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Category: Golf

  • CHAMP: Paul Broadhurst, Steve Stricker share lead in Madison

    CHAMP: Paul Broadhurst, Steve Stricker share lead in Madison


    Steve Stricker and England’s Paul Broadhurst fired matching 64s on Saturday to share the lead after two rounds of the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wis.

    The pair sit at 15-under-par 129, two strokes ahead of first-round leader Justin Leonard, who shot 69 and dropped to solo third. Leonard broke the course record with a 10-under-par 62 on Friday at University Ridge GC.

    Joe Durant (Saturday 65), Steven Alker (68) and Marco Dawson (68) are tied for fourth place at 11 under. Stephen Ames (65) is five shots back in solo seventh.

    Stricker posted a bogey-free round, carding eight birdies, while Broadhurst overcame an early bogey en route to his round of 8 under. Broadhurst birdied three of his last four holes, including No. 18.

    “Just stayed patient really,” Broadhurst said. “Made a really bad bogey down No. 2 where people are making birdies and eagles.

    “But I played solid all day and then sort of got it going from 7 in, really,” he added. “Just started to hole some putts. I missed a few early on.”

    Stricker, on the other hand, holed six of his birdies on the front nine, including Holes 1 and 2, for opening rounds of 65-64.

    “I was trying to make as many birdies as I could, but yeah, two good rounds, came out of the gate playing well today and birdied the first couple holes, so that’s always a good start, and kept it going on the front,” Stricker said. “Hit a lot of quality shots on that front nine and made some nice putts.”

    Stricker is vying for his fourth win this season. He won each of the first two majors, the Regions Tradition and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, as part of his three wins.

    –Field Level Media

  • PGA: Report: PGA Tour to offer equity to players who stayed loyal

    PGA: Report: PGA Tour to offer equity to players who stayed loyal


    Players who turned down big-money offers to defect to LIV Golf and stuck with the PGA Tour will be given equity shares in the new for-profit conglomerate being formed by the tour’s merger with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, PGA Tour policy board member Jimmy Dunne told ESPN Friday.

    Dunne is being credited with orchestrating the new deal between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and PIF announced Tuesday. Dunne reached out to PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan earlier this year to begin discussions of the agreement that surprised the sports world.

    PIF had previously been funding LIV Golf, leading to the schism in the golf world that saw star players like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka leave the PGA Tour behind.

    As for star players who declined LIV’s offers and stayed, like Jon Rahm of Spain and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, they will now be compensated for their loyalty.

    “The new (company) would grow, and the (current PGA Tour) players would get a piece of equity that would enhance and increase in value as time went on,” Dunne told ESPN. “There would have to be some kind of formulaic decision on how to do that. It would be a process to determine what would be a fair mechanism that would be really beneficial to our players.”

    The players who joined LIV will not be eligible for that equity plan.

    In a separate interview, Dunne told Sports Illustrated on Friday that the newly formed, for-profit entity formed by the merger will retain the PGA Tour name and branding. Its current commissioner, Jay Monahan, who is set to become its CEO, will have the power to disband LIV Golf if he wants.

    Current LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman reportedly told staff earlier this week that the league is sticking around long-term despite the PGA-PIF agreement, but Norman might be out of a position once LIV is officially under the PGA’s purview. Monahan told reporters on a conference call Tuesday that “taking a competitor off the board” was one of the motives for the merger.

    As for Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the PGA Tour going forward, Dunne claimed the Saudis haven’t promised any monetary investment and the agreement was more about the “right of first refusal” to be the tour’s investment partner in the future. The PGA Tour will be the controlling partner of any investment, according to the agreement.

    Al-Rumayyan, though, will be the chairman of the PGA Tour following the merger.

    –Field Level Media

  • PGA: Tour rookie Carl Yuan ekes ahead at RBC Canadian Open

    PGA: Tour rookie Carl Yuan ekes ahead at RBC Canadian Open


    PGA Tour rookie Carl Yuan of China sits atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto.

    Yuan shot a 5-under 67 on Friday at Oakdale Golf & Country Club to move to 9-under 135, which was enough for a one-stroke lead by the end of the day.

    On his tail are the likes of Corey Conners, trying to be the first Canadian to win the country’s national open since 1954, and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, who fired an 8-under 64. They’re tied with Aaron Rai of England and C.T. Pan of Taiwan at 8 under.

    Yuan, 26, has won events on the PGA Tour China and the Korn Ferry Tour but had struggled to begin his PGA Tour career. He had made just five of 16 cuts this season entering the week, and his best finish was a tie for 21st.

    That could change this weekend after Yuan’s 68-67 start in Toronto. He started his Friday by making a 14-foot birdie putt and went on to roll in six more birdies, including three of his final four holes.

    “I’ve been like playing like way too technical in the past events on tour this year,” Yuan said. “Which didn’t really get me the good results. So I figure, why not just play freely? Yeah, and then glad it works out good so far.”

    Conners has said he views the Canadian Open like a major. After four birdies and just one bogey Friday for a 69, he’ll enter the weekend primed to make a run at a trophy he badly wants.

    Conners is the highest-ranked Canadian player in the world at No. 29. He won the Valero Texas Open last April — both of his PGA Tour victories came there — and he spent most of Friday and Saturday at the PGA Championship atop the leaderboard before a poor finish.

    “I would say this week I’ve been a lot more relaxed than even I was there, and I felt like I was quite relaxed at the PGA Championship,” Conners said. “So I’m feeling good about my game and able to play with freedom and confidence. So just having a lot of fun.”

    Hatton’s round was anchored by a run of five straight birdies at Nos. 7-11. His approach game carried him through that stretch: His approach at the par-4 eighth landed 3 1/2 feet from the cup, his second shot at the par-4 10th left him 6 1/2 feet and his tee shot at the par-3 11th gave him a 7-footer for the fifth and final birdie of the spree.

    He finished the day with nine birdies and a lone bogey while carding the low round of the tournament.

    “It’s a nice place to be after 36 holes, but there’s still another 36 to go,” Hatton said. “I imagine if the weather’s kind of the same as it was this afternoon, scoring’s going to be fairly low. It’s tricky out there at times. You can easily get yourself in the wrong position. But, yeah, you still need to make a lot of birdies this weekend. I’m going to try my best to do that.”

    Rai, one of four co-leaders after the first round, shot a 69, while Pan fired a 66. Pan recovered from an early double bogey by eagling the par-5 18th after he stuck his second shot inside 5 feet.

    Tied for sixth at 7 under were Harry Higgs (66), Andrew Novak (68), Brendon Todd (69), Jonathan Byrd (69), Justin Lower (70) and Chesson Hadley (70).

    Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland improved on an opening 71 with a bogey-free round of 67 to get to 6 under. He’s tied for 12th with England’s Justin Rose (69), Nate Lashley (68), Mark Hubbard (70) and S.H. Kim of South Korea (70).

    “Three back going into the weekend, that’s — I’m pretty pleased with that,” McIlroy said. “Finished strongly out there this afternoon. Yeah, I feel pretty good with where I’m at. Would have been nice to be one or two closer to the lead, but I thought today went well.”

    Adam Hadwin (68) and Roger Sloan (70) are the next-lowest Canadians after Conners, both at 5 under.

    –Field Level Media

  • LPGA: Dani Holmqvist fires 64 to lead ShopRite LPGA Classic

    LPGA: Dani Holmqvist fires 64 to lead ShopRite LPGA Classic


    Dani Holmqvist of Sweden eagled the par-5 third hole on her way to a bogey-free, 7-under-par 64 that put her in the lead after one round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Friday in Galloway, N.J.

    Holmqvist will head into the weekend one shot clear of China’s Yan Liu and South Korea’s Jenny Shin in the 54-hole event.

    The 35-year-old has won tournaments in Sweden and Australia, but the veteran is now in position to contend for her first LPGA Tour title.

    Holmqvist’s 64 was just her second sub-70 round all season. She played in just five events prior to this week and missed the cut at all five.

    “It’s just been a very slow start to the year,” Holmqvist said of her schedule. “I’m personally a player that needs to play a lot of events that get going and kind of get into the groove, so I am looking forward to the stretch coming with more regular tournaments.”

    Holmqvist began her day on the back nine at Seaview Golf Club’s Bay Course and birdied Nos. 14, 16 and 17. The eagle came in the middle of her round, with her drive and a 4-iron approach taking her to about 15 feet for the putt. Birdies at Nos. 6 and 7 gave her the solo lead.

    “I think just that’s what everyone out here — that’s what we all strive to do,” she said. “Some weeks you’re better than others, and some weeks you feel like you’re losing. So it’s fun to actually come up on top for you once. This game is tough, and just got to cherish the moments when you actually put together a good one.”

    Shin put together a round of six birdies and no bogeys, while Liu’s card was much more colorful. Liu posted two birdies and three bogeys over her first five holes, then eagled the par-5 ninth. She went 5-under 29 on her back nine by making three birdies in a row at Nos. 12-14 and scoring a second eagle on the par-5 18th.

    Liu said she told her caddie she wanted to keep it easy after her up-and-down start. By the time she finished her round, she led the tournament, as Holmqvist was still playing.

    “It’s my first time leader so I just want to stay focus my game, and like today, easy golf,” Liu said.

    Sarah Schmelzel, England’s Georgia Hall, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, South Africa’s Paula Reto and Soo Bin Joo of South Korea were tied for fourth at 5-under 66.

    Defending champion Brooke Henderson of Canada opened with a 2-under 69.

    –Field Level Media

  • CHAMP: Justin Leonard fires course-record 62, leads in Madison

    CHAMP: Justin Leonard fires course-record 62, leads in Madison


    Justin Leonard broke the course record with a 10-under-par 62 to establish a three-shot lead after one round of the American Family Insurance Championship on Friday in Madison, Wis.

    Leonard carded five birdies on both nines at University Ridge Course while staying bogey-free. It was by far his best score at an official PGA Tour Champions event since joining the tour last summer.

    “I didn’t play with any kind of score in mind,” Leonard said. “In fact, I got in the scoring trailer and the group that finished on 9, Tom Lehman asked me what I shot, I said I don’t know. That’s kind of the goal is just to get lost in the round.”

    Leonard, who turns 51 next week, has three top-10 finishes this year but is still seeking his first win on the 50-and-over circuit.

    Leonard spent much of his 40s working for Golf Channel in an analyst role before transitioning back to playing a full tournament schedule on the PGA Tour Champions.

    “Being in Florida now, any given day I’m hitting balls next to Jessica Korda, Shane Lowry or Patrick Cantlay and I’ll pick their brains and fortunately they all like to talk,” Leonard said. “So ask them about certain things, whether it’s numbers they see in a launch monitor or whatever it may be. Being around, watching a lot of good players and now practicing with them, it’s been fun.”

    Leonard also said he asks plenty of questions about the senior circuit when getting dinner with Steve Stricker, the Wisconsinite and host of the American Family Insurance Championship who’s part of a tie for second at 7-under 65.

    Joining Stricker at 65 were Marco Dawson, Steven Alker of New Zealand and Paul Broadhurst of England. Stricker has won three events this season, including each of the first two majors, the Regions Tradition and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

    Stricker posted an eagle at the par-5 second hole to kickstart his round. Alker and Broadhurst finished their rounds without a bogey.

    Broadhurst said he was inspired by his sons to have a memorable round.

    “I’m third in the Broadhurst household today as well because my middle son’s playing on the Challenge Tour in Europe and shot 8 under today, so that was my inspiration,” he said. “Then my youngest son has just passed his A levels and got three distinction stars in fashion, so the Broadhurst household’s had a good day today.”

    Tied for sixth at 6-under 66 were Paul Stankowski and South Korea’s Charlie Wi. Defending champion Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand opened with a 2-over 74.

    –Field Level Media