Latest news with #BubbaWatson
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
LIV Golf: Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood among notable names facing potential relegation
For the last four seasons, LIV Golf has served, in part, as the greatest late-career victory lap in sports history. Fortysomething golf legends whose best days came in the late 2000s and early 2010s earned tens of millions for three days' worth of work a dozen or so times a year, regardless of how well they performed. But it's a new era in LIV Golf, and that means the avalanche of cash without conditions is ending. With two individual tournaments remaining, including this weekend's Chicago event, some notable names are right on LIV's cut line … and this year, LIV Golf apparently really, really plans to cut them loose. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] The LIV Golf tour includes 56 players, and at the end of the season, anyone ranked below 48th is 'relegated.' (That's LIV's term, although unlike in, say, English Premier League soccer, there's no lower LIV tour for 'relegated' players.) Relegated players will lose their full-time slot for the 2026 season, though they will have the opportunity to play their way back onto the tour. It all sounds properly meritocratic, unlike the no-cut format of LIV's weekly events. But last year, Bubba Watson and Branden Grace both ended the season below the cut line … and yet somehow managed to stay on rosters for this season. Both are safe this season because of some top-5 finishes, but the fact that they're still in the mix at all given the supposed finality of the 'cut zone' is enough to raise questions. This year, though, there apparently may not be the same wiggle room. Notable players below the cut line include Ian Poulter, Mito Pereira and wild card Anthony Kim, while Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson are ranked 46th and 47th, respectively. The Telegraph reported that players have been informed that there will be no Bubba-esque leniency this year; cut means cut. It's likely no coincidence that this hard line comes as LIV Golf is reapplying for Official World Golf Ranking points. The intractability of LIV's player movement — if there's no cut and no chance of losing your playing slot, there's no risk — was a key reason for the OWGR's rejection of LIV's prior application for ranking points. The OWGR provides a pathway for players to play their way into the majors; LIV players have no such pathway on the LIV tour. (LIV Golf did not answer Yahoo Sports inquiries about the new cut-line stance or its relationship to the OWGR application, but provided a breakdown of players at risk.) Poulter and several other notable names are believed to be in the final year of their initial LIV contracts, which apparently paid them tens of millions of dollars — LIV does not disclose contract specifics — and have made several million more in tournament purses since joining the league in 2022. If they are cut from LIV, Poulter, Stenson, Westwood and others could potentially return to play on the DP World Tour, providing they pay the fines — some in the million-dollar range — that the tour has levied on them. That might be the only way that the European notables, once locks for the Ryder Cup captaincy slot, could work their way back into establishment golf's good graces.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Ian Poulter facing LIV Golf relegation
Ian Poulter is in danger of imminent relegation from LIV Golf, after the league issued a stark warning that, this time, there will be no safety net for those who finish in the bottom places – regardless if they are a team captain or not. The rebel circuit's individual campaign ends on August 17 and anyone coming outside the top 48 in the points standings will lose their card for 2026. Poulter therefore has this week's event in Chicago and next week in Indianapolis to save his position. This is a departure from last year, when Bubba Watson, despite finishing 53rd, was allowed to return for this year. This was after making 'a business case' to be retained on the Range Goats, the team of which he is skipper. Branden Grace was also given a stay of execution. That scenario was widely criticised and held up as one of the reasons why the Saudi-funded league should not be awarded official status with the Official World Golf Rankings. However, since Scott O'Neil replaced Greg Norman as chief executive in January, LIV has resubmitted its application to join OWGR and thus give its golfers greater access to the majors at the same time as affording the four-year-old project more credibility. This stricter stance can surely be viewed as LIV creating the jeopardy and player churn to show the OGWR that it meets its competitive criteria. Any hopes among those languishing in the standings that LIV would be as lax in applying its relegation rules were left disappointed by a recent missive from the executive that spelt out the urgency of the situation. Relegation means relegation this year and there will be no leeway. Poulter is 51st and should he fail to escape the drop-zone, the 49-year-old will need either to top the International Series – although he is not even in the top 100 in the rankings of that Asian Tour mini-circuit – or come through the LIV Golf promotions tournament in December, where only the winner from a shoot-out featuring over 100 golfers will win a LIV place. What next for Poulter? It is believed that Poulter's contract is up as soon as the LIV season concludes on August 24 in Michigan with the Grand Team Finals and the question would then be where next for the veteran? As a co-captain of the Majesticks team, he could clearly move into a mentoring or administrative role for the struggling outfit. It has been a terrible season for both Poulter and the Majesticks as a whole. Points are only awarded for those coming in the top 24 of each of the 54-man tournaments and after 11 events, the former world No 5 has only troubled the scorers on one occasion, with a tie for 13th in South Korea in May. The Majesticks are one off the bottom in the 13-team league table and Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood are also in peril of falling out. Stenson is 47th and Westwood is 46th and it is entirely feasible that when it comes to next week, the Majesticks team-mates are battling against each either for their own LIV survival. If circumstances demand, an intriguing return to the DP World Tour is possible for the trio. They resigned their membership two years ago as part of a group of the rebel players who lost an appeal against the Tour – with a London hearing adjudicating that Wentworth headquarters was within its rights to issue fines and suspension – but they are only required to pay the outstanding fines to reclaim playing privileges on the circuit where they established themselves. 'I can go back to the DP World Tour, you know,' Westwood told Telegraph Sport last month. 'LIV would pay my fines, which are ridiculously about £900,000 and I still have several exemptions to play on that circuit. LIV would already have paid my fines if I'd asked, but I didn't do it out of principle. It's a daft amount anyway.' Poulter and Stenson would also have status to appear on the Tour and a comeback for any of them would cause a huge splash in the locker room. They were some of the highest profile departures when LIV was formed in 2022 and they were paid in the region of £20m each to jump ship. Sympathy might be in short supply as Stenson who was Ryder Cup captain when he defected – has since earned a further £10.8m, Westwood £8m and Poulter £7.6m. However, with the Tour conspicuously lacking big names at the moment, the sponsors would no doubt welcome any reconciliations.
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The streaming numbers are out for 'Happy Gilmore 2' and that's what we call a hole-in-one
The reviews on "Happy Gilmore 2" are mixed. The results are not. The sequel to Adam Sandler's 1996 comedy hit Netflix on July 25 and the numbers don't lie. According to Variety, 46.7 million viewers streamed the movie in just three days — making it the biggest U.S. opening weekend in Netflix history. It also hit a high-water mark for Sandler, who has been a key cog for the platform. The movie brings back Sandler in the lead role. Co-stars Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald are back to reprise their roles as Virginia Venit, a PGA Tour publicist-turned romantic interest for Happy, and cocky pro golfer Shooter McGavin, respectively. The film includes a ton of pro golfers making cameos as well, including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris from the PGA Tour, as well as Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka from LIV Golf. Legends of the game make appearances, too, such as Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and John Daly. When asked, McDonald said he loved meeting many of the players, but one two-time Masters champ stood out. "He's a good man, Bubba Watson. I have known a few of these golf legends and legends-in-training," McDonald said. "But seeing them one-on-one, it's like: 'Oh, my God, that's Rory McIlroy. That's Bryson DeChambeau. That's Scottie Scheffler.' It was mind-blowing for me. And I came in on my days off just to hang out with them." This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 'Happy Gilmore 2' broke Netflix records in its first weekend Solve the daily Crossword
Newsweek
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
LeBron James Calls Bubba Watson 'Ridiculous' But Not For Reason You Think
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. LeBron James is one of the latest to join the long list of stars from other sports who are passionate about golf. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has recently been showing off his swing, receiving no shortage of favorable reviews. Everything seems to indicate that James is not only hitting the links from time to time, but is also following professional golf. Apparently, last weekend he was watching LIV Golf UK, taking into account his reaction to his friend Bubba Watson's performance. The two-time Masters champion finished second at JCB Golf and Country Club, the best result of his LIV Golf career. Enough for "King James" to dedicate a post to the event on his Instagram stories. "You're ridiculous my friend!!" James posted. Bubba Watson's two eagles after two driver off the deck both times left LeBron James impressed. "You're ridiculous my friend," James wrote. — Kit Espina (@KeithEspino22) July 28, 2025 However, it seems that what really motivated James' congratulations were the two spectacular eagles made by Watson on the par-5 10th and 13th holes of the final round. In both cases, the Range Goats GC captain hit driver off the deck on his second shot and ended up holing the putt for a three. "It's not something I practice," Watson said about driving off the deck, according to the transcript of his post-third round press conference. "You don't practice it, right? I just do it. We had 300 plus to the hole on 10, 280 something to the front I think. So wasn't even -- I was just trying to get it over there where I could chip down to the bowl, right?" "I was like, man, that might have hit the downslope, and about that time, 30, 40 seconds later everybody starts cheering and I was like, must have hit the downslope." "Then to get it in the bowl is just I guess luck I'll say it. Then driver off the deck on 13 was a different shot. Like I was trying to fit that in there, but I don't go to the range and practice them. I never practice those until we're playing practice rounds and I need that shot or if I'm playing in a tournament." US golfer Bubba Watson plays a shot from the 4th fairway on the final day of the LIV Golf League event at the JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester, central England, on July 27,... US golfer Bubba Watson plays a shot from the 4th fairway on the final day of the LIV Golf League event at the JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester, central England, on July 27, 2025. | LeBron James speaks onstage during Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 at Javits Center on June 21, 2025 in New York City. More Getty Images/JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP | John Nacion These two eagles were crucial in helping Watson break away from Caleb Surratt and finish solo second, three strokes behind the winner, Joaquin Niemann. Watson added six birdies and four bogeys to his final-round card for a 65. He had carded 66 and 68 in the previous two rounds. The 46-year-old has seen a resurgence in his LIV Golf career this season, with three top-10 finishes. In his previous three seasons, he had only achieved one top-10 finish, at the 2023 Tulsa event (10th). More Golf: LIV Golf Doubles Down, Reportedly To Award Record-Breaking Purses In 2026
Time of India
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
LeBron James gives shoutout to popular golf star Bubba Watson for his great performance at LIV Golf UK
LeBron James, Image via Getty NBA icon LeBron James knows how to make the heads turn even during the ongoing offseason. From his NBA summer season games' appearances to the buzz around his retirement, the Los Angeles Lakers' star clearly defines his larger-than-life aura. Recently, the NBA icon posted about popular golf star Bubba Watson on Instagram, praising his terrific athletic skills. LeBron James posts about talented golf star Bubba Watson on Instagram LeBron James not only enjoys being one of the biggest NBA stars across the globe but also loves playing golf too. His latest social media posts and stories are a testament to his inclination for golf. Recently, the Lakers' star shared a highlight from LIV Golf League on his Instagram. James posted a clip featuring legendary golf star Bubba Watson's brilliant performance at the LIV Golf UK. Watson managed to divert the attention of the NBA icon with four birdies, two eagles, and a clean finish. LeBron James shared the clip with an adorable option for golfing legend Bubba Watson. His Instagram mentioned, "You're ridiculous, my friend.' LeBron James' Instagram story LeBron James generated waves on the internet after he was spotted with Nikola Jokic's agent, Misko Raznatovic, and Maverick Carter in Saint-Tropez. Raznatovic posted the picture with a caption—"The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026!" The cryptic post has turned heads in the NBA world too. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Are You From Iraq? You Might Qualify For AI Courses Artificial Intelligence Course | Search Ad Undo LeBron James motivates himself to walk that extra mile for his good health When it comes to motivating himself, there is no one better than the King himself. LeBron James recently posted a clip of himself on Instagram with a motivational caption for himself. The Los Angeles Lakers' star was seen drenched with sweat, presumably he posted the video after a rigorous exercise. From the time LeBron James wasdrafted into the NBA, he worked hard to construct his permanent spot in the widely loved sport. He has not only helped the Lakers to become one of the most successful teams in the history of NBA, but also become a brand name outside the basketball stadium. Also Read: 'He was on steroids'- Former NBA star makes shocking doping allegations against LeBron James FAQ's 1. Is LeBron James retiring from the NBA? Despite touching the 40s club, LeBron James hasn't confirmed his retirement from the NBA. 2. Are the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James breaking up? LeBron James has already accepted the $52.6 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. This move clearly shows that both the Lakers and James are not breaking ties with each other. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
