Tag: Adam Schenk

Winning is hard: These 14 pros nearly picked up their first PGA Tour win this season

“Second place is just the first-place loser. There is no room for second place.”

With the calendar flipping to June, the PGA Tour counts eight first-time winners this season, including the duo of Davis Riley and Nick Hardy, who teamed up for their first wins at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

It was almost nine on Sunday as Denny McCarthy had a putt to win the Memorial only to be denied his maiden victory by Viktor Hovland.

McCarthy isn’t alone. So far this season, 14 different players have finished runner-up or tied for second 15 times while bidding for their first Tour title. If the Netflix documentary “Full Swing” taught us anything it is that winning is hard. (Don’t drink every time a player says just that or you may not make it through a single episode.)

“The only one who will remember you if you come in second place is your wife and your dog,” World Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player once said, “and that is only if you have a good wife and a good dog.”

NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt didn’t mince words either, saying, “Second place is just the first-place loser. There is no room for second place.”

Nevertheless, let’s take a closer look at this year’s runner-ups, who were so close to tasting victory and climbing another rung on the professional golf ladder with their first Tour wins.

Emiliano Grillo ends nearly 8-year winless drought in playoff win at 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge

“They say the second is harder than the first and it definitely was.”

Seven years, seven months and 10 days.

That’s how long Emiliano Grillo waited to secure his second PGA Tour victory.

“They say the second is harder than the first and it definitely was,” Grillo said.

The 30-year-old Argentine overcame a double bogey at the 72nd hole to shoot 2-under 68 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday and defeat Adam Schenk in a two-hole playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Grillo’s 9-iron at the second playoff hole headed right but landed on the fringe, just to the left of a greenside bunker and kicked on the green, stopping 5 feet from the hole and he took advantage of his fortuitous bounce by sinking the winning putt.

Grillo erased a four-stroke deficit entering the final round, carding six birdies in regulation and pumping his fist as his last of the bunch, a 20-foot birdie putt at 16 during regulation, dropped in to take the lead. But there would still be plenty of drama to come.

Grillo, who left Argentina at age 16 to study and hone his golf skills at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, notched his first win in near record time. After triumphing at the 2015 Korn Ferry Tour Championship in October, Grillo was victorious in his next start, two weeks later, at the PGA Tour’s season-opening Frys.com Open, to become the sixth player from Argentina to win on the PGA Tour and the first player to win in his first start as an official Tour member since Russell Henley at the 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii. But that turned out to be the last trip to the winner’s circle for Grillo until he slipped into the traditional tartan-plaid jacket awarded to the Charles Schwab Challenge winner.

Grillo made four birdies on the front nine – all from inside 10 feet – and then his putter, which has been the biggest weakness in his game, warmed up. Grillo entered the week ranked No. 134 in Strokes Gained: Putting, but he ranked second this week in that category. He canned a 17-foot birdie putt at 12 and the 20-footer at 16.

But winning is never easy and Grillo squandered a two-stroke lead coming home. His tee shot at 18 headed wide right of the target and he had to take a penalty stroke when his ball landed in an aqueduct. The strength of the stream sent it some 50 yards back towards the tee, but he was allowed to drop where it originally entered the water and chose to place it on the cart path. The damage was done as he slipped back into a tie, signing for a 72-hole total of 8-under 272.

Harry Hall, a 25-year-old rookie, had led since opening with a tournament-best 8-under 62, and built an early three-stroke lead at 12 under with birdies at his first two holes. But he didn’t make another birdie and his fifth bogey of the day, this one at the last after he drove left into the water, knocked him out of the playoff. He closed with a final-round 73 and T-3 finish, which marked his best result to date. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler aced the eighth hole, shot 67 but finished tied with Hall, a stroke shy of the playoff.

Schenk, 31, who grew up in Vincennes, Indiana, on a 1,500-acre sod and grain farm, didn’t make a birdie until the 16th hole of his final round and signed for 2-over 72, but it was enough to join Grillo in a playoff in search of his first Tour title. Schenk had birdie putts to win at 18 in regulation and the playoff but couldn’t get either of them to drop.

“He deserved to win, in my opinion, just because he doubled the last hole. How many times out of a hundred is he going to do that? One maybe? Two? That would have left a pretty sour taste in his mouth to do that and lose,” Schenk said. “Then for him to hit the shot on 16, he probably deserved it a little more than I did.”

Schenk’s tee shot at the par-3 16th flew the green and he made a brilliant chip to 3 feet, but Grillo grabbed hold of victory by sinking the winning putt.

“It made everything worth it. The playing, all the hours practicing, the effort from my family. It makes you think when you started playing all the emotions come through your head,” Grillo said. “It’s been tough, but it’s worth every second.”

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Harry Hall, Adam Schenk lead, Viktor Hovland and Justin Suh make a move and more from Saturday at the Charles Schwab Challenge

Catch up on Saturday’s action here.

Harry Hall posted a third-round 2-over 72, but he still holds a share of the 54-hole lead at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge.

The Englishman made back-to-back double bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 and it looked like he was going to nosedive down the leaderboard. However, he bounced back nicely once he made the turn, making birdies on Nos. 12 and 17 to sign for a 72.

Atop the board with Hall is Adam Schenk, who got around Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, with a 3-under 67 on Saturday. Schenk birdied his first two holes of the day before giving one back on No. 4, his lone bogey of the day. After making the turn with a 1-under 34, Schenk made birdie at the par-5 11th and closed out his day with another circle at the last.

Hall, who has two top-10 finishes this season, is looking for his first win on the PGA Tour. Schenk, who missed three straight cuts before this week, is also searching for his first victory.

If you missed any of Saturday’s action, no worries, we have you covered. Here’s everything you need to know from the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Charles Schwab: Photos

So much for Tyrrell Hatton’s Augusta warmup. He leads our list of 7 big names to miss the cut at the Valero Texas Open

Hatton had six bogeys in a sloppy second-round 75 and was the biggest name sent packing from the tournament.

SAN ANTONIO — Organizers of the Valero Texas Open can’t be thrilled with the fate of the top players who’ve traveled to the Alamo City over the last few years, each hoping to fine-tune their game before the Masters.

In 2022, Rory McIlroy came to TPC San Antonio, hoping to break his Augusta drought. He left early after missing the cut.

This year, Tyrrell Hatton tried the same move, saying on Tuesday that he’s been pleased with the beginning of his season, but still felt adding this tournament might be the springboard to better results at the year’s first major.

Unfortunately, Hatton’s game plan worked about as well as McIlroy’s did the year before.

The Brit had six bogeys in a sloppy second-round 75 and was the biggest name sent packing from the tournament, one that saw some players finish their second round Saturday because of inclement weather early in the week.

The cutline is the top 65 players plus those tied at the end of that group, and the number settled at even par. Here’s a look at the biggest names who fell on the wrong side of the cutlist after two rounds at the Oaks Course:

Four years after suffering a collapsed lung, Taylor Moore wins first PGA Tour title at the Valspar Championship

Moore was 64-for-64 inside 7 feet: “I don’t think I’ve ever done anything close to that..that was pretty sick to see.”

In the spring of 2019, Taylor Moore was headed to the airport to fly to yet another golf tournament when he had a choice to make at a traffic light. He turned right and detoured to an urgent-care facility, where he learned his right lung was 50 percent collapsed, potentially saving his life. Four years after his dream of winning on the PGA Tour was temporarily halted, Moore made four birdies in his final 10 holes to earn his first Tour title at the Valspar Championship.

“I think if I would have taken a left (to the airport), I might not be here in front of you guys tonight,” Moore said during his winner’s press conference. “So, I mean, that was God’s will just to tell me to take a right and go to the hospital and check out what was going on.”

Moore, 29, erased a two-stroke overnight deficit by shooting 4-under 67 on Sunday at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course at Palm Harbor, Florida. Moore finished with a 72-hole total of 10-under 274, a stroke better than Adam Schenk, who bogeyed 18, and two better than Jordan Spieth, who bogeyed two of the last three holes, and Tommy Fleetwood.

“Really solid player that’s been knocking on the door,” Spieth said of Moore, a fellow Dallas resident.

And yet Moore hadn’t recorded a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour this season. Entering the week ranked No. 103 in the world, he joined the trophy hunt by canning an 18-foot birdie putt at nine and stuck his approach shot inside 5 feet at the 12th to climb a stroke closer. For the week, he was 64-for-64 inside 7 feet.

“I don’t think I’ve ever done anything close to that,” Moore said. “Just a testament to the work I’ve put in with my coach and my team and that was pretty sick to see.”

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Moore made back-to-back birdies – a 6-footer at 15 and a 27-footer at 16 – to tie Schenk for the lead at 10 under. He said he didn’t see a scoreboard until he reached the 17th green, then parred in by making a 6-foot putt at the last for 67, the second-lowest score among the field of 72 on a windy day, and had to sweat out waiting at the practice tee to see if anyone could match his total and force extra holes.

For much of the day it seemed as if Schenk, 31, playing in his 10th straight tournament as he attempted to grab as many FedEx Cup points as he could before the birth of his first child, would be the one lifting a trophy for the first time. Wife Kourtney, who is eight months pregnant, flew in on Sunday morning and walked the entire round in his gallery.

She witnessed her hubby, the 54-hole leader, chip in for birdie at the first and build a two-stroke lead before stumbling with bogeys at Nos. 6 and 8. But he bounced back with birdies at Nos. 7 and 9, where he drained a 23-foot birdie putt. That was his longest putt of the tournament to that point but that figure didn’t last long. Schenk sank a 71-foot birdie at the 12th, the longest made putt of his career, to claim the lead at 10 under and lifted his right arm to the sky.

He strung together five straight pars and shared the lead standing on the tee of the 72nd hole. Then he hooked his drive near a tree at 18 and had to play his next shot left-handed. Ramming his 41-foot par putt to remain tied with Moore and force a playoff, Schenk watched as it tracked for the hole, hitting the flagstick but had too much pace and wouldn’t go down.

“It stinks,” Schenk said, despite signing for 70 and recording the best finish of his career. “I hit a really bad drive on the last hole. I toed it. Wish I could have lightly hit somebody and stayed where I had a chance to get to the green, but it did not, and I didn’t deserve it.”

Spieth, 29, won this tournament in 2015 and was seeking his 14th Tour title. He canned a 10-foot birdie putt at 14 to join the party at 10 under. All tournament, Spieth worked wonders from the sand, getting up and down 12 of 14 times overall, including at the difficult par-3 15th.

“It was the boring round I was looking for,” said Spieth, who stayed bogey-free for the day to that point.

But he fanned his 3-wood off the tee at the dogleg par-4 16th into the water guarding the right side of the hole and had to scramble to save bogey. He responded by hitting his tee shot at the par-3 17th the closest to the hole of anyone in the final round, but failed to convert a 7-foot birdie putt and couldn’t get a 48-foot birdie putt to drop at the last. He missed the par comebacker and closed in 70 to slip into a tie for third with Fleetwood.

The 32-year-old Englishman has six DP World Tour victories and ranked as high as No. 9 in the world in 2019, but he still hasn’t won on the PGA Tour. He had a share of the lead until he made a bogey at the par-5 14th hole. He closed in 70. Despite remaining winless, Fleetwood’s career earnings on the PGA Tour alone surpassed $15 million.

Two-time defending champion Sam Burns fell short of a three-peat but made a valiant effort with a final-round 67 to finish sixth.

Once asked to name the most interesting fact about him that golf fans should know, Moore, the son of a Juco-college baseball coach, said, “Well, grew up a baseball guy, so I was a pretty high-level baseball player until I was about 15 years old and actually had a scholarship from Arkansas for baseball before golf and ended up deciding to play this.

“Kind of fell in love with golf as I got older and just being in control of a little bit of everything instead of relying on teammates and umpires and things. I was either going to win by myself or lose.”

On Sunday, Moore, whose personal motto is “own what you do,” did just that and painted a masterpiece at the Valspar Championship to become a champion on the PGA Tour.

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Valspar Championship: Adam Schenk’s wife, 8-months pregnant, flew in Sunday morning to follow her husband, the 54-hole leader

Kourtney Schenk said that Adam even made her breakfast Sunday. What a guy!

Kourtney Schenk wasn’t going to miss seeing her husband, Adam, try to win his first PGA Tour title at the Valspar Championship.

“Really, really important,” she said of seeing Adam, the 54-hole leader, play in the final group on Sunday at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course. “You can’t miss stuff like this.”

Did we mention that Kourtney is eight months pregnant and the couple is expecting its first child? Adam is playing his 10th tournament in a row on the PGA Tour in an effort to make as many FedEx Cup points before the arrival of their baby.

Courtney would not be denied. She was at home in Indiana and had family over Saturday preparing baby acknowledgements. She hardly slept, rising at 2 a.m. to catch a flight to Tampa, Florida, and made the drive to nearby Palm Harbor for the final round.

“I’m here, so, it’s fun,” she said.

She arrived at the hotel where Adam was staying about the time he was waking and preparing to go to the course. Kourtney said that Adam made her breakfast. What a guy!

Equally impressive? Kourtney was interviewed on the course by NBC’s Cara Banks, and said, “I’m feeling good so I decided to walk 18.” That meant she was in her hubby’s gallery to see him chip-in for birdie at the first and build an early two-stroke lead. (Update: A 71-foot bomb for birdie at No. 12 vaulted Adam into the lead.)

Banks asked Kourtney if she expected Adam to be in the hunt for his first trophy. “Of course, I did,” she said.

At the end of the interview, Banks added, “You are a trooper, Kourtney.”

“If you are at home, how can you not pull for the Schenks?” NBC’s Dan Hicks said.

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Jordan Spieth’s wild round, Tommy Fleetwood in form but both chasing Adam Schenk after third round of 2023 Valspar Championship

Catch up on Saturday’s action here.

Sunday is going to be fun. Nine players are within three shots of the lead after the third round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida.

However, everyone is chasing Adam Schenk, who’s playing in his 10th straight event and 17th of the season, second most on Tour. Then there’s Jordan Spieth, who won the Valspar Championship in 2015, and Tommy Fleetwood, who remains in search of his first Tour victory, who are a shot back.

If you missed any of the action Saturday, no worries, we have you covered. Here’s everything you need to know from the third round of the 2023 Valspar Championship.

Valspar: Full leaderboard | Photo gallery | Sunday tee times

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Ben Martin leads the Corales Puntacana Championship by two shots after consecutive 66s

Martin is trying for his first PGA Tour win since 2014.

While most eyes are on Austin, Texas, for the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play this week, another PGA Tour event is being played in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

The Corales Puntacana Championship is the opposite field event and is currently being led by Ben Martin. Martin has missed two cuts in three appearances on Tour this season, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping him.

The 565th ranked player in the world has opened with consecutive 66s at Corales Golf Club with 16 birdies already through two rounds.

“This week the putter’s been nice. I think when you’re confident with the flat stick, it sort of takes pressure off of every other part of your game,” Martin said after his round Friday. “I’ve just been in a great mindset. I think more than anything, my swing feels in a good place, I’m rolling it nice. So everything kind of feels easy and I’m not putting too much pressure on myself and making some birdies when I have chances, but not trying to do too much.”

Ben Martin lines up a putt on the 18th green during the second round of the 2022 Corales Puntacana Championship at the Corales Golf Course in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

When asked if he’ll make any adjustments over the weekend, Martin said he’s not going to try too hard.

“I’m in a great mindset. I think just trying to enjoy as much as I can. It sounds weird, but try like less, I guess, right? Like, not try too hard. I think a lot of us out here probably, and if you play golf at all you probably try too hard a lot of times. But enjoying the round and taking what comes. Hopefully, if I can continue to have that same mindset, the weekend will be pretty good.”

Martin does have a PGA Tour win under his belt which came at the 2014 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Alex Smalley is the closest competitor to Martin thanks to a Friday 65 that included an eagle, seven birdies, and a double-bogey. His round started with the double-square, but it could have been worse if it wasn’t for his mom.

“Obviously it’s not start that I wanted. Hit it in the left bunker. Lie was fine, it wasn’t that bad. It was a little on the upslope and just went a little left,” Smalley said after his second round. “It was going towards a palm tree and it caught the palm tree and just happened to be a bunch of bushes at the bottom of the palm tree.

“Luckily, my mom found the ball. It was pretty thick. I thought I had to go back to the bunker because it was pretty bad, but she ended up finding it and I took an unplayable and knocked it up on the green two-putted for 6. Obviously, not how I wanted to start, not super happy, but she saved me a good 190-yard walk.”

Three back at 9 under are Adam Schenk and Chad Ramey, while European Ryder Cup legend and major champion Graeme McDowell sits four back at 8 under. Defending champion Joel Dahmen withdrew prior to the second round due to illness.

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After hitting a shank on the range, Adam Schenk makes eight straight birdies, shoots a 62, grabs share of Farmers Insurance Open lead

This wasn’t the first time Adam Schenk made eight birdies in a row. He also did it when he was 12.

SAN DIEGO – Adam Schenk celebrated his 30th birthday on Wednesday.

The party continued on Thursday.

In search of his first PGA Tour title, Schenk made eight consecutive birdies – falling just one shy of the record – and added two more to fire a career-low, 10-under 62 on the North Course at Torrey Pines in the second round to grab a share of the lead in the Farmers Insurance Open.

“I lost track of how many I made in a row, but there was a lot of low scores on the North Course yesterday and I knew there was a lot of gettable holes and I needed to keep going if I wanted to get up on top of the leaderboard and hopefully stay there throughout the weekend,” he said. “So I know I had to try to keep the pedal down and not get satisfied with how many birdies I made.

“I didn’t drive it well. So I definitely have to drive it better to be able to have a chance to compete this weekend. I’m right there, doing a lot of things well, so just need to get the ball in the fairway a little more often.”

Schenk’s birdie putts during the scoring blitz came from 7, 8, 4, 30, 40, 2, 35 and 30 feet. Schenk had a good look for birdie to tie the record for most consecutive birdies but missed from 12 feet. He also lipped out from 15 feet on his last hole.

Leaderboard | Yardage book | Tee times, TV info | ESPN+ streaming info

“Just a lot of long putts,” he said. “It’s not like I was hitting it to 10 feet every time making the putts, I had a lot of lengthy ones.”

Schenk has some pretty heady company at the top after another spectacular day on the cliffs by the Pacific Ocean, the ideal scoring conditions featuring light winds, plenty of sunshine and the two courses a tad on the soft side.

World No. 1 Jon Rahm (65 on the North) and world No. 6 Justin Thomas (63 on the North) are also at 13 under. Cameron Tringale (65 on the North) is a shot back. Peter Malnati is two back at 11 under.

Rahm got around just fine despite hitting just four fairways in regulation.

“I managed really well today, and it feels good because if you told me before the round I’m going to hit four fairways and shoot 7 under, I’d tell you that something out there must have been really good, which today was,” he said. “For how little fairways I hit, I was able to hit a lot of those greens from the rough, which is not the easiest thing to do.”

Rahm downplayed what could be perceived as his advantage heading into the final two rounds. The tournament moves to the tougher South Course for the final 36 holes. Rahm won the 2021 U.S. Open on the South Course.

“A U.S. Open is very, very different. I believe I was 3 under through two rounds and I was thrilled with that score,” he said. “At 13 under right now and I think how much better it could have been if I hit fairways, right? So it’s not comparable.”

Thomas, who won the Players Championship last year, struggled at times with his driver in 2021. But so far this year, he’s been spot on.

“I drove it well, something you’ve got to do out here on the North Course,” Thomas said. “I mean, both courses, but if you drive it well, you’ve got a lot of wedges, a lot of short holes, four par-5s. Made some nice putts when I needed to, just kind of some of those short mid-rangers and it was a solid day.”

As for Schenk, this wasn’t the first time he made eight birdies in a row. He did so in junior golf. When he was 12.

Back then, he started to hear the jokes about his last name. It sounds like shank – the most dreaded shot in golf. It’s when a player hits the ball on the hosel of the club and the ball shoots way right.

Funny thing, Schenk hit a shank on Thursday.

“It was my first one in a while, but I cold shanked a sand wedge, it was like my third shot of the day,” he said about his range session. “But I usually hit it off the toe in tournaments, so that’s fortunate.

“As for the name, lots of jokes, but everybody just calls me by my last name, so I guess that makes it easy. A lot of my best friends just call me Shank. It’s actually pronounced Schenk, but everybody just says Shank, so I kind of just go with it.”

Maybe Schenk gets the last laugh on Saturday after the final round.

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Rules of golf: Slow play, a missed re-start, bad advice and even fire ants highlight 2021

Some rules violations hit harder than others, while others just make you scratch your head.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all on the golf course, something else comes along to baffle fans, players, and rules officials alike.

The rules of golf can come up and bite you (pun intended: see fire ants below), if you’re not paying attention. Other times, weird things just happen. Further still, sometimes golfers simply don’t know a particular rule.

New rules of golf were rolled out on Jan. 1, 2019, but most of what trips golfers up continues to be of the tried-and-true variety.

As we get set to close out the year that was 2021, here’s a rundown of some of the memorable moments that involved rules violations.

Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio, Beth Ann Nichols, Adam Schupak and Adam Woodard contributed to this article.