Dustin Johnson and Sergio García were named the inaugural recipients of the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award at the conclusion of play at the 43rd Ryder Cup.
The two veteran players were recognized as those who best embodied the spirit of the famous 1969 concession, when Jack Nicklaus conceded a 2-foot putt to Tony Jacklin for a halved match that resulted in the first tie in Ryder Cup history.
Johnson arrived at the Ryder Cup as the oldest player on the U.S. team and, teaming with rookies Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa on Friday and Saturday, he became the first American to finish with a 5-0-0 record since Larry Nelson in 1979.
Making his 10th appearance for the European team, García teamed with fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm for three victories. The two were the leading points earners for captain Pádraig Harrington’s side.
Bruce Fleisher, an 18-time winner on the circuit now called PGA Tour Champions and the winner of the 1968 U.S. Amateur as a 19-year-old, died Thursday at age 72 after a battle with cancer.
Fleisher was born in 1948 in Union City, Tennessee, and first hit the headlines when he won the U.S. Am at Scioto Country Club in Ohio, topping Vinny Giles by one stroke. He also was part of victorious U.S. teams at the 1968 World Amateur Team Championship (Eisenhower Trophy) at Royal Melbourne and at the 1969 Walker Cup in Milwaukee, and was low amateur at the 1969 Masters.
He turned professional later that year and went on to win the 1989 PGA Club Professional Championship and once on the PGA Tour, at the 1991 New England Classic.
“He was like the old engine that could,” Fleisher’s brother, Jerry, told the USGA. “He got a second chance at the tour when he turned 50, and he was able to take advantage of it.
“He never gave up on himself. The older he got, the stronger he got. He played some of the best golf of his life in the few years before he turned 50 and then he was ready to go.”
The Saudi International has become part of the Asian Tour in a 10-year deal that will see prize money rise from $3.5 million to $5 million for the event at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club near Jeddah, Feb. 3-6, 2022. It will mark the start of the 2022 Asian Tour schedule.
Dustin Johnson won this year’s Saudi International, which has been part of the European Tour’s Desert Swing for the past three years. Johnson also won the inaugural title in 2019, while Graeme McDowell won in 2020.
“This is an outstanding development for the Asian Tour that will create significant benefits for our membership, key stakeholders, and fans alike,” said Cho Minn Thant, commissioner and chief executive officer of the Asian Tour.
As golfers return to courses in Australia, many clubs seem set to follow the “no jab, no play” policy at Royal Melbourne that mandates vaccination against COVID-19 in order to play at the country’s leading club.
Club captain Andrew Kirby told the Inside the Ropes podcast that 1,000 members had submitted vaccination certificates already. Other clubs have been monitoring the approach, with New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney set to take the same line.
“Our premier has been very strong that the pathway out is vaccination so we very much saw it as the way to get golf open,” Kirby said on the podcast. “That was a really compelling part of it.
“You’re totally free not to get vaccinated but you’re not free to infect others. That’s my philosophy on this. It is a pandemic. It is an extraordinary time and the only way out of this is through vaccination.”
Hannah Darling’s reward for finishing second in her debut college golf tournament in her freshman year at the University of South Carolina was a move into the World Amateur Golf Ranking top 15 for the first time.
The Scot finished a stroke behind Julia Johnson of the University of Mississippi in the Gopher Invitational. Johnson also made her initial move into the top 20 with a nine-ranking move to 17th place, while Darling climbed 10 places to 11th.
TAP-INS
Scotsman Peter Forster began his year as captain of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews at the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course (READ MORE). ... The USGA Golf Museum and Library has opened the Bob Jones Room in the Murray Golf House at Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia, featuring artifacts, library materials, photographs and footage from the association’s collection (READ MORE). ... The World Golf Hall of Fame will honor Dick Ferris and Peter Ueberroth as part of a newly created Lifetime Achievement Award at its upcoming induction ceremony on March 9, 2022 (READ MORE). ... The 2022 LPGA season will begin with the newly named Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida, on Jan. 20-23 (READ MORE).
Staff and Wire Reports