Tag: PGA Golf

PURE INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Late birdie gives Flesch a comeback win

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Steve Flesch gets the pictured Pure Insurance Championship Trophy Award at Pebble Beach on Sun Sep 25, 2022 (@PUREFirstTee photo)

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Steve Flesch lost his lead on the back nine and appeared to be sunk momentarily but nonetheless hung in there long enough to give himself a chance at the end. And when that chance presented itself, he took full advantage.

He found himself tied for the lead at the par-five 18th as others fell back late, and he nailed an eight-foot birdie putt to claim the Pure Insurance Championship, his second win on the PGA Champions Tour this season.

“It’s exciting; I’ve always played well here,” said Flesch, who also won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic earlier this year in Hawaii. “It really felt good to get that win. I’m just glad I capitalized on 18.”

Flesch started the final round in a tie for second and didn’t waste any time moving his way up. He birdied each of his first four holes to spring into the lead by two shots. He then added a birdie at the iconic par-3 seventh to add to his advantage.

However, Steven Alker, playing alongside Flesch on Sunday, rolled one in for birdie at the seventh to cut Flesch’s lead back to two. Paul Stankowski, who began the day tied for the lead at eight-under, could not get any traction early on but finally got going when he got back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh to join Alker in a tie for second.

Moments later, Ken Duke, who was tied with Stankowski at the top when the day began, made birdie at the par-four eighth to join both men at 10-under before Brett Quigley himself got to that number with a birdie at the par-four 10th.

He got himself into a tie for the lead at the 14th after knocking his approach shot stiff and then holing a short birdie putt but fell right back on the next hole with a crippling double-bogey.

Flesch began coming down to earth on the back nine and momentarily lost the lead. He suffered back-to-back bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes, the latter being the result of a three-putt. However, he steadied himself following that while others, such as Duke, stumbled.

The low round of the day belonged to Ernie Els, who fired an eight-under round of 64 and capped things off by getting up and down for birdie at the par-five 18th and ended up in a tie for second. He was actually in position for a playoff had Flesch missed the eventual winning putt.

The final round did not begin until 11:15am PST, as roughly half of the field could not finish their second round on Saturday due to a three-hour fog delay and had to wait until early Sunday morning to do so.

PURE INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Late birdie gives Flesch a comeback win

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Steve Flesch lost his lead on the back nine and appeared to be sunk momentarily but nonetheless hung in there long enough to give himself a chance at the end. And when that chance presented itself, he took full advantage.

He found himself tied for the lead at the par-five 18th as others fell back late, and he nailed an eight-foot birdie putt to claim the Pure Insurance Championship, his second win on the PGA Champions Tour this season.

“It’s exciting; I’ve always played well here,” said Flesch, who also won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic earlier this year in Hawaii. “It really felt good to get that win. I’m just glad I capitalized on 18.”

Flesch started the final round in a tie for second and didn’t waste any time moving his way up. He birdied each of his first four holes to spring into the lead by two shots. He then added a birdie at the iconic par-3 seventh to add to his advantage.

However, Steven Alker, playing alongside Flesch on Sunday, rolled one in for birdie at the seventh to cut Flesch’s lead back to two. Paul Stankowski, who began the day tied for the lead at eight-under, could not get any traction early on but finally got going when he got back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh to join Alker in a tie for second.

Moments later, Ken Duke, who was tied with Stankowski at the top when the day began, made birdie at the par-four eighth to join both men at 10-under before Brett Quigley himself got to that number with a birdie at the par-four 10th.

He got himself into a tie for the lead at the 14th after knocking his approach shot stiff and then holing a short birdie putt but fell right back on the next hole with a crippling double-bogey.

Flesch began coming down to earth on the back nine and momentarily lost the lead. He suffered back-to-back bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes, the latter being the result of a three-putt. However, he steadied himself following that while others, such as Duke, stumbled.

The low round of the day belonged to Ernie Els, who fired an eight-under round of 64 and capped things off by getting up and down for birdie at the par-five 18th and ended up in a tie for second. He was actually in position for a playoff had Flesch missed the eventual winning putt.

The final round did not begin until 11:15am PST, as roughly half of the field could not finish their second round on Saturday due to a three-hour fog delay and had to wait until early Sunday morning to do so.

PURE INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Despite delay, Stankowski, Duke pick up the pace

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Pure Insurance Championship concludes on Sun Sep 25th at Spyglass Hill at Pebble Beach (PGA photo)

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Saturday’s second round got off to a slow start, as foggy conditions caused a three-hour delay, forcing roughly half of the field to not be able to finish their rounds, meaning that those groups will resume play early Sunday morning, barring any more fog.

Timothy O’Neal, Steve Flesch and Chris DiMarco closed their first round on Friday tied for the lead, as each player shot a six-under 66.

However, it was Paul Stankowski who overtook all of them on Saturday, as he shot a five-under 67 at Spyglass Hill to vault into a tie for the lead. Since he was one of the few players who was able to finish, he’ll get few more hours of rest, as he would have to wait until the entire field has concluded its second round, which is not expected to happen until Sunday afternoon.

Stankowski birdied the first two holes of the day and then added another birdie at the par-5 seventh. He added two more birdies on the back nine without a single blemish on his scorecard. In addition, he hit all 14 of his fairways while hitting 12 of his 18 greens.

Ken Duke, who was one of the last players to keep his PGA Tour card by earnings alone – the PGA Tour discontinued this following the 2017-18 season – went on a tear on the back nine at Pebble Beach with three birdies, including a birdie at the par-five 18th to tie Stankowski at the top, shortly after the horn went off to announce the completion of play.

For clarification, when the horn is sounded, a player has the option of either finishing the hole (s)he is on, or simply marking his or her ball and going back to that spot the following morning.

Lee Janzen was briefly tied for the lead after birdieing his 15th and 16th holes at Spyglass, but a damaging double-bogey on his 17th hole, the par-four eighth, dropped him out of the lead and into a three-way tie for third.

Flesch finished his second round one shot behind Stankowski, as his one-under round of 71 placed him in a tie for second with Steven Alker.

Cal grad Charlie Wi matched Stankowski for the low round of the day, as he shot a bogey-free round of 67, including an eagle at the par-five seventh. He is in a tie for third at six-under overall with Brett Quigley.

Play was officially been suspended at around 7pm PDT, and play will commence at 7:30am PST in order for the second round to be completed, with the intention of allowing enough time for the third and final round to be completed.

Tiger out of hospital; Leg getting stronger and wants to get back to work

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Tiger Woods is rehabbing and says his right leg is feeling better and stronger and is headed to his South Florida home after being released from UCLA Medical Center on Tues Mar 16, 2021 (AP Sports file photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

staff writer

The recovery of golf superstar Tiger Woods has be nothing short of miraculous. Woods who was involved in a roll over SUV accident in Los Angeles on Feb 23 in Paso Robles while trying to attend a TV/Golf Digest shooting event at Rolling Hills Country Club when he rolled the vehicle fracturing his right leg. Woods was released from UCLA Medical Center today.

Woods 45, released a statement thanking his supporters for all their support during his time recovering from the accident, “Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery. I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks,” Woods said.“Thank you to the incredible surgeons, doctors, nurses and staff at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. You have all taken such great care of me and I cannot thank you enough.”

Woods says he’s getting better and stronger each day with rehabbing and is heading to his South Florida home where he will recover there. Woods rolled his vehicle in the Paso Robles area of Los Angeles and had screws and pins inserted in his ankle and foot. Woods had swelling on his right leg and had to have surgical release for the muscle and tissue.

Woods had back surgery in December a microdiscectomy procedure for a pressurized disc fragment in his back. The December back surgery was his fifth back surgery and Woods had four surgeries on his left knee.

Jeremiah Salmonson is a staff writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

 

Podcast: Will Tiger accident end the career of one of the greatest golfers ever?

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Photo of crash scene of Tiger Woods SUV crash in Palos Verdes CA. Tiger was the lone driver and no one else was in the vehicle at the time of the accident at 7:00AM on Tue Feb 23, 2021 (CNN image)

By David Zizmor

The good news is that the vehicle accident involving Tiger Woods at Palos Verdes is not life threatening it initially sounded like there was at least one broken leg and he might have two broken legs. He did have surgery this afternoon for the broken legs.

Tiger was already recovering from back surgery a back procedure that he already underwent in December so it wasn’t like he was in perfect health to begin with but it certainly wasn’t a threat to his career.

Knowing the way Tiger would operate he’s going to do his best to come back when you look back on his career your talking about one of the greatest golfers of all time from 1997-2000.

Please listen to more on the podcast with David Zizmor of Tiger Woods injured in a car crash today in Southern California

Tiger Woods podcast: Will Tiger accident end the career of one of the greatest golfers ever? by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

 

 

 

Headline Sports podcast with David Zizmor: PGA and City of SF close on Curry Tour deal; 49ers Kittle can high jump on 12 foot ceiling

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Stephen Curry seen here at the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe on July 10, 2020 taking his third shot on the third hole will host his namesake annual golf tournament for five years starting September 2021 at Harding Park San Francisco (mercurynews.com file photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with David:

#1 The PGA Tour is on the verge of hosting an annual golf tournament at Harding Park in San Francisco and it will be hosted by the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry. The event is scheduled for September 2021 the contract runs five years with Curry as host of the event.

#2 David talk a little about San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, he can do it all run, run vertically, make defenders huff and puff trying to keep up with him and he was video taped jumping up hitting a 12 foot ceiling in the 49ers training weight room. Talk a little about his athleticism.

David Zizmor does Headline Sports podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM: Taylor struggles early but regains footing – and lead

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sfgate.com photo: Phil Mickelson chips the ball out of a bunker up to the seventh green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – After the morning fog burned off, the action around Pebble Beach heated up. And at the end of Saturday’s proceedings, a familiar face emerged near the lead, with another chance to win at this event.

The weather on Saturday was the opposite of the day before. All three courses were covered in fog in the early morning, resulting in cooler temperatures and tougher playing conditions, before the skies cleared up hours later.

Nick Taylor, the leader of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after each of the first two rounds, had his struggles in the early going while playing at Spyglass Hill. He bogeyed two of his first four holes on Saturday and momentarily lost his lead to a surging Jason Day, who was also at Spyglass.

Taylor got things back on track a few holes later, and then slowly began to make up ground and, in the process, regain the lead while Day backtracked slightly. The Canadian birdied the par-four 17th and finished his first nine one-over, and his round gained momentum as the fog subsided.

He picked up a couple of shots in the first five holes of his back nine before making eagle at the par-five seventh. He parred out the rest of the way and went into the clubhouse with a three-under round of 69.  He will play the final round with defending champion Phil Mickelson, who shot a five-under round of 67 at Pebble Beach on Saturday and trails Taylor by single shot.

“It’s going to be a new experience,” Taylor said of playing with Mickelson, who he has never played with. “(But I’m) not really trying to pay attention to what he’s doing. Obviously, if he makes a putt or hits a great shot, the crowd’s going to go wild.

“I’ve just got to do my own thing and try to block all that out. (But that’s) easier said than done.”

Mickelson, who has won this event five times, started his third round at Pebble Beach hot and, with the exception of a brief hiccup in the middle, kept the pedal down to ultimately get within an earshot of the top spot. He birdied the first two holes – including a second hole that saw him hit his tee shot into the fairway bunker and then watch as his second shot found the greenside bunker – and added another birdie at the par-five sixth.

He dropped a shot at the par-three 12th but quickly got his momentum back in Mickelson-esque style. He holed out from a greenside bunker at the par-four 13th for a birdie and then chipped in for birdie at the par-five 14th.

He also ended his third round with a roar. After hitting his second shot way right of the green at the par-five 18th, he hit a super-high lob shot that settled four feet from the hole and then nailed the ensuing birdie putt to go into Sunday’s final round trailing Taylor by a single shot with a five-under round of 67.

“I felt like I had a pretty good day with my short game and had some pretty good shots,” said Mickelson, who actually missed the cut in his previous tournament, the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago. “So it was a nice score. I scored well today, on a day that wasn’t easy. The greens were firm.

“I thought the wind made it difficult, and I ended up playing really well and making a good score. I did a good job getting the ball in the hole.”

Also in the hunt is Day, although he is now three shots behind the lead after holding the second position the day before. He started out very well, making birdies at two of his first four holes in the third round before dropping a shot at the par-four 17th.

He quickly rallied and picked up two shots in the first four holes of his second nine. However, that momentum was stalled by a bogey at the par-three fifth and was not able to regain it, finishing with a two-under round of 70.

“I gave myself plenty of opportunities out there. I just, unfortunately, didn’t capitalize,” Day said. “But for a day like this, to walk away under par, I think I’m still pretty pleased.

“I think if I just stay within myself and play, I just got to focus on giving every shot 100 percent. If I can do that, hopefully I’m holding the trophy at the end of the day.”

AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM: Taylor takes early lead

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photo from sfgate.com: Nick Taylor follows his shot from the ninth tee of the Monterey Peninsula County Club Shore Course during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Pebble Beach, Calif

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH–Nick Taylor got out to an early lead on Thursday, taking advantage of the usually-easier scoring conditions at Monterey Peninsula Country Club to earn a two-shot advantage by firing an eight-under round of 63.

Thursday marked the lowest round that he has scored since 2013,

He birdied the first two holes on the front nine, and then followed that up with two more birdies on the last two holes on the front side.

He was not done there. He got out to the par-five 10th and made eagle before making back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th holes.

Two shots behind him are Patrick Cantlay, who shot a six-under round of 66 at Spyglass Hill, considered to be the toughest of the three courses in the tournament rotation, and Chase Seiffert, a relative unknown on the PGA Tour who shot the same score at Pebble Beach on Thursday.

The two guys who are one stroke behind Cantlay and Seiffert are Harold Varner III, who played Pebble Beach on Thursday and shot a five-under round of 67, as well as Richy Werenski, who took on Monterey Peninsula and shot five-under.

Tied with those two, in a tie for fourth, is Cal product Max Homa is tied for fourth after the first round, by virtue of his five-under round of 67 at Spyglass Hill, along with Stockton native Ricky Barnes.

The most recognizable name on the leaderboard, Phil Mickelson, is currently in a tie for 12th after shooting a four-under 68 at Spyglass.

He started his round at the 10th hole and parred out until he got to the 15th, where he stumbled and made bogey. He quickly rallied, however, and made three birdies in a row to close out that side.

Mickelson then turned around on the front side and made two birdies – at the second and at the fifth – to card his four-under round.

Safeway Open: Scott, Landry blaze their way to the top

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Photo credit: cbssports.com

By Jeremy Harness

NAPA–The Safeway Open has annually been the opening event of the PGA Tour season, but that is not the case this year. Regardless of that, the fans showed up in full force for Thursday’s opening round at Silverado Golf Resort.

Of course, when you have well-known commodities such as Stephen Curry and Tony Romo, the fans are bound to show up.

Two guys who definitely showed up and showed out for the first round were Andrew Landry and Adam Scott, who each shot seven-under rounds of 65 and are tied for the lead after Thursday’s action.

Scott went four-under on the front nine, including an eagle at the par-5 fifth that saw him make a 54-foot putt for his three. He took his only bogey at the par-four 13th, but he more than offset that with three more birdies on the back nine.

“(The eagle was a) fun way to kind of keep the momentum going and get the most out of the round,” Scott said. “If I had any complaints about last season, I didn’t get the most out of my good rounds or my good weeks.

“Today, I felt like I kind of got the most out of myself.”

Landry had no such hiccups, firing a bogey-free 65. He made a pair of birdies on the front side, but he lit the course up on the back nine, making five birdies, including back-to-back birdies to close out his round.

“I can make a lot of putts right now,” Landry said. “That’s kind of what I did all day, I made a lot of putts. Ball-striking wasn’t as good as I wanted, but the putting was there, and it made up for it.”

Right behind those two is Francesco Molinari, who is best known for his heroic play for Europe in the 2018 Ryder Cup, who is one stroke behind with a six-under 66. He made four birdies on the front nine, and made three more on the back to offset a dropped shot at the par-four 14th.

Also one behind is Matthew NeSmith, who spent last season on the Korn Ferry Tour (formerly known as the Web.com Tour). His round of 66 was a bogey-free one, making four birdies on the front and two more on the back.

Romo, who spent many years as the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and now makes his living as an NFL color analyst for CBS, showed that he’s got plenty of game on the golf course. He fired a two-under round of 70 on Thursday and stands a good chance of making the cut and playing into the weekend.

That’s Amaury’s News, Commentary & Podcast: Preview AT&T Pebble Beach PGA Tournament starts next week

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by Daniel Dullum

The PGA AT&T Pebble Beach Tournament is coming next week but two luminaries will be missing in attendance Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Keep in the mind their both aging and also neither one are at the top of their game anymore. Woods at the Phoenix Open last week he just didn’t miss the cut he missed the cut by 12 strokes that’s very unTigerlike.

Mickelson it’s practically the home course for him at Scottsdale he played golf collegiately there at Arizona State and he didn’t fair much better. It’s a rare sight and you lose a little star power and at this stage of their careers and that course at Pebble Beach is a tough one and if you don’t feel like your not on the top of your game if there is one game they want to skip that might be it.

This event as a golfer is something that you earn and they both have and they have been both at the top of the PGA Tour off and on for the last 15 years or better and you reach a point where if there’s one you want to skip here and there of course you can’t skip too many. To remain on the tour there’s a minimum number of tournaments that you have to play in. Aside from an injury it’s not like you just come back but Tiger and Mickelson have earned the right to choose which events that they’ll play in and you’ll see them pop up again down the road but you can’t skip them all.

The Tournament will feature such players as K.J.Choi, John Daly, Ernie Els, and another golfer named Bill Murray. That’s brings me back to the days when the tournament was called the Bing Crosby Pro Am. It was set up very similar to the Bob Hope Desert Classic where the first two days they would bring in their Hollywood friends and maybe some athletes from other sports and they would go out and have some fun for a couple of days.

Then the final days they would get down to business with the real golfers so that’s a tradition that goes back to the Bing Crosby. If your going to the tournament just go and have some fun and enjoy it and see these shank one into the rough like they do. The AT&T has been a top flight event for years and years and even years ago when Bing was still around he would bring his friends in and it was always a great weekend for the sport of golf.

Pebble Beach has always been a top stop on the tour a and it’s one of those tournaments that the players really enjoy and the fans do as well. Since Tiger and Mickelson will not be there there is a chance that there might be some vacancy at some of the hotels in Monterey or Carmel because the fans want to see them. That doesn’t mean that the rest of the field is so bad, you got a lot of these young up and comers guys like Ernie Els in his prime and you have the show biz aspects.

Daniel Dullum is filling in Amaury Pi Gonzalez this week for News and Commentary on http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the rest of the podcast below