News

Morning 9: Patron-less Masters | U.S. Am updates | Koepka talks DJ | ANGC sand thief

Published

6 years ago

Aug 13, 2020

1. It’s official…

Our Gianni Magliocco…“The long-standing rumors have proved correct, as on Wednesday Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley confirmed that this year’s Masters would go ahead without any patrons or guests on-site.”

“In a statement released on Masters.com, Ridley said”

“Since our initial announcement to postpone the 2020 Masters, we have remained committed to a rescheduled Tournament in November while continually examining how best to host a global sporting event amid this pandemic. As we have considered the issues facing us, the health and safety of everyone associated with the Masters always has been our first and most important priority.”

“Throughout this process, we have consulted with health officials and a variety of subject matter experts. Ultimately, we determined that the potential risks of welcoming patrons and guests to our grounds in November are simply too significant to overcome.”

“Even in the current circumstances, staging the Masters without patrons is deeply disappointing. The guests who come to Augusta each spring from around the world are a key component to making the Tournament so special. Augusta National has the responsibility, however, to understand and accept the challenges associated with this virus and take the necessary precautions to conduct all aspects of the Tournament in a safe manner. We look forward to the day when we can welcome all of our patrons back, hopefully in April 2021…”

…”Those who had tickets for the 2020 Masters will now be eligible to attend the 2021 Masters next April.”

Full piece.

2. U.S. Am update

David Shefter for the USGA…”Cameron Sisk, Evan Katz and Aaron Du earned the final three spots in the match-play draw in an 18-for-3 playoff Wednesday morning at Bandon Dunes. Sisk, a semifinalist in the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur, and Katz birdied the par-4 10th hole and Du sealed the last spot with a birdie on No. 11. One notable who failed to qualify was 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion Garrett Barber. Sisk, a standout at Arizona State, was the lone player of the three to post a Round-of-64 win, defeating No. 3 seed Benjamin Shipp, 5 and 4.”

“Six schools have multiple players in the Round of 32: Arkansas (Julian Perico, Segundo Oliva Pinto), Georgia Tech (Noah Norton, Tyler Strafaci), Louisiana State (Philip Barbaree, Trey Winstead), Notre Dame (Davis Chatfield, Davis Lamb), Pepperdine (Clay Feagler, William Mouw) and Southern Methodist (McClure Meissner, Charles Osborne).”

“Argentina led the international group with four players making match play. That group included 2020 Latin America Amateur champion Abel Gallegos, along with two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur quarterfinalist Andres Schonbaum, Oliva Pinto and Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira. Pinto was the lone player to advance.”

More details on those heading to the round of 32.

3. Stewart Hagestad moving on

Shefter again…”Stewart Hagestad came into this week’s U.S. Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort with two main goals: make a deep enough run to lower his World Amateur Golf Ranking® to gain a U.S. Open exemption, and continue his push toward making a third consecutive USA Walker Cup Team next spring.”

“On Tuesday, the lanky Southern Californian was in a tenuous position to fulfill those aspirations, sitting at 2 over par through 26 holes of stroke play. But he played his last 10 holes in 6 under to complete a 6-under 66 at Bandon Dunes and put himself comfortably into the match-play draw. That set up a Round-of-64 matchup with 2020 Latin America Amateur champion Abel Gallegos, of Argentina.”

“And just as in stroke play, the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion had to find some intestinal fortitude to avoid a premature exit. Down one hole with two to play, Hagestad, 29, of Newport Beach, rallied with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 to pull out a 1-up victory over the talented 18-year-old.”

Full piece.

4. A Masters unlike any other

ESPN’s Bob Harig, amid a larger reflection on a patron-free Masters, writes this…”But no fans? The Lords of Augusta National must be furious that it has come to this, four months after they announced the rescheduled Masters dates for November and three months before it is to be played.”

“Surely they believed we’d be in a position by now to have moved beyond many of the restrictions associated with the pandemic. They bought themselves the most time. And to no one’s surprise, they have the ability to buy themselves nearly anything they want as it relates to putting on a safe event.”

“Rapid testing? Social distancing? Wearing masks? Sanitary protocols? This is a place that doesn’t like having a piece of grass out of place…”

“You think they couldn’t have bought 100,000 COVID-19 tests if they were so inclined? Or figured out a way to space those allowed in around the hallowed grounds, masks required?”

“The fact they are shutting those ideas down now suggests the difficulty of pulling it off and the ominous reports they are getting from medical and government officials in dealing with the pandemic. As powerful as the folks are at Augusta National, they’ve never been able to control the weather, when the azaleas bloom. Apparently, they can’t squash a pandemic, either.”

Full piece.

5. 3 in a row will be tough for links-shy Kang

Golf Channel’s Randall Mell…”While Kang’s confident in the protocols, she has never been as confident as she would like on links courses.”

“This two-week Scottish sojourn begins at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.

“I’m actually having a lot of thoughts on the golf course,” Kang said. “It’s not something that I’m used to, at all. So, it’s bringing a lot of difficult parts of my game into play. So, I’m a little bit uncomfortable, to be quite honest, but always got to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

“So, yeah, the golf course, it’s tough for me. It’s going to be definitely a test in every aspect of my game, and I think that will be interesting.”

“Kang, 27, has missed the cut in her last two starts on links courses in Great Britain…”

Full piece.

6. Koepka on DJ comments

Via Eamon Lynch at Golfweek…“Golfweek spoke with Koepka Wednesday about the fallout from his remarks, if he has any regrets, and whether he has reached out to Johnson.”

“Eamon Lynch: What was the intent of the comment?”

“Brooks Koepka: I honestly was struggling coming down the end of the third round. I was well back and I saw DJ was at minus-9. I birdied to get to minus-7. I was focused on Dustin. I had no idea who was at 8 or with me at 7. To be honest, when I’m looking at a leaderboard I’m never looking at who is behind me or tied with me, I only look ahead. I view myself as going forward no matter what. So I regret that part of it. That’s what I was trying to say – that I didn’t know who was on the leaderboard at that point because I hadn’t looked. I just genuinely didn’t know the guys at 8 and 7. That part I regret and I wish I had used different words because I didn’t pay enough attention to who was under Dustin because he was my main focus. When someone asks if I can win, I’m always going to say yes, that’s the competitor in me. I’m not there to finish second. I think that’s where some of the cocky stuff comes from because I always think I can win and truly believe it.”

Full piece.

7. Steve Stricker: Fortnite fanatic

Marla Ridenour, Akron Beacon Journal…“I got into Fortnite. Stupid game,” Stricker revealed Wednesday. “I don’t know where that came from, but it’s kind of consumed some of my time, even lately. I bring it with me out on the road and pass the time. But I’m trying to wean myself off that game.”

“At first, Stricker’s wife Nicki and their daughters Bobbi, 21, and Isabella, 14, played with him at their home in Madison, Wisconsin.”

“During the quarantine, when it first happened, I was playing quite a bit. I had nothing else to do, right? We play golf and then I play Fortnite,” he said. “The kids started playing with me, too. Nicki tried to, but she got frustrated with it and ended that pretty quickly.”

Full piece.

8. Augusta National’s sand thief

Pages deep on a Masters-related Google search and well adrift of my intended task (putting this newsletter together), I happened upon this heretofore-unknown-to-me story from 2019 regarding the bunker burglar of Augusta National.

“If you’re unfamiliar, allow Steve Politi of NJ.com to tell the tale of one Clayton Baker…”

“He was slammed facedown to the ground, handcuffed like the worst kind of felon and thrown onto the back of a golf cart.”

“Clayton Baker had come to Augusta National Golf Club to cross one item off his bucket list, but after a perfect day watching the final round of the Masters from a collapsible chair at Amen Corner, his trip had gone horribly wrong.”

“You dirty piece of s—,” one of his arresting officers spat at him. “You disrespected this national monument in Augusta.”

“I hope you know you’re going to jail for this,” another cop sneered before moving him to the back of an unmarked police car.”

So begins the saga…read the rest here.

9. Shackelford’s only complaint: Harding Park’s bunkers

“There is one issue that needs to be resolved for both functional and spiritual reasons: the bunker sand.”

“At an old San Francisco muni with ancient Monterey Cypress, Harding just needs some old fashioned beige pits with steep faces and thick lips. Good news, they have the example they need on property in the form of The Fleming Course.”

“The par-3 course used to house TV, the range and the fifth tee, also has much better looking bunkers than “TPC” Harding Park. They also looked to have actual sand in them, unlike on the big course. No one enjoys having the flange of wedges hit pricey liners installed to keep the white stuff clean. Tiger Woods was 0 for 7 until getting up and down 2 of 4 times Sunday. Tiger Woods is no junior varsity bunker player.”

“So Harding Park, I know another pricey redo to give the bunkers worthy character is not in the budget, nor should it be. But lose the country club sand and we look forward to seeing you ever September starting next year.”

Full piece.

News

Testing Lorem Ipsum

Published

9 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Pro Shop

What is Lorem Ipsum?

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Why do we use it?

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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.