Top Arizona amateur fits in at Schwab Cup
Augusta National Golf Club member Jeff Knox may be the most famous marker in golf, but there was a pretty good one at Phoenix Country Club last week for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
The PGA Tour Champions season finale was to have a field of 36 but it went to 35 when Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker withdrew.
That left an open spot for Kristoffer Marshall of Scottsdale, who recently won the Arizona State Amateur. A former Kansas Jayhawk who was leaving Lawrence just as Gary Woodland was coming in, Marshall played with Kenny Perry Thursday and defending tournament champion Kevin Sutherland Friday.
“The gentleman that played with me is one of my dear friends,” Perry said after playing the first round. “He’s a member at Silverleaf and he just won the Arizona State Am, so he’s a terrific player in his own right.”
To get Marshall on the grounds though took a little nudging from Perry.
“I said ‘Is there any way I could get him to play with me today because I really want to go out there by myself,’ and first they said let us talk about it. Finally they called and said, we’ll let him play with you, but he’s got to agree to be the marker all week,” said Perry.
Thursday was a busy day for Marshall off the course, too. Minutes after ending his round, he jumped in his car to get home for his son’s birthday party.
“I was only 15 minutes late, little guy never noticed. My wife was thrilled. She was like, ‘Wow, you guys played fast,’” he said.
“Another reason we were playing fast out there,” Perry said. “I didn’t want him to be really late.”
Marshall and Perry played in just over three hours Thursday. On Friday, Sutherland Marshall blazed around the course in an unofficial 2 hours, 58 minutes Friday.
After the round, Sutherland was complimentary of Marshall.
“Oh, he’s got a great game, hits a long ways, very impressed. State am, right?
Yeah, you can see it,” Sutherland said.
Playing first out means getting in a lot of golf before most fans have shown up, but there was a funny fan moment Thursday.
“Yesterday I was back in the corner somewhere and I made a nice birdie and (Phil) Mickelson drained a birdie at the same time and I’m like, well, that wasn’t for me, that was for him,” he joked.
Hockey, it turns out, was Marshall’s first love. So how did he get into golf ?
“The real answer is I played hockey and everybody started getting bigger than me and I got banged up real good. My grandpa’s like, maybe you should try something else. So I started playing at 16 and then walked on at KU.”
Marshall said he was “paired with the two nicest guys” in the first two rounds.
His services were not needed on the weekend because players decided they didn’t need a marker.
“The beautiful thing, I’ve got quite a few friends out here on the Champions tour,” Marshall said. “The cool thing about it is these guys are always in a good mood, happy to play golf.
“I’m just lucky to be out here.”
Mickelson’s next gig? TV commentator
Phil Mickelson has wowed golf fans with his on-course antics for years but he demonstrated another skill during a 90-minute appearance in the CBS booth during the 2020 PGA Championship.
Mickelson joined Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo in the 18th hole tower and had fans buzzing with his sharp wit, quick oneliners, and expert commentary.
The day after Thanksgiving, Mickelson will get another crack at it during the 12-hole Turner Sports presentation of Capital One’s The Match. The fifth installment of the popular series will pit Bryson DeChambeau against Brooks Koepka on the course with Mickelson and good friend Charles Barkley in the booth alongside play-by-play man Brian Anderson. Amanda Balionis of CBS Sports will be the on-course reporter.
Lefty and Barkley teamed up to win The Match in Arizona a year ago.
“Charles is one of the funniest people I know and he’s one of the quickest wit, articulate, and for him to carry over, cross over into golf,” Mickelson said. “You know, we’re partners and we’ve won before, so we have a certain credibility when we talk about The Match that I think will provide some insight, too.”
The Match will be on Friday, Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving at Wynn Las Vegas, just off the strip. Coverage is set to begin at 2 p.m. Arizona time with TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN all doing a simulcast.
DeChambeau paired with Aaron Rodgers in July to take down Mickelson and Tom Brady. This will be Koepka’s first Match appearance.
Mickelson has nothing but good things to say about DeChambeau and Koepka, who have been social-media combatants for much of the last several months.
“Both players are brilliant players, both players are great players, but both players do it a different way. Their thought process is different. What I would like to do is kind of let that out and let that be seen.
“Obviously Bryson is very analytical, numbers, math and a more scientific approach, and Brooks’ approach is using his talent, skill, feel, vision, visualization to bring out his best. I’m hoping that I can get them to articulate that a little bit better because I think it gives great insight into how great players like those two guys think and go throughout a round, and maybe throw in a few jabs here and there.”