Second major of the season gets under way at the Country Club of Charleston on Thursday but the $5.5m purse is dwarfed by the men’s of $12.5mThe USGA normally has to wait until June before the annual necessity to hunker down as criticism flies from all directions. The men’s US Open, as beset by complaints relating to course setup or rules matters, has become the most controversial tournament in golf. At Pebble Beach next month, another fevered chapter will surely play out.This week’s US Women’s Open, which takes place in Charleston, also under the guidance of the USGA, has been afforded a noisy backdrop of its own. An anonymous survey carried out by Golf Digest – interviewing players, caddies, coaches...
This week’s British Masters goes ahead thanks to Tommy Fleetwood’s generosity rather than the PGA and European Tours actually putting their heads togetherThere were reasons to celebrate Tommy Fleetwood’s status within the commonly self-serving world of top-level sport even before the altruistic touch that will come to the fore this week.As Sky Sports dropped sponsorship of the British Masters last year, an all-too-rare professional event in England looked like dropping off the European Tour’s schedule. Fleetwood, who has quite enough on his plate when keeping competitive company with the finest players in golf, stepped forward to host the tournament. Betfred duly joined in with a sponsorship deal. Fleetwood has admitted his keenly felt pride at staging the event at Hillside,...
Two years after contemplating retirement the American has eclipsed Ben Hogan’s remarkable recoveryThis one was for the sinners, one for the egotists, addicts, idolaters and fornicators, for those who have suffered, those who have recovered and all the rest too, for everyone who ever believed in second chances or who just loves a good comeback story.When Tiger Woods came here in 2010, right after his life started to fall apart, he told his old coach Hank Haney that he had decided one thing for sure: “When I play golf again, I’m not going to play for my dad or mum,” he said, or for his agent, Mark Steinberg, or his caddie, Steve Williams, or his sponsor, Nike, or for Haney...
Spaniard’s petulance, Kuchar’s thrifty touch and Holmes’s slow play sit uneasily with the public but Tiger Woods offers hopeThe World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship is an unlikely saviour for the sport. At the first staging of this tournament, in 2017, players and caddies were affected by sickness to such an extent that an emergency ward by the 18th green would have been a valid addition. The impact on last year was inevitable; Rory McIlroy gave the event a miss despite a $10m prize pot, as again did Jason Day. The tournament seen by many as a beacon of light, having prised WGC status away from the Donald Trump-owned Doral site in Miami, was floundering. Related: Fifty seconds for a one-foot putt:...
The American leads calls for fairness to prevail at Shinnecock Hills after the debacle that was the 2004 tournamentThe world’s best golfers fear being lulled into a false sense of security. Those who have visited Shinnecock Hills for reconnaissance work on a venue that will stage the US Open from Thursday have encountered wide fairways and generally soft conditions. What’s the catch?The overwhelming sense is that such generosity will not continue. First, Brooks Koepka won the US Open on 16 under par last year, a tally contrary to the tournament’s status as the toughest in golf. It was also 12 shots better to par than the previous year. And second, Shinnecock Hills specifically. The historic and illustrious American course was...