Johnson has played this event 14 times and knows the deal. For him to lose his cool a bit shows you how different a scenario this was. That said, he should also know better. This is the one tournament every year where fans are allowed to let the pros hear it when they goof — as opposed to nearly every other sport where that’s the norm. After hitting a bad shot, Johnson should’ve just put his head down and left the area.
On the other hand, Billy Horschel confronting a fan who was yelling during Nicolo Galletti’s swing feels a bit more warranted.
There’s a really fine line at this event, which evidently becomes harder to find each year. Go to TPC Scottsdale expecting a party, of course, but doing something as basic as waiting five seconds before yelling when someone is taking a shot is hardly asking much at all.
It’s entirely understandable Horschel would look out for his playing partner. And it makes you wonder if this incredibly successful event is overdue for some tweaks to make sure it stays that way.
Fans were heard early and often on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale.
The WM Phoenix Open bills itself as “The People’s Open,” but with its boisterous fans – who are often overserved, especially at the par-3 16th party hole – and different vibe, the PGA Tour’s annual stop in Phoenix may not be for everyone, especially the old-school pros.
Zach Johnson may be a new name on that list. The 12-time winner on Tour has made 14 appearances at the Phoenix Open dating back to 2005 when it was the FBR Open. He made the cut in 12 of those starts and has bagged six top-25 finishes and a top 10. In other words, Johnson is no stranger to the scene at TPC Scottsdale, which made the video below all the more curious.
The 47-year-old blew up at fans during the third round of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Saturday, and the confrontation was caught on camera.
“Somebody said it, I’m just sick of it. Just shut up,” Johnson said to a group of fans before security stepped in on the par-5 15th-hole tee box.
The Tour wants the WM Phoenix Open to be fun, but all that fun can come at a disruptive cost. It’s unclear what led to the interaction, and maybe Johnson was justified in telling the fan to pipe down. But if you can’t handle a heckler, then the People’s Open just may not be for you anymore.
You can also add Billy Horschel to the list. The seven-time winner went off on a fan, justifiably so, after someone in the gallery was talking during a player’s swing. This video may not be safe for delicate ears.
Chris Kirk now has a chance to join the short list.
The PGA Tour’s 2024 season is off and running.
The first event of the new year is in the books with Chris Kirk winning The Sentry on the Plantation course at Kapalua in Maui. He bested a field of 59 golfers who vied for a $20 million prize in the first signature event of the new year.
With that victory, Kirk now has a chance to join a short list of golfers who have put the career Hawaii double dip on their resumes.
Here’s a closer look at the six golfers who have won both The Sentry and the Sony Open in Hawaii.
The cut at Sea Island Golf Club had more of a sense of finality for some.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — A prominent swing instructor summed up why he could cut tension on the range at the RSM Classic with a rusty nail.
“Some of these guys don’t know whether they will ever tee it up at a PGA Tour event,” he said.
This week is the 54th and final Tour event of the 2022-23 season and so the 36-hole cut Friday had more of a sense of finality for some, especially those battling to make the top 125 and full status for next season or Nos. 126-150 and secure conditional status.
Peter Malnati, who entered the week at No. 116, shot 69-71 (140) and missed the cut and said he’ll be playing the waiting game all weekend. He’s projected No.122. Two three-putts in the first round was uncharacteristic of Malnati and the putter remained cold in the second round. But at least he had the right perspective.
“With or without a Tour card, I’m going to be awesome but I’d rather have one,” he said.
Harry Higgs, who started the week at No. 132 and had missed three straight cuts, made birdie on two of the last three holes to shoot 70 on Seaside Course and make the cut on the number.
All told, 78 golfers shot 4-under 138 or better at Sea Island’s Seaside and Plantation Courses. Higgs didn’t need anyone to let him know what what at stake when he made an 11-foot birdie putt on 18 at Seaside to make the cut.
“No, I know. I know it all too well after this year. Oddly, I wasn’t really that worried about it or focused on it,” he said. “For the last two years I’ve been stressing, worrying about all this shit. And for some reason, I don’t know why, I don’t know that I even said it aloud, I might have just thought it briefly, like I’m just not really going to worry about it this week.”
Patton Kizzire, who entered the week at No. 130, channeled the same philosophy and made birdie on his final two holes at the Plantation Course to make the cut and give himself two more rounds to jump up a few more spots. He’s projected No. 129.
Four players ranked between No. 120 and No. 126 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings entering the week missed the cut: No. 120 Matti Schmid, No. 121 Doug Ghim, No. 123 Troy Merritt and No. 126 Henrik Norlander.
Here’s more about them and some other pros who weren’t so fortunate and had their season come to a premature end. And here are the Saturday tee times for those who did make the weekend.
Some golfers are in danger of losing their status.
Some players have work to do to ensure themselves of a PGA Tour card come 2024.
With only three events left in the FedEx Cup Fall, numerous golfers will have to battle it out to remain inside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup Standings to ensure they keep their card for the 2024 season. The World Wide Technology Championship, Butterfield Bermuda Championship and RSM Classic could be the difference in someone playing on the PGA Tour next year or losing their card.
Plenty of FedEx Cup points remain up for grabs, and a win could even vault someone into the 51-60 spot, which earns spots in the first two signature events of 2024 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.
Additionally, in a new change, players who finish 126-200 in the FedEx Cup Standings can accept full membership on the DP World Tour.
Here’s a look at which PGA Tour pros have work to do to retain their card for the 2024 season.
(Note: some golfers may be below the top 125 in the standings but are exempt because of career achievements.)
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly included Cameron Champ.
Check out the Sunday singles match results from the 2023 Ryder Cup, where the session was split 5-5-2.
It’s been all Team Europe all week long in Italy at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
The Europeans, led by Luke Donald, entered Sunday singles on the final day of play at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome with a 10½-5½ advantage over Team USA and will need just four points to reclaim the Cup. On the flip side, Zach Johnson’s American side will need to complete the biggest comeback in the history of the biennial event and claim 8½ points to retain the Cup.
Here’s a breakdown of each of the 12 Sunday singles matches at the 2023 Ryder Cup, updated as they finish.
“It was a situation where our matchups felt it was best to go this direction,” said captain Zach Johnson.
ROME – Why was Rickie Fowler benched on Saturday?
The 34-year-old American, who is playing in his fifth Ryder Cup, didn’t play in either session on Saturday at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy. That followed sitting the afternoon fourballs session on Friday, too.
Fowler has been rumored to be one of the players dealing with a bug that U.S. Captain Zach Johnson said has been going through his team’s locker room. Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reported that Fowler had a sinus infection. But Johnson said it wasn’t an illness but rather a captain’s decision that was the reason that Fowler sat all day on Saturday.
“It was a situation where our matchups felt it was best to go this direction,” Johnson said. “Rickie is the consummate professional and team player. We had an embrace that I’ll never forget and a smile afterward. And you know what, it’s hard. I want to play all 12 guys every match — every session, excuse me. That goes without saying. So it was nothing more than that. He is a dear, dear, dear friend. And knowing him, it’s probably motivational.”
Live updates from the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy.
It’s all over in Rome.
The 44th Ryder Cup came to an end Sunday when Rickie Fowler conceded a putt to Tommy Fleetwod, handing Team Europe its 15th point, The Euros needed 14 ½ to reclaim the Cup they lost two years in the U.S.
The Europeans held a 5-point advantage, leading 10½-5½, heading into the Sunday singles matches.
The host course, Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, is a public-access layout with tee times available on the course’s website starting at 190 Euros for international players. The course played to a par 71 with the scorecard showing 7,181 yards.
The Americans, captained by Zach Johnson, tried to win on foreign soil for the first time since 1993 but that streak will continue. Team Europe rode an influx of young talent for captain Luke Donald.
The U.S. traded acrimony for apathy, delivering a performance more befitting of a buddies’ trip to Myrtle Beach.
ROME — Not every American will be disappointed if Europe’s Ryder Cup rout short-circuits the importance of the final day’s singles matches. Certainly not devotees of Taylor Swift, now all but guaranteed that Sunday sports will again be dominated by their idol’s appearance at an NFL game. For that, they ought to thank the formidable performances of Europe’s players and captain, Luke Donald. But this is the most lop-sided contest in Rome since the Christians were drawn at home to the lions at the Colosseum, so the aftermath will almost certainly see less credit for Europe than criticism of the U.S.
The last two U.S. teams that competed over here were balkanized with internal strife. Scotland in 2014 was a week-long squabble between skipper Tom Watson and Phredo Mickelson, his “I’m smart!” detractor. That led to the “task force,” an exercise in shifting responsibility masquerading as group therapy. By Paris in 2018, Jordan Spieth had had enough of Patrick Reed (let he who hasn’t cast the first stone), so Reed aired his grievances about his former partner to the media before Europe had finished its first magnum of celebratory champagne.
In Rome, the U.S. team has traded acrimony for apathy, delivering a performance more befitting the last morning of a buddies’ trip to Myrtle Beach, without the redeeming excuse of thundering hangovers that would at least suggest fun was had along the way. But fun is in woefully short supply for Zach Johnson’s team.
That can be attributed in part to the unspecified illness that has impacted the U.S. team room, but missing fairways and putts aren’t symptoms of any infection. Sniffles won’t explain how Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg could play the first three holes of alternate shot on Saturday morning in 1-over-par, and win all of them. Mystery bugs can’t account for the U.S. team needing 11 matches before it managed to record an outright victory.
Like many European captains before him, Donald used the ghost of Seve Ballesteros as inspiration this week, but the secret to his success was best summarized by Lucius Seneca, a philosopher who lived across town a couple of millennia ago: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Team Europe captain Luke Donald leaves a team photo prior to a practice round of the Ryder Cup golf competition at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports
Donald handled the preparation part himself. The opportunity? Well, that was gifted to him.
Because he replaced the deposed Henrik Stenson as Europe’s captain, Donald had five months fewer to prepare than his counterpart, not an insignificant period of time in a two-year Cup cycle. But he polished the template that guided his predecessors. Messaging was flawless, social media image-making was luminous, unity was air-tight, statistics were plain common sense, pairings were savvy. And like a lot of his forebears in the role, he got some help from the opposition.
Johnson is passionate about both the Ryder Cup and his patriotism. So too are his vice captains. The problem is that the same sentiment isn’t universal in the team room. To be clear, all 12 American players are not apathetic about being here. Most of them care. Most of them care a great deal. But apathy is a deadly contagion in team environments, and it only takes one case. Especially when the going is tough.
Every aspect of Team USA’s preparation and performance was repurposed by Europe to boost their confidence. Like when the U.S. showed up three shy of a full squad on their reconnaissance trip earlier this month, though Spieth had a perfectly valid excuse. Or when nine of the team didn’t compete for a month before coming to Rome. Even the LIV guy checked that box, and they’re supposedly the ones who want to spend more time at home. Or when rumors circulated that every prospective member of Johnson’s squad had signed the agreement stipulating their obligations for the week months ago, except for two, who only recently inked the paper. Or when they heard that some on the U.S. team are skipping group dinners to rest. Or knowing that some Americans are upset about not being paid to play, as though patriotism is just another commercial transaction.
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People relentlessly focused on money will always find it difficult to reconcile themselves to giving their time to an unpaid cause, no matter how distinguished, even if only for a few days. The dispiriting impact of the cash arms race in professional golf isn’t only evident in the veterans who are absent this week.
“A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea that is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself,” wrote the ancient Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius. “The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires.”
Captain Johnson ought to have painted that on the wall of his team room. The mountain facing the U.S. on Sunday is practically insurmountable, made no easier by the perception that not everyone in the line-up shares an equal passion for the challenge. You know who does? You know who isn’t apathetic? Keegan Bradley. But he’s not in the boys club, so he’s watching from his couch in Florida.
ROME – The City of Eternal Light may not have been built in one day, but the Ryder Cup in Rome may have been lost in one after Team Europe jumped out to a 6 ½ – 1 ½ lead over the Americans.
It was a dominant performance by the Euros, who lead after the first session for the first time since 2006. In fact, it was a clean sweep and the U.S. didn’t hold a lead in any match until Justin Thomas made a birdie on the sixth hole in the first match of the afternoon session.
Here are four more things to know from Day One of the 44th Ryder Cup.
