BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Bernhard Langer had a double bogey and still broke his age by two shots as the 68-year-old German posted a 6-under 66 on Thursday, giving him a share of the lead after the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship.
\nLanger, who already holds the record with 12 senior majors, played his final six holes in 5-under par, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 17th hole at Concession Golf Club.
\nHe was tied with Miguel Angel Jimenez, Brian Gay and Steve Allan of Australia. Langer now has shot his age or better 43 times.
\n\u201cIt’s fun to shoot my age,\u201d he said. \u201cSo whenever I shoot my age or better, usually I\u2019ve played some good golf. That\u2019s one of the goals these days, especially when you play a difficult golf course, and these greens here are very difficult.\u201d
\nThis is the first year of a three-year contract for Concession to host the Senior PGA Championship, the oldest of the senior majors. It’s also the only senior major Langer has won only one time, in 2017 at Trump National in Virginia.
\nThe 62-year-old Jimenez had an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole and went out in 31 before cooling on the back nine. Allan played bogey-free, picking up birdies on all but one of the par 5s. Gay birdied three of his final four holes.
\nThey were one shot ahead of Ben Crane, Retief Goosen and Thammanoon Sriroj, the 56-year-old Thai who had five wins on the Asian Tour. Crane is making his senior major debut having turned 50 last month.
\nTwo-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington and Greg Chalmers were at 68.
\nHenrik Stenson also made his senior debut \u2014 he turned 50 on April 5 \u2014 and opened with a 72. Stenson, the 2016 British Open champion, had been on Saudi-funded LIV Golf since 2022 but was relegated from the league last fall.
\nHe is not eligible for PGA Tour Champions events until one year after his last LIV appearance, but this major is run by the PGA of America.
\n\nLanger’s round was a foot away from being even better. But his 6-iron to the 11th green narrowly missed, leaving him a downhill lie in a bunker to a short pin. Trying to open the blade, he sent it screaming across the green toward a cart path. He chipped to 12 feet and missed the putt.
\nBut he made up for it on the 17th, hitting a 3-iron hybrid and then holing a 60-foot eagle putt.
\n\u201cIf I would putt like that the rest of my career, I would be extremely happy,\u201d Langer said.
The post Bernhard Langer Breaks His Age Again And Shares The Lead At The Senior PGA Championship first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-17T01:26:33+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-17T01:26:33+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/BernhardLanger25.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Bernhard Langer had a double bogey and still broke his age by two shots as the 68-year-old German posted a 6-under 66 on Thursday, giving him a share of the lead after ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/ludvig-aberg-cleans-up-his-game-and-leads-at-hilton-head-with-a-63/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/ludvig-aberg-cleans-up-his-game-and-leads-at-hilton-head-with-a-63/", "title": "Ludvig Aberg Cleans Up His Game And Leads At Hilton Head With A 63", "content_html": "\n
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) \u2014 Ludvig Aberg swapped out some sloppy mistakes at the Masters with pure iron play at Harbour Town in warm, swirling wind that produced an 8-under 63 for a one-shot lead Thursday in the RBC Heritage.
\nAberg moved ahead of Harris English and Viktor Hovland with an 8-iron to about 15 feet on the back corner of the green on the par-3 17th and made the birdie. He closed with a par, pleasing because he felt that 8-iron confirmed how well he was swinging the club.
\nHouston Open champion Gary Woodland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler were in the group of players at 65.
\nMasters champion Rory McIlroy skipped this $20 million signature event for the second straight year, having said Harbour Town doesn\u2019t suit him.
\nScottie Scheffler, the runner-up last week at Augusta after a 65-68 finish, had a shocking start. His first tee shot was out-of-bounds on the right. He didn’t know out-of-bounds was over there.
\n\u201cIt was looking like it was going to hit those trees and I guess it flew right through them and then hit path and went out-of-bounds,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cThumbs up for the start. It was a good bogey.\u201d
\nThat it was, a 12-foot putt to limit the damage, followed by a par save on the next hole and then it was business as usual in the tougher afternoon conditions for a 68.
\nAberg had a disappointing week at Augusta National by his standards \u2014 a tie for 21st, his first time out of the top 10 in three appearances at the Masters.
\n\u201cI felt like I was playing well but made some silly mistakes that prevented me from having a real chance,\u201d Aberg said. \u201cBut I also felt like in the grand scheme of things, I was swinging it nice, I was moving it nice, so I didn\u2019t have to prepare that much in terms of my golf swing on Monday through Wednesday, and I felt like good golf was in there.\u201d
\nThe challenge for Aberg and the other 52 players who were in the Masters was to stay sharp inside the ropes on an island that makes this tournament feel like a working vacation.
\nHovland is feeling less stressful more because of his swing, instead of the week at the Masters when he made a big run up the leaderboard on Sunday only to catch the wrong gust at the wrong time that led to double bogey on the 15th hole. He still shot 67.
\nHovland doesn’t feel he’s all the way back with his swing, but he found enough signs of progress to believe he is getting close. He played bogey-free for a 64 that featured no birdies on the three par 5s.
\n\u201cThe whole year I’ve been working really hard, and I think now that I\u2019m seeing my game progress and get closer to where I want it to be, I can start to relax a little bit more and focus on kind of the recovery aspect of things,\u201d Hovland said.
\nEnglish also played bogey-free for his 64, finishing with a birdie to a front pin over the bunker.
\nDavis Love III refurbished the fabled course to restore greens to their original design, but players felt it looked the same. And it played the same \u2014 opportunity from the fairway, trouble otherwise as Scheffler and others discovered.
\nJustin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood each opened with a 76.
\nThe toughest day belonged to someone who didn’t even play. Brooks Koepka was the first alternate and showed up at Hilton Head in case someone withdrew. That typically means a two-hour wait in the morning, taking a break, and waiting some two hours during the afternoon wave.
\n\nBad news for Brooks \u2014 this signature event has players in twosomes off the first tee, one right after the other. He was at the course about 6:45 a.m. (the first tee time was 7 a.m.) and could not leave until the last group teed off at 2:10 p.m.
\nThere were three alternates on property \u2014 Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore \u2014 because if Koepka got in, the stipulation for his return from LIV Golf was two additional players added to the field.
\nMorikawa seemed to be the best hope with his back that first went bad at The Players Championship. But he played the Masters with some trepidation and tied for seventh, and he played bogey-free at Harbour Town for a 66.
The post Ludvig Aberg Cleans Up His Game And Leads At Hilton Head With A 63 first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-17T01:21:19+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-17T01:21:19+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LudvigAbergRBCHeritageR126.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) \u2014 Ludvig Aberg swapped out some sloppy mistakes at the Masters with pure iron play at Harbour Town in warm, swirling wind that produced an 8-under 63 for a one-shot lead ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/liv-golf-leader-says-the-show-will-go-on-amid-reports-of-saudi-funding-uncertainty/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/liv-golf-leader-says-the-show-will-go-on-amid-reports-of-saudi-funding-uncertainty/", "title": "LIV Golf Leader Says The Show Will Go On Amid Reports Of Saudi Funding Uncertainty", "content_html": "\n
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sought to quell speculation about the league’s financial future Wednesday evening with a memo to his staff that said the 2026 season will continue as planned without interruption and \u201cat full throttle.\u201d
\nThe memo, a copy of which was sent to The Associated Press, followed a long day of reports suggesting Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund was on the verge of cutting its financial backing of the upstart league.
\nThe newsletter Money in Sport reported in February that LIV Golf already had spent $5.3 billion and was projected to surpass $6 billion by the end of the year.
\n\u201cI want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,\u201d O’Neil said. \u201cWhile the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.\u201d
\nLeft unclear was how long the funding would last for LIV Golf, which launched in June 2022 by paying roughly $1 billion in signing bonuses to some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names, such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.
\nPrize money for individuals and the 13 teams was raised to $30 million this year.
\nKoepka since has left LIV\u00a0and was allowed to rejoin the PGA Tour this year with stipulations. Patrick Reed also left LIV and is playing a European tour schedule this year. He is virtually certain to be eligible to return to the PGA Tour in 2027 through the European tour points race.
\nQuestions about LIV’s future funding were raised as\u00a0the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia revealed a new five-year investment strategy.
\n\u201cThe 2026-30 strategy marks a natural evolution as PIF moves from a period of rapid growth and acceleration to a new phase of sustained value creation, with a strengthened focus on maximizing impact, raising the efficiency of investments, and applying the highest standards of governance, transparency and institutional excellence,\u201d the PIF said in a release.
\nThe plan was developed before the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who loves golf and was behind LIV Golf, told the London-based Financial Times, \u201cOf course the war would add more pressure to reposition some priorities.\u201d
\nLIV players at Chapultepec Golf Club for LIV Golf Mexico that starts Thursday did not have answers as speculation ran rampant throughout the day.
\nOne player said Al-Rumayyan met with players the first week of March in Hong Kong and said funding for LIV was set through 2032. The player spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. The player also said O\u2019Neil arrived in Mexico City Wednesday and was to meet with the players.
\nLIV Golf\u00a0promoted the Mexico event Wednesday evening on social media\u00a0with the message, \u201cSlow news day? We are ON.\u201d
\nLIV has played five events this year, in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa.\u00a0It celebrated an inspirational victory at its biggest event in Australia when Anthony Kim won\u00a0after the American had been away for 12 years while battling drug and alcohol addiction.
\nDeChambeau won the last two events in playoffs, and this week tries to become the first LIV player to win three in a row. DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open champion, missed the cut in the Masters last week.
\nLIV’s focus has been on a global reach, with its first U.S. tournament not scheduled until May 7-10 at Trump National in northern Virginia.
\n\n\u201cThe life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure,\u201d O’Neil said. \u201cWe signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we\u2019ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.\u201d
\nHe ended his note to the staff by saying, \u201cWe are pioneers, and while the road isn\u2019t always smooth, the destination is worth every mile. Let\u2019s go out and show the world why LIV Golf is the future of the game.\u201d
\nLIV is in the second year of a Fox Sports television deal, with network putting it on various platforms like FS1. The opening round of the Mexico event has three hours on the Fox Sports app. The previous two years, its U.S. broadcast partner was the CW.
The post LIV Golf Leader Says The Show Will Go On Amid Reports Of Saudi Funding Uncertainty first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-16T19:15:10+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-17T10:57:22+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/livbland.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sought to quell speculation about the league’s financial future Wednesday evening with a memo to his staff that said the 2026 season will continue as planned without interruption and \u201cat full ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/instruction/add-distance-with-an-upswing-driver-strike/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/instruction/add-distance-with-an-upswing-driver-strike/", "title": "Add Distance With An Upswing Driver Strike", "content_html": "\n
Hitting down on your driver can cost you distance and add unnecessary spin. Golf Digest No. 1 Teacher in America, Mark Blackburn, shows how to fix it with a better setup.
\nTo launch it higher with less spin, you need to catch the ball on the upswing. That starts with proper shoulder tilt and ball position.
\nSet the ball forward in your stance and tilt your shoulders slightly away from the target at address. From there, make your normal swing and let the club move upward through impact.
\nUse this off the tee to maximize carry and get more out of your driver.
The post Add Distance With An Upswing Driver Strike first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-15T22:41:37+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-15T22:41:37+00:00", "author": { "name": "Mark Blackburn" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/blackburnswingup.jpg", "category": { "name": "Instruction", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/instruction" }, "time_ago": "3 days", "excerpt": "Hitting down on your driver can cost you distance and add unnecessary spin. Golf Digest No. 1 Teacher in America, Mark Blackburn, shows how to fix it with a better setup. To launch it higher with ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/instruction/stop-chunking-chips-with-this-simple-motion/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/instruction/stop-chunking-chips-with-this-simple-motion/", "title": "Stop Chunking Chips With This Simple Motion", "content_html": "\n
Chunked chips usually come from too much hand action. Golf Digest No. 1 Teacher in America, Mark Blackburn, teaches a more reliable approach.
\nInstead of stabbing at the ball, let your body rotate through the shot. Using your bigger muscles keeps the motion more stable and predictable.
\nMake small, controlled swings while turning your chest through the ball. Let the club move with your body, not just your hands.
\nUse this around the greens to improve contact and keep chips from coming up short.
The post Stop Chunking Chips With This Simple Motion first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-15T22:35:30+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-15T22:35:30+00:00", "author": { "name": "Mark Blackburn" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/blackburnchunk.jpg", "category": { "name": "Instruction", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/instruction" }, "time_ago": "3 days", "excerpt": "Chunked chips usually come from too much hand action. Golf Digest No. 1 Teacher in America, Mark Blackburn, teaches a more reliable approach. Instead of stabbing at the ball, let your body rotate through the shot. ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/instruction/build-better-tempo-with-slow-motion-swings/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/instruction/build-better-tempo-with-slow-motion-swings/", "title": "Build Better Tempo With Slow-Motion Swings", "content_html": "\n
Tempo is one of the biggest keys to a consistent swing. PGA Teacher of the Year Joe Hallett uses this simple slow-motion drill to help golfers stay in control.
\nSlowing everything down helps you stay balanced and synced from start to finish. Better tempo leads to more consistent contact.
\nRehearse your swing in super slow motion, keeping your tempo smooth and steady the entire way through.
\nUse this in practice to groove your tempo before taking it to full speed.
The post Build Better Tempo With Slow-Motion Swings first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-15T22:21:54+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-15T22:21:54+00:00", "author": { "name": "Joe Hallett" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/HallettSlowMo.jpg", "category": { "name": "Instruction", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/instruction" }, "time_ago": "3 days", "excerpt": "Tempo is one of the biggest keys to a consistent swing. PGA Teacher of the Year Joe Hallett uses this simple slow-motion drill to help golfers stay in control. Slowing everything down helps you stay balanced ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/jordan-spieth-takes-important-step-toward-us-open-exemption-with-good-finish-at-the-masters/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/jordan-spieth-takes-important-step-toward-us-open-exemption-with-good-finish-at-the-masters/", "title": "Jordan Spieth Takes Important Step Toward US Open Exemption With Good Finish At The Masters", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Jordan Spieth didn’t exactly light up\u00a0Augusta National on Sunday. His closing round of 4-under 68 included holing a bunker shot from behind the par-5 13th green for eagle, and making a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
\nBy the end of the round, that led to a tie for 12th. It was his best finish in a major in three years, dating to a tie for fourth in the 2023 Masters. And it came at a good time.
\nSpieth ended last year at No. 80 in the world and has been hovering outside the the top 60 for the last month. Now he hits an important stretch concluding with the PGA Championship, after which the top 60 are exempt into the U.S. Open.
\nSpieth’s 10-year exemption from winning at Chambers Bay ran out last year. He is not yet exempt into the U.S. Open, and while past champions typically get at least one special exemption, age 32 is awfully young to be asking for one.
\nHe is playing at the\u00a0RBC Heritage\u00a0this week. Still to come are a pair of signature events before the PGA Championship at Aronimink outside Philadelphia. That tie for 12th at the Masters moves him up from No. 61 to No. 52. It can be more difficult to move up than to move down in that area of the rankings.
\nAdam Scott also helped himself with a 70-70 weekend to tie for 24th, only moving two spots, but the Australian is now at No. 51. The U.S. Open is the only major for which Scott is not currently eligible, and getting to Shinnecock Hills would make it 100 consecutive majors for Scott.
\nWould he be in line for a special exemption if he needed to ask for one?
\nThe USGA has a history of special exemptions for those who never won a U.S. Open, such as Ben Crenshaw, Nick Price and Phil Mickelson. Mickelson didn’t need one in 2021 after winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, but it counts as him accepting one.
\nPlayers would have seen this coming last summer when the PGA Tour released the 2026 schedule, but now it’s here and it is busy.
\nThe Masters was the start of a six-week run that ends with the PGA Championship and has three signature events in the four weeks in between.
\nThe total prize fund is in the neighborhood of $100 million, although by now the top players should be used to $20 million purses. The RBC Heritage is this week, followed by the team event at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Two more signature events, at Doral and Quail Hollow, lead into the second major of the year. Whew.
\n\u201cIt’s tough. I mean, it’s not how I would prefer to draw it up, I would say,\u201d Justin Thomas said Tuesday. “Majors are kind of what guys will generally build their schedule off of, what they need to do to prepare for a major. It’s also how your legacy in the game is remembered for a lot of people.
\n\u201cGoing to very difficult courses into a major I don\u2019t think is probably how it would be drawn up for a lot of guys,\u201d he said.
\nThomas also said it’s something the Futures Competition Committee will consider as it tries to revamp the PGA Tour model.
\nThe eight-player American team for the Curtis Cup is now halfway completed.
\nTexas Longhorns junior Farah O\u2019Keefe and 17-year-old Asterisk Talley have been added to the team through their world amateur ranking. Three players were chosen off the ranking on Monday.
\nKiara Romero is No. 1, but she already had secured her spot on the team by winning the Mark H. McCormack medal last year as the top female amateur.
\nO\u2019Keefe is No. 4 and the next highest-ranked American. Megha Ganne would have been next in line at No. 7, but the U.S. Women\u2019s Amateur champion is turning pro before the June 12-14 matches at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. Her spot goes to Talley.
\nThe Curtis Cup selection committee also chose Auburn junior Anna Davis.
\nThe selection committee will pick the final four players after the NCAA regionals this spring.
\nFinally breaking through for his first victory last summer at the Wyndham Championship and then starring for the Americans in the Ryder Cup was sure to set up Cameron Young for a big year.
\nThe native New Yorker has been delivering over the last two months.
\nYoung tied for seventh at Riviera in the Genesis Championship. He contended at Bay Hill before tying for third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.\u00a0Young captured The Players Championship\u00a0with his clutch drive on the 18th to beat Matt Fitzpatrick.
\nHe tied for third last week at the Masters after holding a two-shot lead on the front nine.
\nDuring that four-tournament stretch, Young has risen from No. 22 to No. 3 in the world. He has taken over the top spot in the FedEx Cup. And he has earned $6.783 million in the last four starts.
\nThe difference between getting into the PGA Tour postseason last year was five points. It’s an example that points matter, and why it’s worth remembering Brian Harman at the Masters.
\nHarman had a rough start at Augusta National and was 10-over par through the fourth hole of the second round, headed for a weekend off. But then the former British Open champion ran off four straight birdies, and seven for the round, to shoot 69 and make the cut on the number.
\nHe shot 67 in the third round. He closed with a 73 and tied for 33rd. That was worth 35 FedEx Cup points, an amount that might come in handy later this year.
\nThe Senior PGA Championship features the debut of 2016 British Open champion Henrik Stenson, who turned 50 on April 5. Stenson was relegated out of LIV Golf last fall after four years. … Michelle Wie West is taking advantage of maternity leave to play in one more U.S. Women’s Open this year at Riviera. She also is playing the Mizuho Americas Open on a sponsor exemption on May 7-10. Wie West is the tournament host in the event that pairs LPGA players with elite juniors. … Gary Woodland will have Tim Tucker on his bag at the RBC Heritage. His regular caddie, Brennan Little, qualified for the Senior PGA Championship. … Matt Fitzpatrick and his brother Alex, who plays on the European tour, will be teammates in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans next week.
\n\nSix of the 10 players in the last five groups at the Masters failed to break par. Their combined scoring average was 73.1.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not putting a number on it, but I certainly don\u2019t want to stop here.\u201d \u2014 Masters champion Rory McIlroy after winning his sixth major.
The post Jordan Spieth Takes Important Step Toward US Open Exemption With Good Finish At The Masters first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-14T21:48:14+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-14T21:48:14+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/JordanSpiethMasters26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "4 days", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Jordan Spieth didn’t exactly light up\u00a0Augusta National on Sunday. His closing round of 4-under 68 included holing a bunker shot from behind the par-5 13th green for eagle, and making a 15-foot ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/sergio-garcia-apologizes-for-his-masters-tantrum-saying-the-way-he-acted-has-no-place-in-our-game/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/sergio-garcia-apologizes-for-his-masters-tantrum-saying-the-way-he-acted-has-no-place-in-our-game/", "title": "Sergio Garcia Apologizes For His Masters Tantrum, Saying The Way He Acted \u2018Has No Place In Our Game\u2019", "content_html": "\n
Sergio Garcia apologized Tuesday for his\u00a0tantrum during the final round of the Masters\u00a0when he tore up the turf after a bad drive on the second hole and then broke his driver against a bench.
\nGeoff Yang, chairman of the Masters competitions committee, issued a code-of-conduct warning to the Garcia on the fourth tee. The conduct policy was new to the Masters this year.
\n\u201cI want to apologize for my actions Sunday at The Masters tournament,\u201d\u00a0Garcia said in a social media post. \u201cI respect and value everything that The Masters and Augusta National Golf Club is to golf. I regret the way I acted and it has no place in our game. It doesn’t reflect the respect and appreciation I have for The Masters, the patrons, tournament officials and golf fans around the world.\u201d
\nGarcia, the 2017 champion, began with a bogey and then hit a weak fade on the par-5 second hole that was headed to the bunker.\u00a0He recoiled his driver onto the tee, and then turned and slammed his club into the turf.
\nWithout repairing the damage, Garcia then smacked his driver against a wooden bench holding a water cooler, and the head of the club was left dangling from the shaft.
\nGarcia declined to discuss what was said by the official, saying after his round, \u201cI\u2019m not going to tell you.\u201d When asked about it again he replied, \u201dNext question.”
\nHe also did not apologize for his behavior after his closing 75 to finish in 52nd place among the 54 players who made the cut.
\n\u201cJust obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens,\u201d Garcia said.
\nGarcia has not finished in the top 10 in the 29 majors he has played since beating Justin Rose in a playoff at Augusta National in 2017. He has missed the cut six times in eight appearances at the Masters since winning.
\nAsked about his record, Garcia said, \u201cBad golf.\u201d When a reporter asked him to be more specific, Garcia said, \u201cBad shots.\u201d
\nGarcia was disqualified in 2019 at the Saudi International for damaging greens in frustration. His antics over the years include angrily kicking off his shoe when he slipped during a tee shot at the World Match Play in 2001, and the shoe nearly struck an official.
\n\nHe also spit into a cup during a World Golf Championship at Doral after three-putting.
\nThe PGA Tour has been developing the code-of-conduct policy the last few years, and the Masters was the first tournament to put it into effect. The PGA Championship also be using it next month at Aronimink Golf Club.
\nAfter the warning, a second violation during the tournament is a two-shot penalty, while a third violation would mean disqualification.
The post Sergio Garcia Apologizes For His Masters Tantrum, Saying The Way He Acted \u2018Has No Place In Our Game\u2019 first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-14T21:35:22+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-17T10:57:41+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SergioGarciaMasters26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "4 days", "excerpt": "Sergio Garcia apologized Tuesday for his\u00a0tantrum during the final round of the Masters\u00a0when he tore up the turf after a bad drive on the second hole and then broke his driver against a bench. Geoff Yang, ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/rory-mcilroy-is-a-repeat-masters-champion-the-next-step-might-be-the-toughest-of-all/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/rory-mcilroy-is-a-repeat-masters-champion-the-next-step-might-be-the-toughest-of-all/", "title": "Rory McIlroy Is A Repeat Masters Champion. The Next Step Might Be The Toughest Of All", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 The passing comment Fred Couples said to his caddie on the 12th hole of the opening round at the Masters was worth another listen when\u00a0Rory McIlroy slipped both arms into the green jacket\u00a0for the second year in a row.
\n\u201cRory may never lose this thing again after last year,\u201d Couples said.
\nNot that McIlroy ever makes it easy, but there is cause to wonder how many times his name will be etched on the Masters trophy, how often he gets to create\u00a0the menu for the Masters Club dinner. For now, his two green jackets are as many as Scottie Scheffler, who is seven years younger.
\nThe next step is three in a row, which has proven difficult for the three greats before him. None of them so much as finished in the top 10.
\nJack Nicklaus missed the cut in 1967 as the two-time defending champion. Nick Faldo was never closer than five shots after the opening round in 1991. Tiger Woods was going for three in a row in 2003 when he shot 76 in the first round and was 10 shots back. He had a 66 on Saturday to get within four and then closed with a 75.
\nMcIlroy is at a stage where he wants majors more than he needs them, particularly with the\u00a0career Grand Slam\u00a0out of the way. Faldo predicts he will get another slam. McIlroy needs another claret jug and a U.S. Open trophy for a second slam, and then do it a third time to catch Nicklaus and Woods.
\nSimply going back-to-back in the Masters is no small feat considering it had been done only three times by an impressive list of golf greats.
\nAnd while he could afford a bogey on the final hole \u2014 his drive on the 18th was so far right it was found closer to the 10th fairway \u2014 this Masters could have gone differently.\u00a0Scheffler’s birdie putt on the 17th defied gravity. Cameron Young had seven reasonable birdie chances on the back nine. He finished with nine pars.
\nMcIlroy became the first player since Trevor Immelman in 2008 to play even par on the weekend and win the Masters. He did his heavy lifting earlier, particularly that stunning finish of\u00a0six birdies on the last seven holes Friday\u00a0to set a Masters record with a six-shot lead through 36 holes.
\nOf the\u00a0six players who had led by at least five shots going into the weekend, all but one kept the lead going into Sunday. The exception was Nicklaus in 1975, who was overtaken by Tom Weiskopf. What followed was as thrilling a final round as Augusta National has seen.
\nNicklaus, Weiskopf and Johnny Miller were all on top of their games \u2014 this was 11 years before the world ranking launched \u2014 and all three were in the mix deep in the back nine until Nicklaus famously made that 40-foot birdie putt across the 16th green to tie Weiskopf and go on to win a record fifth green jacket.
\nThis had all the trappings of a repeat of that year, especially with three players \u2014 Young, Justin Rose and McIlroy \u2014 holding a two-shot lead at various points of the final round.
\nIt was McIlroy at the end by one shot over Scheffler, and yet it felt so inevitable.
\nHe effectively won this with two brilliant birdies around Amen Corner \u2014 the three-quarter 9-iron on the par-3 12th that drifted nervously right but had enough to hit the green and settle 7 feet away, and the 350-yard blast on the par-5 13th after hitting into the trees the previous three days. That set up an 8-iron to just over the green, leaving him two tough putts that gave him a three-shot lead.
\nInevitable is how it felt the last time the Masters had a repeat champion with Woods in 2002. But it was different then. Woods didn’t tend to make mistakes when he had the lead on the back nine at a major, with one exception (his playoff win in the 2005 Masters).
\nPerhaps that’s why of the five Masters that Woods won, becoming only the third repeat champion gets the least amount of attention. The others were more spectacular because of the way he won or the circumstances around it.
\nWoods had the watershed moment in 1997 when he won by 12. He became the only player to hold all four majors when he won in 2001. He holed the famous chip that made a U-turn and hung briefly on the lip in 2005 (and then bogeyed the next two holes and had to win in a playoff). And he came back from four back surgeries to win in 2019.
\n\nThat might be the case for McIlroy, too, depends on where he goes from here. Nothing will top last year at the Masters, a final day worthy of a Prime Video documentary.
\nMcIlroy was so joyous about finally being a Masters champion that he said at the start of the week, \u201cI think for the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start, and this year I wouldn\u2019t care if the tournament never started.\u201d
\nHe was joking. He was ready. He was far more relaxed, and it showed. There will be more at stake for him next year at Augusta National with a chance to do something no one has done. Those opportunities don’t along very often.
The post Rory McIlroy Is A Repeat Masters Champion. The Next Step Might Be The Toughest Of All first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-14T21:23:02+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-14T21:23:02+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/RoryMastersYell26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "4 days", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 The passing comment Fred Couples said to his caddie on the 12th hole of the opening round at the Masters was worth another listen when\u00a0Rory McIlroy slipped both arms into the green ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/rory-mcilroy-a-masters-champion-again-and-the-chase-is-on-for-more-majors/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/rory-mcilroy-a-masters-champion-again-and-the-chase-is-on-for-more-majors/", "title": "Rory McIlroy A Masters Champion Again And The Chase Is On For More Majors", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Rory McIlroy went from becoming the sixth player with the career Grand Slam to only the fourth player to win the\u00a0Masters\u00a0two years in a row. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are the only other players to occupy both clubs.
\nElite company, indeed.
\nIf joining the first group wasn’t difficult enough for McIlroy \u2014 11 years of trying to get the final leg of the Grand Slam \u2014 then winning his second Masters green jacket was a clear reminder of how hard it was to get there.
\n\u201cI thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the Grand Slam,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cAnd then this year I realized it\u2019s just really difficult to win the Masters.\u201d
\nSo where does he go from here?
\nMcIlroy went into a funk last year after fulfilling a lifelong dream. He became irritated by endless questions about what would motivate him, which mountain was next to scale, when all he wanted to do was soak it all in. He finally got back on track\u00a0at the Irish Open.
\nThat doesn’t sound like it will be a problem this time around.
\n\u201cI felt like the Grand Slam was the destination, and I realized it wasn’t,\u201d McIlroy said after ending another wild Sunday afternoon at Augusta National with a one-shot win over Scottie Scheffler.
\n\u201cI just won my sixth major, and I feel like I’m in a really good spot with my game and my body,\u201d he said. \u201cI don’t want to put a number on it, but I feel like this win is just … I don’t want to say a stop on the journey, it’s just part of the journey.\u201d
\nTrying to put a number on how many majors he will win began long before he won his first Masters, much less the second one. McIlroy won his first major in the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional by shattering the 72-hole scoring record at 268.
\nThat prompted Padraig Harrington to say, \u201cIf you’re going to talk about someone challenging Jack’s record, there’s your man.\u201d
\nNicklaus has the gold standard of 18 majors. Woods is next at 15. McIlroy is at six, tied with Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson.
\nFred Couples piled on this week when he said on Thursday, \u201cBy the way, Rory may never lose this thing again after last year.\u201d And the following day Couples added, \u201cI mean, he really could win five more of these.\u201d
\nEasy, right?
\n\u201cYeah, I don’t make it easy,” McIlroy said. \u201cI used to make it easy back in my early 20s when I was winning these things by eight shots.”
\nHe still holds the PGA Championship record for margin of victory when he won at Kiawah Island by eight shots in 2012, the year after his eight-shot victory at Congressional.
\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s just hard. It\u2019s hard to win golf tournaments, especially around here,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve had maybe a couple of runaway winners over the years, but it always seems to be a very tight finish at this golf course.”
\nIt wasn’t easy a year ago\u00a0when he lost a Sunday lead once on the front nine and twice on the back nine before beating Justin Rose in a playoff. And it didn’t look that way this time when he lost a six-shot lead on Saturday, and then twice found himself two shots behind different players, Cameron Young on the front nine and Justin Rose on the back.
\nScottie Scheffler was in range and had to settle for making 11 straight pars. Young had birdie putts on eight straight holes on the back nine and converted none of them.
\nAnd then McIlroy was a whisker away from trouble over the final hour \u2014 the wedge that barely cleared the false front on the 15th, a sporty up-and-down from off the 17th green that gave him a two-shot cushion going to the last hole, and a drive so far right McIlroy wasn’t sure where it was when he walked off the tee.
\nIt ended with more joy than relief, a big difference from a year ago. The only tears came when he spoke to his parents, who were not at Augusta a year ago and had to be persuaded to come this year because they didn’t want to jinx him.
\nWith a bogey on the last hole he could afford, it ended with a one-shot advantage over Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world. This was the first time since the 2002 U.S. Open the top two players in the world \u2014 Woods and Phil Mickelson at Bethpage Black \u2014 were the top two at a major.
\nMcIlroy and Scheffler have combined to win four of the last five majors. Scheffler is a U.S. Open short of joining the career Grand Slam club, and his position at No. 1 in the world is not threatened even after McIlroy’s latest Masters title.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve competed against him for a long time, and you don\u2019t win the amount of tournaments that he\u2019s won out here without being pretty resilient,\u201d Scheffler said.
\n\nMcIlroy is the first player since Adam Scott in 2013 to have taken three weeks off before winning the Masters. There’s a sense that will be part of his plan going forward when possible. He felt like more than an honorary member as many trips as he took to Augusta in the last few weeks.
\n\u201cI think it’s a good blueprint,\u201d McIlroy said. “I\u2019m not going to take three weeks off before every major. … When I’ve talked to Jack Nicklaus over the years how he prepared for majors, and he would go the week before, and he would simulate a tournament.
\n\u201cI think that\u2019s certainly a good way to prepare going into the next majors.\u201d
\nThe next one starts May 15, another stop in the journey without needing to set a target for how many.
The post Rory McIlroy A Masters Champion Again And The Chase Is On For More Majors first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-14T21:14:33+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-14T21:14:33+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/RoryMastersJacket26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "4 days", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Rory McIlroy went from becoming the sixth player with the career Grand Slam to only the fourth player to win the\u00a0Masters\u00a0two years in a row. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are the ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/sergio-garcia-breaks-driver-in-frustration-then-gets-code-of-conduct-warning-a-first-at-masters/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/sergio-garcia-breaks-driver-in-frustration-then-gets-code-of-conduct-warning-a-first-at-masters/", "title": "Sergio Garcia Breaks Driver In Frustration, Then Gets Code-Of-Conduct Warning, A First At Masters", "content_html": "\nAUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Sergio Garcia broke his driver on No. 2 at Augusta National after an outburst on the tee box Sunday and was issued a code-of-conduct warning, a first at\u00a0the Masters.
\nThe fiery Garcia then created a lighter moment on the same hole when he carried fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm’s clubs for a bit.
\nThe Garcia-Rahm group, which paired two countrymen and former champions both on LIV Golf, was\u00a0always going to create some buzz, even with both out of contention. Then, Garcia quickly brought the drama up another notch.
\nThe 2017 Masters champ looked frustrated on his follow-through when his first shot of the day went well to the right, leading to an opening bogey. Garcia hit another drive headed to the bunker on the par-5 second and lost his temper.
\nHe slammed his club into the turf twice, then took a swipe at a table with a green cooler on it. That left the head of his driver dangling from the shaft, and Garcia reached over and yanked it off completely.
\nAccording to club officials, Geoff Yang in his role as chairman of the competitions committee spoke to Garcia on the fourth tee and issued the code-of-conduct warning.
\nGarcia declined to discuss what was said, saying: \u201cI’m not going to tell you.\u201d
\nThe PGA Tour has been developing a code-of-conduct policy for competition, and the Masters is the first to use it, according to a person involved in the process. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity out of respect to Augusta National running the tournament.
\nThe PGA Championship also plans to use the policy, and likely the other two majors. The person said the second violation would be a two-shot penalty, and the third violation leads to disqualification.
\n\u201cJust obviously not super proud of it,\u201d Garcia said, \u201cbut sometimes it happens.\u201d
\nGarcia was disqualified in 2019 at the Saudi International for damaging greens in frustration. His antics over the years include angrily kicking off his shoe when he slipped during a tee shot at the World Match Play in 2001, and the shoe nearly struck an official.
\nHe also spit into a cup during a World Golf Championship at Doral after three-putting.
\nGarcia played the rest of the final round at Augusta National without a driver and appeared to have calmed down.
\n\u201cIt makes it very easy,\u201d he said. \u201cI just have to hit 3-wood all the time. I didn\u2019t have to choose another club.\u201d
\nShortly after damaging the tee box on No. 2, the situation turned comical when Garcia started carrying Rahm’s bag while Rahm’s caddie was raking the bunker. The crowd applauded when Rahm took the bag from Garcia and started carrying it himself as Rahm’s caddie Adam Hayes hustled to catch up to the players.
\n\n\u201cThere was nothing,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cAdam stopped to rake my bunker, and Benji (Thompson), my caddie, was carrying both bags, so I told him, \u2018Just put it down, I\u2019ll get it so you can go and get a yardage.\u2019 Just as simple as that.\u201d
\nGarcia did manage to make par on No. 2 before bogeying the third and fourth holes. He wound up shooting 75.
\n\u201cIf you don\u2019t hit good shots,\u201d he said, \u201cyou\u2019re not going to score well here. It\u2019s very simple.\u201d
The post Sergio Garcia Breaks Driver In Frustration, Then Gets Code-Of-Conduct Warning, A First At Masters first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-13T01:05:03+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-15T12:10:14+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SergioGarciaMasters26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "6 days", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Sergio Garcia broke his driver on No. 2 at Augusta National after an outburst on the tee box Sunday and was issued a code-of-conduct warning, a first at\u00a0the Masters. The fiery Garcia ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/justin-rose-rues-his-miscues-through-amen-corner-and-another-lost-chance-at-winning-the-masters/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/justin-rose-rues-his-miscues-through-amen-corner-and-another-lost-chance-at-winning-the-masters/", "title": "Justin Rose Rues His Miscues Through Amen Corner And Another Lost Chance At Winning The Masters", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Perhaps the only solace Justin Rose can take from another Sunday\u00a0heartbreak at the Masters\u00a0is that he didn\u2019t finish second again.
\nHe finished in a four-way tie for third.
\nThe popular 45-year-old Englishman, who\u00a0lost a playoff\u00a0to Rory McIlroy last year, ended up two shots behind him on Sunday. For a brief moment, it was Rose with a two-shot lead in the\u00a0final round at Augusta National,\u00a0until a series of mistakes through Amen Corner and a couple of birdies by the defending champ through the same stretch of holes dealt Rose another dose of disappointment.
\nTwo-time champion Scottie Scheffler made a late charge to finish second at 11 under, and Rose was another shot back, along with Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley and Cameron Young, who played in the final group with McIlroy but never got anything going.
\n\u201cJust a chance that got away,\u201d Rose lamented afterward.
\nHe’s had a lot of them on the picturesque grounds of Augusta National.
\nRose has finished second three times, including another playoff loss to Sergio Garcia. The only players to be runner-up more often in the Masters are Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Tom Weiskopf \u2014 and Nicklaus and Hogan each won more than one green jacket.
\n\u201cI feel like with a sudden-death loss,\u201d Rose said, \u201cyou kind of know you got to the house. You’ve done everything it took to win. Then it comes down to a flick of a coin at times. Whereas today I felt like, yeah, there was an opportunity to do better.\u201d
\nRose began the day three shots back of McIlroy and Young, but by the time he made the turn, he had reached 12 under and was back in contention. McIlroy and Young had started to falter, and Scheffler had yet to make his move, and that left Rose in the middle of the fairway at the long, par-4 11th with a two-shot lead in the final round of the Masters.
\nHe proceeded to hang his approach shot so far right that it ended up wide of the greenside bunker, the first ominous sign of trouble. Rose followed with a good pitch, but he missed the 15-footer for par and his lead was trimmed in half.
\nThen, at the par-3 12th \u2014 perhaps the most famous par 3 in the world \u2014 Rose flew the green from 155 yards. His ball came to rest on a slight downhill lie, and he left the ensuing chip short of the green, leading to a second consecutive bogey.
\n\u201cYou get on the 12th tee, you’ve got to be 100 percent in the moment,\u201d Rose said. \u201cLanded two yards too far and kind of put me in a funny spot where I had a pine cone right next to my ball that I wanted to move. It kind of made me try to chip that a bit of a different way, because I kind of had to use the toe of the club and hit a bit of a hook-chip.\u201d
\nYet it may have been the final hole of Amen Corner that Rose will regret most. He gave himself a 40-footer for eagle at the par-5 13th, which would have pulled him alongside McIlroy at 12 under. Instead of making it, a three-putt par further zapped his momentum.
\nRose did get up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 15th, but he missed a 3-footer at 17, and his chances of winning were over.
\n\u201cI was by no means free and clear, and was nowhere kind of close to having the job done, but I was right in position,\u201d Rose said. \u201cI was really in control. First 10 holes I felt like I was \u2014 yeah, I was. And the mentality was to run through the finish line, not just try and get it done. I was playing great, but just momentum shifted for me around the Amen Corner.\u201d
\n\nThe majors have caused Rose plenty of heartache over the years. He was second at the British Open in 2024, and third at the PGA Championship earlier in his career. The three runner-up finishes in the Masters have put his name on the large, silver trophy depicting the Augusta National clubhouse, but not in the column that belongs to the winners.
\nHis only major title remains the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.
\nRose isn’t giving up, though. Far from it.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve really kind of re-kicked on and re-energized my career and myself, and have a lot of belief in myself that there is a lot of runway ahead,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are the tournaments I focus on. These are the tournaments why I practice. These are the tournaments that get me going that sort of extra mile to sort of have to show up and keep being in these great arenas.\u201d
The post Justin Rose Rues His Miscues Through Amen Corner And Another Lost Chance At Winning The Masters first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-13T01:02:17+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-13T10:33:37+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/JustinRoseMasters26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "6 days", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Perhaps the only solace Justin Rose can take from another Sunday\u00a0heartbreak at the Masters\u00a0is that he didn\u2019t finish second again. He finished in a four-way tie for third. The popular 45-year-old Englishman, ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/scottie-scheffler-falls-a-stroke-short-of-a-record-masters-comeback-after-a-flawless-weekend/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/scottie-scheffler-falls-a-stroke-short-of-a-record-masters-comeback-after-a-flawless-weekend/", "title": "Scottie Scheffler Falls A Stroke Short Of A Record Masters Comeback After A Flawless Weekend", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Scottie Scheffler conjured a moment of brilliance on the 15th hole and nearly re-created a classic Masters moment on No. 17. He played the final two rounds without a single bogey.
\nIt wasn’t quite enough.
\nScheffler shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday at Augusta National and finished one stroke\u00a0behind winner Rory McIlroy.\u00a0Now McIlroy and Scheffler are even with two Masters titles each. Scheffler was trying to pull off what would have been an unprecedented comeback from 12 strokes down after 36 holes.
\n\u201cI always felt like I was a couple shots out of it, but I was ahead of those guys (on the course), so I felt like if I could make a few birdies and post a score I\u2019d be in a good spot,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cJust wasn\u2019t able to make enough birdies on the back.\u201d
\nScheffler\u00a0shot a 65\u00a0on Saturday to pull within four, and he was in the mix during the final round, becoming the first player since World War II to play the last two rounds of the Masters without a bogey.
\nWhat he needed, however, was at least one more birdie. After making one on No. 1 and another on No. 3, a streak of 11 straight pars stalled his progress at a time when he was very much within striking distance.
\nOn the par-5 15th, his tee shot went to the right into the trees, and his second shot caromed off one of them, leaving him still 189 yards out. He had a gap between two tree trunks but needed to clear water to reach the green.
\nHe somehow pulled that off and rolled in the putt for a birdie to move to 10 under. Problem was, at around the same moment, McIlroy birdied No. 13 to go to 13 under. Then Scheffler answered with a birdie on the par-3 16th to pull within two.
\nAnd that’s where it stayed until the 18th, when McIlroy’s bogey was enough to win him the tournament.
\nScheffler’s last good chance to apply pressure on McIlroy came when he stood over an 18-foot putt for birdie on No. 17. It was a similar putt to the one\u00a0Jack Nicklaus made\u00a0on his way to a sixth Masters title 40 years ago.
\nFor Scheffler, the putt stayed just to the left of the hole.
\n\u201cThe putt I hit on 17 I really thought I made,\u201d he said. \u201cThe shot into 18 I hit it exactly how I wanted to. I think we just lost the wind, and it got right up to the edge and came all the way back down. Would\u2019ve been nice to give myself an opportunity there on 18, but I always talk about how I try to be focused on controlling the things that I can control and yesterday and today was some of the best that I\u2019ve felt like I\u2019ve been mentally all year.\u201d
\nThere were other missed opportunities. The par-4 seventh was yielding birdies left and right \u2014 and even a couple of eagles \u2014 on Sunday. But after an errant tee shot, Scheffler’s approach missed the green to the left.
\nHe went over the green from 95 yards on the par-5 eighth, costing himself another good birdie chance.
\nScheffler’s son Remy was born late last month, and he\u00a0hadn’t played\u00a0since The Players Championship in the middle of March. This was his first top-five finish since Pebble Beach in mid-February.
\nScheffler has won four major titles and now has three runner-up finishes. He tied for second at the 2022 U.S. Open and 2023 PGA Championship. This time he ended up alone in second, proving to be the biggest threat to McIlroy on a crowded leaderboard.
\nScheffler and McIlroy have won four of the last five majors, with McIlroy winning the 2025 and 2026 Masters and Scheffler taking the PGA Championship and British Open last year. They are ranked 1-2 in the world, making this the first major since the 2002 U.S. Open (Tiger Woods over Phil Mickelson) in which the top two players in the ranking were the top two finishers in some order.
\n\nScheffler ultimately put himself in too big of a hole when he shot 70 in the first round and 74 in the second. And he didn’t take advantage of the two par 5s on the back nine \u2014 Nos. 13 and 15. His remarkable up-and-down on the 15th hole Sunday was his only birdie on either of those holes, and he bogeyed both Friday.
\nMcIlroy, meanwhile, played those holes in 6 under over the four days. And he had the fortitude to win Sunday after he\u00a0lost a six-stroke lead\u00a0Saturday.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve competed against him for a long time, and you don\u2019t win the amount of tournaments that he\u2019s won out here without being pretty resilient,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cHaving a six-shot lead at Augusta is never easy, and losing that is obviously something difficult. But at the end of the day when you tee it up here on Sunday, he\u2019s tied for the lead to start the day and had a solid round and did what he needed to do.\u201d
The post Scottie Scheffler Falls A Stroke Short Of A Record Masters Comeback After A Flawless Weekend first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-13T00:54:57+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-13T10:34:18+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ScottieMasters26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "6 days", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Scottie Scheffler conjured a moment of brilliance on the 15th hole and nearly re-created a classic Masters moment on No. 17. He played the final two rounds without a single bogey. It ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/rory-mcilroy-goes-back-to-back-at-the-masters-to-join-jack-nicklaus-nick-faldo-and-tiger-woods/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/rory-mcilroy-goes-back-to-back-at-the-masters-to-join-jack-nicklaus-nick-faldo-and-tiger-woods/", "title": "Rory McIlroy Goes Back-To-Back At The Masters To Join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo And Tiger Woods", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Rory McIlroy is the Masters champion again, this time without falling to his knees on the 18th green and sobbing over finally achieving his lifelong dream.
\nThat didn’t make Sunday at Augusta National any easier.
\nMcIlroy\u00a0coughed up a six-shot lead\u00a0in the third round. He fell two shots behind two players, Cameron Young and\u00a0Justin Rose,\u00a0in an electric final round. And then he delivered two big birdies around Amen Corner to join more elite company.
\nA year ago,\u00a0his playoff victory\u00a0over Rose made McIlroy only the sixth player with the career Grand Slam. With another green jacket, McIlroy joined Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only repeat winners of the Masters.
\n\u201cI thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the Grand Slam, and then this year I realized it\u2019s just really difficult to win the Masters,\u201d McIlroy said after holding on for a one-shot victory over\u00a0Scottie Scheffler.\u00a0\u201cJust incredible.\u201d
\nAs usual, he kept everyone on edge until the very end.
\nHis wedge barely cleared the false front of the par-5 15th, a shot that could have been disastrous. His putt from behind the 16th green made a sharp turn down the slope to inches away save par. He saved par with a tough chip on the 17th. Staked to a two-shot lead, his tee shot on the 18th wound up closer to the 10th fairway.
\n\u201cI\u2019d say walking off the 18th tee not knowing where my ball was, that was the moment of greatest stress,\u201d McIlroy said.
\nHe drilled 8-iron around the trees into a bunker, blasted out to 12 feet and took two putts for bogey and a 1-under 71. He thrust both arms in the air and made good on a promise.
\n\u201cMy parting message last year was I can’t wait to come back and put the jacket on myself,\u201d McIlroy said at the trophy presentation. \u201cI wasn’t quite correct.\u201d
\nFor the first time since Woods won back-to-back in 2002, it was left to the Augusta National chairman \u2014 Hootie Johnson for Woods, Fred Ridley for McIlroy \u2014 to do the honors. \u201cIt still fits,\u201d McIlroy said.
\nBetter than ever.
\nHe now has six majors, tied with Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson. And that sense of freedom he brought back to Augusta National as a champion carried him to the finish line.
\nMcIlroy seized control for good with\u00a0a bold shot over Rae\u2019s Creek\u00a0to 7 feet for birdie on the par-3 12th. Then he blistered a 350-yard drive on the par-5 13th \u2014 he had been in the trees the previous three rounds \u2014 that set up another birdie to move three shots ahead.
\nHe finished at 12-under 276.
\nPresident Donald Trump congratulated McIlroy on social media as he flew back to Washington from Florida.
\n\u201cWith each year, Rory is becoming more and more a LEGEND!\u201d Trump wrote. McIlroy\u2019s next tournament is likely to be the Cadillac Championship in two weeks at Trump Doral outside Miami.
\nIt was more heartache for Rose, and frustration for the others who had a chance.
\nRose had a two-shot lead that evaporated around Amen Corner with two bogeys and a three-putt par. He had to settle for a third close call at the Masters.
\nYoung lost his two-shot lead much earlier with a long three-putt bogey on the par-3 sixth and taking bogey on the next hole when he hit wedge from the fairway into a bunker. One shot behind going to the back nine, Young closed with nine straight pars.
\n\u201cThere is no negative to take away other than obviously I would\u2019ve loved a different result,\u201d Young said. \u201cI pretty much had a birdie chance on every hole and didn\u2019t make any. That\u2019s how it goes sometimes.\u201d
\nAs for Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player was in position to shatter the Masters record with the largest 36-hole comeback in history. He was 12 behind going into the weekend. He was two shots behind as he approached the turn. But he ran off 11 straight pars, and that wasn’t going to cut it during a final round with accessible pins to create excitement.
\nScheffler had to settle for his third runner-up finish in the majors to go along with four titles. His 65-68 weekend made him the first player since 1942 to go bogey-free on the weekend at Augusta.
\n\u201cI put up a good fight in order to give myself a chance,\u201d Scheffler said.
\nRose, at age 45 trying to become the second-oldest Masters champion behind Jack Nicklaus (46) in 1986, made\u00a0a most improbable birdie with a shot out of the trees\u00a0to a foot on the seventh. That was the start of three straight birdies to close out the front nine and give him the lead.
\nBut his approach to the 11th was well to the right and he failed to save par. His tee shot on the 12th was long, and his delicate chip didn’t reach the green, leading to another bogey. And his 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th ran 8 feet by the hole and he missed the birdie putt.
\n\u201cChance that got away,\u201d Rose said. \u201cI was by no means free and clear and was nowhere kind of close to having the job done, but I was right in position. … I was playing great, but just momentum shifted for me around the Amen Corner.\u201d
\nThat’s where McIlroy thrived. No shot at Augusta is more terrifying that the par-3 12th with the deceptive, swirling wind. McIlroy said he thought back to a practice round at his first Masters in 2009 when Tom Watson told him to wait for the right wind and hit.
\n\nHis three-quarter 9-iron aimed at the middle bunker drifted more to the right that he imagined, but it turned out perfect, closer than anyone all day.
\n\u201cThat was a really good golf shot at the right time,\u201d he said. \u201cHuge shot in the tournament.\u201d
\nOnce tormented by his chase for the green jacket, McIlroy is now a two-time winner whose love for the Masters only deepens.
\nHe was so ecstatic a year ago that he asked the media when it was over, \u201cWhat are we going to talk about next year?\u201d Now the topic is easy. No one has ever won three in a row.
The post Rory McIlroy Goes Back-To-Back At The Masters To Join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo And Tiger Woods first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-13T00:46:06+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-17T10:57:48+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/RoryMastersWin26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "6 days", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Rory McIlroy is the Masters champion again, this time without falling to his knees on the 18th green and sobbing over finally achieving his lifelong dream. That didn’t make Sunday at Augusta ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/bunker-blowup-at-amen-corner-sends-bryson-dechambeau-to-a-76-on-the-1st-day-of-the-masters/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/bunker-blowup-at-amen-corner-sends-bryson-dechambeau-to-a-76-on-the-1st-day-of-the-masters/", "title": "Bunker Blowup At Amen Corner Sends Bryson DeChambeau To A 76 On The 1st Day Of The Masters", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Amen Corner put Bryson DeChambeau through the wringer again.
\nDeChambeau needed three shots to exit a greenside bunker on the 11th hole at Augusta National, and he never really recovered from that triple bogey in a first-round 76 at the Masters on Thursday. DeChambeau faces an uphill climb if he’s going to put himself in the position he was in last year \u2014 playing in the final group on the final day.
\n\u201cJust going to give what the golf course gives me,\u201d he said. \u201cI have to try to hit my irons better. I drove it left numerous occasions.\u201d
\nThe worst opening round by a Masters winner was Craig Stadler’s 75 in 1982.
\nIt was the pond on the 11th hole that did DeChambeau in last year. His shot into the water led to a double bogey, and he was\u00a0unable to keep up\u00a0with Rory McIlroy, who beat Justin Rose in a playoff.
\nThis time, DeChambeau was in the bunker to the right of the green, the opposite side from the water. His first two shots didn’t make it out.
\n\u201cBunker was softer than I anticipated,\u201d he said.
\nThat DeChambeau was even in that position was surprising, given that he was sitting pretty in the fairway after his tee shot. His approach went into the bunker after a couple bounces.
\n\u201cThe ball flew 12 yards farther than I wanted it to,\u201d said DeChambeau, who hit only eight greens in regulation. \u201cI had a good shot.\u201d
\nDeChambeau, who\u00a0won twice recently\u00a0on the LIV Tour, had seven holes left to make up for his nightmare on No. 11. He didn’t give himself many opportunities.
\nHe parred the par-3 12th, the second of the three Amen Corner holes, after missing the green. After wayward drives, he didn’t go for the green on either of the remaining par 5s \u2014 Nos. 13 and 15. He missed the green from about 65 yards on 13 and about 105 on 15, doing well just to save par on the latter.
\n\nHis round ended with a three-putt bogey on 16, an approach to 8 feet for a birdie on 17, and then a tee shot into a bunker that led to a bogey on 18.
\nThat won’t cut it if he wants to be a factor this weekend.
\n\u201cEverybody has an ability for weird things to happen, and today I just did not have my irons under control, which is weird,\u201d DeChambeau said. \u201cIt\u2019s been good coming into it.\u201d
The post Bunker Blowup At Amen Corner Sends Bryson DeChambeau To A 76 On The 1st Day Of The Masters first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-10T00:56:20+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-13T10:31:17+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/BrysonMastersR126.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "1 week", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Amen Corner put Bryson DeChambeau through the wringer again. DeChambeau needed three shots to exit a greenside bunker on the 11th hole at Augusta National, and he never really recovered from that ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/mcilroy-has-another-reason-to-celebrate-with-his-best-masters-start-in-15-years-to-share-the-lead/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/mcilroy-has-another-reason-to-celebrate-with-his-best-masters-start-in-15-years-to-share-the-lead/", "title": "McIlroy Has Another Reason To Celebrate With His Best Masters Start In 15 Years To Share The Lead", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Rory McIlroy began his title defense in\u00a0the Masters\u00a0with a tee shot that rolled next to a spectator’s seat. Another one was in the trees. His tee shot on the seventh hole went into the 17th fairway. The prevailing thought was not concern, not the slightest bit of panic.
\nHe’s the Masters champion.\u00a0That brought a measure of patience and a load of freedom.
\n\u201cI just trusted that eventually I\u2019ll start to make some good swings. So that was a little different,\u201d McIlroy said after opening with a 5-under 67, his best start at Augusta National in 15 years, to share the lead with Sam Burns.
\nIt seems as though McIlroy\u00a0has been wearing his Masters green jacket\u00a0all week \u2014 to the weekend activities, to his news conference on Tuesday (Tiger Woods never did that), to the Masters Club dinner on Wednesday. And after his opening round?
\n\u201cIt\u2019s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my green jacket on at the end of the day,\u201d he said.
\nIt wasn’t his best golf, but he got everything out of his round in his bid to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back at Augusta National.
\n\u201cBy the way, Rory may never lose this thing again after last year,\u201d Fred Couples said he told his caddie when he heard another cheer, presumably for McIlroy.
\nOnly one other player in the last 10 years \u2014\u00a0Hideki Matsuyama\u00a0when he won in 2021 \u2014 shot 67 while hitting only five fairways. McIlroy was the sixth defending champion to have at least a share of the 18-hole lead, though only Jack Nicklaus (1966) went on to win.
\nThere’s a long way to go, and a course that already has everyone’s attention because of how fast and firm it already was on Thursday.
\nBurns was among the early starters. He played the par 5s with three birdies and an eagle and wound up with his lowest score in his fifth Masters appearance.
\n\u201cHistorically, people who have success here play the par 5s really well, and we were able to do that today. So it\u2019s a good recipe around this golf course,\u201d Burns said.
\nScottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world going for a third green jacket in the last five years, was 3 under through three holes in the tougher afternoon, when the light gusts began playing tricks and the greens got crispy. He had one bogey and 14 pars the rest of the way for a 70.
\nThe whole day was tough, and the forecast \u2014 this could be the first Masters in 25 years without any rain \u2014 has everyone on edge thinking what the next three days could hold. Yes, the weather was gorgeous. But dry and firm conditions are scary, even in this marvelous garden.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not right on the edge, but it\u2019s playing nice and firm where you can get yourself in a lot of trouble if you lose control somewhere,\u201d Adam Scott said after a 72.
\nPatrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion and a two-time winner on the European tour this year, was at 69 along with Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama. Reed was atop the leaderboard for so much of the day due to two eagles on the front nine that sent him out in 31.
\nBut he dropped a shot on the 10th, and then was flummoxed by what he thought was an ideal shot for his second into the par-5 15th. Such are the firmness of the greens that his shot hit hard off the back of the green, bounded down the slope and didn’t stop rolling until it was in the pond on No. 16.
\n\u201cWater?\u201d Reed asked his caddie as he looked toward the green. \u201cIt landed on the green.\u201d
\nHe later described it as a \u201chead-scratcher.\u201d
\n\u201cI knew if it went over the green, we would be fine,\u201d Reed said. \u201cDidn\u2019t really think I was going to go 30 yards over the green.\u201d
\nJustin Rose, twice a playoff loser in the Masters, was in range of the lead until he dropped three shots over the last five holes and had to settle for a 70, tied with Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry.
\nThe greens are already are so firm that Rose quipped, \u201cYou might get a yellow jacket if you win.\u201d That was a reference to the shade of the greens \u2014 a yellow sheen means firm and fast, and that color on Thursday can make players nervous.
\nAugusta National can still take a bite out of anyone with enough swirling gusts to bring indecision, or bad shots that wind up in the wrong spot.
\nBryson DeChambeau found that out on the 11th hole when he put his approach in the right bunker and it took him three to get out on his way to a 76. Jon Rahm turned potential birdie or better into a double bogey with a shot into the azalea bushes on the par-5 13th. He didn’t make a birdie in his 78.
\nOnly five players broke 70, and only 16 players broke par, the lowest in five years at the Masters for the opening round.
\n\nTen players failed to break 80. One of them was Robert MacIntyre of Scotland, the No. 8 player in the world. He was among three players to take quadruple-bogey 9 on the par-5 15th.
\nMcIlroy wasn’t sure want to expect in his 18th appearance, his first as the Masters champion. Only twice had he started with rounds in the 60s, his best a 65 in 2011. That year, he went on to shoot 80 on the final day.
\nThere were still nerves. It’s still Augusta National.
\n\u201cMy hope was to get off to a solid start,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like the way I played, 5 under, exceeded where I thought I would be or what I wanted to do.\u201d
The post McIlroy Has Another Reason To Celebrate With His Best Masters Start In 15 Years To Share The Lead first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-10T00:20:18+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-13T10:31:22+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/RoryMastersR126.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "1 week", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Rory McIlroy began his title defense in\u00a0the Masters\u00a0with a tee shot that rolled next to a spectator’s seat. Another one was in the trees. His tee shot on the seventh hole went ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/masters-15th-hole-known-as-firethorn-turns-prickly-by-serving-up-3-quadruple-bogeys/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/masters-15th-hole-known-as-firethorn-turns-prickly-by-serving-up-3-quadruple-bogeys/", "title": "Masters\u2019 15th Hole Known As Firethorn Turns Prickly By Serving Up 3 Quadruple Bogeys", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Fred Couples is playing the Masters for the 41st time, and he can’t remember ever hitting into the water on the par-5 15th with a wedge in his hand \u2014 twice in a row.
\nIt wrecked the surprisingly great round of the 1992 Masters champion \u2014 a quadruple-bogey 9 on what traditionally is the third-easiest hole at Augusta National. And this had nothing to do with the age of the 66-year-old Couples.
\nRobert MacIntyre also put two in the drink and made a 9. So did another former Masters champion, Danny Willett.
\nIt was the first time since at least three scores of 9 were recorded on one hole at the Masters since 1998, when there were three quadruple bogeys on the 15th hole in the second round.
\n\u201cI laid up perfect. I had 90 yards so I had to carry it 85 (yards) and 5 (yards),\u201d Couples said. \u201cSometimes when you don\u2019t try and hit a good shot you forget what the hell you\u2019re doing. I have no excuse. I just didn\u2019t hit them far enough.\u201d
\nMacIntyre, the 29-year-old Scot, went for the green in two and came up well short, and he knew it when he hit it. His next with a wedge came up short. His sixth shot went over the green, and he chipped on and took two putts.
\nWillett, the 38-year-old from England who won the Masters in 2016, was way left off the tee, pitched back to the fairway and put two wedges in the water short of the green. He finally got on the green and two-putted from about 12 feet.
\nThere also were four double bogeys. It added to a scoring average over 5.121 for the day, making it the only par 5 to play over par.
\nBryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are the top two players from LIV Golf, both expected to contend at the Masters. Their primary objective now is not to leave.
\nRahm hit a shocker of an 8-iron that turned an easy birdie chance into a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole. The rest of his day wasn’t all that great to begin with, and the two-time major champion wound up with a 78.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a very much more uphill battle right now, but I\u2019m going to have to come out (Friday) and most likely post something in the 60s to have a chance to make the cut and give myself a chance on the weekend,\u201d Rahm said.
\nDeChambeau\u00a0took three to get out of a bunker\u00a0on the par-4 11th and took triple bogey. He shot 76.
\nBut it wasn’t just them. LIV Golf has 10 players in the field, and none broke par. Sergio Garcia was the only player at even-par 72, while Carlos Ortiz brought up the rear with an 80. The average score of the 10 players from LIV was 75.3.
\nFred Couples was on the leaderboard at 2-under par, right in the mix with stars more than half his age, when the 66-year-old Masters champion started slipping toward the end.
\nAnd then his round completely unraveled.
\nAfter his 9 on the 15th, Couples’ tee shot on No. 16 also rolled into the water, and he made double bogeys on that hole and the 17th.
\n\u201cJust have to go do the same thing but maybe not finish 10 over par on two holes or whatever the hell I did,\u201d he said after signing for a 78.
\nCouples still stopped to discuss what went wrong.
\n\u201cAt any age you still want to hit shots,\u201d he said. \u201cIt happens. I\u2019m not going to run. If I was 35 and did that I would be going bananas on everybody. You, you, you. And I would\u2019ve ran right by and told you to get out of my life.\u201d
\nJose Maria Olazabal also was 2 under on the back nine earlier in the day when he collapsed, though it wasn’t quite as drastic. He failed to get up-and-down behind the 14th green for his first bogey. He hit wedge into the water on the par-5 15th and made double bogey. And he took bogey on the 16th for a 74.
\nStill, the combination of his early tee time and two birdies in the first three holes meant he was atop the leaderboard for a bit.
\n\u201cEverybody was in shock, yeah,\u201d Olazabal said.
\nBrooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour after four years with Saudi-funded LIV Golf.
\nTom Watson thinks he should be on the Korn Ferry Tour.
\nWatson said Thursday the PGA Tour reneged on its promise to ban players who left for LIV. The PGA Tour brought him back under a one-time program for major champions dating to 2022 with a few stipulations, such as being ineligible for equity grants for five years, not playing $20 million signature events unless they qualify and not having access to bonus money this year.
\n\u201cI thought the LIV players, when they left, they were supposed to be banned for life. If I was commissioner, that\u2019s what I would do,\u201d Watson said after hitting the honorary tee shot with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
\n\u201cI\u2019d say if you\u2019re finished with your contract with LIV Golf, if you want to play the PGA Tour again, you must play the Korn Ferry Tour for a year to qualify for it,\u201d Watson said. \u201cThey saw it differently. … When the players left for LIV, I think it was basically over. They chose to go for the money, which is fine, but to return to the tour I thought was a nonstarter. But apparently it\u2019s not.\u201d
\nRyan Gerard is among 22 newcomers to the Masters and he had more nerves than he imagined. He has played in three U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship. This was just another major, until it wasn’t.
\n\u201cDude, I was so much more nervous than I thought I was going to be,\u201d Gerard said after making only six pars in his even-par 72. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s not that bad I’ve played in majors before. This isn’t too crazy.’\u201d
\n\nBut he arrived on the first tee a little earlier, meaning he waited a little longer. And then Keegan Bradley hit his tee shot well to the right, and that got in his head.
\n\u201cI just smother-hooked it in the left trees, so I’m glad I didn’t take it off someone’s forehead,\u201d he said. \u201cYeah, it was definitely more nerve-wracking. Probably the fastest club speed I’ll hit all year.\u201d
\nHe had five bogeys on the front nine. He also had four birdies. Gerard was asked to give his first Masters round a letter grade.
\n\u201cI give the front nine an \u2018F.’ I would probably give the back nine an \u2018A,’\u201d he said. \u201cOverall, a \u2018C,\u2019 which would get a degree most places. So I’ll take it.\u201d
The post Masters\u2019 15th Hole Known As Firethorn Turns Prickly By Serving Up 3 Quadruple Bogeys first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-10T00:16:44+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-10T00:16:44+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/FredCouplesMasters26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "1 week", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Fred Couples is playing the Masters for the 41st time, and he can’t remember ever hitting into the water on the par-5 15th with a wedge in his hand \u2014 twice in ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/8-year-old-frankie-fleetwood-steals-the-show-during-par-3-contest-on-the-eve-of-the-masters/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/8-year-old-frankie-fleetwood-steals-the-show-during-par-3-contest-on-the-eve-of-the-masters/", "title": "8-Year-Old Frankie Fleetwood Steals The Show During Par 3 Contest On The Eve Of The Masters", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Eight-year-old Frankie Fleetwood stole the show at\u00a0Augusta National\u00a0from his dad, Tommy Fleetwood, who merely had one of the many holes-in-one Wednesday during the family friendly Par 3 Contest on the eve of\u00a0the Masters.
\nThe young Fleetwood went viral last year when he lamented in a post-round interview that he couldn’t clear Ike’s Pond, which fronts the ninth green on the par-3 course. So all eyes were on him this year, even after Tommy had aced the fourth hole an hour earlier.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not so confident,\u201d Frankie admitted, \u201cbut honestly on the range this afternoon I felt good, so I feel like I got a chance.\u201d
\nFrankie made solid contact with his tee shot on the 120-yard hole, but he was off line and the ball splashed right of the green. As he slumped in disappointment, the crowd packed shoulder to shoulder around the eighth and ninth holes implored him to take a mulligan, so Frankie reteed and took another big swing. This time, the ball missed the green by a couple of feet.
\n\u201cNearly got it. A few inches, maybe,\u201d Frankie said.
\n\u201cHe was happy with his shots, and he was so close as well,\u201d Tommy said. \u201cAnother year, right, Frank?\u201d
\nAs for the competition itself, Aaron Rai birdied the last four holes to shoot 6 under and win the Par 3 Contest, though that may not be such a good thing. Nobody who’s won the event has gone on\u00a0to win the Masters\u00a0in the same year.
\nJustin Thomas aced the second hole, Wyndham Clark had a hole-in-one on the seventh and Keegan Bradley, his playing partner, aced the eighth hole, becoming the first player in Masters history to make a hole-in-one in consecutive years in the Par 3 Contest.
\nEx-NFL lineman Jason Kelce (Akshay Bhatia) and comedian Kevin Hart (Bryson DeChambeau) were among\u00a0the celebrity caddies.
\n\u201cIt’s a special day,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cIt’s really fun. Obviously a beautiful day. And hopefully just a great start to a great week.\u201d
\nFleetwood and his family moved from England to Dubai in 2022 and settled at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, where he runs the Tommy Fleetwood Academy. But when war escalated in the Middle East, and bombs began falling in the United Arab Emirates as he played in the U.S., Fleetwood was able to get his family on a flight back to England.
\nThey joined him at Augusta National for the Masters this week.
\n\u201cThe main thing is hoping that everybody is always safe,\u201d Fleetwood said, “whether that be family, friends, whatever is going on \u2014 students \u2014 whatever that is. I think we have no impact on what is going on in the world at any given time, but you just hope that anyone that is close to you or associated with you or anybody in general is safe. That\u2019s the main thing.”
\nTurns out that those\u00a0playing in the Masters\u00a0would do the same thing as those watching if they were patrons at Augusta National: They would spend gobs of money on merchandise, devour a few $1.50 sandwiches and throw back a couple of $6 beers.
\n\u201cProbably have to do the merch tent first,\u201d Min Woo Lee said. \u201cI\u2019m sure there is a shipping situation there, so you spend at least one to two thousand dollars, I would say. I think that\u2019s pretty average.\u201d
\nHe’s not far off. Nobody knows for sure, but most estimate the average patron spends close to $1,000.
\nWant a cheaper souvenir? The cups filled with beer \u2014 domestic or a proprietary craft brew called \u201cCrow’s Nest\u201d \u2014 carry the Masters logo. Patrons will stack them inside each other throughout the day, often a half-dozen or more.
\n\u201cProbably trying to take advantage of that price and have a lot of beers,\u201d J.J. Spaun said. \u201cYeah, I would be getting a snake-cup thing, whatever they do at baseball games. The snake with all the cups. Definitely enjoy the day out here.\u201d
\nAugusta National\u00a0is tracking every shot hit on the practice range this week and some of the stats are surprising.
\n\nOn Tuesday, for example, nobody hit more balls than 60-year-old Jose Maria Olaz\u00e1bal. The two-time Masters champ hit 243 down the range, which is meticulously designed to replicate many of the shots players face on course. Ben Griffin, who is 29, also hit 243.
\n\u201cI would be interested to see what kind of shots people hit,\u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great week where you can play the course on the range. You know the shots. You know the tee shots. You can visualize it on the range. The range is kind of set up for that. You have some different slopes and undulations around the short game area. So there\u2019s a lot you can do with that.\u201d
\nAldrich Potgieter, 21, logged the most shots on any day this week with 249 on Monday. Most players hit between 50 and 100 balls on any given day, while Fleetwood and Harris English needed just 21 to warm up for their practice rounds.
The post 8-Year-Old Frankie Fleetwood Steals The Show During Par 3 Contest On The Eve Of The Masters first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-10T00:11:31+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-10T00:11:31+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/RoryTommyMastersPar326.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "1 week", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Eight-year-old Frankie Fleetwood stole the show at\u00a0Augusta National\u00a0from his dad, Tommy Fleetwood, who merely had one of the many holes-in-one Wednesday during the family friendly Par 3 Contest on the eve of\u00a0the ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/justin-rose-has-3-runner-up-finishes-at-the-masters-he-sees-that-as-a-good-sign/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/justin-rose-has-3-runner-up-finishes-at-the-masters-he-sees-that-as-a-good-sign/", "title": "Justin Rose Has 3 Runner-Up Finishes At The Masters. He Sees That As A Good Sign", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Justin Rose, the player who missed the cut 21 straight times to start his professional career, has a knack for seeing the glass half-full.
\nRose is 45 \u2014 only four players older than him have won major championships \u2014 and yet he prefers to refer to his \u201cIndian summer\u201d of playing great golf at this stage in his career. Evidence can be found three months ago when he beat a strong field at Torrey Pines.
\nHe became a footnote in Masters history last year when Rory McIlroy beat him in a playoff, making Rose\u00a0the only player to have twice lost in a playoff at Augusta National without ever having won the Masters green jacket.
\nThe consolation \u2014 fine print, at that \u2014 is getting his name etched three times on the Masters trophy because the club lists the runner-up each year. The playoff loss to McIlroy.\u00a0A more crushing playoff loss to Sergio Garcia in 2017. A runner-up by four shots to Jordan Spieth in 2015.
\nAll that means to Rose is he knows his way around Augusta National, and that’s the inspiration he brings to the Masters this year.
\n\u201cI’m very aware that I’ve been close here,\u201d Rose said Monday afternoon. \u201cI’m very aware that I’ve had tough, tough losses here. I also am aware that I enjoy this place. I don’t want to feel that those three second-place finishes need to create a different sort of feeling for me.\u201d
\nThe record for winning the silver salver awarded to the runner-up without ever having Tuesday night plans at the Masters Club dinner is held by the late Tom Weiskopf, four times a bridesmaid.
\nWeiskopf was haunted by coming close without ever winning the Masters, as were so many others over the years. Greg Norman had Larry Mize hole a miracle chip in a playoff in 1987 and blew a six-shot lead to Nick Faldo in 1996. David Duval, who had three chances in a four-year stretch. It’s a long, sad list.
\nThere is desire and obsession when it comes to the green jacket.
\n\u201cI\u2019d say firmly in the desire camp, just because I know that the latter is not going to help me,\u201d Rose said. \u201cIt\u2019s probably professional discipline just to keep it in the desire realm. I think I probably wouldn\u2019t let myself go down the other path. Like I said, that probably won\u2019t be fruitful. Professionally, I\u2019m not going to do that.\u201d
\nRose had a two-shot lead with six holes to play and Sergio Garcia in the azaleas left of the 13th hole, but the Spaniard caught him and beat him in a playoff. Last year, Rose holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th and needed McIlroy to make bogey from the fairway on the 18th to get in a playoff.
\nBoth times he lost to friends. That doesn’t make it easier.
\n\u201cThe key is showing up. The key is to try to be as free as you can in those moments,\u201d Rose said. \u201cYeah, you have to hope a little bit along the way that it\u2019s your day. It could have been my day in a couple of major championships. Hopefully with that mindset, keep chipping away, my day might still happen where a little bit of something goes my way.\u201d
\n\nAnd now he returns to Augusta National, which holds so much familiarity as the only major held on the same course every year. That’s what can make it so difficult to win after coming so close. There’s a lot of scar tissue built up over the years.
\nRose is leaning on that half-full glass.
\n\u201cI hope it only boosts my belief that I can go ahead and do it,\u201d he said. “I feel like I\u2019ve pretty much done what it takes to win. I just haven\u2019t walked over the line. I feel like I\u2019ve executed well enough to have done the job. From that point of view, I don\u2019t feel like I have to find something in myself to do something different. I truly believe that.
\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t feel like it owes me anything. I come here with a good attitude. It\u2019s a place that I enjoy being. There\u2019s certain places you get to and you take a deep breath and go, \u2018Right, it\u2019s nice to be here.\u2019 Augusta still is one of those places for me.\u201d
The post Justin Rose Has 3 Runner-Up Finishes At The Masters. He Sees That As A Good Sign first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T22:03:04+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T22:03:22+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/RoryRoseMastersPlayoff25.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Justin Rose, the player who missed the cut 21 straight times to start his professional career, has a knack for seeing the glass half-full. Rose is 45 \u2014 only four players older ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/will-a-masters-debut-turn-into-a-win-history-suggests-not-but-there-are-a-few-newcomers-to-watch/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/will-a-masters-debut-turn-into-a-win-history-suggests-not-but-there-are-a-few-newcomers-to-watch/", "title": "Will A Masters Debut Turn Into A Win? History Suggests Not, But There Are A Few Newcomers To Watch", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 First-time participants almost never win the Masters.
\nThen again, they rarely show up with a resume like Chris Gotterup’s.
\nThe 26-year-old Gotterup already has four PGA Tour wins, meaning he’ll be the third player since World War II to make his Masters debut with that many. He’s already won twice this year and joins Ben Griffin and Jacob Bridgeman as the highest-ranked first-timers this week. All three are in the world top 20.
\n\u201cJust embracing the whole experience,\u201d Gotterup said. \u201cTrying to take it all in and enjoy it while also trying to go out there and compete and give it everything I\u2019ve got.\u201d
\nNot since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 has a Masters rookie won the tournament, and before that nobody had won his debut since Gene Sarazen in the second year of the event. But favorites like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy haven\u2019t been all that dominant lately, and Gotterup stands out with his wins in the Sony Open and Phoenix Open earlier this year.
\nHe also won the Scottish Open last year. The immediate reward for that victory was a trip to Royal Portrush for Gotterup’s first British Open, but it also qualified him for the Masters.
\nGotterup finally\u00a0visited Augusta National\u00a0more than a month ago. He says he didn’t want to come to the Masters previously because watching \u2014 instead of playing \u2014 would be difficult to handle. And it’s not as though he was being bombarded with opportunities to try out the course on his own time.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve actually ever declined an invite. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve been invited. So you can\u2019t turn down nothing,\u201d said Gotterup, whose first PGA Tour win was at an opposite-field event in 2024. \u201cI have gotten offered to come watch the tournament from sponsors or from whoever it may be, and I said I can\u2019t go over there until I play. Or else if I\u2019m retired, then I can go over.\u201d
\nBridgeman, who won\u00a0at Riviera\u00a0in February in his first attempt there, came to Augusta as an autograph-seeking 10-year-old in 2010. He got the chance to play the course when he was a freshman at Clemson, which is about 100 miles away.
\n\u201cWe had a couple members that hosted and we were able to bring down a group of nine of us, so I played with a roommate of mine and we had a blast.\u201d Bridgeman said. \u201cI remember teeing it up on (No.) 1 and there was not a soul around and I was super nervous. A little bit more comfortable this time. I don\u2019t know what it is. I\u2019m kind of in tournament mode.\u201d
\nGriffin came to the course in November and again last week. Of course, he didn’t need to see Augusta National up close to understand its history.
\n\u201cTons of memories, all the iconic shots that have been hit. The one that comes to mind first is Tiger Woods\u2019 chip on 16 with the dramatic Nike symbol,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like every hole there\u2019s like a shot that\u2019s been hit by someone that I\u2019ve either heard of or seen on television that I kind of remember.\u201d
\n\nGriffin played the back nine Monday. Gotterup played the front with veteran Justin Rose. Bridgeman’s group included 18-year-old Mason Howell, last year’s\u00a0U.S. Amateur champion. Howell is a University of Georgia commit who figures to have plenty of support this week.
\nHowell is keeping expectations manageable and says his goal is to play four good rounds. Bubba Watson, a two-time Masters champ who finished tied for 20th in his first appearance, recommends that approach for any young newcomer.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s very few that\u2019s won it the first time,\u201d Watson said. \u201cBut talent can take over and anybody can win because they\u2019re good enough to get here, they\u2019re good enough to win. Just enjoy it. You want your first one to be, just enjoy it, take it all in, try to learn some things and get ready for the next time you come around here.\u201d
The post Will A Masters Debut Turn Into A Win? History Suggests Not, But There Are A Few Newcomers To Watch first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T22:00:58+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T22:00:58+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GotterupWMR126.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 First-time participants almost never win the Masters. Then again, they rarely show up with a resume like Chris Gotterup’s. The 26-year-old Gotterup already has four PGA Tour wins, meaning he’ll be the ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/patrick-reeds-long-road-back-leaving-liv-waiting-out-a-pga-tour-return-and-playing-in-the-masters/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/patrick-reeds-long-road-back-leaving-liv-waiting-out-a-pga-tour-return-and-playing-in-the-masters/", "title": "Patrick Reed\u2019s Long Road Back: Leaving LIV, Waiting Out A PGA Tour Return And Playing In The Masters", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Patrick Reed has played golf all around the world, often out of choice, now out of necessity.
\nNecessity so that he can start playing closer to home again.
\nOne of the early and polarizing\u00a0defectors to LIV Golf\u00a0a few years ago, the 2018 Masters champion made the similarly difficult decision to leave the lucrative, Saudi-backed tour earlier this year and return to the PGA Tour. But under the terms of his reinstatement, Reed cannot play in its events until after Aug. 25, which means most of this season will be spent on the European tour.
\nWhere he already has\u00a0won twice\u00a0ahead of his return to Augusta National this week.
\n\u201cEveryone kind of gets to be a creature of habit, and wants to eat what they’re comfortable with and go,” Reed said after a practice round Monday, \u201cbut I like checking out all the local places and really experiencing the culture.”
\nPimento cheese sandwich, anyone?
\nThe truth is as much as Reed enjoyed\u00a0playing in Dubai\u00a0and Qatar, where he packed wins around a playoff loss in Bahrain \u2014 1,200 miles (7,500 km) from home, wife Justine and their two kids \u2014 there are few things Reed loves more than walking among the Georgia pines.
\nIt’s not exactly home; that’s The Woodlands, Texas. But it sure feels like it.
\nReed played college golf down the road at Georgia, and he recalls practice rounds spent at Augusta Country Club, where certain holes offer a teasing glimpse through the trees of the par-5 13th hole of its much more famous neighbor.
\n\u201cThere’s just something so special about this place, the traditions behind it, and then on top of it, it’s the one major that stays in the same place,\u201d Reed said. \u201cAll the way back from when I played my first time ever here, even when we played in November that one (COVID) year, and any time I\u2019ve come back and played it, it\u2019s always in perfect shape. It\u2019s one of those golf courses that you can\u2019t hit just one golf shot. You have to play golf kind of old-school way. You have to hit shots, different shapes, different flights.\u201d
\nIndeed, the Masters has been one of the few constants on Reed’s ever-changing global calendar.
\nWhen he resigned from the PGA Tour, Reed effectively said farewell to familiar, high-profile places like Pebble Beach and Bay Hill for LIV events in far-flung corners of the world. But his status as a former Masters champion meant that, despite the deep rift that once appeared to threaten the game itself, Reed was always welcomed back to Augusta National.
\nHe tied for fourth a few years ago. He was third last year.
\n“I feel like it\u2019s the best test of golf we play all year round,” Reed said. \u201cFor a guy that\u2019s played just about everywhere in the world \u2014 just about \u2014 it\u2019s one of those places that I say, hands down, it\u2019s the best test of golf and best golf course I\u2019ve ever played.\u201d
\nReed acknowledged Monday that LIV had presented him with a contract earlier this year to remain one of its biggest stars. But when he talked with his family, \u201cI felt like the best decision for us was to come back and join the PGA Tour.\u201d
\nEven when he left, Reed said, he always considered the PGA Tour to be the best barometer of golf greatness.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve played now every tour. I\u2019ve played on every single one of them,\u201d Reed said. “That\u2019s the place that I feel like is best for us to go and compete against the top guys year in and year out, week in and week out, but at the same time, to be able to spend more time closer to home makes it a lot easier to spend time with the kids.
\n\n\u201cMy daughter is now 11. My little man’s 8. It seems like time has flown,” the 35-year-old Reed said. “I definitely want to watch them grow up and be home a little bit more, yet still at the same time to play against the best guys.\u201d
\nReed will be able to do that this week. And again on a weekly basis soon enough. But until his PGA Tour return this fall, Reed is building out a DP World Tour schedule that includes a few weeks spent on the road followed by a few spent at home.
\nIt’s a work-life balance that seems to work at this point in his life.
\n\u201cYou not only sharpen your game, but you get a lot of family time,” Reed said. \u201cThose travels overseas, it\u2019s going to be a lot this year, but at the same time, I can\u2019t wait to obviously go out there and compete, but at the same time, come home and see the family.\u201d
The post Patrick Reed\u2019s Long Road Back: Leaving LIV, Waiting Out A PGA Tour Return And Playing In The Masters first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T21:58:43+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T21:58:43+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PatrickReedDubaiR126.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Patrick Reed has played golf all around the world, often out of choice, now out of necessity. Necessity so that he can start playing closer to home again. One of the early ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/bryson-dechambeau-arrives-at-the-masters-on-a-bit-of-a-roll-can-he-close-the-deal-this-year/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/bryson-dechambeau-arrives-at-the-masters-on-a-bit-of-a-roll-can-he-close-the-deal-this-year/", "title": "Bryson DeChambeau Arrives At The Masters On A Bit Of A Roll. Can He Close The Deal This Year?", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 For about 25 minutes, Bryson DeChambeau spoke matter-of-factly about the less glamorous side of golf. It’s important to stay patient, make good decisions and hit the center of the green. The word \u201cobedience\u201d even came up.
\nThen a question about his rivalry with Rory McIlroy stirred at least a little bit of his competitiveness.
\n\u201cDo I respect him as an individual? One hundred percent. Do I want to beat him every time I see him? Absolutely,\u201d DeChambeau said. \u201cI think that\u2019s what\u2019s so brilliant about the game of golf is that juxtaposition \u2014 having that sportsmanlike respect and then wanting to just absolutely beat the living you-know-what out of him.\u201d
\nThe Masters could do far worse this week than a Sunday rematch between McIlroy,\u00a0the defending champion, and DeChambeau, who was with him in the final group last year before finishing tied for fifth. After that tournament, DeChambeau acted surprised by McIlroy’s\u00a0lack of chattiness\u00a0on the course. He gave no indication Tuesday of any lingering issues between them, but DeChambeau made it clear that \u2014 regardless of the opponent \u2014 he’s eager for another chance to contend for a green jacket at Augusta National.
\n\u201cThe more I put myself in those positions, the better opportunities I\u2019m going to have to win. It\u2019s just been a gradual learning process,\u201d he said. \u201cYou never know what this week may bring, but I certainly hope to give it my all and put myself back in that position because I want to feel it again.\u201d
\nDeChambeau’s two best showings at the Masters were in 2024, when he finished tied for sixth, and 2025. Even a\u00a0final-round 75 last year\u00a0didn’t prevent him from shooting a career-best 7 under par for the tournament.
\nNow, he might be playing better than anyone. DeChambeau won LIV Golf events in Singapore and South Africa last month. Augusta National will be the judge of how much that means, but there are plenty of reasons to consider him\u00a0among the favorites.
\n\u201cI feel like my game\u2019s in the best place of its career, outside of maybe Greenbrier (in 2023) when I shot 58,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to get the week going and see where I can put myself.\u201d
\nFew can create a buzz around the tee box like DeChambeau. He led this tournament in driving distance last year \u2014 no shock there \u2014 but his performance depends on what he does after that. He’ll need more than booming tee shots this week.
\nDeChambeau attributed his improvement in recent Masters to a more measured approach.
\n\u201cMore patience, like not as aggressive all the time. Knowing where to be aggressive and when not to be aggressive,” he said. \u201cMaking better decisions, having a caddie that reins me in sometimes.\u201d
\nDeChambeau’s win in South Africa\u00a0was emotional for reasons he wouldn’t elaborate on, but he spoke Tuesday about perspective off the course.
\n\u201cI feel like I found something that allows me to be the best of myself, where I\u2019ve got a little bit of a fire in my belly but an ability to have respect for where I\u2019m at in life and a comfort of knowing where I\u2019m at in life,\u201d the 32-year-old DeChambeau said. \u201cKnowing that golf is a big deal, there\u2019s no question this week\u2019s a big deal, but it\u2019s not everything in life. There\u2019s more to it than that. As I\u2019ve gotten older, I\u2019ve learned that, sometimes the hard way.\u201d
\n\nDeChambeau beat Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, in a playoff in South Africa. So dismiss that victory at your peril. Last year, DeChambeau couldn’t keep up with McIlroy at Augusta National and was something of an afterthought when it was\u00a0Justin Rose who forced a playoff\u00a0with the eventual winner.
\nDeChambeau was in the mix for a while, though.
\n\u201cIt was a great learning lesson. Leading or being tied for the lead and having the lead, that last-group final round, gave me a lot of perspective on it. Then losing it and having things not go my way as they finished out and Rory completed the (career) Grand Slam,\u201d DeChambeau said. \u201cLast year he earned it, right? It was really cool to see in person. … As I reflect back on it, the one thing I can take from it is I can put myself in those positions.\u201d
The post Bryson DeChambeau Arrives At The Masters On A Bit Of A Roll. Can He Close The Deal This Year? first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T21:33:07+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T21:33:07+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/BrysonDeChambeauMastersPractice26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 For about 25 minutes, Bryson DeChambeau spoke matter-of-factly about the less glamorous side of golf. It’s important to stay patient, make good decisions and hit the center of the green. The word ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/collin-morikawas-ailing-back-is-feeling-better-body-still-in-a-state-of-flux-ahead-of-the-masters/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/collin-morikawas-ailing-back-is-feeling-better-body-still-in-a-state-of-flux-ahead-of-the-masters/", "title": "Collin Morikawa\u2019s Ailing Back Is Feeling Better, Body Still In A State Of Flux Ahead Of The Masters", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Collin Morikawa has been hitting balls for about a week after\u00a0dealing with a back injury, and while the two-time major winner admitted he’s \u201cnot exactly where I want to be,\u201d he plans to be standing on the first tee box for his sixth\u00a0Masters\u00a0on Thursday.
\n\u201cIt’s unfortunate,\u201d Morikawa said, \u201cbut that’s just the body, and I can’t push it. It’s been a little bit of a mental battle, I think, just trying to trust with where it’s at. The back actually feels fine. It’s just other parts of the body not cooperating a little bit how I want.\u201d
\nThe world’s No. 7 player withdrew after one hole at\u00a0The Players Championship\u00a0because of back spasms, and he didn’t play at\u00a0the Texas Open\u00a0last week, choosing instead to get treatment in the hopes of being ready for Augusta National.
\nMorikawa has made the cut in each of his appearances, tying for third in 2024 and finishing in the top 10 three times.
\n\u201cThis isn\u2019t a place where you want to be uncomfortable, but sometimes you\u2019ve got to find other ways to get around a golf course,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a work in progress. But each day just staying positive, trying to get through it.\u201d
\nScottie Scheffler and his wife, Meredith, recently\u00a0welcomed their second child, Remy, news that did not come out for about nine days. In the case of Bennett, their 2-year-old, the couple waited five days before announcing his birth in an Instagram post.
\nThere is a very simple reason for the delay.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s no reason that my kids need to be on TV or on my Instagram or whatever it is,\u201d the two-time Masters champion said Tuesday. \u201cI feel like my kids need to have a normal upbringing, or as normal as I can, and we\u2019ll go from there.\u201d
\nThat \u201cnormal upbringing\u201d could prove to be a challenge. Their dad happens to be one of the biggest stars in golf, if not all of sports, and he’s recognized just about everywhere he goes. He has more than $100 million in career earnings.
\n\u201cBennett is still 2,\u201d Scheffler said, \u201cso the hard parenting hasn\u2019t really started yet. It\u2019s more bargaining at this point.\u201d
\nWhat kind of bargaining?
\n\u201cLast night we were leaving a Nike party and he somehow ended up with two sugar cookies, and he hadn\u2019t eaten his dinner yet,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cIt was like, \u2018Alright, buddy, if you eat these sausages, I will give you this cookie.\u2019 He\u2019s like, \u2018Cookie!\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018If you eat this.\u2019 My buddies are sitting there watching \u2014 \u2018Yep, I\u2019ve seen this movie before.\u2019 It\u2019s bargaining.\u201d
\nMasters rookie John Keefer and Haotong Li will be the first pair off on Thursday once Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit the ceremonial first tee shots, while most of the featured groups begin their rounds a couple of hours later.
\nThe\u00a0tee times were released\u00a0on Tuesday.
\nDefending champion\u00a0Rory McIlroy, red-hot Cameron Young and\u00a0U.S. Amateur champ Mason Howell\u00a0are in a group at 10:31 a.m. local time. Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele are two groups ahead of them, while Morikawa, former champion Hideki Matsuyama and Russell Henley are sandwiched in between.
\nWorld No. 1 Scheffler is in the penultimate group alongside Robert MacIntyre, who tied for second last week in Texas, and Gary Woodland, whose\u00a0comeback from a brain lesion\u00a0included a win two weeks ago in Houston.
\nTwo clubs that were key to McIlroy winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam are no longer with him.
\n\nAugusta National asks its champions to donate a club of particular importance, and that was the 7-iron used to hit a sweeping draw around a tree and over the pond to 6 feet on the par-5 15th. McIlroy\u2019s manager, Sean O\u2019Flaherty, handed it over Sunday night without him knowing it, until he showed up at the Zurich Classic two weeks later with 13 clubs in his bag.
\nThe other missing club is the gap wedge McIlroy hit to 3 feet in the playoff for the birdie to beat Justin Rose.
\nThat club currently resides in the USGA Museum in New Jersey but soon will make its way to Pinehurst, North Carolina, as part of an exhibition the World Golf Hall of Fame plans for a display commemorating winners of the career Grand Slam.
The post Collin Morikawa\u2019s Ailing Back Is Feeling Better, Body Still In A State Of Flux Ahead Of The Masters first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T21:29:20+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T21:29:20+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/morikawaAPI26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Collin Morikawa has been hitting balls for about a week after\u00a0dealing with a back injury, and while the two-time major winner admitted he’s \u201cnot exactly where I want to be,\u201d he plans ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/rory-mcilroy-is-taking-a-champions-victory-lap-at-augusta-national-ahead-of-his-masters-defense/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/rory-mcilroy-is-taking-a-champions-victory-lap-at-augusta-national-ahead-of-his-masters-defense/", "title": "Rory McIlroy Is Taking A Champion\u2019s Victory Lap At Augusta National Ahead Of His Masters Defense", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 In his 17th appearance in the Masters, Rory McIlroy\u00a0finally won the green jacket\u00a0and reached what he figured would be the pinnacle of his golf career. He has the\u00a0career Grand Slam. He has an invitation to play in the\u00a0Masters\u00a0for as long as he wants.
\nThe 18th trip might be even better.
\nThis must feel like a victory lap for McIlroy, who has been at Augusta National all weekend with an eye on hosting the Masters Club dinner on Tuesday night. And then he can move on to that small matter of trying to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back at the Masters.
\nWhat’s the rush?
\n\u201cI think for the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start,\u201d McIlroy said Tuesday. \u201cAnd this year, I wouldn’t care if the tournament never started.\u201d
\nThat brought laughter, including his own. He met with the media at Augusta National \u2014 a preview of his Prime Video documentary was played before he walked in \u2014 for the first time since he won last year and began his news conference by asking, \u201cWhat are we going to talk about next year?\u201d
\nHe said the goal posts have moved, but he’s still kicking.
\n\u201cIt’s completely different,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cI feel so much more relaxed. I know that I\u2019m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn\u2019t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament.\u201d
\nHe doesn’t expect it to be any easier than a wild Sunday afternoon, 18 holes that in some respects resembled his 18 years on tour.
\nThat’s true for everyone in the\u00a091-man field. There was a chill in the air Tuesday morning that now gives way to a forecast for hot, dry weather. That can be Augusta National at its toughest, no matter how pretty it looks with the azalea and dogwood blooms.
\n\u201cIf it’s firm and fast, the greens are going to be even more difficult to hit than they already are,\u201d Bryson DeChambeau said.
\nScottie Scheffler knows the drill as defending champion, having won in 2022 and 2024. Scheffler prefers a routine \u2014 disrupted slightly now with a newborn son in tow.
\n\u201cDefending can always be difficult, but I think that\u2019s mostly just the odds of winning a tournament in back-to-back years,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cI think that\u2019s just extremely challenging, especially when you look at these major championships.\u201d
\nJack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02) are the only players to win in consecutive years at the Masters.
\n\u201cI think everything’s new when you\u2019re a first-time defending (champion) here,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cYou host the dinner \u2014 that’s a big deal. There\u2019s certain things that go on that maybe would make it a touch more difficult, but I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s anything too substantial.\u201d
\nFor McIlroy, it’s everything so new that’s making this so enjoyable.
\nHe never bothered to spend much time upstairs in the clubhouse during the Masters, where a room is dedicated to the co-founders and to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a proud member at Augusta National. McIlroy loves golf history.
\n\u201cI knew the week of the tournament that the clubhouse is for participants and their families, but I still felt like I had to earn the right to be there a little more often,\u201d he said.
\nMcIlroy recalled one potentially awkward moment last year when he and Justin Rose, whom he would beat in a playoff, were going to have dinner in the clubhouse on Tuesday night. He drove down Magnolia Lane toward the clubhouse right as the past champions were on the balcony for cocktail hour before their dinner.
\n\u201cI’m like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to valet, get out, they\u2019re going to see me and it\u2019s going to be weird.\u2019 So I had this really awkward moment with it all last year,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cYeah, thankfully that was the last time that I needed to do that.\u201d
\nHe has prepared remarks for a dinner of past champions, and\u00a0a menu that is among the more exquisite for this occasion, particularly the wine. One of the side dishes is \u201cIrish Champ,” creamy mashed potatoes with green onions, butter and milk.
\n\u201cPeople keep asking me, \u2018Why didn\u2019t you go more Irish?’ And I said, \u2018Because I want to enjoy the dinner as well,\u2019\u201d McIlroy said.
\n\nMore laughter. There was a lot of that Tuesday, different from past years when he heard the same questions \u2014 When are you going to win the Masters? \u2014 and didn’t have great answers. Now he has the ultimate response: He wore his green jacket to his news conference.
\nWhat’s next?
\nMcIlroy has said he wants to win as many majors as possible \u2014 Harry Vardon with seven has the most of any European player; McIlroy has five \u2014 and at prestigious venues, such as St. Andrews next year for the British Open.
\n\u201cThere’s still a lot that I want to do,\u201d he said. \u201cI think what I\u2019ve realized is if you can just really find enjoyment in the journey, that\u2019s the big thing. Because honestly, I felt like the career Grand Slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realized it wasn\u2019t the destination.\u201d
The post Rory McIlroy Is Taking A Champion\u2019s Victory Lap At Augusta National Ahead Of His Masters Defense first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T21:26:09+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-10T13:18:44+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/RoryMasterspractice26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 In his 17th appearance in the Masters, Rory McIlroy\u00a0finally won the green jacket\u00a0and reached what he figured would be the pinnacle of his golf career. He has the\u00a0career Grand Slam. He has ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/gary-woodland-details-ptsd-struggles-ahead-of-the-masters-i-thought-people-were-trying-to-kill-me/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/gary-woodland-details-ptsd-struggles-ahead-of-the-masters-i-thought-people-were-trying-to-kill-me/", "title": "Gary Woodland Details PTSD Struggles Ahead Of The Masters: \u2018I Thought People Were Trying To Kill Me\u2019", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Gary Woodland was playing the back nine at the\u00a0Houston Open a couple of weeks ago, an event he would ultimately win to secure his return trip to\u00a0the Masters, when the former U.S. Open champion began to feel what he described as \u201chypervigilant.\u201d
\n\u201cI battled the last 10 holes,” Woodland revealed Tuesday, \u201cthinking people were trying to kill me.\u201d
\nThat’s not intended to be a joke. The exact opposite, in fact: a powerful admission of Woodland’s mental health struggles, and one he hopes will help others dealing with trauma, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in their own lives.
\nThe inner turmoil that Woodland feels even at Augusta National, one of the most bucolic places in the world, has its roots in a scan that uncovered\u00a0a lesion on his brain\u00a0that had been causing him unfounded fears of dying. In September 2023, he wrote letters to his wife and kids in the event something went wrong, then had surgery to remove as much of it as possible.
\nThe procedure involved cutting a baseball-sized hole from the side of his head, but it proved to be successful. Woodland was back on the course in January 2024, slowly working his way back into form, making enough cuts to keep him motivated.
\nThe following year, he finished second at the Houston Open \u2014 the same tournament he would win last month, when Woodland got through his Friday bout of hypervigilance and closed with a 3-under 67 on Sunday for a five-shot win over Nicolai Hojgaard.
\nFew knew that Woodland was still struggling, though. He had become crippled by PTSD to the point that he would rush to bathrooms to break down in tears, and it always felt as if people were out to get him; one symptom of PTSD is a heightened state of sensory sensitivity, which causes the nervous system to continually stay in an on-guard state.
\n\u201cI talked to (PGA) Tour security that night,\u201d Woodland said of that Friday at the Houston Open, “and I told them what I was going through, and every time I looked up on the weekend, my security team was behind me. Any time I got startled on the weekend, I turn around \u2014 last year I didn’t talk to Tour security. I fought this on my own. It was awful.
\n\u201cTurning around and knowing I’m safe, having somebody there with me? It’s the only reason I won two weeks ago.\u201d
\nWell, not quite the only reason.
\nWoodland’s ball speed was 196 mph on one tee shot, a good indication that the strength that helped carry him to the\u00a02019 U.S. Open championship\u00a0had returned. His approach play was sublime and his short game even better on the way to finishing at 21 under, giving Woodland his first win since his only major championship and the fifth victory of his career.
\n\u201cWe live in a world, as men and especially as an athlete, that you put your head down and you fight through it. I\u2019ve done it my whole life,\u201d Woodland said. \u201cThis is honestly one battle that I\u2019m not able to do on my own. I tried, and it wasn\u2019t working.\u201d
\nSo, Woodland got some help. And it has helped him immeasurably.
\nNever one to think about himself, Woodland quickly realized that his struggles might help somebody else, too. That is why he went public with his PTSD diagnosis in an interview with the Golf Channel, and why he was so forthcoming Tuesday at the Masters.
\n\u201cThe world we live in, speaking about something you would call a weakness is hard,\u201d he said, “but speaking about it and how I feel afterwards made me a lot stronger. I didn\u2019t know that releasing this battle was going to make me stronger, and it\u2019s done that. I feel a lot stronger now than I did three weeks ago, I can tell you that. No matter how hard it is out here, I know I have someone I can talk to that I can have security. My team have been amazing in helping me, but I\u2019ve turned a weakness into a strength.
\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t even say it as a weakness, but I think that\u2019s the stigma out there. But I feel a lot stronger after I came out for sure.\u201d
\n\nThis week will be another test for Woodland, perhaps an even tougher one. More people are sure to trail him around Augusta National after his win in Houston, and the proximity of the patrons to the players \u2014 especially on the tees \u2014 can be a matter of a few feet.
\nThe PGA Tour has worked with the Masters to provide the security Woodland needs to feel safe.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s probably not a safer golf tournament in the world, so I\u2019m happy for that, but it\u2019s still a battle in my head if I\u2019m safe or not,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t have control when this thing hits me, and it\u2019s tough. It can be a fan. It can be a walking score (board holder). It can be a camera guy running by me. Just any startlement from behind me can trigger this pretty quickly. Knowing where that security is is a constant reminder that I\u2019m safe.\u201d
The post Gary Woodland Details PTSD Struggles Ahead Of The Masters: \u2018I Thought People Were Trying To Kill Me\u2019 first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T21:19:37+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T21:19:37+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GaryWoodlandMasters26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Gary Woodland was playing the back nine at the\u00a0Houston Open a couple of weeks ago, an event he would ultimately win to secure his return trip to\u00a0the Masters, when the former U.S. ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/u-s-amateur-champ-mason-howell-is-missing-school-while-he-soaks-up-playing-in-his-first-masters/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/u-s-amateur-champ-mason-howell-is-missing-school-while-he-soaks-up-playing-in-his-first-masters/", "title": "U.S. Amateur Champ Mason Howell Is Missing School While He Soaks Up Playing In His First Masters", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 You can bet that U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell is enjoying every minute of his first Masters.
\nThere was the practice round he played Monday with Jacob Bridgeman, a winner on the PGA Tour earlier this year. In the evening, an exclusive dinner for the amateurs playing in the tournament. At night, a climb up the clubhouse stairs to the Crow\u2019s Nest, the sleeping quarters nestled beneath the cupola where only amateurs can stay\u00a0the week of the Masters.
\nOh, and the 18-year-old gets to miss some classwork. He\u2019s a high school senior.
\n\u201cYeah, it\u2019s kind of a lot to handle,\u201d Howell said with a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s a long week.\u201d
\nAn unforgettable week, regardless of how he plays.
\nHe lives in Thomasville, Georgia, a few hours south of Augusta National, near the Florida border. He’ll be playing for the\u00a0University of Georgia in the fall, which means he has quite the hometown crowd behind him this week, both the friends and family that were able to secure coveted badges and complete strangers familiar with his roots who keep yelling at him, \u201cGo \u2019Dawgs!\u201d
\nThey should help to settle his nerves come Thursday.
\nThat\u2019s when Howell, who beat Jackson Herrington 7 & 6 in\u00a0the U.S. Amateur finals, will tee off alongside Rory McIlroy, continuing the longstanding tradition of the reigning amateur champ playing with the defending Masters champion for the first two rounds.
\nThe two of them already share a little history.
\nAs a 9-year-old, Howell attended the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where McIlroy tossed him a ball that he still has in his golf bag. It is stamped with \u201cRORS\u201d on the side of it, and Howell joked about teeing it up at Augusta National.
\n\u201cI’m not,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cBut that would be a power move.\u201d
\nHowell called McIlroy his \u201cidol.\u201d It’s a feeling the Northern Irishman knows well, because McIlory felt the same way about Tom Watson, a two-time Masters champion. They played the first two rounds of the 2010 U.S. Open together.
\n\u201cI think that\u2019s the incredible thing about our game is,” McIlroy said, \u201cbecause our careers are long, so many generations overlap.\u201d
\nHowell has been on big stages before. He played the U.S. Open himself last year, missing the cut, and represented the U.S. in both the Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy. At the Olympic Club, he became the third-youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur.
\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve known Mason for a long time now,\u201d said Harris English, who like Howell grew up playing at Glen Arven Country Club and went on to play at Georgia. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine what he\u2019s going through at 18 years old and playing in the Masters for the first time.\u201d
\nThe youngest player ever at the Masters was Guan Tianlang, who was just 14 when he played in 2013 after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Tiger Woods is the youngest winner, triumphing by a record 12 shots in 1997 at the age of 21.
\n\u201cTold him take it all in but manage your time well. Don\u2019t get lost in everything. This is just another golf tournament,\u201d said English, who tied for 12th last year in his sixth Masters start. \u201cHe has played in a lot of golf tournaments and he\u2019s won a lot of big golf tournaments. Treat it as much like that as you possibly can.\u201d
The post U.S. Amateur Champ Mason Howell Is Missing School While He Soaks Up Playing In His First Masters first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T21:16:10+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T21:16:10+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/MasonHowellUSAm25.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 You can bet that U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell is enjoying every minute of his first Masters. There was the practice round he played Monday with Jacob Bridgeman, a winner on the ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/the-masters-has-players-from-23-countries-the-world-ranking-is-one-reason-for-the-global-growth/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/the-masters-has-players-from-23-countries-the-world-ranking-is-one-reason-for-the-global-growth/", "title": "The Masters Has Players From 23 Countries. The World Ranking Is One Reason For The Global Growth", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Bernhard Langer was reminded of his place in history this week, unrelated to the 68-year-old German looking stately as ever in his\u00a0Masters\u00a0green jacket as a two-time champion.
\nIt was 40 years ago \u2014 April 6, 1986, to be exact \u2014 the \u201cSony Ranking\u201d was introduced.
\nWhat began as a list in 1968 for IMG founder Mark McCormack’s \u201cWorld of Professional Golf\u201d annual got the attention of the R&A as it was reviewing criteria for the British Open. It was officially introduced at the 1986 Masters.
\nThe headline that week proclaimed, \u201cEuropeans Top Golf Rankings.\u201d
\nLanger was No. 1 in world, followed by Seve Ballesteros and Sandy Lyle. The leading American was Tom Watson at No. 4. Jack Nicklaus, considered to be past his prime at age 46, checked in at No. 33. By the end of the week, Nicklaus famously won his sixth Masters and 18th professional major.
\n\u201cIt was time to have something like that because international golfers were excluded from tournaments like the Masters, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship,\u201d Langer said under the big oak tree next to the Augusta National clubhouse.
\n“Only two or three of us got in,” he said. \u201cIn Europe, I had to win the money list to get in the Masters. And we had more than one good golfer.\u201d
\nIt wasn’t perfect then, and probably isn’t now. It’s nigh impossible to measure the runner-up of this week’s\u00a0Token Homemate Cup on the Japan Golf Tour\u00a0against whoever finishes 15th at Augusta.
\nBut it was a start, and its influence is greater now than anyone might have imagined.
\nEvery major championship uses the Official World Golf Ranking an an integral part of its criteria. The\u00a0Masters\u00a0and British Open take the top 50, the U.S. Open takes the top 60. The PGA Championship uses invitations in a bid to have everyone from the top 100.
\nThe Sony Rankings \u2014 yes, it had a corporate sponsor \u2014 became the Official World Golf Ranking when the major tours and the four majors formed a board in 1997. Now the OWGR has 25 tours around the world, the\u00a0most recent addition being Saudi-funded LIV Golf.
\nWhether LIV Golf should get more points awarded to more than the top 10 players is a debate as endless as deciding whether the PGA Tour gets too much weight.
\nBut there is no doubt that OWGR has been critical to opening the borders beyond American golf.
\nThe U.S. Open had only three foreign-born champions from 1926 through 1993 \u2014 Gary Player of South Africa, Tony Jacklin of England and David Graham of Australia. Starting with Ernie Els of South Africa in 1994, 13 of the last 32 champions were international players.
\nPadraig Harrington in 2008 became the first European in 78 years to win the PGA Championship when he won at Oakland Hills in 2008.
\nIt wasn’t a matter of getting better. It was a matter of getting an opportunity. That much should have been made clear during the 1980s when Europe began its dominance in the Ryder Cup.
\nMore than his own three-week reign atop the world ranking,\u00a0Langer said it created more paths. Ballesteros, Langer and Lyle combined for six majors in the seven years before the ranking began in somewhat an official capacity.
\n\u201cThat helped open it up, especially in the majors, to some international golfers who Americans never heard of or didn’t know much about,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s different now with the media. But it was an important step in the right direction. Was it perfect? Maybe not. But it was a good way to get the best field.\u201d
\nThat was mainly for the majors. More hurdles came from the PGA Tour, which always had the best collection of players. The requirement under former Commissioner Deane Beman was a minimum of 15 events for membership.
\nEurope required 11 events. Top players with a global eye often played the occasional event in Japan and Australia, and the travel and time took a toll.
\n\u201cWe didn’t go on boats,\u201d Langer said with a smile, \u201cbut we didn’t go on private jets.\u201d
\nLanger recalled that 11 top Europeans asked Beman to reduce the PGA Tour requirement to 12 events and \u201che wouldn’t budge.\u201d
\nSo much has changed.
\n\nThe man behind the math for years was London-based Tony Greer, and his original plan was to prioritize tournaments into four sections. The four majors received the most weight, followed by most PGA Tour and top European Tour events, on down to lesser events around the world.
\nThere have been changes over the years, most notably going from a three-year rolling period to a two-year system in 1995, and recently expanding the strength-of-field to include everyone playing, not just the top 200 players.
\nThe 40th year of world ranking has\u00a0Scottie Scheffler\u00a0on top \u2014 he has been No. 1 a total of 185 weeks, trailing only Tiger Woods (683 weeks) and Greg Norman (331). There are five Americans and five Europeans in the top 10. All are on the PGA Tour.
\nPerhaps the best measure is the Masters, which has a\u00a091-man field\u00a0from 23 countries. The week the world ranking began, the 88-man field came from 11 countries.
The post The Masters Has Players From 23 Countries. The World Ranking Is One Reason For The Global Growth first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-07T17:32:24+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T17:32:24+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LangerCouplesMasters02.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Bernhard Langer was reminded of his place in history this week, unrelated to the 68-year-old German looking stately as ever in his\u00a0Masters\u00a0green jacket as a two-time champion. It was 40 years ago ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/tiger-woods-is-not-at-the-masters-jason-day-wonders-why-he-was-behind-the-wheel-in-dui-arrest/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/tiger-woods-is-not-at-the-masters-jason-day-wonders-why-he-was-behind-the-wheel-in-dui-arrest/", "title": "Tiger Woods Is Not At The Masters. Jason Day Wonders Why He Was Behind The Wheel In DUI Arrest", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Tiger Woods was a big part of the conversation Monday at the Masters without even being at Augusta National. His absence stemming from\u00a0his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence\u00a0brought a degree of criticism from Jason Day.
\nFlorida authorities determined Woods was impaired March 27 when his Land Rover struck a trailer and flipped on its side on a residential street. They found two painkiller pills in his pocket. Woods was arrested and briefly jailed for refusing to submit to a urine test.
\n\u201cHe’s just a human being like everyone else and we have struggles,\u201d Day said. “It’s unfortunate. The only thing that I don’t understand is that it’s a little bit selfish of him to drive and put other people in harm’s way, as well.
\n\u201cBut when you’re the player that he was and how strong-willed he is, he thinks he can do almost anything,\u201d Day said. \u201cAnd that’s probably why he’s driving and a little bit under the influence.\u201d
\nThis is the second straight year Woods has missed the Masters, under entirely different circumstances. He had ruptured his Achilles tendon in March of 2025 and didn’t even make it to the Masters Club dinner for champions.
\n\n\u201cHe was my hero \u2014 he’s my hero,\u201d said Day, the Australian who reached No. 1 in the world a decade ago. \u201cThe reason why I play golf is because of this tournament and Tiger. It\u2019s hard to see him go through what he\u2019s going through, and especially under the microscope. It must be hard to be who he is and have everything, everyone look on, kind of down on him.
\n\u201cSome people want him to fail. Some people obviously want him to succeed,\u201d Day said. \u201cIt\u2019s really difficult for me to go through that and watch him, and I know that he\u2019s getting the help now, which is good. I\u2019m just hoping he comes out on the other side and is better.\u201d
\nWoods is a five-time champion at the Masters, the last one in 2019 to complete a most remarkable comeback in golf. In the 14 years between winning green jackets, he had reconstructive knee surgery (2008) and four back surgeries (2014-17), and\u00a0one arrest for taking what he said was a bad mix of painkillers when he was found asleep behind the wheel\u00a0of his running car (2017).
\nSince winning his last Masters,\u00a0his right leg and ankle were crushed in 2021 when his SUV going about 85 mph ran over a median and tumbled down a hill on a coastal road in Los Angeles. He also had surgery on the Achilles tendon and a seventh back surgery last year.
\nNick Faldo was particularly critical of Woods in an interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph last week when he said, \u201cThere are two sides to this right now. There\u2019s one side that\u2019s like … let\u2019s care for Tiger. And then there has got to be a responsibility and an accountability side as well.\u201d
\n\u201cForget about golf. We are not meant to be on the streets with two pills in our pocket,\u201d Faldo said. “The bottom line is that I really think that this is a serious issue and something should be done that is a little bit more serious than waving him off to a tropical island and saying, ‘Welcome back,\u2019 in three or four months or whatever it might be.\u201d
\nPhil Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion who was a runner-up in 2023 at age 52, also is skipping the Masters as he deals with a family health matter at home. It’s the first time since 1994 neither Woods nor Mickelson was at Augusta National for the first major of the year.
\n\nMickelson is with LIV Golf and plays on a big stage only four times a year at the majors. Jacob Bridgeman, one of the 22 newcomers to the Masters, didn’t know Mickelson wasn’t playing and is young enough in golf to have only played two majors with him last year.
\nWoods is a huge part of the Masters, not only from the records he shattered in 1997 at age 21 but recently with his work on a short course during the refurbishing of a municipal course in town known as \u201cThe Patch.\u201d He also is opening a TGR Learning Lab in Augusta.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s such a legend in this game, somebody I looked up to,\u201d Harris English said. \u201cWatching him win around this place in \u201997 is kind of the reason I started getting into golf. I know he\u2019s going to get through this. He has a big fight ahead of him. He\u2019s a fighter. That\u2019s what he does.\u201d
The post Tiger Woods Is Not At The Masters. Jason Day Wonders Why He Was Behind The Wheel In DUI Arrest first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-06T20:39:05+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-07T15:25:24+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Tigercuffeddui26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Tiger Woods was a big part of the conversation Monday at the Masters without even being at Augusta National. His absence stemming from\u00a0his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence\u00a0brought a ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/lauren-coughlin-wins-the-aramco-championship-by-5-shots-at-shadow-creek/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/lauren-coughlin-wins-the-aramco-championship-by-5-shots-at-shadow-creek/", "title": "Lauren Coughlin Wins The Aramco Championship By 5 Shots At Shadow Creek", "content_html": "\n
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) \u2014 After coming oh so close to winning at Shadow Creek last year, Lauren Coughlin made sure victory was never truly in doubt Sunday in the Aramco Championship.
\nShe rolled to a five-shot win over Nelly Korda and the rest of the star-studded field for her first win in two years.
\nCoughlin shot an even-par 72 for a 7-under total, earning the 33-year-old from Virginia $600,000. She won her third LPGA Tour title and first in the United States, after winning in Canada and Scotland in 2024.
\n\u201cI think it just means more because after 2024 and not winning is hard,\u201d Coughlin said. \u201cI didn\u2019t get it done earlier in the year last year when I had a couple chances and that really bothered me. I was like, \u2018What if I don\u2019t ever get to do it again? What if that\u2019s the best golf I every played in 2024?\u2019 Those thoughts were hard not to think last year.\u201d
\nKorda was runner-up yet again after shooting a 75 and finishing at 2 under. She made her one birdie on the par-5 18th, avoiding going without one in a round for the first time since the first day of The ANNIKA last November in the Tampa Bay area.
\nThis was her third consecutive second-place finish after opening her season by winning in Orlando, Florida, moving Korda up a spot to No. 1 in the world ranking.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just going to stick to what I\u2019m doing,\u201d Korda said. \u201cI\u2019m really happy with the way that my game is trending, and sometimes when you work too hard and you exhaust yourself, you can go the other way.\u201d
\nLeona Maguire (71) also finished at 2 under, and the only other player with an under-par score was Miyu Yamashita (74) at 1 under.
\nKorda wasn\u2019t the only tough competitor for Coughlin to overcome. The $4 million prize money in the event\u00a0organized by Golf Saudi\u00a0and co-sanctioned by the LPGA and Ladies European Tour drew 38 of the top 40 players. It\u2019s the first such event in the United States, and more appear to be coming to North America.
\nPlayers compared this tournament to a major because Shadow Creek because birdies were so difficult to come by. Only four players wound up under par for the tournament.
\nCoughlin, the former two-time Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year at Virginia, showed why she feels comfortable at Shadow Creek, even though the format for this year’s tournament switched from match to stroke play. She made the final pairing last year before a\u00a01-up loss to Madelene Sagstrom.
\n\u201cIt left a sour taste in my mouth,\u201d Coughlin said. \u201cSecond is a good consolation, but winning is really fun.\u201d
\nHer comfort was evident all four days around the 6,765-yard tract that makes players pay dearly for putting the ball in poor locations. Coughlin was in a three-way tie for the lead after the first round and never relinquished that position as others fell off.
\nShe came close to turning the tournament into a laugher at times Friday and Saturday, but going into the final round, Coughlin enjoyed just a\u00a0two-shot margin over Korda, the 2024 LPGA Tour Player of the Year. Korda ended the third round with back-to-back birdies and an apparent message she wasn’t going anywhere.
\nBut then the final round began, and it became clear fairly quickly which direction the tournament was heading. Coughlin began to pull away and all but ensured at the eighth green she would be the one to place her hands on the trophy.
\n\nCoughlin rolled in a downhill right-to-left\u00a045-footer for birdie\u00a0on the par 3. Korda then preceded to three-putt, including missing a 2-footer for par.
\nSuddenly, Coughlin was at 9 under and Korda at 3 under \u2014 and the rest of the round all but a formality. Korda got within four shots when Coughlin opened the back nine by bogeying the 10th and 12th holes, but Korda did the same on Nos. 13 and 15 to again make it a six-shot difference.
\n\u201cNot even just bogeys, but you can make a lot of big numbers out there,\u201d Coughlin said. \u201cSo I was sticking to my game plan and trying to focus on staying in my routine as much as I could and make as many pars as I possibly could.\u201d
The post Lauren Coughlin Wins The Aramco Championship By 5 Shots At Shadow Creek first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-06T20:35:23+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-08T13:12:28+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LaurenCoughlinAramcoWin26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) \u2014 After coming oh so close to winning at Shadow Creek last year, Lauren Coughlin made sure victory was never truly in doubt Sunday in the Aramco Championship. She rolled to ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/j-j-spaun-rallies-to-win-texas-open-for-first-title-since-us-open/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/j-j-spaun-rallies-to-win-texas-open-for-first-title-since-us-open/", "title": "J.J. Spaun Rallies To Win Texas Open For First Title Since US Open", "content_html": "\n
SAN ANTONIO (AP) \u2014 J.J. Spaun came up with two big shots at the end of a long, wet Sunday, one leading to birdie and the other for eagle that carried him to a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory in the Valero Texas Open for his first title since the U.S. Open last summer.
\nSpaun won for the second time at the TPC San Antonio, with one big difference. His victory four years ago got him into the Masters. Now he is the U.S. Open champion who already had his spot at Augusta National secured. But this was an important win.
\nHe had yet to finish in the top 20 in seven starts this year \u2014 his best was a tie for 24th in The Players Championship \u2014 and now the 35-year-old Californian has a validating win in tough conditions as he heads into the first major of the year.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s just \u2014 this game is so crazy,\u201d Spaun said. \u201cI haven\u2019t been feeling at the form I wanted to be based on last season, and just trying to take each day as it comes, and accepting what I have.”
\n\u201cThere\u2019s just so much that comes with winning big events like that, a U.S. Open or any other major,” he said. “I put a lot of pressure on me to start the year, a lot of expectations. I went into the last few weeks starting at the Players trying to be freed up, and put less pressure on myself, and it\u2019s been trying. But sticking to that mantra has really helped me.\u201d
\nRobert MacIntyre, who had led for so much of the tournament, completed 12 holes Sunday morning in the storm-delayed tournament for an even-par 72 to stay ahead by one shot going into the final round. The groups didn’t change for the final round in a bid to finish amid more rain \u2014 but no lightning that caused any delays.
\nSpaun was in the mix with a dozen other players when he hit his\u00a0tee shot to 3 feet on the par-3 16th\u00a0for birdie, and\u00a0then drove the green on the 306-yard 17th hole to 10 feet for eagle.
\nHe finished with a par to set the target at 17-under 271, finishing about an hour before MacIntyre and the final group. He was on the range when MacIntyre, three shots behind with two to play, drove the 17th and holed an eagle putt just outside 15 feet to get within one shot.
\nBut the Scot hooked his second shot from a wet fairway on the 609-yard closing hole \u2014 a par 5 that yielded only 10 birdies in the final round \u2014 and even after getting relief from temporary immovable obstructions, MacIntyre could only hit wedge to 30 feet.
\n\nHis birdie putt to force a playoff was short all the way. MacIntyre closed with a 70 to share second place with Matt Wallace (68) and Michael Kim (69).
\nHe won for the third time on the PGA Tour, two of them at the Texas Open.
\nLudvig Aberg had his third straight top 10 \u2014 including The Players Championship where he gave up the lead on the back nine \u2014 going into the Masters. He closed with a 70 and tied for fifth with Andrew Putnam, who needed birdie on the 18th to force a playoff and hit wedge into a back bunker, making bogey for a 70.
The post J.J. Spaun Rallies To Win Texas Open For First Title Since US Open first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-04-05T23:33:32+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-04-08T13:13:15+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/JJSpaunTexasOpen26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "SAN ANTONIO (AP) \u2014 J.J. Spaun came up with two big shots at the end of a long, wet Sunday, one leading to birdie and the other for eagle that carried him to a 5-under 67 ..." } ] }