Irish Open at Montgomerie course
The 2013 Irish Open will be staged at Carton House’s Montgomerie course and not the venue’s O’Meara course.
BBC Sport – Golf
Entries Tagged as 'Open'
Senior captures Australian Open
Peter Senior claims the Australian Open title in Sydney at the age of 53, the oldest player to win the tournament.
BBC Sport – Golf
Adam Scott headlines field at Australian Open
The 2012 Australian Open has started at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney. Greg Chalmers is the defending champion, and he'll be grouped with Tom Watson and 19-year-old Australian pro Jake Higginbottom.
Adam Scott, who practiced with a short putter this week (right) but will stay with his usual broomstick model for the official rounds, is paired with Justin Rose and Liang Wen-Chong. Other notables in the field include Kyle Stanley, Geoff Ogilvy and Robert Allenby.
Last year's Australian Open featured no shortage of sideshows. Steve Williams, Scott's caddie, was under fire for a racial insult he had leveled at former boss Tiger Woods the week before in Shanghai. In the tournament itself, John Daly grabbed early headlines when he hit seven consecutive balls in the water during his opening round and walked off the course.
To follow the first round, which began at 6:45 a.m. in Sydney (2:45 p.m. on the East Coast of the U.S.), see the official leaderboard.
(Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Truth & Rumors: Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els absent from Aussie Open due to appearance fees
According to a report by Australian Golf Digest, the absences of Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els from the Australian Open are both a matter of appearance fees.
Tournament promoters believed they had an "arrangement" with the Northern Irishman’s management for the 23-year-old to play the Australian Open in December.
But once the final putt was holed at Kiawah Island, the asking price for the new world No. 1 had escalated dramatically.
His appearance fee was about $ 1 million prior to the US PGA, upon winning a second, but major McIlroy’s asking price was twice that amount.
And that put him out of reach for Australian Open promoters.
It was another slap in the face following negotiations with Ernie Els, whose bounty rose after he won this year’s British Open.
Amongst the 156-player field are World No. 4 Justin Rose, Adam Scott, eight-time major winner Tom Watson, and 14-year-old amateurs Tianlang Guan and Andy Zhang.
Truth & Rumors: Adam Scott will use conventional putter at Australian Open
Adam Scott, one of several professionals impacted by the USGA and R&A's proposed ban on anchored putting, will reportedly use a conventional putter at the Australian Open this weekend for the first time in tournament play since 2011.
According to the Australian PGA, Scott was seen using a traditional putter on the practice green Tuesday.
He employed a claw-style grip with his bottom hand, similar to his technique with the broomstick, but crucially the shaft was not anchored to his midriff.
There was a clear gap of around eight centimetres between the end of the putter handle and his body.
He then took to the course with [Tom] Watson and used his new wand exclusively throughout the round.
Scott, an eight-time PGA Tour winner, appeared on track to win his first major title at the 2012 British Open before he bogeyed the last four holes of the final round and lost to Ernie Els, who was also using an anchored putter.
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(Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Changes planned for Old Course at St. Andrews ahead of ’15 Open
In news that is sure to strike fear into the hearts of golfers everywhere, the R&A is planning changes to the most sacred ground in golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews. The alterations will be made with an eye toward keeping the course challenging in the face of modern equipment and Tour talent. Here's the complete press release outlining the changes:
A number of improvements are being planned to the Old Course to help maintain its challenge for the world’s top golfers ahead of the return of The Open Championship to St Andrews in 2015.
Renowned golf course architect Martin Hawtree was commissioned by St Andrews Links Trust, which manages the Old Course and the other six courses at the Home of Golf, and The R&A Championship Committee, which organises golf’s oldest major championship, to assess potential changes which would enhance the challenge for elite players without unduly affecting club and visiting golfers while remaining true to the special character of the Old Course.
Martin Hawtree’s recommendations have now been agreed by the St Andrews Links Trustees and Links Management Committee and The R&A Championship Committee.
The work is planned to take place in two phases over this winter and next. The first phase involves work on the 2nd, 7th, 11th and 17th holes. The second phase will take place in winter 2013/14 with work on the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th and 15th holes.
The work will widen the Road Bunker on the 17th hole by half a metre at the right hand side and recontour a small portion of the front of the green to enable it to gather more approach shots landing in that area.
A new bunker will be created on the right of the 3rd fairway and another on the left of the 9th fairway 20 yards short of the green. Bunkers will be repositioned closer to the right edge of the 2nd green and the right of the 4th green. A portion of the back left of the 11th green will be lowered to create more hole location options.
Euan Loudon, Chief Executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said, “The Old Course is renowned as one of the great Open venues and its continued prominence on the Open roster is crucially important to the economy and reputation of St Andrews. The Old Course has evolved over time and the Links Trust is delighted to be working with the Championship Committee in order to maintain the challenge of the course for elite tournament players and the thousands of golfers who play here each year.”
Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “We have considered the challenge presented to the world’s top golfers by each of The Open Championship venues and carried out a programme of improvements over the last ten years. While some holes have been lengthened on the Old Course in recent years it has otherwise remained largely unaltered. The Championship Committee felt there was an opportunity to stiffen its defences in some places to ensure it remains as challenging as ever to the professionals. The proposals from Martin Hawtree should place more of a premium on accuracy and ball control while retaining the spirit and character of the Old Course.”
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(Photo: Fred Vuich/SI)