Great start for Team USA!!

Team USA made history of their own in the Friday afternoon four-balls, as they made a clean sweep to take a 5 ½ – 2 ½ lead over Europe.

Not once during the entire afternoon was there blue on the board, with Juli Inkster’s side holding on to any lead they gained thanks to some fine putting performances from many of her players.

Since the event changed to a five session format, every time the U.S. has led after two sessions they have won the Solheim Cup – a stat that Inkster is sure to take note of.

Danielle Kang & Michelle Wie def. Jodi Ewart Shadoff & Madelene Sagstrom 3&1

Danielle Kang and Michelle Wie won their first two holes and never looked back thanks to another impressive performance on the greens from Kang, who made several clutch putts en-route to a 3&1 victory over Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Madelene Sagstrom.

Missed putts by the European pair, doubled with clutch putts from Kang on 14, 15 and 16 meant the Americans would pick up a full point for their team. It is apparent Kang’s U.S. Women’s Amateur experience has helped her ten-fold in her rookie showing at the Solheim Cup.

Lizette Salas & Angel Yin def. Carlota Ciganda & Emily Pedersen 6&5

Lizette Salas produced a stunning front nine as she made six birdies, including three in the first three holes, to help lead her rookie partner Angel Yin and herself to a 6&5 victory over Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen.

The 6&5 win ties the second largest margin of victory in a Solheim Cup four-ball match, just shy of the 7&5 record set by Pat Hurst and Rosie Jones in 1998. The pair of Salas and Yin were eight-under par through the 13 holes they played, leaving their European counterparts six shots behind on two-under par.

Brittany Lang & Brittany Lincicome def. Caroline Masson & Florentyna Parker 3&2

Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome remain unbeaten as a pair, as they defeated the European pairing of Caroline Masson and Florentyna Parker. Tee to green the Americans were strong, and when Lang’s putter got hot there was no way back for the Europeans.

The Lang and Lincicome pairing now has a record of 3-0-0 when playing together and was Lincicome’s first win since the opening day of the 2013 Solheim Cup.

Stacy Lewis & Gerina Piller def. Georgia Hall & Charley Hull 2&1

Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller rounded out the four U.S. victories, as they defeated the English duo of Georgia Hall and Charley Hull 2&1. The American pair were never able to get any more than 2 Up and when Charley Hull chipped in for eagle on the 15th, it looked like the match may be heading all the way.

However, Lewis rose to the occasion on the 17th hole and hit her tee shot close on 17. She then proceeded to hole putt, to secure a clean sweep for Team USA.

Saturday Morning Foursomes Pairings 

Jodie Ewart Shadoff & Caroline Masson vs Cristie Kerr & Lexi Thompson – 7.10 a.m.

Mel Reid & Emily Pedersen vs Paula Creamer & Austin Ernst – 7.22 a.m.

Anna Nordqvist & Georgia Hall vs Stacy Lewis & Gerina Piller – 7.34 a.m.

Catriona Matthew & Karine Icher vs Michelle Wie & Danielle Kang – 7.46 a.m.

Source:  LPGA.com

It’s going to be an action-packed weekend at Quail Hollow.  Who will hold The Wanamaker Trophy tomorrow?!!

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For much of the afternoon, it appeared that Kevin Kisner would carry a healthy cushion into the weekend at the PGA Championship as he looks to secure his first major title.

But then came the rain, transforming Quail Hollow Club from a burly obstacle course into a supple dart board. The bogeys that had dominated the scoreboard quickly turned into birdies, and suddenly Kisner has plenty of company near the top of the standings with the second round still in progress.

In other words, a major championship has finally broken out at the year’s final major.

Three of the world’s top 10 players will wake up Saturday in position to challenge for the Wanamaker Trophy. Chief among them is world No. 3 Hideki Matsuyama, fresh off his five-shot romp at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, who managed to draw even with Kisner by nightfall.

Matsuyama’s claim to the cringe-inducing title of best player without a major has always included a hiccup because he has yet to truly challenge for a title coming down the stretch. His runner-up this year at Erin Hills still saw him finish four shots behind Brooks Koepka, and he hasn’t felt the pressure of hitting a critical shot with a major trophy hanging in the balance.

But the Japanese phenom is in the midst of perhaps the best stretch of his career, having already won three times this season and coming off a course record-tying 61 at Firestone. A 103-minute weather delay Friday did little to stunt his momentum, as Matsuyama closed out a bogey-free 64 that seemed to require little effort and equaled the low round of the week.

Now tied with Kisner at 8 under, this undoubtedly represents his best chance for major glory that would provide a watershed moment for his homeland.

“I’m probably not playing as I did at the end of last year. However, I’m riding the momentum from the round that I had on Sunday,” Matsuyama said through a translator. “Hopefully I can keep that going for 36 more holes.”

But Matsuyama is not the only big name who cut into Kisner’s advantage in the waning daylight. Jason Day described his year to date earlier this week as “very, very poor,” and the Aussie is now improbably 15 months removed from his most recent win. But Day seems to save his best stuff for this event, having won two years ago at Whistling Straits and second last year in defense of his title.

Day was well off the radar before coming to life with an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole, which sparked a seven-hole stretch during which he was 6 under. In the span of a few minutes, Day went from also-ran to a title contender within two shots of the lead, one who appears to have once again discovered the confident stride that helped him start the year as the top-ranked player in the world.

“It’s been slowly building,” Day said. “It was nice to be able to drive the way I did today, and set myself up with the opportunities and being able to capitalize on those opportunities felt even better. Because they were the two things that were missing pretty much the whole year is my driving and my putting, and being able to combine that today just felt like the old days, which is only last year.”

Rickie Fowler is contending at a major for the third time this year, and having taken a tactical approach over the first 36 holes he sits five shots off the pace at 3 under. So, too, does Justin Thomas, who bounced back from six weeks of middling play with a second-round 66 under the watchful eye of his father, Mike, who still works as a PGA professional.

And if you needed any more proof that a major is officially up for grabs, Louis Oosthuizen has even come out of hiding and trails by only three.

The themes that started the week – Jordan Spieth’s Slam ambitions and Rory McIlroy’s effort to rekindle an affinity with Quail Hollow – have been shoved to the back burner.

But in their stead, a tantalizing collection of storylines have converged. The PGA Championship has produced a steady supply of weekend drama dating back to the twilight finish three years ago at Valhalla, and the 99th edition should be no exception.

Kisner could very well still leave Charlotte with the trophy, especially given his level of comfort through two rounds on a difficult track. But this much is clear: it won’t be as easy of a waltz to the finish line as it once appeared.

Source:  Golf Channel

Fun day 1 of golf at The Open!  Tough weather coming!

SOUTHPORT, England – It is bunched at the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the 146th Open and some of those names are ones you’d expect to be there. Here’s a closer look at how it all went down Thursday at Royal Birkdale:

Leaderboard: Jordan Spieth (-5), Brooks Koepka (-5), Matt Kuchar (-5), Paul Casey (-4), Charl Schwartzel (-4), Ian Poulter (-3), Justin Thomas (-3), Richard Bland (-3), Austin Connelly (-3), Charley Hoffman (-3), Rafa Cabrera Bello (-3).

What it means: Spieth shot his 65 early, Koepka matched it a couple hours later, then Kuchar did the same later in the afternoon. All three were equally impressive and weather was fair for everyone most of the day, something that doesn’t often happen at The Open. While it’s great to jump out to such a great start for these three, and anyone else within striking distance, everyone in the field knows that the weather in Round 2 is going to be utterly putrid. So don’t let the Day 1 scores fool you, it’s going to get ugly quick and the next three days are going to be extremely trying.

Round of the day: On this day all 65s were created equal but Spieth’s was the most memorable. He only hit five fairways, but his iron-play and putting both were spectacular. Midway through the round (at 3 under after nine holes) Spieth started to have that strut that you may remember from his two-win major championship season of two years ago. He may not win, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where he won’t be in the hunt on Sunday.

Best of the rest: Keep in mind that this was Koepka’s first competitive round in a month, since he hoisted the U.S. Open trophy at Erin Hills. He made par on the first seven holes but got hot with birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 13, then eagled the par-5 17th. Kuchar was 5 under on the front nine (shot 29) and then parred each of the last nine holes.

Biggest disappointment: It was going to be Rory McIlroy, until he birdied three of his last four holes to shoot 71. Instead, the (dis)honor goes to Masters champion Sergio Garcia. He was just 2 over late in the round with two par 5s left but he bogeyed the par-5 15th and then made double bogey on the par-4 16th. Birdies on the final two holes softened the blow a little but still, an opening 73 for one of The Open favorites was just not good enough in decent conditions.

Shot of the day: Charley Hoffman blew his opening tee shot right, then holed it for an eagle on the par-4 first hole. It was the first eagle on the first hole at Royal Birkdale since stats first were recorded in 1983. He made late bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17, but still shot 3-under 67.

Quote of the day: “I’d call it a top-five probably, major round that I’ve played. Maybe fifth or sixth, something like that. There are scores that I’ve shot that were closer to par that were better given what I needed to do. But I couldn’t have done much better today.” ­– Spieth

Source: Golf Channel

 

The 2017 JR GOLF LEAGUE wraps up it’s 9th season. An awards banquet followed the end of season tournament where parents and siblings joined in the celebration. Trophies were awarded in each flight and participants received gift bags and t-shirts. In addition, League Winner and First Flight Champion Joey Gore received a trophy for each catagory. A 6 month membership was awarded for his low medalist tournament win. Points Winner, Jacob Lewis, received a $20 gift card to Acadamy Sports. Congratulations to all the winners!

Joey Gore – 2017 League Winner, First Flight Champion, Team Challenge Winner

Blake Williams – First Flight 2nd Place

Jacob Lewis – Second Flight 1st Place, Putting Challenge Winner, Team Challenge Winner, Points Winner

Jesse Gore – Second Flight 2nd Place

We are excited to host our Junior Golf Awards Ceremony for all juniors that attend this years league. We invite all parents and siblings to celebrate with us. The banquet is  Tuesday, June 27th following the end of season tournament.  There is no cost to attend, but we encourage you to RSVP by emailing prospectvalleygolf@gmail.com.

Phil is a true family man.  But he sure will be missed at next week’s US Open.

Skipping a major, postponing for another year the chance at closing out the career Grand Slam. It sounds like a choice few players would make, but according to Phil Mickelson the decision was easy.

Speaking to reporters at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, Mickelson explained that he and his 18-year-old daughter, Amanda, never even had a discussion about attending her high school graduation or playing in the first round of the U.S. Open. It was simply assumed that he’d be in attendance.

“I love the (U.S.) Open, but this is a special moment for us,” Mickelson said Wednesday. “I mean, my daughter’s speaking, she’s giving the speech there at graduation. It’s just one of those things, you need to be there. So it wasn’t a hard decision at all.”

The ceremony at Pacific Ridge in Carlsbad, Calif., is slated for June 15, the same day as the first round at Erin Hills. Mickelson explained last week that barring an unforeseen weather delay, he would miss the U.S. Open for the first time since 1993. The school confirmed this week that, despite an online petition asking for the ceremony to be rescheduled, graduation will proceed as planned.

Mickelson famously played the 1999 U.S. Open with a beeper in his golf bag, awaiting word that his wife, Amy, was going into labor with the couple’s first child. The alert never came as Mickelson lost by a shot in dramatic fashion to Payne Stewart on the 72nd hole, and Amy gave birth to Amanda the very next day.

Mickelson explained that he often thinks back to that whirlwind, 48-hour stretch where he felt both the pain of difficult on-course defeat and the bliss of Amanda’s birth.

“As you get older and you share these moments, you realize the greatest moments in life are those spontaneous moments with your family,” he said. “And this is one of those moments that I’ll cherish forever.”

While Mickelson likely won’t play next week, he is teeing it up at TPC Southwind where he has finished T-3 or better three of the last four years, including a runner-up last year. He finished T-22 last week at the Memorial Tournament and, while he hasn’t cracked the top 10 in a stroke-play event since March, he has notched four top-30 finishes across that span.

Mickelson will turn 47 next week, and he would dearly love to end a victory drought that dates back to his triumph at The Open in 2013 at Muirfield.

“I don’t want to start thinking about results, because when you start thinking about results you don’t perform your best,” Mickelson said. “I’ve been playing well this year, I just haven’t quite shot as low as I’d like to. But I feel like it’s close, and I can’t think of a better place to put it all together than right here.”

Source:  Golf Channel