The post GOLF’s Subpar: Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler talk the biggest shots of their career appeared first on Golf.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler talk the biggest shots of their career appeared first on Golf.

Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by multi-time PGA Tour winners Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler who talk the biggest shot of their respective careers.

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The post Playing Royal Portrush | DESTINATION GOLF: LINKSLAND appeared first on Golf.

The post Playing Royal Portrush | DESTINATION GOLF: LINKSLAND appeared first on Golf.

GOLF’s Dylan Dethier and Sean Zak head to the UK for an epic buddies trip to visit the next three sites of The Open Championship. Starting in Northern Ireland, they play Royal Portrush Golf Club and explore the surrounding town.

The post Playing Royal Portrush | DESTINATION GOLF: LINKSLAND appeared first on Golf.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: What it was like watching Tiger Woods’ historic walk up 18 at St. Andrews, according to Mike Tirico appeared first on Golf.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: What it was like watching Tiger Woods’ historic walk up 18 at St. Andrews, according to Mike Tirico appeared first on Golf.

Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by legendary NBC sportscaster Mike Tirico who talks what it was like witnessing Tiger Woods’ historic walk up 18 at St. Andrews.

—

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The post GOLF’s Subpar: What it was like watching Tiger Woods’ historic walk up 18 at St. Andrews, according to Mike Tirico appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘FIVE in a row!’: Watch Cam Smith’s amazing British Open birdie streak appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘FIVE in a row!’: Watch Cam Smith’s amazing British Open birdie streak appeared first on Golf.

The day was shaping up to be a showdown between Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. But with the Norwegian struggling to gain traction, it was Cameron Smith who made a run from deep to seize the solo lead.

Putting

And what a run it was. After a par on the ninth hole, one of the easiest holes on the entire course, the Aussie got out his buzzsaw and birdied his next five holes. It was a truly astonishing run of golf, precisely at the moment he needed it most.

It started with a good drive just short of the 10th green. Facing a pin tucked on top of a large slope short, he cuddled a little chip to short range.

On the par-3 11th, Smith had to work a little harder. After hitting his first shot to 16 feet, he rolled his next into the centerof the cup to get to within one, before Rory birdied to extend his lead back to two.

But when a putter as good as Cameron Smith gets hot, things don’t cool down easily. After a two-putt birdie on 12, Smith left himself 18 feet for birdie on 13 — and knocked it in, of course.

And then he birdied the next, after knocking it long of the par-5 14th in two, he chipped up to five feet. That put an end to his streak of birdies, but it was enough to vault him into the lead as he navigated the final stretch.

The post ‘FIVE in a row!’: Watch Cam Smith’s amazing British Open birdie streak appeared first on Golf.

The post Why are pros shooting such low scores at the Old Course? appeared first on Golf.

The post Why are pros shooting such low scores at the Old Course? appeared first on Golf.

The top of the 2022 Open Championship doesn’t look like an ordinary major championship leaderboard. Well, the names do. But the numbers alongside them — 16 under leading, eight under rounding out the top 10 — make it look more like a regular Tour event than a major championship.

That may not come as news to avid golf fans, but those who may not watch golf week-in, week-out may be tuning into the Open Championship broadcast and find themselves surprised. Why is it that pros are taking it so low at the famed Old Course at St Andrews?

There’s a more contentious conversation you could have on the topic: About technological advances in equipment and training, and the role golf’s historic courses in the game today. But in this case, that controversial topic doesn’t tell the entire story, anyway. The Old Course has hosting low scores for decades: Since 1984, only one winner’s score has finished under 12 under par for the tournament (John Daly’s six under, in 1995). The winning scores in the other six events have averaged more than 15 under, with the 2022 Open set to joint that group when it concludes.

Which brings us back to the question at the top of this article: Why?

The post Why are pros shooting such low scores at the Old Course? appeared first on Golf.

The post Why the FootJoy x Harris Tweed collection is so special appeared first on Golf.

The post Why the FootJoy x Harris Tweed collection is so special appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Gimme That, a GOLF.com column where we’ll highlight one notable item we think you might like. Whether it’s an article of clothing, an intriguing electronic device or anything in between, we want to share these items with you because they’ve generated a bit of chatter by our water cooler (or, these days, on our Slack channel). So sit back, scroll down and keep up with the latest gear golf has to offer.

You’ve likely noticed the unique FootJoys some players — notably Cameron Young — have been wearing to celebrate the Open Championship this week. The shoes are adorned with world-famous Harris Tweed — an iconic, high-quality fabric that’s handwoven by residents of Outer Hebrides, Scotland. In fact, a law is in place to make sure only fabric that’s created in this specific region of Scotland can bear the name and logo. Harris Tweed wool is dyed before it’s spun, which allows lots of colors to blend together in a unique and complex way.

The shoe we’re seeing in action this week is the Packard silhouette from their Premiere Series collection, but the Harris Tweed collection spans a few FootJoy models for both men and women. The shoes celebrate the rich history of St. Andrews by calling back to a time when Harris Tweed was the fabric of choice for golf attire. They allow today’s modern players to lean into that special heritage in a way that’s both stylish and authentic.

FJ x Harris Tweed Golf Shoes

Footjoy’s Harris Tweed collection celebrates the rich history of St. Andrews by calling back to a time when Harris Tweed was the fabric of choice for golf attire. They allow today’s modern players to lean into that special heritage in a way that’s both stylish and authentic.

$150+ from go.skimresources.com

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The post Fully Equipped: Why Tiger Woods added lead tape at The Open Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post Fully Equipped: Why Tiger Woods added lead tape at The Open Championship appeared first on Golf.

On this week’s Fully Equipped the guys discuss what Tiger Woods was looking to gain by adding lead tape to his putter at The Open Championship.

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The post Tiger Woods keeps missing left. This TV commentator has a theory why. appeared first on Golf.

The post Tiger Woods keeps missing left. This TV commentator has a theory why. appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Play Smart, a column to help you play smarter, better golf from Game Improvement Editor Luke Kerr-Dineen (who you can follow on Twitter right here).

Right off the top, let’s just make one thing very clear: That Tiger Woods is here, playing in another Open, walking around St. Andrews on his own two feet, is more than we deserve as golf fans. It’s a testament to Tigers’ toughness that will prove as much a part of his incredible legacy as any of the feats accomplished in his younger years.

Yet Tiger did not come to St. Andrews for a swan song. He scoffed at the idea of retirement when asked about it earlier this week. He’s coming because he expects to play well. And as he was the first to admit that he simply didn’t this week.

“I’m a little ticked that I’m not playing on the weekend,” he says. “I certainly did not play good enough to be around. I wish I would have played better.”

His putter was the primary cause of his poor play at the 2022 Open Championship — he had 70 putts over his two rounds with a number of three putts.

But throughout the tournament, we also saw Tiger struggling with a damaging miss that kept rearing its ugly head: A hot pull. When he hit it, the ball would start slightly left and fly straight on that initial direction, though slightly lower.

It was Tiger’s predominant miss throughout the tournament: He missed left on the third, seventh, eighth, 12th and 16th during his first round, then on the fourth (twice), 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th during his second. That hot pull miss has lingered throughout the year. I wrote about it at the PGA Championship, and after his first round at the 2022 JP McManus Pro-Am.

As for where what causes it, Sky Sports on-course analyst Wayne “Radar” Riley offered some astute analysis during Tiger’s warmup today.

“What I’m seeing with Tiger is because he’s so strong up top, I’m not sure if the bottom half works as well as it once did, sometimes just stays a little still,” he says. “He can’t get off his right side. Maybe he’s scared because of the ankle injury. But because of it, his top half covers the ball very well. [His lower body] stays back, but the arms keep going and he flips the ball left.”

The physique angle is one I hadn’t really thought about — Tiger has says he’s worked on strengthening his lower body as a way of maintaining power post leg injury — but it’s a reflection of an ongoing issue that Tiger has talked about often. The combined effect of his back issues and knee injuries mean his lower body mobility is limited and unreliable, which is creating technique issues that cause bad shots.

The side-by-side of Tiger below isn’t ideal (because he’s hitting different clubs), but Riley’s point still shines through. In the picture on the left from the 2022 PGA Championship, you can see Tiger’s trail foot planted firmly on the ground as it carries more weight. In the picture on the right, from Tiger’s 2019 season, you can see he’s shifted his hips more towards the target, which means there’s more weight to his lead leg and his trail foot is coming off the ground.

The effect of this, to Riley’s point, is that pre-injury Tiger tilts his upper body further from the target than post-injury Tiger. That lack of upper body tilt, caused by his limited lower body action, means Tiger will occasionally get too steep and miss left.

It’s not an unsolvable problem — especially not for a golf mind as sharp as Tiger’s. But it is a fact of Tiger Woods’ post-injury reality. Interestingly, it’s the opposite problem than the one young Tiger used to have. But just as early career Tiger fixed one issue, late-career Tiger is now tasked with cracking another code.

Any rational person would view Tiger’s 2022 major season, where he made three starts and made two cuts, and consider it an undisputed miracle. Tiger does, too.

“Just the three events I played this year, that in itself was something I’m very proud of,” he said.

But Tiger is also Tiger. The man who defies the odds, and pushes past the previously defined limits. When he looks at his season, he sees parts that he’s proud of — and the opportunities to improve even more

“We will do more hard work and give myself some more chances next year to play a few more events next year,” he said after his final round.

If history tells us anything, the smart money is on him figuring out a way yet again.

The post Tiger Woods keeps missing left. This TV commentator has a theory why. appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘I’ve got a headache’: Padraig Harrington reveals his ‘two-pizza’ recovery dinner appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘I’ve got a headache’: Padraig Harrington reveals his ‘two-pizza’ recovery dinner appeared first on Golf.

Despite first-round leader Cameron Young racing to eight under par, the opening day at St. Andrews was far from an easy for most players.

The fairways were fiery and wickedly firm, which made judging how to play them a mentally tiring task. It also meant pace of play slowed to a crawl, which was taxing in its own right. And that’s all before it comes to actually hitting the shot itself.

Fifty-year-old Padraig Harrington certainly wasn’t immune to those effects. By his own admission, he came off the course exhausted, and nursing a minor knee injury.

News

“Physically it’s a little tough for me at the moment. I’ve got a bit of an injury, and 18 holes is a long day, let alone when you’re waiting around and then trying to warm up for each shot, stay as sharp as you can,” he said. “When you’re 50 years of age, it’s hard to Rolls Royce it on every swing.”

Outside of a few shots, you could hardly tell from looking at his game. His lone mistake came on the 16th, when he missed a short putt for par.

“I got tired,” he said. “It was a long day. I didn’t need to miss that putt.”

But Harrington’s not being too hard on himself. He’s only human, after all.

“I’m shattered. I’m really tired. I’ve got a headache. I’m hungry,” he said.

But don’t worry. The menu for the night was planning to fix that problem.

“I’ve got pizza waiting for me there,” he said. “Good old manager has two pizzas, actually.”

Whatever the recovery plan was, it worked. Paddy came back fresh the next day and started birdie-birdie to get inside the top 10.

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The post Even in historic St. Andrews, LIV Golf drama raises thorny questions about golf’s future appeared first on Golf.

The post Even in historic St. Andrews, LIV Golf drama raises thorny questions about golf’s future appeared first on Golf.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — At 12:40 p.m. local time Tuesday, Phil Mickelson appeared on the first tee of the Old Course alongside his practice-round partners, Jon Rahm and Padraig Harrington. He wore battleship-grey shorts and a black vest and had a rangefinder in a nifty holster on his right hip. When it was his turn to hit, Mickelson placed a portable launch monitor next to his ball and let fly a driving iron down the left side of the fairway. As Mickelson strolled off the tee, Harold Varner was playing a chip shot from the left of the 18th green.

“Harold!” Mickelson said.

Varner tuned around and smiled.

“Phil,” he said.

The two exchanged a fist bump and a few pleasantries, and another Mickelson practice round was underway.

It almost felt like business as usual. But, of course, in the world of professional golf these days, very little is business as usual.

A year ago, it would have been unfathomable to think that an upstart global golf tour with seemingly endless funding and Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau as its poster boys could be a real thing by the time the 150th Open Championship rolled around, let alone have a looming presence in what is a momentous week here in St. Andrews. But alas here we are, and there LIV Golf is.

Balls

The R&A, which administers this grand event, has tried to muffle the noise, in part by disinviting LIV Golf chief and two-time Open champion Greg Norman from the week’s festivities. (In an interview with the Palm Beach Post, Norman called the decision “dumb” and “petty.”) Mickelson has not been banished from any of the proceedings, but he has been keeping a conspicuously low profile, presumably to avoid being a distraction.

On Monday evening, he opted out (his choice) of the Celebration of Champions, a feel-good four-hole event featuring a glittering list of Claret Jug winners, including the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Lee Trevino. On Tuesday, he sat out the Champions Dinner in the stately R&A clubhouse that overlooks the Old Course’s 1st tee and 18th green. If Mickelson’s current form holds, he also seems unlikely to factor in the weekend in the championship he won in stirring fashion nine years ago at Muirfield. In his last three starts — the first two LIV events and the U.S. Open — Mickelson was a combined 31 over in eight rounds.

But LIV Golf is much bigger than just Mickelson.

The Open field is littered with LIV defectors, or “rebels,” as the British tabs like to call them: Johnson, DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Paul Casey, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, none of whom were invited to speak to the press this week in any formal capacity. On Tuesday, two more LIV commits, Sergio Garcia and Abraham Ancer, played a practice round together. On Wednesday morning, Garcia set out on the Old Course with yet another LIV signee, Patrick Reed, while another trio of LIV’ers also played together: Poulter, Richard Bland and Sam Horsfield. Strength in numbers.   

In the media center, LIV also has been an unavoidable topic. In his Wednesday morning press conference, R&A chief Martin Slumbers came out on a LIV offensive, saying, “We believe it undermines the merit-based culture and spirit of open competition that makes golf so special. The continued commentary about growing the game is just not credible. If anything, it’s harming the perception of our sport which we are working so hard to improve.”

On Tuesday, Justin Thomas, who has been outspoken in his defense of the PGA Tour, was asked if he understood why the LIV questions keep coming.   

“I do and I don’t,” Thomas said. “It’s a very, very tough thing because it is, it truly is one of those things that the more you talk about it, the more traction it gets. But obviously y’all want to know how we feel, and we want to know how other people feel, other players. But I think it’s very obvious why we’re sick of talking about it because it is, it’s taking away from a lot of — whether it’s great storylines or just great things happening in the game of golf.”

Like, say, the 150th edition of the Open.

“That’s what we need to focus on,” Rory McIlroy said, a point that was echoed by reigning Open champion Collin Morikawa, who even before this week has made it quite clear that he has tired of the LIV chatter.  

“We don’t need to talk about LIV,” Morikawa reiterated Tuesday. “You’re not going to learn anything from me. What you know is what everyone knows.”

Morikawa continued: “We’re at the 150th Open at St. Andrews, all the past champions here, all the history, everything to get to this point. You see it on all the boards, right? I’m going to screw this up. Does it say it up here?”

Morikawa was referencing the official motto of this Open: Everything has led to this.

“That’s true of everything, but especially for this moment,” he said. “For a lot of guys who haven’t been here like myself, to come here, look out the hotel, walk down 17, 18 on Sunday when you have the public just walking, that’s the coolest experience as a fan, as a golfer, anyone could ask for because it’s a game for everyone. The stretch of just teeing off on 1, just seeing 17, just seeing 18, you feel the history, and you feel the importance of everything that has come before us at this golf course and golf in general.”

Morikawa was speaking specifically of the Old Course but he was hitting on a larger talking point that has become a rallying cry for players who have resisted LIV’s temptations: You can’t put a price tag on legacy. On Tuesday, it was Tiger Woods’ turn to beat that drum, and he did so with vigor. Woods has previously expressed his distaste for what the LIV Golf movement represents but never with such conviction.

“Some of these players may not ever get a chance to play in major championships. That is a possibility,” he said. “We don’t know that for sure yet. It’s up to all the major championship bodies to make that determination. But that is a possibility, that some players will never, ever get a chance to play in a major championship, never get a chance to experience this right here, walk down the fairways at Augusta National. That, to me, I just don’t understand it.”

News

None of the LIV model computes in Woods’ golf-genius mind: the 54-hole format, the huge guaranteed payouts, the “blaring music” at events. But what really gets him is that the some of the next generation of great young players, if lured away by LIV, could potentially miss out on weeks like this one in the Auld Grey Toon.

“I just don’t see how that move is positive in the long term for a lot of these players, especially if the LIV organization doesn’t get world-ranking points and the major championships change their criteria for entering the events,” Woods said. “It would be sad to see some of these young kids never get a chance to experience it and experience what we’ve got a chance to experience and walk these hallowed grounds and play in these championships.”

Whether that actually will happen remains to be seen. In a Wednesday morning meeting here in St. Andrews, LIV officials formally applied for world ranking status, meaning it will now be up to the heads of the very organizations with which LIV has been clashing — the PGA Tour, the R&A, et. al. — to decide whether LIV events are worthy of doling out all-important world ranking points. Some might call that a deep conflict of interest.

It’s all happening here this week in the birthplace of golf, where the game’s glorious history is on a pedestal for all to see. What the game’s future holds, however, remains far less clear.

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