Rory McIlroy is leaving Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management and setting up his own shop with family and close friends, according to The Irish Independent.  (continue reading…)

A couple of major champions

When Adam Scott stepped up to the tee on Thursday morning at The Players Championship, the starter didn’t announce him as the Masters Champion. “It was the biggest disappointment of the day,” said a smiling Scott, who shot a respectable three-under 69 in his first round since winning the green jacket last month.

Rory McIlroy, who played with Scott and Steve Stricker, poked fun at his past record at TPC Sawgrass, saying he’d be announced as “coming off three missed cuts at The Players.” McIlroy has set himself up well to break that streak.  (continue reading…)

Young and Ernst

The Wells Fargo Championship edition of By the Numbers contains a tale of two superstars — and how Derek Ernst beat them both (and everyone else, of course). Rory Mcilroy and Phil Mickelson were a study of opposites from a stats perspective, while Ernst was impressive all around. And now without further ado: this week’s By the Numbers. (continue reading…)

Rory back to being the ultimate driving machine

Phil Mickelson still has nine holes to play, but he’s cruising so far, rolling in four birdies on the front nine to take the outright lead at eight-under. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the guys who teed off in the morning wave on Friday at Quail Hollow Club.  (continue reading…)

Rory back in the swing of things

The biggest story going into the Wells Fargo Championship was the poor state of the greens at the usually pristine Quail Hollow Club. Turns out they weren’t so bad, after all — at least not for the seven players who shot five-under 67s in the first round.

Coming off a T25 finish at the Masters, Rory McIlroy joked on Wednesday that he’s not a guy who relies on his putter to score. He knows his game well. On Thursday, McIlroy drove the ball well, finding 11 of 14 fairways, and gave himself plenty of looks for birdie, hitting 15 of 18 greens in regulation.  (continue reading…)

When Nate Smith, who earned a spot in the Wells Fargo Championship by firing 63 in the Monday Qualifier, walked into the locker room on Wednesday afternoon, he found his new golf bag with a note (pictured above) attached, “All players, please sign for charity auction. Nate Smith, you’re welcome.”

Nate had left the bag he was using for his tournament next to his locker and when his buddy James Hahn came across it, he saw it as an opportunity to get Nate back for a prank earlier in the day.

Turns out it may have brought some good juju, as Nate shot a five-under 67 to share the first-round lead with seven other players, including world no. 2 Rory McIlroy. (continue reading…)

Ogilvy checks out the 9th green, which is in the roughest condition

Everybody’s talking about the damaged greens at the usually pristine Quail Hollow Club. It’s only Wednesday and the state of the greens is the most popular topic of the tournament. Just walk out to the putting green — quite a few of the players will tell you that it’s the best one on the course. They’re half-joking, but there’s some truth to it. Which is a shame for the well-run tournament that’s a favorite among players, caddies and the media.  (continue reading…)

Olympic confusion

After R&A chief Peter Dawson implied that Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy might be spared the difficult choice of which country he’d represent in the 2016 Olympics due to a Charter regulation, reports surfaced on Tuesday saying that McIlroy would almost certainly represent Ireland. However, it appears Dawson may have misinterpreted the Olympic regulation, according to BBC Sport: (continue reading…)

Hello there! This evening I’m joined by Oliver Horovitz, author of “An American Caddie in St. Andrews.” We talk about the highlights in the first round of this year’s edition of The Masters. If today was a preview of things to come the rest of the week, then we’re in for an epic finish! We have a 14-year-old, 53-year-old and Sergio Garcia, among others as first-round storylines. It doesn’t get much better!

Cute alert!

It’s Wednesday before The Masters and it feels like Christmas Eve. I’ve been trying to explain that to my roommate, a non-golfer, who knows nothing about the game. She is insisting it can’t be Christmas tomorrow without presents and she will be incredibly disappointed if she doesn’t wake up to a tree with pretty lights with gifts underneath it.

“Yeah, dream on,” I told her.  (continue reading…)