Welcome to The Weekly Slice.
Ed here, to keep you updated on the world of golf.
It’s been a busy week, let’s get into it.
Tour Roundup
PGA Tour
Kurt Kitayama got the job done at Bay Hill last week, beating McIlroy by one shot. A birdie at the par 3 17th was enough to see the American to his first PGA Tour victory.
Sunday was certainly a bit of a struggle for a few of the players, including McIlroy who picked up 5 bogeys on the day.
The tour heads to the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass for the ‘unofficial 5th major’ and one of the biggest events in the golf calendar.
It will of course be missing defending champion Cameron Smith, who was banned from the tour following his exit to LIV Golf.
It’s certainly a pretty unique situation to have last year’s champion not allowed to even compete, but hey, welcome to the current state of professional golf.
My pick for the week is Max Homa. He’s already proved he’s one of the world’s best players, but a Players Championship win would elevate him to a new level in pro golf.
An outsider pick is Keegan Bradley. He hasn’t missed a cut at Sawgrass since 2015 and is coming off a top 10 finish at Bay Hill.
DP World Tour
After a week off, the DP World Tour is back in action with the Magical Kenya Open.
The 7228 yards par 71 course is tight and will require accurate play from the tee.
My pick for the week is John Catlin. It’s been a pretty slow start to the season for the American, however, he does have 3 DP World Tour wins to his name, so knows how to get the job done.
And how about this shot from the event a few years ago:
The World Of Golf
Shoot The Scores
As another week goes by in the LIV vs PGA war, it’s difficult to not get a little fed up with it all.
The news that the PGA Tour would be moving to 8 designated events next season without a cut felt a little hypocritical. Although LIV Golf found it rather flattering.
And McIlroy’s answer to any players that may feel a little annoyed with the changes, “Shoot the scores “. Pretty simple, if you want to play the biggest events, you have to play the best golf each week leading up to it.
The PGA Tour also announced this week they plan to ditch the WGC Match Play for next season.
For me, it’s one of the events I most enjoy watching in the season. I love the drama of Match Play. The Ryder Cup is one of the best events in sport after all.
Removing the only Match Play event in the PGA Tour calendar feels like a very poor decision. What’s your thoughts?
What’s In The Bag
See what Kitayama had in the bag for his win at Bay Hill.
Ed’s Golf
New for this week, I’m going to talk about where my golf game is at, where it’s hopefully heading and how I’m going to get there.
- Current Handicap: 0.9
- Best Score in 2022: 68 (-1)
Goals For 2023
- Handicap: +0.5
- Best Score: 65
- Win Club Championship
- No rounds over 75
The main goal for this season is to get my handicap to below zero. If I can shoot a really low score like a 65, I think I’ve got a good chance.
Consistency is also key, so no more scores over the 75 mark is the aim which is going to be very difficult.
How?
Obviously, this is going to require some pretty good golf. So how do I plan to achieve this?
Firstly, my putting needs a lot of work. I need to hole more putts from inside 5 feet. I currently make about 60% of putts from 5ft and in which just isn’t enough. For comparison, the PGA Tour make percentage from that range is around 81%.
Next, my approach play needs some work. To shoot 65 or better, you have to be hitting greens and giving yourself realistic birdie chances. At the moment, my GIR stat is about 50%. Again, this number needs a big improvement.
Stay tuned for next week’s update.
Something Useful
One of the hardest shots I find is the 50-yard pitch shot. Tough to judge distance and easy to miss hit.
Check out some tips from one of Europe’s most successful major champions and soon to be, golf Hall of Famer, Pádraig Harrington:
Something Funny
Here’s an absolute classic from The Players Championship:
Something Extra
Also, here’s a few of our recent articles for you to get stuck into.
Founder, Editor
Ed is the founder and editor at EEE Golf. He’s been playing golf for over 20 years, competing in many top amateur events. He’s played courses all over the world and played with some of the best players in the game. His aim is to help educate people about the game of golf and give insights into the sport he loves most.