Tag: Masters

Scottie Scheffler 10th all-time in PGA Tour money by winning often but also winning the big ones

There’s winning and then there’s winning at the right time. Scheffler is doing both.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — There’s winning and then there’s winning at the right time. Scottie Scheffler continues to do both.

With his second Masters victory, good for $3.6 million, and yet another signature event win, the 2024 RBC Heritage, Scheffler has amassed $61,258,464 in career on-course earnings on the PGA Tour. That figure has put him into the top 10 all-time, jumping him two spots past Matt Kuchar and Jason Day.

Tiger Woods leads the list at $120 million and while Scheffler has a long way to go, he’s now more than halfway there as a six-year veteran.

Then again, Scheffler is playing in this big-money era of signature events and elevated purses, but to his credit, he’s also winning the bigger-money events.

His 10 wins include two Masters, two Players (the richest event on the PGA Tour), two Arnold Palmer Invitationals, two WM Phoenix Opens (one of which was a signature event) as well as a Match Play and now the RBC.

Scottie Scheffler’s 10 PGA Tour wins

Scheffler is one of 16 players in the history of the PGA Tour to reach the $50 million plateau in on-course earnings.

Man charged with illegal transport of Masters merchandise, memorabilia taken from Augusta National

Richard Globensky was charged with transporting millions of dollars worth of stolen merch over a 13-year period.

Masters merchandise is some of the most coveted gear in the sports world, and it’s got one man in some potentially hot water.

According to a Tuesday filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Richard Globensky has been charged with transporting millions of dollars worth of Masters merchandise and memorabilia over a 13-year period from 2009-2022 from Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia across state lines to Tampa, Florida, “knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

If convicted, Globensky would forfeit any property and cash from proceeds traced to the stolen items. Augusta National has yet to comment on the case.

Last weekend saw Scottie Scheffler win his second Masters in three years by four shots over Ludvig Aberg in the 88th playing of the annual event.

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How did Scottie Scheffler wind up celebrating Masters win at a Dallas dive bar? Allow him to explain

Scheffler’s green jacket tour – the sequel – is officially on and it all started with a pit stop at Inwood Tavern.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – A photo of Scottie Scheffler at a popular Dallas dive bar in the wee hours of the morning after winning the 88th edition of the Masters surfaced on social media on Monday. What was Scheffler, who rushed home to be with his pregnant wife Meredith, doing celebrating at a local watering hole?

“So on the plane ride home, I was with my manager Blake and my coach Randy and then I had four of my good buddies with me, and I don’t remember who suggested it, but it seemed like a good idea, and when Meredith picked us up at the airport it still seemed like a good idea, and Meredith was down, so we went for probably 20 minutes and went home,” Scheffler said. “Took a few photos, had a drink and then went home and went to bed.”

Scheffler also explained how he wound up at Inwood Tavern of all places.

“I don’t know if I’d actually been to that place before,” he said. “There was another tavern around the corner that I’d been to a few times and it’s a nice place, but shockingly it wasn’t open Sunday at 1:30 in the morning. This place was open.”

Credit to Meredith for not only picking him up at the airport after 1 a.m. — most wives would’ve said get yourself an Uber! — but willing to go out and celebrate in style until closing time at 2 a.m.

“I think Meredith finished her Heineken Zero and it was like, now we can go,” he said.

Yes, he wore the green jacket to the bar

Scheffler wore the green jacket at the bar and said he’s looking forward to wearing it to some familiar places that he sported the famed jacket in 2022, when he won the Masters for the first time.

“I think right now the way I feel is I want to wear it around the house more,” he said. “But as far as stuff to do with it, I think I’ll probably do something similar. I think I liked going to some of the sporting events in Dallas. The Rangers won the World Series last year, the Mavs are playing some good basketball, Stars are heading into the playoffs, as well, so I’d like to go to some more games. I’ll be home for a few weeks now. Obviously things will be a little bit different with Meredith expecting pretty soon. We’ll see, but hopefully go to a few more sporting events.”

Scheffler’s green jacket tour – the sequel – is officially on and it all started with a pit stop at Inwood Tavern.

Why a ‘sweet woman’ bought Max Homa’s Chick-fil-A on the way to the RBC Heritage

“I just pinch myself at times with the kindness people have given me just because I play some golf.”

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — One day after finishing tied for third at the Masters and cashing a check for more than $1 million, Max Homa had a fan pay for his Chick-fil-A at the drive-thru.

“It was kind,” he said during his pre-tournament press conference at the 2024 RBC Heritage. “I just pinch myself at times with the kindness people have given me just because I play some golf. I feel very fortunate for that.”

Homa drove from Augusta, Georgia, where he shot a final-round 73 to record his best finish at a major. On Sunday night, he celebrated his wife Lacey’s upcoming birthday early and on Monday he made the three-hour drive to Harbour Town Golf Links for this week’s 69-man, no-cut signature event, and stopped along the way for a bite to eat.

“I absolutely demolished Chick-fil-A on my way down,” Homa said. “I was in the drive-thru by myself and I went to order and the person taking the order told me that the woman in the row next to me had paid for whatever I was going to get. She said that her son is 3 or 4 and I’m his favorite golfer, so it was pretty cool. I don’t know, those kinds of things I still pinch myself.”

Homa added that it was the typical busy two-line drive-thru set-up that runs like clockwork. Somehow, she managed to recognize Homa, who climbed into the top 10 in the world (No. 9) with his strong performance at the Masters. That three-way tie for third earned him $1.04 million for his 72-hole total of 4-under 284, matching Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood.

“She paid for it, I rolled my window down, we chatted for a minute or so, and then I ate it,” Homa said.

Homa deserved a treat after a memorable week. His record in the majors before the Masters was abysmal. It was an important week for the former Cal product to prove to the golf world – and himself – he can perform at golf’s biggest events, too.

“It was fun to wake up for a couple days and think, there’s a pretty decent chance I might be wearing a green jacket on Sunday and to still excel and feel good about my golf,” he said. “It reinforces that my golf game is good enough. I think most anybody who plays a major, it is. But until you get to feel that, you don’t know.”

He added: “Maybe a little bit of the monkey is off the back. I know I can, and the work I’m doing is right. It just comes down to the mental for me. I didn’t change anything about my golf game last week. I just really changed my head and got out of my own way and just played some golf.”

Homa is scheduled to tee on Thursday at 10:50 a.m. ET, in a pairing with Fleetwood.

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Scottie Scheffler’s putting coach has hilarious Masters response to social media troll

A picture is worth a thousand words (and 280 characters).

One of the biggest storylines entering this PGA Tour season was Scottie Scheffler’s putting woes.

The world No. 1 had struggled with the flatstick and after last year’s Tour Championship at East Lake talked with his agent, Blake Smith, about seeing a putting coach on the plane ride home. Scheffler has seen PGA Master Professional and putting coach Phil Kenyon work with different types of players over the years and he appreciated his approach.

“As I watched Phil, I could tell that he was open-minded, and that’s the type of people I like to work with,” Scheffler said Sunday after he won his second Masters in three years. “And we kind of hit the ground running in the fall. I can’t speak highly enough of the decision that (swing coach Randy Smith) also made to be open-minded, not take an ego to it, sit there, watch us work, watch Phil do his thing.”

“Phil is also a guy that doesn’t have a big ego. He just wants what’s best for his players,” Scheffler added. “I’m really, really fortunate to have those two guys as part of my team.”

He might not have a big ego but we now know Kenyon keeps receipts. Back in March, a social media troll said “Phil Kenyon is destroying Scottie” in response to a photo of the two working together at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Scheffler went on to win that tournament and then the Players Championship before a T-2 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open and his recent Masters triumph. A month later, Kenyon got the last laugh.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In Kenyon’s case, it’s also better than 280 characters.

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Only three rookies have ever won the Masters, Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 being the last

First-time participants in majors rarely make much of an impact.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — First-time participants in majors rarely make much of an impact.

They are expected to show up, perhaps make the 36-hole cut and go quietly about their business. To get into contention would be a bonus.

To actually win is virtually unheard of, Ben Curtis and Keegan Bradley being the exceptions. Their victories in the 2003 British Open and 2011 PGA, respectively, were their first starts in major championships.

Frank Urban Zoeller, affectionately known as Fuzzy by his peers, paid little attention to the conventional wisdom at the Masters.

The native of New Albany, Indiana, got into contention in 1979, hung around to the end and won a historic playoff in his first visit to Augusta National Golf Club.

Zoeller joined Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen as the only men to win the Masters in their first attempts. Smith won the inaugural event in 1934, and Sarazen, already one of the game’s established stars, won a year later with his famous double eagle on the 15th hole.

Ed Sneed, who was only slightly better known than Zoeller coming into the 1979 Masters, appeared to be on his way to his first major title. His first three rounds of 68, 67 and 69 put him five shots clear of the field heading into Sunday.

And for 15 holes, Sneed appeared to be a good bet to slip on a green jacket. Despite charges by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, Sneed still had a three-stroke lead with three holes to play.

A three-putt for bogey cost Sneed a shot at the 16th, then he missed a short par putt on the 17th. Suddenly, his lead was down to one.

Sneed hit the fairway on the 18th, but his approach finished next to the greenside bunker. He chipped to about eight feet below the hole, then watched in disbelief as his putt hung on the lip, refusing to drop for par and the win.

Zoeller, meanwhile, had finished with 70 to join Watson and Sneed in the Masters’ first sudden-death playoff.

Like Sarazen 44 years before, Zoeller took a risk on the 15th hole to help force the playoff. He went for the green in two, even though the shot was longer than the distance he normally hit his 3-wood.

“Now, I’ll tell you exactly how far I can hit a 3-wood. I can hit it 235 yards without any wind,” Zoeller later told reporters. “I don’t know how it got there.”

The playoff began on the 10th hole, and all three men made par to advance to the 11th.

Zoeller hit the biggest drive, then watched as Sneed’s approach flew into the back bunker and Watson’s came up wide right. The Masters rookie then calmly hit his iron shot to inside 10 feet.

“Two balls right and don’t leave it short,” was caddie Jariah Beard’s advice for Zoeller, according to Ward Clayton’s book Men on the Bag, which chronicles the stories of Augusta National caddies.

After watching Sneed and Watson play, Zoeller coolly rolled his birdie putt into the cup and earned his place in history. He flung his putter into the air and jumped for joy with outstretched arms.

“I’m on cloud nine, and I guess I’ll be up there for three or four weeks,” Zoeller said afterward.

He had extra motivation for making the birdie to end the playoff on the 11th hole.

“I said if I don’t make it, we have to play No. 12, which I don’t want to do,” Zoeller told the media corps. “I’m 3-over-par there this week.”

Zoeller, who retired from Masters competition in 2009, thinks someone will come along and join him, Smith and Sarazen as Masters winners in their Augusta debut. In 2014, Jordan Spieth almost joined the club after sharing the lead going into the final round.

“You never say never,” Zoeller said. “It is amazing when you think about all the talent that has walked through from that practice range to that first tee and it hasn’t happened.

“Can I explain why? No. Will it happen again? Somebody will do it.”

Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson want ‘best outcome’ of PGA Tour-LIV dispute

Wise words from three of the all-time greats, who still care deeply about the state of professional golf.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson want to see the PGA Tour-LIV Golf dispute get settled.

Speaking during a joint press conference after the three legends hit the ceremonial tee shots to the 88th edition of the Masters, Watson shared a special moment during the Champions Dinner, which brought together 33 of the past winners – seven of them members of LIV – in their Green Jackets and Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley, on Tuesday evening.

“We were sitting down and we were having great stories about Seve Ballesteros and people were laughing and talking. I said to Mr. Ridley, I said, ‘Do you mind if I say something about being here together with everybody?’ He said, ‘Please do.’

“And I got up and I said – I’m looking around the room, and I’m seeing just a wonderful experience everybody is having. They are jovial. They are having a great time. They are laughing. I said, ‘Ain’t it good to be together again?’ ” Watson recalled.

He added that he hoped the players would take it upon themselves to reach a resolution, sooner rather than later.

“We have to do something,” Watson said. “We all know it’s a difficult situation for professional golf right now. The players really kind of have control I think in a sense. What do they want to do? We’ll see where it goes. We don’t have the information or the answers. I don’t think the PGA Tour or the LIV Tour really have an answer right now. But I think in this room, I know the three of us want to get together. We want to get together like we were at that Champions Dinner, happy, the best players playing against each other. The bottom line: that’s what we want in professional golf, and right now, we don’t have it.”

Nicklaus echoed that sentiment and placed his trust in PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan to lead the way.

“The best outcome is the best players play against each other all the time. That’s what I feel about it. And how it’s going, I don’t know, I don’t want to be privy to it,” Nicklaus said. “I talked to Jay not very long ago, and I said, ‘Jay, don’t tell me what’s going on because I don’t want to have to lie to the press and people that ask me questions.’ I said, ‘How are you doing?’ He said, ‘We’re doing fine.’ I said, “OK, that’s all I want to know.’ If Jay thinks we’re doing fine, we’ll get there, I think we’ll get there. And I certainly hope that happens, the sooner the better.”

Player touched on how that division in golf and attention on the greed in the game has turned off the public. But he also noted that the players who had stayed loyal to the PGA Tour needed to be compensated in some way (which they will be through the infusion of capital into the Tour’s new for-profit arm from private equity investment.)

“Anytime in any business whatsoever, not only in the golf business, there’s confrontation, it’s unhealthy. You’ve got to get together and come to a solution. If you cannot, it’s not good. The public don’t like it, and we as professionals don’t like it, either,” Player said. “But it’s a big problem because they paid all these guys to join the LIV Tour fortunes, I mean, beyond one’s comprehension and the players that were loyal, three of us and others. Now these guys come back and play, I really believe the players, that if they are loyal, should be compensated in some way or another. Otherwise, there’s going to be dissension.”

Wise words from three of the all-time greats, who still care deeply about the state of professional golf.

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Avert your eyes: Sergio Garcia’s outfit for the first round of the 2024 Masters is something

What a look from Garcia.

Sergio Garcia is one of 13 players representing LIV Golf this week at the 2024 Masters, and trust us, it’s going to be hard to miss him at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday.

Garcia, the 2017 Masters champ, debuted his look — which matches with his wife, Angela — on social media before teeing off for the opening round of the year’s first major championship.

There’s a lot we could say about this fit. Is he now sponsored by Starry? Is he attempting some sort of camouflage? Or has he had this outfit laid out in his closet for the last few months?

Tough to know, but it sure is interesting.

After a birdie on No. 4, Garcia was 1 under through four holes during the first round.

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Masters: Tony Finau awarded a patent for a Ping prototype putter

Finau was presented with a patent certificate in Ping’s PGA Tour van on Wednesday.

When he is faced with a delicate chip from the collar or an awkward shot from a few inches off the green, Tony Finau has been known to turn his putter, a Ping PLD Anser 2D, counter-clockwise in his hands and strike the ball with the toe-end of his putter, popping the ball onto the putting surface.

In fact, he loves the feeling shots like that create so much that he worked with designers and engineers at Ping to build a prototype putter that replicates the sensations of that shot and was just named as one of three people on a utility patent awarded to Ping (U.S. #11,911,670 B2) for a compact putter head. Tony Serrano, Ping’s principal putter design engineer, and John A. Solheim, the company’s president, are also on the patent.

Finau was presented with a patent certificate in Ping’s PGA Tour van on Wednesday outside the gates of Augusta National Golf Club.

“When Tony turns his putter over and hits a putt with the toe, all the mass is directly behind the ball,” Serrano said. “So he came to us and said, ‘How can we make a putter that has some of these feelings and attributes and sounds that I get when I turn this putter over?’”

That led Serrano and his team to develop a few prototypes that would give Finau what he wanted while also conforming to the USGA’s Rules of Golf and equipment standards.

Tony Finau
Tony Finau’s compact prototype putter is shaped like a cube and replicates the feeling of hitting a putt with the toe-end of a putter. (Ping)

The putter that Finau liked and worked with Ping to develop is cube-like in shape, with a small area in the back hollowed out to create some perimeter weighting. There is also a T-shaped alignment system on the top and a plumber’s neck hosel.

“He looks at the top rail of the putter when he turns it. It’s long and right down the center and helps him align the putter with the ball,” Serrano said. The small T accomplishes the same thing and helps Finau focus on a tiny area and make solid contact more easily.

The small hosel was designed and positioned close to the grooved hitting area so that when Finau putts, his stroke has to pull the center of gravity and the putter’s weight, like a traditional putter, instead of pushing the head’s weight as Finau would do with a flipped-over putter.

“Tony said that he plays with this putter all the time,” when he is home in Utah, Serrano said. Finau has yet to use the un-named putter in a PGA Tour event, but he plans to keep using it as a training aid going forward, and Ping plans to study the tiny putter more closely to see whether attributes of it could be designed into future PLD and retail putters.

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Jack Nicklaus had a sweet flag bag during the Masters 2024 Honorary Starters ceremony

What a flex.

The Honorary Starters ceremony is one of the best parts of Masters week.

The event is steeped in tradition, and when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson take to the tee, thousands show up and surround the first tee box at Augusta National Golf Club to watch the legends kick off the Masters annually.

This year, the trio again striped their tee shots after a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay, but the 88th Masters is underway.

However, one of the coolest parts of the Honorary Starters ceremony was Nicklaus’ bag. The 18-time major champion and six-time winner at Augusta had a sick flag bag. The bag was made with different flags from around the country, including a Masters one and St. Andrews flag.

Flag bags are common in certain parts of the country, but seeing arguably the greatest golfer of all-time using one to begin the Masters was pretty cool. What a flex.