Rory McIlroy had a heck of per week at Pebble Seashore.
Getty Photographs
Welcome again to the Monday End, the place we didn’t make an ace, carry a tee shot 338 yards or play Cypress Level this week however we did watch some golf. To the information…
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GOLF STUFF I LIKE
We’re so again.
Final week on this house I wrote that we must always press restart on the golf season. Not that we must always like, take away trophies. Simply that the AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am — the primary week with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy within the discipline, the primary week with out soccer, the primary week with all of the Tour’s prime guys at a prime venue — was an excellent probability to start out contemporary. A great probability to speak about one thing moreover [yawn] gradual play.
And gang, it labored. We’re again. The season is formally underway. This week rocked. Pebble Seashore regarded nice on TV. We acquired aces. Wild climate. High-tier competitors. A crowded Sunday leaderboard. These candy, candy drone pictures on the assembly of Pebble cliffs and Pacific Ocean. Scheffler confirmed. Shane Lowry made a correct cost to runner-up. And McIlroy ran away with a triumphant win, gapping the sector by pairing flamethrower-level energy with lethal accuracy — with a little bit dose of restraint blended in.
It wasn’t all dreamland, after all. Signs of professional golf’s sickness stay. Actually, within the case of Ludvig Aberg, who withdrew after one spherical. There was CBS’s protection hole on Sunday, which meant golf followers had been handled to the tip of a faculty basketball recreation as McIlroy birdied the long-lasting par-3 seventh, an inexcusable (and recurring!) miss from a community that by-and-large crushed all of it weekend. There was the absence of World No. 2 Xander Schauffele, nonetheless out with a rib damage. And there have been reminders of different professionals lacking, like five-time champ Phil Mickelson, now on LIV, or Bryson DeChambeau, enjoying on the Asian Tour in India as an alternative.
However largely it was dreamland — for McIlroy specifically. His week started together with his TGL debut, which wound up because the league’s greatest evening but, even in a Ballfrog loss. It continued with a trek to Cypress Level, his first-ever spherical at arguably America’s biggest coastal course. He made an ace on Thursday. Charged towards the lead on the weekend. And wound up doing battle on Sunday alongside Lowry, most likely his closest buddy on Tour, who completed two pictures again of McIlroy in solo second. Every thing got here up Rory.
There was lots to unpack from his spherical, not simply his preposterous eagle on the par-5 14th however all of the little stuff — his contact across the greens, his precision from fairway bunkers, his determination to put again off the tee — that contributed to his win.
And McIlroy was considerably rueful evaluating this model of himself to a youthful, extra impulsive model: “It actually feels a little bit extra boring to me,” he admitted. “It would look a little bit bit extra boring on the golf course, nevertheless it’s positively more practical.”
But it surely’s value contemplating the testimony of his friends. Did Lowry see a tempered model of his buddy?
“No. He tried to hit a 6-iron out of the bunker on the second,” he mentioned, referring to a daring shot from the green bunker McIlroy pulled off en path to birdie on the par-5. “I mentioned to Sepp [Straka, their third], ‘Take a look at the shot he’s going for right here.’ However he’s Rory McIlroy.”
Straka added his personal perspective.
“That 14th gap type of sums it up: only a bomb drive down there. We each hit 7 there — his was 7-iron, mine was a 7-wood.”
Lastly there was Lucas Glover, who shared third and performed simply forward of McIlroy.
“Yeah, when he’s good, he’s nice. And when he’s not nice, he’s good,” he mentioned.
Mull that one over. This week McIlroy was nice. The PGA Tour was, too. There’s some correlation there. And that’s golf stuff I like.
WINNERS
Who received the week?
Rory McIlroy received the AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am, the twenty seventh PGA Tour victory of his profession. The final time somebody reached 27 PGA Tour wins was in 2005, when Phil Mickelson received the PGA Championship. This stage of successful doesn’t come round typically.
A Lim Kim received the LPGA’s season opener, the Hilton Grand Holidays Event of Champions, thanks to 3 birdies in her closing 4 holes. She cemented her wire-to-wire victory with a 25-footer for birdie at No. 18 to carry off hard-charging World No. 1 Nelly Korda by one.
Laurie Canter received the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship on the DP World Tour, the second victory in lower than a yr for the Englishman and one which elevated him to No. 51 on the earth and No. 2 within the Race to Dubai.
Josh Teater received the Panama Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, a very noteworthy accomplishment given he’s only a couple months from turning 46 and his final win got here in [checks notes twice] 2009. Teater started the ultimate spherical six pictures again earlier than a spherical that’ll change the remainder of his professional profession.
However arguably essentially the most off-the-radar win of the week got here from Ollie Schniederjans, the previous World No. 1 beginner, well-known for his no-hat look and his aggressive stinger, who misplaced his card after the 2018-19 PGA Tour season and all however disappeared. He re-emerged at this yr’s LIV Golf Promotions occasion, the place he performed nicely. However he was unbeatable within the Worldwide Sequence India occasion at DLF Golf and Nation Membership in New Delhi.
“It was an extended course of, it took plenty of endurance,” Schniederjans mentioned, understating issues. “I did lots to alter my physique and swing, and needed to be taught lots by way of that course of.”
It’ll be fascinating to see the place he goes from right here. However Step 1 is already fascinating: He’ll fill in for an injured Mickelson on LIV this week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the league’s first occasion of the yr.
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NOT-WINNERS
These guys are good, too.
Shane Lowry, who completed solo second at Pebble: To come back out right here and type of go face to face with Rory down the stretch, it’s fairly good. The older I get, the doubts do creep in yearly of ‘do you continue to type of have it at this stage.’ And if you go on the market, I confirmed even with out my greatest stuff what I used to be fabricated from at this time, and I’m fairly happy with myself.”
Lucas Glover, who completed T3: “Proud of birdie on 17 and 18. It’s at all times good if you [media officials] ask me to come back in on a Sunday. Blissful as I will be.”
Nelly Korda, who completed solo second at Lake Nona: “That is what I like about golf, being within the hunt on a Sunday happening the again 9. Yeah, I imply, I performed nicely. I want I had a few these putts again this week. I three-putted 9 twice for par, and if you type of give it some thought that manner, you’re by no means going to be proud of the result.”
SHORT HITTERS
5 issues the PGA Tour says it’s tackling in 2025.
A bunch of reporters (together with me and James Colgan) met with PGA Tour executives, who pulled again the curtain a bit on analysis the Tour has achieved to enhance its (sorry, I hate this phrase) product going ahead. Full recap right here, however 5 shorter bits under:
1. They need to improve the broadcasts.
They’ve heard your complaints. Will they overhaul the presentation of golf on TV? Don’t maintain your breath, however they might get extra inventive going ahead with, say, extra sponsor integration to the published fairly than slicing to a industrial.
Additionally they defined what they’ve discovered from followers, together with what they don’t like, which incorporates gradual play, and what they do like, which incorporates player-caddie conversations on difficult pictures. Brandel Chamblee triggered a little bit of a stir on Twitter by saying these issues are in direct opposition, however they don’t should be. In the event you assist arrange a shot with a short player-caddie dialogue, that’s good motion and good context multi functional. Child steps, although.
2. They need to velocity issues up.
Digital rulings. Rangefinder assessments. Smaller fields. Probably even the naming and shaming of gradual gamers. It sounds just like the Tour is able to make some precise strikes on the topic. However once more, should you’re ready to imagine it till you see it, I get that.
3. They need their followers to know their gamers higher.
This doesn’t essentially imply by way of a pre-produced profile or dramatic essay. As a substitute it means exhibiting a participant’s persona by way of their “on-course persona,” which reportedly the 18-34-year-old demographic considers crucial consider rooting curiosity.
4. They need to preserve enhancing the on-site expertise.
We didn’t hear a ton about this one nevertheless it’s the constructing block for all the things we see on TV — with no good real-life expertise it’s powerful to only make one up.
5. They might change the Tour Championship ASAP.
It sounds prefer it may change dramatically, too. We’re speaking match-play, bracket-style, massive cash. The info (I’m now sick of that phrase) was clear that viewers need “consequential play” and that the competitors “wants which means” however that getting there nonetheless must be an entertaining course of. In different phrases, the concept of crowning essentially the most deserving year-end champion might give method to a extra entertaining finale.
ONE DUMB GRAPHIC
Might should zoom in right here. Or preserve scrolling.
ONE SWING THOUGHT
Viktor Hovland on tinkering.
His toe appears to be feeling higher — however his thoughts is as busy as ever.
“I’m very curious by nature and I wish to look below each single stone,” Viktor Hovland mentioned earlier than a T22 end. “But when I didn’t try this I wouldn’t be right here at this time as a result of I simply — I used to be by no means essentially the most proficient, I used to be by no means the perfect in my age group rising up. I at all times had to enhance each single yr to get to the place I’m at at this time. So I don’t assume that’s the drawback in itself, it’s simply I made a couple of poor choices alongside the best way and I’ve type of learnt that lesson now. So I’ll most likely be a little bit bit extra reluctant to make adjustments until I actually have good information to help that change.
“Now I’ve a greater understanding of what I used to do this made me nice. So I simply — if I’m going to make a change, I’m far more assured within the reasoning behind that, if that is smart.”
ONE BIG QUESTION
What was Charley Hoffman doing?
At 6:03 p.m. on Sunday night, 20-year vet Charley Hoffman despatched a grab-bag of takes to your entire PGA Tour membership. There was reference to gradual play, the new matter of the day. However there have been additionally two oddities that stood out.
One was Hoffman’s gripe about the best way Pebble Seashore crammed up its discipline of 80 gamers. As laid out earlier than the season, the occasion added the most popular 5 gamers from the yr’s first few occasions (the “Aon Swing 5”) after which crammed from the FedEx Fall standings after that. Hoffman appeared to assume they need to have drawn from the Swing 5 checklist as an alternative. However he wasn’t precisely an neutral observer — Hoffman is sixth on that checklist.
Two was the timing and route of Hoffman’s most pointed comment. “Right here’s one thing else to consider,” he mentioned. “Lots of you retain saying you need to play fewer occasions, but you continue to make time for TGL, Race to Dubai, and different non-PGA Tour occasions…”
Who was that in reference to? Nicely, there’s one man who co-founded the TGL, received final yr’s Race to Dubai and held a “non-PGA Tour occasion” in December. He was additionally strolling up the 18th fairway at Pebble Seashore, about to seal his victory and a terrific weekend for the PGA Tour, when Hoffman despatched the e-mail.
The query, then: Why name out Rory McIlroy there after which? Why name him out in any respect?
ONE THING TO WATCH
Cam Davis from the roots.
McIlroy’s ace and Lowry’s ace and a sequence of McIlroy moonballs made their manner ’spherical social media all week. However I used to be most likely most impressed by this Cam Davis wizardry at No. 18 on Sunday, going from “ought to I even hit this” to “get within the gap!” at document velocity.
NEWS FROM SEATTLE
Monday End HQ.
First snow of the season. Golf season could also be additional away than I believed. Time to dream up plans for a TGL growth staff…
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Dylan Dethier is a senior author for GOLF Journal/GOLF.com. The Williamstown, Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a graduate of Williams School, the place he majored in English, and he’s the creator of 18 in America, which particulars the yr he spent as an 18-year-old dwelling from his automotive and enjoying a spherical of golf in each state.
