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CROMWELL, Conn. — It carried on so long that the standard bearer tapped out. The simple task of carrying a scoreboard that read ENGLISH -13 and HICKOK -13 had become downright exhausting. He’d been working overtime for 90 minutes, and five extra holes proved to be his breaking point. Neither man would miss a par

CROMWELL, Conn. — An 18-hole round of golf often plays out like a five-act saga. You start slow, catch fire, hit a wall, swear you’re taking up tennis, then finish with a flushed iron shot that has you counting down the minutes until your next round. A 72-hole stroke-play tournament, then, ventures toward three-volume epic,

1:56 PM ET Associated Press MUNICH — Viktor Hovland held off a final-round charge from Martin Kaymer to become the first Norwegian winner of a European Tour event at the BMW International Open on Sunday. Hovland (70) finished on 19 under to beat Kaymer by two shots after the German shot 8-under 64 in the

There are 70 golfers with tee times on Sunday at Atlanta Athletic Club, but the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship would seem to be a two-player showdown between Nelly Korda and Lizette Salas. The pair are tied at 15-under 201 through 54 holes, five shots clear of their next closest pursuers and

7:11 PM ET Associated Press AKRON, Ohio — Three opening birdies gave Steve Stricker an eight-shot lead in what looked to be a runaway in the Bridgestone Seniors Players Championship on Saturday. By the end of the day, Stricker was hanging on at Firestone. Stricker started missing greens and missing putts until his lead was

If Bubba Watson goes on to win the Travelers Championship for a fourth time on Sunday, he won’t remember what happened on the back nine on Saturday at TPC River Highlands. If he comes up short, though, a few wasted shots could prove to be nightmare-worthy. Those wasted shots, of course, came with the putter,

CROMWELL, Conn. — The PGA Tour created its $40 million Player Impact Program to reward its megastars. The guys who stop fans in their tracks, who need neither an introduction nor a last name. Tiger. Phil. Brooks. Bryson. Rory. Jim … Furyk? Nah. Jim … my Walker? Try again. We’re talking Jim Herman, the 43-year-old

7:12 PM ET Associated Press CROMWELL, Conn. — We pause now to fondly remember Bubba Watson’s neon pink driver, which broke apart mid-swing on the second tee in the Travelers Championship on Friday. And, if the three-time Travelers winner is going to have luck like this over the weekend, please spare a thought for the

Two years removed from arguably the lowest point in her professional career and three months into her return to competition, Michelle Wie West had reason to celebrate a golf accomplishment on Friday. With a three-under 69 in the second round at Atlanta Athletic Club, the 31-year-old is playing the weekend at the KPMG Women’s PGA

8:17 PM ET Associated Press JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Nelly Korda realized there were low scores available Friday at Atlanta Athletic Club. For the longest time, she couldn’t find them in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. And then the birdies came in bushels, one after another, six straight to close her second round that put

Following a first-round one-under 69, Brooks Koepka sounded a lot like a guy who was destined for an early exit at the Travelers Championship. “I’m awful the week after a major,” he said. “Because it takes so much out of you.” Fast forward to the 18th fairway on Friday, Koepka’s ninth hole, and suddenly he

CROMWELL, Conn.—Bubba Watson grew up in Bagdad, Fla. He splits his time between Pensacola and Scottsdale. But the man is at home in Connecticut. And he was this close to never coming back. Watson, a three-time winner of the Travelers Championship, is once again contending at TPC River Highlands thanks to back-to-back 66s. “When you

8:18 PM ET Associated Press JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Lizette Salas was in her happy place Thursday, and not just because she kept bogeys off her card at tough Atlanta Athletic Club and posted a 5-under 67 for a one-shot lead in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Her game is rounding into form as the

In professional golf, few things are more exciting than penciling in a nine-hole score that starts with a 2. On the contrary, few things are more frustrating than penciling in a nine-hole score that starts with a 4. Challenge Tour pro Jean Bekirian experienced both those feelings at the Open de Bretagne … in the

12:41 AM ET While COVID-19 restrictions are being eased across the United States, PGA Tour players who travel to The Open in England next month will face protocols and procedures more strict than any they have seen in months. According to a “Player Information Update” sent this week and obtained by ESPN, The Open at

Between the cross-country travel, getting beat up by Torrey Pines and the overall intensity of the U.S. Open, a natural letdown was to be expected for the big boys in the Travelers Championship field. Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, etc. Of course, we rarely hear tour pros actually admit to such a theory. “Yeah,

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — When Lizette Salas stood on stage for her post-round press conference, she laughed as one of the TV techs came out to lower the microphone for her. “It’s not good for my confidence when they do this every time,” she said, smiling at the assembled media. Salas had just finished her

11:55 AM ET It has been an interesting month for Jon Rahm. He started the month by withdrawing from Memorial after testing positive for COVID-19. Last week he won the U.S. Open. Now, as he nears the end of the month, he’s celebrating by blasting Queen’s “We Are The Champions” and using the U.S. Open

JOHN’S CREEK, Ga. — This week’s KPMG PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club will see the use of rangefinders for the first time in a women’s major competition, continuing a trend seen at the men’s PGA in Kiawah in May. The PGA of America has permitted their use at other competitive events in 2021, and

9:00 AM ET Coming off a thrilling U.S. Open at Torrey Pines that saw Jon Rahm capture his first major title, the PGA Tour now heads to Cromwell, Conn. for the Travelers Championship. Sports betting deputy editor David Bearman and betting analyst Chris “The Bear” Fallica both correctly hit on Rahm last week. Which players

Steve Stricker will be the U.S. Ryder Cup captain this September at Whistling Straits, but there’s a very good chance none of his 12 players will have matched something he already accomplished this year. At 54, Stricker has long been a part-time PGA Tour player, but when he tees it up, he can still hang

JOHN’S CREEK, Ga.—My pick to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is America’s Jennifer Kupcho, and until you prove me absolutely, comprehensively wrong, I will insist that it’s dead on the mark. Why am I picking Kupcho? There are a few good reasons, such as the fact that she’s the No. 24-ranked golfer in the

8:16 AM ET Associated Press VIRGINIA WATER, England — Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell, players who have holed decisive putts for Europe at Ryder Cups, were appointed Wednesday as vice captains for the team for the 2021 edition at Whistling Straits in September. They joined Luke Donald and Robert Karlsson as assistants to captain Padraig

The adage “drive for show, putt for dough” once defined the approach to playing professional golf. But stats professors and doctoral numbers crunchers have dispelled that myth, offering hard data to show the advantage golfers receive for hitting the ball even just a yard or two farther than they already do. In turn, modern players

3:29 PM ET Associated Press Four of the top 10 men in the world golf ranking are not going to Japan for the Olympics, only one of them by choice. The 60-man field was set Tuesday based on the world ranking with a half-dozen late withdrawals, a list that included U.S. Open runner-up Louis Oosthuizen

Ahh, a post-major week. It’s a great time to take the week off as a gambler—not sweat for once—and maybe enjoy Sunday afternoon with your significant other. Scratch that, it’s Travelers Championship week, also known as the fifth major. It’s another can’t-miss affair on the PGA Tour, a tournament that continues to boast a strong

Even if you consult our handy dandy timeline of events, it’s difficult to tell who truly “started” the Brooks Koepka-Bryson DeChambeau feud. Technically, it would appear Koepka struck first when he called out slow players in 2019, though he never mentioned DeChambeau by name. But DeChambeau clearly felt it was a message meant for him

9:54 PM ET SAN DIEGO — Bryson DeChambeau had gone 30 consecutive holes without a bogey and after making the turn at 2-under 33, he was only one shot behind the leader in Sunday’s final round of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Then things imploded for the defending U.S. Open champion. DeChambeau had back-to-back

With the extended history at this course, the key stats model at RickRunGood.com is filled with strong data. It gives a nod to strokes gained/off the tee as the most important stat this week, and shows only nine other courses on tour where SG/off the tee is more important. We’ve historically seen some very low

10:41 PM ET SAN DIEGO — When Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes reached his tee shot on the par-3 11th hole in the final round of the 121st U.S. Open on Sunday, he couldn’t believe what he saw. His ball was lodged between two twigs on the branch of a tree and never came down. “I mean,