World Number One Rory McIlroy is ready to go one better than his three runner-up finishes at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship this week, having just completed the annual ritual of recording his goals for the season on the back of a boarding pass en route to the Middle East.
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Patrick Reed, one of the newest members of The European Tour, claimed a thrilling victory in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, the first event of 2015 on the US PGA Tour.
The American, who joined The European Tour at the beginning of the season, reeled in compatriot Jimmy Walker by finishing eagle-bogey-birdie, then saw off his 2014 Ryder Cup team-mate with a birdie at the first play-off hole.
The victory made Reed, who won the 2014 WGC-Cadillac Championship, only the fourth player in the last 20 years to notch four US PGA Tour victories by the age of 25 – joining an elite group containing Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia.
Reed said: “Golf-wise, I didn’t feel like it was really there. I felt like the driver was coming around, and the irons were decent today. But the reason why I was able to pull it off is mentally, and from good course management.
“One of the goals for 2015 is a multi-win year. And I want to make my percentage of top tens better. It just seems like last year I either played really, really well or I didn’t really play very well. I want to improve on my consistency.”
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Each week, GolfChannel.com takes a look back at the week in golf. In this edition of After Further Review, our writers weigh in on Patrick Reed’s swagger, the simple answer to the U.S. team’s Ryder Cup woes and a possible change in the way invitations are issued to the Tournament of Champions.
Patrick Reed’s strength isn’t measured in any statistical category. There’s no way to measure bravado, but if the PGA Tour could measure it, Reed would lead that category going away. It makes him one of the most intriguing new figures in the game.
From his bold claim that he’s a “top-five player” in the world after winning at Doral last spring, to his shushing the European galleries at the Ryder Cup last fall, the guy owns some serious swagger. Hey, he wore Tiger Woods’ red-and-black ensemble playing with Tiger at the Hero World Challenge last month and put up a nice little 63.
While Reed possesses a large reservoir of talent, he has an even larger supply of belief in himself. His playoff victory Monday at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions will only embolden his beliefs. He’s going to march into the game’s biggest events this year, and we shouldn’t be surprised if he walks out of them with some very prestigious trophies. – Randall Mell
This won’t exactly come as breaking news, but last year’s Ryder Cup can be filed away under “Unmitigated Disaster” for the United States team for reasons ranging from the lack of team chemistry to the player mutiny to yet another loss that never seemed close.
Just three months ago, it appeared nothing good had come out of Gleneagles for the team in red, white and blue. As it turns out, that isn’t true.
Each of the three rookies displayed grace under the intense pressure and might have used the experience as a springboard to bigger and better things. Not that they weren’t talented and capable of climbing leaderboards beforehand, but already one player (Jordan Spieth) has two worldwide wins in the short time since, while another (Patrick Reed) just beat the third (Jimmy Walker) in a playoff at Kapalua.
In the coming weeks and months, the so-called “task force” will meet to discuss the team’s future. Here’s hoping it will be noted that the fresh faces are the ones who have most benefitted from the adventure. – Jason Sobel
Slow play on the PGA Tour can be brutal, but on this issue the circuit’s languid pace is downright devastating. Although it’s been a hot topic on Tour the last few years, the circuit has been slow to add a two-year invitation for winners into the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. There are no guarantees that a two-year exemption would improve the field at Kapalua, but it couldn’t hurt.
Maybe Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who both won in 2013 but not last season, wouldn’t have played the TOC anyway – after all, Rory McIlroy was eligible and didn’t show – but if there’s a chance a change could help why wait? – Rex Hoggard
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He’s not quite a top-five player just yet, but Patrick Reed has cemented a spot as one of golf’s rising stars. Here’s how things ended up at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, where Reed topped Jimmy Walker in a playoff for the win:
Leaderboard: Patrick Reed (-21, won on first extra hole), Jimmy Walker (-21), Hideki Matsuyama (-20), Jason Day (-20), Russell Henley (-20)
What it means: Walker began the day with a share of the lead and appeared on cruise control at the halfway point, but a stumble down the stretch combined with a rally from Reed led to a playoff. After a poor approach from Walker on the first extra hole, Reed calmly rolled in a 19-foot birdie putt for the win – his fourth PGA Tour victory since August 2013, joining Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia as the only players with that many wins before age 25 in the last 20 years.
Round of the day: Day began the final round seven shots off the pace, but he gave the leaders quite the scare with an 11-under 62 that tied the course record. The Aussie birdied four in a row on Nos. 5-8 then caught fire on the back nine, with six birdies in a seven-hole stretch from Nos. 10-16 before a final circle on the home hole.
Best of the rest: Day wasn’t the only player to earn a piece of the course record, as Chris Kirk also shot an 11-under 62. Kirk began the day in last place but, playing by himself, notched 11 birdies on the Plantation Course without dropping a shot to move all the way up into a share of 14th place.
Biggest disappointment: While Reed’s rally was impressive, this tournament was Walker’s to lose and he did just that. A poor iron off the tee led to a bogey on the short 14th hole, then Walker got two cracks at the easy par-5 18th – once in regulation, once in the playoff. He failed to make a birdie either time, squandering the last of what once was a three-shot lead in the process.
Shot of the day: Reed was coming off a birdie on No. 15 when he hit a wedge from 83 yards to the short par-4 16th. The approach landed just past the hole, spun back and dropped for an unexpected eagle that took Reed to 6 under on his round and gave him a share of the lead.
Quote of the day: “The confidence level is really high.” – Reed
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World Number One and reigning Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy will make his first competitive appearance of 2015 in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which this week celebrates its tenth anniversary.
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KAPALUA, Hawaii – Jimmy Walker was surprised by the break on the green on one hole. He was fooled by the wind on the next hole. And when he finished his third round Sunday at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, he wasn’t sure what to think except to be happy that his final putt fell for birdie and a share of the lead.
In his second year playing at Kapalua, he’s still not all that comfortable.
Tied for the lead going into the final round? He’s a lot more comfortable than he was about 15 months ago.
Walker did most of his damage early with five birdies in 10 holes, and a late birdie gave him a 6-underr 67 and a share of the lead with Hideki Matsuyama. The 22-year-old from Japan made four birdies on his last six holes, including a delicate chip to the par-5 18th that he played beautifully, and matched the best score of the tournament for the second straight day with a 66.
They were at 17-under 202, two shots clear of Sang-Moon Bae (69) and Patrick Reed (68).
Hyundai Tournament of Champions: Articles, videos and photos
Walker will have a chance to become the fifth player to win on both PGA Tour courses in the Hawaii swing. He won the Sony Open a year ago, part of a stretch in which he won three times in eight starts. He has experience, sure, along with some nerves.
“I’m sure I’m going to feel more comfortable, just being out here longer, more mature, more experienced, that type thing,” he said. “I’ll tell you I was nervous driving to the first tee on Friday for the first round and didn’t eat all my breakfast this morning because I was pumped about the day. So I’ll be excited and ready to go.”
The first PGA Tour event of the year doesn’t have a cast of stars with Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Martin Kaymer staying at home, though the co-leaders going into the Monday finish are examples of why it’s getting tougher to win on the PGA Tour.
Walker is going for his fourth victory since his inaugural win at the Frys.com Open to start the 2013-14 season, and he was among the few bright spots in a U.S. loss at the Ryder Cup last September.
Matsuyama was the first rookie to win the Japan Golf Tour money list, played in the Masters twice as an amateur (both times making the cut) and had a breakthrough win last year at the Memorial. He is a strong player, with a pause at the top of his swing and plenty of power through impact.
Only three other players have won at Kapalua in their debut since this winners-only event moved to Kapalua in 1999. Matsuyama is not sure why he is playing so well, except for the scenery.
“I like the view and so I like the course,” he said.
The show doesn’t belong entirely to them, of course. Johnson was two shots behind going into the final round last year.
Brendon Todd (69) and Russell Henley (70) were three shots back and still very much in the game.
Henley was among four players tied for the lead going into Sunday and played reasonably well except for a few mistakes. One was a chip on the reachable sixth hole, which moved about 5 feet and just onto the green, leaving a fast putt. He three-putted, turning birdie into bogey.
Defending champion Zach Johnson, also tied for the lead, took double bogey on the par-5 fifth hole and didn’t have much go his way in a 73 that put him six back.
Walker was happy with how he played, though he wanted more. After reaching 16 under with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole, he looked to be going for a knockout punch. But he left an 18-foot birdie putt woefully short on the 11th hole, came out of a 15-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole and left another birdie putt from about 18 feet short on the next hole.
And while he made a par on the reachable par-4 14th, he was lucky.
Walker hit driver with a slightly helping wind, and came out of the shot. It sailed to the right toward the native grasses, which in years past have been 4 feet high and even now have been cut back to a foot. Returning the club to the bag, Walker had both hands near the neck of the club like he wanted to strangle it.
The good news? They found it. With thick strands of grass around the ball, he was happy to get out short of the green, and then caught another break when it was sitting up in the Bermuda grass. That allowed him to control his chip, and he played perfectly to a foot to escape with par.
He liked the chances at birdies, though he didn’t make any until the end. Even after only two birdies on the back nine, he was tied for the lead and feeling a lot more comfortable about it than before he began winning tournaments.
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Rory McIlroy feels Marshawn Lynch’s pain. “I don’t know ML (Marshawn Lynch) but seems like he marches to the beat of his own drum,” the current world No. 1 tweeted.
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We don’t want to name any names, but a certain someone (cough, cough … Ms. Stoll … cough, cough) might not be too pleased with this news.
Town and Country Magazine has released their Top 50 Bachelors of 2015, and in what should come as a shock to no one, the list included the current No. 1 golfer in the world, Rory McIlroy.
Here are the reasons they listed him at No. 35:
Why him? The Irish golf phenom, 25, was the first European to win three different majors, nabbing a reported $100 million deal with Nike in the process.
Likes: Controversy. He has traded insults with the Ryder Cup and Tiger Woods.
Natural habitat: Gym. Golf. Repeat.
Caveat: He credits his 2014 wins to breaking up with fiancee Caroline Wozniacki after the invites had gone out.
All of this, of course, is just a fancy way of saying, this is a decent enough looking dude is in his mid-20s with a gazillion dollars. So any lady that would like court him knows right off the bat that she doesn’t have to think twice about getting guacamole on that burrito.
Other popular sports figures on the list include tennis players Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori, who came in at Nos. 43 and 46 respectively, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton at No. 44 and Cleveland Cavaliers big man Kevin Love at No. 50.
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You can count on Rory McIlroy being the betting favorite to win the 2015 Masters. But if he is to back that up (and in the process, complete the career Grand Slam), one thing is certain: He better figure out the par 5s.
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