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Henrik Stenson would rather have fan-less Ryder Cup than none at all

15 hours ago Golf External News, , , ,

Earlier this week U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker said he expects a decision regarding this year’s matches in the “next two or three weeks.” One player keenly awaiting that decision is Henrik Stenson.

The five-time Ryder Cup player said this week during his podcast, “Almost an Hour presented by Callaway Golf,” that he understands the importance of playing the event with fans but he also recognizes the importance of the matches.


BY Ryan Lavner


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The fate of this year’s Ryder Cup should be determined sometime this month.

“For the atmosphere and for the feeling, for us as players that would be, very blunt, it would be something that you can’t really imagine at this point,” Stenson said. “Then looking at the bigger picture, if that’s the only way that the Ryder Cup can go ahead, and if it’s not an option to play it next year with crowds, with fans, then I would prefer to play a Ryder Cup than to not play a Ryder Cup.”

There’s also the issue of qualifying for this year’s matches. Although the PGA Tour is set to restart its schedule next week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the European Tour remains on hold until late July which could make qualifying for the European team complicated.

“I think we’ve only played roughly about a third of the qualifying tournaments or the available qualifying points, which kind of compromises the European points list,” he said. “You’ve also got the European players who are playing on the PGA Tour. If now the PGA Tour starts up, is it going to be [based on] world ranking, because the world ranking has been frozen? If those points start to accumulate, it’s obviously not fair for those guys who play Colonial that can earn points towards the qualification and guys who are back home in the U.K. cannot.”

Stricker on fan-less Ryder Cup: ‘Would hate for that to happen’

Stricker on fan-less Ryder Cup: 'Would hate for that to happen'

The answer to all of those questions are particularly pressing for Stenson who is currently back home in Sweden and doesn’t plan to compete again until the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in late July.

“We’ll just have to wait and see but I’m certainly keen to get the news on what’s going to happen,” he said.




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Pat Hurst tabs Angela Stanford as U.S. Solheim Cup assistant captain

1 day ago Golf External News, , , , , , , ,


Angela Stanford is a major champion who played on three winning U.S. Solheim Cup teams.

That’s a future captain’s resume.

She is in even stronger position to eventually ascend to the role now.

U.S. Solheim Cup captain Pat Hurst, who will lead the Americans against the Europeans at Inverness in suburban Toledo next year, is making Stanford an assistant captain for the first time. Hurst made the announcement Thursday.

“As soon as Mike Whan asked me to be the USA captain, I knew that I wanted Angela by my side as an assistant captain,” Hurst said. “Her fire, her passion, her determination, her love for the Red, White and Blue, those are all qualities I want on my team. I have no doubt that Angela will be a tremendous asset to the team as we look to win back the cup.”

Stanford’s six LPGA titles include the 2018 Evian Championship.

“My six Solheim Cup teams are among the highlights of my career, and I’m excited to take this next step as an assistant captain,” Stanford said. “I’m really looking forward to being back in the team room, where we’re all after the same goal and we all have the same passion to win the cup. This is an incredible honor and I can’t thank Pat enough for having me on her team.”

Stanford, 42, made her last Solheim Cup appearance memorable, defeating Suzann Pettersen in a pivotal match in the historic American comeback in Germany in 2015. She defeated Pettersen in singles with the United States overcoming a 10-6 deficit going into that final session. The victory seemed larger than the single point it won, because Pettersen was the heart and soul of Europe’s turnaround in a successful run in the series and such a focal point in the contentious nature of the matches that year.

“From start to finish, one of the best rounds I’ve ever played in my life,” Stanford said.  “It’s a memory that’s hard to put into words. I kind of get chills thinking about it.”

Stanford’s individual Solheim Cup record is 4-13-3, but her 2-and-1 victory against Pettersen was a defining one. There’s still the possibility Stanford adds to her playing record. She’s eligible to make the 2021 team, with the possibility she could be a playing assistant captain.

Is she interested in that?

“Pat and I talked about that in our initial phone call,” Stanford said. “I told her I’m in a very good place in my life and my career right now. I’m at peace with a lot of things.

“Ultimately, I just want to be part of Team USA. I don’t know what that’s going to mean in the future. Right now, I know it means I’m an assistant captain and I’m thrilled to have that role … I’m still a professional golfer, and I’m still going to tee it up and try to win golf tournaments. If I make the team, I make the team.”

Stanford and Hurst were teammates on the American team that defeated Europe in Sweden in 2007. They paired for a 4-and-2 foursomes victory over Iben Tinning and Bettina Hauert.

“Pat took me under her wing from the beginning of my career and I’ve learned so much from spending time with her,” said Stanford. “There’s this ease about her, but she’s still so confident and positive. I loved getting to be her playing partner in Sweden and now I’m so excited that she picked me to be her assistant captain in Toledo.”

In those 2015 matches, Hurst was one of captain Juli Inkster’s assistants. In Inkster’s pod system, Hurst led Stanford’s pod.

“Angela and I are pretty similar in a lot of ways,” Hurst said. “We both have passion for the game. We love the red, white and blue, playing for our country.” 




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World ranking to resume as normal with PGA Tour restart

2 days ago Golf External News, , , , , ,


The world ranking, which was frozen in March when play was halted on every tour around the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will restart as normal next week with the resumption of play on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.

Next week’s field at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the first event since The Players Championship was canceled in March, is set to be the best in the event’s history and includes world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, No. 2 Jon Rahm and No. 3 Brooks Koepka. With a projected 72 world-ranking points to the winner, the event is expected to be the strongest field since the 2019 BMW Championship.

With many of the world’s top players going back to work in Ft. Worth, Texas, the resumption of the ranking was anticipated, but the staggered restart of tours around the world has created issues.

The European Tour is scheduled to restart its schedule in late July, which would give PGA Tour-based players a ranking advantage. However, ranking officials said in a statement on Wednesday that the current formula used to calculate the ranking would help mitigate some of those inequities.

“The safeguards in the [ranking] system, alongside the continued recognition of the frozen ranking will help players globally, and the board will continue to monitor developments in these difficult times,” said Peter Dawson, chairman of the ranking board.

Ranking officials also have advised tours and the organizations that run the game’s major championships, to incorporate the ranking through Week 11 – when play was paused – in their qualifying criteria.

The Masters, for example, was rescheduled for November and Augusta National maintained that anyone who was qualified for the tournament in April would remain in the November field.




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Commissioner Jay Monahan wants PGA Tour to be ‘part of the solution’ during social crisis

3 days ago Golf External News, , , , , , , ,

As the nation grapples with the death of an unarmed black man in police custody, the PGA Tour is looking to play a role in the country’s healing.

According to a memo obtained by Golf Channel, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan addressed his staff via email Monday about his organization being “part of the solution.”

The memo was also to be sent out to PGA Tour players on Tuesday, according to a source.

“This past weekend, I – like many of you, I’m sure – spent a lot of time trying to understand and process the civil unrest that has engulfed many cities across the United States, following the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The hardships and injustices that have and continue to impact the African-American community are painful to watch and difficult to comprehend. And as a citizen of this country and a leader of this organization, I must admit that I’m struggling with what my role should be. But I’m not giving up.”


BY Damon Hack


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“I’m thinking out loud and I’m talking to myself, hopeful one moment, helpless the next, wondering if anybody hears me,” writes Damon Hack.

Monahan went on to say that he had engaged in several “emotional” conversations with colleagues and friends in the black community who showed him that “sometimes listening and making a commitment to understand are the only things you can offer, and that’s OK.”

“We might not know exactly what to do right now,” Monahan added, “but we shouldn’t be deterred. We should communicate and learn. We should talk to our family, friends and colleagues in an open and compassionate way. We should grow as individuals and as an organization. And, most importantly, we should demand better.”




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PGA Tour memo says at-home virus testing ‘strongly suggested’ but not mandatory

4 days ago Golf External News, , , , , , , ,

With one week remaining before the PGA Tour returns to competition at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the circuit expanded its health and safety blueprint via a 34-page Participant Resource Guide.

Although much of what’s covered in the guide, which was issued to players on Monday and obtained by GolfChannel.com, has already been announced, the Tour did outline, in great detail, the plan to return to competition, pointing out that “every aspect of tournament operations has been modified.”

What the Tour has called a “layered” testing approach is explained in more detail, and although the policy states that COVID-19 testing is a condition of competition, the at-home test players and caddies take before travelling to a tournament is actually “strongly encouraged,” but not required.

If a player or caddie tests positive for the coronavirus while at a tournament they will receive a stipend from the Tour to cover medical and quarantine costs, but only if they’ve taken the at-home test before travelling and tested negative.


BY Rex Hoggard


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As it searches for a replacement to the John Deere Classic, the PGA Tour is considering holding back-to-back events in Columbus, Ohio.

Players are also required to begin self-screening each day for seven days prior to tournament travel, which for most players began Monday.

“Without a vaccine, we know that we cannot mitigate all risk whether at work or in our daily lives. However, the plan we are implementing is designed to reduce the risk as much as possible,” Tour commissioner Jay Monahan wrote in the forward. “We all look forward to a return to normalcy, and that day will come. In the meantime, we ask that you embrace the necessary measures outlined in this document for the safety of everyone in our PGA Tour family.”

The policy also outlines how testing will be handled when players and caddies arrive in tournament cities. The current plan is to “turnaround” the tests in approximately 24 hours and players will have access to the golf course and practice facility before the test is returned. Players will be issued a wristband or lanyard when a negative test is confirmed that will then allow them access to the locker room and clubhouse.

The guide also provides more clarity on what will happen in the event of a positive test during a tournament. Those who test positive will be quarantined and provided medical care and the Tour will begin a “disinfecting/decontaminating response” as well as contact tracing and “enhanced evaluation of confirmed contacts will be performed by medical personnel.”




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Caroline Masson fears contracting the virus while on the road when LPGA returns

5 days ago Golf External News, , , , , , ,

LPGA pros and caddies will be watching closely when the PGA Tour makes its scheduled return in 12 days.

There’s trepidation within the LPGA ranks with states still under public gathering restrictions and with international travel included early in the tour’s planned restart amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Germany’s Caroline Masson says she is concerned about travel logistics, especially if a player were to contract COVID-19 while away from home.

“There are players and caddies who cannot wait to get back out there despite COVID-19, and there are those who are maybe a little bit scared about traveling,” Masson told the Caddie Network in its “Under the Strap” podcast. “I’m not American, but I live in the United States. It seems easier to travel within the United States than going international.

“There is a chance of getting the virus anywhere, but it’s more, ‘What happens if I get it?’ We know we would have to withdraw from the tournament. We would have to quarantine in that place a couple weeks.”

Masson said the prospect of contracting the disease on the road, especially in a foreign country, creates the scariest scenarios in this planned return to golf.

“I don’t know any doctors there, the hospitals,” she said. “Nobody wants to be in that situation, to be far away from home battling this. That would be my biggest fear, being stuck somewhere with a really bad disease and being really far away from home.

“It’s scary and it’s intimidating, but everybody has to make a decision for themselves.”


BY Randall Mell


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With LPGA tournaments working under a different business model than the richer PGA Tour, the prospect of playing without fans is more daunting to women’s events.

Masson was on the Caddie Network podcast with her fiancé, Jason McDede, who is Nelly Korda’s caddie, and also with Les Luark, Lydia Ko’s caddie.

Masson doesn’t want to see a PGA Tour pro contract the virus, but she’s curious how it would be handled, how players and caddies exposed to the virus will be treated and how it would impact the schedule going forward.

“I’m a little skeptical, to be honest with you,” Masson said of returning with the pandemic still a large issue. “If something goes wrong, if one or two players get it, they are in touch with other players and caddies. It will be interesting to see how it’s handled.”

Masson said she will be watching the PGA Tour’s restart at the Charles Schwab Challenge to see how players and caddies interact, how the flagstick is handled.

“It’s a good way for us at the LPGA to watch and learn, and to really make sure that when we do come back, we have a little bit more knowledge how to do it,” she said.

After making its planned restart in late July at the Marathon Classic in suburban Toledo, Ohio, and then the ShopRite Classic in New Jersey, the LPGA is scheduled to head overseas in August. The Evian Championship in France, the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open and AIG Women’s British Open in Scotland are scheduled in consecutive weeks. There are also fall events scheduled in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

For dozens of LPGA pros, the United States is foreign soil.

“The first few times I get on a plane to go somewhere, yeah, there’s going to be some anxiety,” Luark said. “Obviously, I will take all the precautions I can to protect myself, my family and everybody else, but, yeah, it’s definitely going to be hard.”

LPGA to merge 2020-21 seasons; Meijer LPGA canceled

Ryan Burr reports on the LPGA and Symetra Tour’s decision to merge the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Masson said the LPGA’s decision to merge the 2020 and ’21 season for eligibility and priority ranking purposes gives players options should they be fearful of returning too early.

“At least that frees up players, and, I guess, caddies as well, to say, ‘Look, I’m not ready for this. I’m too scared. I don’t want to go,’” Masson said. “At least, you don’t have the pressure of trying to keep your card.”

McDede believes there’s a lot of motivation for women to return as soon as possible.

“It’s a lot easier for the guys [on the PGA Tour] to say ‘I’m going to stay at home for six, eight months,” he said. “I think on our tour . . . it’s not a multi-million dollar job. So, I think you will see more sponsors have their girls eager to play, just the girls themselves eager to play. Financially, I think they need to play, more than the guys would.”




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