| By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.
For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com
Good Monday morning, golf fans, as Tiger Woods confirmed his competitive comeback over the weekend. |
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1. Aberg dazzles to win RSM Classic
AP report…” Ludvig Åberg added to his astonishing second half of the year when he closed with a second straight 9-under 61 on Sunday to win the RSM Classic, his first PGA Tour title to go along with a European tour victory and a winning debut in the Ryder Cup.”
- And to think the 24-year-old Swede was still at Texas Tech six months ago.
- “Beyond my dreams,” Aberg said. “It’s been six months I’ll never forget.”
- Not only did he win the final event of the PGA Tour season, but he did it in record fashion. His final birdie allowed Aberg to tie the 72-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour, matching the 253 of Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open.
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2. DPWT: Hojgaard claims championship with strong finish
AP report…”Nicolai Hojgaard claimed the biggest title of his career Sunday after running off five straight birdies down the stretch to win the season-ending World Tour Championship by two strokes.”
- “The 22-year-old Dane delivered a clinic in iron play to set up close-range birdies from Nos. 13-17, shoot 8-under 64 and end the finale to the DP World Tour on 21-under par.”
- “That finish took Hojgaard past Tommy Fleetwood and FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland, two of the players who acted as mentors to him in his first Ryder Cup last month.”
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3. Amy Yang wins first LPGA title on U.S. soil
AP report…”Amy Yang picked a lucrative time for her first LPGA title on American soil.”
- Yang birdied her last two holes for a 6-under 66 to win the CME Group Tour Championship and claim the $2 million prize, matching the largest in women’s golf.
- The victory was her fifth on the LPGA Tour, the previous four coming in Asia.
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4. Q-School update
PGATour.com staff with the capsules of notable making it through — in addition to medalists Bryson Nimmer, Connor Burgess, Mark Goetz, KK Limbhasut, and Danny Walker
- Luke Long matched the week’s low score with a final-round 62 to finish tied for second at 14 under. The University of Houston alum played the 2021-22 season at the University of Arkansas as a graduate transfer, earning second-team All-SEC honors, before turning pro … Two natives of McCook, Nebraska, advanced at the Savannah site. Brandon Crick finished T2 at 14 under, perhaps the beginning of a redemption story after ending the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season at No. 76 on the Points List, missing full status by a single position. Crick’s fellow McCook native Noah Hofman finished T12 at 8 under, draining a 4-footer for par at the 72nd hole to advance on the number … Perhaps the wildest bubble story went to Oklahoma State alum Zach Bauchou, the college roommate of Viktor Hovland, who finished with a triple bogey at No. 17 and a double bogey at No. 18, advancing squarely on the number at 8 under … Dakotas Tour legend Andre Metzger, 41, carded a final-round 65 to post 9-under 279 and advance with one shot to spare.
- Steven Fisk ended up one shot back at 18 under. Fisk spent 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour where he notched one top-10 finish at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank … Alex Schaake fired rounds of 66-66 to close things out and staged quite the comeback after opening with a 5-over 77. He climbed nine spots on the leaderboard in the final round to earn a spot at Final Stage … Marcus Byrd earned one of the last spots at Final Stage. Byrd won four times this season on the APGA Tour, a record. He played four events on the PGA TOUR this season including The Genesis Invitational where he was the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption winner.
- Kristoffer Ventura continues his road back to the PGA TOUR. Ventura finished at 9 under, two shots back of the medalist honor. He won twice in just 11 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 to earn a PGA TOUR card. He was back on the Korn Ferry Tour this season and notched two top-10s … Alvaro Ortiz advanced to Final Stage despite starting the week with a 1-over 73. Ortiz played a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 … There were plenty of solid comebacks after some high opening-round scores in difficult conditions. Caleb Hicks, who just turned pro this year after graduating from the University of Texas-Arlington, made it through after a first-round 76; he rallied to a 5-under 283 total. Dillon Board, who turned pro in 2016 but has yet to make a Korn Ferry Tour start, opened with a 74; he also finished at 5-under 283. And Dylan Meyer, who made his pro debut at the 2018 U.S. Open where he finished T20, opened with a 78 but kept clawing back; he closed in 6-under 66 to advance on the number at 4 under … Also making it to Final Stage was John Pak, who swept college golf’s Player of the Year awards in 2021, winning the Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus awards.
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| 5. ICYMI: Tiger in for Hero
PGATour.com staff report…”Tiger Woods will play the Hero World Challenge later this month, his first PGA TOUR start since undergoing ankle surgery in the spring.”
- “The 82-time TOUR winner announced his commitment Saturday on Instagram. The Hero World Challenge will be contested Nov. 30-Dec. 3 at Albany, Bahamas.”
- “Woods has held a spot for himself at the Hero World Challenge in the past. The initial field release included only 19 players, leading to speculation that the last spot could again be earmarked for Woods if his recovery progressed.”
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6. Card earners
Matt Cradock for Golf Monthly…”At the DP World Tour Championships on Sunday, it wasn’t just the trophy and $3 million first prize that was up for grabs, but also 10 PGA Tour cards, with players looking to finish inside the top-10 of the Race to Dubai standings and secure their spot with playing rights in 2024.”
- In the main event, it was Nicolai Hojgaard who claimed the victory, but there was also good news for a number of elite players as they stamped their ticket to the PGA Tour in dramatic circumstances.
- Throughout the final round at the Earth Course, it was difficult to keep up with who was in and who was out. Certainly, over the final day, seven players were guaranteed PGA Tour cards, but that still left another six to battle it out for the final three spaces and, eventually, it came down to the closing stretch to determine who had done it.
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7. Azinger out
The AP’s Doug Ferguson…”Paul Azinger is no longer the lead golf analyst for NBC Sports, ending his five years with the network at the Ryder Cup in October without even knowing that was his last event.”
- “With the golf and media landscapes now in a more challenging environment, Azinger and NBC will part ways as their current contract ends,” according to a statement from his manager.
- “Azinger chose not to discuss specifics as to why another contract wasn’t done, only to say Sunday that it was a mixture of disappointment and surprise.”
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8. Brooks trolls his own league
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| Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist 718 T-MB (2), Titleist T100 (2019) (4-9)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 50-08, 54-10S), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-V)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Versa #1
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x |
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