A strange year has just got stranger still. Who would ever thought that Patrick Reed - AKA Captain America, the patriot who refuses to bow to the Ryder Cup’s blue-and-gold brigade — would be considered a pariah on the PGA Tour but welcomed as a hero on the European Tour? The respect he is being accorded at this BMW PGA Championship is well deserved. If Reed, 30, had decided to stay on Stateside - and so follow the lead of every other big-named American and one or two big-named Europeans - then this flagship event would be without a member of the world’s top 10 for the first time since the inauguration of the rankings 34 years ago. But No 9 is here and the Tour are very grateful. Of course, there are plenty in this BMW PGA Championship here on the West Course who have their own opinions about Reed and his sometimes cavalier attitude to the rulebook, which reached a peak at last year’s Hero World Challenge, where he twice moved sand behind his ball in a waste area and then shamelessly denied he was trying to gain an advantage. Yet to a man they were all congratulating him on Wednesday for saving the dignity of a proud, 65-year-old tournament won by the likes of Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and more recently Rory McIlroy. “There is obviously an easy excuse at the moment for people not to travel and get on planes,” Justin Rose said. “Let’s be honest, we are all using it [coronavirus] as an excuse not to do things if we don't have to. So every credit to Patrick for showing up.” Reed ummed and ahhed and missed the official entry deadline, but eventually was convinced by three factors to accept a sponsor’s invite - the Tour, itself, the venue and the Race to Dubai. He leads the latter and is fully committed to lifting the Harry Vardon Trophy in Dubai in December. “It was a tough decision, a long decision, but the European Tour has been good to me - they made me an honorary lifetime member last year [after his 2018 Masters win] - and it wouldn't have felt right not coming over and supporting them at their biggest event of the tear,” he said. “This is something where the entire world is struggling, and to be able to support someone other than just my home in Houston, in Texas, was something that I feel like needed to be done. “Yeah, with the purses and the ranking points that we play for in the States, the easy thing would be to play on the PGA Tour full-time only. But that's not who I am. I see myself as a guy who plays worldwide and always been a dream of mine to win over here, win the Race to Dubai, win the FedEx Cup, win as many majors as I can and just try to collect hardware. “I loved playing here last year [when he finished fourth behind England’s Danny Willett] and even though the course is softer because of the time of year and all the rain, it's still in perfect shape and demands you hit quality shots. I’m confident and expecting big things.”

LPGA Tour victories for British players have been hard to come by in the 21st century, such has been the domination of American and Korean players – and one particular Swedish golfer, of course – on the US circuit. In the 2010s, on Catriona Matthew, Charley Hull and Bronte Law won LPGA events on American […] The post Hall ready to end 23 years of hurt in US majors appeared first on National Club Golfer.

LAS VEGAS – After beginning his professional career by making 22 consecutive cuts – a stretch bettered by only Tiger Woods – (...)

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship marks Popov’s first major since she shocked the golf world in August at the AIG Women’s British Open.

Tony Finau will not participate in this week's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas because he has tested positive for COVID-19, the PGA Tour announced Tuesday ...

The PGA Tour has confirmed that spectators will be allowed to attend next month's Bermuda Championship.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Not until now has that old chestnut meant back-to-back PGA TOUR events. This week it’s the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin, where past Shriners champ Bryson DeChambeau will be the headliner as Vegas resident Kevin Na defends on home turf. Next week, due to some rejiggering amid the coronavirus pandemic, it’s THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK – yep, also in Las Vegas. Although the double-header recalls the back-to-back tournaments at Ohio’s Muirfield Village last July, it is unusual. It’s also fitting, given Vegas’ popularity among TOUR pros as a place to set down roots. Great weather, courses, airports, and no state income tax – what’s not to like? Xander Schauffele says he’ll likely be moving there. Collin Morikawa already calls it home, as do Maverick McNealy, Na, and several other world-class players. RELATED: Inside the Field | Preview the course, storylines “My coach Butch Harmon is out there in Henderson (a 20-minute drive south),” says McNealy, who finished a career-best 68th in the FedExCup last season. “And there's actually an incredible amount of young players that are out there now. They're calling it the Jupiter of the West – lots of PGA TOUR, LPGA, Korn Ferry, Canada, Latin America, high school players, college players. “It's pretty motivating to be out there,” McNealy adds. “Everybody is working hard, and I know there's a lot of people out there trying to get my job, too.” Las Vegas is where Tiger Woods notched the first of his 82 (and counting) TOUR wins in 1996, beating Davis Love III in a playoff. It’s where Chip Beck shot 13-under 59 at the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational at Sunrise Golf Club. It’s the home of UNLV, which has helped hone the skills of future TOUR pros like Adam Scott, Charley Hoffman and Ryan Moore. And, yes, it’s the home base for Harmon, who advised seemingly every No. 1 player for some 30-odd years. No, Vegas isn’t the center of the golf universe, but it’s certainly a major planet. “Yeah, who knows what's in that Vegas water out there,” says Morikawa, who grew up in Southern California and played collegiately for Cal. “I'll keep drinking it.” If you can imagine each victory for Vegas as one of those geysers that goes off periodically at the Bellagio, then last summer was geyser-palooza. It was hard to pick a favorite. Morikawa won the Workday Charity Open in a wild playoff against Justin Thomas at Muirfield Village. Danielle Kang, who dates McNealy, won the LPGA’s first two events back after a break of four-plus months, and finished T5 in a bid for three straight. “That’s Tiger-esque stuff,” Morikawa says. Then it was Morikawa again, driving the 16th green and winning the PGA Championship at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park to cement his status as the game’s hottest new talent. That was pretty Tiger-esque in its own right. But wait! Lost amid the excitement, almost, was fellow Las Vegan David Lipsky’s win at the Korn Ferry Tour’s TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons, July 9-12, the same weekend Morikawa was holding off Thomas at the Workday. “We were texting Saturday night,” Morikawa says, “telling each other, ‘Finish this off, let's not screw anything up and do anything stupid.’ That was pretty cool. “But I think for us as professional golfers,” Morikawa continues, “and what a lot of amateurs don't realize, is where we move and why we move to certain places is to have these games and to compete against other players because that's what keeps us going … to keep things sharp.” Schauffele, who grew up in San Diego, where he played for San Diego State University and still resides, is leaning toward buying a house in Vegas for more personal reasons. He considered Florida, Texas (Dallas) and Arizona (Scottsdale), but Vegas is just a one-hour flight from San Diego. His girlfriend’s parents live there. And the lack of state income tax doesn’t hurt. He is, he says, “strongly considering” a move in the not-too-distant future. California Bay Area transplant McNealy could head up the Chamber of Commerce; so smitten is he with his adopted home, he’s like a human version of the famous sign: Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. “There's two TPCs, TPC Summerlin and TPC Las Vegas,” McNealy says, ticking off the benefits of this glitzy desert destination. “TPC Summerlin hosts the Shriners event every fall. Just an incredible staff and fantastic host for all the professional golfers out in Vegas. “The weather is good but not too good,” he adds, “which is important, because we know what it's like to play in heat, cold, wind, and just about every day is playable but it doesn't mean it's always easy.” Whom does he call for a game when he’s home? Fellow Stanford product Joseph Bramlett, who happens to be his roommate? Morikawa? “All of the above,” he says. “There's always a game out at TPC Summerlin. The people I see out there most are Alex and Danielle Kang, John Oda, Shintaro Ban, Aaron Wise is out there a bunch, even Scott Piercy, Ryan Moore, Kevin Na. There's so many guys. Inbee Park is out there. “Lots of great players, and a lot of people to try and win 10 or 20 bucks off of.” With a rare two-week homestand at the Shriners and CJ CUP, McNealy and company will be playing for a lot more than that, and, pocket aces, they’ll be sleeping in their own beds. Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, indeed.

Mel Reid believes British female golf has never been closer to ending its 23-year major void on US soil after winning her first LPGA Tour title on Sunday night. Reid on Monday arrived at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Philadelphia, having been in tears on the final 18th green at the Shoprite Classic when finally fulfilling her American dream. With Georgia Hall prevailing in Portland two weeks before, this is the first time England has ever toasted winners in back-to-back LPGA tournaments. “There are so many of us playing so well and we should be confident going to Aronimink for the KPMG,” Reid said. “It is a great time for UK female golf.” While Hall and the likes of Charley Hull and Bronte Law broke into the game’s elite in their early 20s with successes on the all-important US circuit, it has taken Reid far longer. The 33-year-old was tipped for big things as a 19-year-old when finishing in the top 20 of the 2007 Women’s Open and, although she has won six titles on the Ladies European Tour, she was unable to succeed on the biggest stage of all. “People have been talking about my talent for a long time and I did never really get anywhere close to where I thought I would be,” she said. “A lot of emphasis goes to the younger players, which I'm 100 per cent with and the older you get in this game you do create a few scars. But I’ve worked my a--- off to get here. “I made a huge sacrifice moving to America, leaving my comfort zone, my friends and my family, and it's paid off. I always wanted to be a world-class athlete, and to get the job done is a huge relief.” Reid has risen to 35th in the world rankings, her highest position since 2011. It was the year after when her mother, Joy, was killed in a car crash. Reid somehow overcame her grief to win the next year, but it understandably held her back. She won her US card two years ago and relocated from Derbyshire. As well as the social media who predicted on Saturday night “she’ll choke as always” - “That was the best thing I could have read,” Reid said - she credited her new mind coach Howard Falco with the “shift in mindset that has changed everything”. “We’ve only been together for seven weeks and it’s been incredible,” she said, explaining how they have focused on her lack of self-worth. “That has been a big issue for me - whether I deserve stuff. It has added up over the years and it’s just created this wall that I have against myself that he’s trying to break down.” Having finished third in the PGA last year, Reid knows she has what it takes. “Carlota [Ciganda, the Spanish pro] has told me that Aronimink is tough and I love that, because I do seem to like a bit of adversity,” Reid said. “Obviously my confidence is very high right now.”

It’s a few weeks later than planned but the European Tour’s flagship event at HQ is finally here. The BMW PGA Championship is comfortably the strongest field of the year so far, with the likes of World No 9 Patrick Reed here among others. Below I’ll go through who I fancy to take the title […] The post BMW PGA Championship preview: TV times and betting tips appeared first on National Club Golfer.