19th Hole

Bubba Watson hits back at Justin Thomas over OWGR claim

Published

4 years ago

Dec 5, 2022

Jason Daniels

For months, the elephant in the room has been LIV Golf. Now, it is the new OWGR points system.

Related: ‘What’s going on?’ – Justin Thomas left frustrated with two officials over ruling at Hero

Over recent weeks, the rows over the allocation of ranking points have made the headlines over much of what is actually happening on the course, with current world No. 5, Jon Rahm, saying the “OWGR, right now, is laughable.”

Those comments came in contrast to those made by Rory McIlroy, currently world No. 1, who called the new method of allocation “a much fairer system.”

The dispute appears to be over how the organization treats the overall quality of the field. Rahm felt that the winner of the DP World Tour Championship was worth more points than the eventual RSM Classic champion, but the justification seemed to be (in McIlroy’s words), “they have 90 more players to contribute to their strength of field. So the reason that this has got 21 points, and the RSM has got 39 is the person who wins the RSM has to beat 139 other guys.”

Cam Smith, who almost certainly would challenge for the top spot had he stayed on the regular tours, is another to join the argument against the current methods, calling them “more and more irrelevant” . Of course, he has won the Open Championship and Australian PGA in recent months, but received nothing for his efforts on the LIV series.

Now add Justin Thomas, yet another former world number one, into the argument.

This time, the discussion was why a limited field event, the Hero World Challenge, was rewarding with higher points than the fuller field at the Indonesian Masters.

JT’s argument was pretty clear:

An event with 15ish (sorry not sure the exact number) of the top 20 in the world? It’s all about the quality of the field. The new system is hurting events like this more than it does that. Like anything in golf, play well enough in big events and you’ll be rewarded

— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) December 2, 2022

JT also commented on the fact that LIV, with the likes of Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka, doesn’t receive a single point from the OWGR, saying:

“I have no problem with them getting points. They just need to meet the criteria like everybody else. But they don’t in seven of the eight categories from my understanding. Every tour went thru the 2-3 year process to earn OWGR points. No reason they shouldn’t be different, right?”

Now, two-time Masters champion and former world number two, Bubba Watson, has joined in.

Watson, who enthusiastically jumped ship to LIV during the Summer, has made his argument that other tours, particularly the PGA Tour of China, have not had to wait to ‘qualify’ for what were vital ranking status.

It’s easy to repeat stuff others say without knowing the facts. Not all Tours are forced to wait for OWGR status. PGA Tour China was confirmed for points before playing its first event in 2014. OWGR has a long history of awarding points to 54-hole events too. #GoogleItItHappened

— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) December 4, 2022

Regarding the argument that three-round events should be excluded from ranking points, Watson tweeted a list of tours approved by the ranking authorities that offer 54-hole events.

The history page on OWGRs website shows some of the tours approved for 54 hole events that get OWGR points. https://t.co/9xUNgUyAyZ #JustSaying #LoveYouAlwaysJT

— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) December 4, 2022

Unfortunately, followers were almost unanimously anti-Bubba’s argument, summed up by tweets such as:

The 54 holes is the least of LIV’s concern for meeting the criteria. It literally fails every single criteria needed.

— Chris (@cj_s10) December 4, 2022

There seems to be a strong enough argument for both sides, and clearly not everyone on the PGA Tour agrees with the new system. It looks another mess to deal with as golf enters a new year with only a passing chance of everyone reaching a satisfactory agreement.

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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

Published

2 months ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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.”