Two players rode the momentum of their good play in the British Open to wins this week. Jason Day did not leave the big putt short this week, and beat a nation’s hope. Danny Willett put together four solid rounds, including a 62, en route to his victory in Switzerland.
Jordan Spieth may have fell short in his Grand Slam campaign, but he did get a drink from the Claret Jug, anyway. Speaking of the jug, the “The Tiger Woods of Iowa,” took his on the usual post-major media blitz.
Not a bad week in golf, unless your Robert Allenby. Let’s hit the links.
Hole #1: Not Canada’s Day
Aussie and Central Ohio resident Jason Day dropped a 22-foot birdie putt on his 72nd hole to open up a two-stroke lead and break a great many Canadian hearts. No Canadian has won their national open since 1954. Day’s birdie meant that Bubba Watson and Canadian David Hearn, playing in the final group would have to eagle the closing par 5 to force a playoff. Watson (2nd, -16) watched his chip slide a foot low of the hole, and Hearn (3rd, -15) hit a long bunker shot finished 10 feet short (and the putt lipped out). It was Day’s third PGA TOUR win to go with a long list of near misses. [Link]
Hole #2: Meanwhile in Michigan
Lexi Thompson held on to win the Meijer LPGA Classic by a stroke on Sunday over a hard charging Gerina Piller in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was her fifth career LPGA victory. [Link]
Hole #3: Elsewhere on the Tours
At Sunningdale, Colin Montgomerie’s two-shot lead at the turn of the final round was not enough to land a fourth senior major in the Senior Open Championship. Marco Dawson won, and Bernhard Langer came in second. In the Swiss Alps, Danny Willett, who was in contention at the British Open, won the European Masters by a stroke at the picturesque Crans-sur-Sierre course.
Hole #4: Off to Do His Duty
Bae Sang-Moon (AKA Sang-Moon Bae) will leave the PGA TOUR to enter mandatory military service in South Korea. The TOUR is working on an extension to Bae’s status that will allow him to retain his playing status once his service is completed. [Link]
PGA Tour already in midst of adopting rule that would extend Bae's exempt staus until he completes Korean army hitch. http://t.co/22rz4h17P1
— Steve Elling (@EllingYelling) July 22, 2015
Hole #5: U.S. Junior Amateur
The local favorite couldn’t make his five-up-with-nine-to-play lead hold up. Philip Barbaree rallied to beat Andrew Orischak on the first playoff hole of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship Saturday at the Colleton River Plantation Club in Bluffton, South Carolina. [Link]
Along with the usual A+ writing from @AlanShipnuck, read this for the story of how ZJ's wife pranked him, so good: http://t.co/C7kHwv6HfJ
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) July 23, 2015
Hole #6: Tin Cup Moment
Robert Allenby had a loud spat with his caddie Thursday at the Canadian Open, resulting in Mick Middlemo removing his bib and walking off on in the middle of the round. This after the whole “kidnapping” thing in Hawaii leads us to wonder just what’s going on with Robert. [Link]
If FOUR caddies walk off on you, maybe "It's not you, it's me." is what Robert Allenby should be saying. http://t.co/4Dnyy3j9pV
— Michael Collins (@ESPNCaddie) July 24, 2015
Hole #7: Something Stinks in Norway
A golf course in Norway has a problem, and let’s just say you don’t want to step in it. [Link]
Hole #8: A New Way to Three-Putt
Well, here’s a new way to three-putt. But, people, can we please hold the phone horizontally when shooting video? It’s a wide-screen world. [Link]
Hole #9: Mum’s Ace
Robert Pampling’s mum got her first hole-in-one at age 72. See tip above about shooting video. [Link]