Gone to Play Golf

Associated Press Sep 15, 2023, 01:52 PM ET SCARSDALE, N.Y. — Stewart Hagestad won the U.S. Mid-Amateur for the third time on Friday, building a 7-up lead over Evan Beck and holding on for a 3-and-2 victory at Sleepy Hollow. His victory comes two weeks after Hagestad, a 32-year-old from California, went 2-1 in helping

Justin Thomas would be the first to tell you that he wasn’t good enough this past PGA Tour season. But, like any world-class player, he’d also be the first to tell you that he wasn’t nearly as far off as fans and media made it seem. Sometimes, when that’s the case, all it takes is

Associated Press Sep 16, 2023, 11:31 PM ET NAPA, Calif. — Justin Thomas continued up the leaderboard Saturday at the Fortinet Championship with a 7-under 65 that matched the best score of the day and moved the former No. 1 player within two shots of leader Sahith Theegala. Theegala, in search of his first PGA

VIRGINIA WATER, England — If it weren’t so impressive, it would be ridiculous. Just over three months into a professional career that has already spawned one victory in his first nine events, Ludvig Aberg leads the biggest tournament on the DP World Tour, the BMW PGA Championship, with one round to play. That such a

Associated Press Sep 16, 2023, 02:37 PM ET VIRGINIA WATER, England — Ludvig Aberg of Sweden closed in on his second straight victory on Saturday when he posted a 6-under 66 at Wentworth for a two-shot lead over Connor Syme and Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood in the BMW PGA Championship. Aberg, in only his

Sep 16, 2023, 07:25 AM ET Gareth Bale‘s love for golf has been well-documented and the former Real Madrid and Wales forward has swapped the pitch for the green after becoming a playable character in the PGA Tour 2K23 video game. Bale, 34, made his PGA Tour debut at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February

It turns out that holding a 5-up lead is not as easy as it seems. That’s the margin Stewart Hagestad held over Evan Beck on Thursday after the first 18 holes of the U.S. Mid-Amateur at famed Sleepy Hollow in New York. There were weather delays all week and rather than continuing with momentum from

Associated Press Sep 15, 2023, 10:22 PM ET NAPA. Calif. — Justin Thomas committed to a driver change, tinkered a little with his swing and got immediate results with a 5-under 67 that left him four strokes off the pace Friday in the Fortinet Championship. It was exactly what the former top-ranked player needed after

The answer was simple, even if the question wasn’t necessarily welcomed. Sahith Theegala leads by two shots after the second round of the Fortinet Championship, shooting a 64 Friday at Silverado that included a bunker hole out for eagle. He finished the season 31st in the FedEx Cup standings, just one spot out of qualifying

ESPN News Services Sep 15, 2023, 03:57 PM ET Ludvig Aberg birdied No. 18 in fading light to take a share of the lead. Rory McIlroy did the same to almost certainly make the cut. In a chaotic finish to the second round of the BMW PGA Championship, Åberg and McIlroy won their own personal

After what Justin Thomas described on Wednesday as being a “brutal” couple months leading into the U.S. Ryder Cup team being finalized, the two-time major champ can sleep even easier on Friday night. So can Zach Johnson. The American captain has faced plenty of questions about this particular personnel choice heading into the biennial event

ESPN News Services Sep 14, 2023, 03:14 PM ET Dustin Johnson said he would have been selected to this year’s United States Ryder Cup team had he not defected to LIV Golf. Johnson, a two-time major champion, instead finds himself a spectator despite being a part of five previous American teams. The Ryder Cup will

In my garage at home is a red canvas, cylindrical shag bag with a protruding aluminum tube that retrieves golf balls without back strain. It’s my longest serving piece of golf equipment in continuous use. The Original Shag Bag was invented by Clifford Hurd and Ian McDonald in 1948, and the same company, Madewell Products,

Associated Press Sep 14, 2023, 11:11 PM ET NAPA, Calif. — Justin Thomas scuffled through an uneven afternoon with a 3-under 69 in his return to the PGA Tour following a lengthy layoff, leaving him six shots off the lead Thursday in the first round of the Fortinet Championship. Thomas, the former No. 1 player

It was Lucas Herbert’s first competitive start in two months and an impressive one at that, making 144 feet of putts en route to an opening 63 at the Fortinet Championship. But after his round Herbert’s score became secondary when the Aussie described what spurred the mini-sabbatical. Herbert, speaking to the media Thursday at Silverado

Associated Press Sep 14, 2023, 03:31 PM ET VIRGINIA WATER, England — Europe’s 12 Ryder Cup players delivered a mixed bag of scores in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship. None of them were better than Marcus Helligkilde. The No. 232-ranked Dane made seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch then closed with three

The score was bleak, but Kimberly Dinh did not panic. The 31-year-old from Midland, Mich., was thrilled to be in the championship match of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Stonewall in Elverson, Pa., but this was not what she had in mind. Kelsey Chugg, the 2017 champion of this event, was 3 up after seven

There are hundreds of examples of great leadership in golf, but one that I will long remember occurred leading up to the 2018 Ryder Cup, despite an American loss. It involved not a golfer, but the legendary Duke basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski. “Coach K” was still coaching at the time and didn’t retire until 2022.

Associated Press Sep 13, 2023, 06:49 PM ET The Netflix golf documentary series “Full Swing” won’t have full access at the Ryder Cup. U.S. captain Zach Johnson says he spoke to all 12 players on his team when concerns were raised about a film crew in the team rooms, and they unanimously decided to keep

Justin Thomas’ journey over the last several months has been well documented. The 15-time PGA Tour winner hasn’t collected a victory since the PGA Championship in 2022 and with only three top-10 finishes this year he found himself needing to rally late to try to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and get the attention

Associated Press Sep 13, 2023, 04:15 PM ET WASHINGTON — The chairman of a Senate investigations subcommittee issued a subpoena Wednesday for documents on Saudi Arabia’s new golf partnership with the PGA Tour, saying the kingdom had to be more transparent about what he said was its $35 billion in investments in the United States.

VIRGINIA WATER, England — He’s the guy everyone has been talking about in the run-up to the 44th Ryder Cup and that didn’t change at Wentworth on the eve of the BMW PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy. Jon Rahm. Victor Hovland. The three best players on the European team that captain Luke Donald will lead at

Associated Press Sep 12, 2023, 06:22 PM ET Chris Zambri, the associate golf coach at Pepperdine, becomes the first head coach of the U.S. National Development Program. The USGA announced the program for a national team in February to identify, train, develop and fund the most promising junior players. Zambri will lead day-to-day coaching operations

VIRGINIA WATER, England — Just over a week has passed since European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald added six picks of varying predictability, interest and controversy to the automatic qualifiers and completed the side he hopes will win back the trophy from the Americans at the Marco Simone Country Club just outside Rome later this

Associated Press Sep 12, 2023, 06:40 PM ET Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship and then was on a plane that night headed to France to play in the Ryder Cup. Ditto for Jim Furyk in 2010, when he won the FedEx Cup in Atlanta and headed straight to Celtic Manor. This year is different,

The USGA announced on Tuesday that longtime college coach Chris Zambri has been named the first head coach of the U.S. National Development Program. The USGA said Zambri, who begins the job on Nov. 1, will lead the overall direction of the National Team program while also guiding elite golfers selected to represent themselves and

The PGA Tour’s reimagined fall schedule will feature players who finished outside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup fighting for status and priority for 2024 … but not all will be fighting for their tour cards. Justin Thomas missed out on the postseason, but his 2022 PGA Championship win ensures his membership for some

Editor’s Note: In honor of National Golf Course Superintendents Day, Golf Digest is republishing this important piece from 2019 by Ron Whitten that chronicled the effects of the high-stress profession of greenskeeping. Whitten’s award-winning piece highlighted the pressures facing these men and women. Make sure to send your appreciation to the grounds crew at your golf

VIRGINIA WATER, England — It didn’t take long to find Billy Horschel. One day after the Floridian shot a disappointing four-over-par 76 in the final round of the Irish Open and fell into a disappointing tie for 45th place, he was on the range at Wentworth. Working on his swing was clearly a top priority,