Fifteen years ago, three Australians were in contention to slip into the green jacket. None put a foot wrong in the closing stages yet none really came close to winning.
Fulfilling the customary tradition that calls for each Masters champion to donate a club to Augusta National Golf Club, Rory McIlroy left behind his 7-iron. Or so he found out days later.
Tiger Woods turned 50 on December 30 in the US and, in celebration, the PGA Tour, where Woods shares the record for most career wins with 82, released a video of the superstar’s 50 greatest shots.
Thailand’s Pongsapak “Fifa” Laopakdee has a ritual during tournaments where he sings songs to calm the nerves. There were plenty on Sunday during the final round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, where the Arizona State college golfer won a dramatic playoff at the Emirates Golf Club to punch his ticket to the 2026 Masters and 154th Open Championship.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said a surge in the percentage of international players competing in the Masters in recent years was the inspiration to award the winners of the Australian Open and five other national opens a spot into the April major in the future.
There are far more things Tiger Woods has to be concerned about than his Official World Golf Ranking points. After all, he did announce last week that he underwent a surgery to replace a disk in his back.
Marco Penge is heading to the US in 2026, which includes a stop at Augusta National, after the Englishman outlasted Dan Brown in a playoff to capture the Open de Espana.
Australian Golf Digest
