China’s Lin Yuxin Finishes Birdie-Eagle In Asia-Pacific Amateur, Earns Spots At Augusta And Carnoustie

/

China’s lefthanded 17-year-old Lin Yuxin captured the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship to secure invitations to the 2018 Masters and he 2018 Open at Carnoustie.

He birdied Royal Wellington's 17th and eagled the par-5 18th to card a six-under-par 65 and finish 14-under, three ahead of compatriot Andy Zhang. Lin becomes the third Chinese players to qualify through the Asia-Pacific Amateur.

“I’m very, very happy I got the chance to win this event and play two majors,” said Lin, who trailed Zhang for much of the round. “I’m very proud of myself. It means a lot to me to play in the Masters and The Open next year. It’s a great experience.”

 “Andy played really solid today,” Lin said. “He didn’t make a single mistake until 15. His iron shots were really good and he made a lot of putts. I actually thought it might not be my day, but I had a good finish.

“I was just trying to stay aggressive and hit as many drivers as I could. Even though I wasn’t playing that well for 12 holes, I still stuck with that plan. Andy is a very steady player, but I had to stay aggressive and get birdies.”

The winning putt:

Joe Buck On Calling Golf, Jack Buck As America's Guest

/

If you're enjoying his always strong play-by-play on the baseball playoffs, you'll enjoy Ryan Asselta's Golf.com interview with Fox Sports' Joe Buck.

Besides noticeably more humility about the difficulty of covering golf, I loved this anecdote about his legendary father's passion for playing from city to city.

You were very close to your dad, legendary broadcaster Jack Buck. How much was golf a part of his life?

My dad was an awful golfer, but he loved it. And I saw from a very young age what a release golf was for him. So once I started covering baseball and was on that tour, well, if you're in Houston for three days, you play River Oaks. If you're in Chicago, you go play Medinah. In San Francisco, you play Olympic. We set up a golf tour that Tim Finchem himself couldn't have set up. It was awesome.

Golf Can't Get Out Of Its Own Way Files: Emily Nash Files

/

I know every sport laments the inability to capitalize on great news and accomplishments, but given golf's current predicament as an expensive, time-consuming sport played by an unusually high number of nebulous male characters, the Emily Nash story does not help. Actually, it's a colossal embarrassment.

Worse, early reports that the female high school golfer who earned medalist honors despite knowing she was ineligible actually had no idea of any such rules. Her coaches did. Oh, and she played the same tees as the boys.

Bill Speros has the full roundup at Golfweek of stories and angry Tweets. Deadspin weighed in. The story is going viral internationally, including in The Guardian.

To recap, Nash won the Central Massachusetts Division 3 boys’ golf tournament but was denied a trophy strictly because she's a female.

Emily is taking it all in stride according to her dad, who clarified a few things about the situation on Facebook according to GolfChannel.com's G.R. Team.

Player Reactions Suggest Shot Clock Golf Might Get Ugly

/

I was fascinated reading the different takes to next year's Shot Clock Masters on the European Tour if nothing else because they were so far apart in assessing pace.

Josh Berhow at Golf.com included this quote from Dustin Johnson, asked if more tournaments should have a shot clock.

"Yeah, absolutely," he said on Wednesday, prior to the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, when asked if he would like to see a shot clock on the PGA Tour. "I think it would be very interesting. You'd see a lot of guys getting penalties on our Tour. Yeah, that would be quite fun, actually. I'd have plenty of time but there's a lot of guys that wouldn't. They would be getting a penalty on every hole."

And then there is Henrik Stenson, who plays at a very nice clip when he's on, but can be shockingly slow when he is game is off. Ready golf is not his thing when he's struggling, so if he plays in the Shot Clock Masters he might be in for a rude awakening. A penalty-a-hole awakening:

"I think you can tell that on any golf course around the world on a Saturday morning game, if you have players that are ready to play and hitting and when it's their turn, it can be very quick," Stenson said. "But if you have a foursome where the other three are standing around waiting, while one player is doing his hole preparation and execution, then it's going to be a very slow game. It's certainly enough time, as long as you are preparing while the others are hitting and getting ready."

Video: Restoring Winged Foot's Greens

/

Nice three-parter here from the USGA and Rob Cowen on the restoration of Winged Foot.

For a course wanting to talk restoration, this will be an invaluable piece to share with golfers still not aware of how a high quality project proceeds. Also of note is the blend of bringing back the old while changing everything under the hood to grow turf in the 21st century.

The piece is in three parts, but if you watch Part 1, YouTube will take you to parts 2 and 3.

Trend? Pre-Recession Golf Course To Become Olive "Agri-hood"

/

Marilyn Kalfus of the Orange County Register reports the latest on a long planned conversion of a failed Palm Springs golf course development into an "agri-hood".

It seems the now-abandoned course once called Avalon is now going to be Miralon with olive trees instead of fairways.

Agri-hoods are a hot trend. There are about 150 so-called farm-to-fork neighborhoods around the U.S., says Ed McMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. They’re as close as Rancho Mission Viejo in Orange County and The Cannery in Davis near Sacramento, and as far-flung as Serenbe in Chattahoochee Hills, Ga.; Willowsford in the rolling hills of Loudoun County, Va., and Kukui’ula in Hawaii, where Kaua’i residents can harvest guava, papaya and pineapples.

“It’s a concept whose time has come,” said Paul Habibi, professor of real estate at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. “We’re increasingly looking to sustainability as an important objective in real estate development.”

There was also this, in a Jenkins-esque bit of reporting:

The Olive Oil Times, which touts itself as “the world’s No. 1 source for the latest olive oil news,” recently devoted a spread to the planned olive oasis. “Golf courses require a lot of water to stay lush and playable,” the story noted.

Allenby Contemplated Retirement But Now He's "Refreshed"

/

Evin Priest catches up with a rejuvenated Robert Allenby as he tees it up in the Sanderson Farms, this week's PGA Tour event where they are doing deep into the eligibility list to fill a field.

Depending on how you look at things, Allenby says he's refreshed after a break and the former Alien-abductee--or whatever happened in Honolulu--is ready to get back to what he does best: firing caddies.

"I was thinking I'd take a couple years off (and) get ready for the Champions Tour at (age) 50.

And what a boon for that tour.

"But when golf has been your whole life, it's hard to stop."

Lucky us!

Reminder: Asia Pacific Amateur At Royal Wellington

/

The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, hosted by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, Masters Tournament and the R&A, kicks off Thursday at New Zealand's Royal Wellington. An invitation to The Masters is on the line.

Michael Jones with a preview for Golf Australia.

Telecast times:

ESPN2 Coverage – All Times Eastern U.S.
Thursday, Oct. 26 (First Round)            1-4 a.m.
Friday, Oct. 27 (Second Round)            1-4 a.m.
Saturday, Oct. 28 (Third Round)            1-4 a.m.
Sunday, Oct. 29 (Final Round)               3:30 – 6:30 a.m.
Sunday, Oct. 29 (Highlights)                 4-4:30 p.m.

Greg Turner and Scott MacPherson have remodeled the course in 2014 into the one we'll see this week.

A nice preview video that should whet your appetite for Royal Wellington:

Butch Harmon For The World Golf Hall Of Fame?

/

That's the case Jerry Tarde makes at GolfDigest.com before sharing a short Q&A with the famed instructor.

While I fully support his place in the Hall--after some early figures in the instruction and game development world get their due to ensure no recency bias--a Butch induction might force the players whose careers he made to show for the World Golf Hall of Fame ceremony! Maybe.

What Hasn't Merion Hosted...A U.S. Women's Open?

/

I hate to be picky given Merion's incredible list of USGA events hosted, with another Curtis Cup on the way in 2022. But since Pebble Beach is finally going to host the U.S. Women's Open, and it's about the only significant event Merion has not hosted, why not?

Matt Adams and I both picked Merion in a Golf Central hypothetical question from Todd Lewis...I also picked the Dodgers in five.

What Could Go Wrong Files: HSBC's Latest Photo Stunt Kicks Off WGC In Bizarro Fashion

/

Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson and Hao Tong Li spooked Hideki Matsuyama on the eve of the 2017 WGC-HSBC Champions tournament. The bizarro rollout continues a long HSBC tradition of making golfers look sill all in the name of tournament promotion. 

It worked!

GolfChannel.com has a nice slideshow of previous oddball tournament kickoffs, and you'll notice most are for HSBC events.