For all that the former US Open champion performed with notable distinction en route to a tie for second place in the 152nd Open at Royal Troon, there is certainty that he is nearer the end of his career than the beginning.
TROON, Scotland — It doesn’t happen every year, but it has on 20 occasions in the last 75 years. As was the case when the British Open last visited Royal Troon in 2016, occasionally none of the competing amateurs make it through the halfway cut. Which is always a pity. Only adding to the already Read more…
It’s never been easy to know exactly what to make of the man who leads the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon with 18 holes to play. Not much about the career of Billy Horschel has ever been easy or straightforward.
TROON, Scotland — Don’t look now. Here he comes. You know, the tall American guy with the beard. As ever hidden in plain sight, Scottie Scheffler has lurked his almost traditional way into contention at a major championship. No one else amongst golf’s elite hangs around leaderboards with the same consistency. So it is no Read more…
TROON, Scotland — The fresh-faced 17-year-old who charmed a nation by pitching-in for birdie on the 72nd hole of the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale is gone. In his place at Royal Troon in 2024 is a grayer-haired, but still commendably thin father-of-two who will turn 44 on the 30th of this month. But Read more…
TROON, Scotland — It all started around Christmas last year, not too long after Ian Finnis had recovered—or so he thought—from a bout of COVID. There were night sweats. Despite being naturally fitter than most, Tommy Fleetwood’s long-time caddie was unusually tired. And he was coughing a lot. So, chest infection, right? Wrong. When the Read more…
Over the course of a career that can perhaps best be described as “colourful,” Phil Mickelson has been accused of many things. His judgement has been questioned, on and off the course. His choice of shot in certain situations—see the final hole of the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot—has been second-guessed. And his decision Read more…
TROON, Scotland — In golf, the best rules officials are the ones you never see. Anonymity is their idea of a perfect working day. Even when circumstances do provoke an on-course appearance, a low profile is a high priority. Throw in a complete lack of outward emotion and you get the complete picture. Still, that Read more…
One year from watching Rory McIlroy hit what proved to be the “shot of the season” on the DP World Tour onto the 18th green at the Renaissance Club, then make that clinching putt, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre repeated the feat to make off with the $US1.62 million first-place cheque and the undying admiration of a grateful nation.
As the shock of Bradley’s appointment wanes and the choice settles in, we asked three of our own passionate Ryder Cup watchers, John Huggan, Dave Shedloski and Luke Kerr-Dineen, to answer five lingering questions about the selection.
Nearly every modern European Ryder Cup star cut his teeth at the European Amateur Team Championship, a 65-year-old event that has become an indispensable avenue to learn team matchplay.
Just in time for the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon later this month, the R&A has a new chief executive and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club has a new secretary. In waiting, that is.
Still relatively fresh from a European Ryder Cup debut and gaining his PGA Tour card through his stellar play on the DP World Tour in 2023, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre has found life in the New World to be so very different and a lot more stressful.
Less than a month into his tenure as just the fifth chief executive in the European/DP World Tour’s more than 50 years of existence, Guy Kinnings isn’t having to look too far for problems that need solving.
As things stand, the regulations for Ryder Cup eligibility provide a possible pathway into the team that competes on the road at Bethpage Black for Rahm and any other European player currently plying his trade on the LIV Golf League.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — He wasn’t happy. That was clear and, perhaps, fair enough. The conclusion to Nicolai Hojgaard’s second round in his first Masters hadn’t gone well. “Decent” drives on Augusta National’s last two holes eventually bequeathed a brace of sloppy bogey 5s, dropped shots that left the Dane on four under par for the Read more…
The first round of this Masters was the 2016 champion’s first competitive round of golf since he finished a lowly T-64 in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last September.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — For just about every golfer, amateur or professional, an invitation to play in even one Masters Tournament is a dream come true. So when it actually happens, it is safe to assume any normal human is going to make every effort to make it to the first tee. Few, though, have ever Read more…
Australian Golf Digest
