My friend Brent claims to have “discovered” Cam Champ at the 2017 Walker Cup. Brent saw Champ hit a handful of 320-yard drives at L.A. Country Club that week, and when he told Paul Azinger about him while walking the fairways, Azinger was immediately intrigued.
Never mind the ridiculous parts of this story. Champ was already a star at Texas A&M, contended in the U.S. Open earlier that summer, and would turn pro that fall. This is the charm of the Walker Cup. It’s intimate enough to feel like you’re watching a club championship, but the kind played at some of the most exclusive venues in the sport, and in which many of the contestants will end up as household names.
There is no better event in golf. Of course, the pro majors are still exciting, but they’re also massive undertakings that have outgrown venues like Royal County Down (2007), National Golf Links (2013), Cypress Point (2025), and this week, the incredible Old Course at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland. In 2044, the Walker Cup is scheduled for the best course in the U.S, Pine Valley. That one will be a tough ticket. It’s 18 years away, but Brent already has it circled.
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Blind shots (even on a par 3!), strong winds, elevation changes, thick rough and deep bunkers present a challenge that could provide a considerable home-course advantage this weekend. |
The Heritage is the latest tournament to get tabbed for the PGA Tour’s Championship Series. The move was expected, as the Hilton Head stop has been a part of the tour’s signature/elevated series and RBC had re-upped as a title sponsor last year. For those keeping score, Heritage joins the Truist Championship, Cadillac Championship at Doral, Travelers Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial, the Sentry, the GO by Raymond James (formerly the Wyndham) and a new stop sponsored by Sompo (likely to be in the Seattle area). The only two current signature events that have not been named to the tour's new top-tiered system are the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational, although those tournaments are expected to be announced in the upcoming weeks. That would leave two open spots, one of which is envisioned to be the BMW Championship returning to the Chicago area. Among candidates for the final spot, the WM Phoenix Open is believed to be the front-runner. The tour has expressed interest in having its two-week match play playoff at prestigious venues, ideally in big markets.
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Are you going through a swing change? I am, and I’ve already noticed a discrepancy between the balls I hit mindlessly into the net in my backyard, and when playing for real. One comes relatively easy, the other is still awkward. None of this should be a surprise, especially to me. In a recent Mind Games video, I discussed one of the essential ingredients of good golf practice, which is stress. In order to ingrain a new pattern effectively, golfers eventually need to do so in an environment that most closely resembles real competition. For what it’s worth, our Stress Tests platform is a collection of practice games designed for this very purpose.
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This PGA Tour winner has been waiting on an airline to deliver his golf bag for three days. As we've learned many times through the years, even the best players on the planet aren't immune to having their clubs mishandled. In this case, it's 2024 Farmers Insurance Open winner Matthieu Pavon, who has been without his sticks for three days. And, not surprisingly, he's not thrilled about it as he sent this message to Air France: |
Fortunately for Pavon, his previous tweet stated that his next tournament wasn't until the first event of the PGA Tour fall series, which starts in a couple weeks at the new Biltmore Championship in Asheville, N.C. Still, we wish him luck being reunited soon with his prized possessions. |
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