Welcome to the Monday ranking, where we drop the best stories of the weekend in the wonderful world of golf. Take a Arnold Palmer, pull a chair and try not to think about the proximity of the distance between ecstasy and agony …
1. Viktor Hovland finally wins; Jt left the heart broken
Golf is a cruel and strange game. Viktor Hovland had missed the cup in his last three events. He hadn’t won since the touring championship in 2023. And yet he was here at the Valspar championship here, a charge of three birdies in four in the last minutes of the tournament for won by a single blow.
“I hit a lot of disgusting blows,” said Hovland afterwards, “but they just came to go where I look.” Its world ranking fell from n ° 4 to n ° 19, but that should provide a nice rebound.
At the other end of the Joy Specter was held Justin Thomas, who led by three with three holes to play, then went Bogey-Pat-Bogey to shoot the tournament. A difficult way to travel, by carding a 65-66 on weekends, but it was simply not his day. “I am very, very proud of myself,” he said after his round. “It is afraid not to win when you are so close and you have a great chance, but I am just hoping to put myself in the same position in two weeks in Augusta and to finish it better.”
This one hurts. Sergio Garcia, the European golf legend currently working on the golf tour liv, only needed to flow a three -foot putt on the 18th Green at the International Macao series of the Asian tour. He missed, and that left the door open to another member of VIV, Jason Kokrak, to slide and slide an open exemption from the championship.
The international series is a creation of Liv and the Asian tour, and is part of a series of R&A qualifications designed to give the players of Liv a path to free time. The three best VIV players of the tournament who are not already exempt outdoors would obtain their tickets. Carlos Ortiz won the event and Patrick Reed finished second, claiming the first two places. Garcia, who played in 22 consecutive openings until 2023, could still claim a place while remaining high in the classification of the individual points of LIV, but this is in no way a safe thing. Ortiz and Kokrak were not exempt in any majors before this weekend, and Reed had only an exemption in the masters as an earlier champion.
3. Adam Hadwin continues the reign of terror of the PGA Tour in Valspar
What’s going on in the ValSpar championship these days? After Patton Kizzire gave a kick in orbit And Sahith Theegala launched one in the woodsNow comes Adam Hadwin causing his own carnage. Frustrated by his performance, he decided to ventilate a certain rage on a head of nozzle. It didn’t go so well:
The rapid transformation of golf into a rage piece is fascinating to see.
4. The TGL championship has arrived
While the outdoor outdoor golf is starting to reach the superior game, TGL is ending its first season with a two -night championship event from Monday evening at 9 HE. Thomas and Atlanta Drive GC will face Xander Schauffele and the New York Golf Club for the title, and you can bet on many Braves-Vs.-Yankees and Trae Young-Vs.-Knicks references throughout the evening. The lack of power of the major stars – Tiger Woods and Rory McILroy – almost certainly harms the notes of the current product, but TGL managed to carve a niche in the golf landscape in the current golf. Much more to come on TGL later this week after the end of the season.
5. Woods, Trump: Future golf royalty exposed to Junior Invitational
If you want an overview of the future of the golf course, consult the Sage Valley Invitational in South Carolina. The previous winners on the side of the boys included players like Scottie Scheffler, Joaquin Niemann and Akshay Bhatia. Miles Russell, sixteen, won the tournament this year, but with all the respect for him, the story most of the week was the performance of Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, and Kai Trump, the president’s granddaughter. Woods, still a second year student, finished T25 on 36 players, while Trump finished 24th, last place in his division and 59 points behind the girls’ winner, Aphrodite Zeng.
Trophy of the week: Valspar championship
A solid and respectable tournament deserves a solid and respectable trophy. Artsy, even, with the Swoosh paint ending with a golf ball there. This thing seems to hurt if someone swung him, which is the way we judge all the trophies. And to hear Hovland say it, the trophy almost found himself in someone’s hands this week: “I didn’t really know if I was going to play or not before my arrival on Tuesday afternoon and have played a end of nine holes,” he said. “I played nine holes in the pro-Am the next morning and we were there ready to leave. But, yes, I was not sure that I was going to introduce myself, but I am happy to have done it.” And now he has new equipment to show.
Shooting of the week: an ace of the city center
Is there a more appropriate way to pay tribute to March Madness on the golf course by nailing a blow that only strikes the cup? Beautiful work here by Sam Ryder at 204 yards, par-3 17th in Innisbrook on Saturday:
This ACE was part of a serrated dashboard for Ryder – four Bogeys, three birdies and an eagle – on the way around 70 the day. Ryder was going to finish T16, seven Hovland strokes.
To come this week: PGA Tour: Texas Children’s Houston Open; LPGA: Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass (Arizona); TGL: Finals, Atlanta Drive GC against New York Golf Club.
