News

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Deep in the Plantation Course clubhouse, behind a wall of hats in the pro shop, through some backroom cubicles, there is a small, windowless conference room. A few minutes before 11 on Sunday morning, a dozen frumpy sportswriters (and one well-tanned TV smoothie) were ushered into the room for an audience with

KAPALUA, Hawaii — For three days at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Collin Morikawa was composing a veritable symphony. It was a thing of beauty. Pitch perfect. Something that inspired awe in peers and spectators alike. “He was bogey-free [for the tournament] until, what, until 14? Which is insane,” Jon Rahm said. It was expected

7:19 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan described a landscape Sunday of two rival leagues going down different paths, even as the PGA Tour is still trying to formulate plans for a revamped structure in 2024. “We’re at a point now where it’s product versus product,” Monahan said. He

KAPALUA, Hawaii — After his inspired comeback victory over Collin Morikawa on Sunday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Jon Rahm feels like he is the best player in the world, and he doesn’t need to return to the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking to validate that sentiment. “Had they not

8:25 PM ET ESPN News Services KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm left Maui with a trophy he wasn’t expecting, all because of a collapse from Collin Morikawa no one saw coming. Rahm started the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions seven shots behind. He bogeyed his first hole. He was six shots back

It was basically a foregone conclusion that Adam Scott would achieve a unique money milestone on Sunday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. So long as he finished the final round at the Plantation Course, the 42-year-old Australian would guarantee earning a minimum of $201,000, which would bump his career earnings into rare territory. As

There will be a day when Cameron Young can look back at what happened on the 15th hole Saturday afternoon at the Plantation Course and laugh a little bit about what transpired. Mind you, that day probably don’t come until the Sentry Tournament of Champions is over, and the pain of the moment feels less

KAPALUA, Hawaii – It’s not quite accurate to say that Collin Morikawa is hungry for a win. “That would be an understatement,” he said, clarifying he feelings about trying to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions. After feasting on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort for a third straight day, he’s set himself up for

9:13 PM ET ESPN News Services KAPALUA, Hawaii — Collin Morikawa can make golf look simple. He has a shot in mind and the ball is going where he’s looking. The difference at the Sentry Tournament of Champions is that includes shots on the green. He was particularly effective Saturday on the stretch of scoring

Some PGA Tour players have requested and been granted conflicting-event releases to play in the Saudi International, according to a report from the Golf Channel. The event is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and notably sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is the primary backer of LIV Golf. A provision in the PGA

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jordan Spieth is always going to do those “Jordan things,” like he did on Thursday on the 16th hole at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort when he hit a sky shot from just outside of a greenside bunker and watched the high-risk flop find its way into the cup. He ranked

6:27 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — A nagging back injury in the Bahamas has turned into something more mysterious for Xander Schauffele, who withdrew from the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Friday and plans to get an MRI to see what’s wrong. Schauffele, the No. 6 player in the world and a three-time

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Tom Hoge would love nothing more than to realize a rare double next week. OK, incredibly rare. OK, call it impossibly rare, but who are we to question his goals? The TCU graduate hopes to see—in person—his Horned Frogs win the college football national championship on Monday night against mighty Georgia and

10:43 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — Winless last year for the first time in his young career, Collin Morikawa is playing as though he wants to put that behind him quickly. Morikawa was dialed in with his irons early and took advantage of some of the scoring holes late in his second round

Schauffele, 29, the sixth-ranked player in the world, was one over par for the day and two under for the tournament when he withdrew after completing the par-3 eighth hole. He receives last-place unofficial earnings of $200,000 but won’t get FedEx Cup points. Winner at Kapalua in 2019 when he shot a closing 11-under 62,

It’s hard to believe that Tom Kim was (briefly) over par to start the New Year after firing an opening round eight-under-par 65 on Thursday. But there was Thomas the Train slowly chugging around Kapalua at one over through four holes and in need of a spark. It came in the form of an explosion.

KAPALUA, Hawaii — An undiagnosed back injury that first afflicted Xander Schauffele at last month’s Hero World Challenge continues to plague the No. 6 player in the world, and the timing couldn’t be worse as he attempts to navigate one of his favorite venues at less than 100 percent. Schauffele managed to open the Sentry

10:57 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm is starting to get used to low scoring on the Plantation Course at Kapalua. He can only hope this start leads to a better finish in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. One year after he was 33-under par and still finished second, Rahm birdied three

Another top executive has reportedly left LIV Golf. According to the Sports Business Journal, Matt Goodman, the president of franchises for the Saudi-backed circuit, is no longer with the organization. Goodman joined LIV last May from the New York City Football Club, where he was COO and chief commercial officer. Prior to his stint with

10:24 AM ET Augusta National Golf Club has invited reigning NCAA Division I men’s champion Gordon Sargent and Kazuki Higa of Japan to compete in the 87th Masters, bringing the field for the April major to 80 players. Sargent, 19, a sophomore at Vanderbilt, birdied the first hole of a four-man playoff in May to

It’s a testament to the depth of talent in professional golf today that there’s a plethora of players at the top of the men’s game who, on any given week, can look like the best golfer in the world. You know the names: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler and on and on.

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Masters champion Scottie Scheffler took a vacation in Tennessee last year and just so happened to bump into two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson in a restaurant. This occurred not long after Watson had decided to give up his PGA Tour membership and join the LIV Golf Series. As the reigning Masters champion,

9:33 PM ET Pinehurst Resort, already the site of nine top-quality 18-hole golf courses, is adding No. 10. The North Carolina resort, which has hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup in the past, announced Wednesday it will be constructing an additional golf course slated to open when

Chances are you’ve heard a lot already about the PGA Tour establishing a series of “elevated” events for 2023 and beyond. And you’ll hear plenty more this week, as the first of the 13 scheduled for the new year takes place in Maui with the playing of the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Created as a

5:12 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawaii — Will Zalatoris has gone more than four months since competing because of a back injury. That gave him plenty of time to contemplate a year of close calls capped by his first win, and to learn about how his body works. “Probably more than I think I

The most coveted ticket in golf just got a bit pricier. Not that you’ll hear anyone complaining. As we’ve documented many times through the years, attending the Masters is no small feat. One recent study came to the conclusion that golf fans have a 0.55 percent chance of winning the ticket lottery meaning your odds

Will Zalatoris made several discoveries during the 100 or so days he wasn’t able play golf last year. The 26-year-old Texan withdrew during the third round of the BMW Championship with a back injury on August 20. That came only a week after securing his first PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

It was during a visit last April when Mike Keiser, the Bandon Dunes Resort owner and visionary, was informed that the “Ghost Tree” on the ridge of Old Macdonald’s third fairway was starting to give in to the howling winds of the Pacific Northwest. “I knew it wouldn’t last forever,” Keiser said at the time.

Rory McIlroy enters 2023 as the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, the third time the Northern Irishman begins a calendar year in the top spot having done it previously in 2013 and 2015. But his decision not to play in this week’s PGA Tour 2023 opener, the Sentry Tournament of Champions

An annual tradition since the advent of social media has been tour professionals posting their Masters invitations once they receive them in the mail. It is true that you haven’t officially been invited to the upcoming year’s Masters Tournament until receiving the snail mail physical invite from Augusta National Golf Club. You might’ve met the