Golf

@KiwiPie said in Golf:

@MajorRage Yes that bunker shot was his moment to seize triumph or disaster - and we have seen disaster often at the 18th of a major. The PGA was the first time he was in the mix for a major on the final day and he flubbed it - but he hit 17 out of 18 greens on the day, with a hot putter he would have strolled to the win.

Zalatoris is already setting himself up in the Colin Montgomerie role - he hasn't even won a PGA event yet but has top 10 finishes in 6 of the last 7 majors he has played in - with 3 runners-up finishes.

It was a phenomenal shot in its own right but to do it when your opponent had middled the fairway with a driver with an almost perfect tee shot, all on the last hole of a major.

It was a brilliant finish and I do feel for Zalatoris on that putt that was millimetres from landing.

The more high profile players that jump to LIV thr sooner the PGA will need to reach a compromise.

@barbarian said in Golf:

Was a cracking open. Leaderboard chocked full of big game players. Great course that killed you if you were wayward.

Give me Zalatoris' record over a guy like Cantlay every day. A major top 5 is worth more than winning the Boise State Open Presented by Taco Bell. But you get the feeling he needs to win one soon.

Can't wait for the British at St Andrews.

Yes the time of year when people will point out to you that it is The Open and not the British Open.

Cameron Young with a dream first round -8. Nailed a good birdie on the 18th to finish his day.

Old man Ernie Els is -5 after 13 and is swinging like he was 20 years ago.

Love the Open, love the old course.

By rights the players should be ripping it to shreds in light conditions, but the course has put up an admirable fight.

Love where Cam Smith is. Didn't think he played all that well but his chipping and putting is so good he just hangs in there. The course is so well suited to him, getting up and down is probably going to separate the men from the boys.

@barbarian unreal that the leader his all 18 greens in regulation. Yes they are unnaturally large but balls were screaming off them too.

Super round.

Ryan Fox there or thereabouts at -1 and I think the other Kiwi is +1

The greens were playing fast and some weren’t dealing well with it.

A bit of controversy today about how long it took for some of the groups to complete the round. I read that it took some 6 hours! Someone on Twitter posted “Max Homa estimates it took them an hour just to play No. 14.”

@ACT-Crusader The mix of tough pins and driveable par 4s is a horrible combination for pace of play.

Nice to see the best in the world put like I can. Such a great course.

Congrats to Cam Smith. Nicely done
Managed to win a few bucks by picking him as the outright winner at $23
Keep an eye on Cameron Young from the USA over the next few years, will be a major champion at some point, kids got game.

Unreal performance from Smith. That back 9 was unbelievable.

His putting is the best I've seen from anyone bar peak Tiger. When he's hot he just does not miss.

Although the rumour is he is going to LIV Golf after the Presidents Cup. Not sure how I feel about that.

@barbarian He is also one of the best, if not the best on tour in terms of his short game as well.
This major triumph likely only the first of many for Cam. Kiwi connection too with his caddie Sam being a NZer. Nice payday for him as well I'm sure.

@barbarian said in Golf:

Unreal performance from Smith. That back 9 was unbelievable.

His putting is the best I've seen from anyone bar peak Tiger. When he's hot he just does not miss.

Although the rumour is he is going to LIV Golf after the Presidents Cup. Not sure how I feel about that.

He may as well. He has exemptions for all the majors now. No need to qualify so go make some coin

@Hooroo But does he need coin? On one level I get the appeal of LIV, but for a guy like Smith it's a bit cowardly IMO.

It's Mickey Mouse golf. No juice. If you're Lee Westwood at the end of your career then knock yourself out. But Smith could actually win some big tournaments on the tour. Tournaments at great courses with history. Nobody gives a shit if he wins a 54 hole event at a Trump course that's only shown on Youtube.

@barbarian I saw a clip from Tiger the other day, just asking what are they playing golf for now?

They dont win but still get a shedload of money, normally, you have to play well to win, wheres the challenge, what drives you?

Certainly an interesting take, and like you say, Westwood, Phil and the likes in the twilight of thier careers, rock on, but young guys, playing in the lesser format, I read soemwhere that some who were on the LIV tour were saying we dont even need to practice as much...hopefully there will be a happy medium found somewhere along the way

@taniwharugby I loved Tiger's comments. A guy like Cam Smith is renowned for his work ethic, but there's no way he's working as hard for 54 hole shotgun starts with the money already in his pocket.

In some ways it is similar to rugby players going to Japan. By all means take the cash, but there's no incentive for me to care about what you are doing or watch.

@barbarian said in Golf:

@taniwharugby I loved Tiger's comments. A guy like Cam Smith is renowned for his work ethic, but there's no way he's working as hard for 54 hole shotgun starts with the money already in his pocket.

In some ways it is similar to rugby players going to Japan. By all means take the cash, but there's no incentive for me to care about what you are doing or watch.

Maybe its a bit like Kerry Packer and WSC? Sure he wasn't backed by a ruthless authoritarian regime, but the LIV are offering better conditions, better money and less strenuous playing schedule. I could see the PGA quietly adopting a few of LIVs better ideas over time and eventually a sort of acceptance of their existence

@barbarian said in Golf:

@Hooroo But does he need coin? On one level I get the appeal of LIV, but for a guy like Smith it's a bit cowardly IMO.

It's Mickey Mouse golf. No juice. If you're Lee Westwood at the end of your career then knock yourself out. But Smith could actually win some big tournaments on the tour. Tournaments at great courses with history. Nobody gives a shit if he wins a 54 hole event at a Trump course that's only shown on Youtube.

I hear all of that.

I also haven’t needed a pay rise but have taken it happily to do a different variance of the same job. Just times it by a squillion for these guys.

I know it not directly comparable but most people are driven by money and accept more of it. Just these guys have differing opportunities than most so it’s easier to criticise.

Sometimes I’m happy with what I’ve got and then sometimes I want a nicer car. Change that for yacht/super yacht and it’s the same thing

@Hooroo said in Golf:

@barbarian said in Golf:

@Hooroo But does he need coin? On one level I get the appeal of LIV, but for a guy like Smith it's a bit cowardly IMO.

It's Mickey Mouse golf. No juice. If you're Lee Westwood at the end of your career then knock yourself out. But Smith could actually win some big tournaments on the tour. Tournaments at great courses with history. Nobody gives a shit if he wins a 54 hole event at a Trump course that's only shown on Youtube.

I hear all of that.

I also haven’t needed a pay rise but have taken it happily to do a different variance of the same job. Just times it by a squillion for these guys.

I know it not directly comparable but most people are driven by money and accept more of it. Just these guys have differing opportunities than most so it’s easier to criticise.

Sometimes I’m happy with what I’ve got and then sometimes I want a nicer car. Change that for yacht/super yacht and it’s the same thing

Didn't I read that the PGA have instituted some new special lucrative events? The LIV are already having an effect. And the more top guys that jump over the more pressure on the PGA

@canefan said in Golf:

@Hooroo said in Golf:

@barbarian said in Golf:

@Hooroo But does he need coin? On one level I get the appeal of LIV, but for a guy like Smith it's a bit cowardly IMO.

It's Mickey Mouse golf. No juice. If you're Lee Westwood at the end of your career then knock yourself out. But Smith could actually win some big tournaments on the tour. Tournaments at great courses with history. Nobody gives a shit if he wins a 54 hole event at a Trump course that's only shown on Youtube.

I hear all of that.

I also haven’t needed a pay rise but have taken it happily to do a different variance of the same job. Just times it by a squillion for these guys.

I know it not directly comparable but most people are driven by money and accept more of it. Just these guys have differing opportunities than most so it’s easier to criticise.

Sometimes I’m happy with what I’ve got and then sometimes I want a nicer car. Change that for yacht/super yacht and it’s the same thing

Didn't I read that the PGA have instituted some new special lucrative events? The LIV are already having an effect. And the more top guys that jump over the more pressure on the PGA

I hope he doesn’t go across but I won’t begrudge him due to something I am used to.

@canefan said in Golf:

@barbarian said in Golf:

@taniwharugby I loved Tiger's comments. A guy like Cam Smith is renowned for his work ethic, but there's no way he's working as hard for 54 hole shotgun starts with the money already in his pocket.

In some ways it is similar to rugby players going to Japan. By all means take the cash, but there's no incentive for me to care about what you are doing or watch.

Maybe its a bit like Kerry Packer and WSC? Sure he wasn't backed by a ruthless authoritarian regime, but the LIV are offering better conditions, better money and less strenuous playing schedule. I could see the PGA quietly adopting a few of LIVs better ideas over time and eventually a sort of acceptance of their existence

It's similar and different. The establishment tours haven't innovated as much as they should have, but they aren't hoarding money like the ACB and other Boards were back in the WSC days. PGA golfers are far from broke.

The solution though needs to be some sort of compromise.

@barbarian it’s not just about the money but about providing players with choice. The PGA has a lot of control and while there are financial incentives, I think the rebellion has been building for quite some time.

TBH I dont really care about either, I enjoy watching golf, not particularly fond of the LIV format though...was interesting seeing alot of 'feel good' type posts on the PGA social media over the weekend though.

If I could do less work for much more money, I'm there, but I also agree with what Tiger says, what drives you?

You play less, you practice less, are you still going to be as good? In my mind, you play sport for the competition, the drive to win, it seems for a few of these guys they have just won the lottery, golf is now just a hobby now (some say it is anyway, but thats a conversation for another day)

Is LIV expecting a return on investment, ever?

@ACT-Crusader My position on this is twofold.

Firstly - the PGA is ripe for revolution. Stale, too focussed on America, killing world golf, not enough variety.

However LIV is not the right answer. It might well be the one we end up with though. It's a bad format, questionable source of funding, egotistical maniac Norman at the helm, a cabal of players who I find to be either washed up or unlikeable. Add a dash of Trump in there and it's not a good picture for golf.

@JK yeah when I was playing well, I could get my 7 iron in a circle of area of about 5m of one another, but no way cold I tell you how far each went to that accuracy...maybe on my short irons I knew what my max was, and I played golf trying to hit it to the max, but my driver, I'd be way out on that, by >50m sometimes I reckon, short, long, wide!

i can't even find my ball half the friggen time, let alone tell you how far it went,.

@taniwharugby pretty amazing.

@taniwharugby said in Golf:

@JK yeah when I was playing well, I could get my 7 iron in a circle of area of about 5m of one another, but no way cold I tell you how far each went to that accuracy...maybe on my short irons I knew what my max was, and I played golf trying to hit it to the max, but my driver, I'd be way out on that, by >50m sometimes I reckon, short, long, wide!

Yeah mate, irons I am pretty good at getting an accurate distance as you actually have to think about it every shot. Where as most the time with the driver (or 3 wood if driver is misbehaving) it's just 'as far as it will go' haha

Actually hit the range today for a bit and was following the tracker stats. Had a stupid tail wind though so was getting a fair but of extra distance today

Ryan Fox gets his 2023 season underway later this week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Also another Kiwi playing on the DP World Tour this year is Daniel Hillier who earned his card after some great results on the Challenge Tour last year.

@1kiwi said in Golf:

Ryan Fox gets his 2023 season underway later this week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

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Also another Kiwi playing on the DP World Tour this year is Daniel Hillier who earned his card after some great results on the Challenge Tour last year.

Fox is now ranked 28th in the world ... time to win a major Ryan!

Golf round-up

Lydia Ko has won the Saudi Ladies International for a second time and pockets $1.2mil

Steven Alker finishes in a tie for 8th at the latest PGA Champions event in Florida

John Rahm regains World Number One ranking after victory at the Genesis Invitational in California

I think Lydia could have a pretty special year. Shes kicked off where she left off last year and I think 2023 could be pretty dominant for her.

Also, Foxy back home and shot a new course record 60 at Te Arai (South) last week

He had a 61 at Tara Iti back in January to set the course record there too.

Yeah I heard Foxy chatting to Sumo & Beaver on SENZ earlier this week about his course record. He also chatted to them about his upcoming schedule that he heads off to the US on Saturday to play the Arnold Palmer Invitational next week, then The Players Championship, World Golf Championships Matchplay, The Masters & The RBC Heritage in South Carolina so a big couple of months ahead for Foxy.