Lingmerth may want to consider buying some property in Central Ohio.
David Lingmerth may reside in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, but the 35-year-old Swede might want to consider buying some property in Central Ohio.
After starting the week with a blistering 9-under 62 at The Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course in Upper Arlington, Ohio, Lingmerth held tough for the next 54 holes to win the 2022 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship by two shots at 17 under. The victory punched Lingmerth a ticket back to the PGA Tour, where he won the 2015 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, a Columbus suburb.
Lingmerth was steady over the front nine and made the turn at 2-under before adding his third birdie of the round on the par-5 12th. His lone blemish of the day came with a bogey on the par-3 17th, but was soon washed away with a winning birdie on the final hole.
Paul Haley II finished second at 15 under, followed by Zecheng Dou third at 13 under, Michael Gligic fourth at 12 under and Ben Taylor in fifth at 11 under.
The Korn Ferry Tour season ends next week, Sept. 1–4, with the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana.
Carrying a 35-pound bag of clubs in 90-degree heat, JJ James is just two years removed from heart bypass surgery.
COLUMBUS — Hylton “JJ” James does not look a day over 79. But he is. By 125 days. And if, God forbid, the 80-year-old Korn Ferry Tour caddie doesn’t make it to his next April birthday he wants his last breath to be on the golf course.
Drop right there, like a 30-foot birdie putt.
“I’ll caddie until I drop dead. I’m serious about that,” James said, standing in what little shade was available at the Ohio State Scarlet Course after finishing caddying for Ben Kohles at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.
“Who cares?” James continued. “You don’t know how you’re going to die, and then once you die you don’t know that you died anyway. You don’t get up and say, ‘Well, I didn’t want to die on the golf course. I wanted to die around the corner at a bar somewhere.’ I’d rather die here than at some hospital and convalescent home.”
If talk of death makes you uncomfortable, especially for James, know that the great-grandfather from Brooklyn fears worse things than the coffin. Like double bogeys and three-putts.
“Three-putts are just wasteful. You’re on the green and you leave with a bogey,” he muttered.
That is the club-toting caddie talking. The one who wipes irons clean and helps determine wind direction and club choice while carrying a 35-pound bag of clubs in 90-degree heat — just two years removed from heart bypass surgery.
Caddie Hylton “JJ” James says, “I’ve never thought of myself as a great caddie. A good caddie. A journeyman. I know what I’m doing and if a guy plays his game I’ll do my part.” Photo by Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch
But there also is James the therapist and counselor, who cajoles and cares for his player when no one else will.
“I’ve told my guys when things get heated, ‘I’m not here to harm you. In fact, I’m the only person on this golf course that gives a bleep about you,’ ” James said. “The rest of these guys could care less if Ben Kohles shoots 80, 90 or 100.”
Since leaving his job as a Los Angeles nightclub manager in 1985 to carry clubs, James has learned lessons that come from spending long and often lonely hours with the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour players, walking more than 25,000 miles along the way.
Before Kohles, who James has been with for five years, there was Mike Hulbert, Robert Wrenn and former Ohio State player Chris Perry. Somewhere in there were Isao Aoki and Joe Osaki, Charlie Hoffman, Bo Van Pelt, Charlie Reimer, Chez Reavie, Kelly Kraft, Tag Ridings and Chase Wright.
But Kohles might be the most special of them all, not necessarily for his talent but for how he touched James emotionally like few other players would.
Following heart surgery in May 2019, James obviously needed time off. Less obvious was how Kohles would handle the situation. Turns out with loyalty and compassion.
“Ben stood by me when 99 percent of the pros on this tour or any tour would have let me go when I had the heart attack,” James said, tearing up. “They woulda said, ‘JJ, you oughta go home now, and if you get a little better maybe we’ll be back together.’ Instead, he came to me and said, ‘Don’t worry about the bag or money. I’ll use other caddies and when you get well and are ready to go, this is your job.’ That’s where the emotion comes from. I caddie for him like he’s my grandson.”
Kohles, who James predicts will become a contending PGA Tour player within two years, clearly has a soft spot for his caddie. And like his bag man, Kohles does not worry about what happens if James collapses on the course.
“He’s happy doing what he’s doing,” said the 31-year-old, who won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in 2012. “And there’s no better way he’d rather go, anyway, so I’m not worried about it.”
I asked James what makes a good caddie.
“A great player,” he said. “Tiger Woods woulda won the same amount of tournaments with me, too. And that’s no putdown on Steve (Williams). It’s just that he’s a great player. So that’s pretty much it. I’ve never thought of myself as a great caddie. A good caddie. A journeyman. I know what I’m doing and if a guy plays his game I’ll do my part.”
I asked Kohles why James? What does an 80-year-old bring to the table?
“Comedy,” he said. “He brings comic relief sometimes, when I need it. I get upset at him, too, but that’s the nature of it. Everyone gets mad at their caddie.”
James knows when the anger is coming, but after working with so many irritable golfers — “Charley Hoffman and I are good friends, but he’ll wear you out on the golf course,” James said — he mostly lets it slide off, knowing there are bigger problems than whether his player missed a fairway.
That perspective comes into play when calming Kohles, who like most players gets upset when things go sideways.
“I’m 80. He’s 31,” James said. “I don’t get as ramped up as fast as he does. I’m like, ‘Son, settle down. There’s a lot more important things than this.’ People are dying in Afghanistan. People are dying from COVID. And these kids on these plaques …”
More tears. The dam burst as James recalled reading signs posted around Scarlet that tell the stories of cancer patients at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
“I passed one and got emotional,” he said. “This little kid has leukemia. And a lot of these (players) are running around bitching about their score or the course or whatever. Give me a break.”
Please make it to 81 and far beyond, JJ. More than just golfers need you.
David Lipsky’s mettle held out longer than his metal during the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course.
David Lipsky’s mettle held out longer than his metal during the first round of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship Thursday at the Ohio State Scarlet Course.
Lipsky broke the face of his titanium driver on his last hole of the day, which may have contributed to his drive sailing into the left rough, but the 33-year-old Northwestern graduate got up and down from behind the green to finish at 8 under par and head to Friday’s second round of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals tied with Stephan Jaeger after matching 63s.
“Never had that happen before,” Lipsky said of the broken driver, which he replaced after the round with a driver from an old set of clubs kept by his college teammate Jonathan Bowers, a Watterson graduate who lives close to Scarlet.
“Luckily for me, my roommate from Northwestern is from Columbus and he has my old clubs, so he has a few backups I can try (on Friday),” Lipsky said.
Lipsky and Jaeger lead a field of 137 players jockeying for position in the Finals, a three-event playoff format in which the top 25 finishers earn PGA Tour cards.
The two leaders, who already secured their cards through the regular-season points standings, are familiar with sharing the lead at the end of a round. Jaeger defeated Lipsky in a playoff to win the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Florida in April.
PGA Tour veteran Bo Van Pelt and 24-year-old Englishman Harry Hall sit two shots back after carding 65s. Ohio State graduate Ryan Armour shot 66 and former Buckeye Bo Hoag shot 69. Defending NCHC champion Curtis Luck shot 66.
Thursday’s round experienced a weather delay of 1:08 as lightning passed through the area.
Curtis Luck began Sunday in prime position to win his first tournament since turning professional three years ago, and he held on.
Curtis Luck began Sunday in prime position to win his first tournament since turning professional three years ago. He just needed to hold on.
A pair of birdie putts over the final four holes helped him stave off a crowded field and seize the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship at Ohio State’s Scarlet course.
“One of the biggest strengths I have on the golf course is digging deep and showing my grit,” Luck said.
He shot an even-par 71, finishing 11 under par for the Korn Ferry Tour tournament, one stroke ahead of Theo Humphrey, Taylor Montgomery and Cameron Young.
After sitting atop the leaderboard with a one-stroke lead on Young ahead of the final round, the 24-year-old Australian native lost his grip midway through the afternoon. Two bogeys threatened to undo his bid for the trophy, the first coming on No. 8 and the second following on 11.
Luck thought poor tee shots plagued him on the holes before exercising some damage control to prevail in the narrow fashion.
“From walking off the tee, I knew it was going to be a tough challenge to make par,” he said, “so I sort of accepted the fact that if I make a bogey, that’s the worst I’m going to do on the hole.”
He ultimately reclaimed the lead on 16 when he drained a long putt for birdie and pumped his fist as soon as the ball dropped into the hole in celebration, knowing the stakes.
As Luck pulled into sole possession of the lead, Will Zalatoris fell back. While he sat at 11 under par through 16 and in the lead, he bogeyed over his final two holes and ended up 9-under par, among five players who were tied for fifth.
Zalatoris, 24, has played well since the Korn Ferry Tour resumed after a coronavirus pandemic shutdown, finishing in the top-10 six times, including winning the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes last month.
This weekend’s triumph, though, was particularly sweet for Luck, who had been eager for a breakthrough in his professional career.
“It’s really a deep breath of relief,” Luck said. “Golf’s really tough. It’s probably not gone 100 percent to plan, the way I wanted, when I turned pro. But I’ve just stuck with it, and I’m still working hard. To get a win out here, is massive.”
Luck, the world’s former top-ranked amateur, had grand plans when he first turned pro. But last year, he lost his PGA Tour card, and until recently, this year had not brought much success, either.
Prior the tournament in Columbus, he had not finished higher than 16th, his only top-25 appearance, and missed the cut in seven of 11 Korn Ferry Tour events, including the previous three tournaments.
The elusive victory felt affirming.
“It just shows that I’m able to compete, which is nice,” Luck said.
Despite unevenness on the professional tours in the U.S., Luck had fared well at OSU’s course. At last year’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, he tied for seventh. In 2018, he came in a tie for fifth.
A round of 66 on Friday put him atop the leaderboard and in position to win this weekend.
Over each of the previous three rounds, Luck had shot at least 3-under par and estimated he might need a similar performance Sunday, before teeing off in the afternoon with the 23-year-old Young.
“I thought in my mind, that if I shot four under today, it wasn’t leaving it to chance,” Luck said. “I don’t think anyone was going to catch that score. 71, I’m going to take it, but I definitely thought that would be cutting fine, and it was.”
