INSIDER
McIlroy overcomes Reed, wins Dubai Desert Classic by 1 shot
Read full article: McIlroy overcomes Reed, wins Dubai Desert Classic by 1 shotRory McIlroy overcame a final-round charge from Patrick Reed to win the Dubai Desert Classic in a tense Monday duel between players who were involved in a pre-tournament spat.
McIlroy and Reed both 6-under after 1st round in Dubai
Read full article: McIlroy and Reed both 6-under after 1st round in DubaiRory McIlroy and Patrick Reed produced big first-round finishes at the Dubai Desert Classic in what could lead to an intriguing showdown as the competition heads to a Monday conclusion.
Reed fares better than McIlroy after delayed start in Dubai
Read full article: Reed fares better than McIlroy after delayed start in DubaiPatrick Reed fared better than Rory McIlroy after some pre-tournament friction as the Dubai Desert Classic got off to a wet start with only 11 players managing to finish their weather-affected first rounds.
PGA chief slams Saudi-funded league as series of exhibitions
Read full article: PGA chief slams Saudi-funded league as series of exhibitionsPGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is blasting the Saudi-based LIV Golf league as a series of exhibitions that spends billions to recruit players without getting a return on the investment.
$4.75M: Schwartzel wins richest golf event amid Saudi outcry
Read full article: $4.75M: Schwartzel wins richest golf event amid Saudi outcryFormer Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has banked $4.75 million by winning the richest tournament in golf history, while the event’s Saudi backers faced renewed backlash after a 9/11 victims’ group called for American players to withdraw from the rebel series.
4 tied for lead in suspended 1st round of Houston Open
Read full article: 4 tied for lead in suspended 1st round of Houston OpenMarc Leishman, Russell Henley, Talor Gooch and Luke List shared the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Houston Open, with List still on the course when darkness stopped play.
The Latest: Chinese city lists more cases in local outbreak
Read full article: The Latest: Chinese city lists more cases in local outbreakThe major eastern Chinese city of Nanjing has reported 31 more locally transmitted coronavirus cases, even as national authorities announce that more than 1.5 billion doses of vaccine have been administered around the country.
Positive virus tests knock Rahm, DeChambeau out of Olympics
Read full article: Positive virus tests knock Rahm, DeChambeau out of OlympicsJon Rahm has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in two months and the Spaniard has been knocked out of the Olympics only a few hours after American golfer Bryson DeChambeau met the same fate.
This Masters tradition is a pictorial surprise for champions
Read full article: This Masters tradition is a pictorial surprise for championsReed, who won in 2018, says he doesn't keep a lot of golf photos in his office or around the house in Houston. Kuchar rolled his putt up to 3 feet, Scheffler hit wedge to 40 feet for his fourth shot and Kuchar won the hole. Kuchar won his consolation match. Long won the British Amateur last summer and will play in the Masters next week. The Austrian Golf Open returns to the European Tour schedule and will be played the week after the Masters.
An opening day of emotions and a few surprises at Match Play
Read full article: An opening day of emotions and a few surprises at Match PlayIn the Dell Technologies Match Play, every day can feel like Sunday. “I turned out to hit that shot really well, went super high over the trees. It was his biggest loss in Match Play since Ben Crane beat him, 8 and 7, in the second round of 2011. Kevin Kisner, the defending champion from 2019 — the Match Play was the third event to be canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic — won his seventh straight match by beating Louis Oosthuizen. When you're up against an opponent who plays really, really well and you play just a little better, it's really satisfying."
Morikawa plays a steady hand to win Workday Championship
Read full article: Morikawa plays a steady hand to win Workday ChampionshipAnd there was a tribute to Tiger Woods, his golf idol growing up. “We don't say ‘Thank you’ enough,” Morikawa said, referring to how much Woods has raised the profile and prize money in golf. He finished at 18-under 270 and became the 24th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship title since this series began in 1999. Outside of a chunked chip on the second hole that made him scramble for bogey, Morikawa didn't miss a fairway the rest of the way and was rarely out of position. “If there was no Tiger Woods, I just the think the tour and the game of golf in general would be in a worse place.
Morikawa's late stumble gives Workday contenders a chance
Read full article: Morikawa's late stumble gives Workday contenders a chanceMorikawa walked off the 12th hole with his seventh birdie in eight holes, stretching his lead to five shots with two par 5s still to play. He made bogey on both, shot a 5-under 67 and suddenly had four-time major champion Brooks Koepka and Billy Horschel on his tail. “I didn’t play great the last six, but a lot to learn from heading into tomorrow,” Morikawa said. Horschel also had a late rally with an eagle on the par-5 17th hole and shot 69. “I just kept rolling in birdie after birdie.
Day after rules controversy, Reed wins at Torrey Pines
Read full article: Day after rules controversy, Reed wins at Torrey Pines(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO – Showing no effects from a rules controversy a day earlier, Patrick Reed pulled away for a five-shot victory Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open. Reed closed with a 4-under 68 at Torrey Pines, making an eagle on the par-5 sixth and finishing off his ninth PGA Tour title with a birdie on the 18th. Reed told the official that no one in his group, as well as a nearby volunteer, saw it bounce. AdOn Sunday, Reed jump-started his round with a 45-foot eagle putt on the No. He played par the rest of the way until sinking an 8-foot birdie putt on No.
Reed dodges controversy to share 54-hole lead at Farmers
Read full article: Reed dodges controversy to share 54-hole lead at Farmers(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO – Patrick Reed was involved in another rules controversy Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Believing the ball didn't bounce, Reed picked it up to see if it was embedded before a rules official arrived. Reed told the official that no one in his group, as well as a nearby volunteer, saw it bounce. “At that point we go with what the rules official said and also with what the volunteers and what we see,” Reed said. Reed shared the lead with Alex Noren after the first round and was one shot off the lead after 36 holes.
Viktor Hovland vaults into Farmers lead at wet Torrey Pines
Read full article: Viktor Hovland vaults into Farmers lead at wet Torrey PinesViktor Hovland, left, of Norway, waits to putt on the eighth hole of the South Course during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines, Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO – Viktor Hovland birdied his final for a 7-under 65 on Torrey Pines’ tough South Course on a rainy, miserable Friday, giving him a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open. Reed shot an even-par 72 on the South Course a day after firing an 8-under 64 on the easier North Course. AdThe weather is supposed to clear up for the weekend rounds on the South Course. “I just played really solid and made some putts.”He had just one bogey, on the par-4 15th.
Reed, Noren beat the rain to take 1st-round lead in Farmers
Read full article: Reed, Noren beat the rain to take 1st-round lead in FarmersReed, Noren and Scottie Scheffler — who was one stroke back — all played Torrey Pines' easier North Course and will play the South Course on what could be a wet Friday. After a 321-yard tee shot, he hit his approach to 16 feet and made the putt. Noren, from Sweden, also took advantage of nice weather to get a low score on the North Course. Yeah, I think anytime you shoot 68 on the South Course here you’ve got to be pretty happy." He was replaced by fellow APGA player Willie Mack III, who shot a 2-over 74 on the South Course.
Schauffele recovers from COVID-19, optimistic about new year
Read full article: Schauffele recovers from COVID-19, optimistic about new yearSchauffele is among 16 players in the Tournament of Champions who didn't win last year. His girlfriend came down with COVID-19 in the middle of December, and a few days later, Schauffele tested positive and eventually had minor symptoms. Schauffele is among 16 players at Kapalua who failed to win an official event, though he did have the lowest 72-hole score at the Tour Championship. The winners-only field is including players who reached the Tour Championship because golf was shut down for three months due to the pandemic. Schauffele already has played four times in the new season, which began in September, and that includes two majors.
Morikawa, Reed bid to become America's first European No 1
Read full article: Morikawa, Reed bid to become America's first European No 1Collin Morikawa hasn’t hit a golf shot in Europe this year. On Sunday, the American could be crowned as European No. “There’s a lot in between now and Sunday that has to happen,” Morikawa said Wednesday, “but winning the Race to Dubai would mean a lot because I want my game to travel. Such are the many strands and quirks to a European Tour season that has become very global in recent years. Reed leads the Race to Dubai standings with 2,427.7 points heading into the 38th and final event of a European Tour season like no other.
Dustin Johnson's pursuers at Masters hardly a Murderers' Row
Read full article: Dustin Johnson's pursuers at Masters hardly a Murderers' RowMexico's Abraham Ancer, South Korea's Sungjae Im and Australia's Cameron Smith were at 12-under 204 through 54 holes, four shots behind Johnson's pace-setting score. Ancer and Im are playing the Masters for the first time, which doesn't bode well for their chances. But he was hardly a contender, going to the final round 11 shots off the lead. “Anyone with a four-shot lead is expected to win,” Smith said. “I watched the Masters growing up so many times that I feel like I’m used to playing this course,” Im said through a translator.
Casey rides the buzz of Masters history to 65 and early lead
Read full article: Casey rides the buzz of Masters history to 65 and early leadPaul Casey matched his lowest score at the Masters with a 7-under 65, giving him a two-shot lead among half the field fortunate to play in perfect scoring conditions. It was the fifth hole, which he bogeyed all four rounds last year when he won the Masters. He was joined by Xander Schauffele, a runner-up to Woods last year, who had seven birdies in his round of 67. The delay was the last thing the Masters needed with limited daylight hours leading to the two-tee start. The loudest cheer — applause, certainly not a roar — came for Nicklaus and Player hitting tee shots so early that they couldn't see where they landed.