Latest news with #MemorialHealthChampionship
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Scottish golfer boosts PGA Tour card bid by signing off with career-best 60
Sandy Scott closes with career-best round as Stephen Gallacher and Gemma Dryburgh also shine in US Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rookie Sandy Scott recorded his best finish on the Korn Ferry Tour after signing off with a career-best 60 in the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS in Illinois. The Nairn man bagged 11 birdies, including six on the spin to storm to the turn in 28, as he signed for his sensational closing salvo in tying the course record at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The effort earned Scott a tie for third, finishing just two shots behind winner Austin Smotherman on 23 under par, in the $1 million event after a jump of 19 spots on the last day. Sandy Scott reacts after shooting his 60 in the final round of the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Illinois |Scott's previous best finish on the PGA Tour's feeder circuit had been a tie for seventh in the Astara Chile Classic in March. On the back of this performance, he's up to 41st from 76th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, with compatriot Russell Knox, who finished runner up in an event earlier in year, sitting 27th. The top 20 at the end of the season will secure PGA Tour cards for the 2026 season, meaning Scott has teed up an exciting second half of the campaign. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He became the fourth player to shoot 60 at this event, the most recent having been Jackson Suber in the second round in 2024. Scott's effort, though, was the best final-round score in the tournament's history, beating the previous best by a shot. It was the second Sunday in a row that a Scottish player had signed off with a 60 after Daniel Young carded the same score the previous weekend on the HotelPlanner Tour in France. Stephen Gallacher finished joint-18th on his debut in the US Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs |Elsewhere, Stephen Gallacher secured a top-20 finish on his debut in the US Senior Open, won by his fellow Dunhill Links past champion Padraig Harrington. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Gallacher closed with a two-under-par 68 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs to secure a tie for 18th spot as he finished with a two-over total. Harrington landed his second win in this event as he held off 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink and fast-finishing Spaniard Miguel Jimenez to claim a one-shot victory with an 11-under total. 'It's all about winning,' said Harrington, who has now landed ten over-50s' victories. 'Every time you come back out and you win, the nerves are there, the tension's there, you don't want to mess up. 'But I think winning a US Senior Open or any tournament on the Champions Tour, it kind of validates your career. It validates the past in a lot of ways.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Gemma Dryburgh tees off in the final round of the LPGA's Dow Championship at Midland Country Club in Michigan |On the LPGA Tour, Scottish No 1 Gemma Dryburgh and Australian Cassie Porter secured a tie for sixth spot in the Dow Championship at Midland Country Club in Michigan. The 'Kilted Koalas' signed off with a seven-under-par 63 in the closing better-ball round to finish with a 16-under-par 264 total.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Two Korn Ferry Tour players were DQ'd this week for a simple hand gesture. What happened?
It was a simple gesture, but clearly it was weighing on Cole Hammer's mind. The former University of Texas star, now on the Korn Ferry Tour, was playing in the opening round of this week's Memorial Health Championship in Springfield, Illinois. After hitting a 4-iron on the 232-yard par-3 17th hole, Hammer looked at Nico Torres, the caddie of his playing partner, Nelson Ledesma. When Torres flashed four fingers at Hammer, a clear inquisition of whether he'd used a 4-iron, the 25-year-old Hammer lifted four fingers in response as confirmation. Ledesma and Hammer finished their rounds, but on Friday, Hammer self-reported the incident. It was determined that both players were in violation of Rule 10.2a, which prohibits players from giving or asking for advice from anyone other than their caddie. Hammer and Ledesma were both disqualified from the event. 'Out of instinct, I flashed '4' as well,' Hammer told which reported the story first, about the incident. 'It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, and I didn't think a whole lot about it until after the round.' After the first round of play, Hammer was 1 under while Ledesma was 2 over. A decade ago, at Chambers Bay in Seattle, Cole Hammer had one of the great coming-out parties in golf. Not only did he qualify for the 2015 U.S. Open at age 15, the third youngest to ever to do so, but he shot 77 in the first round and beat Tiger Woods by three strokes that day. With his boyish grin and precocious game, Hammer Time was born. According to Rule 10-2a, during a round a player must not: A similar incident was debated at the 2023 Masters when, on the par-5 15th hole, Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland hit their tee shots to the same general area, but Koepka was away. Video of the hole showed Koepka hit his second and handed his club back Ricky Elliott. As he stuck the club back in the bag and grabbed Koepka's putter, Elliott appeared to say 'five' in the direction of Woodland's caddie – Brennan Little – before Woodland hit his second shot. The Masters Tournament Committee released the following notice after the completion of an investigation: 'Following the completion of Brooks Koepka's round, the committee questioned his caddie and others in the group about a possible incident on No. 15. All involved were adamant that no advice was given or requested. Consequently, the committee determined that there was no breach of the rules.'
NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Cole Hammer: 'Right thing' to turn self in for advice-giving, resulting in pair of DQ's at KFT event
Cole Hammer had never been disqualified from a tournament in his life. Until Friday, that is, when the 25-year-old Korn Ferry Tour pro called what ended up being a rules violation on himself during this week's Memorial Health Championship in Springfield, Illinois. Hammer's admission to rules officials eventually resulted in the disqualification of both Hammer and Hammer's playing competitor, Nelson Ledesma, after it was determined that Hammer had violated Rule 10.2a, which prohibits players from giving or asking for advice from anyone other than their caddie. The incident occurred during Thursday's first round on the par-3 17th hole at Panther Creek Country Club. Hammer had just hit 4-iron onto the green on the 232-yard hole and was watching his ball still in motion when he started walking toward his bag. That's when, according to Hammer, he crossed paths with Ledesma's caddie, Nico Torres, who then flashed four fingers, a universal signal for, '4-iron?' 'Out of instinct, I flashed '4' as well,' Hammer told via phone on Friday afternoon. 'It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, and I didn't think a whole lot about it until after the round.' That evening, Hammer reached out to a few peers for their opinion. Most felt like he was in the clear. After all, the rule against giving advice is often broken in professional golf, and usually without punishment. When caddies for Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland were scrutinized by those who felt they violated the rule during the 2023 Masters – rules officials determined they did not – Golf Channel analyst Paul McGinley called advice-giving 'not a serious breach among players,' adding, 'This is common practice on Tour. Whether you like it or not, it's common practice. It happens in every professional tournament around the world. It's not obvious always, so blatant.' One well-known PGA Tour veteran even texted Hammer on Thursday night, saying, basically, This happens every single day on Tour. But even then, Hammer was unsure that he could simply brush it off. 'I feel like I know the rules really well, and I've always tried to uphold them to the best of my ability,' Hammer said. 'It just didn't sit right with me last night, and when I woke up this morning, I felt compelled to go talk to the rules official and tell him what had happened.' Hammer sought out KFT rules official Claudio Rivas, who told Hammer he would get back with him after gathering more facts and meeting with chief referee Jordan Harris and a USGA representative to determine the proper course of action. Hammer shared with Rivas that he also didn't know if Torres had even seen his hand signal. Hammer added that he didn't alert Ledesma or Torres at the time because he didn't want to cause unnecessary worry if there ended up being no infraction. 'I didn't think that they would be disqualified,' Hammer said. 'I just thought since I was the one who gave the sign that I would be disqualified. And I thought that was worst-case scenario.' Rule 10.2a fully states: During a round, you must not: 1. Give advice to anyone in the competition who is playing on the course; 2. Ask anyone for advice, other than your caddie; 3. Touch another player's equipment to learn information that would be advice if given by or asked of the other player. The penalty is usually the general penalty of two strokes, but because Hammer and Ledesma had already signed their scorecards – Hammer for a 2-under 69, Ledesma for 73 – they were subject to disqualification under Rule 3.3. It took several hours for a final decision to be made, with the disqualification not coming until Hammer and Ledesma were six holes into their second rounds. Hammer had made a bogey to drop to 1 under while Ledesma was still 2 over for the tournament; the cut line is currently projected at 4 under. The Korn Ferry Tour confirmed the reason for disqualification but did not provide further details. Ledesma's response to which was then translated to English: 'The decision made is the correct one, according to the rules. I can't do much with it except accept it.' Ledesma added that Torres was 'shocked by the situation,' but accepted the mistake. 'I feel a lot better now that I at least got it off my chest because it was weighing me down,' Hammer said. 'It's just unfortunate that it's a caused a little storm around the tournament.' As for Hammer, he entered the week No. 73 in points. His T-23 last week in Wichita, Kansas, snapped a string of six straight missed cuts. Ledesma, 34, is No. 102 in points. 'This is something that's so abnormal to experience in a tournament, so I'm almost just going to have to cast it away like nothing happened,' Hammer said. 'It's a learning experience, and I think I'm in a better head space having called it on myself. … I'm by no means depressed about the outcome or nervous about the next stretch. If anything, I can play with a clean slate and a clear conscious and hopefully continue the play that I had in Wichita. 'There are plenty of events left, and I felt like doing the right thing and protecting the game would be better for me in the long run.'
CBC
7 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's Myles Creighton does it all in 1st win on Korn Ferry Tour
Myles Creighton had such a good week he almost forgot about the hole-in-one. Creighton, from Digby, N.S., had an ace on a par-3 hole in Friday's second round, followed it up with an 11-under 59 in the third round, and then had a 2-under 68 on Sunday to win the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open. His first victory on the Korn Ferry Tour and catapulted him 58 spots up to 16th on the second-tier circuit's points list. "Just kind of processing it all still," said Creighton as he travelled to the Memorial Health Championship in Springfield, Ill. "I think it'll take a little while to set in but we another tournament and all so it kind of on to the next one, trying to prepare. "But I am, you know, trying to enjoy this one, and we'll do that for at least a couple weeks." Creighton wasn't even sure he'd be able to play the weekend at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, but he had two eagles on Friday — the hole-in-one on the par-3 12th and a hole out on the par-4 15th as he shot 30 on the back nine — to make the cut with a round of a 2-under 68. That set up Creighton's Saturday, where he had 12 birdies and one bogey to move to the top of the leaderboard. He then held on to that lead in the final round for the victory. Creighton became just the third player in Korn Ferry Tour history to win an event after carding a sub-60 round the same week. "It was just such a crazy week," Creighton said with a chuckle. "All the things that happened, just to give myself a chance to play on Saturday and then 59 on Saturday and then win the golf tournament." He is the second Canadian to win on the Korn Ferry Tour after Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., was victorious at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on Jan. 22. Derek Ingram, the head coach of Golf Canada's men's team, was at Crestview Country Club last week to support Creighton and the other Canadians in the field at the Wichita Open. He said Creighton's impressive week was a result of consistent hard work. "The message with Myles for the last two or three months has been to be patient, keep working the plan, and if you do the right things long enough, we will get rewarded," said Ingram on Tuesday. "But it's tough for a guy to be patient when they're not getting rewarded but we knew good things were going to happen. "I wasn't expecting, you know, a hole-in-one, a 30 on the back nine on Friday to make the cut, a 59, and then to win the tournament. We were just expecting great results, whether it's the top five or some consistent results coming down the pipeline, but that was fantastic and a dream come true for Myles." Creighton and Yellamaraju are both in the field at this week's Memorial Health Championship. Yellamaraju is 18th on the points list. They'll be joined at Panther Creek Country Club by Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald (34th), Matthew Anderson (55th) of Mississauga, Roger Sloan (130th) of Merritt, B.C., and Etienne Papineau (141st) of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. PGA Tour Amateur Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont., will be in the field at this week's Rocket Classic on a sponsors exemption. He'll be joining regular PGA Tour players Adam Hadwin (ranked 112th on the FedEx Cup standings) of Abbotsford, B.C., Ben Silverman (166th) of Thornhill, Ont., and Adam Svensson (167th) of Surrey, B.C., in the field at Detroit Golf Club. DP World Tour Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is the lone Canadian teeing off at the Italian Open this week. He's 116th on the European-based tour's Race to Dubai points list heading into play at Argentario Golf Club in Monte Argentario, Italy. Champions Tour Calgary's Stephen Ames, Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., and Dave Bunker of Richmond Hill, Ont., are in this week's U.S. Senior Open Championship. Ames is 35th on the Schwab Cup points list and Weir is 70th heading into play at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colo. Bunker hasn't played on the Champions Tour since 2016. LPGA Tour Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., leads the Canadian contingent into this week's Dow Championship. Grewal is 131st in the Race to CME Globe standings heading into play at Midland Country Club in Midland, Mich. Hamilton's Alena Sharp (141st) and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (156th) of Sherbrooke, Que., are also in the field. Epson Tour Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., is the top ranked Canadian on the second-tier Epson Tour heading into the Otter Creek Championship on Friday. She's 40th in the Race for the Card standings heading into play at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind. There are nine Canadians in the field including Brooke Rivers (56th) of Brampton, Ont., Josee Doyon (63rd) of Saint-Georges, Que., Monet Chun (69th) of Richmond Hill, Ont., Mary Parsons (104th) of Delta, B.C., Yeji Kwon (126th) of Port Coquitlam, B.C., Vancouver's Leah John (138th), Brigitte Thibault (146th) of Rosemere, Que., and Toronto's Ashley Chow (unranked).
Winnipeg Free Press
7 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada's Myles Creighton does it all in first win on Korn Ferry Tour
Myles Creighton had such a good week he almost forgot about the hole-in-one. Creighton, from Digby, N.S., had an ace on a par-3 hole in Friday's second round, followed it up with an 11-under 59 in the third round, and then had a 2-under 68 on Sunday to win the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open. His first victory on the Korn Ferry Tour and catapulted him 58 spots up to 16th on the second-tier circuit's points list. 'Just kind of processing it all still,' said Creighton as he travelled to the Memorial Health Championship in Springfield, Ill. 'I think it'll take a little while to set in but we another tournament and all so it kind of on to the next one, trying to prepare. 'But I am, you know, trying to enjoy this one, and we'll do that for at least a couple weeks.' Creighton wasn't even sure he'd be able to play the weekend at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, but he had two eagles on Friday — the hole-in-one on the par-3 12th and a hole out on the par-4 15th as he shot 30 on the back nine — to make the cut with a round of a 2-under 68. That set up Creighton's Saturday, where he had 12 birdies and one bogey to move to the top of the leaderboard. He then held on to that lead in the final round for the victory. Creighton became just the third player in Korn Ferry Tour history to win an event after carding a sub-60 round the same week. 'It was just such a crazy week,' Creighton said with a chuckle. 'All the things that happened, just to give myself a chance to play on Saturday and then 59 on Saturday and then win the golf tournament.' He is the second Canadian to win on the Korn Ferry Tour after Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., was victorious at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on Jan. 22. Derek Ingram, the head coach of Golf Canada's men's team, was at Crestview Country Club last week to support Creighton and the other Canadians in the field at the Wichita Open. He said Creighton's impressive week was a result of consistent hard work. 'The message with Myles for the last two or three months has been to be patient, keep working the plan, and if you do the right things long enough, we will get rewarded,' said Ingram on Tuesday. 'But it's tough for a guy to be patient when they're not getting rewarded but we knew good things were going to happen. 'I wasn't expecting, you know, a hole-in-one, a 30 on the back nine on Friday to make the cut, a 59, and then to win the tournament. We were just expecting great results, whether it's the top five or some consistent results coming down the pipeline, but that was fantastic and a dream come true for Myles.' Creighton and Yellamaraju are both in the field at this week's Memorial Health Championship. Yellamaraju is 18th on the points list. They'll be joined at Panther Creek Country Club by Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald (34th), Matthew Anderson (55th) of Mississauga, Roger Sloan (130th) of Merritt, B.C., and Etienne Papineau (141st) of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. PGA TOUR — Amateur Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont., will be in the field at this week's Rocket Classic on a sponsors exemption. He'll be joining regular PGA Tour players Adam Hadwin (ranked 112th on the FedEx Cup standings) of Abbotsford, B.C., Ben Silverman (166th) of Thornhill, Ont., and Adam Svensson (167th) of Surrey, B.C., in the field at Detroit Golf Club. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is the lone Canadian teeing off at the Italian Open this week. He's 116th on the European-based tour's Race to Dubai points list heading into play at Argentario Golf Club in Monte Argentario, Italy. CHAMPIONS TOUR — Calgary's Stephen Ames, Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., and Dave Bunker of Richmond Hill, Ont., are in this week's U.S. Senior Open Championship. Ames is 35th on the Schwab Cup points list and Weir is 70th heading into play at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colo. Bunker hasn't played on the Champions Tour since 2016. LPGA TOUR — Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., leads the Canadian contingent into this week's Dow Championship. Grewal is 131st in the Race to CME Globe standings heading into play at Midland Country Club in Midland, Mich. Hamilton's Alena Sharp (141st) and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (156th) of Sherbrooke, Que., are also in the field. EPSON TOUR — Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., is the top ranked Canadian on the second-tier Epson Tour heading into the Otter Creek Championship on Friday. She's 40th in the Race for the Card standings heading into play at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind. There are nine Canadians in the field including Brooke Rivers (56th) of Brampton, Ont., Josee Doyon (63rd) of Saint-Georges, Que., Monet Chun (69th) of Richmond Hill, Ont., Mary Parsons (104th) of Delta, B.C., Yeji Kwon (126th) of Port Coquitlam, B.C., Vancouver's Leah John (138th), Brigitte Thibault (146th) of Rosemere, Que., and Toronto's Ashley Chow (unranked). This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
