Marc Leishman

NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. loves his golf but his ‘driving’ needs some work

Stenhouse is a two-time winner of the “Golf Guys Tour,” which includes as many as 24 other NASCAR drivers.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s tee shot barely missed the fairway on the fifth hole at Austin Country Club, but he scrambled to make a par.

He may not have been a match for his playing partner, PGA Tour standout Marc Leishman. Unlike the 38-year-old Australian, who is competing in the World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament that starts Wednesday, Stenhouse was just happy to be here. He’s always happy to be anywhere there’s a golf course.

He was away from his day job as a long-time NASCAR driver but couldn’t wait to come to ACC to play six holes with Leishman.

NASCAR met the PGA Tour on Tuesday without any crashes on hairpin turns and only a bogey here and there. The left-handed Stenhouse is no weekend hacker, carrying a single handicap and having played as a freshman on his high school golf team in Mississippi.

Leishman and other PGA golfers Talor Gooch and Abraham Ancer had planned to head out to the Circuit of the Americas track in southeast Austin.

WGC-Match Play: Matches to watch | Yardage book

They were going to be treated to rides in Stenhouse’s Chevy Camaro before taking a few golf shots off the steep Turn 1 at the track. Talk about your elevated tee boxes.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Leishman, who has six career PGA Tour wins and is ranked 42nd in the world with six career PGA Tour wins. “I wouldn’t say I’m a massive race car fan, but I enjoy watching it.”

Stenhouse watches all the golf he can and was considering heading to Augusta to catch a round at this year’s Masters in two weeks.

The 34-year-old NASCAR racer who drives the No. 47 Chevy in Sunday’s EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at COTA, took a turn — a slightly less dangerous one than his regular gig but no less challenging — at golf. He’s got a decent enough short game, but his driving could use some work.

He’s not exactly unfamiliar with the sport. He usually plays up to 30 rounds in a year but one year squeezed in 60.

“My index is a 3.0,” Stenhouse said.

He’s always had an affinity for the game since his playing days for his DeSoto Central High School team in Olive Branch, Mississippi. He once shot a 71 at the Desert Mountain course in Phoenix, but he’s still looking for that elusive first hole-in-one.

He absolutely loves the sport and might have stuck with it if his father hadn’t taken him aside and told him to pick one. Golf or racing.

“I picked racing,” he said.

Match Play on the move? The PGA Tour hopes not.

It was a fortuitous choice as he’s been driving in the NASCAR series for 10 years with two career wins at Daytona and Talladega. Just last weekend he was leading in the last NASCAR Cup Series event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway until he blew out a tire and left the race after the ensuing wreck.

But his passion for golf has never wavered. In fact, he’s so engrossed with the second sport that he and two dozen other NASCAR drivers have put together their own golf league and compete for big prize money.

Well, relatively big.

“I’ve won our league twice,” Stenhouse said. “How much did I make? Close to eight grand. … I guess I’m not an amateur golfer anymore.”

He and as many as 24 of his fellow racers, including NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, are avid golfers and lock heads in their “Golf Guys Tour” at least once a month. Both he and Larson have won their own golf league twice. They were set to fly out to Charlotte for a league round on Wednesday before returning to Austin.

“Yeah, we’re pretty serious,” Stenhouse said. “We’ve even got a rules committee and meetings.”

Their league includes all manners of handicaps including a few with an index of 24 or higher. Stenhouse said Larson quit the golf league for a time, devoted his free days to dirt racing, but the allure of golf was too great and brought him back.

The golf provides a much-needed escape from the pressures of his real job and some camaraderie with his fellow drivers like Hamlin and Danny Hemric.

“It allows me to clear my mind,” Stenhouse said. “I can leave my phone in the bag and just kind of relax.”

Before he’s back in his Chevy calmly racing at 200 mph and negotiating turns while weaving in and out of traffic, kind of like Mo-Pac at rush hour.

[vertical-gallery id=778256703]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

QBE Shootout: Marc Leishman, Jason Day hold three-shot lead heading into Sunday in Naples

“We’re still 18 holes away from lifting the trophy, so got to stay on top of it.”

NAPLES, Fla. — Marc Leishman just hit repeat, and Leishman and Jason Day repeated holding on to the lead.

Leishman made his third hole-out eagle in two days, and fifth hole-out in two years in the QBE Shootout, and the two Australians built a three-stroke lead after the modified alternate shot in the second round at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort on Saturday.

“I was between lob wedge and sand wedge,” said Leishman, who was 96 yards out. “Just ripped a lob wedge a bit lower and felt like I could land it a bit past it and maybe zip it back and give Jase a chance, because he hadn’t really putted up until then except on the first hole.

“It’s funny, the ones you hole are the ones you don’t expect to go in. I wasn’t expecting it to go in and then all of a sudden it disappears. It’s nice. Something about this place that I’ve made a few shots the last couple years and hopefully we can keep that trend going.”

Jason Day tees off on the 9th hole during the QBE Shootout at the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Saturday, Dec.11, 2021. (Photo/Chris Tilley)

Defending champions Harris English and Matt Kuchar, who have won three times in six appearances in the Shootout, had taken the lead, but the eagle put Leishman and Day back in front and they never stopped after that, shooting an 8-under 64 that included birdies on three of the last four holes.

[lawrence-related id=778187628,778187254]

“‘Leish’ once again holing out on 7, amazing,” Day said. “In that kind of format it’s nice to have eagles, it moves the needle a long way, especially when you’re playing that way.”

English and Kuchar, Sam Burns and Billy Horschel, and Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na are all tied for second at 21 under, three behind. Graeme McDowell and Corey Conners got an eagle from Conners on the 17th to move into fifth, another stroke back.

Matt Kuchar of the United States plays his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on December 11, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

English and Kuchar had a six-hole stretch of pars on the front before English ended that, and then were making a move on the back nine when English ran a long eagle putt on No. 17 a few feet by, and Kuchar stepped up and missed it. They also parred the reachable par-4 13th.

“I think a little just — what would you call it? — nonchalant’d it, just kind of didn’t focus like normal,” Kuchar said. “It was just a three-footer uphill and that was odd. I’ve been so pleased with my putting and part of golf, happens to everybody.”

“Alternate shot’s always tough,” English said. “‘Kuch’ missed a couple holes not putting and you give him a six- or seven-footer, it’s tough. Having a round with no bogeys is always good. We played some solid golf, it’s just one of those days we didn’t get a whole lot of putts to fall, but it happens.”

[vertical-gallery id=778185800]

LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson are in sixth at 19 under.

The 12 two-person teams play better ball Sunday in the final of the three formats. Golf Channel has coverage from noon to 2 p.m. ET, followed by NBC from 2 to 4 p.m. ET.

The three-stroke lead is a nice cushion, but Leishman and Day expect to have plenty of work to do in the final round.

“I think there’s a good chance that before we even tee off we won’t be leading,” said Leishman, who played with fellow Australian Cameron Smith last year and finished eighth. “I think when you saw some of the scores today, Billy and Sam shot 10 under? That’s unbelievable in foursomes, or modified foursomes given that. I think we’re going to have to play good, make putts.”

“We’ve just got to focus,” said Day who won the Shootout in his last appearance, with Cameron Tringale in 2014 by a stroke over Kuchar and English. “We’re still 18 holes away from lifting the trophy, so got to stay on top of it.”

THIRD hole out in 2 days for @MarcLeish! 😮

He and @JDayGolf take the lead. pic.twitter.com/goUn2BlOWq

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 11, 2021

Leishman couldn’t help but give a little good-natured challenge to his partner for Sunday.

“We’ve just got to both have chances and then hope we can make some putts, and maybe Jase can make a wedge shot tomorrow, we’ll see,” Leishman said.

“That would be nice, but I’m counting on him,” Day said.

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

QBE Shootout: Marc Leishman, Jason Day ride two hole-out eagles to first-round lead

Despite 12 birdies and two eagles, the Aussie pair holds just a one-shot lead.

There are usually a few eagles in the scramble format of the QBE Shootout.

But not usually the way Marc Leishman made two of them to help Leishman and playing partner Jason Day shoot a 16-under 56 and take the first-round lead Friday.

Leishman holed out from in front of the green on No. 6, then holed out a pitch shot on No. 10, so neither of the par-5, hit it on in two and make the putt variety.

“The one on 6 I had a pretty good read off Jase,” Leishman said. “It was a very straightforward chip, but obviously it still takes a little bit of luck for it to actually go in the hole. And then the one on 10, the guys all hitting in front of me, it was on a little knoll I guess you’ll call it. Jase was in there about 10 feet and had a chance to just go straight at it and went straight at it.”

“He landed it absolutely perfect, nice flight, just beautiful, just spun it a little bit and rolled in,” Day said of the eagle on No. 10.

QBE Shootout 2021 — Jason Day and Marc Leishman look on from the third tee during the first round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on December 10, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

[lawrence-related id=778186372,778186448,778185781]

Leishman and Day made 12 birdies, but the 16-under wasn’t enough to create much distance, especially from the defending champions.

Harris English and Matt Kuchar, and Corey Conners, and Graeme McDowell are both just one back. Lexi Thompson and Bubba Watson, and Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na are tied for fourth, three behind going into Saturday’s modified alternate shot format.

“Felt like last year all over again,” said Kuchar, who has won three times with English. “This place, I think it’s special to both Harris and I. Nice to get off to a good start.”

“Played really solid, gave ourselves a lot of chances,” English said. “Didn’t have any eagles today, we were close, but it’s all about making putts. Matt made a couple good 20-, 25-footers and that’s what keeps the round going, that’s what keeps the momentum going.”

English and Kuchar were 7 under after the front nine, then birdied all but No. 12 on the back nine.

“We tend to play the back nine really well here, got off to a good start on 10 and kept it rolling,” English said. “Keep giving ourselves chances and keep seeing those putts go in.”

[vertical-gallery id=778185800]

McDowell and Conners capped their round with four birdies and an eagle before parring the 18th.

“Corey drove the ball fantastic,” McDowell said. “The hardest thing I had to do was try to keep in my rhythm when I followed him down the fairway, he drove it so well. It’s always important just to get two looks the best you can. I just felt like we ham-and-egged well.”

Almost as well as the three-time champions, but not quite. The only round in the six previous appearances Kuchar and English have had where they stumbled was the modified alternate shot in 2017, when they shot an even-par 72, then finished tied for 10th.

“It’s the most challenging of all the formats,” Kuchar said. “It’s the one that kind of separates the teams that really have it going and teams that don’t have it going. I think you look forward to seeing what happens after the second round.”

Marc Leishman tees off during the QBE Shootout on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021 at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Fla. Caitlyn Jordan/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network

Leishman and Day do have some experience in these formats. They were partners for three matches in the 2017 Presidents Cup, although they went 0-2-1. They halved with Phil Mickelson and Kevin Kisner in foursomes, and then lost to them in fourball and also lost to Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed in the second foursomes.

“‘Leish’ is good in a team environment,” Day said. “Obviously him and Cammy Smith at the Zurich, obviously here, so it’s just, obviously it’s an individual sport. But I think he thrives really well in a team environment, so it’s nice to be able to have someone like that as a partner this week.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Bang, bang, bang: Talor Gooch is knocking on the door again in the Houston Open

Talor Gooch is once again in the hunt for his first PGA Tour win.

Talor Gooch keeps knocking on the door.

It might open this week in Houston.

Looking right at home at Memorial Park Golf Course, Gooch again put himself in position to win his first PGA Tour title with a 5-under-par 65 in Thursday’s storm-delayed first round of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open.

Once a storm front passed that delayed tee times by 2 hours, 30 minutes – one inch of rain fell as lightning flashed and thunder boomed and lift, clean and place was allowed the rest of the day – Gooch continued his impressive 2021-22 season with seven birdies and two bogeys.

Gooch, who holds a share of the course record at Memorial (a 63 in last year’s final round), is making his fifth start of the new season and has posted finishes of T-4, T-11, T-5, and T-11. He’s also finished fourth and in a tie for fourth in his last two starts in the Houston Open.

“Anytime you’re playing well you try to grab on to that momentum, and it can be tough to take it week to week in golf because there’s such a pause between tournament round and the next week’s tournament starting,” said Gooch, 29, who is making his 103^rd start on the PGA Tour. “So you just try to do everything you can to keep doing the same things. I’ve been able to keep doing that through the stretch, so hopefully we can continue it for the rest of this week.”

[vertical-gallery id=778178760]

Among the early finishers, Gooch sits atop the leaderboard with Marc Leishman and 2017 Houston Open winner Russell Henley. A stroke back was Jason Dufner, the 2013 PGA champion who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption. Another stroke back at 67 was Keith Mitchell.

“Anyone would take 65 any day of the week on the PGA Tour. It was a good day. Always great to start the week off with a low one, feel like you get a little bit ahead of the ballgame,” Gooch said.

He feels he’s ahead of the ballgame on the public course.

“It’s one of my favorite places,” he said. “I grew up on a city golf course back where I’m from. I wasn’t a country club kid, so it’s nice kind of feeling like I’m getting back to my roots. Obviously, this one’s a little bit nicer than what I grew up on, a little bit more challenging, but it’s just nice rolling up and feeling like this is kind of similar to what I grew up playing.”

Dufner, whose most recent of five PGA Tour titles came in the 2017 Memorial, said it was no secret he hasn’t played very well the last three years, his game falling so much he lost full status for this season. Saying he was grateful for the sponsor’s exemption, Dufner was first off alongside Henley and did his best to make the exemption count.

“I was pretty happy for the most part with everything I did, but a couple key parts kind of in the middle of the round a couple times helped kind of glue that round together and maybe turned a 70, 69, 68 into a 66,” he said. “So I’ll take those two shots or three shots with those saves and look to improve on my ball‑striking.”

[vertical-gallery id=778021973]

Leishman, who is looking for his sixth PGA Tour title and first since the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open (he did team with Cameron Smith to win the 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event), bogeyed his last hole. He’s been puzzled about his results for some time now – playing well but not posting scores – and has worked hard to turn things around.

“It can be a crazy game; it can get you down and you can play really well and not have a good score and play mediocre golf and have a really good score,” he said. “You have to try and not let that get to you. I think a fresh season, a new start was pretty good for me. Got me to knuckle down and just really focus and I’ve been playing some good golf.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Cameron Smith on his mullet: ‘I would have to apologize to my girlfriend, it’s not going away’

After teaming up with Marc Leishman to win the Zurich Classic, Cameron Smith had to address the promise he made to his girlfriend.

Cameron Smith has made a name for himself on the PGA Tour in more ways than one.

First, he’s a cut above as a golfer.

Stop us if you heard this one but at the November 2020 Masters, Smith became the first player to post all four rounds in 60s. It wasn’t enough to stop Dustin Johnson from slipping on the green jacket, but still, it was quite a feat. After Sunday’s win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Marc Leishman, Smith, 27, now has three PGA Tour wins and is the 132nd player to surpass the $15 million mark in career on-course earnings.

Second, his hairdo is a shear stroke of genius.

Smith has a mullet and he’s darn proud of it. At the Zurich Classic, his business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back look was the talk of the town, so much so that his teammate Marc Leishman broke out a mullet of his own on Saturday and their walk-up song was “The Mullet Song.” And to be clear, you don’t really grasp the awesomeness of Smith’s hair until he takes off his hat to reveal the mullet in all its glory.

"It's almost turned into my good luck charm."

Cameron Smith's mullet is ________. pic.twitter.com/cii1pWKWwm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 12, 2021

It was a close shave, but the Aussie duo went on to win the Zurich in a playoff.

During the post-round interview session with the media, Smith had to brush up his explanation that despite whatever promise he made his girlfriend, the mullet was staying.

Before the tournament started, Cameron, you said that you had a deal with your girlfriend that when you won you would cut the mullet. What’s the status of the mullet?

CAM SMITH: I would have to apologize to my girlfriend, it’s not going away. I mean, it’s, I feel like it’s part of me now.

MARC LEISHMAN: He’s got a cult following now. You should hear the fans out there. They’re all over it. It’s awesome.

CAM SMITH: Yeah, it’s really cool. It gives the fans something to get behind. Lots of people love it and it’s good fun as well. It makes people laugh. I love it.

Neither Smith nor Leishman are in the field this week at the Valspar Championship.

[vertical-gallery id=778099719]

Cameron Smith on his mullet: ‘I would have to apologize to my girlfriend, it’s not going away’

After teaming up with Marc Leishman to win the Zurich Classic, Cameron Smith had to address the promise he made to his girlfriend.

Cameron Smith has made a name for himself on the PGA Tour in more ways than one.

First, he’s a cut above as a golfer.

Second, his hairdo is a shear stroke of genius.

"It's almost turned into my good luck charm."

Cameron Smith's mullet is ________. pic.twitter.com/cii1pWKWwm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 12, 2021

It was a close shave, but the Aussie duo went on to win the Zurich in a playoff.

During the post-round interview session with the media, Smith had to brush up his explanation that despite whatever promise he made his girlfriend, the mullet was staying.

Before the tournament started, Cameron, you said that you had a deal with your girlfriend that when you won you would cut the mullet. What’s the status of the mullet?

CAM SMITH: I would have to apologize to my girlfriend, it’s not going away. I mean, it’s, I feel like it’s part of me now.

MARC LEISHMAN: He’s got a cult following now. You should hear the fans out there. They’re all over it. It’s awesome.

CAM SMITH: Yeah, it’s really cool. It gives the fans something to get behind. Lots of people love it and it’s good fun as well. It makes people laugh. I love it.

Neither Smith nor Leishman are in the field this week at the Valspar Championship.

[vertical-gallery id=778099719]

How much money each team won at the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Check out how much money each team won at the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana.

As if a final round of alternate shot wasn’t exciting enough, the PGA Tour’s annual stop in the Bayou went to a playoff.

It was the Australians against the South Africans after Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith shot 2 under in the final round to tie Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel at 20 under to force the playoff. Schwartzel rinsed his tee shot on the opening playoff hole, No. 18, which opened the door for the Aussies to make par for the win.

Check out how much money each team made this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Zurich Classic: Leaderboard | Yardage book | Photos

Position	Players	Score	Money
T1*	Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith	-20	$2,138,600 ($1,069,300 each)
T1	Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel	-20	$873,200 ($436,600 each)
3	Richy Werenski and Peter Uihlein	-19	$571,650 ($285,825 each)
T4	Keith Mitchell and Brandt Snedeker	-18	$419,333 ($209,667 each)
T4	Billy Horschel and Sam Burns	-18	$419,333 ($209,667 each)
T4	Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele	-18	$419,333 ($209,667 each)
7	Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer	-17	$299,700 ($149,850 each)
T8	Danny Willett and Tyrrell Hatton	-16	$233,100 ($116,550 each)
T8	Thomas Pieters and Tom Lewis	-16	$233,100 ($116,550 each)
T8	Bubba Watson and Scottie Scheffler	-16	$233,100 ($116,550 each)
T11	Tyler Duncan and Adam Schenk	-15	$125,886 ($62,943 each)
T11	Brice Garnett and Scott Stallings	-15	$125,886 ($62,943 each)
T11	Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay	-15	$125,886 ($62,943 each)
T11	Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose	-15	$125,886 ($62,943 each)
T11	Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney	-15	$125,886 ($62,943 each)
T11	Justin Suh and Doug Ghim	-15	$125,886 ($62,943 each)
T17	Wyndham Clark and Eric Van Rooyen	-14	$74,925 ($37,463 each)
T17	Cameron Champ and Tony Finau	-14	$74,925 ($37,463 each)
T17	Max Homa and Talor Gooch	-14	$74,925 ($37,463 each)
T17	Doc Redman and Sam Ryder	-14	$74,925 ($37,463 each)
T21	Jason Kokrak and Pat Perez	-13	$56,240 ($28,120 each)
T21	Alex Noren and Henrik Norlander	-13	$56,240 ($28,120 each)
T23	Graeme McDowell and Matt Wallace	-12	$44,548 ($22,274 each)
T23	Kyoung-Hoon Lee and Kyle Stanley	-12	$44,548 ($22,274 each)
T25	Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Ventura	-11	$36,926 ($18,463 each)
T25	Rob Oppenheim and Grayson Murray	-11	$36,926 ($18,463 each)
27	Brendon Todd and Chris Kirk	-10	$34,632 ($17,316 each)
28	Brandon Hagy and Michael Kim	-9	$33,892 ($16,946 each)
T29	Sepp Straka and Josh Teater	-7	$33,004 ($16,502 each)
T29	Michael Gligic and Vince Whaley	-7	$33,004 ($16,502 each)
31	Peter Malnati and Chris Baker	-6	$32,116 ($16,058 each)
32	David Hearn and Zack Sucher	-5	$31,524 ($15,762 each)
33	Cameron Percy and Greg Chalmers	-1	$30,932 ($15,466 each)

*won in a playoff.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Winners’ Bags: Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith at Zurich Classic of New Orleans

A complete list of the WITB gear Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith used to win the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

The clubs Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith used to win the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans:

[mm-video type=video id=01ew2hcwqwmswye7q1 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ew2hcwqwmswye7q1/01ew2hcwqwmswye7q1-652749d06cec24bb9105e7bb4b3da23b.jpg]

DRIVER: Callaway Epic Speed (10.5 degrees), with Fujikura Ventis Black 7X shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Epic Speed (16.5 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft

HYBRID: Callaway Apex (20 degrees), with Graphite Design Tour AD Hybrid shaft

IRONS: Callaway Apex UT (3, 4), Apex TCB (5-9), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 130X shafts

WEDGES: Callaway JAWS MD5 (48, 54, 60 degrees), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 130X shafts

PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot OG #1 WS

BALL: Callaway Chrome Soft LS

GRIPS: Golf Pride MCC Whiteout (full swing) / Traxion 1.0PT (putter)

Cameron Smith

[mm-video type=video id=01es22ba2d9ajd3e5m playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01es22ba2d9ajd3e5m/01es22ba2d9ajd3e5m-1a7ed570fcdcea461c8cdf137e2d3ab5.jpg]

DRIVER: Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow 60 6.5 TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: Titleist TSi2 (15 degrees), TS2 (21 degrees), with UST Mamiya Elements Red 8F5 X shafts

IRONS: Titleist U500 (4), T100 Black (5-9), with KBS Tour 130 Custom Matte Black X shafts

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (46, 52, 56, 60 degrees), with KBS Tour 130 Custom Matte Black X shafts

PUTTER: Scotty Cameron for Titleist 009M prototype

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

GRIPS: Golf Pride Super Tack

Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel lead Zurich Classic, but expect a wild race to the finish

Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel will try to end long winless droughts on the PGA Tour in New Orleans but 16 teams are within 4 shots.

AVONDALE, La. – Tony Finau and Cameron Champ have been flipping a coin on the first tee all week to decide who leads things off and said they likely would do so again on Sunday when the format at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans flips back to alternate-shot in the team competition.

Might as well flip a coin to decide who is going to win the title, too. There are 16 teams within four strokes of the 54-hole leaders, the South African pair of Louis Oosthuiazen and Charl Schwartzel, who “dovetailed” on Saturday to a best-ball score of 9-under 63 and a 54-hole total of 19-under 197 at TPC Louisiana.

Schwartzel led the way early as Oosthuizen didn’t make a birdie until pouring in a 19-foot birdie putt at No. 11. But once his putter warmed up the team birdied six of the last eight holes, including the final three. Oosthuizen provided the exclamation point at the par-3 17th, canning a bomb from 34 feet, the only birdie at the hole all day.

“Now and then you get a putt like that where you feel like you’re actually going to make it, you stand over it and just need to hit a good stroke,” Oosthuizen said. “It was one of those.”

Louis for the lead! 👑 @Louis57TM & @CA_Schwartzel are on top at -18 @Zurich_Classic. pic.twitter.com/IrqyH1LaqE

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 24, 2021

But the veteran South Africans know that tomorrow is another day and a more challenging format, where birdies will be more scarce, especially if the wind blows again. Oosthuizen has never won on American soil and is winless on the PGA Tour since the 2010 British Open, while Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, hasn’t hoisted a trophy on the PGA Tour since the 2016 Valspar Championship. Could they follow in the footsteps of Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama on the PGA Tour and Lydia Ko on the LPGA by ending lengthy victory droughts tomorrow?

“I think anyone within four shots of the lead has got a chance with the format that it is tomorrow,” Oosthuizen said. “It’s going to be tough. We need to play really well.”

Indeed, there is a lot of golf still to be played before a team gets to slip on the championship belts. But to hear Schwartzel tell it, the tougher the better for them.

“The more difficult it is, the better we both play, so the format for tomorrow in a way suits us, and if we execute the shots the way we see it, we’ll have a good chance,” he said.

Zurich Classic: Leaderboard | Yardage book

[vertical-gallery id=778100666]

Hot on their heels include the team of Australians Cameron Smith, who won the team title in 2017, and Marc Leishman, who showed up to the first team wearing a mullet wig to match that of his partner and resembled the hairdo of competitor Pat Perez who was playing in the same group.

The first-tee hijinks wasn’t Leishman’s only contribution on Saturday. He went to the range after Friday’s round and realized his setup was too open. With his wedges dialed in once again, Leishman made five birdies including all three for their team on the second nine en route to a second round of 63 in the four-ball format.

“I was happy just being there and watching Leish play good golf,” said Smith, who chipped in at the third hole but didn’t make a birdie after the eighth. “It was good to see.”

On a day when six teams posted 63, Cameron Champ and Tony Finau, co-leaders after 36 holes, managed only to shoot 5-under 67, but a birdie at the last lifted them within one stroke of the lead heading into the final round. as Champ was held to one birdie on the day.

“When I was a little off, he picked me up; when he was a little off, I picked him up,” Finau said. “That’s the essence of team golf.”

Bubba Watson, who won here in 2011 as an individual, and partner Scottie Scheffler, who is still looking for his maiden win on the PGA Tour, and the Norwegian duo of Viktor Hovland and Kris Ventura are each two strokes back in a tie for fourth. Hovland and Ventura struggled to shoot 68 in best ball, but were encouraged by the fact that they tied for the low round of the day in the alternate-shot format on Friday (68). Their plan for Sunday?

“I would just say play stress-free golf,” Hovland said. “Boring golf is good.”

Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer (T-9) are among the group four back, and shot 7-under 65 in the alternate-shot format in 2019. Finau predicted a score in the 60s would probably be good enough for any of the top contenders. He, too, is trying to end a winless streak dating to 2016. How meaningful would it be to win a team event versus an individual title for him?

“It would be quite special,” Finau said. “I don’t know too many guys that can say that they’ve won team events because there’s only one out here. So it almost would be I think even more special to win, and to win with this guy would be really special.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Zurich Classic: The Mullet Song will be Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman’s walk-up music

Cameron Smith’s mullet has been the talk of the PGA Tour for so long this season that it deserves its own song.

Cameron Smith’s mullet has been the talk of the PGA Tour for so long this season that it deserves its own song. But until someone puts words to music (we’re thinking of you, Sam Harrop), we’ll just have to make do with Jay Powell’s “The Mullet Song.”

For that, we have fellow Aussie Marc Leishman to thank. Someone had to come up with a good walk-up tune for the first tee at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this week, and Leishman delivered.

“He’s already entered it. I didn’t even get a choice,” Smith explained. “We’re going to be rocking that going to the first tee.”

How did Leishman settle on “The Mullet Song?” He googled “mullet songs” and the rest as they say is history.

“You got to try and make it fun and embrace it and I think we’ll do that and yeah try and enjoy ourselves, get the day started off on the right foot and go from there,” Leishman said.

Smith has embraced his office-in-the-front, party-in-the-back hairdo like few before him. (Charley Hoffman and Pat Perez jump to mind of those who have rocked it in the past.)

“Everyone has a laugh. I know Leish has a laugh at it and he picks on me sometimes about it, but no, it’s good. I love it,” Smith said.

Just to say – I am offering a quid pro quo deal on walk-up songs for the @Zurich_Classic.

If a team selects one of my tunes for their walk-up song, I will pen an ode to the other member of that team in return. 🤝

CC: @tonyfinaugolf, @JustinRose99, @ByeongHunAn, @Lucas_Glover_

— Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) April 21, 2021

The Smith-Leishman pairing in the two-man team format for the Zurich Classic falls into the category of “no brainer,” as these close friends play most of their practice rounds together anyway. They previously teamed up in the 2018 World Cup in their native Melbourne, where they finished tied for second and also teamed together Down Under in the Presidents Cup in 2019. What’s the secret to their partnership? Leishman said it helps having a short-game savant like Smith to back him up if he misses a green while Smith said it’s the back-and-forth banter.

“We’re always in each other’s ear just playing around and maybe saying some stuff that gets us fired up and gets us ready to go,” Smith said.

That’s what friends do and these pals are sharing a house this week, which means plenty of time both on and off the course, which is great if they play well, but what if they don’t?

“I might not talk to him for a few hours,” Leishman said.

“I’ll have to get a hotel for the night,” Smith cracked.

More likely, they will be cracking open a few beers to celebrate all the birdies they are bound to make. The team format requires a certain amount of strategizing ahead of time and Leishman noted that his “stats guy” ran the numbers and recommended that he tee off first on the odd holes despite the fact that Smith teed off on the odd holes when he won this event in 2017.

“It will let Cam hit more drivers, I’ll hit more iron shots and I feel like that will play into both of our strengths,” Leishman said.

Cameron Smith Marc Leishman — Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith update their scorecards going to 8th hole during the 2021 QBE Shootout at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. (Photo: Chris Tilley/Naples Daily News via USA TODAY Network)

Smith holed the winning putt in a playoff at TPC Louisiana in 2017 to capture his first PGA Tour title with Jonas Blixt and it triggered a strong run of golf for Smith. A win with another good pal this week might have big implications for him too.

“I told the missus that I would cut it if I won, but I don’t know, it’s been, I mean everyone loves it,” he said. “So, I don’t know, might hang around for longer than I anticipated.”

But if it winds up on the chop block, they can always defend next year with Billy Ray Cyrus’s “I want my mullet back,” as their walk-up music.

[lawrence-related id=778100501,778100384,778100492,778100480]