Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama will go head to head in a globally televised skins game, the first in a series of annual competitions staged by GOLFTV. "The Challenge: Japan Skins" will take place on the 21st October ahead of the PGA Tour's Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino C.C. in Chiba, Japan, and we will not be watching.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
I didn’t think I would hear myself say this, but I feel sorry for Patrick Reed. Don’t get me wrong the guy has handled the whole affair badly and he clearly was borderline cheating at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last December. However, due to the Tour’s insistence that the matter has been dealt with it has basically thrown the American to the lions, who in this case are the media and the golfing public.
With all due respect to Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods et al we think the Golf Writers Association of America (“GWAA”) were spot on in voting for Brooks Koepka as Player of the Year for 2019. Koepka’s performance at the four majors was undeniable impressive – to win one, finish second in two and tie fourth in the other is quite some feat.
Puma Golf’s rolled out its new “Saltwater Collection” at the Hero World Challenge at the Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas this week. In the collection is the, rather tongue in cheek, Slow Play Golf Polo, which sports lovable turtles holding clubs and flagsticks in its design. Gary Woodland from the Puma fold was happy to wear the shirt but one Bryson DeChambeau, who can be seen on the website wearing the new creation, was not so keen to take to the course in it.
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.
In the final Hero Challenge of the year South African Erik van Rooyen defeated former Masters Champion Danny Willett. You know the Hero Challenge, it’s the one where 6 top pros compete at target golf, hitting to a floating green out in an expanse of water. The closer to the flag you are the more points you score, with the closest ring being 50 points the next 25, well you get the gist.
Everyone loves Beef Johnson, what’s not to like? He is a lovely chap and is nice to everyone both on and off the course and boy can he play golf. That’s why it was sad to see Beef’s loss of form and subsequently learn that this great bloke from London was struggling mentally. In this, Men’s Mental Health Month, we really enjoyed watching the video of Beef and Tubes, the Soccer AM presenter, playing a few holes and chatting about mental health and other stuff.
Derek The Donkey, GolfPunk's grumpy horse-envier once again delivers his 'Joke of the Week'. As you know he likes nothing better than a proper good laugh as long as it's at someone else's expense...
Take one tour pro, 500 golf balls and a 165-yard par three hole. The challenge, to make a hole-in-one. The odds of an average golfer making an ace are roughly one in 100,000, while stats suggest a European Tour pro's chances are closer to one in 2,500. Step up Thomas Pieters.
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.
Take one bike, one set of clubs, 14 different Open venues and one complete nutter and you have the ‘The Great British Open Challenge’. London-based PGA professional, Luke Willett, he with a famous golfing namesake, is to pedal his way between all the Open venues playing 18 holes at each and cycling with his clubs on his back!
We love a good 14 club challenge at GolfPunk. We’re not very good at them but watching the pro’s go at it is always a scream, especially when they manage to hit the green with a putter or equally unsuitable club!
Something for the weekend? Ooh, suit you!
Something for the weekend? Ooh suit you!
The stuff that's floated our boats and scrunched our undies this week...
The European tour has been pretty creative with its content of late, who can forget the ‘Content Committee’ or Eddie Pepperell’s prank on Matt Wallace. By far our favourite though are the ongoing 14 Club Challenges.
Well we have run out of majors but Tiger will still be coming out to play in August as the FedEx Cup Playoffs commence this week in Jersey City, with The Northern Trust. It’s all change with the play-offs and we had to read it a few times before we sussed it out. So here’s how it will work..
The AIG Women’s British Open is now set to follow Woburn Golf Club with back to back regal courses with Royal Troon added to the Championship roster for 2020 and Royal Porthcawl confirmed for 2021. It seems therefore, that that we are set for some quality golf on iconic courses now that The R&A has taken over the women's home Championship.
They needed it to be tough out there if they were going to challenge Shane Lowry but in the end, it was too tough and the conditions actually played in to the hands of the big man. For a man who grew up playing links golf up and down Ireland he was always going to be one of best equipped if the really high winds came.
The fairy tale has slowly unwound. Local boy, Darren Clarke, who led the field off on Thursday in the 148th Open Championship, took seven at the last to miss the cut. Rory McIlroy, who famously shot 61 around Royal Portrush at the age of 16, shot 65, equalling best score of the day, but agonisingly missed the cut by one. And our man, Gmac, held firm just making it through on the cut line, nine back from the leader.
There have been many incredible Open debuts, here is our Top 10...
There have been many an odd occurence at the oldest of all the majors but these are our pick of the top ten weirdest Open Championship moments.
Why is the golf now only on Sky TV in the UK with the BBC set to produce, if last year is anything to go by, a set of very ordinary highlights programmes? Who is to blame - Sky, the BBC, the politicians, the R&A or perhaps even Brexit?
Hughie's is the 416 yards, par 4 first hole on the Royal Portrush course. There is out of bounds on both sides of the hole with most golfers most concerned with that on the right. However, as there are bunkers on the right and left of the fairway at 262 yards and 291 yards respectively, most pros will go with an iron.
Who will win the Open? Vote now for your pick of the Top 20, as per the bookies, or do you think it will be more of an outsider who takes the Claret Jug on the shores of Northern Ireland?
Darren Clarke will hit the opening tee shot at The 148th Open, while fellow local favourite Rory McIlroy is paired with US Open champion Gary Woodland for the opening two rounds at Royal Portrush, which we cannot wait to see!
Each year the winner of The Open receives the famous claret jug which he must return before the following year’s event. But what is the history behind this iconic trophy?
The Open is looming up on the horizon so come and test your knowledge of all things Openey with the GolfPunk Open Golf Quiz 2019. It's got something for everyone who err like quizes.
Derek The Donkey, GolfPunk's grumpy horse-envier delivers his 'Joke of the Week'. He likes nothing better than a proper good laugh as long as it's at someone else's expense...
The US open is returning to Pebble Beach with its magnificent views, tiny greens and changeable conditions. All factors that are taxing The Spiv’s brain matter as he sips on his port and peruses the field. But this year its all different as GolfPunk has a new algorithm and its going to make us all rich (necessary caveats and waivers apply of course).
It was a great day for Northern Ireland at the final day of Canadian Open from Hamilton Golf and Country Club. Rory McIlroy shot an incredible nine under 61 to take the title by 7 shots and Graeme McDowell finished in the top ten and qualified for The Open.
Rory McIlroy shot a six under 64 in the third round of the Canadian Open to move into a share of the lead with the US’s Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson. McIlroy’s countryman Graeme McDowell slipped back slightly but sits in joint ninth on eight under – Come on Gmac!
Graeme McDowell shot a second round 67 at the Canadian Open to sit on eight under, four off the halfway lead which is held by Matt Kuchar and Scott Brown. Gmac still work to do if he is to grab one of the three spots available for The Open but he is well placed come the weekend.
The Open is coming back to Northern Ireland after a break of 68 years. When Max Faulkner, one of the most flamboyant golfers of his generation, won the Open Championship in 1951 at Royal Portrush it would be 18 years until a Brit, Tony Jacklin in 1969, was to do so again.
Derek The Donkey, GolfPunk's grumpy horse-envier is back with 'Joke of the Week'. He likes nothing better than a proper good laugh as long as it's at someone else's expense...
GolfPunk have long been supporters of the Longest Day Challenge. This year, once again, we are looking forward to putting together our own motley band of reprobates to test our ageing bodies to the maximum in support of Macmillan Cancer Support (more on our caper to follow!).
Who wouldn’t want to tee it up in their home open? Well for one, Rory McIlroy, who is giving this year’s Irish Open a miss. No biggy, I hear you say, it’s not like choosing to miss something like the Olympics is it? Oh, hang on Rory turned that one down too. So, what are the priorities of the 29-year-old darling of Irish Golf
As Tiger Woods holed the winning putt some time around 7.35pm on Sunday I was asked an awkward question: "Are you crying??", "Seriously, mate, are you crying?" "I've just something... sniff... in my eye, that's ... sniff... all..."
Lilac was the colour of the day at The Masters as the leaders appeared to have coordinated their wardrobes to don shirts of the same hue. The three players that lead in to the final round chose the colour for their shirt with Tiger again modelling a very snazzy mock turtle neck number. Ian Poulter, always one to be different, went instead for a lilac pair of strides.
The threat of bad weather has resulted in an early start for the whole field. Play will commence from both the 1st and 10th tees at 7:30 local time and will be in groups of three. Rather handy for UK and European viewers who can watch it after their Sunday lunch rather than having to stay up late!
We had everything on Friday at The Masters: A stellar leaderboard; birdies galore; storm threats; unbelievable recovery shots; a marshall slide-tackling Tiger Woods on the 14th hole (he still made birdie) and some truly comical moments starring Zach Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
As the freshly blooming azaleas of Augusta National Golf Club mark the arrival of the northern spring, the golfing world’s attention turns towards Georgia, USA, for the first men’s Major of the year – the Masters Tournament, which has been supported by Rolex since 1999.
The Golf Scientist, Bryson DeChambeau, and one half of golf's Odd Couple, Brooks Koepka, lit up day one of the Masters with rounds of 66 to take a one shot lead over fellow American Phil Mickelson.
Seven lucky golfers are heading to this week’s Masters to battle it out for a million dollars – all hoping they can land another ace to change their life.
The unofficial start to golf season is upon us and we are excited to see the azaleas, dogwoods and green grass again! Peter Millar will outfit five players for the 2019 Masters.
Remember when Europeans dominated the Masters? From 1980 to 2000, the tournament was won 11 times by European golfers. Since then, not so much, with only two winners in the last 18 years. It's worth noting, however, that those wins (Danny Willett and Sergio Garcia) make up two of the last three Masters. Maybe the transition of power at Augusta has already begun?
There have been some amazing moments at The Masters over the years and some incredible shot-making. We celebrate the 10 best shots ever here...
We love celebrating the truly great shots but nothing makes us mortal golfers feel better than seeing our heroes occasionally making berks of themselves. Especially at the Masters. In 2018... here are the worst offenders...
It's 2 more sleeps until the Masters!!!! We've put together a little Masters quiz to get you in the mood.
It's 1932 at Augusta and America is under prohibition. But people are still seeing things... aren't they?...
Rory McIlroy has been installed as the favourite to win The Masters after making a blistering start to the year.
It's the Players Championship this week at TPC Sawgrass - check out these Top 10 Putts on the infamous 17th hole with shots from Tiger, Bubba and more.
Step forward Rickie, Bryson and Gary Woodland...
The great players won everything right? Well, not the USPGA they didn't. The USPGA proved elusive for many serial major winners. Here's the Top 7 players never to win the PGA.
Galvin Green, the leading premium performance golf apparel brand, has launched its most advanced collection of technical clothing for the start of the 2019 season, with a total of 368 ground-breaking garments and matching accessories.
Galvin Green has boosted the line-up of global ambassadors for the 2019 season with the addition of proven Tour winners to wear its premium apparel.
Galvin Green, the leading technical performance golf clothing brand, is calling younger golfers to attention with its military-inspired EDGE collection for 2019.
From venerable golf clubs to courses in historic settings or alongside ancient buildings, the past is ever-present when you play golf in Northern Ireland.
PUMA Golf continues to take golf footwear to the next level, today introducing NXT generation footwear designed on a completely new IGNITE spikeless traction platform with three unique, versatile, and fashion forward upper silhouettes.
The Belfry Hotel & Resort’s Executive Head Chef Robert Bates took home top honours in The Caterer’s Hotel Cateys 2018 Awards this week as he won ‘Hotel Chef of the Year (more than 250 covers)’.
GolfPunk selections at last week's Hong Kong Open finished 3rd Jason Schrivner 37/1, tied 6th Rafa Cabrera Bello 12/1 and Shubhanker Sharma 45/1. Three events this week....
Turnberry has had some dramatic changes over the years so it's worth taking a quick glance back in history. We soon discover that Turnberry is no stranger to change... PLUS: The Turnberry Opens in pictures. And captions...
Phil Mickelson is $9million richer this morning after a playoff victory under the floodlights against Tiger Woods in the much trumpeted and equally maligned 'Match' at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.
Danny Willett has won his first title since the 2016 Masters at the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday, and there was much celebration down at GolfPunk Towers.
Here are our top twenty weirdest Open Championship moments.
Adri Arnaus shot a final round 69 (-3) to claim a wire-to-wire victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final in rhe Unitied Arab Emirates and secure his gradutation to the European Tour for the 2019 season.
The Belfry Hotel & Resort continues to wow golfers from across the globe as it was named ‘World’s Best Golf Hotel’ at the 2018 World Golf Awards held at La Manga, Spain, over the weekend.
Here she comes: It's Carly Booth, the new GolfPunk Golf Nurse!!! Lesson1: How To Hit Perfect Lob Shots. Take it away, Nursey!!
Under Armour’s Fall/Winter ’18 collection delivers the technologies and performance benefits you need to keep your game going in any type of weather.
A reliable jacket – for golf or otherwise – is hard to find. Luckily, adidas has a new option. adidas Golf recently announced the Go-To Adapt Jacket, the wear-anytime, layering piece that is designed to specifically be your “go-to” when you need it most.
The @petermillargolf store in the Official Ryder Cup Merchandise area at Le Golf National is now open for business and spectators are in for a real treat, with the brand's full Ryder Cup crested collection available to purchase from now until the final putt on Sunday.
As the countdown to the iconic Ryder Cup continues, Stuart Broad held onto his Championship title as he edged out fellow English cricket compatriot Joe Root in a Ryder Cup style challenge match on the famous Brabazon course at The Belfry on Wednesday 19th September.
The home of one of Europe’s greatest Ryder Cup moments, the award-winning Belfry hotel and spa is set to welcome back a true golfing icon to its course next month. Europe’s most successful Ryder Cup captain, Tony Jacklin CBE, will grace the iconic Brabazon Course once again on 24 September.
Callaway today announces the signing of talented young English golfer Matthew Jordan.
As the only venue in the world to have hosted the Ryder Cup on four occasions, The Belfry Hotel & Resort is celebrating the lead up to the 2018 Ryder Cup, taking place at Le Golf National in Paris from 28th – 30th September 2018.
The 148th Open Championship, which will be staged in Northern Ireland for the first time in 67 years, has sold out!
Renowned as one of the world’s leading luxury golf lifestyle brands, Peter Millar has been an Official Licensee with Ryder Cup Europe since 2012, delivering its loyal customer base and avid fans of the biennial event with a bespoke range of stylish apparel and accessories adorned with the iconic Ryder Cup logo.
Kelly Rohrbach; A former division one college golfer. A Sports Illustrated Swimwear model. Leo DiCaprio's ex. Plus she played CJ Parker in Baywatch!
There has been unprecedented demand for tickets and hospitality from fans wanting to attend The 148th Open at Royal Portrush from 14-21 July 2019. They have now completely sold out of Weekly, Weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Championship Day Tickets.
Gordon Campbell Gray, Founder of Campbell GRAY Hotels has announced the much-anticipated opening of The Machrie Hotel and Links on Islay.
Under Armour scripting has Jordan Spieth prepared to battle the elements at Bellerive.
Francesco Molinari withstood a final round challenge from playing partner Tiger Woods to win his first Major title at the 147th Open Championship with another world-class putting performance using his Bettinardi BBZero Tour putter.
After three days where the Angus breeze barely whispered against Carnoustie’s tobacco-burnt fairways, on the fourth and final day it blustered with familiar gusto. Here's GP's take on the last day.
Rachael McQueen, the GolfPunk Golf Nurse and Skechers GoGo Golf ambassador, has been out as a ball spotter at this year’s 147th Open Championship, and we caught up with Rachael to ask her about her first experience as an official ball spotter.
These guys ought to know what they're talking about... Right?
Day 2 at ther Open with the GolfPunk dudes Tim, Rachel & Jonny. How did their 1st round predictions go? And how the hell did they get this ridiculous venue towering over the R&A's main entrance???....
GolfPunkhq.com are running the GolfPunk Clubhouse at this year’s Open in Carnoustie, and everyone is welcome. Plus there's live music tonight!
An iconic image of Severiano Ballesteros and a new-look logo now greet visitors to The Shire London’s brand-new website at www.theshirelondon.com, after the Hertfordshire venue unveiled its much-improved online portal.
Paul Casey has shot the lights out at the Travelers, going properly low with a magnificent 62 to take a 4 shot lead over Russell Henley.
The Grove, London's ultimate five-star retreat, today launches its new and exclusive Tour Truck Experience, an open-to-all custom-fitting solution that introduces everyday golfers to tour-inspired game analysis and equipment recommendations.
Mullinax 289/1! Amazing goings on at the US Open over the weekend, Brooks Koepka wins for second year in succession and Phil Mickleson try's playing crazy golf on the putting green!!! Our best selection Tony Finau was placed 5th at 109/1.
Award-winning independent Scotch whisky distiller, Loch Lomond Whiskies has unveiled three new highly covetable limited edition single malts to tee-off its prestigious, five-year partnership with The Open.
When it comes to the second major of the year, Rickie Fowler will be dressed to the nines each day in apparel from PUMA Golf’s Spring Summer ‘18 Collection.
