Tiger & J.T. Will Face Rory & Rose At Big Cedar Lodge

When you’re a billionaire, you can build your own golf resort and put on your own exhibition match.

That’s exactly what Johnny Morris has done at Big Cedar Lodge in the Missouri Ozarks.  Phil Mickelson won in his Champions Tour debut at Big Cedar Lodge on Wednesday.  He went wire-to-wire, shooting 22-under on Ozarks National, a Crenshaw-Coore design.

Morris, founder and owner of Bass Pro Shops, brought in Tiger Woods to design a course at Big Cedar and it’s called “Payne’s Valley” after Payne Stewart.  “Tiger and I have a twenty-year friendship that started through fishing and has evolved into the great partnership that created Payne’s Valley,” Morris explained.  “We look forward to showcasing this destination to the world through the Payne’s Valley Cup and truly believe we are creating ‘America’s Next Great Golf Destination.”

The resort will get a whole lot of attention immediately after the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.  Woods will team with buddy Justin Thomas and will take on the European team of Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose for the “Payne’s Valley Cup.”  It will be played the Tuesday after the U.S. Open and will be televised live on The Golf Channel from 3-7 p.m., Eastern time.  The match will be re-run on NBC on Dec. 26th and 27th.

Justin Walters Leads At Rainy Belfry:

There were no bats at the Belfry Thursday but there was a massive amount of rain — so much that it caused a four-hour weather delay in the first round of the UK Championship.

Justin Walters of South Africa got out early enough, finished his last six holes at the beginning of the rains and carded a flawless eight-under par 64.

Walters had just chipped in for an eagle at the 15th to get to eight under when the rain began to fall heavily and, while he completed his round, some had yet to start theirs.

Play was halted when the course started to hold standing water and it was four hours and five minutes until the field could head out.  When darkness fell, there were 59 players still out on course.  They will got out early Friday (7 a.m.) to finish the first round.

Frenchman Benjamin Hebert, Swede Joel Sjöholm, Zimbabwean Scott Vincent and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger all finished their opening rounds and they were Walters’ nearest challengers at five under, 67.

Walters was a surprise leader as he had missed the cut by just a single shot in three of his last four events on the UK Swing.

“In any conditions or any situation when you shoot 64, you smile,” Walters said.  “I wasn’t smiling with a couple of holes to go as I started to get really wet.”

UK Championship Scoreboard:

LPGA Back In The States At Walmart’s Tournament:

Walmart has everything, including its own LPGA Tournament.  The ladies are back in the United States this week to begin play Friday in the NW Arkansas Championship, underwritten by Walmart.

Stacy Lewis, winner at the Scottish Open two weeks ago, knows the Pinnacle Country Club better than any player in this week’s field.

Lewis has played the event every year since the inaugural tournament in 2007, a year in which she unofficially won as an amateur as it was reduced to 18 holes due to rain. In her 12 official starts, she has made every cut with six top-10 finishes including a win in 2014.

“It’s the comfort level of knowing what to hit off each tee and layups,” Lewis said.  “I was joking with my caddie that I don’t need a yardage book here. He’s looking at yardage book for numbers and I said, ‘It’s a five-iron layup,’ like I know what to hit here. So it’s so much course knowledge, and it’s really just about executing the shots from there.”

Lewis, who played her collegiate golf at the University of Arkansas, arrived back in the U.S. Monday on the LPGA’s charter flight from Europe.  “It’s always harder I think coming back. 2:00, 3:00 in the afternoon you feel like you need a nap. Just got to keep pushing through it. It’s definitely great to be back. It’s nice to be out of quarantine in Scotland. Little bit more freedom. At least you can drive places and go do a few things. But it’s nice to be back and see my daughter and see my husband. It’s been a long month.”

LPGA Rules Create Injustice For Sophia Popov:

When Sophia Popov stunned the golfing world with her victory in the Women’s Open, everyone thought she had gained a five-year exemption on the LPGA Tour.

That wasn’t the case.

Shortly after the trophy presentation, the LPGA rained on her Popov’s parade.   An LPGA official informed Popov that she fell on the wrong side of a rarely employed rule that states only major winners who are current LPGA members are eligible for the five-year exemption.

As a Symetra Tour member at the time of her victory, Popov would be granted an exemption only for the remainder of this season and the entirety of the 2021 season.  To add to the injustice, Popov is not eligible for the second major of the year, the ANA Inspiration, because that event was originally slated for April.

“I definitely got a little bit frustrated about the whole thing,” Popov said a few days after her victory.  “It’s tough because I feel like I deserve the full five years of exemption from the LPGA, but at the same time, I understand the regulations and the fact that they can’t change the rules for a certain player.”

Perhaps the LPGA needs to step back and reconsider such a ridiculous rule.