19th Hole

Study shows that Phil Mickelson receives more online abuse than any other golfer

Published

3 years ago

Jun 20, 2023

Jason Daniels

A recent study has revealed Phil Mickelson to be the player suffering most online abuse.

Related: Dave Portnoy says he’d ‘fire caddie on the spot’ if they said what Rickie Fowler’s did at US Open

Following the removal of a heckler from last week’s US Open, Ace Odds has revealed the list of golfers receiving the most negative comments on social media, and it seems Lefty is polarizing fans online as well as in real life.

Related: Controversial analyst in bizarre attack on ‘small’ Rickie Fowler

Despite the announcement of an alliance between the Saudi PIF, PGA and DP World tours, it seems as if folk are still taking to online outlets to vent their feelings, with many of the seemingly more popular players also coming up against criticism.

The online betting calculator asked Google Bard to analyze tweets from January 2022 to June 2023, the period when the golf world faced the biggest shake-up in years.

With players defecting from the main tours to LIV, rows between players and the various organizations, arguments over the validity of the OWGR and now the new agreement, golf social media has never been more frantic.

Bard gathered data from social listening tool Tweet Binder, the Twitter API and studies conducted by Talkwalker. Using these methods, Bard was able to determine the sentiment behind tweets sent out mentioning 25 golf players who appeared at the 2023 US Open.

The top 10 is headed by Mickelson, who generates 60% negative sentiment in tweets, while Rickie Fowler is the only non-LIV player in the top four, generating 55% negative sentiment alongside Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau.

Recent PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka joins two-time major champion Dustin Johnson on 45%, the same as Jason Day and Tyrrell Hatton.

Interestingly, Hatton appears as the only Englishman in the top 10, with fellow on-course chatterer Jordan Spieth making it seven American players, at 35% ‘negativity’.

Alongside Spieth sits Shane Lowry, who receives around 20% more negativity than Rory McIlroy (15%), the Northern Irishman joining the likes of world number one Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Colin Morikawa at the bottom of the 25.

Most surprising is perhaps the placing of 2022 Open Championship winner Cameron Smith, who has been one of the most straight-talking LIV competitors. Despite that honesty, he clearly doesn’t rile fans as much as might be thought. He’s down with the 15-percenters.

The study found that the top six LIV golfers at the US Open suffered an average of 46% negative sentiment, compared with an average of just 25% for the 19 highest-ranked PGA Tour players.

With the revelation, we wonder if the new golf regime will implement a similar tool to the organizers of the recent French Open tennis tournament.

Roland Garros revealed they implemented AI to protect players from social media abuse, with world number six, Coco Gauff, saying:

“I think fans would be surprised by some of the things not just you but your family get.”

We haven’t yet heard of anything similar in golf, but if the study is correct, it may not be too long.

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19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”