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LIV golfer wins on DP World Tour at iconic venue

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On winning the Andalucia Masters on Sunday, Adrian Otaegui not only recorded the lowest score in the event’s eight-year history – by seven shots – but also equalled the biggest winning margin, six shots, set by Christiaan Bezuidenhout, three years ago.

On the most difficult course on the DP World Tour, where any rounds above level par are excellent play, the 29-year-old took advantage of relatively benign conditions to finish on 19-under, a total that very few would have thought possible around the tight, tree-laden fairways of Sotogrande’s most feared track.

Put up as one of the best bets for the week, Otaegui also set another record – he was the first LIV player to win back on any main tour.

Questions were asked as to why the DP World Tour was not tweeting anything of the Spaniard’s third round prowess, especially after opening up a lead of half-a-dozen shots after a stunning third-round 64, but it was no surprise given the home player was one of three players that successfully overturned an injunction banning them (and 13 others) from the Scottish Open and Barracuda Championship in July.

By the end, it was impossible to ignore the home player’s prowess around Valderrama, and fellow LIV players will rejoice in the fact that one of ‘theirs’ received enough ranking points to raise him from 158th to 95 in the OWGR, the subject of much anger in the Greg Norman camp.

Ironically, it is unlikely we will see Otaegui back on the LIV schedule. He took part in the first three, finishing tied sixth in the inaugural event at the Centurion Club, earning $800k compared to 500,000 Euros for his win today, but has not appeared in the last three and is not in the field for the finale in Miami at the end of the month.

This is a proper test for what Rory McIlroy calls the tradition of the game.

While Otaegui is potentially still involved in court proceedings against the DP World Tour, he couldn’t hide his emotions after such a historic victory.

“I’m very, very proud,” he told Sky Sports after his win.

“I feel so happy to have my first win in Spain, in front of these crowds, on my favourite golf course in Spain. It’s just unbelievable. The week went perfect.”

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Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

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While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

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While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

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According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.

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