Kim up 5 on Burgoon in John Deere Classic

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Friday, July 14, 2018

Birthday boy Michael Kim, the leader of the 48th John Deere Classic through 54 holes, said Friday he doesn’t mind delays. He’s loving this stop-and-start weekend so far. Some 3.1 inches of rain at the course has not only given him extra chances to warm up on the range, but has made the greens softer than usual. Think lawn darts.

He did, making birdies on five of his last six holes – including the last four, played after the final delay of the day – on his 25th birthday to race to a five-stroke lead over Brunson Burgoon going into the final round. Only a handful of the gallery of perhaps 12,500 remained when the last four birdies fell, but they were big.

Kim fired his second straight 7-under 64 to go with an opening 63 and stands at 22-under 191 entering Sunday’s finale at TPC Deere Run. Burgoon’s 5-under 66 for 17-under 199 seemed almost shabby by comparison, but it got him to solo second in front of Matt Jones (66 for 16-under 200), Harold Varner III (66 for 15-under 201) and Andres Romero and Sam Ryder (14-under 202).

Such an advantage might make some players nervous, but Kim seems cool about it all.

“Try and stay aggressive, stick to the game plan,” Kim said. “It’s been working so far. I’ve got a decent-sized lead but a lot can happen in 18 holes.”

There have been 21 first-time PGA Tour winners in the first 47 playings of the Deere, and Kim’s in a prime spot to become No. 22.

Of those close behind, Romero, the Argentine who stands nine back after a 7-under 64, may have the most motivation to win beyond the thrill of it all. In 2007, Romero shot a final-round 67 in the British Open at Carnoustie and missed the Padraig Harrington-Sergio Garcia playoff by a stroke – with a double-bogey, bogey finish, blowing a two-stroke lead after 70 holes despite a 10-birdie day.

“I always have the dream of going back to Carnoustie,” Romero said. “It’s going to be a little bit of pressure, but I think I’m going to handle it.”

He’d have to climb past Burgoon, Jones and Varner before he got to Kim, and there’s no reason to think Kim, whose new mental putting mantra has seen him make 25 birdies and sink a football field worth of putts (371 feet 6 inches) so far this week – including a curling 10-footer at the last for his final birdie of eight in the round – is going to back up. The others may feel like Sisyphus by the end of the tournament.

“Obviously Michael is playing pretty well, but I’m playing pretty good myself,” Burgoon said.

Kim had been average on the PGA Tour before this week, playing 254 rounds before Thursday’s career low 63. To follow that with a pair of 64s is difficult for a veteran pro, much less someone seeking his first victory on the big circuit.

“I’m just feeling more confident over my tee shots, which have been a problem for me the last couple of years,” Kim said. “Any time I feel comfortable over my tee shots I’m pretty stress-free and can have a good time out there.”

Plus there’s the putting adjustment in his head, which he hasn’t explained completely but is clearly the difference this week. He needed 27 putts in the first and third rounds and 26 in the second. That works.

Burgoon, who collected his third eagle of the week with a 3 on the par-5 second hole, finished with three straight birdies on the softened course to get to 17-under, even though he was exhausted. He had to finish his second round at 8 a.m., playing three holes before his third round tee time was delayed by the first of two thunderstorm breaks.

“I was up at 5 o’clock, Starbucks at 5:15, and off we went,” Burgoon said after finishing at about 8:20 p.m. “Glad to be done and ready to get some sleep.”

That’s a good idea for everyone.

Duncan shines

Here’s how hard it is to move through the pack at the John Deere Classic: rookie Tyler Duncan scored 8-under 63 on Saturday and moved from a tie for 46th to a tied for 13th.

“I made a few putts to get me started, and there we were,” Duncan said. “I played awesome today.”

With six birdies in his first eight holes – and a 30 on his first nine holes, Deere Run’s back nine – he was playing so well he had time to think about firing a 59.

“I knew there were a lot of chances left,” Duncan said. “I hit a couple good shots, but it played a little tough coming in.”

He finished with a bogey on the par-4 ninth, missing out of the week’s third 62.

Second Round Wrapup

Michael Kim left TPC Deere Run Friday night with a four-stroke lead on the field, but failed to save par on the 18th hole Saturday morning, missing a 7-foot putt, and took a three-stroke advantage into the third round.

Still, his 63-64–127 start matched the second-best first 36 holes in John Deere Classic annals, equaling Paul Goydos’ 15-under start in 2010 and Tim Clark’s four years ago.

Conversely, Bronson Burgoon birdied the first of the three holes he needed to play to wrap up his second round, posting a 9-under 62 for 12-under 130, making it a four-way tie for second with David Hearn, Steve Wheatcroft and Johnson Wagner. Burgoon went crazy on Friday, two eagles on his scorecard, and finished with five birdies as well in his bogey-free round.

Nick Hardy made the cut on the number – 3-under 139 – and moved on to the weekend, but NCAA champion Broc Everett went the other way, making bogeys on the 16th and 18th to fall out of the weekend with a 141 finish.

The logjam of 82 players making the cut forced the PGA Tour to institute a second cut after the third round to the low 70 players and ties. Those who don’t play the final round still make last-place money.

The field averaged 69.841 strokes in the second round, compared to the record Round 2 low of 69.061 set at Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley in 1999.

Around Deere Run

Recent Illinois graduate Dylan Meyer scored 1-over 72 on Saturday and wasn’t happy about it. “Didn’t hit it very well,” Meyer groused. “Just kind of struggled to get it around. Didn’t make any putts. Just unfortunate I had to do it today on a very soft and gettable day.” Asked if he planned any changes, Meyer said, “I’ve got to find something or else I’m going to get run over.” He’s tied for 55th at 5-under 208. ... 

Saturday’s field average was 68.988 strokes, bringing the week’s average to 69.584 strokes. ... The four weather delays totaling 4 hours 44 minutes across two days – and there could have been a fifth, given the thunder heard at 4:15 p.m. when a storm cell rumbled by – built on a great tradition of starting and stopping in the Deere. The culmination was in 2003, when a complete rainout of the third round forced a 36-hole finish on Sunday, and more delays pushed the final 13 holes to Monday. It didn’t bother winner Vijay Singh. ... The 2009 Deere also finished with a 36-hole finale, but Steve Stricker had the trophy in his hands on Sunday night.

– Tim Cronin

Kim finds putting key, leads Deere by 4

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Friday, July 13, 2018

Michael Kim can handle the heat.

At least on Friday, when it was possible to grow orchids at TPC Deere Run.

Under stifling conditions most of the day, Kim poured in eight birdies across 17 holes before play was stopped for the day with a thunderstorm on the doorstep of the course.

He’s at 16-under through 35 holes needing to save par from right of the 18th green when play resumes Saturday morning to finish at 16-under 126 with 23 players left to finish their rounds.

Kim’s two-for-two making the cut in the Deere, but hasn’t threatened. Now, he’s threatening. Seventeen birdies in 35 holes – with only 51 putts – indicate that.

What’s the difference in his putting?

“I think it’s more of a mental thing for me,” Kim said. “Thursday morning just warming up I kind of found a little mental note with me, and it’s been working for me so far.”

That’s quite a find. It could pay off to the tune of $1,044,000 if he wins, along with the two-year exemption and other baubles bestowed on a PGA Tour winner. His plan is simple.

“Just ignore the leader board as much as you can, ignore the scores,” Kim said. “Just me and the golf course. I think that’s how I’m going to take it for the next two days.”

Meanwhile, first-round leader Steve Wheatcroft added a 68 to his opening 62 and is at 12-under 130, a total matched by Canadian David Hearn, who lost to Jordan Spieth in a three-way playoff five years ago, and Johnson Wagner.

Wheatcroft finished before the first of the two weather delays, and was in the cauldron for over four hours. He drank everything he could to stay hydrated and still looked beet red after the round.

“Probably 20 ounces of water (on each of) the first 12 holes, and started to feel myself cramping up still,” Wheatcroft said. “This is one of the hottest days I’ve ever played golf in.”

Hearn was on the verge of winning at Deere Run in 2013, but missed a birdie putt on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff. Spieth and Zach Johnson had their hats off, ready to shake hands. Two holes later, Spieth was the winner at age 19.

Friday, there was a bit of controversy with Hearn, who has gone back to a long putter. After his round of 7-under 64, a Tour official asked him to come to the putting green and demonstrate his putting stroke to make sure he wasn’t anchoring it against his chest, which is now verboten in the Rules of Golf. No violation was found.

“I guess I’m putting too well,” Hearn said. “They were asking me about the way I’m doing it and I can say with certainty I’m not anchoring the putter.”

If the ruling was different, he would have gone from four off the lead to down the highway via disqualification. Perhaps that 1 1/2 inches he’d cut off the putter some time back made the difference.

Wagner added a 66 to an opening 64 for his 130. He had three straight top-seven finishes here before missing the cut last year.

“I just think I’ve done a good job of hitting fairways,” Wagner said. “I had some good lies and played to the smart side of the holes.”

Lurking five strokes back at 11-under are Brunson Burgoon, who has three holes remaining, Matt Jones, who has finished, and Deere rookie Francesco Molinari, who had not only finished but won his previous start, the Quicken Loans National, a fortnight ago.

“The game is still there,” Molinari said. “I think I can hit my irons a little bit better, especially the wedges. Yesterday and today has been okay but not great, so there’s room for improvement.”

Maybe Molinari isn’t lurking after all. Maybe he’s the real leader once the pedigrees of everyone ahead of him is considered. 

Around Deere Run

Dylan Meyer’s back-to-back 69s place him at 6-under 138 and tied for 24th entering Moving Day. He’s tied with fellow Illinois alum and three-time Deere winner Steve Stricker, the 51-year-old carding a 5-under 66. He’s two strokes ahead of last year, when he opened with 140 and finished tied for fifth at 15-under 269 via a 65-64 finish. Nick Hardy, the other Fighting Illini of note, is on the cut line of 3-under with two holes to play. ...

Danny Lee disqualified himself when he discovered he had used two different types of balls during the round. The “One-Ball Rule” means one type in any one round. Lee recently shifted from Titleist to Callaway, but it’s not known if he went to a different brand or within them, such as a Callaway Chrome to Chrome Soft or Titleist Pro V1 to Pro V1x. Lee was going to miss the cut anyway after rounds of 71 and 73 for 2-over 144. ... The cut figures to fall at 3-under 139, with 81 players on the good side of the knife. Those missing included Pekin native D.A. Points (2-under 140), who missed for the 12th time in 13 years, Deerfield’s Vince India (even-par 142), and fellow Monday qualifier Brian Bullington of Frankfort, who posted a second straight 3-over 74, the total of 148 missing the cut by nine strokes. ... 

Steven Bowditch was right: He didn’t make the cut, so the dream of Twitter-sourced caddie Elias Francque of Park Ridge ended after 36 holes. ... Those withdrawing Friday were Doug Ghim, bothered by a case of stomach flu, Jason Gore (back), Matt Every and David Berganio Jr. The heat (94 degrees with a heat index of 106) likely had something to do with it. ... The first delay lasted 49 minutes for a severe thunderstorm that skirted the course. It rained a bit after play resumed, but 48 minutes later, the curtain came down for the day. Then it poured.

– Tim Cronin

Wheatcroft leads Deere, DeChambeau withdraws

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Thursday, July 12, 2018

The most amazing round of golf in Illinois on Thursday was undoubtedly JoAnne Carner’s age-equaling 79 in the opening round of the Inaugural United States Senior Women’s Open Championship at Chicago Golf Club.

Illinois men’s coach Mike Small’s co-leading 65 in the Senior Players Championship at Exmoor Country Club wasn’t too shabby either.

Regardless, Steven Wheatcroft will take his tidy 62 at TPC Deere Run, thank you very much. He birdied nine holes, made nary a bogey and finished in 7-under 29 to top off his tournament-leading 9-under round, doing so with a driver that wasn’t a day old.

“I’d hit one or two screw balls around that cost me a bogey or double bogey,” Wheatcroft said of his recent play. “I got tired of that. The Callaway guys came out and worked with me a little bit yesterday, and we put a new driver head on.

“It was really good. It’s nice knowing I could aim down the middle and it wasn’t going to be a wipe right.”

The other side of golf was represented by defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who injured his right shoulder early in the round and had to withdraw in pain after his tee shot on the 16th hole. He hopes to play in next week’s British Open.

Wheatcroft’s splendid score earned him only a 1-stroke lead on Michael Kim, whose nine-birdie round was offset by a lone bogey.  Johnson Wagner, Canadian Nick Taylor, Joel Dahmen and Argentina’s Andres Romero are two strokes behind after their 7-under 64s.

If these aren’t household names, it’s not a surprise, as first, the John Deere Classic – maybe because of the high water of the Rock River – is the breeding ground for first-time winner. Second, the Official World Golf Ranking verifies the lead sextet’s locations on the list as 927th for Wheatcroft, 473rd for Kim, 396th for Wagner, 259th for Taylor, 298th for Dahmen and 292nd for Romero. The average ranking for the six is 440.83, which is as far from world No. 1 Dustin Johnson as Venus is from Mars. And it’s hard to get there.

Wheatcroft made his move with birdies on his last six holes, then had an idea.

“I tried to keep the round going,” he quipped. “I asked if we could just go to the first tee and start Round 2.”

Maybe it was the kid who kept appearing at each green and cheering for him.

“Every time we would walk by we would kind of fist bump,” Wheatcroft said. “I kept looking, ‘Yeah, he’s back again. Why is he following our group?’ ”

Kim went around Deere Run only slightly less perfectly, sinking a 40-footer and a pair of 20-footers, all for birdies.

“I got a good mental note from the morning warmup today and rolled it great,” Kim said. “It was just a different thought process while going through it. More of a feel than anything.

“I’ve been feeling pretty good about my game the last couple weeks, just haven’t been able to hold it together for the entire day. But it’s nice to get a low one today and see all the new things I’m working on.”

DeChambeau’s withdrawal a painful one

DeChambeau’s troubles began when he flew his tee shot on the par-5 second into heavy rough on the right. It set forth a disastrous turn of events.

“I just didn’t feel great after that,” DeChambeau said after emerging from the fitness trailer with his right shoulder in an immobilizing sling. “Probably overloaded the muscle.”

The 24-year-old stopped his takeaway on the 12th hole, then reloaded and his he second straight shot well to the right. That was the beginning of the end. Even though he was only 3-over through 15 holes, the pain on his tee shot on the par-3 16th was enough for him to turn to fellow competitors Davis Love III and Ryan Moore and call it a day.

“Life just throws you curve balls and you’ve just got to work with them,” DeChambeau said. “It’s not fun. It’s saddening.”

DeChambeau believes he’ll be able to play in next week’s British Open, and plans to fly to Scotland with that in mind after a few days of treatment.

“Oh yeah,” DeChambeau said. “I’m not going to not make the trip. I can still swing and hit a shot. I just don’t think it would be productive to do so. I don’t feel it’s going to be too long a recovery time.”

DeChambeau withdrew from the Valspar tournament in March with a back injury but came back to finish second in the following week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“My body is pretty resilient,” DeChambeau said. “I’m young. I think I can recover in time.”

Instant Tour caddie

Elias Francque, who turns 17 on Friday, received an early birthday present when Steven Bowditch picked him from a large number of Twitter hopefuls to caddie for him this week. Francque, from Park Ridge, started caddieing at Park Ridge Country Club. About 30 loops into his caddie career, he was on the PGA Tour.

“I was nervous on the first tee, but it got better after that,” Francque said. Bowditch scored 2-over 73 on Thursday and is in danger of missing the cut after a double-bogey, bogey finish, but provided a thrill when he holed out for eagle from 172 yards on the par-4 fifth, the only eagle of the day on a par 4 hole.

“Only club the kid pulled all day,” Bowditch kidded.

Francque, who has a pair of uncles who work for John Deere, is staying with his grandparents in nearby Geneseo this week. 

Around Deere Run 

Nick Hardy is tied for 11th after a bogey-free 66, needing only 28 putts. Two weeks ago, Hardy tied for 11th in the Travelers Championship, his first PGA Tour start as a pro. .. Fellow Illinois alum Dylan Meyer put together a 3-under 68 with only one bogey. ... D.A. Points, who went to Illinois almost before Hardy and Meyer were born, scored 2-under 69 and is threatening to make the cut for only the second time in a dozen starts. He last advanced to the weekend in 2011. ... Winfield’s Kevin Streelman also shot 66, matching his opening round of 2013.... Former champion and JDC board member Zach Johnson also scored 69, while three-time champion Steve Stricker returned a 70. ... Vince India of Deerfield, a Monday qualifier, was also at 70. ... Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights put together a 2-over 73, while Iowa grad Brian Bullington of Frankfort, also a Monday four-spot survivor, was at 3-over 74. ... Ninety-five of the 156 players were under par and another 17 were at par. ... The scoring average of 69.645 was the eighth-lowest in a first round since 1991. ... Rory Sabbatini also withdrew after firing a 1-over 72.

– Tim Cronin

Hoffman's 65 leads in Women's Western qualifying

Emilee Hoffman of Folsom, Calif., used an eagle 2 on the par-4 sixth hole of Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville as the centerpiece of her record-tying 7-under-par 65 in Monday’s first round of Women’s Western Amateur qualifying.

In so doing, Hoffman took a four-stroke lead into Tuesday’s second qualifying round over the trio of Doey Choi, Linda Wang and Maggie Ashmore. Their 3-under 69s are a stroke better than another trio, including the highest-placed Illinois resident, Brianne Bolden of Mokena, the runner-up in last year’s IHSA Class 2A championship.

Hoffman tied Mistwood’s women’s course record, a 65 posted by amateur Aimee Neff in the second round of the 2008 Illinois Women’s Open. Though results from two years are missing, Hoffman also appeared to tie the single-round qualifying record for the Women’s Western. Carol Semple Thompson scored a 65 at Firethorn Golf Club, Lincoln, Neb., in 1991.

Allisen Corpuz of Waipahu, Haw., the medalist last year at River Forest Country Club, is in a group at 1-under 71.

The field will be cut to the low 32 on Wednesday in preparation for match play, which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday’s 36-hole final. Through 18 holes, there was a nine-way tie for 28th place at 2-over 74. Among those on the outside looking in: Bolingbrook’s Jessica Yuen (6-over 78) and Lemont’s Lauren Beaudreau (7-over 79).

Women's PGA: What, Lexi worry?

Writing from Kildeer, Illinois

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

It’s great – beyond great, in fact – to know you have all the talent in the world and can get the feel of a golf course in one or two circuits of it.

Lexi Thompson can do that.

She’ll do so this week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes Golf Club.

“If I can’t figure it out in two days ...” Thompson said Tuesday, channeling Dustin Johnson’s similar comments before the recent U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. “I usually just let my natural talent go.”

That, Thompson has in abundance. Yet she hasn’t won yet this season, and eschewed a practice round on Monday in order to play in the CVS Charity Classic, a one-day outing in Rhode Island that brings together players from the LPGA, PGA and Champions circuits to benefit worthy causes in that state.

Don’t think Thompson is treating the third major of the season in cavalier fashion. She sent her caddie to Kemper Lakes direct from the LPGA tournament in Arkansas, and he walked the course on Monday, confirming yardages and spying the proper line of play.

“My caddie did say it’s a good setup for me,” Thompson said. “I’m a little bit longer and I’ll be able to hit a good amount of drivers hopefully.”

Kemper Lakes will play 6,741 yards, more or less, which is a healthy poke or two for the ladies, and will likely play even longer, at least at first, after last weekend’s downpour, plus a thunderstorm on Tuesday morning, and more rain in the late afternoon, which played havoc with the pro-am. The big show commences on Thursday, but the course may not fully dry out until next week.

Michelle Wie had seen the course before her pro-am circuit on Tuesday, but remembered it not at all. She had an excuse: Her previous appearance here was in 2001, when she played in the U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship as an 11-year-old.

“If I said I remembered this golf course, I’d be lying,” Wie said with a laugh. “I have a lot of great memories but not of the golf course.”

Tuesday’s trek made it obvious to Wie when others believe, that the final three holes, the combination of the long par-4, peninsula par-3 and waterlogged dogleg par-4, which members have named the Gauntlet, will be decisive. 

“Sixteen, it’s a real tricky green,” Wie said. “Seventeen is a great par-3; depending on where they put the pin, it changes the hole completely. Eighteen speaks for itself, water on both ends. It’s just a great layout.”

That will be music to the membership’s ears. 

– Tim Cronin