News

Morning 9: ANWA was a symbolic triumph (and symbolism matters) | A meditation on McIlroy

Published

7 years ago

Apr 8, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com)

April 8, 2019

Good Masters Monday morning, golf fans.

1. From Monday qualifier to tournament winner

Reality: Corey Conners is not an immensely popular or well-known golfer. As such (and especially the week before the Masters) enthusiasm for his victory was muted. Fair enough. However, we should stand up and applaud Conners not only for the W, but for the fact that he MONDAY QUALIFIED (firing a 68, one of four qualifiers) for the tournament. It’s an unthinkable achievement, really…and one that hasn’t occurred in nine years. Entering this week, only 17 of 51 qualifiers had made the cut in PGA Tour events…

AP Report…”He made three birdies in the final five holes, shooting a 6-under 66. He was 20-under for the tournament, winning by two shots over Charley Hoffman.”

“Next stop for Conners: Augusta, Georgia.”

“My wife got an email this morning letting her know we could check in for our flight back home,” Conners said. “I told her, `Aw, don’t check in yet. Maybe we can make other plans.’ Big change of plans. It was going to be an off week. I’m glad it won’t be.”

“Hoffman, the 2016 Valero Texas Open winner, shot 67 for 18-under on the week…Ryan Moore closed with an 8-under 64, a shot off the course record, and was third at 17-under…Si Woo Kim, THE PLAYERS Championship winner in 2017, led the opening three rounds but dropped to a tie for fourth with Brian Stuard (15-under) after an even-par 72.”

Full piece.

2. Ko wins ANA

Todd Kelly at Golfweek on the first major champion of 2019, Jin Young Ko…

“For the second day in a row, Ko saw a comfortable back-nine lead slip away, but a key birdie on the 16th hole allowed Ko to keep that lead and win the ANA Inspiration, the first major championship of the year.”

“I can’t believe. I’m still excited. I mean, I can’t believe it. I don’t know,” Ko said after the round. “Always I had a little bit nervous (in) all the shots. So I’m just try calm down and like, focus and have fun this week.”

“Ko managed a 2-under 70 on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club for a tournament total of 10-under 278. That was three shots better than Mi Hyang Lee, who also shot 70 on Sunday on a warm and windless afternoon in Rancho Mirage.”

Full piece.

3. Meanwhile, in Jordan…

EuropeanTour.com report…”Daan Huizing made golfing history by becoming the first player to win a full-field mixed professional tournament with his triumph at the Jordan Mixed Open presented by Ayla.”

“The Dutchman began the final round at Ayla Golf Club two shots behind overnight leader Meghan MacLaren, who opened the world-first tournament with consecutive rounds of seven under par 65.”

“MacLaren started the final day strong, carding two birdies on her first three holes, but Huizing was able to slowly chip away at the Englishwoman’s lead, and by the time the two golfers reached the 13th tee, they were deadlocked on 14 under par.”

Full piece to see how Daan got it done.

4. Yes, it was symbolic, but symbolism matters

Such is the contention of Eamon Lynch in his reflection on the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

He writes…”Golf has an ignoble record on matters of inclusion, the residue of being a country club sport enjoyed by people disinclined to lower a ladder to others who aspire to share the privileges of membership. Exclusion long has been evident in formal policies – like corralling women into less desirable tee time windows – and informal practices, such as confining African Americans to the caddie barn or maintaining a discouragingly lengthy waiting list for prospective members who keep kosher.”

“That accumulated grime won’t be scraped away by one event, of course. Not even an event at Augusta National Golf Club. For many golf fans – and even more sports fans – the home of the Masters represents the pinnacle of the game, so what happens there has a disproportionate influence on golf’s image. It’s too early – by years, perhaps – to judge the impact of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.”

Full piece.

5. Big ratings for ANWA

Golfweek’s Bill Speros relays the ratings data…”The ANWA earned a .96 overnight rating on its Noon-3 p.m. Eastern telecast Saturday. That was the most for any women’s golf telecast since Brittany Lang beat Anna Nordqvist in a three-hole playoff to win the 2016 Women’s Open at CordeValle Golf Club.”

“The .96 rating also marked the most viewers of any amateur golf telecast – men’s or women’s – since the 2003 U.S Amateur men’s final. That was won on the 37th hole of a sudden death playoff by Australian Nick Flanagan.”

Full piece.

6. A meditation on McIlroy

Superb stuff from Vincent Hogan at the Irish Independent taking the measure of Rory McIlroy as he strives again for the career grand slam at Augusta National.

A morsel…”We still see him as the guy who can obliterate a field, as he did with that 16-under at Congressional in 2011. But can he win a Major arm-wrestle? Especially in this storied place with so many personal ghosts in the pines?”

“Sunday, last year, sets you wondering. Rory talked the talk, then unravelled after that missed eagle putt and was gone by the turn.”

“He picked a fight with a man who’d previously drawn something out of him at Hazeltine that – he admits – left him “a little tired, a little mentally fatigued”. Someone who is a natural street-fighter.”

“McIlroy thrives, not on anger, but momentum. On staying true to himself. On being focused, not edgy; clear-headed, not mean.”

Full piece.

7. Return of the Fooch

Justin Rose’s longtime bagman, who has been out of action since a mitral valve repair, will be back at it for the Masters

Brian Wacker at Golf Digest...”As Justin Rose teed off for a practice round on Augusta National’s back nine late Sunday afternoon, he had a familiar face on the bag. Caddie Mark Fulcher is returning for this week’s Masters after being sidelined the last three months following heart surgery in mid-January.”

“I could have come back at the Match Play [two weeks ago], but I thought why push it,” said the veteran looper who has spent the last 10-plus years alongside Rose after two decades on the LPGA Tour. “I’m very happy. It feels good to be back.”

Full piece.

8. Meanwhile, at Augusta National…

Doug Ferguson files a report from amid the cathedral in the pines

“Players began filtering in at Augusta National in the last few days even as they had to share the golf course. The inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur was held the previous two days, with 72 players practicing on Friday and the 30 players who made the cut competing on Saturday.”

“On Sunday, parts of the practice facility, the putting green and the 18th green were occupied by kids ages 7 through 15 for the sixth Drive, Chip and Putt.”

“With yesterday and today, the buzz is unbelievable,” Adam Scott said. “The kids are amazing, and it makes me feel like a kid again. As long as they’re still finding it fun, these kinds of things are so good. Just wait – one day, a Drive, Chip and Putt champion will be a Masters champion.”

Full piece.

9. 5 priciest charity golf auctions ever

Wisely, there are always big auctions ending during the week of the most-watched professional golf tournament of the year…and of course, there’s plenty of Masters memorabilia to go around.

Examining the not-for-profit auction space, Mike Dojc looked at online auctioneer CharityBuzz to determine the most expensive golf auctions the site has facilitated.

Here are 2 entries.

No. 3 entry…Private stay and golf at Albany, The Bahamas

Winning Bid: $40,000

Benefited: Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research

No. 2 entry…”Golf with Dustin Johnson”

Winning Bid: $75,000

Benefited: The Dustin Johnson Foundation

See the rest of the entries.

News

Testing Lorem Ipsum

Published

7 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Pro Shop

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

Jon Rahm +1300
Cameron Young +1500
Bryson DeChambeau +1700
Xander Schauffele +1850
Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
Ludvig Aberg +2000
Tommy Fleetwood +2600
Collin Morikawa +3500
Brooks Koepka +3900
Justin Rose +4300
Russell Henley +4600
Si Woo Kim +4700
Justin Thomas +4800
Robert MacIntyre +5300
Patrick Cantlay +5300
Viktor Hovland +5400
Tyrrell Hatton +5500
Jordan Spieth +5900
Sam Burns +6000
Hideki Matsuyama +6200
Adam Scott +6400
Rickie Fowler +7000
Chris Gotterup +7400
Patrick Reed +7400
Min Woo Lee +7800
Ben Griffin +8000
Sepp Straka +8400
Shane Lowry +9000
Akshay Bhatia +9200
Maverick McNealy +9200
Joaquin Niemann +9200
Jake Knapp +9200
Jason Day +9600
Kurt Kitayama +10000
J.J. Spaun +10000
Harris English +10500
Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
Gary Woodland +11000
David Puig +11000
Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
Jacob Bridgeman +12000
Keegan Bradley +12500
Corey Conners +14000
Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
Sungjae Im +15500
Sahith Theegala +15500
Harry Hall +15500
Alex Noren +16000
Thomas Detry +16500
Marco Penge +16500
Kristoffer Reitan +17000
Alex Smalley +17000
Wyndham Clark +17500
Sam Stevens +17500
Keith Mitchell +17500
Daniel Berger +18500
Ryan Gerard +20000
Nick Taylor +20000
Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
Dustin Johnson +21000
Pierceson Coody +23000
Aaron Rai +24000
Jordan Smith +24000
Angel Ayora +24000
Bud Cauley +25000
Matt McCarty +26000
Jayden Schaper +26000
Brian Harman +27000
Taylor Pendrith +27000
Ryan Fox +27000
J.T. Poston +27000
Cameron Smith +29000
Ryo Hisatsune +29000
Michael Kim +29000
Max Homa +29000
Denny McCarthy +29000
Tom McKibbin +30000
Rico Hoey +32000
Matt Wallace +32500
Ricky Castillo +33000
Haotong Li +33000
Michael Brennan +34000
Max Greyserman +36000
Stephan Jaeger +37500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
Aldrich Potgieter +40000
Andrew Novak +42000
Patrick Rodgers +42500
Daniel Hillier +42500
Max McGreevy +46000
Billy Horschel +48000
Chris Kirk +48000
Ian Holt +49000
Casey Jarvis +49000
William Mouw +50000
Steven Fisk +50000
John Parry +50000
Nico Echavarria +52500
Garrick Higgo +52500
John Keefer+55000
Matthias Schmid +57500
Austin Smotherman +57500
Sami Valimaki +60000
Andrew Putnam +60000
Lucas Glover +62500
Daniel Brown +62500
Jhonattan Vegas +75000
Emiliano Grillo +80000
Mikael Lindberg +85000
Adrien Saddier +100000
Bernd Wiesberger +100000
Elvis Smylie +110000
Stewart Cink +130000
Kota Kaneko +130000
David Lipsky +150000
Chandler Blanchet +150000
Andy Sullivan +150000
Joe Highsmith +180000
Adam Schenk +200000
Travis Smyth +200000
Davis Riley +225000
Martin Kaymer +400000
Brian Campbell +400000
Padraig Harrington +450000
Kazuki Higa +450000
Jordan Gumberg +450000
Ryan Vermeer +500000
Austin Hurt +500000
Tyler Collet +500000
Timothy Wiseman +500000
Shaun Micheel +500000
Y.E. Yang +500000
Michael Block+500000
Mark Geddes+500000
Luke Donald+500000
Bryce Fisher+500000
Jimmy Walker +500000
Jason Dufner +500000
Jesse Droemer +500000
Jared Jones +500000
Garrett Sapp +500000
Francisco Bide +500000
Zach Haynes +500000
Paul McClure+500000
Derek Berg +500000
Chris Gabriele +500000
Braden Shattuck +500000
Ben Polland +500000
Ben Kern +50000

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.