Following an opening round, one-over 72, it felt like we were in for another lost week for Rory McIlroy. Then, he literally bounced back for the ultimate bounce-back victory, shooting rounds of 66, 68 and 68 to capture his first win since November of 2019. While it was hardly the biggest come-from-behind win ever, it
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8:08 PM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In golf’s pandemic world, golf without spectators has often felt like the beach without sun. For Rory McIlroy, the return of living, breathing souls along the ropes, behind tee boxes and surrounding greens — ever so slowly but increasing week by week — may have been just as important
CHARLOTTE — In the four weeks since his unceremonious Friday afternoon departure from Augusta National, Rory McIlroy pounded ball after ball on the driving range. Sometimes at Jack Nicklaus’ Bears Club, sometimes at Michael Jordan’s Grove XXIII, but always on flat ground with a perfect lie. When you’re trying to groove swing tweaks, that’s what
Steve Stricker experienced a blowout on what was tantamount to a victory lap in the final round of the Regions Tradition on Sunday, providing Alex Cejka an opening that he took to win for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions. The defending champion, Stricker carried a three-stroke into the back nine at Greystone
7:31 AM ET Ariya Jutanugarn finally got her hands on the Honda LPGA Thailand title after 14 years of trying on Sunday, beating compatriot Atthaya Thitikul by one stroke in a dramatic finish to the $1.6 million tournament. Having hit a ninth birdie at the 18th hole to sign for a flawless 63, the 25-year-old
It’s become a theme in 2021, star players ending surprisingly long victory droughts. Jordan Spieth (Valero Texas Open), Hideki Matsuyama (Masters), Lydia Ko (Lotte Championship), Brooke Henderson (Hugel-Air Premia LA Open) and Hyo Joo Kim (HSBC Women’s World Championship) all have found themselves champions again after long waits to regain their winning form. On Sunday
9:17 PM ET Associated Press JUNO BEACH, Fla. — Cole Hammer and Ricky Castillo each won two matches Saturday in the Walker Cup and the United States took a 7-5 lead into the final day as it goes for its fifth straight victory on home soil. Hammer teamed with Davis Thompson in the morning to
JUNO BEACH, Fla. — It’s not often a two-day competition can be called a battle of attrition. But it’s hard to describe the 48th Walker Cup as anything but that … and we haven’t even reached Day 2. Saturday’s double-session, 11-hour marathon at Seminole Golf Club saw the unprecedented format change of allowing alternates to
If you did a deep stats dive, you’d find that Keith Mitchell, despite a lack of strong results, had been hitting the ball very nicely of late, both off the tee and with his irons. During that same deep dive, though, you’d also see his putting numbers from the Valspar Championship, which would cause you
1:27 PM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryson DeChambeau had an early wake-up alarm set for Saturday morning. Very early. Even by the standards of an 8:10 a.m. tee time. That’s because DeChambeau began the day in Dallas — where he went Friday afternoon after believing he had missed the 36-hole cut at the Wells Fargo
Phil Mickelson looked to his old self on Thursday at Quail Hollow. Hitting bombs, holing birdies, treating par 5s like they’re par 4s, holding court like a high school quarterback recalling the game-winning drive in the state final. On Friday, Mickelson looked like his old self, the one who’s not so much holding court as
8:24 PM ET ESPN News Services CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Phil Mickelson was 11 shots worse than his previous round at Quail Hollow. Bryson DeChambeau made an 8 on his 16th hole and headed straight for the exit. Turns out nothing was as bad as it seemed Friday in the Wells Fargo Championship. Morning gusts gave
CHARLOTTE — Environmentalists, turn away. Jokes aside, we’re going to give Bryson DeChambeau the benefit of the doubt here. When he finished his second-round 74 at the Wells Fargo Championship on Friday, he sat two over for the tournament. At the time—and again, we’re just hypothesizing here—he likely thought he was definitely going to miss
JUNO BEACH, Fla. — The 2021 Walker Cup was always going to be a memorable event by virtue of its host venue, the nearly 100-year-old biennial competition being played at famed Seminole Golf Club for the first time. But the rare public showing of the ultra-private Donald Ross course has been overshadowed on the eve
2:55 PM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rory McIlroy slipped to 15th in the world this week, which in golf’s big-picture world is not a huge deal. But when you consider that it is the lowest he has been since 2009 — when he was just 20 years old — it means a good bit more.
JUNO BEACH, Fla. — Ahead of this week’s Walker Cup, a handful of players from both the United States and Great Britain & Ireland teams have mentioned coming down with stomach bugs while in South Florida. The issue, however, is becoming a bigger concern as the 48th edition of the biennial event is set to
7:11 PM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just last week, Phil Mickelson complained about his inability to focus properly as he struggled yet again, missing the cut at the Valspar Championship. It was Joel Dahmen who got Mickelson’s full attention Thursday at the Wells Fargo Championship, when Dahmen mentioned him in a couple of good-natured social
JUNO BEACH, Fla. — In the 99-year history of the Walker Cup, there have been 310 golfers who have represented Great Britain & Ireland in the biennial matches. Of them, 84 have played for a victorious GB&I team (the Old World has won nine times in 47 matches). And of that group, a select 20
It’s Wells Fargo Championship week, and it’s hard for me to think about this tournament without thinking about Derek Ernst, the shocking winner of the 2013 event who out-dueled Phil Mickelson on Sunday and beat David Lynn in a playoff despite coming into the event with a world ranking of 1,208. I spent a bit
3:16 PM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After a month off that included missing his first major championship in more than 10 years, Rickie Fowler went back to work Thursday at the Wells Fargo Championship, trying to regain his form to make sure no more majors are missed in the future. And he revealed after shooting
CHARLOTTE — It’s never fun having to withdraw from an event on Thursday morning. It’s especially disappointing when that event is taking place on your home course. Quail Hollow member and resident Webb Simpson—he lives next to the seventh tee—withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship on Thursday morning with a neck strain. First alternate Tim
5:31 PM ET Associated Press PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Players trying to reach the PGA Tour soon will be competing for more money to help them along the way. The Korn Ferry Tour, the circuit right below the PGA Tour, informed players on Tuesday that prize money will be a minimum of $1 million
Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has been something of a powerhouse in Division II men’s golf in recent years, with the Sharks winning the national championship in 2012 and 2015 and finishing runner-up in 2014. Almost as notable? The lineage surrounding this year’s group as it makes a bid for another title beginning
Texas, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Clemson, Oklahoma and Wake Forest earned top seeds when the NCAA men’s golf committee announced on Wednesday the 81 schools and 45 individuals to play in the six NCAA Men’s Regional tournaments May 17-19. The return of the NCAA postseason is a welcome sight after the 2020 NCAA Championship was
11:55 AM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Phil Mickelson will be 51 next month and admits his golf career his winding down. So the idea of being offered a reported $100-million per year to play in a rival golf league to the PGA Tour is understandably something that would give him pause. Mickelson acknowledged Wednesday that
With the PGA Championship just a few weeks away, many of the top PGA Tour pros will be making the trip to North Carolina to prepare for that second men’s major in South Carolina. Thirteen of the top 20 players in the FedEx Cup standings are competing at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., in
7:02 AM ET The PGA Championship is back in its normal spot in May after shifting to August in 2020 because of COVID-19. Last year’s event, won by Collin Morikawa, was played at TPC Harding Park without fans on-site. The spectators will be back this year as the event returns to the Ocean Course at
Another week, another strong field, another unbelievably difficult golf course. The PGA Tour, which stops at Quail Hollow this week for the Wells Fargo Championship, remains a can’t-miss affair right now, and we’ve already got another major in the near future. There is no quit in this Super Season. Last week, though, one of the
CHARLOTTE — Brendon Todd has withdrawn from the Wells Fargo Championship after testing positive for COVID-19, the PGA Tour announced Tuesday morning. He will be replaced in the field by J.J. Spaun. The news comes one week after four players tested positive and were thus forced to pull out of the Valspar Championship: Tyrrell Hatton,
7:00 AM ET The weeks following the Masters are typically sleepy, and this year is no different. After the buildup to the year’s first major championship, it is understandable that the world of golf collectively exhales. The RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, has a cool vibe. New Orleans is now a team event.