A rare sight for sure was the lack of sponsorship adorning Rickie Fowler’s shirt on his appearance at The Sentry tournament in Maui, with both Farmers Insurance and Rocket Mortgage absent from the American’s branding.
One is set to return, however. Just one.
Farmers Insurance, a long-time sponsor, opted not to renew its deal with the back-to-form Fowler, although it would seem a new partnership with the US financial giant is in the offing. Fowler has also opted to skip the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego later this month, but will defend his Rocket Mortgage Classic title in Detroit come June.
Fowler is hoping the discussions on the new shirt deal with the company closes sooner rather than later but has insisted there will be limited sponsorship branding on his clothing when it does reappear.
As Fowler – who has a two-year-old daughter with wife Allison – put it, “I’m not in a position where I need to go out and slap a logo on. I’m not going to do a deal unless it’s something I believe in and want to do. Time is valuable and I don’t want to overextend myself.
“Ten years ago, single me, it’s a lot easier to use that time for work-related stuff. Now. I want to make sure it’s worthwhile and with the right people. I don’t want to be a billboard or Nascar driver type of thing. But I do want to have a good, core group of partners.”
Gary Woodland returns after brain surgery
No doubt who the most popular man in the field for this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii will be ... unquestionably, former US Open champion Gary Woodland.
Woodland underwent brain surgery last September to extract a lesion after initial efforts to treat the damaged tissue were less than successful and his medical consultants brought him down the surgical route.
The 39-year-old hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since the Wyndham Championship last August but the success of the surgical removal of the lesion has enabled him to return to tour life after what he described as “this journey has been very hard”.
His 2019 success in the US Open at Pebble Beach was the fourth of his four career wins on the PGA Tour, although his off-course win over the brain lesion would likely be his biggest success of all.
Word of Mouth
“When I tee off on Thursday, what I did this week doesn’t matter any more, it’s all square, and the gun goes off and we try to do it all over again” – Chris Kirk on aiming to go back-to-back in following up his Sentry tournament win in this week’s Sony Open on the PGA Tour.
By the Numbers: 477
That’s the length – in yards – that Max Homa boomed a drive in the third round of The Sentry tournament in Maui, which put the American into the record books for the longest tee shot on the PGA Tour (since ShotLink was first used on the circuit in 2003). The drive was downhill and wind-assisted, although Homa – as he does – saw the humour in managing to outhit the big guns: “For it being uphill into the wind with no roll, I was pretty proud of this one,” he posted on social media.
On this day: January 9th, 1983
Gil Morgan – known on tour as “Doc” for the reason that he was a qualified optometrist – wasn’t a prolific winner on the PGA Tour (with seven career titles in all), but he hit a hot streak when winning the Tucson Open and, the following week, would add the Los Angeles Open to his list for back-to-back successes.
Without a win since the 1979 Memphis Classic, Morgan went into the final round of the Tucson Open at Randoph Park Golf Club playing catch-up on 54-hole leader Calvin Peete, who stymied his own ambitions with a horrid run of three successive bogeys from the 14th to the 16th in the final round.
Ultimately, Morgan – who had rounds of 65-71-68-67 for a total of nine-under-par 271 – was required to win the hard way, in a playoff with Lanny Wadkins and Curtis Strange.
Morgan’s victory was sealed with a 25-footer for birdie on the second tie hole on the North Course which earned him a pay-day of $54,000: “I was long overdue for a win. I’ve been in contention numerous times but I either played bad or someone else played better.
X-Twitter Twaddle
– Pablo Larrazabal seeking the humorous side of Tyrrell Hatton’s club slamming antics in the Sentry.
– Justin Rose a tad happy with his closing round. However, amid the red-hot scoring on Maui, it only enabled him to move up to a tied-40th finish in The Sentry.
Jessica Hadwin – wife of tour player Adam – chilling out. Hadwin finished tied-14th in Maui.
In the Bag: Chris Kirk (The Sentry)
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9 degrees)
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15 degrees), TaylorMade Stealth (18 degrees)
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro 2023 (4), Callaway Apex CB (5-9)
Wedges: Callaway Jaws MD5 (46, 50 and 60 degrees), Titleist Vokey Deign SM9 (56 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled 6T CH
Ball: Titleist ProV1
Know the Rules
Q: In strokeplay, a player has interference to their stance from an immovable obstruction. She determines her nearest point of complete relief using a 5-iron (as that is the club she would have used had the immovable obstruction not been there) and drop the ball within one club-length of that point, no nearer the hole. The ball settles down in the rough so the player changes club and plays the ball out on to the fairway with a wedge. What is the ruling?
A: There is no penalty. Once the ball is dropped, it is back in play. The player must then decide what type of stroke they will make. This stroke, which includes the choice of club, may be different from the one that would have been made from the ball’s original spot had the condition not been there.
