Golfing News & Blog Articles

Two more editions to come. Will it be Royal Melbourne or will another venue get the opportunity?

Presidents Cup makes long-term commitment to Melbourne; set to return in 2028 and 2040

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA, USA, and MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – The PGA TOUR today announced a long-term commitment to staging the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, with the biennial global team competition set to return to the iconic Sandbelt in 2028 and 2040. The 2028 Presidents Cup will mark the event’s fourth visit to Melbourne, matching Gainesville (Virginia, USA) for most Cups contested in one city.

The venue for the 2028 Presidents Cup will be announced at a later date. The Presidents Cup was staged at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in its three previous trips to Melbourne (1998, 2011, 2019), with the International Team defeating the U.S. Team in 1998 under the leadership of the late Peter Thomson, while the U.S. Team claimed the Cup in 2011 and 2019.

“Since the Presidents Cup was first staged in Melbourne in 1998, Australia and its passionate fanbase have played a leading role in the growth of the Presidents Cup,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “As the event continues to visit new corners of the globe, we remain committed to a presence in Melbourne and the Sandbelt region, a place our players and fans around the world hold in high regard. Our partnership with State of Victoria and Visit Victoria has been a winning combination, and we’re thrilled with the support we’ve received from Premier Andrews in securing the 2028 and 2040 dates.”

From Richard Goldstein’s NY Times remembrance:

Spork finished second in the 1962 L.P.G.A. Championship but never won on the women’s tour. Her legacy, apart from her role as a pioneer of the women’s pro game, lay in her tutoring countless women, from duffers to fledgling pros, and in creating schools to help would-be teachers pass on her knowledge to their own students.

Spork received the Ellen Griffin Rolex Award, the L.P.G.A.’s highest teaching honor, in 1998. She was inducted into the inaugural class of the L.P.G.A. Teaching and Club Professional Hall of Fame in 2000. She won the 2015 Patty Berg Award for contributions to women’s golf and was named the L.P.G.A. Teacher of the Year in 1959 and 1984.

In 1947, while attending Michigan State Normal College in Ypsilanti outside Ann Arbor, a teachers school now known as Eastern Michigan University, Spork won the first national intercollegiate golf championship for women. She graduated with a degree in physical education two years later.

During the 1950 golf season, she joined with leading women’s players, including Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Patty Berg, Louise Suggs, Betty Jameson and Marilynn Smith, to form the L.P.G.A. But in its early years, prize money was meager, the tournaments received little attention in the sports media, and the players jammed together in autos as they traveled around the country.

Tiger Woods gave early round coverage a boost but a pair of weekend 78’s made him only a small part of CBS’s coverage. Couple that with a three stroke lead by Scheffler, no major stars expected to contend Sunday and lackluster ratings all year, and CBS must be thrilled with these numbers.

They’re also declaring record streaming numbers but there are no numbers released…

CBS SPORTS’ 2022 MASTERS COVERAGE SCORES ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS 

CBS’ Final-Round Presentation Delivers Most-Watched Golf Telecast on Any Network in Three Years 

Paramount+ and CBS Sports Produce Record-Setting Streaming for Golf