Month: January 2022

ABU DHABI — Viktor Hovland didn’t shoot the lowest score on Day 1 of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. That honor goes to the nine-under-par 63 shot by Scotland’s Scott Jamieson over the 7,425-yard Yas Links course. But Hovland can lay legitimate claim to having played the best round of the day. So it is

Look, big numbers happen to the best of them. Heck, even the great Phil Mickelson made a quadruple-bogey 9 back-to-back days on the same hole last year. And that was in a PGA Tour Champions event. So a 22-year-old having some struggles in his Korn Ferry Tour debut shouldn’t be too surprising. That doesn’t mean

For the first time since the inception of the Latin America Amateur Championship in 2015, the event will be heading to Puerto Rico. Officials with Augusta National, the USGA and the R&A announced on Thursday that Grand Reserve Golf Club will host the 2023 LAAC (Jan. 12-15). “Grand Reserve Golf Club will be a challenging

The good news for Jonas Blixt, who opened with a two-over 74 on Thursday at the American Express, is that he’s guaranteed two more rounds with this week featuring a 54-hole cut. Two more rounds are precious for a guy like Blixt, who is playing on a major medical extension and needs to make as

Give Patrick Cantlay this: The man knows his brand. Because nothing is more on point to Cantlay’s personality—a reserved soul that eschews self-promotion and cheap publicity—than chasing history in the shadows. Cantlay gave a run at 59 on Thursday in his opening—and untelevised—round at The American Express, ultimately “settling” for a 62 to own a

Bob Goalby, who won the 1968 Masters, died on Thursday. He was 92. A son of a coal miner and child of the Great Depression, Goalby grew up in humble confines in Belleville, Ill. With money tight Goalby would get his golf in by hopping the fence at nearby St. Claire Country Club, where he

Most golf fans are well aware of the place Jack Nicklaus holds in the game. But it’s not until you examine his stats more closely that you can gain a full appreciation for how dominant Nicklaus was for so long. For his 82nd birthday, we looked once more at some of our favorite, still-remarkable numbers

Brendan Post, the associate head coach at the University of Delaware, can still remember when Roberto Nieves first came to school from his home in Puerto Rico. It wasn’t always a pretty sight. “His golf game was really just starting to develop,” Post said recently. “He played a draw, which at times turned into a

ABU DHABI — If you thought Padraig Harrington was kept busy during the two years he spent as the most recent European Ryder Cup team captain, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Speaking after a windswept second round of 71 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship that took him to level par, 144, seven shots behind

ABU DHABI — It was Arnold Palmer who once said perhaps the hardest thing to do in golf is make a birdie when you absolutely have to make a birdie. That was the situation Rory McIlroy found himself standing on the 18th tee of a windswept Yas Links during Friday’s second round at the Abu

11:08 AM ET Scott Jamieson took a one-shot lead in the opening round of the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi after carding an error-free 63 to finish at 9 under on Thursday while world No. 2 Collin Morikawa and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy struggled. Jamieson sank nine birdies, and his score of 63 set

5:22 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — Gaby Lopez of Mexico began a new year and her seventh LPGA Tour season with a simple, and potentially prophetic, Instagram post: “Surprise me, 2022,” she wrote. Lopez jumped out to the lead Thursday in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, piecing together what she considered

5:39 PM ET Paolo UggettiESPN LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic — Segundo Oliva Pinto shot a 66 and is one of three Argentinians inside the top 10 after Thursday’s opening round of the Latin America Amateur Championship at Casa de Campo resort’s Teeth of the Dog course. Pinto is tied for the lead with Puerto Rico’s

8:03 PM ET Associated Press LA QUINTA, Calif. — Patrick Cantlay shot a 10-under 62 in perfect weather and turf conditions Thursday at La Quinta Country Club for a share of the first-round lead with rookie Lee Hodges in The American Express. Cantlay played the first seven holes in 7 under, making an eagle on

12:07 AM ET Associated Press Bob Goalby, who won the 1968 Masters without having to go to a playoff when Roberto De Vicenzo infamously signed for the wrong score, has died. He was 92. Goalby’s death Wednesday in his hometown of Belleville, Illinois, was confirmed by the PGA Tour and by Bill Haas, his great-nephew.

12:35 AM ET Associated Press KA’UPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii. — Ernie Els birdied the final hole Thursday, set up by a difficult wedge from a fairway bunker, giving him an 8-under 64 and a one-shot lead over Vijay Singh as the PGA Tour Champions season began at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Bernhard Langer, coming off

1:25 PM ET Scott Jamieson maintained his one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi after carding a two-over-par 74 on Friday, while Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa kept themselves in contention to make it through to the weekend. Overnight leader Jamieson entered round two at 9 under but moved

8:46 AM ET The Masters is not far off. The tournament begins April 7 at Augusta National Golf Club. But a chance to get a coveted invitation happens this week in the Latin America Amateur Championship. The event, played at the Casa de Campo’s Teeth of the Dog course and beginning Thursday, Jan. 20, in

5:17 PM ET Paolo UggettiESPN LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic — Abel Gallegos couldn’t hide his smile. As the defending champion of the Latin American Amateur Championship held his opening news conference Wednesday, Gallegos knew everyone wanted to talk about what had changed since he won the 2020 tournament in Mayakoba that granted him a spot

7:00 AM ET After two weeks in Hawaii to start the year, the PGA Tour returns to the mainland with The American Express this week at La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, California, beginning Thursday. Additionally, it marks the four-feed debut of PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+. Get ESPN+ here | Download the app

ABU DHABI — It was only Monday, but Rory McIlroy was already hard at work on the range. Three days before the start of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship—a tournament he has never won in 11 previous attempts—the four-time major champion was hitting the ball with his usual panache and fluidity. Which is no real

On Monday the PGA Tour announced the Player Advisory Council for 2022. World No. 1 Jon Rahm, reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka highlight the 16-member council for this year. Joining them are Paul Casey, Austin Cook, Joel Dahmen, Harry Higgs, Billy Horschel, Russell Knox, Justin Lower, Peter Malnati,

Richard J. Ferris, a businessman and a golf enthusiast whose contributions to the game were largely behind the scenes, including co-ownership of Pebble Beach Golf Links, died Sunday in Orlando of complications of ALS. He was 85. A native of Sacramento, Calif., Ferris joined forces in 1999 with the late Arnold Palmer, actor/director Clint Eastwood

Considering the level Jon Rahm has played at over the last two seasons, it should come as no surprise that he’s the solo favorite in every tournament he enters. Unless prime-Tiger Woods shows up, the Spaniard will continue to command that type of respect from oddsmakers. This week is no different, as Rahm is the

10:56 PM ET Associated Press HONOLULU — Five shots behind at the turn, Hideki Matsuyama figured all he could do was keep his head down and try to stay in the game Sunday in the Sony Open. And when he finally looked up, he couldn’t see one of the best shots of his career. In