PGA

Defending champion Jon Rahm is one of the favorites, along with McIlroy, PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas and Masters winner Scottie Scheffler. As of 7:55 ...

Plenty of PGA mainstays are also in Boston, led by Rory McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champ, who has been outspoken in opposing LIV Golf. This time, he’s doing it with Saudi money. Men’s golf remains at the center of the sporting universe this week, as the world’s top players converge on the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. for the 122nd U.S. Open. After a tumultuous stretch that’s seen multiple star players defect from the PGA Tour in favor of the lucrative, Saudi-backed LIV Golf International Series, the USGA can only hope that the competition now seizes the spotlight.

Live leaderboard (as of 8:55 a.m. ET)1 Collin Morikawa -2 (5)1 Russell Henley -2 (4)Four golfers tied at -1The 2022 U.S. Open begins Thursday from The ...

That's going to play as basically a 100-yard shot for the pros, I think, and that's just ... *chef's kiss.* He has a solo second and a T8 at the first two major tournaments this year, and this course is a really nice setup for him. The 2022 U.S. Open will be available via streaming on Peacock with exclusive windows as well as featured groups. In what has been somewhat of a downturn of a season after last year’s best-in-class form, this is the perfect opportunity for Rahm to get back on track. He has bogeyed Nos. 1, 3 and now 4, with a par at No. 2. None of this is secret anymore — hell, two decades have passed — but in Boston, old habits die hard, and when one guy from the neighborhood tells a story about another guy from the neighborhood, it’s best not to blab. Curtis Strange won the last U.S. Open at The Country Club, which was held in 1988. Like Southern Hills, designer Gil Hanse has been working with The Country Club to prepare for this U.S. Open. The ball rams into the jar and Leonard takes off running. “See over there,” the caddie says, pointing to a spot on the green. Those are the stories in the annals. A Rory or JT or Speith or Rahm. I think they all have a good chance.

Rory McIlroy shot an opening-round 3-under 67 at the U.S. Open on Thursday, saying he is not motivated by the threat of the LIV Golf Invitational Series but ...

"Again, some of these reactions that maybe you saw out there today, whether it be hitting the sand on 5 or the club throw on 9, you just have to be so precise and so exact at this golf tournament, maybe compared to some others," McIlroy said. It was the 21st victory of his career, which moved him past Norman in career wins. He pushed his approach shot to the right of the green and threw his club in frustration. But, yeah, you're going to encounter things this week that you don't usually come across the other weeks of the year, and you just have to try to accept them as best you can." After making birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to move to 4-under, McIlroy lost his cool again on the par-4 ninth, his final hole. "I'm just being me. "I gave the sand a couple of whacks because I'd already messed it up, so it wasn't like it was much more work for [caddie] Harry [Diamond]," McIlroy said. The margins are just so fine in this tournament, and I think you can sort of see that out there with some of the reactions." "You're going to encounter things at a U.S. Open, whether they be lies or stuff like that, that you just don't really encounter any other week," McIlroy said. It was an eventful opening round for McIlroy at the golf course outside Boston. He started on the back nine and carded a bogey-free, 2-under 33. It's certainly a different mindset when you get off to a good start, and yeah, I've just got to keep it going." With an opening-round 3-under 67, McIlroy put himself in great position to do just that.

Defending champion Jon Rahm, PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas and two-time major title-holder Collin Morikawa are all only three strokes back at 1 under, ...

T42. Joaquin Niemann, Sam Burns, Bryson DeChambeau, Corey Conners and eight others (+1): After an eagle on the par-5 eighth, it appeared that Niemann would threaten the first page of the leaderboard as he stood at 2 under for the day. It felt as if he was all over the place Thursday as he carded four birdies to offset four bogeys. In his five U.S. Open appearances, he has five top-10 finishes; however, he has yet to truly contend as his average deficit entering the final round has been 5.4 strokes. While Young was in a similar spot as Spieth from a statistical standpoint, Cantlay was not as his iron play was simply dreadful. Having been in the final pairing at the 2022 PGA Championship, it is possible the heartache from Southern Hills leads to jubilation in Brookline. He has been knocking on the door for what seems like an eternity and on paper the 2022 version of Fitzpatrick is different. He will need this area of the bag to rebound as he has had some trouble backing up one great round with another. Leading the field in strokes gained tee to green, there is still room for improvement as the 34-year-old ranked 60th in strokes gained putting in Round 1. The Canadian is in the midst of a sneaky strong season, which at one point included three consecutive top-10 finishes but has yet to taste contention in a major championship. He continued his fine play Thursday at The Country Club, but it was not without some head scratching moments. Defending champion Jon Rahm, PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas and two-time major title-holder Collin Morikawa are all only three strokes back at 1 under, and they will look to ascend up the leaderboard in Friday's second round. Dropping a shot late in his round, McIlroy would later be matched by by Joel Dahmen, MJ Daffue and a pair of European counterparts at 3 under.

Rory McIlroy has been one of the most outspoken critics of LIV Golf, and he's been on a tear since the league hosted its first event.

When McIlroy’s 30-footer for birdie dropped into the cup, he let out a small fist pump and raised his putter to the sky. He continued to vent his frustrations by taking a few lashes at the sand, sending sediment flying into the air. (“F—!” he said.) With the ball well above his feet, he lashed at it and sent it careening into another bunker some 10 yards closer to the green. There was a certain edge to McIlroy between the ropes at The Country Club on Thursday morning — and he wasn’t shy about showing it. But instead of gravity pulling the ball into the deep bunker, a thick tuft of rough suspended the ball over the lip. This is the U.S. Open. A win here would have a different gravitas in the fight for the soul of pro golf.

BROOKLINE, Mass. – World top-five players Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas were all among those to break par in Thursday's opening round of the U.S. ...

The same underdog mentality served Buckley well as he played the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season on conditional status. He arrived at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in February 2021 as an alternate, and warmed up on the range Thursday morning – in the dark – without a tee time. Buckley’s junior golf results failed to attract buzz across the Division I landscape, but positive word-of-mouth reviews led Missouri coach Mark Leroux to offer him a spot on the team without seeing him hit a single shot. (David Cannon/Getty images) Lingmerth hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish on TOUR since July 2017, and he has battled myriad injuries in his quest to recapture past form. His clubs arrived in Boston a day late, but based on his early returns at Brookline, he wasn’t fazed. He herniated two discs in his neck in 2017, and fractured his kneecap during a pickup hockey game in 2019. “But I’m pretty stubborn, and I’m not one to give up. A last-minute withdrawal provided Buckley a spot in the field, and he proceeded to win the event in a playoff and earn his first PGA TOUR card. “My life is really good,” Daffue said after the opening round. “There have been some tough days, not going to lie, and you start asking yourself those questions,” Lingmerth said. After missing the cut at the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season-ending Pinnacle Bank Championship last August, Tarren flew home for the birth of his first child, daughter Sofia. He made it just in time, spent a couple days at home in England, and flew back to the U.S. for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where he secured his PGA TOUR card.

A busy 'moving day' has shaken up the leaderboard at this year's PGA Professional Championship with Ashley Mansell taking a commanding three-shot lead ...

Coles had to borrow a driver after his shaft snapped prior to his third round, but it did not affect his game. Unfortunately, a few shots got away from 2019 PGA Cup player Wrigley in the difficult closing holes, but he will be full of confidence ahead of his team time tomorrow morning. Mansell started his round with three birdies in three holes and took advantage of a generous front nine, making the turn in four-under-par.

Rory McIlroy's win at last week's RBC Canadian Open included a rare mid-tournament equipment switch. It was the latest edition of a battle between two ...

Since that testing session at home, McIlroy has used the Stealth model as his higher spinning 3-wood option, and the SIM as his lower spinning option. …I’ll hit 3-wood maybe a couple times, but the 5-wood is probably just a better club for quite a few holes here.” Based on that testing session, McIlroy concluded that he preferred the higher spin rates of the larger-sized Stealth model versus the Stealth Plus he used initially. “There’s a few opportunities to hit drivers here, but I think it’s just so important to get it in the fairway,” McIlroy told GolfWRX. “I can carry the 5 wood 270-275 in the air off the tee. As a quick refresher, TaylorMade’s SIM Ti (Titanium) fairway woods hit retail in February 2020, and McIlroy has been using the 3-wood off and on ever since. A little more in control. A little more spin. … (The Stealth is) a little more workable. It’s either you lay back quite a lot with a 5-wood, or you get it up there with a driver. It’s a little weaker, a little spinnier, sort of more just to get it in play,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday. “The SIM is a little hotter, a little lower spin, sort of get it out there a little more. “I (used) the SIM (in Canada), I just didn’t hit it much last week,” McIlroy told GolfWRX on Wednesday. “There was honestly no real need for a 3-wood last week, just with the yardage. Rory McIlroy’s win at last week’s RBC Canadian Open included a rare mid-tournament equipment switch.

A run of four straight birdies has secured South Australian Max McCardle a share of victory at the bennco Karratha Pro-Am at Karratha Country Club.

After making par at the first McCardle unleashed his birdie blitz, picking up four on the trot from the par-4 second as he secured his second win of the WA swing. Fox had an opportunity to claim the win outright but bogeyed his final hole – the par-4 first – while Simon Houston narrowly missed a spot in the playoff as he too dropped a shot at his final hole, the par-4 18th. A run of four straight birdies has secured South Australian Max McCardle a share of victory at the bennco Karratha Pro-Am at Karratha Country Club.

Joel Dahmen downplays his chances to win a major, but he's off to an impressive start at The Country Club.

“You still have to hit it great, and you still have to be in the right spots, but this is like everyone can play this golf course, from Brian Stuard to myself to the long players. “Is it way cooler to finish in the lead on Sunday? Yeah. Is it still cool as a kid who grew up in Clarkston, Washington, to be like, man, he is leading the U.S. Open, that's kind of a cool deal. The closer I get to it, I don't tend to just completely collapse.” There is a place for overachievers in this game. He was quick to point out that he could easily shoot 76 on Friday and quickly find himself in 40th. Take Thursday’s round at the U.S. Open, a tournament that invites each of the 60 best golfers in the world. I had to hit it so perfect all the time, where this one even if you are in the rough, it's graduated a little bit. “I could write this for you guys.” He teed up this narrative 10 days ago, when he told The Athletic that he knows he will never win a major and wasn’t sure he’d even try to qualify for this one. I can get it around the greens. Dahmen carved his way around The Country Club in shooting three-under 67, tied for best in the morning wave. He will tell you he has no shot of making a Ryder Cup team, let alone the World Golf Hall of Fame.

The emergence of the LIV Golf Series could force the PGA Tour to make some serious changes, says Shipnuck.

People may just kind of get over their distaste for the Saudi involvement. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is being used to bankroll the series, with many viewing it as nothing more than an attempt to sportswash the country's human rights record. There's also a team competition, with Norman hoping, in time, to establish each one as franchise that will yield further profit for the players.

As witnessed on Thursday at The Country Club, Phil Mickelson is the face of professional golf's current unraveling, and yet, in his competitive twilight, ...

This was Mickelson’s first U.S. tournament since January, and on Monday, in the leadoff interview slot, he received a barrage of pointed questions about his deeper motivations and his battered image. Indeed, with the final groups wrapping up, Mickelson tapped in to polite, sympathetic applause from the 18th-hole grandstand that, by 7 p.m., was only a quarter full. He went out in 40, encountered a wild turkey while looking for his errant drive on the 12th hole and generally looked like a 52-year-old in golf’s toughest test. That stunning victory should have been celebrated as the last gasp of a proud champion. So good for so long, he should have victory-lapped last month around Southern Hills, soaking in the adulation as the unlikely defending champ. Even as the miscues added up, he never wavered from his uncomfortably long pre-shot routine. Over the past few years he has battled lapses of concentration, so now he stands behind the ball for five, 10, 15 seconds, left hand near his hip, trying to calm his racing mind, channel his focus and visualize his shot. “I really enjoyed the test,” Mickelson said in a brief interview in the player parking lot, but it was difficult to believe him. Spectators pay to be entertained, preferably by guys they know, and few in the game’s long history have been as popular as Mickelson. The few jeers landed with a thud. This was not a surprise, of course. Athletes have endured all sorts of sordid scandals and still been reintegrated into public life as beloved as ever.

After years spent criticizing the PGA Tour's control of players' media rights, his support of what became known as LIV Golf — and his willingness to downplay ...

As a past winner of the Masters and the PGA Championship, Mickelson has a lifetime pass to those tournaments — assuming Augusta National and the PGA of America do not change their rules — and he gets free entry into the British Open as a past champion until the age of 60. His results on the regular PGA Tour weren’t much better, and he finished tied for 33rd out of 48 at the first no-cut LIV tournament. Mickelson’s second round on Friday was better than his first on Thursday — when he bogeyed three of his first five holes, double-bogeyed the sixth and finished at 8-over 78 — but it wasn’t nearly enough to get him to the weekend. Nicklaus also won the British Open three times, while the U.S. Open remains the only major to elude Mickelson. And in his eight U.S. Opens since his most recent runner-up in 2013, Mickelson has no finish better than a tie for 28th, with three missed cuts. When he emerged earlier this month for LIV’s inaugural event outside London, he was bearded and dressed in black, a look he carried to the Country Club this week. Considering his unfortunate history at the one major he’s never won, Mickelson has long been the center of attention at the U.S. Open, but this year’s spotlight was shaded differently.

After struggling during first-round play on Thursday, Phil Mickelson played better Friday, carding a 3-over-73, but it wasn't enough to make the cut at The ...

He immediately raised his left arm and yelled, "Way left!" The man was holding an ice bag on his head. He had a 3-putt bogey on the par-4 13th. The man was helped by USGA officials, and Mickelson came over and shook his hand. Mickelson's total of 11 over through 36 holes tied for fifth worst in a major championship during his career. He carded a 3-over 73, dropping his total for 36 holes to 11 over.

“Hey Louis,” bellowed a Bostonian. “Great job on the win last week.” It was Charl Schwartzel who prevailed in the opening LIV Golf event at the ...

The smart money there would be an increased alliance between those at Wentworth and the PGA Tour. There is, though, a marked difference between the reception afforded to Mickelson at Brookline and the fawning praise he once encountered with every step. It is Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and others who sit firmly in the PGA Tour’s camp against the LIV threat. He has embarked on such an incredible act of self-sabotage that he was almost pitied as he limped towards the second-round finish line. Unless, of course, the punter was remarkably referencing LIV’s team event, which is even further down the public consciousness. It is taking place somewhere in the ether but the paying public are not engaged with further detail.

Phil Mickelson's return from a four-month US layoff was a short one after joining many of his fellow Saudi-backed LIV Golf rebels in missing the cut Friday ...

"Obviously it was a tough decision, but I feel very confident in the decision I made," Johnson said. "I was coming in here, preparing, getting ready to try and win a US Open. "The fans here have always been terrific," Mickelson said. "I'm playing pretty well. Wish I had played better," Mickelson said. "I missed competing, but I also enjoyed some time away."