[parone_rss_video_player campaign=”103″ feed=”ve7x3qfqv5″ env=”prod” defaultlang=”en” /]Watch Highlights from Jessica Korda’s final round 69 at the 2022 Chevron Championship
[parone_rss_video_player campaign=”104″ feed=”ve7x3qfqv5″ env=”prod” defaultlang=”en” /]Watch highlights from Jennifer Kupcho’s final round at the 2022 Chevron Championship
The past few days resembled an exciting thriller: Will Tiger Woods make his comeback at the 2022 Masters, yes or no? Hopes were dashed by a supposed tournament cancellation, only to return much bigger afterwards. Tiger Woods made it really exciting again a few days before the Masters week. Now Tiger Woods came forward on Twitter and declared that he will travel to Augusta.
Decision still to be made
“I will be heading up to Augusta today to continue my preparation and practice,” Tiger Woods wrote on the short message service Twitter on Sunday, but: “It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete.” So it is clear that the five-time Masters winner will indeed try to compete at the 86th Masters. But whether the 46-year-old’s state of health will allow it is the decisive factor.
Tiger tracking for days
More than a year ago, Tiger Woods was involved in a car accident. Since then, no one knew whether he would return to the golf course. A few days before the Masters week, hope sprouted that Tiger could make his comeback at the first Major of 2022. Despite an assumed tournament cancellation, he was still on the list of participating golfers.
Soon, numerous references to his participation in the Masters circulated on the internet. In addition to a recording of Tiger practising on his home course The Medialist under tournament conditions, another discovery made hearts beat faster: Tiger Woods’ private jet flew straight towards Augusta and the 82-time PGA Tour winner played a practice round at Augusta National. Fans now knew: The possibility of Tiger Woods making his comeback after more than a year at the 2022 Masters still exists!
On Sunday before Masters week, an official announcement from the superstar finally followed: Tiger Woods will travel to the 86th Masters and see if a start is possible shortly before the tournament begins. Since the US Masters is an invitation tournament with an elite field, he can afford to wait until the very end before the prestigious Major is played from 7 to 10 April.
Tiger Woods faced career end
Tiger Woods and the events of the tournament had been quiet for the past year. On 23 February 2021, the golf legend suffered serious injuries in a car accident and was in danger of losing his right leg. For months, Woods fought his way back to a life without a wheelchair and crutches. Whether he would ever return to the golf course was unclear. There were first hopes of a comeback in December 2021. Ten months after the devastating accident, Woods teed off together with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship.
However, it remained questionable whether Tiger Woods would ever be able to play a full PGA Tour tournament again. Since then, there has been much speculation about the legend’s comeback. When will it be? Will Woods even be able to return to the PGA Tour? Will his irrepressible ambition bring him back to the golf tournaments of this world?
A few weeks before the first major of 2022, the Masters Tournament in Augusta, disappointing news emerged: Woods ruled out a return at the 2022 Masters. With the decision to become the oldest Masters winner of all time, he would return to the Masters 2023 at the earliest. Shortly before the 2022 Masters, the turnaround followed and Woods decided that he wanted to compete in the world’s most famous golf tournament as early as this year. We will know in a few days whether it really works out.
It is probably the dream of every amateur golfer to play at Augusta National Golf Club once in their life. An American study has now found out what people would be willing to do to be able to tee it up on the “holy” turf. The survey also shows how much people would be willing to pay and who they would play the round with if the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself.
“Shave my head” is the undisputed number 1
In less than a week, the 86th Masters starts in Augusta. Reason enough to think about how far you would go to complete a round on the “holy” turf. The website time2play.com has dealt with precisely this question as part of a study and asked around 1,000 people this question and more.
By far the most common answer to the question “What would you do to play a round at Augusta National?” was “Shave my head.” 43.2% of all respondents would say goodbye to their hair in order to experience the 18 holes on what is probably the most famous golf course in the world. Also on the winner’s podium is “Stop drinking for a year” with 35.8%, closely followed by “Give up video games for three years” with 35.1%.
Other curious responses such as “Get a visible tattoo” or even “Put my kids up for adoption” can also be found among the answers. Somewhat surprisingly, one in 20 people would even be willing to give up their job just to be able to tee it off in Augusta. Giving away one’s own car, by the way, landed only on rank 14. Atleast a few people still have a little sense for clever decision because only 0.7% would be ready to give up their house for the 18-hole round. That would probably also be a bit too much of a good thing…
$1,165 for a round of golf at Augusta National with friends
The study also looked at how much people would be willing to pay instead of shaving their heads. The answers here ranged from $388 to well over $3,000. Of course, the sums differ depending on income, but on average, with an annual income of around $71,000, respondents are willing to pay a sum of $1,165 for an 18-hole round at Augusta. For the same money, you could book yourself a week’s vacation, but of course it’s up to each person to decide what they’d like to spend their money on.
If the opportunity to play on the “holy” turf should actually arise, the only question that remains is: Who should actually accompany me? The survey also found answers to this question. The top answer was: “With a friend. In second place was “Dad,” while third place went to the living legend of golf: Tiger Woods.
Other popular answers included spouses, siblings or other family members. But other famous names such as Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Jack Nicklaus, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson also received more than 2% of the votes each.
In the end, it will probably remain just a dream for the majority anyway, because the venue of the Masters is probably the most exclusive golf course of its kind.
For more information on the study check out https://time2play.com/blog/what-golfers-would-do-to-play-augusta/
With the first Major of the year just ahead, speculation is getting fuelled about a return of Tiger Woods to golf’s biggest stage. Will arguably the greatest golfer of all time, recently inducted into the Hall of Fame, make his comeback after his serious accident around 13 months ago at Augusta National, where he already celebrated his sporting revival in 2019? In any case, the 46-year-old is still listed in the field of players for the prestigious major and now the superstar has already flown to Augusta a week before the start of the tournament.
Tiger Woods: Practice round at Augusta National
On Tuesday morning local time, the private jet of the 15-time major winner landed at the local airport, in the afternoon Tiger Woods played a practice round at the legendary golf club at Magnolia Lane. Together with his fellow Justin Thomas and son Charlie, with whom he already excelled at the PNC Championship last December, Woods played all 18 holes at Augusta National. An insider told ESPN: “He looked good to me.”
Prior to that, the five-time Masters winner had also played a few rounds at his home club, The Medalist in Jupiter, Florida (USA), to test out the resilience of the right leg he had injured so badly. Now it’s time for the ultimate test at Augusta National, which not only demands a lot from the player in terms of golf, but also represents a real test of endurance due to its long paths and hilly courses.
“He’s gonna tee it up”
The fact that he was accompanied by his caddie, Joe LaCava, fuels hopes that Tiger Woods will make a comeback soon. “He’s gonna tee it up, I think,” Colt Knost, a former PGA Tour pro, said on “The Drop Zone” podcast, for example. “I know Joe and Tiger are close, but I don’t see Joe flying down to Florida just to carry his bag and hang out.” Knost also believes Woods would have already cancelled his participation in the first major of the year if he knew he couldn’t play.
Brad Faxon, a pro on the PGA Tour Champions, also has high hopes for Tiger, but thinks a return anytime soon is less likely. “I’m continually amazed by the things Tiger Woods can do. And, if he puts his mind together and feels OK, can he, ranked 944th in the world, come back and play at the Masters and then could he contend? It would be an unbelievable Ben Hogan-like success story.” the American said of the speculation. “My emotion wants him to play,” the 60-year-old explained, but “if I had to bet money I would say it’s probably less than 50/50.”
Participation at the Masters 2022?
Whether Tiger Woods will really make his comeback at the US Masters 2022 at Augusta National remains to be seen. As a former champion, the superstar is obviously seeded in the field and can take his time deciding whether or not to play until the tournament begins. The first Major of the year at Augusta National will be played from 7 to 10 April.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the LPGA Hall of Fame Committee (formerly known as the Veterans Committee) announced today that the LPGA Hall of Fame has modified its entry requirements. The most significant modification includes lifting the 10-year playing requirement to enter the Hall of Fame, which makes two-time major champion Lorena Ochoa eligible for induction. Ochoa earned 37 Hall of Fame points in her eight-year playing career before retiring in 2010.
Players should be in the spotlight for as long as possible
“The Hall of Fame Committee wanted to understand why the 10-year rule was originally instituted, so we talked to the other Hall of Famers about the reasoning,” said Beth Daniel, an LPGA Hall of Famer and member of the LPGA Hall of Fame Committee. “I spoke to Carol Mann right before she passed away. Carol was president of the LPGA when the rule was set up and said it was because they needed players at that time to keep playing to keep the spotlight on the Tour. I think we have seen that the Tour is strong enough now that we don’t need that requirement, so the committee decided to do away with it. If you make the Hall of Fame in less than 10 years, more power to you. We shouldn’t keep you out of the Hall of Fame for that reason.”
Induction of the 13 LPGA female founders into the Hall of Fame as recognition
The Committee also elected to induct under the Honorary Category the remaining eight of the LPGA’s 13 Founders not already enshrined in the Hall of Fame, including Shirley Spork, who was monumental in creating what is now the LPGA Professionals organization.
“The 13 LPGA Founders were true pioneers whose collective passion, determination and foresight changed the course of history for women’s sports and laid the foundation for what is today the best women’s professional sports organization in the world. It is time to welcome them all into the LPGA Hall of Fame, recognizing the indelible impact they made on the game of golf and the doors they opened for female golfers, and female athletes more broadly,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “As we honor the efforts of the Founders, we also recognize that the LPGA is in a much stronger place than it was even just a decade ago. By removing the 10-year playing requirement, we will open the Hall of Fame to players who excel at the very highest level even in shorter periods of time on the LPGA Tour. Lorena Ochoa is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in the history of our game, and we could not be more honored to welcome her into the LPGA Hall of Fame.”
Ochoa expressed being amazed and “very moved”
Ochoa played on the LPGA Tour from 2003 to 2010, winning 27 LPGA Tour titles during her career. Her victories include two major championships, the 2007 AIG Women’s Open and the 2008 Chevron Championship. Along with earning Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors in 2003, Ochoa was a four-time Rolex Player of the Year (2006-2009) and four-time Vare Trophy recipient (2006-2009). During her time on Tour, Ochoa was No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for 158 weeks (April 23, 2007, to May 2, 2010), which is the record for most total and most consecutive weeks spent at No. 1. She received the news of her induction from 48-time LPGA Tour winner Nancy Lopez, a 1987 inductee into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
“It was very special to receive Nancy’s call. She is a person I admire a lot,” said Ochoa, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017. “When the call came in, I was in my backyard. It started as a casual conversation, how is my family, my children. Then she said she has good news to share. My first thought was something related to my foundation. I could not guess. When she told me I was taken aback, and I was very moved, never imagined. I walked around the garden several times and laughed to myself for several minutes. I composed myself from the excitement, then drove off to pick up my children from school. After that, I called my parents, and my father was very happy and surprised also. It’s an honor to receive this recognition. It was unexpected and very special to me.”
Spork on “highest honor ever in our profession”
The following Founders will join the five additional LPGA founding Members in the LPGA Hall of Fame through the Honorary Category: Alice Bauer (born 1927, died 2002), Bettye Danoff (born 1923, died 2011), Helen Dettweiler (born 1914, died 1990), Helen Hicks (born 1911, died 1974), Opal Hill (born 1892, died 1981), Sally Sessions (born 1923, died 1966), Marilynn Smith (born 1929, died 2019), Shirley Spork (born 1927).
The only other person to be inducted through the Honorary Category is Dinah Shore (1994), who was recognized for her incredible contributions to the LPGA through her relationship with the now Chevron Championship. LPGA Founders Patty Berg, Betty Jameson, Louise Suggs and Babe Zaharias were previously inducted based on criteria created before the current points system, and Marlene Bauer Hagge was inducted in 2002 through the Veterans Category. Hagge and Spork are the only two living Founders today.
“Getting into the LPGA Hall of Fame is the highest honor ever in our profession, so I’ve climbed the whole ladder and gotten to the top,” said Spork on the induction. “I hope I can sit up on that ladder for a few more years and enjoy it.”
The LPGA Hall of Fame’s scoring system
Additionally, the Committee decided to allocate one Hall of Fame point for an Olympic gold medal. This will apply retroactively to 2016 gold medalist Inbee Park, who was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. Nelly Korda will receive a Hall of Fame point based on her gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, bringing her to a total of nine points in her five years on Tour.
To qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, Members of the LPGA Tour who were active in 1998 and going forward must meet a minimum point threshold of 27 points. One point is awarded for each LPGA Tour official event win, two points for each LPGA Tour major championship, one point for each Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honor earned and now one point for an Olympic gold medal. Players must also have won or been awarded at least one of the following – an LPGA Tour major championship, the Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honors.
The LPGA Hall of Fame Committee can also induct selected individuals through the Honorary Category. The Veterans Category, with inductees nominated by the former Veterans Committee, was created specifically to recognize players Donna Caponi, Marlene Bauer Hagge and Judy Rankin. All three players were granted induction after new LPGA Tour Hall of Fame criteria was introduced in 1999 because they were retired and had met the new 27-point criteria during their playing careers. The Veterans Category has since been dissolved.
The LPGA Hall of Fame Committee includes LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, Heather Daly-Donofrio, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Kelly Schultz, Mike Waldron, Beth Daniel, Sandra Haynie, Leta Lindley, Se Ri Pak and Karrie Webb.
(Text: LPGA)
A high-class field, led by Major winners Martin Kaymer, Sergio García and Louis Oosthuizen, has been confirmed for the BMW International Open (22nd to 26th June 2022, Golfclub München Eichenried). This year’s prize purse for the most iconic professional golf event in Germany, which BMW is staging for the 33rd time, stands at two million euros overall, making the BMW International Open the most lucrative German golf tournament.
Fully-electric luxury saloon at hole 17
As well as Kaymer, García and Oosthuizen, fans can also look forward to seeing Ryder Cup players Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP), reigning “DP World Tour Rookie of the Year” Matti Schmid (GER), and two more top German players, in Max Kieffer and Marcel Siem.
In 2022, the pros will have the opportunity to win an extraordinary Hole-in-One Car with an ace on the 17th hole (par 3). Even before it makes its world premiere in a few weeks’ time, the new BMW i7 has been confirmed as the prize. The world’s first fully-electric luxury saloon, and with a range of over 600 kilometres, the BMW i7 is bringing innovative driving pleasure to the streets.
Visitors can expect a first class event at the BMW International Open
“Everyone at BMW is excited that it looks likely that we will be able to welcome visitors and golf fans without any restrictions, as well as a fantastic field of players,” says Zana Koval, Head of Brand Experience BMW Deutschland. “As the organiser, BMW will raise the premium visitor experience to a new level. This is reflected in such a high-class and innovative Hole-in-One Car as the BMW i7.”
The great importance of sustainability is also shown by the shuttle fleet for the 2022 BMW International Open, which this year consists entirely of electrified vehicles – charged using green electricity, of course.
Day tickets, season tickets and VIP tickets for the Fairway Club are available from the online ticket shop (www.bmw-golfsport.com/tickets). Admission to the Pro-Am, on Wednesday 22nd June, is free of charge. However, visitors must order a free and personalised admission ticket in the ticket shop. Those interested can also find information on discounts in the ticket shop. Tickets can be returned up to three days prior to the event – 14 days in the case of Fairway Club tickets – and the ticket price will be reimbursed.
(Text: BMW Group)
[parone_rss_video_player campaign=”82″ feed=”ve7x3qfqv5″ env=”prod” defaultlang=”en” /]Live from St Andrews.
Ahead of The 150th Open, join us for a truly spectacular light & sound show including fireworks, that will transform The Royal and Ancient Clubhouse, St Andrews, showcasing the Journey of Golf.
The live stream will be hosted by Iona Stephen and will offer preview content before the main event. As well as the unique light and sound show, the evening will include a special set from The City of St Andrews Pipe Band before finishing with an exciting fireworks display to end what will be a special occasion.
Everything has led to this.
[parone_rss_video_player campaign=”83″ feed=”ve7x3qfqv5″ env=”prod” defaultlang=”en” /]Atthaya Thitikul FInal Round Highlights | 2022 JTBC Classic
The American, who is only 25 years old, will not forget this day in a hurry. With his third win in five starts, he reached the top of the world rankings on March 27, 2022. Scottie Scheffler leaves Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and last but not least Jon Rahm behind. Only a few weeks ago, he reached the top 10 of the world ranking list and can already call himself the “number 1 in the world”. Thanks to his victories, he is also currently unassailable in the FedEx Cup. With a lead of 780 points, he is ahead of second-placed Sam Burns.
Scottie Scheffler is a special number 1
With his rise to No. 1 in the world, Scottie Scheffler is lining up at the top of some statistics. Scheffler celebrated his first PGA Tour victory just six weeks ago at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. That was followed by win No. 2 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and now the third victory of his career at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. The time span from his first to his third win on the PGA Tour is thus only six weeks. Only David Duval did it faster in 1996: within three weeks.
Twenty-five players have made it to the top of the world rankings, but hardly anyone has sprinted past everyone else at a comparable pace. Considering all the PGA Tour starts Scottie Scheffler needed to become the best golfer in the world – namely 92 – only two players made it with fewer starts: Jordan Spieth competed 77 times and Tiger Woods only 21 times.
In one statistic, however, no one can fool Scheffler: Since his entry into the top 10, only six weeks passed before he climbed to the top. What a rapid ascent! Not even Tiger Woods made it faster than Scottie Scheffler: Woods needed 9 weeks. All other players who made it to the top took longer than a year after entering the top 10.
“Don’t think I’m calling you No. 1 now”
The first well-wishers to receive Scottie Scheffler were his family as well as his wife Meredith. Emotional words were especially expressed by father Scott: “I love you, Scott. I’m more proud of who you are than your golf. You’re a wonderful young man.”
“I’m more proud of who you are than your golf” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xOfzJR4CdV
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 27, 2022
Despite the incredible success, however, the entire family, including Scottie, indicated that being down to earth is one of the top priorities for the Schefflers. His sister Callie affirmed, “He will stay down to earth. He has three sisters and a wife who will keep him in line.” Scottie himself acknowledged, “I don’t feel like No. 1 in the world. I feel like the same guy I was four months ago, and I hope that doesn’t change.” Despite all the emotion, father Scott also takes a little wind out of his sails, joking, “Don’t think I’m calling you No. 1 now. I’m still number one.”