Tag: Justin Lower

YouTube star Wesley Bryan is rocking a mustache, has a new putter and, oh, is winning this week

The changes in Wesley Bryan’s life seem never-ending these days. But it’s all working out just fine.

The changes in Wesley Bryan’s life seem never-ending these days. Sure, the co-star of the Bryan Bros Golf YouTube channel is still creating crazy content, like when he and brother George recently tried to break 50 from the front tees at Aiken Golf Club, just a half-hour east of Augusta National.

But Bryan and his wife Elizabeth just welcomed a third baby girl into the world eight weeks ago, he’s dropped a new putter in his bag and he’s sporting a new facial hair look.

How is all this change affecting his golf game?

Just wonderfully, thanks.

Bryan followed up a 63 in the opening round of the Corales Puntacana Championship with a second-round 66 on Friday, one that included him going 4 under on the day’s final three holes to get to 15 under at the event’s midpoint.

The week in the Dominican Republic started with a new L.A.B. putter that has Bryan leading the field in putting through two days at Puntacana Resort and Club.

“This is week one with the L.A.B. in the bag. It cooperated, it’s going to stay in there for the forever future at this point, that’s what it feels like,” Bryan said. “I just saw a lot of people that are switching to it and I was like, man, I’ve got to at least give it a try.

“To be fair, it’s a little bit polarizing on the internet and a lot of people love it or hate it, whatever. Art, science, whatever it is, I just wanted to try it.”

Bryan’s consecutive low rounds have him in a good position to claim his second PGA Tour title as Justin Lower continued his run of solid play and is a stroke behind Bryan at 14 under, but the field drops off from there. Coincidentally, Bryan’s first win came back in 2017 at the RBC Heritage, where the top players are playing this week without him.

But he’s shown no signs of holding a grudge. In fact, he and his burgeoning family seem to be living the life at the beachside resort. Bryan said his crew spent plenty of time at the pool on Thursday and the group was planning to hit the nearby lagoon on Friday.

“I don’t know how life gets any better than that, honestly,” he said.

As for his new look, Bryan said the new mustache came by circumstance, but it’s potentially a look he could stick with. Especially if he continues to play like he has thus far this week. Bryan missed the cut in his only other PGA Tour start this year in Puerto Rico and missed the cut in 11 of  19 starts last season.

“It started with a beard to start the week and my wife, she doesn’t like when I have a beard, so I said I would shave it off,” he said. “I brought a really bad razor blade down here and a trimmer and anything so I tackled the cheeks a few days ago and it was brutal, and I went for the chin yesterday. Now unfortunately I think the stache is here to stay for the rest of the week.

“Sorry, Elizabeth … but I feel like until we shoot over par or whatever, then we’ll shave it off, but right now it’s here to stay. Shout out, Carson Young.”

Birthday boy Justin Lower celebrates in style by shooting 66, takes early lead at Valero Texas Open

The short game was what really kept Lower’s round on track at day’s end after he missed a few greens.

SAN ANTONIO — He might hail from Northeast Ohio, but Justin Lower sure felt right at home in Central Texas on Thursday during the first round of the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

And why wouldn’t he?

With winds swirling in all directions, TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course felt akin to a breezy day in Akron, where Lower was born. His putter, long the strength of his game, came through in big ways down the stretch as he saved par on both 16 and 17 and then dropped a long birdie putt on 18 to post a 66 that made him the clubhouse leader.

His wife, Janise, was quick to kiss him when he stepped off the final hole, oh, and by the way, Lower just happened to be celebrating his 35th birthday.

Not a bad day for a guy who posted a career-best third-place finish at the Mexico Open at Vidanta less than two months ago.

And while his tee-to-green game was strong early on while posting birdies on two of the first three holes and hanging up a 33 at the turn, the short game was what really kept his round on track at day’s end when he missed a few greens.

“The short game … it can really save you around a place like this,” Lower said. “Luckily, the rough isn’t too penalizing. If it was five inches everywhere, I don’t think we’d finish probably with the wind and everything. My short game’s been great, my putting’s finally starting to come around. Hopefully, it continues that trend and yeah, I’m extremely proud of the round.”

Lower had an emotional moment at the Valspar Championship when he stepped on his wedge after a missed bunker shot, but it’s one of the few lowlights in what’s been an upward trajectory for the Malone University product. Last week at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, Lower made four birdies down the stretch to get on the right side of the cutline and then fired a 68 on Sunday to finish inside the top 30.

“That moment of frustration that probably a lot of people saw, I wasn’t feeling great,” Lower said. “I had been not sick, but just battling kind of physical ailments, I had like a trap thing going on and I was just really frustrated. It was my I think fifth (tournament) in a row. I know better than to play four in a row.

“And I’m human, we’re all human out here. I just had a moment of frustration. We went home after that round and it was just nice to be home and sleep in my own bed for a couple nights. Then we went down to Houston and I played solid last week, it was nothing great. But yeah, I just needed a moment, I guess.”

Lower now finds himself in unfamiliar territory as he’ll be looking back at most of the field when Friday’s second round begins, but he doesn’t feel he’s got a target just yet. For example, as the opening round’s first wave concluded, Max Homa (68) was two shots behind Lower, while Collin Morikawa and two-time champ Corey Conners were both four back after posting rounds of 70.

And besides, why not just enjoy a day like Thursday, when he was leading a PGA Tour event and planned to head out to a nearby joint called Blanco BBQ, a spot his cousin recently introduced him to?

“I don’t know if I’m the hunted at all. I’m still a quote-unquote mule out here as compared to other guys, but I’m just trying to play as best as I can, I’m trying to learn as much as I can every day,” Lower said. “I find myself watching guys on the range just to see if I can pick anything up, stuff like that, and around the greens especially. I’ve learned a lot and I feel like I’m kind of coming into my own finally.

“I’m happy to be here, for sure.”

After snapping club, this PGA Tour player withdrew from the Valspar Championship

It’s been a frustrating stretch for the pro, who finished tied for third at the Mexico Open.

Justin Lower’s opening round of the Valspar Championship was one to forget with the star finishing the day with a 77 at  Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida.

It’s been a frustrating stretch for Lower, who finished tied for third at the Mexico Open but has since missed two of the last three cuts, including last week at the Players Championship.

And his discontent grew on his final hole of the opening round as he tried to blast out of a greenside bunker and caught the fringe.

As Lower was exiting the bunker, he stepped on his sand wedge, snapping it in two.

With what would certainly be an uphill day on Friday, as the cutline is expected to fall somewhere near par, Lower withdrew prior to the second round of play, with no explanation given on his exit.

Kevin Streelman held the solo lead after the opening round of play as his 64 gave him a one-stroke edge over Kevin Roy and a two-stroke lead over the trio of Adam Svensson, Carl Yuan and Peter Malnati.

(Editor’s note: A previous edition of this story incorrectly listed Lower’s university. He attended Malone University in Canton, Ohio.)

2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship odds, course history and picks to win

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.

Adam Scott, who last tied for 41st at the Zozo Championship in Japan, is the betting favorite at +1600. On Monday, the Aussie was in Boston for Boston Common Golf’s — his TGL team — introductory press conference.

Other players in the field include Lucas Glover, Luke List and Akshay Bhatia.

Golf course

Port Royal Golf Course | Par 71 | 6,828 yards

2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship
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)

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Who’s up and who’s down in the FedEx Cup Fall standings after the World Wide Technology Championship

Here’s who moved up and down the point standings south of the border.

LOS CABOS, Mexico — Erik van Rooyen’s victory at the World Wide Technology Championship on Sunday took care of his concerns about keeping his job on the PGA Tour for not only next year but the one after that as Tour wins equate to a two-year exemption.

But for others, it’s getting late in the game to make a big splash and take care of business. One golfer who can rest easy over the final two weeks is Justin Lower, who has been a perennial bubble boy both on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour. But after a T-23 this week, Lower improved three spots to No. 107 in the standings.

“I thought about it a little bit. I did the math, I think I had a 75-point lead over the 125 spot, and I haven’t looked at projections at all this week,” he said. “It’s nice to just kind of relax a little bit, but it’s hard for me to relax out here.”

Asked what he will miss most about being on the bubble, he answered, “Absolutely nothing.”

Here’s who moved up and down the point standings south of the border.

Four tied for early 2023 RBC Canadian Open lead as players get back to business after PGA Tour bombshell

Conners is looking to become the first Canadian to win the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

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NORTH YORK, Ontario – Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose were grouped together for the opening round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open and walking down the first fairway the pair made a deal: no talk about the PGA Tour’s partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund until lunch.

“Rosie and I said, ‘All right, no chatting until lunch so that we can actually concentrate on what we’re doing out there,” said McIlroy, the event’s two-time defending champion who shot a 1-under 71 at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. “So it was nice to play a round of golf and focus on something else for those five hours we were out there.”

After fighting for professional golf supremacy for more than a year now, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan shocked the sports world with the news that the Tour would be partnering with the PIF, the very group it was countersuing amid its struggle with LIV Golf. With the PIF as its sole funder, the upstart circuit has long been criticized as a way for Saudi Arabia to sportswash its controversial human rights record, which includes accusations of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners.

And while the dust has far from settled on the announcement of the new deal that may shake up professional golf as we know it, it was back to business as usual for the PGA Tour on Thursday in Canada, where the people were just as welcoming as the golf course (so long as you’re in the fairway).

After the early wave of the first round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, four players are tied for the lead after taking advantage of calm conditions on Thursday morning at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. Playing in his national open for the seventh time, Corey Conners fired a bogey-free 5-under 67 and sits atop the leaderboard alongside Aaron Rai, Justin Lower and Chesson Hadley.

Conners is looking to become the first Canadian to win the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954, a drought that Mike Weir nearly ended in 2004 before his playoff loss to Vijay Singh. David Hearn had a two-shot lead in the final round in 2015 as late as the 15th hole, but ultimately lost out to Jason Day. A year later, amateur Jared du Toit was a shot back on Sunday before finishing T-9, three behind winner Jhonattan Vegas.

RBC Canadian Open: Photos

“I think golf is a funny game. It’s very different on a day-to-day basis,” said Rai, who has missed four of his last five cuts on Tour. “But it’s funny, the more you try and force it and impose it on coming days, the less it seems to happen. So we’ll definitely take the positives and just try and approach the rounds with the right kind of mindset. Stay patient. Just see what happens, really.

“I’ve been really working hard on driving it better. I’ve driven it like crap all year,” added Lower. “Just really trying to get the ball in the fairway. Especially around this place with the rough being so thick.”

“Course is good. It’s penal,” echoed McIlroy. “If you miss fairways the rough is very, very thick … I certainly hit a few loose shots and got myself out of position, and the golf course does start to get quite tricky from there. So need to do a better job of just putting my ball in play off the tee. Then from there the golf course is still quite scorable.”

While he isn’t at the top of the leaderboard, one of the stars of the day was rookie Ludvig Aberg, who is making his pro debut this week after finishing atop the PGA Tour University rankings and earning a Tour card for the rest of the season. The Texas Tech product began his professional career 4 under on the front nine before signing for a 3-under 69.

“I was nervous. I mean, I think it would have been weird if I wasn’t nervous,” said Aberg of his emotions on the first tee. “But I tried to embrace it. I tried to view it as something fun.”

“I’m super fortunate to be in this position, to actually get my Tour card,” said the 23-year-old from Eslov, Sweden. “I’m just going to be prepared to play a lot of golf. Play as much as I can, get as many points as I can and kind of see where that takes me.”

2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship odds, field notes, best bets and picks to win

This week is the perfect opportunity for someone to grab a first career win.

After a week in the Low Country, the PGA Tour is in Southhampton, Bermuda, for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Last year at Port Royal Golf Course, Lucas Herbert was able to fend off current LIV Golf member Patrick Reed and Danny Lee to win by one with a score of 15-under 269.

Denny McCarthy enters as the betting favorite at +1500, while Seamus Power and Mark Hubbard are two of the four names at +2000. McCarthy has one top-25 finish so far this season (T-25, Fortinet) and tied for 37th at last week’s CJ Cup at Congaree.

Defending champion Herbert is not in the field.

Golf course

Port Royal Golf Course | Par 71 | 6,828 yards

Butterfield Bermuda Championship 2021
Guido Migliozzi of Italy plays his shot from the 16th tee during the third round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 30, 2021 in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Key stats

  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • Birdie or better percentage
  • Total driving

Data Golf Information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club, 2. Pebble Beach Golf Links, 3. La Quinta Country Club

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Denny McCarthy (4.6 percent), 2. Seamus Power (3.8 percent), 3. Aaron Rai (2.8 percent)

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Justin Lower’s rollercoaster ride of emotions continues and Danny Willett hires ‘a tall Yoda’ among the 5 things we learned during the third round of the Fortinet Championship

“I’m sure I’ll be nervous, for sure…I mean, it’s why we play.”

Justin Lower’s rollercoaster ride of emotions continues.

The 33-year-old journeyman pro bogeyed two of his first seven holes but rallied with five birdies, including one at the last to sign for 3-under 69 at Silverado Resort’s North Course in Napa, California. It was good enough to improve to 13-under 203 and take a one-stroke lead over defending champ Max Homa and former Masters champ Danny Willett heading into the final round of the Fortinet Championship.

“It was tough out there today, it was a little breezy, greens getting firmer and firmer,” Lower said. “I just really just tried to keep it in the fairway and give myself as many birdie looks as possible.”

Some of those birdies even have come from off the green. Lower chipped in for birdie for the third time in three rounds at the fourth hole on Saturday.

Lower has taken one circuitous journey to his first final-round pairing on the PGA Tour. He attended Q-School six times, missed earning his card by a single shot in 2018, and needed to pitch to a foot from 30 yards to save par at the final hole at the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Indiana to secure his playing privileges for the first time. Lower still wasn’t sure if he’d done enough to earn the last card until his fellow pros and caddies showered him with beer and champagne. When he finally grabbed hold of his coveted PGA Tour card, Lower said, “It’s heavier than I thought it would be.”

His rookie season had more lows than highs, beginning with a missed cut in Napa at last season’s kick off event.

“I left this course last year kind of in shock, honestly. I was like, God, if this is how the Tour is, I need to get a lot better very quickly,” he recalled.

In August, at the Wyndham Championship, he needed to two putt from 61 feet at the final hole to make the FedEx Cup playoffs and keep his card. He took three putts and gave a teary-eyed interview afterwards.

But when six players defected to LIV Golf, Lower was granted exempt status for next season. So far, he’s taking advantage of it. He shot a career-best 63 on Thursday and has the 54-hole lead at a Tour event for the first time. He could crush his best Tour finish to date — a T-10 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the two-man team event — but there also are nine players within four shots of his lead.

“I’m sure I’ll be nervous, for sure, but just part of it,” Lower said. “I mean, it’s why we play. Yeah, it’s just, I don’t know, playing on the PGA Tour with a chance to win, it’s pretty cool.”

Fortinet: PGA Tour on ESPN+ | Leaderboard | Sunday tee times

Rookie nerves, a ‘mini-moon,’ and free rolling among the 5 things we learned at the first round of 2022 Fortinet Championship

When Justin Lower chipped in for the second time of the day, his caddie said, “Time to go buy a lottery ticket.”

NAPA, Calif. – When Justin Lower chipped in for the second time of the day at Silverado Resort’s North Course, his new caddie, Chad Gonzales, turned to the other caddies in his threesome and said, “Time to go buy a lottery ticket.”

It was that type of day for Lower, who holed out on Nos. 5 and 7 en route to making birdie on the half the holes and opening a three-stroke lead when was play was suspended due to darkness in the first round of the Fortinet Championship.

Lower was the hard-luck loser, who finished 126th in the FedEx Cup regular season standings and gave an emotional interview at the Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event.

That meant that Lower had to go back and play in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to try to earn his card back. He had competed in the first two events and likely had locked up his Tour card for the new season when several players defected to LIV Golf and Lower was suddenly full-exempt for the coming season for the first time in his career.

Fortinet: PGA Tour on ESPN+ | Yardage book | Leaderboard | Friday tee times

“It’s been kind of a whirlwind,” he said. “It sucked but it turned out for the better. … I’m just happy to be here.”

And taking advantage of his opportunity he did. Lower’s 63 was a career low for him on the PGA Tour.

Here are four other things we learned during the first round of the 2022 Fortinet Championship.

Six golfers earned PGA Tour cards just as six LIV golfers teed off in shotgun start in Boston

Once a player strikes a tee shot on the LIV Golf Series, he has lost his status on the PGA Tour.

Not sure they should be expecting thank you cards or gift baskets, but when the six newest members of the LIV Golf Series teed off in Boston on Friday for their 1:15 p.m. ET shotgun start, six others earned their PGA Tour cards.

Officially, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III, Anirban Lahiri and Cameron Tringale were “removed from the 2021-22 FedEx Cup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List,” according to the PGA Tour.

This then elevated Kelly Kraft, Justin Lower, Doc Redman, Austin Smotherman, Matt Wallace and Danny Willett inside the top 125, thus granting them their Tour cards for the 2022-23 season.

The Tour’s announcement specifically mentioned the 1:15 p.m. ET time. Once a player strikes a tee shot on the LIV Golf Series, he has lost his status on the PGA Tour.

Kraft, Lower, Redman were removed from the Korn Ferry Tour Championship on Friday after they earned fully exempt status. They cannot improve their standing on the Eligibility List. Smotherman, Wallace and Willett did not reach the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

The top 25 finishers at the Finals will earn PGA Tour cards. The final FedEx Cup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List for the 2021-22 season will be finalized at 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 9, 2022.

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