Latest news with #JackNicklaus
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Shane Lowry enjoys tricky Memorial test as he puts himself into early contention
The smile was very much back on Shane Lowry 's face, to the point where he was jesting with Ben Griffin as both players departed the 18th green after each producing strong opening rounds in the $20 million Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. 'Keep it going, things will turn around for you pretty soon,' quipped Lowry to Griffin, the American who came into the event with two wins in his last five outings including a victory in last week's Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. In-form Griffin posted a first round of seven-under-par 65 to assume the clubhouse lead in his bid to keep his winning streak going, but Lowry too manoeuvred his way into contention with a three-under-par 69 that was highlighted by an eagle three on the par 5 where he hit a stunning 272 yards approach shot to inside four feet. Shane Lowry of Ireland lines up a putt on the second green. Photograph: Michael Reaves/Getty Lowry's round featured an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys (both of which came on par 5s) and, for a player with two runners-up finishes on tour this season, to Rory McIlroy in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am and to Sepp Straka in the Truist, the opening round enabled him to eye the potential for a bounce-back win after missing the cut in the US PGA Championship. READ MORE 'You miss a shot and you're going probably going to make bogey. You're going to miss some shots when you're out there playing 18 holes. I missed two fairways on the par 5s and made bogeys on both without hitting it in the water. It's just two horrendous lies and before you know it you're making bogey on what you feel like is an easy hole,' said Lowry, adding: 'There's no holes where you feel like you can get away with one. You need to hit good shots.' For the most part, Lowry did just that in finding 10 of 14 fairways off the tee – albeit paying a heavy priced for finding the rough on the 11th and 15th coming home – while also hitting 15 of 18 greens in regulation. While Lowry could joke with Griffin on finishing the round, he admitted: 'It was good. We bounced off each other, we all played really nicely, and it's nice when you get a good group like that. My 3-under doesn't look that great beside his 7-under, but 3-under is a good score out there on this course, it's pretty difficult.' Griffin finished with three birdies to move into the lead after a round which included an eagle (also on the seventh), seven birdies and two back-to-back bogeys on the 11th and 12th where he found water hazards on each. 'I can't remember the last time I birdied the last three holes of a tournament. I mean, the birdies on 16 and 17, those are some of the hardest holes out here. I stayed aggressive on those holes, attacked, never really was trying to play any sort of conservative shots, was just trying to keep the pedal down, and you got to take advantage of that on days like today where putts are dropping,' said Griffin, who was two clear of Collin Morikawa when he finished.
Newsweek
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Jack Nicklaus Details Ultimate US Open Mic Drop on Arnold Palmer
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. Jack Nicklaus's press conference ahead of the Memorial Tournament was one of the most interesting in the golf world in recent times. It included a bit of everything, from strong opinions on current affairs to historical reminiscences. Naturally, it's nearly impossible to discuss the history of golf without mentioning Arnold Palmer, especially when Nicklaus is the one talking. And that's exactly what happened. The Golden Bear spoke at the Muirfield Village Golf Club about one of the countless times they shared the spotlight. The topic arose when Nicklaus was asked to discuss Oakmont, where he won his first major championship and where the US Open will be held again in two weeks. While discussing that edition of the event, the 18-time major winner shared an incredible anecdote about Palmer: "Arnold was very gracious. He was the favorite. It was his hometown... You'll get a kick out of this," Nicklaus recalled. "I remember him coming over to me. There's a picture of Arnold walking over to me while we were warming up, and he was talking to me, and he said, 'Jack, you know, the purse today from the gate from the playoff goes to the champion, to the winner'. And he says, 'would you like to split it?'" "I said, 'Arnold, that wouldn't be fair to you, I'm just here. I may play well, but it's not fair to you'. I said, 'we should probably just play for it', because I assumed that he would probably win." "And well, of course, I won. I got the gate, $1400. [Laughing.]" Jun 1994: Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer of the USA during the US Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, USA. Jun 1994: Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer of the USA during the US Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, most of the 1962 US Open, it certainly looked as though Arnold Palmer would take the title. In fact, he was the co-leader of the event for the final three rounds, which led to the playoff with Jack Nicklaus. Meanwhile, the Golden Bear remained in contention until challenging for the top spot in the final round. He shot a 72 in the first round to tie for ninth place, then improved to tie for fourth place after shooting a 70 in the second round. On moving day, Nicklaus dropped one spot to T5 after carding a 72 again. The decisive round came next, in which Nicklaus fired a 69 to tie Palmer for first place. According to the rules in effect at the time, the playoff was played over 18 holes the same day of the final round. As expected, the extra round was extremely close, with the outcome literally being decided on the last hole. Nicklaus was leading heading into the 18th hole (1-under), but Palmer (1-over) still had a chance to force extra holes. However, the outcome was decided in the most unexpected way: Nicklaus bogeyed the hole, but Palmer couldn't take advantage of it and carded a double bogey, sealing a three-stroke victory for Nicklaus. Two years later, Palmer got revenge when he defeated Nicklaus by six strokes in the 1964 Masters Tournament. More Golf: LIV Golf Stars' Future a Question amid Lack of Signing Bonus
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Check the yardage book: Muirfield Village for the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament
Check the yardage book: Muirfield Village for the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio – site of this week's Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour – was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened on Memorial Day in 1974. Nicklaus has since completed multiple tweaks to the course and two major renovations. Muirfield Village ranks No. 10 on Golfweek's Best list of modern courses built in or since 1960 in the U.S. It is also the No. 1 private course in Ohio. It has hosted the Memorial since 1976. The course will play to 7,569 yards with a par of 72 for this year's tournament. Thanks to yardage books provided by PuttView – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week. Check out the maps of each hole in the embedded photo gallery.
New York Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
How to watch, odds, schedule for the 2025 Memorial Tournament: Scottie Scheffler favored in Ohio
The PGA Tour tumbles into the Golden Bear's den, with the Memorial Tournament running Thursday through Sunday at Jack Nicklaus' Muirfield Village Golf Club. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler once again arrives at this weekend's invitational as the 2025 points leader. Featured groups and holes will be available on ESPN+. CBS coverage will also be available on Paramount+. This year's tournament comes with a $20 million purse. The 2024 winner's share came out to $4 million, with Scheffler beating out fellow American Collin Morikawa by one stroke. Morikawa is a two-time runner-up at Muirfield Village, also finishing second in 2021. He's one of four players tied for second-best odds at +1600. Advertisement The other three: Justin Thomas (fourth in points), Xander Schauffele (two major wins in 2024) and Patrick Cantlay (Memorial winner in 2019 and 2021). Rory McIlroy is notably out of this weekend's field, skipping competition after completing the career Grand Slam in April. This marks the third PGA Signature Event that he's shelved himself for. The par-72 course is set to start beneath clear skies. 7:50 a.m. – Joe Highsmith, Brandt Snedeker 8 a.m. – Brian Campbell, Harris English 8:10 a.m. – Rickie Fowler, J.J. Spaun 8:20 a.m. – Justin Rose, Daniel Berger 8:30 a.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Tony Finau 8:40 a.m. – Austin Eckroat, Denny McCarthy 8:50 a.m. – Alex Noren, Eric Cole 9 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Adam Hadwin 9:15 a.m. – Cam Davis, Cameron Young 9:25 a.m. – Stephan Jaeger, Christiaan Bezuidenhout 9:35 a.m. – Wyndham Clark, Max Greyserman 9:45 a.m. – Ben Griffin, Shane Lowry 9:55 a.m. – Chris Kirk, Sahith Theegala 10:05 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth 10:15 a.m. – Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Åberg 10:30 a.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa 10:40 a.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Matti Schmid 10:50 a.m. – Bud Cauley, Harry Higgs 11 a.m. – Andrew Novak, Lucas Glover 11:10 a.m. – Ryan Fox, Maverick McNealy 11:20 a.m. – Michael Kim, Ryan Gerard 11:30 a.m. – Min Woo Lee, Sam Stevens 11:45 a.m. – Davis Thompson, Sungjae Im 11:55 a.m. – Matthieu Pavon, Max Homa 12:05 p.m. – Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners 12:15 p.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick, Tom Hoge 12:25 p.m. – Nick Dunlap, Sam Burns 12:35 p.m. – Aaron Rai, Tommy Fleetwood 12:45 p.m. – Brian Harman, Thomas Detry 1 p.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Byeong Hun An 1:10 p.m. – Si Woo Kim, Adam Scott 1:20 p.m. – Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay 1:30 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Sepp Straka 1:40 p.m. – Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley 1:50 p.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Matt Kuchar 2 p.m. – Nick Taylor, Jacob Bridgeman Streaming and betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Scottie Scheffler: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Jack Nicklaus on defending Memorial champ Scottie Scheffler: ‘He plays a lot like I did'
Scottie Scheffler already received a handshake and a trophy from Jack Nicklaus for winning the Memorial last year. Now comes some of the highest praise of all from the tournament host. 'He plays a lot like I did,' Nicklaus said. Nicklaus, whose 18 professional major championships remain the gold standard in golf, said he never went to a tournament thinking it was his to win. Golf required preparation. It was a process of hitting fairways and greens, always improving. 'I have always tried to feel like I was climbing a mountain,' Nicklaus said. Scheffler has shown a lot of that in his three years on top of golf's mountain. He speaks endlessly about being prepared when he stepped onto the first tee, having a plan for every hole and limiting mistakes. It has carried him to 18 titles worldwide, including the PGA Championship two weeks ago for his third major. Scheffler leads the PGA Tour in the statistic that measures tee to green, as he has each of the last two years. 'He hits it left to right, keeps the ball in play, is long when he wants to be long, hits a lot of greens,' Nicklaus said, an assessment of Scheffler that was every bit the way the Golden Bear was in his prime. 'What I like is he does it with ease,' Nicklaus said. 'He never looks like he's frustrated about doing anything. He's very calm about it. It reminds me of the way I played. I tried to be very calm about, never got flustered.' The 50th edition of the Memorial starts Thursday with Scheffler trying to join Tiger Woods as the only repeat winners at Muirfield Village. The field for this US$20-million signature is stacked, as usual, but is missing Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who chose not to play for the first time since 2017. Looming in two weeks is the U.S. Open at Oakmont, reputed to be among the toughest tests in the land. Scheffler made his U.S. Open debut at Oakmont as an amateur in 2016, opened with a 69 and then missed the cut. But that's too far down the road. He's a shot-by-shot, hole-by-hole, week-by-week thinker. He doesn't look back, either, even if he is the defending champion. 'I am focused only on one shot at a time, but you're always positioning yourself on a hole,' Scheffler said. 'I would say it's basically playing one hole at a time. When I step up on the first tee tomorrow, I'm going to remind myself that I'm prepared, I'm ready to play in the tournament. Now it's all about going out and competing.' Muirfield Village is lush as ever, with rain over the past two weeks and a little bit more over the last two days certain to make it long and soft. The winning score under par has been in single digits each of the last two years – Scheffler finished at eight-under 280 to win by one in 2024, Viktor Hovland was seven-under 281 and won in a playoff the year before. 'It is always hard. It does feel like that,' Max Homa said. 'It will be interesting to see the scores the next couple days to measure it because the last few years I've been here, I feel like it's just been incredibly firm, and that's been the test. With such difficult greens, it's been impossible to leave the ball in a good spot at times. 'But this year, the rough feels like a U.S. Open a bit more,' he said. 'I had a couple lies today that you are just trying to get it 70 yards down the fairway.' Scheffler's preparation includes getting some rest. He is in the midst of one of his busier stretches this year. He won in Dallas by eight shots, had one week at home, then won the PGA Championship by five shots and tied for fourth at Colonial the next week. This is his third straight week, and then he has the U.S. Open. 'Rested enough,' Scheffler said. Nicklaus started this tournament in 1976 – he was 36 and would go on to win four more majors before scaling back – and stays active reworking the course, constantly talking to players about what they like and what can get better. 'He wants this golf course to be the best test of golf, and so the last couple years he's just been sitting in player dining basically asking guys what they think of the course,' Scheffler said. 'I think for a man that has the experience he has in the game of golf, for all the stuff he has accomplished, for him to be sitting in dining asking the current guys how he can improve his tournament I think is really cool.' Nicklaus was all about the big tests. He is known as one of the greatest clutch putters of all time, but the Golden Bear never enjoyed tournaments that were decided on putting. Much like Ben Hogan before him, he thought the test should start from the tee box. 'Making putts is all part of the game,' Nicklaus said. 'And as long as it's not a putting contest, that's what I don't like. I was very much about fairways and greens. If you asked Scheffler, I'm sure he's all about fairways and greens. And I've never talked to him about it.' Nicklaus has seen plenty of Scheffler, mainly last year when he won the Memorial.
