SPORT DADDY NEWS GOLF
The Quicken Loans National didn't have the best field and didn't have the most exciting finish in golf this year, but it produced the best story in golf in 2016 that will not be topped.
1. Billy Hurley III's win at Congressional is the best story of the year. Dustin Johnson's U.S. Open win was fantastic, but one week later, Hurley became the best story in golf with his victory. Hurley III -- from Leesburg, Virginia, not far from Congressional -- was 607th in the world before the Quicken Loans National and had never won on the PGA Tour or the Web.com Tour prior to Sunday. He served five years in the Navy out of college, delaying the start of his professional golf career, and a year ago at this very tournament he announced that his father was missing -- his father later killed himself. The win was incredibly emotional, and he was as popular a tournament champion both with fans at the event and fellow players, as anyone you'll ever see.
2. Vijay Singh is going to the British Open. The ageless wonder finished solo-second at the Quicken Loans National and punched his ticket to Royal Troon in a few weeks. Singh, along with Hurley III, Harold Varner III and Jon Rahm, were the top four finishers in the top 12 that did not already have exemption to Royal Troon. For the 53-year-old Singh, it's an impressive accomplishment to qualify for a major on merit and not just off past champion status.
3. Jon Rahm is the real deal. Rahm was the top-rated amateur in the world for good reason and has shown off his skills the last two weeks, finishing in the top 25 at the U.S. Open and then posting a T3 finish at Congressional. He gained some important experience as a 36-hole leader that he can take going forward, earning a fat paycheck and a spot at Royal Troon. That's not bad for the first week on the job. We'll see if he hits a rough patch similar to Bryson DeChambeau, but even if so, both of them are going to be factors for a long time.
4. Bryson DeChambeau's issues in regular tournaments continue. Speaking of DeChambeau, he finished T15 at the U.S. Open last week and looked like he was about to turn around his season after a run of four straight missed cuts had dampened the start to his pro career. DeChambeau fell back into his regular PGA Tour doldrums at Congressional with a T64 finish. It was a made cut and a paycheck, but he's running out of sponsor exemptions to get the points needed (361) to obtain temporary status for the season and then make a push for a Tour card for 2016-17.
5. Rickie Fowler still has some issues to figure out. Fowler finished T44 this week despite a strong 68-68 start. His weekend disappointed as he went 73-74 on Saturday and Sunday, never factoring into the discussion for winning after starting the week as the tournament favorite. Since his T4 at the Wells Fargo in Charlotte, Fowler has missed three cuts and posted this T44 finish and has seen him drop to seventh in the world rankings. He needs to turn things around soon as he's also slid down to eighth on the U.S. Ryder Cup points list.
Let's go Inside the Numbers that defined this weekend.
10.23 -- Hurley III's strokes gained on approaches to the green which led the field.
438 -- The number of spots Hurley III jumped in the world rankings from 607 to 169 with his win.
99 -- The combined age of Els and Singh, who both finished in the top 7. 21-year-old Rahm made his pro debut and finished T3.
$400,200 -- The amount of money made by Rahm in his first week as a professional golfer. Not a bad start to a career.
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