Golf Monthly August 2022

I’ve sat down a few times in the past week to write this month’s letter with a view towards talking about the seismic changes underway in the men’s professional game. But each time I’ve put pen to paper to consider the implications of LIV Golf, further developments have altered the dynamic. To avoid being out of date on the topic, I’ll hold fire until all, or at least most of, the cards are on the table. Safe to say this is a time of enormous flux and uncertainty, and it will be fascinating to analyse the geography of top-level golf when the dust settles. More positive news from the last month was the fabulous US Open success of Matt Fitzpatrick, a triumph we cover on page 50. I must confess…

No love for LIV Unlike the four Majors, LIV Golf has no history and will never provide a climax to match Matt Fitzpatrick’s win at the US Open. Phil Mickelson has no comprehension of what people think of him and his Saudi comments. His legacy is decimated. His interviews – and Poulter’s, Westwood’s and Garcia’s – have been toe-curling. Being unwilling to admit that it is all about money should haunt them forever. As for Johnson, Koepka, DeChambeau and Reed, how many Rolls-Royces and mansions do they need? Better if they had donated their earnings to Ukrainian refugees. Poulter, Garcia and Westwood have jeopardised their Ryder Cup involvement and should be banned from the captaincy. I hope fervently that LIV Golf will die the death that it deserves. Austin Musgrave-Brown,…

Fabulous Fitzpatrick claims US Open title Congratulations on winning the US Open. How does that sound? The feeling is out of this world. It is such a cliche, but it’s stuff you dream of as a kid. I could retire a happy man tomorrow. I just really believed it could be the time. Talk us through that bunker shot on the 18th… I’ll be honest, I’ve been really struggling with fairway bunker play this year. But one good thing is the way the lie was, it forced me not to go towards the pin. It kind of forced me to go well left anyway. When I look back, it all happened so fast. Natural ability took over and I just played the shot that was at hand, as if I…

IN THE NEWS In Gee Chun claims third Major after late Lexi Thompson collapse In Gee Chun benefited from the latest Lexi Thompson meltdown to clinch her third Major at the KPMG Women’s PGA. The South Korean took a three-shot lead into the final round at Congressional, but quickly found herself chasing after three bogeys in her first six holes put Thompson out in front. However, Thompson again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory courtesy of four bogeys in a six-hole stretch from the 12th, with greenside fragility scuppering the American’s chances of finally landing a second Major. Her Chevron Championship triumph is now more than eight years ago. A thinned chip and three putts on 16 meant it was honours even heading to 17, where the 27-yearold three-putted…

With talk of competitive integrity all the rage at the minute, we thought it was worth putting this contentious question to our social media followers. As ever, the results were intriguing. The majority of voters clearly think amateurs should receive prize money for a good finish in a professional event, while most of the commenters expressed bemusement that we were even canvassing their opinion – politely, of course. On the one hand, if such an arrangement were in place it would go against the very definition of what it means to be an amateur; on the other, most will have earned their way into that position in some capacity, so why shouldn’t they receive the winnings their on-course play clearly merits? Surely there’s no issue with a non-professional taking home…

SOUND BITES “THERE’S A LOT OF GUYS THAT ARE HYPOCRITES THAT AREN’T TELLING THE TRUTH. I DON’T HAVE ANY ILL WILL FOR ANYONE GOING TO PLAY THE LIV TOUR, I HAVE ILL WILL TOWARDS THE COMMENTS THEY’VE MADE. COMMENTS THAT THE PGA TOUR DOESN’T LISTEN TO US” “I HAVEN’T PLAYED A RYDER CUP OR A PRESIDENTS CUP, BUT CAN’T IMAGINE THERE’S A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT OF DIFFERENCE” “SERGIO FLEW OFF THE HANDLE, SHOUTING: ‘THIS TOUR IS S***, YOU’RE ALL F****D, SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE SAUDI MONEY.’ BOB MACINTYRE WAS THERE AND WAS DISGUSTED” “I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER TALK TO HIM AGAIN” BRIEFS Castle Stuart Golf Links to be renamed Castle Stuart Golf Links in Scotland is to be rebranded ‘Cabot Highlands’ after being bought by Canadian developers…