debut

Bernhard Langer set for last DP World Tour event 50 years after debut bernhard,langer,set,for,last,dp,world,tour,event,years,after,debut,sbnation,com,golf,golf-champions-tour,golf-dp-world-tour,golf-news

On: July 3, 2024 By: admin

Fifty years after his European Tour debut, Bernhard Langer will make his final DP World Tour start this week at the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany.

It will mark his 513th start on the European circuit—the tour where he amassed 42 career titles, second only to the late, great Seve Ballesteros.

“I’ve never said goodbye to anything so far in terms of golf; this is going to be a first experience [for me],” Langer told DP World Tour media officials.

“I have a feeling it’s going to be very emotional.”

The two-time Masters champion grew up 45 minutes from Golfclub München Eichenried, the host course of this week’s tournament. His connections to this area run deeper than that, though. Langer worked as an assistant professional at nearby Munich Golf Club, which helped give him his start.

Langer then went on to win 123 times around the world.

He is a Ryder Cup legend, too, having played on Team Europe 10 times, winning six. Langer also captained the Europeans to a dominant victory at the 2004 Ryder Cup, winning 18.5-to-9.5 on American soil—one of the more impressive wins in Ryder Cup history.

He is, without a doubt, Germany’s most accomplished golfer.

So, in an ode to German golf, the DP World Tour paired Langer with fellow countryman Marcel Siem, who won last week’s Italian Open, and Martin Kaymer, who, like Langer, won a pair of major championships. Kaymer won the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

“It means a great deal just to play in front of the home crowd,” Langer added.

“Hopefully, I can make the cut, but I hear the golf course is a lot longer than it used to be, and that’s a challenge for me.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

PGA Tour: 15-year-old Miles Russell set for more fun in debut pga,tour,year,old,miles,russell,set,for,more,fun,in,debut,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 26, 2024 By: admin

Two months ago, 15-year-old Miles Russell set an incredible record, becoming the youngest player to make a cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event. He eventually finished in a tie for 20th at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, which earned him a spot in next week’s tournament.

He missed the cut despite posting a 4-under par score through 36 holes. But Russell made a lasting impression—so much so that the Rocket Mortgage Classic offered him a sponsor’s exemption to compete in this week’s event at the Detroit Golf Club.

“I was pretty much speechless at the time,” Russell said when he received the call that he would make his PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

“It’s always been a dream to play at the highest level and compete with the best players in the world, and I get to do that this week. I am really looking forward to it.”

Russell has quite a resume. He broke par for the first time at the age of six and then finished second in the Drive, Chip, and Putt finals at Augusta National in 2018 at nine years old.

Since then, Russell has racked up numerous junior titles. He won the Junior PGA Championship last August by seven strokes and then added a Junior Players Championship title at TPC Sawgrass, where he won by three. As such, Russell won the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Player of the Year Award, becoming the youngest player ever to do so—besting Tiger Woods in the process. Speaking of Woods, Russell will join Charlie Woods at next month’s U.S. Junior Amateur, which will also take place in Michigan at Oakland Hills Country Club.

“I don’t know how to describe it other than just a rollercoaster, and it’s just been a rollercoaster of just fun,” Russell said.

“It all happened a little faster than I thought it might, but it’s just what happens when you have good play.”

Russell will undoubtedly continue to have fun this week at Detroit Golf Club, the host of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, regardless of the result. He said he will have to rely on his short game—his strong suit—to get around this tight golf course, but he also noted that staying disciplined will be critical.

“My goal is just to come out here and have fun,” Russell said.

“That’s my main goal: have fun, maybe learn something, and take something to my next event.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

LIV Golf’s Lee Westwood making U.S. Senior Open debut, wants war to end liv,golf,s,lee,westwood,making,u,s,senior,open,debut,wants,war,to,end,sbnation,com,golf,golf-champions-tour,golf-news,liv-golf

On: June 25, 2024 By: admin

Englishman Lee Westwood is fed up with the current schism surrounding professional golf, as the PGA Tour tries to strike a deal with LIV Golf’s beneficiary, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Westwood wants the best players to play side-by-side in every tournament, not just in the majors.

“No matter what the level of golf is, I think if the best players at every level don’t come together and play, there’s only one loser, and that’s the fans watching,” Westwood said Tuesday ahead of his U.S. Senior Open debut.

“We need to somehow figure a way to get the best players playing against each other more often.”

One consequence of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide is that the four majors have become even more prominent. Unlike regular tour events, LIV Golf players can tee it up at The Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship. That means fans get to see the top players compete side-by-side only four times per year.

LIV has also seen success in recent majors, as four of the last eight major champions currently play on the Saudi-backed circuit. Look no further than Bryson DeChambeau, who won the most recent major at Pinehurst No. 2.

“When you look at the U.S. Open two weeks ago or the Masters or the PGA Championship, people are happy to see Bryson [DeChambeau] or Cam [Smith] or Jon Rahm coming and playing in those big events,” Westwood said.

“It’s basically getting all the best players together in one tournament to compete against each other, and that’s what you want at the highest level. You want all the best players there.”

This week’s Senior U.S. Open features two LIV Golf players: Richard Bland, who won last month’s Senior PGA Championship, and Westwood.

Westwood earned a place in this week’s U.S. Senior Open because he has played on a recent Ryder Cup team. He represented Team Europe at Whistling Straits in 2021, earning a single point. The Americans trounced the Europeans that year, 19-to-9.

Less than one year later, Westwood joined LIV Golf, where he has not had much success. Yet, Westwood will tee it up with plenty of confidence at Newport Country Club this week, thanks to his recent performance at LIV Golf Nashville, where he tied for third—the best result of his LIV Golf career.

“I started to swing well, and my whole game was coming together when I played at LIV Houston three weeks ago. Then I went home and did a little bit of work on it. I probably haven’t been working as hard on my game as I would have liked to, but I put in a bit more work in the week off,” Westwood explained.

“Putted well last week. I sharpened my short game up because I’ve been playing more, and my game is in a really good place. Played well on the final day, which was good. I haven’t been finishing tournaments off, so having fun for the last four holes, and finishing that tournament off strongly has given me a lot of confidence going into this week.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

PGA Tour U grad joins Ludvig Åberg, ready for hometown pro debut pga,tour,u,grad,joins,ludvig,berg,ready,for,hometown,pro,debut,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 19, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — New England has another PGA Tour pro and his name is Michael Thorbjornsen.

After finishing atop the PGA Tour University rankings, as Ludvig Åberg did in 2023, Thorbjornsen earned his PGA Tour card for the remainder of the 2024 season and all of 2025. But since he hails from Wellesley, Massachusetts, a suburb west of Boston, the Travelers Championship decided to award Thorbjornsen with a sponsor’s exemption, given that this is the only tour event held in New England.

“This is definitely my home, I would say, on the PGA Tour,” Thorbjornsen said in front of the press Wednesday.

“I obviously made my first PGA Tour start here two years ago as an amateur. Love this place. It’s close to home. Love the golf course. Travelers does an amazing job of hosting the players, the caddies, just incredible hospitality and, yeah, I couldn’t ask for a better start.”

Two years ago, before this tournament evolved into a Signature Event, Thorbjornsen finished in solo fourth, four strokes behind winner Xander Schauffele. The former Stanford Cardinal shot all four rounds in the 60s as he sat toward the top of the leaderboard for most of the weekend. That strong performance came one week after the 2022 U.S. Open, where he missed the cut at The Country Club at Brookline—just miles from where he grew up.

He received another invite last year but unfortunately missed the cut. At least a fellow New Englander, Keegan Bradley, emerged victorious.

Thorbjornsen will make his professional debut this year, as he believes his prior experiences as an amateur have helped him immensely.

“Growing up as a kid you always want to be playing at that top stage, playing on the PGA Tour,” Thorbjornsen added.

“It’s definitely a little overwhelming at times, but… the past couple of years, I’ve been exposed to more and more of this, so it’s not too much of a shock to the system. I guess I’m getting used to it. It’s okay, I really don’t mind it at all.”

But now that Thorbjornsen has a bigger opportunity and will be in the limelight more often, he has a chance to influence other young players from the New England area. He is honored to have that opportunity.

“Just because you’re from the northeast and it snows for more than half of a year, that’s no excuse. Just keep working hard, guys,” Thorbjornsen said when asked if he had a message to younger players from New England.

“I just want to set a good example for these kids and inspire them to be the best golfers and best human beings they could possibly be because that’s what the guys ahead of me did for me as well. So, hopefully, one day in 10 years, we’ll have some of these kids out here playing and beating me and winning this tournament.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

F1 rule change opens door to Andrea Kimi Antonelli debut this season f,rule,change,opens,door,to,andrea,kimi,antonelli,debut,this,season,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 14, 2024 By: admin

This week the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the world’s motorsport governing body, published an update to the International Sporting Code. The update to Appendix L involves international drivers’ licenses as well as Super Licenses.

And the updated regulation might just open the door to a young driver seeing the Formula 1 grid before his 18th birthday.

Ever since Lewis Hamilton announced his shocking move to Ferrari, to be executed at the end of the 2024 season, Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s name has been linked with a seat on the F1 grid, perhaps even to replace Hamilton at Mercedes. Antonelli, who is a member of the Mercedes driver program, is in his first F2 season, having skipped F3 altogether.

He is also just 17 years old.

Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix reports surfaced that a team requested a dispensation for a driver to receive a Super License — required before participating in F1 — for a driver who had not reached the age of 18. Current F1 regulations require a driver to be 18 years old to receive the requisite Super License. This was put into place after Max Verstappen made his F1 debut just days after his 17th birthday.

However, the FIA’s updated International Sporting Code now contains Article 13.1.32, which reads as follows:

“The driver must be at least 18 years old at the start of the event of his first F1 competition. At the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition may be granted a Super Licence at the age of 17 years old.”

Antonelli does not turn 18 until August.

In addition, the previous Article 13.1.2 has been deleted. That Article read that “[t]he driver must be the holder of a valid driving licence when he applies for a Super Licence for the first time.”

Antonelli is Italian, and the legal age for a driving license in Italy is 18.

With this rule change, the door is open for Antonelli to receive a dispensation from the FIA and be granted a Super License before his 18th birthday in August. The only other requirement is that the young driver acquire the necessary 40 points required for a Super License.

Antonelli has already surpassed that threshold, having won the Italian F4 Championship (12 points), the ADAC Formula 4 Championship (12 points), the Formula Regional Middle East Championship (18 points), and the Formule Regional European Championship (25 points). Those 67 points clear the 40-point threshold. Supplement 1 to Appendix L outlines how points are granted for success in various competitions.

Now, just because the rule has been changed does not mean that Antonelli will see the grid this year. When the issue of a dispensation was first raised ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, along with speculation that Williams would replace Logan Sargeant with Antonelli, Team Principal James Vowles brushed those rumors aside.

But now at least, that door is officially open.