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Harold Varner: 'I hate being hated' among the interesting things said at LIV Golf Invitational Boston press conference

It’s been more than a month since we last saw LIV Golf Series players on the course but that’s how it’s going in this breakaway league, which has only eight events in 2022.

Ahead of the fourth event during this inaugural season, LIV introduced its six newest members Wednesday in Bolton, Massachusetts, outside Boston.

The International is the host venue for the three-day, 54-hole, no-cut event that starts Friday.

Cam Smith, Champion Golfer of the Year and Players Championship winner, makes his circuit debut. He’s ranked No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking and is now the highest ranked member of the Saudi government-backed golf series.

Two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson is also making his first appearance but he won’t be playing just yet. Still recovering from knee surgery, Watson is LIV Golf’s first non-playing captain.

There are 12 teams of four golfers, and Watson’s squad includes fellow newcomer Harold Varner III.

Other recent signees include Anirban Lahiri, Cameron Tringale and Marc Leishman.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/E9AqtnK

Club 60: Meet the 15 players who have signed for a 60 in college golf

Club 60: Meet the 15 players who have signed for a 60 in college golf

While no woman has ever signed for a 60 in an official college round, five have signed for a 61, most recently in 2020 courtesy of Denver’s Anna Zanusso at the Westbrook Invitational. Ole Miss’ Julia Johnson did the same in 2019 at the Battle at the Beach. While at Gonzaga, Bianca Pagdanganan shot a 61 at the 2017 Pizza Hut Thunderbird Invitational. Before that, Colorado’s Esther Lee joined the club at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in 2016. Stanford’s Mariah Stackhouse recorded the first women’s 61 at the 2013 Peg Barnard Invitational.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/E9AqtnK

PGA Tour University announces numerous changes ahead of 2022-23 season

PGA Tour University announces numerous changes ahead of 2022-23 season

The path for elite men’s college golfers to get to the PGA Tour is being upgraded.

PGA Tour University announced Wednesday enhanced performance benefits to the top college seniors before the start of the 2022-23 season.

Entering its third year, PGA Tour U will increase the number of graduates who earn tour membership. It also reaffirmed those players will receive exemptions into a new PGA Tour Q-School, and it will also be more advantageous for players who take PGA Tour exemptions the summer after graduation.

There are now 20 total graduating spots, up from 15 in the first two years. The grads will also be split into three groups, earning benefits based on their final position in the standings.

The first team, which is spots 1-5, will be exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for its current season and exempt on an international tour the following season. For the second team, spots 6-10, they also earn conditional KFT cards. They will play out of the PGA Tour U category and get into tournaments through one of those allotted slots if any of the top players decide not to play. The sixth in the rankings would have first priority, and so on. The players could also earn more status through the points list. Nos. 6-10 are also exempt for that summer’s Canada season and the following Latinoamerica season. The third team, the remaining 10, receive full Canada status for the current season and full Latinoamerica status the following season.

There are also changes coming to PGA Tour Q school, where Nos. 1-5 will be exempt into the final stage of Q school. Nos. 6-20 will be exempt into the second stage.

Additionally, the top-20 finishers will compete against each other for future eligibility. The three players with the highest combined point total in events played on the then-current PGA Tour and KFT seasons will be exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for the following season.

Florida’s Fred Biondi is the top-ranked player in the PGA Tour U rankings to begin the season. Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg is second, Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett, the U.S. Amateur champion, is third, with North Carolina’s Austin Greaser and Texas’ Travis Vick rounding out the top five.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/E9AqtnK

Report: PGA Tour to focus on elevated events, delay plans for international series

Report: PGA Tour to focus on elevated events, delay plans for international series

It appears the PGA Tour may be pivoting once again when it comes to future plans regarding its schedule.

On Wednesday, ESPN reported the Tour was delaying previously announced plans for a three-event global series featuring the game’s best players competing for $25 million purses in order to focus its attention on its recently announced slate of 13 elevated tournaments. During his “State of the Tour” address ahead of last week’s season-ending Tour Championship, commissioner Jay Monahan rolled out a series of announcements that ranged from top players committing to 20 events starting next season to his firm stance on not allowing LIV Golf players to return to the Tour.

The three-event international series, announced Aug. 1 after Golfweek previously reported on the matter, was slated to feature limited fields that included the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings and no cuts. ESPN’s report stated the series may be staged in the future. With more elevated events added to the schedule, the Tour worried the global series may be too much for players who want more of an offseason break.

The 2022-23 schedule will feature record prize money thanks to increases in both tournament purses and bonus pools. Only the 70 players who earn a berth in the playoffs in 2023 will secure their playing privileges for the 2024 season, when the PGA Tour will revert back to a calendar year format.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/E9AqtnK

Animation gives fans an idea of what to expect on the first tee at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow

Animation gives fans an idea of what to expect on the first tee at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow

The PGA Tour season has come and gone and now golf fans have their eyes fixed on Quail Hollow Club for next month’s 2022 Presidents Cup.

If you can’t make it to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the biennial matches that pit the best players in the United States against a team of the best players from around the world (Europe and LIV Golf excluded), the folks behind the Presidents Cup have released a little teaser that gives golf fans an idea of what to expect at what should make for a wild first tee atmosphere.

While the animated graphic shows a good mix of American and International supporters, the first tee setup will feature 2,500 fans that will almost assuredly be dominated by the Red, White and Blue.

Experience the first tee at the Cup like never before.#PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/H3cIYzi2Vx

— Presidents Cup (@PresidentsCup) August 31, 2022

Six players automatically qualified for Team USA as well as eight for the Internationals, but International captain Trevor Immelman will need to replace Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann, who have since joined LIV Golf.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/E9AqtnK

International Crown set to return to LPGA schedule in 2023 on the West Coast

International Crown set to return to LPGA schedule in 2023 on the West Coast

The International Crown is returning to the LPGA schedule in 2023, Golfweek has learned. Multiple sources have confirmed to Golfweek that the team event is slated for the San Francisco area, potentially at TPC Harding Park, the first week of May, with South Korea’s Hanwha as title sponsor.

The biennial event was created under the leadership of former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan and debuted in 2014 at Caves Valley Golf Club, in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Spain won the first contest, followed by the United States in 2016 at the Merit Club just north of Chicago. South Korea won the last time the event was held in 2018 on home soil at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon.

Eight countries qualify for the event and four players comprise each team. The 2020 event was scheduled to be played at the Centurion Club in England but was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. UL title sponsored the event in 2016 and 2018.

Only six countries have qualified for all three competitions: South Korea, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.

The Crown won’t be the only team event in 2023: The Solheim Cup heads to Spain for the first time September 22-24.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/E9AqtnK

Bolton police end wedding campout near The International as LIV Golf tournament approaches

Bolton police end wedding campout near The International as LIV Golf tournament approaches

LANCASTER, Mass. — It was a wedding celebration that went from a “wonderful evening” to bitter disappointment after police broke up the gathering, according to the mother of the bride.

It happened as LIV Golf brings the latest installment of its new professional golf series to The International Golf Club in Bolton, Massachusetts, literally a pitching wedge from Jennifer Benoit’s property.

It all started with a call from the golf club to police.

“Upset” is how Benoit described her mood Monday morning, one day after two Bolton police officers came on Benoit’s property and told her guests to leave.

“I’m really upset this happened,” she said. “Police walked on our property, and did that to our wedding guests. My husband, David, is livid.”

The family’s land borders The International Golf Club, where the LIV Golf series will hold a tournament over Labor Day weekend.

The series has been marked by protests over LIV’s connection to its financial backer, the government of Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

That country’s human rights abuses are a troubling development for some residents, and Bolton is divided over the tournament. Some residents believe it’s good for local businesses. Others don’t want a Saudi-backed tournament in their town.

Banners line the entrance to The International, host site for the 2022 LIV Golf Boston Invitational event. (Photo: Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette)

With the backdrop of protests at previous LIV tournaments, when The International noticed Sunday morning that several tents were near the golf course, the club called Bolton police to check it out.

“The International Golf Club called about trespassers. We tried to restore peace,” Bolton police chief Warren Nelson said.

Guests who attended the wedding celebration slept overnight in tents into Sunday morning. The tents were in a wooded area on Benoit’s property, in clear sight of the golf course.

Around 8 a.m. Sunday, police came onto Benoit’s property and told those in the tents that they had to leave.

“My son-in-law told me police were waking people up, telling people to leave. That they were being forceful, and police shook the tents to wake people up,” Jennifer Benoit said.

‘Simple misunderstanding’

That is how The International explained the course of events in a prepared statement.

“The International enjoys strong relationships with its neighbors and this seems to be a simple misunderstanding. Sunday morning, our staff spotted tents within one of our property’s wooded areas alongside the golf course.

“Having no knowledge who was occupying the tents, they followed proper protocols and contacted local authorities. Officers spoke with the individuals, determining that it was a group of campers from a nearby wedding the prior evening. The group decided to leave voluntarily, without being asked to.

“It’s unfortunate that the family and their guests feel their morning was disrupted, but safety and security is our priority. The International has reached out to the Benoit family and we hope all will be resolved very soon.”

Boundary confusion

The confusion, according to Nelson, is that it’s difficult to know the boundary between the golf club and Benoit’s land.

There are no surveyor markings to delineate the wooded border, and since Nelson said the club has been on alert about possible protestors, that is likely why the club called police.

Jennifer Benoit said she doesn’t buy it. She said she feels the club could have done a quick Google search to determine the boundary, avoiding the call to authorities.

Nelson chalked it up to The International being cautious because they didn’t know about the wedding celebration, adding that he apologized to the bride, Joanna Benoit, for Sunday’s incident.

Formal apology wanted

A written apology is what Jennifer Benoit wants from both Bolton police and The International.

She believes the club’s call to police is “definitely” connected to the club’s concern about the risks of protestors.

As for how she feels about the LIV series coming to Bolton — and Lancaster since a portion of club’s property falls within that town’s borders — Jennifer Benoit said it’s a “bad idea.”

“I don’t like the fact that the LIV tour is here,” Benoit said.

She explained two reasons for her objections, including Saudi Arabia’s history of human rights abuses and the inconvenience of numerous no-parking signs in town put up by the LIV tournament.

Security measures

Standing outside the Bolton Police Department on Monday afternoon, Nelson touched on some security measures that will be in place during the tournament.

All visitors will park at the Bolton Fairgrounds lot in Lancaster, where everyone will be security screened before boarding shuttle buses to The International. Screening will include a metal detector, and no backpacks will be allowed at The International.

A designated area for protestors will be located near the spot where visitors board shuttle buses. State police will monitor that area.

“I’m confident we will have good control over security and traffic planning,” Nelson said.

Planning is something that Jennifer Benoit did to host the wedding celebration for her daughter, who was married two years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented an in-person celebration.

When the Benoit family finally hosted family and friends, Jennifer Benoit said police put an early end to it because of a phone call from The International.

“Bottom line, you don’t go onto someone else’s property,” she said.

Contact Henry Schwan at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @henrytelegram

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

Meet 14-year-old Gianna Clemente, who has Monday-qualified for the last two LPGA events

Meet 14-year-old Gianna Clemente, who has Monday-qualified for the last two LPGA events

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lexi Thompson signed a glove for Gianna Clemente not far from where the 14-year-old stood on the first tee at Highland Meadows Golf Club on Tuesday giving an interview. From ages 5 to 10, Clemente and her family made the three-hour trek from Warren, Ohio, to Sylvania to watch what’s now known as the Dana Open.

“A lot of people still think I have the attitude of Lexi,” said Clemente, “really feisty, really serious at times. I literally wanted to watch Lexi for 18 holes, that was me as a kid.”

Clemente, a high school freshman who was runner-up at the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior, played in her first LPGA Monday Qualifier last week in Canada and earned a spot in the CP Women’s Open field for her first LPGA start. Incredibly, she Monday-qualified again for this week’s Dana Open, bouncing back from a late double with two birdies to shoot 3-under 69 and win the qualifier.

“I saw Lexi in the locker room in Canada,” said Clemente, “and I was just way too scared to go up and say hi.”

She played a practice round with Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis and Cristie Kerr and hit balls next to World No. 1 Jin Young Ko. (“I was like oh, oh my goodness.”) Clemente shot 69-74 to miss the cut in Ottawa.

“Just seeing everybody inside the ropes, Nelly and Lexi, all the big names you see on TV,” she said. “To be inside the ropes and playing, that was surreal.”

Mostly though, Clemente seems relatively at ease in the professional environment. Certainly when it comes to the media.

“I’ve always loved the cameras and attention,” she said.

Gianna Clemente, the 14-year-old who has Monday-qualified for the last two LPGA events, is teeing it up this week at Highland Meadows, where she came as a fan from ages 5 to 10. pic.twitter.com/ZxqhS5pjTi

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) August 30, 2022

Clemente was given an exemption to compete in the Monday qualifier for next week’s new Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, as well. Amateurs must apply for an exemption to participate in LPGA local qualifiers.

Patrick Clemente, a former collegiate player at Youngstown State, gave his daughter her first set of plastic clubs when she was 18 months old. She played in her first tournament at age 5. The Clementes live on a golf course, Avalon Lakes, in Warren.

“At about 9, 10 as crazy as that sounds,” said Patrick, “you could see this is what she wanted to do.”

Gianna has done online schooling since the fourth grade, and at age 11, she became the third-youngest player to qualify for the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly. Only Lucy Li (10 years, 10 months, 4 days) and Latanna Stone (10 years, 11 months and 2 days) were younger.

Patrick, VP of sales for a manufacturing company, is on the bag most weeks. Both father and daughter typically have homework left to do once they leave the course.

“We’re seeing a little bit of overdue marks on my assignments right now,” said Gianna. “It’s OK. I’m going to do it later when I get back to the hotel.”

Next month, Gianna heads to the Amundi Evian Juniors Cup in France. She’ll also try to defend her title at AJGA’s Ping Invitational at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

As for turning professional early, Gianna said she can’t yet talk to college coaches but isn’t ruling anything out.

“For now, I do want to go to college,” she said. “But we’ll see what happens. I still have a lot of time.”

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

Photos: Sungjae Im through the years

Photos: Sungjae Im through the years

Sungjae Im is one of the biggest golf stars to come from South Korea.

Turning pro at just 17 years old, Im has climbed the ranks while winning at every level. On the then Web.com Tour, Im became the youngest winner on the circuit at 19.

Following his Player of the Year campaign on the Web.com Tour, Im earned PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors for the 2018-19 season. He set the tone that year as he led the Tour in starts, cuts made and round completed.

In 2019, Im became a part of the International Presidents Cup team, debuting with a 3-1-1 record at Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Im is a lock to join the 2022 International team.

2020 was a big year for Im. The South Korean won his first PGA Tour event at the Honda Classic and also challenged Dustin Johnson at the COVID-19 delayed Masters in November, finishing in solo second.

So far, Im has been a steady presence on the Tour and looks to be an up-and-coming star in professional golf.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

Rory McIlroy's golf equipment through the years

Rory McIlroy's golf equipment through the years

On Sunday, Rory McIlroy dramatically won his third FedEx Cup, coming from behind to catch the world’s No. 1 player, Scottie Scheffler, at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Throughout the week at East Lake, McIlroy used his driver to set up short irons and wedges into greens that produced plentiful scoring chances. For the week he ranked No. 1 in driving distance (334 yards), and in the critical fourth round he hit 11 of 14 fairways. For the season McIlroy finished second on the PGA Tour in driving distance (321.3 yards), No. 1 in scoring average (68.67) and No. 1 in strokes gained total (2.115).

McIlroy’s driver has garnered a lot of attention over the years, but he has made subtle tweaks and modifications to all his gear since he turned pro in 2007. Take a look below at some of the equipment Rory McIlroy has played since 2006.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

While Rees Jones renovates Broken Sound, this Florida course sentimental to Jack Nicklaus will step in for Champions event

More: Steven Alker has been living week-to-week on the Tour Champions, win at TimberTech changes all that

While Rees Jones renovates Broken Sound, this Florida course sentimental to Jack Nicklaus will step in for Champions event

BOCA RATON, Florida — This year’s TimberTech Championship will remain in Boca Raton, but the PGA Tour Champions event will shift to Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club while its longtime host, the Broken Sound Club’s Old Course, undergoes a renovation by Hall of Fame architect Rees Jones.

Other than the site change, it will be business as usual for the longest-running professional golf tournament in Palm Beach County. It will maintain the same dates, Nov. 4-6, as well as its spot as the second tournament in the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, attracting the top 54 players on the 50-and-older circuit.

“We are thrilled to be able to keep the TimberTech Championship in Boca Raton while this renovation is being completed,” said Tournament Director Eddie Carbone. “We have been in this community for 15 years and it’s important we continue to showcase the best of the PGA Tour Champions.”

Steven Alker reacts after tapping in for birdie on No. 18 and securing his victory at the TimberTech Championship on the Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton. (Photo by Scott Halleran)

The primary beneficiary will remain the Boca Raton Regional Hospital; since its inception, the TimberTech Championship has generated more than $2.4 million for local charities through the Boca Raton Champions Golf Charities.

“We are very fortunate to have this world-class golf tournament in our backyard, benefiting our community and more specifically our hospital,” said Lincoln Mendez, President & CEO of Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

The TimberTech Championship will continue to be a Zero Waste event, meaning none of the trash will be sent to area landfills. As part of TimberTech’s FULL-CIRCLE plastic bag collection drive, some of the waste will even be repurposed and re-used to manufacture TimberTech’s low maintenance and environmentally sustainable outdoor living products.

The TimberTech Championship is expected to draw another stellar field, headlined by defending champion Steven Alker. The New Zealand native has won three times since his initial victory at Broken Sound last November and leads this year’s Charles Schwab Cup with almost $2.5 million in earnings. Prior to Alker, the previous three TimberTech Championship winners were former major champions: Darren Clarke (2020), Hall of Famer Bernhard Langer (2019) and Mark Calcavecchia (2018). Langer, who lives 10 minutes from the course, is the event’s only two-time champion.

Langer and Clarke, who recently became the fourth player to sweep The Open Championship and the Senior Open Championship, are expected to play in the TimberTech Championship, along with Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Colin Montgomerie.

Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club was originally a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design, but in 2003, Hall-of-Famer Jack Nicklaus of Lost Tree created an entirely new course. Nicklaus had a storied past with Royal Palm. Just before he decided to turn pro, Nicklaus played the original course with golf legend Sam Snead, the club’s first golf professional.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

Red Sky’s ‘wow’ factor keeps bringing golfers back to the Vail Valley

Red Sky’s ‘wow’ factor keeps bringing golfers back to the Vail Valley

When members of Golfweek’s raters panel assess a course, their grade is based on 10 criteria. The last of those criteria, the walk-in-the-park test, is the most subjective item on the list, but also the most important. It speaks to the visceral emotions golfers experience when they walk off the 18th green. Did they enjoy the experience? Did they find the design memorable? Are they anxious to play it again?

Atlanta-based Golfweek rater Neil Negrin finds himself placing more and more emphasis on the walk-in-the-park criteria. He points to Red Sky Golf Club as one of his favorites on this score.

“It’s way up there at the top,” Negrin said. “There’s nothing around there to bother you. The homes are very spread out, so you never get the feeling of claustrophobia whatsoever, and you don’t feel like everybody is doing their lawn maintenance. You’re up there high, almost every hole has a vista of the valley, so it truly is a walk in the park.

Red Sky Ranch Golf Course

“Obviously, it’s not a walking course. The distance between greens and tees, by necessity, can be lengthy. But the tradeoff is worth it.”

Negrin is one of many Golfweek raters who takes advantage of the direct flights into Eagle County Regional Airport, a 20-minute drive from Red Sky, to play the club’s two courses.

To be sure, Red Sky’s Tom Fazio and Greg Norman courses fare well on all of the ratings criteria. The Fazio Course is No. 1 in Colorado, the Norman Course is No. 4, and both courses show strongly in national rankings.

“I don’t think there’s a setting that can be beat in the Vail Valley or maybe even mountain golf in general,” Red Sky General Manager Andrew Hedrick said. “It’s a unique mountain golf setting spread over 800 acres. The other differentiator is to have 36 holes that are very different from each other in terms of style. If you play the Norman Course one day and go over to Fazio the next day, it’s two totally different experiences.”

The Norman Course is longer but more forgiving off the tee, with gentler green complexes, while the Fazio Course tends to be a target-oriented layout with more contoured greens.

What’s more important, however, are the traits they share. Both were built on a grand scale befitting their setting, unconstrained by any real estate. (There are 87 lots on the property, but as Negrin noted, they have no impact on the golf experience.) Fazio and Norman were given an expansive landscape to build the best possible courses, absent the quirks that sometimes drag down other mountainous layouts impinged by housing. As Golfweek rater Bill Baer, a regular visitor to Red Sky over the past 15 years, said, “You just have to remember that everything is going to break toward the valley.” That’s a feature, not a bug.

The result was courses that not only stand up architecturally, but consistently deliver a series of “Oh, wow!” moments as golfers make their way across one of the country’s most scenic landscapes, savoring views of the back bowls of Vail and Beaver Creek to the east, and Castle Peak to the west.

Red Sky Ranch Golf Course

“They have the advantage of being in the Vail area, which is a beautiful spot, and they take advantage of that,” said Golfweek rater Mark Marias.

Marias, a Fazio aficionado, is almost lyrical in describing his appreciation for the architect’s work at Red Sky, starting with the opening hole.

“The first hole of the Fazio Course is perfect,” he said. “It’s a dogleg right, but you can play it over the corner if you like, it’s downhill with a beautiful green sitting out on a perch with a spectacular view of the valley.”

Here’s the best part: It’s only going to get better. In conjunction with the original architects, Hedrick and superintendent Michael Miner aren’t resting on their lofty ratings. As with any maturing courses, there’s a need to trim back trees and vegetation to maintain the original sightlines. So they’re reassessing each hole, looking at recapturing all of those magical 360-degree vistas, while also enhancing playability for members and guests.

Red Sky Ranch Golf Course

“We’re going through a process, like most mature courses, of trimming back a lot of trees, trying to open up sightlines,” Miner said. “That’s been the biggest change over the last five or six years. We want to enhance the golf experience wherever we can, both from an aesthetics and playability standpoint.”

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III lead latest group of PGA Tour players to jump to LIV Golf

Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III lead latest group of PGA Tour players to jump to LIV Golf

The PGA Tour made some changes and picked up some momentum in its battle with LIV Golf, but the new series will feature some new players at its next event.

On Tuesday, the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia announced six golfers would be taking their talents to the new series: Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Marc Leishman, Harold Varner III, Cameron Tringale and Anirban Lahiri.

The new additions mean LIV Golf now has six of the top 30 players on the Official World Golf Ranking (as of Aug. 21) as it prepares to host its fourth event at the International, Sept. 2-4, near Boston.

When asked about his reported interest in LIV Golf after his Open Championship victory, Cameron Smith said, “I don’t know, mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff. I’m here to win golf tournaments.”

Reports then broke the week of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind that he was taking his talents to LIV Golf, but Smith didn’t confirm or deny the news.

“I’m a man of my word and whenever you guys need to know anything, it’ll be said by me,” he said at the time, while also noting he planned to play the Presidents Cup, Sept. 20-25. Smith was referring to fellow Aussie pro, Cameron Percy, who said, “Unfortunately, yeah, they’re gone,” in regard to Smith and Leishman being bound for LIV Golf.

Niemann told Golf.com at the U.S. Open that he wanted to play against the best players in the world.

“They’re still here and as long as they’re here, I’m not going anywhere. No chance,” he said in June. “If I was 40? Maybe it would be different.”

When Varner won the PIF Saudi International on the Asian Tour earlier this year, rumors began to swirl that he may leave the PGA Tour. He sat down with commissioner Jay Monahan in March and went on to say, “I’ve always supported the PGA Tour when they needed me, and I want to be there.”

Since turning professional in 2009, Tringale has made $17,426,908 in 338 starts and holds the dubious distinction as the man to win the most money without ever winning a PGA Tour event. Lahiri has also never won on Tour, but won twice on the European Tour in a matter of three weeks in February 2015 at the Maybank Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

Best affordable golf training aids: Improve your score for less than $100

Best affordable golf training aids: Improve your score for less than $100

Golf can be an expensive sport. With green fees, cart fees, clubs, balls, accessories, etc., your wallet can get stretched thin.

Don’t worry, Golfweek is looking out for both you and your wallet. Picking some of our favorite training aids on the market, we’ve curated a list that will drop your score without dropping a lot of dough. Everything on this list is under $100.

All month long we’ve helped you get your game on the right track with tons of training aids and game improvement technology. If you’re looking to make an investment towards your game, check out our previous lists below.

Putting | Rangefinders | GPS & Wearables | Swing Speed | Home Practice

We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

Rory McIlroy to make Italian Open debut at Marco Simone, site of 2023 Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy to make Italian Open debut at Marco Simone, site of 2023 Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy just captured the PGA Tour’s 2022 Tour Championship, yet he’s not taking much time off.

McIlroy, who Sunday became the first golfer to win three FedEx Cups, will head across the pond and play three times in four weeks, including a stop at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, which is hosting the 2023 Ryder Cup. The course is also hosting the 2022 Italian Open from Sept. 15-18, and McIlroy is slated to make his tournament debut.

“I have a whopping one week off coming up and then I go to Europe for three out of four weeks, playing quite a bit over there,” McIlroy said after winning in Atlanta on Sunday. “But maybe that’s a little less intense than what we’ve just been through the last three weeks in the Playoffs here.

“Again, I think when you win and when you do things, it energizes you more than anything else. It makes you want to do it more.”

McIlroy won three times during the Tour’s 2021-22 season, including a come-from-behind victory in the Tour Championship, and he finished in the top eight of all majors this calendar year.

Now, he’s heading to Europe, where in two weeks he’ll tee it up at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship on Sept. 8-11. He’s also set to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links, Sept. 29-Oct. 2.

McIlroy is also in position to win the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai, the season-long points race. He’s in first by more than 300 points. He has won the title three times but not since 2015.

“Look, it’s been a long few weeks and I’m looking forward to just chilling for a few days, but yeah, it gets you excited to get out there and play again because you’re playing well and you want to have this feeling more often,” McIlroy said.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/XdbAGEF

Scottie Scheffler earned a record-setting amount of money during the PGA Tour's 2021-22 season

Golfsolutions August 29, 2022

Scottie Scheffler earned a record-setting amount of money during the PGA Tour's 2021-22 season

Scottie Scheffler had a breakout season for the ages on the PGA Tour in 2022.

The 26-year-old from Dallas, Texas, won four times, including the Masters, and he has held the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking since his third victory at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March. He became one of the Tour’s new young stars.

He sets numerous records, but none may be more eye popping than the amount of money he won, which set a PGA Tour record for money earned in a single season.

“The money is great, obviously,” Scheffler said after finishing tied for second at the Tour Championship. “Playing professional golf for a living is such a gift. For me, I don’t play golf for money. I play to win tournaments, and I play to have fun and do my best and see where the game can take me.”

Here’s a look at all of the money Scheffler earned during the Tour’s 2021-22 season:

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/dnY3Vtk

Cameron Tringale, ranked 53rd in the world, announces he's heading to LIV Golf

Cameron Tringale, ranked 53rd in the world, announces he's heading to LIV Golf

In what’s expected to be a big week for the LIV Golf Series announcing its next wave of signings, the first domino has fallen.

Cameron Tringale, a 13-year PGA Tour veteran who hasn’t found the winner’s circle in 338 starts, announced on his Twitter he was not renewing his PGA Tour membership for next season and joining LIV Golf.

Since turning professional in 2009, Tringale has made $17,426,908 in 338 starts and holds the dubious distinction as the man to win the most money without ever winning a PGA Tour event. Tringale, who’s ranked 53rd in the world, has finished second four times in his career, including a tie for second at the 2021 Zozo Championship. He also finished tied for third at the Farmers Insurance Open and T-6 at the Genesis Scottish Open.

“After much reflection, prayer, and conversations with trusted advisors I have made the decision not to renew my TOUR membership for next year and join LIV Golf,” Tringale, 35, said in a statement on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/2IqSB0JXI6

— Cameron Tringale (@CamTringale) August 28, 2022

Tringale made it into the FedEx Cup Playoffs this year, missing the cut at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational. But, he was high enough in the standings to make it into the BMW Championship, where he finished 5 over after four rounds.

A report named Tringale as one of numerous golfers heading to LIV Golf this week, including Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/xnZgLdk

James Hahn cast the only dissenting vote on the changes coming to the PGA Tour. For the first time, he explains why

James Hahn cast the only dissenting vote on the changes coming to the PGA Tour. For the first time, he explains why

Two-time winner James Hahn doesn’t claim to be disappointed with the changes coming to the PGA Tour next season, but that doesn’t mean he is pleased with them either. As one of four player directors on the Tour’s nine-voting member Policy Board, he cast the lone dissenting vote. In a Golfweek exclusive, Hahn tells for the first time why he felt compelled to do so.

“Certain changes were made to combat the LIV Tour, not necessarily make our Tour any better,” he said in a phone interview on Saturday. “To prevent more players from leaving our Tour, we are ending up paying the top players in the world guaranteed money that has increased exponentially. Three years ago, we started implementing this new PIP program, which has grown to $100 million. It seems like the people who have the most influence of how much money is distributed to the top players in the world have a much stronger voice now than they’ve ever had. I understand the reasoning that the money is used to keep top players and without them, we have no Tour. My question to them is when is it enough? We’ve gone from $50 million to $100 million. When $100 million isn’t enough, will they ask for $200 million? How will that impact our business?”

Hahn noted that many of the same players who bashed LIV defectors as employees who no longer had the luxury to pick their schedule and privilege to play when they want to have essentially given up those very rights.

James Hahn earned the win at Quail Hollow in a one-hole playoff.

James Hahn wins at the 2016 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in a one-hole playoff.

“It’s interesting how things have switched,” he said of how top 20 players will have to make 20 mandatory starts (three non-elevated starts will be optional) to receive their PIP money. “Purses increasing to $20 million isn’t enough – they needed guaranteed money to give up their freedom. It feels very hypocritical and it could cannibalize the rest of the season and make the other tournaments feel like second-class events. By asking the best players to play more and essentially the same schedule they are going to end up taking the same week off. Are they going to play the Honda Classic with its $8-million purse or the $20 million purses that surround it? I fear we could end up like the ATP (tennis circuit) where only a handful of events draw real interest. These are some of the things we had to think through before we voted.”

Hahn expressed concern that the gap between the haves and have-nots has widened even deeper, and noted several of the meetings have become heated.

“We all want the same thing, what’s best for the Tour, but we have different ideas on how to get there,” he said. “Right now, it seems like they are catering to the top players in the world.”

Hahn understands how the business works – the value of the next TV contract will depend on star power and being able to have the best players competing against each other more often is a good thing. The dollars have grown considerably in the most recent TV deal that kicked in this year and that money gets distributed to the whole membership primarily through larger purses. Hahn contended that the Tour’s rank and file provide value too.

“If we were at a steak house and everything was a la carte how much do you pay for your steak compared to the asparagus and the baked potato? If you were to do a la carte, sure, the top players in the world are worth exponentially more than asparagus. But you don’t eat just steak at a steakhouse. You have to have your sides, right? The Tour won’t taste as good if you just had 20 tournaments on our TV networks just showing the top players in the world. It doesn’t work that way. In my opinion, it’s just as important that they fill the other 20+ events with high performance golf in the tournaments that the top players in the world aren’t playing in. We have to remember that the TV deal is paying for those events too.

“We’re valuable to the Tour – not as valuable – and we’re trying to find a middle ground of how much guaranteed money we should pay the top players versus distributing the money in purses among the rest of the membership.”

Seems like a good compromise for both the top and the bottom. $100mm for the top 20 players on the PIP and $5k travel stipend for non-exempt players on Tour. Agree or disagree?

— James Hahn (@JamesHahnPGA) August 24, 2022

He continued: “The secret meeting with Tiger and Rory set a precedent that the top 20 players can get whatever they want from the Tour. So, what’s stopping the other 90 percent of our Tour from getting together and doing the same exact thing as Rory and Tiger and saying the top 20 players can go play their own tournaments but the rest of the Tour, us 90 percent all stand together and we want more benefits? I feel like a portion of the $100 million could have gone to making our Tour great rather than going to the top 20. These are the little things that irritate the rest of the membership to the point there is a lot of animosity between the haves and have-nots.”

As a player director, Hahn enjoyed a front-row seat to a critical moment in time for the Tour. He wished he could’ve done more during his term on the board, which is coming to an end, but given the unique circumstances the Tour faced he’s not disappointed that he wasn’t able to do more.

“I understand the No. 1 priority has been to keep our top players,” he said. “We’ve lost DJ, Koepka, Bryson, Reed and others. That’s been the No. 1 priority. It takes up all the discussion away from other things that compared to that is meaningless. The thought process has been if we don’t focus all of our attention and throw as much as we can against the LIV Tour to keep our players, a year from now, we might not have a Tour to play on. That’s been the overall theme in these meetings and that’s why we pushed everything else to the backburner.”

Was enough thought and consideration given to the sweeping changes that have been announced since LIV became a reality?

Hahn sees both sides to that debate and says, “We didn’t have that much time to process and think and revise some of the changes that were made because we needed to do it before the end of the season so if someone was considering leaving that they would second guess themselves and ultimately stay with the Tour. If it prevents even one person from leaving, I guess it would be considered a success.”

He continued: “It’s crazy to think that it took a secret meeting between Tiger, Rory and the best players in the world to make a change so fast that could have been made a year or two ago. I was talking to Bryson (DeChambeau) before he left the Tour. That’s what he wanted. He wanted the top players in a room and have a conversation on what they bring to the Tour and how can they be compensated for it. Because of the person that Bryson is, I don’t think he got the respect of his peers to bring together those players.”

The 40-year-old Hahn, who finished 109^th in the FedEx Cup this season, never was approached by LIV. With the final wrap-around season starting in a few weeks, he’s motivated by the fact that if he plays the way he knows he’s capable of, he’ll be rewarded better than ever before. And he also knows that the changes being instituted will make it that much harder to retain his job.

“Everyone has their legacy – it’s not as great as Rory or Tiger – but I want mine to remain on the PGA Tour,” he said.

Does he expect the changes that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan got approved despite Hahn’s opposition to thwart more players from jumping ship to LIV?

“It all depends how invested the LIV Tour is,” he said. “If this were a game of poker, LIV raised, now we raised and it is back to the LIV Tour to call, raise again or fold.”

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/xnZgLdk

Best home practice equipment

Best home practice equipment

Golf is a game of practice.

Of course, finding time to practice can be more stressful than a 3-foot downhill slider to break 80 for the first time.

But don’t worry, we here at Golfweek want to help you spend more time over a golf ball and shave strokes off of your game. Below you’ll find some of the best at home practice equipment on the market.

Whether you’re looking to build your own swing studio or just want to crush a few golf balls after work, we have everything to help you get your reps in without leaving your driveway.

Looking for more than just an at home practice area? We have you covered from tee to green. Putting, short game, swing speed accessories and more can be found here:

Putting | Short Game | Rangefinders | GPS & Wearables | Swing Speed

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/xnZgLdk

Photos: Joaquin Niemann through the years

Photos: Joaquin Niemann through the years

The face of South American golf, Joaquin Niemann has become a fan favorite on the PGA Tour.

Nearing the top of the leaderboard nearly every week, Niemann has what appears to be a long and successful career ahead of him.

Niemann held the No. 1 World Amateur Golf Ranking for 44 consecutive weeks when he turned professional in 2018. Taking advantage of his first PGA Tour start, Niemann earned special status for the remainder of the 2018 season thanks to a 6th place finish at the Valero Texas Open.

Never looking back, Niemann racked up a win at the 2019 Greenbrier, becoming the first PGA Tour winner from Chile. Niemann has also played on the Presidents Cup International Team, going 0-3-1 in his event debut the same year.

In 2022, Niemann won his second PGA Tour event at the Genesis Invitational. With another solid year, Niemann looks to make better on his Presidents Cup record this fall at Quail Hollow.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/xnZgLdk

Play suspended at Tour Championship as Scottie Scheffler clings to lead, Hideki dazzles, and JT has to come back for 2-footer

Golfsolutions August 27, 2022

Play suspended at Tour Championship as Scottie Scheffler clings to lead, Hideki dazzles, and JT has to come back for 2-footer

ATLANTA – Scottie Scheffler will need to work overtime if he wants to win the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup on Sunday.

That’s because play was suspended with only 15 of the 29 players in the field having completed the third round at East Lake Golf Club on Saturday. Scheffler hit his tee shot at 13 into the right rough before play was suspended for the second time that afternoon due to lightning in the area at 6:36 p.m. and later called for the day. Play is expected to resume at 9:45 a.m. ET, and the final round will tee off at 11:15 a.m.

While slightly more than half the field finished their rounds on Saturday and can sleep in, Justin Thomas wasn’t so lucky. He has to get up and come back to the course to hit a 2-foot birdie putt and complete his third round. His eagle effort at 18 from 34 feet was struck just as the horn sounded. If he makes it, he will shoot 7-under 63.

When play was suspended, Scheffler was still 19 under for the tournament, but his two-stroke overnight lead had been trimmed in half by Xander Schauffele. South Korea’s Sungjae Im was 4 under through 14 holes and three strokes back of the lead.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/xnZgLdk

Past champions Laura Davies, Helen Alfredsson and Annika Sorenstam top star-studded U.S. Senior Women's Open board

Golfsolutions August 27, 2022

Past champions Laura Davies, Helen Alfredsson and Annika Sorenstam top star-studded U.S. Senior Women's Open board

KETTERING, Ohio – It’s a party of past champions at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, where there’s nothing left to prove but much to gain.

Laura Davies, the first to win the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, carded a bogey-free dream round of 5-under 68 to take a share of the lead at 4-under 215, with Helen Alfredsson, whose roller-coaster day didn’t settle down til she signed for a 75. Alfredsson won the second edition of the Senior Women’s Open.

Meanwhile, Annika Sorenstam, last year’s runaway champion, was down by as many as six strokes Saturday afternoon but finished the day within one. Sorenstam’s eventful round of even par had five bogeys – including a three-putt from 5 feet on No. 6 – and five birdies.

“I felt very jittery,” said Sorenstam. “I felt very uncomfortable. I couldn’t really find anything. I felt like I had 10 cups of coffee, and I haven’t had coffee all week.”

Davies hobbled into the media room early week with tape on her right Achilles heel, an injury suffered during a massage at the AIG Women’s British Open at Muirfield. While she withdrew from three events in the lead-up to NCR Country Club, Davies wasn’t about to miss this week, though the pain had moved to her calf muscle after walking funny for several weeks.

Davies began Saturday seven shots back but credited morning acupuncture treatment with helping improve her play. While it was still painful to walk, it no longer hurt to swing.

“The feelings are exactly the same,” said Davies of being back in contention for the first time in four years. “I can assure you it would feel no different if I was in contention on the LPGA. The job would probably be 10 times harder because instead of being one of the longer hitters. I’d be waving to Nelly (Korda) about 50 yards up the fairway and definitely Lexi (Thompson). So that’s slightly different. But the feelings and the being a bit scared on the first tee tomorrow for all the ones in contention, it will be the same for all of us.”

Annika Sorenstam plays her tee shot at the first hole during the third round at the 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at NCR Country Club (South Course) in Kettering, Ohio on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. (Jeff Haynes/USGA)

Many of the friendships, and the rivalries, this week at NCR are older than today’s stars on the LPGA.

Davies and Alfredsson met roughly four decades ago at a European Team Championship in Holland.

“She was so long, and we were like, ‘Who is this person?’” said Alfredsoon. “We were told to lay up, and by the time we hit our second shot we were at her drive, and it’s like, this is not working; we’ve got to figure out something. We’ve been friends ever since. I remember they won that year, and they had to perform something to ‘Thriller,’ and that was as bad as anything I’ve ever seen.”

Sorenstam will tee it up in the penultimate group alongside Jill McGill, a senior rookie who trials by one. McGill, 50, told her two kids, Blaze and Bella, that if she was in the top 10 after two rounds, they could fly up from Dallas for the weekend. They arrived late Friday night with dad.

Sorenstam and McGill were paired together in the final group of the 2002 U.S. Women’s Open at Prairie Dunes, won by Juli Inkster.

Only six players remain under par. Leta Lindley, another senior rookie who holds a share of third, will play alongside Catriona Matthew (1 under.)

Inkster, who has twice finished runner-up at this event, trails by five. No American player has ever won the U.S. Senior Women’s Open.

The top 11 players on the leaderboard boast 14 USGA titles between them, and while tour golf is no longer part of their lives, the competitive juices still flow freely.

“I’m sure like the girls that play pickleball or tennis, they are no less competitive there,” said Alfredsson.

“Play backgammon against me, it’s the same. Here we are walking the dog and you see somebody in front of you, and it’s like, yeah, I can catch him. It’s so stupid, but it’s always part of you.”

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/xnZgLdk