Justin Rose admitted he was delighted with a “gutsy” 73 which kept him in contention for a second Betfred British Masters title, 21 years after the first.

Rose held a one-shot lead after a superb opening 65 at The Belfry, but it was a different story on Friday as he covered his first 10 holes in four over par.

However, the former world number one rallied to card four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine and finished the day on six under par, tied for the lead with France’s Antoine Rozner.

“It felt like a very, very tough day,” Rose said. “I got off to kind of a weird start, I didn’t feel like I was hitting poor shots and three-putted number one. The hole looked a little smaller for some reason.

“It wasn’t easy and this golf course holds up. Every year it has a pretty stout winning score and you can see why.

“I made some mistakes clearly, I was four over par at one point in my round, so actually delighted to bring it back and finish minus six.

“A good result out of the day I think and also generally feel pretty decent with how I played today. Just three three-putts and one or two little errors which crept in but not too bad considering what was a tough afternoon.

“I did readjust and tried say to myself I can make three birdies coming in down the last seven holes and that’s kind of how it played out.

“It was a good gutsy finish I suppose and dinner will taste good because of that. Through 36 holes I’m in a great spot.”

Rose and Rozner enjoyed a one-shot lead over a seven-strong group of players which included defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen, former Ryder Cup players Oliver Wilson and Andy Sullivan and English amateur John Gough.

Sullivan dodged a fine for swearing as he moved into contention for a fifth DP World Tour title with a second round of 68, the 37-year-old Midlander making five birdies in the space of six holes from the 12th.

“It was good. I played really well today,” Sullivan said, who was part of the European team beaten by the United States at Hazeltine in 2016.

“I missed an eight-footer on 11 which did get a massive expletive. Luckily the cameras weren’t there as I would have got fined, and then I got going after that.

“I felt the momentum and obviously having a home crowd behind you is nice, local crowd and quite a few out there today, so it’s good when you get the roars going and you get them going, you feel like your energy is up today.”

Sullivan joked that it had been a “pain in the a***” to secure tickets for all his friends and family, but Olesen was certainly appreciating the support of the sizeable crowds.

“It was great from early doors this morning,” the Dane said. “There was a lot of people and good atmosphere the whole way around, so it’s always fun to play in front of that.

“I didn’t think it was that easy today. It was quite windy but I had some really nice up-and-downs to keep the round going which was very important. I’m pretty happy with today.”

Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson and Robert MacIntyre lie two shots off the lead on four under par, while Welshman Jamie Donaldson slipped four strokes off the pace after following his opening 66 with a 76.

Compatriot Rhys Enoch holed out from 220 yards with a four iron to make an albatross on the par-five third hole, a second round of 69 leaving him one under par.

Justin Rose lived up to his billing as pre-tournament favourite by setting the pace on day one of the Betfred British Masters.

The world number 31, the top-ranked player in the field, carded eight birdies and a solitary bogey to record a seven-under-par 65 and enjoy a one-shot lead over former Ryder Cup team-mate Jamie Donaldson.

Donaldson, who secured the winning point at Gleneagles in 2014, birdied five of the last six holes in his 66, with Germany’s Yannik Paul, English amateur John Gough, James Morrison and Spain’s Sebastian Garcia all on four under.

“I felt very comfortable with my game from the first shot,” said Rose, who won the British Masters in 2002 and hosted the event in 2018.

“I hit a beautiful little wedge into the 10th hole, made a nice birdie there and I think that’s the cleanest round of golf I’ve played in a long, long time.

“I really drove the ball well, the irons were being struck pretty cleanly and I actually hadn’t made many putts through the front nine to be four under so it was great to manage to make a few coming in.

“It all amounted to a very good day’s work.”

Asked about being a short-priced favourite to win the £2.7million event, Rose added: “I haven’t really paid any attention to that, even though I played with the Betfred lads (in the pro-am) and they were telling me about the pricing of the field.

“It’s obviously somewhat of a compliment but it doesn’t mean anything, does it? You have to go and play well.

“Quality players, if they play well, they are going to be hard to beat, but the hard part is playing well. Obviously I’ve done the first step, got off to a good start, but got a long way to go this week.

“Coming off a missed cut at the US Open and a week off without too much practice, the beginning part of this week was important for me to get tuned back in to my feels and it’s nice to get off to a good, positive start.”

Donaldson was just one under par after 12 holes of his round before picking up shots on the 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.

“Nothing was going in, it was all a bit slow at the start and suddenly it all kicked in on the back nine,” the 47-year-old Welshman said. “Five in six holes to finish, so yeah, fantastic.

“I was just trying to be patient. There were a lot of downwind holes towards the end there, so it made it easier to have birdie chances and hit a few good shots.”

The leading three players on Sunday evening, who are not already exempt, will earn a place in next month’s Open Championship and Donaldson added: “It’s a big goal.

“I’m down for the qualifier at West Lancs next week but it would be great to do it here and save having to play 36 holes in one day. There’s a long way to go but I do really want to be playing in the Open. Three more days and I need three more similar rounds.”

Paul currently holds an automatic qualifying place for the Ryder Cup and overcame a back injury which forced him out of last week’s BMW International on home soil to card an opening 68.

“Sometimes when the expectations aren’t as high, your acceptance if you hit bad shots is better,” said Paul, who won his maiden DP World Tour title in Mallorca last season.

“I’m obviously really pleased with my round. I flew here on Tuesday morning, thinking I’d have a 30 per cent chance that I could tee it up.

“My physio Rob is here this week and I also received some good treatment last week, but it took some time to get better.”

Defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen is five shots off the lead after an opening round of 70.

Former champion Justin Rose justified his position as pre-tournament favourite with a superb opening round in the Betfred British Masters.

The world number 31, the top-ranked player in the field, carded eight birdies and a solitary bogey to record a seven-under-par 65 at The Belfry.

That gave Rose a one-shot lead over former Ryder Cup team-mate Jamie Donaldson, who birdied five of the last six holes in his 66, with Germany’s Yannik Paul and English amateur John Gough two shots further back.

“I felt very comfortable with my game from the first shot,” said Rose, who won the British Masters in 2002 and hosted the event in 2018.

“I hit a beautiful little wedge into the 10th hole, made a nice birdie there and I think that’s the cleanest round of golf I’ve played in a long, long time.

“I really drove the ball well, the irons were being struck pretty cleanly and I actually hadn’t made many putts through the front nine to be four under so it was great to manage to make a few coming in.

“It all amounted to a very good day’s work.”

Asked about being a short-priced favourite to win the £2.7million event, Rose added: “I haven’t really paid any attention to that, even though I played with the Betfred lads [in the pro-am] and they were telling me about the pricing of the field.

“It’s obviously somewhat of a compliment but it doesn’t mean anything, does it? You have to go and play well.

“Quality players, if they play well, they are going to be hard to beat, but the hard part is playing well. Obviously I’ve done the first step, got off to a good start, but got a long way to go this week.

“Coming off a missed cut at the US Open and a week off without too much practice, the beginning part of this week was important for me to get tuned back in to my feels and it’s nice to get off to a good, positive start.”

Donaldson, who sealed the winning point at Gleneagles in 2014, was just one under par after 12 holes of his round before picking up shots on the 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.

“Nothing was going in, it was all a bit slow at the start and suddenly it all kicked in on the back nine,” the 47-year-old Welshman said. “Five in six holes to finish, so yeah, fantastic.

“I was just trying to be patient. There were a lot of downwind holes towards the end there, so it made it easier to have birdie chances and hit a few good shots.”

Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia have ended their feud in the wake of the proposed peace deal between golf’s rival factions.

The former Ryder Cup team-mates fell out following Garcia’s move to LIV Golf, with McIlroy emerging as the most vocal opponent to the Saudi-funded breakaway.

But even though McIlroy admitted earlier this month that he still “hates” LIV Golf, he and Garcia rekindled their friendship at the US Open in Los Angeles.

Asked in a press conference ahead of LIV’s event in Valderrama this week if the deal was good news, Garcia said: “I think so. I think it’s great.

“I think in my personal opinion I wish this would have happened a year and a half ago when we all started, and it would have been better for all of us. I really think so.

“To give you an example – it wasn’t because of the merger, but the US Open was a great event for me.

“I feel like I played well, but more than anything because I gained a friend back, a friend that I kind of felt like I lost in the last year or so. We talked and we had a great conversation, and I feel like I have that friend back and that to me means a lot.”

Speaking to reporters after the press conference, Garcia revealed that a friendly interaction at the US Open between his wife Angela and McIlroy had been the catalyst.

“I had been thinking about it for a while but I wasn’t totally sure,” Garcia said.

“But then I saw that reaction from him and it kind of gave me the incentive to get closer and we had a great chat.

“I think that at the end of the day, the important thing is that we got together and talked; we were two friends that wanted to get back to that spot.

“Like I said, no doubt it was the saddest part of all of this, these friendships turning sour.”

Sir Nick Faldo believes LIV Golf cannot survive the proposed deal between golf’s warring factions, but that Rory McIlroy can thrive following the shock outbreak of peace.

Earlier this month the PGA Tour announced it was creating a new commercial entity with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls the breakaway circuit.

The deal is subject to judicial scrutiny in the United States and details remain thin on the ground, but the “framework agreement” does state that LIV’s future will be determined by the new entity, whose board will be controlled by a PGA Tour majority.

Asked ahead of the British Masters if LIV can survive, tournament host and six-time major winner Faldo said: “I don’t think so, because nobody’s really interested.

“They’re not going to get the sponsorship that they want. They call it a team (event) and it’s not because it’s strokeplay.

“You see your mates on the putting green and say ‘play well’ and you see them in the scorers tent and say ‘What did you shoot?’ That’s it. A team is out there helping, shoulder to shoulder. That’s a true team.

“You have the ultimate team event, the Ryder Cup, you know the passion and the atmosphere of that. They’re not playing with the same passion and atmosphere as the Ryder Cup.

“It’s only half a dozen (players) that are really current, half of the field I don’t really know and half the field are there for the very nice last-placed money that you still get if you shoot 20 over.”

Unsurprisingly, LIV player and HyFlyers team captain Phil Mickelson has a different view and believes everything that the rebels were promised by LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman is coming to pass.

“I think that right now we have basically an agreement to have an agreement and everything over the last couple of years that we’ve been told by Greg and everybody on LIV has come to fruition, so we have a lot of confidence in what they have been saying to us because everything has been happening,” Mickelson said ahead of the LIV event in Valderrama.

Asked if he felt vindicated by developments, Mickelson added: “I would say I felt appreciation that we got to this point where we’re working together because it makes me confident with where the game of golf is headed in the future.

“We felt like it was going to be about two years roughly before we got to that point. It took a year and a half, or six months quicker than I thought it would be.”

McIlroy admitted he felt like a “sacrificial lamb” when the proposed deal was announced, the four-time major winner having emerged as the public face of the PGA Tour in its battle with LIV.

The following week he cancelled his pre-tournament press conference ahead of the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, where he finished second to Wyndham Clark to extend his major championship drought.

“I’m pretty sure Rory’s suffered from being constantly asked, being a spokesman (for the PGA Tour),” Faldo said. “You want a clear head when you go and play golf, you want to be able to concentrate.

“I’d rather be playing well and fending off questions about why I finished second than why I finished 152nd. If you finish second it’s stewards’ inquiry and a dissection but he’s there, he’s playing that well every week.

“He’s playing beautifully so if he can just get those wedges a smidgen closer that changes everything. Putting under pressure to putting for birdie is a huge difference.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s seriously inspired at Hoylake. That’s where he won last time (the 2014 Open).

“There is scar tissue from nine years without a major and not too many players have come back from a long gap and then go on to reboot your career and win more, but I’m sure he would just love to be able to bowl up, go and practice and play with minimal off-course work and interference.

“You need that when you’re trying to play your best. You’ve got to have that all day long.”

Keegan Bradley claimed his sixth PGA Tour title with a three-shot victory in the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

Bradley took a one-shot lead into the final round at TPC River Highlands and was never in real danger of being caught after making five birdies in his first 12 holes.

The 2011 US PGA Championship winner gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope with three bogeys in four holes from the 13th, but eventually signed for a closing 68 to finish 23 under par.

Fellow American Zac Blair surged through the field with a final round of 62 to finish 20 under par alongside Brian Harman, who returned a second consecutive 64.

“This is for all the kids that grew up in New England, who got to sit through the winters and watch other people play golf,” said Bradley, who was born in Vermont, one of the six states which make up the New England region.

“I just am so proud to win this tournament. Travelers and everybody involved puts on a first-class tournament. It’s been like this for a decade and I’m so happy to be the winner here.

“I’m so lucky and thankful to be from this New England area. I just can’t believe it. This seems like a dream.”

World number one Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Chez Reavie shared fourth place on 19 under, with Rory McIlroy another shot back after a closing 64.

“I got off to a hot start, which was nice and what I felt like I needed,” McIlroy said after a round containing seven birdies and one bogey.

“Then hit a drive on nine that I didn’t think was that bad. Ended up against the boundary fence and made a bogey there which halted the momentum that I had.

“Bounced back well with a birdie on 11 but then missed a chance on 12, birdied 13. Then just couldn’t get anything to drop over those last few holes.

“I knew I was never going to win with the way Keegan was playing, but I felt like I probably needed a couple more birdies to finish top five.

“I’ll probably still sneak into the top 10 by the end of the day, but would’ve been nice to finish a little higher. Still, it’s another good week and solid performance after a long run, and looking forward to a couple of weeks off.”

McIlroy, who came into the week on the back of his second place in the US Open in Los Angeles, added: “Last Sunday feels like a month ago at this point.

“But coming off the disappointment of the US Open, coming straight here and sort of trying to refocus and forget about what happened in LA and tee it up here and play well, I thought was pretty good.

“I could have sort of went through the motions this week and mailed it in a little bit. I tried hard until the end and put in a decent performance.”

The Jamaica Golf Association turned to its sport for a major fund raiser dubbed the Pink Ball Tournament which was staged last Saturday at the Constant Spring Golf Club.

The tournament raised approximately JMD$2 million dollars.

Twenty-two teams of three persons each teed off shotgun style at 8:00 am with the top five teams walking off with prizes and trophies while contributing with hefty entry fees of eight thousand dollars for each team member.

 The overall winning team of Rowena Coe, Cameron Coe and Michele McCreath, scored 127 to record a four-point win. The team of Peter Chin, Gregory Mayne and Emily Maybe posted 131 points for the runner-up spot. Third place went to the team of Bruce Lopez, LJ Holmes and Alison Reid who were just two points back on 133 points. Team Oliver McIntosh, Courtney Cephas and Carlton Hume and the team of Metry Seaga, Andre Foote and Mike Gleichman scored 134 each but were placed fourth and fifth, respectively, based on the competition rules.

 The returns from the fundraiser will be used to help to defray the costs to send the junior and senior teams to the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship and the Caribbean Amateur Golf Champions which will be held in July in the Cayman Islands and Trinidad, respectively.

 The budget to send the teams to the championships is close to JMD$ 10 million which means the Jamaica Golf Association's search for funds continues.

 Jamaica performed well in both championships last year while bringing back a number of category trophies.

Several sponsors supported the Pink Ball Tournament including BCIC, Sandals Foundation, KFC, S Hotel & Resorts , Fleetwood Jamaica Limited, Digicel Business and Tile City.

 

 

 

Rory McIlroy gave back the shots he made by holing in one on the eighth as he was left trailing the record-breaking halfway leaders at the Travelers Championship.

McIlroy aced the par three in the first round, but could only find the water second time around as he double bogeyed the hole en route to a six-under-par 64.

“I hit a pretty good shot, I just misjudged the wind a little bit and it came up short in the one place you couldn’t miss today,” said McIlroy, who is tied for 10th on eight-under-par – seven behind leaders Keegan Bradley and Denny McCarthy at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.

“Other than that, it was a really good round of golf.”

McCarthy followed his opening round of 60 with a 65 to set a commanding clubhouse target which only Bradley, who fired a second round 63, could match – their 15-under-par total of 125 setting a tournament record.

“It’s nice, but golf tournaments aren’t 36 holes unfortunately,” said McCarthy. “I know there’s still a lot of golf left and I’m playing some really nice golf, so I’m looking forward to having fun this weekend.”

Chez Reavie, who won the title in 2019, moved within two of the lead with a 63 with Eric Cole a further two strokes back.

Defending champion Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland are among those in a large group alongside McIlroy on eight-under, one better than a group containing England’s Aaron Rai, Ireland’s former Open champion Shane Lowry and world number one Scottie Scheffler.

Matt Fitzpatrick was a shot further back while his successor as US Open champion Wyndham Clark shot a 67 to move to five under – Masters champion Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood missing the cut.

Mel Reid moved to within a shot of the lead at the second women’s major of the year – nine months after quitting golf.

Ireland’s Leona Maguire fired four late birdies in a second round 68 to take the halfway lead at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in New Jersey, one clear of a group on four-under which includes England’s Reid after her 67.

She was joined by China’s Xiyu Lin and Norwegian rookie Celine Borge with first round leader Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa and Australia’s Minjee Lee, chasing her second major title after a second round 67.

For Reid, it is a big change from deciding to give up playing due to injury.

“I legit quit,” she said. “When I got my injury, I tried to play through it, which I kind of felt I had to. In September I literally told Carly (her wife), I’m going into the media, I’m not playing golf anymore.

“With things like that, if you just give me a bit of space, I do kind of work it out myself.

“I missed the competitiveness of it and I thought let’s give it one more go. I’ve just been really enjoying myself this year.”

Maguire birdied four of her final six holes as she took the halfway lead in a major for the first time.

“This is uncharted territory for me,” Maguire said. “Whatever happens this week, I’m sure I’ll learn a lot, and just sort of taking it one day at a time.

“I think this golf course demands that. I think you can’t think more than one shot ahead, let alone a hole or a round ahead.”

Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow shot a second round 68 to be in a group on one-under with only 15 players under par on the Lower Course at Baltusrol.

World number nine Lexi Thompson birdied her last four holes to sneak inside the cut at four-over-par, but England’s Georgia Hall, Charley Hull, Bronte Law and Laura Davies all missed out, alongside world number two Nelly Korda, number four Lilia Vi and number six Atthaya Thitikul.

Rory McIlroy picked up his first ace on the PGA Tour, but America’s Denny McCarthy took the opening round lead with a blistering 60 at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

The Northern Irishman’s hole-in-one on the 214-yard eighth was the clear highlight on a mixed session for the US Open runner-up, who finished two-under-par on a day of low scores.

It was McIlroy’s first ace in competition since he made one in Abu Dhabi on the European tour in 2015.

Meanwhile, McCarthy shot the lowest round of his career after setting a blistering early pace with four straight birdies to open his tournament.

He added five more without dropping a shot en route to a score of 10-under-par.

He leads by two from compatriot Keegan Bradley and Australian veteran Adam Scott.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry is four shots back after carding a bogey-free round of 64.

The leading figures in the controversial partnership between Saudi Arabia and the PGA Tour have been summoned to attend a United States Senate hearing next month.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman have been asked to appear at a Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations meeting on July 11 to examine the Tour’s shock unification with LIV Golf.

The PGA Tour announced a fortnight ago it was creating a new commercial entity with the DP World Tour and PIF, a move it said would “unify golf” and which brought an end to a legal dispute between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

The surprise merger has attracted criticism, with the Senate announcing it would open an investigation, which has been followed by this announcement of the hearing.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the committee, said in a statement posted on his Twitter account: “Our goal is to uncover the facts about what went into the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and what the Saudi takeover means for the future of this cherished American institution and our national interest.

“Americans deserve to know what the structure and governance of this new entity will be. Major actors in the deal are best positioned to provide this information and they owe Congress – and the American people – answers in a public setting.”

Senator Richard Johnson, who also sits on the committee, added: “Fans, the players, and concerned citizens have many questions about the planned agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

“I look forward to hearing testimony from the individuals who are in the best positions to provide insight to the public regarding the current state of professional golf.

“I hope that this hearing and any other role that Congress plays in this matter will be constructive.”

Pablo Larrazabal insisted the Ryder Cup was not the cause of his current lack of sleep, but was relishing the pressure of playing alongside Europe captain Luke Donald in Munich.

Two wins in the space of three events have lifted Larrazabal to 10th in the European points list, with 10 events remaining in qualifying for this year’s contest in Rome.

And with six wild cards at his disposal, Donald has taken the opportunity to partner Larrazabal and Germany’s Marcel Siem in the first two rounds of the BMW International, an event Larrazabal has won twice before.

“I go week by week,” Larrazabal said after making the long journey from Los Angeles – where he missed the cut in the US Open – to Munich.

“I’m not looking forward to anything, I’m looking forward to the work I’m doing today to prepare for the tournament.

“I know what I’ve done in the last five weeks. I know, for example, Luke Donald is having an eye on me. I know he is going to choose to play with me but I’ve had that pressure all my career.

“I like the pressure, I adjust to the pressure and whatever way it goes, it will go. Ryder Cup doesn’t take a minute of my sleep, probably jet-lag does at the moment.

“It’s in my mind because you guys (the media) remind me every now and then. But the Ryder Cup is a result of the work you do day after day.

“If I was nervous in Korea and Holland the last few holes, I cannot imagine how much pressure I would have in a Ryder Cup, but the Ryder Cup is at the end of September and we are in June. So many things can happen in three months.

“I checked off all my dreams and Ryder Cup has never been my dream because I saw it very far away. I saw all my idols playing Ryder Cup, but I’m not an idol of myself.

“If it happens, it happens, but if not I will pulling for Team Europe anyway. I’m a Ryder Cup fan, it’s one of the tournaments that I watch from the first tee shot to the last.

“I watch all the Ryder Cups on TV, the one in Valderrama I watched on site when I was 14 years old.”

Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick currently occupy five of the automatic qualifying places, with Germany’s Yannik Paul the surprise name rounding out the top six.

Paul’s place is under threat from the likes of Victor Perez, Adrian Meronk, Adrian Otaegui, Jorge Campillo and Larrazabal, all of whom would be making their debuts in the biennial contest.

“I think from the side of trying to fulfil the team and fill those last few spots, we’re looking for some rookies who are really keen to be a part of it,” Donald said.

“There have been some great stories and great victories from those guys too, so I’m really happy with where we are.

“I said from the beginning that I’m looking to see the excitement and commitment from these guys to be a part of that. I’m very excited with how it’s going, how these guys are playing over here on the DP World Tour.”

Jordan Spieth won his second consecutive major with victory in the 115th US Open at Chambers Bay, on this day in 2015.

The American world number two carded a closing 69 to finish five under par, one shot ahead of Louis Oosthuizen and Dustin Johnson, with the latter having three-putted from 12 feet when faced with an eagle putt to win on the final hole.

Spieth became just the sixth man after Craig Wood, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to win the Masters and US Open in the same year, as well as the first player since Gene Sarazen in 1922 to win multiple majors aged 21 or younger.

After three-putting the opening hole, Spieth recovered with birdies at the eighth and 12th and, with Johnson losing a two-shot lead with three bogeys in four holes from the 10th, shared the lead with playing partner Branden Grace.

That all changed on the 16th, where Grace drove out of bounds to card a double bogey and Spieth holed from 25 feet for birdie – only for Spieth to double bogey the 17th after compounding a wild tee shot by three putting from 40 feet.

Oosthuizen had set the clubhouse target on four under after a remarkable six birdies in the last seven holes for a record-equalling back nine of 29, before Johnson then made birdie on the 17th to tie the lead.

After two brilliant shots onto the 18th green, Spieth two-putted for birdie to finish five under and Johnson initially responded superbly with an even better approach to 12 feet, but saw his eagle attempt drift four feet past and miss the return to force a play-off.

Spieth went on to finish second at the 2015 US PGA Championship in August, and has since secured a third major title at the 2017 Open.

Eight-time major winner Tom Watson says the PGA Tour’s new partnership with Saudi Arabia appears to indicate “a more desperate financial situation than has been previously revealed by the Tour”.

Watson has written an open letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan about the “unanswered questions” he and many other professional players have regarding the shock announcement on June 6 concerning the creation of a new commercial entity designed to “unify golf”.

The announcement brought an end to litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, a series backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) which will now provide the financial backing for the new commercial entity.

Prior to the announcement, Monahan had been an outspoken critic of LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia, and Watson wrote: “The reversal (in position) does appear to indicate a more desperate financial situation than has been previously revealed by the Tour.

“While last week I learned the significant news that litigation around the Tour/LIV conflict would be terminated with prejudice, that only solves one significant financial problem.

“It is important to understand how all of this has impacted the Tour’s Reserve Fund and the Tour’s overall financial solvency. Have funds been depleted to the point where the Tour needs an unprecedented capital injection to remain solvent now or for the future?

“My overarching questions remain. Is the PIF the only viable rescue from the Tour’s financial problems? Was/is there a plan B? And again, what exactly is the exchange? We need clarity and deserve full disclosure as to the financial health of the PGA Tour and the details of this proposed partnership.”

The United States Senate has opened an investigation into the proposed partnership, while the Wall Street Journal reported last week that a PGA Tour official informed employees that the US Justice Department also plans to review the agreement for antitrust concerns.

The PGA Tour said last week when the Wall Street Journal report was published: “We are confident that once all stakeholders learn more about how the PGA Tour will lead this new venture, they will understand how it benefits our players, fans, and sport while protecting the American institution of golf.”

The PGA Tour insists the partnership is not a merger, and that the PIF will not own the PGA Tour.

The PA news agency understands the PGA Tour felt the choice it faced was between a lengthy litigation which would drain resources, divert attention and diminish its product and a path forward that reunifies professional golf and fuels investment into the sport.

Rory McIlroy had to settle for a runner-up finish at the US Open as his long wait for a fifth major title continued.

McIlroy finished one stroke behind first-time major winner Wyndham Clark at Los Angeles Country Club, meaning he has still not lifted one of golf’s four biggest prizes since his success at the US PGA Championship in 2014.

Here, the PA news agency looks at McIlroy’s long wait and the near misses among the way.

Turning of the tide

McIlroy said after Sunday’s heartbreaking finish that an eventual fifth major would be worth “100 Sundays like this” and he is now a third of the way there, with 33 appearances at majors since his last win.

He has 19 top-10 and 10 top-five finishes in that time, with his recent form in particular indicating an overdue success is on the way.

McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in six of the seven major tournaments this season and last and 11 of the last 17, with Sunday marking his second runner-up finish in that time.

The other came at last year’s Masters, albeit three strokes behind winner Scottie Scheffler, and was followed by eighth and fifth at the US PGA Championship and US Open respectively and third place at the Open Championship – two shots behind champion Cameron Smith.

After missing the cut at Augusta in April he was back to form with a tie for seventh at the US PGA before pushing Clark all the way.

Roll of honour

There have been 24 different major winners since McIlroy’s last success, with Brooks Koepka headlining that list with five wins.

Koepka won the US Open in 2017 and 2018 and the US PGA in 2018, 2019 and this year.

Jordan Spieth has won three majors in that time – the Masters and US Open in 2015 and the Open two years later – while Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm have two apiece.

Clark is the 18th different player to win a single major in that stretch, including six European Ryder Cup team-mates of McIlroy in Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Francesco Molinari, Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Americans Zach Johnson, Jimmy Walker, Patrick Reed, Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Scheffler have won one each, along with Australians Jason Day and Smith and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.

Record-breaker?

A handful of players have won majors after a longer wait that McIlroy’s current drought, though if he is to win again while avoiding the top 10 of that list it will have to be at next month’s Open.

Julius Boros won his two US Open titles in 1952 and 1963, 11 years and nine days apart, with Hale Irwin going a day over 11 years between his 1979 and 1990 wins.

Ben Crenshaw won the Masters in 1984 and 1995, coming in just six days shy of the 11-year mark, while Henry Cotton won the Open in 1937 and 1948.

Tiger Woods’ memorable victory at the 2019 Masters came almost 11 years on from his 2008 US Open win, with Lee Trevino and Ernie Els also cracking the 10-year barrier.

John Henry Taylor and Bob Martin waited just over nine years between major wins, with Willie Park Sr just three days shy of that mark at the 1875 Open.

No other player has exceeded McIlroy’s current wait and there is a further note of caution as only Boros and Taylor of that top 10 went on to add further major titles, and then only one more apiece – Boros at the 1968 US PGA and Taylor the 1913 Open.

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