Stark conquers Erin Hills, Scheffler wins (again)

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Maja Stark’s U.S. Women’s Open win, another trophy for Scottie Scheffler and a new (old) format for the Tour Championship.

Maja Stark won the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills, taking a one-stroke lead into the final round and holding off Nelly Korda and Rio Takeda to win by two and claim her first major title. What impressed you most about Stark’s major triumph?

Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): Her Sunday. She had every reason to buckle. Her playing partner was sagging. They were playing slow. She bogeyed a par-5. Nelly Korda was chasing her. But she played so steady, in her own bubble. Good shot selection. Good caddieing. Good bounces, too. It all added up.

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): Her steadiness was remarkable. Sleeping on a 54-hole lead is never easy, but she handled the pressure beautifully. She has some serious guts to put together a Sunday like that without wavering.

Josh Schrock, assistant editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): Agree with both of you. How many times have we seen players enter Sunday with their first lead in a major and completely melt? She didn’t flinch even though she didn’t have her best stuff throughout the day. But when the moment called for it, she hit some incredible shots and didn’t give the chasers a chance once she took that three-shot lead on the back nine.

Korda has four top 10s this season but is still winless, and at this time last year she already had six victories. While it might be impossible to replicate her start to 2024, what’s holding her back this year? Any reason to worry?

Zak: The putter. She was the only player in the top 13 who finished negative in Strokes Gained: Putting. But she’s been a solid putter all season, so we’ll call it a one-week fluke on tricky USWO greens. But she’ll find something similar in three weeks at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.

Melton: If you look at her strokes gained stats, the only thing that jumps out is her chipping. Last season, she was fourth in SG: Around the Green. This season, she’s all the way down at 90th. She just hasn’t been able to save par quite as often this year. It just goes to show that the margins are razor thin.

Schrock: It’s the flatstick. She was the best player tee-to-green at Erin Hills but the putter was a problem. It reminded me a lot of Rory McIlroy’s loss at LACC. He was the better player that week but just couldn’t get anything to fall and it cost him.

Erin Hills hosted its first U.S. Open since Brooks Koepka ripped it apart in its debut in 2017, although this week, the USGA’s chief championships officer, John Bodenhamer, told our Sean Zak, “I think both the USGA and Erin Hills were just disappointed in 2017 in the sense that people didn’t see this place in its full glory.” How do you think Erin Hills performed as a U.S. Open test this week? And would you like to see more Opens return to it?

Zak: Well, I’m biased! I thought the course finally got its chance to send balls in bad directions. To be firm enough to make hitting greens a reward on its own. Getting close to the hole was difficult! Now imagine if there was wind. Although I feel like we’ve said “imagine if there was wind” for a decade regarding this course. Guess we’ll have to wait for the 2027 U.S. Amateur Four-ball.

Melton: Are we sure the wind blows out here? So far, they’re 0 for 2! Even without much of a breeze this week, I was impressed by the venue. Saturday was extremely fun to watch and showed what kind of test Erin Hills can offer up if things break their way.

Schrock: Maybe we will get wind next time? Even so, I thought Erin Hills was a proper test, especially with some of the ridiculously tricky pin locations the USGA unleashed on the weekend. I hope Erin Hills gets another U.S. Open, but if not, how about the PGA Championship just becoming the home for castoff U.S. Open courses like Erin Hills and Chambers Bay? It’s an identity!

Scottie Scheffler defended his title at the Memorial, pulling away on the back nine to win for the third time in his last four starts. Although, as host Jack Nicklaus put it, Scheffler didn’t really have to do “anything special,” on the back nine, as all the contenders made mistakes in front of him. Has Scheffler’s dominance over the last couple of years created almost a Tiger-like effect that tightens up the field knowing they have to be perfect?

Zak: Absolutely. Ben Griffin — man of the moment! — admitted as much last week when he won. He said he was planning on Scheffler shooting a Sunday 62, because that’s what you have to plan for! I’m looking forward to someone standing up in his way soon.

Melton: Sometimes the best golf is boring golf, and Scottie has perfected that. Perhaps some other players should take a page out of his book and play a little more “conservatively.” Seems to be a solid strategy. Of course, it’s not as easy as Scottie makes it look.

Schrock: Absolutely. As Jordan Spieth said Saturday, you know Scheffler isn’t going to go backward so that forces you to have to play pedal-down golf to try and catch him. He is precise and exacting and never takes himself out of the fight. To beat him, you have to beat him. Would love to see any of the top players really put up a fight at Oakmont.

One of those aforementioned Memorial contenders was Ben Griffin, who won the Zurich team event at the end of April, won the Charles Schwab Challenge a week ago and finished solo second this week. Did getting into this position following his win last Sunday prove to you this run is no fluke and he should be in the Ryder Cup conversation in the fall? Or should we still just classify this one as a heater?

Zak: Ben Griffin is on a heater, no doubt. But to merit a look, he needs to keep some form through July. That’s just how it goes! There are a lot of guys who will want that same look, but we’re four months away from Ryder Cup tee shots. That’s a long time.

Melton: Bethpage is a longggg way off. Let’s save the Ben Griffin for Ryder Cup talk until August at least. I’m gonna have to see more than a four-week heater to feel comfortable sending him into the hornet’s nest that is the Ryder Cup.

Schrock: We have sooooooo much golf left, as Zephyr noted. He should absolutely get a look but I wouldn’t be thrilled sending him out there against a stacked European team based off a nice May. He’s in the conversation because we haven’t really seen Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau or other expected members of Team USA to this point.

The PGA Tour announced a revision to its Tour Championship (again), and beginning this year it will ditch the “Starting Strokes” format it has used since 2019 and return to its previous format of 72-hole stroke play with everyone starting at even par. Why the change might not be surprising given the criticism the previous format received, are you surprised the Tour reverted to an older format and didn’t create something new?

Zak: I think this was a little bit of a bridge to a future format that checks a few more boxes. Like stroke play into match play. Or match play into stroke play! For now, it’s appeasing the players … and TV. Little more than those two things matter.

Melton: Am I surprised the PGA Tour didn’t get creative with its product? No, not at all.

Schrock: The PGA Tour is all about bridges. Let me know when we get to the end of the bridge and if there’s some creativity at the end of it. But I am glad to see the starting strokes go.

Ok, we have asked a million times but let’s do it once more: what’s your Tour Championship fix?

Zak: Let’s get wacky. Top 32 advance to the TC. Nos. 32-17 face off in matches, with Nos. 9-16 waiting to play the winners. That’s right, Nos. 1-8 get a double bye and will take on the winners of the second-round matches. The eight people who advance through that play a two-round stroke play sprint to decide a champion. If you’ve made it to the TC but are ranked 24th, you’ve gotta play three good rounds and then two more to really cash in. If you rightfully advanced to the TC ranked fourth, you’d just need to win that one match to reach the stroke play sprint. Y’all confused yet?

Melton: Does it need “fixing?” Will anyone ever care who the FedEx Cup champion is? No amount of tinkering is going to make casual fans care about anything but the four majors.

Schrock: I’d trim it down from 30 to 24 to make it even more exclusive (we need to trim some fat all around) and then give the top eight players a bye and do single elimination match play from there. They also need to rotate the course to get some different vibes outside of East Lake. Will it make the FedEx Cup a must-watch event? Eh. But we need a match-play tournament now that the WGC is gone and this adds to the drama and stakes, which I’m told is what they want.

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