19th Hole
‘What a coward you are’ – Lee Westwood slams journalist who ridiculed him amid Saudi links
Twitter fights are becoming more common place in the golf sphere and this week was the turn of Lee Westwood and Golf Digest’s Senior Writer Joel Beall who traded insults on the social media platform.
It all began when while criticizing Greg Norman and LIV Golf Investments, Beall took shots at Lee Westwood and Jason Kokrak, two men who have been heavily linked to the Saudi-backed golf league.
Imagine going from hosting the PGA Championship to hosting a battle between Jason Kokrak and 49-year-old Lee Westwood
— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) March 16, 2022
Lee Westwood took exception to Beall’s tweet and called out the journalist for not tagging himself or Kokrak in the original tweet, branding him as “ageist” and a “coward”.
Sounding a bit ageist there pal. You might get a preview of that next week at the @DellMatchPlay as we’re both top 64 in the world. What a coward you are not tagging in @jaykokrak or myself! Clearly the threshold is very low to become a senior writer at @GolfDigest ! https://t.co/CwkcCjsCZI
— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) March 17, 2022
After seeing Westwood’s tweet, Kokrak chimed in as well.
@WestwoodLee and I would give people a great match. Outstanding player for a long time. Never heard of this @JoelMBeall guy anyway. No need to be disrespectful unless you care to take a shot at it face to face.
— Jason Kokrak (@jaykokrak) March 17, 2022
Beall then replied, but subsequently deleted the tweet. Twitter users surmised that Beall’s response referenced Westwood’s reported flirtation with the Saudi breakaway league.
Hey @JoelMBeall I see you grew a pair and replied. I’m not a politician either. Just a bloke from Worksop who plays golf for a living. You got me thinking, I wonder what the average age of a @GolfDigest reader is??? Good luck growing the game with this current approach ?? https://t.co/6xly8U2L9t
— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) March 17, 2022
After deleting his tweet, Beall offered a sort of apology. Many twitter users took issue with the fact that his “apology” included a massive “spin zone” again which made the apology seem insincere.
Have seen this for the last 8 hours. Deleted it because it was personal shot and uncalled for. I apologize. I also hope everyone offended by a tweet is just as offended by the human rights atrocities taking place and those willing to be sportswashing pawns for them https://t.co/iOWHSclVeO
— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) March 17, 2022
It all seems to have calmed down for now, but with the SGL recently announcing its schedule for 2022, you can be sure that the next social media storm won’t be too far off.
More from the 19th Hole
19th Hole
How much each player won at the 2026 Masters
Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.
With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.
For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.
- 1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
- 2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
- T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
- T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
- T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
- T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
- T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
- T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
- T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
- T9: Max Homa, $630,00
- 11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
- T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
- T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
- T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
- T12: Jason Day, $427,500
- T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
- T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
- T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
- T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
- T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
- T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
- T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
- T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
- T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
- T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
- T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
- T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
- T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
- T30: Harris English, $146,250
- T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
- T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
- T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
- T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
- T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
- T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
- T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
- T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
- T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
- T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
- T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
- T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
- T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
- T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
- 46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
- 47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
- 48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
- T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
- T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
- 51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
- 52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
- 53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
- 54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300
19th Hole
CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans
While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.
There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.
Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:



This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V
— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026
It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.
19th Hole
The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances
Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.
Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.
Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:
“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”
The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:
“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”
That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:
“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”

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