Tag: Mark Hubbard

FedEx Cup Fall: Here’s what PGA Tour pros think of the seven-event series (and it’s not all good)

“It’s unfortunate for the events, for the fans and at least locally, it kind of sucks,” Doug Ghim said.

SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – In reviewing this new version of the FedEx Cup Fall, the PGA Tour has to be thrilled with some of its winners: Sahith Theegala’s debut win in Napa; Tom Kim’s repeat in Las Vegas; Collin Morikawa’s winless drought ends in Japan, the country of his ancestors; Erik van Rooyen’s back-nine 28 and emotional win in Cabo; Camilo Villegas’s feel-good story in Bermuda; and capped off by Ludvig Aberg’s 61-61 weekend here at the RSM Classic. The Sunday drama didn’t disappoint.

Underneath the surface, not everyone was so happy, particularly Jimmy Walker. who vented about how he had to keep battling for three additional months to keep his card. (He slipped out of the top 125 and will have conditional status playing out of the Nos. 126-150 category next season.)

Instead of the start to a new wrap-around season, the top 50 locked up their cards at the end of the regular season and no longer had to worry about falling behind in the full slate of tournaments. Rather, those without exempt status had to play on during a seven-event points chase to retain status for the 2024 season, which begins in January. (The Fall also lost two events — CJ Cup and Houston Open — both of which joined the FedEx Cup regular season, with CJ taking over title sponsorship of the Byron Nelson in Dallas and the Houston Open being promoted to a date in the spring.)

The top players finally got the off-season they’d been begging for and the rank-and-file still got several playing opportunities with purses of at least $8 million, full FedEx Cup points on the line and a chance to qualify for two early-season Signature Events for those who finishing in ‘The Next 10’ in the final point standings. As Peter Malnati put it, the FedEx Cup Fall was “fun and exciting, unless you’re one of the ones trying to keep your job and then it’s a strain.”

2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Peter Malnati lines up a putt on the third green during the second round of the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Marianna Massey/Getty Images)

In theory, there was something for players of all skill levels to play for – even the top 50 could earn additional years to their exempt status and qualify for tournaments such as the Masters and the Sentry with a win if not already in those fields – but was it a win-win for fans and sponsors too? Only a used car salesman could make that sell, and it begs the question: will the Tour continue to secure sponsors willing to foot the bill for tournaments where the big names barely played, if at all?

Several pros expressed their concern for the future of the fall schedule, which will become increasingly important for players fighting for status for the upcoming season.

“It’s tough for me to see how it’s going to be sustainable,” said Mark Hubbard, one of six players to compete in all seven fall tournaments. “For me, I think there was a noticeable difference in the tournaments and just like how much the course kind of rolled out the red carpet for us and whatnot, you know, just little stuff like courtesy cars or hotel room blocks or the food. Everything just kind of felt like they were probably trying to save a little bit of money because they’re not getting, you know, the turnout, they’re not getting the big names.”

He continued: “I feel bad for a lot of those tournaments like a Jackson (Mississippi, home of the Sanderson Farms Championship) that have worked so hard to become a great event and, you know, now they’re gonna get zero of the top guys coming to their event, ever. It’s just tough for me to see how those [$8 million] purses are going to stay high and, you know, those tournaments are going to want to continue to be big events and there’s just no one coming there.”

“We have a lot of great events this time of year and if they want to host a PGA Tour event they should be allowed and the membership should support it,” veteran pro Ryan Armour said. “A lot of the top guys were looking for time off and if this is what they want, they got it.”

The lack of big names was most pronounced in Las Vegas, where several local pros elected to skip this year, and a sponsor exemption given to the LPGA Tour’s Lexi Thompson brought some much-needed attention.

“More guys would show up for Vegas, for Napa, it’s unfortunate for the events, for the fans and at least locally, it kind of sucks,” said Doug Ghim.

“Vegas is one of the biggest changes. Last year I wouldn’t have gotten in and this year I was in by 20 or something,” said Kramer Hickok.

But Davis Love III, who has hosted the RSM Classic in the fall for the last 14 years, said he’s seen several iterations of the fall during his 30-plus-year career that landed him in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and expects the fall portion of the schedule to continue to evolve.

“It hasn’t looked the same in any five-year period for a long, maybe my whole career,” Love said last week. “Hopefully, it just continues to improve, they come up with new ideas … I think it’s just going to continue to improve, but I don’t know what that is.”

The Tour can only hope that whatever it dreams up next will generate a collection of stories and winners as good as this year.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=451202788]

Mark Hubbard lives up to @HomelessHubbs handle, setting a PGA Tour record that likely won’t be broken

“When I’m home or in one place for too long, I start to go a little stir crazy.”

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Eat your heart out, SungJae Im, there’s a new iron man on the PGA Tour and his name is Mark Hubbard.

Im played in a league-leading 35 Tour events twice in the last five years but took it easy this year settling for a modest 31. The 34-year-old Hubbard raced past Im for iron man honors, making a PGA Tour record 39 starts during the 2022-23 wrap-around season (which counted the FedEx Cup Fall too so an asterisk needs to be applied to this mark but it’s impressive nevertheless), breaking a five-way tie with 38 starts held by Buddy Gardner (1986), Mike Donald (1988) and Bob Friend (1999) as well as Adam Long and Kevin Tway this season.

Hubbard’s social media handle on X (formerly Twitter) is @HomelessHubbs after all, so being a road warrior is part of his makeup, and he mused that it probably dates back to his parents getting divorced before he was five years old and sharing custody.

“I just kind of grew up going back and forth between their houses, do three days here and there. So I feel like unknowingly that kind of groomed me for this life and I’ve just always kind of felt like very comfortable being a gypsy,” he said. “When I’m home or in one place for too long, I start to go a little stir crazy.”

Hubbard, who compiled six top-10 finishes this season and crossed the $2-million-mark in earnings for the first time, said he didn’t intend to play quite so much but he likes many of the fall events, including the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California, and the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi, where he’s had good results. He ended up playing all seven FedEx Cup Fall events this go-round, which is one reason his number of starts reached an all-time high, as he chased status into the Signature Events in 2024.

“I feel like I spent, like I spent the whole season on the bubble of that barrier to get into the top 50,” said Hubbard, who finished 67th in the FedEx Cup regular season, his second best season during his career, earning a spot in the first FedEx Cup Playoff event in Memphis. “In hindsight, I wish I was a little more rested for the playoffs.”

And he would’ve played less this fall had he not been in pursuit of finishing in ‘’The Next 10,’ which guaranteed entry for Nos. 51-60 in the standings to qualify for AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (where he proposed to his wife and went to school up the road at San Jose State) and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, which he called just about every pro’s favorite course on Tour and located just eight minutes away from his brother’s home.

“If it were San Diego and Waste Management that were the Signature Events, I probably would’ve played four less times in the fall but because those two events are so special to me I was motivated to keep playing.”

2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Mark Hubbard in the pro-am ahead of the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Hubbard came up short, finishing No. 67 in the FedEx Cup Fall, but he genuinely enjoys playing rather than practicing. Hubbard, who once played 11 straight events including the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, never played more than four straight this season and said he usually needs the first week to dust off the rust and plays his best in the next three weeks of a four-week stretch. Perhaps the most impressive part of his iron man season is that he did it while traveling for much of it with his wife and two kids under the age of three. The hardest part might have been those stretches when he was flying solo, he said.

“Take away just the mental fatigue and, you know, the physical fatigue of playing 39 events, I would say that was probably the hardest part for me this year is those stretches where I had to go two weeks without seeing them,” he said.

How much will Hubbard play in 2024? The new schedule of a calendar-year season presents a big unknown but he guesses he will still be a road warrior.

“Guys like myself outside that top 50 are going to end up having to play more than they normally do, if they’re really trying to get into those [Signature] events. Because you got three weeks or so leading up to qualify for them and then if you do get into those events then you got to play those too, but then you’re not necessarily in the next [Signature] event, so you got to keep playing… in a perfect world, I’ll play less than 30 events next year.”

But don’t bet on it. Homeless Hubbs is the new Sungjae Im.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1375]

Luke List buries birdie putt to win five-way playoff and claim 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship

The win is List’s second on Tour and first since January 2022.

JACKSON, Miss. — Luke List stood nearby as PGA Tour rookie and Ryder Cup champion Ludvig Aberg sent the first putt of a five-man playoff toward the hole on No. 18 at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

When waiting to hit a 43-foot putt of your own, any help on a read is worthwhile.

So List watched, just like the fans gathered in the grandstands as the sun set behind Country Club of Jackson. Then, he stepped up and nailed the putt of a lifetime.

The crowd erupted before quickly silencing for the remaining three shots in the playoff. When Ben Griffin, Scott Stallings and Henrik Norlander missed their birdie attempts, the victory was sealed. For List, it secured his second career PGA Tour win and first since Jan. 29, 2022, when he won the Farmers Insurance Open in a playoff.

“This is why we play and compete,” List said afterward on the broadcast. “For these moments.”

List finished 18 under for the tournament after carding 2-under 70 on Sunday. He entered the final round four shots back of Griffin.

List opened his week with back-to-back rounds of 66 and shot 68 on Saturday. It seemed like he’d come up shot of victory Sunday. However, with Griffin carding a pair of bogeys across his final three holes, the field opened up for a five-man playoff — the first on the PGA Tour since 2017.

“I thought I played really well all day and just hung in there,” List said. “I didn’t think it was going to be enough, but here we are. I’m so happy to be here.”

List was so convinced that his tournament was over at the end of regulation that he gave his hat to a kid while walking off the No. 18 green. However, as Griffin started to let the lead slip, List realized he needed the hat back.

He found the kid, who was glad to let him wear it for the playoff. After the trophy presentation, the hat was rewarded to the kid again.

“I’ve got another hat in the locker room, so it wouldn’t have been the end of the world,” List said. “But that one did me right.”

List’s 4-year-old daughter Ryann was the first to meet him on the 18th green after the playoff ended. His wife Chloe and his 2-year-old son Harrison, who was in the midst of enjoying a red lollipop, followed closely behind. As he lifted both kids, he leaned in to give Chloe a kiss.

As he leaned back, List’s eyes opened wide as he looked around at the scene.

“All my emotion came out after that putt, and then it was a shock − really, still is,” List said. “To have them there means everything.”

The Sanderson Farms Championship works closely with Friends of Children’s Hospital, which is a nonprofit organization benefiting Children’s of Mississippi − the state’s only children’s hospital.

That’s significant for List, whose son Harrison was born prematurely and battled health issues. The family, which resides in Augusta, Georgia, spent much of its time at Children’s Hospital of Georgia. Because of that, List took a break from play between mid-June and mid-July in 2021.

Now, he’s back on the PGA Tour, where he has collected two wins since his return, and his son is growing to love the game. Plus, the sport has now given them a Sanderson Farms Championship trophy — fittingly, a rooster — to take home.

“My daughter has been kind of on me (saying) it’s time to win another trophy,” List said. “She really enjoyed the surfboard at Torrey Pines. I told her earlier in the week there was a rooster or chicken or whatever you want to call it. She’s pretty excited.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1375]

2023 Fortinet Championship odds, course history and picks to win

The PGA Tour is back.

After a brief hiatus, the PGA Tour returns to action this week in Napa, California, at the Fortinet Championship.

Max Homa, who was recently in Rome with the United States Ryder Cup team on a scouting mission of Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, returns to Silverado Resort’s North Course as the two-time defending champion.

The 32-year-old comes into the week with five straight top-20 finishes: T-12 (Scottish Open), T-10 (The Open), T-6 (FedEx St. Jude), T-5 (BMW) and T-9 (Tour Championship). After struggling mid-summer, Homa is back to the form we saw from him in the late winter and spring of 2023.

Ryder Cup teammate Justin Thomas, Sahith Theegala and rising star Akshay Bhatia join him in the field.

Golf course

Silverado Resort and Spa (North Course) | Par 72 | 7,123 yards

2022 Fortinet Championship
A general view of the 15th hole during the second round of the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa North course on September 16, 2022 in Napa, California. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Course history

Betting preview

5 sleeper picks for the 2023 Travelers Championship, including Min Woo Lee at 70/1

Lee tied for 5th last week at the U.S. Open.

The next designated event on the PGA Tour schedule is here as the best players in the world are in Cromwell, Connecticut, for the 2023 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.

The best field in tournament history is set to battle for a $20 million purse with $3.6 million going to the winner. World No. 6 Xander Schauffele, fresh off a T-10 at the U.S. Open, is the defending champion thanks to his two-shot win over J.T. Poston and Sahith Theegala last season.

Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite +600, followed by Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay at +1100 and Rory McIlroy at +1200.

Despite the plethora of superstar power in the field, there are a few names to keep an eye on further down the odds list.

Here are five sleeper picks for the 2023 Travelers Championship.

Travelers: Odds, picks to win

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3413″ ]

On a leaderboard packed with stars, it’s Jimmy Walker with the lead at the RBC Heritage

It was expected the world’s best would rise to the top.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — With 17 of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking competing in the 2023 RBC Heritage, it was expected that the cream would rise to the top of the leaderboard.

That was the case on Friday after the early morning wave at Harbour Town Golf Links as World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot up the leaderboard, with Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott all in the mix. But there were a couple unexpected players who made their presence felt with excellent rounds.

Jimmy Walker, who entered the week at No. 406 in the world, shot his second straight 6-under 65 and went to the club house with a three-stroke lead at 12 under, three shots ahead of Scottie Scheffler and Justin Rose. The 44-year-old Texan was on the top of the golf world when he won the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club, one of his six wins on Tour.

But he was diagnosed with Lyme disease just before the 2017 Masters and has been struggling to regain his form, battling it ever since. The former Baylor star made seven birdies Friday, including a chip in from 51 feet at the 184-yard, par-3 seventh.

“Yesterday, I got it going, and I was like, okay, wow. Now we need to pedal down, keep it going, and the same today,” Walker said. “It was take advantage, keep your head in the game, keep stroking it good, just keep doing all the things that I felt like I’ve been kind of working on, some old feels, old thoughts, and just stay on them and be really diligent about it because it’s so easy to just check out. It has been for me, especially after being sick.”

Walker was taking a break from the game in April of 2022, and then in September the opportunity arose to take a top 50 all-time money winners exemption when the Tour suspended players who joined LIV Golf, and they were knocked off that list — allowing Walker to rise nine spots in the rankings to No. 50.

He has missed the cut in eight of 12 appearances this season, but has three top-25 finishes in the cuts he’s made.

“It was a pretty easy decision honestly. I was 50, and if I didn’t play, I’d never get it again. I just wouldn’t. So when it happened, it was kind of like, wow, this is incredible,” Walker said. “I immediately shifted gears and talked to my family and said, this is it. This is what we’re going to do.”

Walker said he has the experience and knows what it takes to win, but his illness has taken its toll.

“I haven’t put two really good rounds together back to back out here … since getting sick, mentally and physically feel different damn near every day, and that’s been the hardest part,” Walker said. “The things that I work on one day, I can’t feel it the next day. Some days I’ll get two days out of it. So that’s been the hardest part.

“I’ve never felt like I’ve ever been afraid to go win a golf tournament. I’ve won golf tournaments in all sorts of fashions, big events played on the biggest stages. So there’s nothing I haven’t done. Nothing this weekend is any different than anything I’ve ever done honestly. Just go do it again because it’s fun if you win.”

Mark Hubbard shot a solid 66 to move to 8-under par and in a tie for third after the morning wave. The 33-year old San Jose State graduate has never won a PGA Tour event. He entered the week at No. 132 in the world and is looking to improve on his best RBC Heritage finish of a tie for 33rd last year.

Hubbard’s only slip on the scorecard came at the 16th, a hole that calls for a draw with the driver — a shot that doesn’t fit his eye. But he responded with his sixth birdie of the day on No. 18, draining a nine footer to end his round.

He withdrew from the pro-am Wednesday with a 24-hour bug, but after sleeping it off got off to a great start with birdies at Nos. 1, 2 and 4.

“I think that’s a scoreable part of the course, and it’s very calm this morning, really all day,” Hubbard said. “The greens were a little softer, then they started to firm up a little in the afternoon. I think you’ve got to just kind of get off to that start out here with two of the three par-5s in the first six holes. I felt good.”

Fleetwood is making his fourth appearance at Harbour Town, and the 32-year old Englishman was on top of his game as he made eight birdies, with a pair of bogeys on the back nine (his front nine Friday). His iron game was spot on as he hit 14 of 18 greens and made 112 feet of putts, with the longest being a 37-foot bomb for birdie at No. 18.

“My consistency is sort of all right, but I’m not at the top of the leaderboards, and that’s where I want to get to,” said Fleetwood, who is No. 25 in the World Golf Ranking.

He said Harbour Town suits his game, and he loves competing in tournaments the week after a major.

“It’s not somewhere where you can overpower. I think you have to be very patient. I think you have to be a good iron player,” he said. “There’s definitely aspects of the golf course that I like and I enjoy playing. I’d love the wind to be up a bit more over the weekend and have that challenge to play with.

“I actually enjoy playing the week after majors. I feel like they’re the ultimate in every aspect of your game and the challenges that the game can present you. I think the majors are the ultimate, and I quite like coming the week after. That way you’ve prepared so hard for those, and you feel like you’ve done everything you can. So you sort of come here with the mindset of everything’s done and you just go out and play. I don’t know whether it’s the timing of what this event is or whether it’s the course, but I seem pretty happy with both.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=]

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3413″ ]

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

Mark Hubbard DQ’d after he ‘knowingly added a 15th club’ and used it at Cadence Bank Houston Open

This is something you don’t see every day.

HOUSTON – Now, this is something you definitely don’t see every day.

Mark Hubbard was disqualified after finishing his second round of the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course on Friday after violating Rule 4.1c.

What did Hubbard do, exactly?

“Hubbard knowingly added a 15th club at the turn and used the club several times without declaring it out of play,” per the PGA Tour.

The rules of golf state there can be only 14 clubs in a player’s bag during a round.

It is unclear what club Hubbard added to his bag. Hubbard, who shot 75-74 (9 over) in the first two rounds, was going to miss the cut, his third straight.

He finished tied for fifth at the Sanderson Farms Championship earlier this year.

[vertical-gallery id=778306799]

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

PGA Tour golfer thought he hit a miserable shot… and then ended up with a hole-in-one

Golf, man.

Golf is just the dumbest game ever. But it’s also beautiful and I love it and I want to play it every darn day.

You know what I’m talking about if you’ve played the dumb game. It rules. It’s beautiful. It’s fun. It’s maddening. It often makes no sense.

If you needed more proof of that, look at what happened to Mark Hubbard today at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. This professional golfer hit what he thought was a bad tee shot on the par-13 14th hole and you know what happened? The ball went in the hole for ace.

Look at his club drop and reaction right after hitting the ball:

What a dumb game.

Twitter had reactions.

This PGA Tour player dropped his club in disgust after his tee shot, then laughed as he made an ace at Rocket Mortgage

He said “that’s embarrassing,” after his tee shot on par-3 hole No. 11 at the Detroit Golf Club on Thursday.

Mark Hubbard dropped his club in disgust and said “that’s embarrassing,” after his tee shot on par-3 hole No. 11 at the Detroit Golf Club on Thursday.

Not long after, he was covering his mouth in awe as he sunk a hole-in-one during the first round of the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

The ace moved Hubbard to 3 under par through 11 holes, a few shots off the lead at the time.

Hubbard, 33, previously made aces at the 2014 Frys.com Open and the 2019 Nashville Golf Open. Both Korn Ferry Tour events were steps to him gaining PGA Tour membership for the subsequent season.

 

Hubbard boasts a Korn Ferry Tour win at the 2019 LECOM Suncoast Classic and a 2013 Wildfire Invitational victory on PGA Tour Canada, but he has never won a PGA Tour event.

His best finishes this year came at the Barbasol Championship and the Barracuda Championship, where he placed third and fourth, respectively. He also held a share of the 18-hole lead at Club Car Championship but finished tied for ninth.

Live updates: Rocket Mortgage Classic live leaderboard and first-round updates from our friends at the Detroit Free Press

Hubbard wasn’t the only player peppering the front pin at No. 11. Tommy Gainey had his tee shot lip out earlier in the morning.

Contact Mason Young: MEYoung@freepress.com Follow him on Twitter: @Mason_Young_0

[vertical-gallery id=778286530]

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

Denver native Mark Hubbard not-so-subtly trolls Canada with Avalanche shirt on PGA Tour

“Tell Canada, I want them to know it was the Avs,” Hubbard, probably.

As they wait for their opponent in the Stanley Cup Final, it’s worth reflecting on the Avalanche’s path to return to the NHL’s biggest stage.

In the first round, they swept the hapless Predators. Nashville never even had a chance. Then, despite a little more fight from their opponent, Colorado dispatched the rival Blues in six games without breaking much of a sweat. Maybe next year, Jordan Binnington!

Finally and most notably, they steamrolled Canada’s last chance at a Cup in 2022 by sweeping Connor McDavid and the Oilers. That makes it 29 years since any of the NHL’s Canadian teams last hoisted the Cup. Can you imagine a country loving a sport so much and never winning its top prize? Tough scene.

During the RBC Canadian Open on Thursday, Denver native/PGA Tour golfer Mark Hubbard made sure to remind the hometown fans of that fact in the funniest way:

Look at that confident strut after making his putt. That’s a man who knows he’s making himself a public sports enemy and is absolutely reveling in it. Sorry, Canada. Maybe, finally, next year will be the year.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

[mm-video type=video id=01g53wx20shr2hryepqq playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g53wx20shr2hryepqq/01g53wx20shr2hryepqq-b56283f1aae546825d77e6ad0abe53f6.jpg]

[listicle id=1906934]