Up to this point, the USGA has held championships in 49 states (plus Washington D.C.!) but that number is about to climb to 50. The post The only state without a USGA championship is finally getting its due appeared first on Golf.

A strange year has just got stranger still. Who would ever thought that Patrick Reed - AKA Captain America, the patriot who refuses to bow to the Ryder Cup’s blue-and-gold brigade — would be considered a pariah on the PGA Tour but welcomed as a hero on the European Tour? The respect he is being accorded at this BMW PGA Championship is well deserved. If Reed, 30, had decided to stay on Stateside - and so follow the lead of every other big-named American and one or two big-named Europeans - then this flagship event would be without a member of the world’s top 10 for the first time since the inauguration of the rankings 34 years ago. But No 9 is here and the Tour are very grateful. Of course, there are plenty in this BMW PGA Championship here on the West Course who have their own opinions about Reed and his sometimes cavalier attitude to the rulebook, which reached a peak at last year’s Hero World Challenge, where he twice moved sand behind his ball in a waste area and then shamelessly denied he was trying to gain an advantage. Yet to a man they were all congratulating him on Wednesday for saving the dignity of a proud, 65-year-old tournament won by the likes of Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and more recently Rory McIlroy. “There is obviously an easy excuse at the moment for people not to travel and get on planes,” Justin Rose said. “Let’s be honest, we are all using it [coronavirus] as an excuse not to do things if we don't have to. So every credit to Patrick for showing up.” Reed ummed and ahhed and missed the official entry deadline, but eventually was convinced by three factors to accept a sponsor’s invite - the Tour, itself, the venue and the Race to Dubai. He leads the latter and is fully committed to lifting the Harry Vardon Trophy in Dubai in December. “It was a tough decision, a long decision, but the European Tour has been good to me - they made me an honorary lifetime member last year [after his 2018 Masters win] - and it wouldn't have felt right not coming over and supporting them at their biggest event of the tear,” he said. “This is something where the entire world is struggling, and to be able to support someone other than just my home in Houston, in Texas, was something that I feel like needed to be done. “Yeah, with the purses and the ranking points that we play for in the States, the easy thing would be to play on the PGA Tour full-time only. But that's not who I am. I see myself as a guy who plays worldwide and always been a dream of mine to win over here, win the Race to Dubai, win the FedEx Cup, win as many majors as I can and just try to collect hardware. “I loved playing here last year [when he finished fourth behind England’s Danny Willett] and even though the course is softer because of the time of year and all the rain, it's still in perfect shape and demands you hit quality shots. I’m confident and expecting big things.”

LAS VEGAS – After beginning his professional career by making 22 consecutive cuts – a stretch bettered by only Tiger Woods – (...)

Tony Finau will not participate in this week's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas because he has tested positive for COVID-19, the PGA Tour announced Tuesday ...

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Not until now has that old chestnut meant back-to-back PGA TOUR events. This week it’s the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin, where past Shriners champ Bryson DeChambeau will be the headliner as Vegas resident Kevin Na defends on home turf. Next week, due to some rejiggering amid the coronavirus pandemic, it’s THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK – yep, also in Las Vegas. Although the double-header recalls the back-to-back tournaments at Ohio’s Muirfield Village last July, it is unusual. It’s also fitting, given Vegas’ popularity among TOUR pros as a place to set down roots. Great weather, courses, airports, and no state income tax – what’s not to like? Xander Schauffele says he’ll likely be moving there. Collin Morikawa already calls it home, as do Maverick McNealy, Na, and several other world-class players. RELATED: Inside the Field | Preview the course, storylines “My coach Butch Harmon is out there in Henderson (a 20-minute drive south),” says McNealy, who finished a career-best 68th in the FedExCup last season. “And there's actually an incredible amount of young players that are out there now. They're calling it the Jupiter of the West – lots of PGA TOUR, LPGA, Korn Ferry, Canada, Latin America, high school players, college players. “It's pretty motivating to be out there,” McNealy adds. “Everybody is working hard, and I know there's a lot of people out there trying to get my job, too.” Las Vegas is where Tiger Woods notched the first of his 82 (and counting) TOUR wins in 1996, beating Davis Love III in a playoff. It’s where Chip Beck shot 13-under 59 at the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational at Sunrise Golf Club. It’s the home of UNLV, which has helped hone the skills of future TOUR pros like Adam Scott, Charley Hoffman and Ryan Moore. And, yes, it’s the home base for Harmon, who advised seemingly every No. 1 player for some 30-odd years. No, Vegas isn’t the center of the golf universe, but it’s certainly a major planet. “Yeah, who knows what's in that Vegas water out there,” says Morikawa, who grew up in Southern California and played collegiately for Cal. “I'll keep drinking it.” If you can imagine each victory for Vegas as one of those geysers that goes off periodically at the Bellagio, then last summer was geyser-palooza. It was hard to pick a favorite. Morikawa won the Workday Charity Open in a wild playoff against Justin Thomas at Muirfield Village. Danielle Kang, who dates McNealy, won the LPGA’s first two events back after a break of four-plus months, and finished T5 in a bid for three straight. “That’s Tiger-esque stuff,” Morikawa says. Then it was Morikawa again, driving the 16th green and winning the PGA Championship at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park to cement his status as the game’s hottest new talent. That was pretty Tiger-esque in its own right. But wait! Lost amid the excitement, almost, was fellow Las Vegan David Lipsky’s win at the Korn Ferry Tour’s TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons, July 9-12, the same weekend Morikawa was holding off Thomas at the Workday. “We were texting Saturday night,” Morikawa says, “telling each other, ‘Finish this off, let's not screw anything up and do anything stupid.’ That was pretty cool. “But I think for us as professional golfers,” Morikawa continues, “and what a lot of amateurs don't realize, is where we move and why we move to certain places is to have these games and to compete against other players because that's what keeps us going … to keep things sharp.” Schauffele, who grew up in San Diego, where he played for San Diego State University and still resides, is leaning toward buying a house in Vegas for more personal reasons. He considered Florida, Texas (Dallas) and Arizona (Scottsdale), but Vegas is just a one-hour flight from San Diego. His girlfriend’s parents live there. And the lack of state income tax doesn’t hurt. He is, he says, “strongly considering” a move in the not-too-distant future. California Bay Area transplant McNealy could head up the Chamber of Commerce; so smitten is he with his adopted home, he’s like a human version of the famous sign: Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. “There's two TPCs, TPC Summerlin and TPC Las Vegas,” McNealy says, ticking off the benefits of this glitzy desert destination. “TPC Summerlin hosts the Shriners event every fall. Just an incredible staff and fantastic host for all the professional golfers out in Vegas. “The weather is good but not too good,” he adds, “which is important, because we know what it's like to play in heat, cold, wind, and just about every day is playable but it doesn't mean it's always easy.” Whom does he call for a game when he’s home? Fellow Stanford product Joseph Bramlett, who happens to be his roommate? Morikawa? “All of the above,” he says. “There's always a game out at TPC Summerlin. The people I see out there most are Alex and Danielle Kang, John Oda, Shintaro Ban, Aaron Wise is out there a bunch, even Scott Piercy, Ryan Moore, Kevin Na. There's so many guys. Inbee Park is out there. “Lots of great players, and a lot of people to try and win 10 or 20 bucks off of.” With a rare two-week homestand at the Shriners and CJ CUP, McNealy and company will be playing for a lot more than that, and, pocket aces, they’ll be sleeping in their own beds. Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, indeed.

It’s a few weeks later than planned but the European Tour’s flagship event at HQ is finally here. The BMW PGA Championship is comfortably the strongest field of the year so far, with the likes of World No 9 Patrick Reed here among others. Below I’ll go through who I fancy to take the title […] The post BMW PGA Championship preview: TV times and betting tips appeared first on National Club Golfer.

Bryson DeChambeau’s approach to chasing distance has been one of the stories of 2020 and has left many golf fans wondering if his rivals could replicate the golf scientist’s method in the future. Well, over the weekend, Rory McIlroy shared an interesting post on his stories on Instagram, which hints that the Ulsterman could well […]

JACKSON, Miss. – Overcoming a pair of front-nine bogeys, Sergio Garcia summons his ball-striking acumen and veteran poise to cover them up with birdies, then eagles the 14th hole and birdies the 18th for a 67 and a one-stroke victory over Peter Malnati (63). RELATED: Final leaderboard | What's in Garcia's bag? Here are five stories you might have missed from the Sanderson Farms Championship. 1. Garcia win not dissimilar to Cink’s What’s the connection between Sergio Garcia and Stewart Cink, who won the season-opening Safeway Open two weeks before Garcia’s star turn at Country Club of Jackson? Both are in their 40s, right-handed, and hadn’t won in a while. Look closer, though, and you’re reminded that each had been mired in a dry spell after his one and only major victory, Cink the 2009 Open Championship and Garcia the 2017 Masters Tournament. Now they’ve both rallied to get back on track early in the new season. “I really wasn't that frustrated because nobody was really talking to me,” said Garcia, who with wife Angela had had two kids, 2-year-old Azalea and 6-month-old Enzo, since his previous PGA TOUR win. “You know, they had other guys to talk to, and I was just working hard and just trying to get better in every aspect of the game, mentally and physically, and I was just doing my own thing, trying to figure out what I needed to do, and that's what I did.” Garcia, 40, now has TOUR wins in three different decades, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. He’s the 78th player to accomplish that feat, the most recent before him being – you guessed it, Cink. 2. Malnati kept perspective Although he was a past champion at the Sanderson Farms (2015), Malnati had been largely absent from the conversation for the last five years. He missed the FedExCup Playoffs last season, and barely made THE NORTHERN TRUST before finishing 118th in the FedExCup in 2019. It was more of the same in 2018, with just two top-25 finishes. No wonder he was all smiles even in finishing runner-up to Garcia. For one thing, the final-round 63 was his career low. Also, Malnati’s top-10 finish gets him into the field at this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, where he’d been third alternate. Asked what he would do for an hour and 40 minutes until the leaders finished, Malnati’s answer said it all: “I'm literally staying walking distance from the club,” he said. “I might go hop in the pool with my boy. You thought I looked like I was having fun out there today? You should see him in the water. It's amazing.” 3. Bradley, Norlander shook off rough starts Sweden’s Henrik Norlander had missed the cut in his first two starts this season after shooting opening-round 75s. The 33-year-old product of Augusta University had no such trouble at the Sanderson Farms, where he went 4 under for his last five holes for a 65 and T4 finish, four back. Norlander eagled the third and 15th holes and had three for the week, tied with Keegan Bradley for most in the field. Bradley had gotten off to a similar start this season, missing the cut at the Safeway Open and U.S. Open before contending in his first appearance in Jackson. He eagled the par-5 11th hole for the third time in four tries and shot 69 to also finish T4. 4. Villegas’ game returning after tragedy This was not Camilo Villegas’ first PGA TOUR start since the passing of his daughter Mia, who was just 22 months old when she died July 26 after battling tumors on her brain and spine. But with a final-round 66 and T23 finish, the four-time TOUR winner looked close to his old self. “I'm just excited to swing a golf club, man,” said Villegas, who has dealt with a shoulder injury in addition to Mia’s health struggles the last few years. “The last two years have been crazy to say the least, injury and then with our family situation, but like I told my wife, we can't change the past, so we're focusing on what's going on right now, having a good attitude, and once again, I'm very, very happy to be swinging a golf club again.” Villegas missed the cut in his previous start, at the Safeway Open. Before that? Another MC at The Honda Classic in March. Now, he says, he’ll play a full fall schedule on TOUR, continuing with next week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. His final-round 66 was his lowest score on TOUR since an opening-round 66 at THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2017, a span of 1,137 days. 5. McCumber, Daffue hitting new heights Tyler McCumber (69, T6, five back) posted his second career top-10 finish in his last two starts, and now he’s in the unfamiliar position of fifth in the FedExCup. Granted, it’s early, but this is the best stretch of golf ever for the surfer and outdoors lover from Jacksonville, Florida. Then there was MJ Daffue (pronounced Duffy), a 31-year-old from South Africa who has had a rough go of it as a professional but shot a final-round 69 for a career-best T12 finish. Daffue, who had Monday-qualified for the Sanderson Farms, now goes to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, where he’s already got a spot in the field as a sponsor’s exemption. Incredibly, Daffue, who played for Lamar University in Texas, has Monday-qualified nine times in his last 14 tries on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour combined. He was bidding to become the first Monday-qualifier to win on TOUR since Corey Conners at the 2019 Valero Texas Open, and while that didn’t happen, there were so many positives. He won’t have to try and keep up his incredible Monday-qualifying streak this week in Vegas. (He would’ve had a hard time getting there in time, anyway.) And his T12 was his career best by a substantial margin after his T22 at the Workday Charity Open last summer. For more on Daffue’s wild ride, click here. TOUR TOP 10 The regular season top 10 will receive bonuses for their efforts.

Sergio Garcia got back in the winner’s circle on Sunday with a clutch finish that earns the Spaniard a $1,188,000 payday. Garcia just edged out Peter Malnati, with Malnati receiving $719,400 for his solo second-place finish. With a total prize purse of $6.6 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player took home […]