{{ubiquityData.prevArticle.description}}
{{ubiquityData.nextArticle.description}}
The field for the men’s golf competition at the 2020 Olympics lost two more top players when world No. 1 Jon Rahm and world No. 6 Bryson DeChambeau dropped out because of positive tests for COVID-19.
The International Golf Federation said it was informed Sunday that Rahm will not play for Team Spain and DeChambeau will not play for Team USA. While Patrick Reed will replace DeChambeau for the United States, Spain’s Adri Arnaus now will be the lone men’s golfer representing his country.
Reed joins Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele in the men’s competition for Team USA. Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, Lexi Thompson and Jessica Korda make up the women’s team that will compete in Japan.
“Bryson DeChambeau tested positive for COVID-19, as part of the final testing protocol before he left the United States for the Olympics 2020 in Japan. He will be unable to compete for Team USA,” a statement from USA Golf said. “Patrick Reed will replace DeChambeau and is undergoing the requisite testing protocol (Saturday), Sunday and Monday before departing for Japan.
“Reed is now the only two-time Olympian for the men’s competition, as he played for Team USA in 2016 and will now compete in the 2020 Olympics.”
The first round of men’s competition at Kasumigaseki Country Club is Thursday. The women’s event begins there Aug. 3.
Australian golf is likely to get a big boost following the announcement that Brisbane is to host the 2032 Olympic Games.
The men’s and women’s golf competitions are to be played at Royal Queensland Golf Club, the host club for this year’s Australian PGA Championship.
“Young golfers grow up dreaming of winning a major championship and now they can also aspire to win an Olympic Gold medal,” said Brad James, Golf Australia’s general manager for high performance. “We have been fortunate to see many new people come into the game in the past year and that includes an influx of junior boys and girls.
“This is the first time Australia has hosted an Olympic golf competition and I have no doubt that we will see a high level of excitement among our juniors and elite amateurs as we draw closer and closer to Brisbane 2032.”
Grayson Murray’s sometimes turbulent career took another turn last week when the 27-year-old lashed out at the PGA Tour while acknowledging that he battles alcoholism.
In a social-media post, Murray expressed the challenges he continues to face while dealing with his personal issues but also pointed a finger at the PGA Tour, saying the organization had not offered any help to him.
“The PGA Tour didn’t force me to drink but the PGA Tour never gave me help,” Murray wrote. “In my five years of experience of being on tour not once have I ever had a request been acknowledged by the commissioner or the PAC (Players Advisory Council) other than ‘we will get back to you.’
“I hope not only the PGA Tour steps up in the areas they need to step up, but I also hope people are held accountable in their roles they serve.”
The PGA Tour later issued a statement, saying: “We can unequivocally say that the PGA Tour is a family and when a member of that family needs help, we are there for him. That has been the case here and will continue to be.”
Murray has struggled in five years on the PGA Tour and said he was on probation due to his actions in Hawaii earlier. Murray said alcohol played a significant role in his problems.
He even made light of the tour’s threatened $20,000 fine because with seven consecutive missed cuts Murray said he didn’t have the money to pay the fine.
Murray’s only tour victory came at the 2017 Barbasol Championship. He played college golf at Wake Forest, East Carolina and Arizona State.
Earlier this month, Murray withdrew from the John Deere Classic because his great aunt and uncle were victims in a double homicide in Aberdeen, North Carolina, near Pinehurst.
The PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe announced the cancellation of this year’s Junior Ryder Cup because of ongoing travel issues for European players. The match was set for Sept. 20-21 at Blue Mound Golf & Country Club in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
“We are deeply disappointed for the talented young athletes on both sides of the Atlantic who were working hard to earn a place in this wonderful match,” the two organizations said in a joint statement. “First played in 1997, the contest between six boys and six girls from the United States and Europe, all aged 18 years and under, will return in Italy in 2023.”
The United States junior team will play an exhibition match on Sept. 22, the Wednesday of Ryder Cup week. Also, the junior team will be recognized at the opening ceremony ahead of the match which takes place Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits.
Gina Kim’s victory in the North & South Women’s Amateur Championship at Pinehurst, North Carolina, saw her reach the top 20 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking for the first time. The Duke University player jumped three places to No. 20.
Ohio State University’s Maxwell Moldovan moved back inside the world top 60 after his record win in the Southern Amateur Championship at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi. Moldovan took a five-shot victory there with a 20-under-par 264 aggregate (six shots better than Justin Leonard’s record score in 1993); he jumped 41 places to 58th.
Seven Named To Europe’s Junior Solheim Team
Seven players have been confirmed to be part of the European team for the Junior Solheim Cup.
Team Europe captain Annika Sörenstam announced the first batch of players for her squad: Denmark’s Amalie Leth-Nissen, France’s Constance Fouillet, Germany’s Paula Schulz-Hanßen, Spain’s Andrea Revuelta and Cayetana Fernández, and Sweden’s Meja Örtengren and Nora Sundberg.
The remaining five players will be named today.
Team Europe will face Team United States in the 11th playing of the biennial event Sept. 1-2 at Sylvania Country Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Former Stanford golf coach Wally Goodwin died last Monday at age 94. He coached the Cardinal from 1987 to 2000 and was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. “Stanford Golf and the world of college athletics lost an icon,” said Conrad Ray, the school’s director of men’s golf. “Coach Goodwin had a profound impact on so many young student-athletes over the years, including myself. He was not only a legendary coach, but also a man of character, hard work, and total positivity which carried over to everything he was involved in.”
Goodwin led the Cardinal to the 1994 NCAA title, its first since 1953, while finishing second in 1995. He was named national coach of the year in 1992 and 1994 and Pac-10 coach of the year twice.
The longtime coach's passing came just days after another death in the Goodwin family. On July 19, Annie Goodwin, granddaughter to Wally Goodwin, died in South Carolina at age 32 from complications after surgery stemming from a horse-jumping accident.
TAP-INS
The PGA Tour announces a seven-year agreement for World Wide Technology, a business IT company, to be the title sponsor of the November tour stop at El Camaleón Golf Club in Mexico (READ MORE). … Investment firm Bruin Capital will acquire Full Swing, which produces golf simulators and launch monitors.
Staff and Wire Reports