Weekly Read Fore! Things: Jordan Spieth's Runner-Up Tally Grows, LIV Golf Heads to Australia
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Fore! Things
1. Matt Fitzpatrick’s victory at the RBC Heritage over Jordan Spieth was his first win since capturing the U.S. Open last summer. He lost in a playoff at the Italian Open late last year.
2. Spieth had won five times previously in playoffs and was denied a 14th PGA Tour win, twice lipping out putts in the sudden-death playoff. His last victory was a year ago at the same tournament. He now has 18 runner-up finishes.
3. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele return to defend their title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this week. It is the only official team event on the PGA Tour schedule. There are 160 players, 80 teams.
4. The PGA Tour could not find another time that the final round of a PGA Tour event had multiple playoff participants from the same event a year prior in the final group. Spieth defeated Cantlay in a sudden-death playoff at the RBC Heritage a year ago. They were in the last group Sunday with Fitzpatrick.
Fore! More Things
1. The LIV Golf league resumes its schedule this week with what promises is to be its biggest event yet, LIV Golf Adelaide, where big crowds are expected in Australia. It is the first of back-to-back weeks for LIV, which will go to Singapore next week. Unlike the Masters, where there was considerable chatter about a lack of competitive golf prior to a major, the LIV golfers who are eligible for the PGA Championship will not have that issue. They will also play in Tulsa the week prior to the PGA.
2. The USGA said it accepted a record 10,187 entries for the U.S. Open that will be played for the first time at Los Angeles Country Club, June 15-18. The previous record was for the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. As of now there are 52 players fully exempt, with the number to increase via the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking on both May 22 and June 12. There will also be spots given via DP World Tour standings as well as a series of DP World Tour events. Local qualifying begins this week with final qualifying taking place at three international sites and 10 U.S sites, with 10 of those scheduled for June 5.
3. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lee Trevino are part of 18 legends of the game who will take part in the Folds of Honor Greats of Golf on April 29 as part of the PGA Tour Champions's Insperity Invitational. The exhibition is a nine-hole scramble during the second round of the main tournament at The Woodlands Country Club in Texas. They will tee off on the 10th hole following the last group of the official competition.
4. There are 31 days until the start of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.