Latest news with #OpenChampion
The Independent
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Xander Schauffele ends US PGA title defence complaining about conditions
Xander Schauffele ended the defence of his US PGA Championship as he started it, making a double bogey on the 16th hole and complaining about conditions. Schauffele and 54-hole leader Scottie Scheffler were the two highest-profile players to speak out about the decision not to allow preferred lies in Thursday's first round, despite torrential rain disrupting practice earlier in the week. Both men blamed 'mud balls' for hooking their second shots to the 16th into the water in round one and the same hole cost Schauffele another six on Sunday, although this time his ire was directed at the 17th instead. 'After kind of a decent round going, the goal was to try to backdoor a top 10,' said the Open champion, who had covered his first 15 holes in five under par, including a chip-in eagle on the eighth. 'I got greedy on 16, that one was on me. No mud on that ball unfortunately. Hit that in the water (from a fairway bunker). 'Then 17 is a pretty ridiculous set-up today. That will be one to keep an eye on. You have, I don't know, like a 10-foot window to land it to keep it somewhere like pin high.' After dropping a shot on the 17th Schauffele did at least birdie the 18th to complete a 68, his only sub-par round of the week. 'Yeah, I'd like to keep it going,' Schauffele said. 'If we had four more days stacked up right now, I feel like I'd have a pretty good chance. 'Just kind of was in better form, and then I had a few things go awry in my swing and made my approach play pretty bad. Just kind of lost control of the golf ball there midweek, unfortunately. 'Just didn't have enough to score well, but I feel like I'm playing a lot better than what I'm doing. So just got to hang tough.' Scheffler took a three-shot lead over Sweden's Alex Noren into the final round and after both men bogeyed the opening hole, Scheffler bounced back with a birdie on the second to extend his advantage. Masters champion Rory McIlroy had earlier completed a final round of 72 to finish three over par and declined to speak to the media for the fourth day in succession.
BreakingNews.ie
17-05-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
'F*** this place': Shane Lowry lets frustrations out on turbulent day at US PGA
A furious Shane Lowry made his feelings about Quail Hollow known in emphatic fashion on day two of the 107th US PGA Championship. Lowry's tee shot on the eighth hole pitched in the fairway and bounced sideways into a pitch mark left by another player. Advertisement That meant the former Open champion was not allowed relief for an embedded ball and, after confirming the situation with a rules official, Lowry could only hit his second shot into a greenside bunker. Shane Lowry wasn't happy after this shot having not been given relief for an embedded ball 😠 — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 16, 2025 Lowry responded by slamming his club into the turf and exclaiming loudly: 'F*** this place' before going on to make a bogey five and flipping his middle finger at the hole as he tapped in. The dropped shot contributed to a second round of 71 and meant Lowry missed the cut by a single shot on two over par. 'You hit a lovely tee shot, you're not expecting that,' Lowry said of the eighth hole. Advertisement 'I was obviously very annoyed with that because I felt like I had quite a bit of momentum going in the round and standing there with 40 or 50 yards to the pin off the fairway it's an easy pitch shot for me and I walk away making bogey 'You don't get many chances and I feel like the eighth hole is one, and when you don't take advantage of a good tee shot or you get a bit of a break like that it's not ideal is it?' Shane Lowry hits from the fairway on the second hole during the US PGA Championship. Photo: George Walker IV/AP Lowry was particularly unhappy with the unsolicited input of an on-course reporter, adding: 'The ESPN guy was a bit too involved when he wasn't asked to be and that's what annoyed me a lot. Sport Rory McIlroy off the pace after error-strewn first... Read More 'He came straight over and said 'That's not your pitch mark' and like that's not for you to talk about, it's for me to call a rules official and decide what happens. Advertisement 'I wasn't arguing that it was my pitch mark, I was trying to be 100 per cent sure because imagine if I come in [after the round] and all of a sudden somebody told me that was my pitch mark. 'They told Brooks [Koepka] his ball was okay yesterday and it was on the driving range so you need to be careful about what you're doing because there's so much at stake.'
The Independent
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Tyrrell Hatton and Shane Lowry face fines for ill-tempered outbursts at PGA Championship
A furious Shane Lowry made his feelings about Quail Hollow known in emphatic fashion on day two of the 107th US PGA Championship, with the Irishman and Tyrrell Hatton both likely to face fines for foul-mouthed outbursts. Lowry's tee shot on the eighth hole pitched in the fairway and bounced sideways into a pitch mark left by another player. That meant the former Open champion was not allowed relief for an embedded ball and, after confirming the situation with a rules official, Lowry could only hit his second shot into a greenside bunker. Lowry responded by slamming his club into the turf and exclaiming loudly, 'f*** this place' before going on to make a bogey five and flipping his middle finger at the hole as he tapped in. The dropped shot contributed to a second round of 71 and meant Lowry missed the cut by a single shot on two over par. Hatton had a similarly turbulent relationship with the course, with the Englishman within a shot of the lead before a triple bogey and lashing out as a response. He was heard swearing at his own driver after pulling his tee shot on the difficult par-four 18th into the creek which runs the length of the 18th hole. Following a penalty drop, Hatton scored a seven before covering the front nine in 36 to complete a 73, which left him one under par. 'It wasn't my finest moment on the course but I mean, yeah, running hot in the moment I'm pretty good at sometimes saying the wrong thing. 'So yeah, I'll leave it at that.' Hatton's temper has frayed previously on the course: the world No. 20 snapped a club and complained about the conditions during the DP World Tour Championship in November. Mud balls have been the story of the PGA Championship so far and the lack of preferred lies frustrated Lowry, who said of the eighth hole: 'You hit a lovely tee shot, you're not expecting that. 'I was obviously very annoyed with that because I felt like I had quite a bit of momentum going in the round and standing there with 40 or 50 yards to the pin off the fairway it's an easy pitch shot for me and I walk away making bogey. 'You don't get many chances and I feel like the eighth hole is one, and when you don't take advantage of a good tee shot or you get a bit of a break like that it's not ideal is it?' Lowry also criticised an on-course reporter for weighing in, adding: 'The ESPN guy was a bit too involved when he wasn't asked to be and that's what annoyed me a lot. "He came straight over and said 'That's not your pitch mark', and that's not for you to talk about, it's for me to call a rules official and decide what happens. 'I wasn't arguing that it was my pitch mark, I was trying to be 100 per cent sure because imagine if I come in [after the round] and all of a sudden somebody told me that was my pitch mark. 'They told Brooks [Koepka] his ball was okay yesterday and it was on the driving range so you need to be careful about what you're doing because there's so much at stake.'
The Independent
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Shane Lowry lets frustrations out on turbulent day two of US PGA
A furious Shane Lowry made his feelings about Quail Hollow known in emphatic fashion on day two of the 107th US PGA Championship. Lowry's tee shot on the eighth hole pitched in the fairway and bounced sideways into a pitch mark left by another player. That meant the former Open champion was not allowed relief for an embedded ball and, after confirming the situation with a rules official, Lowry could only hit his second shot into a greenside bunker. Lowry responded by slamming his club into the turf and exclaiming loudly: 'F*** this place' before going on to make a bogey five and flipping his middle finger at the hole as he tapped in. The dropped shot contributed to a second round of 71 and meant Lowry missed the cut by a single shot on two over par. 'You hit a lovely tee shot, you're not expecting that,' Lowry said of the eighth hole. 'I was obviously very annoyed with that because I felt like I had quite a bit of momentum going in the round and standing there with 40 or 50 yards to the pin off the fairway it's an easy pitch shot for me and I walk away making bogey 'You don't get many chances and I feel like the eighth hole is one, and when you don't take advantage of a good tee shot or you get a bit of a break like that it's not ideal is it?' Lowry was particularly unhappy with the unsolicited input of an on-course reporter, adding: 'The ESPN guy was a bit too involved when he wasn't asked to be and that's what annoyed me a lot. 'He came straight over and said 'That's not your pitch mark' and like that's not for you to talk about, it's for me to call a rules official and decide what happens. 'I wasn't arguing that it was my pitch mark, I was trying to be 100 per cent sure because imagine if I come in [after the round] and all of a sudden somebody told me that was my pitch mark. 'They told Brooks [Koepka] his ball was okay yesterday and it was on the driving range so you need to be careful about what you're doing because there's so much at stake.'
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Lowry 'disappointed' with first round in US PGA
Shane Lowry admitted he struggled to get to grips with the course at the Quail Hollow after a disappointing first round at the US PGA Irishman shot a first round of 73 to finish on two over par, ending with a costly bogey on the ninth after a run of four pars before 2019 Open winner was frustrated with his troubles at a course he conceded he finds difficult."I always struggle around here, and it was another one of those days. I'm disappointed but I'm more disappointed with my finish than my start," he told BBC Sport NI."I had two great chances on seven and eight and then bogey nine is really annoying, but it is what it is."The 38-year-old knows improvement is necessary in the second round as he attempts to make the is seven shots off leader Ryan Gerard, although he is one shot ahead of close friend Rory McIlroy, who also endured a tough opening round."I just have to shoot a low one tomorrow, but I don't see the ball going close out there and I don't see birdies, so it is tough when it's like that," he added."I'll give it my best tomorrow and see what happens."
