
Phil Mickelson gearing up for (final?) bid to complete career Grand Slam
Phil Mickelson gearing up for (final?) bid to complete career Grand Slam
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John Smoltz favors McIlroy, Scheffler over LIV
Ahead of the American Century celebrity golf tournament, baseball hall of famer John Smoltz breaks down the best celebrity golfers and why he favors the PGA over LIV.
Phil Mickelson has won just about everything during his career on the PGA Tour.
Everything except the U.S. Open.
The six-time major champion has finished as the runner-up in his country's national championship six different times, but has never hoisted the trophy.
This year could be his last shot, as his five-year exemption for winning the 2021 PGA expires at the end of this season.
"There's a high likelihood that it will be, but I haven't really thought about it too much," Mickelson said at his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday ahead of this week's LIV Virginia event at the Robert Trent Jones Club in Manassas, Virginia.
Mickelson has missed the cut at the U.S. Open in his last three attempts to complete the career Grand Slam.
Before winning the 2021 PGA, Mickelson had been granted a special exemption, but then didn't need it after his win. He could also participate in 36-hole Final Qualifying.
Asked if he would consider attempting to qualify, Mickelson said, "I don't know. I don't know. I haven't thought that far."
Mickelson said this week's setup at RTJ should provide a good test to see if his game is ready for Oakmont next weekend.
"What I have thought about is how similar this week's course is set up to what we'll see next week. We have greens that are rolling 14 to 15 on the Stimpmeter, just like we will next week. We have contours, undulations, just like we will next week," he said.
"Short game, touch, chipping around the greens, rough, speed, lag drills and speed and touch on the greens, all of that's critical here, same thing as next week. It couldn't be a better spot to get ready."
Contributing: Adam Schupak, Golfweek
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Washington Post
18 minutes ago
- Washington Post
At LIV Virginia, the vibe is different — but the leaders are familiar
Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith strolled up the first fairway at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club early Friday afternoon while AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' thumped through speakers surrounding the No. 1 tee box. Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann followed, receiving raucous applause as 'Luther' by Kendrick Lamar and SZA blared. Cedric the Entertainer and pro wrestler Titus O'Neil made their way through the crowded gallery to catch a glimpse of the first two groups in the opening round at LIV Golf Virginia. The two posed for pictures and high-fived eager fans. The entire scene bucked traditional golf protocol, which is exactly the blueprint for the Saudi-financed circuit attempting to differentiate itself from and compete against the PGA Tour. What's familiar are the names who occupied the higher rungs of the leader board following a weather delay of nearly two hours in Gainesville, Virginia. DeChambeau, for instance, was sharp upon resumption of play, gaining four shots over his first six swings and finishing tied with Martin Kaymer for the lead at 5-under 66. 'It's one of those things, you come back from a rain delay, you usually think you're going to try and slowly get into the flow,' said DeChambeau, the winner of the previous LIV Golf event in South Korea in early May before a month-long break entering this week. 'I came out hot.' Rahm and Phil Mickelson, who turns 55 this month, were among other major championship winners lurking one stroke back in LIV's second stop in the region. The initial visit, named LIV Golf DC, took place at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, in 2023. One year earlier, LIV Golf conducted its inaugural season with just seven events worldwide after having pilfered a handful of marquee players from the PGA Tour. Mickelson, a critic of golf's longtime governing body, was an early advocate for the breakaway league that offered lucrative contracts to lure other major titleholders, notably DeChambeau, the reigning and two-time U.S. Open champion. The USGA, which stages the U.S. Open, this year added an exemption for LIV players, making it the first major championship to do so. Niemann, winner of three events this season, secured that exemption for next week at Oakmont by virtue of being the top player on the tour as of the May 19 cutoff date. The R & A, which operates the British Open, also added a pathway for LIV members to get into the field in the fourth and final major championship of the year at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. The exemption goes to the leading player in the top five not already exempt at the conclusion of the LIV event in Dallas on June 29. Those organizations had declined to offer exemptions in years past because of LIV's tournaments last 54 holes, 18 fewer than on the PGA Tour. LIV also awards points to its 13 teams as well as individuals during its schedule comprising 14 events over six-plus months. Three-round tournaments with shotgun starts, however, have led to LIV players becoming ineligible for inclusion in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), which provides an exemption into the U.S. Open, among other majors, to those inside the top 60 who otherwise would not be eligible by the June 9 cutoff date. Underscoring LIV's nonconformity was what followed when Matthew Wolff withdrew from this tournament after eight holes because of injury. Replacement Ollie Schniederjans joined the field and made birdies on his first two holes, but his scores counted only toward the team total for RangeGoats, captained by Bubba Watson. The two-time Masters champion (2012, '14) stood 2 under and his team was tied for first place with 4Aces when play was suspended at 3:58 p.m. with severe weather moving through the majestic layout along Lake Manassas that most recently hosted last year's Solheim Cup. By the time the horn sounded to resume play, greens that were firm and slick when players teed off in sunny and humid conditions had softened, allowing them to go after pins they otherwise might not have considered taking on aggressively. 'I was able to come out and hit some good shots,' said Mickelson, who began his round at No. 3 and spent part of the delay working with a physical therapist. 'I hit a good shot into 18 and made birdie, so I was able to get my body moving. That's the biggest challenge for me.' DeChambeau immediately took advantage of the more inviting greens as well. One his first stroke following resumption of play, he curled home a 20-foot chip for eagle at the par-5 No. 14, a 615-yard behemoth where Rahm made birdie to join DeChambeau at 3 under and move within a shot of what was then a four-way tie for the lead. DeChambeau went on to make a birdie putt at No. 15 and chipped in for birdie at the par-3 16th to claim the solo lead for the first time. 'You could attack it a little [more], but the greens were still firm,' DeChambeau said. 'It wasn't like it softened it completely. . . . So it impacted a little bit, but it made the chip shot on 14 a lot easier.'


Hamilton Spectator
22 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Vancouver's Richard T. Lee, third on Asian Tour, tied for third at RBC Canadian Open
CALEDON - After Richard T. Lee's first round of the RBC Canadian Open his wife was telling him how on the PGA Tour's app a fireball appears beside a golfer's name on the leaderboard. That small mental image was enough to fuel Lee on Friday, as he fired a 6-under 64 in the tournament's second round to briefly hold a tie for second. He and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., finished the day in a four-way tie for third at 9 under, three shots back of American Cameron Champ. 'I was thinking about that all today, and I was like, 'oh, I want to see a fireball next to my name again,'' said Lee, smiling by the clubhouse at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. 'Luckily, I made four today, and I think there was a fireball.' The 34-year-old Lee was born in Richmond Hill, Ont., but moved to Vancouver when he was just a year old. He has been playing golf on the Asian Tour for most of his professional career and is currently third on its order of merit. Golf Canada often invites the best Canadian golfers from around the world to play in the national men's championship but Lee, until Friday, had never made the cut. That hasn't stopped him from aspiring to play in North America's top men's golf circuit, however. 'It's the PGA Tour,' said Lee, adding that he plans to enter the PGA Tour's qualifying school again. 'Any kid out there wants to play out here and perform the way of all the best players out there.' A group of eight Canadians made the cut at the national men's golf championship on Friday, matching the record previously set in 2023 at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto and again at Hamilton Golf and Country Club last year. Taylor had a 5-under 65 round to share third with Lee. Taylor Pendrith (68) of Richmond Hill, Ont., was tied for 13th at 7 under and Mackenzie Hughes (66) of Dundas, Ont., was tied for 18th at 6 under. Taylor, Pendrith and Hughes were all grouped together for the tournament's first two rounds. 'Today was a perfect day for golf,' said Pendrith. 'It wasn't too windy. I would say the fairways were firming up a little bit. 'The greens were still quite receptive, definitely a little firmer than yesterday.' Adam Hadwin (68) of Abbotsford and Matthew Anderson (65) of Mississauga, Ont., were tied for 30th at 5 under. Anderson, who plays on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour, made the cut at a PGA Tour event for the first time. 'I know I can compete,' said Anderson, who made his PGA Tour debut at the 2024 Canadian Open. 'Last year I felt I was ready, but I just didn't really have the game. 'This year I felt I was ready, and I felt like my game was in a good spot and it was just about going out there and trusting myself.' Corey Conners (66) of Listowel, Ont., was tied for 38th at 4 under and Ben Silverman (69) of Thornhill, Ont., just made the cut at 3 under. Silverman rolled in a nine-foot putt to birdie the par-5 No. 18 to guarantee he'd see the weekend. 'I saw the cut was at 2 under, but it didn't look promising at 80-something guys, so I felt like I had to make it,' said Silverman. 'It's good when you feel like you have to do something like that and you pull it off.' Matthew Scobie of Oshawa, Ont., and Ashton McColloch, an amateur from Kingston, Ont., were just a shot below the 3-under cutline. Hall of Famer Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., A.J. Ewart of Port Coquitlam, B.C., Cougar Collins of Caledon, Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Vancouver's Brett Webster, Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., Calgary's Wes Heffernan, Mark Hoffman of Wasaga Beach, Ont., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., also did not make the cut. Amateurs Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont., and Toronto's Matthew Javier also missed the cut. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025.


Hamilton Spectator
22 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Champ takes two-shot lead at RBC Canadian Open after being eighth alternate last week
CALEDON - Cameron Champ wasn't even supposed to be here today. Champ shot a 4-under 66 to climb atop the leaderboard on Friday at 12-under overall at the RBC Canadian Open for a two-stroke lead over fellow American Andrew Putnam. A week ago, Champ was the eighth alternate for the only PGA Tour event in Canada, but enough golfers withdrew from the tournament that he made the field. 'I definitely didn't think I was getting in, especially as eighth,' Champ told media after leaving the scorers' room at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. 'I know the deadline, some guys will withdraw over the weekend but as eighth, I was like, 'yeah, probably not getting in.' 'Luckily, I actually brought my passport. I don't know why I brought it. I was like 'I'm just going to bring it in case' for whatever reason, not even thinking about the tournament. So it all worked out nicely.' It's been five years since Champ last won on the PGA Tour and he's been bouncing back and forth between the top-flight circuit and the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour this season. 'It's been a grind. It's been a mental battle, that's for sure, going back and forth and having limited starts,' said Champ, who has played in five PGA Tour events this year and eight on the Korn Ferry Tour. 'For me now, it's just more so embracing it. 'Embracing the situation I'm in and just try to take advantage of every opportunity I can.' Putnam shot an 8-under 62, the best round of the day, to take sole possession of second at 10-under overall. Vancouver's Richard T. Lee (64), Nick Taylor (65) of Abbotsford, B.C., Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen (70) and Italy's Victor Perez (65) were tied for third at 9 under. Taylor was grouped with Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont. The all-Canadian trio was easily the most popular pairing on Friday, with fans going wild for each made shot. 'The fans are phenomenal. The ovation on the first hole alone, we had the national anthem, it felt like, almost every tee box,' said Taylor, who had five birdies on the front nine. 'It was fun. The Rink Hole was buzzing. It was a fun day.' Two-time Canadian Open champion Rory McIlroy struggled mightily, dropping an 8-over round to easily miss the cut at 9 over. The par-4 fifth hole was particularly costly, as the No. 2 player in the world scored an eight. McIlroy said his poor showing is a concern ahead of next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Corinth, Texas. 'You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today,' said McIlroy, who has been trying out a new driver after his go-to was disqualified by the USGA at the PGA Championship. 'I came here with a new driver thinking that that was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't. 'Obviously, going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still sort of searching for the missing piece off the tee.' Lee and Taylor headlined a group of eight Canadians who made the cut at the national men's golf championship, matching the record previously set in 2023 at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto and again at Hamilton Golf and Country Club last year. A special air quality advisory was in the area due to wildfires in Manitoba and parts of Ontario. An Air Quality Index of 164 — considered unhealthy — was recorded in the Greater Toronto Area. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025.