156 Starts Later, Moriya Jutanagarn Joins Sister As An LPGA Winner

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Moriya Jutanagarn

Moriya Jutanagarn

If you pitched the Hugel-JTBC L.A. Open inaugural story to an executive from one of the studios up the street from Wilshire Country Club, the verdict would have been something like: "na, too good to be true."

You had the big sister of a top player always playing second fiddle and in her 156th start, holding off a legend of the sport and a sweet-swinging star-in-the-making in Jin Young Ko (with both nearly acing a final hole that created the hoped-for theater.) Just off the green was the year-younger little sis, bawling like a baby at the sight of big sister finally winning on the LPGA Tour. 

Throw in some beautiful late light, huge crowds, a fantastic setting dotted by the Hollywood sign and a tournament that wasn't even on a schedule a few months ago, and you have a special week for LA's return to the LPGA schedule.

As Beth Ann Baldry writes, Moriya Jutanagarn's win was one for the family, who were all on hand to enjoy a special day at a special course.

Ron Sirak notes for LPGA.com that Moriya's win makes the Jutanagarn's the second sibling set to win on the LPGA Tour, joining the Sorenstam's.

Inbee Park made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes as Jutanagarn played nearly flawless golf, but as I wrote for Golfweek, Park regains the world No. 1 ranking for the third time despite multiple layoffs from the sport.

Many players expressed their delight for Moriya winning on such a big stage against such a strong field (21 of the world top 25), who has long played second fiddle to a more famous sister. But the media outpouring of pleasure tells you just how long overdue the win is, and how admired Moriya is for her dedication to craft.

Golf Channel, which did a beautiful job delivering great sound and pictures of Wilshire CC, offers this final round highlights package helmed by Terry Gannon and Karen Stupples:

Weekend Instagram Roundup: Landry Looks Good In Boots, Kid Rock Goes Kite, Ariya Cries More Than Moriya, Sand Valley On Earth Day

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Andrew Landry's Valero Texas Open win was an emotional one for his family, who've saw him come close to winning earlier this year and have witnessed no shortage of struggles, Mike McAllister writes for PGATour.com.

Also impressive of Andrew to take a few minutes away from his celebration to piece together a #LiveUnderPar graphic and image to make for Tweet No. 70 from his account. These Guys Are Good!

The winner's boots will definitely look better with a pair of jeans...

A moment that lasts long after the raise of a trophy. 🏆 #LiveUnderPar

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Moriya Jutanagarn wasn't near as emotional as her sister upon winning the inaugural Hugel-JTBC L.A. Open with a strong final round that required holding off the almighty Inbee Park.

Kid Rock sports some retro glasses and displayed way more than anyone wanted to see of his mid-section during the Bass Pro Shops Pro-Am and Rain Dance. 

Kid Rock’s glasses come straight from the Tom Kite collection.

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Sand Valley celebrated Earth Day with a message about their efforts.

Wilshire's Par-3 Closer Should Make For A Fun Finish

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The LPGA Tour's Hugel-JTBC L.A. Open wraps today on a perfect Sunday with a pretty tightly packed leaderboard.

There is also the fine play of Rio Olympian Aditi Ashok, who at six back is probably too far back today, but remains one of the more inspirational stories in pro golf, writes Beth Ann Nichols.

Ashok had Saturday's shot of the day on the short par-4 14th:

🦅 time for @aditigolf! #LPGAGoesHollywood @lpga_la

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It's been a very successful week at Wilshire based on the reviews of those watching Golf Channel's east coast prime time coverage. I explain here why this was a great get for the LPGA Tour and why more courses of Wilshire's architectural intrigue should be the tour's next frontier, especially as the PGA Tour endorses distance chasing and the road to 8,000-yard snoozefests. 

Those who know Wilshire love its 10th hole and are irked by its use as the closing hole this week. But for legitimate logistical reasons, the dreaded par-3 finish may not be so dull after all. Here is my story for Golfweek on what to expect with this grand one-shotter.

A few more images:

The par-3 10th for members, the 18th for the Hugel-JTBC LA Open and note the fairway connection to the 17th hole this week.

The par-3 10th for members, the 18th for the Hugel-JTBC LA Open and note the fairway connection to the 17th hole this week.

Rear view

Rear view

Yardage guide

Yardage guide

Sergio Releases First Single Off The New Record: San Antonio Hurl

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Great to see Sergio Garcia getting back to his roots by shelving the big name producer and the lavish string arrangements for a stripped-down, acoustic version of his classic club right-handed club hurl. 

Following a missed cut at The Masters, Sergio's first single off the new album pays homage to Lyle Lovett's classic: San Antonio Hurl.  Reviewers will swoon over how little speed he's lost even as he shifts to a left-handed toss.

Mercifully this time around, he kept his Rogue driver--with groundbreaking Jailbreak Technology no less--out of a lake and instead deposited the wounded weapon into cedar-infested shrubbery.

The hurl took place in round two of the Valero Texas Open. Make sure to watch all the way through to :48 when analyst Billy Kratzert suggests the club hurl was "highly untypical of Sergio" while the Spaniard takes another lash at something in the shrubbery! He's living under par! 

Garcia's new album is also expected to feature a duet with wife Angela, "Don't Go Breaking My Club."

Beverly CC Extends Membership To Former President Barack Obama

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There are many fine courses and clubs in the Chicago area, but it's still nice to see a facility with the history and architecture of Beverly Country Club's caliber welcoming the golf-loving former president of the United States to its roster.

Teddy Greenstein reports for the Chicago Tribune.

This was interesting:

Members refer to Beverly Country Club as “the United Nations” of golf clubs, a home to people of all ethnicities, races, faiths, political parties — and both sexes. The membership includes multiple Nobel Prize recipients and politicians such as Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Ald. Ed Burke.

The club features a Ron Pritchard restoration of a Donald Ross original.

Instagram: Kingston, Wilshire And Shinnecock

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It's a law firm! 

In a Friday golf architecture-focused edition of Instagram shots I've enjoyed, we kick off with an unusual angle of (photographic) approach to Kingston Heath's 11:

A very LA Open-like weather day for the LPGA's return to the LA city limits. A few of my shots, just use the arrows to the right to see all...

The tents are going up, now it's just time for spring weather to rejuvenate the native grasses. One of golf's most beautiful par-4s:

Ko: Leadbetter Responds To His Critics

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Lydia Ko opened with a 70 in the Hugel-JTBC LA Open but the off-course discussion about her career trajectory continues. A few weeks after Kevin Van Valkenburg's ESPN The Magazine profile of Ko, where former instructor David Leadbetter's work is harshly evaluated by several golf observers, the famed instructor is pushing back.

Here is what might have prompted Leadbetter to respond, from Van Valkenburg's story:

Leadbetter helped Faldo remake his swing in the '80s, when he was the No. 1 player in the world, and he was Els' coach for nearly 20 years, when Els won three of his four majors. But he was also given the derisive nickname Lead Poison by tour players and media members after Wie, another teenage prodigy, failed to blossom. Wie, who recently won her first tournament in nearly four years, continues working with Leadbetter.

"Lydia Ko, from the time she was a child, everyone could see where she was headed," says Brandel Chamblee, a former PGA Tour player who now works as an analyst for the Golf Channel. "David Leadbetter completely changed the DNA of her golf swing. Why in the world would you do that? Because you want to put your stamp or signature on the masterpiece that is this kid?"

But Ko continued to play well before firing Leadbetter. She currently works with Ted Oh.

On his website, Leadbetter posted this rebuttal today. He targets Lydia's father and fatigue as key issues. 

Along with all of this, her father, a non-accomplished golfer, heard rumors that she needed to change her swing and made suggestions to Lydia to change it - independently of her coaches. Sean Hogan traveled with her to the LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship during the last part of the season and observed Lydia being very confused [with her swing].

Amazingly enough, despite all of this, she had an excellent chance of remaining No. 1 in the world with a solid finish at the last tournament of the year. She shot 62 (10 under par) in the second round and things seemed to be on track. Her last round, unfortunately, was very average and she just lost out on winning the LPGA Player of the Year.

In this day and age, we have ways of measuring energy output in the swing. In the last quarter of the year, she had lost 20% of her energy which could only mean one thing - complete fatigue. Unfortunately, to the unknowledgeable, this can be misconstrued as experiencing swing issues.

What's More Embarrassing Files: The Rangefinder Usage Penalty, Or That You Were Using It From 40 Yards Out?

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At this week's Sage Valley Invitational the world's top junior players are not allowed to use rangefinders to gauge distances. 

As Brentley Romine reports for Golfweek, first round leader Akshay Batia battled winds and a self-imposed mistake to post a first round lead-tying 68.

Cringeworthy that he mistakenly forgot the rules for the week and was penalized two strokes? Naw. 

That he pulled out rangefinder from 40 yards...at least to old fuddy-duddies like me? Yikes!

Then, just like he is accustomed to doing in most of his junior and amateur tournaments, Bhatia reached in his golf bag, pulled out his rangefinder and shot his number.

40 yards.

But Bhatia quickly got a sinking feeling in his stomach. His playing competitor, Michael Sanders, asked Bhatia if he had just used his rangefinder. Knowing that rangefinders aren’t permitted this week at the Junior Invitational, Bhatia replied honestly.

“I knew I couldn’t use a rangefinder, but I decided to take it out for some reason and use it,” Bhatia said of the mental error. “… It’s my fault. I should’ve taken it out of the golf bag (before the round). It sucks, but I’m grateful I’m still in this position and not disqualified.”

Schwab To The Rescue! Colonial Appears Primed To Land Long-Term Sponsor

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Brad Townsend with great news for fans of the historic Colonial PGA Tour stop: Charles Schwab appears set to take over as the event sponsor in 2019. 

There are still dots and crosses that could derail things, but as Townsend lays out, Schwab will have a nearby presence in a year and it appears to be a great fit. (The 2018 edition of the Colonial is sponsored by a combination of American Airlines, AT&T, XTO Energy and Burlington Northern.)

Most significantly to Colonial, Schwab and the potential for a longterm, mutually beneficial relationship, Schwab is building a $100 million campus in Westlake, north of Fort Worth, that could house up to 2,600 employees. The campus is scheduled to open in 2019.

Much like North Texas' other PGA Tour event, the AT&T Byron Nelson, Schwab would represent to Colonial a sponsor with a long, deeply rooted association with the PGA Tour.

Say It Ain't So: Fire At National Golf Links Of America

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There is no more historic clubhouse in America and certainly no club housing a more important collection of historic memorabilia than NGLA's. 

So as we await word on the extent of damage--most reports seem to suggest firefighters kept the fire from spreading beyond a kitchen, an upstairs patio and the "birdcage" dining area added in 1916--we can only hope all of C.B. Macdonald's treasures and Jarvis Hunt's clubhouse design were not permanently damaged.

A 27East story seems to be the most complete in terms of details and some images.

A few fire photos followed by some clubhouse interior shots that capture the grandeur of this American treasure...

Instagram: The Great One At Wilshire, Big Cedar Lodge's "Range" And The Himalayas In April

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Wayne Gretzky turned up for the Hugel-JTBC L.A. Open pro-am at Wilshire. 

Big Cedar Lodge, home of this week's Bass Pro Legends of Golf, has quite a "driving range":

The Himalayas/Ladies Putting Course at St. Andrews in April, courtesy of The Outpost Club:

Hansen: Closing Of Blanchard Golf Course A Sad Sign Of The Times

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With the WGC match play having left we don't often get the pleasure of reading Greg Hansen these days, and his latest is by no means uplifting. Still, Hansen bids farewell to Blanchard Golf Course in first class fashion, with no shortage of important points about the role courses like it have played in producing golfers and as a landing spot for veterans or First Tee graduates who go on to careers in golf. 

With Arizona's skyrocketing costs and the courses's place behind Air Force base gates, even an increase in annual rounds and improved maintenance could not stop the 56-year-old course from going under. Sitting next to an airplane boneyard, Blanchard is now less than two weeks from shutting down for good. 

It’s sad, because Blanchard is what the old Randolph South course used to be: flat and friendly. You could walk BGC in 3½ hours, eat a reasonably priced hot dog at the soon-to-close Eagles Nest restaurant, and not lose a sleeve of golf balls in a wash or the desert or anywhere.

Golf’s demise in the 21st century was triggered because the game is too difficult, too expensive and too time-consuming. Blanchard was a step back to the 1970s.

So now the 56-year-old golf course will be repurposed as a recreation area and forgotten.

A few days ago, Moreno played in a group with former Blanchard “cart kids” Sean Mullen and Brent Lingel, who went on to become golf pros in Tucson and in Texas, and now run Tucson’s Rolling Hills Golf Course.

“It was a memorable day, and in fact we made it 27 holes because we didn’t want it to end,” Mullen said. “I grew up at Blanchard. It was my first job and basically my second home. My dad, J.J., still works there. I have nothing but positive memories.”

New Caddyshack Book Excerpted: Rodney Got Just $35K To Play Al

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Chris Nashawaty's upcoming book on the making of Caddyshack has been excepted on Golf.com and this preview is a fun read, focusing on casting with all sorts of detail.

“We brought Rodney in to the studio,” says Jon Peters, Caddyshack’s executive producer. “He comes in wearing this aqua-blue leisure suit and takes out a plastic bag and does two lines of coke. He undoes his shirt and says, ‘Where's the p----?’ ” It was a hell of a first impression. Dangerfield would end up getting $35,000 for his role. And though he would always credit Caddyshack for launching his movie career, he would often do so while complaining that he actually lost $150,000 on the film, having given up a month of headlining in Vegas to shoot it. 

Holy cow...not even last place money in a WGC event. Rodney in Caddyshack was living under the actor poverty line.

The book is out April 24th.

Arccos: Average Golfers Declining In Driving Distance

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GolfDigest.com's Mike Stachura reports on Arccos data of more than 10 million drives suggesting that average golfers have seen flat or declining distances since 2015.

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Stachura queries some industry types to understand why all of the Hot List winners might not be delivering distance. There is Nick Clearwater at Golftec, who naturally wants more people to get better fittings from places like...Golftec. But Clearwater also says this about lightweight clubs actually working against the average golfer:

“The average golfer uses too much spin loft with all of their clubs, so increases in tech still show minimal improvement in the quality of the shot,” he said. “The shots still start to the right, spin too much, and are mishit.

“There is not much equipment/ball can help with. Also, as much as clubhead tech has improved, shafts are getting lighter and longer from the OEMs and the consistency of the strike is compromised as a result.”

This regarding the disparity between pros and amateurs would be fun to contrast with twenty years ago:

The Arccos research also provided data on average 7-iron distance across age groups and handicaps. The overall 7-iron average was 143.3 yards, compared to 172 yards for a PGA Tour player as measured by Trackman. That data suggests average golfers are playing a dramatically different game than elite tour players. Combining the average golfer’s driver and 7-iron you get a 364-yard par 4. That might be 120 yards or more shorter than how a PGA Tour player might play a driver, 7-iron hole.

Having made the case that today's equipment rules are being circumvented by elite players via fitting, while making clear the data is pointing to little game improvement for average players, it's hardly a call to go out and shop. A good fitting yes, but shopping?

So long story short, average golfers might not be getting better, but they clearly have the potential.

Click on the following links to shop the latest drivers Dick's Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy.

It's not often you get hard data telling you what you've bought is failing you, followed by links to buy clubs. 

Ironically the piece is a fantastic case for bifurcation where equipment rules can be adjusted to help the average golfer, while making clear we need to tighten up a few loose bolts for the pros.