News

‘You have to earn it’ – Tiger shows no sympathy for Mickelson while firmly backing PGA Tour

Published

2 years ago

May 17, 2022

The defending champion, Phil Mickelson, may not be at Southern Hills this week for the PGA Championship, but Tiger Woods is making his second start of the year at a venue he has had success at in the past.

Related: Report claims that Greg Norman is set to be dropped by Saudi-backed LIV Golf

The 2007 champion hasn’t teed it up since last month’s Masters tournament, where he finished 47th. A month on, however, Woods has claimed that he is feeling stronger as he goes in search of a fifth PGA Championship.

Related: The estimated tax Tiger Woods pays per day revealed

While Woods gets ready to compete again, his old rival Phil Mickelson continues his absence from the sport. Lefty took a leave from golf earlier this year after suffering severe backlash for his controversial comments on the Saudi Golf League, the Saudi regime and how he was using the Tour as leverage against the PGA Tour.

Speaking to media on Tuesday, Woods revealed that he and Mickelson had very different views on where the game of golf is going, while launching a staunch defence of the PGA Tour.

“He has his opinion on where he sees the game of golf going,” said Woods of Mickelson. “I have my viewpoint how I see the game of golf. I’ve supported the Tour and my foundation has run events on the Tour for a number of years. I just think that what Jack (Nicklaus) and Arnold (Palmer) have done in starting the Tour, breaking away from the PGA of America and creating our tour in 1968 … I just think there’s a legacy to that. I’ve been playing out here for a couple of decades and I think there’s a legacy do it.”

“I still think the Tour has so much to offer, so much opportunity,” said Woods. “I understand different viewpoints, but I believe in legacies, I believe in major championships and big events, comparisons to historical figures of the past. There is plenty of money out there. The Tour is growing – like any other sport, like tennis, you have to go out there and earn it.”

Interestingly, Woods pinpointed social media as one of the reasons the controversy escalated as quickly as it did surrounding Mickelson:

“Social media has changed the landscape in how fast things can ramp up, whether it is real news or fake news or whatever it is, opinions get out there instantly,” said Woods. “It can sway very quickly one way or the other – what we are seeing right now in society is it is very bipolar, there is no middle ground, you stand one way or the other. It is very polarising and the viewpoints Phil has made with the Tour and what the Tour has meant to all of us has been polarising as well.”

Despite saying that it was disappointing that Mickelson would not be defending this week, Tiger has not reached out to Phil during his exile from professional golf. The reason for that decision is due to Tiger’s entirely different viewpoint on how the Tour should be run.

“I have not reached out to him, I have not spoken to him. A lot of it has not to do with personal issues, it is viewpoints of how the Tour should be run and could be run and what players are playing for and how we are playing for it. I have a completely different stance on that.”

Tiger will tee it up at Southern Hills alongside Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth for the opening two days of the PGA Championship.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 John Deere Classic

Published

4 days ago

Jul 2, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the 2024 John Deere Classic. With the Scottish Open next week and The Open Championship two weeks away, those who have qualified will be looking to shore up their games in Silvis, Illinois, before heading to European shores.

On the equipment front, we spotted some new SuperStroke x Marvel grips and got an in-hand look at impressive custom Scotty Cameron putters. Our WITB galleries already feature a look at Jason Day’s wares, and general complement the spread.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more photos from TPC Deere Run!

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about the photos and join the discussion in the forums.

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News

Protected: Highlights from the Wilson Golf Product Testing and Fitting Experience at Pinehurst

Published

5 days ago

Jul 1, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

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News

Tour Rundown: #QueenMel and a “Bland” U.S. Senior Open

Published

5 days ago

Jul 1, 2024

Ronald Montesano

A wee bit to the north and east of my hometown is a jaunty little ‘burg called Medina, NY. No one would ever consider it to be a golf mecca, but for this week at least, it is. Why? The 2024 Amateur Champion of the world, Melanie Green, hails from Medina. With a sense of regional pride, I salute #QueenMel, who emerged from 36-hole, medal qualifying and six head-to-head matches, to win 2-up in the 36-hole final at Portmarnock. Miss Mel won the last three holes, two with birdies, to join great USA winners like Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs, and Kelli Kuehne.

The winning moment for The 121st Women’s Amateur Champion ?

And what a way to do it ? pic.twitter.com/WSyXQQaNLF

— The R&A (@RandA) June 29, 2024

Now, let’s run down all the world’s tours this week. We followed a national championship (Men’s US Senior Open) from storied Newport Country Club, the PGA Tour at Detroit, the DP World in Italy, the LPGA doing the tandem thing around Michigan, and the Korn Ferry down Illinois way. We’re spoiled during these summer months, full stop. Might as well enjoy these riches.

PGA Tour @ Rocket Mortgage

The results that came out of Detroit Golf Club on Sunday caused a few heads to be scratched. Nowhere to be found were the mid-60s numbers that traced across the leaderboards like sunflowers in Carmona. Missing, too, as the sun waned in the sky, were the expected, clutch performances of golfers chasing victory.

We’ve grown accustomed to birdies down the stretch, and numbers like Bhatia’s 72nd-hole bogey, and Young’s closing five-five-five, seemed strange and unfamiliar. Bhatia’s take that he knows how to close tournaments, and that it simply didn’t happen on this day, was equal parts explanation and compensation. Teachers teach well, writers write well, and golfers put the ball in the hole. That’s the measure of victory.

The lifting of the tournament trophy was left to Cam Davis, who did what the others could not. He concluded play with 70 for -18 on the week, hoping for a second RMC in four years. On his heels, all tied for second at -17, were Davis Thompson, Min Woo Lee, Aaron Rai, and Bhatia. Beyond Akshay, none has tasted tournament success on the US PGA Tour. Davis posted birdie at 17, then waited. Thompson made a late rush, with birdies at three of his final five holes. He needed one more. Lee took five shots at the final hole; he needed one fewer. As for the two-gloved Rai, his even-par 72 on the day left him a shot away from playoff.

A classy up-and-down birdie for @CamDavisGolf.

He leads by one @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/HSrJuetSzD

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2024

USGA @ Senior Men’s Open

Any hope that Hiroyuki Fujita held for finishing off the US Senior Open at Newport, went distantly away, courtesy of two unregistered opponents: fog and rain. The golfer that had played so brilliantly over 3.5 days (16-under through 63 holes) was forced to consider the ramifications of his situation. The golfer whose five cuts made in regular-tour majors included zero, top-forty finishes, stood three shots clear of the field, with no tourist guide to bring him home. Sunday’s dawn proved that he was mortal, and the game was afoot.

No worse pursuer than Richard Bland might have appeared. The Englishman had won his last USA start, and it was also a senior major championship. Bland captured the Senior PGA Championship in late May, winning by three shots over Australia’s Richard Green. The SPGA runner-up was also among the chasers at Newport, but a top-five finish would once again be his destiny. As for Bland, he did what experienced winners do. Consecutive birdies at 14 and 15 on Monday served notice that there would be no easy stroll home for Fujita. The Japan Tour stalwart stumbled over the same stretch of holes, posting bogey on three of his first four holes on day five.

Precisely when it appeared that Bland would conclude matters in regulation, he posted bogey at the 18th and dropped back to 13-under par. Fujita found the same number, and the duo went off to the first, two-hole playoff in US Senior Open history, and the first overtime session since 2014 in Oklahoma. After two pars each in the regulation session, they went to single-hole elimination. Each made bogey at the 18th, but the fourth hole gave resolution. Bland was able to earn a sandy from the greenside bunker, while Fujita was unable to secure par. Congratulations to Richard Bland on a second senior major in 2024.

Richard Bland is making a charge ?

He grabs the U.S. Senior Open lead after back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15. pic.twitter.com/5lOxI3EyEA

— USGA (@USGA) July 1, 2024

LPGA @ Dow Championship

Both Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) and Yin Ruoning (China) will represent their nations in the 2024 Paris Olympic games. Olympic competition is individual-only for golf, which is a missed opportunity. Teaming to win medals for your country is the epitome of Olympic success. It’s a bit odd, then that the two would find success in a team-style, warm-up event on the LPGA circuit.

For most of the week, two golfers from the USA appeared destined for victory at Midland Country Club. Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho finished 36 holes in 128 strokes. They gave one back on Saturday, with 67, but came home on Sunday with a third 64 for the week. Despite an early passel of birdies, they were unable to save a single shot over the closing stretch. They finished at 21-deep for the week.

Paired with them, Thitikul and Ruoning were also finding par after par as they headed for home. At the watery 18th, Thitikul stuffed her tee ball inside fifteen feet, then read the surface flawlessly, and hit her mark. The putt broke slightly right, into the center of the cup. With that closing birdie, a playoff was avoided and a send-off celebration of Olympic calibre was in the works.

Team @jeeno_atthaya and Ruoning Yin fighting for the solo lead ?

Tune in on @CBS to catch the rest of the action! pic.twitter.com/Y4CkPBF7sc

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 30, 2024

DP World Tour @ Italian Open

16 months had passed since Marcel Siem last savored a DP World Tour win. His triumph at the Indian Open, in February of 2023, might have been a bit distant to leave residue of confidence. As he traversed the final arc of the Cervia golf course, his gaskets had unsealed and oil leaked everywhere. An outward 32 was undone by four bogeys from holes 11 to 17. The last one had dropped him from the lead, and only a majestic finish could return a chance at salvation. After he drove the fairway and reached the green at the closing trace, Siem assessed a 22-feet putt for birdie and found cup bottom.

In that moment, the round of 65 that England’s Tom McKibbin had fashioned, was no longer enough. He would need to do a bit more work, to secure a second Tour title. The duo returned to the final tee deck, and Siem once again faced a birdie putt. His approach was played brilliantly to about ten feet, but the putt drifted right. By the grace of gravity, it caught enough of the circle to fall downward, and a sixth career title belonged to the German champion.

The moment @SiemMarcel claimed his SIXTH Tour win ?#ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/YysmH9FKAh

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 30, 2024

Korn Ferry Tour @ MHC by LRS

Max McGreevy has tasted the bitterness of defeat and savored delicious victory on the professional golf tours. He has lost a playoff on the PGA Tour, and now won twice on the Korn Ferry orbit. This week, McGreevey overcame a wee miss on the penultimate hole, to secure victory at green 72, with a xxx birdie putt. He and runner-up Steven Fisk each clinched a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season, based on 2024 peformance.

McGreevy eased a 36-yard pitch within two feet of the hole, at the par-five 16th, on Sunday. He converted the birdie putt and moved a shot lower than Fisk, with two holes to face. At 17, he played safely away from the tucked flag at the watery par three, and eased his 55-feet putt to precisely the same distance (26 inches.) And then, he missed. Gone was the lead, and present were the doubts.

As champions do, McGreevy refocussed and found his spot on the 18th fairway. His approach from 186 yards settled a dozen feet from the flagstick, and his read on the downhill slider was accurate. The putt dropped, and McGreevy avoided overtime.

Back to the winner’s circle ??@MaxMcgreevy brings home his second title @MHChampionship. pic.twitter.com/LIqPI1iXnO

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 30, 2024

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