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
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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.
After my brother passed in May, we drove back to his house from the hospital. In the driveway, where his truck still sat, his wife, Callie, said, “Would you like his golf clubs?” I had been there two weeks prior, when he’d gone into the hospital for the last time, and after visiting with him,
Although he’s been an equipment free agent for several years, Patrick Reed appears to have found a new home. If the logo on the front of his cap during a practice round at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapaula, Hawaii, is any indication, expect to hear of an agreement sometime this week that Reed
8:35 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — Viktor Hovland spent a few weeks at home in Norway and figured he would get to the warmth of Hawaii early to start knocking some rust off his game before starting the new year. That went according to plan. He arrived on Maui a week ago. His
Predictions are a popular exercise this time of year. They are low-lift, fun, serve as a nice table setter of what’s to come and, just as importantly, no one really keeps tabs that your “Is this the year Rory wins the Masters?” proclamation didn’t pan out as the calendar rolls on. But we also adhere
8:22 AM ET The first event on the PGA Tour schedule in 2022 is a small one. Only 38 players will tee it up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The reason? You have to win to get in. Only tournament champions from the previous 12 months are invited to the Plantation Course at Kapalua
The 2021 season was certainly one to remember for Jon Rahm as he captured his first major at the U.S. Open and finished the year as World No. 1. But there’s still another tournament that he can’t seem to forget for less pleasant reasons. Of course, we’re talking about the Memorial, where Rahm held a
8:16 AM ET SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Max Homa was sitting on a plane, flying back to Arizona from the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, on Nov. 19, when he started to think about how to get better. It was his 31st birthday, and earlier in the day, he missed the cut by 3 strokes.
It’s somehow 2022, which means two things: Everyone accidentally writing 2021 for the next month and the return of the PGA Tour. After its six-week hiatus, the tour will start the new year off with the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which will boast hot temperatures and a loaded field consisting of 38 of the 39
We’ve all been there—after a particularly hectic stretch at work, you feel completely devoid of energy and motivation. The only thing that’ll refiill the energy reserves is some good ol’ fashioned rest and relaxation. Not everyone, however, can simply take two months off work. Because not everyone is the world’s best golfer. World No. 1
7:24 PM ET Cameron Champ has withdrawn from this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions event after testing positive for COVID-19, the PGA Tour announced Tuesday. The tournament in Hawaii is the tour’s first of 2022 and features only winners from the previous season. Access 4,300+ hours of live coverage from 35 PGA TOUR tournaments each
Don’t let the scenery and relaxed vibe fool you: The 2022 golf year is starting off with a BANG! The Sentry Tournament of Champions will feature every golfer who won on the PGA Tour last season (except Rory McIlroy, who declined an invite), making it an absolutely stacked field of 39 players converging on Maui.
8:04 AM ET If 2022 has the same drama, excitement and confused chaos as 2021, I’m going to need to book an AirBnB in the mountains of Tibet to decompress. OOOOOOHHHHMMMMMM. The 12 months that was 2021 was the wildest of golf cart rides. But before I save my Tibetan trip SuperHost search preferences and
It is a virtual certainty that golf’s pool of elite players get deeper every year. Young talent seems never-ending. And even older golfers are finding a way to compete. When attempting to handicap a full schedule of PGA Tour events, it might seem daunting to differentiate one amazing tour player from another. But keep in
The point on the calendar at which a fan decides to get SERIOUS about professional golf is a personal choice. Some never stop, some pick it up in March as the Masters approaches and many others are gearing up now, at the start of the new year, when the Hawaiian swing begins. Among that last