Famed NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt once said, “Second place is the first loser,†but Zack Sucher was overjoyed at his runner up finish at last Sunday’s Travelers Championship. The 32-year-old pro was living on credit cards trying to carve out a living in professional golf, and his performance last week ensured the dream will continue.
“It’s life changing, to be honest,â€Â Sucher told reporters.
He earned $633,600, which will take care of the debt. More importantly, it gives him enough Fed Ex points to put him in the 126-150 category, allowing him to get into more tour events. He and his wife, Courtney, and their two children were on their way to Detroit, where he could play in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Strike Looms in Detroit
Conditions are usually pristine for PGA Tour events, but that might change if the mechanics and groundskeepers at Detroit Golf Club don’t get a new contract. The site of this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic is embroiled in a labor dispute that might see strikes and demonstrations when the golfers tee off on Thursday.
Kevin Moore, president of local union, Teamsters Local 299, which represents the seven workers, told the Detroit Free Press that a strike is a possibility.
“Come (Thursday) when this tournament starts, we’re going to do what we have to do,†Moore said. “Demonstrations, strikes, whatever is at our disposal.”
How this will affect the tournament is unknown. The club could use workers from neighboring golf courses if they are willing to cross a picket line if a strike does happen.
US Open champion Gary Woodland, Dustin Johnson, and Rickie Fowler are scheduled to play. Johnson is the favorite at 6/1, followed by Fowler at 12/1, and Woodland at 14/1.
Daly Being Daly
John Daly pulled off one of the more unique shots of the weekend at the American Family Insurance Championship. Daly hit an approach shot that went a little wayward and into the stands.
Daly got a bit of luck when the shot rolled out of the stands, and onto the green coming to rest 10 feet from the pin.
Off the grandstands!@PGA_JohnDaly called bank and stuck it close on No. 18 at the @AmFamChamp. 👠pic.twitter.com/wNOnzMYHK7
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) June 23, 2019
Of course Daly missed the putt, but he still finished tied for fifth, his best finish of the year.
What’s in a Name?
Apparently the PGA Tour found someone who was willing to pay more money for sponsoring the Web.com Tour, so out with that name, and now it will be known as the Korn Ferry Tour.
This is not the first colorful, yet confusing name the tour has had in its history. The tournament was initially called the Hogan Tour, in a nod to famed golfer Ben Hogan. But deceased legends don’t pay big sponsorship money, so the tour has seen names such as The Nike Tour, Buy.com Tour, and Nationwide Tour.
No details were released on how much the latest company shilled out for naming rights.
Woods Dismissed from Lawsuit
Tiger Woods was dropped from a wrongful-death lawsuit involving an employee at his Jupiter, Fla. restaurant. Attorneys for Nicholas Immesberger, who worked as a bartender, was killed when he crashed his Corvette while driving impaired after working at the restaurant. Lawyers for his family, though, said in a statement that Woods had nothing to do with the death.
This Week’s Odds, Pick
The tour is in Detroit for the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Dustin Johnson is the favorite at 6/1. We like Brandt Snedeker, who is at 33/1.
