Golfing News & Blog Articles

Will Brooks Koepka, the two-time defending champion, make it three in a row? Will Dustin Johnson hang on to get his second major title? Or will someone else from a crowed leaderboard hoist the Wanamker Trophy? We make our picks.

Holy Harding Park do we have a zany Sunday on tap at the 2020 PGA:

—2 players a shot back of Dustin Johnson.

—Eleven within three strokes of Johnson.

—Sixteen within four.

For what it’s worth—weather forecast is a crapshoot here—sun and good breezes are forecast for the leaders window Sunday. They were Saturday as well when the fog returned and the wind largely stood down.

Lydia Ko shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday and has a 4-shot lead over Danielle Kang heading into the final round of the Marathon Classic.

Gabriela Ruffels rallied late to win both of her matches Saturday and will play Rose Zhang for the U.S. Women's Amateur title on Sunday.

Jordan Spieth's quest for a career Grand Slam at the PGA Championship ended early, while Justin Thomas found himself just outside of contention heading into Sunday.

Tiger Wood's inability to adjust to greens that weren't as fast as he prefers led to a 2-over-par 72 during Saturday's third round of the PGA Championship at Harding Park.

Andy Sullivan is closing in on his first win in almost five years after a third-round 64 on Saturday gave him a five-shot lead at the English Championship.

With prime time and the Woods-McIlroy-Thomas grouping in the main ESPN window, the worldwide leader had a strong Friday from Harding Park.

For Immediate Release:

The live telecast of the second round of the PGA Championship on ESPN on Friday, Aug. 7, from TPC Harding Park in San Francisco attracted an average audience of 1,763,000 viewers, the event’s largest second round viewership since 2015 and an increase of 20 percent over TNT’s telecast of the second round last year.

The numbers continued the momentum ESPN established with its live coverage of the first round on Thursday, which averaged 1,246,000 viewers, making it the event’s most-viewed first round telecast since 2015 and the second-best opening round in the last 10 years. Friday’s telecast was up 42 percent in viewership from Thursday’s first round.

With golf superstars including Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy in competition during East Coast prime time, ESPN’s audience built early in their rounds and peaked with 2,260,000 viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET. The telecast, which ran from 4-10:45 p.m., averaged more than 2 million viewers from 6-10 p.m.

Through two rounds, ESPN is averaging 1,507,000 viewers, including 349,000 viewers in the 18-49 age group. The numbers are up 21 percent and 37 percent, respectively, from TNT’s telecasts of the first two rounds in 2019 and represent the most-viewed first two rounds since 2015.

A few times a month we dish out some of the best deals in golf, specially curated for our readers. This time we thought we’d branch out from the norm and work on a list of things that might help you continue to safely socially distance and stay at home. Some are golf related, some are pandemic inspired. All of them are things golfers (and non-golf regular people) are buying during the pandemic and we’ve gathered them for you here.

The 16 Best Products Golfers Didn’t Know They Need in Quarantine

1. Blue Light Blocking Glasses

Netflix, Gmail, Zoom, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Hulu… our eyes are in digital overload in quarantine. Don’t forget that your eyes are consuming much more than television shows and tweet threads. Block blue light and binge safely fellow bingers.

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2. USB Microphone

Whether it’s Zoom work-from-home meetings or a digital happy hour with friends, make sure you’re coming through loud and clear. Heck, start a podcast while you’re at it. NoPuttsGiven welcomes the competition.

$45.99 

Brooks Koepka is in position to grab another Wanamaker Trophy. Tiger Woods still thinks he has a shot. And there are a few unknowns looking to steal the show on the weekend.

Although Brooks Koepka needed treatment from his trainer to loosen his tight left hip on three occasions, he still shot a 68 on Friday and trails PGA Championship leader Li Haotong by two shots as he looks to win the event a third straight year.

Here are the tee times for the third round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.

His putter betrayed him on the first hole, and it didn't get any better the rest of the way. He did make the cut. And when that's the lone positive, you know it was a long day.

After putting woes led to a 2-over-par 72 in the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday, Tiger Woods heads into the third round 8 shots behind leader Li Haotong and in a tie for 44th place.

When Rory McIlroy missed his tee shot right of Harding Park’s third green, the usual army of volunteers and three-deep crowds was not there to direct him to the ball.  After his group that included Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas had hit their approaches, the marshals on hand headed to the green’s right side. It was down deep.

According to Kama Yechoor, a volunteer who had finished his shift and was watching the group, those on hand were looking for the ball in an area pin-high right. Turns out, Rory had not flown nearly that far and the ball was sitting well down somewhere beside the fronting greenside bunker.

Jane Crafter, a former LPGA great and longtime commentator working ESPN’s Featured Group coverage, approached the scene to assess the tee shots and was going to help the search.  Everyone this week is a marshal without spectators. No one wants to see a player lose a ball. Even though the bluegrass roughs were topped off at 3.5 inches, the tall stuff is already a stout five inches in shaded areas.

“I didn’t see it, but I felt it,” Crafter said. She stepped on McIlroy’s ball as she approached.

When McIlroy and caddie Harry Diamond arrived, Crafter was told what had happened, according to Yechoor. He called for a ruling.

Lydia Ko, the former No. 1 player in women's golf who hasn't won in her past 44 events, shot a 6-under 65 on Friday to take a one-shot lead at the Marathon Classic.

Gabriela Ruffels rallied from a slow start in two more matches Friday, won them both and advanced to the quarterfinals in her bid to win back-to-back in the U.S. Women's Amateur.

The Rose Ladies Series Grand Final was suspended on Friday when a wildfire broke out at Chobham Common in Surrey, England and spread towards the Wentworth club.

Andy Sullivan carded a blistering 28 on the back nine to sit at the top of a leaderboard filled with home favourites after the second round of the English Championship on Friday.

Cameron Tringale has been disqualified from the PGA Championship after signing an incorrect scorecard following his second round on Friday.