Tag: Sebastian Munoz

Meet the eight automatic qualifiers for the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup

Eight players have qualified for next month’s event at Quail Hollow.

The International Team for the 2022 Presidents Cup is starting to take shape.

The qualification period for captain Trevor Immelman’s squad wrapped up at the end of the 2022 BMW Championship, with the top eight players on the points list earning a spot on the team for the biennial event against the United States to be held Sept. 22-25 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In a recent Q&A with Golfweek, Immelman said the players who have left for LIV Golf and are currently unable to play in the event have “hurt us immensely,” and expanded on the costly loses of Louis Oosthuizen and Abraham Ancer, saying “We’ve lost two guys that were absolutely going to be there at Quail Hollow.”

‘No comment’: Cameron Smith doesn’t deny LIV Golf reports

Immelman will announce his four captain’s picks at a later date.

The Presidents Cup is a match play event with 30 total matches, comprised of a 12-person U.S. Team and 12-person International Team. The U.S. leads 11-1-1.

Let’s take a look at the eight internationals who qualified.

More: Meet the six Americans to qualify for the Presidents Cup

Watch: Sebastian Munoz holes out from bunker for eagle, still atop leaderboard at AT&T Byron Nelson

After sinking a nearly 40-foot putt on the second hole for birdie, Munoz then went one better on the 321-yard sixth hole.

McKINNEY, Texas — On Thursday, golf came pretty easy for Sebastian Munoz, the University of North Texas product who fired his second 60 of the season. In the process, the Colombian native became the first player in PGA Tour history to accomplish that feat.

In posting a 69 on Friday, Munoz admitted things simply didn’t fall into place the way they did on Thursday.

“It was not perfect golf. (Thursday) was super easy, (Friday) was a little tougher,” Munoz said. “We had a lot more in between numbers, we struggled with the speed of the greens on the front. It’s tough to back a 60, but I feel like I did a good job of closing the round and going out with a 69.”

Despite a sluggish pace and scorching temperatures on Saturday, golf seemed to get easy again for Munoz, who entered the week ranked 73rd in the world, behind Joohyung Kim and Dean Burmester.

Byron Nelson: PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ | Leaderboard

After sinking a nearly 40-foot putt on the second hole for birdie, Munoz then went one better on the 321-yard sixth hole. After pushing a drive into a bunker, he then holed out for eagle, regaining the solo lead mid-afternoon.

Although Jordan Spieth stayed hot in pursuit, Munoz added another birdie at No. 9 to hold the lead at 19 under when he made the turn.

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Sebastian Munoz breaks course record, becomes first PGA Tour player to shoot 60 or better twice in a season

Using a pair of eagles and a supremely hot putter, Munoz fired his second 60 of the season, grabbing the lead.

McKINNEY, Texas — Much of the talk around the AT&T Byron Nelson focused on the local golf triumvirate of Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris, three players who honed their games in the North Texas region and represent a new guard of Lone Star State golf.

But none of the aforementioned players currently own the course record at TPC Craig Ranch, the site of this week’s PGA Tour event. And none of the aforementioned players have ever shot multiple rounds of 60 or lower in the same season.

To be fair, nobody had ever accomplished the latter until Thursday, when Sebastian Munoz reminded the golf world that the Dallas-Fort Worth golf scene is about more than just Spieth, Scheffler and Willy Z.

Using a pair of eagles and a supremely hot putter, Munoz — who played collegiately at the nearby University of North Texas and currently lives in the DFW — fired his second 60 of the season on his way to grabbing a sizable lead after the early wave of players finished Thursday’s opening round.

Byron Nelson: PGA Tour Live on ESPN+

As he stood in the 18th fairway, preparing to take a crack at his third eagle of the day on the lengthy par-5 closing hole, Munoz had just one thing on his mind.

“Fifty-nine,” he said. “I wanted to give me a chance. I had I think it was 250 to the pin into the wind. I kind of wanted to hit like a bullet, like a little draw. I knew if I wanted to hit it close it had to be a fading, soft-landed shot; I tried to do that. I overdid it and ended up with a 60, which is really good around here.”

Good indeed. Good enough to eclipse Sam Burns’ 62, which marked the best tournament round since the event moved to Craig Ranch from Trinity Forest Golf Club last year. And the best the course has ever seen, as well, edging out a 61 once shot at the Tom Weiskopf-designed course by Ryan Palmer. Although Munoz pushed his second shot well right of the green on 18, he chipped to just inside a dozen feet and then buried the putt, a common theme throughout the day. That gave him a white-hot 28 on the back nine, and his 60 equaled the number he posted in the opening round of the RSM Classic back in November.

2022 AT&T Byron Nelson
Sebastian Munoz plays a shot on the tenth hole during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

Something clearly has clicked with Munoz since the calendar moved to 2022. He started this season (which begins in September) by missing three straight cuts and five of eight. He’s been a top 40 finisher in his last seven events.

He said on Thursday that a new partnership with caddie Jose Campra has helped to solidify his game.

“I feel like ever since he got on the bag, we’ve had good vibes,” Munoz said of Campos. “We understand each other. We kind of speak a language that we can both see our shots and our distances.

“So I felt like that has really helped. Besides that, just a little more consistent. Trying to avoid the big mood swings. I feel like that’s huge. And we’ll see how it goes.”

It went pretty well in the opening round, but that’s nothing new for Munoz, who also finished with a 66 in the first round here last year, using eagles on holes 9 and 12 to write a similar script. He dropped back in the pack on the weekend with rounds of 73 and 71.

“It’s a great feeling whenever everything is clicking,” Munoz said. “You’re hitting the tee shots, the ball is coming out in the window that you imagined … the putts, that you’re reading good the putts. The speed.

“When everything is going, it’s just stay out of the way and just kind of let it happen.”

At the end of the early wave of action, Munoz held a four-stroke lead over Mito Pereira and Peter Malnati. So how would the Colombian native relax, knowing he’d have a healthy lead?

By playing video games. Apex Legends. Maybe Call of Duty.

And do video games come as easily as golf seems to come lately?

“I’m almost a 30-year-old guy trying to play video games,” he said with a smile. “The kids today are really good.”

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Matt Kuchar among sleeper picks for the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson

In a star-studded field, can an underdog steal the title?

We’re just days away from the start of the PGA Championship, the year’s second major, but there’s business to take care of first outside Dallas, Texas. The PGA Tour is headed to TPC Craig Ranch for the AT&T Byron Nelson, just the second time the course will host the event.

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, didn’t have to travel far this week and will make his first solo start since winning the Masters (tied for 18th with Ryan Palmer at the Zurich Classic).

Big names in the field include Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, Jordan Spieth, and Brooks Koepka.

However, there are several other names to keep an eye on this week at TPC Craig Ranch.

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Byron Nelson: Thursday tee times | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+

Rules of golf: Slow play, a missed re-start, bad advice and even fire ants highlight 2021

Some rules violations hit harder than others, while others just make you scratch your head.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all on the golf course, something else comes along to baffle fans, players, and rules officials alike.

The rules of golf can come up and bite you (pun intended: see fire ants below), if you’re not paying attention. Other times, weird things just happen. Further still, sometimes golfers simply don’t know a particular rule.

New rules of golf were rolled out on Jan. 1, 2019, but most of what trips golfers up continues to be of the tried-and-true variety.

As we get set to close out the year that was 2021, here’s a rundown of some of the memorable moments that involved rules violations.

Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio, Beth Ann Nichols, Adam Schupak and Adam Woodard contributed to this article.

RSM Classic: Talor Gooch, leads by 3, seeks to prove he can close the deal on Sunday

Talor Gooch is in unfamiliar territory, holding his first 54-hole lead as he seeks his maiden victory at the RSM Classic.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Talor Gooch is 18 holes away from achieving a lifetime dream of winning on the PGA Tour. He fired a 3-under 67 on Saturday to build a three-stroke lead heading into the final round of the RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club. The question remains: Will he be able to handle the pressure?

To hear Gooch tell it, he thrives in moments like this. On Sunday, if he gets in a tough spot, he’ll flash back to the second stage of PGA Tour Q-School in 2016. Playing at TPC Craig Ranch, his third trip to the grueling multi-stage process to earn playing privileges, Gooch, whose bank account had just about been depleted, entered the third round on the number.

“I was 3 over through four walking off the par 3 and I thought to myself, I don’t know why this came up, but Best Buy, ‘I’m going to have to go work at Best Buy, I’m going to have to go do something to make a few bucks unless you like get it together,’” Gooch recalled. “Yeah, I think just as a sportsman, if you don’t have that little bit of grit to go prove people wrong, you’re not going to make it.”

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Gooch showed plenty of grit on Saturday. It was a chilly, windy day that was better suited for sipping a cup of hot cocoa, or something stronger, and curling up with a book around a log fire. When Tom Hoge, who shot 3-under 67 on Saturday, was asked what he was most satisfied with from his day, he answered, “That we finished and we’re in a warm building here.”

Gooch rolled in two birdies on the front nine and led by as many as three strokes, but Sebastian Munoz tied him for the lead with birdies at Nos. 7 and 9 and a bogey at 10 by Gooch. A three-putt from 19 feet at the par-3 12th slowed Munoz’s momentum – his second bogey in a row – but he birdied 15 to finish at 13 under and is tied for second.

“On 12 Talor gave me a good line and I just wanted to bury it like in front of him and I got a little greedy, got myself like a six-footer coming back and I missed it,” Munoz said.

Ireland’s Seamus Power, who knows a thing or two about playing in the wind, also shared the lead briefly with Gooch on the back nine. He chipped in for eagle at the par-5 15th and signed for a 3-under 67 to share second with Munoz.

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“It was a pretty straightforward shot, but obviously with the wind nothing is that easy,” Power said of his eagle chip in. Power noted that he has lived in the U.S. for 15 years and made it sound like he had become just another Irishman who had sought warmer climes and whose blood has thinned.

“I’ve gotten kind of like pick and choosy with my weather,” he said.

Every time someone mounted a charge to catch Gooch, he had an answer. Gooch made birdies on two of the last four holes to give himself his first 54-hole lead. For the week, he leads the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and ranks fifth in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. It’s a continuation of strong play for Gooch, who has shown steady progress since turning pro and has been knocking on the door all fall to earn his first PGA Tour title.

“Over the last two months, I have a hard time thinking anyone is hitting the ball any better,” said Gooch’s swing instructor Boyd Summerhays.

Gooch’s stinger drive, a product of his upbringing in Oklahoma, has been a weapon in the wind. Sunday, A.K.A. payday, is a different day, and Gooch always has been the pursuer rather than the pursued in the trophy hunt. Power finally broke the victory seal a few months ago at the Barbasol Championship and already booked his ticket for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, while Sebastian Munoz last won at the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2018. Gooch said he’s ready for the pressure of trying to close out his first win in his 104th Tour start.

“If you don’t enjoy pressure, you’re in the wrong sport, you know,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate since I’ve been five years old to have a group of buddies that when we’re together we’re always competing at something, we’re always doing something to put some pressure and try to break each other basically. So, it’s just what I’ve always known is just try to enjoy the pressure and try to prove people wrong.”

Gooch expects to hear from his five buddies tonight in some form or another. What will they discuss? Likely, their golf buddies trip, which is always scheduled for the first week of January in Scottsdale, Arizona. That happens to be the same week as the PGA Tour’s next tournament at Kapalua in Maui, and reserved for winners only.

“I’m hopeful that we’re going to have to adjust that,” he said. “So that’s what will be talked about.”

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Sebastian Munoz shoots 60 on day when you had to ‘step on the pedal early’ at RSM Classic

Sebastian Munoz made eight birdies and an eagle en route to shooting 60 as several pros flirted with 59.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Sebastian Muñoz didn’t see any reason to hit the range after his opening round at the RSM Classic. And why would he? The 28-year-old Muñoz went out in 30 and came home in 30 to shoot a career-best 10-under 60 at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Resort.

So how exactly will Muñoz pass the time?

“I’m just going to get lost in video games and wait for tomorrow,” he said.

The Colombia native played something that resembled video golf, making four birdies in a five-hole stretch starting at No. 5 and a 9-foot eagle at 15. His round included three deuces and no score higher than 4 on the card, something he said he always strives for dating to his college days.

“That’s when I know I play my best, when I don’t make a 5,” he said.

His 10-foot birdie putt for a 3 at 18 meant he tied the course record.

“Really? I didn’t know that,” Muñoz said. “I knew I was hitting it good, and I just let it happen.”

Muñoz leads by one over Zach Johnson, who shot 9-under 61 at the par-70 Seaside Course, and Mackenzie Hughes, Scott Stallings and Chez Reavie, who shot 9-under 63 at Seaside’s sister course, the par-72 Plantation. It’s Muñoz’s sixth career 18-hole lead or co-lead on Tour, but he’s winless in the previous five events.

Benign conditions made it a day for record-low scoring. The scoring average of 66.308 at Seaside Course was the second-lowest scoring average on a single course in a single round on Tour since 1983. (The lowest was 66.28 at Indian Wells Golf Club at The American Express in 2003.) As a result, the ‘59 Watch’ started early, with Hughes, Corey Conners and Johnson all flirting with 50’s.

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“I was watching the board, watching all my buddies, and then all of a sudden you see 7 under, like holy cow, we’ve only played nine holes,” said Davis Love III, the tournament host who grew up at Sea Island and renovated the Plantation Course two years ago. “You know they’re going to go low on a day like this on any golf course no matter where it is. You give guys no wind and good greens, they’re going to shoot low scores.”

“I was honestly surprised someone didn’t shoot lower,” Stallings said. “Like to be honest, I was surprised someone didn’t shoot in the 50s.”

Johnson, who is one of the local residents in the field, didn’t look at the leaderboard until the 15th green and that was by accident.

“I birdied that hole and I was like, I’m 8 under at T-4?” said Johnson, whose threesome combined to shoot 19 under without a single bogey.

But the weather forecast for the remainder of the week is calling for cooler, windier conditions, and scoring should rise as the temperature falls.

“When it’s windy, which it usually is windy, you’ve got to pucker up and hit some good shots,” Johnson said of the two Sea Island courses. “Today is the anomaly. Today is the Chamber of Commerce. You knew you had to get after it.”

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Sebastián Muñoz leads; 21 players within five shots at John Deere Classic

More birdies have been made at TPC Deere Run since 2000 than on any course on the PGA Tour. The birdie-fest continues this week.

Gentlemen, start your engines.

Yes, one of the top calling cards of the John Deere Classic is the assortment of farm equipment on display at the tournament, the impressive machinery certainly not to be mistaken for the speed seen at the Indy 500. But this is the John Deere Classic we’re talking about, and the tournament’s other lures are par-busting rounds of golf, tight leaderboards and high-octane, spirited sprints to the 72nd-hole finish line and many times beyond.

And folks, there’s a stampede coming on Sunday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, where more birdies have been made since 2000 than on any course on the PGA Tour. After the rain – heavy at times – finally stopped falling on Saturday and all the birdies had been circled on the scorecards, 21 players were within five shots of the lead.

“You’re going to have to be in attack mode here,” said Scott Brown, who made nine birdies and vaulted up the leaderboard into a tie for third with an 8-under-par 63 that left him at 14 under through 54 holes.

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: Leaderboard | Photos | Sunday tee times

Ahead of the huge pack was Sebastián Muñoz, who held a share of the lead after a first-round 63 and added a 67 in the third round to stand at 16 under.
He’s one clear of Brandon Hagy, who shot 67.

Joining Brown at 14 under were Adam Long (64), Cameron Champ (65), Kevin Na (66) and 2016 John Deere champion Ryan Moore (68).
Overnight leader Luke List made just three birdies and shot 71 to go from one up to three back with 18 to play.

Others at 13 under were Chez Reavie (69), Jhonattan Vegas (67) and Maverick McNealy (65). At 12 under were Lucas Glover (70), Adam Schenk (70) and Jason Dufner (68). At 11 under were seven players including Sean O’Hair (65), Rafa Cabrera Bello (66) and Camillo Villegas (67).

Scores were so low that 10 under had you in a tie for 22nd.

“Just going to have to keep making a lot of birdies,” Long said. “These guys are really good, and they’re going to be making a lot of birdies, too, so going to have to make a lot just to keep up with them.”

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Muñoz got a huge break on the par-5 10th hole after his errant drive settled a few inches right behind large tree. But because he could hit the ball sideways either right-handed or left-handed, and because there was so much damage around the trunk of the tree, he was allowed penalty-free relief. From there he made par.

And then in his last eight holes Muñoz added three birdies to grab the lead.

“We could see on the leaderboard that people were going low, and you didn’t want to kind of fade into the leaderboard, so it was really important to birdie 11, 13 and 16 coming in, so it was nice to be in the position I am right now,” he said. “As soon as you see that you’re not in those first couple names (on the leaderboard), then you try to make a couple birdies to make it happen again. Every shot counts and having every extra one for tomorrow might help me out a lot. Momentum is a huge thing. I feel like I rode it pretty good.”

One thing could mar the final round – Mother Nature. While the players dodged the worst of some nasty storms in the surrounding areas, another front of bad weather could be in store for the final round.

Cameron Champ
Cameron Champ hits his second shot in front of fans on the 17th hole during the third round of the John Deere Classic golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Champ, who missed four cuts and withdrew from a tournament in his last five starts, is playing on the weekend for the first time since May.

“Based off the weather forecast, it’s not looking too good and it’s going to be windy, which I love, so again it might be an all-day type deal, depending upon the thunder storms and how things go,” he said. “But who knows how the weather’s going to play. If it’s like today the course is definitely scorable; it got super soft, it played longer, the greens were super receptive and spinning, you had to really control shots. So, if it’s like today, you could definitely be a little more aggressive, but again I think it’s just whoever doesn’t make the big mistakes out here.”

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Sebastián Muñoz hit his ball into a trash bag, then gave it to a fan at the PGA Championship

What could’ve been a smelly situation became a funny moment during Thursday’s opening round of the 103rd PGA Championship.

What could’ve been a smelly situation became a funny moment during Thursday’s opening round of the 103rd PGA Championship.

Playing the par-4 18th hole on Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course, Sebastián Muñoz hit a wayward drive that was flirting with the gallery of fans and grandstands down the left side of the fairway. The shot cleared the fans but found its way to the bottom of a trash bag.

Muñoz was in good spirits as he approached the errant shot. After hearing his options, he reached in, grabbed the ball and then gave it away to a (lucky?) fan.

PGA Championship: Leaderboard | Photos | How to watch

He took his free drop, made the green in regulation and saved par.

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Sebastian Munoz staying calm, and in top 10, through three rounds in Masters debut

In his debut at Masters Tournament, Sebastian Muñoz continues to keep his place near the top of the leaderboard.

In his debut at Masters Tournament, Sebastian Muñoz continues to keep his place near the top of the leaderboard. Heading into Sunday’s final round, he’s tied for seventh place with Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed at 9 under.

The 27-year-old said advice he got while playing with former champions Jose Maria Olazábal and Vijay Singh has been helpful.

“They kind of gave me pointers here and there, but overall, they just said, ’Man, it’s completely different from what we’re used to,’” he said. “So I think that kind of helped me because I didn’t try to play it the way it usually plays and just the way I perceive it right now, so I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve taken away so far.”

Hailing from Colombia, Muñoz played his collegiate golf at the University of North Texas before going pro in 2015.

“It’s always fun to see players you’ve worked with in the past and been around a lot, perform at high levels,” North Texas coach Brad Stracke said. “In his junior and senior years, he started working hard on all aspects of his game and started believing in himself. Once he started putting his mind to it he worked very hard on his game and it showed.”

Muñoz opened with a par before three consecutive birdies to get into contention, including a birdie on No. 2 for the third consecutive round. He then carded six straight pars, narrowly missing birdie on Nos. 6, 7 and 8.

Then Muñoz shifted back and forth across the leaderboard on the second nine, with a bogey on 11, a birdie on 12, a bogey on 14 and a birdie on 15.

Muñoz finished with three pars to shoot 69. With a share of seventh place, he tees off at 9:07 a.m. Sunday with Patrick Reed and Jon Rahm. The three are seven shots behind leader Dustin Johnson.

As the final day of the Masters approaches, Muñoz expressed how he was not weary after three days of play and he sticks to his routine to an extent.

“I really haven’t done much,” Muñoz said. “I haven’t worked out this week. My trainer’s not here with me this week, so I skipped a couple workouts. I’m not very proud of that, I guess, but not doing anything different. We just talk at night, play video games, and just doing the same thing. I’m still pretty young in my career, so I don’t find it draining.”

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