In Spanish and Italian, the word grillo is cricket. Not the Jiminy sport, but rather a Jiminy . It’s the same with languages; a word in one tongue can have multiple meanings in another. Emiliano Grillo was on his way to winning the tournament after a birdie on the 70th. Later, we’ll talk more about that.
In the land of American excesses, no American woman made it beyond the quarterfinals. Senior PGA Championship christened PGA of America’s new golf paradise in Frisco Texas. Spain’s Ben-Hogan late-career surge continued on the DP World Tour, while the Korn Ferry Tour enjoyed a thrilling finish in Knoxville, Tennessee.
It’s just another tour week. This week, let’s take a look at the Tour Rundown.
“Coolest Week of My Life” @IzziStricker about being on the bag at her dad @stevestricker major championship victory at the @seniorpgachamp? https://t.co/GfEpAzDhq1 pic.twitter.com/E5zWK2rfsK
PGA TOUR Champions May 29th, 2023
PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge – Cricket chirps its way to second Tour title
Emiliano Grillo was able to make birdie on the par three 16th hole. It was important that the Argentine displayed the same nerves we all face when playing golf. Grillo made a huge mistake when he had a 2-shot lead and only 435 yards stood between him and the victory. The tour’s site labelled the shot unknown. Grillo then took a penalty, pitched back onto the fairway and pitched to the green. He missed the bogey for the victory. He was also lucky that Adam Schenk missed his 15-foot putt to win a few moments later.
Both players made par on the challenging closer. The par-three sixteenth was the second playoff hole. Schenk’s shot landed five feet away in the rough of the post-green, while Grillo took a lucky bounce from the shoulder of the bunker on the front. Grillo nipped within five feet. Schenk’s shot was just three feet away from the hole. The cricket didn’t flinch when he had a second chance to win. Grillo, 30, read the right-breaking slide just right and made the putt to birdie. Eight years after winning in Las Vegas, he claimed his second career title.
This is a great shot by @GrilloEmiliano.
This is the second-closest shot of the day, on 16 at CSChallengeFW? pic.twitter.com/zD7MoIkycL
May 28, 2023 HTML0 — PGA TOUR
PGA Tour Champions at Senior PGA: Stricker wins the Playoff
Back in the day, I was sitting on a patio of a clubhouse with a friend. He mentioned, as he was approaching 50 with a decent club, that he would consider trying to qualify in a few senior tournaments. One of the spectators listened in, and to relieve the victim’s suffering, he asked: How many times have shot 64? The man who interrupted my friend said, “Never. These guys out there shoot 64 for dinner, every day.”
Is it a coincidence that Steve Stricker, Padraig harrington and the other playoff contenders all posted 64? It’s possible, but it fits my story. Low was the order of the day in the first three rounds on the Fields Ranch East Course at PGA Frisco. Stricker, Harrington and a few others were the stars of the show. The Ryder Cup duo was the focus of Day 4, as Stewart Cink’s birdie and eagle finish lifted him to third place, making it look closer than he was.
The overtime was short. Harrington’s nemesis was the hole that he birdied in regulation. He struggled to get from the tee to the green and could only manage bogey. Stricker managed to get his second par of day on the final hole, and once again became the poster boy of the PGA of America. Stricker won his sixth career major in 2023, which is the third time he has won a senior title.
Stricker’s Wedge Game @seniorpgachamp? pic.twitter.com/219Vwehnlq
May 28, 2023 HTML0 — PGA TOUR Champions
LPGA at Bank of Hope Matchplay: Pajaree defeats Ayaka in the final match
Match play, as my Twitter friends like to say, is the best form of competition there is. This is a very different experience from medal play. You and the ball are no longer involved. You, the ball and your direct opponent are now the only three players. Nobody else matters. You have no one to worry about. Pajaree Annannarukam, on this last weekend of May, announced to the world that she was a fierce competitor in head-to-head competition.
The 23-year-old Thai woman survived a play-off with Karis Davison in the round-robin qualification segment. Davidson beat PA by a margin of 4 to 3 just moments before. Anannarukam advanced to the knockout round after Davidson, an Aussie, stumbled with a bogey in extra time. She eliminated USA’s Cheyenne Knight in the 16th round, and sent Spain’s Carlota Ciganda packing in the quarterfinals.
Pajaree faced Linn Grant of Sweden in the semi-finals. She had four wins and one tie. The pride of Thailand, as she gained strength, won 3-1 to advance into the final. She would then face Ayaka Fuue, the unbeaten Japanese player who defeated Leona Maguire, a previously undefeated Irishwoman.
Through 11 holes, the championship match was very close. Neither player could gain momentum. This situation changed in an instant. Anannarukam recorded birdies at 12, 14 and 17 against only one from Furue. PA won the match for the second time in a row with a 3 & 1 victory. Bank of Hope marked her second LPGA title, following the Handa World Invitational at age 21.
You know that she intended for it to happen. @MeawPajaree birdied hole-14 in three consecutive matches! pic.twitter.com/W4XAwGiuWX
LPGA (@LPGA May 29 2023
DP World Tour at KLM Open: Larrazabal continues his late-career run
Pablo Larrazabal won five tour titles from 2008 to 2019. It was enough to secure his tour card. His average of one title every two-years was impressive. Larrazabal had a long streak of victories, but during the peak of the pandemic his victory streak waned. He endured a dry 27-month stretch. Larrazabal’s streak of victories dwindled in March 2022 (he won there in 2019). The Spaniard changed his game from that moment on. His average was two victories a year instead of one win every two. Nice move at 39.
Larrazabal and his countryman Adrian Otaegui fought to the final green this week. Otaegui finished on 11-under with birdies 16 and 18. Larrazabal, who had birdies at 15, 17, 18, and 19, was just too strong to beat Larrazabal by two. Is there a limit for the fisherman-turned-golfer? It’s hard to say. Hogan had a limit.
Just look at what it means for @plarrazabal ?#KLMOpen pic.twitter.com/CjOpgJYfu6
— DP World Tour May 28th, 2023
Korn Ferry Tour @ Visit Knoxville : Uncle Rico grabs a ring
Rico Hoey, who is 27 years old and has no Wikipedia entry. This tells you all about his career as a journeyman golfer up to this point. But after Sunday that could change. Hoey finished at Holston Hills Country Club with a score of 14-under-par after closing 66-65. This included a birdie on the par-five 18, which was a par five. Donald Ross designed club in Knoxville is a perfect place to celebrate a breakthrough victory.
Norman Xiong, who led the 54-holes, finished in a tie for second place with Chase Seiffert after making 17 pars and only 1 birdie. Seiffert, with all due respect to Hoey was the man of the weekend in the Volunteer State. Seiffert’s 64 on Saturday, followed by his 65 on Sunday put him two strokes ahead of the winner in the final 36-holes. Seiffert’s Thursday 71 was the final factor that pushed him to second place.
Hoey’s win puts him in second place for the entire season and gives him the best chance to be promoted to the PGA Tour at the end of the year. When things go your way, it’s a nice feeling.
The moment @RicoHoey won’t forget? pic.twitter.com/N28GyU27bl
Korn Ferry Tour May 28th, 2023 HTML0
