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Oklahoma State on PGA Tour: 5 former Cowboys to play in 2020 PGA Championship

Can Rickie Fowler break through and win his first major championship?

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Oklahoma State will be well represented at the first golf major of the year this week with five former Cowboys competing at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

This time of year is usually when the PGA is playing its final major of the year, but with the coronavirus pandemic forcing sports to shut down around the globe the PGA Championship will serve as the first golf major this year.

Former Cowboys Rickie Fowler, Talor Gooch, Viktor Hovland, Alex Noren and Matthew Wolff will be in action.

Fowler is the most high-profiled Cowboy among the group with five PGA Tour wins and three second-place finishes at majors (2014 U.S. Open and The Open, 2018 Masters) and a third-place at the 2014 PGA Championship. He has yet to win a tournament this year.

Gooch has two top-10 finishes this year at the Houston Open (tied for fourth) and The Genesis Invitational (tied for 10th). He tied for 66th at the 2017 U.S. Open in his lone major appearance.

Hovland became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA Tour in February when he claimed the Puerto Rico Open. It’ll be his first PGA Championship outing.

Noren hasn’t won on the PGA Tour, but he’s made noise on the European Tour with 10 career wins. The Swede’s best major finish at the 2017 Open when he tied for sixth.

Wolff, like Hovland, has one PGA Tour win with a victory at the 3M Open in July 2019. This will be Wolff’s first time playing in a major.

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Cowboy Golf Adds Former PGA Tour Player to Coaching Staff

Ivan white | jul 10, 2024.

Oklahoma State is adding PGA Tour experience to its coaching staff.

On Tuesday, OSU men’s golf announced the hiring of former professional golfer Derek Ernst to its coaching staff. Ernst will join the staff under head coach Alan Bratton, who helped the Cowboys win their most recent national championship in 2018.

While the Cowboys have been among the best in the nation throughout Bratton’s tenure, adding someone with Ernst’s experience is always a welcome opportunity.

"It is not often you get a chance to hire a coach with Derek's experience. What an opportunity! He played for a national championship coach in Dwaine Knight at UNLV, and his playing record speaks for itself," Bratton said. "Beyond that, I was sold when I got to spend time with Derek and his family. They will be a great fit in Stillwater and I cannot imagine a better person to help lead our program and mentor our guys. I can't wait for him to get started."

READ MORE: Oklahoma State's Experience Critical in Hunt For Big 12 Title

Before joining the Cowboys’ coaching staff, Ernst played professionally on the PGA Tour. He made 134 starts throughout his career, including the 2013 PGA Championship and the 2014 Masters. Ernst’s only PGA Tour win came at the 2013 Wells Fargo Championship.

Before going into the PGA Tour, Ernst played collegiately at UNLV. While in college, Ernst was a multiple-time All-American and All-Mountain West selection. That included two Mountain West Player of the Year awards.

"I am so excited and honored for this opportunity,” Ernst said. “I have always had a huge amount of respect for Oklahoma State and its golf program. To be a part of it now is a great privilege. I cannot wait to get started and bring my experience playing on the PGA Tour to the team to help us win a national title.”

READ MORE: OSU Basketball: Oklahoma State to Play in 2024 Shriners Children's Charleston Classic

Want to join the discussion? Like AllPokes on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Cowboys news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.

Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.

'It's like a brotherhood': Oklahoma State golf is more than just a team

Rickie Fowler’s Sunday orange is in homage to his roots at Oklahoma State University. He and former Cowboys Charles Howell and Matthew Wolff hope to win the program’s first Masters title this week. [MICHAEL HOLAHAN/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]

When Rickie Fowler turned pro, he said was going to honor his school, Oklahoma State, by wearing orange on Sundays.

While he’s long past his college career, Fowler is still very much invested as an alum in the Cowboys golf program, as are a lot of its former players.

“It’s like a brotherhood,” said Scott Verplank, who graduated from OSU and turned professional in 1986. “… If you play golf for Oklahoma State and you carry that golf bag, you’re not really playing for yourself. You’re playing for your teammates and all the guys that have come before you and all the great players that are going to come after you.”

Verplank, like Fowler and many others, has been integral in helping groom freshman prospects into PGA Tour mainstays.

Leading up to this week’s 84th Masters Verplank said he reached out to Matthew Wolff, Fowler and Charles Howell III.

Oklahoma State has put out some of golf’s top names, making success the standard for the collegiate game.

Coach Alan Bratton took over in 2013 and has carried on the long tradition of success at the conference and national level. In the program’s 72-year history, OSU has 55 top-five finishes. The two times the program “dipped” was in 2012 when it missed the national championship and 2013 when it finished 13th.

In addition to the Cowboys’ professional success, Oklahoma State has had three amateurs compete in the Masters in the past decade: Peter Uihlein in 2011, Jordan Niebrugge in 2014, and last year Viktor Hovland. Hovland shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday to finish 32nd. Hovland is not in this week’s field.

Hovland was the first OSU player to win the low amateur award at a major since Niebrugge in the 2015 Open Championship.

Bratton was alongside each of his amateurs as their caddie in their respective Masters. Each played a practice round with Fowler.

“It’s pretty awesome to watch your players out there living out a dream,” Bratton said. “There’s no player that’s played golf that didn’t make some putts at the end of the evening as it’s getting dark and pretending to win the Masters. Our guys have had a chance to make that a reality and hopefully this year is no different.”

This week, Wolff is playing in his first Masters. Fowler and Howell III are in their 10th.

From former players on the tour repping the “Swinging Pete” logo on their bag to sporting orange on Sundays, Bratton hopes the brand continues to grow and continue to produce some of the best talent at the professional level.

Though Fowler came close in 2018 with a second-place finish, no Oklahoma State golfer has won the Masters. Fowler, Howell and Wolff all have a chance to rectify that this year.

“(Wolff) has his regular caddie, Nick Heinen, who’s also a former player at Oklahoma State,” Bratton said. “… Maybe Matt can hoist the trophy. It would be awfully a good moment in OSU golf to have both player and a caddie be former players here at Oklahoma State.”

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Former Oklahoma State stars Viktor Hovland, Rickie Fowler among best golfers without major

A golf debate that never grows old: Who’s the best player to have never won a major?

Scratch Xander Schauffele from the list.

The 30-year-old Schauffele, ranked second in the world, raised the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday after winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky .

After 12 top-10 major finishes, Schauffele finally got the elusive win.

Like Jim Furyk at the 2003 U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson at the 2004 Masters, Henrik Stenson at the 2016 Open Championship and Sergio Garcia at the 2017 Masters, Schauffele shed the unceremonious crown of best player without a major.

Others, like Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood and Steve Stricker, never shook the label. Neither did Luke Donald or Paul Casey, Ian Poulter or Matt Kuchar.

Same goes for OSU alum Rickie Fowler, who at 35 is still searching for his first.

And now another Cowboy has joined the conversation: Viktor Hovland .

The 26-year-old Norwegian finished third at the PGA Championship — his fourth top-10 finish in a major in the last three years.

Hovland is far too young and unaccomplished to be anointed the major-less GOAT, but among players 40-and-under, he’s at or near the top of the list of best golfers who’ve never won a major.

10. Sahith Theegala

World ranking: 12th

PGA Tour wins: 1

Major top-10s: 1

Best major finish: 9th (2023 Masters)

The three-time All-American from Pepperdine is a rising star on tour. He has five top-10 finishes this season and is fifth in the FedExCup standings.

Theegala has only played in nine majors, including this year’s Masters and PGA Championship. He finished tied for 45th and tied for 12th respectively.

9. Ludvig Aberg

World ranking: 6th

Best major finish: 2nd (2024 Masters)

Aberg made his major debut earlier this year at the Masters. He finished solo second behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Not a bad start.

Aberg missed the cut in Louisville, but the former Texas Tech star is going to be a staple atop major championship leaderboards for years to come.

8. Cameron Young

World ranking: 17th

PGA Tour wins: 0

Major top-10s: 5

Best major finish: 2nd (2022 Open Championship)

Young has yet to win a tournament, but he still makes this list because of his excellent track record in majors.

Young has finished in the top-10 in five of his 12 major starts. He’s logged a top-10 finish in a major in each of the last three years, including this one. Young tied for ninth at Augusta.

7. Will Zalatoris

World ranking: 32nd

Major top-10s: 7

Best major finish: 2nd (twice, 2021 Masters, 2022 PGA Championship)

Willy Z turns it on in majors.

Fans in Tulsa saw Zalatoris lose in a playoff to Justin Thomas at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. Zalatoris also finished second at the 2021 Masters and he tied for second at the 2022 U.S. Open.

Zalatoris underwent back surgery last year, but he’s quickly regained his form.

6. Tony Finau

World ranking: 30th

PGA Tour wins: 6

Major top-10s: 10

Best major finish: 3rd (2019 Open Championship)

Finau tied for 18th at Valhalla, his best major finish since he tied for eighth at the 2021 PGA Championship.

Finau is amid a major (major) drought, but he recorded multiple top-10 major finishes in every year from 2018 to 2021.

5. Rickie Fowler

World ranking: 43rd

Major top-10s: 13

Best major finish: 2nd (2018 Masters)

Fowler would rank No. 1 on this list from a career standpoint, but we’ll slot him here as a compromise. Fowler’s window to win a major isn’t shut, but it’s only open a crack.

The former Cowboy has one tour win in the last five years. This year he qualified for the Masters for the first time since 2020.

But his body of work in majors is irrefutable. Thirteen top-10 finishes, including an incredible run in 2014, when Fowler tied fifth, tied second, tied second and tied third in the four majors.

4. Max Homa

World ranking: 10th

Major top-10s: 2

Best major finish: tied 3rd (2024 Masters)

Homa is the anti-Brooks Koepka.

Koepka wins majors and underwhelms in regular tour events. Homa wins regular tour events and underwhelms in majors.

Homa has missed the cut in half of his major starts (9 of 18).

3. Patrick Cantlay

World ranking: 8th

PGA Tour wins: 8

Major top-10s: 4

Best major finish: tied 3rd (2019 PGA Championship)

Cantlay has won more than $45 million on tour, but he’s still seeking his first major.

The former FedExCup champion tied for 22nd at the Masters and tied for 53rd at Valhalla. That’s now a streak of four majors in which Cantlay failed to finish in the top-10.

2. Tommy Fleetwood

World ranking: 13th

PGA Tour wins: none

Major top-10s: 8

Best major finish: 2nd (twice, 2018 U.S. Open, 2019 Open Championship)

The Englishman has eight international victories, but has somehow logged zero wins in 136 PGA Tour events, in which he’s posted 36 top-10s.

Fleetwood is always a factor in majors. He tied for third at the Masters, his fifth top-10 major finish in the last three years.

Fleetwood will be among the Open Championship favorites this year at Royal Troon.

1. Viktor Hovland

World ranking: 5th

Best major finish: tied 2nd (2023 PGA Championship)

Hovland is the highest-ranked player without a major, but he was struggling coming into the PGA Championship last weekend with no wins and only one top-10 finish this year.

Hovland missed the cut at the Masters and said he considered withdrawing from the PGA Championship due to his poor form. Repeatedly switching swing coaches probably didn’t help.

And still Hovland had a chance on Sunday. He tops this list for now, but the former OSU All-American and national champion likely won’t be on it for much longer.

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at  [email protected] . Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a  digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com .

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Viktor Hovland tops list of best PGA golfers without a major

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With Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff as teachers, Austin Eckroat is going through his own tour school

Amateur Austin Eckroat hits a drive during last year's Mayakoba Golf Classic on the PGA Tour.

Hector Vivas

Imagine being a college golfer living with a PGA Tour pro. Two different worlds to be sure, but Oklahoma State’s Austin Eckroat knows first-hand what it’s like.

Eckroat, 22, and former Cowboys star Victor Hovland, 23, are roommates in Hovland’s house in Stillwater, Okla. Eckroat rents a room, and when Hovland happens to be home—which isn’t all that frequent these days—the college senior has got at his disposal for advice and career counseling the 13th-ranked player in the world, a two-time tour winner in 2020 who is currently second in the FedEx Cup standings.

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Eckroat also played junior golf and in college lived with former OSU teammate Matthew Wolff. At 21, Wolff is actually younger than Eckroat, having left school early after winning the NCAA individual title and winning on the PGA Tour in only his fourth start in 2019.

Eckroat has had a front-row seat to see how well Wolff and Hovland adjusted in going from the top levels in college to the upper echelon of the pros. From watching them pick sports management agencies, sponsors and schedules, “I kind of got to live vicariously through them throughout those stages,” Eckroat said. “Some things you don’t even think about. … I think I’m better prepared for that next step.”

As one of the most consistent collegiate golfers in the country, Eckroat has had a stellar career. It all started with being a part of OSU’s NCAA title team as a freshman year in 2018. In that same season, he also got his first individual college win at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.

On Monday, Eckroat received one of amateur golf’s biggest honors when the USGA named him to the 2021 U.S. Walker Cup team , which will play Great Britain & Ireland in May at Seminole Golf Club. “I’m really looking forward to it,” Eckroat said.

Thirteen days after the Walker Cup comes the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, and then it will be on to the pros in June for Eckroat, who has a strong chance to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership through the new PGA Tour University program .

First announced in June 2020, PGA Tour University gives the top college seniors in the nation access to the developmental tours of the PGA Tour. The top five seniors at the end of the 2020-21 college season get a membership on the Korn Ferry Tour and an exemption into the final stage of KFT Q school. Those who finish sixth through 15th will receive membership onto one of the PGA Tour’s international tours—Latinoamerica, Mackenzie (Canada) or PGA Tour Series-China.

It made Eckroat’s dream of playing professional golf that much easier. Eckroat is currently 15th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and third on the PGA Tour University Rankings . As an amateur, he’s played on the PGA Tour twice, missing the cut in the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and, impressively, tying for 12th in the 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic last November.

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Austin Eckroat has played in two PGA Tour events, including the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where he missed the cut.

To prepare for upcoming events, Eckroat is focusing on his swing mechanics and “keeping things simple” with his main swing coach, his dad, Steve Eckroat, and Ryan Rody, the director of instruction at Tulsa’s Southern Hills Country Club. Eckroat said that the relationship between him and OSU head coach Alan Bratton has been “awesome. He understands the game really well” and he has helped Eckroat grow personally and as a golfer, and mature over the years.

“College has been a mini exposure [to the pros],” Eckroat said. “So, the adjustment period to the Korn Ferry Tour should be easy.”

Prior to playing in his two tour starts, Eckroat had only attended three PGA Tour events: the Charles Schwab Challenge and AT&T Bryon Nelson in Texas, and the 2006 PGA Championship at Medinah, where Tiger Woods won. Still, he’s ready to get on the other side of the ropes and put his self-described “traditional golf swing” to the test.

Eckroat thinks keeping his swing simple and focusing on the fundamentals have been the keys to his college success. From his freshman year to now, he says his wedges, short game, putting and strategic approach (thanks to Coach Bratton) have been his biggest areas of improvements. While he thinks his game off the tee is often underrated, he believes it will be an asset to him on the Korn Ferry Tour.

The pause of collegiate golf around the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic gave Eckroat the chance to simply enjoy golf again with his friends. It took him back to when he was 10 years old in his hometown of Edmond, Okla., where he would play golf every day, sunset to sundown, without a stress in the world. Eckroat and his buddy, Quade Cummins, a senior at the University of Oklahoma (who is seventh in the PGA Tour U Rankings) were playing at their home course, Oak Tree Country Club, during the downtime and were mentioning to each other that, “It’s hard to play golf whenever you’re not preparing for anything … you’re just playing to play.” But, playing in an amateur event in Dallas just for fun gave them some motivation during the extended break to improve some things.

MORE: U. of Georgia senior begins most hectic semester of his impressive college career

While the two-time college winner has his sights on potentially joining the PGA Tour alongside Hovland and Wolff, Eckroat already has some dream tournaments he’s striving for, including one day playing in the Masters, the Memorial and the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He knows getting into his hometown major, the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills (moved from Trump Bedminster) is a long-shot goal, but he thinks he can pull it off.

Eckroat says the “a-ha” moment in golf for him that keeps him coming back is “striping a long iron down the middle of the fairway and the ball landing right next to the pin.” He wants people to know that: “He’s a really nice guy, and he never gives up.”

This week, OSU is competing in the Cabo Collegiate at TPC San Antonio, and in the first two rounds, Eckroat shot 75-70 to be tied for fifth place.

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Virginia's ben james earns pga tour exemption with win at valero texas collegiate, share this article.

It has been a stellar start to the season for Virginia.

First, the Cavaliers picked up a season-opening win at the Inverness Intercollegiate, topping defending national champion Auburn by four shots.

Then on Monday, junior Ben James picked up his first win of the season at the Valero Texas Collegiate, and it was a significant one. James, the 2023 Phil Mickelson Award winner, topped Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert in a playoff to nab medalist honors at TPC San Antonio’s Oak’s Course. The victory earned him an exemption into the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open, slated for next April at the same venue.

James shot 6-under 66 in the final round, making birdie on the final hole to get into a playoff with Gilbert. He then made birdie on the first extra hole to win, the sixth victory of his collegiate career.

After a five-win freshman season, James wasn’t able to win during what some would call a “sophomore slump.” Still, after two tournaments to begin his junior season, he has lost to only two golfers and earned a professional exemption thanks to his play. He’s also making an early statement for the Haskins Award.

On the team side of things, Virginia tied for third with Auburn, but it was Oklahoma taking the team title at 30 under, topping Ole Miss by six shots for the title.

Oklahoma won the 2024 Valero Texas Collegiate. (Photo: OU Athletics)

The Sooners won for the 45th time under coach Ryan Hybl. The victory came in large part to junior Jase Summy’s school-record 10-under 62 in the opening round. He finished the week 11 under and solo third while senior Drew Goodman tied for eighth.

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Jonas Baumgartner moves into top 10 of PGA TOUR University Ranking

PGA TOUR University

Oklahoma State's Jonas Baumgartner won the Pauma Valley Invitational to move into the PGA TOUR University top 10. (Courtesy Oklahoma State University Athletics)

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Vanderbilt claimed the team crown at the Pauma Valley Invitational, winning by seven over San Diego. The Commodores were led by a fourth-place finish from Cole Sherwood , who improved two spots to No. 5 in PGA TOUR University this week. Teammate Matthew Riedel is No. 7 this week after a T12 finish, while William Moll is No. 6 after tying for 22nd.

North Florida’s Nicholas Gabrelcik remains No. 3 after competing in the Valspar Championship and missing the cut, while Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht was 16th at the Linger Longer Invitational and holds steady at No. 2. This week, Lamprecht and No. 1 Michael Thorbjornsen are set to square off at The Goodwin, hosted by Stanford at TPC Harding Park.

Following his T2 finish at The Hayt, Alabama’s Canon Claycomb continued his strong play and finished third at the Linger Longer Invitational, moving him up three spots to No. 15 in the ranking. At the General Hackler Championship, Louisville’s Max Kennedy posted the second win on his University record and improved 11 spots to No. 28.

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A london outlet reported that mcilroy was close to an $850 million deal to join the saudi-funded tour, by doug ferguson | associated press • published april 16, 2024.

This wasn't the kind of attention Rory McIlroy was hoping for on the day after the Masters .

A London financial paper,  City A.M.,  cited anonymous sources as saying McIlroy was believed to be close to an $850 million deal to join LIV Golf. The publication did not say how the sources would know. That set off speculation and innuendo across the internet.

McIlroy was able to shut it down when he arrived at the RBC Heritage.

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“I honestly don't know how these things get started,” McIlroy told Golf Channel from the range at Harbour Town. “I've never been offered a number from LIV and I've never contemplated going to LIV. I think I've made it clear over the past two years that I don't think it's something for me.”

He most recently said that at Bay Hill last month.

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McIlroy said he won't judge players going to LIV if they feel that's what it is best for them. He also expressed anew how important it is to have the top players come together more often than the four majors. And he believes some PGA Tour players are still contemplating going over to the Saudi-funded tour. It's just not for him.

“I'll play the PGA Tour the rest of my career,” he said.

He wasn't the only person getting plenty of attention involving LIV Golf. The commissioner and CEO, Greg Norman, spent three days at the Masters and made his presence felt at every turn.

Norman acquired a ticket to watch like any other spectator — presumably the 104 tickets available to the 13 LIV players in the Masters already were taken — and raved about the reception he received.

Norman took to  Instagram  to thank “the hundreds if not thousands of people" for what he called “unanimous support.”

“My right hand is sore from shaking hands with each and every one of you as well as the hugs given to so many,” Norman wrote.

THE DRIVE FOR FIVE

Nelly Korda has more than a major championship at stake this week in The Chevron Championship. She will try to join Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam as the only women to win five straight tournaments on the LPGA Tour.

Korda would be more similar to Sorenstam than Lopez, and not just because the fifth in a row would come at the LPGA's first major of the year. There also was a significant gap.

Sorenstam won twice at the end of the 2004 season — Japan, a week off, and then the ADT Championship. She skipped the 2005 season opener in Hawaii and then reeled off the next three tournaments on the schedule, capped by winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Korda won the Drive On Championship in Bradenton, Florida, in January, and then skipped the entire Asia swing, taking a seven-week break. She returned to win in Los Angeles, the Phoenix area and then captured her fourth in a row at the Match Play in Las Vegas.

Lopez won her five straight in a six-week span in 1978. She started with three wins in three weeks, skipped the Peter Jackson Classic in Canada and then won the LPGA Championship and the following week in New York.

Korda is the first to win four straight tournaments since Lorena Ochoa won four straight in four weeks by seven shots, five shots, 11 shots and three shots. She took a week off and then tied for fifth at Cedar Ridge in Tulsa, Oklahoma, five shots out of the lead.

MAJOR BOOST

The Chevron Championship pledged to upgrade the first LPGA major of the year, and it took a big step Tuesday. It announced a purse increase to $7.9 million, up from $5.2 million. The prize money has gone up $4.8 million in the three years that Chevron has been title sponsor.

The winner will get $1.2 million.

Chevron also said it would extend its sponsorship through 2029.

The purse is closer in line with the other traditional majors in women’s golf. The U.S. Women’s Open remains the highest at $12 million, followed by the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at $10 million. The AIG Women’s British Open is $9 million.

The LPGA made the Evian Championship a major a decade ago. Its prize money is $6.5 million.

In addition to the big purse increase, Chevron is giving $10,000 to every player who misses the cut to help with expenses in travel.

REED'S MOVE

Patrick Reed left the Masters with a small measure of frustration because of a poor week driving the ball and not getting any momentum. He closed with an even-par 72 and had to settle for a tie for 12th.

It might have done him a world of good.

Reed had not received an invitation to the PGA Championship before he arrived at the Masters as the No. 112 player in the world ranking. With a good finish, the LIV Golf player moved up 27 spots to No. 85. The PGA Championship at Valhalla is a month away, and it's unlikely Reed will have fallen out of the top 100 by then.

The PGA of America has a history of inviting everyone inside the top 100 in the world ranking, though it's not part of the criteria. Oftentimes officials will go a little deeper.

At stake for Reed is a streak playing in every major dating to the 2014 Masters.

Reed said after the third round of the Masters he was uncertain of his schedule outside LIV Golf. He already got a small boost in the world ranking — LIV events do not offer ranking points — with a fourth-place finish in the International Series-Macau on the Asian Tour.

“Hopefully the PGA and the U.S. Open and The Open Championship take a look at things like that and take consideration on who they’re deciding to give exemptions to,” Reed said. “All I can focus on is playing good golf.”

A TOUCH OF CLASS

The most poignant memory of a caddie at the Masters was how Shota Hayafuji replaced the pin after Hideki Matsuyama won in 2021, and then removed his cap and bowed to the course as a show of respect.

Scottie Scheffler’s classy gesture wasn’t so obvious.

Two years ago, he walked off the 18th green with his wife, Meredith. She was home in Dallas this year awaiting the birth of their first child. Scheffler hugged two of his sisters, his parents, swing coach Randy Smith and manager Blake Smith and was about to walk to scoring when he stopped and turned.

His caddie, Ted Scott, was still exchanging hugs when Scheffler called to him and waited. He had Scott go with him, leading the way.

“He doesn’t want to make the walk alone,” CBS announcer Jim Nantz said. “That was great of him. What a gesture.”

The final round of the Masters averaged a 5.2 rating and 9.59 million viewers on CBS, which Sports Media Watch said was 5% down in ratings and a drop of 20% in viewership compared with last year. Among reasons for the drop is that last year the final round fell on Easter Sunday and benefited from a boost in out-of-home audience. One other factor could be the streaming option on the Masters' state-of-the-art website. ... Scottie Scheffler is leading the PGA Tour in birdie average and bogey avoidance. ... Rickie Fowler announced on social media that he and his wife are expecting their second daughter this summer. His wife, Allison, said the baby was due the week of the Olympics in early August. That also is two weeks after the British Open. ... Webb Simpson is No. 138 in the FedEx Cup and it's not from a lack of opportunity. He already has received sponsor exemptions into two $20 million signature events that did not have cuts. Simpson is playing on a sponsor exemption this week at the RBC Heritage, another signature event with no cut. Simpson won at Hilton Head in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Scottie Scheffler is averaging $431,235 for every round of golf he has played this year on the PGA Tour.

“That's what I’m looking forward to most about being a parent is being able to love my child like my parents loved me.” — Masters champion Scottie Scheffler.

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