Swafford ran away with the win thanks to some late-round heroics.
If you spent your Sunday afternoon and evening watching the NFL playoffs, you saw some exciting football. But you also missed some exciting golf.
During the final round of the 2022 American Express three players were tied for the lead at 20 under par with another six within three shots late in the action at the Stadium Course at PGA West, but it was Hudson Swafford who prevailed in the end. The 34-year-old shot an 8-under 64 to win at 23 under for his third win on Tour and first since the 2020 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. His first win came at the American Express in 2017.
Swafford broke the three-way tie atop the leaderboard with Francesco Molinari and Brian Harman with an eagle on the par-5 16th to move to 22 under. He grabbed some more breathing room with a clutch birdie from the edge of the green on the par-3 17th to take a three-shot advantage to the 18th tee.
A Swafford par on the 18th meant Tom Hoge needed to hole-out for eagle on his 72nd hole, which he did not. The 32-year-old Hoge finished second at 21 under, followed by Brian Harman, Lanto Griffin and Lee Hodges all T-3 at 20 under.
Tom Hoge and Seamus Power know they may have let a better chance at winning the tournament slip away.
Tom Hoge and Seamus Power have played well enough through three rounds of The American Express to be among the leaders at the tournament. But both Hoge and Power know they may have let a better chance at winning the tournament slip away Saturday afternoon.
“I would have liked a few more for sure, but there were quite a few tough holes out there,” Hoge said after a 4-under 68 that included just one birdie and no bogeys in his final 11 holes. “A couple tough par-3 that we had to deal with, a few tough tee shots, and there’s just enough wind and it’s moving around just enough that it was kind of tough to get the right yardage on all the approach shots coming in.”
With Hoge leading at 17 under and Power at 16 under in the clubhouse, they could only watch as Paul Barjon and Lee Hodges shot low scores on the tougher Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West on a breezy day to pass them up.
Playing together in the last group of the day at the Stadium Course, Hodges regained a share of the lead he had in the first round with an 8-under 64. Barjon shot 65, and the pair finished the day at 18-under 198. Hoge is alone in third at 199.
“It was tough early and (the wind) kind of died on our back nine a little bit,” said Hodges, who played his final nine holes in 6 under. “It was off and on, but it was a good wind for, like the easy holes were playing a little easier but the hard holes were hard. So you just had to make a couple pars and then get to those downwind holes.”
Hodges opened the tournament with a 62 at La Quinta, but was hitting the ball just as well Saturday, he said.
“It was a great day. Hit the ball really well. I know it was really nice to see some putts fall on that back nine,” Hodges said. “I made three nice putts in a row there from like 10 to 12. And then just kind of really hit some quality shots coming in to give myself some easy birdies.”
Playing side by side with Hodges, who is ranked 312th in the world to Barjon’s 313th, Barjon played the final nine holes Saturday in 4 under to get a share of the lead. A rookie on the PGA Tour, Barjon is looking for his first win on tour, as are six of the top 10 players on the leader board. Barjon also played his way into the final threesome Sunday, where he will play with Hodges for the fourth consecutive day.
Paul Barjon plays his shot from the ninth tee during the third round of the American Express golf tournament at Peter Dye Stadium Course. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
“It was great playing with Lee again for the third day. He played really good the first day, really kind of set the tone by making pretty much everything he looked at on the green,” Barjon said. “So that’s always good to see and just kind of get inspired by that and trying to make as many putts as we could the last three days and we made quite a few. So we’re going to try to keep it going tomorrow.”
The tricky back nine at La Quinta Country Club and trickier winds that hit the tournament Saturday prevented Hoge and Power from separating themselves from the field late in the day.
Taking advantage of the early scoring holes on the front nine at La Quinta, Hoge was 4 under through seven holes Saturday and Power was 6 under through six holes. But Hoge was just 1 under in his closing 11 holes and Power was even through his last final 12 holes to finish at 16 under and alone in fourth place.
“It was an interesting round. It was very fun on the front there,” Power said. “It was one of those rounds you just kind of made everything I looked at for an hour and a half. But, yeah, had a little bit of a hiccup there, three-putted 9 from really nowhere at all and didn’t take advantage of 11 or 13.”
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That allowed other golfers playing on the tougher Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West to stay in touch with the leaders. Six golfers, including 2017 American Express champion Hudson Swafford and former British Open champion Francesco Molinari, are at 15 under with one round to play. The others are Harold Varner III, Harry Higgs, Lanto Griffin and Cameron Young.
Some of the biggest names in the field failed to take advantage of the relatively high scoring among the leaders at La Quinta. Patrick Cantlay, who led the second round at 14 under, finished at that number with an even-par round on the Stadium Course. World No. 1 Jon Rahm did shoot a 67 at the Stadium Course, but he is 13 under and within striking distance of less-experienced players.
The top 10 players heading into the final day include six players looking for their first-ever PGA Tour victory.
With one round remaining in the 2022 American Express golf tournament, the leaderboard includes a lot of names that are probably new to even avid golf fans.
That’s okay, and not altogether surprising. Six of the last 15 champions here had never won a PGA event before a victory in the desert.
So with that in mind, here is everything you need to know about the contenders at the top of the leaderboard. There are 10 players at 15-under or better.
Of this group, there is one major champion, one former champion in the desert, three international players, three players playing this event for the first time, and six players looking for their first career PGA Tour win.
Paul Barjon (-18)
Age: 29
From: Born in Bordeaux, France; resides in Fort Worth, Texas
College: TCU
Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero
Best finish at this event: First appearance
Current World Golf Ranking: 313
Notable: With a win, Barjon would be the seventh international winner in the tournament’s 62-year history. It marks the first time the desert’s golf tournament would have back-to-back international winners as Si Woo Kim of South Korea won last year.
Lee Hodges (-18)
Age: 26
From: Born in Huntsville, Alabama, resides in Athens, Alabama
College: UAB and Alabama
Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero
Best finish at this event: First appearance
Current World Golf Ranking: 312
Notable: Hodges is from an athletic family. His cousin, Logan Stenberg, is an offensive lineman in the NFL for the Detroit Lions (as of 2021).
Tom Hoge (-17)
Tom Hoge tees off on hole one during the third round of The American Express at the La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.
Age: 32
From: North Carolina, but resides in Fargo, North Dakota
College: TCU
Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero
Best finish at this event: Tied for 6th in 2020
Current World Golf Ranking: 115
Notable: For starters, his name is pronounced exactly like the word Hoagie. This is the seventh time Hoge has played here and he missed the cut, four of the previous six, so this effort on these courses is a bit of a surprise.
Seamus Power (-16)
Age: 34
From: Tooraneena, County Waterford, Ireland
College: East Tennessee State
Number of PGA Tour wins: 1 (2021 Barbasol Championship)
Best finish at this event: Tie for 11th in 2018
Current World Golf Ranking: 49
Notable: Power won the Barbasol event last year on the sixth playoff hole over J.T. Poston. In doing so, he became the fifth player from the Republic of Ireland to win a PGA event, joining Pat Doyle, Peter O’Hara, Padraig Harrington, and Shane Lowry.
Lanto Griffin (-15)
Age: 33
From: Born in Mount Shasta, California, resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
College: VCU
Number of PGA Tour wins: 1 (2019 Houston Open)
Best finish at this event: Played twice and missed cut both times
Current World Golf Ranking: 117
Notable: Once on the Web.com Tour, Griffin won an event after making the cut on the number, the only time that has ever happened on that tour.
Harry Higgs (-15)
Harry Higgs tees off on the 13th hole of the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West during the American Express in La Quinta, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.
Age: 30
From: Born in Camden, New Jersey, lives in Dallas, Texas
College: SMU
Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero
Best finish at this event: Played here once (2020) and missed the cut
Current World Golf Ranking: 141
Notable: He’s not nervous when the bright lights are on. Higgs has only played in one major tournament in his career, the 2021 PGA Championship, and he finished tied for fourth.
Hudson Swafford (-15)
Age: 34
From: Born in Tallahassee, Florida; resides in Sea Island, Georgia
College: University of Georgia
Number of PGA Tour wins: Two (2017 CareerBuilder Challenge, 2020 Puerto Rico Championship)
Best finish at this event: Winner in 2017
Current World Golf Ranking: 166
Notable: Hudson Swafford won this event in 2017, notably edging out Adam Hadwin, whose week included a 59 at La Quinta Country Club.
Cameron Young (-15)
Age: 24
From: Born in Scarborough, New York; resides in Jupiter, Florida
College: Wake Forest
Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero
Best finish at this event: First appearance
Current World Golf Ranking: 134
Notable: Cameron Young is the only player currently on the PGA Tour whose last name begins with a Y.
Francesco Molinari (-15)
Francesco Molinari of Italy walks on the 14th hole during the third round of The American Express at the Stadium Course at PGA West on January 22, 2022, in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Age: 39
From: Born and lives in Turin, Italy
College: University of Turin
Number of PGA Tour wins: Three (2018 Quicken Loans, 2018 British Open, 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational)
Best finish at this event: Tied for 10th in 2015
Current World Golf Ranking: 249
Notable: Molinari is one of 13 major champions in the field at The American Express this week. He won the 2018 British Open, outlasting a star-studded group of chasers that included Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Xander Schauffele.
Harold Varner III (-15)
Age: 31
From: Born in Akron, Ohio; resides in Charlotte, North Carolina
College: East Carolina
Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero
Best finish at this event: Tied for 18th in 2019
Current World Golf Ranking: 95
Notable: Varner does not have a PGA Tour win, but he does have a win on the European Tour. He won the Australian PGA Championship in 2016.
“Golf is like that a little bit…Yesterday everything went in, today nothing did.”
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Patrick Cantlay extended his string of 21 consecutive rounds under par in PGA Tour competition with a 4-under 68 Friday, but his afternoon seemed almost passive compared to the round he shot the previous day.
But Cantlay’s 68 after an opening 62 at the American Express was still good enough for the UCLA graduate to take sole possession of the lead in the $7.6 million event in La Quinta.
“I felt like it was really solid golf, I didn’t get the most out of it I possibly could, but another solid day and two more of those I should be right there,” Cantlay said.
On a day where scoring slowed to a gallop after the cavalry charge of birdies and eagles Thursday, Cantlay is at 14-under 130 through 36 holes, one shot ahead of Tom Hoge.
Hoge, playing the tougher Stadium Course at PGA West, managed a 66 and at one time had a share of the lead with Cantlay. Five players are at 12 under, including Joseph Bramlett, who had a chance to take the lead outright but bogeyed his last two holes at La Quinta Country Club for a 67 on Friday.
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Cantlay’s 62 on Thursday at La Quinta was one of those rounds where he says everything felt easy. Friday at the Nicklaus Course, Cantlay didn’t have it as easy, making two bogeys including a three-putt on the eighth hole, his second-to-last hole of the day.
Tough day on the green
“Golf is like that a little bit. I mean, some days everything goes in and some days nothing goes in,” said Cantlay, the reigning PGA Tour player of the year. “Yesterday everything went in, today nothing did. I’m still the same and so I just have to go out with the same mentality over the weekend, and if I do I should be in a good spot.”
While Cantlay is in the lead, the rotation of the tournament might favor Hoge. Cantlay will play the Stadium Course on Saturday, while Hoge heads to La Quinta Country Club, which has a scoring average more than 2.5 shots under par for the first two days and two shots better than the Stadium Course through 36 holes.
Two other players at 12 under, Lanto Griffin and Greyson Sigg, will also head to La Quinta on Saturday. Griffin shot 65 on the Stadium Course on Friday, while Sigg shot 67.
La Quinta might also be a better course to play Saturday with the predicted strong winds early in the day, Hoge said.
“I feel better playing La Quinta, a little more protected over there in the trees, a little shorter golf course. You can play a little more conservatively off tees and just get it in play and go from there,” Hoge said.
Hoge’s round Friday included six birdies and no bogeys, but just one birdie on a par-5.
Tom Hoge plays his second shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the American Express golf tournament at Peter Dye Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
“Just a solid day for me. Again a lot of good birdie chances, would like to have hit a few wedge shots closer there for a few holes, but happy where I’m at,” Hoge said.
Cantlay’s round was a bit more up-and-down. At one time he was 15 under and held a two-shot lead, but two bogeys in his final seven holes stopped him from running away from the field. The course was able to produce a 61 on the day by Will Zalatoris, who birdied the final seven holes to be among the players at 12 under. Cantlay played those same seven holes in even par.
“I actually putted really well today and made nothing. The greens were a little beat up and it was hard to make putts,” Cantlay said. “But I rolled it really well and I rolled it how I wanted to, I just didn’t get any to go in.”
Cantlay is now faced with two rounds on the Stadium Course, one in the normal rotation of the event and then Sunday in the pros-only final 18 holes. On the surface, that’s good news for Cantlay, who shot 61 in the final round of the 2021 event on the Stadium Course. But forecasts of strong winds, at least early in the day, could bring out the best in the Stadium Course.
“Usually, you have to really put your foot on the gas and make a ton of birdies,’ Cantlay said. “Tomorrow, if the forecast stays the same, it will not be that kind of day and it’s just, it will be a different challenge. So controlling your golf ball will be a premium tomorrow and leaving your golf ball in the correct spot will be really key to scoring well.”
The field of 124 at the Northern Trust has been cut to 70 for the BMW Championship.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Tony Finau wasn’t the only player who came through in the clutch on Monday at the Northern Trust.
In the tournament within the tournament, six players punched their ticket for this week’s BMW Championship, the second leg of the three event FedEx Cup Playoffs and kept their hopes alive to win the $15 million in bonus money awarded to the champion.
While Finau closed in 65 at Liberty National to win the title in a sudden-death playoff, Keith Mitchell birdied the final three holes to jump 38 places to No. 63 and bump Matthew Wolff to the wrong side of the cutline at No. 71.
“I was pretty down on myself in the middle of 15 fairway and to be standing here getting up and down on 15 for par and then birdieing the last three holes to play next week, it took a lot of, I guess just calming my nerves and trying to remember that this is it, I’ve got three holes left to keep playing or I’m going home,” said Mitchell who finished T-8. “I just decided to stick with it and really that putt on 18 just sealed the deal.”
Sweden’s Alex Noren charged with a closing 66 and despite a bogey at the last finished tied for fourth.
“I kind of knew I wasn’t going to win, but a good chance for a good finish, and that’s all I tried to do, moving up to next week,” Noren said.
Tom Hoge closed in 69 and tied for fourth with Noren and Justin Thomas. He started the week at No. 108 and made up the most ground among those who advanced.
“I had no plans as far as what we were going to did after the round here, so you have to play well and make sure you’re moving on,” Hoge said.
Erik van Rooyen had a rollercoaster of a day. He started one stroke out of the lead and was in the trophy hunt until he hit two balls in the water at the par-3 11th and made quadruple bogey. In one disastrous hole, he tumbled 28 spots in the FedEx Cup standings and could ill afford anymore slip ups. But he bounced back with an eagle at the par-5 13th and finished seventh.
“I was fighting right the whole day, and then sniped one left on 11, in a place you can’t miss it. That’s disappointing,” he said. “I tried to paddle back after that and make some birdies, obviously knowing that I probably was out of it at that point for winning the tournament, but there’s points on the line to move up.”
Harry Higgs shot 3-under 68 to finish T-16 and secure at least another shot to make it to Atlanta and the Tour Championship.
“I’m no good with numbers, I don’t know how it works but I’m pretty sure if I win next week I will be into Atlanta which is obviously a goal,” he said. “I did figure when I made the turn at even, I kind of thought four birdies on the back nine would be in enough, three would have a very good chance. I guess fortunately made three to just scrape by and get in.”
Harold Varner III at the 2021 Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, N.ew Jersey. Photo by John Minchillo)/Associated Press
Harold Varner III has been in this position before and came through in 2019, but said it doesn’t make it any easier.
“The nerves are the same,” he said. “I wish they could go away because you’ve done it before but it just hasn’t happened yet. Today was a grind and just hung in there.”
Reigning PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson advanced on the number at 70th despite missing the cut on Friday. But Irishman Seamus Power wasn’t so lucky. He missed an 11-foot par putt at 18 that would’ve been the difference. The bogey left him in 72nd place. But Power, who was competing in Monday qualifiers with limited status before winning the Barbasol Championship last month, took it mostly in stride.
“For me there was nothing to lose and only to gain. I didn’t quite gain enough. Just didn’t have my best game and that’s what cost me,” he said. “Bogey at the last disappointing but in a few days I’ll be feeling better about it.”
Six players who entered the week on the right side of the cutline had their bubbles burst (see below) effectively when they missed the cut on Friday.
Now, the new target is to finish in the top 30 to advance to the Tour Championship. But first, the next stop is Baltimore and Caves Valley Golf Club. Asked how he would celebrate with the quick turnaround after a Monday finish, Mitchell said, “Driving to Baltimore in my BMW.”
The young PGA Tour star has battled a hand injury and has had several withdrawals and other lackluster performances.
A strange season continued for Matthew Wolff.
The former collegiate standout and NCAA champion, who won the 2019 3M Open in just his third professional start, withdrew Tuesday night from next week’s PGA Championship on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.
No reason was given for the WD.
Tom Hoge replaced Wolff in the field.
Wolff, 22, has been dealing with a nagging right hand injury and has often looked disgruntled on the course this year. After opening with a 78 in the Farmers Insurance Open in January, he withdrew because of the injury. He also withdrew from the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession in February after posting an 83 in the first round.
In last month’s Masters, he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.
In his most recent start, he and Collin Morikawa teamed up and missed the cut in the Zurich Classic the third week of April.
Wolff has not finished in the top 10 in his most recent 10 starts and has fallen from a career-high rank of 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking to 27th.
No one in golf expected this plunge from Wolff.
It was just six months ago that he led by two shots heading into the final round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. A final-round 75 had him finishing runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau, who won by six shots. In his next start, he tied for second in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. And in his debut in the PGA Championship in August, he tied for fourth.
Hog has held a place in the footnotes of this event’s history since his weekend pairing with Woods five years ago.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Maybe it’s time for Tom Hoge to shed Tiger Woods’ shadow at the Wyndham Championship.
Hoge, who has held a place in the footnotes of this event’s history since his weekend pairing with Woods five years ago, maintained his footing among the frontrunners Friday at Sedgefield Country Club.
His 2-under-par 68 put him at 10-under for the tournament, and tied for the second-round lead with Si Woo Kim and Talor Gooch by mid-afternoon here.
“I had a few birdie opportunities I kind of let slip by, some close putts on the last few holes that I’d like to have back,” Hoge said, “but all in all a good day. We’re moving forward. Just know I’ve got to make a lot of birdies the next two days.”
He piled up seven birdies and an eagle during Thursday’s opening round that had him flirting with breaking 60, before settling for 62 after finishing par-bogey on Nos. 17 and 18, the dropped stroke on the last hole leaving him muttering as he walked off the green.
Back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole and first hole Friday – his group played the back side of the course first, then made the turn to the front nine – climbed Hoge to 11-under midway through the second round. He had two bogeys against one birdie the rest of the way.
It marked the second day in a row that Hoge, who was born in Statesville and has yet to win on the PGA Tour, hit 14 greens in regulation. The two rounds, though, became different in composition.
“A little more work for sure,” he said of Friday. “I was in the rough a little more often and a little out of position where I got above the hole on a few of the pins coming in, had some fast putts and a little more work. Hopefully, kind of got that out of my system.
“I was surprised that the golf course was as dry as it was with as much rain as we got overnight. But I was in the rough quite a bit there early on and it was pretty thick and wet this morning, so a lot of shots you’re just trying to get to the front of the green just coming from that thick rough. So just tried to manage it. Fortunate to be a few under.”
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Harris English and reigning British Open champion Shane Lowry were one back of the lead pack at 9-under on Friday afternoon. Roger Sloan, C.T. Pan, Mark Hubbard, Rob Oppenheim and Harold Varner III were knotted together at 8-under for the tournament.
Then a Tour rookie, Hoge played alongside the iconic Woods in the final group of the third round at the 2015 Wyndham tournament.
“Yeah, it was a zoo on Saturday,” Hoge said, recalling the Sedgefield scene from five years ago. “All the people kind of crammed in here, but just a lot of fun. It’s a shame we can’t have the same crowds here this year because the people really support this event well and it’s always fun to come back to.
“But for me, it was a big week trying to get into those FedEx Cup Playoffs that year. Nice to be a little more comfortable this week where I’m not having to worry about that bubble coming into the week.”
Hoge shared the second-round lead with Woods in 2015, one shot ahead of Wyndham fan-favorite Davis Love III. When Woods was asked by reporters that day about his upcoming pairing with Hoge, the answer proved memorable for those in the room.
“Don’t know him, never seen him, don’t know anything about him,” Woods said, smiling then. “There are so many guys out here I don’t know. I’ve been hurt. I haven’t played that much.”
