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Golfunity Episode 22
Today we provide an overview of recent golf events and player news across various tours. Several articles detail the Charles Schwab Challenge, highlighting Ben Griffin’s victory, Matti Schmid’s close second-place finish, Scottie Scheffler’s performance, and Joel Dahmen’s hole-in-one. Other pieces cover the Ladies European Tour’s Jabra Ladies Open, where Sára Kousková secured her first win and other players contended. Additional information includes updates on LIV Golf players qualifying for the U.S. Open, details about the upcoming Memorial Tournament, and news regarding the LPGA’s Mexico Riviera Maya Open, noting the winner Chisato Iwai and results for Gabriela Ruffels and Jenny Bae. Finally, the sources also announce upcoming LIV Golf “The Duels” events, featuring professional golfers paired with content creators.
#charlesschwabchallenge #let #pgatour #mattischmid #bengriffin
Golf Unity, the most popular golf infotainment podcast in town. [Music] Welcome to this deep dive. We’ve got a whole stack of your sources here today, and we’re going to dig into uh all the latest action and news from professional golf. That’s right. Sources covering the LPGA, the LE, uh the PGA Tour, and Live Golf as well. Lots going on. Yeah, definitely. And our mission as always is to kind of sift through these reports, find the really key stuff so you get a quick handle on what’s actually happening out there on the courses. Absolutely. And it sounds like it’s been a busy few weeks based on this material. Um, some really exciting finishes. Definitely some inspiring comeback stories and, you know, updates on player movements, too. Okay, let’s start with the women’s game then. The LPGA, specifically Chado at the Mexico Riviera Maya Open. Wow, winning by six shots. That’s dominant. Got six shots is a statement, isn’t it? Yeah. And you looking down the leaderboard in those reports, you see players like Gabriella Ruffles, an Epson Tour grad, sitting fourth with a round to go. Right. And Jenny Bay was battling, too. Exactly. Another Epson Tour player fighting for her best finish. It really shows uh how strong that pipeline is feeding players right into contention on the LPGA. Good point. Okay, shifting over to Europe, the ladies European tour. Sarah Kusco, she got her first le win at the Jabra Ladies Open. Yeah, a great final round 67 for her. Finished at 10 under. That’s a big breakthrough. Huge. And what does a first win like that mean really beyond the trophy? Well, it’s massive because this particular win according to the sources gets her into two majors this summer. The Yundi Aven Championship and the AIG Women’s Open. Wow. Okay. So, automatic entry. That’s a game changer. Absolutely. Big step up. And she had to earn it too, right? Kiara Tambberlini was leading after round two. Yeah. And Shannon Tan finished second. So Kuscoa had to come from behind on Sunday, which tells you something about her ability to handle pressure, doesn’t it? You need that for the majors she’s now qualified for. Definitely. Okay. So, from breakthroughs to maybe veteran resilience, let’s talk Richard Bland. The sources have him defending his senior PGA title at Congressional, right? And his schedule, looking at these reports, it’s pretty demanding, especially, you know, he’s 52. 52. and he just played the PGA Championship. Made the cut there. Yep. Finished T37, then straight to the senior PGA, then apparently heading home, prepping for US Open qualifying, then LIIV event, then the US Open itself. That’s a lot. That’s intense. And his whole career path, it’s so unconventional, isn’t it? The reports highlight him becoming the oldest firsttime winner on the European Tour at age 48 in his 478th start. Think about that. The perseverance required. Unbelievable. And he didn’t stop there. cracked the world top 50 at 49, then join LIV. And he actually credits playing on live against guys like Cupco, Rom, Desambo. He says that’s a huge contributing factor to his senior major wins last year because it forces him to keep his game sharp. Exactly. He feels he has to constantly raise his level, his own words on his late success. A lot of perseverance, just never give up. Simple but powerful. Yeah. and he added a if you feel like you’re on the right road, just believe in it, stick to it, and if you work hard enough, good things will come, whether it’s sooner or it’s later. That’s great perspective. And mentally, he seems incredibly focused. Just the very next shot, especially in contention, right? And physically, he’s smart about it. Now, at 52, he listens to his body, focuses on short game or putting when he needs to, and sees gym work and mobility as just part of the job now. Exactly. which maybe wasn’t the case 20 years ago, but it’s essential for longevity today. And there’s that really personal angle, too, mentioned in the sources, dedicating last year’s senior PGA win to his brother, Heath, who’s battling cancer. Yeah, that’s incredibly moving. He says Heath’s positive attitude is hugely inspiring and gives him perspective on the course. Heath keeps the replica trophy, apparently. Wow, that puts golf in perspective, doesn’t it? Okay, let’s uh swing over to the PGA Tour. The Charles Schwab challenge at Colonial. Ben Griffin gets his first individual win, right? Adding to his team win at the Zurich. And Griffin’s backstory is fascinating. Left the game, worked a regular job. Yeah. Came back in 2021. And he’d been close before, hadn’t he? Bermuda Sanderson Farm. He had knocking on the door. And he traces his current success, especially his scrambling, back to his childhood. How so? Well, the sources mentioned his family lost their home in the 2008 recession. And he ended up practicing his short game intensely because that’s what he could do. Oh. And he literally said the scrambling is what put me in this seat here today. Yeah. My short game kept me in it and that’s what I did as a kid. It paid off. Incredible how those early experiences shape you. And the final round sounds like it was tough for him. Had a big lead early but then yeah it became a grind as the report says. Bogeies on the back nine made it tight. Super tight. Especially when Matty Schmid chipped in for birdie on 18. Oh man, talk about drama. That got Schmid within one shot. Suddenly Griffin has this 4-footer for the win. After chipping from the rough near a bunker. Clutch putt. Absolutely clutch. And a great week for Schmid, too. Obviously, runner-up finish gets him into his first signature event. His putting and scrambling were also topnotch. Right. And we have to mention Scotty Shuffler. No three repeat win. Still another top five at Colonial. That’s four in a row for him there. Incredible consistency. But the reports pointed to the putting again, right? Ball striking was amazing. Yeah. Led the field in strokes gained approach. Yeah. But ranked way down like 56th in putting just goes to show you needed all clicking to win out there. Even for the best player in the world. Uh couple of other quick notes from Colonial and the Sources. Joel Domin on tour. finally got one on the 13th. Good for him. And Tommy Fleetwood’s putt on 18th. Oh, the one that took forever to drop. Yeah, almost 30 seconds with the wind. Crazy moment. And kind of summed up his run of near misses, didn’t it? So many top 10s. Still looking for that first PGA Tour win. Tough break for him sometimes. All right, so looking ahead then, the sources point towards the Memorial Tournament. Yep. Coming up at Nearfield Village, the big signature event presented by Workday, right? Always a great field. Honors Golf Legends raises money for charity and players get in through things like the AON X10 and AON swing five which rewards recent performance names mentioned here are Andrew Novak, Ben Griffin obviously Mattie Schmid, Ryan Fox, Bud Collie, Harry Higs, Mackenzie Hughes, a bunch of guys playing well lately. And Bud Collie, what a story that is highlighted in these reports. Just incredible. Seven years ago, a really serious car accident during Memorial Week itself changed everything for him. multiple surgeries out for over three years with complications and now he’s playing so well just finished solo third at the Charles Schwab that he’s qualified his way back into the memorial returning to the very tournament where the accident happened that’s just amazing resilience gives you chills really it really does great to see him back playing well okay and looking even further ahead the US Open at Oakmont gets a mention which levy players are already in according to these sources well Richard Bland is in as the US senior open champ. Then you’ve got the major winners Dambo, Dustin Johnson, Kopka, Mikkelson, Braum, Cam Smith, plus guys inside the top 60 in the world rankings like Terrell Hatton and Patrick Reed. Right. And the reports also noted a couple of LE guys just got through final qualifying too. Carlos Ortiz did it in Dallas and Janikiro Kazuma in Japan. Okay. And one other thing from the live side mentioned here is this DS series they’re doing. Ah, yeah. Pairing live pros with like YouTube golf creators. Exactly. Made for YouTube events. The idea they say is to grow the game, reach a younger audience. Interesting approach. They’ve done one. Sounds like more are planned. Yeah. Locations like Virginia, Dallas, the UK, Chicago, featuring guys like Bryson, Sergio, Phil, Rom, Bubba, Stenson. Teaming up with creators like Grant Horvat, the Brian Bros, Fat Perez, Rick Shields, Luke Quan. So, it’s definitely a different way to package and present golf, blending the pro game with that online content world. Yeah, a novel way to try and connect with fans, especially maybe younger ones. We’ll see how that develops, but certainly different. Okay, so wrapping up this deep dive then, we’ve covered quite a bit from your sources, uh, Maiden Winds, dominant performances on the women’s side, those incredible perseverance stories and Bland’s long road, Collie’s comeback, Griffin’s Journey. Yeah. plus a look at the drama at Colonial, upcoming big events like the memorial and the US Open, and even new content initiatives like those LIIV duels. So hopefully processing all that gives you a really solid, you know, quick understanding of some key things happening in golf right now. Yeah. Drawn directly from this material. And maybe a final thought for you to ponder based on all these stories of resilience. We talked about Bland, Collie, Griffin. What does that word perseverance actually mean to you? How does it show up in your own life? Maybe your golf game or just tackling challenges. Definitely something to think about. Absolutely. Well, thanks again for providing the sources that fueled this whole discussion. We really appreciate you sending them our way. Head over to our social media. Yeah. Tell us what you think. Let’s hear it. And give us your predictions for the future of golf. Until next time, keep it in the fairway and hit them straight.
