Tag: tournament

2019 PGA Championship Viewing Guide
The 2019 PGA Championship starts tomorrow and it looks like the course will be playing very long and wet for the first few rounds until the weather warms up and the course dries out a bit. To keep up with all the action, here’s a quick viewing guide.

FANTASY GOLF ALERT: Kelly Kraft takes Justin Thomas’ place playing with Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott in the 7:40am tee time for the first round. Thomas withdrew because of a wrist injury.

Tee Times for Rounds 1 & 2 at Bethpage State Park – Black Course

Round One

( * indicates group will start on #10)

6:45 AM — Rob Labritz, Beau Hossler, J.J. Spaun
6:45 AM* — Ben Cook, Scott Piercy, Brian Gay
6:56 AM — Sam Burns, Jeffrey Schmid, Keith Mitchell
6:56 AM* — Thomas Pieters, Patton Kizzire, Adam Hadwin
7:07 AM — Byeong Hun An, Jason Caron, Andrew Putnam
7:07 AM* — Brandt Snedeker, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Max Homa
7:18 AM — John O’Leary, Harold Varner III, Kyle Stanley
7:18 AM* — Henrik Stenson, David Lipsky, Richard Sterne
7:29 AM — Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Justin Harding, Richy Werenski
7:29 AM* — Shane Lowry, Erik Van Rooyen, Tommy Fleetwood
7:40 AM — J.T. Poston, Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker
7:40 AM* — Sergio Garcia, Kelly Kraft, Adam Scott
7:51 AM — Graeme McDowell, Chez Reavie, Brendan Jones
7:51 AM* — Charley Hoffman, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed
8:02 AM — Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Knox, Haotong Li
8:02 AM* — Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose
8:13 AM — Lee Westwood, Shaun Norris, Charles Howell III
8:13 AM* — Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Alex Noren
8:24 AM — J.B. Holmes, Lucas Bjerregaard, Troy Merritt
8:24 AM* — Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari, Tiger Woods
8:35 AM — Joost Luiten, Brian Mackey, Matt Wallace
8:35 AM* — Aaron Wise, Ryan Fox, Shugo Imahira
8:46 AM — Casey Russell, Luke List, Abraham Ancer
8:46 AM* — Julian Suri, Marty Jertson, Martin Trainer
8:57 AM — Craig Bowden, Adam Long, Joaquin Niemann
8:57 AM* — Lucas Herbert, Cory Schneider, Sungjae Im
12:10 PM — Michael Thompson, Danny Lee, Justin Bertsch
12:10 PM* — Ryan Vermeer, Adrian Otaegui, Jason Kokrak
12:21 PM — Cameron Champ, Rich Berberian, Jr., Lucas Glover
12:21 PM* — Alex Björk, Rod Perry, Ross Fisher
12:32 PM — Emiliano Grillo, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey
12:32 PM* — Eddie Pepperell, Branden Grace, Ryan Palmer
12:43 PM — Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Ian Poulter
12:43 PM* — Ryan Moore, Joel Dahmen, Thorbjørn Olesen
12:54 PM — Matt Fitzpatrick, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Gary Woodland
12:54 PM* — Y.E. Yang, Rich Beem, John Daly
1:05 PM — Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Keegan Bradley
1:05 PM* — Steve Stricker, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay
1:16 PM — Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
1:16 PM* — Sung Kang, Shaun Micheel, Alex Beach
1:27 PM — Pat Perez, Kevin Kisner, Bryson DeChambeau
1:27 PM* — C.T. Pan, Kevin Na, Ryan Armour
1:38 PM — Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day
1:38 PM* — Danny Willett, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson
1:49 PM — Satoshi Kodaira, Matt Kuchar, Cameron Smith
1:49 PM* — Kevin Tway, Brandon Stone, Bronson Burgoon
2:00 PM — Corey Conners, Jim Furyk, Marc Leishman
2:00 PM* — Si Woo Kim, Danny Balin, Tom Lewis
2:11 PM — Jorge Campillo, Stuart Deane, Chesson Hadley
2:11 PM* — Jazz Janewattananond, Tyler Hall, Michael Kim
2:22 PM — Dylan Frittelli, Andrew Filbert, Kurt Kitayama
2:22 PM* — Mikko Korhonen, Craig Hocknull, Jhonattan Vegas

Round Two

6:45 AM — Ryan Vermeer, Adrian Otaegui, Jason Kokrak
6:45 AM* — Michael Thompson, Danny Lee, Justin Bertsch
6:56 AM — Alex Björk, Rod Perry, Ross Fisher
6:56 AM* — Cameron Champ, Rich Berberian, Jr., Lucas Glover
7:07 AM — Eddie Pepperell, Branden Grace, Ryan Palmer
7:07 AM* — Emiliano Grillo, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey
7:18 AM — Ryan Moore, Joel Dahmen, Thorbjørn Olesen
7:18 AM* — Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Ian Poulter
7:29 AM — Y.E. Yang, Rich Beem, John Daly
7:29 AM* — Matt Fitzpatrick, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Gary Woodland
7:40 AM — Steve Stricker, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay
7:40 AM* — Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Keegan Bradley
7:51 AM — Sung Kang, Shaun Micheel, Alex Beach
7:51 AM* — Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
8:02 AM — C.T. Pan, Kevin Na, Ryan Armour
8:02 AM* — Pat Perez, Kevin Kisner, Bryson DeChambeau
8:13 AM — Danny Willett, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson
8:13 AM* — Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day
8:24 AM — Kevin Tway, Brandon Stone, Bronson Burgoon
8:24 AM* — Satoshi Kodaira, Matt Kuchar, Cameron Smith
8:35 AM — Si Woo Kim, Danny Balin, Tom Lewis
8:35 AM* — Corey Conners, Jim Furyk, Marc Leishman
8:46 AM — Jazz Janewattananond, Tyler Hall, Michael Kim
8:46 AM* — Jorge Campillo, Stuart Deane, Chesson Hadley
8:57 AM — Mikko Korhonen, Craig Hocknull, Jhonattan Vegas
8:57 AM* — Dylan Frittelli, Andrew Filbert, Kurt Kitayama
12:10 PM — Ben Cook, Scott Piercy, Brian Gay
12:10 PM* — Rob Labritz, Beau Hossler, J.J. Spaun
12:21 PM — Thomas Pieters, Patton Kizzire, Adam Hadwin
12:21 PM* — Sam Burns, Jeffrey Schmid, Keith Mitchell
12:32 PM — Brandt Snedeker, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Max Homa
12:32 PM* — Byeong Hun An, Jason Caron, Andrew Putnam
12:43 PM — Henrik Stenson, David Lipsky, Richard Sterne
12:43 PM* — John O’Leary, Harold Varner III, Kyle Stanley
12:54 PM — Shane Lowry, Erik van Rooyen, Tommy Fleetwood
12:54 PM* — Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Justin Harding, Richy Werenski
1:05 PM — Sergio Garcia, Kelly Kraft, Adam Scott
1:05 PM* — Vijay Singh, Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker
1:16 PM — Charley Hoffman, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed
1:16 PM* — Graeme McDowell, Chez Reavie, Brendan Jones
1:27 PM — Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose
1:27 PM* — Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Knox, Haotong Li
1:38 PM — Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Alex Noren
1:38 PM* — Lee Westwood, Shaun Norris, Charles Howell III
1:49 PM — Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari, Tiger Woods
1:49 PM* — J.B. Holmes, Lucas Bjerregaard, Troy Merritt
2:00 PM — Aaron Wise, Ryan Fox, Shugo Imahira
2:00 PM* — Joost Luiten, Brian Mackey, Matt Wallace
2:11 PM — Julian Suri, Marty Jertson, Martin Trainer
2:11 PM* — Casey Russell, Luke List, Abraham Ancer
2:22 PM — Lucas Herbert, Cory Schneider, Sungjae Im
2:22 PM* — Craig Bowden, Adam Long, Joaquin Niemann

TV Schedule & Coverage

The networks of TNT and CBS will have live coverage of the PGA Championship all four days. TV times for TNT & CBS are as follows:

First Round, Thursday, May 16
TNT: 1:00 – 7:00 PM

Second Round, Friday, May 17
TNT 1:00 – 7:30 PM

Third Round, Saturday, May 18
TNT: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
CBS: 2:00 – 7:00 PM

Fourth Round, Sunday, May 19
TNT: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
CBS: 2:00 – 7:00 PM

Online Streaming

PGA.com will live stream featured groups all week. You can watch them on the PGA Championship live player and on the PGA Championship mobile app – available here.

Along with coverage of the featured groups, PGA Championship LIVE will provide coverage of the closing Nos. 16, 17 and 18 holes at Bethpage Black.

TNT Simulcast
- First Round – Thursday, May 16, 1:00 – 7:00 PM
- Second Round – Friday, May 17, 1:00 – 7:30 PM
- Third Round – Saturday, May 18, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Fourth Round – Sunday, May 19, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
CBS Simulcast
- Third Round – Saturday, May 18, 2:00 – 7:00 PM
- Fourth Round – Sunday, May 19, 2:00 – 7:00 PM
May 15, 2019
2018 Masters Tournament Contest – Presented by MMO Golf

The 2018 Masters Tournament is right around the corner, and our friends at MMO Golf are ready to be your sole source for all your Masters merchandise. MMO Golf is a shopping service that buys items directly from the Masters gift shop and ships them all over the world. If you can’t go to Augusta National Golf Club yourself, MMO Golf is your best bet for Masters gear! For more information, go to https://www.mmogolf.com/

This year, MMO Golf is doing a giveaway on our social media pages for a free 2018 Masters Pin Flag!

How To Enter:

To enter the contest for a chance to win a 2018 Masters Tournament Pin Flag, just visit our Facebook page and find the post about the MMO Golf contest. Pick your winner & the winning score, and you’ll automatically be entered for a chance to win! We’ll announce the winning entry on Sunday evening after the champion has been fitted for his green jacket, and we’ll notify the winner via social media!

Go to our Facebook page to enter:

https://www.facebook.com/intothegrain/

Good luck!

March 30, 2018
2018 Masters Tournament – By The Numbers

March 29, 2018
WAGC Malaysia 2017 – Getting There

Flying Over Siberia

It wasn’t that long ago that travelling to the other side of the world would take days or even weeks. Fortunately, modern technology has led to modern airliners that can make the journey in only hours. Now, I love to travel as much as the next guy, but spending nearly 24 hours on a plane and slogging around airports isn’t anyone’s idea of fun. All you can do is try and prepare for the unexpected, but hope for a smooth trip.

Preparing for the unexpected is what I did after reading some not-so flattering reviews of the airline that would be taking me from New York to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . China Southern Airlines is not well known in the United States, but is actually the 4th largest airline in the world thanks to their fleet of almost 700 aircraft, and in 2015 they moved 109 million passengers, ranking 3rd worldwide. My fears were with the customer service, especially for connecting flights in their hub of Guangzhou, China. Many reviewers spoke of delays, cancelled flights, disinterested customer service personnel and lack of communication. While my experience flying on China Southern wasn’t perfect, it certainly wasn’t a negative one.

My trip started with an early wake-up call at a Travelodge near Jacksonville International Airport in northeast Florida. After tossing and turning for several hours on a lumpy slab they call a mattress, I woke up at 3:30am and jumped in the shower. After dropping off my car at the Wally Park next door, I arrived at the Delta Airlines ticket counter just before 4am. Unfortunately for me and the 30 other people waiting in line, the Delta employees weren’t there. After a brief wait they arrived and I checked my Club Glove Rolling Duffel 3 and Last Bag. I’m enrolled in the TSA’s Pre Check program and it really makes passing through airport security in the USA a breeze. The flight went off without a hitch. I enjoyed a screwdriver at 37,000 feet while the early morning sunrise warmed my face. Good start. We even arrived in New York a few minutes ahead of schedule.

China Southern Airlines – Business Class

The longest leg of my journey was from JFK to Guangzhou, China on a Boeing 777-300ER. Total flight time was about 16 hours. Originally I assumed we would be going west over the Pacific Ocean, but according to the in-flight map we actually flew east over the arctic circle and Siberia. The service in Business Class was very good, and the staff were friendly and very attentive. China Southern’s outdated policy of not allowing the use of electronic devices like phones and tablets any time during the flight was made less painful by their in-flight entertainment center. I had dozens of movies to choose from, as well as TV shows and music stations. The included noise-cancelling headphones did a pretty good job filtering out cabin noise, and they sounded pretty good. The food was also pretty good, at least on this flight coming from New York, but I should have known better than to select an airline burger as a lite dinner. It was under-cooked and I didn’t trust it.

The lay-flat business class seats convert to a makeshift bed, and they supply a pretty nice pillow and surprisingly thick comforter to keep warm as it can get a little nippy in the plane. However, the lay-flat bed doesn’t lay totally flat. My lower back was arched upward like on a sofa bad mattress and the leg room is very cramped for people over six feet tall. I found the best sleeping position for me was with the back up to about 20 degrees. Sleeping on a plane for me a pretty futile endeavor, but I did manage to get about 3 hours of non-drug induced shuteye broken up into hour long sessions.

This doesn’t look like a passenger terminal…

The fun began when we landed in Guangzhou. We landed a few minutes behind schedule and my anxiety level went up significantly because my connecting flight was due to start boarding in 45 minutes. This is a tight window, made worst by what seemed like an endless taxi to the terminal – or so I thought. Our plane taxied past one terminal, past another that was still under construction and finally stopped in front of the maintenance hanger. We disembarked using stairs and boarded a bus for a 15 minute ride back to the passenger terminal. Apparently, China Southern Airlines thinks making life easier for their maintenance crew is more important than getting their customers on their connecting flights on time.

Fortunately for me, I was first in line at the international transfer desk and the security checkpoint that followed and I got through to the terminal quickly. I made it to my gate as they were boarding and took my spot in the first row of Business Class on the Airbus A319. As I watched them load luggage through the window, I didn’t see my bright gold Club Glove bags, and didn’t really expect to see them. As confirmed by my LugLoc GPS later on, they didn’t make it on the plane.

After poking at some luke-warm, fatty chicken and bland side dishes that tasted like cooking oil for a while, I finally sent it away and reached for the bag of trail mix I picked up at JFK just in case. I capped off the flight by watching a terrible movie on the Samsung tablet they provided for us, which was a nice touch. In case you haven’t seen it yet, War For the Planet of the Apes is awful and I considered turning it off on several occasions because it was putting me to sleep. I didn’t want to sleep though, because being very tired upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur was key for my plans to acclimate myself to the local time zone as quickly as possible.

In Malaysia they drive – and walk – on the left side

When I got off the plane in Kuala Lumpur, a representative from China Southern was waiting for me to inform me what had already been confirmed via text message from my LugLoc GPS locator – My bags were left behind in Guangzhou. I went to the baggage office and filled out a claim. One upside of delayed luggage is that I didn’t have to drag my stuff around the airport!

I decided to bypass the sometimes shady taxi and limo services and called an Uber Black car instead. At least Uber’s pricing is straightforward and doesn’t change based on your nationality or the driver’s mood. My driver was friendly and a pleasure to be with considering the only thing on my mind during the hour long drive to my hotel was getting some sleep.

Finally, after 31 hours of planes, trains and automobiles I arrived at the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel and checked in. Thanks to some internet research I did weeks ago, I booked a room on a high floor in the east wing. For my trouble, I was rewarded with a spectacular view of the Petronas Twin Towers.

Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The tallest twin structures in the world

Now that I’m here, I can unwind and relax for a few days before my teammates and the other competitors arrive and the World Amateur Golfers Championship starts. To top it off, my luggage was delivered to my room this afternoon!

November 16, 2017
By The Numbers: Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship
The 34th Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship will tee off next week, on Monday August 28, 2017 with over 3000 golfers representing more than twenty countries. It’s the largest golf tournament of its kind in the world. The 72-hole net stroke play tournament will just about take over Myrtle Beach. One of the highlights of the event is the World’s Largest 19th Hole, which encompasses the entire Myrtle Beach Convention Center and serves up food and drinks, live entertainment, celebrity guests, a golf expo and more.

World’s Largest 19th Hole

Let’s take a quick look at the 34th Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship – By the numbers:
- 4 – Estimated Number of hole in ones made
- 9 – Different divisions
- 7 – Players that have never missed a World Am
- 10 – Percentage of countries in the World represented since 2012
- 19 – Number of countries represented in 2016
- 34 – Great years of golf and camaraderie
- 47 – Countries represented since 2012
- 48 – States represented
- 52 – Number of golf courses used
- 60 – Exhibitors
- 62 – Flights
- 85 – Volunteers
- 88.6 – Average score in 2016
- 132 – Number of International Players
- 153 – Players from the West
- 387 – Players from the Midwest
- 592 – Players from Northeast
- 1,707 – Players from the South
- 5952 – Golf cart rides
- 8,400 – Golf Balls awarded
- 8,766 – Unique players since 2012
- 10,302 – Longest miles traveled by a participant
- 12,000 – Rounds That Will Be Played In 2017
- 18,480 – Beers consumed at 19th hole
- 30,695 – Estimated number of golf balls used
- 31,580 – Miles driven on golf carts
- 49,000 – Estimated unique players over 33 years
- 80,600 – Estimated greens in regulation
- $80,000 – Gift cards paid
- 1,011,500 – Estimated strokes in 2017
August 25, 2017
2017 Masters Tournament By The Numbers

It’s that time again – Masters week! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to spend several hours a day this week pretending to work while watching TV and streaming coverage online. The Masters.org website does a great job with streaming coverage and I highly recommend it.

Let’s take a quick look at the 2017 Masters Tournament by the numbers, presented by WalletHub:

April 4, 2017
2015 WAGT National Championship

We’ve been out of touch for a little while, and that’s because I was out playing golf! I recently took a road trip to the Poconos in Northeast Pennsylvania for the 2015 World Amateur Golfers Tour (WAGT) National Championship.

The National Championship

Shawnee Inn White #7

The event was held at the historic Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, located on the banks of the Delaware River. This wonderful facility dates back to 1911 and features 27 holes designed by legendary golf course architect A.W. Tillinghast who’s design career started at Shawnee Inn. The three nines were his first course designs in a list of courses that includes Baltusrol, Bethpage Black, Winged Foot, Newport CC and many more. His designs have hosted over a dozen major championships.

What’s Next?

The World Amateur Golfers Tour was founded in 1995 by Sven Tumba, a Swedish ice-hockey and soccer star, as well as avid golfer. The tour has expanded to 40 countries and is the world’s largest amateur golf championship.

National championships are held in all participating countries in a handicapped, flighted stroke play format. Winners from each flight are automatically qualified to represent their country at the World Championships. This year, the World Championships will be contested in Turkey at the Gloria Golf Resort in Belek, Antalya. Participants from all over the world will be competing against golfers of similar ability for the big prize.

Players are broken down into flights based on handicap. The flights are: 0 – 5.4, 5.5 – 10.4, 10.5 – 15.4, 15.5 – 20.4 and 20.5 – 25.4. This year’s tournament format is 54 holes of stroke play. There are three days of practice rounds also in which players will compete in three separate one-day stableford games.

Tournament Summary

I was fortunate enough to advance out of qualifying at Mission Inn Resort in Florida back in May with an even par 72. That got me in to the National championship. I drove up to Shawnee Inn on Tuesday and arrived Wednesday morning. I jumped out of the car and almost immediately onto the first tee for a practice round on the white/blue course. In perhaps a sign of things to come, I made a hole-in-one on the 186 yard par 3 fourth hole.

The tournament started at 7:20am Thursday morning on Shawnee Inn’s Red/Blue course in some light fog and 50 degree temperatures. I went into the event with a +2 handicap. I knew I would have to play well giving 2 extra shots to everyone in my flight. I was honored to hit the first shot of the tournament, and promptly pushed a three-wood into the right rough. The course was challenging due to the cold temperatures, wet rough and tournament pins tucked into corners and behind bunkers, but I managed to make a few birdies and shot 74 to start.

The second round was played at a great Jack Nicklaus design called Great Bear Golf Club. The course is expertly laid out to make good use of natural landscape and elevation, and the design was a real joy to play. I struggled mightily with the putter to start, with bogeys on three of the first four, but rallied with a birdie on number seven for an opening nine score of 38. I again struggled on the back nine with four consecutive bogeys before coming back to birdie three of the final four holes to post another 74. I took 35 putts in round two.

That evening I put in about 90 minutes of work on the putting green to get the flat stick going again. The extra practice paid off. The final round was contested on the Shawnee Inn white/blue course and I opened with three birdies in the first six holes to jump ahead of my competitors. Going into the 16th hole I had no idea where I stood, but the change in mood from one of my adversaries told me it was close, as he was starting to take more time, take deep breaths and seemed more on edge.

We both played shaky golf on the final three holes. I made three bogies to finish with a third consecutive 74 (net 76) while he made two bogeys and a double. Had the competition been a gross stroke play event I would have won by 22 shots, but handicaps have a way of evening the playing field, and that certainly was the case this week. The double bogey on the 17th hole turned out to be the difference as I won by a single shot (net). I posted 10 birdies for the week despite my struggles on the greens, so I’m optimistic I can get it going on time for the world championships!

Team USA

WAGT Team USA 2015

As the national champion in flight 1, I’ll join my fellow champions in flights 2-5 for the world championships in Turkey. There are also several other tour members joining us oversees for the WAGT Invitational Tournament. As part of Team USA we will each receive airfare, hotel, food & drink as well as being dressed head to toe and getting a custom Team USA staff bag. I’ll be posting updates, photos and blog entries during the week while in Turkey.

Get Involved!

To get more information about the WAGT and to participate for a chance to represent your country, go to http://www.wgatusa.com/ in the US, or http://worldgolfers.com/ for information on international tours in your country. Maybe we’ll be teeing it up together next year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUavXB4OFEQ

September 29, 2015
2013 Masters Tournament Predictions

It’s April and the 2013 Masters Tournament is just around the corner. Ever since my pilgrimage to Augusta National in 2010 I have had a level of appreciation for the tournament and its incredible venue that you simply cannot get without going there. Like the majority of golf fans out there, I’ll be watching the tournament on TV at home this year.

On the golf course and in the 19th hole bar, the discussion of who the favorites are is heating up. It’s hard to ignore the inevitable Tiger Woods discussion this season, as he has won 3 tournaments already and regained the number one ranking in the world. But don’t be so quick to make him your favorite just yet. Every time that Tiger has won 3 tournaments in a season heading into the Masters, he didn’t win it. Not only that, but he hasn’t won a major in 5 years and hasn’t won the Masters since 2005! Nevertheless, Woods is a 3 to 1 favorite to take the tournament with Ladbrokes.

My personal picks are Keegan Bradley (25 to 1) and Ian Poulter (40 to 1). I think both guys have the game to take home the green jacket, especially Bradley, who has shown his consistency lately by breaking into the top 10 in the world rankings. He has the length and ball flight to tame the course. Poulter’s tenacity and short game mastery will serve him well on the slick putting surfaces of Augusta National. If he can get some momentum going, watch out!

Who are your picks to win the green jacket this year?

April 1, 2013