Month: January 2024

Associated Press Jan 19, 2024, 07:26 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LA QUINTA, Calif. — Sam Burns shot the best round of his life with “RTR” shaved into the side of his head. The acronym for “Roll Tide Roll” was the LSU product’s follicular punishment for losing a bet with Justin Thomas. Alabama sophomore Nick

Associated Press Jan 19, 2024, 07:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions PANAMA CITY — Omar Morales of Mexico shot his second straight 1-under 69 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Latin America Amateur Championship. Morales, a junior at UCLA, was one of two players under par through 36 holes

Associated Press Jan 19, 2024, 12:03 PM ET Jack Burke Jr., the oldest living Masters champion, who staged the greatest comeback ever at Augusta National for one of his two majors, died Friday morning in Houston. He was 100. Burke, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, also won the PGA Championship and

Associated Press Jan 18, 2024, 08:02 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LA QUINTA, Calif. — Zach Johnson embraced the pressure of being the U.S. Ryder Cup captain last year, even if the experience didn’t go the way anybody on his team hoped. A few months later, Johnson is past all the pressure and the second-guessing

Associated Press Jan 18, 2024, 08:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions PANAMA CITY — UCLA junior Omar Morales of Mexico opened with a 1-under 69 on Thursday and shared the lead with Santiago de la Fuente of Mexico and Jose Arzu of Guatemala after one round of the Latin America Amateur. Morales hit the opening

David Purdum, ESPN Staff WriterJan 18, 2024, 09:51 AM ET Close Joined ESPN in 2014 Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008 Open Extended Reactions On Thursday, LIV Golf announced a partnership with Las Vegas-based firm U.S. Integrity to monitor the betting market, educate its participants and use technology to spot improper gambling on its events.

Jan 17, 2024, 08:48 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Two-time champion Bernhard Langer will make his final Masters start this April, the German said in a Golf Channel interview that aired on Wednesday. The 66-year-old Langer, who missed the cut at each of the past three Masters, made his announcement in Hawaii, where the PGA

Field Level Media Jan 17, 2024, 09:24 PM ET Open Extended Reactions As he prepares to tee off at this week’s The American Express in La Quinta, California, world No. 6 Patrick Cantlay said he finds that he’s able to balance playing golf while also serving on the player advisory board. Cantlay, 31, who has

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJan 17, 2024, 07:55 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Open Extended Reactions In recent weeks, the push to globalize golf has ignited discussions involving PGA Tour standout Rory McIlroy and the departing DP World Tour CEO,

Associated Press Jan 15, 2024, 03:34 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LEON, Mexico — Lee Williams won the Mexico Open on Sunday for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 2-under 70 for a one-stroke victory over Paul Haley II. Williams, a former Auburn player, finished at 14-under 274 at El Bosque. He earned

Associated Press Jan 14, 2024, 09:20 PM ET Open Extended Reactions HONOLULU — Grayson Murray stuffed a wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the 18th hole for a 3-under 67 to join a three-way playoff then won the Sony Open with a 40-foot birdie putt to set himself up for a potentially lucrative year.

Associated Press Jan 14, 2024, 07:45 AM ET Open Extended Reactions DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tommy Fleetwood birdied the 18th hole to win the Dubai Invitational by one stroke Sunday from Rory McIlroy, who made bogey at the last after driving into the water. McIlroy led the European tour event by one heading to

Associated Press Jan 13, 2024, 11:07 PM ET Open Extended Reactions HONOLULU — The hard work is not over for Grayson Murray, in golf or in life. The final round of the Sony Open might give him a good idea of how far he has come. Murray got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5

Open Extended Reactions The 2024 PGA Tour season continues this week with the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club in Hawai’i. There’s a $8.3 million purse and $1.494 million first-place prize. Si Woo Kim won the event last year, edging Hayden Buckley by 1 stroke. Now, he’s trying to become the first back-to-back winner

Associated Press Jan 13, 2024, 08:08 AM ET Open Extended Reactions DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tommy Fleetwood surged into the lead of the Dubai Invitational after shooting an 8-under 63 in the third round Saturday to overtake Rory McIlroy by 1 stroke. Fleetwood made eight birdies in a flawless round, including four over his

Associated Press Jan 12, 2024, 11:55 PM ET Open Extended Reactions HONOLULU — Carl Yuan soaked up the views at the Sony Open, not just his name atop the leaderboard when he finished his second round Friday but simply being in Hawaii to start his PGA Tour season. If not for Jon Rahm, the 26-year-old

Jan 12, 2024, 05:35 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Daniel Berger, who hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since 2022, is set to return at next week’s The American Express. The tour announced the 156-player field Friday, and Berger was among the notable names in it. Berger’s absence from professional golf has been lengthy, with

Associated Press Jan 12, 2024, 08:10 AM ET Open Extended Reactions DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy recovered from a quadruple bogey to shoot a 1-under 70 on Friday and maintain the lead at the halfway point of the Dubai Invitational. The No. 2-ranked Northern Irishman sank a nearly 30-foot putt for birdie on

ESPN News Services Jan 11, 2024, 08:41 PM ET Open Extended Reactions HONOLULU — Gary Woodland had low expectations at this week’s Sony Open. The former U.S. Open champion had brain surgery on Sept. 18 to remove a tumor that had been causing bizarre and frightening spells of fear and anxiety centered on death. He

Associated Press Jan 11, 2024, 06:28 AM ET Open Extended Reactions DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy is playing the Dubai Invitational as a favor to a friend and to get in some early-year practice in pleasant weather conditions. The way he has started, McIlroy might end up taking home the trophy. The No.

Associated Press Jan 11, 2024, 07:38 AM ET Open Extended Reactions LISBON, Portugal — Manchester City defender John Stones and Formula One driver Alex Albon have joined Stephen Curry in investing in a franchise in the high-tech golf competition created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Stones and Albon have, through their investment in fund

ESPN News Services Jan 10, 2024, 09:18 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Phil Mickelson said he doesn’t see himself becoming U.S. Ryder Cup captain in 2025 because he’s too divisive as a player and chief promoter of Saudi-funded LIV Golf. “I don’t feel I’m the right guy to be involved with the team because I’m

Associated Press Jan 10, 2024, 04:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Rory McIlroy is offering another proposal to golf’s fractured landscape, suggesting that players need to give up their status as independent contractors unless they want to go back to competing for prize funds from 10 years ago. “Look at other sports – they can

Jan 10, 2024, 06:38 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Martin Slumbers will step down as CEO of the R&A by the end of 2024 after nine years in the role, the 63-year-old said Wednesday. “It has been a privilege to serve golf at the highest level,” Slumbers said in a statement. “It is a role

Field Level Media Jan 9, 2024, 09:36 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Gary Woodland dealt with loss of appetite and energy, jolting awake in the middle of the night, tremors and an overwhelming feeling of fear until doctors could figure out what was wrong. A benign lesion resting on his brain had to be removed

Field Level Media Jan 9, 2024, 06:53 PM ET Open Extended Reactions As the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to negotiate the sport’s future, Rory McIlroy says he has a “dream scenario” with a global approach, tapping into markets such as Australia, South Africa and Japan. “Going forward, if everything is on the table,

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJan 8, 2024, 12:13 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Open Extended Reactions Tiger Woods announced Monday that his longtime partnership with Nike has ended after 27 years, closing one of the most iconic brand relationships in

Associated Press Jan 7, 2024, 08:30 PM ET Open Extended Reactions KAPALUA, Hawaii — Nearly a year after Chris Kirk made it all the way back by winning, he took another big step Sunday with a clutch 5-iron to 2 feet for birdie on the 17th hole that led to an 8-under 65 and a

Field Level Media Jan 7, 2024, 11:25 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Rickie Fowler promised that his fans “don’t have to worry” about him leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Fowler was the subject of speculation after his longtime sponsors, Farmers Insurance and Rocket Mortgage, disappeared from his hat and shirt during this week’s

Associated Press Jan 6, 2024, 09:03 PM ET Open Extended Reactions KAPALUA, Hawaii — Chris Kirk two-putted for birdie from just short of the 18th green at Kapalua on Saturday, giving him a 7-under 66 for a one-shot lead in The Sentry and hardly any room for error going into the final round of the