This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
About a year ago, there was a Twitter dustup among some professional golfers debating whether it was an advantage playing in Europe and Asia. PGA Tour members Grayson Murray and Kelly Kraft thought international players were able to move up the world rankings more easily by playing overseas. Byeong-Hun An and Thomas Pieters, two Euro-centric players, basically told them to shut up.
Which brings us to the focus of this week's golf recap, Satoshi Kodaira. The 28-year-old Tokyo native had won six times on the Japan Tour to steadily move up the rankings and, thus, gain access to the biggest worldwide tournaments. He had also played 14 PGA Tour events over the past six years and had never so much as registered a top-25 finish. Advantage, Murray and Kraft.
But at the RBC Heritage, the 46th-ranked Kodaira staged an incredible Sunday charge, closing with a 5-under 66 to reach a playoff against South Korea's Si-Woo Kim. The Japanese star then drilled a 25-foot putt for birdie on the third playoff hole to win the tournament, meaning he will be seeing lots of Murray and Kraft Stateside over the rest of this season and beyond. Advantage, An and Pieters.
But really, it is: Advantage, Kodaira – and all the other international players who had to endure the swipes of the two boorish Americans.
Kodaira is now up to No. 27 in the world. For the record, Murray, who does have a Tour win to his credit, and Kraft, who has never
About a year ago, there was a Twitter dustup among some professional golfers debating whether it was an advantage playing in Europe and Asia. PGA Tour members Grayson Murray and Kelly Kraft thought international players were able to move up the world rankings more easily by playing overseas. Byeong-Hun An and Thomas Pieters, two Euro-centric players, basically told them to shut up.
Which brings us to the focus of this week's golf recap, Satoshi Kodaira. The 28-year-old Tokyo native had won six times on the Japan Tour to steadily move up the rankings and, thus, gain access to the biggest worldwide tournaments. He had also played 14 PGA Tour events over the past six years and had never so much as registered a top-25 finish. Advantage, Murray and Kraft.
But at the RBC Heritage, the 46th-ranked Kodaira staged an incredible Sunday charge, closing with a 5-under 66 to reach a playoff against South Korea's Si-Woo Kim. The Japanese star then drilled a 25-foot putt for birdie on the third playoff hole to win the tournament, meaning he will be seeing lots of Murray and Kraft Stateside over the rest of this season and beyond. Advantage, An and Pieters.
But really, it is: Advantage, Kodaira – and all the other international players who had to endure the swipes of the two boorish Americans.
Kodaira is now up to No. 27 in the world. For the record, Murray, who does have a Tour win to his credit, and Kraft, who has never won squat, are far behind. Had they had better weeks at Hilton Head, perhaps they would've moved inside the top-100 in the OWGR. But they both missed the cut. Kraft did so by one stroke after his tee ball on the par-3 14th on Friday hit a bird in flight and found the water, resulting in a double bogey. Advantage, Golf Gods.
And one more little factoid to complete a full circle of karma: An, the South Korean and former European Tour Rookie of the Year now playing full time on the PGA Tour, tied for seventh at Hilton Head (Pieters was not in the field).
Okay, now back to Kodaira, and what we can make of his win and what lies ahead. The Heritage was his sixth PGA Tour event this year, and he didn't have a top-25 in the prior five. But he did tie for 28th two weeks ago at the Masters, his third straight made cut in a major.
Why did Kodaira do so well this week? Well, he's perhaps feeling more comfortable in the U.S., both on and off the course. But he also told reporters after his win that Harbour Town was "very similar" to courses in Japan because it was "a little bit shorter and a shaped course."
Yes, the course is among the shortest the golfers will see all season, with narrow fairways and dog legs blunting the longest hitters. Last year on the Japan Tour, Kodaira was ranked first in greens in regulation, first in birdies, second in putting average and 13th in driving distance. Now, 13th isn't bad, but with an average drive of 292.38 yards, according to the Japan Tour website, that would rank only 120th on the PGA Tour.
So Kodaira might be better suited for shorter, thinking-man's courses. There aren't a lot of them on the PGA Tour, but there are some similar-type golfers who have thrived for years.
This was likely a perfect storm for Kodaira: He played great, the course suited his game and the field was not very strong.
But with the talent level so high across golf all around the world, it pretty much takes a perfect storm for any golfer to win any tournament.
Kodaira likely has some more high finishes in his bag this season.
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Si Woo Kim
Since World War II, there are five golfers who have won three times on the PGA Tour before turning 23: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. Kim came within an eyelash of joining them, but he missed a six-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole. Kim has been one of the worst putters on Tour all season, amazingly ranked outside the top-200. His tee-to-green game is so good that all he needs is to be a mediocre putter. He was better than that Harbour Town, ranked 18th in the field in strokes gained: putting. This result will bump up Kim's DFS price a bit, but he should still be available at good value. Some people think his win at The Players Championship last year was a fluke, but it wasn't. Kim is still only 22. And he's now ranked No. 39 in the world. Imagine if he could putt?
Luke List
List has done just about everything but win this season. He really could've/should've this time. But he bogeyed four holes on the back nine on Sunday, opposite only two birdies, and he missed the playoff by a shot. List missed a 12-foot birdie try on 18 to wind up in a tie for third. Losing in a playoff to Justin Thomas at the Honda is one thing; letting the Heritage slip away without a big name in sight is quite another. Presumably List will get his maiden win at some point, but it was there for the taking and he didn't grab it.
Billy Horschel
Last year, Horschel used a few good weeks, one of them a victory, to make an otherwise terrible season look much better. That's all it takes on the PGA Tour. But it's tough to back a guy week after week and have him deliver so sporadically. Horschel tied for fifth at Harbour Town, by far his best showing of this season, and afterward he declared his game was "close." Right. He hadn't had so much as a top-40 in a full-field event since last June. Don't fall into that trap. Don't drink Horschel Kool-Aid.
Bill Haas
Haas tied for seventh, his best showing of the season and by far his best since being a passenger in a fatal car accident in Los Angeles back in February. Haas is 35 now and hasn't won since 2015. His best days are behind him, but he showed that he still can deliver under the right conditions. And his DFS prices will likely remain very favorable.
Ian Poulter
We can't get on Poulter for giving away the 54-hole lead by shooting 40 on the back nine to tumble into a tie for seventh. He was playing for the sixth straight week and was simply gassed. At age 42, Poulter has found a new gear, or maybe it's an old gear. But after taking some much-needed time off, he should be in contention again soon. He's now back inside the top-30 in the world at No. 29.
Dustin Johnson
Johnson had never made a cut at Harbour Town before and hadn't even shown up since 2009. And he likely wouldn't have played had RBC not been one of his new sponsors. Johnson was never in contention but he made it through four rounds and his 67 on Sunday allowed him to tie for 16th. That was enough for him to hang on to his No. 1 ranking at least into May. Remember this for next year: Johnson was one of a bunch of guys who played meaningful golf deep into the Masters, then came to Hilton Head and just couldn't get much going, which is predictable right after fighting in a major. Matt Kuchar and Charley Hoffman (both T23), Cameron Smith (T32) and Paul Casey and Marc Leishman (both MC), also petered out at various points during the week at Harbour Town. Kodaira was also at Augusta, but he wasn't in contention like the others. Big difference.
Luke Donald
Donald missed the cut on the number, likely the final straw in his chances to become relevant again. The former world No. 1 had amassed five runners-up at Harbour Town through the years, one of the few courses on which he can still compete. If he can't do it there, he probably can't do it anywhere. Donald's world ranking continues in a free-fall, and he now is outside the top-200.
Jon Rahm
Rahm impressively headed from the Masters to his native Spain and won the Spanish Open. it was his second win of 2018, though he remained at No. 4 in the world because it was a weak field and there weren't enough world rankings points available. It looks as if the next few months will be a four-man race for No. 1, with Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. Some people think Rahm is the best of the bunch. We don't. But that doesn't mean he can't get to the top spot.
Paul Dunne
The Irishman was the runner-up to Rahm, his third straight worldwide top-10. The two others came on the PGA Tour, including at Houston. Dunne is up to a career-best 68th in the world. He's only 25, already qualified for the Open Championship and WGC-Bridgestone, and clearly on the rise.
