Troy Merritt was the class of the Quicken Loans National this week. His 10-under 61 on Saturday followed by a 67 Sunday were three shots better than the nearest competitor. But his story wasn’t the one that many fans were most interested in.
Tiger Woods was in contention after a 68-66 start. In fact, if you only considered Thursday, Friday and Sunday, Tiger Woods (T18, -8) looked an awful lot like his old self this week. Unfortunately, Saturday’s round was a sloppy 74. But even in his struggles, there were flashes of the greatness that led us to first watch in awe when he played. The WGC field might be happy that he won’t be at Firestone next week where he’s won eight times.
Elsewhere, Inbee Park hit a major milestone at the Women’s British Open and self-promotion master Donald Trump managed to not upstage the competition (at least not much). And the EuroTour was practicing for the Ryder and President’s cups at the Paul Lawrie Match Play in Aberdeen. Kiradech Aphibarnrat beat Robert Karlsson to claim the event and his third European Tour victory, becoming the youngest Asian player to reach that mark.
Let’s hit the links.
Hole #1: Career Slam
A career slam was completed in 2015 after all, just not the one most of us were anticipating when the year began. Inbee Park tied the course record (65) at Turnberry, won the Women’s British Open by three shots, and completed her career grand slam (winning four different majors… there are five on the women’s schedule). Lydia Ko finished second. [Link]
Hole #2: 61 and Gets It Done
Troy Merritt shot a course record on Saturday and made it hold up on Sunday in the Quicken Loans National at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Ricky Fowler mounted a bit of a charge coming down the stretch but came up three shots short. [Link]
Hole #3: A Stupid Rule
But you still have to follow it. The world’s second ranked woman amateur, England’s Bronte Law, was disqualified from the final stage of the Ricoh Women’s British Open qualifier on Monday for using a rangefinder. First of all, she shouldn’t have used it. But second, it’s dumb that rangefinders aren’t legal in any competition. We use technology in every other part of the game. Why not speed up the game by letting Joe LaCava use a laser and GPS-device to find Tiger’s yardage from two fairways over? [Link]
Hole #4: Taking Holly to Prom
Sixteen-year-old Andrew Orischak may have lost the Junior Amateur, but his date is sure to turn some heads at the prom. [Link]
Hole #5: Perry Repeats
Kenny Perry rode a hot putter en route to becoming the first back-to-back winner of the 3M Championship with a four-stroke victory. [Link]
Hole #6: The Long and Short of It
Have you ever heard of short golf? It turns out the nobles used to play long golf, while the common folk played Short Golf, wherever they could squeeze it in. While long golf won out, could it now be time for a second coming of short golf? [Link]
Hole #6: Lost and Found
Former navel officer and current PGA TOUR pro Billy Hurley, at a Quicken Loans National press conference last week, appealed for help in finding his father, missing since July 19. He was found safe in Texas on Friday, watching his son play golf on a library computer. [Link]
Hole #7: Tin Cup Moment
Nick Watney makes par from an unusual spot. [Link]
Hole #8: No Excuse for Slow Play
Chris Smith once shot 65 in 44 minutes. So why do your weekend rounds take so darn long? Watch Smith play an entire round in three minutes and 51 seconds. [Link]
Hole #9: Quiet Please
What happens when a golf tournament and road rally intersect? [Link]