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Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK

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Jon Rahm celebrates with his first-ever LIV Golf trophy after winning the LIV Golf tournament in Rocester, England, on Sunday. (X: @livgolf_league)

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Captain Jon Rahm of Legion XIII hits his shot from the second tee during the second round of LIV Golf tournament at JCB Golf and Country Club on July 27, 2024, in Rocester, England. (LIV Golf via AP)

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Legion XIII's Jon Rahm in action during round one of the LIV Golf tournament at JCB Golf and Country Club, Rocester, England, on July 26, 2024. (REUTERS)

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Updated 29 July 2024

July 29, 2024 02:40

Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK

Rahm closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 13 under at JCB Golf & Country Club
The 29-year-old Spanish is one seven LIV players in the Olympics next week at Le Golf National outside Paris

Updated 29 July 2024

July 29, 2024 02:40

ROCESTER, England: Jon Rahm won LIV Golf UK on Sunday for his first victory on the Saudi-funded tour when Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton three-putted his final hole for a bogey.
Rahm closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 13 under at JCB Golf & Country Club, a stroke ahead of Hatton (69), season points leader Joaquin-Niemann (65) and defending champion Cameron-Smith (69).
“Finally got one done,” said Rahm, who has fought a foot problem this season. “You never want to get those feelings to go on for too long, and to get over the hump feels great incredible. It’s been a fantastic week and a fantastic year, and just relieved that it happened. … Feels like I got a lot of weight off my shoulders on that one.”
On the par-4 18th, Hatton hit a 75-foot putt to 5 feet and missed the par try to hand Rahm his first victory since the 2023 Masters. Rahm and Hatton led Legion XIII to the team title.
“Obviously, you always want to win,” Rahm said. “Selfishly, you always want to get that done. But you don’t want to see a teammate and a good friend missing a putt for that to happen for me. It’s a bit of an unusual situation that I don’t think any of us are used to.”
Rahm is one seven LIV players in the Olympics next week at Le Golf National outside Paris. The 29-year-old Spanish star joined LIV in December.
Hatton, the Nashville winner in June, played in the group behind Rahm.
“Still pretty raw for me as an individual,” Hatton said. “It’s kind of hard to put that to one the side. Golf is generally an individual sport.”

Topics: LIV Golf Jon Rahm

Scottie Scheffler 2 back of a 4-way tie for the lead at Houston Open

Updated 28 March 2025

March 28, 2025 05:25

Scottie Scheffler 2 back of a 4-way tie for the lead at Houston Open

The world’s No. 1 player played bogey-free and made a pair of long birdies on the back nine that added to a 67, leaving him two shots behind
Pendrith had the lead to himself until he found a bunker left of the green on the 18th and missed a 10-foot par putt

Updated 28 March 2025

March 28, 2025 05:25

HOUSTON: Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy wanted a final tunup before the Masters and spent parts of the Thursday at the Houston Open under an umbrella in wind and rain that prevented anyone from getting too far away.

Keith Mitchell made a late eagle and Ryan Gerard let a good start slip away by finishing with two bogeys. They both wound up at 5-under 65, tied for the lead with Alejandro Tosti and Taylor Pendrith when play was suspended by darkness.

Scheffler didn’t dazzle. He just didn’t do much wrong, one of his best attributes. The world’s No. 1 player played bogey-free and made a pair of long birdies on the back nine that added to a 67, leaving him two shots behind.

“Conditions were pretty tough out there today with the rain and the wind, so overall nice to keep a clean card,” Scheffler said.

McIlroy, coming off his second victory of the year at The Players Championship two weeks ago, played in the morning and that was no picnic. The rain was steady as he stood on the 10th tee and it eventually stopped long enough for him to enjoy the end of his round.

He had two birdies (both on par 5s), two bogeys and 14 pars for a 70 that he described as “a little pedestrian.”

“Couldn’t really find the middle of the club face for the first few holes,” McIlroy said. “Once it brightened up and as the conditions got a little better, I felt like I drove it pretty well.”

Tosti contended late in the Houston Open last year. He also played bogey-free, and he made birdie on all three of the par 5s at Memorial Park. Mitchell got his mistakes out of the way early — two bogeys in four holes, and finished strong.

Pendrith had the lead to himself until he found a bunker left of the green on the 18th and missed a 10-foot par putt. Jackson Suber was poised to join the group at 65 until a four-putt double bogey on the 18th. The first putt was 70 feet. The last three putts were from 5 feet.

And then there was Gerard, who was motoring along at 7 under with two holes to play, starting with the par-5 eighth. But his tee shot was so far right he had to take a penalty drop, and his wedge from 124 yards went 50 feet long. He managed to two-putt for a bogey.

On the par-3 ninth, he went into a back lip of the bunker and had to play away from the flag because of water on the other side, leading to another bogey.

The 65 was a solid start. The finish stung.

“I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t a little bit upset,” Gerard said. “But you kind of just got to take a step back. If they said after the morning wave you’d be T-1, everyone in the field would sign up for that starting their round, especially when it was rainy and kind of windy and off and on from different directions. The grind was real out there.”

And it was wet for so much of the day, leading to preferred lies from the short grass. The issue for Gerard was staying dry.

“I’m weird — I don’t like holding the umbrella because I feel like my arms get fatigued and I stand over a shot and I feel like I hit it weird,” he said. “So I wear the rain jacket and try and not get the grips wet. If I can do that and just pick quality targets and try and just make solid swings to the targets, whatever happens from there is kind of up to the skid or the rain or the water droplets or whatever it could be.”

Suber wound up with eight players at 66, a group that included Rasmus Hojgaard, who at one point was tied for the lead until a double bogey. He played in the same group as his Danish twin, Nicolai Hojgaard, who had a 69.

Michael Kim and Ben Griffin opened with a 70. Both are just outside the top 50 in the world and are trying to move inside that number to get into the Masters. The cutoff for the top 50 is after the Houston Open.

Topics: Scottie Scheffler Houston Open

Scheffler, McIlroy focus on Houston while preparing for Masters

Updated 27 March 2025

AFP

March 27, 2025 06:40

Scheffler, McIlroy focus on Houston while preparing for Masters

McIlroy is making his first Houston trip in 11 years and playing the course for the first time
Scheffler was the runner-up in Houston last year, a season in which he won nine titles include Olympic gold and his second Masters title

Updated 27 March 2025

AFP

March 27, 2025 06:40

HOUSTON: Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy play their final tuneups for the Masters at this week’s PGA Houston Open, seeking a title while preparing for Augusta National.

McIlroy, who won the Players two weeks ago after taking the Pebble Beach crown last month, is making his first Houston trip in 11 years and playing the course for the first time.

“It has been a great start to the season for me and I want to continue it,” McIlroy said.

But the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland visited Augusta National this week to start preparations for the Masters, the only major title he needs to complete a career Grand Slam.

“I use those trips just to refamiliarize myself with the place, clubs off tees, looking to see if they changed any greens,” McIlroy said.

“There are four greens that are new this year that they’ve redone. You have a look at those and see if there’s any new hole positions they give you, stuff like that.

“Honestly for me, it’s nice to play a practice round without people around and it sort of takes the pressure off the start of the (Masters) week for me.”

His time in Houston, however, is about competing and trying to add another title to his season before his quest for a green jacket resumes.

“I just want to get a card in my hand and shoot scores and hopefully get myself in contention and try to win another golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “It’s not as if I’m playing here this week and thinking about two weeks’ time. I’m here, I’m in the present, I’m trying to do my best this week and trying to win this golf tournament.”

Repeated shotmaking under tournament pressure is on McIlroy’s mind.

“I want to keep playing well, so I think every round you play where you see good things you’re filling up that confidence bucket a little bit, so I want to see that,” he said.

“It was great to get a win a couple weeks ago but I still feel I could have played a lot better. I tried to poke holes in a lot of my game last week and think about things I could do better, and there were definitely things that I could work on.

“It’s a good opportunity to go out and see if some of the work I did at home and I’m continuing to do here... is all going in the right direction.”

Scheffler was the runner-up in Houston last year, a season in which he won nine titles include Olympic gold and his second Masters title.

But Scheffler missed the first month of this season with a hand injury and is only now getting back to normal form.

“Feeling pretty good. Excited about the stuff we’re working on right now and game feels like it’s in a good spot. Definitely excited to get the season going this week,” he said.

He finds Houston’s Memorial Park course a worthy place to prepare for the challenge of winning a third Masters in four seasons.

“With it being rye grass in the fairways now I think definitely improves the prep for the Masters, it’s a similar grass to what we see at Augusta,” Scheffler said.

“It’s also a big golf course. You’ve got to hit it far out here, so there is definitely some similarities and good preparation between here and Augusta.”

Like McIlroy, however, Scheffler is concentrating on winning this week before trying for another major win.

“I try to focus as much as I can on the tournament at hand,” he said.

“I think in the back of your mind at all times the majors are always kind of there... so when you’re here with the Masters being only two weeks away, it’s very easy for us to look ahead. But I’m trying to do my best to focus on this week.”

Topics: golf Rory McIlroy Scottie Scheffler

‘Love is in the air’: Woods confirms Vanessa Trump romance

Updated 24 March 2025

AFP

March 24, 2025 04:32

‘Love is in the air’: Woods confirms Vanessa Trump romance

“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side,” Woods wrote in a caption above two photos of himself relaxing with Vanessa Trump

Updated 24 March 2025

AFP

March 24, 2025 04:32

LOS ANGELES, United States: Tiger Woods took the unusual step of confirming his romance with Donald Trump’s former daughter-in-law on Sunday in a brief post on social media.
Golf superstar Woods — renowned for jealously guarding his private life over the years — confirmed in a post on X that he is dating Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr.
“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side,” Woods wrote in a caption above two photos of himself relaxing with Vanessa Trump.
“At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.”
The post comes after weeks of tabloid rumors about the couple.
Vanessa Trump, who divorced Donald Trump Jr. in 2018 after a 13-year marriage, also posted a picture of her and Woods together on her Instagram account in what appeared to be a co-ordinated announcement.
Sunday’s announcement would once have been unthinkable for Woods, who famously named his luxury yacht “Privacy.”
Woods’s private life was laid bare during the 2009 sex scandal that upended his career and led to the implosion of his six-year marriage to Elin Nordegren, the mother of his two children.
Nordegren and Woods separated amid revelations of the golf star’s serial infidelity, with reports suggesting he had slept with as many as 120 women during his marriage.

Topics: Tiger Woods Vanessa Trump

Hovland grabs share of Valspar lead in bid to end PGA title drought

Updated 23 March 2025

AFP

March 23, 2025 05:09

Hovland grabs share of Valspar lead in bid to end PGA title drought

Hovland could see “a lot of good” after posting three birdies and a bogey to join Colombian Nico Echavarria and American Jacob Bridgeman atop the leaderboard on seven-under 206
Bridgeman, seeking his first win in his second full season on the tour, started the day with a one-shot lead and kept himself atop the board with a 1-under 70

Updated 23 March 2025

AFP

March 23, 2025 05:09

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Viktor Hovland carded a 2-under par 69 on Saturday to grab a share of the 54-hole lead at the Valspar Championship, where the Norwegian is gunning for his first US PGA Tour title since 2023.

Hovland, who arrived at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida this week off three straight missed cuts, says he’s still battling the inconsistency that has seen him make five coaching changes as he slumped from fourth in the world to 19th.

But he could see “a lot of good” after posting three birdies and a bogey to join Colombian Nico Echavarria and American Jacob Bridgeman atop the leaderboard on seven-under 206.

“It’s fun to be in contention, but it is a little bit more stressful when you don’t feel super comfortable over the ball,” Hovland said. “But, man, it’s fun to see some putts go in and still see the ball end up close to the hole and put some good scores up there.

“Still feels like saving a lot of shots, but they’re going fairly straight so it’s OK,” added Hovland, who is chasing his first title since he won the Tour Championship in 2023 — when he claimed three of his six PGA victories and captured the FedEx Cup crown.

Echavarria, chasing a third PGA title, rebounded from a 1-over par 72 on Friday with a bogey-free 5-under par 66, making five of his six birdies n the back nine.

“I gave myself a lot of looks,” Echavarria said. “I was leaving a couple birdie putts short on the front nine. I got the speed right on the back nine, made a lot of good putts coming in.”

Bridgeman, seeking his first win in his second full season on the tour, started the day with a one-shot lead and kept himself atop the board with a 1-under 70 that featured four bogeys and five birdies.

“I had fun today,” the 25-year-old said. “I was navigating a lot of the course. I seemed to find some spots that I had never see before, so that was fun. I scrambled well.”

Bridgeman said swirling winds in the afternoon made for uncertainty on many shots while the wind-dried greens “were getting a little bit crusty.”

The leading trio were one stroke in front of American Ricky Castillo, who carded a 68, while a big group on 208 included major winners Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry.

Ireland’s Lowry had a frustrating day on the greens on the way to a 1-under 70 but said he was right in the hunt.

“I can’t remember the last time I hit so many good putts that burned the edge,” he said. “I did hit it probably a little bit too far away from the hole today ... but I just feel like I didn’t get rewarded at all.

“(But) I know if I can go out and shoot in the mid 60s (Sunday) that something could happen.”

Topics: Valspar Championship US PGA Tour Viktor Hovland

McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff

Updated 17 March 2025

AFP

March 17, 2025 23:19

McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff

Spaun, whose recovery out of the bunker left him with a long, unsuccessful birdie putt, could only par

Updated 17 March 2025

AFP

March 17, 2025 23:19

MIAMI: Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy cruised to a St. Patrick’s Day victory at the Players Championship on Monday, defeating J.J. Spaun in a playoff at TPC Sawgrass.

The four-time major champion completed the three-hole shootout in 1-over par, while Spaun’s challenge wilted after a disastrous triple-bogey on the second playoff hole.

McIlroy had finished tied at the top of the leaderboard with Spaun following Sunday’s storm-hit final round after failing to hold on to a three-shot lead with five holes to play.

But after returning to the course on Monday in bright, breezy conditions, there was no sign of a repeat of the late stumble by McIlroy on Sunday that had allowed Spaun to force his way into the first playoff of his career.

McIlroy struck first on the opening playoff hole, the par-five 16th, crushing a 336-yard drive straight down the fairway before reaching the green in two.

Spaun,meanwhile, looked out of sorts from the get-go, finding the fairway rough off the tee before landing his second shot into the greenside bunker.

McIlroy failed to make his 33-foot eagle putt but calmly rolled in an awkward five-footer for birdie.

Spaun, whose recovery out of the bunker left him with a long, unsuccessful birdie putt, could only par.

After that early wobble, things got worse for Spaun at the par-3 17th island hole, with the American plunging his tee-shot into the water behind the green.

Spaun then missed a long 10-foot putt for double bogey and eventually finished with a triple-bogey six.

While McIlroy missed his birdie chance and a 10-footer to save par, his bogey four still left him three shots clear heading to the 18th.

McIlroy’s tee-shot on the last went well wide of the right fairway, but Spaun was unable to exert pressure, also going wide of the fairway.

Both players reached the green in three and missed their par putts. McIlroy coolly tapped in for bogey to seal victory.

Topics: The Players Championship Rory McIlroy J.J. Spaun

Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK

Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK

Ogletree leads LIV Golf UK as Smash and Legion share team lead

Jon Rahm hoping to ride Spanish momentum to end drought

Scottie Scheffler 2 back of a 4-way tie for the lead at Houston Open

Scottie Scheffler 2 back of a 4-way tie for the lead at Houston Open

Scheffler, McIlroy focus on Houston while preparing for Masters

McIlroy and Lowry come up aces, Scheffler back with a 67 and Henley takes Pebble Beach lead

Scheffler, McIlroy focus on Houston while preparing for Masters

Scheffler, McIlroy focus on Houston while preparing for Masters

McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff

Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun tie at The Players Championship to set up Monday playoff

‘Love is in the air’: Woods confirms Vanessa Trump romance

‘Love is in the air’: Woods confirms Vanessa Trump romance

Tiger Woods and son Charlie share the lead at PNC Championship

Tiger Woods in favor of Americans getting paid at the Ryder Cup as long as it goes to charity

Hovland grabs share of Valspar lead in bid to end PGA title drought

Hovland grabs share of Valspar lead in bid to end PGA title drought

Herman leads Valspar Championship by two strokes

Schwartzel outlasts Haas to win US PGA Valspar title

McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff

McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff

Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun tie at The Players Championship to set up Monday playoff

Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover among those sharing Players Championship lead on wild day

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Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK

Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK

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