OUR 1627 TH ISSUE Vol. 32, No. 15 R O C H E S T E R Monday, May 18, 2020 Trump Digs In After McIlroy Rory McIlroy Hits $1.1M Shot Becomes Latest Sports Star to Slam US COVID-19 Response For Charity in Dramatic Finale To COVID-19 Relief Match BY JASON OWENS Stakes were high on the final tee box as live golf made its re- turn to TV on Sunday. Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy paired up against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff for a charity skins match in the first live U.S. golf broadcast since the PGA Tour shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters/Mike Ehrmann; Kevin Lamarque) Through 18 holes, $1.1 mil- lion remained unclaimed. It seems that Rory McIlroy Wolff and Rickie Fowler to Through 17, the Fowler/ won’t be getting an invitation to raise more than $5 million for a Wolff pairing held the money Mar-a-Lago anytime soon after charity fund to help in the fight lead with $1.15 million in skins Rory McIlroy came up big when facing one shot for $1.1 million. (Mike Donald Trump reacted to the against the coronavirus this past won against McIlroy/John- Ehrmann/Getty Images) Irishman’s comments in which weekend. son’s $750,000. But as six he was critical of the Trump The event came just days $100,000 skins carried over for their respective charities re- birdie putts on 18 to claim the administration’s response to the after McIlroy’s comments to the to a $500,000 final hole, brag- mained on the line. final $1.1 million, but neither COVID-19 pandemic. media that saw the golf star blast ging rights and a lot of money Johnson and McIlroy each had Dramatic Finale — PAGE 3 World number one McIl- the Federal response to the on- roy teamed up with fellow going COVID-19 pandemic in pros Dustin Johnson, Matthew Digs In — PAGE 3 All-Time Power Rankings: Best Game Improvement Charles Schwab Challenge Irons 2020 Showcase BY ROB BOLTON The Charles Schwab Challenge BY JACK SEDDON is scheduled to restart the 2019- With golf courses back open 20 PGA TOUR season on June for business it might be time 11-14. Presuming it does, the for a new set of sticks. There’s Power Rankings for the 144-man been a lot of fantastic new golf field is guaranteed to embody equipment that has launched in reliable trends that have identified 2020, including game improve- the champion for some time. ment irons packed with new Consider that Sergio Garcia in technology. 2001 remains the last first-time Game improvement irons are PGA TOUR winner at Colonial extremely versatile. Whilst they Country Club and the last first- are typically designed for mid- All-Time — PAGE 5 Ben Crenshaw won twice at Colonial Country Club. (PGA TOUR Archive) to-high handicap golfers, due to the high amount of distance and speed the clubs produce, they Byron Nelson Roundtable: Debating the 1945 Season can also be useful to low-handi- Technology which allows for im- cap players too. proved stability in the upper face In conjunction with the 75th Even players on the PGA Tour and supports the topline, pre- anniversary of Byron Nelson’s like Rickie Fowler like to carry a venting unwanted vibrations that historic 1945 season, PGA- game-improvement long iron, as create the harsh feels associated TOUR.COM’s writers responded they are much easier to hit and with traditional distance irons. to a couple of pertinent ques- launch high into the air. The increased rigidity in the tions. Due to the ongoing fight topline and upper perimeter of against COVID-19 and the coro- the face delivers improved sound What’s more unbreakable: navirus lockdown, we haven’t and feel while working in con- 11 consecutive wins been able to get out and produce junction with a flexible Thru-Slot or 18 in one season? our yearly video on the best Speed Pocket™ engineered Ben Everill: I’d say both game improvement irons just for increased ball speed and dis- might stand forever, but the 11 yet, but we thought we’d show- tance. consecutive certainly will never case some of the best we’ve seen The all-new ECHO Damping be broken. The depth of fields this year. System which is the key to pro- these days and forever more viding better feel without sacrific- will just make this downright TaylorMade SIM Max ing performance. impossible. Winning three in a Key Features: The Taylor- This uniquely shaped damp- row now is an incredible achieve- Made SIM Max irons feature er design stretches across the ment. Anything more than that Byron Nelson tees off during the 1945 Victory National Open, one of his new and improved Speed Bridge Irons — PAGE 7 1945 — PAGE 11 18 tournament wins that year. (Bettmann/Getty Images) Local Holes-In-One on Page 4 See Past Holes-In-One at golfweekrochester.com Page 2 • Rochester GOLF WEEK • Monday, May 18, 2020 FAMILY BOATING Mulligans MADE SIMPLE News, Notes, Quotes & Anecdotes from the Local Golfing Community Regional Golf Courses Get Green Light for Additional Services Under NYS Phase I Reopening On Friday, New York State's Jordan Spieth bested Corey Pavin by one shot at the 2010 AT&T Byron Phase I re-opening of the Finger Nelson. (Darren Carroll/Getty Images) Lakes region from full COVID-19 restrictions — including greater Rochester — brought with it wel- come news for golf facilities and golfers throughout the area. Beginning on Saturday, the Empire State Development office WeClub Buys Bu andy MeYoumbe Joinrs Join GetMe mUnlimited,bers Get ReserveMem bea Boatrs Maintainand Mai nBoatstain thethe ClubClub UnFREElimit Traininged, FREE Reandserve Enjoy! a Boat approved the use of single-rider Boats Training and Enjoy! ® golf carts at golf facilities in the Finger Lakes region — as well as Freedom Boat Club of Canandaigua retail and food services — provid- 585.577.8888 • FreedomBoatClub.com ed that current safety and social distancing protocols continue to be maintained. Clubs Buy Members Join Members Get Members and Maintain the Club Unlimited, FREE Reserve a Boat For many golf courses in the Boats Training and Enjoy! area, this was the news that had been eagerly awaited since State restrictions were first loosened on April 17 to allow for individual BACK ON COURSE: When some COVID-19 restrictions on golf course — walking-only — rounds of golf operations were lifted by New York State on Saturday, golf facilities in to be played. These allowances the Finger Lakes region — such as Webster Golf Club, above — were able were welcome news for golfers, to rent golf carts to golfers for the first time in over a month. (Facebook. however, many facilities — es- com/webstergc) is pecially daily fee public courses — struggled without the additional their pro shops to customers to purchase merchandise as revenue generated from things like to pay for golf, range and long as shop staff brings it to Howard Hanna • 2x5 • 041320 • JT cart rentals and merchandise sales. carts as long as customers them outside once they have Since that update a month ago, maintain social distance and paid; Expositor-Ledger Newspapers local golf facilities have not been wear masks; • Food and beverage opera- Rochester Golf Week • The Jewish Ledgerallowed to have staff on hand • It is acceptable for customers tions are allowed to operate 2535 Brighton-Henrietta Town Line Road, Rochester, NY 14623 to provide services such as golf who live in the same house- as a “to go” service if they are carts, pro shop sales and food hold to ride in a golf cart to- staying on the property while (585) 427-2468 • FAX (585) 427-8521 sales — not to mention sanitiz- gether; eating or drinking. We want YOUR AD to be perfect…ing all publicly shared materials • With access granted into a fa- It is important to note that any IMPORTANT…52 Weeks and equipment. Two weeks ago, cility's pro shop and clubhouse, activity that takes place in any Your ad will run as it appears here unless we hear fromthose you restrictions immediately. were modified golfers may have access to re- business in the region — at golf Please reviewa Year!this ad carefully. to accommodate golfers with strooms — as long as there is facilities as well as any other busi- n Check spelling and punctuation recognized disabilities or those regular cleaning and sanitizing nesses — must also be done within n Check addresses and phone numbers, as well as e-mail addresseswho and ownedweb sites. their own golf carts. procedures in place. the current State guidelines for n Check dates and times of all events listed. As of Saturday, the activities • With retail businesses able social distancing and safety, such GolfWeekRochester.comIf there are any corrections, please call us immediately at 427-2468.that are now allowed at Finger to open in the Finger Lakes as wearing face coverings in pub- Lakes region golf facilities include: region for curbside service, lic if keeping a six-foot distance • Courses are allowed to open golfers may enter pro shops between others is not possible. x LUXURY CONDOS ON CANANDAIGUA LAKE What We Learned from Reliving Rory McIlroy’s 2012 PGA Championship Win Extraordinary circumstances afforded us a few more hours this year than we typically have to rewatch all the great moments from the PGA Championship, and while we remember 2012 like it was yesterday, rewatching it in its entirety reminded us of 5 Lake Group things you may have forgotten. 229 Lake St, Penn Yan • McIlroy won the 2012 PGA Amenities Features Championship by a re- cord-setting 8 shots.