Written by Michael Catling on Tuesday 17 May 2016
Sometimes it pays to back the favourite, as Jason Day proved in sensational fashion at the Players Championship. The Australian justified his top billing and £15m price tag with his second wire-to-wire victory this season, becoming only the fourth man since 1970 to achieve such a feat. The 28-year-old also led from start to finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 16 May 2016
The Players Championship is often referred to as golf’s “fifth major”. It is hugely popular with fans and players, always boasts one of the strong fields in golf, offers more prize money than any other PGA Tour event, and attracts television audiences that more than rival the majors. So, if The Players Championship has everything it needs to be classed as...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 16 May 2016
World number one Jason Day cemented his place on top of the world with a wire-to-wire victory at the 2016 Players Championship. Day’s tournament opened with a course record tying 63 on Friday, before a 6-under par 66 set a new 36-hole scoring record and gave the Australian a commanding lead going into the weekend. Rounds of 73 and 71 were...
Written by Rob McGarr on Friday 13 May 2016
I played golf yesterday with someone who said The Players Championship is their favourite tournament, even above all four major championships. “But obviously not ahead of the Masters?” I said. “Yep, nothing beats The Players at Sawgrass,” he replied. I internally labelled him a lunatic and slowly edged away. TPC Sawgrass is a sensational course and The Players is a fantastic event, but...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 12 May 2016
Everybody knows that slow play is a problem in professional golf. The sport cannot be expected to attract and retain its largest possible audience when it takes five and a half hours or six hours to watch a two-ball play 18 holes. But not everybody agrees on the root of the problem. Many feel that the players are to blame, a belief...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 11 May 2016
Tomorrow is the start of The Players Championship. It is also the start of what should be the greatest 144 days golf has ever seen. In the space of less than five months, the golf schedule includes The Players Championship, the U.S. Open, The Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Olympics. It’s a veritable golf feast. The Players Championship, 12-15 May Everybody...
Written by Michael Catling on Tuesday 10 May 2016
Golf’s so called ‘fifth major’ is just two days away, which means your team selection carries even greater importance this gameweek. Not only are all the big guns back in action, but the Players Championship is one of eight bonus tournaments which will add 50% to your score. Everyone’s favourite Yorkshireman Danny Willett is returning to the Tour for the first...
Written by Chris Bertram on Tuesday 10 May 2016
We sat down with Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, Darren Clarke, to discuss everything from Guinness to the gym, fishing to OCD, and why there’s no room for sentiment when it comes to picking a winning Ryder Cup team… You are portrayed as a laid-back character, always out for a good time. Is that an accurate summary? I enjoy myself – I like...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 9 May 2016
Who will win more majors – Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy? Let’s examine the evidence… What their fellow pros think The question of whether Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy would end up with most majors was put to more than 150 tour pros across the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tour in Sports Illustrated‘s Anonymous Player Poll. Tour opinion rests in favour of the 22-year-old...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 9 May 2016
If you’ve ever stood on the first tee of a competition and thought “I’ve got no chance of winning this, I’m playing so badly” – think again. Ahead of his victory at the Wells Fargo Championship, James Hahn was, to put it mildly, not playing his best golf. The 34-year-old had missed EIGHT consecutive cuts leading into the tournament. “You just keep...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 5 May 2016
So far, golf’s inclusion in the Olympics has not been met with overwhelming enthusiasm from the players. Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Marc Leishman have all already withdrawn, with more expected to follow suit. World number three Rory McIlroy, however, thinks players should jump at the chance of Olympic glory. “It’s a week,” says McIlroy. “You know, go...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 5 May 2016
It will go down in history as one of the biggest collapses in a major, but 22-year-old Jordan Spieth says he’s over his Masters heartbreak already. “I’m not taking it very hard. I have ladies at grocery stores coming up and putting their hand on me and going, ‘I’m really praying for you. How are you doing?’ And I’m like, ‘My dog...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 28 April 2016
There are many reasons why some of the world’s best golfers are reluctant to participate in the Olympics. Many golfers and fans argue that the competition should be reserved for amateurs, for whom a gold medal would be the highlight of their career, rather than for professionals, many of whom would barely find a space for it in their trophy cabinet. There’s...
Written by Today's Golfer on Wednesday 27 April 2016
2016 is going to be a busy year for Rory McIlroy (subject to football injuries…). With four majors, the Olympics and the Ryder Cup, golf has never seen a year like it. So how does 26-year-old McIlroy viewing the big events in this biggest of golf years? And what is his take on the game’s biggest rivalry? We asked him… Have you...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 27 April 2016
It’s less than two months until the second major of the year, the US Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. The US Open is a major that prides itself on providing a real test for the world’s best golfers. When Rory McIlroy had the temerity to blast his way to a record 16-under winning total in 2011, the USGA made...
Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday 26 April 2016
First it was Vijay Singh. Then Adam Scott. Louis Oosthuizen followed, then fellow South African Charl Schwartzel. It is highly likely that more top players will withdraw from the Olympics before the tournament starts in Rio de Janeiro this August. South Africa’s greatest ever golfer, Gary Player, is not at all pleased with what he’s witnessing. “I am sad and disappointed that...
Written by Michael Catling on Monday 25 April 2016
It has taken a few dodgy predictions granted, but one of our top tips from last week – Charley Hoffman – secured maximum points for fantasy managers with a dramatic one-shot victory at the Texas Open. The new world number 34 rolled in a birdie putt on the last to avoid a play-off with Patrick Reed and leave yours truly feeling...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 25 April 2016
Only a month ago we brought you the exciting news that Wesley Bryan, one half of golf’s leading trickshot duo the Bryan Bros, was well on his way to earning a PGA Tour card for next season. We weren’t wrong. The 26-year-old won the El Bosque Mexico Championship yesterday, his second win in just six starts – and this is his debut...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 25 April 2016
As the old saying goes, “there are no pictures on the scorecard”. (For argument’s sake, let’s ignore the fact that there is normally a picture on the front.) Unfortunately for Charley Hoffman, whilst there are no pictures on the scorecard, there are video cameras everywhere when you’re playing a PGA Tour event. Those cameras captured the woeful drive Hoffman hit on...
Written by Rob McGarr on Friday 22 April 2016
A while ago, we told you that Jordan Spieth had been shortlisted for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. The Laureus awards, which involve the difficult task of comparing stars from a variety of sports and trying to decide who had the better year, ultimately decided that Novak Djokovic, who reached four grand slam finals and won three of...