Ryder Cup star reveals his dad will boycott this year's event over 'disgusting' behavior of players and fans
But even though there's plenty of time between now and then, the father of one of the best American golfers has already said he has no intention of showing up to Bethpage Black in late September.
Xander Schaufele's father, Stefan Schaufele, told The Times of London that he has no intention of going to the tournament to watch his son play.
In an in-depth feature on golf and his family, Stefan - who has served as the coach of the two-time major winner and defending Open Championship victor - revealed his apprehension over the behavior of the fans descending upon New York.
'Do I miss the PGA Tour? No. I'm not going to the Ryder Cup either,' Stefan told the outlet. He added, 'I'm afraid of what's going to happen in New York.'
Stefan then recalled an incident that occurred in Wisconsin at Whistling Straits when the US last hosted the event in 2021.
'I was there when they called Shane Lowry's wife a wh**e in front of him. I couldn't believe my ears,' Stefan said.
"Then I saw what happened in Rome. That was utterly disgusting claiming this money bulls**t and Rory [McIlroy] behaved disgustingly in my opinion [when he confronted Patrick Cantlay's caddie, Joe LaCava].
He concluded: 'It's only going to get worse. It's ruined my appetite for the Ryder Cup. It becomes unwatchable.'
The Ryder Cup is an intense and competitive event, with that intensity often spilling off the course and into the crowd.
But that air of animosity between Team Europe and Team USA etched its latest chapter nearly two years ago when McIlroy and LaCava almost fist fought each other in the parking lot of the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome.
The Americans were outclassed from the beginning - with Team Europe winning all four foursomes early on Friday to take a dominant lead.
That continued that afternoon when three fourball matches were halved until McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick beat Schauffele and Collin Morikawa 5&3 to lead 6.5-1.5 at the close of day one.
Saturday didn't yield much better results for Schauffele as he and partner Patrick Cantlay lost 2&1 to the pair of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
Schaufele finally got on the board on Sunday when he beat Nicolai Højgaard 3&2 to win his singles match, but the rest of Team USA struggled when faced with a five-point deficit from the day before.
As the PGA Championship and Open Championship winner for 2024, Schauffele is second on Team USA's Ryder Cup points list behind Scottie Scheffler.
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The Guardian
17 minutes ago
- The Guardian
McIlroy vows ‘the story isn't over' as he revels in Royal Portrush support at the Open
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It just makes for a better interaction and not trying to hide away from it. 'I think it's more of, embrace everything that's going to come my way this week and not try to shy away from it or hide away from it. I think that'll make for a better experience for everyone involved.' McIlroy was asked unsurprisingly to reflect on the first hole, six years ago, where he slumped to a quadruple‑bogey eight. He said: 'The walk to the first tee and then that ovation, I was a little surprised and a little taken aback, like: 'Geez, these people really want me to win.' I think that brought its own sort of pressure and more internally from myself, not really wanting to let people down. It's just something I didn't mentally prepare for that day or that week. 'I learned pretty quickly that one of my challenges, especially in a week like this, is controlling myself and controlling that battle. I talked about it at the Masters on that last day. The battle on that last day wasn't with Augusta National. It wasn't with Bryson DeChambeau. It wasn't with Justin Rose. The battle that day was with myself.' It certainly appears as if McIlroy has found an appropriate level of motivation. After only four hours of sleep, he played 18 Portrush holes first thing on Monday morning. McIlroy openly challenged the sense he will compete in the 153rd Open without any pressure, an event he had circled on the calendar at the start of 2025. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'I've done something that I've told everyone that I wanted to do,' McIlroy said. 'But I still feels like I have a lot more to give. Anyone that sits up here at this table, we're all competitors. We all want to do better. We all think we can just get a little bit extra out of what we have. The BBC has secured a last-minute deal to show an early evening highlights programme from The Open Championship in Portrush this week. The Guardian has learned that the R&A has agreed a new three-year deal with the BBC for highlights for the Open, which also covers the women's Championship, starting with the 2025 edition at Royal Porthcawl at the end of the month. The BBC's late move comes as a surprise and is a boost for the R&A and golf fans, as the corporation has shown little interest in the sport in recent years. A long-term contract for live rights to the Open was terminated a year early by the BBC in 2016, with Sky Sports taking over live coverage, and while they have shown highlights since then they had opted not to renew a contract that expired last year. The Rory McIlroy factor may have played a role in the BBC's decision to make a late bid, with the reigning Masters champion playing on his home course in Northern Ireland likely to boost interest amongst casual fans. BBC Sport sources have expressed the belief that they made an error of judgment in not attempting to show highlights of the Masters this year, with coverage of McIlroy's triumph at Augusta only available to viewers with Sky Sports. The Open is a more attractive property for the BBC however, due to the Championship's earlier finishing times in this country, which should deliver a bigger audience. As a result this week's highlights programmes are due to be shown at 9pm on Thursday and Friday before starting at 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. The R&A and BBC did not comment, but an announcement is expected in the next few days. Matt Hughes 'It's been an amazing year. The fact that I'm here at Portrush with the Green Jacket, having completed that lifelong dream, I want to do my best this week to enjoy everything that comes my way and enjoy the reaction of the fans and enjoy being in front of them and playing in front of them. But at the same time, I want to win this golf tournament and I feel like I'm very capable of doing that. 'I try to go about my business. I try to give the best of myself every time I'm out there. It's amounted to some pretty nice things so far. I still feel like there's a lot left in there.'
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
The Englishman who turned around Scheffler's putting fortunes
When world number one Scottie Scheffler reached out to one of golf's most sought-after putting coaches in September 2023, he could not have imagined the transformation it would bring to his American was already a major champion and had won twice that season but he was in a fug. The statistics proved he was the best from tee to green. They also proved he was among the worst with a putter in Tour players hole 90% of putts from four feet. At that time, Scheffler was making 80%. The best player in the world was ranked outside the top 150 in putting and fending off the same questions every in Phil Kenyon, coach to the best in the 12 months, Scheffler had risen into the top 15 putters and completed a remarkable season, winning seven PGA Tour events, including a second Masters, and an Olympic gold medal at the Paris he arrives at this week's Open Championship on the back of a run of three victories in his past 10 events - including winning his third major at the US PGA Championship - and finishing in the top 10 in the other seven to reaffirm his position as the world's dominant player."That was a particular high for Scottie after some lows and a lot of discussion about his putting," Kenyon told BBC Sport of the American's major victory at Augusta National in April 2024."And for him to putt so well fairly early on in my role working with him, that was a highlight for me."So what did Kenyon tweak? He helped with green reading, to give Scheffler more confidence in his own ability. He helped change his it was a switch from his trusted blade to a mallet putter "to help him with lining up putts" that really sparked a change in another poor performance on the greens in February 2024, long-time friend and mentor Brad Payne - speaking in a PGA Tour documentary of that season - recounted a conversation they had in Scheffler's Dallas home: "I said 'buddy, how are you doing?' and he said, 'I don't think I'm doing well'."That was after the Genesis Invitational, where Scheffler finished joint 10th. The mallet putter made its debut in his next event and Scheffler won four of his following five tournaments, including the Masters by four strokes. Who is Phil Kenyon? Kenyon, who hails from the seaside town of Southport, on England's 'golf coast', grew up surrounded by the game. His dad was friends with 'Britain's putting doctor' Harold Swash, who worked with European Tour legends Nick Faldo, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood among many others."He would pay me to help him out, carrying his gear around, and was a huge inspiration," said Kenyon, who was was a decent amateur and turned professional after studying a sports science quickly realised he "didn't have the game" to make a living as a pro so, with Swash as a mentor, started coaching."Harold was slowing down at that time so it gave me an opportunity to get stuck in," he added."I've been at it 25 years. You just work on your craft day-to-day and it organically develops. I never envisaged travelling the world though, following players to tournaments."And while he is quick to deflect the praise, Kenyon's achievements are impossible to triumph at May's US PGA Championship meant the Englishman completed the career 'Golden Slam' of coaching players to all four major titles and Olympic Henrik Stenson and Francesco Molinari picked up Claret Jugs while under his tutelage; Matt Fitzpatrick and Gary Woodland won the US Open; Justin Rose won gold at the Rio 2016 Games; Scheffler picked up a second Green Jacket and Olympic title in their first year working also has Tommy Fleetwood and US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley among his client list. 'McIlroy helped make me a better coach' Kenyon also still coaches from his studio in Formby on Merseyside and is equally as comfortable teaching a pro or an amateur."Different players provide different challenges," he said."I can get stuck into the weeds with the best of them if that's the route you want to go down but it's about trying to work out the right balance for each player."There is a terrific video from 2021 of Kenyon and Rose going through some technical are mic'd up so you can hear Rose asking for reassurance and guidance as Kenyon buzzes round the green, offering words of encouragement while simultaneously checking putter head alignment and confirming slope angles with a spirit is more into the stats. "In comparison to those two, Scheffler plays a lot more 'feel' and is a simpler golfer," said Kenyon. "He's less technical, less stats orientated, but equally, if not more, competitive."All the best players I've worked with are questioning and probing - you're working together to find the right solutions for them."Kenyon also spent some time coaching Rory McIlroy, with the pair hooking up post-2016 Olympics. "I felt like I did a decent job of improving him technically over that period of time but he felt the need to find other things," said Kenyon of their time together."In hindsight, some things I would have done differently. But I'm glad I didn't. You learn from it and I became a better coach because of it. "There are things that I learned through that experience with Rory that have helped me with Scottie." How to adapt to putting at The Open The professional circuit has arrived in the UK for two weeks of the links golf Kenyon was brought up on at Hillside Golf Club in on the coastal courses that host the annual Scottish Open and Open Championship are vastly different to those players encounter on the PGA Tour and it's all about adapting the three key areas of line, speed and green week's Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club near Edinburgh will have been a "great opportunity to prep" for this week's Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland."The big thing is getting the speeds," said Kenyon, who will be prowling the practice putting green "keeping on top of the maintenance" of his job at tournaments is more like "supervised practice" and "cheerleading" rather than getting into technical work."Links greens are slower than in the US and they can have more subtle slopes," he explained."And then you've got the wind. Wind will be a big factor. It influences the break a lot and when you've got these subtleties of break and wind it makes it a very different challenge in your read. "It's like in tennis - you've had clay court season and then you get on to grass - part of your preparation is adapting to the surfaces you're putting on."A lot of adaption occurs subconsciously and I'm there to provide feedback, making sure they are comfortable with what they are doing." What's the secret to putting like a pro? "You've got three skills to master. Starting the ball on the right line. Controlling the speed. Reading the green," said Kenyon."And there are a variety of techniques you can use within each skill. With all of them it's about trying to find the right technique for you, what matches you as a person, your personality."You can't just master two out of the three, though. All three skills need to be working in harmony for putts to of the techniques Kenyon coaches for green reading, for example, is AimPoint, which has been around for a couple of decades but has recently increased in popularity and is used by players such as former world number one Adam Scott, Rose and is being seen as a way of speeding up the putting process. In basic terms, players use their feet to feel and grade the severity of slope from one to three. They then hold up the corresponding number of fingers out in front of them towards the hole to line up the putt, using the outside edge of the fingers as the aim point."It's a valid method that is growing in appeal, but there are other ways to read greens," said Kenyon, who points to the internet as a huge source of information."It's not always good but people will come across things that will make them think more and that 'oh, I should try that this weekend'."And when you are next out and trying new putting techniques, perhaps frustrated at missing that eight-footer to 'win The Open', remind yourself that PGA Tour players fail to hole from that distance 50% of the time.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Yankees star Jazz Chisholm ruthlessly savaged by MLB fans after Home Run Derby humiliation
Baseball fans are mercilessly mocking New York Yankees star Jazz Chisholm, who had a night to forget at the 2025 Home Run Derby in Atlanta. This year's derby only featured three of the top-ten home run hitters in the league. While top-ten hitters Cal Raleigh, James Wood, and Junior Caminero participated, the league had to go as low as 43rd on the home run list to fill out a roster of ten stars to participate. As a result, some shocking performances were turned in - but none worse than Jazz Chisholm. Chisholm, who is currently 31st on the MLB home run list, stepped into the batters box and hit a paltry three home runs on 38 swings. It was by far the least amount of home runs in the first round for the night - with the next lowest number coming from Matt Olson, who hit 15 homers. Chisholm was eviscerated on social media - with memes mocking him popping up moments after he was eliminated. Memes compared him to George Costanza, Billy Beane of 'Moneyball' fame, and his struggling Yankees teammate Anthony Volpe. 'Fun fact: Jazz Chisholm Jr. chose to wear the jersey number 3 to foreshadow the amount of home runs he was going to hit tonight... chills,' joked one user on X. Boston sports fan Tyler Milliken joked that former Red Sox minor leaguer Bobby Dalbec 'would've put on a better show than Jazz Chisholm. I know that.' 'People are mad about [Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob] Misiorowski being in the All Star Game when we should really be asking why the f Jazz Chisholm was in the Home Run Derby,' said another account. Another account raged, 'This is a black eye on Major League Baseball and Rob Manfred. Eugenio Suarez, an all-star with 31 home runs (4th in MLB), wanted to participate in the Derby. MLB wouldn't let him so they could let Jazz Chisholm, a guy with 4 HRs on the road this season, play. Hope you're happy.' 'Jazz Chisholm needs a friend in his life who would have told him no when he said he was gonna sign up for the Home Run Derby,' joked another. Fans mocked Chisholm and blasted MLB for letting him participate despite his low numbers In a season where the Yankees have struggled to keep momentum going, Chisholm has been one of the few bright spots. His 17 home runs is good for second on the team behind Aaron Judge, who did not compete in the Home Run Derby despite being second in the league in the statistic. As for the event itself, Seattle Mariners superstar Cal Raleigh won the Home Run Derby with 18 blasts in the final round to outlast Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays. Raleigh, who leads MLB in home runs at the All-Star Break, hit 17 homers in the first round to barely survive into the semifinals after StatCast determined he broke a tie with Brent Rooker by 0.1 feet. He then outlasted Oneil Cruz in the semifinals before beating Caminero and becoming the first Mariner to win the event since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1999.
