Tag: Doug Ghim

Watch: Doug Ghim has ‘better than most’ moment on 17, celebrates with Tiger-like fist pump

Even the celebration mimic’d Tiger.

Tiger Woods sinking the long birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass gave us one of the best golf calls of all-time, courtesy of Gary Koch.

“Better than most,” is what Koch said as Woods drilled a triple-breaking, 60-foot putt for birdie on the famous island green.

Well, on Saturday during the 2024 Players Championship, Doug Ghim had his own “better than most” moment.

With the pin on the front left of the green and Ghim’s ball on the back edge, he hit a chip shot that landed on top of the slope before gaining speed and going toward the cup. And of course, it went in.

The celebration was a Tiger-esque fist pump, and it was shades of what Woods did in the third round of the 2001 Players.

Players: Leaderboard, tee times, hole-by-hole

The birdie moved Ghim to 6 under for the day and 9 under for the tournament.

FedEx Cup Fall: Here’s what PGA Tour pros think of the seven-event series (and it’s not all good)

“It’s unfortunate for the events, for the fans and at least locally, it kind of sucks,” Doug Ghim said.

SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – In reviewing this new version of the FedEx Cup Fall, the PGA Tour has to be thrilled with some of its winners: Sahith Theegala’s debut win in Napa; Tom Kim’s repeat in Las Vegas; Collin Morikawa’s winless drought ends in Japan, the country of his ancestors; Erik van Rooyen’s back-nine 28 and emotional win in Cabo; Camilo Villegas’s feel-good story in Bermuda; and capped off by Ludvig Aberg’s 61-61 weekend here at the RSM Classic. The Sunday drama didn’t disappoint.

Underneath the surface, not everyone was so happy, particularly Jimmy Walker. who vented about how he had to keep battling for three additional months to keep his card. (He slipped out of the top 125 and will have conditional status playing out of the Nos. 126-150 category next season.)

Instead of the start to a new wrap-around season, the top 50 locked up their cards at the end of the regular season and no longer had to worry about falling behind in the full slate of tournaments. Rather, those without exempt status had to play on during a seven-event points chase to retain status for the 2024 season, which begins in January. (The Fall also lost two events — CJ Cup and Houston Open — both of which joined the FedEx Cup regular season, with CJ taking over title sponsorship of the Byron Nelson in Dallas and the Houston Open being promoted to a date in the spring.)

The top players finally got the off-season they’d been begging for and the rank-and-file still got several playing opportunities with purses of at least $8 million, full FedEx Cup points on the line and a chance to qualify for two early-season Signature Events for those who finishing in ‘The Next 10’ in the final point standings. As Peter Malnati put it, the FedEx Cup Fall was “fun and exciting, unless you’re one of the ones trying to keep your job and then it’s a strain.”

2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Peter Malnati lines up a putt on the third green during the second round of the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Marianna Massey/Getty Images)

In theory, there was something for players of all skill levels to play for – even the top 50 could earn additional years to their exempt status and qualify for tournaments such as the Masters and the Sentry with a win if not already in those fields – but was it a win-win for fans and sponsors too? Only a used car salesman could make that sell, and it begs the question: will the Tour continue to secure sponsors willing to foot the bill for tournaments where the big names barely played, if at all?

Several pros expressed their concern for the future of the fall schedule, which will become increasingly important for players fighting for status for the upcoming season.

“It’s tough for me to see how it’s going to be sustainable,” said Mark Hubbard, one of six players to compete in all seven fall tournaments. “For me, I think there was a noticeable difference in the tournaments and just like how much the course kind of rolled out the red carpet for us and whatnot, you know, just little stuff like courtesy cars or hotel room blocks or the food. Everything just kind of felt like they were probably trying to save a little bit of money because they’re not getting, you know, the turnout, they’re not getting the big names.”

He continued: “I feel bad for a lot of those tournaments like a Jackson (Mississippi, home of the Sanderson Farms Championship) that have worked so hard to become a great event and, you know, now they’re gonna get zero of the top guys coming to their event, ever. It’s just tough for me to see how those [$8 million] purses are going to stay high and, you know, those tournaments are going to want to continue to be big events and there’s just no one coming there.”

“We have a lot of great events this time of year and if they want to host a PGA Tour event they should be allowed and the membership should support it,” veteran pro Ryan Armour said. “A lot of the top guys were looking for time off and if this is what they want, they got it.”

The lack of big names was most pronounced in Las Vegas, where several local pros elected to skip this year, and a sponsor exemption given to the LPGA Tour’s Lexi Thompson brought some much-needed attention.

“More guys would show up for Vegas, for Napa, it’s unfortunate for the events, for the fans and at least locally, it kind of sucks,” said Doug Ghim.

“Vegas is one of the biggest changes. Last year I wouldn’t have gotten in and this year I was in by 20 or something,” said Kramer Hickok.

But Davis Love III, who has hosted the RSM Classic in the fall for the last 14 years, said he’s seen several iterations of the fall during his 30-plus-year career that landed him in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and expects the fall portion of the schedule to continue to evolve.

“It hasn’t looked the same in any five-year period for a long, maybe my whole career,” Love said last week. “Hopefully, it just continues to improve, they come up with new ideas … I think it’s just going to continue to improve, but I don’t know what that is.”

The Tour can only hope that whatever it dreams up next will generate a collection of stories and winners as good as this year.

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2023 John Deere Classic odds, course history and picks to win

McCarthy finished T-6 at last year’s John Deere Classic.

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Before the best players in the world head over the pond for the Scottish Open and 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, it’s time for the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.

Thanks to its unfortunate spot on the PGA Tour schedule, the field in Silvis, Illinois, is lacking some star power.

Cameron Young, who’s still searching for his maiden victory, is the biggest name in the field and is 16/1 to win. After a few close calls at the Memorial Tournament and Travelers Championship, Denny McCarthy is the betting favorite at 14/1. Last season, he tied for sixth at TPC Deere Run.

Golf course

TPC Deere Run | Par 71 | 7,289 yards

TPC Deere Run
A view of the second hole with the Rock River in the background at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. Photo by Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

Course history

Betting preview

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Scott Piercy’s blister, Emiliano Grillo’s success on sixth hole among five takeaways from third round of 3M Open

The third round of the 3M Open ended more than 14 hours after it started with Scott Piercy still in the lead.

Scott Piercy has a blister on his right foot, but it didn’t stop him from stretching his lead at the 3M Open to four strokes.

Piercy, who led by three at the start of the day, blistered the field with five straight birdies beginning at No. 3, and carded a 5-under 66 at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, to build his lead over Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo.

Piercy began taking his shoe off between shots beginning at No. 9 and continued to do so for several holes.

“And people say golf isn’t a sport,” Max Homa tweeted of Piercy dealing with his blister. “Check mate haters!”

The 43-year-old Piercy held a commanding six-stroke lead until he made his lone blunder of the day at the last. From 248 yards, Piercy fatted his second shot at the par-5 18th into the lake fronting the green, but he recovered to salvage a bogey. It was still good enough to set the 3M Open 54-hole tournament record (18-under 195) as he seeks a fifth career PGA Tour title and first individual title since the 2015 Barbasol Championship.

It was a long day that began bright and early to try to beat forecasted storms. The weatherman was right and play was suspended at 10:57 a.m. Six hours and 38 minutes later, play resumed.

“It was a weird round, I feel like two rounds,” Tony Finau said. “You know, played the first eight this morning and then the final 10 this evening, so it was just kind of a strange feel to it when you have that long of a delay, but roll with the punches.”

RSM Classic fantasy golf power rankings, odds and picks

2015 champion Kevin Kisner leads our fantasy golf rankings.

After a week in Houston, the PGA Tour heads to the east coast for the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Last year, Robert Streb was able to take home the hardware after making birdie on the second playoff hole to win over 2015 champion, Kevin Kisner.

Scottie Scheffler (+1200) is the betting favorite fresh off the heels of a runner-up finish to Jason Kokrak last week at the Houston Open. The Texan is still looking for his first PGA Tour win, but with the way he’s been playing, it looks to be coming soon.

Like the Farmers Insurance Open, the RSM Classic utilizes two golf courses over the first two days: The Seaside course (par 70, 7,005), and the Plantation course (par 72, 7,060). The weekend, however, will be played on the Seaside course.

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds a full list.

Fantasy golf top 10

Kevin Kisner (+3000)

RSM Classic 2020
Kevin Kisner plays his shot from the 14th tee during the final round of The RSM Classic at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club on November 22, 2020, in St Simons Island, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

It wouldn’t be right to start this list with anyone else. In his last six appearances at Sea Island, Kisner has missed the cut twice. But, when he’s made it to the weekend, he hasn’t finish outside the top 10. That record includes a win, a solo runner-up, and a tie for fourth. He’s only played in two events so far this season, with a missed cut at the Shriners, and a tie for 54th in Vegas at the CJ Cup.

Scottie Scheffler (+1200)

Just another name that simply had to be on this list. Scheffler is playing fantastic golf with a T-2 in Houston, and a week before in Mexico, posted a T-4. The Ryder Cupper played in this event back in 2019, his only appearance in the RSM, and finished T-5.

Webb Simpson (+1300)

This just feels like an event Simpson will win at some point. The 2018 Players champion has teed it up in just three events this season, but played well in Las Vegas resulting in a T-14 at the CJ Cup. He was the solo runner-up here in 2019, and finished solo third in 2018.

Cameron Smith (+1500)

U.S. Open
Cameron Smith looks on from the 13th fairway during a practice round of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

I said it last week. He’s due. Smith followed his top 10 at the CJ Cup with a T-15 at the Houston Open. He’s never played in the RSM Classic, but his game travels. Good iron play, and the ability to roll the rock fits perfectly at the Seaside course.

Robert Streb (+7000)

Don’t look now, but the defending champion is trending in the right direction prior to this week’s title defense: T-9 at the CJ Cup in a loaded field, and a T-7 at the Houston Open. Streb has two wins on the PGA Tour, both at Sea Island.

Doug Ghim (+10000)

One of the value picks for the week. Ghim cashed in a top 30 performance in Houston over the weekend, and has made all but one cut in five starts this season. Last year, Ghim grabbed a top 20 at this event.

Corey Conners (+2000)

The Canadian hasn’t played much golf this season with his last start coming more than a month ago at the Shriners (T-40). Conners is three-for-three making the weekend at the RSM, highlighted by a T-10 last season. His game travels as well as anyone on Tour, so don’t be surprised if he makes a run in Georgia.

Denny McCarthy (+9000)

Another value play for you. McCarthy is off to a hot start to his 2021-22 campaign with three top 20s in his last five events. The Florida resident missed the cut at the RSM last season, but cashed in a top 10 in 2019.

Russell Henley (+2000)

Russell Henley of the United States lines up a putt on the 17th green during the third round of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on El Camaleon golf course on November 06, 2021, in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Henley is playing really good golf. He started his season with back-to-back top 25 finishes, and is coming off a top 10 at the Houston Open. His results at the RSM have been a mixed bag with consecutive missed cuts in 2018 and 2019, but last season broke the streak with a T-30. Henley finished T-10 in 2016, and T-6 in 2015.

Luke List (+7000)

When List has made it to the weekend this season on Tour, he’s finished inside the top 20 three of four times. He’s missed two cuts, but in both instances, was under par over his first two rounds. Back in 2018, List finished T-4 at the RSM. The Georgia resident should feel right at home this week.

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A Ryder Cup-type showdown at The Players Championship would be great theater

How could Sunday’s final round not have a little Ryder Cup feel to it, a possible prelude to September at Whistling Straits?

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – On a leaderboard seemingly as crowded as Times Square on New Year’s Eve, there’s no shortage of compelling, feel-good story lines heading into the final round at the Players Championship.

How heartwarming might it be for European fans to see Lee Westwood, the 47-year-old Englishman, earn his first victory on American soil in 11 years with girlfriend, Helen Storey, carrying his bag.

If underdog stories are your thing, the odds of a golfer ranked No. 257 in the world like Doug Ghim – with one top-10 finish in 18 months of Tour membership – winning his first tournament at TPC Sawgrass are astronomical.

Chris Kirk, a husband and father of three kids, is a remarkable comeback tale after taking six months off in 2019 to address his alcohol dependency issues, and has now enjoyed 23 months of sobriety.

Players Championship: Leaderboard | Photos | Tee times, TV info

That trio is either on top of the leaderboard or close enough to it to be hoisting the Players gold trophy come Sunday evening.

But more than anything else, what golf fans should be stoked to see from this eclectic leaderboard in the final round is a Ryder Cup appetizer. Let’s have a battle to the finish line, starring top-10 Americans Bryson DeChambeau (No. 6) and Justin Thomas (No. 3), dueling with Europeans Jon Rahm, Paul Casey, 2008 Players champion Sergio Garcia and Westwood.

Imagine fans tuning in across the globe for a potential Sunday showdown between Players leader Westwood (13-under-par) and second-place occupant DeChambeau, a remake of last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational mano-a-mano won by golf’s biggest rising star.

How could that not have a little Ryder Cup feel to it, a possible prelude to what we might see in September at Whistling Straits?

Bryson DeChambeau

When asked about whether the Players would have a Ryder-type atmosphere because of the USA-Europe element at the top of the leaderboard, DeChambeau replied: “Maybe. Look, we’re all focused to win this golf tournament, focused to win the Players championship. This is a chance that I’ve wanted my entire life.

“Growing up watching the Players, and finally having this opportunity is going to be something special. For sure in regards to the Ryder Cup-type atmosphere, maybe.”

There was no maybe about it as DeChambeau came off a birdie at the par-5 16th hole. As he pumped the gallery heading to the 17th tee, and again as he walked the cart path toward the island green, some fans on the hill were giving him a standing ovation. It was as if DeChambeau was a boxer entering the ring for a heavyweight championship fight.

Well, isn’t that precisely the kind of a raucous atmosphere we’re used to seeing at the Ryder Cup? DeChambeau has raved all week on how much inspiration he draws from the positive crowd reaction he receives almost everywhere he goes.

He’s not Tiger 2.0, but DeChambeau might be the next-best thing golf has to offer at the moment. Even four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, after a long pause during an interview on Saturday, acknowledged that his game has gotten sidetracked by trying to create more distance off the tee to keep up with Bryson, who added 40 pounds of muscle the past two years.

It’s certainly feasible that McIlroy, who missed the cut at the Players, envisions DeChambeau not only as a Tour rival, but potentially a Ryder Cup adversary for the next decade. The American bomber was heartened by McIlroy’s respect for his game.

“You know, I appreciate it, first off,” said DeChambeau. “The second comment I would have that, I wasn’t trying to influence anybody. I was just trying to play my own game and hit it as far as I possibly could.

“This journey I’m on is not taken lightly. I’ve tried to figure out a bunch of different variables that you have to in order to hit it straight, hitting it really far.”

If DeChambeau wants to win for the second consecutive week on a vastly different layout than Bay Hill, he’s going to have to overcome five accomplished Europeans that are either leading the Players or within three shots of Westwood, including Casey (9-under), Rahm (9-under), Garcia (8-under) and Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick (8-under).

And then there’s Justin Thomas, the No. 3-ranked American who came within a missed birdie putt at No. 18 of tying the Stadium course record. Still, on Saturday moving day, Thomas shot 64 and soared up the leaderboard into a third-place tie with Ghim at 10-under-par.

“Yeah, I wish all rounds were that way,” said Thomas. “I hit the ball beautifully.”

So beautiful that in a round where he carded seven birdies and one eagle, Thomas needed a combined length of putts just 49 feet, 8 inches to get those red numbers.

“As long you hit the ball in the fairway, it’s not very long, you got four par-5s, you can realistically eagle – besides No. 9 you can, but it’s not likely. You can eagle every par-5, you got a short hole and you can make eagle on this weekend at [par-4] No. 12.

“So you can have crazy stuff happen out here and you can really, really shoot a low number.”

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Realistically, a minimum dozen players have a shot to take home the $2.7 million first-place paycheck. But with Westwood and DeChambeau playing in the final group for the second straight Sunday, it’s hard to not think about whether second-place Bryson can take down the Englishman again.

The stakes have never been higher for Westwood, who has missed only eight greens in three days and hasn’t won on American soil since the St. Jude Classic in 2010.

“Yes, no doubt,” Westwood replied when asked if this would be his greatest career victory. “It’ll be the biggest tournament that I’ve ever won.”

It’s conceivable Westwood may get his greatest challenge from DeChambeau and Thomas, possibly coming down to shot-making on the 17th and 18th holes where the Stadium crowds – even at 20 percent capacity due to COVID – are most raucous. But he dismissed the whole Ryder Cup narrative thing.

“No, I think the Ryder Cup is the last thing on the players’ mind,” said Westwood. “Everyone is focused on winning the Players.”

Fair enough, but it didn’t escape DeChambeau that he might be developing some sort of budding rivalry with Westwood. That’s quite remarkable considering he’s 20 years younger than the man he’s again battling for a PGA Tour victory.

“I guess so,” said DeChambeau. “He’s making a lot of amazing putts, too. That’s what it takes to win golf tournaments.”

And a Ryder Cup.

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