Analyzing state of PGA Tour amid looming PIF deal
Jim Gallagher Jr. and Paige Mackenzie discuss Tiger Woods' most recent comments on the negotiations between the PGA Tour and PIF, breaking down the state of the Tour and golf as a whole.
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New York Post
19 minutes ago
- New York Post
Scottie Scheffler not out of US Open just yet despite looking human
OAKMONT, Pa. — Sometimes, even Superman struggles. Scottie Scheffler doesn't wear a cape. Advertisement But the golf he's played for the past two years has been otherworldly. The gap between his No. 1 world ranking and the rest of the pack is reminiscent of the gaping advantage Tiger Woods built when he was dominating in his prime. Scheffler won seven times last season, including the Masters and the Players Championship. He entered this week's U.S. Open at Oakmont having won three times in his previous four starts, including the PGA Championship and Memorial. Advertisement 5 Scottie Scheffler reacts during the second round of the U.S. Open on June 13. Getty Images Understandably, he entered this week as such an overwhelming favorite to win that the gamblers' chatter was about whether to bet on Scheffler or the rest of the 156-player field. And yet, the surprise of this week is how human Scheffler has looked, which is to say he's resembled an impostor of the man who's been, with his head down and face without expression, coldly mowing down the rest of the PGA Tour. Advertisement Scheffler, despite not having his best stuff, grinded out a 1-over-par 71 in Friday's second round to keep himself in contention, at 4-over par, to win his second major of the year, and the third leg of a career Grand Slam. 5 Scottie Scheffler reacts after hitting a shot during the second round of the U.S. Open on June 13. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect 5 Scottie Scheffler plays a shot during the second round of the U.S. Open on June 13. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images He spent much of the day hovering around the cut line, which was projected to be 5-over while he was playing. Advertisement 'Overall, [I'm] definitely not out of the tournament,'' Scheffler said. '[Friday], with the way I was hitting it, I could have been going home. And I battled pretty hard to stay in there. I'm 4-over. Around this golf course I don't think by any means I'm out of the tournament.'' Scheffler, who has uncharacteristically been fighting his driver with a case of the lefts this week, entered the week having made the cut in his previous 56 starts. His last missed cut came on Aug. 14, 2022 at the St. Jude Classic. He entered the week having played in 21 major championships as a pro and missed the cut only twice — in the 2019 U.S. Open and the 2022 PGA. Scheffler's 3-over-par 73 on Thursday was his worst opening-round score of his career in majors relative to par (Oakmont is a par-70). 5 Scottie Scheffler is pictured during the second round of the U.S. Open on June 13. Getty Images His previous worst opening-round score was a 1-over-par 73 at the 2021 Masters. At the conclusion of his round, Scheffler was tied for 36th. Advertisement He's never come back from outside the top 30 at the end of the first or rounds to win a PGA Tour event. 5 Scottie Scheffler reacts after a shot during the second round of the U.S. Open on June 13. Getty Images Only three U.S. Open winners have come from outside the top-20 on the leaderboard at the end of the second round to win: Lou Graham, 1975 at Medinah (T-27 after 36 holes), Larry Nelson in 1983 at Oakmont CC (T-25 after 36) and Webb Simpson in 2012 at Olympic Club (T-29 after 36),. Advertisement 'I feel like I battled really hard,'' Scheffler said. 'It's challenging out there. I was not getting the ball in the correct spots and paying the price for it. I felt like me getting away with 1-over today wasn't all that bad. It could have been a lot worse. I anticipated to hit it better. 'Mentally, this was as tough as I've battled for the whole day,'' he went on. 'There was a lot of stuff going on out there that was not going in my favor necessarily and I felt like Teddy [Scott, his caddie] and I did a great job of battling, especially coming down the stretch.''
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Without being 'greedy,' Sam Burns posts amazingly low 65 on tough day at Oakmont
Without being 'greedy,' Sam Burns posts amazingly low 65 on tough day at Oakmont OAKMONT, Pa. – Through 36 holes at the 125th U.S. Open, Sam Burns already has made 11 birdies, matching the number that 2016 Open winner Dustin Johnson made for the entire championship at Oakmont Country Club. Burns made a half dozen of them on Friday, firing 5-under 65 to grab the 36-hole clubhouse lead at 3-under 137. Asked if he felt he left a few out there and his score, the low round of the week, could have been even better, Burns said, 'Not really, no. I think that's being a little greedy.' Burns may not be greedy, but he has been on a roll. He shot a final-round 62 at the RBC Canadian Open and nearly stole the title, falling in a four-hole playoff to Ryan Fox. Burns was cruising along at 3 under in the first round at Oakmont on Thursday when the wheels came off. He played the final four holes in 5 over and signed for 2-over 72. Of his sloppy finish to the first round, he said, 'You get out of position here, and the golf course will bite you. It was unfortunate, but there was too much good to focus on the little bit of bad.' Burns began his Friday round on the same nine that had befuddled him the day before and shot 31, matching his lowest nine-hole score of his major championship career (2022 Open Championship, final round, back 9; 2023 Masters, first round, front 9; 2025 PGA Championship, final round, front 9). Sam Burns has PGA Tour success, but not a major The 28-year-old Burns has won five times on the PGA Tour but that success hasn't translated to the majors. He finished T-9 last year at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, his first career top 10 in a major. What's been holding him back at the big four tourneys? 'Trying to be a little too perfect around major championship golf courses,' he explained, 'and I think especially around here, honestly, it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that's the only option you have.' He's also adopted a simple philosophy: 'You're going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority,' he said. That was the case at the par-4 ninth, his final hole of the day, where his tee shot found the penalty area to the left. 'Fade off the left side and just pulled it a little bit,' he said. He took his medicine and left himself 22 feet for par and buried it. 'That putt was, I don't know, 6 feet of break,' he said. 'Yeah, it was a nice one to make for sure.' It capped off a wonderful round at Oakmont and has him poised to do something special this weekend, good friend Scottie Scheffler said. 'Sam is one of those guys, he's like me in a sense that he's a hyper-competitive person,' he said. 'I think you always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he's put himself in position a few times at majors, and he's in position again. I'm sure going into the weekend, he's right where I would want to be on the leaderboard, so you know, to have a good chance, it should be a fun experience for him.'
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Putt free and try hard: Why Sam Burns, the world's best on the greens, is rolling at Oakmont
OAKMONT, Pa. – Sam Burns has a simple answer to why he's, statistically, the world's best putter. 'I practice it a lot,' he says. Louisiana Tech head coach Matt Terry can confirm. The Bulldogs share a home club with Burns, Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, Louisiana, and when Burns isn't on the road, he can often be found on Squire's practice green perfecting his stroke – template work, chalk lines, speed drills, you name it. These days, Burns will sometimes plop his 1-year-old son, Bear, down on the grass, hand him a wedge and get in a few extra putts while the toddler sits there, gnawing on the grip. 'That stuff is why he's so good; it's just constant,' Terry said. 'I tell my guys all the time to just go watch him putt and mirror what he does. 'The dude's the best I've ever seen on the greens.' The USGA usually gets creative with a handful of its U.S. Open groupings. For example, this week's trio of Burns, Denny McCarthy and Nico Echavarria combined the best three putters in the field, according to the PGA Tour's strokes-gained metric. Burns is unequivocally the best of the bunch. He's the only U.S. Open competitor, per Data Golf, who is gaining more than a shot per round on the greens in the past six months – and he's 0.2 strokes per round better than the next best player, Cameron Smith. 'If you look at putting,' Burns explains, 'the ball is rolling on the ground. There's a lot of imperfections on grass. There's a lot of different lines the ball can go in, depending on the speed, so if you try to be too perfect with putting, it can drive you crazy, so I just try to really read it, put a good roll on it, focus on the speed and hope for the best.' Added Burns' close friend, Scottie Scheffler: 'He's got good fundamentals, good instinct, and he putts very reactionary. That's really all there is to it.' The ninth green at Oakmont Country Club is a long way from Squire Creek, both literally and figuratively. Measuring at over 22,000 square feet, the putting surface, which sits in the shadows of Oakmont's farmhouse-style clubhouse, is the largest on property and doubles as the club's practice green. It features a wide variety of challenges, sloping back to front with a large swale through the middle and a mound on the right portion. Friday's hole location was tucked front right, just right of the swale and behind a deep bunker. At 5 under through 17 holes and on his way to easily the best round so far this week, Burns had no business saving par after tugging his drive into the left penalty area. But he took his medicine, dropped and hit his third shot pin high, 23 feet left of the flag to avoid any chance of dumping one in the sand. You see, the thing about putting is no one makes everything. Even Burns whiffed on a 5-footer last Sunday in Canada that would've won him his sixth PGA Tour title. He three-putted to lose, too. And on Thursday at Oakmont, he unusually finished in the negative in strokes gained putting, ranking just outside the top 100 of 156 players. But Burns bounced back with a vengeance on Friday, pouring in over 102 feet of putts, including that clutch par save on the par-4 ninth to solidify a second-round 65 and two-day total of 3-under 137, which left he and Viktor Hovland (1 under) as the only two players in their wave at even par or better. 'That putt was, I don't know, 6 feet of break,' Burns guessed of the putt, which gained him about a stroke on the field alone. 'Yeah, it was a nice one to make for sure.' Despite his elite skill with the flatstick – his trusty Odyssey Ai-One 7S – Burns finds himself in unfamiliar territory. This is his 21st career major start. Until his T-9 at last year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst, he'd never cracked the top 10 in a major. The physical explanation, at least in recent years, is Burns' iron play hasn't been good enough. He entered this week ranked No. 149 in strokes gained approach, so the fact that he missed just four greens Friday and ranks inside the top 10 in that category through two days probably explains his breakout performance. But Burns added that he learned something 12 months ago at Pinehurst. 'I just feel like I've tried to play too perfect and tried to force it a little bit at times … around major championship golf courses,' Burns explained, 'and I think especially around here, honestly it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that's the only option you have. … You really just have to free it up. It's too hard to try to guide it around here. You're going to hit some in the rough, you're going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority.' Burns' patience was tested late Thursday afternoon when he quickly went from 3 under to 2 over with a bogey-double-bogey-bogey finish over his last four holes, Nos 15-18. 'It was unfortunate,' Burns said, 'but there was too much good to focus on the little bit of bad.' A day later, Burns was heading toward his television interview when he walked past Jon Rahm, who was speaking to reporters following a disappointing 75 that dropped him to 4 over. 'I'm too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective,' Rahm said. 'Very frustrated. Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn't sniff the hole.' Rahm lost about three strokes with the putter on Friday, a performance that ranked him ahead of fewer than 10 players in this second round. Shortly after wrapping his thoughts, Rahm was off to the practice area to figure something out. As Burns knows, that's the simplest way to holing more putts.
