by 
Best read with a fresh roasted cup o’ joe
It was a wintery weekend for much of the country (and for Westeros), but golf survived. We had Spanish, American, Chinese, and Australian victors across the professional game, and conference season finished up in the NCAA.
No i in team
It was a phenomenal week for the thumb and the palm. Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer won the third team edition of the Zurich Classic after a final round 69. The duo shot two rounds of 64 in four-ball while going 65-69 in foursomes. Making just two bogeys all week, the pair coasted to a three-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia. This is Rahm’s third career PGA Tour victory and the fourth for journeyman Ryan Palmer. Zurich Classic Leaderboard
This win is a story of two players in completely different phases of their careers. Rahm is a young, fiery, world-class player who has nothing but potential. Ryan Palmer… is not. The 42-year-old tour vet won for the first time since 2010 on Sunday, going more than 200 starts in between wins. His wife beat breast cancer last year, and Palmer himself underwent shoulder surgery in 2017. All in all, this victory meant a lot for the Palmer family, and he was understandably emotional after the clinching putt.
Other notes
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Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood were the only team within four shots of the leaders this weekend. Fleetwood has now finished in the top five in the Zurich Classic twice in a row.
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K.H. Lee and Matt Every made a surprise appearance on the leaderboard, ultimately finishing T-3. The pair had one top 10 between them this season, but they gelled as teammates and got to -21 on the week.
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Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown continued their success at the Zurich team event. The pair lost a playoff in 2017, had the 54-hole lead in 2018, and finished T-5 this week. It would be a near miracle for them to become a President’s Cup team, but you best not play them in a weekend nassau.
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Rookies Hank Lebioda and Curtis Luck made the most of their sponsor’s invite. The young duo shot a Saturday 64 to vault up the leaderboard, eventually finishing T-5.
No one beats Jorge Campillo 264 times in a row*
It has been a long time coming, but Jorge Campillo finally won his first European Tour event this weekend. Campillo shot a final round 71, and won the Trophee Hassan II by two shots in Morocco. Hailing from Spain, Campillo has been close to winning all season. He had two runner-up finishes and a third in his last four events, and he now finds himself in the top 70 in the OWGR. Sean Crocker, Julian Suri, and Erik van Rooyen all tied for second. Trophee Hassan II Leaderboard
*Shout-out Vitas Gerulaitis
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The Latest Podcasts and Articles
Shotgun Start: Under the thumb, Dodo Molinari reveals slow play names, and more wedges to add to your bag
We return from the weekend to run through a full slate of tournaments across the world of golf. We get to Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer’s runaway win at the Zurich Classic, and Andy offers some misgivings about the fallout and impacts that a win or a successful finish has on some of the weaker links in these two-man teams. Then we get to Jorge Campillo winning the dagger in Morocco and revisit our claim that more young American players should go see the world and come up through the European Tour. We review Minjee Lee’s cruise to an LA Open title at Wilshire and also hit on the Champions Tour event at Big Cedar, which Andy argues “does not need to exist.” The start of the PGA Professional Championship is also addressed, and we posit that the new schedule puts the pros from the Northern U.S. at a severe disadvantage. In news, we discuss Eduardo Molinari’s bold move to tweet out all the slow play times on the European Tour and what more can be done to affect real change. We also get back to Tiger’s announcement that he’s skipping the Wells Fargo and why it doesn’t matter. Before we get to Andy’s weekend wearing mittens and Brendan’s long afternoon coaching youth soccer, we wrap with the news that one LPGA pro uses lemon wedges to focus and wonder if this is a real aid we should put in the bag or if it’s more quackery. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify
