Andrew Redington(Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)CHARLOTTE — Ask most fans their favorite follow at a golf tournament, you'll likely get a response of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson or Jason Day. And that's fine, if you like multi-millionaire, TV-hogging glory boys.
Yeah, yeah, tell me how tough it is on tour. What a struggle it must be to play the world's best courses, be served the finest food, driven around town in luxury cars and have an indentured servant carry your bag.
Personally, I gravitate towards a different soul. For those that have attended an event, you stared right at them without acknowledging their presence. In the sport's hierarchy, only the media ranks lower (which is saying something). And yet, without them, the tournament would collapse. They are on the front line, keeping chaos at arm's length. They are the marshals, and they are golf's eternal flame.
If you have noticed a marshal, it was likely in indignation. It ..

Steven GibbonsLauren Stephenson, left, and Chia Yen Wu bump knuckles after each of them birdied the 26 playoff hole during the quarterfinal round at the 2017 U.S. Women's Amateur at San Diego Country Club.The U.S. Women’s Amateur is already a marathon event, with the eventual finalists playing two stroke-play rounds, then five match-play contests before a 36-hole final. If Chinese Taipei’s Chia Yen Wu gets all the way through, she’ll have played even more thanks to her participation in the longest individual match in USGA history.
In her scheduled 18-hole quarterfinal match Friday at San Diego Country Club, Wu defeated Lauren Stephenson in 30 holes, breaking the USGA’s previous record of 28 holes set at the 1930 U.S. Amateur and the 1960 U.S. Junior Amateur.
Not only was the match historic for its length, it had arguable the most “vagaries of match play” moment you’ll ever see. On the 26th hole, Stephenson, an All-American at Alabama who made the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open in Ju..

FacebookPinterestGregory ShamusStewart Hagestad plays his shot from the sixth tee during the first round of the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Presumably, a guard-gated community, given the inherent obstacles presented by a gate and a guard, in a Newport Beach, Calif., neighborhood of multimillion-dollar homes featuring their own elaborate security systems, would seem an unlikely place for a thief to attempt to conduct his business.
Or not.
Stewart Hagestad, 26, is a prominent amateur golfer on the threshold of perhaps the most important few weeks of his summer, who left his golf clubs in his car parked in the driveway of his father’s home in the tony Big Canyon Country Club neighborhood in Newport Beach when he returned from the Western Amateur on Aug. 4.
The following morning he discovered his clubs had been stolen.
https://twitter.com/s_hagestad/status/893875880832811008
“I filed a police report, but there’s no camer..

Ross KinnairdCHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 11: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan plays his shot on the 18th hole during the second round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)CHARLOTTE — After Hideki Matsuyama dusted the field at last week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with a final-round 61 to win by five, Jason Day sent the Japanese star a text.
Day doesn’t speak Japanese but the message was understandable in any language. It read, simply, “Congrats, mate. Unreal playing. See you next week.” Matsuyama, whose English is improving, replied, “Thank you, JASON, see you at Quail Hollow.”
The two have played a lot of golf with one another, both on tour and as teammates in two Presidents Cups (and soon to be a third later this year). What impresses Day most about Matsuyama is his ball-striking. It’s obvious to anyone who has seen him hit a shot, with his rhythmic tempo, crisp strikes and pure power.
But in r..

Stuart FranklinCHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States reacts to his putt on the ninth hole during the second round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)CHARLOTTE — It would appear that Jordan Spieth’s pursuit of the career Grand Slam, at least in 2017, is over.
Battling an uncharacteristically balky putter, the 24-year-old Texan shot a sluggish second-round 73 on Friday at the PGA Championship, giving him a 36-hole total of three-over-par 144 to make the projected cut by two shots.
“I kind of accept the fact that I'm essentially out of this tournament pending some form of crazy stuff the next couple of days,” said Spieth, who with a victory would capture the fourth leg of the career Grand Slam. “On to the weekend to try and fire at stuff. Nothing to lose.”
Considered by many the finest putter in the game, Spieth made just one of his 21 attempts from outside 1..

Scott HalleranCHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 11: Jason Day of Australia plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Halleran/PGA of America via Getty Images)CHARLOTTE — “It annoys and motivates me at the same time, to be honest,” Jason Day said this week, referencing his fall from golf's premier spot. “Because I know how good I can be, because I have got to No. 1 in the world.”
You're forgiven if you forgot how good Day can be. The 29-year-old's campaign has been hampered with injuries, his attention rightfully grabbed by his mother's battle with cancer. As a corollary, the man who won eight times the previous two years is shockingly ranked outside the FedEx Cup top 50 as the tour's postseason nears.
Coupled with the sterling play of counterparts Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama—along with breakouts from the likes of Justin ..

Streeter Lecka/Getty ImagesJustin Thomas lines up a putt on the fourth green during the second round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club.CHARLOTTE — Now, that’s more like it.
An opening-round 73 at the PGA Championship on Thursday was hardly the way Justin Thomas wanted to start the year’s final major. But bouncing back with a five-under 66 at Quail Hollow Club while leaving him just five strokes off the lead of Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama, suited the 24-year-old just fine.
“I definitely worked on driving after I played yesterday, just trying to get it in the fairway, playing the par 3s better,” Thomas said. “I did both today so that was nice. … Got myself back in the tournament.”
It’s safe to say that Thomas’ 2017 major season has been eventful, if not altogether satisfying, particularly considering the heightened expectations that came with his three early PGA Tour wins. A T-22 finish at the Masters felt OK given his 71-70 weekend showing. And then came the impres..

Ross KinnairdCHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 11: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan plays his third shot on the 16th hole during the second round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)Last week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Hideki Matsuyama closed out the tournament with a final-round, course-record 61, and made it look easy. He came back to earth Thursday at the PGA Championship, which by his standards was posting a one-under 70 at Quail Hollow Club. On Friday though, the world No. 3 returned to his Firestone form, carding a bogey-free seven-under 64 to tie Kevin Kisner for the lead at eight-under 134.
Matsuyama, 25, was quietly lurking at three under for the championship through 11 holes of his second round. Then, he skyrocketed up the leader board, making four consecutive birdies beginning at the par-4 12th, and added one more on the par-3 17th to post a five-under 31 on the back nine. Matsuyama&#..

Icon SportswireCHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 11: Jordan Spieth hits an iron out from a natural area on the 10th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship on August 11, 2017 at Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte, NC. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Area storms caused an hour-and-40-minute delay during Day 2 at the 99th PGA Championship and led to an exciting finish as players raced — literally — to finish their rounds. And we'll race through Friday's highs and lows with our latest edition of winners and losers.
Winner: Hideki Matsuyama
Last week's winner at the WGC-Bridgestone was making the biggest move of anyone until play was suspended on Friday afternoon. Matsuyama was five under through 14 holes and. . . the break did nothing to cool him off. He returned to the course to birdie No. 15 and play the “Green Mile” in one under to post a 64. The World No. 3 who is in search of major title No. 1 has a 36-hole (co-)lead at one of golf's..