Jon Rahm left for LIV Golf last Thursday. On Monday, the PGA Tour officially suspended him.
Jon Rahm left for LIV Golf last Thursday. On Monday, the PGA Tour officially suspended him, which bars him from defending his title at the season-opening Sentry as well as two other Tour stops in 2024.
The Tour sent a memo to players alerting them of the move, which was not unexpected, “due to his association with a series of unauthorized tournaments.”
And with that, Rahm is removed from the FedEx Cup standings, where he finished 18th after playing in what turned out to be his final PGA Tour event, the 2023 Tour Championship at East Lake.
But one man’s change of golf leagues is three others’ massive improvement in status for 2024.
As Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson pointed out, Mackenzie Hughes just got a gold ticket into each of the signature events next year, Alex Smalley gets into a pair of them and Carl Yuan gets his card.
Rahm suspended by PGA merely a formality. But it moves Mac Hughes to No. 50 for the seven $20 million events, gets Alex Smalley starts at Pebble and Riv … and it gets Carl Yuan a full card. All move up one spot in FedEx Cup
The writing had been on the wall for weeks concerning Rahm’s decision as he backed out of the TGL – the new tech-infused league led by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy – before the league was postponed until 2025. He also wasn’t listed in the field for the PGA Tour’s upcoming American Express next month, where he’s the defending champion.
Bhatia tied for 10th in Mexico and tied for 17th at last year’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
After a week south of the border, the PGA Tour is in Southampton, Bermuda, for the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course.
Defending champion Seamus Power is not in the field due to a lingering hip injury that forced him to withdraw from the Irish Open in September. His last Tour start came at the BMW Championship during the FedEx Cup Playoffs where he finished solo 48th.
Other players in the field include Lucas Glover, Luke List and Akshay Bhatia.
Golf course
Port Royal Golf Course | Par 71 | 6,828 yards
Seamus Power hits his first shot on the 17th hole during the final round of the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 30, 2022 in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The hottest piece of real estate in the Quad Cities has to be the house that’s been rented by a handful of PGA Tour players the last two seasons for the John Deere Classic.
Why? It’s produced the winner each year.
At the PGA Tour’s annual stop at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, J.T. Poston passed on the usual hotel and stayed in an unusually large house with Patton Kizzire, Greyson Sigg, Denny McCarthy, Brendon Todd and Ben Kohles. The majority of the gang ran it back in the same place this year, with Poston, Kizzire, Sigg and McCarthy all returning alongside the new additions Chris Kirk and Sepp Straka.
Poston picked up the tab after last year’s victory, and this year it’s Straka’s turn after the 30-year-old Austrian blew a chance at history and still walked away with the trophy at the 2023 John Deere Classic.
“I didn’t think I would be sitting here on Thursday after the round,” said Straka, who opened the week with a 2-over 73. “Just found some magic and then started hitting the ball really good, which I did on Thursday too, but really started making some putts. I think that’s the key out here. You’ve got to get the putter hot. Thankfully it stayed hot.”
On 59 watch following an 11-under start through 14 holes, Straka made double bogey on the 18th hole to sign for a 9-under 63 and took the clubhouse lead at 21 under. He was two shots clear of Brendon Todd and Alex Smalley, the final group of the day that was just midway through its back nine, and in the end the 21-under mark was good enough for the Georgia grad to earn his second career PGA Tour win following his maiden victory at last year’s Honda Classic.
“It popped in my mind, for sure, yeah, but I wasn’t going to change my game plan or strategy for the 59,” said Straka. “The goal was still to keep the same game plan and try to finish and win a golf tournament. As fun as the 59 would be, I think winning the golf tournament is always more fun.”
Todd (68) and Smalley (67) finished T-2 at 19 under with Ludvig Aberg (63) and Adam Schenk (68) T-4 at 18 under.
“My family came Tuesday to Thursday, so it was fun to spend some time with them. Didn’t want to put them through the debauchery of the house, so we got a hotel in Moline,” explained Todd when jokingly asked if he was kicked out of the house on Saturday. “It’s been a great week so far, and it’s pretty cool how well that house is playing.”
Five of the six players within five shots of the lead entering the final round – Kizzire missed the cut – and three finished inside the top 10 with J.T. Poston (68) and Denny McCarthy (70) finishing in a seven-way tie for sixth at 16 under. All five who made the cut were in the top 25, with Greyson Sigg (68) T-13 and Chris Kirk (71) T-21.
“I hope J.T. went ahead and renewed before this,” Straka said with a laugh about the house.
Of the 69 players to make the cut, 53 were under par in the final round, but nobody went lower than Straka, who shot a career low 9-under 62 and tied the low round of the week with Jonas Blixt (T-17), who did so on Thursday.
Straka was 3 under through his first two holes after a birdie-eagle start and proceeded to add circles to his scorecard on Nos. 4, 6, 7 and 9 to make the turn at a blistering 7-under 28. The only thing warmer than the temperature in the Quad Cities on Sunday was Straka’s putter, which got back to work on the back nine with four consecutive birdies on Nos. 11-14 to put him on sub-60 watch with four holes to play.
A birdie putt from 43 feet on No. 15 just missed the edge, which led to three consecutive pars and brought the 59 watch to the 18th hole. Straka hit the fairway on the par 4 but hooked his approach into the water guarding the left side of the green, which led to a double-bogey 6 after his bogey putt from 15 feet failed to find the bottom of the cup.
“I hit one bad shot. Honestly after that the recovery, the wedge shot was great after that shot into the green. I hit a really good number and hit a really good putt and just broke a little more than I thought,” Straka said of the 18th. “You know, I gave myself a lot of grace there because that was my only real bad shot of the day. So, yeah, I didn’t dwell on it too much.”
Todd made a late bogey on No. 16 that stalled his back-nine momentum and a poor approach to the par-5 17th led to a par that killed his chance at catching his friend Straka.
“If you told me when I teed it up that I shot 3-under and tied the guy I was playing with, I would have thought I had a pretty good chance to win,” said Todd. “So obviously Sepp went out well there and played an unbelievable round. Hats off to him. Really happy for him.”
The field took the phrase “Moving Day” to heart on Saturday at the 2023 John Deere Classic.
Of the 69 players to make the cut this weekend at TPC Deere Run, 53 players were under par in the third round, with 16 signing for rounds of 5 under or better.
With just 18 holes to play, it’s truly anyone’s tournament as 23 players are within five shots of the lead. Those in the mix include a handful of would-be first-time PGA Tour winners, as well as a small group of rookies and amateurs looking to make a name for themselves.
Get ready for what should be an exciting final round with the five things that we learned from the third round of the 2023 John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.
Twelve holes-in-one have been made on the famed 17th at TPC Sawgrass dating back to 1991.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Aces are wild at the par-3 17th at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass this week.
On Sunday, Alex Smalley became the latest to make a hole-in-one at the famed island green. The 26-year-old Duke product had made a double-bogey seven thanks to a water ball at the par-5 16th.
“I figured I might as well just go right at it,” Smalley said.
He stepped up at the 133-yard par 3 with a sand wedge and delivered another highlight reel moment.
“I guess it landed right on the downslope and just went in,” he said.
Smalley, who recorded his fourth career hole in one, joined Hayden Buckley, who started the fireworks early on Thursday morning in the first round, and Aaron Rai, who made his ace on Saturday during the third round.
Smalley’s ace in the final round is the 12th at the hole since Brian Claar in 1991, and first in the final round since Fred Couples in 1997.
After he picked his ball out of the hole, he motioned as if he intended to toss the ball into the water.
“My caddie told me it would be pretty funny if I kind of fake threw it in the water, so I went ahead and listened to him,” Smalley said. “There was no way I was teeing off on 18 with that ball, either. It’s in my bag somewhere.”
Woke up this morning and still couldn’t believe that this happened! Definitely a memory for a lifetime. Golf. What a crazy game! https://t.co/KlLAjpwfHF
Nine months after his first Korn Ferry Tour win, Chad Ramey now has a win on the PGA Tour.
The tiny Mississippi town of Fulton, population about 4,000, has now produced two professional golf champions.
Chad Ramey joins the LPGA’s Ally Ewing with a trip into the winner’s circle at the highest level of their professions.
In just his 16th start on the PGA Tour, Ramey had a Sunday to remember with six birdies over his last 15 holes, including four in a row on his back nine, to storm the finish line and claim the 2022 Corales Puntacana Championship.
Fulton is situated in the northwest corner of the state and is home to Fulton Country Club, a 5,700-yard course run by Ramey’s dad, Stanley. The course has no practice range, so growing up Ramey and Ewing designed their own makeshift range across fairways. They aimed at trees and shagged their own balls, trying to stay out of the way of paying customers.
“During football and huntin’ season, it kind of clears out,” said Ramey, who, like Ewing, went to Mississippi State. Ramey once shot a 27 on the course, closing with an ace on the last hole.
Sunday, Ramey shot a 67 to finish at 17 under and win by a shot over Alex Smalley and Ben Martin. Jhonattan Vegas and Cameron Percy finished tied for fourth, two back.
Ramey, 29, is the eighth first-time winner this season. He’s the first rookie to win on Tour since Garrick Higgo claimed the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree.
Ramey tracked down Ben Martin, who led after each of the first three rounds. Martin opened the week with back-to-back 66s but posted back-to-back 70s over the weekend, opening the door for Ramey.
Alex Smalley briefly grabbed the clubhouse lead Sunday. He followed his second-round 65 with a third-round 73 and closed his week with another 65, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Ramey.
“I always had the self-belief that I could get it done,” Ramey said after his fourth top-20 finish of the season. “I proved that today.”
Ramey started the week ranked 203rd in the Official World Golf Ranking. His first professional win came nine months ago at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Live and Work in Maine Open, with his dad serving as his caddie. His last win before that was nine years ago when he was a junior on the Mississippi State golf team. He earned $666,000 for his win Sunday.
Martin, 34, was angling for his first win on Tour in eight years. He is playing out of the past champion category thanks to his victory at the 2014 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols contributed to this report.
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.
Alex Smalley’s emergence only added to the hometown flavor in the mix at the Wyndham Championship.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Alex Smalley estimates he has played as many as 75 rounds of golf at Sedgefield Country Club since becoming a member 14 months ago.
But with the Wyndham Championship having descended and the tournament in full swing, the course never has looked or sounded like this to the new Greensboro resident and former Duke standout.
The changeover here from a casual round to a PGA Tour venue has proven to be a challenging contrast.
“Keeping my nerves under control has been the toughest part,” he said. “I don’t play in front of a whole lot of people all the time. Obviously the course looks a little different with all the grandstands than it usually does, so it’s just getting comfortable with that side of things and I think I figured out how to do that over the few tournaments that I have been able to play.”
Alex Smalley of the United States plays his shot from the 12th tee during the third round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 14, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Even with the 2-over-par 72 he carded during Saturday’s third round that dropped him to 6-under for the tournament, nine shots behind leader Russell Henley, the 24-year-old Smalley has gone about proving he belongs on golf’s biggest stage, just as tournament director Mark Brazil predicted before the Wyndham began.
Smalley started the week having experienced only a handful of PGA Tour events. He fired off a 64 during Friday’s second round that lifted him to 8-under through 36 holes, and put him in position to perhaps pose a threat on the weekend, then at six strokes shy of Henley’s leading pace entering Saturday.
His emergence only added to the hometown flavor in the mix, with Wake Forest alum Webb Simpson, a tournament fan favorite, in contention again after four straight Wyndham finishes among the top three.
Smalley, who grew up in Wake Forest, said he joined the Sedgefield club in June 2020. So he’s listed as playing out of Greensboro on the Tour’s official roster.
“I feel pretty comfortable with the lines on each hole,” he said of Sedgefield’s layout. “The course is in really good shape, it’s always in really good shape. It’s playing a little different than it usually does for us. There’s a little more runout in the fairways, which has changed a couple of the clubs that I hit off of the tee. The greens are a little quicker, but other than that, it’s the same golf course, so still feel very comfortable with all the holes and I feel good with where my game’s at.”
In February, in the middle of the ninth fairway here, Brazil extended the sponsor’s exemption offer that has allowed Smalley to play the Wyndham, a meaningful moment full of gratitude and appreciation that Smalley said he’ll “remember for a long time.” He had a guaranteed spot in a PGA Tour field on his home course.
Weeks prior to the Wyndham, as Brazil discussed the major tournament winners and past champions of this event committed to play here — well-established names such as Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Bubba Watson — he brought up Smalley as maybe an underdog worth watching.
“He’s got some real game,” Brazil said. “He’s over here at Sedgefield practicing all the time. He’s out there playing some mini tours, Korn Ferry events, and trying to get into PGA Tour events.
“A great young man. I think you all are really going to like him, and I was excited about giving him a spot.”
The Wyndham marks the fifth PGA Tour event Smalley has played as a professional. He has earned a little more than $110,000 on the Tour. In September 2020, he shot 3-under during the final round of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic and tied for 14th place, earning him the largest paycheck of his career at $65,000.
More recently, he posted back-to-back finishes in the top five on the Forme Tour, an eight-event circuit providing U.S.-based players a route to the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying tournament, with PGA Tour Canada off limits due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Smalley collected All-America recognition at Duke and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2019. Between his sophomore and junior seasons in college, he played in the 2017 U.S. Open held at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, after shooting 7-under-par in a 36-hole qualifier to gain entry to the major.
He said the scene and the support here at the Wyndham have been inspiring.
“It’s been great,” Smalley said. “The last year, year and a half’s been rough for a lot of people, so it’s nice to have fans back out on the golf course watching. Just very grateful to the Wyndham Championship and Mr. Brazil for giving me an incredible opportunity to play on my home course.”
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
