Man what an impressive display of golf by Xander Schauffele this week, and especially in the final round of the Open Championship. Excuse me… impressive display of gowf.
Xander’s putting was incredible. He was inches from shooting 64 with a birdie attempt on the final hole that barely missed. His ball striking was amazing. He was 1st in greens in regulation and in the final round hit 88.9% of the greens. When you putt well and are first in GIR, it’s over.
Three shot victory at -9.
Justin Rose was within striking distance to keep it interesting, but missed putts proved to be the difference maker. I’m a big Rose fan. Love his grit. 2nd place.
What This Win Means For Xander
This is the 2nd major victory of the season, the PGA being the first. Both final rounds were 65’s. That’s some clutch playing.
I’d have to think he will be the Player of the Year.
Here’s a recap of the first half of perhaps the best single day of golf I’ve ever experienced, the HOG World Tour visit to Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. Royal Aberdeen was the morning session on the 2nd day of the tremendous 2016 “Lads in Scotland” tour. The Lads are my group of good friends who get together every two years to golf in Scotland. The evening session was Cruden Bay. Stay tuned on that one.
About Royal Aberdeen
Royal Aberdeen is a fabulous links course located in the northeast of Scotland, about a 2-3 hour drive north of St. Andrews. Golf was first played on the grounds back in 1780, making it the sixth oldest golf club in the world. The clubhouse, staff, and grounds represent great history and a high class club.
In recent history, Royal Aberdeen hosted the 2014 Scottish Open. During the 2014 Scottish open Phil Mickelson was defending his title. Rory McIlory carded the course record, 64. Justin Rose came away with the victory.
My golf experience at Royal Aberdeen was tremendous. I played fairly well, not losing a ball in fairly high winds. The back nine had some serious teeth as we were coming home directly into the wind.
In the photo above I nailed a solid 4-iron to the par-3 17th green, looking out over the North Sea.
I will post a full review of Royal Aberdeen Golf Club down the blog road. Stay tuned.
Online Coverage at Masters.com
If you have not checked out the live coverage on Masters.com you are really missing out. It is fantastic.
AMEN CORNER: 10:45AM – 6:00PMEDT
MASTERS – ON THE RANGE: 11:05AM – 1:00PMEDT
HOLES. 15 AND 16: 11:45AM – 7:00PMEDT
FEATURED GROUP 11: 2:00PM – 7:30PMEDT
FEATURED GROUP 21: 2:00PM – 7:30PMEDT
MASTERS IN-DEPTH: 3:00PM – 7:30PMEDT
CBS Coverage
2:00 PM to 7:00 PM Sun, April 12, 2015.
Tee Times and Pairings
10:00 a.m. — Thongchai Jaidee (and marker Jeff Knox)
10:10 a.m. — Darren Clarke, Vijay Singh
10:20 a.m. — Jamie Donaldson, Graeme McDowell
10:30 a.m. — Erik Compton, Anirban Lahiri
10:40 a.m. — Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker
10:50 a.m. — Mark O’Meara, Steve Stricker
11:00 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, Danny Willett
11:10 a.m. — Ryan Palmer, Matt Kuchar
11:20 a.m. — Chris Kirk, Geoff Ogilviy
11:30 a.m. — Morgan Hoffmann, John Senden
11:50 a.m. — Patrick Reed, Sangmoon Bae
12:00 p.m. — Webb Simpson, Seung-Yul Noh
12:10 p.m. — Henrik Stenson, Brooks Koepka
12:20 p.m. — Adam Scott, Lee Westwood
12:30 p.m. — Bernd Wiesberger, Bubba Watson
12:40 p.m. — Cameron Tringale, Rickie Fowler
12:50 p.m. — Angel Cabrera, Ernie Els
1:00 p.m. — Russell Henley, Charl Schwartzel
1:10 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Ryan Moore
1:30 p.m. — Bill Haas, Hunter Mahan
1:40 p.m. — Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen
1:50 p.m. — Zach Johnson, Jonas Blixt
2:00 p.m. — Paul Casey, Ian Poulter
2:10 p.m. — Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama
2:20 p.m. — Kevin Streelman, Kevin Na
2:30 p.m. — Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy
2:40 p.m. — Phil Mickelson, Charley Hoffman
2:50 p.m. — Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose
2013 was quite a year for Hooked On Golf Blog and me, Tony Korologos. This article is part one of two (part two tomorrow), looking back at 2013 from at HOG viewpoint.
January
Ah the beginning of a new year and the hopes that my short game would improve. There’s always 2014…
Rory McIlory switched to Nike Golf. Personal issues, business issues, and perhaps the equipment switch would contribute to a less-than-satisfying year on the course for Rory.
Attended the PGA Show for the billionth time. Orlando hates me and my body. Had a great time seeing the new gear, meeting old golf friends and battling in the Battle of the Golf Blogs.
February
February I posted a bunch of golf videos from the PGA Merchandise Show.
Asher Golf’s James Roundy, a local friend, passed. Sad.
The Hooked On Golf Blog World Tour traveled to Bogota, Colombia. What a fantastic trip! I got to play golf with Web.com Tour star Kevin Foley in the Web.com Tour Colombia Championship Pro-Am. Kevin would later gain his PGA Tour card for 2014! He must have learned from my dual chicken wing granny over the top swing.
March
While in Colombia I played golf at La Cima Golf Course, 10,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. Wow. Ball go far.
Met Web.com Tour player Dusty Fielding. Nice kid.
A fun blog post was “Filtering Out the Noise: Golf Social Networking’s Top 10 Overused Status Updates.”
I reviewed the Cobra Amp Cell driver.
April
Bubba’s Hover was the video rage. Bubba Watson released a golf cart hovercraft!
Of course, April is Masters month. Not a month is busier for me or HOG. Lots of Masters related articles. Adam Scott won the Masters in dramatic fashion. Angel Cabrera hit what I consider the shot of the year with his approach on the final hole to about two feet. That shot resulted in a birdie to tie Adam Scott and force a playoff.
I reviewed the Cobra Amp Cell irons.
May
Ecco Golf came out with hybrid wingtip shoes. Some of the coolest crossover shoes ever.
Tiger Woods won THE PLAYERS (always write “The Players” in ALL CAPS, it is what they do). Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods had a little tiff which the media went into a feeding frenzy over. Sergio eventually apologized for some not-so-nice comments.
HOG poll results told us that Delta Airlines is the worst airline for golf travel.
Good thing Adam Scott won the Masters when he did. The USGA and R&A announced the ban on anchored golf clubs, beginning January 1st, 2016. Bye bye belly.
Eric/Tom sent in some great fan mail, calling me an “asshole who sucks at golf and couldn’t break 100” all because of a golf bag I reviewed. Thanks Eric/Tom!
I fell down a volcano and suffered volcanic road rash. Thankfully my Nikon survived.
June
I played in the Salt Lake Amateur golf tournament. I was right in the mix through 27 holes until my back went out on the 10th tee. I finished, but the last nine was not pretty. Bugger. Kill me.
HOG readers voted Southwest Airlines as the best airline for golf travel by a landslide.
I reviewed a very cool book: An American Caddie in St. Andrews: Growing Up, Girls, and Looping on the Old Course.
Posted an article on golf CHEATERS. That’s what sandbaggers are.
Justin Rose won the U.S. Open in amazing fashion. That was one of the best ball striking displays I’ve ever seen.
On June 30, I boarded an airplane bound for St. Andrews, Scotland.
European Tour
DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
Dates: November 14-17
Venue: Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 3-8 a.m. (Live) / 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-8 a.m. (Live) / 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday 3-8 a.m. (Live) / 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday 2:30-7:30 a.m. (Live) / 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Replay) / 9 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
In the field: Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Matteo Manassero and Thomas Bjorn.
Talisker Masters
Dates: November 13-16
Venue: Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Victoria, Australia
Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):
Wednesday 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Live)
Thursday 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Live)
Friday 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Live)
Notables in the field: Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar, Vijay Singh, Brendon de Jonge, Peter Senior, Geoff Ogilvy, Marc Leishman, Richard Green, Nick O’Hern and Jarrod Lyle.
PGA Tour
OHL Classic at Mayakoba
Dates: November 14-17
Venue: El Camaleon Mayakoba Golf Club at the Mayakoba Res, Riviera Maya, Mexico
Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):
Thursday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 5:30-8:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 5:30-8:30 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 5:30-8:30 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 5:30-8:30 p.m. (Replay)
Notables in the field: Alvaro Quiros, Darren Clarke, Ryan Moore, Davis Love III, Freddie Jacobson, Harris English, Tommy Gainey, Charles Howell III, Fred Funk, John Huh and Brian Gay.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
