Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where the man in the seat in front of me just passed gas and reclined his seat simultaneously. An impressive feat, to be sure, though tough on my laptop and my morale. But nothing can get me down for long — I’m headed for Dublin! And then north from there. It’s Open Championship week. But first, to the news…
GOLF STUFF I LIKE
Bouncing back, and back, and back.
What moment do you think best explains Grace Kim’s outrageous major comeback on Sunday at the Evian?
She admitted she first thought she was out of it when she made double bogey at No. 12. But she also flipped a switch.
“I said to myself and to my caddie, ‘I’ve got nothing else to lose,'” Kim said.
Then she birdied 15. And 16. She came to No. 18 two shots behind leader Jeeno Thitikul — then nearly holed her approach into the par-5 finisher, ultimately tapping in for a tying eagle.
Things got arguably even more outrageous on the first playoff hole, when Kim blocked her approach shot into the water. Likely needing birdie to extend the playoff, she holed her chip shot, making birdie to extend.
How else could it end? Kim played No. 18 again, flagged her approach and holed the putt for eagle and the walk-off win. She made that look easy, too, but…
“I couldn’t breathe, Tom,” she said in her winner’s interview. “Yeah, I couldn’t really see. I was like, is it dead straight? Yeah. I’m hitting the putt. Glad it went in the hole.”
To sum things up, here are a few stats from her three final holes of the day:
-two total putts
-one penalty stroke
-five under par
Winning a major in preposterous comeback fashion — that’s golf stuff I like.
WINNERS
Who won the week?
Grace Kim won the Evian Championship; it was the major victory for the 24-year-old Aussie.
“It’s definitely crucial to have people to back you, and even in times where you don’t believe in yourself, to have those people know that you are capable and they’re here for that ride,” she said. “So, very grateful for them. Yeah, I honestly wouldn’t have done it without them.”
Chris Gotterup won the Genesis Scottish Open, holding off a star-studded field that included Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and plenty of others; he was so overcome with emotion in his post-round interview that he couldn’t speak.
Gotterup’s win felt significant because it wasn’t some random one-off; he’s been showing signs of contending — he’d been T28 or better in nine of 11 starts entering the week — but hadn’t broken through. As a bonus: He qualified for the Open in the process and suggested midway through his presser that he might cancel his flights to California (where he’d play this week’s Barracuda Championship) from the actual podium in real time.
William Mouw won the ISCO Championship, the PGA Tour’s Kentucky-based alternate-field event, thanks to a final-round 61 that sent him from T25 to a one-shot win. And now, a William Mouw fun fact: he was raised on an egg farm.
“My parents have owned and operated Billy’s Egg Farm in southern California for 30 years. To be born and raised on a farm taught me work ethic and hard work and nothing is earned — you’ve got to work or everything,” he said.
“So coming from a farm, it was amazing. It was — it definitely led me to see what it takes to make it in this world. Watching my dad wake up early mornings and work hard on the farm, deliver eggs, and it just solidified in me that hard work does pay off in the end, just — you need a lot of it.”
Bonus William Mouw on his celebratory plans: “I’m going to Dairy Queen. Yeah, I’m going to go have some Blizzards with my wife and we’re just going to enjoy it.”
Talor Gooch won LIV Golf’s event at Valderrama, edging out local favorite Jon Rahm.
“I just can’t describe how special it is to beat Rahmbo. While all the fans may not love that part, it makes it a little bit more special for me,” Gooch said. “It’s been two years since I won. My last win was here. So it’s been two years of a lot of hard work, a lot of time put into this craft, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears shed to get back here.”
Neal Shipley won The Ascendant at TPC Colorado, his second Korn Ferry Tour victory of the season, despite starting Sunday seven shots back. “I thought I had absolutely no chance if I’m being honest,” he admitted post-round. But a Sunday 64 earned him the outright win — and all but guarantees him a spot on the PGA Tour next season.
And Steve Allan won the Dick’s Open on the PGA Tour Champions; he shot six-under 66 for a four-stroke victory. The win was his second this season and came with a second different son — Joey, this time — serving as caddie.
NOT WINNERS
Some folks who got close…
Promising week for some big guns: Rory McIlroy (T2), Scottie Scheffler (T8), Xander Schauffele (T8) as well as some Brits rounding into form: Marco Penge (T2), Matthew Fitzpatrick (T4) and Justin Rose (sixth). Nicolai Hojgaard (T4) and Matti Schmid (T17) were the others to advance to the Open. Other big-name Euros showed signs of form including Sepp Straka (seventh), Ludvig Aberg (T8) and Viktor Hovland (T11).
At the Evian, Jeeno Thitikul one-upped her previous major championship heartbreaks — it’s not every day you have to outduel someone making eagle-birdie-eagle. Minjee Lee, who won the KPMG Women’s PGA in June, finished T3 alongside amateur Lottie Woad, who became eligible for an LPGA card via the LEAP program; she’s the first to qualify that way.
In Kentucky, amateur Jackson Koivun finished T6, while Kevin Kisner finished T8 — his best result in years. That doesn’t exactly get him in the Ryder Cup conversation but does elevate him inside the top 200 in the FedEx Cup…
SHORT HITTERS
5 quotes heading to the Open.
1. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler after his T8: “Definitely got adjusted to the time zone. I feel like I did some good stuff this week,” he said. “I feel like I’m really close. I feel like I was close to playing some really good golf. Just got to get some momentum.”
2. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy after his T2: “No frustration, really. I’m really happy with where everything is. Looking forward to getting to Portrush tonight and getting out on to the golf course early tomorrow and just turning my attention to that. But I feel like I’ve gotten out of this week everything, really, that I wanted.”
3. World No. 3 and defending Open champ Xander Schauffele after his T8: “Whenever you win a big title, they definitely remind you when they announce your name on the tee and it’s a friendly reminder — and then it goes away so you have to earn it again.”
4. Jon Rahm after a T2 at LIV Andalucia: “Honestly, I probably hit it better than I have in the last year and a half. Started seeing some shots that reminded me of some other good weeks, and once I got it going today and I felt comfortable on the greens, it was fun to put myself in that situation.”
5. Justin Rose, who finished as Open runner-up last year, after his T6: “I think there is going to be some rain sneak into the forecast. Ireland does seem wetter up there than even here. Mixed bag, I would say. Be prepared for all eventualities.”
RYDER CUP WATCH
Gotterup time?!
It’s tempting every week to insert the latest winner squarely at the center of the Ryder Cup conversation. But Chris Gotterup has an easier case than, say, Brian Campbell last week. He’s from New Jersey, he drives the cover off the golf ball and he’s on a strong run of form. With that said, he did enter this week at No. 71 in the Ryder Cup standings and is still just No. 41 after his win, which means he still has a tall hill to climb…
On the European side, Marco Penge will leap up the standings from No. 33 after his runner-up showing. Nicolai Hojgaard will, too, beginning to close the gap on his twin brother Rasmus. As of publish time only the U.S. standings have been updated; we’ll update Team Europe when they do.
Here’s where we stand:
TEAM USA RYDER CUP RANKINGS
1. Scheffler 2. Schauffele 3. Spaun 4. Henley 5. DeChambeau 6. Thomas 7. Morikawa 8. Griffin 9. Bradley 10. English 11. McNealy 12. Harman 13. Novak 14. Cantlay 15. Burns
TEAM EUROPE RYDER CUP RANKINGS (As of July 7)
1. McIlroy 2. Fleetwood 3. Hatton 4. MacIntyre 5. Lowry 6. Straka 7. R. Hojgaard 8. Aberg 9. Rose 10. Hovland 11. Detry 12. Wallace 13. Smith 14. Norgaard 15. Neergaard-Petersen
Complete standings here.
ONE SWING THOUGHT
From Angel Yin.
Asked about her mindset in a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle finish, part of a final-round 63 that left her T5, here’s what Angel Yin had to offer:
“I think Sandra Palmer told me at the U.S. Open this year, she said, ‘On your last day, let Lady Luck take the wheel and have God put his hand on your shoulders.'”
ONE BIG QUESTION
What’s changed in LIV’s OWGR app?
LIV and the Official World Golf Ranking each announced that LIV had resubmitted a bid to join the official system and ultimately earn ranking points for its members. This is a big deal symbolically; LIV had essentially signaled that it was rejecting the establishment when it pulled its application last year. Their reapplication suggests they want to play ball, so it’ll be interesting to see specifically what changes they’ll be making. Different promotion and relegation rules? More official pathways into the league? Changes to the format in any way? This feels like a potentially important step in LIV’s effort to become part of the golf world, so the question becomes: Will their efforts be successful?
ONE THING TO WATCH
Shane Lowry.
On Monday we’re releasing a video feature from some time we spent with Shane Lowry as part of his cover story for the current issue of GOLF Magazine. He reflects on his epic Portrush win and we contextualize why it was such a meaningful victory. If that video isn’t out yet, it will be soon — you can track it down by subscribing here.
NEWS FROM SEATTLE
Monday Finish HQ.
The fact that there is a direct flight from Seattle to Dublin makes this redeye actually quite exciting, knowing I’ll be landing on the correct island. The only downside: one particularly hawk-eyed attendant weighed and subsequently confiscated my carry-on as I boarded the plane, as it was too heavy. Given the horror stories I’ve seen and heard about luggage in Dublin, I’m certain this won’t end well. But I’m dreaming of a train ride through the Northern Irish countryside and I’m determined to get there one way or another.
We’ll see you all week from Portrush.
Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.