The Charles Schwab Challenge has built a fashionable tradition in giving a souped-up vehicle to the winner.
FORT WORTH, Texas — It’s only a few years in the making, but the Charles Schwab Challenge has built a fashionable tradition in giving a souped-up vehicle to the winner.
After beating Scottie Scheffler in a playoff in 2022, Sam Burns rolled out of Colonial Country Club with a fully restored and modernized 1979 Firebird Trans Am inscribed with the word Schwab in multiple places.
This year, tournament organizers have a real treat for the winner — a fully restored and modernized 1973 Schwab Bronco. The outfit that handled the restoration is Classic Ford Broncos of Powell, Ohio, and the company’s director of sales and operations was on hand this week to show off the vehicle.
A detailed view of the prize for the Charles Schwab Challenge, a fully restored and modernized 1973 Schwab Bronco, as it sits near the 18th green during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports
“We were approached by Schwab basically over a year ago. It’s a 1973 which they specifically picked that year because this is the 50th year for Schwab,” said Nate Guess. “We paired up, I did the design of it and they made the decision that they were going to move forward with doing the Bronco restoration. This is specifically what we do. We specialize in 1966 to 1977 Bronco restorations.
“So this particular Bronco is from 1973, with the original frame and original matching VIN to the vehicle. It’s got a Gen 3 Coyote motor, so 465 horsepower with an automatic 10-speed transmission. Every nut and bolt on this is completely redone — either brand new or replaced.”
While the engine has been completely overhauled, the interior was finished to match the jacket given to winners at the event.
“You’ll see that the Tartan plaid on the side of the bolsters of the seats,” Guess said. “It’s the exact same material that they make the jacket out of.”
Nate Guess of Classic Ford Broncos stands in front of the 1973 Ford Bronco that will be awarded to the winner of the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge. (Photo by Tim Schmitt/Golfweek)
Guess said the process takes about 14 weeks after the plans are finalized on the vehicles. The company does all the work in-house, taking the original Broncos and breaking them down to the frame and axles. He added that the company does around 100 of these projects per year from the facility, which is just outside of Columbus.
“Everything, from start to finish, is done under one roof,” he said.
The vehicle has become a point of pride for the tournament sponsor, which picked up the pieces of the event in 2019.
“The Challenger prize has now become a tradition in its own right. As we enter our fifth year as title sponsor, we wanted to recognize Schwab’s 50-year legacy of helping our clients get where they want to go, no matter what comes their way,” said Jonathan Craig, the managing director and head of investor services at Charles Schwab. “And there’s no better vehicle to embody that than a 1973 Schwab Bronco.”
Na, 39, completed nine holes at Augusta National in 4-over 40 before pulling out of the tournament.
AUGUSTA, Ga. —The field at the 87th Masters is down to 87 players as Kevin Na withdrew from the tournament during Thursday’s opening round.
Na, 39, completed nine holes at Augusta National in 4-over 40 before pulling out of the tournament and citing illness.
Na was making his 12th career start at the Masters. He is one of 18 LIV golfers in the field this year. Na has never finished in the top 10 at the Masters, but had recorded three straight top-15 finishes —T-13 in 2020, T-12 in 2021 and T-14 in 2022.
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3413″ ]
Since leaving the PGA Tour last June to join LIV, Na has plummeted to 96th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He likely will have to win or have a top finish in one of the other majors, if he qualifies, to earn an invitation back to the Masters next year.
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Kevin Na opened the event Friday with an even-par 70.
Kevin Na hasn’t had much success on the golf course since leaving the PGA Tour behind and joining the LIV Golf Series.
In five starts before this week’s Jeddah event, Na totaled zero top-10 finishes and three outside the top 30.
During the second round in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, the 39-year-old withdrew from the event. He’s dealing with a sickness that reportedly began last week in Bangkok. Na opened the event with an even-par 70 on Friday.
In two weeks, LIV Golf makes its return to the United States for the team championship in Miami at Trump National Doral.
Na’s Iron Heads GC currently ranks No. 7 in the team standings. In Jeddah, they’re tied for 10th after the second round.
Unfortunately, @kevinna915 has had to pull out of the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah presented by @Roshnksa
“I think in terms of the conditions, it’s pristine.”
After hosting four consecutive events in the United States, the LIV Golf Invitational Series has packed up shop for a two-week trip abroad.
The upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is hosting its first of consecutive events in Asia this week at the newly-opened Stonehill Golf Club, located an hour north of Bangkok, Thailand. Before the series heads home next week to the familiar Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – the host of the PIF Saudi International on the Asian Tour – players made sure to heap praise on this week’s course.
One player compared the new track to one of the most heralded properties in the game.
“I think in terms of the conditions, it’s pristine. It’s literally — it’s holy ground. It’s so pure out there,” said Anirban Lahiri, who is making his third start on the series this week. “I would say this is the closest you’d come to maybe comparing to conditions in Augusta, just in terms of the pure turf conditions. It’s phenomenal.”
“It’s ridiculous how good it is,” he added.
Lahiri has played in the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club twice, finishing T-49 in 2015 and T-42 in 2016.
Stonehill has been described as a pet project of Sarath Ratanavadi, Thailand’s fourth-richest man, and his son, Saris Ratanavadi. Bloomberg reports that Sarath, the 57-year-old founder and CEO of Gulf Energy Development, is worth $11.1 billion. The tycoon approached LIV Golf this summer and has hinted at other golf tours hosting events at Stonehill.
“I think the good thing is everybody is playing it for the first time, so no one has got an advantage,” said Lahiri, the two-time European Tour winner in 2015 and seven-time Asian Tour winner from 2011-2015. “I think obviously it’s wide open, so you’ve got to hit it good off the tee, but it’s a second-shot golf course.”
“I think I need to eat a lot of curry and pad Thai maybe and help my distance, find another 30 yards before I tee off,” said Kevin Na, who noted the wide fairways will be a bomber’s paradise. “It’s a very, very long golf course.”
“The only thing I feel like that can play in my favor,” explained Na, “there’s good undulations on the green. There’s some runoffs. I feel like you have to putt very well out here, and I think that’s one way that I can make up for the driving distance.”
Na thinks this week’s event will be decided based on how LIV sets up the course
“I hope the rules committee set it up sensible because if you play a back tee every hole and tuck every pin, I just don’t think that’ll be exciting. It won’t be exciting,” said Na, who spoke with rules officials about drivable par-4s and reachable par-5s. “The fans are out here to see birdies and eagles. I’m not saying set it up easy, but I’m saying you have to have a good mixture, and especially with a golf course that nobody has ever played and we don’t know what’s capable.
“I think the first day you have to play it on the safe side and see what happens.”
A normally talented lot fell victim to a quirky that layout that is proving to have stood the test of time.
Any missed cut is a reason to pout, to question one’s game, to lose sleep and overreact to a bad week, but it hurts a little more – dare we say a lot more – to clean out the locker in the clubhouse during the week of a major championship.
At the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, several prominent golfers were sent packing. Only the top 60 and ties survived to play the weekend. The U.S. Open always has been known to be the fullest examination of a golfer’s game. It will expose any weakness, any uncertainty, any fragile nerves. In short, there’s nowhere for a player to hide.
While several unheralded players have stepped forward and surged into contention at TCC, a normally talented lot have fallen victim to a quirky that layout that is proving to have stood the test of time.
Here’s more on some of the players who failed to make the cut, which came in at 3 over.
By resigning his membership, Na is no longer exempt into PGA Tour-sanctioned events this year.
Five-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Na announced on social media Saturday he resigned from the PGA Tour before he headed to London to play in the inaugural tournament of the LIV Golf Invitational Series at the Centurion Club June 9-11.
The 19-year veteran wrote of his love for the PGA Tour and the opportunities it provided but the upstart league headed by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia, which features eight events this year with $255 million in prize money, 54-hole no-cut events and shotgun starts, was too much to pass up.
By resigning his membership, Na is no longer exempt into PGA Tour-sanctioned events this year.
“Recent developments in the professional golf world have given me a chance to reconsider my options. I would like the freedom to play wherever I want and exercising my right as a free agent gives me that opportunity,” Na said in posts on Twitter and Instagram. “However to remain a PGA Tour player, I must give up my right to make choices about my career. If I exercise my right to choose where and when I play golf, then I cannot remain a PGA Tour player without facing disciplinary proceedings and legal action from the PGA Tour.
“I am sad to share that I have chosen to resign from the PGA Tour. This has not been an easy decision and now one I take lightly. I hope the current policies change and I’ll be able to play on the PGA Tour again.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has told PGA Tour members that players who opt to play in the LIV league face disciplinary action, which could include hefty fines, suspensions and even banishment from the PGA Tour.
This was a very difficult decision for me. I hope my fans will continue to support me wherever I choose to play. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/3Vp2e7cPfH
Na joins Dustin Johnson, a former No. 1 player in the world who has a pair of majors under his belt, for the London event. Others listed in the field include Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Talor Gooch.
Murray says he and Na nearly came to blows on the driving range at the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
Kevin Na and Grayson Murray had another dust up.
It wasn’t quite The Thrilla in Manilla, the third battle between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, but to hear Murray tell it, the latest kerfuffle nearly came to blows.
Speaking on the Stripe Show podcast, Murray said that Na taunted him on the driving range on Wednesday ahead of the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
“I went right up to his face and held my ground, and I told him, if I wasn’t going to get suspended right now I’d drop his (butt) right there on the range. Because what he said was very immature and I know he wouldn’t have said it to me if we were just seeing each other outside of the golf course,” Murray said.
The bad blood between the two dates back to a Twitter beef that began in January at the Sony Open in Hawaii when golf personality Chantel McCabe, who hosts a show on SiriusXM among other broadcasting roles, tweeted rather innocently,” “Kevin Na walking in putts does not get old.”
Murray used it as a chance to take a shot at Na, who has been the target of criticism during his career for slow play. “Kevin Na taking 3 minutes to putt them does get old,” Murray responded.
Na fired back at Murray, “u missing the cut is getting old!”
Murray, whose lone win was at the 2017 Barbasol Championship, hadn’t made a cut since March, having missed the weekend at 13 of his last 17 events and had withdrawn in two of his last three starts.
Their Twitter war died down and it appeared to be the end of the public spat until Murray revealed that Na won’t let their dispute die.
“I was hitting balls on the range and just kind of had my head down walking to the chipping green,” Murray said. “Sure enough, I hear someone yelling and cussing at me.”
Murray said veteran caddie Mike Hicks, who worked for Murray at one time, warned him to back away and avoid letting Na provoke him. Murray told Hicks if such behavior happened in a hockey game, he would have gotten a “10-minute major and [Na] would have been out for the season.”
Murray claimed, “I’m living rent-free in his head right now,” and added, “I told him, if he goes and plays in the Saudi League, no one’s going to miss him on this Tour.”
The rumor mill still has Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter involved with the LIV.
You would think by now that the idea of the LIV, the Saudi Arabia-backed golf league that wants to rival the PGA Tour, would have slipped quietly away. The biggest names in golf have turned their backs on the idea, saying they will stay with the profitable PGA Tour. And one of golf’s biggest names and one of its best all-time players, Phil Mickelson, is in a kind of self-exile from the game at the moment over why and how he supported the idea of the LIV.
But with all of that weighing against the LIV and its commissioner Greg Norman, the LIV still manages to make some news. This week the news is a batch of names who are recognizable but far from the elite of the tour that the LIV pursued earlier in the year.
The rumor mill still has European stars Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter involved with the LIV. The other names aren’t necessarily new, but they are intriguing. Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson is among those names, and so are Kevin Na and Jason Kokrak.
In what seemed like a response to the rumors, Watson posted his summer schedule on Twitter, without mentioning the LIV and without listing any of the LIV tournaments on his agenda.
Planning out my summer… for those interested here’s a look at my upcoming tournament schedule… pic.twitter.com/AUiQVztjKB
Was that just a way to turn off the rumors, or had Watson been persuaded to change his mind because of backlash to even the rumor of him signing with the LIV? Several players seemed to pledge their support to the PGA Tour in February after Phil Mickelson’s comments on the league were leaked and Mickelson was hit with a huge backlash.
Watson’s name is particularly interesting because he has embraced Augusta National, home of the Masters, by not only playing in the tournament as a past champion but showing up at the pre-tournament Drive, Chip and Putt event each year.
If you believe Norman, still the face of the LIV, he was left off the invitation list to the Masters this year he believes because of his backing of the LIV. Would Watson want to risk that in his career?
Greg Norman at the 2020 PNC Championship in Orlando. (Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press)
It’s probably not fair to say the other names wouldn’t particularly be missed if they stopped playing PGA Tour events, because most players have their fans who love to see them play. But Na and Kokrak are far from Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, some of the names the LIV expressed interest in early in the planning stages. McIlroy never supported the LIV, Johnson was among those saying no as recently as February and Tiger Woods has given the LIV concept a flat-out no.
The league that won’t go away
So why does the LIV live on? Part of it is the PGA Tour has been instituting many changes in the last year, and some of them seem to be direct responses to the threat of the LIV. Those changes include increased purses at most tournaments, the institution of a Players Impact Program that gives bonuses to important and popular players and even talk of a new Fall Series team concept, kind of along the lines of what the LIV has proposed.
The other reason the LIV lingers on is Norman himself. For now at least, Norman has refused to accept defeat, even in the face of the best and biggest names in the game giving the LIV the cold shoulder. In a series of interviews this week, Norman doubled down on his belief that the PGA Tour can not ban players from its tournaments for signing up with the LIV, and that he believes the LIV will play on no matter who is in the field. He added that better players will eventually want to play for the LIV’s money, knowing they can beat the golfers signed up for the league.
The PGA Tour and the status quo in golf can feel good about the Masters last week, the cementing of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler with a Masters victory and the idea that Tiger Woods remains the biggest and most appealing attraction in golf. The LIV wasn’t even an afterthought at Augusta National.
Will there be a death blow for the LIV in the coming weeks? Norman certainly seems intent on keeping the league around, even at the cost of careers and legacies.
Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for the Palm Springs (Calif.) Desert Sun, part of the USA Today Network. He can be reached at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com or (760) 778-4633. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan. Support Local journalism. Subscribe to The Desert Sun.
“Normally, it’s a late tee time on Sunday. More so than the Champions Dinner. The late tee time just excites me.”
The Masters lights up the golf world every April, its spiritual setting warming hearts around the globe. Among the awakening are the players who take to the architectural gem framed by an explosion of colors. To the man, they love to talk about the unparalleled tournament between the Georgia Pines at Augusta National Golf Club.
The gathering every spring is matchless, from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt competition through the ceremony at Butler Cabin.
Ahead of the 86th Masters, Golfweek conducted its annual survey, this year getting takes on many things Masters from 25 players, nine of whom have won a green jacket, 12 major champions in all.
Today’s questions:
What was the experience like driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time?
“I was at the University of Georgia, a freshman. We played Augusta National once a year. We didn’t have cellphones back then. We had disposable cameras. As soon as we turned onto Magnolia Lane, it was click, click, click, click.” – Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson
“It was 1959. Probably about two weeks before the tournament. Drove down with my friend, Robin Obetz, who was my best man in my wedding the next year. I didn’t know what Magnolia Lane was. It was pretty impressive to start with. We were pretty overwhelmed by it. I didn’t know you couldn’t bring guests onto the property. But Alec Osborne (a member) took care of everything. It was seamless. I still get shivers thinking about that first time. It was a thrill then and it’s a thrill now. What amazes me about Magnolia Lane more than anything is that the trees look exactly the same to me now as they did back in 1959.” – Six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus
“It was the week before my first Masters last year and I remember I had some Mexican music going on down Magnolia Lane. It was pretty cool.” – Abraham Ancer
“It was incredible. Way exceeded expectation. It’s crazy. It like golf Disney World.” – Matt Fitzpatrick
“It was great. You’re not supposed to have your phone out. But we did. I still remember it. Driving down Magnolia Lane never disappoints.” – Jason Day
“It was ’85. I was 19. And I was really impressed. When you get to the gate, you see all of the magnolia trees and the clubhouse at the very end with a yellow flag around the roundabout. Really impressive. Still is today.” – Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal
“It was crazy. It’s funny because it looks exactly like the pictures, which sounds stupid, but some things don’t live up to it and it did, and it was cool. It’s such an unassuming entrance. But it’s like, wow, this is Augusta National. You wait so long to do it. You almost overhype it, but you know, it was awesome.” – Max Homa
A view of the locked gates at the entrance of Magnolia Lane off Washington Road that leads to the clubhouse of Augusta National on March 30, 2020 in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters Tournament, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals has been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“It was surreal. It was much shorter than I expected it to be. I was expecting it to meander for some time. But what unravels on the other side of the clubhouse is incredible.” – Justin Rose
“It was in 1970. Driving down Magnolia Lane was, you know, it was all that was hyped up to me. It was beautiful. And it still is exciting to drive down Magnolia Lane. You go down that dark, shadowy lane. Those magnolia trees have grown so, so big that it’s dark going through there, but you see the clubhouse, that white clubhouse at the end, and it’s quite a sight.” – Two-time Masters champion Tom Watson
“I was able to take dad to play before the ’05 Masters and when we drove down Magnolia Lane together it was so special. I’ll never forget it. Then playing the golf course, taking the pictures on the bridges, everything about that day was great. Then I got to play with my hero, Fred Couples, in a practice round in my first Masters that year, so it was a pretty great year.” – Ryan Palmer
“I still get goosebumps thinking about it. I get goosebumps every time I make that turn off Washington Road. There’s a lot more security than there used to be when I when I first drove down there, but the drive is still the same and I feel like a kid all over again making that drive.” – Matt Kuchar
“It was very surreal. It felt like I was in a dreamland. I drove 1 or 2 mph and the guards were looking at me and they didn’t blink because they knew exactly what was happening.” – Xander Schauffele
“It was October of 2013 and I didn’t have my phone out. I was like, ‘I just want to soak this in.’ I had gone the year before as a spectator on the Monday and knew right away it was my favorite course. But that first time on Magnolia Lane was pretty special. We actually played Pine Valley earlier in the day. Pretty good day.” – 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth
“I was playing with the Wake Forest team, my junior year and like typical college kids, we were in the van. One of the guys in the van put in the Masters theme song and we drove down Magnolia Lane. It was the most college, most college guy thing ever, but it was awesome.” – Will Zalatoris
“It was a Saturday in 2014 before the Masters and it was just pretty cool. You sort of take it all in. I enjoy it more or appreciate it more now than I did then. Just for the fact that you know it’s just a special place and to be able to play there year in year out, to be on hollowed grounds and think about who’s played here and who’s driven down this road before, it’s pretty amazing.” – Billy Horschel
“Oh, wow. Very special. The funny thing is it’s no different, almost no different now. I guess it was more special that first time. But even now it is unbelievable and very special every time I drive down there.” – 1987 Masters champion Larry Mize
“Our college team got to go when I was at Vanderbilt. Just an unbelievable experience driving down Magnolia Lane, seeing the clubhouse through the little corridor and something just happens to you. It’s your first time and you really want to play well, and you start thinking about all the shots you want to hit and you kind of get stuck in the moment. I wanted to hit a great shot on 12, wanted to go for it on 13 and 15. It all starts on Magnolia Lane.” – Brandt Snedeker
“I was in high school, 2005 or 2006, and it was incredible. I’d been to a couple Masters before; that’s really the only tournament I’ve ever watched since I was 5 or 6. That’s kind of what got me into golf. And then I’m going down Magnolia Lane. It still gives you goosebumps even to this day, just the history of that place and the feeling you get that you’ve kind of made it.” – Harris English
“It was pretty special. It’s my favorite course in the world and it never gets old but driving in there for the first time I think you’re a bit taken aback by the security when you first pull in. And then you drive as slowly as you can.” – Graeme McDowell
“It was 1988. It was so cool and it’s still cool. It is something special. All the Magnolias, the azaleas. It gave me sort of some insight to what I wanted to do to my house.” – 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam
What is the one thing you look forward to the most about the Masters?
“In many ways it is the start of the golfing season. It certainly is the start of the major championship season. Even though I don’t play anymore, it’s fun to be there. It’s fun to go to the Masters dinner. I’m done with the Par 3, but toward the end of my career, I used to play every year. But I just can’t play anymore. And then there is the honor of hitting the opening tee shot alongside Gary Player. Now, with the addition of our good friend, Tom Watson, that will be nice. I enjoy seeing everybody. It’s like a reunion.” – Six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus
Honorary starter Gary Player greets Jack Nicklaus at the 1st tee during the first round of The Masters. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
“I just love the creativity you need to play that golf course. I love golf courses where you have many options around the greens.” – Abraham Ancer
“The atmosphere of the tournament., the roars, the buzz.” – Matt Fitzpatrick
“Ooh. There’s so much. Seeing all the locker room guys is great, they are always so grateful and happy to see us and we’re happy to see them. That vibe in the clubhouse I love.” – Justin Rose
“It’s hard to pick one. I’ll give you two. The Champions Dinner. I look forward to the stories from the past champions. And the Par-3 Contest with the little ones. I still have a picture to this day of being on the first tee and Mr. Player was in the group in front and he’s on the practice green doing magic tricks with (daughter) Windsor Wells. It doesn’t get any better than that.” – 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed
“The opportunity to contend. Having a chance to win the green jacket on Sunday afternoon is as good a feeling as anything in golf.” – Marc Leishman
“I think it’s the fans. For some reason the fans are so knowledgeable and courteous. It feels like you have gone back in time. And those roars are something else.” – Matt Kuchar
“I think it’s just being on the golf course. I think it’s just walking those fairways. It’s my favorite course in the world. It’s very hard to have the perfect golf course, and to me, Augusta approaches perfection.” – Graeme McDowell
“The thrill of competition. Being in contention on Sunday, there’s just no other place like it with the roars and the crowds. The biggest challenge is how you are going to handle your emotions.” – Xander Schauffele
“Normally, it’s a late tee time on Sunday. More so than the Champions Dinner. The late tee time just excites me.” – 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth
“I get to play on Sunday’s because I’m a past champion. I remember my wife asked me after I won if I could bring a guest on Sunday. It was like a year away. Playing with my wife at Augusta National is very special. And who doesn’t look forward to putting on the green jacket when you go and sit at your locker.” – Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson
“I think it’s just the buzz. I mean, there’s a million things that make it great. I mean, I’m sure some guys have probably even mentioned the food and going around Amen Corner and skipping balls on 16. But I think it’s just, when you get there and you hop out of the car in the player lot, the buzz just hits you. There’s nothing like it.” – Will Zalatoris
“There are so many things. But the Par 3 tournament is one big deal. Just the whole experience of being there is amazing. You can talk about the sandwiches, you can talk about skipping the ball at 16, you can talk about whatever. And seeing all the past champions. Everything’s cool.” – Kevin Na
Kevin Na’s daughter, Sophia Ria, is seen during the Par 3 Contest for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. (Augusta National/The Masters)
“Probably just seeing all the friends and family that I’ve grown up with. I did the experience from outside the ropes growing up there, and now being on the inside is special.” – Kevin Kisner
“I just really enjoy playing the course. The stretch from No. 12 through No. 16 is incredible every single time I play it. That’s my favorite stretch of any golf course. And there’s so much more. You get to know the locker room staff, the food’s incredible, the people are so nice. They’ll literally do anything for you. And it’s cool for me to have a lot of family and friends come in to town. It’s such a great week, I hope I get to play in 10, 15 more.” – Harris English
Meanwhile, Michael Thompson’s journey to the first tee was anything but conventional.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Luke List, who won his first PGA Tour title earlier this year in a playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, withdrew after eight holes Friday morning due to a neck injury. He will not be replaced in the field.
Meanwhile, Michael Thompson’s journey to the first tee of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on Friday was anything but conventional.
Thompson, a winner of two PGA Tour titles, became the fifth alternate for the Players Championship when Ryan Brehm won the Puerto Rico Open last Sunday.
Then Thompson moved to fourth when Bryson DeChambeau withdrew. Then he became the third alternate when Kevin Na withdrew. He moved to second when Hideki Matsuyama withdrew. Then he was first in line when Aaron Raj withdrew from the alternate list.
And then, well before the sun rose Friday morning, Thompson got into the field when Tyler McCumber withdrew with a shoulder injury. Because McCumber did not tee off on Thursday due to weather delays, his first-round tee time was moved to Friday. That proved beneficial to Thompson.
At 7:15 a.m., Thompson teed off in the PGA Tour’s flagship event. And made eagle on the second hole, a birdie on the fourth, another birdie on the fifth before a bogey on the eighth knocked him down to 3 under.
