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John Deere Classic: Davis Thompson’s attractive fits lead best dressed john,deere,classic,davis,thompson,s,attractive,fits,lead,best,dressed,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-opinions

On: July 8, 2024 By: admin

Golf fashion continues to be one of the major discussions of the 2024 PGA Tour season. The players brought it at the John Deere Classic.

That said, fashion is a subjective topic with no right answer.

Not everyone likes risks and prefers traditional outfits, but there are ways to be trendy and traditional. This week saw a mixture of those two things as the young guys control the best-dressed list.

Only one of the veterans made the list. The young guys continue to show how versatile golf fashion can be.

Let’s break down the five best-dressed players from the John Deere Classic.

5. Ben Griffin

Ben Griffin’s different-colored pants put him on the list this week. The blue pants and white shirt were trendy but not too loud on Sunday. Griffin’s Lord Abbett logo matched his pants, and that is the attention to detail we love to see. He also wore pink pants earlier in the week, which were fabulous.

A bright pair of pants with a neutral top is on trend and something anyone can pull off.

Rating: 8/10

4. Michael Thorbjornsen

John Deere Classic, Michael Thorbjornsen, Davis Thompson

PGA Tour rookie Michael Thorbjornsen had four days of solid outfits. His computer glitch polo with the gray pants on Sunday was a favorite. His green moment earlier in the week was also lovely. Adidas continues to put their younger players in these fun outfits, and boy, are they pulling them off.

Thorbjornsen looks cool without trying too hard, and I like the different gray for his hat. It works and does not clash.

Rating: 8.5/10

3. Jordan Speith

John Deere Classic, Jordan Spieth, Davis Thompson

Jordan Spieth finally made the best-dressed list for this green-and-black moment. He won the John Deere Classic in a green polo, and this outfit feels like a reimagination. The small pattern makes it trendy but different. Spieth’s Sunday outfit looked good as well. Even when he wore orange, it was a better choice than the former Texas Longhorn has worn in recent weeks.

He is the only PGA Tour veteran to make the best-dressed list as the youngsters show off. However, I’ll give it to Spieth — his outfits for the John Deere Classic were probably the best he has looked all season.

Rating: 9/10

2. Luke Clanton (a)

John Deere Classic, Luke Clanton, Davis Thompson

Luke Clanton, a rising junior at Florida State University, brought the vibes to Illinois. His pink, black and white polo looked incredible, especially with the black hat. Clanton’s all-black look for Sunday was also sharp.

He may still be in college, but the 20-year-old knows how to dress.

Rating: 9.5/10

1. Davis Thompson

Davis Thompson’s first PGA Tour victory saw him run away with it to win by four shots. He was red hot on the golf course and stayed in his world. The former Georgia Bulldog could not be phased. His fashion choices this week were more on the traditional side, as Nike tends to lean toward, but there were still moments that pushed him to the top spot.

The pants from Saturday’s round were blue-gray. They looked almost baby blue in some lighting, while they were grayer at other times. The black on that light pant looked so good, especially when the blue tones popped. It was a memorable outfit because those pants are not generally paired with an all-black shirt. However, it works.

Thompson is among the only Nike athletes who look good in the confetti shirt. He wore the blue one on Sunday, which looked fantastic on his skin tone.

It was a solid week for the 25-year-old on the course and with his fashion choices.

Rating: 10/10

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

John Deere Classic prize money payout: How much Davis Thompson, field made john,deere,classic,prize,money,payout,how,much,davis,thompson,field,made,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour

On: July 7, 2024 By: admin

Davis Thompson became the 24th first-time PGA Tour winner at the John Deere Classic. He finished at 28-under to set the 72-hole scoring record at TPC Deere Run.

The past two events saw him finish T9 at the U.S. Open and T2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He shot a final-round 7-under 64 to win by four shots over C.T. Pan, Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur standout Luke Clanton.

Thompson came into Sunday with a two-shot lead. From his opening tee shot, the former Georgia Bulldog pressed down the accelerator and went nuclear. He made five birdies in his first six holes and over 120 feet of putts.

The 25-year-old put on a clinic as he gained +18 shots on the field in strokes gained total.

With an $8 million purse, Thompson took home $1,440,000 and earned 500 FedEx Cup points. He moved from No. 51 to No. 22 in the FedEx Cup playoff standings.

Pan and Thorbjornsen each took home $712,000. Since Clanton is an amateur, he did not earn anything. Hayden Springer, or Mr. 59, finished T7 and went home with $252,500.

Let’s break down the rest of the field to see how much each player made at the John Deere Classic.

2024 John Deere Classic Prize Money Payout

1: Davis Thompson: $1,440,000
T2: Michael Thorbjornsen: $712,000
T2: Luke Clanton (a): $0
T2: C.T. Pan: $712,000
T5: Ben Griffin: $360,000
T5: Carson Young: $360,000
T7: Andrew Novak: $252,500
T7: Denny McCarthy: $252,500
T7: Hayden Springer: $252,500
T7: Eric Cole: $252,500
T7: Aaron Rai: $252,500
T12: Brendon Todd: $171,600
T12: Sungjae Im: $171,600
T12: Chan Kim: $171,600
T12: Harry Hall: $171,600
T12: Sami Valimaki: $171,600
17: Seamus Power: $138,000
T18: Ben Silverman: $126,000
T18: Keith Mitchell: $126,000
T20: Mac Meissner: $106,000
T20: Kevin Yu: $106,000
T20: Jhonattan Vegas: $106,000
T23: Jason Day: $83,600
T23: Lucas Glover: $83,600
T23: J.J. Spaun: $83,600
T26: Zach Johnson: $64,200
T26: Max Greyserman: $64,200
T26: Jordan Spieth: $64,200
T26: Rico Hoey: $64,200
T30: Pierceson Coody: $56,000
T30: J.T. Poston: $56,000
T32: Mark Hubbard: $51,200
T32: Chesson Hadley: $51,200
T34: Brice Garnett: $39,200
T34: Doug Ghim: $39,200
T34: Sam Ryder: $39,200
T34: Hayden Buckley: $39,200
T34: S.H. Kim: $39,200
T34: Patrick Rodgers: $39,200
T34: Sam Stevens: $39,200
T34: Robby Shelton: $39,200
T34: Adam Svensson: $39,200
T34: Joshua Creel: $39,200
T44: Chandler Phillips: $29,200
T44: Trace Crowe: $29,200
T46: Kevin Dougherty: $23,280
T46: Joel Dahmen: $23,280
T46: Zac Blair: $23,280
T46: Kevin Streelman: $23,280
T46: Adrien Dumont de Chassart: $23,280
T46: Ben Taylor: $23,280
T52: Ben Kohles: $18,925
T52: Dylan Frittelli: $18,925
T52: Nico Echavarria: $18,925
T52: Blaine Hale, Jr.: $18,925
T52: Bill Haas: $18,925
T52: Stewart Cink: $18,925
T52: Jake Knapp: $18,925
T52: Ryo Hisatsune: $18,925
T52: James Hahn: $18,925
T61: Kevin Chappell: $17,195
T61: Thorbjorn Oleson: $17,195
T61: Kyle Westmoreland: $17,195
T61: Henrik Norlander: $17,195
T61: Sepp Straka: $17,195
T61: Roger Sloan: $17,195
T61: Bud Cauley: $17,195
T61: David Lipsky: $17,195
T61: Austin Smotherman: $17,195
T61: Scott Gutschewski: $17,195
T61: Beau Hossler: $17,195
72: Wilson Furr: $16,240
T73: Justin Suh: $16,000
T73: Justin Lower: $16,000
T75: Ryan Palmer: $15,680
T75: Matt NeSmith: $15,680
77: Lee Hodges: $15,440

Lewis Hamilton finally reaches the top step again with victory at the British Grand Prix lewis,hamilton,finally,reaches,the,top,step,again,with,victory,at,the,british,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

On: July 7, 2024 By: admin

It came home.

Sure England is still alive in the Euros, after a victory over Switzerland on penalties Saturday that advanced the Three Lions into the semi-finals where they will face The Netherlands on Wednesday. But something else came home on English soil Sunday.

As Lewis Hamilton finally climbed back to the top step of a Formula 1 podium, doing so at the British Grand Prix.

The last time Hamilton reached the top step? That came at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on the fifth of December, 2021. Much has changed since then, starting with the fact that a week later Max Verstappen beat Hamilton to the checkered flag at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — in controversial fashion many will be quick to point out — to capture his first F1 Drivers’ Championship. But this victory has been a long time coming for Hamilton.

But it finally came.

As the teams battled challenging weather conditions, which included two different spurts of rain at Silverstone, the second lasting longer and creating slicker conditions on the track, Hamilton and Mercedes made a series of impressive strategy calls. The second was when the team made the decision to pit one lap earlier than race leader Lando Norris, bolting on a set of soft tires to last the seven-time champion to the checkered flag. Norris came in for his own set of softs on the following lap but was left helpless as Hamilton rocketed by him as he lumbered out of the McLaren pit box.

That set up a fascinating finish, with Hamilton ahead of Norris and the ever-dangerous Max Verstappen on the prowl behind the British duo in third place. For a moment it looked as if it would be Verstappen who would come out with the win, as Red Bull made the decision to bolt on a set of hard tires and those seemed to be working better for Verstappen than the softs were for Hamilton, and Norris. On Lap 48 Verstappen wound by Norris, advancing into second place with just Hamilton in front of him.

But Hamilton had a three-second gap over his rival, and with just a handful of laps remaining the Mercedes driver had the advantage, and one hand on the Royal Automobile Club Trophy. Could he hold off his rival, or would Verstappen deny Hamilton his 104th career victory?

The roar of the crowd at Silverstone told the final story.

As Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May waved the checkered flag, it was Hamilton who crossed the line first. Verstappen was able to chip away at Hamilton’s advantage over the last two laps, but he could not get to the rear wing of Hamilton’s W15.

A win years in the making had finally come home and on British soil. Lewis Hamilton had captured the 2024 British Grand Prix.

As Hamilton crossed the line, you could hear the emotion in the driver’s voice has he received the congratulations from his team. He was handed the Union Jack as he reached Becketts Corner on his cooldown lap, and he waved it proudly as he brought his race-winning W15 back to pit lane.

An iconic image, on an iconic day, in what is becoming an iconic F1 season.

Daniel Ricciardo not making any proclamations after frustrating Saturday for VCARB at the British Grand Prix daniel,ricciardo,not,making,any,proclamations,after,frustrating,saturday,for,vcarb,at,the,british,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

On: July 6, 2024 By: admin

A week ago at the Austrian Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo delivered a bold statement despite missing out on the third segment of qualifying. Ricciardo outlined how the RB01 was a “top ten” car despite his elimination in Q2, and he backed up that proclamation with a points finish at Red Bull Ring.

There were no similar proclamations from Ricciardo following Saturday’s qualifying session at the British Grand Prix.

Ricciardo and teammate Yuki Tsunoda were both eliminated in Q2, with Tsunoda set to start 13th in the main event Sunday, and Ricciardo behind him in 15th. To hear the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team driver tell it, he was not “happy” with how things unfolded on Saturday at Silverstone.

“I’m not particularly happy with today’s qualifying; it wasn’t a good session, and this is something we need to figure out,” said Ricciardo. “Both runs in Q2 didn’t go as expected, and we struggled to get the lap in, leading me to do some overtaking in the last corner, which is something I hate when people do it to me.

“I started my last push lap a couple of seconds behind Zhou [Guanyu], and with the dirty air, you’re never going to get a good lap. The last three weekends haven’t been easy, but we found a way to make it work,” added Ricciardo. “Coming into Silverstone with the same struggles has also added to today’s frustrations because we don’t have the luxury to be able to get things wrong. We’ll address all we need during tonight’s debrief and look ahead at the race.”

While Ricciardo was frustrated with how Saturday played out, his teammate was a bit more pleased with the session.

“I’m happy with how we handled today; the team and I worked well together and communicated during qualifying to adapt to the changing weather conditions,” described Tsunoda. “We knew it would be difficult coming into quali because we’ve been lacking pace throughout Free Practice, and it’s a shame we haven’t been able to quite turn it around as much as we would’ve liked to, but the field is tight, and anything can happen.

“We’re struggling with pace in the high-speed corners at this track, which is similar to last week, but we’ll work hard to maximise our performance tomorrow. We had good pace in the wet and we’ll adapt based on the weather conditions and communicate, that’s the key.”

VCARB Technical Director Jody Egginton noted that the team might not have put Ricciardo in the best position during Q2, but that there is potential for the team on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t put Daniel in good enough conditions for his final run in Q2 which got him caught up in a lot of traffic, altering his position for tomorrow,” said Egginton. “We find ourselves slightly back from where we want to be, but laps time deltas to the cars around us are small and the team is pushing hard to extract everything from the car.”

Salvaging something on Sunday could be critical for the team in their fight with Haas in the F1 Constructors’ Championship. VCARB currently sits in sixth place in the standings, 11 points clear of Haas. But with Nico Hülkenberg starting sixth on Sunday Haas has tremendous potential to cut into that lead. If Riccardo and/or Tsunoda can find a way to forge into the points, it would be a massive step for the team.

And it would perhaps ease some of the frustration Ricciardo is feeling this Saturday at Silverstone.

Bernhard Langer says goodbye, gives one more epic driver off the deck bernhard,langer,says,goodbye,gives,one,more,epic,driver,off,the,deck,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-dp-world-tour

On: July 6, 2024 By: admin

Bernhard Langer said farewell to the DP World Tour Friday at the BMW International Open.

He missed the cut after he carded a 71-73 to finish at even par. Golfclub Munchen Eichenried in Munich, Germany, is a track about 45 minutes from where the 66-year-old grew up.

Langer is a two-time Masters champion, won 42 times on the formerly known European Tour and has 46 wins on the Champions Tour. After 52 years, he had one more first to experience — saying goodbye to golf, at least to the DP World Tour.

Things got emotional for him on Friday. He had to fight back tears throughout the 18th hole and while he spoke with the media after his round.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Langer said after his round. “It’s been a dream come true for me, growing up in a village of 800 people where nobody knew what golf was.”

“People had no idea, it was a strange situation. Even when I finished school and I tried to become a golf professional people didn’t even know what that was, it didn’t even exist as a profession in a way. It was very difficult and complicated, but it was my dream. I was able to live that dream for 50 years.”

Langer continued to put into words what his career and the DP World Tour mean to him.

“I have wonderful memories from all over the world, not just in Europe but Asia, Australia, Japan, America, South Africa. I was able to travel the world and meet with kings and queens,” he said. “I played golf with all sorts of people, whether they were successful businessmen or just the average butcher or bricklayer or whatever, it was fun, it was great.”

Once Langer finished, he took off his visor and received quite the cheer from the German faithful. The golf legend hugged Marcel Siem and Martin Kaymer, two fellow Germans, as they followed him.

He gave the crowd a thumbs-up, blew a kiss, and embraced his family and friends. Then he signed his scorecard.

It is a miracle to see him on the golf course after Langer tore his Achilles heel in February. He missed the Masters Tournament in March but returned in three months to play on the 50-and-over tour. The German golfer made his return at the Insperity Invitational at the end of April.

He also attempted to defend his U.S. Senior Open title at Newport Country Club in June. Langer finished T42 at 2-over.

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda hoping to rebound after ‘tricky’ start to British Grand Prix daniel,ricciardo,and,yuki,tsunoda,hoping,to,rebound,after,tricky,start,to,british,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

On: July 5, 2024 By: admin

At the Austrian Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo rebounded from a slow start in the first practice session to ultimately finish ninth in the main event, delivering two hard-earned points for Visa Cash App RB F1 Team and quelling — for the moment at least — rampant rumors about his F1 future.

After a “tricky” Friday at Silverstone, he will need a similar rebound to finish in the points at the British Grand Prix.

Ricciardo finished in P13 during Friday’s first practice session and was at the back of the grid in P19 in FP2. Things were not too much better on the other side of the garage, as teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s spin in FP1 cut his session short with him down in P20. Tsunoda came back for FP2 and improved a bit on his time, posting the 16th-fastest time of the session.

Both drivers are hoping for more on Saturday.

“It was a tricky day,” admitted Ricciardo in the team’s post-practice report. “We found some answers for that trickiness in FP2 due to a few issues on the car in terms of load. It was a bit of a bummer because obviously you still try to do what you can, but it was a bit inconclusive on what our true pace is. In general, we’ll be trying to work on a few weaknesses we’ve seen and getting it better for tomorrow.

“We’ll try to find the course once we look at the data, but I’m confident it’s nothing too weird,” Ricciardo added. “It’s going to be a tough circuit this year, but we should be able to clean that up and be further up the grid than we were today.”

Tsunoda referred to his spin in FP1 as a less than “ideal” way to start the weekend.

“I didn’t have the ideal start to the race weekend with FP1 and lost some valuable track time, but we managed to collect plenty of data in FP2. I think we know where we’re at now,” said Tsunoda. “We didn’t expect to struggle as much as we did in FP2, but there’s more time to come from us and I’m sure we can find a couple more tenths for tomorrow and fight for Q3. It doesn’t seem our car quite suits these track characteristics with the long high-speed corners, but others just seem to be stepping it up. They’re doing a good job, so we’ll continue working and fighting for more.”

VCARB Racing Director Alan Permane echoed the team’s drivers, calling Friday a “challenging” start.

“A challenging day for us, starting with Yuki’s spin, which cost him almost all of the first session. This meant he wasn’t as prepared as he could have been for FP2 and didn’t get the most out of things. He’s generally happy with the car though,” added Permane. Daniel struggled with some instability at the rear and it’s clear we’ve got work to do overnight to find some low-speed performance which is costing lap time. We will have one eye on the weather as rain is forecast for both days over the weekend and we will take this into account with our setup choices. We need to get everything perfect to give our drivers a shot at Q3 tomorrow.”

As with the Austrian Grand Prix, Friday brought even more wild rumors on the Ricciardo front. While Red Bull Ring was abuzz with talk that Ricciardo could be facing the drop at VCARB, Friday’s rumors included a wild swing in the opposite direction, with speculation that the recent run of poor form from Sergio Pérez — and Ricciardo’s upward trend in recent weeks — could open the door to a swap between the drivers.

German outlet Auto Motor und Sport reported on Friday that performance clauses in Pérez’s and Ricciardo’s contracts could make such a swap possible next season. Reportedly, Red Bull is hoping to see improvement from Pérez in Budapest and Spa.

As is often the case, Dr. Helmut Marko fanned the flames even more, telling Auto Moto und Sport “[w]e’ll know more by the summer break,” while not dismissing the reports.

Tricky, indeed.

Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton F1 movie now has an official title brad,pitt,lewis,hamilton,f,movie,now,has,an,official,title,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

On: July 5, 2024 By: admin

Ahead of the British Grand Prix it was announced that the upcoming feature film focused on the world of Formula 1 starring Brad Pitt and produced in part by Lewis Hamilton now has an official title.

And it gets straight to the point.

F1 is that title, and the feature film will be released worldwide on June 25, 2025 and two days later in the United States. The film stars Pitt as a veteran driver for APXGP, a fictional team on the F1 grid. Damson Idris stars as Pitt’s teammate at APXGP:

Filming is still ongoing for the movie, with scenes being shot at this weekend’s British Grand Prix at the historic Silverstone circuit. During the 2023 F1 season scenes were filmed at a number of grands prix, including footage shot at Silverstone, Hungaroring, Spa Francorchamps, Circuit Zandvoort, Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

During the 2024 F1 season, scenes for F1 have been — or will be — shot at Suzuka Circuit, Silverstone, Hungaroring, Spa Francorchamps, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Mexico City, Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and again at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

It was also announced on Friday that ahead of Sunday’s British Grand Prix a teaser trailer for the film will be released.

Last season filming occurred during the British Grand Prix, with Pitt and Idris even participating in drivers’ meetings. Hamilton was asked a number of questions about the film during the FIA Press Conference, and talked about the cooperation from the sport, as well as the efforts made by the filmmakers to deliver an “authentic” experience.

“Yeah, I’ve been really incredibly grateful to [Formula 1]. I don’t know if this would have been possible 10 plus years ago, when the old management was in place. They wouldn’t have perhaps seen this as an important step in terms of the sport’s growth,” said Hamilton a year ago. “But we’ve already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show and I think this will take it to new heights beyond that. So yeah, I think there’s so many people around the world, as you’ve seen already, that are so excited about this sport, wanting to learn more. And the fact that we will have all the original characters that are actually on the grid, and then Brad, is pretty cool.

“I’m pretty certain, I mean, our cameras are a lot better than what you’re seeing when you’re watching TV. I’ve seen all the footage of the camera positions. I’ve spent time with Joe, trying to make sure we’ve got the best camera positions and the frame rate is different, it’s going to look fast. I think it’s going to look faster than it does on TV. Because I think it’s something to do with the frame rate that we have to have. But Joe is an incredible director, and I think you’re going to see him really… You’ve already seen what he’s done with fighter jets, what is what he did with [Top Gun:] Maverick. So just think about what he’s done with that in terms of the dogfights you saw from those jets, which was pretty epic. And bringing that technology and that viewpoint into our world,

“I think it’s going to be amazing.”

And now we know the title.

TaylorMade and other brands give fans amazing patriotic golf equipment taylormade,and,other,brands,give,fans,amazing,patriotic,golf,equipment,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour

On: July 3, 2024 By: admin

July 4th week is here, and the golf brands brought the heat with the Red, White and Blue equipment.

TaylorMade, Callaway, PING and Srixon all have some patriotic equipment. From stars and stripes balls to putter and driver head covers, these brands did not miss

Let’s examine each brand to see what kind of American-themed equipment they offer on the market.

TaylorMade is first. The brand debuted its “Frozen Fireworks” headcovers. With red and blue treats on top, they scream summer. The black mallet style really makes the red, white, and blue colors pop.

For the blade putters, the only way to describe the red is American. Both have fireworks on them, which is a fun cover to have in the summer months.

Ignite those celebrations on the greens.

The Frozen Fireworks headcovers feature those tasty treats you eat under the bright lights, and are available exclusively online now.

Shop them and add some patriotic pride to your bag: pic.twitter.com/YOtzH1hoGe

— TaylorMade Golf (@TaylorMadeGolf) June 21, 2024

The brand also released its new Tour Response stripe balls and the TP5 and TP5x balls with the American flag. The Tour Response’s regular stripe is red, white and blue with stars.

TaylorMade’s flag balls have the stars and stripes stamped all over. It is another way to be extra patriotic this summer.

Callaway took a different approach and gave their consumers hot dog balls. The Chrome Tour balls have logos for hot dogs, ketchup, mustard, relish, and onion. These are limited edition packs, but they come with four different sleeves, so all the options are there.

Hot dogs are a summer staple, making Callaway’s choice even better. Who does not like a good hot dog on a summer evening with the works?

PING put together a traditional driver head cover that could work year-round. The red and blue pom pom on the knitted cover is a classic move. Plus, the American flag stamp is a great patriotic option. The blue bottom with the stars and stripes pulls it all together.

It is not too flashy or in your face, but a simple way to be patriotic this summer.

Fourth of July favorites are on display at the PING Shop. Take a closer look at the Patriot Collection to sport the red, white and blue all year long.

— PING GOLF (@PingTour) June 28, 2024

Srixon put out a limited edition Z-Star Diamond golf ball with red, white and blue on it with the stars. It has a clean look and is another easy way to show patriotism.

The golf brands chose to be extra patriotic this year, and while July 4th is already here, these are still a great summer choice.

Which is your favorite Red, White and Blue moment? Let us know!

The Open: Matthew Southgate fights back tears after qualifying the,open,matthew,southgate,fights,back,tears,after,qualifying,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-majors,golf-dp-world-tour,golf-news

On: July 2, 2024 By: admin

Englishman Matthew Southgate has been connected to the Open Championship for decades.

So it is no surprise that he displayed such emotion after qualifying for this year’s Open at Royal Troon, which will mark his sixth appearance in golf’s oldest major. Southgate carded a 6-under 136 over 36 holes at Royal Cinque Ports to take home medalist honors by three shots at the Southeast England qualifier.

“Sorry,” Southgate said, fighting back tears.

“Just reminds me of my Dad. The Open is the absolute best.”

His father, Ian, who sadly passed away in late 2020, loved The Open almost as much as his son. He grew fond of Tom Watson in the 1970s when the American began to dominate links-style golf in earnest. The elder Southgate also held a membership at Carnoustie, where Watson won his first Open in 1975. Ian Southgate knew everyone at the course and had for years, which explains why 10-year-old Matthew watched Jean van de Vedle’s infamous 1999 collapse play out from one of the most renowned places in golf.

“The marshalls called me and my friends over to sit on the Barry Burn bridge,” Southgate told the Global Golf Post at last year’s Open at Royal Liverpool.

“My legs were dangling over the water as I watched everything happen.”

His Open championship memories as a youngster do not end there.

A decade later, when Watson held the 54-hole lead at The Open, the Southgate father-son duo got in their car on Saturday night and drove up to Turnberry. They could not miss the chance to see their favorite player make history.

Alas, Watson fell just short of Stewart Cink in a playoff. But Southgate has gone on to make plenty of Open memories since then.

He first qualified for The Open in 2014 at Royal Liverpool, where he missed the cut. But two years later, he tied for 12th at Royal Troon. Then he tied for sixth at Royal Birkdale, which saw Jordan Spieth win the Claret Jug. He earned an invite back to The Open in 2018—held at Carnoustie—but tied for 67th. At least he made the cut.

But that would be the last Open his father would see him play.

Matthew Southgate, The Open — Matthew Southgate during 2024 Final Qualifying for The Open

Southgate did not qualify for The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019, and then, one year later, the R&A canceled their marquee event because of the pandemic. Southgate also missed out on 2021 and 2022, but he joined the Open radio commentary team for the 150th Open, lending his perspective about what played out at the Old Course.

Funny enough, this year, after qualifying, he joked about his broadcasting experience.

“That’s why I tried so hard over the last five holes; I didn’t want to work it again,” Southgate said, which drew plenty of laughs on The Open radio broadcast.

It’s tears for an emotional Matthew Southgate. This is how much The Open means to him.

Listen to the heartfelt moment as Southgate expresses his passion and determination in his journey.

Catch every interview on FQ Radio. pic.twitter.com/QO2vLrOTU6

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 2, 2024

“No, I can’t wait to see everybody. Troon is a magical golf course.”

Southgate also qualified for The Open last year at Royal Liverpool and played well. He tied for 23rd.

But the Englishman has not been at his best throughout 2024. His best finish came at the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan in April, when he tied for 18th. He has not made a cut on the DP World Tour since then.

“I have had such a tough time the last couple of months, but I played really well today,” Southgate said.

“It has been disaster after disaster, so to finally get something to go right just means everything.”

Now, he will play in The Open at Royal Troon for the second time, the course where Watson won his fourth Claret Jug in 1982. So, perhaps Southgate—like Todd Hamilton and Ben Curtis earlier this Millenium—can continue to play as well as he did in qualifying, shock the world, and win The Open as an ultimate longshot.

Regardless of what happens, his father will smile down upon him with great pride, knowing that his son has already accomplished so much.

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.

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On: July 2, 2024 By: admin

One of the burning questions following the Austrian Grand Prix was whether Max Verstappen and/or Lando Norris would change their racing style following a dramatic late-race collision that ended both drivers’ chances of securing a victory.

According to Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, Verstappen will not be changing a thing.

Speaking with Sky Sports ahead of the British Grand Prix the Red Bull boss backed his driver’s approach while noting that future incidents between Norris and Verstappen should be expected given how both drivers are performing at the moment.

“Certainly, from Max’s side, he’s not going to change,” said Horner.

“There’s an element, I think, of Lando learning how to race Max and they’re discovering that. Inevitably, there is going to be more close racing between the two of them as the cars look so close over the forthcoming races.

“Max is a hard racer – he’s probably one of the hardest racers on the circuit and everybody knows that if you’re going to race against Max, he’s going to give as good as he gets.”

Horner also addressed comments made by McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella immediately after the race. Speaking with Sky Sports F1 analyst Ted Kravitz, Stella outlined how the reluctance of race stewards to intervene in the past — such as during the 2021 season when Verstappen was battling with Lewis Hamilton — led to moments like the incident in Austria.

As you might expect, Horner had a different view.

“He raced incredibly hard in 2021, he’s a tough racer, and he hasn’t really been racing anyone for two years because he’s been out front so much,” Horner said.

“The conflict between the two of them has been building over two, three, four races where they’ve been racing each other closely and hard, and at some point that was always going to spill over – and it did at Turn 3,” began Horner. “He was punished in 2021 if he did something wrong just as Lewis, who he was racing so hard that year, was for things he did wrong.

“I think it’s wrong and unfair to label a driver like that and I’m sure in the heat of the moment it was frustrating for Andrea, but that’s just tough racing. He worked with Michael Schumacher [at Ferrari] for so many years – he of all people should know that.”

During his discussion with Sky Sports, Horner also addressed another burning question following the Austrian Grand Prix: Have Norris and Verstappen discussed the incident?

According to the Red Bull boss, that chat has already happened.

“I understand they’ve spoken already, I don’t think there is any issue,” added Horner.

How the two drivers handle similar battles going forward will be a major storyline throughout the rest of the 2024 campaign. But one thing is clear:

The FIA Press Conference schedules for this weekend’s British Grand Prix — which have yet to be announced — could be fascinating.