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Under any illusions that the fast-emerging power trend in golf is exclusive to the men’s game? Not so fast. Here comes Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines, a 23-year-old rookie on the LPGA Tour who seems well on her way to pushing the 300-yard barrier for her driving-distance average.
As Steve Eubanks relates, the grip-it-and-rip-it tendency for ‘Bianca P’ is as much a natural outgrowth of her development as it is a determined strategy. And it’s a tremendous amount of fun to watch.
Scott Michaux notes Pagdanganan is not alone in her pursuit. María Fassi and Anne van Dam already are established as distance chasers and others are bound to follow. According to LPGA executive Heather Daly-Donofrio, “Once they see it, they know it can be done.”
And as crushing it off the tee remains a dominant storyline this year, Ron Green Jr. checks in with Webb Simpson. The world No. 8 player from North Carolina appreciates what the bombers are doing on the PGA Tour but does not accept any thoughts that it leaves him powerless to contend for championships.
At the Bermuda Championship, 48-year-old Brian Gay collected a winner’s check on the PGA Tour for the first time in nearly eight years. The one-time Walker Cupper closed with 64 at Port Royal Golf Course, then birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Wyndham Clark for his fifth triumph on tour and first since January 2013.
The European Tour produced a first time-winner in similar circumstances, this one coming at a first-time event. England’s Callum Shinkwin shot the lowest round on the course Sunday (8-under 63) at the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open, then won with birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff against Finland’s Kalle Samooja.
Ron Green Jr. also checks in with PGA professional Ed Ibarguen, an instructor who prides himself on his ability to tailor his methods to his individual student.
Meanwhile, Sean Fairholm draws upon his days as a teacher as he describes a modernized approach to giving lessons that has emerged in recent months.
Last week also brought a notable business deal on the golf landscape. Callaway and Topgolf announced an all-stock combination that took many observers by surprise.
In amateur play, Mateo Fernández de Oliveira rallied to win the Azalea Invitational in South Carolina, which had been postponed from April. It is one of a small number of high-profile events on the 2020 calendar to be played after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finally, in this week’s installment of the Divot: an ode to one man’s golf library. Moving day arrived recently for GGP’s John Hopkins – think packing up the trucks, not ascending the leaderboard – and with it came a moment for him to once again appreciate the classics.
Sam Dolson
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