Let’s take a closer look at the lefties on the PGA Tour.
About 10 percent of the U.S. population is left-handed but there has only been 17 lefties to win on the PGA Tour.
One place they can find common ground is the official website of being left-handed, lefthandersday.com, where it appears the struggle is real:
“August 13th is a chance to tell your family and friends how proud you are of being left-handed, and also raise awareness of the everyday issues that lefties face as we live in a world designed for right-handers.”
August 13, 2024, marked the 33rd annual International Lefthanders Day. On that site, you can purchase things such as left-handed scissors. For left-handed golf clubs, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.
Fifteen non-righties have combined to win 86 times on the PGA Tour, led by you-know-who, Phil Mickelson.
With Brian Harman’s win at Royal Liverpool in 2023, there have now been three lefties to win the Open Championship, joining Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013).
Left-handeders make up approximately 10 percent of the worldwide population.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When Jake Knapp was just three years old, he picked up his brother’s old golf clubs for the first time and started taking some whacks. But there was one glaring problem: He was hitting the ball with the wrong side of the club.
Knapp, 29, who made the 2024 WM Phoenix Open his eighth start on the PGA Tour, used to play with his brother’s right-handed golf clubs, but felt more comfortable swinging lefty.
“I started taking swings lefty and (my dad) put a right-handed club in my hand and was like ‘We’re not paying for two sets of clubs, you’re getting hand-me-downs from your brother,’” said Knapp, who plays hockey right-handed and is a switch-hitter in baseball.
“Golf was forced on my right hand.”
Knapp has been a right-hand dominant golfer ever since. And, surprisingly, his story is less unique than you’d think. While left-handed individuals make up approximately 10 percent of the worldwide population, only about five percent of PGA Tour golfers are lefties.
What’s even more perplexing is that left-dominant people are actually overrepresented in many other racket and bat sports. Roughly 15 percent of professional tennis players, and 30 percent of baseball, cricket and table tennis players are southpaws.
Like Knapp, many young left-handers have a hard time finding golf clubs — especially higher-end golf clubs — at their local golf shops.
“You hardly ever see anything on the shelf for lefties,” said James Ridyard, a short-game coach for a handful of PGA Tour golfers. “If someone wants something that is the higher end equipment-wise, you’re much less likely to see it left-handed in the store.”
As a result, many of these young southpaw golfers do exactly what Knapp did — they switch their dominant hand and opt to play right-handed.
“There’s a lot of right-handed golfers who are left-handed people,” said Sean Foley, a swing coach for several tour players and junior golfers. “I have three guys who are left-handed, but play golf right-handed.”
There might be a sociological component at play, too, which forces lefties into using their right hand from a young age, even though that may not be what’s natural for them.
“When a kid starts writing left-handed, [in many countries] they convert him to right-handed,” Foley said. “There are so many guys who started playing golf left-handed and then they said ‘No, you’ve got to switch to right-handed.’ Being left-handed has some negative bias to it. It’s a social stigma.”
Foley is right. In some cultures, the left hand is considered the “dirty” hand — or the hand used for hygiene — whereas the right hand is what’s used for grabbing, delivering, eating and other daily actions.
But in golf, perhaps there shouldn’t be a bias against southpaws, especially because there’s no obvious disadvantage associated with swinging lefty.
Garrick Higgo, a left-handed South African who won the Palmetto Championship in 2021, says certain holes might pose certain problems for lefties, but that it all evens out in the end.
“There’s certain holes (that are better for righties) and vice versa,” he said. “It also just depends what shape you hit the ball. I don’t really believe in (there being a disadvantage to being lefty).”
Nicolo Galletti, an Arizona State graduate who turned professional in 2017, agrees.
“What it comes down to is all ball flight,” said Galletti. “I don’t really think it matters what side you’re on, it just matters which way you shape the shot.”
In fact, there may even be an advantage to being left-handed on the course when it comes to instruction.
“From an instruction perspective, it’s sometimes easier to teach a lefty, because they can mirror you,” said Ridyard, who coaches both lefties and righties. “(Lefties) can literally copy the movements you’re making. Whereas if you’re a righty, they have to swivel around — they can’t face you, so it’s not like a mirror image anymore.”
Mackenzie Hughes had plenty of motivation coming into the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Last week, he sat at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the Presidents Cup was going on at Quail Hollow Club across town. Hughes, the 31-year-old Canadian, didn’t make the International team, so he was forced to watch from home. He wanted to make sure he did whatever he could to make the team when the competition returns to Montreal in 2024.
He’s off to a great start.
Hughes beat Sepp Straka on the second playoff hole Sunday at The Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi, to win the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship. It’s the second career win for Hughes, who last won in 2016 at the RSM Classic. Both of Hughes’ Tour wins have come in playoffs.
“I’m over the moon,” Hughes said. “I had some moments today where I was tested and was able to pull through. It’s kind of my MO a little bit is to scramble and save some pars. I had to do that a little bit today on the back nine. Yeah, did everything I possibly could, just grinded my butt off, and luckily it was good enough.”
Hughes jarred an 8-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to secure the win, giving a huge fist pump as the ball dropped in the cup.
“Winning gives you a lot of confidence,” Hughes said. “It validates a lot of work I’ve been putting in. It’s just really hard to win. I know this gets said a lot, but I’ve been close a lot in the last five years, and to finally get one and get that monkey off my back for the second one is just the greatest feeling in the world.”
The duo went to a playoff after finishing at 17 under. Straka shot 5-under 67 in the final round. Straka’s round included birdies on four of his final five holes on the front nine. Hughes recorded a 3-under 69. He was even after eight holes and recorded three birdies and no bogeys in his final 10 holes.
On the first playoff hole, Straka found the green while Hughes’ ball came up in a bunker short of the green. He was able to get up and down from the sand, and Straka’s birdie missed just to the right of the cup.
On the second playoff hole, both players found the fairway, but Hughes stuck his approach shot tight. Straka’s approach leaked a bit long and left of the front left hole location, settling on the fringe. His putt again barely missed the cup, leaving the door open for Hughes to clinch the victory.
“Obviously wanted to get the win, disappointed with that,” Straka said. “But I played really well today. I shot 67 on a Sunday, came from behind and got myself in a playoff. Mac played great, birdieing 18. 18 is not an easy hole. Yeah, happy for him, and looking forward to some more.”
Hughes hit a clutch par putt on the 16th hole to remain at 17 under as the final round winded down. Moments later, Straka had a birdie putt on the 18th come up short. Hughes missed a birdie putt on the 17th hole and got up and down for par on 18 to force the playoff.
It’s the second time in the past three months (and his past four starts) Straka has lost in a playoff, including to Will Zalatoris on the third playoff hole at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first 2022 FedEx Cup Playoff event.
“Just more experience of getting myself in the hunt,” Straka said. “I think that’s huge, the kind of experience you can’t buy. It’s always the goal at the beginning of the week is on Sunday afternoon to have a chance, and I gave myself a chance. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, but next time it will.”
Rookie Dean Burmester also shot 5-under 67 on Sunday, finishing fourth. Defending champion Sam Burns, the highest-ranked player in the field, finished tied for 30th at 8 under.
Yet the Sanderson Farms Championship belongs to Hughes, and it could be the start of a run to the 2024 Presidents Cup.
“Honestly, probably a little bit of a relief. It’s been a while,” Hughes said. “I’ve had some close calls. Finishing second, while it’s still great, it kind of stings when you’re that close. I just wasn’t going to accept that today.
“Somehow was able to pull through, and it definitely feels a little sweeter than the first one.”
“It’s the third quarter. We finished a really good three quarters here and we have one more to go.”
Threes were wild on the scorecard for Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele at TPC Louisiana on Saturday.
The American duo only had four threes marked on the scorecard on the first nine holes of their third round at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but one of them was an eagle by Cantlay. He was just getting started as he poured in five back-nine birdies in the best-ball format for a total of 11 3’s on the card. It added up to 12-under 60 and a 54-hole tournament scoring record of 29-under 187 that shattered the previous record by six strokes and helped them open up a five-stroke lead over the South African pair of Branden Grace and Garrick Higgo.
“In a format like today you’re just trying to birdie every single hole,” Cantlay said, and they nearly did just that on the back nine, settling for eight birdies and a lone par at the par-3 14th.
Cantlay and Schauffele arrived at the first tee to the walk-up music of The Animals hit song, “House of the Rising Sun,” but got off to a sluggish start and were only 2 under through their first six holes thanks to a Schauffele birdie at the second and Cantlay getting on the board at the fifth. But Cantlay heated up quickly, canning a 19-foot eagle at 7.
The back nine was an absolute clinic as they alternated birdies with Schauffele making putts on Nos. 10 and 12 (an 18-footer) and Cantlay at Nos. 11, 13 (from 20 feet) and ramming in a 14-foot birdie putt at 15 that hit the back of the cup. Cantlay broke the even-odd string with a 10-foot birdie putt at 16 and wasn’t done yet, holing a 12-footer at 17.
“It’s a little reminiscent of the way he putted at the BMW when he got on that hot little run,” said PGA Tour Sirius/XM Radio’s Dennis Paulson, referring to Cantlay’s record-setting performance at the BMW Championship en route to the FedEx Cup title. “They haven’t been as long, but they’re going in the middle.”
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele fist bump on the 17th hole during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Schauffele complained at the start of the week that his game hasn’t been up to snuff this season, but he was smiling after a birdie at 18 (even hole so it was his turn) as the duo shot 59 on Thursday and 60 on Saturday in the best-ball format. After the round, Schauffele was asked if he had turned a corner. “Yeah, I did the right thing and I found a really good partner. So yeah, I feel great right now.”
The South African pairing of Grace and Higgo, who weren’t even planning on playing this week, shot 63 with an eagle at 7 but also made a costly bogey at 12.
“The morning after Bourbon Street feels worse than a bogey in this format,” CBS’s Colt Knost said.
Grace was going to sit this week out to be home for his son’s birthday, but he ended up suggesting to Higgo that they both had been playing better than their scores indicated and perhaps they could find something. So far, so good.
Three teams are tied for third a shot farther back, including Sam Burns and Billy Horschel.
“We haven’t played a clean round yet this week, and I think if we do that tomorrow, we give ourselves a chance,” Horschel said.
On Sunday, the format switches back to alternate shot, which is a much tougher format than best-ball, and it could be even tougher if gusting winds expected to reach 25 miles per hour have anything to do with it.
“That’s even more conducive to having a chance to make up those (six) shots a little bit easier,” Horschel said.
Jason Day plays his shot from the 17th tee during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
But Jason Day, who is playing with fellow Aussie Jason Scrivener and tied for third, knows they are trying to chase down two of the best players in the game and best buds who are very comfortable playing together.
“Patrick and Xander, they’re playing some phenomenal golf, so they’re going to be very difficult to catch and to pass tomorrow,” Day said.
Schauffele, No. 11 in the world, won the Olympic gold medal in men’s golf in August, but his last official PGA Tour victory is the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions in January of that year in Hawaii. He would love nothing more than to hold a trophy again on Sunday.
Cantlay, World No. 4, hasn’t endured much of a drought, having won the Tour Championship in August, but he’s twice been a hard-luck playoff loser this season: at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February and the RBC Heritage last week. He’d like to get out of his recent rut of being close but no cigar.
Given how well Cantlay and Schauffele have teamed so far, it’s not surprising that the game plan for Sunday is simple.
“We’re going to try and do exactly what we did on Friday, which is sort of plot along, play our games, leave each other in good spots, and try and hole some putts,” Cantlay said.
The Team of Cantlay and Schauffele are on target to shatter the tournament 72-hole scoring record as well as aiming to become the event’s first team to win in wire-to-wire fashion. Moreover, their five-stroke margin is the largest after 54 holes in tournament history. But Schauffele, who is winless when holding the 54-hole lead on Tour in four previous attempts, isn’t looking ahead to trying on the winner’s silver belts.
“It’s the third quarter,” he said. “We finished a really good three quarters here and we have one more to go.”
Voting for the PGA Tour Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year closed at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 10.
The votes are in. Now we wait.
Nominees were finalized last Sunday at the conclusion of the Tour Championship.
The Player of the Year finalists are Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm. The Rookie of the Year finalists are Garrick Higgo and Will Zalatoris.
PGA Tour golfers who played in at least 15 official FedEx Cup events during the 2020-21 season were eligible to vote. All votes were due by 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 10.
The Tour says the “winners will be announced at a later date” so while we keep refreshing our inboxes for that announcement here’s a closer look at the five finalists for top player and two finalists for top rookie.
Here’s a breakdown. Players listed alphabetically.
Patrick Cantlay
Four wins: Zozo Championship at Sherwood, Memorial, BMW Championship and the Tour Championship
Won the 2021 FedEx Cup
Fifth in scoring average at 69.736
Seven top-10s
Made 19 cuts
Bryson DeChambeau
Two wins: 2020 U.S. Open, the Arnold Palmer Invitational
Finished seventh in the FedEx Cup
Fourth in scoring average at 69.728
Nine top-10s
Made 20 cuts
Harris English
Two wins: Sentry Tournament of Champions, Travelers Championship
Finished 18th in the FedEx Cup
Finished 22nd in scoring average 70.115
Eight top-10s
Made 22 cuts
Collin Morikawa
Two wins: World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession, 121st Open Championship
Finished No. 26 in the FedEx Cup
Finished 20th in scoring average at 70.109
Eight top-10s
Made 19 cuts
Jon Rahm
One win: 2021 U.S. Open
Finished No. 2 in the FedEx Cup
Led the PGA Tour in scoring average at 69.300
Led the PGA Tour in top-10s with 15
Made 21 cuts
Golfweek‘s Steve DiMeglio recently filed his opinion on the matter, saying “There are a lot of checkmarks for Rahm. But the biggest checkmark is for wins.” And that’s why Cantlay would get his vote after he posted four wins during the season, while Rahm had one, although it was a big one, the U.S. Open.
Just two players make the up the list of finalists for Rookie of the Year: Garrick Higgo, who played in just eight events but won one of them, Palmetto Championship at Congaree, and Will Zalatoris who played 25 times and posted eight top-10s including a solo second at the 2021 Masters Tournament.
The 22-year-old from Johannesburg, South Africa, earned his third win in as many months – and first of his PGA Tour career in just his second start – on Sunday at the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina. Higgo won at 11 under, one shot clear of Chesson Hadley.
Higgo, a former UNLV Rebel, shot a 3-under 68 in the final round to finish in the clubhouse at 11 under. Hadley, who held a four-shot lead to start the day, made bogey on No. 17 to drop back into a tie for first with Higgo with one to play. The 2014 Puerto Rico Open champion then made a bogey on the 18th, earning Higgo his fourth win since September 2020 (the previous three came on the European Tour).
The UNLV product now has three Euro Tour wins, doing so in just 26 events.
Make it two wins in three weeks for Garrick Higgo.
The South African won the 2021 Canary Islands Championship on Sunday in Spain, following up his victory at the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open on April 24.
And he did it in style – his 9-iron on the 166-yard, par-3 seventh found the cup, part of a final-round 64. He finished 27 under and won by six shots over Australian Maverick Antcliff.
Ireland’s Niall Kearney made a run at a 59, needing to close with two birdies, but he parred in to shoot a final-round 61, good for a tie for fourth.
The left-handed Higgo, who played at UNLV, now has three Euro Tour wins in 26 events. That ties Tiger Woods for fewest number of events needed to reach three wins on either the Euro or PGA Tour, and makes him the fastest South African to win three times not counting majors or WGC events, the European Tour reported.
With Dean Burmester’s win last week, South Africans have won three consecutive events for the time on the Euro Tour in nine years.
Higgo’s win vaults him into fifth in the Race to Dubai Rankings and pushes him to verge of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Garrick Higgo poses with the trophy after winning the Canary Islands Championship at Golf Costa Adeje on May 09, 2021 in Tenerife, Spain. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Little did Garrick Higgo know a three-week jaunt to the Canary Islands would be not only beautiful but life-changing.
Little did 21-year-old Garrick Higgo know when he packed for a three-week jaunt to the Canary Islands that the experience would be not only beautiful but life-changing.
The South African, who played collegiately at UNLV, is leading after three rounds at the Canary Islands Championship and is looking for his second win in three weeks and his third straight top-10 European Tour finish. He had just a single win on the Euro circuit before this stretch, but after winning the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open and then placing eighth at the Tenerife Open, the lefty is looking to leave the scenic Spanish archipelago with more than $500,000 in winnings.
Higgo followed Friday’s 63 with a rocky 64, overcoming a pair of bogeys with two eagles. He leads Richard Mansell by two strokes and Calum Hill by three heading into the final day of play at Golf Costa Adeje.
If he wins, Higgo would move into the top five in the lucrative Race to Dubai and improve on his already skyrocketing spot of No. 66 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The top American in the field is Julian Suri, who sits T-9 at 13 under. Suri is a Duke product who lives in St. Augustine, Florida.
The former UNLV star is circling the waters again at the halfway point of this week’s European Tour stop.
Garrick Higgo is certainly hitting his stride on the Canary Islands.
The former UNLV star is just two weeks removed from his most recent victory and he’s circling the waters again at the halfway point of this week’s European Tour stop.
Higgo finished 5 under in his final six holes, using an eagle on the 18th to finish Friday’s second round of the Canary Islands Championship with a 63. He’s currently just a single shot behind leader Adri Arnaus, who is 14 under.
A 21-year-old South African, Higgo rolled in a smooth 15-footer on the final hole of the day, and continues to make a charge in the Race to Dubai. Higgo came into the week in 16th place in the Euro Tour’s season-long competition, but he’s projected to get well inside the top 10 after his first two rounds at Golf Costa Adeje. His win two weeks ago came at nearby Gran Canaria Lopesan Open, also on the Canary Islands.
For Arnaus, a second straight 64 put him in the lead, including a spectacular 30 on the back nine that included six birdies on the final seven holes.
Also near the top of the leaderboard is Dean Burmester, who won on the same course last week in the Tenerife Open. Burmester fired a 63 and is three strokes off the lead.
