Tuesdays are quite sleepy at PGA Tour events. Maintenance golf carts scurry around making final preparations ahead of the Wednesday pro-am and Thursday launch. The news of Will Zalatoris’ withdraw and 2 p.m. press conference cancellation hit the media room about the same time the hamburger sliders and cookies did—lose some, win some. Min Woo Lee and his playing partners are befuddled by the swirling, start-stop wind on the short par three 17th, which is the Byron Nelson’s answer to the Phoenix Open’s 16th. The enclave plays about 140 yards and will be buzzing throughout the tournament.
But this windy Tuesday is a little different—it’s the final round of the G4D Tour stop here in McKinney, Texas, just north of Dallas. The G4D Tour is the DP World Tour and PGA Tour co-organized preeminent world tour for the disabled. Canadian Kurtis Barkley finished seventh at +5 with rounds of 74 and 75. Barkley’s from from North Dundas, Ontario and waits to congratulate the winner Englishman Mike Browne, but Barkley isn’t pleased.
“I three-putted five times out there, ridiculous,” he says.
Browne’s two-day even par (71-73) cleared second by a single shot good for his third career G4D Tour win. More of a footballer and motocross racer, Browne wasn’t a golfer when he lost his leg from the knee down back in 2011. He has however proven to be a fast learner and has caught on to the game quite well—WBGD spoke with Browne shortly after his victory.
From Dallas, the G4D Tour plays three events in England, there’s a stop in Spain and the nine tournament schedule ends in Dubai with the G4D Tour Series Finale at DP World Tour Championship. The win moves Browne to the fifth spot on the season rankings with Kipp Popert first, Brendon Lawlor second, Kurtis Barkley third and Spainard Juan Postigo Arce fourth.
Simply, and affectionately known as the Byron Nelson, this event gets started on Thursday and has been contested at several venues in and around Dallas such as Lakewood Country Club, Brook Hollow Golf Club, Dallas Country Club, TPC at Las Colinas, Trinity Forrest Golf Club and its current home, TPC Craig Ranch. This year is the first year with its new title sponsor CJ Group, a multifaceted South Korean conglomerate active in food, food service, pharmaceutics, biotechnology, entertainment and media. The tournament is organized by the Salesmanship Club of Dallas who has raised more than $186 million for the Momentous Institute, benefitting children and families.
Tickets: thecjcupbyronnelson.org
Golf is the greatest compliment to any travel itinerary and while it’s a joy to visit Ireland, Thailand and Colombia—nothing improves an agenda more than a few tee times. Golf is the ultimate canvas for meeting locals, walking the terrain and earning the popular brew whether it’s Guinness, Singha or Club Colombia on the rocks with a splash of lime and salted rim. And if you’re looking for the ultimate, most interesting, nail-biting professional golf, then check the players on the Korn Ferry Tour hovering around the cutline on Friday afternoon. I’ve spent most of my life thinking about golf—the rest I’ve wasted. Elvis Anderson has served as the North America-based Editor of World’s Best Golf Destinations since 2016, has covered the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour in North America, South America, Europe and Asia and has been fortunate to tee it up in 25 countries around the world.
Drop me a note: elvisandersonwords [at] gmail [dot] com
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