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      Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed Set to Join Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Tour

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      As recently as last week, DeChambeau denied being enticed by the massive payouts and appearance fees being offered to the world’s top golfers by the rival league.Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open champion, and Patrick Reed, who won the 2018 Masters, are planning to join the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit that hopes to challenge the established PGA Tour, according to multiple reports.Both golfers, unlike the majority of the top players entered in this weekend’s inaugural LIV Golf event outside London, are still in the prime of their careers. DeChambeau, 28, has become one of golf’s most popular players because of his prodigious drives. Reed, 31, is an aggressive, feisty figure in the game known for quality performances in the biggest events. Reed has won 12 tournaments in the United States and Europe and finished in the top 10 at each of the four major golf championships.While DeChambeau and Reed are not in the field for the inaugural LIV Golf event, which begins Thursday, they join a growing list of PGA Tour players who have aligned with the upstart league and will play this week. That group includes Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Kevin Na, Martin Kaymer and Talor Gooch. Only two in that group are ranked in the top 30 worldwide: Johnson is 15th, and Oosthuizen is 21st.DeChambeau and Reed are expected to make their LIV Golf debut on June 30 in an event outside Portland, Ore. So far in 2022, both players have struggled. DeChambeau has missed the cut in four of his last five tournaments while Reed has missed the cut or finished outside the top 25 in 12 of the 14 events he has entered. Both players are expected to compete in next week’s U.S. Open in the suburbs of Boston. The United States Golf Association, which conducts the U.S. Open, said on Tuesday that players associated with the LIV Golf circuit who had already qualified for the U.S. Open, which includes DeChambeau and Reed, would be permitted to play.Patrick Reed has missed the cut or finished outside the top 25 in all but two events in 2022.Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesThe Telegraph first reported that DeChambeau and Reed would commit to play in this year’s LIV Golf Invitational series. The next event for the circuit is outside Portland, beginning June 30.As recently as last week, DeChambeau denied being enticed by the mammoth upfront payouts and appearance fees being offered to the world’s top golfers by LIV Golf.“Me, there’s obviously a lot of conversation,” DeChambeau said at the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament. “For me, I personally don’t think that at this point in time I’m in a place in my career where I can risk things like that.”DeChambeau’s agent, Brett Falkoff, issued a statement to a handful of news outlets on Wednesday: “Bryson has always been an innovator. Having the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something unique has always been intriguing to him. Professional golf as we know it is changing, and it’s happening quickly.”DeChambeau and Reed will most likely be added to the list of tour members facing punishment from the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, who has said that players choosing to play in the LIV Golf events without the tour’s permission could face suspension from the PGA Tour or a lifetime ban. No tour player was granted a release to play in this week’s event outside London. More

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      Dustin Johnson Resigns From PGA Tour and Commits to Rival LIV Golf

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      Johnson’s resignation could help him avoid a suspension or a lifetime ban from the tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, who has indicated that punishment on that level was a possibility.Dustin Johnson, a two-time major golf champion, surrendered his PGA Tour status on Tuesday and said that for the immediate future he planned only to play in major tournaments and events sponsored by the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit.Appearing at a news conference in advance of the first of eight LIV Golf events in 2022 that will begin Thursday at the Centurion Club outside London, Johnson also occasionally used terms like “right now” and “for now” when describing his decision to bolt from the PGA Tour.“For right now, I’ve resigned my membership on the tour,” said Johnson, who joined the PGA Tour in 2008 and is ranked 15th in the world. He added that he would play the LIV tour, “for now, that’s the plan.”The breakaway tour headlined by Greg Norman has promised hefty appearance fees and a format that guarantees every entrant six-figure payouts, with 48 players competing for $25 million in prize money in a 54-hole format with no cut. A report last week in The Telegraph said Johnson was paid $125 million to join LIV Golf, whose major shareholder is the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia worth more than $600 billion.Johnson’s PGA Tour resignation could help him avoid a suspension or a lifetime ban from the tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, who has indicated that punishment on that level was a possibility. But so far, the United States-based PGA Tour has remained quiet as Johnson and others, such as Phil Mickelson, the six-time major champion who has earned more than $94 million at tour events, have signaled that they will play in this week’s LIV Golf tournament. Monahan’s lack of response may just be a bit of institutional timing. PGA Tour players are not in violation of any of the tour’s regulations until they actually play in a rival event without permission — and the tour has not given its consent for any players requesting to play this week in England.One thing is certain: Under current guidelines, if Johnson is not a member of the PGA Tour, he cannot play in the biennial Ryder Cup, a ballyhooed competition between top golfers from the United States and Europe with a history that dates to 1927. Johnson has played in the Ryder Cup five times, including last year when he was undefeated in five matches and helped lead the United States to a dominating victory.Golfers on the driving range Tuesday at the Centurion Club. They will play 54 holes, and there is no cut.Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBut on Tuesday, at least in his mind, the door was still open to play in the upcoming Ryder Cups.“Obviously all things are subject to change,” Johnson said. “Hopefully at some point, it will change and I’ll be able to participate. If it doesn’t, well, it was another thing I really had to think long and hard about. Ultimately, I decided to come to this and play out here.“The Ryder Cup is unbelievable and something that has definitely meant a lot to me. I’m proud to say I’ve represented my country, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to do that again. But I don’t make the rules.”Johnson’s eligibility for all the major golf championships is not a certainty, although on Tuesday the United States Golf Association released a statement that it would not bar any player who was eligible. “Our decision regarding our field for the 2022 U.S. Open should not be construed as the USGA supporting an alternative organizing entity, nor supportive of any individual player actions or comments,” the statement said. “Rather, it is simply a response to whether or not the USGA views playing in an alternative event, without the consent of their home tour, an offense that should disqualify them for the U.S. Open.” Johnson qualifies for a spot in the field in multiple ways, not the least of which being that he won the championship in 2016. The same is true for Mickelson, who already has a spot in the 2022 U.S. Open and in next month’s British Open.Johnson has also qualified for this year’s British Open because of his 2020 Masters victory. The Masters title would normally make him welcome at the Masters for many years to come, as well as at a fourth major, the P.G.A. Championship, for the next five years.But the Masters is run by Augusta National Golf Club, which has proved in the past that it would make decisions independently. The P.G.A. Championship is governed by the PGA of America. Before that event was held last month, the organization’s chief executive, Seth Waugh, pledged his loyalty to the established PGA Tour, which he referred to as part of golf’s existing ecosystem.“Our bylaws do say that you have to be a recognized member of a recognized tour in order to be a PGA member somewhere, and therefore eligible to play,” Waugh said, speaking of the P.G.A. Championship.Asked about the alternative LIV Golf tour, Waugh answered: “We think the structure of — I don’t know if it’s a league, it’s not a league at this point — but the league structure is somewhat flawed.”How easy it might be for players to try to jockey back and forth between the LIV Golf Invitational series and golf’s biggest events, including the PGA Tour, is not known. Professional golf is largely in uncharted territory, at least in modern times.The LIV Golf prize money and the reported upfront payments to Johnson, and to Mickelson who received a $200 million contract according to Golf Channel, are staggeringly large in comparison to payouts on the PGA Tour. Players scoring in the bottom half of the field after two rounds in most tour events typically earn nothing. And yet, the leading, young stars of the PGA Tour have nonetheless remained unwaveringly loyal.Louis Oosthuizen said on Tuesday that he planned to play only one more year on the PGA Tour.Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJohnson is one of only two top 30 players to join LIV Golf. (Louis Oosthuizen, ranked 21st, is the other.) But the overwhelming majority of the rest in the top 30, who are both the vanguard overtaking the game and generally in their 20s or early 30s, have stood with the PGA Tour.Johnson is 37, and Oosthuizen is 39 and said on Tuesday that he only planned to play one more year on the PGA Tour. In fact, many of the golfers who have committed to this week’s LIV Golf event have seen a declining world ranking lately: Sergio Garcia, 42, was ranked 10th in the men’s world rankings five years ago is now 57th; Graeme McDowell, 42, was ranked 15th in 2012 and is currently No. 374; Ian Poulter, 46, was ranked 12th a decade ago and is now 92nd; Martin Kaymer, 37, the world’s top-ranked men’s golfer in 2011 is now ranked 215th.There is no inevitability that the PGA Tour’s young guard will maintain their solidarity, especially after next month’s British Open, the last major of the season, is contested. The PGA Tour schedule winds down in August when it turns toward the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs, which awards the winner an ample $15 million. But some tour players who do not qualify for those playoffs might be enticed to enter some of the final, lucrative LIV Golf events in September and October.That might especially be true for golfers with lesser tour status, but they would most likely still face a suspension from the PGA Tour that could continue into next year. And perhaps beyond. Is that worth it?The situation, and the professional golf landscape, is evolving. Johnson, a prominent figure in golf, and Mickelson, a fading, aging — albeit popular — golf personality, have seemed to turn their backs on the status quo. At least temporarily, to hear some of Johnson’s words.Mickelson, it is worth noting, insisted on Tuesday that he planned to keep the lifetime PGA Tour membership he has earned in his long career.If it sounds knotty, keep in mind it could become more tangled. The next stage of golf’s burgeoning face-off may be in court. More

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      Phil Mickelson Will Play LIV Golf Event That Starts Friday Near London

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      “I fully realize and respect some may disagree with this decision,” said Mickelson, who hasn’t competed since his comments about the contentious tour were reported in February.Phil Mickelson, who has not played competitively since incendiary remarks he made in support of a Saudi-backed golf league that hopes to rival the established PGA Tour were reported in February, will end his self-imposed layoff later this week by playing in the first event of the upstart LIV Golf circuit.Mickelson, the winner of six major golf championships including last year’s P.G.A. Championship when he became the oldest golfer to win a major, will be one of 48 players competing for $25 million in prize money when the tournament begins Thursday at the Centurion Club near London. Last week, Dustin Johnson, 15th in the men’s world golf rankings, also agreed to compete on the alternative tour. A report in The Telegraph said Johnson was paid $125 million to join LIV Golf, whose major shareholder is the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.The breakaway tour has also promised hefty appearance fees and a format that guarantees every entrant six-figure payouts.“This new path is a fresh start, one that is exciting for me at this stage in my career,” Mickelson, whose world ranking has slumped to 72nd, wrote on Twitter Monday. “I fully realize and respect some may disagree with this decision and may have strong opinions and I empathize with that. I have a renewed spirit and excitement for the game,” he added.Mickelson’s announcement will most likely lead to his suspension from the PGA Tour, which has paid Mickelson more than $94 million in tournament earnings for 30 years. Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, has said players who choose to play LIV Golf events will be subject to discipline that could include suspensions or lifetime bans.Mickelson, with a reputation as a golf firebrand, might relish a court challenge to the PGA Tour’s right to ban him. Monahan has not flinched when asked if he had the authority to discipline players in that manner, insisting that the tour’s lawyers believe any punishment handed to golfers who play for the rival tour will withstand legal scrutiny.Mickelson, one of the most recognizable golfers of his generation, drew heavy criticism after he acknowledged Saudi Arabia had a “horrible record on human rights” — including the murder of a Washington Post journalist — but said he was still talking with, and aiding, the new tour because it was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Earlier this year, Mickelson, 51, accused the PGA Tour, where he has won 45 times, of “obnoxious greed.” He later said his remarks were “reckless,” but nonetheless several longtime corporate sponsors, including KPMG and Workday, ended their relationships with him.On Monday, Mickelson wrote: “I want to again apologize to the many people I offended and hurt with my comments a few months ago. I have made mistakes in my career in some of the things I have said and done. Taking time away and self-reflecting has been very humbling.”The tournament near London is one of eight events this year in the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Early this season, Mickelson competed in three PGA Tour events, missing the cut in two and finishing tied for 30th in the third.Although a three-time Masters winner, he skipped this year’s tournament. On Monday, however, Mickelson said he intended to play in future major championships. He is currently in the field for next week’s U.S. Open and next month’s British Open.Greg Norman, the chief executive and commissioner of LIV Golf, who said last week that “free agency has finally come to golf,” praised Mickelson.“His contributions to the sport and connection to fans around the globe cannot be overstated, and we are grateful to have him,” Norman said on Monday in a statement.Many of Mickelson’s colleagues on the PGA Tour, including his longtime rival Tiger Woods, have been critical of Mickelson’s adversarial stance toward the tour.“The viewpoints that Phil has made with the tour and what the tour has meant to all of us has been polarizing,” Woods said last month.Rory McIlroy, a four-time major winner, called Mickelson’s comments, “naïve, selfish, egotistical, ignorant.”Last week, McIlroy, who has been outspoken in his disdain for the LIV Golf venture, was dismissive of the catalog of players entered in the tournament to begin Thursday at the Centurion Club.“I certainly don’t think the field is anything to jump up and down about,” McIlroy said.But Monday on Twitter, Mickelson was cheerful.“I’m thrilled to begin with LIV Golf and I appreciate everyone involved,” he wrote. More

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      Minjee Lee Wins U.S. Women’s Open

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      Lee, an Australian, earned $1.8 million, the largest payout in the history of women’s golf.SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — Minjee Lee of Australia won the U.S. Women’s Open by four strokes over Mina Harigae at Pine Needles on Sunday to earn $1.8 million, the largest payout in the history of women’s golf.Lee closed Sunday’s final round with an even-par 71 to finish at 13-under 271 for the tournament after having flirted with the tournament record of 16 under set by the American Juli Inkster in 1999 at Old Waverly Golf Club in Mississippi.“I mean, I’m speechless,” Lee said. “I can’t believe it right now. No, it’s just super, super special and just a great honor. It’s been my dream since I was a little girl. It’s the one that I always wanted to win on; now I’ve done it, and just feels amazing.”Lee’s winnings came from a record $10 million purse.“We’re only moving in the right direction,” Lee said. “I think it’s only going to get better and better from here. It’s such a large sum, and I’m really honored to be the first winner I guess of this sum. We’re only going to get better and better.”Harigae shot a 72 for her best finish in a major tournament and earned a check of slightly more than $1 million.Although she knew she had no chance to win down the stretch, Harigae said it was still stressful knowing that $1 million — a larger payout than what the winner makes at most L.P.G.A. Tour events — was at stake.“I’m not going to lie, my stomach hurt the last couple holes coming down the stretch,” Harigae, 32, said. “I was really stressed out, but I was really just focusing on one shot at a time, making solid contact, and just hitting good putts.”South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi was one of only two players to break par Sunday, carding a 70 to finish third at 7 under.South Korea’s Jin Young Ko, No. 1 in the women’s golf rankings, finished fourth at 6 under, seven shots back of the lead after a 71. Lydia Ko was at 5 under after a 72.Ingrid Lindblad, the Louisiana State University player from Sweden, was the low amateur at 1 under, tying for 11th after a 76.Lee, 26, was never challenged on a course that played significantly tougher on Sunday than it did the previous three days. She opened with rounds of 67, 66 and 67.Lee became the sixth straight international player to win the U.S. Women’s Open and the first from Australia since her mentor, Karrie Webb, won in 2001. It was her second career victory at a major championship after winning the Evian Championship last July. Her previous best finish at the U.S. Open was a tie for 11th in 2017.Lee, who entered the week ranked No. 4, has won eight LPGA Tour events and became the first repeat winner this year following her victory at the Founders Cup three weeks ago in New Jersey.Lee entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over Harigae and had said after the third round that her goal was to continue to stay aggressive and make birdies.She lived up those goals early, birdieing the first two holes to move to 15 under and take a five-stroke lead over Harigae.She stumbled a bit with bogeys on the fifth and seventh holes, but she was still able to make the turn at even-par 35 and with a four-stroke cushion when Harigae also bogeyed the seventh. The lead increased to five strokes after Harigae bogeyed the par-4 11th hole, all but sealing Lee’s win.Lee then knocked in a bending 9-foot birdie putt on No. 12 to push the lead to six, prompting her to pump her arm in celebration. She appeared in distance of Inkster’s record when she got to 15 under after a birdie on the par-5 15th hole, but closed with two bogeys.Harigae didn’t make her first birdie until the 15th hole.Nelly Korda closed with a 73 on Sunday to tie for eighth in her first tournament since undergoing surgery to treat a blood clot in her left arm.“The first week back you have rust, right, so you don’t really expect much from your game,” said Korda, the world’s No. 2 player. “You don’t know where your game is at. Knowing that I can play on a really tough golf course at a major and even kind of be in contention is definitely a positive.” More

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      Dustin Johnson Joins Field for League Looking to Rival the PGA Tour

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      The two-time major winner, who had pledged loyalty to the PGA Tour, is among 42 golfers set to play in the first event for a series whose major shareholder is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.Dustin Johnson, who in February pledged his loyalty to the U.S.-based PGA Tour, will be the top-ranked golfer in the inaugural event of a Saudi-backed rival tour next week at the Centurion Golf Club outside London. Phil Mickelson, who recently expressed some measure of support for the alternative circuit, was not among those listed in the field for the tournament.Mickelson’s absence is a mild surprise, though there were still six spots available on Tuesday, so he could change his mind. Johnson’s inclusion is a breach in the broad solidarity expressed by the PGA Tour’s elite men’s golfers over the last six months.Johnson, 37 and ranked 13th in the world, was one of 42 players listed in the field for the first event of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, whose major shareholder is the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The upstart league offers no-cut tournaments with $25 million in total prize money at each, and guarantees top players millions in appearance fees regardless of their performance.Other players in the field were expected, with many — like Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Richard Bland, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter — older than 40. Overall, while there are 16 players in next week’s LIV Golf field ranked in the top 100, only two — Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen — are ranked in the top 30.The PGA Tour and the established European golf tour have denied releases for member golfers to play in LIV Golf, which is led by the retired major champion Greg Norman. PGA Tour officials have said that those playing in any of the breakaway circuit’s tournaments would risk punishment, which could include suspensions or a loss of tour membership.The next step in the clash may be in court. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has insisted that the tour’s lawyers believe any discipline handed to golfers who play for the rival tour will withstand legal scrutiny.Johnson, a two-time major winner who has accumulated more than $74 million in career earnings from the PGA Tour, said in February that he was “fully committed to the PGA Tour.” It was a sentiment echoed by every player in the top 10, and each of the leading golfers in a younger cohort that has dominated the PGA Tour in the last two seasons.Rory McIlroy, the four-time major champion, called the new rival league “dead in the water.”Johnson’s agent, David Winkle, issued a statement on Tuesday night: “Dustin has been contemplating this opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years. Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it. Dustin has never had any issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him, but in the end felt this was too compelling to pass up.”“Free agency has finally come to golf.,” Norman said in his own statement. “This is an opportunity to start a movement that will change the course of history by bringing new and open competition to the sport we all love. The desire shown by the players to participate in LIV Golf demonstrates their emphatic belief in our model and confidence in what we’re building for the future.”The LIV Golf series includes eight events from June to October, including one in Thailand and five in the United States. In late July, the host site will be the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.Saudi Arabia’s role in the new tour has already caused controversy. Mickelson set off a hailstorm of criticism in February after he acknowledged Saudi Arabia had a “horrible record on human rights” — including the murder of a Washington Post journalist — but said he viewed the new tour as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to apply pressure on the PGA Tour to increase player revenues. Mickelson later said his remarks had been “reckless.” More

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      At the U.S. Women’s Open, Michelle Wie West Reflects on an ‘Amazing Journey’

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      The golfer announced last week that she would play her last tournament for the foreseeable future at Pine Needles. “This week, I’m just soaking it all in,” she said.Michelle Wie West, one of golf’s most celebrated players since she was 10, had breakfast Tuesday morning in the player dining area at the U.S. Women’s Open at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in North Carolina.“I had someone come up to me,” Wie West, 32, said, “saying that they were named after me.”She gently rolled her eyes and deadpanned: “So that made me feel really young. I’m at that phase in my life.”Last week, Wie West announced she was stepping away from competitive golf after this week’s championship. She has no plans to play another L.P.G.A. tournament in 2022. The only other event she expects to enter is the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.She used the word “retire” only once when speaking with reporters on Tuesday and conceded that she could change her mind. But for Wie West, who contended for major championships shortly after her 16th birthday, won five L.P.G.A. events, including the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, collected endorsements and prize-money earnings in the tens of millions of dollars and, notably, played eight times against men on the PGA Tour, there was the lilt of finality in her voice.“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” Wie West said. “It’s been an amazing journey, and I’m very excited for what happens next.”The future, however, could wait for at least another 10 minutes as Wie West tried to summarize her career, which, because of her precocious introduction to elite golf, was lived under the obsessively bright lights of international stardom. Her career was also significantly disrupted by wrist injuries, which caused her to play intermittently or not at all for long stretches. In June 2020, along with her husband Jonnie West, she became a parent for the first time with the birth of the couple’s daughter, Makenna.“First off, I want to say I have zero regrets in my career,” she said. “There’s always that inkling of wishing I had done more. But no one is ever going to be 100 percent satisfied.“I have definitely had an up-and-down career, but I’m extremely proud for the resiliency that I’ve shown,” she said. “I’m extremely proud to have achieved the two biggest dreams that I’ve had — one being graduating from Stanford, and the other winning the U.S. Open.”Wie West was smiling, laughing and at ease. Among all the very public moments of her very public career, this seemed to be an easy one, and she was happy to be back in the setting of her signature on-the-course achievement.“I’m definitely giving myself some grace and enjoying this last week,” she said.For Wie West, whose presence, manifold skills and towering drives drew comparisons to Tiger Woods, what was left unsaid was her impact on women’s golf. She never addressed the topic directly nor did she acknowledge her own substantial influence on the sport’s popularity, but when asked what has changed in the women’s game in the last 20 years, Wie West was animated.“Oh, I mean, so much has changed,” she answered. “Huge kudos to the U.S.G.A. for really buying into the women’s sport and the L.P.G.A. for just growing and keep pushing the boundaries.“When doors get closed on us, we just keep pushing, and I’m just so proud of everyone on tour and the U.S.G.A. for really buying in and setting the level right,” she said.In January, the United States Golf Association nearly doubled the U.S. Women’s Open prize money to $10 million with the winner of this year’s championship earning $1.8 million, the richest single payout in women’s golf.A year ago, only three women on the L.P.G.A. tour earned more than $1.8 million. While the prize money for the men’s U.S. Open is $12.5 million, the U.S.G.A. chief executive Mike Whan has plans to bump the women’s purse to $12 million in a few years.The payouts of golf-industry sponsorship contracts awarded to top men’s golfers continue to overshadow most of those bestowed on women.But on that front, Wie West, who last year joined the L.P.G.A. board of directors and continues to serve in that capacity, had advice, from personal experience, for the golfers who will succeed her.Wie West playing from the 18th tee during the first round of the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, where she tied for 46th.Adam Hagy/USA Today Sports, via Reuters“As female athletes, a lot of times we get told, ‘Oh, your sponsorship is only worth this much; you should only ask for this much,’ ” Wie West said. “We’re kind of in that mind-set, and I would encourage female younger athletes coming up to say, ‘No, I know my worth. I know what I deserve.’ And ask for more.”Asked if that was what she had done — successfully — she answered: “Yes, for sure.”Wie West is also an investor in a company, LA Golf, that she said was pledging to start new initiatives for women golfers with hopes of financially altering the sponsorship landscape.In the short term, Wie West still has a tournament to compete in this week, one that, given her other priorities, she has not prepared for as she might have 10 or 20 years ago.“Definitely haven’t had the practice schedule that I usually do leading up to U.S. Open,” she said with a grin. “This week, I’m just soaking it all in. Just seeing all the fans, seeing all the players, walking the walk. It’s pretty cool.”Being a past champion of the event helps Wie West enjoy the experience, perhaps more meaningfully than anyone would have expected. In what was something of a surprise, she said that without claiming the U.S. Women’s Open trophy eight years ago, there would not now be an end in sight to her competitive career.“It’s the one tournament I wanted to win ever since I started playing golf,” Wie West said. She then insisted: “If I hadn’t won the 2014 U.S. Open, I would still — I definitely wouldn’t retire. And I would still be out here playing and chasing that win. That win means everything to me.” More

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      Justin Thomas Wins the P.G.A. Championship With a Roaring Comeback

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      Thomas, who entered the final round seven shots behind the leader, beat Will Zalatoris in a playoff to win his second career major championship.TULSA, Okla. — The dominant story line before the 2022 P.G.A. Championship revolved around Phil Mickelson, who became the oldest major champion last year when he won the event at age 50 but chose not to defend his title. Then the focus of the tournament shifted to Tiger Woods, 46, who arrived at the Southern Hills Country Club to resume his stirring comeback from injuries he sustained in a horrific car crash 15 months ago. But Woods struggled physically, and mired in last place after three rounds, he withdrew before Sunday’s final round.What evolved instead on the last day of the P.G.A. Championship was a glimpse of elite men’s golf’s youthful future, not its aging past. On a nervy, topsy-turvy afternoon in eastern Oklahoma, there was yet another dramatic showdown between the dazzling, hard-swinging 20-somethings who have overtaken the game.In a taut, three-hole aggregate playoff after the 18-hole fourth round ended in a tie, Justin Thomas, 29, held off the 25-year-old rising star Will Zalatoris to win his second P.G.A. Championship. The last four winners of golf’s major championships, Thomas; Scottie Scheffler, at the Masters; Collin Morikawa, at the British Open; and Jon Rahm, the reigning U.S. Open champion, are in their 20s.Even in defeat, Zalatoris briefly laughed as he assessed how his generation had become dominant so quickly.“I kind of have to check myself sometimes because I feel like I’m playing junior golf and college golf all over again,” Zalatoris said, mentioning his longtime rivals Scheffler, Thomas and Mito Pereira, 27, who held the lead for most of the fourth round. “We’ve been playing together for almost 10 years. Now we’re at the highest level of golf.”Thomas, who began the final round seven strokes off the lead, did not figure to be celebrating a victory after his first eight holes Sunday when he was one over par. His final-round rally tied for the third-largest comeback in major championship history.“It was a bizarre day, no doubt,” Thomas, who also won the 2017 P.G.A. Championship, said. “But I said in a news conference before the first round that no lead would be safe here — too much wind and too many scary holes.”Mito Pereira’s double bogey on the 18th hole dropped him out of first place.Matt York/Associated PressPereira, the third-round leader, had appeared poised to become the first golfer from Chile to win a major golf championship. Stepping to the 18th tee Sunday evening, he was playing in the final group and needed only a par to clinch the title.But Pereira, playing in just his second major championship, sliced his tee shot into a small creek adjacent to the fairway. After a penalty shot drop from the water, Pereira’s approach shot found the thick rough alongside the green. His chip from there trundled far across the green until it stopped in the fringe on the opposite side of the green. Pereira made double bogey, and finished in a tie for third place with the American Cameron Young, a college teammate of Zalatoris’s when they were at Wake Forest.“It’s such a stressful situation,” Pereira said of the atmosphere on the 18th tee. “But I didn’t feel any more nervous than other shots today. I wasn’t even thinking of the water. But, you know, I wish I could do it again.”The playoff ended a streak of 19 consecutive majors, dating to the 2017 Masters, that did not require extra holes to decide the outcome.Thomas and Zalatoris began the playoff with birdies on the first hole, the 13th. On the reachable par-4, 302-yard 17th hole, Thomas drove the green and had a lengthy putt for eagle that came up 3 feet short. Zalatoris’s drive on the 17th hole was just off the green, and his flop shot stopped 8 feet from the hole. His birdie putt skidded past the hole, and Zalatoris tapped in for par.With the chance to seize the advantage, Thomas rattled in his birdie putt for a one-stroke edge heading into the third playoff hole, the 18th.Both golfers reached the 18th green in two shots. Zalatoris could not covert a birdie putt, and Thomas needed only two putts for a par that clinched the championship.For Zalatoris, it was his latest close call in a major. He finished second at last year’s Masters and was tied for sixth at that event last month. He was tied for eighth at the 2021 P.G.A. Championship and tied for sixth at the 2020 U.S. Open.Will Zalatoris after making par on the 18th green. A birdie on the 17th hole put him in position to set up the playoff.Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesBut on Sunday, Zalatoris, after an even-par front nine, was hampered by poor putting, which has plagued him all season. He bogeyed the 12th and 16th holes but rallied by draining an 8-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole. He also sank a 10-foot putt to save par at the final hole to shoot 71 for the final round and finish at five under par overall. At the time, though, it did not appear to be enough to catch Pereira.Thomas most likely finished his round with the same feeling. After his rough start to the day, he birdied the ninth hole and had a par at the 10th. Thomas then sank a 64-foot putt from just off the 11th hole for another birdie. At the par-4 12th, he sank an 18-foot birdie putt. Thomas missed consecutive manageable birdie putts at the 13th and 14th holes, but then splashed a shot from a greenside bunker at the par-4 17th hole to within 3 feet, a distance he successfully negotiated for his fifth birdie of the day. That would put him within one stroke of Pereira with one hole to play. A brilliant drive and courageous approach shot to the elevated 18th green stopped 11 feet behind the hole, but Thomas’s putt slid past the right edge for a par and a score of 67.“I was very calm in the playoff and very calm in the final holes before the playoff, which helped a lot,” Thomas said. “I was nervous, but it was a different kind of nervous, which maybe comes with experience. It was different than how I felt trying to win my first major in 2017. Whatever it was, it felt right.“To execute some of those tough shots when you really need to, it was full body chills.” More

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      Tiger Woods Withdraws from PGA Championship

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      Recovering from leg injuries from a car crash last year, he had struggled at the Masters and now again at the PGA Championship.TULSA, Okla. — Tiger Woods, struggling in his comeback from severe leg injuries sustained in a car crash last year, withdrew from the P.G.A. Championship on Saturday night.The decision came hours after shooting a nine-over par 79, the highest score he has recorded during 22 P.G.A. Championship appearances. Yet an unsettling scene of Woods trying to perform a simple pre-round exercise Saturday presaged the interruption of his celebrated return to competitive elite golf.As Woods walked down an incline alongside a common practice area bunker, his right leg, which was surgically reconstructed 15 months ago with a rod, pins and screws, buckled. Woods nearly collapsed into the sand, but quickly used a golf club and a half step with his left leg to remain upright.On the golf course, Woods continued to limp and move slowly and stiffly, descending into a tie for last place on the tournament leaderboard at 12-over par. Because his halting gait and deteriorating game was so striking, Woods was asked afterward if he still planned to play in Sunday’s fourth round.“Well, I’m sore,” he answered. “I know that is for a fact. We’ll do some work and see how it goes.”Earlier in the event, Woods described how his recovery from golf rounds now includes many hours of ice baths and physical therapy. Saturday, he did not address when he might enter another tournament. The U.S. Open outside Boston begins June 16.Long after Woods’s round was complete, it was the weather that proved most vexing to his colleagues.The last time the P.G.A. Championship was played at Tulsa’s Southern Hills Country Club in 2007 temperatures reached 105 degrees. But that was during August in Oklahoma.Tiger Woods’s Lasting Impact and Uncertain FutureThe star golfer, one of the most influential athletes of the last quarter-century, is mounting a comeback after being badly injured in a car crash.The 2022 Masters: After saying that he would step back from competitive golf, Tiger Woods teed off at Augusta once again.Four Days That Changed Golf: When Woods won the 1997 Masters, he remade the game and catapulted himself to stardom.A Complicated Legacy: Our columnist looks back at Woods’s stunning feats and shocking falls.His Enduring Influence: Even when Woods is not playing, his impact on the sport can be felt at a PGA tournament.The P.G.A. Championship is now contested in May and Saturday’s third round of the event brought temperatures in the 50s, blustery winds and a field unnerved by the taxing conditions.With shots made unpredictable by swirling gusts, a bevy of golfers jockeyed for the lead, including unheralded Mito Pereira of Chile, who charged to a commanding advantage at the midpoint of his round. But the second-round leader, Will Zalatoris, who has four top 10 finishes in his last five major championships, caught Pereira several holes later.Then Cameron Young, a young rising star on the PGA Tour, and Bubba Watson, a 43-year-old two-time Masters champion, charged within a stroke of the lead.When play concluded Saturday evening, Pereira, who is 27 and playing in just his second major golf championship, had confidently, even boldly, regained the top spot on the leaderboard. After a third-round 69, he will enter Sunday’s final round with a three-stroke lead over Zalatoris and Matthew Fitzpatrick of England.Pereira, after a mid-round stumble, vaulted past the other third-round contenders with consecutive birdies on the 13th and 14th holes. Then, with a packed 18th green grandstand cheering for him, he closed out his day by sinking a 27-foot birdie putt to move to nine-under for the tournament.While Pereira, who is ranked 100th worldwide, is not a household name in professional golf, he has had three top 20 finishes on the PGA Tour this year and won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour, the tour’s top minor league circuit.Zalatoris had a bumpy start Saturday, shooting a four-over 39 on the front nine but steadied himself by curing some of his putting woes to shoot a rocky 73.After bogeying his first two holes, Fitzpatrick was five-under for the rest of his round to shoot 67.Young, whose father is David Young, the longtime golf professional at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in the suburbs of New York, made a late charge when he eagled the 296-yard par 4 17th hole by driving the green and making a short putt. With four birdies in his round, Young shot 67 and was in fourth place at five-under overall.After a sparkling front nine, Watson, who knocked his ball into seven bunkers during Saturday’s round, faltered and shot 73 and was tied for seventh.Woods’s troubles on Saturday were not doubt exacerbated by the Tulsa weather. With a back that has been operated on five times, Woods has not enjoyed playing in cold, damp conditions for more than a decade because it reduces the flexibility and fluidity of his golf swing. He is also still adjusting to modifications to his game required since the operations on his right leg.Once his round began, it was obvious Woods’s reduced physical capabilities were going to dramatically affect his score. His tee shot on the second hole was driven into a creek and led to a bogey. He recovered with three pars but then bungled the 218-yard par 3 sixth hole. By then, Woods already looked in pain and he was especially having trouble hitting his irons the necessary distances. Several were not on line either.On the sixth hole, his tee shot was short and left and landed in a water hazard. After a penalty shot drop, his third shot was in the rough just off the green and a subsequent chip that needed to go about 30 yards traveled only half that distance. Two putts later, Woods had a triple bogey.He then bogeyed six of his next seven holes. Woods appeared to be alternatively embarrassed and exasperated, but marched on. Always the grinder, he rallied for four pars and a birdie in his final five holes to avoid shooting 80.“I didn’t hit the ball very well and got off to not the start I needed to get off to,” Woods said later. “I thought I hit a good tee shot down 2 and ended up in the water, and just never really got any kind of momentum on my side.“I couldn’t get off the bogey train there. As I said, I just didn’t — I didn’t do anything right. I didn’t hit many good shots. Consequently, I ended up with a pretty high score.” More