"Absent Friend Casts a Shadow Over a Rookie’s Tour Milestone"

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The New York Times' Karen Crouse revisits the story of Patrick Cantlay and the friend/caddy he lost in Chris Roth, but there's an added dimension to Cantlay reaching the Tour Championship Sunday.

Crouse writes of Roth's parents trailing along in the gallery.

Roth’s parents hung back as Cantlay played the 7,208-yard layout Sunday. During his third round, they had peeled away for the exit with one hole left because, as Michelle Roth explained, “Patrick’s not here to entertain us. We don’t want to bother him.”

She added, “I’m not sure it helps him having us here, and I worry that it hinders him because it makes him remember Chris.”

Cantlay dismissed those concerns. “I’m just happy to have them here,” he said, adding, “They really just remind me of someone who was a great guy.”

Wow: Jason Day Drops Longtime Looper For Buddy

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George Savaricus reports that Jason Day will have a new bagman this week, dropping longtime supporter and mentor Colin Swatton for "high school roomate" Luke Reardon.

We officially are witnessing a bizarro trend: top players wanting a "mate" or "buddy" or fellow lad guiding them around because the older, wiser caddie was...too old? Not hip? Prone to not engaging in full smooching-up mode 24/7? Or, just merely to blame for the overcompensated, over-pampered boss stinking it up?

In this case, the move is especially perplexing give Swatton's guiding hand, as detailed by Day, in helping the Australian rise to No. 1. The sheer amount of melodrama Swatton has had to endure makes him sainthood worthy.

Anyway, as Kevin Casey points out, it'll probably be a short-lived playoff run for Reardon unless his man shows some of the old form.

 

 

Hunter Mahan Starts Effort To Kickstart Career With 68

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On the list of questions I get from readers, Hunter Mahan has recently pushed aside Nick Watney and Anthony Kim atop the list of "where has he gone?"

Thankfully Tim Rosaforte at Golf World answers what has happened to Mahan's game, what he's doing to repair his confidence and what the prospects are for the one-time 4th ranked player in the world and 2014 Ryder Cupper.

Most prominently, Mahan's switched to instructor Chris O'Connell.

Mahan and O’Connell were connected through Tom Dundon, a mutual friend and developer whose golf interests include Trinity Forest in Dallas and Topgolf. O’Connell had been following Mahan’s career since he finished second in the 2002 U.S. Amateur and won the Haskins and Hogan Awards before wrapping up his college career at Oklahoma State in 2003. Seeing Mahan struggle, Dundon was persistent that O’Connell was the correct fit.

“I don’t expect Hunter and Kuch to look alike, but they both do specific things critical in the area of delivering the club into the ball,” O’Connell said. “I told [Mahan] at first, 'I don’t want to teach you anything you didn’t know or do. I simply want to put back what you were doing when you were highly regarded as one of best hitters out there.' I would not want to do anything else but just restore him.”

The restoration process involves rebuilding confidence. Mahan missed seven straight cuts in the early stages of the transition, but he's coming off a T-16 at the Wyndham Championship that included back-to-back 65s. He jumped from 791st to 731st in the world at the Wyndham, and goes into the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship ranked 748th.

Mahan opened with a 68 in round one of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Classic.

Jarrod Lyle: "I am in remission"

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The golf news has paled a bit this weekend as Texas faces catastrophic hurricane-induced flooding but there is at least this piece of news about one of the best people in the game, Jarrod Lyle.

Playoff Fever! Stars Looking Forward To The Off-Season

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Maybe golf's Playoffs(C) are so rigorous and stressful that they invoke longing for a vacation. Or, not.

Nothing screams playoffs like athletes telling us how they are looking forward to a break. But this is the FedExCup, where stars are coddled by points resets that help get them through all of the stages. Something tells me if these were actual playoffs with traditional eliminations for poor play, that Rory McIlroy's and Bubba Watson's wouldn't be telegraphing their much needed breaks.

Rory on Tuesday, courtesy of Kyle Porter at CBSSports.com:

"I'm not at 100 percent, but I'm at a percent where I feel like I can still compete," McIlroy told reporters. "I want to get a win before I shut it down for the season, so I'm excited for the next few weeks, but I'm excited for the next three months after that. Because more than likely I'll take some time off and regroup.

"When's the last time I've been able to take that much time off and focus on myself and my game. We don't get an off-season anymore, so to be able to get that time to afford myself, I'm really excited about that as well."

After an opening 73 on top of many okay finishes by his high standards, might these playoffs be more interesting if they were sending McIlroy home early? And given that he's not getting any help from his caddie, as David Dusek at Golfweek points out following a day watching Rory play, might the urgency be there with a format that endangers his ability to advance in the playoffs.

Then there is Bubba Watson, who has worked twelve weekends in 2017 even after getting a major wake-up call a year ago when passed over for the Ryder Cup team. Still, he's ready for a break as soon as the playoffs are over.

From Rex Hoggard's Golfweek story:

“You know, truthfully, when I'm done with the playoffs, no matter where that is, I'm taking at least four and a half months off. I won't play until next year,” said Watson, who opened with a 3-under 67 and was tied for fifth at Glen Oaks. “I don't know about you, but traveling every week, my kids started kindergarten. ... If I had to choose golf or family, I'm going family every day of the week.”

Algorithm writers: let's figure out a points reset that helps these stars begin their hard-earned vacations early!

"Feeding off each other can have positive, negative effects for pros"

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Jason Sobel takes on the tricky subject of pairings that go well or not so well.

The ESPN.com writer talks to a nice cross section of players and it's fascinating just how influential the momentum of a group plays in pro golf. Rory's comments on the impact of pairings was of most interest, but this was also fun (and not surprising):

Ask most touring professionals and they'll usually insist that there are extremely beneficial playing partners and ... other guys. Which is to say, when players receive their early-week text messages revealing first- and second-round groupings, most will celebrate the positive discoveries, but won't grouse about potentially negative ones.

"I usually play well when I have a fun group, guys who I like," Pat Perez said before the opening round of The Northern Trust. "This week is going to be fun as s---. I've been playing against [Charley] Hoffman since I was 7. [Brian] Harman is cool as s---. We're going to have a great group."

"Stephen Curry, the golfer: As comfortable on links as on court"

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Steph Curry tees up in this week's Ellie May Classic, a Web.com Tour event and Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle profiles the basketball stars' passion for golf.

Kroichick writes:

In competing against those players for the first time, Curry will climb into uncharted territory. This is completely different than his good-natured outings with famous friends, from former President Barack Obama and Michael Jordan to Tom Brady and Justin Timberlake.

Last month, during the American Century Championship, a celebrity tournament near South Lake Tahoe, Curry at various times played alongside Timberlake and NFL quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Tony Romo (since retired). Their rounds included several playful moments, such as Curry catching footballs thrown by Rodgers and Romo.

Beneath the frivolity, Curry took his golf seriously. He shot a final-round 68, the best score any player posted in the three-day event, and finished fourth in a field of 89.

Callaway Live: Falcons QB & Links Golf Lover Matt Ryan

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Yours truly was promoted as the guest on Callaway Live with Harry Arnett this week, but in a bit of television magic (me shuttling to Carlsbad from The Open), I happily step aside for suprise guest Matt Ryan.

Not only did he lead the Falcons to last year's Super Bowl, but Ryan is a terrific lover of golf. I think you'll enjoy his discussion of his annual trip to enjoy links golf, how the game helps him retain his flexibility and why it's his off season passion.

But only after certified Falcons fanatic Arnett gets in a few Super Bowl questions...

Where Are They Now Files, Birkdale '08 Edition: Padraig Harrington vs. Greg Norman (Viewer Discretion Advised)

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The Shark tired to a final round 77 but gave us a thrill when contending for the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

As the championship prepares to return there nine years after that exciting week, this seems like a nice opportunity to catch up with winner Padraig Harrington and T3 finisher Greg Norman.

Padraig Harrington is tied for the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open lead. Yes, he's got an interesting swing and finish these days, but he's as lovable, driven and zany as ever. But he's found a place of contentment, something he addressed after the round (Nick Rodger's report for the Herald.)


Greg Norman vacations regularly, injures himself constantly and likes to keep his clothes off on Instagram.

"Thompson’s mom, Judy, battles cancer and fuels daughter’s fire"

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As the U.S. Women's Open gets underway in Bedminster, Golfweek's Beth Ann Nichols talks to Lexi Thompson's mom, Judy, about her cancer fight and the help she received from Morgan Pressel.

As Judy was told she'd have a long wait until surgery, she reached out to Pressel, who lost her mother to breast cancer and who has since set up a powerful foundation.

Judy hesitated to call because Pressel was at a tournament.

“I will take care of this,” Pressel assured her, “you’re in my hands now.”

Pressel lost her own mother to breast cancer in 2003. Her Morgan & Friends charity event, in which Lexi participates, has raised $6.5 million.

With the help of Pressel, Judy met with doctors almost immediately. Five days later, on June 6, she had surgery.

“If it wasn’t for (Morgan) and her foundation,” Judy said, “I would still be waiting.”

Chubby And Westwood In "Shock" Split

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Players and agents split all the time and no one blinks an eye. But the shock of finding out Lee Westwood is in a legal dispute with longtime ten-percenter Chubby Chandler ends a loyalty era. As the younger generations is increasingly steered in ominous directions by agents hostile to everyone not writing them a check, Chandler is a former player turned businessman who has always had a good sense for his clients. In this case, he a loyal horse in Westwood and it's sad to see them split.

But as James Corrigan reports on the duo's long term partnership for The Telegraph, and says Westwood is off to IMG.

Westwood was believed to be shareholder in ISM and his departure is clearly a blow for the Manchester-based company, which remains one of the biggest players in the market, despite losing players of the calibre of Rory McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel and Matt Fitzpatrick. Westwood was clearly one ISM’s marquee names, boasting on-course earnings of approximately£50 million and off-course income estimated to be more than £5 million per year.

Europe’s second is an almost certainty  to be a future Ryder Cup captain, with 2020 his stated year of choice. His main handler at IMG is likely to be the much respected, Guy Kinnings, who is global co-managing director of the golf division.

Punters: Pre-Open Championship Karma Watch, Poulter Edition

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Nothing against the four players who made it through the Open Qualifying Series at the Greenbrier Classic, and nothing against the series itself, but punters with karma hunches may want to check out this James Corrigan Telegraph story on Ian Poulter making it to Royal Birkdale by playing the Woburn qualifier.

Besides taking the local qualifying angle at a course he knows well--once one of the great features of The Open and now relegated to this last event due to the Open Qualifying Series--Poulter did this in a year he finished second at The Players. And the year The Open returns to the site of a second place finish.

“Obviously going back after what happened will be special. I honestly thought I had that 15-foot putt on the last to maybe win or to get in a play-off and then my Irish friend decided to go bananas on the last five holes.

“But still, it was a great week, my best in a major. After I finished, [his wife] Katie told me she was pregnant with Lily [the third of their four children], so it was happy days. Birkdale is my favourite Open venue.”

Just saying he's worth a look for a nice each way wager at 100-1...