Tour news - Golf News

Tiger Woods is better than Jason Day and Bubba Watson is more popular than Rickie Fowler, apparently…

Written by Rob McGarr on Friday 20 May 2016

If the last General Election taught us anything, it’s that you shouldn’t pay attention to opinion polls. That didn’t stop Public Policy Polling carrying out their annual sports survey, though, with some eye-raising results when it comes to golf. Take a look at some of these – and bear in mind that the poll takes place in America, which explains some...

Rory McIlroy says he nearly gave up golf

Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 18 May 2016

Rory McIlroy has won four major championships. He has been world number one for 95 weeks, a reign only bettered by Nick Faldo (97 weeks), Greg Norman (331 weeks) and Tiger Woods (683 weeks). He has appeared in three Ryder Cups, emerging victorious each time. He has twice been named RTE Sports Person of the Year, the Irish equivalent of...

Jamie Sadlowski, a long drive champ who hits it 445 yards, could be playing in the U.S. Open

Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 18 May 2016

This year’s U.S. Open is going to be tough. The organisers pride themselves on providing a stern challenge for the world’s best golfers, and Oakmont Country Club is as tough as they come. Last time it hosted the tournament, the winning total was five-over. One of Oakmont’s defences is its sheer length. 7,254 yards sounds long enough, until you realise it’s...

Rory won't be teeing it up at the event he won in 2014

Do players have a responsibility to support the European Tour by playing the BMW PGA?

Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday 17 May 2016

The BMW PGA Championship is the European Tour’s flagship event. It offers the highest prize money available in Europe, with €5 million up for grabs. It’s hosted at one of the world’s most exclusive golf clubs and boasts attendances of over 100,000 across the week. You’d think players would be jumping at the chance to play in it, especially Europeans. So...

Rory McIlroy will play tournament host for the first time at the Irish Open

Fantasy Golf Preview – AT&T Byron Nelson and Irish Open

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...

Should The Players Championship be a fifth major? Absolutely not!

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...

WATCH the highlights from The Players Championship

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...

Day's birdie on 17 was one of nine, with no dropped shots

Watch the best bits from a brilliant first round at The Players Championship

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...

Rose says players speeding up would make little difference

Justin Rose says slow play is not the players’ fault

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...

Who will be taking these home this year?

6 reasons why the next 144 days will be the greatest period golf has ever seen

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...

Fantasy Golf Preview – Players Championship and Mauritius Open

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...

Clarke wants to keep a firm grip on this trophy

Darren Clarke says he’s not afraid to drop his mates from the Ryder Cup team

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...

There's still a long way to go in the race for most majors

Who will win more majors – Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy?

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...

Hahn's victory made a mockery of the form book

James Hahn’s Wells Fargo win gives hope to all of us who are playing badly

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...

How many of the world's top players will join Rory in Rio?

Rory McIlroy thinks people should play in the Olympics

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...

Spieth will be looking to bounce back ahead of his US Open defence in June

Jordan Spieth says he’s “not taking it very hard” and “can laugh about” the Masters

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...

Drug testing will be tight at the Olympics

Is the Olympics about to reveal a doping epidemic in golf?

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...

We'd all love to see Rory v Tiger slugging it out on top form

Rory McIlroy: “I’d love to have a crack at Tiger down the stretch in a major”

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...

Greens quicker than Augusta and 300-yard par-3s… welcome to the US Open at Oakmont

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...

Schwartzel and Oosthuizen are skipping the Olympics

Gary Player: “I would have given anything to play in the Olympics”

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...