LIV Golf star Koepka gets major-level thrill from playing for US at Ryder Cup

LIV Golf star Koepka gets major-level thrill from playing for US at Ryder Cup
Brooks Koepka during first round of the LIV Golf Invitational - Greenbrier at The Old White Course on Aug. 04, 2023. Koepka says playing for the US in next week’s Ryder Cup will bring the same thrill as battling for top individual titles. (AFP)
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Updated 21 September 2023
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LIV Golf star Koepka gets major-level thrill from playing for US at Ryder Cup

LIV Golf star Koepka gets major-level thrill from playing for US at Ryder Cup
  • Koepka was a selection by US captain Zach Johnson after barely missing out on an automatic qualifying spot
  • When it comes to legacy, Koepka sees the Ryder Cup as much about record

CHICAGO: Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka says playing for the US in next week’s Ryder Cup will bring the same thrill as battling for top individual titles.

The 33-year-old American, who captured his third PGA Championship in May at Oak Hill, will compete in this week’s LIV Golf Chicago tournament before joining the US squad next week in Italy for the Ryder Cup.

Koepka, who has a history of playing his best at majors, has been preparing for weeks to face holders Europe as the Americans seek their first victory on European soil in 30 years.

He sees the Cup as an equal test to a major in those terms.

“I think it is,” Koepka said Wednesday. “My whole mindset has been to practice for that the last few weeks.

“I think it’s one of the top six, seven, biggest sporting events you can have, so I like it when there’s a little bit more eyeballs, a little bit more pressure.

“It’s obviously different with the whole team thing. Sometimes you don’t play every match so you are just cheerleading from the side, which can be quite fun as well.

“I’ve enjoyed it. It has been great and I’m looking forward to it.”

Koepka was a selection by US captain Zach Johnson after barely missing out on an automatic qualifying spot despite being banned from the PGA Tour after defecting to LIV Golf last year.

Being on the opposite side of the PGA-LIV divide did not give Koepka any problem on a trip two weeks ago to Rome to see the host course before next week’s showdown.

“Good trip,” he said. “Most of the guys were there. Got to see the golf course. It’s pretty difficult, but it will be interesting to see how they set it up.”

When it comes to legacy, Koepka sees the Ryder Cup as much about record. He played on triumphant US sides in 2016 and 2021 and was also on the American squad that lost in France in 2018.

“Everybody remembers their record, or that’s kind of what you’re known by, wins, losses,” he said. “(Ian) Poulter has pretty much made a career on that.”

Koepka isn’t sure that knowing how it feels to lose in Europe will provide extra incentive this time around.

“I’m not sure how many guys have been part of losing teams in Europe. But yeah, it’s definitely a different feeling,” Koepka said. “Losing is no fun but somebody has got to do it. Hopefully it’s not us this year.”

Koepka didn’t approach the Marco Simone course any differently than any other layout he was analyzing ahead of a future event.

“I just treat it like any other course. Just figure out those two days, figure out where I want to put the ball in the fairway. Then it comes pretty easy,” Koepka said.

“Just figure out the wind and the distance that you’re trying to hit it, and you calculate that all in and that’s the club you hit off the tee.

“I’ll worry about it when we get there next week, but more the green complexes, where things will be and stuff like that. Usually when I go scout a golf course, it’s for lines off the tee.”


LIV unveils 2024 schedule with 12 events in eight nations

LIV unveils 2024 schedule with 12 events in eight nations
Updated 23 November 2023
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LIV unveils 2024 schedule with 12 events in eight nations

LIV unveils 2024 schedule with 12 events in eight nations
  • The campaign runs from February to August with 12 events in eight nations and is to be followed by LIV’s individual and team championship tournaments
  • LIV will play in Saudi Arabia on March 1-3 and at the Hong Kong Golf Club on March 8-10

MIAMI: The LIV Golf League released its 2024 regular-season schedule on Wednesday even as merger talks continue between LIV’s Saudi backers and the PGA Tour over a framework agreement.

The campaign runs from February to August with 12 events in eight nations and is to be followed by LIV’s individual and team championship tournaments, details of which were not announced.

Some of LIV’s events are opposite PGA Tour signature events.

The PGA Tour Policy Board must approve any deal by the end of the year for a merger to be completed under a deal with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) that PGA officials announced in June.

Since then, other groups have sought equity deals with the PGA Tour.

LIV’s 2024 campaign is set to open Feb. 2-4 at Mayakoba in Mexico – opposite a PGA signature event at Pebble Beach – with the next event in Las Vegas on Feb. 8-10 just ahead of the Super Bowl being played in the Nevada gambling showplace.

LIV will play in Saudi Arabia on March 1-3 and at the Hong Kong Golf Club on March 8-10 – opposite a US PGA signature stop at Bay Hill – with another event at an unspecified US layout on April 5-7 on the week before the Masters.

Adelaide will play host to LIV Golf on April 26-28 with a Singapore stop on May 3-5.

LIV will play in Houston on June 7-9 – opposite the Jack Nicklaus-hosted PGA signature event The Memorial –  on the week before the US Open at Pinehurst and LIV talent will tee off in Nashville on June 21-23 opposite a PGA signature event, the Travelers Championship.

A Spanish tournament will be played July 12-14 at Valderrama ahead of the British Open at Royal Troon with a LIV event at the JCB Golf and Country Club in Staffordshire, England, on July 26-28.

The regular-season finale, another US event, will be contested at Greenbrier in West Virginia on Aug. 16-18 – opposite the first weekend of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs.

“We’re thrilled to announce an exciting slate of events that reflects our commitment to bringing world-class players and premier competition to new and repeat markets every year,” LIV Golf Commissioner Greg Norman said.


Record crowds attend DP World Tour Championship 2023 in Dubai

Record crowds attend DP World Tour Championship 2023 in Dubai
Updated 22 November 2023
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Record crowds attend DP World Tour Championship 2023 in Dubai

Record crowds attend DP World Tour Championship 2023 in Dubai
  • The tournament, won by Nicolai Hojgaard, saw more than 79,000 visitors at Jumeirah Golf Estates

DUBAI: This year’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai attracted in excess of 79,000 spectators over the course of the event — the most in the 15-year history of the tournament and a more than 14 percent increase on last year.

Record crowds were welcomed on each of the four days of the tournament, which marked the 15th edition of the event, held at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai from Nov. 16-19.

Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard won his first Rolex Series title in style with a closing 64, giving him a two-shot victory ahead of Ryder Cup teammates Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland, and third round leader Matt Wallace. Attendance figures were not the only record to be broken, however, with Wallace also firing an incredible course record 12 under par 60 on day three of the tournament.

Tom Phillips, head of Middle East for the DP World Tour, said: “This year’s DP World Tour Championship was a fantastic success and we’re delighted to have welcomed a record number of spectators over the course of the event, despite challenges with the weather on the Thursday into Friday. This reflects the huge interest in the event’s on- and off-course entertainment offering, as well as the continued growth of golf in the UAE and region.”


Nicolai Hojgaard wins DP World Tour Championship in Dubai

Nicolai Hojgaard wins DP World Tour Championship in Dubai
Updated 19 November 2023
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Nicolai Hojgaard wins DP World Tour Championship in Dubai

Nicolai Hojgaard wins DP World Tour Championship in Dubai
  • Dane secures two-shot victory over trio of challengers at Jumeirah Golf Estates
  • Rory McIlroy finishes tied 22nd to secure fifth Race to Dubai crown

DUBAI: The only thing missing from what has been a stellar season for Nicolai Hojgaard was a win, and the young Dane rectified that on Sunday with a remarkable two-shot victory in the $10.5 million DP World Tour Championship.

At the Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates, the 22-year-old seemed out of the reckoning at one stage when he made a bogey from the fairway bunker on the 12th hole. It felt like a costly mistake as he fell to 16-under total, three behind leader Tommy Fleetwood, who was being his usual solid self.

But there is something cathartic about the back nine of the Greg Norman-designed course, at least for Hojgaard. After the first two rounds, he was leading the championship at 11-under par, having done all his scoring on the back nine.

The Ryder Cup rookie pulled himself together and reeled off five straight birdies in an amazing stretch of golf, racing ahead of world No. 15 Fleetwood and No. 4 Viktor Hovland.

But just when it looked like he had left everyone in his wake, Hojgaard failed to make a three-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th, which would have taken him to 22-under.

He left the green despondent, but almost at the same time, Fleetwood three-putted the 17th for a bogey to fall to 19-under, while Hovland dumped his second shot into the water on the par-5 18th and failed to make a birdie.

With both Fleetwood and Hovland closing with rounds of 68, they joined overnight leader Matt Wallace (69) of England at 19-under par, leaving Hojgaard the champion at 21-under.

Winner of two previous DP World Tour titles, including one down the road in Ras Al-Khaimah last year, Hojgaard has played well this season. He secured his card on the PGA Tour card through limited opportunities and made his Ryder Cup debut. And he has now ended the year on a high.

The win takes him to 50th in the Official World Golf Rankings and second in the Race to Dubai, behind Rory McIlroy. With the $1.2 million share from the Bonus Pool and $3 million for winning the tournament, it was a $4.2 million payday for the young Dane.

“It means a lot. It’s the sweetest one,” Hojgaard said. “I put in so much hard work in the last couple years and this year has been a really good year if I look back on it. The only thing that was missing was a win, and to get it this week against this field is unbelievable.

“I can’t believe it’s just happened. Because I was just so focused on the job on the golf course and having a putt on the 18th to actually close it out and let it slip by, it was quite a tough moment for me.

“We were talking about it (the bogey on 12th) out there. Just focus on the job, focus on myself. Don’t worry about what everybody else is doing. We knew there were a lot of birdies on this golf course but at the same time you have to hit the shots, you have to hole the putts and anything can happen coming down the stretch.”

However, it turned out to be a bittersweet moment, as Hojgaard’s twin brother Rasmus fell just short of securing the last of the 10 PGA Tour cards on offer. He finished 18th in the Race to Dubai, one place behind Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune.

“I really wanted him to get that card. He was in a great position,” Hojgaard said. “He’s playing good golf. It came down to a crazy scenario in the end. I feel sorry for Ras but he’s going to bounce back. He always does. He’s one of the best golfers I know and he’s going to come back stronger afterwards.”

McIlroy, who finished tied 22nd but secured his fifth Race to Dubai crown, said: “It’s great. I think it shows my consistency year to year. I think over the last 10 years, I’ve won eight season-long titles between America and here, so it just shows my level of consistency.

“I said to Harry (Diamond, his caddie) on the last green, there are a few guys that can beat me sort of one week or the next week, but I don’t think there’s a lot of people that can beat me throughout the entire season.

“It’s just about trying to be a little more clinical when I get to those weeks where I have chances to win. Overall, it’s been another really solid year. Stroke average has been great and I’ve played really good golf. Hopefully, more of the same going into next year and beyond.”

Besides Hisatsune, the players who secured one of the last 10 PGA Tour cards were: Adrian Meronk, Ryan Fox, Victor Perez, Thorbjorn Olesen, Alexander Bjork, Sami Valimaki, Robert MacIntyre, Jorge Campillo and Matthieu Pavon.


Tiger Woods to play in the Bahamas, his first competition since the Masters

Tiger Woods to play in the Bahamas, his first competition since the Masters
Updated 19 November 2023
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Tiger Woods to play in the Bahamas, his first competition since the Masters

Tiger Woods to play in the Bahamas, his first competition since the Masters
  • His TGR company announced his decision to take a sponsor exemption
  • The 20-man field is for the top 50 in the world ranking, though the tournament host — Woods — is exempt

NEW YORK: Tiger Woods showed he could walk four days while caddying for his son. Now he has decided he is fit enough to try to play.

Woods announced on social media Saturday he will be playing in the Hero World Challenge, which starts Nov. 30 at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.

It will be his first time competing since he withdrew before the third round at the Masters after battling the wind and cold while playing on his injured right leg.

His TGR company announced his decision to take a sponsor exemption. The 20-man field is for the top 50 in the world ranking, though the tournament host — Woods — is exempt.

Woods had said in an interview with The Associated Press last week, when discussing his ownership of a team in the tech-driven TGL league, that his right ankle is pain-free after being fused in a surgery in April following the Masters.

“My ankle is fine. Where they fused my ankle, I have absolutely zero issue whatsoever,” Woods said. “That pain is completely gone. It’s the other areas that have been compensated for.”

He compared it with when he had fusion surgery on his lower back. He said the L5 and S1 vertebrae were fine.

“But all the surrounding areas is where I had all my problems and I still do,” he said. “So you fix one, others have to become more hypermobile to get around it, and it can lead to some issues.”

Woods recently caddied for his son, Charlie, at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Championship, sparking speculation that he was close to playing again.

Woods will be playing the Hero World Challenge for the first time since 2019. The holiday event was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then he badly damaged his right leg in a February 2021 car crash outside of Los Angeles that threatened to end his career.

He returned a year later at the Masters and made the cut, and he played in two more majors, including what figures to be his final appearance at St. Andrews in the British Open.

He has said his tournament play would be limited, and he played only the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, which he hosts, and the Masters this year before having surgery on his ankle.

Woods has not won since the Zozo Championship in Japan in the fall of 2019, the year he won the Masters for his 15th major.

The Hero World Challenge is 72 holes with no cut.


Hataoka, Yang share 54-hole lead in LPGA Tour Championship

Hataoka, Yang share 54-hole lead in LPGA Tour Championship
Updated 19 November 2023
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Hataoka, Yang share 54-hole lead in LPGA Tour Championship

Hataoka, Yang share 54-hole lead in LPGA Tour Championship
  • Hataoka has held a share of the lead after every round in the elite season-ending event that opened with 60 golfers chasing a $2 million winner’s prize

MIAMI: Japan’s Nasa Hataoka grabbed seven birdies in a 7-under par 65 to maintain a share of the LPGA Tour Championship lead on Saturday alongside South Korean Amy Yang.

Yang had eight birdies in her 8-under par 64 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, joining Hataoka on 21-under 195 — three shots clear of overnight co-leader Alison Lee of the US.

Hataoka has held a share of the lead after every round in the elite season-ending event that opened with 60 golfers chasing a $2 million winner’s prize.

“I think the best is to just concentrate on my round and just keep that out of my mind and just do my golf,” said Hataoka, the world No. 18 who is chasing a seventh LPGA title but her first since 2022.

Hataoka said her ball-striking and putting were again spot-on, making for another good day despite a tricky change in wind direction and slightly faster greens.

She said she’d have to aggressive on Sunday, when her biggest challenge will be not to change the things that have kept her atop the leaderboard all week.

“My swing feels really comfortable,” Hataoka said. “Tomorrow I have a couple of keys, so I will focus on my keys, good rhythm and good targets.”

Yang, who powered into contention with a bogey-free 63 on Friday, hasn’t made a bogey since her opening hole on Thursday.

“I’ve been hitting the ball really solid and that really gave me lots of chances out there,” said the veteran who has won all four of her LPGA titles in Asia.

She admitted to feeling “quite nervous” being in contention, but didn’t feel pressure to duplicate or surpass her impressive second round.

“Because in golf you never know,” she said. “I did try my best just to stay present and when I decide to hit one shot just commit to it and go for it.”

Yang, who said painful tennis elbow in recent years, brought on by too much indoor rock climbing, had her wondering if her career might be cut short.

Now, however, she’s “100 percent fully back” and has a simple mindset as she chases her first title since Thailand in 2019.

“I don’t need to think about a lot of technical stuff or see where I am on the leaderboard or anything,” she said. “(I) just focus on what I have on each shot.”

Lee said she hit the ball well again, but “just couldn’t make the putts that I wanted to make.”

“I played with Nasa today. She played amazing,” Lee said. “Made a lot of really good putts. I saw her make some and it’s like, God, I want to make some, too.”

The American was just one stroke in front of China’s Lin Xiyu, who carded a second straight 66. Australia’s Minjee Lee and China’s Yin Ruoning both carded 69s and were level on 200.

A further two strokes back was a group on 202 headed by world No. 1 Lilia Vu, whose four LPGA titles in 2023 — two of them majors — have her closing in on Player of the Year honors.