MADRID (AP) \u2014 Three-time Spanish Open champion Jon Rahm will not play in his home tournament this week as he waits for the birth of his fourth child.
\nTournament organizers announced Tuesday that Rahm will be a \u201clast-minute\u201d absence from the tournament that he won in 2018, 2019 and 2022.
\nSpanish media said Rahm is in the United States awaiting the birth of his daughter.
\nRahm was among the top names in a strong field that will include Justin Rose, Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Reed, Shane Lowry, Sergio Garc\u00eda and Bubba Watson.
\nMarco Penge is the defending champion in Madrid.
The post Jon Rahm Skips Spanish Open To Await Birth Of Fourth Child first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-06T18:30:33+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T18:30:33+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/JonRahmPGA26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "MADRID (AP) \u2014 Three-time Spanish Open champion Jon Rahm will not play in his home tournament this week as he waits for the birth of his fourth child. Tournament organizers announced Tuesday that Rahm will be ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/jim-furyk-says-it-will-be-great-if-patrick-reed-is-part-of-his-ryder-cup-team-again/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/jim-furyk-says-it-will-be-great-if-patrick-reed-is-part-of-his-ryder-cup-team-again/", "title": "Jim Furyk Says It Will Be \u2018Great\u2019 If Patrick Reed Is Part Of His Ryder Cup Team Again", "content_html": "\n
U.S. captain Jim Furyk said Tuesday it would be \u201cgreat\u201d if Patrick Reed were among the 12 best Americans for the Ryder Cup next year in Ireland, even though Reed criticized Furyk’s first captaincy after the 2018 loss in Paris.
\nReed hasn’t been on a Ryder Cup team since those 2018 matches, another debacle for the U.S. team that ended with Reed telling The New York Times he should have been partners with Jordan Spieth and Furyk should not have benched him twice that week.
\nReed, among the first to defect to LIV Golf in 2022, chose not to renew his LIV contract this year and leads the European tour points list, assuring him a return to the PGA Tour next year.
\n\u201cWe are going to put the best 12 guys, the best team of 12, on this team,\u201d Furyk said from Adare Manor during a news conference with European captain Luke Donald to mark the matches being one year away. \u201cIf Patrick Reed is one of those, that’s great. It’s been a long time since he’s been in our team room.\u201d
\nSteve Stricker left Reed off the team for the 2021 Ryder Cup the Americans won at Whistling Straits. He was not seriously considered for the Rome matches in 2023 or the Bethpage Black matches in 2025, even though he had top-5 finishes at the Masters both those years.
\nFuryk already has changed U.S. qualifying for Adare Manor so that no one begins earning points until the 2027 season. Reed, who is No. 29 in the world ranking as he closes out his European tour schedule, could be eligible for signature events if he’s in the top 30 at the time of those events.
\nHis last time in the U.S. team room was at Royal Melbourne in 2019 for the Presidents Cup, where he was heckled by the Australian gallery a week after he was penalized in the Bahamas for improving his lie in a sandy waste area.
\nSix players qualify and Furyk will have six captain’s picks for the Sept. 17-19 matches.
\n\u201cPatrick and I will have that conversation,” Furyk said. \u201cAnd I’m looking forward to welcoming our best team of 12.\u201d
\nFuryk’s more immediate concern was finding a solution for the recent trend of abysmal U.S. play in foursomes. The Americans have been outgained 26-8 in foursomes in the last two Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups. The deficit is 13-3 to Europe in the Ryder Cup.
\nThey have been blanked in three sessions \u2014 the opening session at Marco Simone in 2023, and each of the last two times in the Presidents Cup.
\n\u201cI know those numbers very, very well. I\u2019ve lived them the last four,\u201d Furyk said. “It’s not an anomaly. There’s some issues \u2014 we understand that. I plan on making some changes. As captains, we need to do a better job, not only put the folks into good pairings in good positions, but I don\u2019t think we are preparing for those matches in a proper way.
\n\u201cAnd I promise you, we will be prepared,\u201d he said. \u201cI’m going to ask this team to do more than any other United States team has in the past. We\u2019ll be prepared. We\u2019ll be ready to go in that format, and hopefully we can showcase our talent. We have too much depth to have that poor record in alternate shot.\u201d
\nFuryk said he will ask prospective players to go to Adare Manor next summer around the two-week stretch of the Scottish Open and British Open.
\n\nHe was in a tough spot as 2018 captain for the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National. The course was set up tight with deep rough. Some players suited for the course were not in great form. Tiger Woods had just won the Tour Championship and Bryson DeChambeau won two playoff events. They combined to go 0-7-0 for the week.
\nDonald returns as captain for the third time, bidding to become the first captain in Ryder Cup history to lead three teams to victory.
\n\u201cI have zero complacency about how strong the U.S. are going to be. They always are. On paper, they tend to be stronger than us through the world rankings,\u201d Donald said. “Obviously we have a great record at home, but again, zero complacency. I\u2019ve seen what Jim has been doing behind the scenes, changing the stats, changing the qualification system. He is very, very motivated to come here and put up a good fight.
\n\u201cCertainly I\u2019m just as motivated to sort of keep finding those edges for my team.\u201d
The post Jim Furyk Says It Will Be \u2018Great\u2019 If Patrick Reed Is Part Of His Ryder Cup Team Again first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-06T18:04:31+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T18:04:31+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FurykPresCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "U.S. captain Jim Furyk said Tuesday it would be \u201cgreat\u201d if Patrick Reed were among the 12 best Americans for the Ryder Cup next year in Ireland, even though Reed criticized Furyk’s first captaincy after the ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/reed-proud-his-clubs-do-the-talking-and-says-its-the-only-way-back-to-the-pga-tour/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/reed-proud-his-clubs-do-the-talking-and-says-its-the-only-way-back-to-the-pga-tour/", "title": "Reed Proud His \u2018Clubs Do The Talking\u2019 And Says It\u2019s The \u2018Only Way\u2019 Back To The PGA Tour", "content_html": "\n
MADRID (AP) \u2014 There were many unknowns when Patrick Reed decided not to renew his contract with LIV Golf and start the long road back to the PGA Tour.
\nOne thing he was sure of, though, was that he wanted to let his \u201cclubs do the talking\u201d and earn his way back instead of having a spot given to him.
\nAnd in a \u201chuge year\u201d on the European tour, Reed is closer to completing his comeback and achieving his goal.
\n\u201cThe biggest thing for me at the start of the year when I decided not to re-sign with LIV was to try to make my way back to the PGA Tour,” he said Tuesday ahead of this week\u2019s Spanish Open in Madrid. “The way to do that I felt was to try to play our way on.
\n\u201cTo be able to have the start of the season I did and to basically earn my way back to the PGA Tour meant a lot to me.\u201d
\nThe 36-year-old American split victories in Dubai and Qatar with a runner-up finish in Bahrain in February. He enters the final stretch of the year leading Rory McIlroy in the season-long Race to Dubai. The leading 10 players from the European tour not already exempt earn PGA Tour cards for 2027.
\n\u201cThis was a huge year to me,\u201d Reed said. \u201cNot just for my career, but also for my family, because I had to go earn my spot back, and to be able to go out there and earn it back and play the way I\u2019ve been playing, means a lot. And to hopefully play well these last couple of events, and hopefully hold everyone off and win the Race to Dubai would mean a lot.\u201d
\nThe 2018 Masters champion said the \u201conly way\u201d back for LIV players to the PGA Tour should be on merit through results.
\n\u201cI\u2019m a firm believer that if you earn your right to play somewhere you should be able to play, but you have to earn it,” he said. “You have to go out there and do the work, you know, go out there and not only just work hard but also play well.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to earn my spot rather than having a spot given. Those guys on LIV, there are pathways to whether it\u2019s to here on the DP (European tour), whether it\u2019s to the PGA Tour. … I feel like that\u2019s the only way that you should be able to get back is by going out there and letting the clubs do the talking.\u201d
\nReed is part of a strong field in Spain, returning to action after withdrawing from the BMW PGA Championship with a hand injury and pulling out of the French Open. He is trying to become the second American to win the Race to Dubai, after Collin Morikawa in 2021.
\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that I\u2019ve always prided myself as being that American that likes to play around the world,” he said. “To have the opportunity to come over here, not only just play on this tour, but also to have a chance to win the Race to Dubai, it would mean a lot.\u201d
\nReed said it was Gary Player who advised him, in one of the first times that they met, to play more abroad.
\n\u201cHe told me, \u2018Well, if you want to be a worldwide player, you\u2019ve got to go out and play outside of not just the PGA Tour, you’ve got to play elsewhere,'” Reed said. \u201cAnd once I got the opportunity to come over and play, I really enjoyed it and hopefully, hopefully, I can bring more Americans over and more of the top players to come out and play around the world, help grow the game.\u201d
The post Reed Proud His \u2018Clubs Do The Talking\u2019 And Says It\u2019s The \u2018Only Way\u2019 Back To The PGA Tour first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-06T18:01:11+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T18:01:11+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/PatrickReedIrishOpen26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "MADRID (AP) \u2014 There were many unknowns when Patrick Reed decided not to renew his contract with LIV Golf and start the long road back to the PGA Tour. One thing he was sure of, though, ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/andrew-bailey-was-at-the-us-open-to-sell-merchandise-he-returns-next-year-as-a-player/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/andrew-bailey-was-at-the-us-open-to-sell-merchandise-he-returns-next-year-as-a-player/", "title": "Andrew Bailey Was At The US Open To Sell Merchandise. He Returns Next Year As A Player", "content_html": "\n
Andrew Bailey knew enough about the U.S. Open that late Friday afternoon was an ideal time to sneak away from his duties in the merchandise pavilion and watch golf. He was outside the ropes at Shinnecock Hills this year to see 17-year-old Miles Russell grind to make the cut.
\nAnd then it was back to work in a 34,000-square-foot tent where his company, premium golf apparel brand Holderness & Bourne, sets up shop each year.
\nBailey will be back at the U.S. Open next year at Pebble Beach in a far different capacity \u2014 hitting shots, not selling shirts.
\n\u201cI’ve been trying to process it all,\u201d Bailey said Monday evening, four days removed from winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur by playing bogey-free over the final 17 holes in a 5-and-4 victory. His first USGA title gets him into the Masters and U.S. Open.
\nThat’s enough to try to process.
\nThere’s also that broken wrist from rock climbing when he was one year out of Cleveland State, effectively ending whatever faint hopes he had of a pro career. \u201cMight have been the best thing to ever happen to me,\u201d Bailey said.
\nAnd there was the shoulder surgery in February for a snowboarding injury that limited him to only three amateur events this year. The pain flared up three weeks before the U.S. Mid-Amateur. He didn’t feel it again until the morning after he won.
\n\u201cI laid on the couch and my shoulder was throbbing,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cI was like, \u2018How did this not happen the entire week when I was playing?\u2019 Just meant to be. Adrenaline is a beautiful thing.\u201d
\nThe summer has been filled with angst over pros getting back their amateur status. Mike Sposa, who won the U.S. Senior Amateur, spent six years on the PGA Tour and six years on the Korn Ferry Tour. Colt Knost is seeking reinstatement as an amateur after playing 199 times on tour and topping $4.3 million in prize money.
\nBailey doesn’t fit into that category. At least two publications referred to the final of the U.S. Mid-Amateur (for players 25 or older) as a battle between two former pros. Nate Smith, the runner-up, won once during his three years on the Korn Ferry Tour and played the PGA Tour for one season.
\nThe PGA Tour has no record of Bailey playing on the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour Americas. He tied for 38th in Q-school PGA Tour Canada in April 2015 to earn conditional status but never played. Three months later, he fell 20 feet while rock climbing at Whipps Ledges in Ohio, causing a compound fracture of his wrist that required two plates and 11 screws.
\nHis mini-tour earnings \u2014 12 events, 30 rounds \u2014 amounted to about $8,000. Bailey said he tried to play one tournament after the wrist injury, but the pain was too great. He applied for reinstatement as an amateur in June 2016 and received it one year later.
\nIn his final year at Cleveland State, he was intrigued by a startup he found on Facebook called Holderness & Bourne. Bailey wrote to the company to say he might be turning pro and would they like him to wear the apparel. And he stayed in touch.
\nAfter the wrist injury, he was working a standard sales job \u2014 \u201c150 calls a day, dial and smile,\u201d he said \u2014 when he got an offer to help work with the apparel company at the annual PGA Merchandise Show. He used paid time off to travel to Florida and was paid in product.
\nA year later, he was hired and since has worked his way up to national sales manager, overseeing 14 sales representatives. It has kept him in the game since the majority of his work is in pro shops, along with going to the U.S. Open for work. But not next year. He’ll be among 156 players, right there with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and defending champion Wyndham Clark.
\nOf all the text messages, phone calls and letters \u2014 Augusta National member Michael McDermott, amateur great Vinny Giles, Walker Cup captain Nathan Smith \u2014 nothing made Bailey laugh more than one from Amanda Davis, the event merchandising manager at Holderness & Bourne.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s incredible the extent some people will go to not work a merchandise tent,\u201d the text said.
\nAt his core is a passion for golf that never left him. He had hopes of trying to make the Walker Cup team as a mid-amateur. That ended with the shoulder surgery in February. But he used more paid time off to travel to Ireland just to watch.
\nBailey has twice been to the Masters. His parents got him a ticket to a practice round in 2010 as a high school graduation present. Friends got him a pass to Sunday at the 2016 Masters. He had a flight to catch in Atlanta and left after watching Jordan Spieth make a 30-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole for a five-shot lead.
\n\u201cMissed all the fireworks,\u201d he said of the Spieth collapse and Danny Willett victory.
\nHe will be back at Augusta National in April, this time driving down Magnolia Lane, access to the Crow’s Nest for amateurs, the Par 3 tournament. It’s a lot to process.
\n\nHe still hasn’t figured out how to balance work and two majors next year. Bailey said he typically plays six amateur tournaments a year. But he made it clear the Masters and U.S. Open are more perks than they are motivation.
\nHis name goes in the Hall of Champions at USGA headquarters in New Jersey that has every USGA champion dating to Charles Macdonald in the 1895 U.S. Amateur.
\n\u201cIt sounds so weird to say, but the reason I played the Mid-Amateur is not to play in the Masters. It’s to become a national champion,\u201d he said. \u201cI think honestly I’m going to be more emotional to see my name in Golf House as opposed to driving down Magnolia Lane.\u201d
The post Andrew Bailey Was At The US Open To Sell Merchandise. He Returns Next Year As A Player first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-06T17:58:25+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T17:58:25+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AndrewBaileyUSMidAm26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "Andrew Bailey knew enough about the U.S. Open that late Friday afternoon was an ideal time to sneak away from his duties in the merchandise pavilion and watch golf. He was outside the ropes at Shinnecock ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/liv-golf-in-line-to-get-initial-investment-as-it-tries-to-emerge-from-bankruptcy/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/liv-golf-in-line-to-get-initial-investment-as-it-tries-to-emerge-from-bankruptcy/", "title": "LIV Golf In Line To Get Initial Investment As It Tries To Emerge From Bankruptcy", "content_html": "\n
BC Partners Credit on Monday announced an initial investment in LIV Golf, part of a targeted $300 million in cumulative financing to help the beleaguered circuit emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a team-focused golf league with players as equity owners.
\nThe announcement comes two days before the first of several hearings related to the bankruptcy filing from Sept. 8.
\nThe financing by funds advised on the BC Partners Credit platform requires bankruptcy court approval. It would allow LIV to start planning on a 2027 season, which includes a 10-tournament schedule, half of them at international sites.
\n“Our goal is to facilitate LIV Golf\u2019s emergence from the restructuring process on sound financial footing and with renewed momentum heading into the 2027 season,\u201d said Ted Goldthorpe, partner and head of BC Partners Credit, the credit arm of BC Partners.
\n\u201cJust as importantly, we want the players who make this league what it is to share in what they help build,\u201d he said. “Giving players real and actionable ownership in the league and the teams is a unique opportunity in professional golf, and it aligns everyone around the long-term success of the product for the game and for the fans.\u201d
\nLIV players still have a few weeks to decide if they want to be part of LIV Golf 2.0 now that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia withdrew its massive funding of more than $5 billion since it launched in 2022. That funding included signing bonuses \u2014 nine figures in some cases \u2014 and the $20 million prize funds for individual play.
\nSergio Garcia last week asked the court to clarify the status of his LIV contract, whether it is terminated because of the bankruptcy filing or if he can terminate the contract himself.
\nAdrian Meronk, who joined LIV Golf in 2024, won the Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday which paves the way for him to have European tour status next year.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a very strange year on LIV, obviously finding about Saudis backing off and finding new investors,\u201d Meronk said after he won. “There\u2019s still a lot of unknowns that we are not sure of. And to be honest, it\u2019s hard from a player\u2019s perspective to make a decision. So I\u2019ll just wait and see. We still have a couple weeks but as I said, this helps a lot.
\n\u201cI have to really reconsider and see what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d
\nLIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said the investment was an important step, thanking Goldthorpe and BC Partners \u201cfor their conviction in what we’re building.\u201d
\n\n\u201cWe believe deeply in the future of this league and in the opportunity to build something distinctive alongside our players,\u201d O’Neil said in a statement. “We\u2019re delivering on our major milestones, and while there is still work ahead, today marks meaningful progress toward a player-owned, team-focused, truly global league that complements the wider game and creates new opportunities for players, fans, partners, and the next generation of golfers.\u201d
\nThe PGA Tour has not indicated if it will create an instant path back for LIV players, similar to what it did for Brooks Koepka at the start of this year. Much of the attention focuses on LIV’s top players, such as Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Joaquin Niemann.
\n\u201cWe are excited about what this next phase can mean for the players who compete in the League,\u201d Goldthorpe said. \u201cWe invite those who want to help build a strong, sustainable, team golf league to join us.\u201d
The post LIV Golf In Line To Get Initial Investment As It Tries To Emerge From Bankruptcy first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-06T02:33:11+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T13:13:59+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AdrianMeronkStAndrews26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "BC Partners Credit on Monday announced an initial investment in LIV Golf, part of a targeted $300 million in cumulative financing to help the beleaguered circuit emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a team-focused golf league ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/jeeno-thitikul-wins-in-hawaii-for-her-4th-lpga-tour-victory-of-the-season/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/jeeno-thitikul-wins-in-hawaii-for-her-4th-lpga-tour-victory-of-the-season/", "title": "Jeeno Thitikul Wins In Hawaii For Her 4th LPGA Tour Victory Of The Season", "content_html": "\n
HONOLULU (AP) \u2014 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand quickly overcame a late double bogey on a windy Sunday afternoon at Hoakalei Country Club in the LOTTE Championship for her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the season and 11th overall.
\nAfter driving into the water and losing a two-shot lead on the par-4 16th, Thitikul made a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th for another two-shot swing. She closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th for a three-stroke victory over playing partner Ina Yoon.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how I did that, but obviously, it\u2019s kind of really like good battle with Ina,\u201d Thitikul said. \u201cShe played incredible on the front nine.”
\nThe second-ranked Thitikul matched top-ranked Nelly Korda for the tour victory lead, finishing with a 4-under 68 for a 21-under 267 total.
\n\u201cI know 16 was terrible. It was just like, `Gosh, terrible hole to me,\u2019\u201d Thitikul said. \u201cBut I just tell myself that, `Hey, it\u2019s two hole left. Everything can happen. You can definitely bounce back whenever you still have the shot in your hand.’\u201d
\nYoon also shot 68. The South Korean player drove into the water on 17 and made bogey, then parred the last. She’s winless on the LPGA Tour, with six top top-10 finishes this year.
\n\u201cIt was super fun today,\u201d Yoon said. \u201cJeeno played great.\u201d
\nMiyu Yamashita of Japan was third at 17 under after a 67.
\nAmerican Auston Kim had a 67 to finish at 16 under. She had three straight bogeys in a wild back nine.
\nThitikul moved within a victory of tying Ariya Jutanugarn as the winningest LPGA Tour player from Thailand.
\nThe tour is headed to Asia for four tournaments, starting with the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Oct. 15-18.
The post Jeeno Thitikul Wins In Hawaii For Her 4th LPGA Tour Victory Of The Season first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-06T02:28:56+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T13:10:28+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/JeenoThitikulBritish26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 days", "excerpt": "HONOLULU (AP) \u2014 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand quickly overcame a late double bogey on a windy Sunday afternoon at Hoakalei Country Club in the LOTTE Championship for her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the season and ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/austin-smotherman-wins-in-utah-for-first-pga-tour-title/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/austin-smotherman-wins-in-utah-for-first-pga-tour-title/", "title": "Austin Smotherman Wins In Utah For First PGA Tour Title", "content_html": "\n
IVINS, Utah (AP) \u2014 Austin Smotherman recovered from his lone blunder with two great shots and was able to cruise home to a 3-under 68 on Sunday to win the Bank of Utah Championship, his first PGA Tour victory in his 100th career start.
\nSmotherman came into the week at No. 79 in the FedEx Cup \u2014 the top 100 keep full PGA Tour cards for 2027 \u2014 and picked up some immediate rewards. He now has a two-year exemption, which includes the lucrative \u201cChampionship Series\u201d when the new competitive model starts in 2028.
\n\u201cWe won on the PGA Tour. That’s insane,\u201d he said.
\nSmotherman never trailed at the Black Desert Resort, and he quickly built a three-shot cushion with a pair of tap-in birdies and a 35-foot birdie on the par-4 fifth.
\nBut right when it looked as though the 32-year-old Smotherman would eliminate all drama on a beautiful afternoon in southern Utah, it changed quickly.
\nHis approach to the par-4 13th came up short and plugged near the lip of a bunker. The best Smotherman could manage was to advance it to a flatter lie in the sand, he blasted out to 10 feet from there and missed the putt to make double bogey.
\nSuddenly, his lead was down to one shot over Trace Crowe, who in the group ahead made a 40-foot eagle putt on the reachable par-4 14th.
\nSmotherman responded with a tee shot with the perfect line and distance on the 14th, landing short of the green and rolling out to 6 feet. He missed the eagle putt, but restored his lead to two shots. On the next hole, his approach got a good kick and rolled out to 6 feet again.
\nHe missed another short birdie putt, but converted from just inside 12 feet on the 16th, giving him a comfortable lead with two holes to play.
\nA bogey-birdie finish put him at 26-under 258, easily breaking the 72-hole record at the tournament only in its third year.
\n\u201cIt didn\u2019t have to be pretty,\u201d Smotherman said. \u201cI got some nice bounces. Made some poor swings, but this game doesn\u2019t have to be perfect.\u201d
\nAlong with the two-year exemption, Smotherman moves to No. 51 in the FedEx Fall and is likely to stay among the top 60 to get into a pair of $20 million signature events at Pebble Beach and Riviera next year.
\nDoug Ghim, also seeking his first PGA Tour victory, three-putted from 30 feet on the 13th and missed a 6-foot par putt on the 15th, which hurt his chances. He birdied the final hole for a 69 that allowed him to finish alone in second, moving him from 89th to 58th in the FedEx Cup.
\n\n\u201cToday was Austin\u2019s day,\u201d Ghim said. \u201cI did everything that I could, and hopefully I\u2019ll learn from some of the mistakes and be a little bit more comfortable next time. But always grateful.\u201d
\nCrowe (66) and David Ford (64) tied for third.
\nOf the top 12 finishers, Kevin Streelman and Steven Fist were the only players who had won on the PGA Tour. Streelman closed with a 67 and tied for fifth with Ben James (67), the top PGA Tour University player who turned pro in June.
The post Austin Smotherman Wins In Utah For First PGA Tour Title first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-05T01:03:22+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T13:09:59+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AustinSmotherman3M26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "3 days", "excerpt": "IVINS, Utah (AP) \u2014 Austin Smotherman recovered from his lone blunder with two great shots and was able to cruise home to a 3-under 68 on Sunday to win the Bank of Utah Championship, his first ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/adrian-meronk-of-liv-golf-rallies-to-win-dunhill-links-and-secure-european-tour-membership/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/adrian-meronk-of-liv-golf-rallies-to-win-dunhill-links-and-secure-european-tour-membership/", "title": "Adrian Meronk Of LIV Golf Rallies To Win Dunhill Links And Secure European Tour Membership", "content_html": "\n
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) \u2014 Adrian Meronk caught up quickly and pulled ahead on the mistakes of Casey Jarvis to win the Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday with a 4-under 68, giving the 33-year-old from Poland a full card on the European tour when he desperately needed it.
\nMeronk was the tour player of the year in 2023 when he was left off the Ryder Cup team in Rome, and then defected to LIV Golf the following year. He was among eight players who accepted a deal from the European tour earlier this year that allowed him to keep his membership.
\nThe two-shot victory at St. Andrews, his fifth title on the European tour and perhaps the most important, gives him a full European card for 2027. That’s important with so much in doubt at LIV Golf as it goes through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
\nVictory was not secure until Jarvis failed to hole out for eagle from the Valley of Sin on the 18th at the Old Course.
\n\u201cI never usually cry, but this one feels really special,\u201d Meronk said. \u201cI’m lost for words. I’m extremely happy and quite relieved.\u201d
\nHe opened with three birdies in five holes to make up a two-shot deficit on Jarvis, the South African going for his third European tour title this year.
\nJarvis still had a one-shot lead and was in prime position on the short par-4 ninth. His pitch was 15 feet below the hole for birdie. But he ran it by 4 feet and wound up three-putting for a shocking bogey, leaving him tied.
\nOn the par-3 11th, Jarvis came up short of the green and played it smartly with a high pitch beyond the flag to take the slope back toward the hole. But it was too much spin, aided by the wind, and rolled all the way back off the green leading to another bogey.
\nMeronk holed an 8-foot birdie putt ahead of him on the 12th, and suddenly his lead was two shots. He stretched the lead to three shots with a superb pitch-and-run to 2 feet for birdie on the par-5 14th, and a bogey on the Road Hole at the 17th did him no harm.
\nJarvis, who made a 30-foot putt from just short of the 15th green to stay in the game, lost all hope when he missed the green well left on the 17th, putted to 6 feet and missed the par putt. He closed with a 72 and tied for second with Niklas Norgaard (68), whose amateur partner was outgoing PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
\nMichael Stewart capped off a dream week with a 66, which included a stretch on the back nine when he made a 25-foot birdie on the 11th, a 30-foot birdie on the 12th and then holed out from 112 yards for eagle on the 13th. He tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood (64).
\nStewart, the No. 979 player in the world, was playing a Tartan Pro Tour event on Wednesday. He said he would return to the Tartan \u2014 he would be eligible for the Spanish Open next week \u2014 to make sure he has status somewhere in 2027.
\nHe is second on the Tartan Pro Tour points list. To win would give him a card on the Challenge Tour.
The post Adrian Meronk Of LIV Golf Rallies To Win Dunhill Links And Secure European Tour Membership first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-04T20:55:54+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T13:09:49+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AdrianMeronkDunhillLinks26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "4 days", "excerpt": "ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) \u2014 Adrian Meronk caught up quickly and pulled ahead on the mistakes of Casey Jarvis to win the Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday with a 4-under 68, giving the 33-year-old from Poland ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/south-korean-golfer-tom-kim-receives-a-military-exemption-with-a-gold-medal-at-the-asian-games/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/south-korean-golfer-tom-kim-receives-a-military-exemption-with-a-gold-medal-at-the-asian-games/", "title": "South Korean Golfer Tom Kim Receives A Military Exemption With A Gold Medal At The Asian Games", "content_html": "\n
NAGOYA, Japan (AP) \u2014 South Korean golfer Tom Kim got what he came for by winning the men’s singles on Saturday at the Asian Games: a gold medal and an exemption from military service back home.
\nHe shot a 6-under 64 in Saturday’s final round for a four-day total of 18-under 262. Three golfers were three back and faced a playoff with Kazuki Higa of Japan taking silver and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana earning bronze.
\nTom Kim made a special effort to win in Japan, flying across the Pacific when the Presidents Cup competition ended last weekend.
\nAsked about the exemption, he took the gold-medal approach.
\n\u201cDespite that, I\u2019m more proud that I\u2019m able to bring a medal for my country,\u201d he said.
\nHe did acknowledge pressure \u2014 the flight, the expectations, the gold medal and more.
\n\u201cI tried not to think about it,\u201d he said. \u201cI just tried to play (the) best for my country. It’s a big stepping stone. I think the pressure that I felt this week, I’ll be able to implement it in my upcoming seasons.”
\nMost able-bodied men in South Korea must serve about 18 months in uniform, but a medal of any color at the Olympics \u2014 or gold in the Asian Games \u2014 provides an out.
\nHowever, South Korea failed to win the team competition. That means that S.H. Kim, who played on the team with Tom Kim, did not get the exemption. He closed with a 73 and the third team member, 35-year-old Mun Do-yeob, shot 70. Mun had already served and did not need the exemption.
\nKim Joo-hyung goes by Tom Kim when he plays on the PGA Tour, and Kim Seong-hyeon goes by S.H. Kim when he plays abroad.
\nChina won the team event with silver for South Korea and bronze for Japan.
\nThe military exemption in South Korea also applies to classical and traditional musicians, dancers and other artists who are viewed as enhancing national pride.
\nThe Asian Games format was 72 holes of stroke play. The teams were made up of three players, but only the best two scores counted each day toward the team total.
\nTom Kim dominated the 7,035-yard at the Kasugai Country Club. The last two days he carded eagles on the par-5 13th, a 520-yard hole that was very gettable on sunny days for the final rounds with little wind.
\nSixteen South Korea baseball players are also exempt after defeating Japan 3-1 in the Asian Games final earlier in the week. So are three South Koreans who won gold in esports, an event at the Asian Games. And then there are the members of the South Korean soccer team, which defeated Japan 1-0 on Saturday.
\n\n\u201cOf course the result is important, and the fact that the players will be exempt from the military service is important,\u201d said Lee Sang-hyeok, who is known as \u201cFaker\u201d in the world of esports.
\nLee won gold three years ago at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and this time helped teammates avoid the conscription.
\nSome at home question if the exemption \u2014 created more than 50 years ago \u2014 is fair. The South Korean news agency Yonhap a few days ago termed the system \u201coutdated\u201d and called for change.
\nThe news agency said the baseball game victory over Japan \u201csymbolically reflects the changed times and the public’s expectations.\u201d
The post South Korean Golfer Tom Kim Receives A Military Exemption With A Gold Medal At The Asian Games first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-04T20:51:55+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T13:09:11+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/TomKimAsianGames26_.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "4 days", "excerpt": "NAGOYA, Japan (AP) \u2014 South Korean golfer Tom Kim got what he came for by winning the men’s singles on Saturday at the Asian Games: a gold medal and an exemption from military service back home. ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/two-rank-outsiders-not-even-in-the-worlds-top-750-lead-the-dunhill-links-championship/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/two-rank-outsiders-not-even-in-the-worlds-top-750-lead-the-dunhill-links-championship/", "title": "Two Rank Outsiders Not Even In The World\u2019s Top 750 Lead The Dunhill Links Championship", "content_html": "\n
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) \u2014 Michael Stewart and Jack Buchanan, two golfers ranked outside the top 750 in the world, were the surprise co-leaders on 7-under par after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday.
\nFor the No. 979-ranked Stewart, it was a particularly amazing feat to be ahead of so many of the world’s leading players.
\nThe 36-year-old Scot was playing in a three-day event on his country’s development tour \u2014 the Tartan Pro Tour \u2014 up to Wednesday. That meant he had to forgo a practice round ahead of his step up to the European tour and a tournament that pairs professionals and amateurs from the celebrity and business world over three of Scotland\u2019s top courses \u2014 the Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
\nPlaying at Carnoustie, Stewart birdied his third hole then made an eagle followed by four straight birdies on the back nine to complete a bogey-free 65.
\n\u201cI played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (on the Tartan Pro Tour), straight here and courses I know well anyway,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cPlayed here a lot in the past.\u201d
\nBuchanan, an Australian ranked No. 788, played Kingsbarns and also was bogey-free, making seven birdies in his 65.
\nThey were a stroke clear of South Africans Casey Jarvis and MJ Daffue, who shot 66 at Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, respectively.
\nThere were five more South Africans in a seven-way share of fifth place on 5 under, including four-time European tour winner Dean Burmester.
\nAmong those a further shot back was Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2023 champion and the winner at the French Open last week. He shot 68 at Carnoustie.
\nEach player in the 168-man field plays a round at all three courses before Sunday’s final round takes place at the Old Course, the home of golf.
The post Two Rank Outsiders Not Even In The World\u2019s Top 750 Lead The Dunhill Links Championship first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-01T22:37:14+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-01T22:37:14+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/JackBuchanan26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "7 days", "excerpt": "ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) \u2014 Michael Stewart and Jack Buchanan, two golfers ranked outside the top 750 in the world, were the surprise co-leaders on 7-under par after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/south-korean-golfers-trying-to-win-asian-games-to-be-free-from-military-duty/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/south-korean-golfers-trying-to-win-asian-games-to-be-free-from-military-duty/", "title": "South Korean Golfers Trying To Win Asian Games To Be Free From Military Duty", "content_html": "\n
NAGOYA, Japan (AP) \u2014 A gold medal for two South Korean golfers at the Asian Games would mean more than a chunk of metal to dangle around their necks.
\nFor Kim Joo-hyung and Kim Seong-hyeon, winning gold at the Asian Games \u2014 in the men’s individual or team event \u2014 would excuse them from mandatory military service at home.
\nKim Joo-hyung goes by Tom Kim when he plays on the PGA Tour, and Kim Seong-hyeon goes by S.H. Kim.
\nUnder any name, they got a good start in the first round on Wednesday toward landing the exemption. The final round is Saturday.
\n\u201cI am 100% nervous,\u201d S.H. Kim said. \u201cA lot of pressure.\u201d He added he’s struggling with knee and back injuries and was not optimistic about his chances in the individual event.
\n\u201cTeam gold is easier,\u201d he said.
\nJapan led the men’s team competition after the first round, with South Korea and China two strokes behind.
\nIn the individual event, Wang Wei-hsuan of Taiwan and Kazuki Higa of Japan were tied at 5-under 65 atop the leaderboard at Kasugi Country Club.
\nMun Do-yeob, the third member of the South Korea team, was tied with four others at 4-under 66.
\nUnlike his teammates, 35-year-old Mun doesn’t need the exemption. In South Korea most men serve 18-21 months of military service.
\n\u201cI already finished my military service so I don\u2019t really think about the military (exemption)”, Mun said. \u201cBut I want to play good, so we make our team get a gold medal … to make sure they don’t go to the military.\u201d
\nThe format is 72 holes of stroke play. The teams are made up of three players, but only the best two scores count each day toward the team total.
\nMun led South Korea with a 66 and Tom Kim shot 67. S.H. Kim shot a 68, so his score was excluded from the team total of 133.
\nJapan was in at 131 with Higa’s 65 and a 66 by Keita Nakajima.
\n\u201cI went to the military really early,\u201d Mun said. \u201cIt gave me a lot of experience, but I was lucky that I could play a little bit of golf at the army. Maybe three times a week.
\n\u201cI was teaching golf and I was picking up the golf balls from the generals\u2019 driving range. But now they don\u2019t have those kind of (assignments).\u201d
The post South Korean Golfers Trying To Win Asian Games To Be Free From Military Duty first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-10-01T00:24:51+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-01T00:24:51+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/TomKimAsianGames26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "1 week", "excerpt": "NAGOYA, Japan (AP) \u2014 A gold medal for two South Korean golfers at the Asian Games would mean more than a chunk of metal to dangle around their necks. For Kim Joo-hyung and Kim Seong-hyeon, winning ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/putting-scores-on-the-board-at-presidents-cup-not-the-same-when-there-arent-boards/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/putting-scores-on-the-board-at-presidents-cup-not-the-same-when-there-arent-boards/", "title": "Putting Scores On The Board At Presidents Cup Not The Same When There Aren\u2019t Boards", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The objective for the home team in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup is to get up early in the matches and ride the momentum of the crowd. The common phrase heard at these competitions is to get a lot of red \u2014 or blue (Europe) or gold (International) \u2014 on the board.
\nU.S. captain Brandt Snedeker tried to stack the top of his Sunday lineup while trailing by three points and said, \u201cWe’ve got some studs up there at the top of the lineup that are going to go out there and hopefully put a bunch of red on the board.\u201d
\nIt used to be an actual thing. Now it’s a figure of speech.
\nThere were no boards at Medinah.
\nIt’s a recent trend, at the Ryder Cup in Europe, and now the Presidents Cup. Organizers are leaning on video boards across the golf course that show a mixture of results and video of other matches.
\nBut to get a sense of the score requires being there long enough for the screen to change.
\nThe stationary boards \u2014 similar to what’s found at the majors \u2014 used to have all the matches and the score in red, blue or gold to indicate who was leading. Spectators knew, players knew, momentum was created.
\nBoards were noticeably missing in France in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Kerry Haigh, the chief competitions officer at the PGA of America, also noticed them missing and said that would not be the case in U.S. matches. There have been boards at Whistling Straits and Bethpage Black.
\nThe PGA Tour had 20 video boards across Medinah, eight with content such as real-time scoring, graphics and video, 12 with PGA Tour content.
\nFor the players, noise was good enough without the visual.
\n\u201cMore than anything I want to hear the crowd going. The crowd can tell you what\u2019s going on,\u201d Snedeker said Saturday. \u201cWe had a great crowd today. I heard a lot of roars out there. It was exciting. I don\u2019t think we need boards; I think we need crowds.\u201d
\nHe went on to say that \u201cwhat’s on the board doesn’t matter\u201d because players should be paying attention to the match in front of them.
\nAs for no standard boards, International captain Geoff Ogilvy pointed to his radio to let his players know what was going on, if the pockets of occasional cheers wasn’t enough.
\n\u201cThey ask us what\u2019s happening, and I guess we text the leaderboard on the phone if there\u2019s no board there, like we do,\u201d Ogilvy said. \u201cWe\u2019re all communicating about what\u2019s going on in other matches. Some of the guys don\u2019t care like what the other matches are doing.\u201d
\nHe also said Sunday that it was tough getting scores to load on the phone because of so many people in the crowd using their phone at the same time.
\nButch Harmon and Dottie Pepper, who came close to induction two years ago for the World Golf Hall of Fame, are among 14 who have been announced as finalists for the 2027 induction class.
\nA new system had the nominees broken down into four groups \u2014 men, women, contributors and historic figures and amateurs. Nominating committees for each group narrowed the list to four men, four men, three contributors and three from the historical figures and amateurs.
\nJim Furyk, Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Corey Pavin are the men’s finalists. Pepper is joined as a finalist by Inbee Park, Cristie Kerr and Liselotte Neumann. Harmon is in the contributor’s category with CBS announcer Jim Nantz and British golf course architect Harry Colt. The final group has amateur great Jay Sigel, Canadian amateur Alexa Stirling and British golfer Ted Ray.
\nA 24-member panel will vote on the induction class later this fall. The induction ceremony is scheduled for July 12 during the week of the British Open at St. Andrews.
\nGolf Saudi has announced a multiyear commitment to women’s golf with a tournament called \u201cThe Championship,\u201d to be played next week in Britain with a $4 million purse that will be co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
\n\u201cThe partnership builds on Golf Saudi\u2019s backing of women\u2019s golf since 2020 \u2014 part of a strategy to grow the game of golf and support women\u2019s sport on the world stage and in the Kingdom,\u201d Golf Saudi said in a news release.
\nLeft out was how it was eliminating tournaments the Public Investment Fund supported, mainly on the Ladies European Tour, one on the LPGA. The Aramco Championship at Shadow Creek north of Las Vegas will not be on the LPGA schedule next year.
\nThe LET had the PIF Global Series that had 29 tournaments dating to 2021. This year’s Global Series had five tournaments with $15 million in total prize money.
\nThe Saudi-backed series has delivered 29 events since it began in 2021.
\nThe 2026 PIF Global Series included five events and a total of $15 million in purses, which, without the two majors, represents more than half of the LET\u2019s total prize funds. Only three regular tournaments on the LET schedule were $1 million or more, not including majors.
\nInstead, Golf Saudi said it would sponsor the season points race with a bonus at the end. It did not say how much the bonus would be.
\nPIF announced in April it was done funding the LIV Golf League.
\nThe Americans had a clear advantage from a loud and boisterous crowd at Medinah, and the International team will be expecting the same at Kingston Heath in Australia in 2028.
\nIt wasn’t always like that. Adam Scott, who has played in all of the Presidents Cups since his debut in South Africa in 2003, said the turning point for the International team in these matches was 2019 at Royal Melbourne, and not just because of the shield that gave the Internationals some identity.
\nScott felt it was the first time the crowd was loud for the Internationals, and against the Americans.
\n\u201cIt’s probably the most support I’ve ever felt at the Presidents Cup \u2014 obviously because of Australia, but there was turn there for the International team,\u201d he said. “A lot of years, somewhat rightly so, when we went to South Korea and they saw Tiger and Phil (Mickelson), they don\u2019t normally see these guys. So they\u2019ve come to see them. But it was meant to be our home game.\u201d
\nPatrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler are the only Americans to be in every Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup since 2021. Scheffler (9-12-4) is the only one with a losing record in the six matches. …Chad Coleman has left the LPGA after less than a year as chief marketing officer. The LPGA said he wanted to spend more time with his family. Coleman had been the chief brand officer at Dude Perfect. The LPGA hired Taylor Strick to lead the marketing. It also hired Ryan Ogle to oversee operations of the Solheim Cup at Valhalla in 2028 and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. Ogle also had been director of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla. … The Americans head to Ireland for a chance to win the PGA Cup between club pros from the U.S. against Britain and Ireland. The Americans have won three in a row.
\n\nStewart Cink (five) and Zach Johnson (six) have combined to win half of the 22 tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions schedule this year.
\n\u201cIt’s tough at the end like this. I’m sure it would be amazing at the end the other way.\u201d \u2014 Geoff Ogilvy, Presidents Cup captain of the International team that hasn’t won since 1998.
The post Putting Scores On The Board At Presidents Cup Not The Same When There Aren\u2019t Boards first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-30T00:23:50+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-30T00:23:50+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/BrandtSnedekerPresidentsCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "1 week", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The objective for the home team in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup is to get up early in the matches and ride the momentum of the crowd. The common phrase heard ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/the-americans-have-won-another-presidents-cup-what-matters-is-whether-they-can-win-the-ryder-cup/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/the-americans-have-won-another-presidents-cup-what-matters-is-whether-they-can-win-the-ryder-cup/", "title": "The Americans Have Won Another Presidents Cup. What Matters Is Whether They Can Win The Ryder Cup", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Luke Donald picked a curious time to celebrate an anniversary. The second of 12 singles matches in the Presidents Cup had just teed off at Medinah when Europe’s two-time winning Ryder Cup captain posted a subtle reminder to the Americans.
\n\u201cIt’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since Bethpage,\u201d Donald wrote, accompanied by a photo of his team posing with the Ryder Cup trophy.
\nAnd then the Americans proceeded to have a Bethpage moment by routing the opposition in singles, with a few important distinctions worth noting.
\nThey faced a three-point deficit Sunday against an International team that had not won the Presidents Cup in 28 years.
\nThe Americans faced a seven-point deficit last year at Bethpage Black against Team Europe, which has won the Ryder Cup 11 of the last 14 times. The only thing their record-tying singles performance did at Bethpage was make European fans sweat for a few minutes. The hole was too deep, the outcome all too familiar.
\nJon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton of LIV Golf combined to go 6-2-1 last year. Because the PGA Tour owns and operates the Presidents Cup, the International team has no access to LIV Golf players. How much that matters is pure speculation, though the likes of Joaquin Niemann and Cameron Smith would not have hurt the cause.
\nStill, it was a good day for the Americans to celebrate a comeback ( but not a miracle ) at Medinah.
\nWinning nine of 11 matches \u2014 the other was halved after the Presidents Cup had been decided \u2014 is no small task. The emotion amid their celebration was a mixture of joy (winning is fun) and relief (they never lose).
\nU.S. captain Brandt Snedeker surely was caught up in the emotions of winning when he said: “I’m tired of hearing how these guys aren\u2019t close. I\u2019m tired of hearing how we can\u2019t play team golf. Guys just proved it right then and there.\u201d
\nNot really. They only proved their strength is in singles against an inferior lineup in a competition that doesn’t have the history or the pressure of the Ryder Cup.
\nTeam golf has nothing to do with being close. The Americans like one another, certainly over seven days, and that’s no different from European teams.
\nIt’s about getting the formula right, finding what works and sticking with it. Rahm and Hatton have gone 4-0 in foursomes the last two Ryder Cups and had different partners for fourballs. Ditto for Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood \u2014 four wins in foursomes, different partners in fourballs.
\nCollin Morikawa is among five players to be on the last five American teams. Wyndham Clark was his eighth partner in team matches dating to 2022.
\nScottie Scheffler and Sam Burns were 0-3-1 as partners in two previous cups. They were sent out three times at Medinah and went 2-1-0, both tight matches.
\nScheffler now is 9-12-4 in his six appearances in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and that record was helped by a 3-1-0 week at Medinah. It’s a mystery, not too dissimilar from Tiger Woods in the Ryder Cup. Woods was a beast in match play. Scheffler had a 15-4-2 mark in the Match Play Championship, reaching the semifinals all three years he played and winning once.
\nWhether the Americans playing a team event every year helps or hurts depends on the outcome and the mood. Woods used to talk about two cups as a burden, even though they were among his favorite weeks of the year because of the team setting.
\nFoursomes remains a weakness for the Americans, but they have the most experience from playing it every year. There’s also the notion Europe is champing at the bit from having to wait two years, win or lose, while the Presidents Cup gives the Americans a false sense of hope.
\nThe format looks the same. The cups are nothing alike.
\nSnedeker had said going into Medinah that while the Americans had won 10 in a row, his group of 12 players \u201chave accomplished nothing.\u201d
\nHe ended the week by telling SiriusXM amid the euphoria of being the winning captain, \u201cThis team is going to be a problem in Ireland.\u201d
\nA problem for whom?
\nWhat makes Snedeker think the 2027 team for the Ryder Cup \u2014 qualifying doesn’t even start until January \u2014 will have any momentum going to Adare Manor against a team that hasn’t lost on home soil since 1989, before any of the current American players were even born?
\n\nJim Furyk returns as Ryder Cup captain for Adare Manor next year. He was the losing captain in France in 2018, and he was one of Snedeker\u2019s assistants at Medinah. Justin Thomas has played on more teams (eight) than anyone else on this U.S. squad.
\nNeither had an immediate answer when asked if there was anything from the Presidents Cup that could be applied to the Ryder Cup. Maybe that\u2019s just as well.
\nPlayers often talk about learning more from losing than winning. If that’s true, the Americans might be better off leaning into what went wrong at Bethpage instead of what went right at Medinah.
The post The Americans Have Won Another Presidents Cup. What Matters Is Whether They Can Win The Ryder Cup first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-29T18:07:53+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-29T18:07:53+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/BrandtSnedekerPresCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "1 week", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Luke Donald picked a curious time to celebrate an anniversary. The second of 12 singles matches in the Presidents Cup had just teed off at Medinah when Europe’s two-time winning Ryder Cup ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/instruction/the-right-driver-setup-for-distance/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/instruction/the-right-driver-setup-for-distance/", "title": "The Right Driver Setup For Distance", "content_html": "\n
Hitting a driver like an iron is the fastest way to lose distance. Mark Blackburn explains the ‘Reverse K’ setup, forward ball position, and wide arc needed to hit up on the ball for high-launch, low-spin drives.
The post The Right Driver Setup For Distance first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-28T16:57:01+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-28T16:57:17+00:00", "author": { "name": "Mark Blackburn" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-Right-Driver-Setup-for-Distance.jpg", "category": { "name": "Instruction", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/instruction" }, "time_ago": "1 week", "excerpt": "Hitting a driver like an iron is the fastest way to lose distance. Mark Blackburn explains the ‘Reverse K’ setup, forward ball position, and wide arc needed to hit up on the ball for high-launch, low-spin ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/americans-rally-in-singles-to-win-the-presidents-cup-for-the-11th-straight-time/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/americans-rally-in-singles-to-win-the-presidents-cup-for-the-11th-straight-time/", "title": "Americans Rally In Singles To Win The Presidents Cup For The 11th Straight Time", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker won’t have to second-guess the outcome of this Presidents Cup. He went from blaming himself for a three-point deficit to watching the Americans deliver the biggest Sunday rout in tournament history to win for the 11th straight time.
\nOutplayed over three days in team matches at Medinah, the Americans flipped two key singles matches on the back nine \u2014 one from two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, the other from 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun. And it was a rush of red scores at the end.
\nPresident Donald Trump was on the first tee for the start of 12 singles matches, and he kept his speech short. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a very interesting game of golf,\u201d he said.
\nThat it was, even if the outcome was all to familiar.
\nThe Americans won nine of the 12 singles and halved the final match on the course when the Presidents Cup already was decided, adding to a 17-13 victory.
\nTrump, the honorary chairman of the Presidents Cup, stuck around for the trophy presentation, just like he did after another American victory at Liberty National in 2017 during his first term.
\nThe U.S. rally wasn’t on edge the way it was in 2012 when Europe stormed from a 10-6 deficit at Medinah to win the Ryder Cup. The Americans at least had a home crowd on their side, loud and boisterous all day, and over the top on one occasion.
\nSomeone yelled in the backswing of Nico Echavarria, causing him to drop the driver as his ball sailed to the right. Scottie Scheffler barked at the fan, and after missing a birdie putt, he conceded a 30-foot par to the Colombian in a show of sportsmanship.
\nScheffler went on to win. So did Cameron Young and Justin Thomas and Chris Gotterup as the deficit shrunk and soon turned into another comfortable victory.
\n\u201cI told the guys last night that funny stuff happens here. Medinah has a history of funny things happening,” said Snedeker, who was on that losing Ryder Cup team in 2012. \u201cSure enough, they went out and played their (tails) off today. I’m so damn proud of those guys.\u201d
\nThat group included Koivun, who just over a year ago was on the winning Walker Cup team for amateurs. Just four months ago, he helped Auburn to an NCAA golf title. And there he was Sunday, going from a 2-down deficit to a 2-up victory and hitting clutch shots on the 18th to secure a win.
\n\u201cThe kid is special. He\u2019s different,\u201d Snedeker said. \u201cYou saw that for a 21-year-old kid to stand up there and hit those last two balls like he did. Not many people like that.\u201d
\nPatrick Cantlay had another moment, as he always seem to do in these events, holing a birdie putt from just inside 60 feet on the par-3 16th against hard-luck Adam Scott.
\nFive matches remained on the course \u2014 the Americans were 1 up in three of them, the other two were all square. All the Internationals had to do was find three points from them. The Americans simply refused to budge.
\nKoivun was 2 down through 10 holes to the Internationals’ top performer this week, Si Woo Kim, when he won three straight holes to flip the color to American red on the board. The kid drilled his tee shot on the 18th, and twirled his iron when he knew the approach was pure. He wound up with a 2-up victory, and then it was a matter of time.
\nThe clinching point came from Jacob Bridgeman, who was 1 down with three to play. He rolled in a 3-foot par putt for a 1-up victory over Min Woo Lee, assuring the Americans the 15 1/2 points they needed.
\n\n\u201cIt was sort of on a knife’s edge all day,\u201d Internationals captain Geoff Ogilvy said. “Some of those 1-downs that we had out there, if they\u2019d flipped to 1-up, the numbers look really good, and who knows what momentum can give.
\n\u201cBut look, it\u2019s a very difficult thing to beat the U.S. in singles in the U.S,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re great players, and the crowd came out for them. They get a bit of red on the board, and the noise gets loud. They started the day with a lot to do and they all played great.\u201d
\nAll the Internationals can do is regroup and try again at Kingston Heath in Australia is two years. Their only victory was at Royal Melbourne in 1998, and there was a tie in South Africa in 2003.
\n
The post Americans Rally In Singles To Win The Presidents Cup For The 11th Straight Time first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-27T23:51:03+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T13:14:29+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/TeamUSAPresCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker won’t have to second-guess the outcome of this Presidents Cup. He went from blaming himself for a three-point deficit to watching the Americans deliver the biggest Sunday rout ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/yuna-nishimura-of-japan-wins-by-5-shots-in-arkansas-for-her-first-lpga-victory/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/yuna-nishimura-of-japan-wins-by-5-shots-in-arkansas-for-her-first-lpga-victory/", "title": "Yuna Nishimura Of Japan Wins By 5 Shots In Arkansas For Her First LPGA Victory", "content_html": "\n
ROGERS, Ark. (AP) \u2014 Yuna Nishimura played a flawless back nine after allowing the chasing pack to get close early and won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship by five shots on Sunday for her first LPGA victory.
\nA six-time winner on the Japan LPGA, the 26-year-old Nishimura closed with a 5-under 66 for a three-day total of 21-under 192 at Pinnacle Country Club.
\n\u201cI still can\u2019t believe it. I still shake my hand. But, yeah, I\u2019m proud of myself and, yeah, I\u2019m super happy,\u201d Nishimura said.
\nLeading by five shots entering the day after back-to-back 63s, Nishimura shot even-par 36 on the front nine while another Japanese player, Aki Iwai, made a charge with six birdies in seven holes to start the back nine.
\nIwai shot a bogey-free 62 and tied for second with Chanettee Wannasaen (65) and In Gee Chun (67).
\n\u201cThis week greens are so soft,\u201d Iwai said. \u201cEspecially today. So I was like — I need more aggressive. Like, yeah, I need hit three, four yards past the pin usually.\u201d
\nNishimura opened a three-shot lead over Iwai with an eagle on the par-5 14th hole after she reached the green with a fairway wood over water. She added two more birdies to shoot 5-under 30 on the back nine.
\n\u201cI told myself to go aggressive until the very end and I went for it,\u201d she said.
\nLauren Coughlin, who set an LPGA record by opening with nine straight birdies to shoot a career-best 61 on Saturday, closed with a 66 and finished in a tie for 12th, eight shots back.
\nLottie Woad, the seventh-ranked player in the world who helped Europe to victory over the U.S. in the Solheim Cup two weeks ago in the Netherlands, withdrew with an illness. The English player was six shots off the lead through two rounds.
\nTwo players made holes-in-one Sunday. Yealimi Noh aced the par-3 15th hole with a 9-iron from 136 yards, the first of her career. Mao Saigo holed a 7-iron from 159 yards on the par-3 third, also her first ace.
The post Yuna Nishimura Of Japan Wins By 5 Shots In Arkansas For Her First LPGA Victory first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-27T22:11:17+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-28T20:15:31+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/YunaNishimura26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "ROGERS, Ark. (AP) \u2014 Yuna Nishimura played a flawless back nine after allowing the chasing pack to get close early and won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship by five shots on Sunday for her first LPGA ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/trumps-golf-tour-takes-him-back-to-the-presidents-cup/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/trumps-golf-tour-takes-him-back-to-the-presidents-cup/", "title": "Trump\u2019s Golf Tour Takes Him Back To The Presidents Cup", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump returned to the Presidents Cup as honorary chairman for the second time, getting a loud cheer and keeping his remarks brief.
\n\u201cThese people want to see golf,\u201d he said Sunday.
\nHis visit to Medinah Country Club in suburban Chicago marked the fourth time Trump has gone to a golf tournament this year.
\nSecurity was tight. The Secret Service would not let spectators cross from one side of the first fairway to the other except for when Trump took a break from greeting golfers to go inside a suite.
\nTrump also was honorary chairman at the 2017 Presidents Cup during his first term. He showed up at Liberty National, across the Hudson River from Manhattan, toward the end of the competition when the Americans were assured of winning. He posed with U.S. players during the trophy presentation.
\nThis time, he arrived before the start of the 12 singles matches in the final session. Flanked by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, Trump greeted players and caddies on both teams. In between player introductions, he watched the action on the videoboard at No. 1.
\nScottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in golf and among several golfers who have played with Trump, patted the president\u2019s shoulder as he walked onto the tee. U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker also visited the president a couple times.
\nTrump signed three hats for fans, and he responded to periodic cheers by pointing at a group in the crowd and waving or offering a thumbs-up. When a fan yelled \u201cWe love you Donnie,\u201d right before Chris Gotterup’s tee shot, Trump waved discreetly.
\nTrump was introduced by Rolapp, prompting Trump to remark \u201cthe fake news media will say I got a very bad reception.\u201d
\nThe president spoke briefly, noting that Rolapp had asked him to make a short speech.
\n\u201cI said, \u2018No, I don\u2019t have the courage to make a speech. These people want to see golf. They don\u2019t want to hear speeches,\u2019\u201d Trump said. \u201cI\u2019ll only say this: Our country is doing great, better than ever before.\u201d
\nUnlike regular golf tournaments, the first tee is boisterous with a flag-waving crowd and music at the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup, which Trump attended last year at Bethpage Black on Long Island in New York.
\nThe Americans lost the Ryder Cup, and they trailed on Sunday in the Presidents Cup for only the fourth time in 32 years of competition.
\n\u201cI\u2019m going to watch the greatest players in the world go out and play and play your hearts out,\u201d Trump told the crowd at Medinah. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a very interesting game of golf.\u201d
\nBefore the horseshoe-shaped grandstand was filled, the loudest buzz was Air Force One flying over Medinah, louder than any of the commercial airlines that have been flying over the course every 70 seconds throughout the week during descent to O’Hare International Airport.
\n\u201cThey were nice enough to name me chairman or honorary chairman, so it\u2019s an honor. It\u2019s a very big event, one of the biggest events in golf by far,\u201d Trump told reporters Sunday morning as he left the White House. \u201cYou have the Ryder Cup, and you have the Presidents Cup, and this is a big one, and so it\u2019s a great honor. So, I\u2019m going there.\u201d
\nIt’s a traditional role offered to leaders of every country where the tournament is played.
\nThe Presidents Cup began in 1994 to include international players from non-European countries who were not eligible for the more famed Ryder Cup. The name of the tournament comes from including the head of state of the host country to be honorary chairman.
\nThen-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was part of the trophy presentation at the last Presidents Cup in 2024 at Royal Montreal.
\n\nPresident Bill Clinton was in office in 2000 when he attended for one round at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. The first time Trump attended in 2017, the start of the week was the biggest display of presidents when Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama sat together on the first tee for the opening round.
\nTrump this year was at the Cadillac Championship at his Trump National Doral near Miami in early May. He also attended the LIV Golf event at his Trump National Bedminster course in New Jersey in August.
\nEarlier this month he attended the Irish Open over the weekend at his course in Doonbeg, Ireland.
The post Trump\u2019s Golf Tour Takes Him Back To The Presidents Cup first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-27T22:07:11+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-27T22:07:11+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/TrumpPresidentsCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump returned to the Presidents Cup as honorary chairman for the second time, getting a loud cheer and keeping his remarks brief. \u201cThese people want to see golf,\u201d he said ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/englands-matt-fitzpatrick-eases-to-french-open-win-for-4th-title-of-the-year/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/englands-matt-fitzpatrick-eases-to-french-open-win-for-4th-title-of-the-year/", "title": "England\u2019s Matt Fitzpatrick Eases To French Open Win For 4th Title Of The Year", "content_html": "\n
PARIS (AP) \u2014 Matt Fitzpatrick eased to victory at the French Open on Sunday for his fourth title of the year.
\nThe Englishman shot a 1-under 70 in the final round and was 20 under for the tournament, outclassing the chasing pack led by Spaniard \u00c1ngel Hidalgo (67), who finished three strokes back.
\n\u201cObviously delighted to get it over the line, it was definitely a battle today,” Fitzpatrick said. “Didn\u2019t have my best stuff for the first 12 holes, there\u2019s a lot of patience but coming down the stretch today, to hit the shots that I did and make the putts I did was special.\u201d
\nThe win capped a special few weeks for Fitzpatrick who, with his wife Katherine, recently welcomed their first child.
\n\u201cYeah, absolutely,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to get home and see them.\u201d
\nLocal favorite Tom Vaillant, a two-time winner on the smaller Alps Tour but still looking for his first European tour title, started the day second but dropped back to finish joint-third along with three other players after a final-day 70.
\nFitzpatrick already has won the Valspar Championship and the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour, along with teaming with younger brother Alex to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. But he was disappointed with his missed cut in the British Open, along with substandard play in the PGA Tour\u2019s postseason.
\nHidalgo’s second-place finish guaranteed him a spot at the British Open at St. Andrews next year. The event at Le Golf National was the first in \u201cThe Open Qualifying Series,\u201d which continues at next month\u2019s Spanish Open.
The post England\u2019s Matt Fitzpatrick Eases To French Open Win For 4th Title Of The Year first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-27T22:03:50+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-10-06T13:14:53+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/MattFitzpatrickWentworth26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "PARIS (AP) \u2014 Matt Fitzpatrick eased to victory at the French Open on Sunday for his fourth title of the year. The Englishman shot a 1-under 70 in the final round and was 20 under for ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/tom-kim-goes-from-presidents-cup-to-asian-games-with-a-chance-to-be-exempt-from-military-service/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/tom-kim-goes-from-presidents-cup-to-asian-games-with-a-chance-to-be-exempt-from-military-service/", "title": "Tom Kim Goes From Presidents Cup To Asian Games With A Chance To Be Exempt From Military Service", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The International team has a chance to win the Presidents Cup for the first time in 28 years, and Tom Kim most likely won’t be around for the outcome Sunday.
\nKim, who has won three of his four matches this week at Medinah, faces a tournament that feels just as big next week in Japan. He is one three South Korean golfers competing in the Asian Games, which starts Wednesday at Kasugi Country Club.
\nA gold medal in the men’s competition or the team competition would excuse Kim from his mandatory military service.
\nTwo people involved with the International team confirmed Kim is leaving for Japan late Sunday afternoon. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Kim hasn’t spoken about the Asian Games. He was not available Saturday after losing his foursomes match.
\nKim was emotional at the Paris Olympics two years ago when he started the final round four shots out of the lead, closed with a 68 and missed out on a bronze medal by four shots. At 24, he would likely get another shot at an Olympic medal in Los Angeles in 2028.
\nUnder South Korean law, most able-bodied men must perform 18 to 21 months of military service. Special exemptions are granted for athletes and classical artists who excel in certain kinds of international competitions tied to national prestige.
\nFor athletes, that means any medal at the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games.
\nKim was No. 144 in the world when he was selected for the South Korean team. Since then, he won the Scottish Open, finished third in the U.S. Open and is No. 31 in the world.
\nAlso chosen were S.H. Kim, who started this year on the PGA Tour until he was required to return to South Korea in April; and Do-yeob Moon.
\n\nThe Asian Games previously were for amateurs. Pros were allowed for the last Asian Games, delayed until 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim were the professionals chosen. South Korea won the gold medal in the team competition by 25 shots.
\nTom Kim is playing in the second of 12 matches Sunday at Medinah, teeing off at 11:14 a.m. local time against U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
\nSouth Korea’s stiffest competition from the Asian Games figures to come from Japan, which has PGA Tour member Keita Nakajima and Kazuki Higa, who won the Asian Tour money list in 2025. Joining them is Taishi Moto, who plays at Arizona.
The post Tom Kim Goes From Presidents Cup To Asian Games With A Chance To Be Exempt From Military Service first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-27T21:59:56+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-27T21:59:57+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/TomKimPresCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The International team has a chance to win the Presidents Cup for the first time in 28 years, and Tom Kim most likely won’t be around for the outcome Sunday. Kim, who ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/scheffler-and-burns-finally-win-together-and-stake-americans-to-3-2-lead-in-presidents-cup/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/scheffler-and-burns-finally-win-together-and-stake-americans-to-3-2-lead-in-presidents-cup/", "title": "Scheffler And Burns Finally Win Together And Stake Americans To 3-2 Lead In Presidents Cup", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns finally won a match together on their fifth try, and it came at just the right time for an American team that hung on to win the opening session of fourballs Thursday in the Presidents Cup.
\nThe Americans led 3-2, the ninth time in the last 10 Presidents Cup they won the opening session.
\n\u201cA session win is a session win. We\u2019re going to take it any way we can get it,\u201d U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker said. \u201cSo happy for Scottie and Sam to go out there in that lead match and get that big win to lead us off. This is a long week. This is one session. We\u2019ve got four more to go.\u201d
\nFive matches of foursomes are scheduled for Friday at Medinah Country Club.
\nJackson Koivun also wasted little time getting a point on the board. The 21-year-old Koivun, who turned pro just over three months ago, teamed with Justin Thomas in a 4-and-3 victory over Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria, who managed only three birdies in the easier better-ball format.
\nBurns hit his approach to 2 feet for birdie on the 14th hole to square the match. The Americans took a 1-up lead when Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im missed par putts on the 17th, and Scheffler hit a bunker shot to tap-in range to secure par and a full point on the 18th.
\nThe Internationals picked up two wins behind Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune \u2014 the first time for two Japanese players in the Presidents Cup since 1998 \u2014 and Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim in the anchor match.
\nThe Americans got their other win behind Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa, who never trailed against Adam Scott and Ryan Fox in a 3-and-2 win.
\nFor so much of a cloudy afternoon at Medinah, two wins apiece looked certain for the Americans and the Internationals. Up for grabs was the opening match, which was tight the entire way.
\nScheffler and Burns, close friends who were 0-3-1 as partners in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, birdied the opening four holes, and the match was all square when the International birdied their fourth straight hole on the par-4 fifth hole.
\nThis was always going to be the swing match. The Internationals on three straight holes had putts in the 10-foot range to win and couldn’t convert. Im finally put them ahead on the par-3 13th with a shot into 10 feet for birdie, only for Burns to respond with an approach to 2 feet on the 14th.
\n\u201cSam hit probably the shot of the match there on 14,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cWe lost 13 to go 1 down, and then he hit one in there to a couple feet and we were able to square the match up. I felt like that was really a big moment for us as a team, and he stepped up when we needed him to.\u201d
\nIm and Lee, whose putting hurt them along the back nine, took bogey on the 17th to fall behind. Lee went long of the green, and Im gassed his 40-foot birdie putt some 15 feet by the hole.
\nScheffler and Burns both hit into bunkers on opposite sides of the 18th green. Scheffler blasted out to a foot to secure par. Im had the last chance, a 40-foot birdie putt to earn a halve, and it banged into the back of the cup and hopped out.
\nInternational captain Geoff Ogilvy came away pleased to be close after one day.
\n\u201cTwo-to-three their way is not too bad,\u201d Ogilvy said. \u201cWe had a couple of really good, solid matches there, and we had a match go up to 18, which would have been nice if it went the other way. But 2-3, we’ll take that. The boys have got a round under their belt now.\u201d
\nCameron Young and Xander Schauffele won the par-4 second hole and didn’t win another. The Japanese duo won the last two holes on the front nine for a 2-up lead, and the Americans conceded birdie putts on the 17th to end it.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time. I\u2019ve been waiting for another guy from Japan to come play with me, and I was really happy today,\u201d Matsuyama said.
\nKoivun is the first player to win a Walker Cup point and a Presidents Cup point just over a year apart. He was part of Auburn’s NCAA title team in June. He won his first PGA Tour title in the 3M Open in his third start. And now he’s part of a dominant American team that has won 10 in a row at the Presidents Cup.
\n\nHe said he told Thomas that \u201conce I get my first tee shot out of the way, I\u2019m going to be good.\u201d His second tee shot went out-of-bounds, though Thomas saved it with a beautiful bunker shot to halve the hole. Koivun’s wedge to 7 feet for birdie on the par-5 sixth gave them a 3-up lead, and the Internationals never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
\nThomas improved to 7-0 in fourballs at the Presidents Cup.
\n\u201cFirst two holes, definitely a little shaky,\u201d Koivun said. \u201cBut after that kind of found a groove. Me and J.T., we played really well out there. He picked me up when I didn\u2019t play too hot, so thankful for that, but we had a fun time.\u201d
The post Scheffler And Burns Finally Win Together And Stake Americans To 3-2 Lead In Presidents Cup first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-24T23:45:05+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-24T23:45:05+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ScottiePresCup26Day1.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns finally won a match together on their fifth try, and it came at just the right time for an American team that hung on to win the ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/michael-kim-leads-french-open-by-2-shots-after-bogey-free-63-to-start-title-defense/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/michael-kim-leads-french-open-by-2-shots-after-bogey-free-63-to-start-title-defense/", "title": "Michael Kim Leads French Open By 2 Shots After Bogey-Free 63 To Start Title Defense", "content_html": "\n
PARIS (AP) \u2014 American golfer Michael Kim began his French Open title defense Thursday with a bogey-free 8-under 63 to lead by two shots.
\nKim, who last year became the first American to win the tournament in 53 years for his maiden tour title, did not let a change of course put him off as he made eight birdies.
\nLast year\u2019s French Open was played at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bret\u00e8che west of Paris while the current course, Le Golf National in Guyancourt, underwent renovations.
\nSeven golfers \u2014 Australia\u2019s Jason Scrivener, Norway\u2019s Kristoffer Reitan, South Africa\u2019s Thriston Lawrence, Italy\u2019s Matteo Manassero and Gregorio De Leo, and England\u2019s Matt Fitzpatrick and Sam Bairstow \u2014 were two shots behind Kim after shooting 65s.
The post Michael Kim Leads French Open By 2 Shots After Bogey-Free 63 To Start Title Defense first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-24T23:41:41+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-24T23:41:41+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/MichaelKimBMW25.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "PARIS (AP) \u2014 American golfer Michael Kim began his French Open title defense Thursday with a bogey-free 8-under 63 to lead by two shots. Kim, who last year became the first American to win the tournament ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/jackson-koivun-goes-from-ncaa-title-to-presidents-cup-debut-in-112-days/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/jackson-koivun-goes-from-ncaa-title-to-presidents-cup-debut-in-112-days/", "title": "Jackson Koivun Goes From NCAA Title To Presidents Cup Debut In 112 Days", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Only four years ago, Jackson Koivun played in the Junior Presidents Cup as a high school senior and wandered around Quail Hollow Club a little star struck being around the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas.
\nIt was only 112 days ago when Koivun helped lead Auburn to another NCAA title, the final chapter in a remarkable college career.
\nAnd on Thursday, the 21-year-old Koivun plays with Thomas in a fourballs match for his Presidents Cup debut. For a sport with a reputation of moving slowly, his career has been at warp speed.
\n\u201cDefinitely going to feel some nerves on the first tee, but we\u2019re all human. I think everyone does,” Koivun said Wednesday. \u201cI told Justin once I get my first tee shot out of the way, I\u2019m going to be good. Just kind of balancing adrenaline, nerves, everything like that to the best of my ability.\u201d
\nThree days of practice on the No. 3 course at Medinah Country Club \u2014 rain-soaked when they arrived, drying out by the day \u2014 gives way to the opening session of five fourballs matches.
\nThe Presidents Cup has a heavy favorite in the Americans \u2014 they have won the last 10 times and lost only once since the matches against the Internationals began in 1994 \u2014 and a sentimental favorite in Adam Scott, who has is playing for the 12th time without ever being on the winning side.
\n\u201cHistory is history, and it\u2019s nice to be a part of history on the good side,\u201d Collin Morikawa said. \u201cBut history can always be changed. I think for us, starting tomorrow, it all starts 0-0.\u201d
\nU.S. captain Brandt Snedeker wasted little time sending out world No. 1 Scheffler and Sam Burns against Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im.
\nThey will be followed by Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele against the Japanese duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune; Thomas and Koivun against Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria; Morikawa and Wyndham Clark against Scott and Ryan Fox; and the anchor match of Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay against Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim.
\n\u201cYou kind of have an idea of how this thing\u2019s going to go and got a good game plan set forth,\u201d Snedeker said. \u201cAnd now it\u2019s just about getting out of these guys\u2019 way and let them go do what they love to do.\u201d
\nWhat to expect? Pretty much anything.
\n\u201cI think everyone comes into these tournaments with optimism,\u201d International captain Geoff Ogilvy said. \u201cThey\u2019re very momentum-based tournaments.\u201d
\nOgilvy thought back to two years ago at Royal Montreal when the Americans made a big opening statement with a 5-0 shutout. The Internationals responded with a shutout of their own in foursomes in which three of the matches didn’t even get to the 15th hole.
\n\u201cYou could never have predicted that,\u201d Ogilvy said, a vice captain in 2024. \u201cWe’ve been thinking about this for a long time. So we’re just excited to get going.\u201d
\nThe United States has another embarrassment of riches compared with the Internationals. With only five matches on opening day, Snedeker sat Russell Henley, the No. 6 player in the world, and Jacob Bridgeman, who came into his first Presidents Cup fresh off another PGA Tour victory.
\nIt also has Koivun, one of the more intriguing characters in these matches considering how quickly he made it to this stage. Koivun won in his third start as a professional in the 3M Open \u2014 Scheffler was the runner-up \u2014 and Snedeker trusted his gut in picking him.
\nHe wasted no time giving Koivun a taste of the matches.
\n\u201cJackson being a young kid, I feel like he\u2019s really kind of found his way on our team really quickly,\u201d Snedeker said. \u201cI feel like he\u2019s handled the adjustment really well. Justin is just a natural pairing for him. I think he\u2019ll do a great job putting his arm around him and show him how USA golf is meant to be played.\u201d
\nKoivun already has had a memorable week. As the only player who came without a plus-one, the Americans had him pose with the Presidents Cup trophy with all their wives and girlfriends. Clark told of the grief Koivun caught when he was the last one to show up for the bus ride to Medinah.
\n\nThey all have high hopes for him between the ropes.
\n\u201cThe fact that he has the maturity and the correct outlook on everything, he\u2019s obviously really competitive and he\u2019s obviously really talented,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019m excited for him this week. It\u2019s going to be an awesome experience for him.\u201d
\nThe Americans have won the opening session eight of the last nine times.
\n\u201cWe would love to be in front, have a winning session,\u201d Ogilvy said. \u201cThat’s the job tomorrow is to win a session. I’m sure we’ll be in good moods either way, but the goal would be to win the session.\u201d
The post Jackson Koivun Goes From NCAA Title To Presidents Cup Debut In 112 Days first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-24T17:53:09+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-24T17:53:09+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/KoivunPresCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Only four years ago, Jackson Koivun played in the Junior Presidents Cup as a high school senior and wandered around Quail Hollow Club a little star struck being around the likes of ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/adam-scott-is-playing-in-his-12th-straight-presidents-cup-and-desperate-to-be-on-a-winning-team/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/adam-scott-is-playing-in-his-12th-straight-presidents-cup-and-desperate-to-be-on-a-winning-team/", "title": "Adam Scott Is Playing In His 12th Straight Presidents Cup And Desperate To Be On A Winning Team", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Adam Scott was a fresh face at age 23 and getting feisty under the darkening sky in South Africa. The Presidents Cup was tied. Ernie Els and Tiger Woods were in a tense playoff when the captains agreed to a tie, meaning the Americans would keep the cup as defending champions.
\n\u201cKeep playing,\u201d Scott shouted. They ultimately agreed to share the cup.
\nAsked for his recollections from his 2003 debut, the 46-year-old Australian smiled and said: \u201cI think I strongly suggested that Ernie get to the 18th tee because we’re playing. I was confident they could tee off. I don’t know that they could have finished the hole.\u201d
\nScott never could have imagined then that it would be the closest he ever came to playing on a winning International team in the Presidents Cup. This week at Medinah marks his 12th consecutive appearance, tying the record held by Phil Mickelson.
\nIt’s another testament to a career built around a swing so pure it has kept Scott free of injury as he became only the second player to compete in at least 100 consecutive majors, and it has kept him relevant enough to be part of yet another Presidents Cup.
\nIt’s also one more chance, and Scott doesn’t take it for granted.
\n\u201cI feel like it’s a huge opportunity for me,\u201d Scott said. “There was probably a period 10 years ago, in the middle of my career, where it was, \u2018Oh, this (winning) is going to happen.\u2019 But now there’s not many more, that’s for sure. I’ve been given another chance. It might be the last one.\u201d
\nThe Internationals gathered for the team photo Wednesday morning, and it was only fitting that Scott had a place next to the gold trophy, with lifelong friend and International captain Geoff Ogilvy on the other side.
\nOne is the captain who has been the model of quiet confidence. The other is the inspiration for a team that wants to win as badly as Scott does.
\n\u201cHe’s part of the International furniture now,\u201d Christiaan Bezuidenhout said. \u201cAll of us would love to win the cup, but it would be so much more special if we can do it while Adam is still in the team.\u201d
\nScott, coming off a runner-up finish in the BMW PGA Championship last week in England, still can find plenty of happy memories from his two-plus decades being on losing teams.
\nHe partnered with Els for a pair of foursomes victories in South Africa \u2014 “He’s a bit of a god down there. That was awesome,” Scott said \u2014 and he was with K.J. Choi at Royal Melbourne in 2011 when they handed Woods and Steve Stricker their worst loss (7 and 6) in team competition.
\nBut the beer-drinking celebrations with the cup in hand? Foreign territory.
\n\u201cIt’s a quarter of a century. It’s his whole career,\u201d Ogilvy said. \u201cCertainly the last two or three times he’s been super motivated. Like: \u2018This is something I have to do before I\u2019m done. I have to be on a winning team.\u201d
\nScott’s two closest friends in golf, Ogilvy and Trevor Immelman, have been or are captains. He surely is next in line, unless there’s another Presidents Cup for Scott to play. In some respects, he already is one, given his presence \u2014 his experience \u2014 in the team room and on the bus.
\n\u201cHe’s like a playing captain,\u201d Ogilvy said. \u201cYou can hear in his voice his desire to win this tournament. He’s the leader of the players, clearly, and he’s embracing that role now.\u201d
\nScott started his Presidents Cup career playing alongside Els and Retief Goosen, Nick Price and Vijay Singh, all of them in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
\n\nNow he’s with Ryo Hisatsune and Tom Kim, who weren’t even born when Scott turned pro.
\nSouth Africa wasn’t the only close call. It went down to the final match in 2005 in Virginia and in 2015 in South Korea. The Internationals had the lead going into Sunday singles at Royal Melbourne in 2019 until the Americans rallied behind Woods, a playing captain, and finally secured victory in the 11th of 12 matches.
\nBut it was another loss, and two more followed after that.
\n\u201cIt’s come down to the last hole several times, and they can go any way. And it hasn’t gone our way,\u201d Scott said. \u201cFor me, of course, I want to win one desperately and I don’t know how many more I can possibly play in. But it’s a team effort to do it. We all have to want it so badly. I think it would be an amazing experience for us all to win this cup.\u201d
The post Adam Scott Is Playing In His 12th Straight Presidents Cup And Desperate To Be On A Winning Team first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-24T17:49:19+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-24T17:49:19+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/OgilvyScottPresCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Adam Scott was a fresh face at age 23 and getting feisty under the darkening sky in South Africa. The Presidents Cup was tied. Ernie Els and Tiger Woods were in a ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/scottie-scheffler-is-the-dominant-player-in-golf-the-cups-have-been-another-matter/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/scottie-scheffler-is-the-dominant-player-in-golf-the-cups-have-been-another-matter/", "title": "Scottie Scheffler Is The Dominant Player In Golf. The Cups Have Been Another Matter", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Scottie Scheffler is the undisputed No. 1 player in the world, a winner of 25 tournament worldwide and three legs of the career Grand Slam, all within the last five years.
\nIt just doesn’t look that way when it comes to team competition.
\nHis record in the two Presidents Cups he has played is 3-5-1. Scheffler avoided a complete shutout in the Ryder Cup last year by beating Rory McIlroy in singles to go 1-4-0 for the week at Bethpage Black, lowering his record in those matches to 3-6-3.
\nThis is of little concern to Scheffler, or to U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker.
\n\u201cScottie Scheffler being Scottie Scheffler is the most important thing for us as a team,\u201d Snedeker said Tuesday after another cool, cloudy day of practice at rain-softened Medinah. \u201cWe can’t ask him to do more than he can do. He can only deliver five points at his best if he goes out and plays unbelievable. We just want Scottie to go out there and be comfortable.”
\nSnedeker was at Medinah in 2012 for the Ryder Cup when Tiger Woods didn’t win any of his four matches as Europe rallied to win.
\nThat was always the most curious part of Woods’ incomparable career \u2014 a world beater except in the Ryder Cup, where he had a career mark of 13-21-3. He fared much better in the Presidents Cup (27-15-1), a product of being on so many winning teams.
\nBeing the best in golf often comes with a target on the back, that extra level of motivation for the player \u2014 or players in team formats \u2014 trying to beat him.
\nScheffler made his Ryder Cup debut in 2021 before he had won on the PGA Tour. Most memorable that week was starting with four straight birdies to go 4 up in four holes and beating Jon Rahm, 4 and 3. Scheffler, a captain’s pick, was unbeaten in three matches at Whistling Straits.
\nRemarkably, he went eight consecutive matches in both cups without winning (three matches were halved) until he and Russell Henley won the opening match at the 2024 Presidents Cup.
\nSome of it Scheffler attributes to the fickle nature of match play over 18 holes. He has played well and lost, played mediocre and won. That happens with everyone. There’s another part of him, however, that wonders if the effort is in overdrive.
\n\u201cWhen you look at this format \u2014 and maybe my record hasn\u2019t matched up to what I think that it should be \u2014 could it be trying too hard? I think that\u2019s definitely a factor, for sure,\u201d Scheffler said. “For me, it\u2019s different in the sense that you also have a partner with you and you\u2019re playing for somebody outside yourself, and that\u2019s a lot different as well.
\n\u201cStriking the balance between how much do you care, I think that\u2019s something I\u2019m always trying to figure out,\u201d he said. \u201cDefinitely for me, I think just trying less would be really important. It\u2019s just one of those things that\u2019s a lot easier said than done.\u201d
\nScheffler has been playing practice rounds this week with Sam Burns, his best friend on the PGA Tour. They have yet to win a match as partners (0-3-1) in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.
\n\u201cDo I think we have unfinished business? I don\u2019t know if I would call it that,\u201d Burns said. \u201cIt\u2019s been frustrating the times we have played together, and we feel like we\u2019ve played really well and ultimately not won. This week we\u2019re going to go out and compete as hard as we can and try to get as many points for the U.S. team as possible.\u201d
\nThat hasn’t been a problem for the American team, heavy favorites on paper and in history. They have won 10 in a row dating to 2005, though Burns was quick to point out a message Snedeker is trying to hammer home that \u201cthis team hasn’t done anything.\u201d
\nScheffler had another dominant year, even if the trophies didn’t pile up. He won his season opener in the California desert in January. He didn’t win again until August. In between he had three straight runner-up finishes, including at the Masters.
\nHe ended the season by taking two of the three postseason events. The one he didn’t win, the BMW Championship, he played with hand, foot and mouth disease that caused blisters on his hands and his feet. It’s tough to play golf that way. He tied for 12th.
\n\n\u201cWhen you think about expectations and all that stuff, all I can control is what I can control, and that’s going out and trying to execute,\u201d he said. “A successful week for me is not necessarily winning all five matches. It\u2019s showing up and controlling what I can control and going out there and doing my best.”
\nHe’s the key player on the American team \u2014 it’s been that way the last four years. Snedeker served up a reminder that Scheffler is not the only player.
\n\u201cScottie Scheffler is not going to be the reason we win or lose,\u201d Snedeker said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to have to be 12 people pitching in and doing their job.\u201d
The post Scottie Scheffler Is The Dominant Player In Golf. The Cups Have Been Another Matter first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-24T17:44:47+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-24T17:44:47+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ScottiePresCupPractice26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Scottie Scheffler is the undisputed No. 1 player in the world, a winner of 25 tournament worldwide and three legs of the career Grand Slam, all within the last five years. It ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/j-j-spaun-gets-a-presidents-cup-snub-and-then-a-big-win-in-europe/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/j-j-spaun-gets-a-presidents-cup-snub-and-then-a-big-win-in-europe/", "title": "J.J. Spaun Gets A Presidents Cup Snub And Then A Big Win In Europe", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker chose not to use any of his six picks on J.J. Spaun, the 2025 U.S. Open champion and a winner at the Texas Open earlier in the year. Spaun said he was referred to as the \u201codd man odd\u201d and was surprised and disappointed in being left off the U.S. team.
\nHe said it motivated him when he got to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, and Spaun birdied four of his last five holes to win, becoming only the third American to capture Europe’s flagship event. The others were Billy Horschel (twice) and Arnold Palmer. The victory moved him to No. 12 in the world.
\nSpaun said Snedeker called him the Monday after the Tour Championship \u2014 Spaun had to withdraw with a sore shoulder \u2014 and the phone call lasted under a minute.
\n\u201cJust said I wasn\u2019t on the team, and said I was the odd man out and I wished him luck and that was it,\u201d Spaun said.
\nSnedeker, speaking to the snub on Tuesday at Medinah, said he had to follow his instincts on his picks, noting he also bypassed Ryan Gerard (No. 23 in the world), Bay Hill winner Akshay Bhatia and even Gary Woodland, one of his assistants this week.
\n\u201cI feel awful for J.J., and I always will, because he\u2019s a great dude and I love the guy to death,\u201d Snedeker said. \u201cThat being said, he\u2019s a competitor. Like, I knew this was going to happen. I told all the guys that didn\u2019t make the team, \u2018Your job is to go make me look like an idiot as quick as possible.\u2019\u201d
\nSpaun must have taken that to heart.
\n\u201cGive them something to go set their sights on, they\u2019re going to do it,\u201d Snedeker said. “I can\u2019t wait to see J.J. get off to a great start next year, and I would be shocked if he\u2019s not on the (Ryder Cup) team in Ireland.
\nThe John Deere Classic is back among qualifying sites for the British Open next year. Still to be determined is whether a leading player from LIV Golf gets a spot at St. Andrews.
\nThe R&A on Tuesday released its qualifying criteria for the 155th Open Championship, ranging from its Open Qualifying Series of tournaments around the world to the traditional spots for major champions and leading players from top tour points list.
\nJoaquin Niemann earned a spot at Royal Birkdale this year as the leading player on LIV Golf’s points list through its eighth event (Andalucia) on the 2026 schedule. Now that LIV’s future is uncertain as it goes through Chapter 11 bankruptcy without Saudi funding, it’s not part of the criteria.
\n\u201cThe exemption for the LIV Golf Order of Merit remains under review until the 2027 LIV Golf schedule is confirmed,\u201d the R&A said in its release.
\nFor the PGA Tour, the Open Qualifying Series again offers a spot to the leading player not already exempt at the Memorial and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, along with three spots at the Canadian Open and Scottish Open.
\nThe John Deere Classic also gets one spot, as it did in 2024.
\nJ.J. Spaun always wanted to feel like a global golfer, and winning the European tour\u2019s flagship event is a great way to start. That it happened in England at the BMW PGA Championship was only fitting.
\nThe 36-year-old Californian has been a huge fan of \u201cClarkson\u2019s Farm\u201d for the last few years. His wife told him Jeremy Clarkson would be at Wentworth, and she carried around a cardboard face of Clarkson during the final round.
\nThey also took their first overseas trip together to Cotswold three years ago, which led to a most interesting promise.
\nSpaun was off to a great start in 2025, contending in the Sony Open, runner-up at the Cognizant Classic and losing in a playoff to Rory McIlroy at The Players Championship.
\nThat\u2019s when his wife offered him a wager. If Spaun were to win a tournament, he would buy a cottage in Cotswold. Spaun thought that wasn\u2019t a big enough feat. So his wife upped the ante by asking if he would do it by winning a major.
\n\u201cOf course if I won a major, I\u2019ll do whatever you want,\u201d Spaun said he told her.
\nJust over two months later, he won the U.S. Open at Oakmont.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s sending me listings on Zillow the following day,\u201d Spaun said. \u201cWe\u2019ve come to a compromise. We don\u2019t own a cottage yet.\u201d
\nTwelve years after Nick Taylor won the first of his five PGA Tour titles, the 38-year-old Canadian finally gets to play in the Presidents Cup.
\nIt’s a bit surprising considering he has reached the Tour Championship twice, and delivered big moments like winning the Canadian Open and taking down Phil Mickelson at Pebble Beach.
\n\u201cTwo of my best years were gap years,\u201d Taylor said Tuesday. Those were in 2023 and 2025, also known as Ryder Cup years. \u201cTo sneak onto this one, I think I was relieved more than anything.\u201d
\nMost devastating was 2024, a big year for Canadians because of the Olympics and the Presidents Cup being at Royal Montreal. Taylor won the Phoenix Open and reached a career-best No. 24 in the world in March. But he struggled the rest of the year and missed the cut in all four majors, other Canadians played well and he was left off the team.
\nHe appreciated International captain Geoff Ogilvy not only picking him, but getting to the good news in a hurry without making him sweat.
\nTaylor has company with British Open champion Ryan Fox, a 39-year-old from New Zealand also playing in his first Presidents Cup. What they’re missing is more than two decades of not winning against the Americans.
\n\u201cWe don’t have any scar tissue,\u201d Taylor said.
\nThe leading 15 players from the Epson Tour who earn LPGA status for 2027 won\u2019t just be getting an LPGA card. They also get a commemorative staff golf bag from Sun Mountain to celebrate their achievement.
\nThe Epson Tour Championship is next week at Indian Wells in California. The commemorative bags will have the players\u2019 names stitched on the bag, and they will be presented during the card ceremony Oct. 4 following the final round.
\n\u201cEarning an LPGA Tour card is the culmination of years of work and sacrifice, and this commemorative bag is symbolic of the journey each player has taken, and the next phase of their career where a caddie and staff bag is required,\u201d said Jody Brothers, general manager of the Epson Tour.
\n\u201cYears from now, when these players look back on their careers, I think these bags will be every bit as meaningful as any trophy or award in their collection because of what they represent.\u201d
\nAmong those currently in the top 15 are Kaleiya Romero, the sister of Kiara Romero; 2025 U.S. Amateur champion Megha Ganne and Carla Bernat, who won the 2025 Augusta National Women\u2019s Amateur.
\nDelta Airlines, which already boasts flights to Augusta, Georgia, during the Masters, will be launching nonstop service to Monterey, California, in December (from Los Angeles and Salt Lake City) for next year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. … The Asian Tour has canceled its qualifying tournament for 2027, referring to a \u201crebuilding year\u201d having lost Saudi funding for its International Series that had been a feeder circuit for LIV Golf. The tour said it would issue refunds. … Sandy Scott winning the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship made him the seventh player on the Korn Ferry Tour to be guaranteed a PGA Tour card for 2027. That leaves 13 more cards available with two tournaments remaining.
\n\nHideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune give Japan two players in the Presidents Cup for the first time since 1998, the only year the Internationals won.
\n\u201cMatch play was more fun when they were harder to beat.\u201d \u2014 Geoff Ogilvy, a two-time Match Play champion and International captain at the Presidents Cup.
The post J.J. Spaun Gets A Presidents Cup Snub And Then A Big Win In Europe first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-24T17:41:54+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-24T17:41:54+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/J.J.-Spaun-wins-Europes-flagship-event-after-being-left-off-US-Presidents-Cup-team.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker chose not to use any of his six picks on J.J. Spaun, the 2025 U.S. Open champion and a winner at the Texas Open earlier in the ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/presidents-cup-has-more-matches-and-the-result-has-been-a-lopsided-series-for-the-americans/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/presidents-cup-has-more-matches-and-the-result-has-been-a-lopsided-series-for-the-americans/", "title": "Presidents Cup Has More Matches And The Result Has Been A Lopsided Series For The Americans", "content_html": "\n
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The Presidents Cup has been more of an exhibition than a competition, and the PGA Tour is partially to blame for that.
\nThe idea behind these matches was to give the international stars born outside Europe a chance to compete against the Americans every two years, just like the Ryder Cup.
\nOnly it’s not just like the Ryder Cup.
\nThey play for 30 points at the Presidents Cup this week at Medinah, not the 28 points at stake in the Ryder Cup since 1979, and at the Solheim Cup since it began in 1990. Those two points can make a huge difference when one team has greater depth.
\n\u201cIf the Ryder Cup was the same format as the Presidents Cup, the Europeans wouldn\u2019t historically be as successful as they have been,\u201d Rory McIlroy said. “It’s the points.\u201d
\nMcIlroy, who has played in eight Ryder Cup matches for Europe, is a casual observer this week, if he even bothers watching. And he’s not alone in his thinking.
\nThe PGA Tour owns the Presidents Cup and thus sets all the rules (along with keeping all the income). But it wanted to put its own stamp on the matches when they began in 1994. So instead of starting Friday with three days of relentless action that force captains to strategically decide which eight players to activate in team matches, the event is spread over four days and has additional matches for the paying customers to watch.
\nThat meant 32 matches when the Presidents Cup began, which then went up to 34 points before a compromise was reached in 2015 reducing it to the current format of 30 points.
\nIt’s still too many.
\n\u201cThe Solheim Cup, the Ryder Cup, they have the same points system and look at what they have,” said Nick Price, a three-time International captain and the loudest voice for change. \u201cWhy should we be different?\u201d
\nWhat those cups have is a close competition \u2014 overall, not necessarily every event \u2014 and the numbers bear that out. Europe has a 13-9-1 advantage over the United States in the Ryder Cup since 1979. The American women lead 11-8-1 over Europe in the Solheim Cup.
\nThe Presidents Cup? The Americans lead the series 13-1-1. The outcome has been about as predictable as Tiger Woods wearing a red shirt on Sunday.
\nAdam Scott of Australia is playing for a record-tying 12th consecutive time. He has yet to be on a winning team. This International team has two players \u2014 Ryo Hisatsune and Tom Kim \u2014 who weren’t even born the one time their team won the Presidents Cup in 1998 at Royal Melbourne.
\n\u201cIf they adapt the Ryder Cup format, that would help the Internationals immensely because they don’t have the depth,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cIt’s five teams out there instead of four, those two extra players. America is always going to have more depth. That to me … it’s one reason, but not the only reason. But it’s the biggest reason.\u201d
\nThe Americans have won 10 in a row dating to the tie in South Africa in 2003.
\nPrice, when he was appointed captain for 2013, lobbied the PGA Tour to reduce the points from 34 to 28. That was rejected by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem who said: \u201cI increasingly feel like unless it’s broke, don’t really mess with it. And the Presidents Cup has been very, very successful.\u201d
\nSuccessful in sales? Sure. As a competition? Not so much.
\nTwo years later, Finchem reached a compromise and lowered the points to 30. It’s still not enough.
\n\u201cThe less points you play for the closer it\u2019s always going to be,\u201d Brendon de Jonge, who played on the 2013 team for the Internationals, said on the \u201cSubpar\u201d podcast. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a proven product with the Ryder Cup, 28 points, and that was the thing that Nick Price worked really hard for \u2014 and then following captains \u2014 to try to get those points to come down.
\n\u201cThe American team is always going to be deeper, so the more points you are playing for the bigger advantage for them,\u201d he said. \u201cPoints have come down now, so we are getting closer and closer, but I still think if you can get that to 28 you are improving the chances of the International team.\u201d
\nThis U.S. team has 10 players among the top 25 in the world. Two others from the top 25, J.J. Spaun and Ryan Gerard, were not chosen. Half of the 12-man International team is outside the top 50.
\n\u201cThe average golfer doesn’t understand what those two points mean,\u201d Price said. \u201cIt’s not a question of hiding your worst players. It’s not that. You’re putting your best eight forward because you have no choice.
\n\u201cAll I wanted for the Presidents Cup was for it to be more exciting, more competitive.”
\n\nIt’s not the only thing. The Internationals struggle to find cohesion playing for a flag the PGA Tour created for them in 1994. Ernie Els was given permission in 2019 to design their own logo. Now an International team with players from seven countries on five continents is starting to meld.
\nThis takes time.
\nBut the tour missed its opportunity to keep it relatable to the other cups, and perhaps keep it closer.
\nWho knows? The International team is due \u2014 that’s been said for 20 years \u2014 and maybe Medinah is where it happens. But it’s been the one cup Americans could count on winning.
The post Presidents Cup Has More Matches And The Result Has Been A Lopsided Series For The Americans first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-22T17:53:56+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-22T17:53:56+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ScottiePresCup26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The Presidents Cup has been more of an exhibition than a competition, and the PGA Tour is partially to blame for that. The idea behind these matches was to give the international ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/snedeker-wants-americans-to-feel-theyre-starting-over-in-a-presidents-cup-they-always-win/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/snedeker-wants-americans-to-feel-theyre-starting-over-in-a-presidents-cup-they-always-win/", "title": "Snedeker Wants Americans To Feel They\u2019re Starting Over In A Presidents Cup They Always Win", "content_html": "\nMEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The Americans broke into three groups on a light day of practice Monday at Medinah, all of them looking comfortable and trading occasional barbs. The Presidents Cup always seems to feel like a happy occasion, and for good reason: They almost never lose.
\nThere was that one loss in Australia when the matches were so late in the year that the U.S. players spent most of their time online shopping for the holidays until they realized they were in a hole so deep there was no way out except to suffer a big loss.
\nThat was 26 years ago. Three of the 24 players in this Presidents Cup weren’t even born the last time \u2014 the only time \u2014 the Internationals won.
\nShould anyone expect Medinah to be different?
\n\u201cIt’s the elephant in the room you have to address,\u201d U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker said. \u201cJust because these last teams have been successful doesn’t mean we’re going to be successful. We have to reset the bar for our team, tell them we have a standard to play to and we’re 0-0. These 12 guys have accomplished nothing. We’re going to hammer that into them.\u201d
\nEach edition of the Presidents Cup brings new hope for the Internationals, a team that draws players from every continent except Europe. The depth favors the Americans, with all but two of their players inside the top 25 in the world ranking.
\nThe exceptions are Patrick Cantlay (No. 28), who has proven to be their best clutch player in these team competitions; and Jackson Koivun, the 21-year-old who three months ago was helping Auburn to another NCAA title.
\nKoivun, the No. 1 amateur in the world, won in his third start on the PGA Tour as a pro and Snedeker found him too compelling to pass up. Koivun becomes the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2013 to start a year without a PGA Tour card and end it with the Presidents Cup.
\nThe thinking was similar to when Europe chose Ludvig Aberg, who went from college to the Ryder Cup without ever having played in a major. Europe figured he would be part of every team for years to come and it was good to give him a taste.
\nSnedeker bristled at the idea that the Presidents Cup would be a good experience for Koivun for the Ryder Cup in 2027 and beyond.
\n\u201cOur job as captain and vice captains for the Presidents Cup it put the best 12 players on the field,\u201d Snedeker said. \u201cTo sit there and think this is a training session is laughable. I’ve worked 14 months for this opportunity. I’m not going to put somebody in a situation that’s not going to help our team win. I feel he gives us a better chance to win.\u201d
\nThe highest-ranked player for Geoff Ogilvy’s team is Si Woo Kim, who rose to No. 14 in the world by becoming the first player to earn $10 million in a PGA Tour season without winning. Among the four rookies on his team is 39-year-old Ryan Fox, the New Zealander who showed his mettle when he won the British Open with a birdie on the last hole.
\nAnd then there’s Adam Scott, who ties a Presidents Cup record held by Phil Mickelson by playing for the 12th time. The Australian has yet to be on the winning side. His debut in 2003 was in South Africa when it ended in a tie.
\n\u201cI’ve been given another chance. It might be the last one,\u201d the 46-year-old Scott said. \u201cI’m more excited this year than previously.\u201d
\nThe biggest hurdle for Ogilvy, the 2006 U.S. Open champion, and his International team is history. It came down to the final match in South Korea in 2015, and in Virginia in 2005. Far too often it has been an American runaway.
\n\u201cClearly winning something for the first time \u2014 the first time in a very long time \u2014 it’s probably more difficult than if you’re winning all the time,\u201d Ogilvy said. \u201cBut we’re getting closer all the time.\u201d
\nPerhaps one advantage for the Internationals is playing at Medinah. They have never won on American soil, but it was Ogilvy’s design company (OCM) that was chosen to renovate the course.
\n\nNine players this week were at Medinah for the 2019 BMW Championship. Snedeker and three of his assistants were at the 2012 Ryder Cup. But this is an entirely different Medinah, and no one knows it better than the guy who designed it.
\n\u201cWe have an advantage right now,\u201d Ogilvy said two weeks ago when he announced his captain’s picks. “By the time we get to Thursday morning, I think the advantage will be gone. Professional golfers are very good at learning a golf course.
\n\u201cHopefully there will be a little advantage. The boys will get a little shot of confidence because their captain built the course,\u201d he said. \u201cIt could be more psychological than real. But we’ll see.\u201d
The post Snedeker Wants Americans To Feel They\u2019re Starting Over In A Presidents Cup They Always Win first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-22T17:50:38+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-22T17:50:38+00:00", "author": { "name": "Doug Ferguson, AP" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ScottiePresCupPractice26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) \u2014 The Americans broke into three groups on a light day of practice Monday at Medinah, all of them looking comfortable and trading occasional barbs. The Presidents Cup always seems to feel like ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/masters-sticks-with-plan-to-award-invitation-to-winners-of-6-national-opens/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/masters-sticks-with-plan-to-award-invitation-to-winners-of-6-national-opens/", "title": "Masters Sticks With Plan To Award Invitation To Winners Of 6 National Opens", "content_html": "\n
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Augusta National said Monday it is returning to the Masters criteria that invites the winners of six national opens around the world, leaning again on the R&A’s \u201cOpen Qualifying Series\u201d to determine which tournaments to use.
\nThe R&A last year identified 15 tournaments \u2014 12 national opens, some of which are part of various tours \u2014 taking top finishers who are not already exempt for the British Open.
\nThe Masters takes only the winner of the six national opens that also are among the Open Qualifying Series \u2014 Scottish Open, Spanish Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, Australian Open and South African Open.
\nTom Kim won the Scottish Open in July and already is exempt for the Masters in April, though he also would have qualified by reaching the Tour Championship.
\n\u201cThe Masters Tournament has a longstanding history of assembling an international field, so we embrace this opportunity to highlight the global nature of the game of golf,\u201d Chairman Fred Ridley said in a news release. \u201dToday\u2019s announcement reinforces our shared commitment with The R&A to offer pathways for players from around the world to earn their place in the Masters and The Open.\u201d
\nAll but the South African Open, scheduled for next March, will be held in the fall.
The post Masters Sticks With Plan To Award Invitation To Winners Of 6 National Opens first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-22T17:47:19+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-22T17:47:19+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/TomKimUSOpen26.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 Augusta National said Monday it is returning to the Masters criteria that invites the winners of six national opens around the world, leaning again on the R&A’s \u201cOpen Qualifying Series\u201d to determine ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/zach-johnson-wins-at-pebble-beach-for-2nd-straight-champions-victory-and-6th-of-the-season/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/zach-johnson-wins-at-pebble-beach-for-2nd-straight-champions-victory-and-6th-of-the-season/", "title": "Zach Johnson Wins At Pebble Beach For 2nd Straight Champions Victory And 6th Of The Season", "content_html": "\n
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Zach Johnson won the Pure Insurance Championship on Sunday at foggy Pebble Beach for his second straight PGA Tour Champions victory and the sixth in his first season on the 50-and-over circuit.
\nJohnson broke a tie with Stewart Cink for the tour victory lead, closing with a 7-under 65 for a two-stroke victory over former LIV player Henrik Stenson, Steven Alker and early starter Rory Sabbatini. Johnson, the Sanford International winner last week in South Dakota, had a 14-under 202 total.
\n\u201cTo add this majestic spot to the list of wins is, again, my dreams never got that far. Let\u2019s just be blunt,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019ve got an attitude of gratitude right now. I never thought I\u2019d ever amount to this.\u201d
\nJohnson won the six titles in only 15 starts. The Iowa native won 12 times on the PGA Tour, highlighted by major titles at the 2007 Masters and 2015 British Open.
\nSabbatini shot a 63 \u2014 the best round of the week \u2014 to post at 12 under. He parred the final two holes, finishing as the other leaders were playing the first few holes on the back nine.
\nJohnson \u2014 who eagled the par-4 second \u2014 birdied the par-4 11th to join Sabbatini at 12 under, and took the lead with a birdie on the par-4 13th.
\nJohnson played an aggressive line off the tee on the par-5 18th and reached the green in two. He two-putted from 35 feet for birdie \u2014 holing a 3-footer.
\n\u201cObviously, you never know, but I was extremely confident with the way I was swinging it,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cCertainly confident with the parameters with which we had. Obviously, I knew where I stood.\u201d
\nStenson closed with a 68 playing alongside Johnson.
\nAlker had a 67. He was coming off three straight victories, one of them on the Legends Tour in Europe.
\nThe players were paired with juniors of The First Tee program from chapters across the country.
The post Zach Johnson Wins At Pebble Beach For 2nd Straight Champions Victory And 6th Of The Season first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-22T17:45:14+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-22T17:45:14+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/zj.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Zach Johnson won the Pure Insurance Championship on Sunday at foggy Pebble Beach for his second straight PGA Tour Champions victory and the sixth in his first season on the 50-and-over ..." }, { "id": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/j-j-spaun-wins-europes-flagship-event-after-being-left-off-us-presidents-cup-team/", "url": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/tour/j-j-spaun-wins-europes-flagship-event-after-being-left-off-us-presidents-cup-team/", "title": "J.J. Spaun Wins Europe\u2019s Flagship Event After Being Left Off US Presidents Cup Team", "content_html": "\nJ.J. Spaun responded to his disappointment of being left off the U.S. Presidents Cup team by winning the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday, making four birdies on the last five holes for a 5-under 67 and a two-shot victory in his debut at the European tour’s flagship event.
\nSpaun, last year’s U.S. Open champion at Oakmont, made it three Americans winning at Wentworth in the last six years. It was his second victory of the year, having won the Texas Open in April.
\n\u201cI played with a huge chip on my shoulder,\u201d Spaun said of being overlooked as a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup next week outside Chicago. \u201cI definitely had something to prove this week, but everything happens for a reason.\u201d
\nAs well as he finished, Spaun needed plenty of help from Manuel Elvira.
\nThe 30-year-old Spaniard made a 9-foot eagle on the par-5 17th to tie Spaun for the lead and head to the par-5 closing hole needing birdie to win. Elvira chose iron off the tee, leaving him 254 yards from the green. He decided to lay up, but hit that into a bunker. He hit his next shot over the green, dumped a chip into a bunker and finished with a double bogey for a 70.
\n\u201cDevastating that I hit the wrong shot at the right time on the lay up and left myself the toughest shot in the fairway bunker, and wasn\u2019t able to pull it off,\u201d Elvira said.
\nElvira wound up in a four-way tie for second with Rory McIlroy (68), Adam Scott (68) and PGA champion Aaron Rai (66).
\nAll of them were in the mix in the final hour at Wentworth until Spaun raced to the top. It started with a tee shot to 3 feet on the par-3 14th. He holed a pair of 15-foot birdie putts on the 15th and 16th, and then two-putted for birdie on the 18th to post a 17-under 271.
\nSpaun loves bringing his family to London, though the 36-year-old Californian wasn’t planning on coming to the BMW PGA Championship this year because of travel getting to the Presidents Cup.
\nU.S. captain Brandt Snedeker used the final two picks on Jacob Bridgeman, who won at Riviera earlier in the year, and 21-year-old Jackson Koivun, who won in his third start as a pro in July.
\nLater Sunday, Bridgeman closed with a 61 at the Biltmore Championship Asheville on the PGA Tour to win for the second time this year.
\nIt was surprising to Spaun, particularly since he was one of the rare bright spots for the Americans in his Ryder Cup debut the previous September, going 2-1-0. Spaun had to withdraw from the Tour Championship last month because of a shoulder injury.
\nHe looked healthy as can be against a strong field with so many top contenders.
\n\u201cExtra motivation, I think that’s the will power you have,\u201d Spaun said. \u201cBeing left off the Presidents Cup team was very disappointing. I wanted to prove that I deserve to be on the team. I took care of my business.\u201d
\nMcIlroy couldn’t quite get over the hump. He was in a four-way tie for the lead at 15 under going to the 18th, but he drove into a bunker, had to lay up and missed an 8-foot birdie chance from the fringe that effectively ended his chances.
\n\u201cI had my chances out there,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cWish I had some of those putts back, but I have to be encouraged with where my game is at.\u201d
\nHis runner-up finish \u2014 his best result since winning the Masters \u2014 allowed McIlroy to cut into Patrick Reed’s lead in the Race to Dubai as he chases an eighth season title in a bid to tie Colin Montgomerie’s record.
\nSpaun now has four career victories, three of them in the last 15 months that will move him just outside the top 10 in the world.
\n\u201cI blossomed into this player I never thought I could be,\u201d he said. \u201cI’ve always wanted to be a global player. I’m really happy my schedule worked out the way it did.\u201d
The post J.J. Spaun Wins Europe\u2019s Flagship Event After Being Left Off US Presidents Cup Team first appeared on SwingU Clubhouse.
\n ", "date_published": "2026-09-21T11:57:27+00:00", "date_modified": "2026-09-28T20:16:25+00:00", "author": { "name": "Associated Press" }, "post_image": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/J.J.-Spaun-wins-Europes-flagship-event-after-being-left-off-US-Presidents-Cup-team.jpg", "category": { "name": "Tour", "slug": "https://clubhouse.swingu.com/category/tour" }, "time_ago": "2 weeks", "excerpt": "J.J. Spaun responded to his disappointment of being left off the U.S. Presidents Cup team by winning the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday, making four birdies on the last five holes for a 5-under 67 and ..." } ] }