Spaun smartly gets relief into fairway at Players
J.J. Spaun used the Rules of Golf to his advantage in the final round of The Players Championship, smartly getting himself free relief from not one, but two sprinkler heads, from the rough right back into the fairway.
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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Sights and Sounds from Day 2 of Vikings OTAs
The Minnesota Vikings opened their first set of organized team activities on Tuesday, and there was a lot to take in. On Wednesday, we got to see that everyone from the team had arrived and it meant we got to see a little bit of everything. It speaks to how motivated this Vikings team is after yet another early playoff exit, despite going 14-3 and being one of the best teams in the NFC last year. Advertisement The biggest name that fans and media will see at OTAs includes the long-awaited return of J.J. McCarthy. Following a torn meniscus in the first preseason game of 2024, we had not seen the former Michigan Wolverine since then when he showed everyone what was in store for Vikings fans. Now, there is renewed hope with his return, so getting to see him for the first time in nine months is something special. Here are the sights and sounds from Day 2: This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Sights and Sounds from Day 2 of Minnesota Vikings OTAs
NBC Sports
31-05-2025
- NBC Sports
To lift, clean and place, or not? That is the question at Jack's Place
DUBLIN, Ohio – For the second time in three weeks, Mother Nature and the dynamics of a golf ball's flight have coalesced to create unrest among the game's best and brightest. Mud balls are an issue this week at the Memorial, just as they were earlier this month at the PGA Championship, when world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler railed against a rules decision that allowed chance, not skill, to dictate the outcome. Scheffler's take, which is born from decades of perfecting his craft, was ultimately vindicated when he won his third major championship that Sunday at Quail Hollow Club, which was drenched by rain much like Muirfield Village has been this week. But then Jack's Place is historically one of the PGA Tour's messy and muddiest, which likely makes the decision not to play preferred lies for golf balls in closely mown areas even more curious. Heavy rains throughout the week have left Muirfield Village soaked but perfectly playable if not for the ever-present mud ball. 'A perfect example is the second hole today, Adam [Scott] has hit a perfect tee shot in the left side of the fairway and the whole left side of his ball is caked in mud,' Brandt Snedeker explained. 'He's done everything he should do, he's driven it down the left side of the fairway and has a 9-iron in his hand and has no chance of hitting this green. He's got to play it to the left bunker and pray the mud does what it's supposed to do and, of course, it didn't. That is not equitable and it's one of a thousand times it happened this week.' Snedeker's concern beyond the obvious impact on the competitive integrity of the event was the process the Tour uses to determine when to allow players to lift, clean and place. It's a process that is more art than science. A cold, soaking rain on Day 2 at the Memorial set the stage for cool, clear skies and winds that gusted to 26 mph on Saturday – the perfect recipe for mud balls. 'Two holes that I hit the fairway I did not [have a mud ball], one of them the ball was imbedded and I got to clean it [under the Rules of Golf],' said Maverick McNealy, who hit 11 of 14 fairways on Day 3 on his way to a 69. 'I'm not sure why [officials didn't play preferred lies]. I was just about to ask the officials about it. I don't know why you wouldn't play lift, clean and place today. 'As a consensus, Tour players like to be rewarded for good shots and penalized for bad ones. That's why we don't like mud balls.' At the PGA Championship, it was the PGA of America's venerated setup man Kerry Haigh whose decision to not allow preferred lies was questioned but also not entirely unexpected. As a rule, Haigh is very much old school and rarely allows for preferred lies in the association's championships. This week is different. The PGA Tour's philosophy for playing the ball up is based on the idea of 'extreme mud,' which means the incidents of mud balls must be more than simply isolated and instead widespread throughout the golf course. Depending on who you ask, the line Saturday at Muirfield Village seemed to waiver between the two extremes. 'I mean, we got a lot of mud balls,' said Keegan Bradley, whose 68 moved him into the top 10. 'Pretty much if you hit the fairway, you had some sort of mud ball. Some were worse than others. But, yeah, a good amount.' Anecdotally, Bradley, Snedeker and McNealy would suggest the presence of 'extreme mud balls,' but to be fair the Tour's rules committee debated whether to play the ball 'up' for over an hour both Friday and Saturday morning. It's also worth pointing out that Jack Nicklaus, the legendary host of the Memorial, was not involved in the decision to forgo preferred lies. Players do have a remedy for what some see as a capricious preferred lie policy. As evidenced by this week's player-driven changes to the format at the Tour Championship, player empowerment has fully arrived in professional golf and the membership's voice has never been louder or more important. If the Player Advisory Council and policy board want change it is only a few meetings and a final vote away, but there will be those who caution to be careful what you ask for. A change to the preferred lie policy may be what players want, but it might not be what's best for the game.
Newsweek
29-05-2025
- Newsweek
PGA Tour Brass Defends Rory McIlroy's Choice to Skip The Memorial
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. It is a special week on the PGA Tour. The world's best golfers have descended upon Muirfield Village in Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. Well, most of the world's best are playing. Rory McIlroy turned heads when he decided to skip the tournament for the first time in nine years. Nicklaus acknowledged even he was surprised to hear of McIlroy's decision earlier this week. Although, he made it clear it was his choice to make and he does not hold it against him. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan took it a step further defending the Northern Irishman. "The beauty of our model is that our players have the ability to select their schedule," Monahan said. "What Rory McIlroy has done, I think he's played in this tournament every year since 2017. And you look at the tournaments that he's supported. I don't have any concern, because you look at this on balance over time, his support of our tournaments and our partners is extraordinary." PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 17: Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, congratulates Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland for winning the playoff in the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on the Stadium... PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 17: Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, congratulates Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland for winning the playoff in the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 17, 2025 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) More Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images Indeed, McIlroy has been a mainstay at nearly every significant tournament on tour for more than a decade. In the post-Tiger Woods era of domination, the five-time major champion took up the mantle of being the face of the PGA Tour. That includes initially digging his heels in against LIV Golf upon its emergence in 2022. Earlier this year, McIlroy completed the grand slam, winning the 2025 Masters Tournament in dramatic fashion. Since that time, he has made three starts; namely the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Truist Championship (formerly Wells Fargo) and the PLAYERS Championship. The last of which was his worst performance of the year. He finished tied for 47th after barely making the cut. During the PLAYERS, it was revealed that McIlroy's driver failed USGA random testing. That forced the 36-year-old to switch out heads before teeing off that week. Interestingly, McIlroy then opted not to speak to the media following all four rounds. That alone brought its own set of criticism from fans. Nicklaus, when addressing the topic on Tuesday, said that while he cannot speak for McIlroy, he always felt it prudent to speak to the media. Rory McIlroy is slated to play in next week's RBC Canadian Open. He has always preferred playing the week before a major, and with the U.S. Open at Oakmont on tap in two weeks, maybe that is why he made the decision to sit out The Memorial. More Golf: Scottie Scheffler's Statement on New PGA Tour Championship Format
