There’s hitting greens in regulation, and then there’s making green in regulation.
If Cameron Smith is going to bolt to LIV Golf, as has been reported, his final season with the PGA Tour certainly was one to remember for golf bettors.
The Australian started 17 tournaments this year, picking up three wins including the Players Championship (where he was +3300) and Open Championship (+5000). A $100 bet placed on Smith to win each of the 17 contests he played in this season would’ve returned $10,300—or a profit of $8,600, according to PGATour.com’s Ben Everill.
That makes Smith the most profitable player to bet on this year, but not by the widest of margins at all. Max Homa, who started 23 tournaments this season, is No. 2 on the list with bettors profiting $8,300 simply by placing a $100 bet on him to win every tournament this year.
Homa won two tournaments this season. He earned a longshot victory at the Fortinet Championship (+6600) and later cashed tickets for anyone who had him +4000 at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Amazingly, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland—who each won a tournament this year—would’ve had bettors who placed a $100 wager to win each start down bad. Betting Rahm to win all 18 of his starts would have a bettor in a -$1,350 hole.
However, no one cost bettors more money on outright wins than Sahith Theegala this season. The 24-year-old sensation started 31 tournaments without winning a single one. That means placing $100 dollars on an outright win at each contest would have a bettor down $3,100.
Just a few things to keep in mind before next year rolls around.
“It was exhilarating. ‘You watch this on TV from The Masters. You don’t watch this in Delaware.'”
WILMINGTON, Del. — It seemed hopeless for Max Homa.
He was stuck in a sand trap, about 50 feet from the 10th hole during the first round of the BMW Championship on Thursday. Homa had just shanked his approach shot, and he was so mad at himself that he stood there on the fairway doing invisible swings, while his playing partner Jordan Spieth lined up his shot.
As Homa hit his shot out of the bunker, he watched as the ball rolled onto the green, then in the hole for the most unlikely birdie.
“How did he hit that shot?” Landenberg, Pennsylvania, resident and golf fan Crystal Ward said. “It was exhilarating. When it went in, you’re like, ‘You watch this on TV from The Masters. You don’t watch this in Delaware.'”
And yet, those are the kind of shots that more than an estimated 100,000 fans are being treated to this weekend at the Wilmington Country Club, the host of the first-ever PGA Tour event in Delaware.
Ward, a golfer herself, was asked if she could imagine herself making a shot like that. She replied with a laugh: “I usually throw the ball out of the bunker.”
Added fan Bob Eckroade, who was standing nearby: “It’s a whole different game from how the professionals play to us recreational golfers. It’s fun to see shots like that at the highest level.”
The BMW Championship is the second of three playoff events for the FedEx Cup championship. The initial group of 125 golfers for the first event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship held last weekend in Memphis, were ranked on a points system.
That was whittled down to 70 for the BMW Championship; only 68 are in the field after Cameron Smith and Tommy Fleetwood withdrew. After this weekend, the top 30 will advance to the Tour Championship in Atlanta next weekend to compete for the $18 million first-place prize.
So yes, there’s a lot on the line.
And the masses couldn’t wait to take advantage over a sun-splashed weekend with temperatures mostly in the 80s. There was something for everyone, such as plenty of concession stands, grandstands and even a putting area for kids.
But mostly, the fans were there for the golf.
Xander Schauffele plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the first round of the 2022 BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)
That’s what brought Joe Crandall from Baltimore to the course early Thursday morning. He stood in the pavilion on the 18th green, and watched as first-round leader Keegan Bradley hit his approach shot onto the green, about 30 feet from the hole.
“What a freaking shot!” Crandall yelled out. “Oh my God!”
Then he added: “These guys are so good.”
Keegan two-putted for par, ending the first day at 7-under 64, one shot ahead of his playing partner, Adam Scott, who birdied the final hole.
“It seems like the perfect mix, letting guys can go after it a little bit, but they can also get in trouble as Tony Finau showed us,” Crandall said.
Finau triple-bogeyed the par-5 third hole. He finished at 6-over 77 for the first day. Finau came into the BMW ranked fifth in pointS. But that will certainly set him back heading into the final playoff round next week.
It was the same way for Rory McIlroy, who came into the weekend ranked ninth in the standings. McIlroy was making a charge up the leaderboard in the first round, much to the delight of the fans. He was at 6-under after the 14th hole.
Then he triple-bogeyed No. 15 and ended up four shots behind Bradley.
“I think on this course in particular, if you hit the ball in the fairway, there are a lot of opportunities,” Bradley said. “If you miss the fairway, you’re kind of scrambling on a lot of the holes. I hit a lot of fairways, and the ones that I missed, I was able to manage.”
There were shots like this all throughout the tournament.
Xander Schauffele, playing with defending BMW Champion Patrick Cantlay on Thursday, described how he managed to birdie the par-5, 622-yard 14th hole, when he hit a tree on his tee shot.
“I hit a tee ball left, hit the tree, came down close to the fairway or mowed tee box, and the TrackMan was in my way,” Schauffele said, referring to the device that uses Doppler radar to monitor the launch of a golf ball. “So I got to move it sort of seven feet away from that.
“I probably could have hit it over the camera guy and the TrackMan, but … I took it on to the tee box. It was still kind of a sketchy 3-wood with the camera guy sitting there, kind of at eye height off a down-sloped tee box, but I caught that 3-wood nice and clean from about 300 yards.
“It was one of the nicer swings I made for the day.”
To the average golfer at the Wilmington Country Club, however, Ward’s idea of just throwing the ball onto the fairway might have been the more suitable solution.
Instead, the fans watched in amazement, oohing and aahing at every difficult shot.
These, after all, were the best golfers in the world, save for about a dozen or so who defected to the LIV Golf Series. The PGA suspended those who signed on and played for the Saudi Arabia-backed tour, some for staggering sums of money of $100 million or more. Some of those golfers would have qualified for these playoffs.
Still, the specter of the LIV series loomed over the weekend.
It prompted Tiger Woods to make a trip to Delaware earlier in the week to meet with several of the golfers, reinforcing the commitment to the PGA Tour.
Woods was reportedly offered close to $800 million to defect to LIV golf, which he turned down. Woods wasn’t among the playoff participants. But the idea that he was in Delaware at a course in which President Joe Biden is a member, only added to the drama.
“One thing the LIV can’t duplicate is how special every shot is on the PGA Tour,” Crandall said. “I watched some of the LIV events, and it seemed a little sloppy to me. The golf wasn’t as good. There’s so much prestige on the PGA Tour. These guys are so good.”
And they’re in Delaware.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
After a star-less leaderboard through the first two rounds in Memphis, the best players in the world have shown up ready to go this time around with names like Adam Scott, Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele all residing in the top 10 after 18 holes.
If you missed any of the action on Thursday, here is everything you need to know from the opening round in The First State.
The PAC is increasing from 16 members to 17 for the rest of the year.
The PGA Tour Player Advisory Council is growing for the rest of the year.
On Monday the PGA Tour announced the additions of Max Homa, Brandt Snedeker, Keith Mitchell and Kevin Streelman to the Player Advisory Council (PAC) for the remainder of 2022. Homa and Snedeker will take the vacated places held previously by Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell, who joined the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Mitchell and Streelman tied in a separate election to fill the space vacated by Paul Casey, who also joined LIV Golf, and both players have been added to the PAC, which increased from 16 to 17 members.
Streelman served as PAC co-chairman in 2016 and then served a three-year term as a Player Director on the Policy Board from 2017-19. Homa, Snedeker and Mitchell will be PAC members for the first time.
Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson will start their three-year terms as Player Directors on the PGA Tour Policy Board next year, replacing James Hahn and Kevin Kisner. Last season’s PGA Tour Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay will also join the board in the 2023.
The PAC advises and consults with the PGA Tour Policy Board and commissioner Jay Monahan on issues affecting the Tour.
2022 Player Advisory Council
Patrick Cantlay (Player Director appointee 2023)
Austin Cook
Joel Dahmen
Harry Higgs
Max Homa
Billy Horschel
Russell Knox
Justin Lower
Peter Malnati (Co-Chairman)
Maverick McNealy
Keith Mitchell
Trey Mullinax
Jon Rahm
Webb Simpson (Co-Chairman)
Brandt Snedeker
Kevin Streelman
Will Zalatoris
He and his wife, Lacey, like to eat at The Henry hotel, but their latest trip to the restaurant could’ve ended with an arrest.
Max Homa, PGA Tour Twitter’s resident funny guy, had a new story to tell on social media after arriving in Michigan for the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
He and his wife, Lacey, like to eat at The Henry hotel in Dearborn, but their latest trip to the hotel and restaurant could’ve ended with an arrest. Lacey is pregnant with their first child, and Max knew her “pregnancy brain” had kicked in when she went into the establishment looking for water.
She walked straight to The Henry’s fridge and took a water bottle without paying for it, but, luckily, she remembered where she was before leaving the premises.
“I was like, ‘All right, I guess I might need to apologize to somebody.’ We’ll figure it out,” Max said of the unwitting theft. “But yeah, it’s been fun. Yesterday was the first baby appointment I’ve missed. But the rest has been really cool to see, and seeing that part of life, it’s a reminder that golf isn’t everything. There’s a lot of things that will make you happier and have a lot more fun.”
Amid LIV Golf’s controversial rise to prominence, Homa’s one to remain focused on more pleasant matters, like becoming a first-time dad. He has six top-25 finishes in his last eight starts on Tour. He also soaked up playing with Tiger Woods at The British Open two weeks ago and took in a Detroit Tigers game for the second straight year on Tuesday.
Homa, No. 11 in the FedEx Cup standings, didn’t initially plan to play the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the third time in four years. But his hopes of pushing into the top 10 ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship made for a trip to Detroit. Before Michigan, though, he enjoyed eyeing one of golf’s greatest while chasing down leaders Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith at St. Andrews.
“The thing I’ll remember the most probably was the 18th (hole) walk, just because it was a historic moment,” Homa said of being grouped with Woods at The Open. “One of those things I feel like people will say, ‘I’ll never forget where I was when…’ and, like, I was there. So I thought that was neat. And it was cool to see the fans just show him the utmost respect that he has earned.”
The die-hard Los Angeles Dodgers fan — and part-time Detroit Lions supporter since his friend Jared Goff was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in January 2021 — enthused about the energy during the Tigers’ 10-inning, 6-4 loss to the San Diego Padres: “The energy is good. I mean, they haven’t been very great for a bit, but they’ve got Miguel Cabrera, so it was cool to hear everybody go nuts when he got up to bat. … I got to go to root against the Padres, so that’s always a joy to have a dog in the fight.”
Arguably the best golf follow on Twitter, Max Homa has become a favorite both among fans and Tour professionals.
After a career at Cal that featured two All-American nods, a Walker Cup appearance, and an individual win at the 2013 NCAA Championship, Homa turned pro in 2013.
Making his Tour debut in October of that year, Homa picked up a T-9 finish at what’s now known as the Safeway Open. Despite success in his first Tour start, Homa failed to keep his PGA Tour card twice.
“It’s like the opposite. What a contrast. They say you have to be humbled in this game, so I’ve been humbled.”
DETROIT – Max Homa still can’t get over being paired with Tiger Woods, his childhood idol, for the first two rounds of the 150th British Open at St. Andrews. He called witnessing Woods make the walk across the Swilcan Burn Bridge at 18 during the second round, potentially for the final as a competitor, a “historic moment.”
“One of those things I feel like people say, ‘I’ll never forget where I was when’ and like, I was there,” said Homa, who didn’t seem to mind that his missed cut at the Open was his first weekend off in his last 14 starts.
This week, Homa is part of a threesome for the first two rounds of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club with one of his closest friends on the PGA Tour, Joel Dahmen. Same thing, right?
“It’s like the opposite,” he said. “What a contrast. They say you have to be humbled in this game, so I’ve been humbled, went from Tiger to Joel. What a world this golf is. We talk a lot more, I know that.”
Homa said he planned to rest for the three weeks between the British Open and the start of the three-event FedEx Cup Playoffs, but added the Motor City stop to his schedule in order to see if he can improve his position in among other things the Comcast Business Top 10, which pays bonus money to the top 10 in the regular season FedEx Cup points standings – he’s No. 11, which pays squat while 10th rakes a cool $500,000 – and the U.S. Presidents Cup standings, which will help determine the 12-man squad – he’s No. 9.
“He makes it a point that he is wanting to make the team and you love to hear that,” said U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Davis Love III, adding that a rookie could bring some energy and excitement to the team.
The chance to improve his standing was enough reason for Homa to hit the road, even if it meant missing a doctor’s appointment for the baby he and wife, Lacey, are expecting. On Tuesday, he took in a Detroit Tigers game and between innings his mug was flashed on the giant screen in left field as one of the celebrities in attendance.
Max Homa enjoys the Detroit Tiger-San Diego Padres game at Comerica Park. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
“Getting recognized is weird,” Homa said. “Do I like it? It kind of depends. It’s one of those things that you like why it’s happening and sometimes you don’t like that it’s happening. A lot of time I’m with my wife and it’s just awkward.”
Take, for instance, the time he was at a friend’s wedding and was washing his hands at an outdoor bathroom when the guy next to him asked for a picture.
“I don’t think it will ever not feel bizarre because I don’t feel like people should be taking pictures with me,” he said. “It’s not something you picture when you’re putting on your home putting green when you’re a kid to win the Masters, you don’t think you’re going to be taking pictures at a Detroit Tigers game with a bunch of strangers, but it is what it is.”
Homa, 31, is winding up the best season of his career, notching two of his four career Tour wins and eight other top-20 finishes. He’s climbed to No. 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking and is poised to qualify for the Tour Championship, which is reserved for the top-30 in the FedEx Cup point standings after the BMW Championship, the second leg of the three-event playoffs, for the first time.
“It’s obviously been a very big goal of mine,” he said. “I felt like three weeks off at home, it’s a billion degrees in Arizona, it would be better to practice on a great golf course and get ready to try to peak at the right time at the end of the season.”
Tiger Woods of the United States shakes hands with Max Homa of the United States during Day Two of The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course on July 15, 2022 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Is this the week Cameron Young can break through for his first win?
The 2022 FedEx Cup playoffs are officially on the horizon as players are down to their last two opportunities to earn their way into the postseason.
This week, the PGA Tour is in Detroit for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club, a track designed by Donald Ross.
After a star-less event at the 3M Open, the RMC features some of the Tour’s best talent.
Patrick Cantlay is the betting favorite at +1000 with last week’s winner, Tony Finau, and Will Zalatoris next in line at +1500. Coming off a T-16 at the 3M, defending champion Cam Davis sits at +3000 to repeat.
Golf course
Detroit Golf Club | Par 72 | 7,370 yards | Donald Ross design
A general view of the Detroit Golf Logo at the Detroit Golf Club during the practice session for the Rocket Mortgage Classic on June 30, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
Key statistics
Birdies or better percentage
Par 4s (350-400)
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. Albany, 2. CordeValle GC, 3. LaCantera GC
Trending: 1. Tony Finau (last three starts: T-13, T-28, 1), 2. Patrick Cantlay (T-13, T-4, T-8), 3. Will Zalatoris (T-2, MC, T-28)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Patrick Cantlay (8 percent), 2. Will Zalatoris (6 percent), 3. Tony Finau (4.9 percent)
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As more and more players decide to leave the PGA Tour for the LIV Golf Series, it becomes interesting to look at the top players in each league.
Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas continue to represent the PGA Tour and a move from one of them seems incredibly unlikely. However, two big names are rumored to soon make the jump.
The latest Champion Golfer of the Year, Cameron Smith, and Hideki Matsuyama are thought to be the next high-profile players to sign on with the Saudi-backed circuit.
A Reddit user created a list of the top 15 players in each league and pitted them against each other. Our partners at The Caddie Network posted the table to Twitter and it sparked a heated conversation on who would come out victorious.
The best part may be Tiger Woods and Greg Norman as the captains.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic will feature six of the top 30 players in the OWGR.
The field for the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic is set and while the PGA Tour’s previous head-to-head matchup with a LIV Golf event pitted a weak John Deere Classic lineup against an emerging LIV Portland contingent, the upcoming battle for golf viewership will ramp up next week.
Rocket Mortgage Classic officials announced 151 of the 156 players Friday evening after the second round of the 3M Championship in Minneapolis, with five spots up for grabs over the next few days.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic tournament set for July 28-31 at Detroit Golf Club will feature six of the top-30 players in the world golf rankings, led by Patrick Cantlay at No. 4. Behind him sits No. 13 Will Zalatoris, No. 17 Tony Finau, No. 19 Cameron Young, No. 21 Max Homa and No. 27 Kevin Kisner.
Cantlay is the reigning FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour player of the year. He has seven career Tour wins and had four wins in 2020-21, the most in a single year of his career. He has seven second-place finishes in his career among 41 top-10 finishes.
Finau has represented the U.S. in its past two Ryder Cup teams.
The second-highest ranked player in the field, Zalatoris was runner-up at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open this season. He’s still searching for his first Tour victory, and has four second-place finishes and 16 top-10s in his career. Last year in Detroit, Zalatoris finished last among the 77 players to make the cut at even-par 288, shooting 6-over on the weekend.
Nate Lashley and Cam Davis, Rocket Mortgage Classic winners in 2019 and 2021 respectively, are both in the field this year, as is Rocket Mortgage-sponsored Rickie Fowler. 2020 tournament winner Bryson DeChambeau is off the Tour after joining the new rival league, LIV Golf.
Earlier this week, the tournament announced commitments from Homa, No. 72 Webb Simpson, No. 130 Cameron Champ and U.S. Ryder Cup captain and major winner Zach Johnson. In total, the field features 29 of the top-100 players in the world and 11 former major champions, including Adam Scott, Jason Day, Stewart Cink, Gary Woodland and Keegan Bradley.
Five spots in the RMC Rocket Mortgage Classic are still to be claimed, as one will go to this weekend’s winner of the John Shippen National Invitational at Detroit Golf Club, and four to qualifiers from The Orchards in Washington Township on Monday.
Detroit’s forecast for Thursday shows early rain showers in the morning with mostly cloudy conditions later in the day. There will be a high of 84 with westward winds up to 15 mph. Conditions are expected to improve Friday and Saturday with sunny skies and under 10 mph winds. Sunday’s final round could feature 15 mph winds once again with partly cloudy skies.
Tournament ticket prices range Thursday-Sunday from $70-90 for fans, depending on the desired date. Parking passes cost $25 daily, are not included with tickets and must be purchased online beforehand.
Tickets and parking are free for Detroiters on Tuesday (Youth Golf Clinic and Area 313 Celebrity Scramble) and Wednesday (Pro-Am).
Chandler Engelbrecht is a reporting intern at The Detroit Free Press and can be reached at CEngelbrecht@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @ctengelbrecht.
