Golf Connecting

We’ve all been there. You just don’t expect a touring professional to become one of us. At least, not like this. Ashun Wu, a 37-year-old from China, made eight birdies Thursday during an opening-round 63 at the Spanish Open at Club de Campo Villa in Madrid. But Friday was a completely different story. Wu started

6:04 AM ET Associated Press BANGKOK — Richard Bland, Branden Grace and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra upstaged their more illustrious opponents Friday to shoot 7-under 65s and share the lead after the first round of the LIV Golf Invitational-Bangkok. Marc Leishman and Ian Poulter were a stroke behind and Sihwan Kim, Brooks Koepka and Jediah Morgan were

“The OWGR states: ‘The primary objective of the Ranking is to maintain, review, update, administer and promote the recognition of a system that fairly ranks the relative performance of golfers participating in the leading men’s professional tournaments throughout the world.’ Clearly, the MENA Tour’s first event of the 2022/23 season, the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok,

The plan was both creative and audacious at the same time. By partnering with the developmental MENA Tour, already approved by the Official World Golf Ranking, LIV Golf seemed to have identified a credible path to have its Invitational Series events finally receive the World Ranking status the upstart Saudi-backed circuit so longingly craved. And

10:01 PM ET Associated Press CAMARILLO, Calif. — Jodi Ewart Shadoff went on a run of four straight birdies late in her round Thursday for an 8-under 64, taking a 2-shot lead in the LPGA Mediheal Championship. Ewart Shadoff has played 245 times on the LPGA Tour without winning, but she got off to a

When does a tour pro ever play golf in tennis shoes? In the case of Tano Goya, it was when he found out he was due on the first tee in two minutes. Goya, a 34-year-old from Argentina, was an alternate at the Shriners Children’s Open and prepared all week like he was going to

9:18 AM ET The Official World Golf Ranking governing board is reviewing LIV Golf’s new alliance with the MENA Tour but said in a statement Thursday that it won’t make a ruling before the start of LIV Golf’s next two events, in Thailand and Saudi Arabia. LIV Golf officials hoped its newly formed partnership with

There will be no World Ranking points awarded for this weekend’s LIV Golf Series event in Bangkok, according to a statement from the Official World Golf Ranking released on Thursday. In a move that appeared to be an attempt to circumvent the review process for eligibility, LIV Golf on Wednesday announced a partnership with the

It only took two questions before 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson was asked if Tiger Woods will play a part of his squad next year when the matches head to Rome. The question was expected, and the answer was simple. “I can’t put this mildly—he loves the Ryder Cup,” Johnson said Tuesday as

If Patrick Welch held the golf club normally—right hand low, left hand high—you wouldn’t even notice he was in the field this week at the Shriners Children’s Open. But Welch does not hold the golf club normally, and the abnormal always sparks interest from the masses in this sport (see: Wolff, Matthew). Welch, a fifth-year

Officials with LIV Golf, frustrated that the Board of Directors with the Official World Golf Ranking has not expedited a review of the Saudi-backed circuit’s application for accreditation, are trying another avenue in order to have players earn OWGR points. On Wednesday, the MENA Tour (short for Middle East and North Africa) announced a partnership

A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that LIV Golf, Bryson DeChambeau and others remaining in the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour most disclose a log of any communications among themselves and outside counsel about the Saudi-backed league, “regardless of whether the communications were before or after the date the complaint was filed.” LIV

The first stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q school wrapped up last week, as over 900 players teed it up at 12 sites, with 314 players advancing. This is the last year of the current Q-school structure, where 40 players are exempt for at least the first eight events. Next year five PGA Tour cards

Tiger Woods has been in hibernation since the Open Championship (not counting the occasional emergency trip to Delaware). According to one confidant, Woods’ next outing might be closer than you think. Speaking on SiriusXM’s PGA Tour Radio, Notah Begay III—who was college teammates with Woods—said the 15-time major winner could make an appearance this autumn.

Tom Kim is 20 years old … won’t be 21 for another eight months. He’s in Las Vegas this week for the Shriners Children’s Open. The legal age to consume alcohol in Sin City is 21, but if anything, Kim has proved over the past two months that he doesn’t need any of that to

If there feels like a bit of desperation in LIV Golf’s latest attempt to find a way for its events to offer Official World Golf Ranking points—partnering with the developmental MENA Tour that hasn’t held an event in more than two years—perhaps that’s understandable. Among the upstart Saudi-backed circuit’s remaining hurdles to legitimacy is being

Professional golfers quite literally bet on themselves every time they tee it up, so they’re no strangers to a little bit of action. But playing 1-on-1 for a coveted PGA Tour start as a struggling Korn Ferry Tour pro? Well, that’s just the most diabolical thing we’ve ever heard. That’s exactly what went down a

Coming off a strong showing at the Presidents Cup and looking to defend his Shriners Children’s Open title, Sungjae Im will be one of many Quail Hollow participants teeing off in Las Vegas this week. Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Cam Davis, Si Woo Kim, K.H. Lee, Mito Pereira, Taylor Pendrith and Christiaan Bezuidenhout

4:49 PM ET William E. Ricks When it comes to putting, golfer Spencer Levin‘s putting form is a little more unorthodox than most. It even parallels one of Adam Sandler’s iconic movie characters. 1 Related While practicing at the Shriner Children’s Open on Wednesday, Levin showed off a putting grip that looked similar to Happy

The U.S. team captured the Presidents Cup again, taking down the International team 17½ to 12½ at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday. It was the Americans’ ninth straight victory and 12th in 14 editions of the event. Over four days, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas emerged as the face of American

Oct 2, 2022 Associated Press Ryan Fox clinched his second DP World Tour title of the year on Sunday, finishing a shot clear of Alex Noren and Callum Shinkwin as the 2022 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship concluded at St. Andrews. Four shots off the lead in joint second place heading into the final round, Fox

Oct 2, 2022 Associated Press THE COLONY, Texas — Charley Hull put a little extra time into putting practice, and it paid off for her in a big way Sunday when she ran off four birdies on the back nine for a 7-under 64 to win The Ascendant LPGA. Hull won for the first time

Oct 2, 2022 Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. — Whether it was sheer confidence or remarkable resilience, Mackenzie Hughes never doubted he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship. He just never imagined how it would unfold Sunday evening. Hughes had to make six key putts on the final seven holes — four of them for par

Oct 4, 2022 ESPN News Services ROME — Whether Tiger Woods makes it to Italy or not for next year’s Ryder Cup, he’ll be an integral member of the U.S. team, captain Zach Johnson said Tuesday at the year-to-go ceremonies. “Given who he is and what he’s all about, I can tell you right now,

Oct 4, 2022 Associated Press Tiger Woods has another loaded field for his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Woods on Tuesday announced 17 players for the 20-man field, and all but four are from the top 21 in the world ranking. Still to be announced is whether the player at No. 1,195 in the

Oct 4, 2022 Associated Press The path for 30 players to reach the PGA Tour starts in the Bahamas next year as part of a Korn Ferry Tour schedule that has the same number of tournaments, nearly $8 million more in prize money and a revamped end of the year. The Korn Ferry Tour released

11:21 AM ET LIV Golf is forming a strategic alliance with the little-known MENA Tour in hopes of securing Official World Golf Ranking points for its players. The MENA Tour, a feeder circuit that has staged tournaments in the Middle East and North Africa, had been shuttered for more than two years during the COVID-19

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jay Monahan has never faced a more tumultuous time as PGA Tour commissioner. More than two dozen PGA Tour members have defected to the LIV Golf circuit, which is being fronted by two-time Open Championship winner Greg Norman and funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The PGA Tour is currently facing

At a tournament named after an insurance company that provides some certainty and a sense of steadiness for people, Patrick Cantlay is about as steady as they come. And he proved that again during Saturday’s third round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands, where a seven-under-par 63 on Satruday has him within one

7:13 PM ET Associated Press CROMWELL, Conn. — Xander Schauffele shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over good friend and playing partner Patrick Cantlay into the final round of the Travelers Championship. Schauffele had a 17-under 193 total at TPC River Highlands. Cantlay shot 63. Rookie Sahith Theegala was third