Opening golf clubs would be a hole in one for lockdown health January 7, 2021 It will come as no surprise that 2020 was a bittersweet year for the UK’s golfing industry. While the urbanisation and redevelopment of golf courses mean that many much-loved greenspaces are being lost in the bid for more housing, the sport saw a huge increase in uptake after the restrictions of the first lockdown were eased, as [...]
The Big Sport Quiz of 2020: How well were you following the action this year? December 22, 2020 Roll up, roll up: it’s Morning Wire’s Big Sport Quiz of 2020! Yes, a lot of it was severely disrupted and most of it happened without fans present, but there was still plenty of vintage sport and some intriguing storylines to follow. So test your knowledge on our selection of questions covering all major sports [...]
Sam Torrance: The golf year in review, from Superman Bryson DeChambeau to doyen of commentary Peter Alliss December 21, 2020 This has been a strange year and that has been true in golf as well. We all hope that normality can resume in every respect in 2021, and that tournaments will not have to be postponed or cancelled again. In the circumstances, the European Tour deserves great credit for putting measures in place to resume [...]
Sam Torrance: Incredible Lee Westwood deserves a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame December 14, 2020 The European Tour’s finale yesterday got the most exciting of conclusions and a delightful result. Both the DP World Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai went down to the wire, with the same three players — Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Patrick Reed — battling for both the tournament and order of merit titles. [...]
DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai 2020 prize money: Up to $5m on offer to winner in European Tour finale December 8, 2020 Two of golf’s biggest prize money payouts will be settled this week when the DP World Tour Championship concludes the Race to Dubai. The winner of the former stands to bank $3m, the biggest single tournament winner’s prize in the sport. Whoever wins the Race to Dubai, the European Tour’s order of merit, meanwhile, will [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Yashenkov makes fan pledge ahead of election; global golf tour moves step closer; and Cazoo trumpets Hundred deal December 3, 2020 It’s a big weekend for rugby in Europe, and not just because of the final round of Autumn Nations Cup fixtures. On Friday, Russian challenger Kirill Yashenkov is hoping to topple incumbent Octavian Morariu and be named president of Rugby Europe. Yashenkov has vowed to double the organisation’s budget and create more opportunities for elite [...]
UK beats US to be named most influential country for sports technology November 17, 2020 The United Kingdom has been named the most influential country in the realm of sports technology by a new report. The UK leads the way because it is home to Formula 1 and golf’s European Tour, organisations praised for innovation. The United States is the second most influential country, according to the inaugural Sports Technology [...]
Sam Torrance: Masters magic can unlock more major success for vastly improved Dustin Johnson November 16, 2020 You couldn’t have asked for a much better Masters than the one Dustin Johnson just won in fantastic fashion. OK, it’s more exciting when there’s two or three players vying at the end, but he was sublime and outclassed the whole field. The signs were there. Johnson’s form going into Augusta included four top twos [...]
The Masters effect: How winning a green jacket can double a player’s social media following November 13, 2020 Some spoils of winning the Masters are easy to quantify, like one green jacket and around two million dollars. Others – joy, relief, satisfaction, prestige, profile – are less so. But new research has attempted to put a figure on the last of those by analysing the social media followings of recent Masters champions. Tiger [...]
Sam Torrance: Masters buzz around Bryson DeChambeau reminds me of Tiger Woods November 11, 2020 Anticipation for the Masters this year feels as high as when Tiger Woods won his first in 1997. I can remember it vividly. Tiger was the best and he was hitting the ball miles past everyone. He won by 12 strokes. This time, it’s equally exciting to see how Bryson DeChambeau plays. I can’t wait. [...]