At the Wednesday press conference with Rory McIlroy at the BMW PGA Championship the subject inevitably turned to slow play. It transpires that the world number two had been watching the Solheim Cup, or as GolfPunk had renamed it the Slowheim Cup.
Adam Scott has seemingly changed his mind about playing in the 2016 Olympics, according to former British Open Champion Ian Baker-Finch, who will captain the Australian team in Rio later this year.
Berkhamsted Golf Club has decided to allow both sexes to compete in the Berkhamsted Trophy, a long-standing top men’s amateur in the UK. This is a world-first for elite amateur golf and has the backing of the R&A and England Golf. The event which is entering its 61st year – has transformed from being a men-only tournament, into one which invites both sexes to compete for the same prize.
It seemed that no one wanted to win the Wyndham Championship as one by one the contenders failed to reach the magic sixteen-under total that would have secured the victory. In the end, it came down to the PGA Tour's first six-way play-off and it was Kevin Kisner who held his nerve best to win at the second extra hole.
Cara Gainer fired a seven-under-par opening round of 66 on day one of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España at Alferini Golf. The Englishwoman began her round on the 11th hole and opened with a birdie; she rolled in another on the 13th before dropping a shot on the 14th.
England Golf staff picked up the pace when a Speedgolf demonstration was held on the Bracken course at their Woodhall Spa HQ in Lincolnshire. It turned the spotlight on the more athletic format which combines running and golf.
Germany’s Esther Henseleit was the winner once again at Vipingo Ridge as she successfully defended her Magical Kenya Ladies Open title. In the Ladies European Tour (LET) curtain-raiser Henseleit’s victory, where she finished the tournament on two-under-par, also ensured she leads the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol.
South Africa’s Nicole Garcia is the lone leader at the Investec South African Women’s Open and will take a one-shot lead into the weekend. On a difficult day at Westlake Golf Club, Garcia had an early start and used it to her advantage as she set the clubhouse lead at level-par with three birdies on her card.
Azahara Muñoz retained her title at the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino, much to the delight of the local crowd.
There are certainly worse phone calls to receive on a Friday afternoon after recently coming to terms with the fact that your bank account clearly doesn’t shout ‘late summer holiday’. I was off to the Villamoura, to play in the Portugal Masters Pro-Am.
To be honest, the Spiv thought the season was over until January...then, before I knew it, GP's Editor was on the blower asking where the odds for the Shootout are?! "What shootout?" I said. I won't tell you what he said next... Anyway, here's the lowdown. On The Franklin Templeton Shootout...
South Korea's Si Woo Kim held off a charging Patrick Cantlay at The American Express to secure a one-shot victory. It was Kim's third PGA Tour title and his first since THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017.
