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One of the best amateurs in women’s golf is ready to make the leap. After securing playing status at the LPGA Q Series last month, Gina Kim has decided to forgo her senior spring season at Duke University and turn pro. Kim, 21, helped lead the Blue Devils to a national championship in 2019 and

8:09 AM ET The first event of the year on the PGA Tour gave a possible hint of what is to come in 2022: Birdies. Lots and lots of birdies. But what else should we expect? Which players should we keep an eye out for? Which unknown might announce himself? And which recognizable face might

Webb Simpson honestly did not know how the 2021 Ryder Cup week was going to be for him. Badly wanting to play on his fourth U.S. team at Whistling Straits last September and get his first American win, he’d made early noise at making the squad with two wins in 2020. But his game wobbled

6:08 AM ET Associated Press VIRGINIA WATER, England — The DP World Tour — formerly known as the European Tour — strengthened its links with the PGA Tour of Australasia by announcing Wednesday an extension of their partnership through 2026. The deal will provide members of the Australasian tour more opportunities, such as two additional

With each passing year, it seems the scores are getting lower and lower on the PGA Tour. Birdie-fests don’t just happen in abundance, they are the new norm, especially when the wind is down and conditions are on the softer side, as Justin Thomas explained last week after setting the Kapalua course record on Saturday,

1:24 PM ET Former British Open champion Shane Lowry said on Tuesday he has no qualms about playing next month in Saudi Arabia, which has come under international scrutiny for its human rights record, and that he is just trying to make a living. The Irishman is among a stacked field of confirmed golfers for

Tim Rosaforte, a senior writer at Golf Digest for more than 20 years and a former Golf Channel broadcaster, died Tuesday of complications from Alzheimer’s Disease in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., according to longtime family friend Craig Dolch. He was 66 years old. Born Oct. 25, 1955, in Mount Kisco, N.Y., Rosaforte began his career

3:23 PM ET ESPN News Services Tim Rosaforte, the first journalist to be awarded honorary membership by the PGA of America, has died after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Golf Channel announced Tuesday. He was 66. Rosaforte retired in December 2019 after a career that spanned more than 40 years in newspapers, magazines, books and

On Monday the USGA announced a new Korn Ferry Tour exemption category for the U.S. Open. The cumulative points leader from the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season—which begins Jan. 16 with the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay—will earn an invite to the USGA’s flagship event, beginning at the 2023 U.S. Open at

For the uninitiated, “One and Done” is a season-long (or year-long) contest in which you pick one golfer per week, and you earn points based on his performance. Usually you earn as many points as your golfer earns dollars in the actual event. Meaning the $1.476 million win by Cameron Smith at the Sentry Tournament

6:14 PM ET ESPN News Services Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from this week’s Sony Open on Monday. In a Golf Channel report, DeChambeau’s agent, Brett Falkoff, said the golfer is battling wrist soreness and will skip the early-season tournament at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. DeChambeau was supposed to have a video call with reporters

Now, the title of lone favorite belongs to Cameron Smith, who is fresh off a record-setting win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. It was a performance so strong that, with the help of DeChambeau’s WD, it has made Smith a single-digit, 8-1 favorite to win the Sony outright. The young Aussie has officially arrived. 

In one sense, you got to feel for Jon Rahm. The guy beat the mark for lowest score in PGA Tour record by two shots at Kapulua … and still finished second. However, though he leaves the Plantation Course without a trophy, the World No. 1 did pass a significant milestone in Maui. With a

Jan 5, 2022 ESPN Betting Insiders The PGA Tour heads to the Kapalua Plantation Course on the beautiful island of Maui for the opening tournament of the 2022 calendar year. Justin Thomas has traditionally dominated this event, but does he have it in him again this year? Which players are the favorites this time around,

Par means many things to many people. For the USGA, it’s a gold standard worthy of protection. For everyday golfers, a par is something to celebrate. For the advanced analytics crowd, it’s a wholly arbitrary and essentially irrelevant number. For all the beating par takes, it does serve a genuine purpose—a benchmark for comparison. Golf

8:33 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — No one ever finished a PGA Tour event more shots under par than Cameron Smith, and he needed every one of them to outlast Jon Rahm and win the Sentry Tournament of Champions. In the best scoring conditions Kapalua has seen in the 24 times it has

When it comes to heaters, Justin Thomas knows a thing or two about getting on them. The 14-time PGA Tour winner showed that talent once more on Saturday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Starting his third round 12 shots back of the leaders and 2½ hours ahead of them on the tee sheet, the

They are playing the Rodney Dangerfield Open this week at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort. It’s getting no respect. Scoring in the third round of the event officially known as the Sentry Tournament of Champions wasn’t just good on Saturday. It wasn’t just low. It wasn’t just impressive. It was downright insolent. The leaders,

11:11 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm matched the low score of his career, tied the course record at Kapalua and played his last 12 holes in 11-under par for a 61. He needed it just to catch Cameron Smith in the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Saturday. In an outrageously low-scoring

Viewers tuning into the Sentry Tournament of Champions might have noticed a number of players and caddies wearing green ribbons on their hats. The reason is unfortunately a tragic one, as Tipa Galeai, the father of Alayna Galea’i-Finau and father-in-law of Tony Finau, has passed. Alayna confirmed the display in an Instagram post, thanking all

“The USGA prides itself on conducting championships that not only provide an incredible stage for the athletes, but also give younger players something to dream about,” said Mike Whan, USGA CEO, in a press release. “For more than 75 years, the U.S. Women’s Open has been the one that every little girl, in every country

Kapalua’s Plantation Course needs wind. Begs for it. The Coore/Crenshaw layout on Maui’s north shore features the widest fairways on the PGA Tour—the 17th is more than 100 yards wide, though Phil Mickelson still managed to hit it into the junk—and can present a stern test if and only if the wind is blowing. On

10:46 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — The scenery off Kapalua suggests a chill vibe. The scoreboard at the Sentry Tournament of Champions delivered a clear message to get a move on it. Cameron Smith took that to heart Friday. Smith opened with two straight bogeys to not only lose his one-shot lead, but

Earlier this week, much was made about Viktor Hovland’s golf clubs fiasco, which was understandable given the young Norwegian was providing live updates on social media. But another player, fellow multi-time tour winner Daniel Berger, was having similar club issues. After a number of calls with American Airlines, Berger’s clubs did arrive in Maui late

The U.S. Women’s Open is adding a presenting partner that will allow the USGA to nearly double the championship’s prize money payout to $10 million in 2022, the association announced on Friday. ProMedica has been brought as the first ever presenting sponsor of a USGA championship. This will allow the governing body to boost the

12:17 PM ET Associated Press Long considered the biggest event in women’s golf, the U.S. Women’s Open now has prize money and future sites to match. The U.S. Golf Association announced Friday the purse will nearly double this year to $10 million, by far the richest in women’s golf and challenging top prizes in women’s

Our long national nightmare is over, for the days of golf-less Sundays are at last in the rearview mirror. The PGA Tour returned from its holiday slumber on a board-of-tourism day in Hawaii, the type that makes you wonder why you live in a place that snows—and that makes you curse the COVID gods for

10:35 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm didn’t need much time to get back into the swing of competition Thursday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Coming off the longest voluntary breaks of their careers, Cantlay overcame a bogey start with flawless play at Kapalua for a 7-under 66

Stricker, who captained the Americans to victory at Whistling Straits in September at the Ryder Cup, told D’Amato that what began as a bad cough and sore throat in mid-October changed into something “far worse.” After a COVID-19 test came back negative on Oct. 23, Stricker was prescribed an antibiotic by his doctor and began

7:46 PM ET Steve Stricker spent weeks in the hospital after leading the United States to a Ryder Cup triumph in September, with the American captain telling Wisconsin Golf that he’s lucky to be alive after battling a mysterious illness. In late September, Stricker was a hero of the Ryder Cup, guiding the youngest U.S.