News
Where Have You Gone Rory Sabbatini?
It was just a few months ago that Rory Sabbatini put his foot in his mouth claiming Tiger Woods was "as beatable as ever."
Well Rory has found a way to get on Tiger Woods’s last nerve yet again. How’d he do it? By skipping out on the last round of the Target World Challenge citing "personal reasons" at first, a story which his agent has now changed to "shin splints." Sabbatini was in last place going into the final round of the tournament after rounds of 81 and 76, but packed up his locker yesterday. Sabbatini will still collect his $170,000 last place check despite not finishing the tournament. When asked about the situation, Tiger Woods said, "A lot of different things going on, and I’d like to try and get to the bottom of it when I’m done here, and we’ll see what happens." Regardless of what his reasons might have been, Sabbatini’s move was questioned by many players in the field, Mark Calcavecchia said, "I think I could have toughed it out one more round. I don’t think the fans missed him."
Bud Martin, Sabbatini’s agent told the media, "He had shin splints that were bothering him yesterday. He went home overnight and worked on them with his trainer, and they weren’t getting any better. He said he wasn’t going to risk it." Fred Couples in particular was especially critical of Sabbatini. When told about his withdrawal, Couples likened the story to Roger Clemens’s denial of the accusations in the Mitchell Report and said, "He should give [his check] back to the foundation."
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Sabbatini has an uncanny knack for doing or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Looming like a dark cloud over his four PGA Tour victories, Sabbatini’s actions have a rather distasteful history. When the name Sabbatini comes to mind, it is linked to the memory of him storming off the 17th green while Ben Crane had not yet even hit his approach at the 2005 Booze Allen Classic. Despite the harsh criticism he drew from that incident, Rory continued to protest, utilizing his wife who would occasionally don a shirt with "Keep Up" in bold lettering. Sabbatini reasoned the protest saying, "There are some players who could certainly use some help with their pace of play." However, there surely are more tactful and civil ways to express the same message.
Yet, that has never quite been Sabbatini’s style. Earlier this year he ignited a storm of controversy by calling Tiger Woods "the most beatable he’s ever been," at the Wachovia Championship. Woods went on to beat Sabbatini at the Wachovia and again at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. Whether Sabbatini makes these comments out of frustration, or simply to seek a reaction, his antics are increasingly non-professional considering his inability to back up his brash statements.
With the second major of 2026 now behind us, the PGA Tour arrives in Texas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
GolfWRX Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, is on site at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, and he’s already captured several WITBs and a look at some new colorways of just-spotted L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #3
WITB Albums
- Brennan Little (Gary Woodland’s caddy) – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adam Svensson – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Martin Laird – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Lee Hodges – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Aaron Wise – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Dylan Wu – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- AJ Ewart – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- New Graphite Design Tour AD shafts – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters (new colors) – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
Aaron Rai upset the odds to win his first major championship on Sunday at Aronimink, firing a final round of 5-under par to see off his competitors and claim the winner’s check for $3,690,000.
Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley were the best of the chasing pack, with both men sharing runner-up spot which was good enough for each to receive a check for $1,804,000.
With a total prize purse of $20.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship.
Players who missed the PGA Championship cut each received $4,300 each.
1: Aaron Rai, $3,690,000
T2 : Jon Rahm, $1,804,000
T2 : Alex Smalley, $1,804,000
T4: Justin Thomas, $843,866
T4: Ludvig Aberg, $843,866
T4: Matti Schmid, $843,866
T7: Cameron Smith, $637,050
T7: Rory McIlroy, $637,050
T7: Xander Schauffele, $637,050
T10: Kurt Kitayama, $496,707
T10: Chris Gotterup, $496,707
T10: Justin Rose, $496,707
T10: Patrick Reed, $496,707
T14: Matt Fitzpatrick, $364,762
T14: Scottie Scheffler, $364,762
T14: Max Greyserman, $364,762
T14: Ben Griffin, $364,762
T18: Maverick McNealy, $229,128
T18: Jordan Spieth, $229,128
T18: Stephan Jaeger, $229,128
T18: Padraigh Harrington, $229,128
T18: David Puig, $229,128
T18: Harris English, $229,128
T18: Min Woo Lee, $229,128
T18: Joaquin Niemann, $229,128
T26: Nick Taylor, $125,523
T26: Alex Noren, $125,523
T26: Cameron Young, $125,523
T26: Andrew Novak, $125,523
T-26: Daniel Hiller, $125,523
T26: Tom Hoge, $125,523
T26: Sam Burns, $125,523
T26: Hideki Matsuyama, $125,523
T26: Bud Cauley, $125,523
T35: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $78,805
T35: Patrick Cantlay, $78,805
T35: Ryo Hisatsune, $78,805
T35: Daniel Berger, $78,805
T35: Ryan Fox, $78,805
T35: Haotong Li, $78,805
T35: Aldrich Potgieter, $78,805
T35: Si Woo Kim, $78,805
T35: Martin Kaymer, $78,805
T44: Chris Kirk, $53,743
T44: Matt Wallace, $53,743
T44: Shane Lowry, $53,743
T44: Jhonattan Vegas, $53,743
T44: Denny McCarthy, $53,743
T44: Chandler Blachet, $53,743
T44: Taylor Pendrith, $53,743
T44: Dustin Johnson, $53,743
T44: Nicolai Hojgaard, $53,743
T44: Michael Kim, $53,743
T44: Kristoffer Reitan, $53,743
T55: Collin Morikawa, $34,186
T55: Corey Conners, $34,186
T55: Andrew Putnam, $34,186
T55: Brooks Koepka, $34,186
T55: Mikael Lindberg, $34,186
T60: Sami Valimaki, $29,218
T60: Sahith Theegala, $29,218
T60: Rico Hoey, $29,218
T60: Rickie Fowler, $29,218
T60: Brian Harman, $29,218
T65: Casey Jarvis, $26,900
T65: Jason Day, $26,900
T65: Rasmus Hojgaard, $26,900
T65: Keith Mitchell, $26,900
T65: Sam Stevens, $26,900
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Dan
Dec 20, 2007 at 4:49 pm
The (supposed) lion that roryed like a mouse, and as far as I’m concerned he is just that a little mouse, who should give back his unearned cheese to the Tiger Foundation.
Good bye to this bad mouthed, ill mannered, disrespectful, _ _ _ hole !
chris carroll
Dec 20, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I feel that rory needs to grow up because this is a game of ettiquete, sorry if I mispelled that, and the way he acts is rediculous. I also liked it how Tiger stuck it to him at the wachovia after he ran his mouth.
Alan
Dec 19, 2007 at 6:49 pm
I used to like the guy. I thought a “personality-not a clone.” Now I realize he is a clown, not clone. WD without good reason, assuming he doesn’t return the check, well I no longer care for the clown.
Good riddance.
Hal Hintze
Dec 18, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Rory Sabbatini is living proof that in order to attend Q School one need not complete IQ School.
Jason Michaels
Dec 18, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I am speechless… There is no excuse for this.
Hey Bud Martin please ask poor old Rory a question for us!
If he was in 1st place going into the final round do you think he could have toughed it out then?
Rory! this game is not for you…
Dion Keyser
Dec 18, 2007 at 1:19 pm
As a fellow South African I am embarrassed to be associated with him, although he does speak with an American accent these days so if you want you can have him (please)
axel foley
Dec 17, 2007 at 11:09 pm
He’s been a miserable twit all his life, so who is surprised when he disrespects the game of golf and its greatest player by his latest stunt. Hopefully, Nike will weigh its options with one of the few bad apples in golf, and hit him where it hurts most. Golfers, being independent contractors, usually only have themselves to answer to, but the boos that he’ll hear from this early next year (cant wait to see Phoenix) could finally begin showing up on his bottom line. The jerk of the world deserves it
bigwhipper
Dec 17, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Sabbatini = when great talent happens to bad people
B Miller
Dec 17, 2007 at 2:21 pm
There is a Santa Claus after all. It’s not enough for me that Tiger wins: Sabbatini must fail!
Rob
Dec 17, 2007 at 8:47 am
I used to like Sabbatini, but his withdrawal from the Target is inexcusable. I think he should at least donate the paycheque back to the charity.