Last week Matt Wallace made some headlines after a spat with his caddie. This week he’s back in the headlines once again, but as a PGA Tour winner.
The 32-year-old Englishman shot a 6-under 66 in Sunday’s final round to claim the 2023 Corales Puntacana Championship at 19 under for his first win on Tour in his 80th start. Wallace has won four times on the DP World Tour, most recently in 2018 at the Made in Denmark.
Nicolai Hojgaard needed a birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff but came up short with par to finish solo second at 18 under. Tyler Duncan and Sam Stevens finished T-3 at 17 under, with Austin Eckroat rounding out the top five at 16 under.
“Self talk was very good today, been working really hard since the Players on it,” said Wallace, who has made light of his history as an Angry Golfer. “I realized at the Players out of the 145 shots I hit to miss the cut by one, two of those I spoke to myself well. Two shots for the whole week, so that’s not good enough. That’s not going to get the job done.”
You know what does get the job done? Four rounds under par – 67-66-70-66 – as well as four birdies over his last six holes on Sunday.
“Very happy down those last few holes,” said Wallace. “I knew I could do it and I played great all week, just came out on top.”
Brice Garnett views this week more like a vacation rather than a golf tournament.
Brice Garnett views this week more like a vacation rather than a golf tournament.
How could he not at Puntacana Resort & Club? There’s food everywhere surrounding the resort. There’s beautiful views at the Corales Golf Course. And it’s a trip to the Dominican Republic, where Garnett has his only PGA Tour win back in 2018.
“Yeah, it’s just so easy. I feel like it’s an easy week,” Garnett said. “It’s kind of how I approach the weeks outside the (U.S.). I’ve had quite a bit of success really playing island golf.”
After an opening 6-under 66 in gusty conditions, it’s hard to argue against his case. Garnett tied for the lead with Ben Martin and one shot in front of Matt Wallace after the opening round at the Corales Puntacana Championship, this week’s opposite-field event.
A month ago at the Honda Classic, Garnett was in contention before a closing 77 at PGA National. A week later, he once again shot 77 in the final round at the Puerto Rico Open.
“Just waiting and patiently hoping that we can get all four days together here before long,” he said. “So just kind of keeping our nose down and keep on grinding. We know it will all come together eventually.”
Martin joined Garnett with a bogey-free performance. Martin also has one PGA Tour win, coming at the 2014 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Once a player strikes a tee shot on the LIV Golf Series, he has lost his status on the PGA Tour.
Not sure they should be expecting thank you cards or gift baskets, but when the six newest members of the LIV Golf Series teed off in Boston on Friday for their 1:15 p.m. ET shotgun start, six others earned their PGA Tour cards.
Officially, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III, Anirban Lahiri and Cameron Tringale were “removed from the 2021-22 FedEx Cup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List,” according to the PGA Tour.
This then elevated Kelly Kraft, Justin Lower, Doc Redman, Austin Smotherman, Matt Wallace and Danny Willett inside the top 125, thus granting them their Tour cards for the 2022-23 season.
The Tour’s announcement specifically mentioned the 1:15 p.m. ET time. Once a player strikes a tee shot on the LIV Golf Series, he has lost his status on the PGA Tour.
Kraft, Lower, Redman were removed from the Korn Ferry Tour Championship on Friday after they earned fully exempt status. They cannot improve their standing on the Eligibility List. Smotherman, Wallace and Willett did not reach the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
The top 25 finishers at the Finals will earn PGA Tour cards. The final FedEx Cup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List for the 2021-22 season will be finalized at 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 9, 2022.
These notable players missed the cut and some saw their FedEx Cup bubbles burst.
For the “Bubble Boys,” those trying to secure a berth in the 125-man field for next week’s first of three FedEx Cup playoff events, making the cut is job No. 1.
Consider it mission accomplished for the likes of Max McGreevey, No. 126 in the points standings heading into the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. McGreevey shot 67 in the second round of the regular season finale and has improved to a projected 122nd.
After finishing second at the Puerto Rico Open in March, McGreevy had made the cut in only four of his 19 starts before this week, and had missed the cut in six of his last seven events.
“I just had a lot of fun this week,” he said. “It’s been easier than it has been the last couple of weeks somehow, but just felt good, felt relaxed and feels good to finally get four rounds for a week.”
Chesson Hadley, who started the week at No. 121, made three birdies in a row en route to shooting 67, and last’s year Bubble Boy put himself in position where he might not need an ace or a final-round 62 to sneak into the FedEx Cup playoffs. He’s projected at No. 113.
Nick Taylor (71, -2) survived the cut but has slipped from No. 120 at the start of the week to a projected 125th.
Today would be a great Cut Cam day given all the implications for the playoffs…………… @PGATOUR
Congrats to Brian Stuard, who ended a streak of 11 straight missed cuts. It couldn’t have come at a better time. He entered the week at No. 137 in the FedEx Cup point standings. He’s projected at No. 124.
Austin Smotherman, who started the week at No. 125, wasn’t so fortunate. He shot 76 in the second round to miss the cut and is projected to drop to No. 129.
Martin Trainer shot a second straight 67 and is currently projected 126th, otherwise known as the first guy out. But he still has two more rounds to improve his position and a positive attitude going into the weekend.
“I know what’s at stake, it’s no different than any other week. I mean, I think ultimately I know that I just need to do well,” he said. “Every time I play a Tour event I’m trying my best anyway, so I’ll just look at it as a curiosity, but ultimately it’s out of my control, so to speak. I’m just trying my best.”
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson also still has work to do over the weekend – projected at No. 136 – but has a chance after shooting 5-under 135.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do. Put myself in a position so I can at least make a run on the weekend,” Johnson said. “My focus is to win a golf tournament and the rest of it will take care of itself, but I’m in a position where I can do that.”
Play was suspended on Friday due to darkness with seven golfers still needing to complete the second round. Thanks to Chris Gotterup, who made bogey at 18, another 21 players will earn a paycheck this week. In all, 87 golfers from the field of 156 made the cut. It marks the most players to make the cut on Tour since the cut rule changed to low 65 and ties to start the 2019-20 season. It took a score of 1-under 139 to play the weekend, but Smotherman, who was at 1 under and faced a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 8 when play resumed on Saturday morning, isn’t one of them. He missed the putt and made double-bogey at nine, bursting his playoff bubble in the process.
Here’s a look at some of the notable players who were on the wrong side of the cutline.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Stewart Cink has long treasured his journeys to this little spot in the world that hugs the Atlantic Ocean, an island paradise featuring a legendary lighthouse, charming ambiance, peaceful streets lined with an assortment of trees and miles of inviting beaches and bike trails.
All of which surrounds the gem named Harbour Town Golf Links, a challenging Pete Dye layout that tests one and all golfers without brutalizing them. The first time Cink toured Harbour Town, he won the 2000 MCI Classic, now known as the RBC Heritage. Added another win in 2004 and hasn’t missed a chance to tee it up here for 22 consecutive years.
“I feel so relaxed here,” Cink said. “I think it’s the vibe. Is it the week after the Masters vibe or is it the Hilton Head Island vibe? Maybe a little bit both. Coming after the grindhouse that Augusta National can be – especially this year, conditions were pretty tough – it’s nice to come here and relax a little bit, exhale.”
Well, he relaxed a bit too much ahead of his opening tee shot Thursday in the first round of the RBC Heritage, sending his golf ball deep into a lake guarding the 10th hole and making bogey. From there, however, Cink didn’t have another blemish on his card full of seven birdies and an eagle and grabbed the first-round lead with an 8-under-par 63 — his career low at Harbour Town.
“It really was a very smooth round once I got past the obstacle of the first hole. It was probably one of the worst opening drives I ever hit in my life,” he said. “You’d think that’s a bad way to start, but in a way it’s a wake-up call. After playing in the Masters and being super focused and intense, to come here and be lazy on the first shot was kind of like a slap in the face and it got my attention.
“I was just so relaxed and lackadaisical on the shot that I just kind of didn’t really go through my normal preparation on the shot. Just completely went to sleep at the wheel. Then I really played very, very well the rest of the way.”
Quite a few players played well under overcast skies. Matt Wallace, who finished third in the Valero Texas Open two weeks ago and tied for 34th in last week’s Masters, shot a bogey-free 65 to stand in second among the early finishers.
Billy Horschel, Charles Howell III and Harold Varner III were at 66.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson finished with a 70.
“This week’s so much more relaxed than last,” Horschel said. “You’re just so excited to get to Augusta, can’t wait to play, and by maybe the middle of the week or after the first round, gosh, this place just drives me insane. It’s just one of those weeks where it drives you a little insane with the way the wind can be; the way they set it up. It just requires a lot from you as a golfer.
“So, it’s always nice to come over here after a stressful challenging week like it would be at any major.”
Hilton Head’s casual atmosphere even made an angry golfer smile. Wallace was one of several European Tour stars to take part in a hilarious video released earlier this year where they gathered together to attend an anger management therapy group to discuss their issues (Wallace has had problems with caddies).
Wallace had few issues in the first round and loves Hilton Head.
“I do like it here,” said Wallace, who added that the angry golfer video was brilliant, and the outtakes are even better. “My girlfriend has been coming here with her family for a really long time and it’s a special place. Really nice and chilled and we enjoy it.
“Tournament golf is not decompression (golf) for me. I am fully focused out there. But I like the vibe, the chilled vibe, and I like the trees. I mean, it’s pretty cool that you’ve got all the roads in between the trees and the shrubs, the dense growth.
“The golf course itself is nice as well. I like playing here. I’ve got a good handle of what I want to do on the golf course, and it showed today.”
On Sunday at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, things sure felt a lot like 2017 again.
SAN ANTONIO — There was a time when Jordan Spieth going to bed with a third-round lead meant Jordan Spieth was just a few hours from hoisting a trophy over his head.
In fact, from the 2015 Vivint Houston Open to the 2017 Northern Trust the noted Longhorn held the 54-hole lead on a dozen occasions, winning nine times. He left the other three as runner-up.
But then the 11-time PGA Tour champ fell into a slump nobody could foresee, especially for someone so young and seemingly at the start of a long stretch of dominance. A 2017 season that saw him win thrice, including the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, seemed long gone from his rearview mirror as the calendar flipped to 2021.
And even when Spieth returned to form in recent weeks, holding the 54-hole lead three times since February, he still lacked a piece that was once his calling card — closing the deal.
On Sunday at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, things sure felt a lot like 2017 again.
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Spieth withstood a charge from veteran Charley Hoffman but kept his cool and made big shots down the stretch, capturing his first title in 1,351 days, this one in his home state.
For the 44-year-old Hoffman, the chase was an impressive one as he matched Spieth’s 33 on the front and then posted birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to keep the pressure on. He took his biggest punch at No. 16, burying a 20-foot putt from the fringe to pull within one.
But the final stretch at the Greg Norman-designed course was Spieth’s strength throughout the week. He entered Sunday at 10 under on holes 12 through 18 and didn’t falter.
Hoffman had an 18-foot putt on No. 17 that would have temporarily pushed him into a tie, but he missed. Spieth followed by burying his own birdie putt — his 11th one-putt of the day — to take a two-stroke lead to the final hole.
Matt Wallace, who held the lead with Spieth heading into Sunday, never threatened in third place. Lucas Glover used a big day to pull near the top, shooting a 66 to finish 12 under, all alone in fourth.
Gary Woodland, Brandt Snedeker, Chris Kirk and Anirban Lahiri finished tied for fifth at 9 under.
The victory put Spieth in an interesting position for the upcoming Masters as his three other major victories have all followed similar patterns:
• Prior to winning the 2015 Masters, Spieth finished T-2 at the Shell Houston Open and second at the Valero.
• Prior to winning the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, he finished T-3 at the Memorial.
• Prior to winning the 2017 Open Championship, Spieth won the Travelers.
Spieth will now try to become just the third player since 1960 to win at Augusta after winning the week before the Masters. Sandy Lyle did so in 1988 after winning the Greensboro and Phil Mickelson turned the trick after capturing the BellSouth Classic.
Spieth dug himself out of some tricky scenarios as only he can, weaving his way to a 31 on the back nine at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course.
SAN ANTONIO — When most PGA Tour players are comfortable, they strut through a golf course with a carefree and confident demeanor.
When Jordan Spieth is in his happy place, there’s constant chatter, nervous fan interaction, eye rolls and aw-shucks head shaking.
Suffice to say all of these were on display during the third round of the Valero Texas Open, as the former University of Texas star was smack dab in his favorite spot — leading a golf tournament in his home state.
Spieth dug himself out of some tricky scenarios as only he can, weaving his way to a 31 on the back nine at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, and pushing into a tie for the lead with Matt Wallace at 12 under.
Perhaps his most magnificent escape came on No. 17, when he followed a 334-yard drive into a collection area by opening the face on a wedge and hitting a full flop shot to 30 inches. Spieth tapped in the short birdie putt and rolled his head as if to admit he’d just pulled a Houdini.
“So I guess my ball got onto the cart path and then ran to the end of it. You can miss that tee shot right if you want all day and it stays short of pin high and it’s a pretty easy up and down to that pin. So I was in a tough spot,” he said of the escapade on the second-to-last hole. “Got a drop from the cart path and just ended up on some kind of hardpan stuff. I was looking to lay up way to the left and then walked up to the green and saw that that was just as difficult as going at the hole, so I figured may as well go to the hole in case I pull the shot off.
“I think I told Wally it was like a one in 10, but it was maybe like a one in five. It’s kind of like a half-long bunker shot almost. For it to go the right distance is certainly fortunate, but I was just trying to make four and got a bonus out of it.”
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For the first time in what has seemed like forever — between a prolonged slump and the pandemic — the day’s biggest crowds were following Spieth all along the Greg Norman design, chirping at nearly every shot and spurring him on.
After a warm reception in Austin for last week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Spieth is feeling the love, not only of his home state, but from Tour fans who haven’t seen him win since 2017’s Open Championship. And while winning a second green jacket would be the ultimate prize, Spieth insisted he’s only looking at the next 24 hours.
“Winning here would be … I mean, winning a PGA Tour event is a very, very difficult thing to do and I’ve certainly been humbled in that process over the last few years. First, I’m focused on this week, always have been. I haven’t thought ahead whatsoever,” Spieth said. “I thought the best prep for next week is to work yourself into contention and just kind of see where all facets of the game are under pressure. I got quite a bit of that today to test out and hopefully make some improvements for tomorrow.”
He’ll face stern competition from Wallace, who matched his 67 today and also stands at 12 under, and Charley Hoffman, who fired a 65 and is just two back of the leaders.
But either way, he’s simply happy to be in the hunt, twitching and chortling as only he can, showing his anxiety like no other player does.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – APRIL 03: Jordan Spieth lines up a putt on the fourth green during the third round of Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio Oaks Course on April 03, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
“Trust me, I feel the nerves even when you’re not playing well because sometimes you’re even more nervous because you don’t know where the damn ball’s going to go,” Spieth said. “It’s nice feeling comfortable under pressure, I think that’s the most important thing. You start doing it more often and you feel more comfortable under pressure and that’s kind of why we play the game at this level, that’s what’s fun for us.”
Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed are playing some must-watch matches at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on Wednesday.
The world’s best players are bound for Austin, Texas, for a unique stop on the men’s professional golf schedule.
Austin Country Club plays host to the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play once again this week. With the top-12 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin men’s ranking, as well as 64 of the top 69 in the Official World Golf Ranking set to compete, there are some matches that stand out among the rest.
On Wednesday alone a handful of European-dominated matches to watch include a couple pairs of Ryder Cup stalwarts squaring off, as well as two of the European Tour’s Angry Golfers.
Check out the top five opening day matches in Austin.
After Matt Wallace’s caddie tested positive for COVID-19, he hooked up with a Sea Island Resort club fitter and shot 64 to tie the lead.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – On a windy day better suited for flying a kite than hitting a golf ball more than 150 yards, Matt Wallace could’ve really used an experienced hand on the bag.
Unfortunately, his caddie, veteran Dave McNeilly, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, forcing Wallace to find other options. Turns out he didn’t have to look far.
“I was like, ‘Oh, no, I’m going to be positive as well because I’ve been hanging around with (Dave) on Sunday at the golf course at the Masters. I don’t know when he would have got it,” Wallace said. “As soon as I found out that Dave tested positive, and luckily he was OK and everything, no symptoms, I messaged JP, Justin Parsons, [Sea Island’s director of instruction and teacher to several PGA Tour pros], who I know. I said, ‘I’ll take a local this week because of the two courses.’ I thought that was a good idea. I didn’t want to step on Dave’s toes as well with another pro caddie.”
Parsons recommended one of his staff members, Jeffrey Cammon, a club fitter, who stepped in and provided local knowledge. Wallace, 30, birdied the first two holes en route to making eight birdies and shooting 6-under 64 on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club to share the lead with Camilo Villegas and one better than eight golfers. Wallace noted that Cammon was “chill,” and his first question when they met was simply: “What do you want me to do or say?”
“I was like, ‘Listen, mate, I don’t need anything. I’ll ask you a question and you answer it just with pure facts of what you think,’ ” Wallace said. “It worked well today. I said to him, ‘Is the wind more out of the left than it is like helping,’ and he’s like, ‘Yep,’ and that was it. It was really simple. Struck the ball really nicely today and rolled the ball well.”
That would be an understatement. Wallace sank 138 feet of putts and ranked third in Strokes Gained: putting on the day. Wallace, who entered the week ranked No. 53 in the world, visited Sea Island Resort’s Performance Center and the putting lab that is the U.S. base of famed putting instructor Phil Kenyon. Wallace spent about 45 minutes in the putting lab, sending data back to his coach in England and experimented with three different Callaway Toulon Design putters before settling on the Atlanta model without a sightline on the back.
“Because I haven’t been comfortable over the ball, I’ve taken a lot of time over the ball,” said Wallace, who ranks No. 175 in SGP this season. “My putting hasn’t been where it should be and it was the area I needed to work on the most. I chose the no-sightline one and able to roll the ball end over end, which is part of my game that I do really well. I haven’t been doing that, so getting back to that this week has been really nice.”
Wallace said that his fill-in caddie helped with a read on the fourth green. “I said, ‘Don’t read anymore putts because you’re 100 percent,’ ” Wallace said.
The Englishman has won tournaments on the European Tour, but he’s struggled in his transition to the PGA Tour, recording just one top-10 finish last season and failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup.
“The strength and depth is so deep,” Wallace said. “The players are amazing.”
On Friday, Wallace will tackle the Plantation Course, where he walked nine on Tuesday and played nine on Wednesday.
“Having Jeffrey there, that’s another buffer that I feel I’ve got where he’s been around there plenty and knows the misses,” Wallace said. “We spoke about that and we’ll have a good game plan tomorrow.”
About 40 percent of the 155 players broke par on Thursday despite high winds harshly impacting tee shots, approaches and putts.
Rory Sabbatini didn’t have a good warmup session ahead of Thursday’s first round of the RSM Classic.
The weather wasn’t anything to rave about, either, as a biting chill was in the air and winds were whipping across the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia. And Sabbatini would play the Seaside Course, historically the harder and more exposed of the two tracks used for the tournament hosted by Davis Love III.
So Sabbatini, playing in the first group off, naturally birdied his first four holes and finished with a bogey-free 5-under-par 65 to grab a spot on the first page of the leaderboard.
“I was kind of going, I don’t know what’s going on here but I’m enjoying it,” said Sabbatini, who has overcome issues with his neck and is looking for his first win since the 2011 Honda Classic. “I didn’t feel like I hit the ball particularly well on the range and I didn’t feel like I was putting very good and all of a sudden it clicked on the golf course.
“This is a golf course, when you get opportunities, you’ve got to try to maximize them. Yet still, even with the conditions out there, if you try and maximize them, you’ve got to be careful you don’t mess up what you’re trying to maximize.”
Sabbatini wasn’t the only one to get a handle on the tough – or as Zach Johnson said – brutal conditions. About 40 percent of the 155 players broke par despite high winds harshly impacting tee shots, approaches and putts.
Matt Wallace, who is using a local caddie after his regular caddie tested positive for COVID-19, finished with a par on his final hole despite taking a penalty drop and grabbed a share of the lead with a 6-under 64 on Seaside.
Matt Wallace talks with caddie Dave McNeilly on the 18th hole during the first round of the 2020 RSM Classic at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club on November 19, 2020 in St Simons Island, Georgia. Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
“Windy day,” said Wallace, who plays the majority of his golf on the European Tour. “The wind picked up as the day went on. It was really blustery and gusting up a good amount around the 13th, 14th where we go out to sea a little bit. Hitting a 5-iron from 150 yards is not normal, but I’m kind of used to that from being back home, just normally playing on links courses rather than these types of courses.
“Putted great. Got off to a nice start and holed a good putt on the third hole for bogey. Good momentum there. Carried it on till the end there.”
Joining Wallace at the top of the leaderboard was Camilo Villegas, whose 22-month-old daughter, Mia, died in July after battling cancerous tumors on her brain and spine. Villegas matched his career low on Seaside with a bogey-free 64.
“It was tough out here, but I love this place,” Villegas said. “I’ve been coming here since 2000 and it’s one of those stops I don’t like missing. I’ve been feeling good, to be honest.
Camilo Villegas watches his second shot on the seventh hole during the first round of the 2020 RSM Classic at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club on November 19, 2020 in St Simons Island, Georgia. Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
“It was kind of nice this morning. I got on the range and see a little rainbow out there. I start thinking about Mia and said hey, let’s have a good one. She loved colors and rainbows. It was a nice way to start the day. It was a good ball‑striking round, it was a great putting round. I was pretty free all day. Like you said, it’s tough to be free under these conditions, but I found a way to do it.”
Joining Sabbatini at 5 under were seven players, including Cameron Tringale, Adam Long, Keegan Bradley and Doug Ghim, who all posted 5-under-par 67 on the inland Plantation Course.
Ten players, including local favorites Johnson, Harris English and 2015 RSM Classic winner Kevin Kisner, were at 4 under.
“Today was brutal. I mean, I don’t know what other guys are saying, but I played really, really, really good,” said Johnson, who lives within 10 miles of Sea Island Golf Club and played Seaside.
“I had opportunities that I didn’t even capitalize on, but I made some. I made two bogeys from the middle of the fairway straight into the wind, which you’re going to do. It was just very difficult, difficult to judge distance, trajectory. It was a survival test.”
