Now, despite leading the tour in scoring average, Korda is set to miss another Hall of Fame point. This time, it has nothing to do with her performance or scores. Korda is ineligible for the Vare Trophy, the LPGA’s award for lowest scoring average, due to insufficient rounds played, though she remains on track for Player of the Year.

Golfweek’s senior writer Beth Ann Nichols notes that the World No. 1 “currently leads the Vare Trophy race for low scoring at 69.38.” However, she is not playing enough golf to win it.

Had she earned the Vare Trophy, she would have received a Hall of Fame point. Paired with the Player of the Year award, which is worth one more point, that would have put her at 27.

But the Vare Trophy has two key eligibility requirements. First, the golfer must play at least 60 individual-scoring rounds, or 60% of the applicable official rounds, whichever is lower. If Nelly Korda makes the cut at The ANNIKA and plays all four rounds of the CME Group Tour Championship, she will have played 61 rounds.

However, she won’t meet the second eligibility criterion, which is playing at least 70 rounds, or 70% of the applicable official rounds, whichever is lower. Counting the four rounds of the Dow Championship she played this summer, Korda finishes at 65 rounds. Thus, she falls five rounds shy of the eligibility criterion. She missed out on the Vare Trophy and the Hall of Fame point for the same reason in 2021.

She could have become eligible if she had played two more events during the season. Her last event was the Solheim Cup, which Charley Hull & co. won. In total, she has made only 15 starts so far in 2026.

She is now on a break that includes the ongoing Lotte Championship, which she is not playing. Golfweek reports that she will also be skipping the Asia swing, which includes the Buick LPGA Shanghai, the BMW Ladies Championship, the Maybank Championship, and the TOTO Japan Classic. This brings her total break to around two months.

This isn’t the first time she has missed the Asia swing. In fact, some fans have been outraged by her habit of skipping it. Korda has not played a fall Asian event since 2023. She skipped the 2024 stops after a neck injury sustained in practice.

“I’m disappointed to miss these events and am especially sorry to my fans who were looking forward to seeing me play,” she wrote in 2024.

She also skipped last year’s swing because of injury. After a top-five finish in Hawaii, Korda withdrew from the International Crown in October 2025 with an unspecified injury, and she was expected to sit out the Asia swing that followed. It came in a winless 2025 in which neck problems cost her time. Korda said after the Hawaii event that her body is “definitely worn down” by that point in the year, and she has stressed the need to be as close to 100 percent as possible before teeing it up.

But despite the reduced schedule, the 28-year-old has a chance to win the remaining two points by the end of the season. She leads Haeran Ryu in the Player of the Year race by 75 points. So that is one possible point. In addition, she can win either The ANNIKA or the CME Group Tour Championship to earn the last point. Korda is a three-time winner at The ANNIKA and can do it again this year.

Nelly Korda’s shortened schedule has cost her another opportunity to add an LPGA Hall of Fame point, but her season is far from over.

The post Nelly Korda’s Deliberate Golf Break Costs Her as She Becomes Ineligible for LPGA Award – Report appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Amid backlash over the controversial reinstatements, Brandel Chamblee supports the rule and former professionals. He replied to the X post about Nate Smith and Andrew Bailey reaching the Mid-Am final.

“Having once been a professional golfer should not come with a death sentence as it relates to one’s ability to compete at the highest level as an amateur. Professional status itself doesn’t create an enduring competitive advantage,” Chamblee wrote.

“Of course there should be some stipulation or formula for the amount of time/and or success one was or had followed by a reasonable period in purgatory—but purgatory, by definition shouldn’t last for ever.”

He also acknowledged that no golfer has a “magical reservoir of talent.” It’s just that most professionals were once great amateurs. But that doesn’t mean their form or skills can’t deteriorate over time. And when that happens, they should get an opportunity to get their amateur status back.

Colt Knost, whose reinstatement application is on hold, has also taken a similar stance. Speaking to Andy Johnson on The Fried Egg Golf Podcast, Knost said that there should be specific, published guidelines tied to a player’s level and length of tour experience. Rather than leaving applicants uncertain, he suggested tiered waits.

“I don’t see the problem with wanting to go play events like that,” he said, referring to invitation-only amateur competitions such as the Crump Cup.

Brandel Chamblee also proposes a wait time that does not last forever. He even made a similar argument last year in an episode of The Favorite Chamblee while discussing Knost’s application. He called a lifetime ban “too stiff a penalty” for a player who tries professional golf but couldn’t make it.

Many individuals on the PGA Tour do not even make much money. For them, surviving as a professional becomes challenging over time. If they decide to step away and take another job, they should be allowed to return as amateurs after an appropriate waiting period.

On the other hand, someone like Matt Kuchar has far more professional experience. After turning pro at 22, the veteran golfer has spent 25 years on the professional tour. Chamblee said that his wait time should therefore be much longer.

The controversy stems from the number of ex-professionals making their names in amateur events. For instance, Golf Digest reported that six of the eight 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur quarterfinalists were former pros. For some fans, this takes away opportunities from amateurs who have yet to turn pro.

While the USGA has put some applications on hold, the governing body still isn’t considering a lifetime ban on reinstatement. USGA president Kevin Hammer has articulated a position closer to Brandel Chamblee’s view. He said welcoming reinstated professionals back is good for the game, while acknowledging that circumstances differ.

Chief championship officer John Bodenhammer also drew a distinction between players with different experience levels. According to him, someone who briefly instructed or played professionally and someone with a longer or more successful tour career should have different wait times.

The USGA may have to decide soon. But for now, Brandel Chamblee backs former pros returning to amateur golf as the USGA reviews reinstatement rules.

The post ‘Should Not Come With a Death Sentence’: Brandel Chamblee Takes a Stand for USGA’s Controversial Reinstatement Issue appeared first on EssentiallySports.

The Scot’s objection is about distance, not television. He accepts that broadcasting brings money and everything that comes with it. His point is that drones do not need to be so close, because even his own camera has enough zoom to see the golf shot from that distance.

BBC Sport Scotland reported that a DP World Tour rules official spoke to MacIntyre after he directed his frustration at a camera operator during his opening round at Carnoustie, and he was plain about what the drone’s closeness does to him: “It drives me insane,” he said.

The sequence of events shows how the issue built up. MacIntyre says he raised the drone with a rules official twice before the shot on the 8th, then gave the nod before hitting. He could still hear the drone, which he felt was too close. A warning that changes nothing on the course is a warning that has failed.

It comes down to the sound. MacIntyre says a drone holding still is fine. Wind is another matter, because it buffets the drone as it tries to stay in position.

“It’s like a revving of a car right near where you’re trying to hit,” he said.

That fits how drones work. To stay in place, a drone keeps adjusting its rotor speeds, and in gusts the corrections get bigger and faster, so the pitch keeps shifting. A shifting buzz is harder to tune out than a steady hum.

Reading the Shot Through Inputs and Outputs

Nobody outside a player’s head can say what a pre-shot routine really holds. Analysts get around that by watching the edges only. What surrounds the player at address is the input, and what the strike looks like afterwards is the output. Add or remove something on the input side, and any change in the output points back to it.

MacIntyre’s account supplies both ends: a drone he could hear as the input, and a bad shot as the output. Divided attention links the two, since he described hitting the shot while “just thinking about the drone”.

Each step-off throws away the rhythm he had built over the ball. He has to find that focus all over again while still annoyed, so the next swing is rarely as good as the one he walked away from.

A single round could be an outlier, so a second case helps. MacIntyre described his reaction as long-standing: “I’ve had previous for it.” At the 2024 RBC Canadian Open, which he won, he also complained about drone noise and asked a rules official to step in. Asked in his interview whether Tyrrell Hatton had also been upset, he said he didn’t know. Repeated reactions suggest the input is the variable, not one bad day.

On a broadcast monitor, none of this shows up. The picture is a clean angle of the shot, with no sign that the golfer’s attention has drifted upwards. The cost lands on the player, and only when he complains does the crew hear about it.

One fix could be to put a number on the problem. The DP World Tour could impose a minimum distance between drone and player, wider when it’s windy, since gusts are what turn a hum into a racket. With a set figure, crews and players stop haggling mid-round and both know where the line sits.

The tour could also keep a simple record of each incident, noting how close the drone was, what the wind was doing, and whether the player backed off or hit a bad shot. Even a few rounds of that would show if trouble really starts when the drone is nearest. If the numbers point that way, a rule would then have evidence behind it. If they don’t, coverage carries on as before, and proximity at least has a proper answer.

The post Robert MacIntyre Calls Out Golf Broadcast Equipment That Drives Him ‘Insane’ appeared first on EssentiallySports.

He was using this putter at Biltmore Championship Asheville, too. He liked it and is sticking with it now.

“I put it in the bag about a month ago. I really liked the basic math of it, or basically what it teaches is everything is pointing to target, everything is lined up with the face. So nothing is — it’s not a round grip. It’s literally perfectly flat, but everything, the way you put your hands on it, it all faces the exact same angle as the putter face. I thought that was a really cool thing, and I just think it’s easier to aim,” Tony Finau said.

“I’ve always been really good from 20, 25-plus feet throughout the history of my PGA Tour career, and then as I got closer to the hole, not as good. Aiming to me is the most important thing. The closer you get to the hole, the better you have to aim. You don’t have time to manipulate the face on a short putt. So it seems to help me aim better, and that’s why I put it in the bag.”

It didn’t have much impact on his game, as he missed the cut at the North Carolina event. He opened with a 78 and then followed it with a 71 to finish seven-over 149 midway. The American professional was way off with his driving and putting. He lost close to five strokes in driving across both rounds. As for SG: Putting, he was -2.087.

But as he noted, he is good up to 20 or 25-plus feet from the hole. In fact, his SG: Around-the-Green is 0.315 this season. He ranks 13th on the PGA Tour in that stat. But in everything else, especially putting, he lags behind. With -0.257 strokes gained in putting, he ranks 122nd. This has led to a decline in his form.

This season, Tony Finau has made the cut in only 16 of his 23 starts. It is much worse than last year. He had made only one top-10 finish last year, too, but at least he had made 15 cuts in 20 starts. He had five top-25 finishes last year, compared to four this year. The American golfer even broke his 11-year streak of making it to the FedExCup Playoffs.

But apart from these past two years, the American professional has shown excellent skills on the PGA Tour. In 2024, for instance, he missed the cut in only two events. Of the 20 cuts he made, he finished runner-up at the Texas Children’s Houston Open and registered 15 top-25 finishes. During the 2022-2023 season, he won the Cadence Bank Houston Open and the Mexico Open. This shows a gradual decline in his form and performance.

However, Tony Finau said that he has been working hard on his game and his body. As a result, he feels positive heading into the Bank of Utah Championship. He also has a solid strategy in place.

Tony Finau opens up about the strategy for the Bank of Utah Championship

Finau is looking to get back in the winner’s circle. But it won’t be easy because the Black Desert is a challenging course. This will be his first time playing there.

Finau believes it is a unique golf course because the out-of-bounds is lava. The red rocks, black lava, and mesmerizing views make it both beautiful and challenging.

“It’s not a golf course that I’m looking particularly to play super aggressively on. I’m going to play it a lot more conservatively than I think I would have liked. I would have liked to be playing a golf course where I can hit more drivers and have that kind of luxury to use my distance,” Tony Finau said.

The 37-year-old believes that if he plays it correctly rather than aggressively, he can score better over 72 holes. Thus, he won’t be hitting many drivers this week. Instead, he will be going for driving iron. His idea is to keep the ball on the fairway as much as possible.

Tony Finau’s conservative strategy at Black Desert could give him the controlled approach he needs as he continues searching for consistency. After switching to an unconventional putting setup to address his struggles on the greens, the six-time winner will now hope a disciplined game plan helps him find a much-needed turnaround in Utah.

The post 6x PGA Tour Champ Goes for Desperate ‘Hockey Stick’ Measure Amid Declining Golf Form appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Over TMZ’s headline on his Instagram story, Kim wrote, “Since this story is makin its rounds, I felt compelled 2 say as some1 who has struggled & quite honestly will always struggle w things in my private life, I will support & pray 4 any1 tryin 2 do better in their life & their families. @philmickelson Lessgo ”

The message holds real significance as Kim and Mickelson have shared a bond for nearly two decades. It began when Mickelson took the 23-year-old Kim under his wing on the PGA Tour, and it stayed strong through Kim’s long exile from the game. When he returned with LIV Golf, he found Mickelson in his corner as a teammate and one of his loudest supporters.

The note came right after TMZ Sports reported that Mickelson had voluntarily checked himself into an addiction treatment center. His representative said he sought help for family trauma and addiction, and has since confirmed that he has completed his stay and left the facility. Further details, including when he entered treatment, how long he stayed, and which program he attended, have not been disclosed.

This follows news from February 2026, when Mickelson cited a family health matter involving himself and his wife to skip the start of the LIV season. He then played just one event, finishing T48 in South Africa, before pulling out of the Masters in April. He ended up missing all four majors for the first time in his career.

Kim was among the first to react to Mickelson’s absence. He wrote on X that there “was nothing more important in life than your family,” adding that he was praying for Phil, his wife Amy, and the family. He had also insisted that “1% better sober is dope,” and that support continues now. That support carries weight, as Kim has publicly spoken about his own battle with addiction and a dark stretch away from golf, calling his sobriety the best accomplishment of his life.

Their bond goes back to when Kim was still a young star trying to cope with early success. During the 2009 Presidents Cup, for instance, Kim was in a visible funk, and it was Mickelson who knocked on his hotel door for a private heart-to-heart conversation. Kim has often said that Mickelson never abandoned him after that. After Kim was relegated from LIV at the end of 2025, Mickelson continued to back him publicly, reposting Kim’s comeback process with a note saying it “was so great to see.”

Mickelson has also shown that warmth publicly. When Kim earned his way back onto LIV for the new season, Mickelson wrote, “AK gets his life back, and now his golf game is back.”

After Kim’s emotional win over Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau in Australia, Mickelson called it “one of the best stories in sport,” adding that Kim deserved a shot at the majors too.

Notably, none of LIV’s other players have publicly addressed Mickelson’s news or offered sympathy, leaving Kim’s message as the only show of support from inside the league. The silence also comes at a tense time, with LIV working through bankruptcy restructuring and its 2027 roster uncertain.

For now, Mickelson has completed treatment, but his return to competition remains unclear.

The post ‘I Felt Compelled to Say’: LIV Golf Star Comments on Phil Mickelson’s Rehab News Amid His Absence appeared first on EssentiallySports.

At Kasugai Country Club East in Aichi-Nagoya, Kim shot 66 to reach 7-under, two shots behind co-leaders Wang Weihou and Ding Wenyi. While he firmly remains in contention, Kim still has two rounds to compete before he can get an exemption. Speaking after the round, he said, “A gold would be great,” but stressed that he wants to do well for his country.

For context, South Korea’s conscription system requires 18–21 months of service for most males before age 35, maintained due to North Korea’s border. Athletic exemptions began in 1973 and were updated in 1990. For Kim, that means returning before he turns 35. Moreover, the country keeps the system because North Korea faces a heavily guarded border.

Naturally, it isn’t a yearly chance. The exemption only opens when the Olympics or the Asian Games take place, which is around every four years. And that’s what makes this week close to a one-off for Kim, who’s currently 24.

As for his performance in round one, he started strong by birdieing the second hole, then another on nine to turn in 34 on the front nine. On the back nine, he added another birdie on the par-5 13, with an ace-level tee shot on the par-3 15 that left him a two. He then followed that with a birdie on 16. Bogeys on the par-3 seventh and 17th were the only damage to his round, but he saved par at the last. Overall, he finished two off the lead with a 3-under 67.

The second round tested his patience as much as skill. Kim’s final group took five hours and 20 minutes with slow play by lift, clean and place conditions, and finished past sunset. Organizers had to bring in temporary floodlights so the trio could putt on the 18th. And yet he kept his focus. He birdied the second and the eighth, then went on to run that mattered, with birdies on the 10th and 13th. He added another one on the 16th to cover the back nine in 32. His only mistake in the round was a bogey at the sixth. Overall, he tapped in for a par finish.

Notably, Tom Kim has been in this situation before. He did not play at the 2023 Asian Games, and his last chance was at the 2024 Paris Olympics. That’s where a medal of any color would have easily exempted him. But it ended in vain. He started the final round four shots off gold, in position three for bronze, but missed a par putt on the 11th and found the water off the 18th to make a double bogey. He ended up finishing eighth. He could be seen wiping his tears in the scoring area, later saying, “Never been really emotional after a round,” insisting the exemption wasn’t the reason.

For now, two rounds still remain, and he is two shots off the individual lead while South Korea is chasing Japan in the team race.

Other Players Took the Same Route

Kim isn’t the first South Korean golfer to chase this exemption. Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim played the 2023 Asian Games team event with two amateurs and won gold by 24 shots, earning exemptions. Both were also playing the Presidents Cup this year.

But other golfers haven’t been able to. Sang-moon Bae went from the Presidents Cup in 2015 to the military. He had won twice on the PGA Tour but lost a court battle to avoid service. He served from 2015 to 2017. He has since slipped outside the world top 550. Bae later said he forgot how to play golf eventually.

But for now, Kim is on his way to possibly avoiding the military.

The post 4x PGA Tour Champ Leaves No Stone Unturned as He Tries to Avoid Mandatory Military Service appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“I’ve referred a lot this year to the Oakland A’s, and Moneyball could only take them so far,” Leonard said in an interview with SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. “And I think that’s the same way you have to look at stats and data, in that it will only take you so far to a point.”

For Leonard, that is where a captain’s instincts have to take over.

“At some point, there needs to be instincts involved,” he said. “And I feel like that’s the difference between great coaches or a great captain and ones that maybe aren’t so successful.”

Scheffler’s foursomes record at Medinah is particularly notable because he remains one of the most important players on the U.S. team. He partnered Sam Burns against Corey Conners and Nick Taylor on Friday. The Americans lost 1-up as the International team completed its 5-0 sweep.

Thomas had a similar result. He played with Cameron Young against Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout and lost 3&2. But neither player had a poor Presidents Cup overall. Scheffler finished 3-1, while Thomas went 2-1-1. Both players also won their singles matches on Sunday as the Americans came back from a 10.5-7.5 deficit to win 17-13. That difference is important. The numbers do not show that Scheffler or Thomas played all week badly. Instead, they show how difficult foursomes can be. In this format, two players share one ball and take turns hitting shots. A player can be playing well on their own and still struggle to find the right rhythm with a certain partner.

Brandt Snedeker’s own comments before and during the Presidents Cup make Leonard’s point even more relevant. The U.S. captain did not reject analytics. Instead, he explained that statistics have to be put into the context of an 18-hole match.

“Stats are great in 10,000-round models. We’re playing an 18-hole match,” Snedeker said.

He also explained that numbers should help captains make informed decisions, but they cannot replace what they see from their players. That approach was visible in his decision-making throughout the week. Snedeker spoke about chemistry between players and trusting his instincts when putting combinations together. The results were mixed in foursomes. The Americans eventually recovered in other formats and produced one of the biggest Sunday comebacks in Presidents Cup history. But their 2-7 foursomes record remained a clear weakness.

This is where Team USA’s approach can be compared with Team Europe. Europe has used more analytics in its Ryder Cup planning, especially through Edoardo Molinari.

During Luke Donald’s 2023 Ryder Cup captaincy, Molinari worked closely with data to study possible pairings, player tendencies, and how players might fit a course. The PGA Tour reported that Europe relied a lot on data when choosing its foursomes and four-ball pairings.

Molinari’s work went beyond basic statistics. He looked at how players performed from different distances, on different shots, and in different course conditions. Europe could also use data to see which players might work well together.

But Europe did not simply choose data over instinct. The same PGA Tour report said Molinari knew that analytics had limits. In the end, both numbers and instinct were important. Donald also looked at player personalities and other factors when making his decisions.

That is why Leonard’s comments matter. He is not saying Team USA should stop using data. His point is that numbers can show useful things, but they cannot fully show how two players will work together or how they will handle pressure in a match.

The 2026 Presidents Cup showed this clearly. The U.S. had enough talent to overcome its problems in foursomes and win the trophy. But its 2-7 record also showed that great players do not always make a good team in alternate-shot golf.

For the Americans, the lesson before the 2027 Ryder Cup may not be about choosing data or instinct. It may be about using both at the right time. Leonard’s “Moneyball” comparison explains this well. Numbers can help a captain, but they cannot make every decision for him.

The post ‘Will Only Take You So Far’: PGA Tour Veteran Defends Team USA’s Failures at Foursomes After Presidents Cup Win appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“When I heard that we’re putting $30 million in, bringing Gil Hanse in, all these thoughts and feelings arose of, wow, it’s finally going to get the attention it deserves. The university finally sees its value. Then, for them to drop the ball, that doesn’t surprise me,” Nicholas told The Athletic.

“There was a lack of attention to the course as a whole before the renovation. It’s unfortunate that when you spend this much money, and you have a university like Yale that has an endowment of however many billions of dollars, you’d imagine they would be able to spend some money toward maintenance … hopefully they can turn it around, and the university can see the value in it.”

Nicholas’ statement carries added weight because he experienced the course firsthand long before the renovation. He arrived at Yale in 2015 as a two-sport recruit, playing both golf and football, and eventually became ranked among the program’s most accomplished golfers ever. He was named Ivy League Player of the Year in both 2018 and 2019 and earned First Team All-Ivy honors each season, with his 2019 selection coming by unanimous vote. That same year, he won the individual title at the Ivy League Championship, along with victories at the Macdonald Cup and the Doc Gimmler during his senior season. His years competing at Yale give him a perspective few can match: he knew the course before the renovation, and he can now see how it has changed since.

Nicholas turned professional in 2019 and has since built a career across the Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour. He competed on the Korn Ferry Tour in multiple seasons before earning full-time status on the DP World Tour for 2024, then returned to the Korn Ferry Tour afterward. His professional-level experience has continued to grow, highlighted by his best Korn Ferry Tour finish before 2026—a tie for third at the October 2025 Compliance Solutions Championship.

Nicholas’ breakthrough finally came at the Astara Golf Championship in Bogotá, Colombia, in February 2026. In his 69th Korn Ferry Tour start, he holed a 13-foot eagle putt on the final hole, closed with a 66, and finished at 19-under-par 265 to win by two strokes and claim his first title on the tour. The victory marked a significant milestone in his professional career, but a series of injuries that limited him during the 2026 season soon interrupted the momentum.

Nicholas developed his game on Yale’s golf course, gaining valuable experience there while also witnessing firsthand what he describes as a lack of attention to its condition. Years later, his perspective remains unchanged. Having known the course before the renovation and seen its condition again after reopening, Nicholas is now speaking out about issues he believes have persisted.

Golf Digest senior writer Alex Myers added to the growing concerns by images of the course on X, showing a damaged slope near the bunkers, patchy turf, a discolored putting surface and a waterlogged area. The images prompted further accounts from people familiar with the restoration and the course’s day-to-day maintenance. Some spoke anonymously, while others were willing to put their names behind their accounts, pointing to what they described as a combination of neglect, poor decisions, and an understaffed maintenance crew.

The Athletic also identifies weeds associated with insufficient chemical treatment and mechanical damage on slopes and knobs around greens.

Course designer Gil Hanse himself took a dig at the maintenance team. He said no one involved in the restoration project would be “objectively happy” with the course’s current state. Jim Hoak, a Yale alumnus, praised Hanse’s work and highlighted that the challenge now was to keep it up.

However, there’s hope left for the iconic course. Yale athletic director Vicky Chun told The Athletic that the university had listened to Hanse’s advice about the need for “sustained resources and a long-term commitment.” However, her statements didn’t directly acknowledge the turf’s condition.

One key challenge in maintaining the course is the scale and use of carts. According to The Athletic, Yale does not offer a walking-only rate during normal play. This policy pushes golfers toward carts. It identifies unrestrained cart traffic as one factor in subpar fairway conditions.

In contrast, many other universities focus much more on maintenance. Stanford’s published 2026 schedule sets aside October 19 to 26, 2026, for a full-course fall aeration closure. Michigan identifies a superintendent, Scott Rockov, and says its course uses moisture meters and a variable-frequency-drive pump station for more precise watering. Similarly, Purdue lists a golf-course superintendent and assistant superintendent for its two-course complex.

With concerns about maintenance, staffing, irrigation, and cart traffic, Yale now faces the challenge of providing the sustained care needed to protect its $30 million investment. For players like James Nicholas, the hope is that Yale recognizes the course’s value and gives it the attention it has long deserved.

The post ‘It’s Unfortunate’: Tour Pro Speaks Out as Yale’s $30M Golf Project Turns Into a Disaster appeared first on EssentiallySports.

The outburst happened during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a $5 million DP World Tour event played across three of Scotland’s most famous courses: the Old Course at St Andrews, Kingsbarns, and Carnoustie Golf Links. Carnoustie isn’t just another stop on tour. The course was officially established in 1839, making it 187 years old and one of the most historic venues in golf.

Hatton’s tee shot at Carnoustie found the front-right bunker, but the ball buried itself deep in the sand, leaving him a difficult lie and little room to work with. Frustrated by what he saw, he took an angry swing of his wedge into the sand before even playing his shot. Based on available footage, the damage appeared confined to the bunker’s sand rather than any structural or permanent part of the course. No official statement on the extent of the damage had been issued as of this writing. Video of the moment quickly spread across social media.

Fans did not hold back in response. One fan wrote, “Send him back to liv, what’s he doing there. What an embarrassment he is.” Another fan commented, “He’ll never win a major, that’s for absolute certain.”

A different fan wrote, “Need a have a conversation on Hatton being the least serious pro golfer on any circuit. Dudes allergic to winning golf tournaments and the only time we really see him is when he’s having temper tantrums.”

Several fans focused on the damage itself rather than the emotion behind it. One fan wrote, “What a prick this guy is. Greenkeepers work incredible hours and incredibly hard to present this course in absolutely incredible condition, only for it to be smashed up like this? This is surely worthy of a ban or a huge fine?!” Another fan pointed out, “Absolute bell end, also another ball in the bunker yet to play. Club golfers don’t act like this.”

Not every reaction was angry. One fan joked, “He’s now got himself an 80 deg wedge!” Another fan wrote, “I woulda been celebrating getting out in just 1.”

One fan tied the incident to a broader complaint, writing, “Being a complete jackass, but what’s new there! When are the powers that be going to get a hold of these modern day golfers. The general erosion of standards and etiquette on the course is ridiculous. Been getting worse over recent years.”

The frustration is part of a longer pattern for Hatton. He snapped a club during the DP World Tour Championship in November 2024, leading Sky Sports commentator Ewen Murray to call him a ‘terrible influence on the next generation.’ Hatton responded the next day by writing “be nice” on his golf glove. He also faced criticism in January 2025 after taking frustrated swings at a plastic tee marker during the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Hatton later admitted that it “probably shouldn’t have” happened.

A fine may not hurt Hatton’s wallet much, but the bigger problem could be how fans see him. Golf tours rarely reveal fine amounts, and Hatton said in 2024 that his total fines for on-course behaviour had not even reached five figures. So, if the DP World Tour does punish him for the Carnoustie incident, the money may not be the main concern. Every new outburst, however, adds to the growing view that his temper is becoming a regular part of his game. With Hatton chasing a fourth Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title, that is hardly the attention he would have wanted.

Despite the criticism, Tyrrell Hatton is still one of the most successful players in the event. He has won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship three times, in 2016, 2017 and 2024. He also finished runner-up to Robert MacIntyre last year. Hatton has said the tournament suits his game very well.

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will continue across all three courses before the field is cut for the final round at the Old Course in St Andrews. Tyrrell Hatton will now look to put the Carnoustie incident behind him as he tries to win the title for a fourth time.

It is still unclear if the DP World Tour will take any action over the bunker damage. For now, most of the discussion is happening online, with fans debating whether Hatton’s temper is simply part of his personality or something that has become a bigger issue.

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Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter shared the news on X. “TGL has renewed its deal with ESPN under a multi-year contract.”

This renewal settles a question that had hung over the league for months. TGL’s original two-year deal with ESPN was to expire after the 2026 season, leaving the league’s television future uncertain. That uncertainty eased in July, when Carpenter reported ESPN had emerged as the frontrunner to retain the rights for 2027 and beyond, while Viacom, the owner of Golf Channel, was another potential suitor. TMRW Sports co-founder Mike McCarley also indicated that the door remained open to both existing and new broadcast partners, keeping the competition for TGL’s next television deal wide open.

Moreover, David Ramsey of Front Office Sports shared the ESPN and TMRW Sports press release, which provides further details about the agreement. Under the renewed deal, ESPN will continue as TGL’s U.S. media rights partner, a role it has held since the league’s debut. The third TGL season will begin on December 27, continuing the league’s tradition of opening on an NFL Sunday, with all seven teams set to compete at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Details on the full schedule, commentators, production, and more will be announced ahead of the new season.

The viewership numbers also help explain why ESPN is continuing its partnership with TGL. According to Sports Business Journal, TGL’s four-match 2026 postseason averaged 618,000 viewers, with three matches airing on ESPN and one on ESPN2. That marked an increase from the 2025 postseason, when the four matches averaged 434,000 viewers across two broadcasts on each network. The growth was not limited to the postseason. Overall, TGL attracted over 20 million unique viewers during its second season, representing an approximately 8% increase from Season 1. The league also noted that over 30% of TGL viewers rarely watch other professional golf, highlighting TGL’s ability to reach an audience beyond the traditional sports-viewing base.

Notably, that’s where Tiger Woods comes in. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Woods has been integral to TGL’s viewership for the first two seasons. And naturally so. TMRW Sports, the company Woods founded in 2022 with Rory McIlroy and McCarley, runs TGL. In June 2024, a founding round led by Dynasty Equity Partners and Connect Ventures valued TMRW at about $500 million, according to Bloomberg.

Additionally, securing a long-term broadcast partner could give TGL another boost financially. CNBC previously reported that the league’s first ESPN deal was worth between $5 and $10 million, while industry sources expected TGL to seek at least twice that amount in its next agreement. Although Woods’ exact stake in TMRW Sports remains undisclosed, his role as a co-founder means he stands to benefit from the company’s increased value. As TGL continues to expand its audience and strengthen its media presence, the renewed ESPN partnership could therefore add further value to the business Woods helped build.

Notably, TGL is only one part of Woods’ broader business portfolio. TMRW Sports has continued to expand beyond golf, selected to operate the NFL’s new professional flag football league and partnering with the LPGA to launch WTGL, a women’s sports league. Woods has also benefited from investments outside TMRW. He reportedly held roughly a 2% stake in Full Swing, the golf technology company, which was acquired for $530 million—putting the estimated value of Woods’ stake at around $11 million. Together, these ventures show how Woods has increasingly built value through business opportunities away from competitive golf, even when he is not on the course.

That said, TMRW Sports has a busy few months ahead, with Motor City Golf Club set to make its debut and WTGL preparing to launch this fall. Amid that growing slate of projects, one question remains unanswered: will Woods return to Jupiter to be part of it all? While his business ventures continue to move forward without him on the course, his potential return would add another layer of interest to TMRW’s expanding portfolio.

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