Tag: Big Cedar Lodge (Ozarks National)

Golf fans were in awe of the beautiful 19th hole at Tiger Woods’ new course

Tiger Woods had a few buddies over to the course he designed in Missouri for a special exhibition on Tuesday. The 19th hole stole the show.

Tiger Woods had a few of his buddies – Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, and Justin Rose – over to the new course he designed in Missouri for a special exhibition on Tuesday.

While all 18 holes of the course looked pretty incredible, the special 19th hole (which has been dubbed a “bonus” hole) stole the show at the end of the round.

The four golfers competed at Payne’s Valley Golf Course (Named in honor of Ozarks native Payne Stewart) at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale. It’s the first public course designed by Tiger Woods.

Their matches came down to the 19th hole, which is a stunning par-3. Tiger and JT ended up beating McIlroy and Rose but this hole won the day.

Check this thing out:

JT won the closest to the pin contest:

Golf fans loved it:

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Phil Mickelson shines again, admits he might be ‘hard to catch’ at Ozarks National

Mickelson shot a 64 to take a commanding four-stroke lead at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National just outside Branson, Missouri.

Phil Mickelson held off on jumping into the Champions Tour for a bit, but now that he’s made the plunge, things are going, well … swimmingly.

After firing a 61 in his first-ever Champions round, Mickelson followed that up with another impressive showing — this time a 64 — to take a commanding four-stroke lead on Tuesday at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National just outside Branson, Missouri.

As you might expect, Lefty’s round on Tuesday included a few big cuts and a handful of Houdini-like moments, including his lone blemish of the day on No. 10, when Mickelson survived a penalty and still salvaged a bogey.

“I think that was a really critical part because I made a mistake hitting the wrong club off the tee … I thought driver would be fine on that line, and it wasn’t,” Mickelson said. “And to get out of there with a bogey, birdieing my provisional or other ball was a huge thing because I was able to get it right back to even par on the back side with a birdie on the par 5 next hole and then make a few more birdies coming in.”

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Rod Pampling and Tim Petrovic are four shots behind Mickelson, who is vying to become the 20th player to win their Champions Tour debut. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins all turned the trick during their careers and Jim Furyk did so earlier this month when he won in Grand Blanc, Michigan.

Mickelson said some sloppy play off the tee didn’t help him, but he’s pleased with his game overall.

“I really enjoy playing the golf course. I hit some good shots, made some good birdies, but I want to work on a couple of things. I hit a couple of drives that I hung a little bit left that I want to work on,” Mickelson said. “If I can drive it a little bit more aggressively, I think I can make a few more birdies and be hard to catch.”

Eamon Lynch: Mickelson doesn’t really want to play with the old guys, but needs them more than he’ll admit

As for moving up into the senior circuit, Mickelson isn’t skimping on preparation. He insisted he’ll be on the range early on Wednesday and said he’s more concerned with how he’s working through things than the scores he’s producing.

“So I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I want to come out and play and be sharp and hit some good shots and make some putts and play the way I have more like the first day, then I’ll be tough to beat,” he said. “But I don’t want to think about the result, I want to think about the process. I’ve got some work to do. We’re going to come out early tomorrow, so I’ve got to get my work in right now and then get rested because we’re starting early.

“I’m excited, this has been really fun.”

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Big Cedar Lodge a big reason to watch PGA Tour Champions this week

The PGA Tour Champions is holding its first-ever Monday through Wednesday event this week, the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National.

The PGA Tour Champions is holding its first-ever Monday through Wednesday event this week, the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National at Big Cedar Lodge.

The event is getting a burst of attention because Phil Mickelson decided to make his Champions debut at the event.

But there’s another reason to pay attention this week: The golf course is simply spectacular.

Ozarks National in Hollister, Missouri, this week’s tournament site designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is ranked No. 1 in the state on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for 2020.

The No. 2 course in Missouri is Big Cedar Lodge’s Buffalo Ridge, a Tom Fazio-designed track that hosted the first of consecutive Champions events on the property, which also includes a par-3 course called Top of the Rock, a 13-hole short course called Mountain Top and, coming soon, the first public-access course by Tiger Woods called Payne’s Valley, in honor of Payne Stewart.

Big Cedar Lodge is located near Branson, Missouri, in the southwest corner of the state.

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