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.
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.
The Australian Open has been given an enormous boost by being named as one of a handful of national championships that will award the champion an invitation to the Masters, after a bombshell announcement by Augusta National and the R&A.
According to TaylorMade tour rep Adrian Rietveld, Scheffler wants “absolutely nothing inside” his driver’s clubhead that might alter performance in any way.
Wyndham Clark secured his career-best result at the Open Championship with a sensational final round at Royal Portrush, but his locker-room incident at last month’s US Open still lingered.
Scheffler topped the Open field in strokes gained/approach, gaining 9.065 strokes. He was equally impressive on the greens, ranking second in strokes gained/putting for the week at 8.516.
Deep behind enemy lines in Northern Ireland, the Crushers GC captain shot from the hip, blasting out a series of quotes that left little doubt about his commitment to the American cause.
Australian Golf Digest
