Dustin Johnson won what the entire world hopes will be the only Masters Tournament ever contested without patrons, delayed by a pandemic disease. But take away the Coronavirus masks, turn the color of the trees back about six weeks, and look at Augusta National Golf Club and the 2020 Masters with the right kind of eyes, and it’s plain as day that this...
For everyone who relishes U.S. Open week for its sheer bloodthirstiness, welcome to Winged Foot West. It just became your new favorite course. Like will-o-the-wisps feeding off the agonizing cries of their dying victims, everyman golfers will spend this week, pointing at the pros and laughing. Chunks, chili dips, fluffs, fliers, skulls, and walks of shame...
There were former major champions, seasoned veterans, and long bombers dominating the leaderboard all week, but it was a kid from Cal who swooped in with a final round 64 to win the 102nd PGA Championship at San Francisco’s Harding Park Golf Coursed. 23 year-old Collin Morikawa finished 13-under for the week, good enough for a two stroke win over 2016 U.S. Open...
Usually a truly great golf course builds to a crescendo, with its 18th hole being a grand summation of all that came before. Winged Foot, Oakland Hills, Pinehurst No. 2, Pebble Beach – each of those all-World finishing stretches has one thing in common – stern challenge. Sometimes, however, a course can offer a softer finish. Cypress Point, ending on two...
At 8-under China’s Haotong Li is your surprise leader at the halfway point of the 2020 PGA Championship at San Francisco’s Harding Park, but two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka is part of a six man log-jam tied for second just two shots back. Playing in early warm and windless conditions, Li fired a 65, then took a break of less than an hour before...
Roars? What Roars? Silent, Crowdless 2020 PGA Championship Has Players Non-plussed —“Oh, you should see the Coliseum, Spaniard. 50,000 Romans watching every movement of your sword, willing you to make that killer blow. The silence before you strike, and the noise afterwards, it rises up like storm, as if you were the Thunder God himself.” ...
2015 PGA Champion Jason Day and journeyman pro Brendan Todd each fired 5-under 65s in round one of the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park for a one shot lead over a gaggle on nine players that includes two-time defending PGA Champion Brooks Koepka, as well as former major champions Martin Kaymer, Zach Johnson and Justin Rose. Tiger Woods stands three back at 2...
Back in 1974 while covering Super Bowl VIII, writer Hunter S. Thompson discovered that all he had to do to make deadline was to take the Super Bowl article he wrote the previous year, change the name of the losing team from “Washington Redskins” to “Minnesota Vikings,” and fax it in to Rolling Stone. The Miami Dolphins slowly strangled both...
When professional sports return to America, expect the first wave to be contested without fans. After that fans will slowly be introduced, but with at least a seat or two between them, so expect long, loooooong lines to get in, much more stringent ushers, and no more general admission seating at rock concerts for the foreseeable future. Anyway, via Ryan Ballengee at...
Call it Black Friday or Friday the 13th, whichever you like, but that was the day the sports world went dark, along with Broadway and colleges across the country. Wuhan Flu or Coronavirus, whatever it’s called, it’s here. Time to get those 90-day emergency supplies out. Not ready…out. The time to prepare for this has passed. If you weren’t...
It’s been a great few weeks for Golden Age golf architecture on the PGA Tour. With all the world enjoying Pebble Beach, Riviera and the other crown jewels that the West Coast has to offer, it’s a good time to take a closer look at some of the best tournament venues we’ll see this year from not only the PGA Tour, but from the USGA and PGA of America...
Thanks to my gang over at Golf News Net for running my latest piece. We took a look at the most interesting courses we’ll see this year form the USGA, PGA of America, and the PGA Tour. It’s going to be a busy golf season here, and it’s almost time to gear up. We’ll be covering the Masters, PGA, U.S. Open, and Ryder Cup this year. But before...
In a move only an actuary could hate, the PGA Tour changed the format of the FedEx Cup this year, translating a convoluted “points”system of scoring to the “score-to-par” system used every week. This also solves the pesky problem of having dual winners as we did in the past: someone wins the Tour Championship, but someone else wins the...
A sports dynasty rekindled today as Tiger Woods breezed past third-round leader Francesco Molinari, then held off a Who’s Who of modern golf en route to his fifth Masters Championship at Augusta National Golf Club and 15th major golf championship overall. Woods didn’t just defeat Dustin Johnson and Francesco Molinari; he defeated shame and humiliation...
Somewhere in Heaven Dan Jenkins is smiling, because this is what a major championship leader board is supposed to look like. Our great lion of a sports writer may be watching his first Masters from Heaven, but the heart of a true golf writer always aches for the greatest names to be in contention, not puzzling strangers. So right now, with five former major champions...