Germany’s Martin Kaymer told a magazine in his native country that he will miss three months of play next year for the expected birth of his child, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Kaymer and his girlfriend, Irene Scholz, are preparing to welcome the two-time major championship winner’s first child in January. They plan to live in Florida after the baby is born.
“Our child will be born in Germany and I won’t play any tournaments for three months and only start again in March,” Kaymer was quoted as saying.
Kaymer, 36, is a former top-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking and won the PGA Championship in 2010 and the U.S. Open in 2014. He has 11 European Tour victories since turning pro in 2005 and is a four-time Ryder Cup player for Europe.
The PGA Tour announced last week a television schedule for calendar year 2022, with weekend coverage from CBS for 20 events and from NBC for 12 events among the highlights.
With a new, nine-year domestic media-rights agreement in place, one network will televise all three FedEx Cup playoffs events each year, beginning with NBC in 2022 and CBS in 2023.
NBC Sports will continue as the tour’s cable partner with Golf Channel handling early-round coverage and lead-in weekend coverage.
In the area of streaming, 35 PGA Tour tournaments will be available on ESPN+ in 2022.
“The lineup we have in place will ultimately be a significant win for our fans as we expand and innovate our content and its delivery going forward,” said Rick Anderson, chief media officer for the PGA Tour.
With last week’s announcement of the ISPS Handa Championship set for PGM Ishioka Golf Club in Omitama next April, Japan will become the 51st country to host a tournament on the newly named DP World Tour.
The DP World Tour will feature at least 46 events, to be played in 27 countries. In addition to Japan, there will be new tournaments played in South Africa, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates.
“We relish opportunities such as this to break new ground,” chief executive Keith Pelley said.
TAP-INS
Golf club memberships in Australia rose 6.3 percent for calendar year 2020 to 409,970, the biggest rise in such figures (more than 24,000) since 1970 when national tabulations began there (READ MORE). … Research from Sports Marketing Surveys showed a slight reduction in rounds played in Great Britain in Quarter 3 of 2021 compared to last year, with totals still far ahead of those from the same time frame in 2019 (READ MORE). … The Gragtmans Family Foundation in Canada pledged $1 million to the Golf Canada Foundation to help fund First Tee – Canada (READ MORE).
Staff and Wire Reports