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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
CALUM CROWE: Sergio's outburst was the last straw ... these childish tantrums can no longer be tolerated
For a player who was once adored by the crowds at the Open Championship, a Ryder Cup legend who so nearly won the Claret Jug on multiple occasions, Sergio Garcia's drift into irrelevance has been a sad sight. Having made the decision to take the money and join LIV Golf from its inception in 2022, Garcia's bank balance may be bursting at the seams but his decline has been undeniable. Compare that to Justin Rose. Only six months younger than Garcia, Rose still regularly contends to win majors deep into his mid-40s. The Spaniard, meanwhile, relies on exemptions just to be able to play at all. And yet, despite all of that, Garcia still featured in the final-round coverage last Sunday at Royal Portrush - albeit for the wrong reasons. A wayward tee shot on the second saw the red mist descend to match Garcia's shirt. He angrily swiped his driver and slammed the clubhead into the ground, duly snapping it in two. To his credit, he still went on to shoot 68 despite having to play the rest of his round without a driver, but it was still a deeply unedifying moment for a man who was once so popular. Tyrrell Hatton has become one of the poster boys for bad behaviour on the golf course, including this meltdown at last month's US Open The red mist descended and matched the colour of Sergio Garcia's shirt during final round of The Open at Portrush Even Bob MacIntyre let himself down with occasional shows of petulance at Portrush It was also the latest in a growing list of such incidents. Whether it's fury on the fairways, tee-box tantrums, or blow-ups in the bunkers, these meltdowns are becoming a stain on the sport. We live in an age where these moments of rage are clipped and then shared on social media. They are trivialised and turned into moments of humour when they ought to be a source of embarrassment. At the US Open last month, pictures were shared online of the damage Wyndham Clark had caused to the locker room at Oakmont. Breaking a club is one thing, but destroying property that is not your own is a whole different level of arrogance and self-entitlement. Clark has since apologised but Oakmont have suspended him. He is banned from setting foot on the property and they will not reconsider that stance until he has repaid the damages in full and undertaken anger-management sessions. At the very same tournament, Rory McIlroy, the most globally-popular player in the game, was throwing clubs around and smashing a tee box at Oakmont. Rory McIlroy smashed a tee box during the US Open at Oakmont last month Tyrrell Hatton reacts with fury after a poor shot at the Dubai Desert Classic in January The damage allegedly caused to a locker room at Oakmont last month by an enraged Wyndham Clark Wyndham Clark has since been banned by Oakmost until he repairs the damage and takes anger-management course At a LIV Golf event in Dallas last month, five-time major champion Brooks Koepka smashed a tee box directly into a crowd of fans who were positioned only a few yards away. Fortunately, it didn't hit anyone. Tyrrell Hatton is in a league of his own with this stuff. At this year's USPGA Championship, the foul-mouthed Englishman was heard ranting and branding his driver a 'piece of s*** c***'. Only last season, during the DP World Tour Championship, another Hatton meltdown saw him snap a club in two. That led to Ewen Murray, the venerable voice of golf on Sky Sports, describing Hatton as 'a terrible influence on the next generation'. It's almost at the point now where it feels like Hatton has become a caricature of himself. Bob MacIntyre doesn't get a pass here either. For all we celebrate the Scot as a world-class talent, which he undoubtedly is, he still lets himself down at times with ill-tempered outbursts. In the third round at Portrush last weekend, MacIntyre was throwing clubs around and lashing out by taking a swipe at his own golf bag. All of this came just a few days after MacIntyre had explained how he still 'loses the plot' and 'breaks things' when things aren't going his way on the golf course. It does make you wonder what sort of example all of this sets for young kids. Sure, it should also be said that MacIntyre does more than most in terms of devoting his time to the next generation. Watching him at the Scottish Open recently, no player spent more time signing all kinds of hats, gloves and balls after his rounds. In that respect, he is a credit to himself. In terms of these outbursts on the course, however, he is not playing in the monthly medal at Glencruitten any more. The eyes of the world are watching him and he should learn to behave appropriately. Garcia, pictured during his final round at Portrush, had earlier snapped his driver in two after a wayward tee shot If any amateur golfer were to go around snapping clubs, smashing tee boxes, or having a swipe at their bag, they would be hauled up in front of the club committee and asked to explain themselves. Golf prides itself on etiquette. From a young age, we are taught to show respect, to replace divots, repair pitchmarks, rake bunkers, always shout fore when appropriate, always shake hands after a round - and never to throw clubs. MacIntyre was praised a few years ago when he collared his playing partner Kyle Stanley for failing to shout fore. He was absolutely right to do so. That was based on values, etiquette, and doing the right thing. Throwing clubs around should fall under the same bracket. These things matter. Pros shouldn't be treated any differently. Their petulance is not something to be celebrated or trivialised. For example, the DP World Tour put out a video a couple of years ago branded: 'Tyrrell Hatton, the angry golfer'. It featured all of his many tantrums and meltdowns over the years and was clearly intended to be funny. It was a poor reflection on the sport that the game's authorities were not only failing to discourage his behaviour, but were actively promoting it in some instances. As a sport, golf can make you angry. We all know that. At the last estimation, a solid 90 per cent of all golfers admitted to the odd sweary word here and there, while the other 10 per cent were liars. But for those frustrations to boil over into something more physical is the point where a line is being crossed. It should not be normalised and it is certainly not acceptable. Scottie is earning his stripes but he's still no Tiger Scottie Scheffler has been the most dominant player on the planet these past couple of years, with his brilliance setting the bar for everyone else. But comparisons with Tiger Woods are still premature and wide of the mark. Woods transcended the sport. He redefined golf. He could win a tournament by six shots and it would still feel exciting. He was box-office entertainment. Scheffler, by contrast, doesn't have the same level of appeal. As a character and personality, he lacks charisma and star quality. Scheffler celebrates his runaway victory at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland last weekend But he lacks the charisma of his legendary predecessor and fellow American Tiger Woods His comments last week about how the joy of winning lasts no more than a few minutes came across as insincere and did him no favours in terms of winning new fans. That's not to downplay the quality of golf he is producing. But to put him in the same bracket as Woods still feels like a bit of a stretch. Scheffler has profited from so many of his closest competitors defecting to LIV Golf. That's not his fault, of course, but the fields on the PGA Tour are now undoubtedly weaker than three or four years ago. To win four majors before the age of 30 takes some doing. But it should also be noted that Jordan Spieth had won three by the age of 23 and hasn't won any more since his triumph at Royal Birkdale in 2017. Back then, everyone was falling over themselves to make the same comparisons between Spieth and Woods. As the younger American would now testify, golf has a habit of getting away from you when you least it expect it. Tiger very much remains in a league of his own. Taylor's meteoric rise outshone his fall from grace Josh Taylor will go down as one of the all-time greats. Not only in Scotland, but as one of the best British boxers there's ever been. His rise to become an undisputed world champion at light-welterweight - cleaning out the division against top-level opponents - remains one of the great feats by any British fighter. Josh Taylor was an unstoppable champion when the Scottish fighter was at his peak Taylor had no easy nights either He was relentlessly going up against the very best of the best. In the end, it burnt him out. He had nothing left to give. As written in these pages after his defeat to Ekow Essuman in May, there comes a point in every elite fighter's career when it becomes impossible to reconcile the desire to carry on with the reality of what is unfolding in the ring. Taylor's run of defeats and his fall from grace over the past couple of years was sad to see, but it shouldn't diminish what an outstanding talent he was in his prime.
USA Today
4 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ryder Cup: Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson will not return to site of 2019 PGA Championship showdown
At first, it didn't appear we'd have much drama for the final round of the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. Brooks Koepka, who would regain the world's No. 1 ranking later that day, was a comfortable seven shots ahead of the current No. 1, Dustin Johnson, in Farmingdale, N.Y. But the Palm Beach County residents suddenly were in an epic battle. Two of the most dominant, ruthless golfers of that time battling on a course that matched their intimidation as Johnson cut Koepka's advantage to one stroke on the back nine. In the end, Koepka prevailed by two shots for his fourth major in 23 months, and the two once again held the top two spots in the Official World Golf Ranking. 'To be standing here today with four majors is mind blowing,' Koepka said. And if you think that is "mind-blowing," consider this: In two months, Bethpage Black will host another major event, possibly the biggest and rowdiest this country has ever seen, the 2025 Ryder Cup. And six years ago, heck, three years ago, it would have seemed inconceivable that neither Koepka or Johnson would be wearing the red, white and blue in 2025. But that is the reality now. With the four majors in the books, the two most dominant figures in their sport from 2016 to 2021 and two of the biggest names to defect from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, have gone from royalty to irrelevant. While Koepka was an easy captain's pick for Zach Johnson two years ago, neither will even occupy one second of captain Keegan Bradley's time as he fills out his 12-man roster in one month. The lone LIV golfer who will be part of the team looking to avenge its 2023 loss to the Europeans: Bryson DeChambeau. Dustin Johnson says it will 'suck' watching Ryder Cup Johnson, 41, showed some life at the British Open, the final major of the season, finishing tied for 23rd. But the two-time major winner and a man who has spent 135 weeks at No. 1 in the world, fourth most all-time, is in the midst of a steady decline. The Jupiter resident had missed the cut in all three majors this season, entering the British Open, and six of the last eight. Koepka showed some life at the U.S. Open, finishing T12. Otherwise, he, too, missed the cut at three majors this season, including the British Open. This is the man who one time said he believed majors were the easiest events to win, his rationale explained in this quote before the 2019 PGA Championship: 'There's 156 in the field, so you figure at least 80 of them I'm just going to beat. From there, you figure about half of them won't play well from there, so you're down to about maybe 35. And then from 35, some of them, the pressure is going to get to them. It only leaves you with a few more, and you've just got to beat those guys.' Since winning his third PGA Championship in 2023, Koepka has two top-20 finishes in majors. His three missed cuts in majors this year are one more than he had in his last 11 years combined. And it's not just against the elite fields where these two former champions have struggled. They have become middle-of-the-pack players in LIV Golf. Neither has won on the Saudi-backed tour this year, finishing in the top 5 one time each in 10 LIV events. Two years ago, Dustin Johnson told the Palm Beach Post he was disappointed captain Zach Johnson left him off the Ryder Cup team, admitting he did not play well but believed he "played well enough to be on the team." Before the British Open, he told The Athletic, "It's going to suck watching (the Ryder Cup) from home. I just haven't played well enough this year." As easy a choice as Koepka was for the team in 2023 after finishing tied for second at the Masters and winning the PGA Championship, his fifth major, he'll be just as easily dismissed this year. Koepka, 35, hinted in April that he believed he figured out what's held him back and then missed the cut at the Masters with a 74-75. He admitted from around the Masters until just before the U.S. Open, "I haven't been happy. It's been very irritating. … you didn't want to be around me.' A brief resurgence at the U.S. Open buoyed that confidence, but now that's likely gone after a 75-74 at Royal Portrush in the year's final major. Is complacency to blame for many LIV golfers fading? For both, it's back to LIV's 54-hole, shotgun-start events to close out the season. Theories abound as to why so many marquee names who sacrificed their legacies to join LIV have faded. Koepka and DeChambeau are the lone LIV golfers to have won a major since leaving the Tour, but only DeChambeau and Jon Rahm currently are thriving and move the needle when it comes to the world stage. While LIV does little to prepare its golfers for the majors with its format and being forced to play on many courses that are less challenging, the ongoing debate will center on the financial security these top-tier stars obtained with their initial contracts. For the elite few, those deals exceeded $100 million. "It's hard to make an argument that LIV prepares you to win major championships," Irishman Paul McGinley, a former Ryder Cup captain, recently said. "They are playing team events, they're not playing on the most difficult golf courses, traveling around the world and then having to come back to America to play three to four majors." Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. He can be reached at tdangelo@
NBC Sports
7 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
U.S. Ryder Cup players will use first fall event, the Procore Championship, to help stay sharp
The Procore Championship in Napa, California, is shaping up to be training camp for the Ryder Cup for the American team to avoid getting rusty ahead of the Sept. 26-28 matches. 'I know I'll be there,' Scottie Scheffler said. Ditto for Xander Schauffele, who suggested the world's No. 1 player was a strong voice in urging whoever is on the U.S. team to be at Silverado Resort on Sept. 11-14. That was a big concern at the last Ryder Cup, held outside Rome in 2023. The PGA Tour season that year ended Aug. 27 with the Tour Championship at East Lake, and the majority of the team had a full month away from tournament golf before going to Marco Simone for the start of the Ryder Cup on Sept. 29. Justin Thomas and Max Homa were the only players in Napa, along with U.S. captain Zach Johnson. Europe had its players at the BMW PGA Championship in England. Team Europe got out to a fast start at Marco Simone and sailed to an easy victory to win back the cup. The Procore Championship is the only PGA Tour event on the schedule between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. It also is the same week as the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Odds are against having all 12 of the Americans there — one of them is Bryson DeChambeau, who is banned from the PGA Tour because he's with LIV Golf. Ryder Cup update: Keegan Bradley confirms Bryson DeChambeau's inclusion; Chris Gotterup makes huge jump DeChambeau's T-10 finish at Portrush impressed Bradley enough for Bradley to confirm to Sports Illustrated that DeChambeau will be among the 12 players on his squad. U.S. captain Keegan Bradley told Sports Illustrated he would use one of his six picks on DeChambeau, who finished in the top 10 at three of the four majors this year. 'Bryson is going to be a very important piece to us winning the Ryder Cup,' Bradley said in a text message to SI. 'He brings so much. He brings energy, passion but most importantly, he's one of the best players on the planet.' The LIV Golf League season ends Aug. 24 with its team championship in Michigan. The only other competition for DeChambeau would be a YouTube match or European tour stops in Switzerland, Ireland, England or France.
Washington Post
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Ryder Cup training camp is shaping up for the first fall PGA Tour event in Napa
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — So much for all the PGA Tour fall events having weak fields. The Procore Championship in Napa, California, is shaping up to be training camp for the Ryder Cup for the American team to avoid getting rusty ahead of the Sept. 26-28 matches. 'I know I'll be there,' Scottie Scheffler said. Ditto for Xander Schauffele, who suggested the world's No. 1 player was a strong voice in urging whoever is on the U.S. team to be at Silverado Resort on Sept. 11-14. That was a big concern at the last Ryder Cup, held outside Rome in 2023. The PGA Tour season that year ended Aug. 27 with the Tour Championship at East Lake, and the majority of the team had a full month away from tournament golf before going to Marco Simone for the start of the Ryder Cup on Sept. 29. Justin Thomas and Max Homa were the only players in Napa, along with U.S. captain Zach Johnson. Europe had its players at the BMW PGA Championship in England. Team Europe got out to a fast start at Marco Simone and sailed to an easy victory to win back the cup. The Procore Championship is the only PGA Tour event on the schedule between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. It also is the same week as the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Odds are against having all 12 of the Americans there — one of them is Bryson DeChambeau, who is banned from the PGA Tour because he's with LIV Golf. U.S. captain Keegan Bradley told Sports Illustrated he would use one of his six picks on DeChambeau, who finished in the top 10 at three of the four majors this year. 'Bryson is going to be a very important piece to us winning the Ryder Cup,' Bradley said in a text message to SI. 'He brings so much. He brings energy, passion but most importantly, he's one of the best players on the planet.' The LIV Golf League season ends Aug. 24 with its team championship in Michigan. The only other competition for DeChambeau would be a YouTube match or European tour stops in Switzerland, Ireland, England or France. Justin Leonard played four rounds of competition last week for the first time in eight years, making the cut at the British Open and finishing in a tie for 59th. Leonard, 53, stayed largely away from golf while working as a TV analyst, and this is only his third year playing a full PGA Tour Champions schedule. He had not played in the British Open since 2016 at Royal Troon — where he won The Open in 1997 — and he was pleased to be among three players 50 and older to make the weekend at Royal Portrush. Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson were the others. 'It's a different kind of pressure coming over here and playing as a PGA Tour Champions guy,' Leonard said. 'There aren't many expectations. But still, it's nice to come over and play well and justify coming over.' And then Leonard with his dry sense of humor found a perk to his performance. 'Plus, think of all the world ranking points I got this week,' he said 'We've done a hard reset on the ranking. It's rough thinking there are more than 4,000 golfers out there better than I am. But I proved them all wrong this week.' His world ranking going into Royal Portrush was No. 4,689. Leonard's tie for 59th moved him all the way to No. 1,436. So now there are only 1,435 players better than him. But he has one thing going for him. Leonard has a better world ranking than Tiger Woods (No. 1,626) for the first time since the first week of 1997. Hard reset, indeed. The PGA Tour Champions is taking its show out of the country next year with the Portugal Invitational set for July 31 to Aug. 2. It's part of a five-year partnership and will be the first time a PGA Tour-sanctioned event for stroke play is in Portugal. That will give the PGA Tour Champions players the chance of a three-week stay in Europe if they choose. The Senior British Open is the week before, and the Senior PGA Championship on the Legends Tour will be the week after. The 78-man field will have players from the PGA Tour Champions and the Legends Tour in Europe, with a total purse of $3 million at The Els Club Vilamoura. Ernie Els redesigned the course, which previously hosted the Portugal Masters from 2007 through 2022. The World Cup of Golf was held in Portugal in 2005. 'The players are going to love it, not just the golf course but this whole destination,' Els said. 'It's such a beautiful part of the world.' Xander Schauffele made it through a third consecutive year making the cut in every major, taking his total to 15 in a row dating to a weekend off in the 2022 Masters. The opposite end of that was Cameron Smith, who missed the cut in all of them. He nearly had some distinguished company. Two other major champions, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, missed the cut in three out of four. Schauffele was among 17 players to make the cut in all four majors. That includes Corey Conners, who made the cut in the U.S. Open but had to withdraw in the final round with injury. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were the only players from LIV Golf to make the cut in all four majors. That's a smaller sample size considering the goal for so many LIV players is to simply qualify or otherwise get into a major. Scottie Scheffler had no such concerns at 'Calamity Corner,' the notorious par-3 16th hole at Royal Portrush for the British Open. He made birdie in the opening round and again on Friday. He began to build his lead with a third straight birdie on Saturday. And in the final round, he drilled his tee shot to 15 feet. He missed. 'It's just a hard hole, I guess,' Scheffler said with a laugh. Calamity Corner does not have quite the same familiarity as the 12th hole at Augusta National, so one more birdie might not have been as noteworthy as the time Scott Verplank made birdie all four rounds in the 2003 Masters. Scheffler thought back to the first time he played it in a practice round. 'It was raining and blowing in out of the left, and I smoked a 3-wood to 30 feet, and I thought it was a pretty amazing shot,' Scheffler said. 'And then I was playing against Sam Burns in a practice round, and he hit 3-wood to about 25 feet and made it.' Even though Nelly Korda hasn't won this year, her seven-win season in 2024 gave her such a big lead that she's still No. 1 in women's golf. Korda has been No. 1 for 70 consecutive weeks, the fifth-largest streak since the women's world ranking began in 2006. ... Scottie Scheffler registered his fourth victory of at least four shots at the British Open, the most PGA Tour titles by four shots or more since Tiger Woods did it five times in 2000. ... Xander Schauffele tied for seventh in the British Open and earned $451,834, moving him past $60 million in career PGA Tour earnings. Scheffler became the fourth player to surpass $90 in career tour money. Scottie Scheffler, Harris English and Chris Gotterup gave Americans a 1-2-3 finish in the British Open for the first time since 1998, when it was Mark O'Meara, Brian Watts and Tiger Woods. 'I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a claret jug, and that's just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.' — Rory McIlroy on his return home to Northern Ireland for the British Open. ___ AP golf:
San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ryder Cup training camp is shaping up for the first fall PGA Tour event in Napa
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — So much for all the PGA Tour fall events having weak fields. The Procore Championship in Napa, California, is shaping up to be training camp for the Ryder Cup for the American team to avoid getting rusty ahead of the Sept. 26-28 matches. 'I know I'll be there,' Scottie Scheffler said. Ditto for Xander Schauffele, who suggested the world's No. 1 player was a strong voice in urging whoever is on the U.S. team to be at Silverado Resort on Sept. 11-14. That was a big concern at the last Ryder Cup, held outside Rome in 2023. The PGA Tour season that year ended Aug. 27 with the Tour Championship at East Lake, and the majority of the team had a full month away from tournament golf before going to Marco Simone for the start of the Ryder Cup on Sept. 29. Justin Thomas and Max Homa were the only players in Napa, along with U.S. captain Zach Johnson. Europe had its players at the BMW PGA Championship in England. Team Europe got out to a fast start at Marco Simone and sailed to an easy victory to win back the cup. The Procore Championship is the only PGA Tour event on the schedule between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. It also is the same week as the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Odds are against having all 12 of the Americans there — one of them is Bryson DeChambeau, who is banned from the PGA Tour because he's with LIV Golf. U.S. captain Keegan Bradley told Sports Illustrated he would use one of his six picks on DeChambeau, who finished in the top 10 at three of the four majors this year. 'Bryson is going to be a very important piece to us winning the Ryder Cup,' Bradley said in a text message to SI. "He brings so much. He brings energy, passion but most importantly, he's one of the best players on the planet.' The LIV Golf League season ends Aug. 24 with its team championship in Michigan. The only other competition for DeChambeau would be a YouTube match or European tour stops in Switzerland, Ireland, England or France. Justin Leonard on the rise Justin Leonard played four rounds of competition last week for the first time in eight years, making the cut at the British Open and finishing in a tie for 59th. Leonard, 53, stayed largely away from golf while working as a TV analyst, and this is only his third year playing a full PGA Tour Champions schedule. He had not played in the British Open since 2016 at Royal Troon — where he won The Open in 1997 — and he was pleased to be among three players 50 and older to make the weekend at Royal Portrush. Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson were the others. 'It's a different kind of pressure coming over here and playing as a PGA Tour Champions guy,' Leonard said. 'There aren't many expectations. But still, it's nice to come over and play well and justify coming over.' And then Leonard with his dry sense of humor found a perk to his performance. 'Plus, think of all the world ranking points I got this week,' he said 'We've done a hard reset on the ranking. It's rough thinking there are more than 4,000 golfers out there better than I am. But I proved them all wrong this week.' His world ranking going into Royal Portrush was No. 4,689. Leonard's tie for 59th moved him all the way to No. 1,436. So now there are only 1,435 players better than him. But he has one thing going for him. Leonard has a better world ranking than Tiger Woods (No. 1,626) for the first time since the first week of 1997. Hard reset, indeed. Senior European vacation The PGA Tour Champions is taking its show out of the country next year with the Portugal Invitational set for July 31 to Aug. 2. It's part of a five-year partnership and will be the first time a PGA Tour-sanctioned event for stroke play is in Portugal. That will give the PGA Tour Champions players the chance of a three-week stay in Europe if they choose. The Senior British Open is the week before, and the Senior PGA Championship on the Legends Tour will be the week after. The 78-man field will have players from the PGA Tour Champions and the Legends Tour in Europe, with a total purse of $3 million at The Els Club Vilamoura. Ernie Els redesigned the course, which previously hosted the Portugal Masters from 2007 through 2022. The World Cup of Golf was held in Portugal in 2005. 'The players are going to love it, not just the golf course but this whole destination,' Els said. "It's such a beautiful part of the world.' Major cuts Xander Schauffele made it through a third consecutive year making the cut in every major, taking his total to 15 in a row dating to a weekend off in the 2022 Masters. The opposite end of that was Cameron Smith, who missed the cut in all of them. He nearly had some distinguished company. Two other major champions, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, missed the cut in three out of four. Schauffele was among 17 players to make the cut in all four majors. That includes Corey Conners, who made the cut in the U.S. Open but had to withdraw in the final round with injury. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were the only players from LIV Golf to make the cut in all four majors. That's a smaller sample size considering the goal for so many LIV players is to simply qualify or otherwise get into a major. Calamity Corner Scottie Scheffler had no such concerns at 'Calamity Corner,' the notorious par-3 16th hole at Royal Portrush for the British Open. He made birdie in the opening round and again on Friday. He began to build his lead with a third straight birdie on Saturday. And in the final round, he drilled his tee shot to 15 feet. He missed. 'It's just a hard hole, I guess,' Scheffler said with a laugh. Calamity Corner does not have quite the same familiarity as the 12th hole at Augusta National, so one more birdie might not have been as noteworthy as the time Scott Verplank made birdie all four rounds in the 2003 Masters. Scheffler thought back to the first time he played it in a practice round. 'It was raining and blowing in out of the left, and I smoked a 3-wood to 30 feet, and I thought it was a pretty amazing shot,' Scheffler said. 'And then I was playing against Sam Burns in a practice round, and he hit 3-wood to about 25 feet and made it.' Divots Even though Nelly Korda hasn't won this year, her seven-win season in 2024 gave her such a big lead that she's still No. 1 in women's golf. Korda has been No. 1 for 70 consecutive weeks, the fifth-largest streak since the women's world ranking began in 2006. ... Scottie Scheffler registered his fourth victory of at least four shots at the British Open, the most PGA Tour titles by four shots or more since Tiger Woods did it five times in 2000. ... Xander Schauffele tied for seventh in the British Open and earned $451,834, moving him past $60 million in career PGA Tour earnings. Scheffler became the fourth player to surpass $90 in career tour money. Stat of the week Scottie Scheffler, Harris English and Chris Gotterup gave Americans a 1-2-3 finish in the British Open for the first time since 1998, when it was Mark O'Meara, Brian Watts and Tiger Woods. Final word 'I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a claret jug, and that's just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.' — Rory McIlroy on his return home to Northern Ireland for the British Open. ___
