HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – This Lowcountry region by the ocean, the famous lighthouse looming over the pristine land, offers the ideal locale for players to decompress after playing the Masters.
The links of Harbour Town, the southern hospitality, the laid-back nature, beaches, the cool breezes, top-scale restaurants, and ample opportunities to cast a line and float away the time on a boat makes many wanting to never leave.
Unfortunately, there comes the 36-hole cut.
And with the winds whipping cross Harbour Town, especially in Friday’s second round, it was not an easy walk around the tree-lined property. And after two rounds, some of the game’s biggest names, including Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Smith, will miss the weekend.
The cut came at even-par 142, with 71 players advancing to the third round.
Among those who made the cut on the number were past champions Graeme McDowell, Webb Simpson, Stewart Cink and Brian Gay.
World No. 6 Patrick Cantlay birdied his final four holes to take the lead at 9 under.
Can the 2019 Open champion finally grab another PGA Tour win?
The excitement, the golf course, the atmosphere — everything about the Masters is impossible to live up to, or in this case, follow up.
With the help of a surprisingly loaded field the week after a major championship, the RBC Heritage is next up on the PGA Tour schedule.
Fresh off a top-10 at Augusta National, Justin Thomas is the betting favorite at Harbour Town (+1200). In his second start back from the COVID-19 break in 2020, Thomas tied for 8th in Hilton Head.
Last season, Stewart Cink used Thursday and Friday 63s to end the week victorious. The defending champion is in the field but enters the tournament missing three weekends in his last four starts (T-7 at the Valspar was his lone Sunday finish).
Golf course
Harbour Town Golf Links | Par 71 | 7,121 yards
Harbour Town Golf Links. Photo courtesy of Sea Pines
Key statistics
Driving accuracy
Harbour Town, for much of the layout, is the definition of tree-lined. It’s not about overpowering the golf course, it’s about playing the right shot at the right time — and that starts with hitting the fairway.
Strokes Gained: Around the Green
The greens are small and contoured. It’s inevitable that the field will have to get up and down around this track and they’ll have to do it efficiently if they want a chance to win.
Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Austin Country Club, 2. Sea Island GC, 3. Waialae Country Club
Trending: 1. Shane Lowry (last three starts: T-12, T-35, T-3), 2. Justin Thomas (T-3, T-35, T-8), 3. Cameron Smith (T-33, 1, T-3)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Cameron Smith (5 percent), 2. Patrick Cantlay (4.9 percent), 3. Justin Thomas (4.9 percent)
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Alex is ranked sixth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – When Alex Fitzpatrick was 13 years old, he caddied for his brother, Matthew, at the U.S. Amateur. Young Alex still remembers the prize that he received for big bro winning the Havemeyer Trophy.
“My goal for the week was winning an iPhone off my dad, who promised me, if we won the tournament,” Alex recalled. “Obviously he never expected (us) to.”
In a that was then, this is now moment, big bro Matt is ranked 26th in the world and Alex, a 23-year-old senior at Wake Forest, is set to make his PGA Tour debut this week at the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course. He earned an exemption into the field for winning the Valspar Collegiate Invitational last year. It marks the first time the two brothers have competed in the same tournament.
“Unless you’re counting like the local medal that you play at your golf course,” Alex said.
Matt Fitzpatrick poses with his family, dad, Russell, brother Alex and mom Sue after winning the 2013 U. S. Amateur at The Country Club.
He earned the exemption by shooting 12-under 201 to win the individual title at The Floridian, but was unaware until an announcement at the dinner before the final round of the cherry topping that awaited the winner.
“My eyes kind of lit up a little bit, and I was a bit taken back,” he said. “It was kind of a nerve-wracking final 18 holes. It was always in the back of my mind, but I played nice golf and managed to get it done, and now I’m here and I couldn’t be happier.”
Alex is a two-time member of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team and is ranked sixth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, reaching as high as fourth earlier in the year. He’s recorded five top-20 finishes in his last six events. In June, he likely will join the play-for-pay ranks.
“Ideally I would be in the top five for the PGA Tour University, fingers cross that had would happen,” Fitzpatrick said, noting that it would earn him several exemptions into Korn Ferry events during the summer. “If I didn’t finish top five, that’s sort of an open door at the moment. I’m still trying to figure that out. I think regardless I think I’m going to turn pro in June.”
Other brothers of recent vintage who have played in the pro ranks include Brooks and Chase Koepka, Nick and Curtis Thompson, whose sister Lexi has been the most successful of the Thompson brood, and British Open winner Francesco Molinari and brother Eduardo, who were Ryder Cup teammates. The LPGA is flush with some prominent sister duos: World No. 2 Nelly Korda and sister Jessica and major winner Ariya and Moriya Jutanagarn.
Brother-sister tandems included Australians Min Woo and Min Jee and Americans Danielle and Alex Kang. Asked late last year how good of a Ryder Cup pairing the Fitzpatrick brothers would make, Matthew said very good.
“I would love that,” he said. “I’m good friends with Edoardo Molinari. I’ve never really spoke to him properly about it, but I’m sure it’s one of his best moments in his career I would imagine, and I’m sure it would be one of mine if we were lucky enough to play together. To be on the same team would be very, very special.”
Matthew, 27, has won seven times on the DP World Tour, most recently at the Andalucia Masters, and twice represented Europe in the Ryder Cup. He’s set a high bar for his brother to clear.
“We’re four years apart it’s almost a little bit, the gap is almost a little too big to sort of play sort of games,” Alex said. “He was a lot better than me when he was like 16 and I was 12.”
“He’s sort of left me to it,” Alex added. “I feel like he’s got to a point now where he feels like I’m mature enough to sort of make my own decisions and manage my way around the course.”
Alex tried to familiarize himself with the course during Monday’s pro-am and the brothers played an 18-hole practice round together on Tuesday. This could be a good week to beat his big bro.
Matt Fitzpatrick has mixed feelings about the hole-in-one he made in a practice round prior to the WM Phoenix Open.
Not sure if “wasted” and “ace” should be in the same sentence unless you’re referring to your mental/physical state in the bar after a round with your buddies. Nevertheless, Matt Fitzpatrick has mixed feelings about the hole-in-one he made today in a practice round prior to the WM Phoenix Open.
Fitzpatrick is coming off a solid performance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he finished T-6. The game obviously traveled to the desert along with the Englishman because he canned his tee shot on the par 3 12th.
“Bang, hole-in-one, wasted,” Fitzpatrick said with a less than enthusiastic tone.
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a member of the PGA Tour, the folks at Netflix are about to show you.
On Wednesday it was announced that Netflix would air a PGA Tour docuseries that would take fans behind-the-scenes and show what life on Tour is really like.
“This partnership with Netflix presents the PGA Tour and the four major championships an opportunity to tap into a completely new and diverse audience,” said Rick Anderson, the Tour’s Chief Media Officer. “This documentary will give fans an authentic look into the real lives of our athletes, and what it’s like to win — and lose — during a season on the PGA Tour.”
Filming is underway and will continue throughout 2022.
Confirmed players (alphabetically): Abraham Ancer, Daniel Berger, Cameron Champ, Joel Dahmen, Tony Finau, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Harry Higgs, Max Homa, Viktor Hovland, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Kevin Na, Mito Pereira, Ian Poulter, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Bubba Watson.
Keita Nakajima, the world’s No. 1 amateur, will also be featured.
“We are thrilled to bring golf’s leading organizations and players together for this first-of-its-kind partnership and unparalleled window into life on the Tour,” said Brandon Riegg, Netflix Vice President of Unscripted and Documentary Series. “Our members will love getting to know the players and personalities as well as the iconic venues along the way. Even the most devoted golf fans have never seen the sport quite like this.”
A loaded field makes for a fantastic week in the Bahamas.
It’s time for a trip to the Bahamas.
The biggest stars in the game are headed to Albany for a little getaway, where they’ll also play some golf.
Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge took a year off last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returns with an enormous amount of juice. Why you may ask?
Albany Golf Course
Par 72
7,309 yards
The Ernie Els design features a links-style layout, where the winning score will be somewhere around 18 under.
Weather
Day
Conditions
Percent chance of rain
Wind & Direction
Tuesday
Partly Cloudy
7 percent
8 MPH (NE)
Wednesday
Mostly Sunny
11 percent
10 MPH (E)
Thursday
Mostly Sunny
9 percent
9 PMH (NNE)
Friday
Partly Cloudy
6 percent
12 MPH (ENE)
Saturday
Partly Cloudy
14 percent
10 MPH (E)
Sunday
Partly Cloudy
23 percent
9 MPH (E)
Key Stats
Data Golf has Strokes Gained: Approach as their far-and-away most important stat for the week, and it makes sense. If you look back at the players who have won at this golf course over the years (Henrik Stenson, Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama), they’re all fantastic iron players.
At a course with relatively large fairways, I always like to keep an eye out for the bombers. I’m not saying you have to be a long-ball hitter to compete here, but distance doesn’t hurt when you need to go low to win.
Data Golf information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. PGA West (Palmer), 2. Warwick Golf and Country Club, 3. Detroit Golf Club
Trending (among the players in the field): 1. Justin Thomas (last three starts: 4, T-18, 3), 2. Bryson DeChambeau (T-31, 2, 7), 3. Rory McIlroy (T-14, 1, T-6)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Justin Thomas (8.7 percent), 2. Viktor Hovland (8.3 percent), 3. Bryson DeChambeau (7.9 percent)
Twilight 9
Download this week’s episode to listen to Andy and my preview of the Hero World Challenge: Apple | Spotify
We got killed at the RSM Classic with Russell Henley missing a top 20 finish by a shot. Good news: We’re still in the green over the last five events. We’re going to have to hit a winner pick this week with only 20 players in the field.
Betting card for the Hero World Challenge
Rory McIlroy – Top 5 (+125)
Rory McIlroy celebrates after winning the CJ Cup golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
The last time we saw Mr. McIlroy on the PGA Tour, he was lifting a trophy on the 18th green at the CJ Cup in Vegas. However, the last time we saw McIlroy on the golf course, he went full Hulk-mode on his shirt after finishing T-6 failing to convert on yet another 54-hole lead.
This will be McIlroy’s first appearance at Albany, but I think his game fits the course pretty well. Plus, when he’s in the field, I will bet on him. Every time.
Collin Morikawa – Top 5 (+130)
Collin Morikawa of the United States celebrates with the Race To Dubai trophy following and the DP World Tour Championship trophy after winning the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 21, 2021, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Here’s my thinking: One of these two guys will finish in the top 5. If both hit, great. If not, we’ll still pocket some cash.
Morikawa will become the No. 1 player in the world if he wins in the Bahamas this week. He’d become the second-fastest player in history to reach the top – you could probably guess who was the fastest.
His last start ended with new hardware for his trophy case.
Matthew Fitzpatrick – To win (+2000)
Matt Fitzpatrick of England tees off on the 10th hole during the first round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 28, 2021 in Southampton, . (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
I wanted to select a guy who comes into the week under the radar. Great in the wind, fantastic ball-striker, and can absolutely roll it.
Fitzy won in Spain a month and a half ago, and finished runner-up to Morikawa in Dubai in his last start.
The 27-year-old Englishman looks destined to be carded at bars right up until he qualifies for PGA Tour Champions.
They call him “the baby-faced assassin.”
A member of the Bermuda media reminded 27-year-old Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick of a nickname that is apropos for a man destined to be carded at bars right up until he qualifies for the PGA Tour Champions, and it drew a chuckle.
“Yes, I’ve been told that a few times before,” he said. “It’s pretty amusing to me. It’s a good thing to be known as baby faced, I know that. The assassin thing, strictly golf, of course.”
Fitzpatrick’s killer instinct was on display two weeks ago in Spain at the Andalucia Masters as he patiently registered 15 straight pars in a row to start his final round to remain in the hunt long enough for leader Sebastian Soderberg to blink. When the Swede made double bogey at 17, Fitzpatrick pounced at the opportunity, making two closing birdies to shoot a bogey-free 69 and win his seventh European Tour title.
The victory removed some of the bad taste of being winless in three matches at the Ryder Cup last month, dropping his overall record to 0-5 as a member of the losing European side in 2016 and 2021.
“It was a very tough one to take,” he said of Team Europe getting hammered by a score of 19-9 and his two losses in foursomes and in singles to American Daniel Berger on the last hole.
‘The Baby-Faced Assassin’ Matthew Fitzpatrick proudly holds the Havemeyer Trophy after defeating Oliver Goss, 4 and 3, at the 2013 U. S. Amateur at The Country Club.
Fitzpatrick said he played very well at the Ryder Cup, but was unlucky to run into even hotter hands in his matches. In short, his record wasn’t a fair reflection of how he actually played at Whistling Straits.
“To play my first week back and win kind of proved that to myself and gave me some confidence going into the end of the year,” Fitzpatrick said.
The Butterfield Bermuda Championship was a late addition to his schedule as he decided to swap out the Houston Open after his team determined Bermuda was a better fit for his game. Fitzpatrick, who grew up playing at windswept Hallamshire Golf Club in Sheffield, England, said he should feel right at home trying to figure out the tricky Bermuda tradewinds.
“You’ve got to be able to control your ball and for me, growing up in the U.K., I’ve played in plenty of wind. Playing the European Tour as well is the same,” he explained. “That’s probably the No. 1 thing here from what I’ve been told is, you know, your wind skills.”
Fitzpatrick is beginning his third season as a PGA Tour member this week. He recorded five top-10s and qualified for the FedEx Cup playoffs for the second consecutive season, finishing No. 73 in the FedEx Cup standings. He made the cut in 15 of 20 starts, with his best result of the season coming at the RBC Heritage (T-4). He’s earned more than $7 million in his career on the PGA Tour, but so far victory has eluded him. He singled out his iron play for holding him back last season.
“That’s all really,” he said. “I would say on the whole, the chances I’ve had to win, I’ve not really lost, I’ve just been beaten. A couple years ago (Francesco) Molinari ends up shooting 64 or whatever silly score it was at Bay Hill to pip me by one. And Riviera (in February), same deal; I played well over the weekend but Max (Homa) came through, shot a great Sunday round this year.”
At No. 26 in the world, the baby-faced assassin is one of the betting favorites along with Patrick Reed, World No. 24 and the only player in the field with a better ranking, and knows this could be a good opportunity to get that maiden win on the PGA Tour and jump-start his pursuit of qualifying for the Tour Championship, the season-finale reserved for the top 30 players.
“If it’s not this week, next week, I’d love that. Wherever it is, it will be one that I always remember,” he said. “I’m 1-for-1 post Ryder Cup, so just going to try to keep it rolling.”
It’s officially that time of year for golf fans. The game’s stars are on vacation and the venues are, let’s just say mediocre compared to other PGA Tour stops throughout the season. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t win some money at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship this week.
But on the bright side this week, we’re in Bermuda. The weather should be beautiful, the vibes should be right, let’s a have week.
Golf course
Port Royal GC
Par 71
6,828 yards
Robert Trent Jones design
Bermuda greens
Weather
Day
Conditions
Percent chance of rain
Wind & Direction
Tuesday
Showers
90 percent
25 MPH (SSW)
Wednesday
AM Thunderstorms/Wind
72 percent
28 MPH (WSW)
Thursday
PM Showers/Wind
39 percent
26 MPH (W)
Friday
Mostly Cloudy
12 percent
14 MPH (W)
Saturday
Scattered Thunderstorms
57 percent
16 MPH (SSW)
Sunday
Thunderstorms
82 percent
18 MPH (SW)
Key stats
Driving accuracy is going to be incredibly important for everyone in the field looking to make a run at the title. The rough around this track can be pretty tough to get out of, so target accurate players.
Some players love Bermuda greens, some hate ’em. This week, you have to love them. The grain can make putting a nightmare, so targeting players who putt well on these kinds of surfaces will be a great place to start.
Data Golf information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based off the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. LaCantera GC, 2. PGA West (Palmer course), 3. The Concession Golf Club
Trending (among the players in the field): 1. Hayden Buckley (last 3 starts: MC, T-4, T-8), 2. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (T-58 (Korn Ferry Tour), 3 (KFT), 5 (Euro Tour)), 3. Seamus Power (T-31, MC, T-21)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Matthew Fitzpatrick (6.2 percent), 2. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (4 percent), 3. Seamus Power (3.6 percent)
This golf course has broken winless droughts in two straight seasons, so Bermuda may be the perfect place for Fitzpatrick to finally break down the door.
The Englishman hit 68.37% of fairways last season, ranking 17th on Tour. On the Bermuda greens at Bay Hill, Fitzpatrick has finished inside the top 10 in three straight appearances at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Data Golf likes Concession as a course comparison this week, and at the WGC Workday Championship last season (played at Concession), Fitzy finished T-11.
Last thing, if it blows like it’s projected to, I like Fitz even more. He rises to the occasion in the worst conditions.
Matthew Fitzpatrick of England poses with the trophy after winning The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters at Real Club Valderrama on October 17, 2021 in Cadiz, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Hank Lebioda: Lebioda is having a rough start to the new season, with MCs at the Fortinet Championship and Shriners Children’s Open (despite being under par in both events before missing the weekend). Quick note on missed cuts: Todd missed four of five cuts leading up to his win here a few years ago.
The key for Lebioda this week will be finding fairways, as he’s only hit 50% so far this season. However, he ranked inside the top 50 last year on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach, so if he finds the short grass he should be able to capitalize.
He’s on my list, primarily, due to course history. Back in 2019, he finished T-3, and last season grabbed a top 20 (T-16).
+5000 to win.
Hank Lebioda hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole during the final round of the John Deere Classic golf tournament. (Photo: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)
The 27-year-old Englishman notched his seventh career European Tour victory in his eight years as a member.
Patience was a virtue for Matthew Fitzpatrick on Sunday at the Estrella Damm Andalucia Open.
The 27-year-old Englishman made par on the first 15 holes of his final round at Real Club Valderamma in Sotogrande, Spain, biding his time before making two late birdies to claim a three-stroke victory over Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg and Australia’s Min Woo Lee. In doing so, Fitzpatrick notched his seventh career European Tour victory in his eight years as a member.
Of winning at Valderrama, site of the 1997 Ryder Cup, Fitzpatrick said: “It’s on the bucket list with the history that it has,” and added, “it’s extra special, particularly the way I did it.”
In the record book, it will go down as Fitzpatrick shooting a bogey-free 2-under 69 for a 72-hole total of 6-under 278 and a three-stroke victory at the Andalucia Open. But as the announcers noted, Fitzpatrick was “patience personified.” He canned a 15-foot par putt from the back fringe at the fifth green and made a clutch sand save a few holes later to keep his card spotless. Meanwhile, 54-hole leader Laurie Canter struggled throughout in his search for his first victory, closing in 76 and part of a seven-way tie for fourth.
Soderberg proved to be the man Fitzpatrick would have to worry about as he surged to the top of the leaderboard with a scorching start. He was 4 under on the day through four holes, including an eagle at the fourth and led Fitzpatrick by two strokes at 6 under with two holes to go. But the Swede flared his tee shot to the right at the par-5 17th and out of bounds, and compounded his error by taking three putts to make double bogey.
Fitzpatrick, making his first start since going winless at the Ryder Cup for Team Europe, pounced with his first birdie of the day at 16, wedging to 8 feet.
Soderberg made bogey at the last after another wayward drive to the right and Fitzpatrick got up and down from just over the green at 17 for back-to-back birdies and solidified the final margin.
“I’m delighted,” Fitzpatrick said. “You can hit half-decent shots and be behind a tree and chipping out. It’s a real test.”
This is in contrast to Fitzpatrick’s October comments, in which he called out DeChambeau’s distance gains.
AUSTIN, Texas — Don’t expect to see a Matt Fitzpatrick training montage with the world’s 15th-ranked golfer pulling a sled, chopping wood, or climbing the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in anticipation of a bout with golf’s most prolific weightlifter. At least not any time soon.
In fact, five months after Fitzpatrick made comments on how Bryson DeChambeau’s body transformation and commitment to length was making a “mockery” of the game, the two have apparently patched things up. On Monday, Fitzpatrick, who’s in Austin for this week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, tweeted out a picture of himself with DeChambeau with the note “Getting some tips.”
When asked about the picture in advance of Wednesday’s opening round, the English golfer (and current Florida resident) said the two have communicated on numerous occasions and there’s no bad blood.
“We hate each other. It’s a really nasty thing between us,” Fitzpatrick joked about his relationship with DeChambeau. “No, it’s fine. Listen, we spoke a few times since the whole thing anyway and I made my comments, and that was my opinion at the time. I think they were definitely taken out of context, there’s no doubt about that. We talked about it since, we talked about it (Monday), and there’s no problems between us. It’s obviously just a bit of a media thing that kind of people want it to turn into something.
“But, yeah, I wouldn’t fancy my chances in a fight, anyway.”
“I could put another two inches on my driver. I could gain that, but the skill in my opinion is to hit the ball straight. That’s the skill, he’s just taking the skill out of it in my opinion. I’m sure lots will disagree. It’s just daft,” Fitzpatrick said in October.
Those comments came soon after DeChambeau won his first major — the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. DeChambeau, who has since dropped 10 pounds, was also victorious at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick — who has played well himself, finishing no worse than tied for 11th in four PGA Tour starts this calendar year — is hoping a little extra distance off the tee could be the key ingredient to taking his game to the next level. His driving distance currently ranks 183rd on the PGA Tour, although he’s in the top 50 in driving accuracy percentage.
Who better to ask for some tips than DeChambeau, who has maintained his accuracy through his distance gains?
“I was just asking him about his clubs and his speed training and stuff and I’ve been doing something similar and looking into it anyways before my comments that I made last year, so it’s nothing too new to me,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s just quite interesting just to hear his thoughts and how he’s going about things to improve his swing speed and get longer.”
Fitzpatrick is making his fifth appearance at the Dell Match Play at Austin Country Club, but he hasn’t fared as well as he’d like. Coming on the heels of a top-10 finish at the Players Championship, however, he thinks the timing could be right for a breakthrough. He opens round-robin play on Wednesday with Jordan Spieth (12:42 p.m. ET), and then will square off with Corey Conners on Thursday.
“I’m looking forward to the week. I have not really had too much success here, unfortunately. It’s a strange golf course; the front nine’s very different to the back nine. And it can get windy here, so it can be quite tough. So yeah, it’s going to be an interesting week,” Fitzpatrick said.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well recently, so hopefully, I’ll just bring it to this course and improve on previous years’ finishes.”
