20th PGA title: Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy wins CJ Cup in Las Vegas October 18, 2021 Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has won the CJ Cup in Las Vegas, shooting a last round of six-under 66 to win by a stroke from American Collin Morikawa. Starting the day two shots off the pace, McIlroy showed a cool head throughout to end on 25-under par and join the select club of golfers to [...]
Sam Torrance: Hard working Rafa Cabrera Bello deserves return to form October 11, 2021 Rafa Cabrera Bello is one of the hardest workers on and off the course so his first win in four years, at the Open de Espana on Sunday, is well deserved. He hadn’t even finished in the top 10 at an event since January, so the omens weren’t good when he began the final round [...]
The fairway for women October 6, 2021 The decision to allow women to qualify for the Open Championship has been welcomed by Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam and major winner Jose Maria Olazabal. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club, which governs the game, has changed the entry criteria for the oldest tournament in the world to let leading women qualify on an [...]
Why athletics needs a silver bullet in the form of private investment September 30, 2021 The results are just in, and they don’t make for easy reading. World Athletics posted a small financial surplus in 2020, but only because Russia coughed up a fine for its doping misdemeanours. W hat’s worrying is the long steady decline in the reserves of track and field’s governing body. For the sake of the [...]
Sam Torrance: USA’s record Ryder Cup win was the best I’ve seen September 27, 2021 This turned out to be a tough Ryder Cup for Europe, who were outplayed, out-thought and out-fought by the USA. The Americans were simply magnificent, sublime from Friday morning all the way through to Sunday evening. It was the best Ryder Cup performance I’ve seen in my career. Dustin Johnson led the way for the [...]
Five things we’ve learned from the USA’s Ryder Cup landslide September 26, 2021 The USA reclaimed the Ryder Cup in record breaking fashion on Sunday night, completing a landslide 19-9 victory over Europe that had looked in prospect from the first morning. Open champion Collin Morikawa clinched the half point needed to ensure victory by finishing all-square in his match with Viktor Hovland, before the Americans won Sunday’s [...]
Sam Torrance: Europe gel as a team and that’s why they can win Ryder Cup again September 23, 2021 If not quite the great team of 1981, there is no denying that this US Ryder Cup line-up is extremely strong. And on paper, there is nothing that isn’t in the Americans’ favour. Whistling Straits is their venue, the course will be their set-up, and there will be even fewer European fans than usual. But [...]
Whistling Straits: the Ryder Cup course explained September 22, 2021 Whistling Straits will host the 43rd Ryder Cup this weekend, a year later than planned due to the pandemic. It’s the first time the course, in Wisconsin, has hosted the tournament. Where is it? Whistling Straits resort in Haven, Wisconsin, was established in 1998 after plans for a nuclear power plant on the site, an [...]
Ryder Cup 2021: History shows that being the underdog has never stopped Europe, who have upset the odds in five of the last nine matches with the USA September 22, 2021 Anyone paying even the slightest attention to this week’s Ryder Cup cannot have missed the fact that the USA are red-hot favourites. Steve Stricker’s team boast eight of the world’s top 10 players and have home advantage,a factor likely to be amplified by the Covid-enforced absence of many European fans. Listen to some of the [...]
Brooks Koepka should drop out of Ryder Cup if he doesn’t like it, says former US captain Paul Azinger September 16, 2021 Former US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger has urged Brooks Koepka to consider dropping out of next week’s contest with Europe. Koepka, who is recuperating from a wrist injury, admitted this week that he found being part of a team event “more demanding” than regular tournaments. “Not everyone embraces it. I know players who felt [...]