Tiger and Rory: strolling and conversing, often simultaneously.

There was little to commend the ‘Duel at Lake Jinsha’ to Western audiences, on paper at least. Tiger and Rory are, they’re often at pains to emphasise, on really good terms.

Absent the frisson of discord that had made Tiger’s late-Nineties’ exhibitions in the company of Sergio Garcia and David Duval so compelling, events in China promised the spectacle of two lethargic multi-millionaires ambling their way to additional millions. Hur-rah!

But then, something rather interesting happened… (continue reading…)

Glad to see the Ryder Cup hero has put his television repair trauma behind him and decided to move on with life.

Conor Nagle

A man in desperate search of a solution.

Graeme McDowell is, by whatever metric you care to apply, a bright and articulate individual. Self-aware in a way few athletes are, he makes for a shrewd and canny interviewee. Measured, non-confrontational: he usually excels at tip-toeing through minefields.

Consider it indicative, then, of the extent to which the question of Northern identity remains one with no easy answers that mere mention of the 2016 Olympics can reduce a speaker of McDowell’s abundant ability to the crudest buck-passing. (continue reading…)

Irish people: visibly uncomfortable in direct sunlight and temperatures above 60 degrees.

A four-under-par 67 from overnight leader Padraig Harrington proved enough to see off the challenge of Webb Simpson and clinch the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda yesterday evening.

The result brings to an end the Irishman’s two-year wait for a tournament victory (yes, it’s definitely asterisk-worthy). (continue reading…)

Not jealous. At all.

One wonders quite how far down the list of potential invitees organisers of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, panicked by Ernie Els’ sudden withdrawal, had to travel before happening upon the name of Padraig Harrington.

Major-less since his victory at the 2008 PGA Championship, the 41-year-old was a late and perplexing addition to the four-man field in Bermuda this week, but exhibitied few insecurities en route to carding a five-under-par 66 to lead the event after Tuesday’s opening round. (continue reading…)

Gods of victory: this bromance could be worth millions.

In China for this week’s BMW Masters, Rory McIlroy has responded to mounting speculation he is on the verge of confirming an enormous sponsorship contract with sportswear manufacturer Nike.

According to the Guardian’s Ewan Murray, the proposed endorsement will likely see the 23-year-old exchange his current deals with Titleist, Oakley, Santander and Audemars Piguet for an exclusive 10-year contract valued at somewhere in the region of $250 million. (continue reading…)

Monty was there when it opened? It's all beginning to makes sense...

A feature-length documentary detailing the extraordinary tactics employed by Donald Trump during the planning and construction of his course design project in Aberdeenshire, Scotland survived a late challenge by the billionaire’s legal team to air last night on BBC 2, one of the network’s flagship television stations.

Titled “You’ve Been Trumped”, the film drew an audience of 1.1m (40% above the Sunday night average) and succeeded in provoking a wave of anti-Trump sentiment on social media. (continue reading…)

Gainey: "They just went in."

Tommy Gainey started the final round of the McGladrey Classic trailing 54-hole leaders Jim Furyk and tournament host Davis Love III by seven strokes. In the spirit of 2012, the winner of the event didn’t come from the last pairing on Sunday. Gainey became the fourth player of the season to overcome a deficit of at least seven.

The 37-year-old journeyman, who is known as “Two Gloves” for wearing two black gloves from tee to green (yes, he even putts with them), fired a course record 10-under 60 at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga. He had a 15-footer on no. 18 to post The Magical Number (59). Strangely enough, Gainey, who usually gives his putts a good run, left this one short of the cup. (continue reading…)

Furyk and Love both trying to right the ship in Sea Island

Could we have hoped for a better pairing in the final group on Sunday at the McGladrey Classic? Nope. Of course I’m talking about Ryder Cup captain and tournament host Davis Love III and Jim Furyk, who was one of Love’s four wildcard picks for the U.S. squad. Love and Furyk obviously have had to deal with the disappointing loss to Europe, and Furyk also faced unfortunate upsets at the U.S. Open and then at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Well, they’re tied for the 54-hole lead at 13-under. A win for either would probably feel like a bit of redemption, not to mention a sweet way to end the year and look forward to next season. Love and Furyk just teed off, so I’ve gotta head out to follow them, or another group, but please treat this as an open thread and share your comments below. (continue reading…)

O Canada!

Commissioner Tim Finchem announced on Thursday that the PGA Tour is assuming “operational control” of the Canadian Tour, which will become re-branded as PGA Tour Canada. The conversion process will begin on November 1st and PGA Tour Canada will be up and running for the 2013 season.

The takeover didn’t come as a surprise since the PGA Tour bailed out the floundering Canadian Professional Golf Tour in 2012, lending its strategic and financial support to the dwindling mini-tour circuit.

The kicker of the deal: Similar to the partnership made last year with Tour de las Américas to form PGA Tour Latinoamérica, PGA Tour Canada will serve as a pathway to the Web.com Tour.  The top-five finishers on the money list will earn playing privileges to the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit (the no. 1 player would have full exempt status and the other four would have conditional status, but “reasonable access”), and the next five will be exempt to the finals of Web.com Q-school. (continue reading…)