Morning 9: Fitzpatrick snubbed | Masters LIV protest planned | Stats of the year

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Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as we inch closer towards the holiday season.

1. Fitzpatrick snub draws ire

Golf Channel’s Max Schreiber…”Despite becoming only the second Englishman to win the U.S. Open since 1970, Matt Fitzpatrick was left off the shortlist for BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award. “

• “And many have taken issue with that…”

• “Last month, The Telegraph reported Fitzpatrick, 28, would decline an invite to the award ceremony, even if he was nominated, as the award has not favored golfers in the past. “

• “…This year’s nominees were, gymnast Jessica Gadirova, footballer Beth Mead, curling’s Eve Muirhead, cricketer Ben Stokes, snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan and distance-runner Jake Wightman.”

2. Protests planned

Mike Hall for Golf Monthly…“Following the news that Augusta National will allow LIV golfers to play in the 2023 Masters, a prominent 9/11 survivors group has urged it to reconsider the decision, with the promise to protest if it doesn’t.”

• “The group, 9/11 Families United, which represents victims’ families and survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks, has released a statement reading: “In the aftermath of 9/11, our country agreed we would never forget that horrible day. The only reason the Saudis launched LIV was to try to make the world forget who they are and what they did, including their role in 9/11. Anyone who truly vowed to ‘never forget’ should be appalled by the decision by these golfers to put money ahead of their own country.”

• “On behalf of 9/11 Families United, we are calling on Augusta National to reconsider their open-door policy to the LIV golfers. If they are welcomed with open arms, we will be at their front door to protest in April.”

3. Spieth’s parents advice to golf parents

Golf Digest’s Luke Kerr-Dineen…”I think that being a parent in any sport is about being supportive and being encouraging,” Tiger Woods said earlier in the week, when I asked him what the secret is to being a good golf dad. “Being a parent, you always want to be the protector and guider of them and teach them skills that they will need in life when you’re not around. And so that’s the most important thing about being a parent.”

• “Jordan Spieth was another player in the PNC field. He isn’t too far removed from the junior golf scene (he is still only 29) and a new dad himself (son Sammy is 13 months old), so I asked him the same question.: What makes a good golf dad?”

• “Give them opportunity, make them set goals, create scenarios where they’re gonna be able to learn to love what they’re doing on their own,” Spieth said. “Put your kid in positions where they have high quality individuals around them to learn from. I think that’s probably as important as anything. That’s what my dad [Shawn, who Jordan teamed with at the PNC] did for me. I had a lot of individuals around me who were good kids that created competition.”

4. Stats of the year!

(Who else but) Justin Ray assembles his stats of the year for PGATour.com…

A couple of Ray’s items…

• “Cameron Young had seven top-three finishes in the 2021-22 season, but no wins – a first on the PGA TOUR since 1993…Cameron Young seemingly did everything in his rookie PGA TOUR season except get into the winner’s circle. His consistently great performance netted him $6.5 million in official earnings, the most all-time by a player in his rookie season, and the most by any player in a season without a win. Buoyed by a powerful driver (No. 2 on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee), Young finished the season sixth in birdie rate and in the top-20 in both Strokes Gained: Total and scoring average.”

• In 2022, Young became the first player to have a season with seven top-three finishes and zero victories since Hall of Famer Payne Stewart in 1993.

• “Will Zalatoris had six top-eight finishes in his first nine career majors – something no player had done since 1957…In recent years, no player has knocked on the door in major championships without barging into the winner’s circle quite as often as Will Zalatoris. Since the beginning of 2021, Zalatoris has averaged 2.51 Strokes Gained: Total per round in the majors, the best of any player in that span. At this year’s U.S. Open at Brookline, Zalatoris finished tied for second, already his third career runner-up finish in a major.”

5. Higgs having fun again

Tim Schmitt for Golfweek…”So when he saw a second appearance at the Tito’s Shorties Classic pop up on his schedule, the affable Higgs was eager to let loose and have a little fun.”

• “The event, held at Butler Pitch and Putt in downtown Austin, Texas, is a four-person skins game on a postage stamp in the heart of one of the most vibrant cities in the country. Drinks in hand. Trash talk flying. Dogs and PGA Tour pros walking together. And in the end, perhaps just the potion Higgs needed after a rough stretch.”

• “The event took place in November but will air on Golf Channel on Jan. 11, 2023, at 7 p.m. ET, with Amanda Renner and the Bob Does Sports crew handling commentary. Tito’s donated to the charity each was playing for, with a total donation of $290,000.”

• “I went on a guys trip with four guys from my club, and I’ve done a few other things for fun here or there, but every time I do something like this, I think and say aloud to basically anybody that will listen, and obviously knowing me that turns into everybody, that holy s—, it is so nice to be reminded of it, but this is supposed to be fun, right?” Higgs said.”

6. Schupak: Things we want to see on tour in 2023

We want to see a career Grand Slam, writes Adam Schupak…”There may be no greater career achievement in the modern era for golf considering that only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have ever done so.”

• “McIlroy (needs the Masters), Jordan Spieth (needs the PGA) and Phil Mickelson (needs the U.S. Open) are three legs down and one to go.”

• “McIlroy seems made for Augusta National but despite finishing a career-best second last year, he never really threatened Scottie Scheffler. Oak Hill, site of the PGA, typically produces winners who are ball strikers and Spieth fits that bill with his iron play. He finished 18th in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green in 2021-22, his best since he finished fourth in 2014-15 (he was 157th in 2018-19). And what about Phil? He hasn’t been a factor in a U.S. Open since 2013. But no one saw his PGA win at Kiawah in 2021 coming so can’t totally count him out either.”

• “Their places in the history of the game already are secure, but completing the career Grand Slam puts them in rarefied company.”

7. One of few certainties for Tiger

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”There are alarmingly few guarantees in golf for Tiger Woods these days. The Champions Dinner each April at Augusta National has a spot on his schedule and he appears to be holding out hope for one more turn at St. Andrews, although given his medical history and The Open schedule that seems ambitious.”

• “Everything else is a 30-point, all-bold question mark.”

• “He’d love to play the U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship, but as this year’s acronyms prove (DNP, MC, WD, respectively), the decision is increasingly out of his hands. Even the most obvious of landing places, like this month’s Hero World Challenge on a warm and flat course against a limited field, are often undermined by injury and a body that’s seen better days.”

• “This version of Tiger Woods is only as capable as modern medical science can make him, but there is a single outlier, a destination he can pencil in as long as he remains upright. The PNC Championship, a relaxed two-day event that pulls on heart strings as well as legacy, has become perhaps the only must-play event for Woods going forward.”

8. Rahm commits to event he previously blasted

Ross Kilvington for Golf Monthly…”Jon Rahm has committed to playing in next month’s American Express tournament held in La Quinta, a competition where he recorded his second PGA Tour title back in 2018.”

• “On the surface, this doesn’t appear to be exactly newsworthy, however, considering the Spaniard’s comments during the event last season, it is somewhat of a surprise he has confirmed his return.”

• “Playing the Nicklaus Tournament Course for his second round, the 28-year-old was filmed by a spectator walking off one of the greens expressing his feelings on the conditions – and he wasn’t impressed. “Piece of s***, f****** setup, putting contest week, Jesus Christ,” Rahm was filmed saying in a video posted on social media.”

9. Harrington remembers iconic Tiger Woods shot

• “Harrington was leading by one shot with three holes to play when Woods hit what Harrington calls “the greatest golf shot probably in the history of golf on that 16th hole.”

• “The shot was so good that Harrington proceeded to chip his next shot in the water and make a triple-bogey to eject himself from the tournament.””

• “I really liked playing with Tiger, he was very easy to play with. He only said, ‘good shot’, to you when you hit a good shot. There was no bullsh*t about it. It was just straightforward.

• “He really wanted to beat you by playing better than you. He almost wanted you to play well.

• “He hit the greatest shot ever. My whole life I would say I’m good at handling the pressure and not getting impacted by what my playing partner is doing… I chipped it in the water afterwards!”

• “When do I ever chip it in the water? And then, I made an idiot of myself and dropped it on the wrong side of the hazard rather than from where I was chipping it from – I forgot the ruling!”