After coming close to victory on the PGA Tour a couple of times apiece, Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak used their collective talents to finally break through, winning a nail-biter at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
For Novak and Griffin, the win was their first on the PGA Tour, gratifying for both but especially for Novak, who lost last week to Justin Thomas in a playoff.
Tournament favourites Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry delivered on the first hole of a playoff, giving both a ‘much-needed’ victory at this point in the PGA Tour season.
Players have been unsuccessfully asking Rory for years since the PGA Tour’s annual stop in New Orleans became a team event in 2017. Including one fellow major winner in particular.
The first and third rounds will feature four-ball play, with the second and final rounds foursomes. For many in the field, it’s a proposition that perhaps takes a little adapting to, given the scarcity of which it is experienced.
Zack Sucher will replace Power in the field at TPC Louisiana and as the teammate of David Hearn, who was originally scheduled to play with the 34-year-old Irishman.
According to the tour’s driving distance metric, both Finau and Champ are lagging behind Bryson DeChambeau, but what most players will tell you is that both Finau and Champ are not hitting it as long as they actually could.
It’s probably not a stretch to say that the behind-the-scenes bonding exercise that Els orchestrated this past week was far more enjoyable and productive than the on-course battering many of his duos sustained.
Australian Golf Digest
