Nicklaus-Palmer still the standard in golf rivalries

Jason gone

Jason Gore was one round away from one of the most unlikely stories on the PGA Tour.

He missed 10 out of 13 cuts on the Web.com Tour, missing time to have a procedure on his ailing back. He became licensed to sell insurance in California and was playing golf with clients. And then he got a late exemption to the RSM Classic and went into the final round one shot out of the lead.

That's where the dream ended. Gore shot a 2-over 72 and tied for 15th. A top 10 would have got him into the field at the Sony Open next year.

As a past champion, Gore can get in a half-dozen tournaments by his priority status and others by sponsor's exemption as one of the PGA Tour's more gregarious characters. He says he is asking for exemptions.

But he says he's done with the grind on the Web.com Tour, where he has spent seven of the last 10 seasons.

"This is going to sound terrible and it's a great place to play, the Web.com Tour, but I'm just kind of done," Gore said. "Those kids are really good and it's not worth missing our child's life at my stage. It's an unbelievable place. But at 44, it's not worth it for me to miss watching a son and a daughter grow up. I'm not going to sit there and beat my head against the wall against kids that I could be their dad."

A new memory

Former British Amateur champion Scott Gregory had a rough summer, especially when he opened with a 92 in the first round of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.

The year ended on a high note, however, as he shot 62 in the third round of European Tour qualifying and wound up tying for 11th. Gregory was among 27 players who earned their cards for next season.

"I'm just over the moon," he said. "It makes up for a few of the things that I went through this year." DIVOTS RSM has extended its title sponsorship of the PGA Tour at Sea Island through 2025.

Shubhankar Sharma of India won the Sir Henry Cotton Award as the European Tour's top rookie. Sharma won twice last season. He is the third Asian to win the award in the last four years, following Jeunghun Wang (2016) and Byeong Hun An (2015), both of South Korea.

The LPGA Tour season ended with only three Americans among the top 20 in the world — Lexi Thompson (5), Jessica Korda (12) and Danielle Kang (18). Eleven countries have won the last 11 times in the World Cup of Golf, a streak of parity that began with Japan in 2002.

Stat of the week

Tournaments on three other tours offered more world ranking points last week than the RSM Classic (24) on the PGA Tour — the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai (52), the Australian Open (32) and the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan (30).

Final word

"I had to apologize on 18 to Cameron because I pretty much talked his ear off. I guess I turned into Lee Trevino with no talent." — The outgoing Jason Gore after playing the third round of the RSM Classic with Cameron Champ.

Associated Press