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Highlights Tours

US Open Golf 2024: The Complete Major Field

The 2024 edition of the US Open marks the 1,000th tournament in USGA history. As the organiser, the United States Golf Association has chosen Pinehurst No. 2 as the venue to mark the anniversary. The course in North Carolina is something like the ‘St. Andrews of the USA’, but has only hosted three US Opens in its long history. In addition to Martin Kaymer’s triumph in 2014, Payne Stewart’s triumph in 1999 – just a few months before his death in an aeroplane accident – is of course also unforgettable.

Wyndham Clark goes into the 124th US Open as the defending champion. Tiger Woods – three-time US Open winner – is also taking part in the third major of the season. He has received a special invitation from the USGA, otherwise not have been exempt. In contrast to the Masters, former US Open winners do not receive a lifetime licence to play. A US Open triumph only grants entry into the tournament for the next ten years. Among the stars of the week are Scottie Scheffler, coming of a win at The Memorial Tournament, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele after his win at the PGA Championship last month.

US Open 2024 Field

 Golfspieler Qualifikationsmethode
Ludvig Aberg 21
Byeong Hun An 21
Sam Bairstow Qualifier
Parker Bell (a) Qualifer
Sam Bennett Qualifier
Daniel Berger Qualifier
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 21
Akshay Bhatia 21
Zac Blair Qualifier
Keegan Bradley 11, 21
Gunnar Broin (a) Qualifier
Jackson Buchanan (a) Qualifier
Dean Burmester Qualifier
Sam Burns 11, 21
Brian Campbell Qualifier
Patrick Cantlay 11, 21
Frankie Capan III Qualifier
Eugenio Chacarra Qualifier
John Chin Qualifier
Luke Clanton (a) Qualifier
Wyndham Clark 1, 2, 11, 21
Eric Cole 21
Corey Conners 11, 21
Cameron Davis Qualifier
Jason Day 11, 21
Santiago De la Fuente (a) 20
Bryson DeChambeau 1, 21
Thomas Detry 21
Nick Dunlap 4
Nicolas Echavarria Qualifier
Austin Eckroat 2, 21
Harris English 2, 21
Tony Finau 11, 21
Matt Fitzpatrick 1, 11, 21
Tommy Fleetwood 2, 11, 21
Grant Forrest Qualifier
Rickie Fowler 2, 11, 21
Ryan Fox 10
Lucas Glover 11, 12, 21
Max Greyserman Qualifier
Emiliano Grillo 11, 21
Chesson Hadley Qualifier
Adam Hadwin 21
Stewart Hagestad (a) 5
Brian Harman 8, 11, 21
Tyrrell Hatton 11, 21
Russell Henley 11, 21
Jim Herman Qualifier
Harry Higgs Qualifier
Rico Hoey Qualifier
Tom Hoge 21
Nicolai Hojgaard 21
Max Homa 11, 21
Billy Horschel 13
Rikuya Hoshino 16
Beau Hossler Qualifier
Viktor Hovland 11, 12, 21
Mark Hubbard Qualifier
Mackenzie Hughes 13
Sungjae Im 11, 21
Ryo Ishikawa Qualifier
Stephan Jaeger 21
Ben James (a) Qualifier
Casey Jarvis Qualifier
Carter Jenkins Qualifier
Dustin Johnson 1, 2, 6
Takumo Kanaya Qualifier
Sung Kang Qualifier
Riki Kawamoto Qualifier
Martin Kaymer 1
Bryan Kim (a) 5
S.H. Kim Qualifier
Si Woo Kim 11, 21
Tom Kim 2, 21
Chris Kirk 21
Kurt Kitayama 21
Frederik Kjettrup (a) Qualifier
Jake Knapp 21
Brooks Koepka 1, 7, 21
Ben Kohles 14
Matt Kuchar Qualifier
Min Woo Lee 2, 21
Justin Lower Qualifier
Shane Lowry 8, 21
Willie Mack III Qualifier
Peter Malnati 13
Matteo Manassero Qualifier
Richard Mansell Qualifier
Hideki Matsuyama 6, 21
Logan McAllister Qualifier
Denny McCarthy 21
Ashton McCulloch (a) Qualifier
Michael McGowan Qualifier
Rory McIlroy 2, 11, 12, 21
Tom McKibbin Qualifier
Mac Meissner Qualifier
Adrian Meronk 15
Phil Mickelson 7
Edoardo Molinari Qualifier
Francesco Molinari Qualifier
Taylor Moore 11, 21
Omar Morales (a) Qualifier
Collin Morikawa 7, 8, 11, 21
Chris Naegel Qualifier
Alex Noren 21
Matthieu Pavon 21
Taylor Pendrith 13
Victor Perez 15
Chris Petefish Qualifier
J.T. Poston 21
Seamus Power Qualifier
Colin Prater (a) Qualifier
David Puig Qualifier
Jon Rahm 1, 2, 6, 11, 21
Aaron Rai Qualifier
Charles Reiter Qualifier
Brandon Robinson Thompson Qualifier
Robert Rock Qualifier
Justin Rose 21
Gordon Sargent (a) 18
Isaiah Salinda Qualifier
Carson Schaake Qualifier
Xander Schauffele 2, 7, 11, 21
Scottie Scheffler 2, 6, 9, 11, 12, 21
Adam Schenk 11, 21
Jason Scrivener Qualifier
Taisei Shimizu Qualifier
Neal Shipley (a) 5
Greyson Sigg Qualifier
Webb Simpson Qualifier
Cameron Smith 2, 8, 9
Jordan Spieth 1, 11, 21
Sepp Straka 11, 21
Adam Svensson Qualifier
Andrew Svoboda Qualifier
Hiroshi Tai (a) 19
Nick Taylor 11, 21
Sahith Theegala 21
Justin Thomas 7, 21
Davis Thompson Qualifier
Brendon Todd Qualifier
Erik van Rooyen
Joey Vrzich Qualifier
Tim Widing Qualifier
Wells Williams (a) Qualifier
Gary Woodland 1
Tiger Woods 23
Brandon Wu Qualifier
Cameron Young 21
Will Zalatoris 21

Qualification Criteria and Exemption Categories for the US Open 2024

F-1. Winners of the U.S. Open Championship the last 10 years (2014-23)

F-2. From the 2023 U.S. Open Championship, the 10 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place

F-3. Winner of the 2023 U.S. Senior Open Championship

F-4. Winner of the 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship

F-5. Winners of the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships, and the 2023 U.S. Amateur runner-up (must be an amateur)

F-6. Winners of the Masters Tournament from 2020-2024

F-7. Winners of the PGA of America Championship from 2019-2024

F-8. Winners of The Open Championship from 2019-23

F-9. Winners of The Players Championship from 2022-2024

F-10. Winner of the 2023 European BMW PGA Championship

F-11. Those players who qualified and were eligible for the season-ending 2023 Tour Championship

F-12. Multiple winners of PGA Tour events that award full-point allocation for the FedEx Cup, from the conclusion of the 2023 U.S. Open to the initiation of the 2024 U.S. Open:

F-13. The Top 5 players in the 2024 FedExCup standings as of May 20, 2024 who are not otherwise exempt

F-14. The points leader from the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season using combined points earned on the Official Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points Standings and points earned in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals

F-15. The top two players from the final 2023 Race to Dubai Rankings who are not otherwise exempt as of May 20, 2024

F-16. The top player on the 2024 Race to Dubai Rankings as of May 20, 2024 who is not otherwise exempt

F-17. Winner of 2023 The Amateur Championship conducted by The R&A (must be an amateur)

F-18. Winner of the 2023 Mark H. McCormack Medal (Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking; must be an amateur)

F-19. Winner of the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Golf Championship (must be an amateur)

F-20. Winner of the 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship (must be an amateur)

F-21. From the current Official World Golf Ranking, the top 60 points leaders and ties as of May 20, 2024. Players must select a qualifying site at the time of entry.

F-22. From the current Official World Golf Ranking, the top 60 points leaders and ties as of June 10, 2024 (if not previously exempt).

F-23. Special exemptions as selected by the USGA.

Categories
Panorama

Bubba Watson at DJ Khaled Charity Golf Classic

The newly crowned Champions League winner Vini Jr. and the former Masters champion Bubba Watson are among the participants in the “We The Best Foundation Jordan Golf Classic hosted by DJ Khaled”. The tournament takes places on June 13th in Miami. Other notable stars competing in the charity event are: Golfers Michael Block and Mina Harigae, NFL players Tua Tagovailoa (Quarterback for the Miami Dolphins), Odell Beckham Jr. (Wide Receiver for the Miami Dolphins) and musician Luis Fonsi.

DJ Khaled: “We Are Making Bless Moves For a Great Cause!”

In one of his many promotional videos DJ Khaled presented the field for his charity golf event in Miami. The field includes a lot of star power. For fans of golf, Bubba Watson is definitely the highlight. The two-time Masters Champion Watson is not exempt for the 2024 US Open and therefore able to compete in Khaleds event. In the announcement from this week, the musician DJ Khaled wrote: “Unity is strength! Great Golf for a cause. Here in my home, the 305 Miami, where we are not just hitting the green, we are making bless moves for a great cause! Picture this: A day fillled with swings, birdies and giving back, all under the shining sun.”

The avid golfer DJ Khaled

The 48-year-old musician and producer is known to be an avid golfer. Khaled regularly posts videos of him golfing. In an interviev with the US sports talk First Take, Khaled spoke about Rory McIlroy teaching him “Swing thoughts” and his handicap, which according to his quote is “a seven on a great day”. He also made a hilarious comment about his competitiveness: “When it is competitve time, I go against the best of them – it can be Tiger Woods.” The full interview including an announcement for the charity event here:

Categories
Equipment

Golf club choice: For whom is a Golf hybrid suitable?

The industry is known to be very inventive. After the loft of golf clubs became less and less over time and the difficulty of the so-called “long irons” increased at the same time, the hybrid was born. This is one of the reasons why sets from 5 iron upwards are sold today; the longer irons can easily be replaced with hybrids. The advantage of hybrids is that the center of gravity is low and very close to the clubface. Hybrids are therefore easier to play than long irons.

The evolution of the loft – example: 4 Iron

1960s & 70s 1980s early 1990s late 1990s
4 iron Loft: 28° Loft: 26° Loft: 25° Loft: 23° – 24°

Create your own virtual golf bag on Golf Post! Show the community which clubs you have in your bag and fill out your “What’s in the Bag” now.

The Golf Hybrid is the replacement for irons

A hybrid should primarily be regarded as a replacement club for an iron. Due to the shaft length, a hybrid 5 replaces a 4 iron, a hybrid 4 a 3 iron and so on. You can find out how to find the right irons here. Alternatively, if you assume that a golfer always swings the ball the same way, a hybrid 3 can also replace a 5 wood, a hybrid 4 a 7 wood and a hybrid 5 a 9 wood. You can find out how to find the right woods here. Basically, however, humans are not robots, so it is always a question of swing type and preference.

The steeper the swing, the more likely a golf hybrid

The combination of hybrids in the bag is usually determined according to the golfer’s swing speed and preference. It is quite possible that up to three hybrids are suitable for the player. However, hybrids are not suitable for every swing type. As a guide, the steeper the vertical angle of attack, the better suited you are to hybrid clubs and the more you can carry in your golf bag. The flatter the impact angle, the less or no hybrids are recommended.

Loft intervals of the hybrids depend on swing speed

At a swing speed of less than 50 miles per hour (approx. 80 km/h; e.g. with the 6 iron), a loft interval of five to six degrees between hybrids is recommended. At a swing speed of up to 75 miles per hour (120 km/h, 6 iron), a loft interval of four to five degrees is recommended; at more than 75 miles per hour (6 iron), three to four degrees between the hybrids. You can find out how to increase your swing speed here.

swing speed (with a 6 iron) 50 Mph 75 Mph more than 75 Mph
Loft-Intervall between the hybrids 5° – 6° 4° – 5° 3° – 4°

Is the focus on length or precision? As hybrids are primarily iron replacement clubs, it is generally clear that precision is the main focus with these tools. So don’t expect extra length in your shots. If you are looking for length, you should consider woods.

Ball position like a wood or more like an iron?

Ball position like a wood or more like an iron? Experience has shown that if you position the ball like a wood, it will be topped with the hybrids. The ball position should be more like a 5 iron, even if hybrids are visually closer to woods. The ball flight height of the hybrid is flatter compared to irons and higher compared to woods.

Categories
Panorama

Charges against Scottie Scheffler dropped

Yesterday,Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell announced that the four charges against Scottie Scheffler will be dismissed. Scheffler was charged with charges including reckless driving and second-degree assault of a police officer following the events of May 17.

Scottie Scheffler’s explanation of the events “corroborated by the evidence”

Leading prosecutor Mike O’Connell: “Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was ‘a big misunderstanding’ is corroborated by the evidence. Mr Scheffler’s actions and the evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses. For these reasons, I now tender to the courts a motion and order to dismiss all these charges in this case against Mr. Scheffler with prejudice.” According to Rex Hoggard, a NBC golf journalist, the announcement also means that there will be no further charges against the world number one, even if there is new evidence.

Statements from those involved

Both Scottie Scheffler and Bryan Gillis, the police officer, made comments after the prosecutor’s announcement. Scottie Scheffler: ” I hold no ill will toward officer Gillis. I wish to put this incident behind me and move on, and I hope he will do the same. I appreciate the support during the past two weeks and want to again encourage everyone to remember the real tragedy of May 17.”

Bryan Gillis, the officer, made the following comments:

Categories
Ladies Tours

How Much Does It Cost to Play Ladies European Tour?

US golfer Hannah Gregg gave her followers an insight into the financing of a tournament weekend on the Ladies European Tour on X (formerly Twitter). It should be mentioned upfront that this is an example of a single athlete and in no way reflects the (financial) situation of every female athlete. Nevertheless, this example is thought-provoking.

How Much Playing LET Really Costs

In her calculation example, Gregg first mentions her costs. She had to pay 3,672 dollars for flights, work visa, food, fuel for the car, participation fee and the lounge pass for her caddie. In this case, the hotel and hire car cost her nothing. There were also no costs for the caddie, as this role was filled by her fiancé. Hannah Gregg made the cut at the tournament and finished the weekend in 54th place, which earned her prize money of 1,244 dollars. This prize money is subject to 35 per cent tax, which means that Gregg would have had to finish 21st to make a profit, she calculates. Achieving a place in the top 25 is not easy in golf, and if your financial situation also depends on it to some extent, it certainly doesn’t make things any easier. But here, too, it has to be said that this is a special example because Gregg has higher travelling costs as an American.

Ladies European Tour versus LPGA Tour: the comparison

Comparing the two biggest tours for women, the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour, to their male counterparts is a bottomless pit. Last weekend, the Amundi German Masters on the Ladies European Tour and the Mizuho Americas Open on the LPGA Tour were two normal regular-season tournaments. While Alexandra Försterling received 45,000 euros for her home win, Nelly Korda received the equivalent of almost 414,500 euros for her victory at the Mizuho Americas Open. Sophia Popov received almost as much as Alexandra Försterling for her tied 14th place on the LPGA Tour with around 37,000 euros. The last-placed players of those who made the cut on the Ladies European Tour received €810. By comparison, the last-placed golfers from the weekend on the LPGA Tour received €7,600. This example shows that there is a huge gap even within women’s golf and not to begin the comparison between men and women in golf.

Categories
LPGA Tour

LPGA Tour: Ten Players Withdraw from Mizuho Americas Open

Since the Mizuho Americas Open began on the outskirts of New York on Thursday, ten players have already withdrawn from the tournament. Three of the players withdrew due to injury and the other seven “due to various illnesses”, according to a statement from the LPGA Tour. The statement went on to say: “Medical professionals on site have treated several athletes for symptoms related to a viral infection. The LPGA and tournament organizers continue to monitor the situation closely, and are working together to advice and assist the LPGA athletes with precautions to try to keep everyone healthy.”

LPGA Tour: Defending champion Rose Zhang ill

After playing three holes in her opening round, the winner of the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open, Rose Zhang, had to withdraw on Thursday. The reason: severe intestinal problems. It is not clear from the LPGA Tour statement whether the six other golfers, who also had to end their tournament due to illness, are affected by the same infection. In addition to the American Zhang, Caroline Masson, Maja Stark, Minami Katsu, Jiwon Jeon, Haeran Ryu and Paula Creamer are also ill.

Two players benefit from the withdrawals

As Germany’s Caroline Masson and Sweden’s Maja Stark had already withdrawn before the first round, Mao Saigo and So Mi Lee slipped into the field at the Mizuho Americas Open. Both are back in the top 10 of the leaderboard after strong performances. At seven under par, the South Korean So Mi Lee is the sole runner-up and the Japanese Mao Saigo is tied third at six under par. Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul is in the lead at the tournament near the Statue of Liberty on nine under par. World number one Nelly Korda is in T3.

Categories
Highlights Tours

Scottie Scheffler on Arrest: “It Was a Very Chaotic Situation”

Friday morning (local time), world number one Scottie Scheffler was arrested on his way to his second round at the 2024 PGA Championship. The world number one wanted to drive past police officers who were directing traffic after an accident, but there was a misunderstanding.

Scottie Scheffler’s statement in detail:

Scheffler was released shortly afterwards and made it back to the golf course in time for his tee time. He commented on the incident in an Instagram story before his round:”This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”

PGA Championship 2024: A traffic accident triggers the events

The events were triggered by a traffic accident on Shelbyville Road, a road close to the golf club. In the accident, a man crossing the road, who was working around the tournament, was hit by a shuttle bus. This caused traffic jams and road closures.

Scottie Scheffler back on the course and starts with a birdie

The reigning winner of the Masters is now back on the course and has started his round – how could it be otherwise – with a birdie.

You can follow the progress of his round in the live ticker.