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European Tour

DP World Tour: Defending Champion Max Homa Tees Off at African Major

DP World Tour: Tee Times for the Nedbank Golf Challenge. (Photos: Getty)

The DP World Tour tees off this week at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, held at the renowned Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa. With a Par-72 layout and a $6 million prize purse, the event promises world-class golf, featuring top players from around the globe. Defending champion Max Homa leads a strong American contingent, with live coverage available on Sky starting Thursday at 10:00 AM.

Tee Times of the American Contingent

The tournament boasts a strong lineup of American players, including Max Homa, Will Zalatoris, and Johannes Veerman.

Jordan Gumberg kicks off his round at 9:21 AM. He’ll play alongside South Africa’s Ockie Strydom and Ryggs Johnston, setting the stage for an early start.

Johannes Veerman begins his round at 10:05 AM. Paired with English golfers Joseph Dean and Matthew Jordan, Veerman’s group combines a blend of American finesse with British grit.

Will Zalatoris is set to tee off at 10:38 AM. He’ll compete alongside Erik Van Rooyen from South Africa and Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland.

Defending champion Max Homa starts his title defense at 11:11 AM. Joining him are Thriston Lawrence, representing South Africa, and Nicolai Højgaard from Denmark.

DP World Tour Tee Times

RoundTimePlayer 1Player 2Player 3
109:21Jordan Gumberg (USA)Ockie Strydom (RSA)Ryggs Johnston
110:05Johannes Veerman (USA)Joseph Dean (ENG)Matthew Jordan (ENG)
110:38Will Zalatoris (USA)Erik Van Rooyen (RSA)Tom McKibbin (NIR)
111:11Max Homa (USA)Thriston Lawrence (RSA)Nicolai Højgaard (DEN)
Categories
European Tour

DP World Tour Tee Times: Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson at Africas Major

DP World Tour: Tee Times for the Nedbank Golf Challenge. (Photos: Getty)

The DP World Tour lands in Sun City, South Africa, this week for the iconic Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club. With its challenging Par-72 layout and a prize purse of $6 million, the tournament brings together a stellar field of international golfers. Defending champion Max Homa returns, while fans across the globe can tune in starting Thursday at 10:00 AM on Sky.

DP World Tour Tee Times for British and Scottish Golfers

Among the many stars taking to the fairways are notable names from Britain and Scotland. Players like Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson are set to navigate the iconic course, paired with seasoned competitors from across the world. Here’s a closer look at their pairings and starting times:

Grant Forrest represents Scotland in a dynamic trio that includes compatriot Calum Hill and Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa. Their 10:38 tee time positions them perfectly to tackle the morning conditions.

Ewen Ferguson, another standout from Scotland, begins his round at 10:05. He’ll be joined by Spain’s Jorge Campillo and Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg.

Connor Syme steps onto the first tee at 11:00, playing alongside Darius Van Driel from the Netherlands and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune.

England’s Joseph Dean shares a 10:05 tee time with Johannes Veerman from the United States, while Matthew Jordan completes the group, adding a second English presence to the pairing.

DP World Tour Tee Times

RoundTimePlayer 1NationalityPlayer 2NationalityPlayer 3Nationality
19:32Ewen FergusonSCOJorge CampilloESPSebastian SoderbergSWE
110:05Joseph DeanENGJohannes VeermanUSAMatthew JordanENG
110:38Grant ForrestSCOCalum HillSCOYuto KatsuragawaJPN
111:00Connor SymeSCODarius Van DrielNEDRyo HisatsuneJPN
Categories
LPGA Tour

LPGA Tour Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan Announces Resignation

Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan at the LPGA Tour season finale. (Photo: Getty)

Mollie Marcoux Samaan will step down as Commissioner of the LPGA Tour effective January 9, 2025. Liz Moore will assume interim leadership in the coming weeks, while a global search is conducted for a permanent successor.

The Marcoux Samaan Era: Growth and Transformation

Since taking office in 2021, Marcoux Samaan has left an indelible mark on the LPGA Tour. Under her leadership, prize money surged by 90%, with a record $131 million set to be distributed across 33 tournaments in 2025. Players benefited from unprecedented enhancements, including missed-cut stipends, health benefits, and travel subsidies—a first in the history of the LPGA Tour.

“Since joining the LPGA in 2021, Mollie has been instrumental in solidifying our position as the global leader in women’s professional golf, realizing record growth in player earnings and fan engagement. Mollie has been a steadfast advocate for equity in the sport and has worked tirelessly to expand opportunities for women and girls through the game,” stated LPGA Board Chair John B. Veihmeyer.

The tour also saw worldwide growth in viewership and set records for fan engagement. In her resignation statement, Marcoux Samaan emphasized the importance of her tenure: “In this role, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside a remarkable community of athletes, teachers, partners, tournament operators, industry colleagues, media, fans, volunteers, and staff who share a deep commitment to growing the LPGA and using the organization’s unique platform to empower and advance women and girls.”

Challenges in a Complex Sporting Landscape

Despite economic success, Marcoux Samaan’s tenure faced notable challenges. The LPGA Tour contended with issues surrounding transparency and operational shortcomings. A key example was the 2024 Solheim Cup, where insufficient spectator transport planning led to logistical setbacks.

Sponsorship relationships and limited live television coverage also became focal points of critique. The absence of long-term TV contracts and reliance on other tours hindered broader audience accessibility, sparking ongoing discussions about the LPGA Tour’s visibility.

Liz Moore Steps In: Transitioning to the Future

Liz Moore, a seasoned executive with over a decade at the LPGA, will take on the role of interim Commissioner. Having spearheaded major projects such as the tour’s digital transformation, Moore brings a strong blend of legal and technological expertise, along with deep operational knowledge of the LPGA’s strategic framework.

Her primary objective will be to ensure a smooth transition and prepare the tour for the upcoming season. The 2025 schedule begins with a record-setting $131 million in prize money across 33 official events—an enduring testament to Marcoux Samaan’s growth-oriented vision.

(This article draws on materials provided by LPGA Communications.)

Categories
PGA Tour Top Tours

Player of the Year: Rory McIlroy also up for election

Rory McIlroy gets late nomination for "Player of the Year". (Image: Getty)
Rory McIlroy gets late nomination for "Player of the Year". (Image: Getty)

Trio of candidates: The decision for the “Player of the Year” title on the PGA Tour is turning into a three-way battle. Ponte Vedra Beach has now officially put Rory McIlroy up for the Jack Nicklaus Award alongside Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, who have long been virtually certain. The clear favorite is of course seven-time season winner, Masters and Players champion and Olympic gold medalist Scheffler, who could be the first to win the award for the third time in a row after Tiger Woods (2005, 2006, 2007). Schauffele will be putting his two major triumphs (PGA Championship, The Open Championship) in the balance; McIlroy, who has already been “Player of the Year” three times, won the Zurich Classic and the Truist Championship (formerly Wells Fargo).

Dunlap as favorite for “Rookie of the Year”

Nick Dunlap is the favorite for the Rookie of the Year (Arnold Palmer Award), along with Max Greyserman, Jake Knapp and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon. The decision will be made by the Tour players and announced at the end of the year.

Categories
Live

World record: mega putt and holed rescue shot

A new putting world record at the DP World Tour. (Image: Getty)
A new putting world record at the DP World Tour. (Image: Getty)

A few more trick shots: Others can also do something special with the club. For example, Australian David Micheluzzi, who landed a shot over 127.1 meters on the seventh hole of Yas Links in a special competition as part of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which the DP World Tour has now announced as the longest putt ever holed outside of an official tournament for the Guinness Book of Records. Although this caused some controversy in the comments, Micheluzzi’s “push” is still worth seeing. Incidentally, 65 players took part in the challenge, including Yannik Paul, Tommy Fleetwood, Min Woo Lee, Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose.

Or the recovery shot played by eventual winner Jiyai Shin at the Women’s Australian Open at Kingston Heath Golf Club:

Categories
Panorama

Bryson DeChambeau Makes Hole in One Over His Own House

Bryson DeChambeau is currently going viral with a hole-in-one challenge. (Photos: Screenshots/@brysondechambeau/Instagram)
Bryson DeChambeau is currently going viral with a hole-in-one challenge. (Photos: Screenshots/@brysondechambeau/Instagram)

Major champion and social media star, Bryson DeChambeau, is currently running an exciting challenge on his social channels: He wants to hit an ace from around 100 yards – over his house and onto a short flag on the green behind his house. DeChambeau himself stands in the driveway of his property on a hitting mat fixed with kettlebells. There are just so many shots per day, which means: on day 1 there is one shot, on day 2 there are two attempts and so on. To give his fans the best possible experience, the American has set up several cameras – including one on the roof – as well as a tracking device.

 
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There have been several close results, for example on days 1 and 13, as the 31-year-old almost holed his ball with the very first shot of the challenge. On day 13, things got really close again when his ball bounced in and out of the hole after shot 7.

 
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What is the probability of hitting an ace?

Lou Stagner, the ‘Golf Stat Pro’, has worked out how high the chance of an ace is in this starting position. At a distance of around 100 yards, the chance of a Tour pro making a hole-out from the fairway is 0.2 per cent, according to Lou Stagner. In Bryson’s situation, the probability is different because he always hits the same shot from 100 yards and from a flat mat. In this case, the probability – according to Stagner’s estimate – is 0.57 per cent for one shot. Stagner has now extrapolated these figures and the result is that the chance of him hitting an ace by day 50 is 99.9 per cent. However, these figures are only an approximate guess by the expert, so we will see how long Bryson DeChambeau still needs.

Update:

On day 16, the time had finally come. After a total of 134 shots, the ball goes into the hole and the joy is huge.

 
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Categories
Live

Prize Money: How much LPGA Stars earn Compared to the PGA

(Photo: Getty)
(Photo: Getty)

The LPGA Tour made history in 2024: Jeeno Thitikul became the top earner with annual earnings of over 6 million US dollars. Her victory at the CME Group Tour Championship, which was worth USD 4 million, marked a historic moment. Never before had there been such a high individual prize in women’s golf. But while Thitikul topped the tour’s prize money list, Nelly Korda also achieved an impressive record with just under 4.4 million dollars. Nevertheless, a look at the PGA Tour shows how far there is still to go to achieve equality.

The superstar gap: Korda and Scheffler in a prize money comparison

The year 2024 brought exceptional performances for both Scottie Scheffler on the PGA Tour and Nelly Korda. Scheffler triumphed in seven tournaments, including several prestigious events, and finished the season with record prize money of 29.2 million US dollars. His victory at the Players Championship alone earned him $4.5 million – more than Korda’s entire season.

Nelly Korda had a season to rival the best in LPGA history in 2024, becoming only the third player to break the $4 million mark before the season finale. With seven titles, including a major, she recorded earnings of $4.39 million – yet she remains only second in the annual rankings behind Jeeno Thitikul. A further comparison shows the dimensions of her achievement: on the PGA Tour prize money list, Korda would ‘only’ rank 39th despite her outstanding year, 38 places behind the men’s top earner, Scottie Scheffler.

New records, old differences

The history of prize money in women’s golf nevertheless shows progress. What began in the 1950s with sums of a few thousand dollars has developed into millions, especially through events such as the CME Group Tour Championship – the LPGA season finale set a mark with Thitikul’s $4 million victory. Never before has there been such a large prize in women’s golf.

The gap between the tours

On the PGA Tour, however, such a sum has long been standard. The financial explosion triggered by LIV Golf has drastically increased the prize money on the men’s tour and forced the PGA Tour to massively increase its payouts – a development from which players like Scheffler benefit. Since his PGA Tour debut four years ago, Scheffler has already earned 71.79 million US dollars, while the women are still waiting for their big breakthrough.

Categories
Panorama

Speculation about the future of the ‘Golf Channel’

(Photo: Getty)
(Photo: Getty)

New owner? The US media giant Comcast, owner of the TV channel ‘NBC’ and the ‘Golf Channel’, among others, wants to spin off its cable network-based offering, which includes the ‘Golf Channel’, into a separate, listed company. The background to this is the increasing unprofitability of cable television, which has fallen behind enormously due to streaming services and is actually only kept alive by the live broadcasting of sporting events. All of this has led to considerable speculation in the USA about the future of the ‘Golf Channel’: Will the PGA Tour, which is already tied to NBC by a TV contract worth 400 million dollars a year until the end of the decade, get involved via its new commercial venture PGA Tour Enterprises in order to secure an in-house golf channel for the future? Or will the LIV Golf League get involved with money from the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF, which is still lacking a high-reach and relevant TV partner?

Categories
Top Tours

Satisfaction for LIV stars: Hatton on Ryder Cup circuit, Reed wins in Hong Kong

(Photo: Getty)
(Photo: Getty)

Tyrrell Hatton has made it: at least to the first intermediate goal on his way to the 2025 Ryder Cup in the USA as a member of Team Europe. The 33-year-old Englishman, who actually plays with the ‘Legion XIII’ in the LIV Golf League, was named to the ‘Britain & Ireland’ squad for the Team Cup from 10 to 12 January 2025 in consultation with captain Luke Donald following his successful stints on the DP World Tour, including winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

This intra-European team competition was introduced in 2023 in preparation for the Ryder Cup in Rome to test the potential candidates under match play conditions, familiarise them with the game and promote team building. ‘We’re excited to see who can earn a spot on my team next year,’ said Donald ahead of the tough walk around the Black Course at Bethpage State Park on Long Island. Playing for the Team Cup are Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari on the continental European side. However, the star matadors are missing on both sides, Rory McIlroy on the one side and Hatton’s LIV team captain Jon Rahm on the other.

Reed and Hatton are on a roll

Meanwhile, another LIV player also gained satisfaction. Patrick Reed (34) won the Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour yesterday, adding a late bonus point to a rather mixed LIV season with three top ten finishes and a 20th place in the individual standings. On the way to his first tournament win since the Farmers Insurance Open 2021, Reed broke the magic mark of 60 strokes.

However, the 59 of the 2017 Masters champion, who finished tied twelfth at Augusta this year, is not officially scored: At the Hong Kong Golf Club, the game was played with better lies.

Categories
Professionals

Rory McIlroy: A Season Between Victories and the Futile Hunt for the 5th Major

Rory McIlroy's 2024 season in review. (Photo: Getty)
Rory McIlroy's 2024 season in review. (Photo: Getty)

A year full of contrasts – characterised by triumphs, setbacks and the eternal dream of the next major title. Rory McIlroy looks back on an eventful season highlighted by great moments on the course and personal turmoil off the fairway.

Rory McIlroy’s majors, personal crises and a missing fifth title

The season got off to a successful start for Rory McIlroy: he made an early statement on the DP World Tour with a victory at the Dubai Desert Classic. Back on the PGA Tour, he showed a different face – not alone, but as part of a well-rehearsed duo. Together with Shane Lowry, he triumphed at the Zurich Classic, a team event that often promises more fun than strategy. But when it came to the play-off, there was no more relaxation: McIlroy’s approach on the 18th hole was accurate to the millimetre and the subsequent putt secured the first PGA title of the season.

But McIlroy’s individual brilliance on the PGA Tour was evident at the Wells Fargo Championship. At Quail Hollow, he secured his fourth title at this tournament and dominated with a flawless final round, which was characterised by two eagles and a spectacular birdie putt on the 15th hole. ‘When Rory is on form, he’s unbeatable,’ said second-placed Xander Schauffele. The victory marked McIlroy’s 26th PGA Tour title – a strong signal ahead of the upcoming majors.

A rocky road to the US Open

But golf remains a game of uncertainties – and 2024 also had some bitter moments in store for McIlroy. The US Open was another chapter in the quest for his fifth major, which has been going on for years. Two shots ahead, only a few holes left to play, the end almost in sight – and yet victory slipped away from him. Two missed putts on the final holes not only left their mark on his score, but also on McIlroy’s expression. His withdrawal without talking to the media spoke volumes.

‘It was incredibly painful,’ admitted McIlroy at a later point after he was ready for interviews again. ‘I could be sitting here with a fifth major title – but I’m not. It stings and that’s something I have to come to terms with.’ At the same time, he looked at the positive aspects of his season: ‘I was incredibly consistent again. I’m proud of that. But the thoughts of the missed opportunities remain.’

Headlines off the fairways too

In addition to his sporting achievements, Rory McIlroy also made headlines off the course in 2024. Active as ‘Player Director’ on the PGA Tour Policy Board since 2022, he became a central figure in the negotiations between the PGA Tour and the controversial LIV Golf League. But the burden grew: ‘It wasn’t what I signed up for,’ McIlroy explained after his surprise resignation in November.

Just a few months later, however, he hinted at a return to the committee after Webb Simpson vacated his seat. ‘I think I can be helpful,’ said McIlroy, who continues to see a united golf world as a goal.

This back-and-forth comes alongside another setback for the Northern Irishman: reports of an impending divorce from his wife Erica Stoll appeared to be weighing on his mind. But in a surprise twist just before the US Open, the separation was withdrawn – a personal birdie putt that put McIlroy back on his feet.

The grand finale in Dubai: a worthy end to the season

The months between the majors were a rollercoaster ride of emotions: From missing the chance to win the Irish Open at home to losing the play-off at the BMW PGA Championship to the season finale, McIlroy experienced highs and lows. This phase, characterised by frustration, culminated in a moment of redemption: the triumph in Dubai.

Like the experienced golfer that he is, McIlroy found his way back to his best form. At the DP World Tour Championship, he left no doubt as to why his name has been at the top of the world’s leaderboards for years. The duel with young Dane Rasmus Højgaard had it all: setbacks, comebacks, and finally a determined McIlroy, who sealed his third title of the tournament and sixth DP World Tour title of the season with a birdie on the 18th hole.

blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>

That feeling when you win your sixth Race to Dubai title😎🏆#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/ACZjqqLGcz

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 18, 2024

With tears in his eyes, he spoke about the legacy of this victory: ‘Seve was always a role model for me. To catch up with him in the number of wins this season is something I never thought possible.’ For a moment, it was clear that even a player like McIlroy, whose name has long been a legend, is still inspired by the great gestures of the game.

The comparison with Seve Ballesteros emphasises McIlroy’s position in golf. But despite this historic success, there was still one downer: McIlroy’s long search for a fifth major title, which did not lead him to his goal in 2024.

A year full of meaning

Rory McIlroy’s 2024 season was a mixture of extraordinary successes and painful moments. While he equalled Seve Ballesteros and further cemented his place in golf history, the pursuit of more majors remains the drive of a player who is never satisfied. ‘If I had to rate the season, it would probably be an eight out of ten,’ said McIlroy in Dubai. ‘Not perfect, but a solid year.’