DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Aaron Rye finally returned to his hometown of Florida as a major champion, but it didn’t take long for him to realize how different his life would be.
One clue was a trip to the grocery store.
“I wasn’t even wearing golf clothes,” Lai said Tuesday at the Memorial, his first tournament since winning the PGA Championship at Aronimink.
advertisement
“A few customers who were doing their usual grocery shopping came over and congratulated me on the PGA and my performance,” he said. “Yes, it was very unexpected and different.”
When he returned to his normal practice routine at TPC Sawgrass, he said it took him longer than usual to get from the parking lot to the practice field because so many people stopped him. That was different too.
But the most meaningful moment was when her father came to Ponte Vedra Beach from London. Lai said it wasn’t until they talked about their week and what they had done that it started to stick with them.
And they hugged.
advertisement
“My father is a very proud person. He doesn’t show much emotion,” Rai said. “But the first night I met him, his hug was a little different. His smile was a little different. We sat and talked for probably about two hours.
“It probably sounds better based on what he’s like on a regular basis and what he’s been like in the first few days,” he said. “So, yeah, I think it definitely had a lot of meaning to me internally.”
‘Mad scientist’ gets a little help from AI
Golf must have been a lot more complicated for Bryson DeChambeau nearly a decade ago. At the time, his mind was making nine calculations before each shot, ranging from the obvious (yards and wind) to the scientific (air density and dew point).
advertisement
Now it seems like he’s just talking to Gemini to find a solution.
After the recent LIV golf event in South Korea, he explained that just digging it out of the ground wasn’t enough.
“I spent a lot of time on the practice range trying to figure things out, and I talked to the AI quite a bit last night trying to look at some different physics principles that add alpha torque and gamma torque and flip the club,” DeChambeau said Sunday.
“I thought, ‘Why would you do that?’ And we were talking about grip pressure and tension.”
He shot a 65 to take third place and one stroke away from making the playoffs.
advertisement
DeChambeau was seen at the practice range the night before his final round and was asked if he used AI when hitting golf balls.
“I was slamming the club into the ground thinking what to do. I was frustrated,” he said. “Actually, I didn’t realize it on the practice field. I went back and started talking to Gemini and trying to figure out what I could do to passively turn the club around.”
“I’m still considering it,” he said. “There is no answer.”
High-achieving college student makes professional debut at Riviera
Megha Ngannou was a low amateur when she made her U.S. Women’s Open debut at the Olympic Club while still in high school. The Stanford senior is playing for cash this week at Riviera.
advertisement
Ngannou and Katherine Park, the top two college seniors in the LPGA College Pathway Program, will make their professional debuts at the U.S. Women’s Open.
The U.S. Women’s Open has the largest purse in women’s golf, last year’s $12 million, but this year’s prize has not yet been announced.
Turning pro was always the plan for Gann. The U.S. Women’s Amateur title came with an automatic berth to next week’s Curtis Cup at nearby Bel Air Country Club. Ngannou will play in the 2022 Curtis Cup, and Park played on the final two teams.
They will earn Epson Tour status for the remainder of this year and through 2027, along with eight other senior players in the top 10 of the LCAP program.
advertisement
“I think there’s some uncertainty when you start a new chapter in professional golf and play on a new tour,” Ngannou said. “So I guess I’ll just go play my game of golf, which is comfortable but uncomfortable.”
Blaze Brown appointed as special temporary member of the PGA Tour
Blaise Brown, a 19-year-old who turned professional before graduating from high school, officially joined the PGA Tour by accepting a special temporary membership. This will allow unlimited sponsor exemptions until the end of the year.
Brown tied for 14th in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and earned enough points for that privilege. He then returned to the Korn Ferry Tour, where he tied for 13th last week and moved up to 11th on the points list.
advertisement
The top 20 players on the Korn Ferry Tour earn PGA Tour cards. Brown also needs to match his 70th place finish at last year’s FedEx Cup to earn a card.
He returns to Korn Ferry this week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina.
Brown could become the youngest player to earn a PGA Tour card, breaking the record set by Jason Day, who earned his card eight days shy of his 20th birthday in October 2007.
Women’s world ranking, points deducted for uncut field
LPGA tournaments without cuts will receive a “de facto cut” when it comes to world rankings.
The Women’s World Golf Ranking has announced changes to the format of its no-cut events. No points are awarded to players who finish in the bottom 15% of the field. The exceptions are the LPGA’s CME Tour Championship and other tours’ season-ending events, where the field is based on season performance and does not include sponsor exemptions.
advertisement
For the LPGA, the “effective reductions” will apply to seven tournaments, including the season-opening Tournament of Champions and two Asian tournaments.
The move is in line with how the men’s world rankings and uncut tournaments are handled.
divot
Andre Gonzalez, who played five seasons on the PGA Tour and has worked in broadcasting at PGA Tour events, will become UNLV’s golf coach. … Ben James remains No. 1 in the PGA Tour College Rankings, meaning the Virginia senior will earn a PGA Tour card through the 2027 season. He is eligible to make his pro debut at next week’s RBC Canadian Open. … Brooks Koepka will play in the Scottish Open on a sponsorship exemption prior to the British Open. This will be his first appearance at the Scottish Open since 2015.
advertisement
This week’s statistics
Colonial’s Russell Henry became the first player since Rickie Fowler at the 2015 Players Championship to win a playoff with birdie or better on the final three holes.
last word
“I don’t know anything about business. I would never claim to know anything about business, and if I were to pitch a business, I wouldn’t know what to say first. I’d say my job is to play golf, which is hard enough as it is.” — Jon Rahm talks about his role in helping LIV Golf find financial investors.
___
AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
