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When Harold Varner III jumped to LIV Golf last fall, he was honest in his reasons for joining. The large, guaranteed-money contract the league was offering was too good to ignore. “I know what it means to grow up without much,” the Gastonia, N.C., native wrote in a statement at the time, explaining why he

Associated Press May 28, 2023, 07:26 PM ET FRISCO, Texas — Steve Stricker beat Padraig Harrington on the first hole of a playoff in the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday, giving Stricker a sweep of the first two senior majors of the season. Harrington forced the playoff with a short birdie putt on the par-5

A marathon week ended Sunday night at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play with Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn emerging as the last woman standing, defeating Japan’s Ayaka Furue in the championship match, 3 and 1. All told, the 23-year-old competed in seven matches over five days at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, playing the equivalent

Associated Press May 28, 2023, 10:26 PM ET NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand capped off the longest week on the LPGA Tour with a 3-and-1 victory Sunday to win the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play over Ayaka Furue of Japan. Anannarukarn, who beat Linn Grant of Sweden in the semifinals

If a golf tournament were ever to be compared to a marathon, the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play fits the bill. A typical event sees 72 holes in four days, yet finalists Pajaree Anannarukarn and Ayaka Furue each played 116 holes over five days under the scorching Las Vegas desert sun at Shadow Creek.

May 28, 2023, 11:57 PM ET Jessica Korda will not compete on the LPGA Tour for the foreseeable future while she deals with a back injury, she announced on social media Sunday night. Korda wrote that the past year has been challenging due to the back ailment. “Following the advice of my doctor and the

We admit to being guilty from time to time of overusing the terms “bizarre” and “rules incident” in a same sentence. But we’re not entirely sure how to more aptly characterize what happened to Emiliano Grillo on the 72nd hole of the Charles Schwab Challenge than as, well, a “bizarre rules incident.” It all becomes

Associated Press May 28, 2023, 07:45 PM ET FORT WORTH, Texas — Emiliano Grillo made a 5-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole at Colonial to get his first PGA Tour victory in more than 7½ years, after blowing a two-stroke lead with a double bogey on the 72nd hole Sunday. Grillo curled in

There has always been something about the KLM Open and the Spaniards on the DP World Tour. The first of Seve Ballesteros’ record 50 victories on what was then the European Tour came in the 1976 version of what was then the Dutch Open. The last of Sergio Garcia’s 19 wins on the Old World

Associated Press May 28, 2023, 11:34 AM ET CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — Spanish golfer Pablo Larrazabal won the KLM Open by two strokes on Sunday to claim his ninth title on the European tour and a second in the space of four weeks. The 40-year-old Larrazabal started the final round with a one-stroke lead and shot

It figures there are plenty of bathroom jokes told among those on the senior golf circuit. The athletes are, after all, 50 years and older, and they likely are separated into two camps: those who have prostates the size of oranges, or those who dutifully take their meds. Either way, there are frequent trips to

Associated Press May 27, 2023, 09:17 PM ET NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Leona Maguire won two more matches Saturday at Shadow Creek to advance to the semifinals in the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play. The seventh-seeded Maguire, from Ireland, held off American Lindsey Weaver-Wright 3 and 2 to improve to 5-0. Maguire will

No one ever said that moving day in professional golf is confined to one direction. Up and down is moving, and it defined the proceedings Saturday during the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at crotchety old Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Rookie Harry Hall might have played two of the messiest

Associated Press May 27, 2023, 07:26 PM ET STERLING, Va. — Mito Pereira of Chile made five birdies over his last seven holes for a 5-under 67 on Saturday, giving him a one-shot lead over Harold Varner III at LIV Golf DC. Pereira finished with two birdies at Trump National. He was as hot at

Can it really be that the LIV Golf League is hitting the halfway point of its 2023 season this week with its visit outside the nation’s capital? Indeed, this week’s event at Trump National Washington, D.C. marks the seventh of 14 events on the 2023 LIV schedule, and a triumphant one at that with Brooks

Associated Press May 26, 2023, 08:15 PM ET STERLING, Va. — Brooks Koepka returned from the high of winning his fifth major championship with a flat round of even-par 72 that left him 8 shots behind Harold Varner III on Friday after the opening round of LIV Golf DC at Trump National. Koepka still had

The big weeks on the PGA Tour seem to be coming more frequently than ever. Of course, that’s because they are, with the now-designated events and their $20 million in prize money drawing most of the top players in the game. Up next week is the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Ohio—always popular because

Associated Press May 26, 2023, 10:57 PM ET NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Anna Nordqvist had all three of her matches go the distance, and only a clutch wedge kept her from playing even more Friday as she was among 16 players who advanced out of group play in the Bank of Hope LPGA Match

An English theme was starting to emerge after two rounds at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Fort Worth’s storied Colonial Country Club. There’s the leader, Harry Hall, who is from England, and his nearest chaser … Harris English. Sorry, we had to. After an opening-round 62 at Colonial, Hall, who played at the University of

May 26, 2023, 05:00 PM ET Michael Block missed the cut at Colonial in his first start since bursting on the scene at the PGA Championship, although the physically drained club professional is happy to return home after a whirlwind journey during which he became an overnight sensation. The 46-year-old Block earned a sponsor’s exemption

You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain. In Michael Block’s case, “long enough” lasted five days. Fans have suddenly had their fill of a story they couldn’t get enough of at the PGA Championship, the 46-year-old club pro’s feel-good tale taking a different tenor at this week’s Charles Schwab

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterMay 26, 2023, 10:49 AM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Stanford sophomore Rose Zhang, the most decorated player in amateur women’s golf history, announced on Friday that she’s turning pro. The first woman to win two NCAA

Sergio Garcia knew the moment was coming. But learning European captain Luke Donald would not extend the LIV golfer and Ryder Cup stalwart a captain’s pick for the showpiece in Rome later this year was still devastating. It made Garcia’s decision easier earlier this month when he joined fellow Ryder Cup heroes Lee Westwood and

Associated Press May 25, 2023, 11:33 PM ET NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Anna Nordqvist was among 11 players who won matches for the second straight day, only the three-time major champion from Sweden had to work the longest at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play. Nordqvist had her second match go all 18

Not only was it understandable that Michael Block struggled on Thursday at the Charles Schwab Challenge, it was expected. It’s been a whirldwind of a few days for the 46-year-old club pro, not to mention the fact he was coming into Colonial completely blind, having never even stepped foot on property before. That said, Colonial

Associated Press May 24, 2023, 09:32 PM ET SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Lauren Walsh closed out her match against Brianna Navarrosa with a conceded par on the 16th hole, and Wake Forest won its first women’s golf championship by beating Southern California 3-1 on Wednesday. Wake Forest, which lost to Duke in the 2019 national final,

The final of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship had a bonus element of interest courtesy of a popular podcaster known as the Sleeze, who can do more than just talk a good game. But in the end it was a pair of college teammates at UC-Berkeley, who prevailed over the Sleeze and his partner. Aaron

Associated Press May 24, 2023, 09:34 PM ET NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Lilia Vu and Brooke Henderson, the only players from the top 10 in women’s golf to enter the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play, both delivered victories Wednesday at Shadow Creek in the opening session of pool play. Vu never trailed in

Wake Forest has a renowned golf pedigree, its foundation provided by the inimitable Arnold Palmer and reinforced through the years by Lanny Wadkins and Curtis Strange, among others, as well as three NCAA men’s team championships. This time, the Demon Deacon women made their own remarkable contribution to Wake’s golf legacy. The Wake Forest women’s

Associated Press May 24, 2023, 10:20 PM ET KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Cal teammates Aaron Du and Sampson Zheng capped off a strong week at Kiawah Island with a 2-and-1 victory over Drew Kittleson and Drew Stoltz to win the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Wednesday. The victory comes a week after the Golden Bears