This week, the PGA TOUR
action is coming from Louisiana where the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is
underway. And the TOUR is tipping its figurative hat to the Big Easy by sharing
its Top 10 clips of nature intervening with tournaments in the past, including
a visit from the infamous “Tripod” – Zurich Classic’s three-legged alligator.
Watch the clips to see our very own Team RSM member Davis
Love III’sreaction
to a close encounter with Tripod at No. 6 (Think YOU would take a picture if
you were that close to an alligator?):
A few of “our guys” are in
New Orleans for the Zurich Classic this week: Team RSM member Chris
DiMarco is joined by past RSM Classic winners Ben Crane (2011),
Chris Kirk (2013)
and Robert Streb (2014).
Ben teed off first at 7:50 a.m. CT from tee No. 10.; shortly after at 8 a.m.
was Robert from tee No. 1; Chris D. started at 9 a.m. from tee No. 1; and Chris
K. teed at 12:30 p.m. from tee No. 10. Best of luck this weekend, guys…and keep
an eye out for any unexpected visitors on the course!
Are you hitting the course
this weekend? If so, check out this new PGA.com
article for tips and tricks to improve your swing speed. The article shares
the training routine Jordan Spieth used to add more distance to his shots.
Before closing out this
week’s post, we’d like to take a moment to send our best wishes and hopes for a
speedy recovery to 2012 RSM Classic winner Tommy
“Two Gloves” Gainey. On Tues., April 26, he informed his fans via his
social media accounts that he will be taking a leave of absence from the rest
of the 2016 Web.com season, due to a back injury he got while playing at last
week’s RBC Heritage Classic. You can read his full note here. Get well
soon, Tommy!
Be sure to stop by next week for the latest on Team RSM, as well as other golf-related news – including, of course, any updates on this
year’s RSM Classic (Nov. 14-20).
This week, Team RSM member Zach
Johnson and previous RSM Classic winners Ben Crane (2011)
and Chris Kirk (2013)
are in San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open. With an early start at 7:40 a.m.
CT, Zach teed off on hole No. 10, Ben started at 8:10 a.m. from tee No. 1 and
Chris tees off at 1:10 p.m. from tee No. 1. Best of luck to “our guys” this
weekend!
The PGA TOUR recently shared its
#ShotsOfTheWeek, and our very own Zach Johnson was highlighted. You can check
out the top shots here but you
can watch Zach’s shot below.
And while Zach was
highlighted by the TOUR, Team RSM member Davis
Love III made headlines this past week. The Ryder Cup conducted a Q&A
with Davis about his recent performance at The Masters and potential Ryder Cup
team members. You can read the full article here, but below is an excerpt talking about his
memorable hole-in-one from the 2016 Masters:
Right
when I struck the tee shot, I heard a woman say, "That's perfect."
Then,
once the ball started rolling on the green, I heard a guy say it was going to
break right into the cup. Sure enough, that's what it did. People were jumping
out of their seats and the roar was amazing. It was incredible how loud it was.
I've chipped in on that hole on Masters Sunday before and, man, I thought that
was loud. But Sunday's hole-in-one? That was the loudest roar I think I've
heard in my career.
Way to go, Davis – you make
your friends at RSM proud!
Check back next week to learn
the latest on Team RSM
and other golf-related news – including, of course, updates on this year’s RSM Classic (Yep, it’s only April, and
we’re already thinking about November!)
Last week was a fantastic
week of golf at The Masters! One of our favorite moments came from our very own
Team RSM member Davis
Love III when he made a hole-in-one on No. 16 Sunday! It was a phenomenal
shot – if you missed it, be sure to check out the video here.
And on a somewhat related
note, #DidYouKnow that Olympic gold medalists from the 2016 Summer Games in Rio
de Janeiro are invited to all the majors in 2017? The men’s winner will receive
invitations to The Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship and the PGA Championship,
while the women’s winner will be invited to all five of the LPGA majors. Learn
more in this article on PGA TOUR.
This week, we have a bit of a
“Team RSM and friends” reunion in Hilton Head, SC for the RBC Heritage. Davis
and fellow Team RSM member Zach
Johnson are joined by past RSM Classic winners Ben Crane (2011),
Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey (2012),
Chris Kirk (2013),
Robert Streb (2014)
and Kevin Kisner (2015).
Below is a breakdown of when and where they’ll be teeing off today (Thurs., April 14):
PLAYER
TEE #
TIME (ET)
Tommy Gainey
10
7:20 a.m.
Robert Streb
1
7:40 a.m.
Chris Kirk
10
7:50 a.m.
Kevin Kisner
10
8:00 a.m.
Zach Johnson
10
8:00 a.m.
Davis Love III
10
8:10 a.m.
Ben Crane
10
12:20 p.m.
Based on the past champions
for RBC Heritage, we’d say this is one of Davis’ favorite courses! He won in
1987, 1991, 1992, 1998 and 2003! We’ll be tuning in to The Golf Channel and
will have lots of cheering to do this weekend. Who are YOU predicting to win?
Before wrapping up this
week’s post, we want to wish a very happy birthday to Davis Love III, who celebrated
his special day yesterday (April 13). Leave your wishes below in the comment
section and we’ll be sure to pass them along to Davis. Like most of us, he
always appreciates good birthday wishes.
Be sure to stop by next week
to learn the latest on Team RSM
and other fun golf-related news – including, of course, any updates on this
year’s RSM Classic (Nov. 14-20). It’s still about seven months away, but we’re
already gearing up for another successful tournament!
The 80th Masters tournament officially teed
off today (Thurs., April 7) but there was a lot of commotion at Augusta yesterday.
During the annual Par 3 Tournament, an astonishing nine players made holes-in-one,
setting a new record! Included in those nine were our very own Team RSM members
Zach Johnson and Andy Sullivan!Watch
them sink their holes-in-one on The Masters Twitter account (Zach’s Shot | Andy’s Shot). If this isn’t a great start to their weeks, we
don’t know what is! And, if you want to see the other seven, check out this
video!
Team RSM member Davis
Love III is at Augusta, as well, along with previous RSM Classic winners
Chris Kirk (2013),
Robert Streb (2014)
and Kevin Kisner (2015).
Their tee times are below:
PLAYER
TEE #
TIME (ET)
Robert Streb
1
8:31 a.m.
Zach Johnson
1
9:26 a.m.
Chris Kirk
1
10:21 a.m.
Andy Sullivan
1
10:32 a.m.
Kevin Kisner
1
11:05 a.m.
Davis Love III
1
12:22 p.m.
Best of luck to “our guys”!
We’ll be watching and cheering them on throughout the weekend. Who do YOU think will be sporting the green jacket
Sunday?
Leading up to The Masters, Team RSM members have been in the news quite a bit. Davis spoke with CBS about how he prepared for the week. Watch the interview below:
Golf is really all about sharing the knowledge of the
game – this week especially! We’ve read multiple articles about players passing
along tips and techniques about how others can play their best game during this
prestigious tournament. ThePGA shared an
article about last
year’s RSM Classic Champion Kevin Kisner getting insights from Team RSM member
Zach Johnson. "I got to pick his brain a bit. He's a champion, so it was a
good experience," Kisner said. Sky Sports did a similar feature with Team
RSM member Andy Sullivan getting advice from two former Masters champions. The article
quotes Andy saying, "It was really cool. Mark O'Meara and Mike Weir were
in the group ahead of me and invited me to join them," Sullivan told Skysports.com. "It
was great to play with them and pick their brains. Obviously it's my first
Masters and I need to get as much information as possible.” You can read the
complete article here.
The PGA Tour features a breakdown of the Augusta
National Golf Club holes, with perspectives from the players. Our very own Zach
Johnson talked about holes No. 9 and 18. Below is an excerpt of his perspective
but you can read the full article here. It’s a great read, especially if you plan on
watching!
No. 9: 460 yards, par-4 “Carolina Cherry” Zach Johnson (2007 Masters champion) says: “It’s a tee shot that looks
fairly daunting. You can’t see where your ball ends up, but there’s a tree out
in the distance that is your target. It calls for a draw because the fairway
goes right-to-left, but you can still play a power-fade because it does open up
on the right side. The other thing that’s hard about it is that when you get back
in that little hollow back in the tee box, you don’t really feel the wind, so
whatever you feel on 8, you have to remember it for 9. The second shot is on a
severe downhill lie hitting severely uphill, so it’s one that with a
three-tiered green, a false front, hitting it to the middle of the green is
pretty good. The front pins are the hardest on that hole because it’s hard to
keep it on that level. Missing it right on that hole on the second shot isn’t
ideal, but isn’t that bad because you’re kind of chipping back uphill. It’s
usually a driver and mid-iron for me.”
No. 18: 465 yards, par-4
“Holly” Zach Johnson (2007 Masters champion) says: “It’s a tough hole. It’s very
much a chute. You have more fairway on the right than it looks. It calls for a
power fade off the bunker out there. Some guys can get to that bunker downwind.
I can’t. The tee shot is slightly uphill. The second shot is 6-7 percent
uphill, so if you have 200 yards, it plays 10-15 yards longer. The green looks
really, really small to the eye from the fairway. It’s multi-tiered with a
false front. Middle of the green, especially with a mid-iron, is ideal. The
ball will roll back if the pin is up front. It’s hard to get up-and-down long.
On average, it’s usually a 5- or 6-iron. Anywhere from 180 to 215. If the pin
is on the right side of the green, being left is never bad, and vice versa. If
you short-side yourself, you’re making a bogey unless you make a long putt. The
front-left pin on Sunday, you don’t want to be left.”
The Masters is debuting a new “Featured Group” channel
that provides three hours of live action each day on Masters.com.
For today’s coverage, Zach Johnson is in the first group which started at
9:26 a.m. and Davis Love III is in the fourth group starting at 12:22 p.m. You can
see who else is being featured here.
We look forward to a great weekend of golf, which is
making us anxious to return to Sea Island for The RSM Classic (Nov. 14-20)! Check back next week for more updates.