Month: December 2023

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterDec 29, 2023, 09:56 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia LIV Golf League golfer Harold Varner III was arrested for driving while impaired in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, according to Mecklenburg County court records. Varner, 33,

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterDec 20, 2023, 08:14 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Open Extended Reactions It was another wild year in professional golf, with the best players in the world still competing on rival tours in the men’s game.

Associated Press Dec 19, 2023, 03:58 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera, released on parole from an Argentina prison in August for gender violence, has been cleared to play in PGA Tour-sanctioned events. He said in a Golf Digest interview he wants to clean up his image from “serious mistakes.” Without

Associated Press Dec 19, 2023, 09:38 AM ET Open Extended Reactions ORLANDO, Fla. — The Masters already has the smallest field of the majors. The 2024 edition could be one of the smallest in years depending on the first three months of the PGA Tour season. With no significant tournaments the rest of the year,

Field Level Media Dec 18, 2023, 01:49 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Viktor Hovland said he completely understands why Jon Rahm signed with LIV Golf, but the world’s No. 4-ranked player doesn’t plan to be the next marquee player to bolt to the Saudi-backed league. In an appearance on the “Fore” podcast in Norway, Hovland

Dec 18, 2023, 06:28 PM ET Five players earned PGA Tour cards in the final stage of PGA Tour Q School on Monday, including Hayden Springer, who played with the memories of his 3-year-old daughter Sage, who died last month. Springer finished in a tie for fourth place at 8-under par, which earned him one

Dec 17, 2023, 09:23 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Thailand’s Denwit Boriboonsub won his first Asian Tour title and third event in as many weeks when the 19-year-old beat Sweden’s Henrik Stenson by 3 strokes at the season-ending Saudi Open on Sunday. Boriboonsub had won the Aramco Invitational two weeks ago on the Asian Development

Associated Press Dec 17, 2023, 07:03 PM ET Open Extended Reactions ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods was an 18-year-old senior in high school when he made his first cut in a professional event at a European Tour event in Thailand. That also was the first time he played with Bernhard Langer. Thirty years later, the

Dec 17, 2023, 09:32 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Louis Oosthuizen completed back-to-back wins on the DP World Tour with a 2-shot victory at the Mauritius Open on Sunday, overcoming early jitters to card a final-round 69 at the new La Reserve Golf Club, a course he helped to design. The South African last week

Associated Press Dec 16, 2023, 03:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods has never had a family outing quite like the PNC Championship on Saturday, even in the rain. He was competing with his 14-year-old son, Charlie, and his 16-year-old daughter, Sam, on the bag as caddie for the first time.

Associated Press Dec 16, 2023, 10:02 AM ET Open Extended Reactions BEL-OMBRE, Mauritius — Louis Oosthuizen moved into position to win on the European tour for the second straight week after making three eagles in a 7-under 65 to take the third-round lead at the Mauritius Open on Saturday. Oosthuizen was on 14-under par for

Mark Schlabach Close Mark Schlabach ESPN Senior Writer Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Don Van Natta Jr. Close Don Van Natta Jr. ESPN Senior Writer Host and co-executive producer of the new ESPN series, “Backstory” Member of three Pulitzer Prize-winning teams for national,

ESPN News Services Dec 15, 2023, 04:37 PM ET Open Extended Reactions DORAL, Fla. — Donald Trump is getting another LIV Golf event at one of his courses. Trump posted on the Truth Social platform that his Trump National Doral near Miami would host a LIV Golf event in April. He did not mention the

ESPN.com Dec 15, 2023, 12:11 PM ET Email Print Open Extended Reactions Tiger Woods and his son Charlie Woods are teeing off at the PNC Championship Pro-Am this weekend, and we’re already getting some memorable moments from them both. Woods recently made his return to professional golf after having surgery in April to address arthritis

ESPN News Services Dec 14, 2023, 07:42 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Jon Rahm has decided to lay low and avoid public events until February after agreeing to jump from the PGA Tour to the LIV Golf in a big-money move. In his first appearance Wednesday after signing with the circuit funded by Saudi Arabia’s

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterDec 13, 2023, 10:01 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Open Extended Reactions LIV Golf League CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said last week’s addition of Spain’s Jon Rahm, the third-ranked golfer in the world, is validation

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterDec 12, 2023, 03:39 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Open Extended Reactions A law firm representing 21 PGA Tour players, including former Masters champion Danny Willett, sent a letter to the PGA Tour’s policy board Sunday,

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterDec 11, 2023, 07:38 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Open Extended Reactions Tony Finau isn’t leaving the PGA Tour for the LIV Golf League, he announced Monday on social media. Finau, a six-time winner on the

Associated Press Dec 11, 2023, 08:24 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The PGA Tour has notified Jon Rahm he has been suspended for signing with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, a formality that is more about the benefits to the players he leaves behind. Mackenzie Hughes and Carl Yuan are the immediate beneficiaries of Rahm’s decision last

Field Level Media Dec 10, 2023, 02:11 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LIV Golf welcomed three new full-time members for 2024 on Sunday. Kalle Samooja of Finland, Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent and Jinichiro Kozuma of Japan emerged atop the leaderboard after playing 36 holes on Sunday at the LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi and

Associated Press Dec 11, 2023, 06:33 AM ET Open Extended Reactions MALELANE, South Africa — Louis Oosthuizen came out on top in his final-round duel with close friend and fellow South African Charl Schwartzel to win the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Monday for his first European tour title in five years. Oosthuizen closed with a

Associated Press Dec 10, 2023, 07:13 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The PGA Tour has narrowed its choice of potential investors to a new consortium led by Fenway Sports Group and said it would continue negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund as it races to meet a Dec. 31 deadline. The PGA Tour board

Associated Press Dec 10, 2023, 05:19 PM ET Open Extended Reactions NAPLES, Fla. — Lydia Ko hit a fairway metal to 8 feet to set up the birdie she and Jason Day needed to win the Grant Thornton Invitational on Sunday. They closed with a 6-under 66 in modified fourballs to capture the first mixed-team

Associated Press Dec 10, 2023, 10:47 AM ET Open Extended Reactions MALELANE, South Africa — The Alfred Dunhill Championship is set to be completed on Monday after play was suspended on Sunday because of dangerous weather conditions, with South African major winners Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen sharing the lead on 16-under par in the

Dec 9, 2023, 11:09 AM ET Open Extended Reactions MALELANE, South Africa — Close friends Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel share a five-shot lead after the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Saturday, setting up an enthralling final-round contest on home soil between the major-winning South African pair. Former Open champion Oosthuizen tied

Associated Press Dec 9, 2023, 06:05 PM ET Open Extended Reactions NAPLES, Fla. — Jason Day and Lydia Ko shot 31 on the back nine in the tougher foursomes format Saturday, giving them a 6-under 66 for a two-shot lead in the Grant Thornton Invitational, the first mixed-team event since 1999. More than posting five

Associated Press Dec 8, 2023, 06:36 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jordan Spieth dispelled the notion he is part of an alliance with Tiger Woods and Patrick Cantlay on the PGA Tour board as the deadline nears for the tour to finalize its framework agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf, who have lured

Associated Press Dec 8, 2023, 07:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Wells Fargo Championship is not renewing its contract to host a PGA Tour event, ending 22 years on the schedule for what is now a signature event with a $20 million purse. The tournament is held at Quail Hollow Club,

Associated Press Dec 7, 2023, 11:39 AM ET Open Extended Reactions MALELANE, South Africa — Dean Burmester‘s bid for a third straight victory on the European tour got off to a solid start after the South African golfer shot 3-under 69 in the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship to lie four strokes off

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterDec 7, 2023, 01:12 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Open Extended Reactions In a deal that could have a far-reaching impact on the future landscape of men’s professional golf and inject even more uncertainty into an