Sam Torrance: Phil Mickelson would be the fairytale winner but Jon Rahm has justified favourite status at the US Open June 16, 2021 Another month, another major and this time it’s the turn of the US Open at Torrey Pines. A revamped golf calendar has squeezed major season into just 15 weeks, which leaves the rest of the year a bit barren but is great when you are in the thick of it, as we are now. The [...]
Toast the summer of golf with a dram of Loch Lomond June 14, 2021 GH Mumm Champagne is the official drinks sponsor of the America’s Cup, the oldest trophy in international sport, going back to 1851. Now the oldest golfing major has its own official spirit too. The 149th Open Championship is being held between 15-18 July at The Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England. To mark the occasion, [...]
Ladies European Tour CEO Alexandra Armas on new $4m Aramco Team Series, raising the profile of women’s golf and working with Saudi Arabia June 2, 2021 The Ladies European Tour (LET) has announced a stellar line-up for the London leg of the inaugural, big-money Aramco Team Series. Major winners Georgia Hall, Lexi Thompson, Anna Nordqvist and order of merit champion Emily Kristine Pedersen have all signed up to play at Centurion Club in St Albans from 8 July. Each of the [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Castore eyes Chinese market with Wolves kit deal; Rosberg signs up IG Prime to Extreme E team; Koepka does rival DeChambeau a favour May 27, 2021 Change is in the air at Wolves, and not only because manager Nuno Espirito Santo departed this week. The Black Country’s finest have also signed a new kit deal with fast-growing premium British sportswear brand Castore. Castore has been canny in its choice of sportspeople and teams to get behind, from Andy Murray to Owen [...]
Sam Torrance: Phil Mickelson winning the US PGA Championship is among the greatest major wins ever May 24, 2021 “I absolutely believe a player in their fifties will win a major,” Bernhard Langer said last month. He didn’t have to wait long to see that prediction realised by Phil Mickelson in a quite incredible performance at the US PGA Championship. Mickelson, who turns 51 next month, was sublime at Kiawah Island last week. He [...]
US PGA Championship prize money 2021: How much is at stake at Kiawah Island and how does it compare to other paydays in men’s golf? May 19, 2021 The Wanamaker Trophy is the target for the cream of men’s golf this week at the US PGA Championship – and the prize money isn’t bad either. A total purse of $11m is up for grabs at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, where play is due to begin on Thursday. From that, the winner will [...]
Sam Torrance: History and form point to Rory McIlroy as US PGA Championship returns to demanding but exciting Kiawah Island May 18, 2021 The US PGA Championship doesn’t need any extra spice but the return to form of Rory McIlroy has provided it anyway. McIlroy won this tournament by eight shots the last time it was held at this week’s venue, Kiawah Island, in 2012. So, having ended an 18-month drought with victory at the Wells Fargo Championship [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Succession at Matchroom; PGA Tour’s $40m fame fund; taking knee banned at Tokyo 2020; India warms to The Hundred; NFL’s paint job April 23, 2021 It’s been a busy week for shifts in power at the top of sports organisations, splitting with old partners and signing megabucks new deals. Away from European football’s attempt to eat itself, Matchroom announced that founder Barry Hearn would be stepping down after 40 years at the helm. Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn is succeeding [...]
Sam Torrance Masters review 2021: Why Matsuyama’s win is the best result for golf, heartache for Schauffele and a brilliant debut from Zalatoris April 13, 2021 You couldn’t pick a better Masters winner for world golf than Hideki Matsuyama. Japan has long had a huge involvement in the sport. They have a fantastic tour and have produced players like Jumbo Ozaki and Tommy Nakajima. They have also had women’s major champions, in Hisako Higuchi and Hinako Shibuno, but not men’s – [...]
Keith Pelley interview: European Tour chief on PGA Tour alliance, why 2021 is even tougher than 2020, and when fans can return to golf April 9, 2021 Since 14 April 2020, Keith Pelley has been getting used to a new way of starting each day. At 7:45am the chief executive of golf’s European Tour dials into a conference call with 14 colleagues to discuss which tournaments are on, which are off and need replacing at short notice, and which hang in the [...]