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PGA TOUR 2022: Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village CC, Ohio, 2-5 June

Charlie Sifford Honoured at Memorial Tournament

From WOSU.org, by Natasha Williams:

Trailblazing golf professional Charlie Sifford would have turned 100 years old Thursday. He overcame racism and prejudice to help pave the way for other African Americans to play on the PGA Tour. The Memorial Tournament honored Sifford this week posthumously for his significant contributions...

Charlie Sifford Sr. became the first black golfer to earn his PGA card in 1961. He navigated a lot more than sand traps and ponds on the course during those days. Taunts, racial slurs, segregation and even death threats were common. In many cases, he could not eat in dining halls and restaurants with fellow white golfers. He often ate his meals in the locker room where on some occasions, some white golfers joined him. Later in life, he wrote a book aptly named Just Let Me Play...

Sifford won twice on the PGA tour, and in 2004 he became the first black golfer admitted to the World Golf Hall of Fame. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2014 from former U.S. President Barack Obama.  Read more

From Yahoo!Sports, by Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch:

DUBLIN, Ohio — Golf instructor Gerry Hammond quickly ran down a who’s who of groundbreaking Black golfers: Pete Brown. Lee Elder. James Black. Calvin Peete.

Then he paused, not for effect but to sigh, because to mention Charlie Sifford is to remember a painful time when whites wanted Blacks to show up at the course only to carry their clubs. Black caddies were OK. Black golfers? Especially Black professional golfers? No thanks.

“But Charlie Sifford is the one who probably had it hardest of them all,” Hammond continued. “He was one of the first to push and break down the barrier and walls, and he received backlash for it.”
...

It took Sifford winning two tour events, the 1967 Greater Hartford Open and 1969 Los Angeles Open, to finally gain a measure of respect among much of the golfing establishment. In 2004, the Brecksville, Ohio, resident became the first Black inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Tiger Woods, who named his son Charlie in honor of Sifford, in 2015 credited the pioneer with paving the way for his own career.

“I probably wouldn’t be here (without him),” Woods said. “My dad would never have picked up the game. Who knows if the (whites only) clause would still exist or not? But he broke it down.”  Read more

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The Memorial Tournament 2022

2022 PGA Championship, Southern Hills CC, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 19-22 May

Justin Thomas reclaims the Wanamaker from seven shots back...

So, how did he do that?  Rethinking the 'possible' with help from caddie Jim 'Bones' Mackay, and what Tiger said.

The PGA Championship of 2022 has been called "One for the Ages", and they're not wrong. Golf commentators from various parts of the planet are mulling over what happened in Tulsa on 22nd May, 2022, what we might learn, and what is inspiring. 

From @TigerWoods:

Big congrats to @JustinThomas34! He kept himself in this championship until the very end and once he got his shot he didn’t look back. Thanks to Tulsa and the @PGAChampionship for a great week.

From Planet Sport, by Matt Cooper:

Justin Thomas joins elite group who’ve won a Major from outside the top six with 18 holes to play

In the last 25 years only five golfers have overcome such a pre-final round position...

The Kentucky man was seven shots back after 54 holes - the largest final round comeback since the 1999 Open. He also tied the tournament's record final round comeback.

From Independent.ie, by Phil Casey:

Justin Thomas hailed the value of experience after beating Will Zalatoris in a play-off to win his second US PGA Championship following a dramatic climax at Southern Hills...

The former world number one therefore equalled the biggest comeback in US PGA history, John Mahaffey coming from seven behind Tom Watson after 54 holes to defeat Watson and Jerry Pate in a play-off at Oakmont in 1978.

From Golf Digest, by Shane Ryan:

Justin Thomas had 35 minutes between the end of his round and new life in a playoff. This is how he spent it.

TULSA — At 5:17 p.m., Justin Thomas attempted a birdie putt on the 18th hole at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills. If he made it, he would have tied Mito Pereira for the lead at six under. It ran past the hole—uncomfortably past—and about a minute later he made his par. As he walked off, he took a long look at the massive leaderboard overlooking the green. What he saw didn't look overly promising...

From The Insider, by Tyler Lauletta:

With Thomas through every swing and putt of his championship weekend was caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay.

Mackay, who worked for decades with Phil Mickelson before picking up Thomas' bag full-time in 2021, played a key role in getting Thomas across the finish line, giving his player a little bit of necessary straight talk on Saturday night ahead of what proved to be the major-winning round.

From Golf Monthly, by Jeff Kimber:

Justin Thomas celebrated his first Major victory with Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay on the bag by gifting the legendary caddie a traditional keepsake - something Phil Mickelson never did. After emerging victorious from the three-hole playoff with Will Zalatoris to win the PGA Championship, Thomas gifted the winning flag to Bones, a traditional show of appreciation for the winning caddie’s hard work.  

From Golfweek, by Adam Schupak:

“I’m fully confident in saying that I wouldn’t be standing here if he didn’t give me that, wasn’t necessarily a speech, but a talk, if you will,” Thomas said...

Bones continued: “It’s a major championship. You don’t have to be perfect. Just don’t be hard on yourself. Just kind of let stuff happen, and everything is trending in the right direction. So just keep staying positive so that good stuff can happen.”

“I left here in an awesome frame of mind,” Thomas said.

From Golf Australia, Final Round Gallery

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2022 PGA Championship, Southern Hills CC, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 19-22 May

Southern Hills Country Club: every hole narrated, and "Nine things to know"

From Golf Digest:

Golf Digest's Architecture Editor, Derek Duncan, narrates this spectacular drone flyover of Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  [Video above]

From PGA TOUR, Nine Things to Know: Southern Hills CC, by Jim McCabe

Among the intriguing "things to know" revealed by McCabe is this gem:

#5.    Hubert Green played under a death threat

Hubert Green was leading the 1977 U.S. Open at Southern Hills by one stroke with four holes remaining when he pulled his tee shot left of the 15th fairway. He tried his best to keep his distance from his caddie, Shayne Grier. The caddie knew why.

Told of a death threat on his life called into the Oklahoma City FBI – an anonymous woman said gunmen would shoot Green at the 15th hole – Green had been given options by USGA President Sandy Tatum and police officers. Green said there was only one option. He’d play on.

In an interview with the Boston Globe in 2007, Grier said Green was keeping his distance so if there was a shooting, the player would be the only target. The gregarious Grier, still a volunteer official with Mass Golf, said he caught up with Green on the 15th and said, “Let’s give them two targets to shoot at.”

The levity might have helped. Green recovered from the left rough and made par at 15, then birdied 16 to increase his lead to two. He negotiated a par at 17 and could afford the safe bogey at 18 to win by one over Lou Graham.  Read more

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The Australian Golf Centre in Sandringham 

Australian Golf Media, media release 28/4/22

Australian Golf’s new home is officially open, bringing to life a project that was more than 10 years in the making.

Jack Newton OAM, 1950 - 2022

From PGA of Australia, by Tony Webeck:

One of Australian golf’s most iconic and influential figures, Jack Newton OAM, has passed away at age 72.

In a statement released by the Newton family on Friday morning, it was announced that Jack had passed away overnight due to “health complications”.   Read more

From Golf Australia Magazine, by AAP:

Australian golfing great Jack Newton, who has passed away 72, is being hailed as a trailblazer and fearless competitor who leaves a lasting legacy on his sport.

Newton, the 1979 Australian Open champion, died overnight due to health complications, according to his family.

Newton's Australian Open victory was one of three triumphs on the Australian Tour – he also won once on the PGA Tour and was a three-time winner on the European Tour.  Read more

Golf Australia on Twitter:

Vale Jack Newton, great player, commentator, junior golf supporter, incredible character and golf legend. Died today aged 72 after a long illness. RIP  @GolfAust

The European Tour, now DP World-Tour, celebrates 50th anniversary!

From DP World Tour, 12/4/22:

Exactly 50 years ago today, on April 12, 1972, the first official tournament in history of the European Tour - now known as the DP World Tour – took place at Golf Club de Pals, in Girona, with the opening round of the Open de España.

The inaugural tournament won three days later by Spaniard Antonio Garrido who, alongside the legendary Seve Ballesteros, went on to be the first Continental Europeans to play in the Ryder Cup in 1979.

The 1972 Open de España was the culmination of a near 20-year campaign led by John Jacobs OBE, the Tour’s founding father, to modernise the structure of tournament golf in Europe.

Since that day, the Tour has evolved into a global sporting organisation, having played 1916 tournaments at 440 different venues and in 50 different countries over the past half a century.

A total of 8,468 different players have played on Tour representing 110 different countries. Of those, 557 different players have won, representing 37 different nations.

To commemorate our 50th anniversary, today we look back on some of the players and moments that have defined our history.  [See video above]

Here are some of the topics to be viewed or read, on the DP World-Tour linked page:

The evolution of the DP World Tour

50 Stats from 50 Years on Tour

50 Years on Tour: Iconic memories from the archive

Who has the most wins on Tour?

The youngest winners in Tour history

The oldest winners in Tour history

Amateurs who have won on Tour

LPGA 2022: Chevron Championship, Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage: March 31 - April 3

Jennifer Kupcho takes a final victory leap at Mission Hills 

From LPGA News, by AP:

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Jennifer Kupcho took the last victory leap into Poppie's Pond late Sunday afternoon, ending the tournament best known as the Dinah Shore's half-century run at Mission Hills in the California desert.

Six strokes ahead entering the round, Kupcho shot a 2-over 74 for a two-stroke victory over Jessica Korda in The Chevron Championship. The 24-year-old from Colorado finished at 14-under 274 for her first LPGA Tour title.

The event that started in 1972 as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle and became a major in 1983 is moving to Houston next year after failing to attract a sponsor willing to keep it in the desert.

Seven strokes ahead of Korda and defending champion Patty Tavatanakit at 18 under after holing birdie putts over 30 feet on the par-4 fourth and par-3 fifth, Kupcho played the final 13 holes in 4 over.  Read more

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Sam Woods: World Golf Hall of Fame Presenter Speech – Tiger Woods Induction 2022

From PGA TOUR, by AP:

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The greatest of his generation, Tiger Woods took his place among the best of all time Wednesday night when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and shared a life story of a passion to play and a work ethic that made him feel like he earned it.

Woods didn't touch on any of his 82 victories on the PGA TOUR or his 15 majors, or the eight surgeries he endured along the way.

He spoke of his parents taking out a second mortgage that allowed him to play the junior circuit in California, choking up when he mentioned his late father who told him he would have to earn everything he wanted.

“If you don't go out there and put in the work, you don't go out and put in the effort, one, you're not going to get the results,” Woods said. “But two, and more importantly, you don't deserve it. You need to earn it. So that defined my upbringing. That defined my career.”

He was introduced by Sam, his 14-year-old daughter who said her father preaches to her and 13-year-old brother Charlie the same message he learned from his late later.

“Train hard, fight easy.”   Read more

Tiger Woods' Induction - World Golf Hall of Fame

From PGA TOUR News, by Staff:

The World Golf Hall of Fame inducted four new members Wednesday, highlighted by 82-time TOUR winner Tiger Woods. Former PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Susie Maxwell Berning and Marion Hollins, a trailblazer who made a name as both a golf course designer/architect and a former U.S. Women’s Amateur champion.

In addition to the inductees, Renee Powell was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Charlie Sifford Award, while Peter Ueberroth and the late Dick Ferris were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Below are the transcripts of the speeches from Woods, Finchem and Berning (Hollins was inducted posthumously):

TIGER WOODS: Thank you. Crap, I just lost a bet to Stricker that I wouldn't cry. Thank you, Sam.

All the inductees, all the people who -- all the past Hall of Famers who are here, players, the World Golf Hall of Fame committee, thank you for inducting me and passing me in here. Jay, thank you for moving the age down from 50 to 45.

I'm going to start kind of retro, so I'm going to go at 6 years old, so 40 years ago.

Read full transcript of speeches here

Today Tiger Woods will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame

His 14 year old daughter, Sam, will be his speech presenter.

From PGA TOUR Staff

The World Golf Hall of Fame has announced the individuals who will serve as speech presenters for the 2022 inductee class during Wednesday evening’s live ceremony airing at 7 p.m. ET on Golf Channel:

• 2022 inductee – Susie Maxwell Berning (Presenter: Judy Rankin, Hall of Fame member)
• 2022 inductee – Tim Finchem (Presenter: Davis Love III, Hall of Fame member)
• 2022 inductee – Tiger Woods (Presenter: Sam Woods, daughter)
• *Marion Hollins will be recognized posthumously as the fourth member of the 2022 class*.

Emmy-nominated golf personality David Feherty will serve as host of the live ceremony.  Read more

From Golfweek, by Steve DiMeglio

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – In December, Tiger Woods played alongside his son, Charlie, en route to a runner-up finish in the PNC Championship.

On Wednesday, Woods will team up with his other child, daughter Sam.

Woods chose his daughter to introduce him for his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, which will be held beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday at PGA Tour headquarters within the shadows of TPC Sawgrass, home to this week’s Players Championship, the Tour’s flagship event.  Read more

From Yahoo!Sports & NBC Sports, by Mary Omatiga

The 2022 World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place this Wednesday, March 9, one night before the first round of the Players Championship, at the PGA Tour’s ‘Global Home’ headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. This will be the first time the induction will take place in the sunshine state since 2013. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place last year but was postponed due to the pandemic.  Read more, including "How to Watch"

From Golf Magic, by Andy Roberts

Tiger Woods has told Golf Digest he wishes his late father Earl Woods could be there when he gets inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Wednesday evening. 

Woods is one of four people that will be inducted on March 9 at the PGA Tour's global home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

It is understood that everyone close to Woods will be there in attendance, including his son Charlie Woods.  Read more

From TSN.ca, by Staff

“I am both honoured and humbled to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame," Woods said of his induction.

"This past year has been such an incredible journey and the support I’ve received from my family, friends and fans has been overwhelming. This achievement is the ultimate recognition to never give up and keep chasing."  Read more

From Kansas City Sport, by Doug Ferguson (AP)

“What can I say about Tiger that we haven’t said already?” Rahm said. “He inspired a whole generation. Besides entertaining all of us for 20 years and doing unbelievable things, he inspired the generation of players that you’re seeing today.”  Read more

@Golf HallofFame   Arrival of the Woods clan  :)