Thursday, 7 July 2016
With 35 years under his belt, Troon course manager Billy McLachlan is well versed in setting up a course for a Major. He has overseen four Open Championships at Royal Troon and this year will be his third in charge of the greenkeeping team. But what can we expect when golf’s biggest names descend on Ayrshire? How is the course shaping up?...
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Andrew Cotter will commentate on the Open for the BBC. His brother, Colin, has been a Troon caddie for 30 years. Both are members here. Both have single-figure handicaps here. And both know these links better than just about anyone. The Cotter brothers know Royal Troon like the back of their hands. They grew up here. It's in their blood. BBC...
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Justin Rose and Niall Horan teamed up to host the most starstudded golf event of 2016. Rose told TG: "We wanted to do something meaningful and put on a golf day that really separated itself from other standard golf days around, putting on a quality event we could be proud of." Sure enough, the inaugural Horan & Rose charity event at The...
Written by Today's Golfer on Wednesday, 6 July 2016
Tour pros make a lot of money. People with a lot of money tend to drive expensive cars. Those are facts. Here's what some of the European Tour's top pros are currently driving: Ian Poulter – La Ferrari, £1,000,000 Poulter has one of the world's finest collections of Ferraris, and isn't shy about showing them off on Twitter. Steve Webster – Lamborghini Huracan, £180,720 Lamborghini's...
Written by Edward Colman on Wednesday, 6 July 2016
Phil Mickelson is bidding for a second Scottish Open title this week but will you be selecting the American in your fantasy team? That is just one of the tough decisions facing managers in the Today's Golfer Fantasy Golf game ahead of the tournament at Castle Stuart. Managers have a £100m budget to spend on their ten-man team and here's a look...
Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday, 5 July 2016
It's often easy to assume that tour players are oblivious to conversations that centre around them. For several months now, there has been plenty of talk about Jordan Spieth's pace of play. Spieth has been put on the clock numerous times, and was lucky to escape a penalty at this year's Masters, where he took more than two minutes to...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday, 4 July 2016
Justin Thomas shot a disappointing final-round 76 to finish T-33 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but before that, things were really going his way. His 1-under 69 on Friday was helped by a rare eagle on the 667-yard par-5 16th at Firestone Country Club, set up by a 414-yard drive. "I was just happy to hit the fairway," said Thomas. "I hit...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday, 4 July 2016
18 years and 386 starts. That's how long 42-year-old Greg Chalmers has had to wait for his first PGA Tour victory. To put that into context, the Ford Focus hadn't even been released when Chalmers made his PGA Tour debut. We were all still watching films on VHS, as DVD had only just been invented. There was no such thing...
Written by Rob McGarr on Friday, 1 July 2016
The Greenbrier Classic, due to start on Thursday 7 July, has been cancelled due to severe flooding. The Old White TPC, host course for the tournament, suffered extensive damage during the flooding caused by record levels of rainfall throughout West Virginia. "We are heartbroken by the devastation that the residents of West Virginia are experiencing at this time and the reports of...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday, 30 June 2016
We all know that the money available at the top tier of golf is little short of ludicrous. Win a PGA Tour event and you'll likely take home a cheque for over $1 million. If it's a big tournament, your prize could be almost double that. The prize for finishing last at this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was set at $50,500. That...
Written by Michael Catling on Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Every sport fan loves a fairytale and we got two in the space of two days. The world number 607 winning the Quicken Loans National at Congressional and Iceland beating England. The latter probably wasn't quite as welcome, but Billy Hurley III's hometown victory will take some beating as the best story in golf this year. Not that any fantasy managers were able to...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Golf's return to the Olympics is not really going to plan. With less than a fortnight until the cut-off point for qualification, eligible golfers are falling over themselves to withdraw. With world number four Rory McIlroy and world number one Jason Day both out, attention has turned to world number two Jordan Spieth, and things do not sound overly promising... "Right...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday, 29 June 2016
It's easy to knock Colin Montgomerie. His moody on-course demeanour hasn't always endeared him to fans, but his passion for the game of golf has never been in question. At the age of 53, many golfers would have long since given up on the rigours of Open qualifying and accept that 21 appearances would be their lot. Not Monty. Having not played...
Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday, 28 June 2016
At the beginning of May, Rory McIlroy shared his belief that players should do their bit to represent their country in the Olympics. "It's a week," said McIlroy at the time. "You know, go play four rounds really competitively and try to win a gold medal." McIlroy, unlike several players who had openly stated that they didn't value the prospect of a...
Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday, 28 June 2016
It seems to be peak season for withdrawing from the Olympics. Every player that withdraws is bad news for the game of golf as it makes its return to the Olympics after a 104-year hiatus, but when it's the world number one, it's an even bigger – if unexpected – blow. "It is with deep regret I announce that I will...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday, 27 June 2016
Tiger Woods is currently 40/1 to win The Open at Royal Troon, which starts in under three weeks' time. We wouldn't advocate betting your life savings on it, especially as Tiger has just admitted he's not sure if he'll even be able to play competitive golf in 2016. "I don't know," said Woods, when asked if there's a chance he won't...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday, 27 June 2016
Henrik Stenson had to play 36 holes in one day after rain delays affected the BMW International Open in Germany, but the experienced Swede wasn't fazed, shooting a 67 in the morning and following it with an afternoon 71 to win by three shots. 40-year-old Stenson's performance was even more impressive considering it came just a week after injury forced him...
Written by Rob McGarr on Saturday, 25 June 2016
The list of players withdrawing from the Olympics continues to grow. World number four Rory McIlroy is the highest ranked player to announce his withdrawal, but we wouldn't be at all surprised to see world number one Jason Day follow suit in the very near future. "I'm going to make my decision when it comes time to, but I really haven't...
Written by Rob McGarr on Friday, 24 June 2016
The list of golfers withdrawing from the Olympics continues to grow. After the quickfire double of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, world number 11 Branden Grace has also released a statement saying that he won't be making the trip to Rio. "After serious consideration, it is with regret that I have decided to withdraw myself from the Olympic competition due to the...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday, 23 June 2016
Thanks to greedy bankers and dodgy government, most people in their twenties today won't retire until they're about 119. When you're a multi-millionaire golfer, however, you can decide to hang up your clubs whenever you want. Jason Day, world number one since March, says he'll consider packing up when he hits 40. "When I get to 40, I'm going to re-evaluate everything...