the Memorial Tournament
There are no such things as bad wins on the PGA Tour, but some wins are sweeter than others. The first career victory, a major, a first win after a prolonged drought, a win after a serious injury, and a win at an event where a player falls short the year prior all taste a little sweeter in victory.
Patrick Cantlay is a grinder. He dealt with a debilitating stress fracture in his back that only allowed him to play a handful of events in 2014, one event in 2015 and no events in 2016. At one point his future in the game of golf was in jeopardy.
On top of all those physical struggles, he also lost his caddie and close friend in 2016 to a hit and run accident when the two were crossing a street. So, when he won in 2017 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, he notched his first career win and regained his status on the PGA Tour.
In 2018, at the Memorial Tournament, Cantlay had the opportunity to win his second Tour event but fell short as he bogeyed his way home on Sunday. This year, he enlisted the help of the host, Jack Nicklaus.
After a pep talk and some strategic advice for how to attack the course, Cantlay was back in Dublin, Ohio, looking for his second career win.
Two other players were in contention on Sunday, the 54-hole leader, Martin Kaymer, and Adam Scott. Kaymer came out hot, but a series of bogeys took him back of Cantlay and Scott down the stretch. Scott tried his best to keep pace with Cantlay, but this year Patrick found birdies on the home nine instead of bogeys.
A clean final round of 64 and a 4-day total of 269 gave Patrick Cantlay a 2-stroke victory.
Winning at the house that Jack built and getting a handshake from the legend himself is also pretty sweet.
These are the clubs Patrick Cantlay used to win the Memorial Tournament. (As reported by PGATOUR):
Titleist 915F 15°
Shaft:
Mitsubishi Diamana S+ 70TX
Titleist 816 H2 21°
Shaft:
Fujikura Speeder Evolution HB 95X
Titleist Vokey SM5 54°
Shaft:
True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
Scotty Cameron GSS prototype
Belgian Knockout 2019
This week, 144 players took part in the 2019 Belgian Knockout. An interesting hybrid tournament format that combines stroke play with match play.
The format begins with the full field playing two days of traditional stroke play. The top 64 players advance to the weekend and the ‘match-play’ format. I use quotations around match-play, because they still play stroke play, just in a one-on-one match.
The final pairing on Sunday came down to Challenge Tour player Darius van Driel and European Tour rookie Guido Migliozzi. The 22-year-old Migliozzi looked every part a winner throughout the entire week. In his six matches on the weekend he was under par in every single one.
In the championship match, Guido kept van Driel at bay all day and cruised to a 4-shot victory. This is his second career victory in only 20 starts. The future looks bright for this young Italian.
U.S. Women’s Open
After a close call and playoff loss in the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, Jeongeun Lee6 broke through for her first career LPGA victory in a big way. Lee outlasted a tough field and even tougher course to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
While this is her rookie campaign on the LPGA, Lee is no stranger to winning. She amassed 8 victories on the Korean LPGA Tour.
So far in her rookie season on the LPGA, Lee has finished outside the top 20 only once in 9 starts. She is a forceful and consistent competitor that will give her colleagues a tough run for their money week in and week out.
Principal Charity Classic
Kevin Sutherland stunned Scott Parel at the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa. His final round 62 put him in a tie with Parel, forcing a playoff for the championship.
Sutherland’s Sunday performance was an incredible feat. He finished his round on fire. He had 10 birdies in a stretch of 13 holes, including consecutive birdies on holes 10 through 15. Clutch birdies on 17 and 18 forced a playoff with Parel. After both men tied with par on the first extra hole, Sutherland poured in a birdie to best Parel on the second replay of 18.
Keith Schneider
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