Author: elias.scharner

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LPGA Tour

Nelly Korda Suffers Practice Injury

Nelly Korda has suffered a minor injury in practice. (Image: Getty)
Nelly Korda has suffered a minor injury in practice. (Image: Getty)

World number one Nelly Korda has suffered a minor neck injury in training. The 26-year-old announced this in a tweet. In it, she also informed her fans that she would not be able to compete in the LPGA tournaments in Korea and Malaysia.

Korda was sad about the situation, but also grateful for the support: “I’m disappointed to miss these events and am especially sorry to my fans who were looking forward to seeing me play.[…]Thank you for all your support—it truly means the world to me!”

Nelly Korda’s return uncertain

Korda has not announced where and when she will return. After the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea and the Maybank Championship in Malaysia, there are two more LPGA events in Asia before returning to the USA for the last two tournaments.

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Uncategorized

Opinion: These are the Things the PGA Tour Should Improve on its Schedule

The PGA Tour is missing a few opportunities, for example there is no tournament in New York. (Photo: Getty)

The schedule for the 2025 season has been finalised and a closer look reveals that the PGA Tour is currently missing out on a number of opportunities. For example, there will once again be no PGA Tour tournaments in New York, the largest media market in the USA. As in 2024, there will also be no match play tournament next year. It’s a shame, as this form of play is firmly rooted in the history of this wonderful sport. Finally, there is the issue of the signature events: the eight highly lucrative tournaments on the tour will be the same in 2025 – with the exception of one tournament. A missed opportunity to promote other great competitions in the calendar.

Bethpage Black, Liberty National, Westchester CC – New York would have a lot to offer

Of course, the tour is bound by contracts, but something needs to be changed as soon as possible. There is always a lot of talk about ‘growing the game’ and the fans. So why are there no events in New York, the sports-fanatic city in the north-east of the USA? There is certainly no shortage of fantastic venues. Liberty National on the outskirts of New York and with a view of the Statue of Liberty is probably the first thing that springs to mind when you think of New York and golf, along with Bethpage Black. So golf and New York are no strangers. Bethpage Black has already hosted majors and will be the venue for the 2025 Ryder Cup. Last but not least, there is the Westchester Country Club, which hosted an event on the tour from 1967 to 2007.

Tournaments in sports-crazy markets would be an opportunity to realise ‘growing the game’. Especially if the events are placed appropriately in the calendar. The two weeks before the Opens in Scotland and Great Britain and the two weeks after would be the perfect time for tournaments in New York. The weather is right and the NFL, NBA and NHL are all on break. The perfect opportunity to organise one or more golf tournaments in this insatiable sports city and attract new fans. Events in ‘NY’ not only attract fanatical local fans, but also international TV viewers – especially when played in front of backdrops such as the Statue of Liberty.

Tiger Woods at Liberty National in 2009 (Photo: Getty)
Tiger Woods at Liberty National in 2009 (Photo: Getty)

And why not kill two birds with one stone and organise a match play tournament? Liberty National has experience with the format, having hosted the Presidents Cup in 2017. There is definitely interest in the PGA Tour on the part of the club. In 2021, President Dan Fireman said: ‘We are exploring different events with the PGA Tour. Everything from more playoff events to new events that they have in development to events that we could host ourselves – obviously with the Tour. So we have a bright future and our relationship with the Tour is great.’ In 2023, it was announced that Liberty National would be allowed to host at least one tournament on the PGA Tour: the 2027 BMW Championship (currently a FedEx Cup playoff event)

Rotate the signature events on the PGA Tour

The Signature Events have existed in their current form since this year. Eight tournaments with high prize money, lots of FedExCup points and in some cases no cut. The eight tournaments include the three ‘player hosted events’, i.e. the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger Woods‘ Genesis Invitational and Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament. These tournaments should be seeded, but there are also tournaments such as the RBC Heritage. The event on Hilton Head Island traditionally takes place the week after the Masters. This means that Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and co. head straight to a signature event after the most important competition of the year, i.e. the highest tournament category apart from the majors, the Players Championship and the play-offs.

After the exhausting Masters, it can happen that players who have not had a good week, such as Viktor Hovland 2024 or Rory McIlroy 2023, withdraw from the RBC Heritage. A damper on one of the goals of the Signature Series, namely to gather the best PGA Tour players in one place and at one tournament. Incidentally, the same thing happened at the 2024 Travelers Championship when McIlroy withdrew from the tournament due to his US Open drama. The scheduling of signature events after major tournaments is therefore questionable, especially as the tournament organisers invest a lot of money in such a tournament. It would therefore make sense to rotate the signature events. Other tournaments would also benefit from this. Events such as the World Championship Phoenix Open or the RBC Canadian Open provide a spectacle and attract large crowds of golf fans every year. The following pictures should speak for themselves:

Waste Management Phoenix Open 2022 (Foto: Getty)
Waste Management Phoenix Open 2022 (Foto: Getty)

Robert MacIntyre celebrates his triumph at the RBC Canadian Open 2024 with the fans. (Photo: Getty)
Robert MacIntyre celebrates his triumph at the RBC Canadian Open 2024 with the fans. (Photo: Getty)

So there is still a lot of room for improvement for the PGA Tour in terms of the tournament schedule and therefore a fundamental part of the product. A positive change in this area will also help to win back fans who have been lost due to the ongoing conflict with the LIV Golf League. Spectacular backdrops such as the one in front of the Statue of Liberty in New York will certainly also attract non-golfers to the sport.

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Highlights Tours

2024 Presidents Cup: All You Need to Know About the Team Competition

All you need to know about the 2024 Presidents Cup. (Image: Getty)
All you need to know about the 2024 Presidents Cup. (Image: Getty)

From September 26 to 29, the 15th edition of the Presidents Cup will take place at The Royal Montreal GC. The twelve best golfers from the USA will compete against the twelve best international players (excluding Europe). The tournament is played over four days. The first team to reach 15.5 points wins the golden cup.

All you need to know about the Presidents Cup

The schedule for the 2024 Presidents Cup

Unlike the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup does not take place over three days, but four. Five fourball matches are played on Day 1, followed by five foursomes on Day 2. On Saturday, the tournament is played in two sessions, first four fourballs and then four foursomes. Sunday traditionally sees the twelve singles duels.

The golf course

The Royal Montreal GC in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the venue for the 15th edition. The course is a par 70 and has a parkland-style front nine. On the back nine, water hazards come into play on the last five holes. The Royal Montreal GC is the oldest golf club in North America and was founded in 1873.

How many points does a team need to win and what happens in the event of a tie?

A team needs 15.5 points to win the Cup – one point more than in the Ryder Cup. This is because 30 matches are played at the Presidents Cup, two more than at the Ryder Cup. The scoring system for the matches is the same: one point is awarded for a win, half a point is awarded to both teams if a match is tied after 18 holes. If the Presidents Cup ends in a draw, the two teams share the cup – another significant difference to the Ryder Cup.

2024 Presidents Cup: Team USA

The team is made up of six qualified golfers and six captain’s picks. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala have qualified.

Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman and Max Homa were selected for the team by US captain Jim Furyk.

The International Team

Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Sungjae Im (South Korea), Adam Scott (Australia), Tom Kim (South Korea), Jason Day (Australia) and Byeong Hun An (South Korea) made it into the team by qualifying. Min Woo Lee (Australia), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa), Si Woo Kim (South Korea) and the three Canadians Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners were selected for the team by captain Mike Weir.

Why are there no LIV golfers? And other interesting facts

LIV Golf players

Because the Presidents Cup is organized by the PGA Tour, no LIV golfers are allowed to take part in the competition. This affects the International Team in particular, as top players such as Cam Smith, Joaquin Niemann and Louis Oosthuizen are missing.

Differences to the Ryder Cup

While 28 matches are played over three days at the Ryder Cup, there are 30 matches over four days at the Presidents Cup. Furthermore, in the event of a final tie, the cup does not go to the defending champion but is shared. The setup of the course is not subject to the home team, but to the PGA Tour – another significant difference.

Do the players earn money for competing?

Not for themselves, but each participant will receive an equal share of the event proceeds for a charity of their choice.

The trophy

The golden trophy designed by Tiffany & Co. weighs around 28 pounds. The original can be found in the World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Categories
Highlights Tours

Jon Rahm and the Ryder Cup Question

Jon Rahm at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. (Image: Getty)
Jon Rahm at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. (Image: Getty)

Jon Rahm could miss the 2025 Ryder Cup. In order to be eligible for the team event, Rahm needs to be eligible to play on the DP World Tour. He will only retain this if he plays four events (excluding majors) on the DP World Tour before the end of the 2024 season. The Spaniard has currently only played one event with his appearance at the Olympics. The Spaniard would like to fulfill the other three appearances at the Open de Espana, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the Andalucia Masters. However, in order to be allowed to play there at all, he must pay the fines imposed by the Tour or appeal against them. The two-time major champion commented on the issue ahead of the LIV event in Chicago.

Jon Rahm: “ I Don’t Intend to Pay the Fines”

“We keep trying to have a discussion with [the DPWT] about how we can make this happen” said Rahm, who was asked about the issue at the LIV Chicago PK. The 29-year-old doesn’t have much time left, as the first of the three tournaments on the agenda, the Open de Espana, takes place from September 26-29.

Rahm’s LIV teammate Tyrrell Hatton has appealed against the sanctions (fines and suspensions). This appeal allows for a provisional stay of execution and thus participation in the DP World Tour tournaments. Even if the DP World Tour ultimately wins the case (previous cases involving other players have gone in the Tour’s favor), the players can still take part in the tournaments thanks to the postponement and thus meet the required number of participations.

Update: According to ESPN Jon Rahm appealed against the sanctions on Thursday and is therefore allowed to play DP World Tour events until an independent panel decides whether he has to pay the fine.

Brooks Koepka also Wants to Play in the Links Championship – Just Like the LIV Boss in 2023

Brooks Koepka also announced in the run-up to the tournament in Chicago that he wants to tee it up at the Links Championship in October. “St. Andrews is my favorite course in the world,” Koepka said. The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship takes place on three courses, including the Old Course in St. Andrews. LIV players are regular guests on the former European Tour – but not only the players, but also PIF boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan. He took part in the prestigious Links Championship as an amateur in 2023. Curious: the head of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was initially known by the pseudonym Andrew Watermann.

Incidentally, Al-Rumayyan’s LIV golfers have already won seven tournaments in the current DP World Tour season, and five of the first six events of the season were won by LIV players.

Categories
Equipment

WITB: Matt Wallace Triumphs with Four Different Brands

WITB: Matt Wallace (Image: Getty)
WITB: Matt Wallace (Image: Getty)

Matt Wallace wins the European Masters in Switzerland with clubs from Ping, TaylorMade, Titleist and Callaway. It is the Englishman’s fifth victory on the DP World Tour.

WITB: Four brands for the win

The Englishman currently uses the Ping G430 LST driver (10.5˚). With the Ping model, he finished twelfth in the “Strokes Gained: Off the Tee” statistics at the European Masters and eighth in driving accuracy. With the Qi10 Tour (16.5˚), he also has a TaylorMade club in his bag as a fairway wood. For the hybrid, Wallace currently relies on the TSR2 (18˚) from Titleist. The fourth brand in the 34-year-old’s bag is Callaway. From the 4-iron to the 9-iron, he relies on the Callaway X Forged CB model. The rest of the golf bag is filled with Titleist clubs. Wallace plays the Titleist Vokey SM10’s wedges with 46, 50 and 54 degrees of loft and the SM10-WW Proto model with 60 degrees of loft. The Titleist Scotty Cameron Tour Only T-9 putter and Titleist Pro V1 X-balls (2023) complete the set.

Matt Wallace WITB

Image: Ping

Driver: Ping G430 LST

Image: TaylorMade

Fairway wood: TaylorMade Qi10

Image: Titleist

Hybrid: Titleist TSR2

Image: Callaway

Irons: Callaway X Forged

Image: Titleist

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Wallace moves up the Race to Dubai Rankings

Matt Wallace, currently in 73rd place in the world rankings, improved to 22nd place in the Race to Dubai with his victory at the traditional tournament in Crans Montana. He is therefore currently safely in the top 50 of the season rankings. The top 50 players are allowed to compete at the DP World Tour Championship in November.

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LIV Tour Uncategorized

LIV Golf Schedule 2025 Overlaps with Important PGA Tour Tournaments

The LIV Golf Singapore and The Players will be played on the same weekend. (Image: Getty)
The LIV Golf Singapore and The Players will be played on the same weekend. (Image: Getty)

The LIV Golf League has announced the first four tournaments for the 2025 schedule. LIV Golf will start its season in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, February 6-8. A week later the saudi-financed circuit will head to Australia for one of their marquee events. LIV Golf Adelaide (Feb. 14-16) will once again be played on “The Grange”. LIV Golf Hong Kong (Mar. 7-9) and LIV Golf Singapore (Mar. 14-16) round out the first events of the 2025 schedule. At first sight it is obvious, that the circuit starts the next season with an international schedule. If you also take a look on which PGA Tour events will be played parallel to LIVs events, it will show, that the league is not backing down from important and prestigious PGA Tour tournaments.

LIV Golf Singapore and The Players on the same weekend

Certainly the most notable overlap is the one between the Singapore Event and The Players (Mar. 13-16). While this might be the most notable overlap, the other three are also woth noting. The season kickoff in Saudi Arabia will take place February 6-8 parallel to the WM Phoenix Open (Feb. 6-9). A week later the Adelaide event (Feb. 14-16) and the Genesis Invitational (Feb. 13-16) are set. Last but not least the Hong Kong tournament overlaps with the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

It has to be mentioned, that due to the time difference the events will not overlap in terms of (TV-)time. Nonetheless it will be interesting to see, if there is any effect on either of the tournaments.

Categories
Panorama

Justin Thomas Is Going to Be a Dad

Justin Thomas (Image: Getty)
Justin Thomas (Image: Getty)

Justin Thomas announced on Instagram yesterday that he will become a father for the first time at the end of November. In the post, he first wrote about his 2024 season, Scottie Scheffler and not being nominated for the Presidents Cup. In the final paragraph, JT announced the event briefly: “It will be nice to have some time to work on things, foundation event, some Rest and Recovery, and even become a dad at the end of November!” He did not reveal whether it would be a boy or a girl. It is the first child for Justin Thomas and his wife Jillian, who married in 2022. No further information about the birth was revealed in the social media post, but there were other interesting sections in his post.

JT about his season and the Presidents Cup

The two-time major champion started his statement with his 2024 PGA Tour season: “2024 season is a wrap. I’m very proud and happy about some signs of improvement that were shown. Although (per usual), I am far from satisfied. Finishing the year in Atlanta at the TOUR Championship is something I never want to take for granted. I look forward to working to get back there next year.”

Furthermore the 31-year old wrote about not being nominated for the Presidents Cup 2024: “I’m obviously very bummed to not be joining the boys in Canada for the Presidents Cup, but completely understanding. Jim has put together a great team. I will be the first one pulling for them and watching, while using it as motivation to not miss a team event again as they are some of my favorite weeks I’ve had.”

No captain’s pick for Justin Thomas

The teams for the 15th edition of the Presidents Cup were also finalized on Tuesday. Thomas, who had not qualified, did not receive one of the six captain’s picks from US captain Jim Furyk. Instead, the picks went to Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Brian Harman, Russell Henley and Max Homa. The Presidents Cup will take place from September 24-29, 2024 at The Royal Montreal GC in Montreal, Canada. The US team will compete against the international team (rest of the world, excluding Europe). Of the 14 editions so far, the USA has won twelve times, the internationals have won once and one duel ended in a draw.

Categories
Panorama

Scottie Schefflers Cap Sold for Impressive Price

This white cap by Scottie Scheffler was last auctioned for a four-figure sum. (Image: Getty)
This white cap by Scottie Scheffler was last auctioned for a four-figure sum. (Image: Getty)

Do you remember May 17, 2024? – That’s right, that was the Friday on which world number one Scottie Scheffler was arrested. Pictures of Scheffler in prison garb went around the world and it was unclear whether he would even make it to his second round tee time at the PGA Championship. As is well known, he did make it and even played an impressive – for the circumstances – round of 66. The white Nike golf cap he was wearing that day was auctioned off at a Kids Cancer Alliance charity event along with three golf balls signed by Scheffler for 2,375 dollars.

Image: Getty

Scheffler had signed the cap and donated it to the organization along with the golf balls. The event took place in Louisville, where the 2024 PGA Championship was also held.

Scottie Scheffler: His white cap was worth almost as much to the bidders as the bat of a famous baseball player

To put it in perspective: Scheffler’s simple-looking white cap fetched almost as much money as Shohei Ohtani’s signed baseball bat, at just under 2,400 dollars. Ohtani, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is currently the most popular baseball player in the world. The baseball exhibit was auctioned for 2,750 dollars.

Categories
PGA Tour

PGA Tour Schedule for 2025 – A Traditional Tournament Is Moved

The 2025 PGA Tour Schedule. (Image: Getty)
The 2025 PGA Tour Schedule. (Image: Getty)

On Wednesday, the PGA Tour published its playing calendar for 2025. The calendar consists of 36 regular season events and 3 playoffs events. Like this year, eight signature events are part of the regular season. The signature events consist of the same tournaments as in 2024, with the only significant changes being the name of one tournament, one venue and one date. The most significant change was to the Memorial Tournament. While the plan this year was still Memorial, US Open and Travelers (2 signature events and a major), the Canadian Open will take the place of the Memorial Tournament. In 2025, golf legend Jack Nicklaus’ tournament will once again traditionally take place two weeks before the US Open.

The full 2025 PGA Tour schedule

The former Wells Fargo Championship is now called the Truist Championship and will take place at The Philadelphia Cricket Club instead of the Quail Hollow Club in 2025. The PGA Championship will be held at the Quail Hollow Club one week later.

PGA Tour: 51st edition of the Players Championship and the four Majors

Of course, the four Majors and the Players Championship are also part of the schedule. It all starts with the 51st Players Championship from 13 to 16 March 2025 – at the TPC Sawgrass, of course. The 89th Masters Tournament will take place as usual at Augusta National from 10 to 13 April 2025. This will be followed by the 107th PGA Championship from 15 to 18 May at Quail Hollow Club. The 125th edition of the US Open will be played at the infamous Oakmont CC from 12 to 15 June. The Open Championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland (17 to 20 July) will be the crowning Major finale.

Different venue for the BMW Championship

The BMW Championship is the second tournament of the FedExCup Playoffs. In recent years, the BMW Championship has regularly changed venues. This year, the men on the PGA Tour will be playing at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, while a year later the Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland will be the venue for important points in the playoffs.

Categories
PGA Tour

Bronze Medalist Hideki Matsuyama Robbed After the Olympics

Hideki Matsuyama won bronze at the Olympics and was robbed shortly after. (Image: Getty)
Hideki Matsuyama won bronze at the Olympics and was robbed shortly after. (Image: Getty)

Former Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama was robbed during a stay in London, as were his caddie Shota Hayato and his swing coach Mikihito Kuromiya. The trio made a stopover in the English capital after the games in Paris. In an interview with Golf Digest Japan, Matsuyama revealed that his wallet had been stolen. His two team members’ passports and visas had been stolen, he said. The good news: The bronze medal from the Summer Olympics in Paris is still in his possession. From a sporting point of view, however, the incident has consequences.

Hideki Matsuyama lends caddie from his compatriot Ryo Hisatsune

Matsuyama’s caddie Hayato and coach Kuromiya had to return home to apply for replacement documents. This means he will be without his closest confidants for the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. Instead of Shota Hayato, Taiga Tabuchi, the caddie of Matsuyama’s compatriot Ryo Hisatsune, will be at the 32-year-old’s bag this week. This information comes from the PGA Tour’s caddie list. Hisatsune finished 83rd in the FedExCup and missed out on the top 70 playoffs.

FedEx St.Jude Championship Leaderboard

Matsuyama talked to Golf Digest Japan about his new caddie:”I’m glad he accepted. He’s worked with Hisatsune this year, so I think he knows the ropes, and he can speak English, so I can rely on him.” Matsuyama does not yet know exactly when his regular team will return:”There’s a chance they’ll make it to the BMW Championship (second playoffs event), but we have to go into it thinking it’s close to zero.”

Hideki Matsuyama is in 8th place in the FedExCup ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first event of the playoffs, and is therefore as good as guaranteed a place in the TOUR Championship. The top 30 in the FedExCup after the conclusion of the BMW Championship will play for the FedExCup title and a large prize purse at the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club.