Articles by Jamie Kennedy

December 6th, 2025

Australian Open: Ernie Els, Royal Melbourne and one of golf’s greatest rounds ever

Scanning through some of the best modern players in the game and their best statistical rounds in that period, Els’ 60 at Royal Melbourne in 2004 betters them all.

November 25th, 2025

North Berwick hires popular American architect to ‘polish and protect’ its classic links

On Monday, North Berwick Golf Club announced a new hiring. That might not seem like headline news, but when a Scottish club is hiring Gil Hanse, it is. The famed golf course designer has been appointed as North Berwick’s retained course architect. His mission? To “polish and protect” the famous links course in East Lothian, Read more…

November 6th, 2025

This player is close to pulling off golf’s version of the Triple Crown

The idea of a “triple crown” isn’t really something associated with golf. We have tournament titles, scoring leaders, major champions and grand slam winners. But what if it did exist golf? In other sports, the designation is typically used to highlight a player’s all-around game, mostly within a single season. In baseball, winning the hitters’ Read more…

October 4th, 2025

What’s next for Rory McIlroy: 5 new goals for him to achieve

Reading between the lines of things he’s said in recent years, here’s five career goals I think he may still have on his professional bucket list

September 30th, 2025

‘The Badge and The Boys’: Europe’s Ryder Cup inspiration comes from within

Although hailing from different countries, the European’s commitment to one another sets them apart.

September 28th, 2025

Ryder Cup 2025: Justin Thomas had a decision to make. He chose class

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — “I don’t think there’s anyone else on our team that would have handled that round like that.” Those were the words of a member of the backroom European staffer to Mike Thomas, the father of Justin Thomas, on the back of the 18th green, after his son and Cameron Young lost a Read more…

September 28th, 2025

Ryder Cup 2025: The subtle way Europe has cracked the code to motivating its players

Where the US players may only see PGA of America personnel at the PGA Championship or Ryder Cup, the European crew see most of the top name players on their team 10 to 15 times each year.

September 26th, 2025

Ryder Cup 2025: Justin Rose’s strong form makes him more than Europe’s sage mentor

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — It’s often the case with professional athletes that in the moments immediately after a victory it’s hard to put words to the emotion or summarize a sense of meaning. Yet, less than an hour after Europe’s Ryder Cup victory two years ago in Rome, Justin Rose put words to what being a Read more…

September 17th, 2025

Ryder Cup 2025: An early look at tee times for every session at Bethpage Black

The venue is ready, the teams are set and now the tee times are confirmed. The PGA of America released a preliminary schedule of events for next week’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Along with practice round tee times and press conference schedules, officials announced the opening foursomes session will begin on Friday, Sept. 26 Read more…

August 28th, 2025

Ryder Cup 2025: What the stats say about Keegan Bradley’s decision not to pick himself

Was it the right decision? What do the stats say? Let’s take a look.

August 26th, 2025

The critical moment that led Tommy Fleetwood to his first PGA Tour victory

Things could have gotten away from the Englishman on the final day of the Tour Championship. But some savvy decision-making allowed him to hang tough.

August 19th, 2025

Shane Lowry, Rasmus Hojgaard and the one wrinkle remaining for Europe’s Ryder Cup qualifying

For Europe, there is just one automatic spot unaccounted for. And it’s down to two players.

August 12th, 2025

Breaking down the last-minute strategy change that made Justin Rose a PGA Tour winner once again

Justin Rose has reinvented himself in recent years, trying to squeeze every ounce of talent from his now 45-year-old body. On Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he reinvented himself once more, only this time not necessarily physically but mentally—with his course strategy. And it paid off big, Rose able to claim another PGA Read more…

July 31st, 2025

I walked every hole of Trump’s new course in Scotland. Is it the ‘greatest 36 holes in golf’?

Under strict instructions, from one of the secret service members, not to follow the group the President was playing in, I did then go out on the course and walk every hole around the Balmedie Dunes.

July 21st, 2025

British Open 2025: Wait, did Scottie Scheffler just become an elite putter?

It seemed inevitable, some would say, even before Thursday’s opening round of the 2025 British Open started. For others, it was when he took the outright lead on the 16th hole at Royal Portrush on Friday. Others had to wait at least a couple holes into Sunday’s final round before declaring Scottie Scheffler the champion Read more…

July 15th, 2025

Open Championship 2025: With controversial internal OB, is this the hardest tee shot in the Open rota?

While there is 70 paces of space between the out-of-bounds lines, the lack of a “safe side” offers no bail-out for opening tee shots.

July 9th, 2025

Open Championship 2025: Does the secret to Open success lie in Scotland?

In the three years since the Scottish Open became co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, the three Open champions finished in the top-15 at Renaissance the week prior to lifting the claret jug.

June 17th, 2025

U.S. Open 2025: How improbable was J.J. Spaun’s walk-off birdie putt? A deep dive into the numbers

I’ve always thought walk-off home runs in baseball were one of the coolest things in sports. Bang, it’s gone. No more pitches, no more drama. It’s all over and you can relax and make your way around the bases. J.J. Spaun, an avid Dodgers fan, got a taste of that feeling on the 72nd hole Read more…

June 14th, 2025

U.S. Open 2025: Is this proof that par is just a number?

There’s a mantra in certain golf architecture circles that par is just a number. In other words, a hole, and its difficulty or quality, is not defined by the par on the scorecard but rather the design, challenge and options a hole provides. The eighth hole at Oakmont has people divided. Playing up to 300 Read more…

June 11th, 2025

U.S. Open 2025: Oakmont’s renovated 10th hole—and the new challenge it poses—has pros talking

Anytime a golf course goes through a renovation, there are typically two goals at play. One is that a club is keen to restore its course close to its original design or intent. The second is to ask more questions of the players playing the course. Give them decisions to make. Gil Hanse’s recent renovation Read more…

June 7th, 2025

The best hole ever played*

When we think about great achievements in golf, we often think of players who have triumphed over adversity. Ben Hogan overcoming his car accident to win the three majors in 1953, Tiger Woods overcoming injuries, scandal and age to win the 2019 Masters and even Rory McIlroy finally overcoming the curse of the career Grand Read more…

April 30th, 2025

I played Dubai’s newest course, Al Zorah, and was shocked by this encouraging detail

When our writer first played Al Zorah in 2018, there was a course, a temporary clubhouse and plenty of ambition. Coming back this year, it’s hard to describe the scale of what’s there now.