fishing and exploring Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Yeah, I think that was about as good a reset as I could ask for. Got to see a lot of my friends I hadn’t seen in a long time.”
And how’d the fishing go?
“Sick. We crushed it.”
He also crushed it on the course Saturday, firing a 8-under 64. Furr made five birdies on the front nine before making the turn and adding another on the 16th. He also made an eagle at the par-5 15th after his 216-yard approach shot finished less than three feet from the hole.
Furr will enter the final round in a tie for seventh at 12 under, six back of the lead.
Procore Championship top 10, odds to win
Position
Player
Score
Odds to win
1
Patton Kizzire
18 under
(-110)
2
David Lipsky
14 under
(+1200)
T-3
Mackenzie Hughes
13 under
(+1100)
T-3
Greyson Sigg
13 under
(+2200)
T-3
Corey Conners
13 under
(+650)
T-3
Patrick Fishburn
13 under
(+1400)
T-7
Wilson Furr
12 under
(+6500)
T-7
Ben Silverman
12 under
(+3500)
T-7
Sahith Theegala
12 under
(+1100)
T-10
Chez Reavie
11 under
(+11000)
T-10
Justin Lower
11 under
(+7500)
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Everything you need to know for the third round of the Procore Championship.
After the first 36 holes of the 2024 Procore Championship at Silverado Resort’s North Course, Patton Kizzire holds a one-shot lead at 13 under over Davis Lipsky.
While J.J. Spaun and Matt Kuchar are tied for fourth at 10 under, defending champion Sahith Theegala is at 9 under and tied for sixth.
NAPA, Calif. – Patton Kizzire became a tree hugger on Friday. Then he went out and shot 7-under 65 at Silverado Resort’s North Course to grab the lead in the second round of the Procore Championship.
Kizzire had three weeks off after missing the FedEx Cup playoffs last month and decided he wanted to work on the mental side of his game. As a result, he started working with a new sports psychologist, a local woman that he noted has worked with other professional golfers that live near him in Saint Simons Island, Georgia.
Among the things she has introduced into his regimen includes hugging trees, walking bare foot and looking at flowers.
“Not joking. I hugged that tree right there,” he said, pointing to a tree along Silverado Resort’s 16th tee. He added, “I’ve hugged one tree in my life and that was this morning.”
Whatever works. Kizzire opened with 66 on Thursday, birdied his first hole after hugging that tree and then made pars on the rest of the front nine. He said he didn’t have his best stuff but remained patient.
“That was it,” Kizzire said. “I could have gotten frustrated or talked about a bad shot or worried about why am I not hitting it like I want to or all those different things, but I chose not to do that.”
He carded six birdies on the back nine to improve to 13-under 131. So far, being in a better head space is helping Kizzire, as he put it, “Be the best version of myself.”
“It’s been really cool to just get organized and try to be more playful out there and be unflappable, that’s kind of my word,” he said. “Just finding joy and positivity and really not letting yourself go the other way, that’s been a key to my first two rounds.”
Everything you need to know for the second round of the Procore Championship.
After the first 18 holes of the 2024 Procore Championship at Silverado Resort in Napa, California, David Lipsky holds a one-shot lead thanks to an opening-round 7-under 65.
Martin Laird and Patton Kizzire were one shot worse than Lipsky, posting 6-under 66s, and are tied for second.
NAPA, Calif. – Mark Hubbard celebrated a day’s good work at the Procore Championship by wolfing down one of Silverado Resort’s famed burger dogs and then split a second with his wife. He carded nine birdies but made one bad blunder, a triple bogey at No. 17, his eighth hole of the day, but it still added up to 5-under 67 at the North Course on Thursday and two shots off the early lead set by David Lipsky.
When was the last time you made nine birdies and a triple, Hubbard was asked.
He didn’t have to think long. “Never,” Hubbard said.
But that beat the alternative – Hubbard almost missed playing in one of his favorite tournaments on the PGA Tour and it was all his fault. Hubbard missed last Friday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline to register for the Procore Championship, the first event of the FedEx Cup Fall.
“I missed the commitment deadline on Friday by about 23 minutes,” Hubbard explained Monday afternoon to PGA Tour.com. “Had some technical difficulties with my phone; I dropped it in a cold plunge on Thursday, so I didn’t really have it for a while, but at the same time I probably should’ve committed a long time ago. I was pretty frustrated after Memphis (FedEx St. Jude Championship) and really just needed to check out from golf, and I did that, and it was a good thing for me mentally and physically for my game, but this is one of the things that fell through the cracks unfortunately.”
There weren’t any sponsor invites available, so Hubbard did the next best thing and decided to go and play the Monday qualifier, where he paced the field with a 7-under 65 at Yolo Fliers Club to secure the first of four available spots in the Procore field, just a couple of hours away from where Hubbard attended college at San Jose State.
“It’s an area that kind of feels like a second home. My wife’s from Sacramento, so all of her family comes out,” he said. “I just have a lot of friends and family in the area too. It’s Napa too. I like wine; we call it one of the wives’ majors. It’s just a great week.”
As Hubbard ran through the highs and lows of his opening round, veteran pro Russell Knox, who was the last man into the field when Hubbard forgot to register, walked by.
“He’s the guy I let in with my blunder,” Hubbard said. “He did come up to me and say if he had a good week, he’d send me a case of wine.”
Hubbard’s first round encapsulated his whole week: the triple bogey was missing the deadline and the nine birdies was the Monday qualifier. After the round, Hubbard complained that his brother Nathan showed up at an inopportune time.
“You only saw me hit bad shots,” Hubbard said. “I went 5-5-6 when you showed up.”
Mark Hubbard tees off on the eighth hole during the third round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla. (Clare Grant/Courier Journal)
That included the triple at the par-3 17th, where he blocked his tee shot to the right into the pond.
“I had a little red ass on my tee shot on 18, I went after that one a little more than normal, but by the time I got to that ball there I was completely over it and I hit a great 3-wood, good chip and good putt there and off I went,” he said.
Indeed, he did. He proceeded to birdie five of the next six holes. He credited a putter change for his strong performance.
“I went back to my old black beauty, my Odyssey No. 9 that I putted with since 2014,” said Hubbard, who had been using a TaylorMade Spider mallet model. “I switched back to that for the Monday qualifier and obviously that went well and I carried over into today.”
Lipsky, who entered the week at No. 165 in the FedEx Cup, carded eight birdies and shot 65 to lead by a stroke over Martin Laird. Lipsky spent a couple of weeks at his alma mater, Northwestern University, working with his former coach, Pat Goss, and said being around the current members of the team helped him reset his attitude.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out week in and week out,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that, seems like it’s working out.”
Despite his rollercoaster of emotions of being left out of the Procore Championship and then the exuberance of playing his way in, Hubbard’s mental approach to playing this week is also working out.
“As bummed as I was on Friday when I missed the deadline and didn’t think I would be playing this week, because I love this tournament, I love Napa, I feel like I rebounded really quickly,” he said.
Napa, Calif. — Let’s just say this isn’t one of the better selections of PGA Tour tournament gear this season. But we’re going to cut the Procore Championship some slack as the title sponsor wasn’t announced until July 31. That may explain why there is limited apparel options this week.
In past years, there has been a stand-alone merchandise shop but this year all the gear is being sold inside the Silverado Resort pro shop. The Silverado shop is top notch and they are selling staples such as FootJoy, Greyson, Johnnie-O, TravisMathew, Peter Millar, Polo RX, Lululemon and G/Fore. For the ladies there’s cool stuff from Foray and San Soleil. From Napa head covers to wine bottle caps, the local vibe is ever present. Here’s a look at some of the best gear available at the inaugural Procore Championship.
NAPA, Calif. — Wyndham Clark said he loves wine and all the delicious food that this region of Northern California is famous for, and he also fancies Silverado Resort’s North Course, home of this week’s Procore Championship. But during his pre-tournament press conference ahead of this week’s tournament, Clark made it clear he’s competing in the first event of the FedEx Cup Fall for one specific reason.
“I think the last time I screwed up,” he said of his debut in international team competition last fall in Rome. “I took too much time off and wasn’t quite prepared for the Ryder Cup, and this year I wanted to make sure I don’t do that. There’s no preparation better than playing against the best players. I think this is the best prep you can have.”
Clark elaborated on the mistake he and several of his teammates made. Last year, without the Olympics on the schedule, the Tour Championship ended Aug. 27, more than a month before the Ryder Cup began on Sept. 29. Clark elected to skip the Tour’s Napa stop last year.
“Last year it was realistically four weeks (off),” said Clark. “And then by the time you pegged it up to play, it was the fifth week, so it’s five weeks. I mean, I would never prepare for a big event where I had five weeks off between one tournament to the next.”
Clark said he turned up rusty to Marco Simone and didn’t feel sharp when he played his first match on Friday afternoon, a Four-Ball match with partner Max Homa against Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose of Team Europe.
“Through four holes I said (to Homa), ‘Man, I’m sorry,’” Clark said, “because I kind of was not playing good the first four holes. I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not tournament sharp right now, I’ll get into it.’ Then eventually I started getting more comfortable.”
The Euros rallied to win the last two holes to tie that match. Clark claimed he wasn’t the only one with rust on their game.
“I felt like a lot of us weren’t prepared,” he said. “If it’s something that I do myself or hopefully Team USA kind of makes it mandatory that everyone does it, I think we should all play before. I know we have such a grueling schedule and we all just played the Tour Championship, but if we can just do – it’s just one more week to play and to keep us sharp so that we can win, I think it’s worth it.”
Clark, winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and No. 6 in the world, also learned another lesson. Last year, he tinkered with his set of clubs, which he hadn’t used in competition before.
“That was really stupid of me,” he said. “Same irons and everything but I adjusted some lie angles and lofts, and I won’t be doing that again this year.”
Clark also told one humorous story of how a fan managed to get under his skin during his first match in the Ryder Cup.
“While I’m reading a putt, a guy goes, ‘Wyndham, you haven’t made had a putt since the U.S. Open.’ At the time I hadn’t played good golf leading up into it, then played good at the Tour Championship. I was kind of pissed off,” Clark recalled. “And then I made that putt and I kind of like stared down in the crowd or something. And Max was like, ‘What are you doing?’ I was like, ‘Well, that guy said I haven’t made a putt since the U.S. Open.’ He goes, ‘Well, you just made one there.’
“Then I make one on the next hole and I turn and kiss the putter at the guy and Max is just laughing. We laughed about it for like two holes. What’s great is we were in such a good mindset that we just kept making birdies and kept the momentum going. It was a funny thing there. There were some more words said, I can’t repeat what was said, but it was just a very funny moment so it’s something we’ll both remember forever.”
