Birdies were flowing in droves Thursday at TPC Craig Ranch and Sebastian Munoz made it look too easy at the Byron Nelson.
Munoz was one stray drive away from shooting a magic 59. A wayward tee shot at the eighth hole cost him a bogey but he still made some PGA Tour history with a 12-under par 60. Munoz became the first player to shoot a pair of 60s in the same season. His other came last fall at the RSM Classic. He also tied the Nelson tournament low round and set a course record at Craig Ranch.
“Easy — imagine the shot — hit the shot,” was how Munoz described his mindset as he went out early in the morning wave and set a number no one else would reach. “Super-fun. See how low you can go. I’m happy, it was comfortable.” He made it comfortable by hitting 12-of-14 fairways, 16-of-18 greens and used his putter just 23 times. “Today, I don’t know. I just kind of kept it going and I just wanted to get more looks, more looks and more chances, and I just kind of went crazy with it,” Munoz added.
All of the par fives are reachable at Craig Ranch and two of the par fours are as well. It made for an overall low scoring day as 65 player in the field shot three-under par or better.
Defending champion K.H. Lee, who made 28 birdies on his way to victory last year, was on his game again. He opened with an eight-under par 64 and was tied with Mito Pereira, Peter Malnati and Justin Lower. Kyle Wilshire was alone at 65.
Big name players also put themselves in the hunt. Jordan Spieth and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler played in the afternoon feature group with Lee. Both Spieth and Scheffler shot 67s as did Dustin Johnson. Justin Thomas got off to a slow start but eventually got rolling and shot 68 but a four-under par round only got you a tie for 25th.
Trey Mullinax had a chance to go really low but didn’t. Mullinax started in the afternoon on the back nine and started a six-under par run over four holes. After a birdie at 11, he made back-to-back eagles at the par five 12th then drove the green at the short par four 13th and made deuce there. A birdie at 14 then another at the par five 18th had him seven-under for his first nine holes.
But Mullinax fell back to earth quickly at the first, his 10th of he day, when his drive found the water and he’d end up with a triple-bogey seven. He went on to finish with 68.
Brooks Koepka Injured Again?
One name you won’t see on the scoreboard is Brooks Koepka. Koepka withdrew on Wednesday, giving no reason. No injury was citied but it was believed to be his reason for the WD and that could put his appearance at next week’s PGA Championship in jeopardy. Koepka has steadily fallen in the world rankings and now sits at No. 16.
Tour Changes Rules For PGA Tour University:
The PGA Tour created a points system for college stars as a way to gain access to the Korn Ferry Tour when they want to turn professional.
With his inability to sign up professionals, LIV Commissioner Greg Norman said that he’d be filling his fields with top amateurs and the Tour made its move to prevent Norman from getting young college players who are on the PGA Tour University points list. Norman could be going after players in the top 15 of the PGA Tour University rankings.
The Tour has previously stated that it “reserves the right to make final determinations regarding a player’s eligibility in PGA Tour University,” and this week it was reported that the Touradded two amendments:
Players who finish inside the top 15 of the final ranking will be ineligible for PGA Tour University, “and may not accept the performance benefits associated with a top-15 finish (in the current season and subsequent seasons) if such player competes in any professional golf tournament that is not ranked by the Official World Golf Ranking, excluding such events that have been previously approved by the PGA Tour.”
Pierceson Coody from the University of Texas currently leads those rankings followed by Jacob Bridgeman from Clemson.
15 Comments
baxter cepeda
So now Monahan is controlling non members also.
Wow.
Tom Edrington
Actually, it is a ranking system created by the Tour to reward top college players and give them a fast track to the Korn Ferry Tour. Baxter, the world is pummeling Greg Norman for his ignorant remarks regarding Saudi atrocities….the world is taking a stance against him and his “league” — open your eyes, take a look and tabbing him The Lamest Commissioner In The Land is one of the nicer tags he’s had.
baxter cepeda
Again Tom, when I see the Saudis involvement in all those other major sports (and a bunch of other stuff) go away because of their track record, I will believe it will happen with golf also.
But it’s not happening Tom. Saudi moneys will continue to pour into everything from formula 1 to golf to snookers (as Westwood pointed out).
My main issue is that Pretty soon players who we are used to watching on the pga tour, will no longer be there. It doesn’t have to be that way.
The big picture is important but in my little life if this pga tour commissioner doesn’t let my favorite players come back; well, we’re going to have differences.
I simply don’t think players going to play anywhere hurts the pga tour nearly enough to black ball players.
The moral causes are an issue, and asking jock businessmen like Norman about them will never be addressed eloquently. But let’s be real the moral issues may be important to some people but they are not the pga tours issue with LIv; or the euro tours; who until very recently held tournaments there.
Again, may anyone not associated with benefitting from doing business with dirty regimes (gas, diamonds, whatever) cast the first stone…Unless you live in an Amazon jungle, that’s non of us.
This comes down to competition. In America we are supposed to love competition but instead succumb to a conglomerates or monopolies. I don’t get it. What I do get is that this competition in golf is bringing more and more money to the players. That’s the part I love about all this mess.
Tom Edrington
Won’t happen Baxter, the Tour has been arming itself for nearly a year now and it’s a step, probably five ahead of this thing. Call one of your lawyer friends and ask how hard it is for a foreign entity to sue an American entity in an American court of law….Greg Norman, with his idiotic comments has alienated most of the intelligent world, TONS of pushback from non-sports related observers; The courts are backed up with criminal cases….it would take years for this to filter through the system if it boils down to that….PGA Tour will prevail.
baxter cepeda
It’s amazing Sebastian Munoz is the only player ever to shoot two 60s in one season. He’s such a cool guy from what I see; which it helps to be cool in golf.
baxter cepeda
I’ll try talking to a lawyer friend sometime.
Keep in mind the lawsuits that are on the way from players as well; which will be endlessly financed by LIv.
But All I’m saying is LIv is not going to disappear anytime soon. Even if Liv doesn’t sue, even if players don’t sue, the pga tour will lose established brand names left and right simply because of the LIv money.
My concern is Liv does not need to win any court cases to diminish the pga tour. They are here, and unless the pga tour compromises, it will never be the same. Because these guys have seemingly endless funding.
Imo it is in the best interest of everyone to compromise. The pga tour has tons of tournaments with diminished fields by their own doing. 8 or so more tournaments lacking some star veterans won’t kill them.
Of course the pga tour can always count on the ultra conscious young players of today to never take advantage of this LIv money even if they are allowed. But something tells me if they were allowed, eventually many of them would be banging The door to get in.
This is serious, legal money from LIv, the world of golf should want this for its players; even if the players are too scared —not from the scary regime but from Monahan—to see it.
The pga tour may very well prevail, but it’s not happening anytime soon. With Liv committed for the long haul, It would likely take well over a decade for the pga tour to fully prevail.
Did I mention compromise is what’s needed for the good of the players and all parties involved?
Tom Edrington
Players won’t risk long suspensions with something that could be tied up in courts for years…..you think LIV is “committed for the long haul”? Do you have a direct line to The Crown Prince? At some point, with the world against them, they’ll pull the plug….it’s not just a golf issue, it’s a human rights issue, there is no Saudi presence in any major American sports — Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Tennis, etc. They won’t get a foothold in golf either. AND, the LIV is simply about money, that’s all, no charitable beneficiaries, it’s nothing but pure greed, television networks have turned down the TV right — offered for FREE — tell me that isn’t desperation. Come on Baxter, I expect better of you. In Saudi Arabia, your girls would be second-class citizens.
baxter cepeda
This isn’t about me T. I don’t control anything. My take is simply what I think will happen based on what we can see.
Not many countries really care about football or baseball or hockey.
I’m pretty sure there is at least one major tennis event in the country.
I just watched a formula 1 race from Miami on espn and eventually they will air one from that country.
Tons of soccer matches there, which btw Americans love soccer more than the powers of sport here want us to believe.
Then there is all the combat sports that go there, that people travel to see them, and millions pay to watch from home.
Then there is Golf which was already quite involved there before all this LIv became real.
I’m still having a hard time figuring out how, as Lee Westwood said, all the moral arguments are suddenly fallen on golfers. Especially the euro tour guys like Lee, this has to feel like the biggest contradiction ever.
The pga tour, also, could have denied players in the past based on these moral grounds, but they didn’t. So now it looks like a total contradiction.
Again, I’m on no ones side. I’m just trying to guess where all this is going. I don’t think LIv just goes away. Not based on the trends we have been seeing across the sports world.
Tom Edrington
You have your take I have mine, they are separate but we are equally entitled to believe what we believe. That’s not true in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — you cannot speak out against their government without consequences.
baxter cepeda
I get that Tom. And I’m very much with you on that. I could actually see myself as a player struggling with the morality issues here.
But in the real world money talks; and for the best of my family I really couldn’t say the money wouldn’t make me look past the issues. For this reason I see it reasonable many players will take advantage of this opportunity and I cannot judge them.
Please understand I’m with you. I love and appreciate everything we have in this country.
Tom Edrington
Baxter: One thing I haven’t even touched on yet is this Saudi government is a regime — they are wasting money from their employees pension plan, in this country — such a waste would never be allowed — it’s yet another reason to consider the filth of this enterprise — stealing from their own people to fund a venture that is destined to lose millions and never succeed.
forky76
I type this message on my iPhone, made in China that commits genocide against uighers. I’ll play golf this afternoon in my nike golf shoes made with sweat shop labor in Vietnam and Indonesia (while rory and tiger happily accept their millions). It’s easy to take the high moral ground against the Saudis, but they are not alone in this world with their atrocities. You your self have been highly critical of the pga tour in the past their shady commissioner and their billions tied away under the guise of a not for profit organisation. Change is good.. if nothing else, LIV will force the pga tour to get their own house in order. They have been very poorly run for a long time now.
Tom Edrington
The one thing I haven’t written about yet is that the Saudi Regime — and it is a regime, is stealing money from its public employee pension coffers to fund this venture that is doomed to fail — it’s not an “investment” — it will never turn a nickel profit and lose the pension money of the little folks over in The Kingdom — there would be class action suits over here if a pension fund ever did something like that….yes, the PGA Tour has its good and bad points but at the end of the day, it uses its tournaments and players to raise literally BILLIONS over the years for local charities — this Saudi deal is a for-profit venture, stealing money from its public pension fund to dole out to over-the-hill players — this thing may never really gain much traction.
baxter cepeda
They are not simply stealing money from employees to pay old golfers. That’s wouldn’t make zero sense. Like all these rich countries They seem to be investing into becoming destinations; the Saudis seem interested in golf developments. Liv tour will help sell this place as a golf locale.
It’s really not as simple as “sportswashing”. There is some of that going on likely, but clearly this a country attempting to attract rich golfers from around the world to visit.
Of course even compared to some of their neighbors, rules and consequences can get a little too much there. You have to assume at some point they have to chillax their ways some before they can really grow. Because right now a lot of people that would go to a Dubai, would likely not go to this country.
Tom Edrington
Let’s see, mega million out, nothing in…..sounds like theft to me Baxter…in — ever heard of “Fiduciary responsibility”? It’s a very strong principal in our country but the Saudis have few principals as they demonstrate on a daily basis…..and yes, after this week’s major, wait until you see what those who know Greg Norman best are saying about him…