Tag: Hank Lebioda

Hank Lebioda in position to break missed-cut streak, preparing for harsh weather and more from first round of 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

If you missed Thursday’s action, no worries, we have you covered.

Matt Fitzpatrick represents the lone top-10 player in the Official World Golf Ranking at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. What does that mean? The door is wide open for someone else to have their moment in the spotlight come Sunday afternoon.

And judging by the top of the leaderboard, that might just happen.

Hank Lebioda, who hasn’t made a cut on Tour since the 3M Open in July, tied his career-low score at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Thursday with an 8-under 63. The 29-year-old’s last top-10 finish came at the 2021 John Deere Classic.

Names tied for second after day one: Kurt Kitayama (0 Tour wins), Chad Ramey (one Tour win at the 2022 Corales Puntacana Championship) and Harry Hall (first year on Tour).

Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Friday tee times, how to watch

If you missed some of the action Thursday, no worries, we have you covered. Check out the first-round recap below.

Butterfield Bermuda Championship: In-depth PGA Tour preview with strokes gained data, players to watch and more

Always nice to be back on the island of Bermuda.

It’s officially that time of year for golf fans. The game’s stars are on vacation and the venues are, let’s just say mediocre compared to other PGA Tour stops throughout the season. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t win some money at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship this week.

Last season, Brian Gay broke a winless drought going back to 2013. The then 48-year-old beat Wyndham Clark in a playoff to kick off a year that saw several over-40 players hoist a trophy.

But on the bright side this week, we’re in Bermuda. The weather should be beautiful, the vibes should be right, let’s a have week.

Golf course

  • Port Royal GC
  • Par 71
  • 6,828 yards
  • Robert Trent Jones design
  • Bermuda greens

Weather

Day Conditions Percent chance of rain Wind & Direction
Tuesday Showers 90 percent 25 MPH (SSW)
Wednesday AM Thunderstorms/Wind 72 percent 28 MPH (WSW)
Thursday PM Showers/Wind 39 percent 26 MPH (W)
Friday Mostly Cloudy 12 percent 14 MPH (W)
Saturday Scattered Thunderstorms 57 percent 16 MPH (SSW)
Sunday Thunderstorms 82 percent 18 MPH (SW)

Key stats

Driving accuracy is going to be incredibly important for everyone in the field looking to make a run at the title. The rough around this track can be pretty tough to get out of, so target accurate players.

Some players love Bermuda greens, some hate ’em. This week, you have to love them. The grain can make putting a nightmare, so targeting players who putt well on these kinds of surfaces will be a great place to start.

Data Golf information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based off the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. LaCantera GC, 2. PGA West (Palmer course), 3. The Concession Golf Club

Trending (among the players in the field): 1. Hayden Buckley (last 3 starts: MC, T-4, T-8), 2. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (T-58 (Korn Ferry Tour), 3 (KFT), 5 (Euro Tour)), 3. Seamus Power (T-31, MC, T-21)

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Matthew Fitzpatrick (6.2 percent), 2. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (4 percent), 3. Seamus Power (3.6 percent)

Betting odds

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

Matthew Fitzpatrick (+1200) Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+1500)
Patrick Reed (+2000) Mito Pereira (+2000)
Seamus Power (+3000) Adam Hadwin (+3000)
Chad Ramey (+3000) Hayden Buckley (+3000)
Daniel Willett (+4000) Russell Know (+4000)

Players to watch

Matthew Fitzpatrick: I hate highlighting the betting favorite, but it’s hard not to love Fitzpatrick this week. At the impossible Valderrama a few weeks ago in Spain, Fitzpatrick took home the trophy. Despite his continued success on the European Tour, he’s yet to win on the PGA Tour.

This golf course has broken winless droughts in two straight seasons, so Bermuda may be the perfect place for Fitzpatrick to finally break down the door.

The Englishman hit 68.37% of fairways last season, ranking 17th on Tour. On the Bermuda greens at Bay Hill, Fitzpatrick has finished inside the top 10 in three straight appearances at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Data Golf likes Concession as a course comparison this week, and at the WGC Workday Championship last season (played at Concession), Fitzy finished T-11.

Last thing, if it blows like it’s projected to, I like Fitz even more. He rises to the occasion in the worst conditions.

Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters
Matthew Fitzpatrick of England poses with the trophy after winning The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters at Real Club Valderrama on October 17, 2021 in Cadiz, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Hank Lebioda: Lebioda is having a rough start to the new season, with MCs at the Fortinet Championship and Shriners Children’s Open (despite being under par in both events before missing the weekend). Quick note on missed cuts: Todd missed four of five cuts leading up to his win here a few years ago.

The key for Lebioda this week will be finding fairways, as he’s only hit 50% so far this season. However, he ranked inside the top 50 last year on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach, so if he finds the short grass he should be able to capitalize.

He’s on my list, primarily, due to course history. Back in 2019, he finished T-3, and last season grabbed a top 20 (T-16).

+5000 to win.

Hank Lebioda hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole during the final round of the John Deere Classic golf tournament. (Photo: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)

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Hank Lebioda explains his mysterious WD from 3M Open

Hank Lebioda withdrew from the 3M Open last Friday after making the cut, but he did so for good reason.

It’s not often that a player withdraws from a tournament after making the cut – unless due to injury – but that’s what Hank Lebioda did last Friday at the 3M Open.

At the time, he cited “personal reasons,” and it generated the typical uproar on social media, infuriating gamblers and fantasy sports fanatics who had a little skin in the game. It turns out the former Florida State product had a more than worthy reason to skip town: His father was in an intensive care unit at New Smyrna Beach, Florida’s AdventHealth Hospital and being treated for sepsis, kidney failure and COVID-19.

“Thankfully they were there when dad’s blood pressure dropped and kidneys failed,” Lebioda wrote on social media. “He had entered septic shock and, on paper, should’ve been dead.”

Lebioda’s mother, who had taken her husband to the emergency room on Thursday, phoned her son after he had completed his second round at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, and reached him in the player parking lot.

Lebioda had his wife book the first flight back to Florida on Saturday morning and informed the Tour that he would need to withdraw.

“I’m appreciative how they respected our privacy in the very touch-and-go hours immediately after I had heard the news,” Lebioda wrote.

Lebioda, 27, entered the tournament riding a streak of three top-10 finishes in a row, including a fourth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, before shooting a pair of 69s and pulling out of the 3M.

“Four days later, I can thankfully say that dad is going to be alright,” Lebioda wrote. “His recovery is moving slow but as he is phasing out of septic shock and regaining function from a lot of his major systems/organs, I am confident the man I’ve looked up to my whole life will be back as I remember him.”

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Hank Lebioda, another lefty, is making noise on the PGA Tour at the John Deere Classic

It’s been a good year for lefties, and Hank Lebioda might just be the latest one to get a W.

In May, lefty Phil Mickelson became the oldest to win a major when he stunned the golf world in capturing the Wanamaker Trophy in the PGA Championship.

In June, southpaw Garrick Higgo won his fourth professional event in nine months and first PGA Tour title when he was victorious at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree.

Now, in July, another left-hander is in position to get a W.

Hank Lebioda, a former Florida State star who won his lone professional title on the PGA Tour Canada circuit in 2017, fired a 7-under 64 in Thursday’s first round of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.

Lebioda’s lone blemish came on the final hole when a poor drive led to a bogey. But in his last three starts, he’s made few mistakes in search of his first PGA Tour title. Lebioda came into the John Deere off a tie for fifth in the Travelers Championship and a tie for fourth in last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.

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He has now posted scores in the 60s in nine of his last 10 rounds.

“It stinks that’s how you finish, but at the same time I think some of the putts I made throughout the round today make up for it for sure,” he said. “I’m just going to carry that momentum. I think I had eight birdies. Haven’t looked at the stats, but I’ve got to imagine – I hit my irons pretty well, putted pretty well, chipped it well when I needed to. Just keep on rolling with that.”

Speaking of rolling, Lebioda rolled in birdie putts of 27, 18, 8, 38, 6, 10 and 13 feet and his last birdie came from 20 inches. He is within one shot of leaders Sebastian Munoz, who birdied his last five holes for a 63, and Chesson Hadley, who birdied two of his last three. Joining Lebioda at 64 were Chez Reavie and Camillo Villegas, each who were bogey free.

In all, 28 players shot 67 or better in this annual birdie fest.

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: Leaderboard | Photos

Lebioda pointed to consistency for his strong form of late.

“Continuing to do what I know is going to help make me a better putter, better ball striker, better mentally, a little tougher, and I think the continuation of doing those things over and over again has been able to kind of develop this nice confidence I have right now,” he said. “I don’t think I found a low score today, I went and did it. I executed, and I played the way that I’m capable of playing.”

And he’s playing a lot better than he did when he made his John Deere debut in 2019 and missed the cut with two rounds of 71.

“When I came here in 2019 I wasn’t the same man that I am now. I think that’s just the easiest way to describe it,” he said. “That, and I am confident in my game, and I am hitting some really good shots, I’m making a lot of putts.

“I wish I would have had more success here in 2019, but at the same time, that was two years ago. Why even consider it, why worry about it? Just try to go out and make each day the best that I can.”

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Cam Davis earns first PGA Tour win in five-hole playoff at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Davis won the Rocket Mortgage Classic for his first win on Tour.

Another week on the PGA Tour, another playoff.

Five players were tied for the lead at 17 under when Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann, the last group of the day, stood on the 17th tee during the final round of the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann and Merritt each made birdie on 17th and par on the 18th while Cam Davis finished eagle-birdie to force a three-way playoff at 18 under.

Niemann made his first bogey of the week on the first playoff hole, No. 18, and was eliminated while Merritt and Davis made par to advance. Both then made par on the second (15th) and third (16th) playoff holes before a pair of birdies on the par-5 14th sent the tournament back to No. 15, the fifth playoff hole.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Leaderboard | Photos

In the end it was Davis who came out on top for the win with a par, his first on the PGA Tour. Davis has two other professional wins to his name. In 2017 he won the Emirates Australian Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia and in 2018 he won the Nashville Golf Open on the Korn Ferry Tour (then Web.com).

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Rocket Mortgage Classic: Troy Merritt comes up aces, shares 54-hole lead

The highlight of Troy Merritt’s Saturday at Detroit Golf Club? His hole-out at the par-3 11th.

DETROIT – The fireworks on 4th of July weekend began a day early for Troy Merritt.

The 35-year-old Boise State product picked a good time to make his first hole-in-one in 10 years on the PGA Tour. From 218 yards on the par-3, 11th hole at Detroit Golf Club, Merritt was stuck between a soft 4-iron and a hard 5-iron. He and his caddie, Wayne Birch, figured they had 210 yards to cover the front with the wind helping out of the right. So Merritt drew a 5-iron that hopped once and disappeared into the bottom of the cup.

“I was geeked,” said Birch, who answers to the nickname Wayne-o, Drain-o.

The ace propelled Merritt to a 5-under 67 and a share of the 54-hole lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic with Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who remains bogey-free for the tournament.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Leaderboard | Tee times | Blog

By the time Merritt made his ace, he already had made birdie on four of his first seven holes, including a near ace at the fifth hole to break from the pack. Early in the third round, there was a pile-up near the top of the leaderboard with an eight-way tie for first and a dozen more players within one stroke of the lead. Merritt’s ace temporarily vaulted him three strokes in front, but after hitting 22 straight fairways – he ranks tied for second in driving accuracy this week – he missed three in a row, including to the right rough at No. 12, which led to his only bogey of the day.

Merritt, who finished T-8 here last year, will be seeking his third PGA Tour title on Sunday and first since the Barbasol Championship in 2018.

“There’s going to be quite a few birdies tomorrow and we’ve got to make them to keep pace and hopefully slightly ahead of everybody. The mindset will be find that fairway first, give ourselves as many looks as we can and keep all the squares off the card,” said Merritt, who leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. “Make a few birdies but don’t give any away, make them work to come and get us and hopefully it’s good enough in the end.”

Merritt will be paired in the final group with Niemann, ranked No. 30 in the world and at 22 one of the bright stars on the Tour. Niemann, the winner of the 2019 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, shot 68 to improve to 14-under 202 and is attempting to be the first winner to play 72 holes bogey-free since J.T. Poston at the 2019 Wyndham Championship. Niemann, who ranks a pedestrian 88th in scrambling for the season, is a perfect 13-of-13 this week.

“I always try to not make bogeys, but this week it’s working,” Niemann said.

Twenty-four players will start the final round within five strokes of the lead. Hank Lebioda and Cam Davis – both seeking their maiden Tour victory – trail by one stroke and are the closest pursuers. Lebioda’s 6-under 66 tied for the low round of the day, but he said he leaned heavily on his short game and his best shot of the day led to a tap-in par.

“It was the flop shot over the bunkers going towards the water on 14,” said the 27-year-old southpaw, who has continued his hot play after finishing T-5 last week at the Travelers Championship. “I thought I was the older lefty, the one who’s won a few more times, when I hit that. Yeah, it was a great shot.”

Davis, 26, made three birdies in a four-hole span on the front nine to join the fray en route to shooting 5-under 67. The Australian finished T-3 at the American Express and January and has his eye on the top prize this week.

“It’s been what I’ve been working for my whole life, so it would be pretty special,” he said.

Jason Kokrak shot one of nine bogey-free rounds, a 5-under 67, to climb within three strokes of the lead as he seeks his third win of the season.

“I think it’s going to be a putting contest,” Kokrak said. “Troy’s a great putter and it’s going to take everything I’ve got in the bag to catch him tomorrow if he continues the pace he’s on.”

Expect fireworks.

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