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It’s easy to forget before the long slump that saw him plummet as low as 185th in the world in just eight months ago, Rickie Fowler was in the mix at the majors often enough to be considered one of the best active players never to actually win one. Now, the 34-year-old has re-teamed with

Paolo Uggetti, ESPNJun 16, 2023, 09:56 PM ET LOS ANGELES — A few weeks ago, Rory McIlroy found himself doing something unexpected. He had logged into YouTube and pulled up old major championship highlights — his highlights — from the last time he could call himself a major champion: the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool

LOS ANGELES — U.S. Opens are supposed to be about pars, or at least they were for most of the 75 years since Los Angeles last hosted the event. And the press conferences competitors hold during the championship are meant to contain answers about keeping it in the fairway, taking medicine when drives find the

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 17, 2023, 12:14 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia LOS ANGELES — As Rickie Fowler walked up the 18th fairway at Los Angeles Country Club on Friday, fans chanted his name. It was a sound the

LOS ANGELES — In head-to-head meetings with reigning major champions, Sam Bennett is one step from a fairly impressive slam of sorts. He also is showing that he seems disinclined to take baby steps in his very young professional career. A second-round 68 Friday at Los Angeles Country Club has the 2022 U.S. Amateur champion

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 16, 2023, 03:05 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia LOS ANGELES — After a record-setting scoring day in the first round of the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, the world’s best golfers are

All anyone could talk about Thursday at Los Angeles Country Club was the record scores being shot in the opening round of the U.S. Open, where the 71.38 average broke the previous mark for lowest opening-round total. That chatter will no doubt continue Friday as the tournament within a tournament comes into full focus: making

Paolo Uggetti, ESPNJun 15, 2023, 11:45 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Rory McIlroy‘s first shot of the 2023 U.S. Open traveled 380 yards off the first tee — the longest drive of the day on that hole. One of McIlroy’s last three shots, however, traveled only two inches after he more or less missed the

Hours after Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele shot the first two 62s in U.S. Open history to lead Wyndham Clark and Dustin Johnson by two shots, McIlroy was five under through nine holes. His 30 was the best nine-hole score of his major career, one which includes four victories. The most ardent of McIlroy fans

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 15, 2023, 11:27 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia LOS ANGELES — The United States Golf Association prides itself on having the most difficult test in men’s professional golf. Thursday’s opening round of the 123rd U.S.

LOS ANGELES — Move over mate. Six years after Branden Grace’s record-breaking 62 in the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, the South African has company in one of golf’s most elite clubs. Welcome Rickie Fowler, and only a few minutes later, Xander Schauffele, whose eight-under-par opening rounds in the 123rd U.S. Open are the

Paolo Uggetti, ESPNJun 15, 2023, 08:42 AM ET LOS ANGELES, CA. — Tiger Woods‘ agent stood at the back of the U.S. Open news conference on Monday afternoon and began shaking his head from side to side, his expression part grimace, part smile. One of Mark Steinberg’s other clients was at the podium, and a

(Scroll down for live updates) How the world’s best players navigate this classic George C. Thomas Jr. venue will be most intriguing. Firm-and-fast conditions should challenge players to control and shape shots into these rolling fairways and greens. There should be more of an emphasis this week on the ground game—which is often lost in

ESPN News Services Jun 14, 2023, 08:31 PM ET LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Open has raised its prize money to $20 million, now tops among the major championships and on the same level as the PGA Tour’s elevated events. That’s up by $2.5 million from a year ago, and double what it was in

LOS ANGELES — It is, not even arguably, one of the most anticipated major championships in recent memory. Put the U.S. Open on the untested track that is Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, in the middle of a metropolis, at a most critical time in the history of the game, and we can expect

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 14, 2023, 08:22 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia LOS ANGELES — LIV Golf League captain Dustin Johnson, like most professional golfers, doesn’t know exactly what the sport’s ecosystem will look like beyond this season. But

LOS ANGELES—Mike Whan knows as much as you do about the PGA Tour’s proposed partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Which is to say, not much at all. As the game continues to unpack the news of last week’s shocking alliance between the warring states, a common refrain from players and others in the

Paolo Uggetti, ESPNJun 14, 2023, 10:05 AM ET LOS ANGELES, Calif. — If you’re not flying in a Boeing or manning a drone, the only glimpses Los Angeles can get of its namesake golf club are through a tree-lined fence on Santa Monica Boulevard. Across the street from the city’s most posh shopping mall in

LOS ANGELES — The story goes that on a visit to Los Angeles County Club years ago, Ben Crenshaw was playing the North Course’s 17th hole, and then wandered over to the thick growth of brush and trees to the right of the fairway. Like an explorer who had heard rumors of long-lost treasure, he

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 13, 2023, 09:13 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia LOS ANGELES — Scottie Scheffler is still ranked No. 1 in the world, but he hasn’t won in more than three months, and it isn’t difficult to

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has suffered a medical issue and has stepped away from his role. In a statement Tuesday released by the PGA Tour, Monahan has informed the league that he is recovering from an unspecified medical situation. “The Board fully supports Jay and appreciates everyone respecting his privacy,” the statement read. According

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 13, 2023, 10:54 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia LOS ANGELES — PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is recovering from an undisclosed medical condition, according to a joint statement from Monahan and the PGA Tour Policy

Shorter usually isn’t harder in modern golf, but the 15th hole on the Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course could prove that wrong at least one day this week if it plays down to its potential double-digit length of just 78 yards. Put the ball on a tee, add a fresh downwind breeze and a

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 13, 2023, 10:54 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia LOS ANGELES — The past week in men’s professional golf seemed like a Hollywood script, with the PGA Tour pledging loyalty to its sworn enemy, the LIV

LOS ANGELES — You want to talk golf? Let’s talk some golf. This North Course at the Los Angeles Country Club is (a person could say) as good as it gets. You like Augusta National? You like Pine Valley? This L.A. North (to the locals) has some of both in it. It’s big and wide

Jun 12, 2023, 02:31 PM ET Emiliano Grillo was among the final six golfers to gain entry into this week’s U.S. Open. The USGA on Monday announced the three final exemptions as well as three alternates who will compete in the 156-man field in Los Angeles. Grillo, Pablo Larrazabal and Adam Schenk made the field

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan responded to a Congressional inquiry regarding the tour’s proposed partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, citing inaction from the United States government as leaving the tour to “fend off” attacks for itself. On Monday, the tour received a letter from the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations asking for records

Jun 12, 2023, 05:43 PM ET Here are the tee times for the first and second round of the U.S. Open. All times ET First round Tee No. 1 9:45 a.m.: Omar Morales (a), Deon Germishuys, Jacob Solomon 9:56 a.m.: Ryan Gerard, Yuto Katsuragawa, Michael Brennan (a) 10:07 a.m.: Hayden Buckley, Adam Svensson, Pablo Larrazabal

For a second straight year, the discussion in the early days of U.S. Open week won’t just be about the favorites to win the national championship but also the future of professional golf. The surprise announcement of a framework deal between the PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the DP World Tour will

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 12, 2023, 09:30 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia THE MOST UNLIKELY union in professional golf history — the PGA Tour’s stunning partnership last week with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund