19th Hole

Cam Smith accuses Phil Mickelson of ‘gamesmanship’ during LIV showdown

Published

2 years ago

Oct 31, 2022

Jason Daniels

Phil Mickelson has had ‘a week’ at the final event of the LIV Golf series.

Related: ‘Not sure it’s possible to play any slower’ – Things got awkward between Ian Poulter and Kevin Na at LIV presser

Just before the team event finale started at the LIV Miami, the three-time Masters champion had a terrific war of words with Brooks Koepka, captain of the Smash GC team.

Related: ‘Welcome to the 1950s’ – Kings of Leon drummer rages over policy at bucket list golf course

The captains were offered their choice of opponent and, before Koepka could answer, Mickelson suggested they have a repeat of their final round clash at the 2021 PGA Championship, an event the then 51-year-old won to be the oldest of all major winners.

The 32-year-old, himself winner of four majors, came back by suggesting, “If you wanna play we can play but, I don’t know if you know this cause you’ve never been No.1 in the world, but if you finish (No.1) at the end of the year they give you a little trophy so I got two of those, I’ll bring one to show you.”

Amidst the gallery’s laughter, Lefty wasn’t to be left without the last word.

“That’s a beautiful green shirt,” he commented to his rival. “Do you have a green jacket?”

He didn’t quite have the same answers a few days later, when 2022 Open Champion Cam Smith knocked out Mickelson’s team, the Hy Flyers, care of a seven-foot final hole birdie.

However, despite seeing Punch GC team progress, the former world number two accused his opponent of a touch of gamesmanship.

“We both struck the ball good. I probably didn’t hole as many putts as I’d like, but I was able to get the job done there on the last hole,” said the Australian star.

“Yeah, it was a good match,” he continued. “I think Phil maybe had some gamesmanship in there a little bit. He seemed to take forever today. I think we were three or four holes behind, so that was a bit painful. But other than that, it was good.”

Two days later, both Koepka’s ‘Smash’ and Smith’s ‘Punch’ made the last four, to compete on the lucrative final day against Louis Oosthuizen’s Stingers and the team that has dominated the LIV series – the Aces – comprising captain Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez.

The Open TV ratings don’t make for pretty reading

Published

2 days ago

Jul 24, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, last week’s Open Championship suffered its lowest television rating in almost a decade.

NBC and Peacock drew 3.39M viewers on Sunday for Xander Schauffele’s two-shot win in @TheOpen, down 4% from last year and Brian Harman.

That’s the lowest number for the final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015, which finished on a Monday on ESPN (cable) pic.twitter.com/9r7guxnfx1

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) July 23, 2024

The final round was down four percent from Brian Harman’s win in 2023 at Royal Liverpool, which offered very little drama down the stretch. It was the lowest-rated final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015 at St. Andrews: and that was a Monday finish.

Stars such as Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland all missed the cut, which may have contributed to the lack of interest from casual golf fans.

This year, the Masters and The Open have decreased in ratings while the PGA Championship and U.S. Open saw an uptick. It’s fair to speculate whether the inclusion of Bryson DeChambeau deep into contention had an impact.

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19th Hole

‘That looks brutal’ – First photo of Tiger Woods’ leg without sleeve shows depth of injury

Published

3 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

It’s been a struggle of late for Tiger Woods on the golf course. The 15-time major champion has only teed it up five times in 2024, finishing 60th in The Masters and missing the cut in the other three majors. He also played in the Genesis Invitational and was forced to withdraw.

Woods has many ailments, but none as debilitating as his surgically repaired leg. Since his car accident three years ago, the 48-year-old has rarely been seen without wearing a leg sleeve. However, on Monday, a fan was able to take a photograph of Woods’ leg without the sleeve.

@blakebunkersgolf IG

??? #LOOK: A photo has emerged of Tiger Woods without his leg sleeve @TWlegion

(Via: blakebunkersgolf/IG) pic.twitter.com/ppaGLdXg8X

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

The photo was taken at an event Tiger’s son, Charlie, was playing in by “blakebunkersgolf” on Instagram, and one of the top responses on X towards the photo was simply “That looks brutal.”

Woods has struggled with the lack of reps on the course but hasn’t given any indication as to whether his schedule will look any different come 2025.

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19th Hole

John Daly says this is the best golf course in Scotland…and it’s not St. Andrews

Published

3 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

John Daly withdrew at last week’s Open Championship with a knee injury, but the 58-year-old was back on the links this week showcasing one of the most famous golf courses in the world for his fans.

While at Trump Turnberry, John Daly recorded a video of the 18th green.

In the video, the 1995 Open Champion shared his opinion that Turnberry is the best golf course in Scotland, even better than St. Andrews.

?????????? #BEST OF THE BEST — John Daly says Trump Turnberry beats out St Andrews for the title of best golf course in Scotland.

Do you agree?

(Via: @LGlick1) pic.twitter.com/Ya7FIJEfp2

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

“Hey everybody, John Daly here. I’m at Trump Turnberry today. I went out and tried to play a little bit. This place is amazing. It is the best golf course in Scotland, I think. St. Andrews is my baby, but I think I just found my new baby. I’m at the 18th green right here, this thing is unreal.”

Turnberry hosted its first Open Championship in 1977, which was dubbed “The Duel in the Sun” when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a single stroke. The most recent Open the course hosted was 2009, where Watson almost won again, but lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff.

The course is not slated to host any Open Championships in the foreseeable future.