19th Hole

Former PGA President delivers verdict on whether he thinks LIV pros will play Ryder Cup

Published

3 years ago

May 25, 2023

Second at the Masters and first at the PGA Championship.

Pretty hard to beat, and surely the player obtaining those results is a gimme for the Ryder Cup in just four months time? Apparently not, as all and sundry give their view on qualification for Team USA.

Brooks Koepka, now a five-time major champion, finds himself in 13th place on the OWGR despite none of his efforts on LIV gaining any ranking points and, futhermore, has moved through to second place in Ryder Cup qualifying lists.

The latest table shows the 33-year-old well behind Scottie Scheffler, but in front of Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young, all of whom making up the current six automatic qualifiers.

Of course, there will be plenty of changes over the next 12 weeks of qualifying, a period that ends with the second Fedex play-off event, the BMW Championship on 20th August. The problem for Koepka supporters (and there are now many more than there were just a few months ago) is that he is unlikely to be able to play that many more points-gaining events than the two remaining majors – US Open in June and The Open Championship a month later.

He is, of course, a major machine. Two wins, one second, and two further top-fives at his home Open, and a top-five and four top-10s at The Open suggest he could pull this one out of the bag. Amazingly, though, he may need to do even better to make the decision for current USA captain, Zach Johnson, and avoid any ‘captain’s pick’, and start another petty argument.

Soon after Brooks Koepka’s historic two-shot victory at Oak Hill on Sunday, viewers witnessed a tense stand-off between Brad Faxon and Brandel Chamblee, each taking a wildly different view on whether the LIV player should be permitted to play at the Marco Simone in September.

Chamblee was widely viewed as having a very aggressive viewpoint, something used by ex-colleague Lisa Cornwell as evidence for her view that, “he’s a bully, plain, and simple.”

Now, Ted Bishop, the ousted 38th chairman of the PGA of America, has tweeted that he felt Ryder Cup players must be members of the organisation he previously ran, or they are ineligible.

To be eligible to participate on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, a player has to be a member of the PGA of America, which elite players obtain through their memberships on the PGA Tour. So, I think if you play on the LIV Tour you aren’t eligible no matter how many majors you win.

— Ted Bishop (@tedbishop38pga) May 24, 2023

Given the same organisation permitted all LIV players to take part in their own major, switching rules for a competition they also run (in conjunction with Ryder Cup Europe) seems bizarre.

If Koepka was left out for political reasons, heading the race for next in would currently be either Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns or Justin Thomas.

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.”