We've been looking back at the best read articles of 2017, and it came us no surprise to us to find that there are a lot of Paige Spiranac fans out there. Here's GP's take on 'A Day In The Life Of Paige Spiranac, The Overlord Of Instagram....'
Following close behind the launch of its new TAG Heuer Connected range back in March the luxury Swiss brand is building on its success with a special edition for golfers. The new watch uniquely combines sporty elegance and the unparalleled functionality of the TAG Heuer Golf app within a custom-designed digital experience suited for any lifestyle.
It's the news we have all been waiting for this side of the pond. European Tour golf is to return with the first tournament in a six week 'UK Swing' kicking off with the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood, which will take place between 22nd and 25th July – a week earlier than originally scheduled. Dates have also been announced for four Rolex Series events including the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.
Tune into www.womensgolfday.com on 2nd June for a day packed with exclusive entertainment and inspirational messages from across the world of golf. WGD raises much needed funds for Médecins sans Frontiers / Doctors without Borders (MSF) and their battle with COVID-19.
Coming to a store, or computer, near you on Friday 21 August is the latest iteration from the folks at 2K, PGA TOUR® 2K21. The game will be available on several platforms and will be the first golf game for some time to feature actual PGA Tour Pros.
The PGA Tour will kick off on 11 June with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. However, players and caddies returning to the USA for the tour face the headache of 14 days in isolation due to the strict quarantine rules in place in the USA.
Today is the day we can all get back on the course after an almost insufferable seven weeks or so. Golfers have been rushing to book tee times and clubs systems have been crashing under the volumes.
It was good news for golfers in England as Boris Johnson announced in his Sunday address that recreational sports could resume, so long it is with members of your household. Sadly, the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have refused to follow Westminster’s lead
Hot on the heels of the Tiger and Phil announcement we have some more golf on telly coming our way with Team TaylorMade. In the socially distanced red corner, and standing a good six feet or so apart, will be Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson and in the blue corner will be Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff. The players will be taking to the fairways in a $3 million charity skins game on 17th May.
The LPGA announced its revised calendar for 2020 on Wednesday with a planned return to play at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Michigan on 15th July. There will also be more cash available due to increases in the purses for many of the events. Players will compete for an average of nearly $2.7 million per event.
Without wishing to tempt fate, it looks like we may be fine-tuning those swings and getting back on the links soon in the UK. A UK Parliament's All-Party Group has suggested that golf should return quickly, and the R&A has prepared guidance for operating courses under COVID-19 restrictions.
Instagram sensation and ex-pro golfer has been working on her putting during the lockdown. She has been showing off the various putting grips and techniques on her Instagram feed and there is one we couldn't quite replicate even with our Moobs!
Players such as Rory McIlroy may believe that a Ryder Cup without fans is not a Ryder Cup and so should be postponed but the truth is Europe cannot afford to postpone the event if the knock-on effect is the pushing back of the 2022 match.
A quite mind-boggling act of vandalism took place at Walton Heath at the weekend as thugs on motorbikes delighted in churning up a green one of the courses. This truly unbelievable video footage shows the animals doing doughnuts on the green and then riding off as walkers watched in disbelief.
As the Coronavirus crisis rumbles on golf tours facing an uncertain future. Every week that passes means that both the PGA Tour and European Tour are losing millions in TV and sponsorship revenues. The Americans have a plan for survival but their European counterparts face the perfect storm of challenges that threaten the existence of the European Tour itself.
We reported last month that Lefty might be taking on Tiger in a rematch of ‘The Match’ which took place in November 2018 for an obscene prize pot. The good news is that the match is confirmed and as we hoped this time it is for charity.
Golfers will have an opportunity to tee it up with a top-ranked tour player, schedule their next golf lesson with a world-renowned instructor, get fit like a professional, or even experience Pebble Beach with a local resident, while ‘Chipping In’ to make a difference with the COVID-19 Relief Charity Golf Auction.
John ‘Wild Thing’ Daly took to the t’internet at the weekend sending out a video on YouTube wishing everybody to stay safe, stay healthy and stay smart. He then proceeded to offer his cure for the dreaded COVID-19 and surprise surprise it included a bottle of vodka!
American Golf has teamed up with Golf Alchemy and Cleveland Golf to give away an exclusive set of three NHS branded wedges to one lucky donator. The prize is truly unique, as the team at Golf Alchemy has branded each club with the NHS logo, and carefully added a message of thanks to all NHS workers from 3-year-old Henry Brown, whose mother Emma Marshall is a healthcare provider for the NHS in Watford.
The European Tour today confirmed the cancellation of the BMW International Open and the Open de France and the postponement of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, a Rolex Series event, due to the continuing threat posed by the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). At the same time, the PGA Tour announced its plans to resume the 2019-20 season with the Charles Schwab Challenge between 11th and 14th June.
American Doug Sanders, who sadly will always be remembered for missing a three-foot putt to win the 1970 Open Championship has died of natural causes aged 86. As we remember the flamboyant golfer from Cedartown, Georgia we look back at an interview GolfPunk was lucky enough to have with the legend that is Sanders, Our Kinda Soldier!
Every year on the Tuesday of the Masters week the top golfers gather for the traditional Champions Dinner. Yesterday it would have been Tiger Woods as defending champion selecting the menu but 2020 is sadly no ordinary year. Woods instead spent the evening tweeting a message that he was sharing dinner with his family.
Tommy Fleetwood's caddy Ian Finnis took to social media to raise some money for his fellow caddies who are struggling as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Offering 1,000 tickets at £10 each for a variety of prizes remarkably he sold out in just four hours. He is now running another draw with some impressive prizes.
Following the understandable cancellation of the Open, the proposed new dates for the remaining three majors are known. The PGA Championship will take place between the 6th and 9th of August at TPC Harding Park, the U.S. Open remains at Winged Foot and has been moved back to the 18th to 21st September and the Masters, usually the first major of the year will now come last between 12th and 15th of November.
I’m just about to pay my annual subscription, a tad late but hopefully given the current circumstances my tardiness is overlooked. I will be signing a cheque, or more likely be doing an online transfer, for a chunky sum of money, at a time when I have absolutely no idea when my next round will come. I am happy to pay up but many up and down the country will be thinking twice.
Well, the R&A finally made a decision and somewhat surprisingly for some the decision was to cancel the 149th Open Championship because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Tournament will now take place at the same venue, Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, in 2021.
As the various tours are losing millions each week in TV and sponsorship income and the Coronavirus trundles on the R&A continues to put out woolly statements about continuing to look at the options. Given the likely time frames for the lifting of social distancing and the issues over international travel, the R&A must postpone.
Leading premium golf apparel brand Galvin Green has introduced its biggest ever range of high-performance clothing aimed at young golfers for the 2020 season. The collection features more than 20 garments designed to appeal to golfers between the ages of 9-15 who are serious about their game.
Phil Mickelson has indicated that a rematch with Tiger Woods may be in the pipeline and a possibility during the pandemic lockdown. Talk is of a repeat of the last match that took place in 2018 when Lefty took the spoils of $9 million.
Golfers on the European Tour have come together to record a message to encourage everyone across the world to follow the World Health Organisation’s guidelines amid the coronavirus outbreak, reinforcing the #STAYATHOME message.
The LPGA has announced the movement of the Evian Championship to 6th to 9th August, the week before the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. At the same time, the signs are that both the R&A and USGA will announce the postponement of the Open and US Open in the coming week.
As the spikeless revolution gathers pace FootJoy is leading the way with a newly expanded range to suit all golfers. Following close behind the Pro|SL and Pro|SL Carbon, are the Flex XP, Flex, Contour Casual and Superlites XP all featuring innovative comfort designs, exceptional outsole technologies and versatility.
Greg Norman has never been a shrinking violet and could never be accused of lacking self-confidence. From the man who is not adverse to send the odd explicit pictures of himself and recently advised on how to stop the Australian bushfires, comes his response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
As we feared the 'Covidiots' have spoiled it for the responsible vast majority in the UK and we are not only in lockdown but golf is also out of bounds! England Golf, Scotland Golf, Wales Golf and the Golfing Union of Ireland all confirmed that courses must now shut until further notice.
If you want to keep playing golf, then listen to this intensive care doctor and take action, now. There is much discussion that golf is a sport that can continue socially. However, unless we ALL take heed of the advice to social distance in all parts of our life, the virus will keep spreading and the authorities will shut down the courses.
It came as no surprise when on Friday the LPGA announced the postponement of three more tournaments. What was not expected was that the LPGA has set a date for the ANA Inspiration, which is to take place between 10th and 13th September.
I must say as a lefty I am in awe of these young pros who seem to be able to switch around and bomb the ball, playing left-handed. It is well known that lefty-in-chief Phil Mickelson is very handy playing right-handed, but it seems a couple of the world's best can switch round with ease and bomb it!
In April 2019 Brad Faxon and a group of other investors acquired Metacomet Country Club, East Providence, Rhode Island. Metacomet Property Company, the vehicle of the investors, stated that it intended to 'preserve and maintain' the club but less than a year later the members learned of the sale of Metacomet Country Club to developer Marshall and Sons.
It’s not so Manic Monday as sadly the golf calendar has been decimated by the Coronavirus crisis. It will be a very quick round-up of all the results and stories from the weekend as only the Ladies European Tour managed to finish an event.
The Players' Championship in Florida is cancelled and no further tournaments will be played up until the Valero Texas Open. The announcement came from Tour saying it was " the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause."
The LPGA has announced it is postponing three tournaments amid the fears over the Coronavirus pandemic, including the first major on the 2020 golf calendar, the ANA Inspiration.
Before you get too excited it is Bryson DeChambeau’s ball speed that is going north rather than his pace around the paddock! The man who spent the majority of the off-season pumping iron showed off the results of that work ahead of the Player’s Championship.
We love Paige Spiranac, she is not only a good golfer but she also speaks her mind. Her Podcast ‘Playing a Round’ is well worth a listen and in her most recent one she takes a shot at golf and the hypocrisy within the game.
Italy has just gone into lockdown and around the world sports events are starting to be impacted by the Coronavirus crisis. All golf events cancelled to date have been mainly in Asia but now Europe and the USA are beginning to take action to stem the spread of the virus. The Masters is only a month away, and the signs are not promising.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
PGA TOUR has announced an expansive media rights deal that brings in ESPN with its streaming services alongside incumbent broadcasters CBS and NBC. The deal aims to increase the reach with more video content reaching a broader audience.
Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player will receive the highest honour a civilian can receive from President Trump at a ceremony on 23rd March. Sorenstam learned of the honour last year after a game of golf where she and Senator Lindsey Graham took on Gary Player and President Trump.
The Golf Channel has decided to up sticks and move its base from Orlando, Florida to Stamford, Connecticut, home of its parent company Comcast. The irony will not be missed by many that the news started to leak out during the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Palmer was one of the founders of the Golf Channel some 25 years ago.
We've all been there. One day we play great golf, nailing the drives and holing putts from everywhere, and the next – well complete rubbish. This phenomenon, however, is not purely an affliction of the amateur golfer as demonstrated by Matt Every who shot the lights out in round one of the Arnold Palmer invitational with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 only to go out on Friday and shoot 83 and miss the cut!
Trial by television was with us again at the Bay Hill Classic on Thursday. No Patrick Reed this time but rather the squeaky-clean Justin Rose. Rose had a tricky chip from the back of the 11th which he ran some 10 feet past the pin but did he move the ball at address?
What did Scott Piercy think when he chose to share social media posts which at best one could describe as controversial? Surely he realised in this day and age that such views might not sit well with the public? Clearly not and it will hurt him in the pocket as sponsors start to distance themselves from the player.
The European Tour has announced the postponement of the Magical Kenya Open Presented by Absa which was due to take place between 12th and 15th of March. This followed the decision by the Government of Kenya to postpone all meetings and conferences in the country of an international nature.
GolfPunk favourite Paige Spiranac has spoken out about the horrendous experience of having an explicit private photograph leaked to the world. The 26-year-old who has a social media following of two million-odd people sent the picture to a man she was dating, but he decided to do the dirty when they broke up.
A careless error on his card has dumped England's Eddie Pepperell out of the Qatar Masters at the Education City Golf Club in Doha. The 2018 champion had hoped to find that form of two years ago and force his way into the world's top 50 in time to qualify for The Masters.
Poor old Francesco Laporta, he flew into Doha to play in the Qatar Masters only to be shown the red card and had to turn about and fly straight back to Italy. The Qatari authorities have decided that any passenger arriving on a direct flight from Italy, or having been in the country in the last two weeks have a choice of going into quarantine for 14 days or flying back to Italy.
As previously reported, the Golf Hall of Fame recently amended the qualification criteria moving the minimum age for both male and females to 45 from 50. So, it was hardly a ‘dropped my bacon sandwich’ moment when we learned that Tiger was on the list of finalists.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
David Feherty didn’t hold back in a recent interview for Sports Illustrated when asked about Patrick Reed. Feherty reckons that Reed should be known as "Captain Oblivious" given his response to the furore that has followed since his infamous rules infringement.
GolfPunk favourite Ian Poulter saw red following comments by Paul Azinger at the weekend suggesting the European Tour was a lot easier than the PGA Tour. Poulter took to Twitter and did not hold back on what he thought about what was said by the ex-Ryder Cup captain.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that the medal presented each year to the winner of the U.S. Women’s Open Championship has been renamed in Mickey Wright’s honour and redesigned with an image of her iconic swing, ensuring that every future champion is forever linked to one of golf’s greatest pioneers and competitors.
Martin Slumbers, the R&A chief executive, recently stated that “Golf has to change” when referring to the restrictive dress regulations at golf clubs as one of the reasons why prospective players are put off, with membership levels down across the UK. Fashion brands Lyle & Scott are in total agreement as borne out by their recent collaboration.
It was a worrying time for the European Tour as Italian golfers Edoardo Molinari and Lorenzo Gagli were quarantined in Muscat and originally forced to pull out of the Oman Open over fears they may have contracted the coronavirus. However, the pair will now play, partnering each other after Gagli’s test proved negative.
Royal Troon first hosted The Open in 1923, and the great event will return to the famed links course in South Ayrshire a century on from that first staging. In 2023 Royal Troon will be staging the event for the tenth time, the last time being 2016 when Henrik Stenson prevailed in a mighty battle with Phil Mickelson.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
There was plenty of excitement at the last week’s events and plenty of great play. Here is GolfPunk’s pick of the best shots and we use the word ‘best’ in a rather loose way for one of them!
Erik van Rooyen celebrated his 30th birthday most spectacularly at the WGC-Mexico Championship as the South African tied the course record at Chapultepec Golf Club with a sizzling 62. That nine under par round moved van Rooyen to a ten under total and within a shot of Bryson DeChambeau’s lead.
He has been saying for a while now that he needs to get off to better starts in events and in Mexico yesterday Rory McIlroy delivered. The World Number One soared into a two-stroke first round lead at the WGC-Mexico Championship to continue an excellent run of form of late with a six-under-par 65 at Chapultepec Golf Club.
It was inevitable that Patrick Reed, who is playing at the WGC event in Mexico City this week, was going to be asked about the latest comments from Bob Kostis and Brooks Koepka. Talking after Thursday’s first round he managed to dance around the question.
The Scottish government has refused planning permission for a controversial plan to build an 18-hole championship golf course in the Highlands of Scotland. The plan had been to build a championship golf course at Coul Links, Embo, near Dornoch.
Surely the least contentious and well-deserved award for 2019 was Jon Rahm being voted the Seve Ballesteros Award as the 2019 European Tour Players' Player of the Year, after a spectacular campaign which included two Rolex Series titles, another victory on home soil and culminated in him being crowned the Race to Dubai Champion.
We thought Brooks Koepka had rather put the boot into Patrick Reed with his comments about building sandcastles but ex-CBS golf commentator Peter Kostis went even further this week inferring that Reed was a serial cheat.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the bunker, or waste area, the Patrick Reed saga pops its nose out again. This time its the world number two Brooks Koepka giving his two pennyworth and he, as usual, does not pull any punches. Koepka described Reed’s actions as “building sandcastles in the sand.”
It was a fine victory for Adam Scott last weekend, he is a great ball striker, but I must confess I rather sighed when I saw him using a long putter to great effect once again. It was a similar feeling to that I had when Scott won the Masters back in 2013. I’m sorry, but I am with the brigade who consider these long putters cheat sticks.
For those of a certain age and most likely from this side of the pond will see parallels between the move by the proposed Premier Golf League and the World Series Cricket (WSC) competition of the late 1970s. Both ventures share two fundamental drivers, the chance for players to earn more money and access to broadcast rights for the organisers.
Mickey Wright’s who possessed one of the best swings in golf passed away on Monday at the age of 85. Wright was one of the greatest players on the LPGA amassing 82 LPGA titles over a 14-year professional career.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
Forget the roses and chocs this Valentine’s Day what you need is a shiny new Stewart Golf trolley. Yes, slightly left field isn’t it but those lovely folk at Stewart have produced a shiny new video to support their Valentine’s offer.
Ok as nobody else seems to be doing it, I am going to come out and defend the seemingly indefensible, or at the very worst add a bit of perspective. Hank Hainey made a pretty unwise statement and was clearly mistaken in taking what might be described as ‘locker room humour’ to the airways. But, was he being ‘racist, xenophobic, and sexist’ as stated by the PGA Tour’s lawyers?
As expected, the LPGA has confirmed that they have cancelled two more events in Asia. The Honda LPGA Thailand in Pattaya, Thailand that was scheduled to be played between 20th and 23rd February and the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore the following week are both casualties of the Coronavirus scare.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
Our Bryson may not quite be ripping it up on the golf course but word has got to us that he made the Sports Illustrated Top 50 Most Fit Athletes. Quite excited to learn who had made this Top 50 ( 25 men and 25 women) we were somewhat disappointed to find the definition of ‘fit’ not quite matching GolfPunk’s.
It was great to see Graeme McDowell win again on the European Tour but had the tour applied the slow play rules more strictly come Sunday afternoon might it have been a different story? The Northern Irishman was carrying a ‘bad time’ after a transgression during his second round and playing in the final pairing come Sunday he and partner Victor Dubuisson became detached at the back of the field.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
We love a good 14 club challenge at GolfPunk. In an all European clash, Spain's Sergio Garcia took on Sweden's Henrik on the 170 yard par three 16th hole at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club ahead of last weeks Saudi International. As always it made for some amusing viewing.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour. It was certainly a great day for the folk down under yesterday!
Alison Muirhead, from Scotland who last week won the Pre-Qualifier event came alive on day two of the final stage of Ladies European Tour Qualifying School. Firing a superb six-under-par 67 around the South Course at La Manga Club in Cartagena, Spain. Muirhead now leads by five shots from overnight leader Morgane Metraux who could only post a level par 73 around the South Course and Pia Babnik of Slovenia.
According to Rory McIlroy, he is approaching 2020 with a new mindset, one in which he plans to play carefree golf. But what exactly does ‘carefree’ mean in terms of playing the game? Consulting the dictionary carefree is an adjective meaning free from anxiety or responsibility. Checking the thesaurus, I happen to have to hand synonyms for carefree include ‘breezy’ ‘cheerful’ ‘jaunty’ ‘happy go lucky’.
Call us old cynics but are the latest set of changes at the Golf Hall of Fame just a dressed way to get Tiger Woods inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame a few years earlier and boost the quality of the list of possible inductees for the 2021 draft? The rules were only changed some four years ago to move the minimum age from 40 to 50 and now it is being edged back to 45.
Look out Claude Harmon you could soon be out of a job. A six-year-old hilariously analysed Brooks Koepka’s swing during last week’s the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Apparently, Brooks dips a bit during his swing and he should know which way the wind is blowing!
Thomas Pieters leads the Omega Dubai Desert Classic after an impressive opening round of 67 on the tough Emirates Golf Club course. The Belgian leads by one shot from David Lipsky of the USA with a gaggle of twelve players, which includes Englishman Eddie Pepperell, Robert Karlsson of Sweden and Dane Søren Kjeldsen, a further shot back.
Many happy returns from GolfPunk to arguably the greatest golfer that has lived and who turns 80 today. It may be that Tiger will surpass or equal Jack’s eighteen major titles mark, only time will tell but until then we raise our glasses to the Golden Bear and thank him for all those great memories.
Ping Europe Ltd has lost an appeal against an infringement decision from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and £1.25 million fine. The CMA had originally ruled that the manufacturer had broken competition law by stopping retailers from selling its clubs on their websites.
Encouraging signs from the first event with the European Tour’s new regime on slow play. The toughened up four-point plan did not result in any penalties but the general consensus was that the pace of play was better. Even Bryson DeChambeau seemed to have responded positively – might the penny be finally dropping?
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
A lot of us have old clubs languishing in the garage or in the attic gathering dust. Those of a certain age may also have a modern-day antique - a wood actually made out of wood! But there is a man who has not one but over one thousand woods tucked away in storage and all of them made from what was the holy grail of golf manufacturing materials – persimmon!
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 looks like the PGA Tour are moving to close down the debate on the Patrick Reed saga. Rumours have it that Cameron Smith has been admonished by the PGA Tour for his outspoken comments on Patrick Reed's behaviour at the Hero World Challenge.
Master Craftsman Scotty Cameron has produced a reboot of his classic designs to produce eight new blade and mid-mallet setups precision milled putters. Retaining the classic Scotty Cameron look the putters look to deliver a tour level performance to the retail market.
Bryson DeChambeau has been making much of his new physique ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Apparently, he has better Abs than Brooks Koepka and he will be playing even faster now as he will be bombing the drives. He may be right about the speed of play this weekend though as he missed the cut!
