It was disappointing to hear of the cancellation of the Evian Championship but if France was going insist on a 14 day quarantine period for players the decision was inevitable. The loss of the Evian now puts even more importance on the Women's British Open which is due to be played at Royal Troon from 20th to 23rd August.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Here’s a chance for golfers to take part in a world record attempt – without having to leave home! At 2 pm BST on 5th May 2020, PGA golf professionals around the world will take to Instagram Live in an attempt to give the world’s biggest golf lesson. GolfPunk is going to jump on board as out pre-COVID-19 putting was truly shocking.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Europe's Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington has scotched the stories of this September's event being moved back a year to 2021 saying that the reports were "made-up stuff". Social media had been awash with suggestions that the match which is due to take place from 25th to 27th September at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin was to be a further casualty of Coronavirus.
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 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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
No one can ignore the terrible fires ravaging Australia and to help in the relief efforts of those affected by the fires, a number of LPGA players including the Korda sisters, Marina Alex, Australian Sarah Kemp and England’s Charlotte Thomas, have publicised that they will be making a donation.
The European Tour has a real headache on its hands following Iran’s recent threats to "destroy" parts of the United Arab Emirates if there is retaliation after the attacks they launched on Iraq in reprisal for the US killing of Qassem Soleimani.
The gods were smiling on Justin Thomas in Hawaii on Sunday. Two clear, with three to go it looked like he had the Tournament of Champions in the bag. However, two sloppy bogies in his last three holes saw him have to win a play-off against Patrick Reed and defending champion Xander Schauffele.
The FootJoy folk never seem to stand still and the latest iteration is the Tour X which seeks to combine all that was good from previous tried and tested FootJoy models. The new Tour X has been born from the synthesis of 3 Tour-proven models, the DNA, Tour-S and Fury.
Get ready folks there is a new handicapping system on its way. For those across the pond things will not be much different but for golfers in the UK, and to a slightly lesser extent Europe, there is a fair bit changing. The new World Handicap System will be introduced in the USA and dozens of other countries in January 2020 with the changes coming to the UK, Sweden, Portugal and Italy in November.
Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey was arrested as part of a prostitution sting in Central Florida. Gainey has been a pro golfer since 1997 and joined the PGA Tour in 2008, where he became famous for wearing gloves on both hands when playing.
Well they’ve had the boxing, Tiger and Rory have declined big pay days to play there and now Saudi has made history by announcing the first-ever professional women’s golf event in the Kingdom. The fully-sanctioned Ladies European Tour event will be staged in collaboration with Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation and carry a purse of $1 million.
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.
LET 2018 Rookie of the Year, Julia Engström, carded a two under par 70 at Vipingo Ridge course to extend her lead in the Magical Kenya Ladies Open to seven shots over the field. Esther Henseleit who needs to win the event for a chance of grabbing the LET order of merit title could only manage a 71 and sits in joint second.
We must say we like the look of the new Stewart Golf HottMitt. Who wouldn’t want toasty warm hands on the golf course? The mobile phone or device holder and charger does look like a bit of techfoolery (Is that a new word? - Ed) but each to their own. But might there be other uses?
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.
GolfPunk send it condolences and prayers to Tom Watson and his family on the sad passing of Hilary Watson just before midnight on Thanksgiving Eve. Hilary, who Tom described as ‘my hero’ had been battling pancreatic cancer for two years.
This weekend the biggest winner’s cheque on Tour were nabbed by Jon Rahm on the European Tour and Kim Sei-young on the LPGA Tour. Check out how both closed out their respective events and raked in a rather obscene amount of cash.
Hats off to the European tour for coming up with another little classic for us all to have a laugh at. A few years back the tour let Little Billy loose on the players. Billy gave the pros a complete grilling with a series of cheeky questions, the Rory McIlroy one is a classic. Three years on, a documentary crew follow him as he returns to Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
For the first time since 1955 there will be no live coverage of any golf on the BBC in 2020. The BBC has lost their rights to show any live coverage of the Augusta event which means that the UK pay TV Channel Sky is now the only place to watch live coverage of the majors. This is the end game for millions of golf fans who have seen the free to air coverage of their favourite sport fade and die in the hands of the BBC over the past decade.
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.
This coming weekend the LPGA Tour reaches its climax at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. The winner will pick up a cheque for a cool $1.5 million. Meanwhile, the members of the ladies European Tour are sitting out yet another week. Their last event was the Hero Women’s Indian Open back at the beginning of October.
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 have reported a lot of lucky shots over the years but this latest one really must be up there. Thomas Detry was staring down the barrel of a disaster at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Friday when lady luck smiled down on him. When we say smiled we mean totally beamed and showered him with lucky dust as what transpired will go down as one of the luckiest breaks in the history of well, lucky breaks.
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’s been a while since this fine course has featured a major event and it’s been even longer since GolfPunk played it. If we recall correctly you head south out of Dublin on the M9 and you can’t miss it – well you can as its in middle of nowhere, if we recall.
Stop Press: Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam is set to become the first female professional to compete in the PNC Father Son Challenge. We’ve just picked the Brigadier up off the floor spluttering something about it never happening at West Hill or something. Yes, it is called a father son event but this is 2019 and actually the fairer sex has competed before.
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.
Jason Day gets in private jet, hot foots it from CJ Cup in China where he was 31st and then beats Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and home favourite Hideki Matsuyama to the spoils taking home $210,000 of the $350,000 pot. Happy Days then (do you see what we did there?)! Well perhaps for Jason but not really for golf as the inaugural 'The Challenge: Japan Skins' lived up to our pretty low expectations.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the main results and stories from the weekend!
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the main results and stories from the weekend!
Australia’s Whitney Hillier carded a one-under round of 71 to claim a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Hero Women’s Indian Open. She leads by a single shot from Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord with Linda Wessberg of Sweden and Meg MacLaren of England a further shot back.
The large crowds at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid were delighted as Spanish players took command of the Open de Espana. Adria Arnaus and Rafael Cabrera Bello hold the halfway lead on eleven under par with Samuel Del Val one shot back and world number five and defending champion, Jon Rahm, sitting menacingly two back on nine under.
Christine Wolf shot an excellent five-under-par 67 in the third round of the Hero Women’s Indian Open to take a one stroke lead into the final round at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram. The 30-year-old Austrian will be determined to make amends for last year when she dumped her third shot into the water at the 18th to take a double bogey and lose the event by two shots.
10th hole West Cliffs Golf Links, 372 yards, Par 4.
Poor old Bio Kim. The Korean who is leading the money list on the Korean tour, has been handed a three-year suspension for raising his middle finger at members of the crowd at the weekend. This seems a rather harsh punishment and will cost the young man a lot of dosh.
Not happy with having the most popular golf ball those clever chaps at Titleist continue to push the boundaries of ball technology. The Titleist Golf Ball Research & Development team were thrown into a room and told they could not come out until they came up with a new golf ball. The result, the Experimental EXP•01 Golf Ball.
Only a fortnight after playing her part in Europe’s Solheim Cup victory at Gleneagles, Carlota Ciganda claimed the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open at Terramar Golf Club in Sitges, Spain to add another unforgettable moment to her remarkable career.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend!
England’s Matthew Southgate and Victor Perez of France take a two shot lead into the final round at the Old Course, St Andrews in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Perez shot his second 64 of the week at Kingsbarns Golf Links to move to twenty under and was joined at the top of the leaderboard by Southgate who birdied his final hole at St Andrews to card a 65.
Laura Fuenfstueck of Germany shot a four under 67 to keep the lead but is being hunted down by home favourite Carlota Ciganda who is just two shots back going into the final round of the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open at Golf Club Terramar, near Barcelona.
Businessman Jeremy Ord from South Africa's had an outrageous slice of luck when playing the short 13th hole at Kingsbarns Golf Links. Ord was playing alongside professional Branden Grace in the team event in Scotland when he came close to a hole-in-one following a number of lucky breaks.
Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck produced back to back rounds of 68 to lead by three shots at the halfway stage of the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open in Sitges, near Barcelona. The 24-year-old from Langen was out of the traps quickly, racking up four birdies in her first 12 holes and made just the one bogey, on the par-4 14th, at Terramar Golf Club.
Nelly Korda shot a four-under 67 to win the Lacoste Ladies Open to take her first European Title. Blustery conditions made it challenging at Golf du Medoc and despite being in a final round containing two local favourites, Korda managed to hold off Joanna Klattern and Céline Boutier for her maiden win on this side of the pond.
It was as you were at Wentworth as both overnight leaders shot four-under-par rounds of 68 to extend their lead to three shot over the field. Chasing them are Englishman Justin Rose, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who both carded 69, and India’s Shubhankar Sharma who had one of the round of the day, a six-under 66.
France’s Joanna Klatten made a strong push at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France with third round six-under-par 65 at Golf du Medoc Resort bringing her within one of World Number one Nelly Korda, setting up for an exciting final round.
A rejuvenated Danny Willett heads the leaderboard alongside Jon Rahm of Spain on eleven-under-par after day two of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Two shots back sit Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, world number four Justin Rose and Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa.
World number ten Nelly Korda lived up to her favourite billing shooting a second round seven-under-par 64 to take a six-stroke lead into the weekend on 10-under-par at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France at Golf du Medoc, near Bordeaux.
Matt Wallace is a man in form. Following a third place in the KLM Open in Holland last week he shot a flawless seven under par 65 to take a one stroke lead at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth yesterday. Londoner, Wallace leads Spain’s Joh Rahm and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson by one shot. With Justin Rose a further short back after a five under 67.
They may have been looking to run up high scores in the Ashes over the summer but yesterday three of England’s heroes were looking to go low at the ProAm event at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club.
With stunning views of the China Sea along with the city skyline Sentosa Golf Club is home of the Singapore Open and more recently has been the venue for the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
The techies at Cleveland believe that the keys to success are control and feel which gives confidence in putting and their new Huntington Beach SOFT range does just that, so that we make more putts, "plain and simple!"
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.
What happens when you pair one of the world’s biggest pop stars with the world’s number two golfer at a Pro-Am event? Well it’s no joke but what you actually get is a lesson in bunker play in the middle of the round, oh and a very near miss!
The Solheim Cup is just three weeks away and Team USA captain, Juli Inkster, used her picks to add some experience to her rookie Solheim Cup line up last night. This will be Stacy Lewis’ fifth Solheim Cup and Morgan Pressel’s sixth.
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.
The Tour Championship is looking like it will provide a thrilling finale to the men’s season on Sunday as at the halfway point as Brooks Koepke leads Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas by one stroke, with Xander Schauffele and Paul Casey still very much in contention.
There was lots of concern that the new format of the Tour Championship was going to result in the FedEx Cup leader running away with things and there being a lack of drama at East Lake Golf Club over the last big weekend for the PGA Tour. Well things didn’t really work out like that as Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka all start day two tied on 10 under with Rory just one behind.
Hot on the heels of the success of the ISPS Handa World Invitational Men | Women event in Northern Ireland presented by his Modest! Golf Management outfit Niall Horan has announced he will be teeing it up in the BMW PGA Pro-Am on 18th September at Wentworth. Horan who is a member of the Wentworth Club in Surrey will take to the fairways of his famous home club alongside some of world golf’s biggest names.
The finale of the PGA Tour season is upon us and already we have a leaderboard in the race for that crazy payout of $15 million to the winner. Thirty men, honourable and true, will tee it up at the East Lake Golf Club just outside Atlanta with dollar signs in their eyes. Justin Thomas already leads by two, crazy we know but then again, the whole thing is.
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.
