Dustin Johnson and Sergio García were named the inaugural recipients of the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award at the conclusion of play at the 43rd Ryder Cup.
The two veteran players were recognized as those who best embodied the spirit of the famous 1969 concession, when Jack Nicklaus conceded a 2-foot putt to Tony Jacklin for a halved match that resulted in the first tie in Ryder Cup history.
Johnson arrived at the Ryder Cup as the oldest player on the U.S. team and, teaming with rookies Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa on Friday and Saturday, he became the first American to finish with a 5-0-0 record since Larry Nelson in 1979.
Making his 10th appearance for the European team, García teamed with fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm for three victories. The two were the leading points earners for captain Pádraig Harrington’s side.
The Saudi International has become part of the Asian Tour in a 10-year deal that sees prize money rise from $3.5 million to $5 million for the event at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club near Jeddah 3-6 February 2022.
It will mark the start of the 2022 Asian Tour schedule.
Dustin Johnson won this year’s Saudi International, which has been part of the European Tour’s Desert Swing for the past three years. Johnson also won the inaugural title in 2019, while Graeme McDowell won in 2020.
“Today marks a significant development for our flagship golf event and our vision to strengthen the depth of world-class golf events, both in the (Gulf Cooperation Council) and also on the international stage,” said Majed Al-Sorour, chief executive officer of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation.
“The importance and potential of Asia’s role in world golf is undeniable, not least due to its position as a global economic powerhouse. This partnership will unlock many opportunities for players, sponsors and fans of the game. Most importantly, we are eager to help build a more inclusive game for all eligible professional golfers that spans borders and cultures by fostering collaboration with major tours and see this as an exciting first step on that journey.”
Cho Minn Thant, commissioner and chief executive officer of the Asian Tour, said: “This is an outstanding development for the Asian Tour that will create significant benefits for our membership, key stakeholders, and fans alike.
“The Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers is a world-class tournament which has become truly global. We are thrilled that it will be the showcase event of the Asian Tour’s season, spearheading our expansion into new frontiers.”
As golfers return to courses in Australia, many clubs seem set to follow the “no jab, no play” policy at Royal Melbourne that mandates vaccination against COVID-19 in order to play at the country’s leading club.
Club captain Andrew Kirby told the Inside the Ropes podcast that 1,000 members had submitted vaccination certificates already. Other clubs have been monitoring the approach, with New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney set to take the same line.
“Our premier has been very strong that the pathway out is vaccination so we very much saw it as the way to get golf open,” Kirby said on the podcast. “That was a really compelling part of it.
“We operate the public course at Sandringham and we’ve bought it in there and I’ve had lots of discussions with interstate clubs, particularly in Sydney.
“You’re totally free not to get vaccinated but you’re not free to infect others. That’s my philosophy on this. It is a pandemic. It is an extraordinary time and the only way out of this is through vaccination.”
As the Golf Australia website reports, Golf NSW chief executive Stuart Fraser thinks other Australian clubs will adopt Royal Melbourne’s policy.
“It is gaining momentum on the back of Royal Melbourne taking the lead on it,” Fraser said.
“Each club is different in its own way but there’s no question the government has shown its cards in this space.
“We’re getting legal advice on it. Obviously there’s a lot of water to pass under the bridge but ultimately it will be what our public health order says about what clubs can and can’t do, who needs vaccination and who doesn’t.”
Bruce Fleisher, a popular figure on the US professional golf scene for more than 50 years, has passed away at age 72 after a battle with cancer.
Fleisher was born in 1948 in Union City, Tennessee, and first hit the headlines aged 19 when he won the 1968 US Amateur. He was also part of the victorious US teams at the ’68 World Amateur Team Championship (Eisenhower Trophy) at Royal Melbourne and the ’69 Walker Cup in Milwaukee and was the low amateur at the 1969 Masters.
He turned professional later that year and went on to win the 1989 PGA Club Professional Championship and once on the PGA Tour, at the 1991 New England Classic, before carving out a stellar career on the US Senior Tour (now PGA Tour Champions.) He became the first man to win on his first two starts on that circuit, claiming the Royal Caribbean Classic and American Express Invitational in February 1999.
Altogether he won 18 times on the Senior Tour and once on the European Senior Tour (now Legends Tour), at the 2000 AIB Irish Seniors Open at Tulfarris.
Scotsman Peter Forster began his year as captain of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews at the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course.
Forster’s year in office began when he hit a drive as a cannon fired at precisely 8 am last Friday. He now will serve in an ambassadorial role for the R&A to support its work in developing golf around the world and will attend R&A professional and amateur championships, including the 150th Open at St Andrews next July.
“I am truly honoured to be the Captain of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews," said the former farmer who served as the chairman of the St Andrews Links Trust between 2009 and 2013, and in 2020 was elected chairman of the Inter-Clubs Liaison Committee in St Andrews. “I look forward to representing the club and the R&A in the coming year, one which we will celebrate the historic staging of the 150th Open here at St Andrews.
“It was fantastic to see so many fellow members and people of the town turn out for this wonderful tradition and enjoy the atmosphere around the first tee.”
As part of that tradition, the St Andrews Links caddie who retrieves the captain’s golf ball receives a golf sovereign.
This year’s recipient was Ed Rankine, from nearby Leven, who had a bit of inside knowledge given that he’d caddied for the captain-to-be a few weeks before.
“It feels super to have returned the ball,” said Rankine. “I actually caddied for Peter during the Calcutta Cup event so everyone was asking me, ‘Where do you think his drive's going to go?’ And I said, “Well, I’m going to stand short left of the fairway.’ And that’s how it turned out in the end.”
England Golf has named the six girls and six boys to take on Ireland in an under-16 Challenge match at Harry Vardon-designed Douglas Golf Club in Cork, 9-10 October.
Imogen Williamson (Delamere Forest), Hyun-Ji Kim (Royal Wimbledon) and Amelia Wan (Hollinwell) lead the girls’ half of the team. They were part of the England under-16 team which defeated Switzerland at Heswall Golf Club last month. Joining them are Sophia Fullbrook (Brocket Hall), Isla McDonald-O’Brien (Shrewsbury) and Ellise Rymer, all newcomers to the national squad.
Hugh Adams (Hagley), Tyler Weaver (Bury St Edmunds) and Kris Kim (Walton Heath) were part of the under-16 boys’ team that recently beat Wales 18-2 at Trentham Golf Club. England boys’ squad players Frank Kennedy (Trump Jupiter, Florida), Josh Berry (Doncaster) and Harley Smith (the Rayleigh) complete the boys’ group.
Smith currently holds the McGregor and Carris trophies, after winning those prestigious tournaments this summer. He and Berry helped England win the R&A Girls’ and Boys’ Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa last month, with Berry winning four matches out of four.
Kennedy, 15, became the youngest Englishman to make the cut in a European Tour event when he played all 72 holes in the Hero Open St Andrews. He placed equal 63rd among the professionals, including a bogey-free 68 in the final round.
“After a difficult few seasons for players in this age group with schedule cancellations and lack of playing opportunities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s great to head back out on course to support a squad at the start of their international careers,” said Jenny Henderson, England Golf’s assistant women’s performance manager. “For many on this team it will be their first time representing England, but I know they will bring a will to learn, the passion to compete and an infectious team spirit.”
Men’s performance manager Stephen Burnett added: “The autumn international against Ireland U-16s has always been a keenly fought battle marking the end of the annual England junior match schedule and we expect this year to be no different, especially on Irish soil.
“However, we have an exceptional vein of talent in this age group presently, demonstrated in the recent boys’ victory over Wales.
“Confidence is flowing through the team after a successful summer and I fully expect the players to keep the momentum going into our final fixture of 2021 and finish the season on a high.”
England’s Mitch Waite will take a £16,607.09 lead into the final event of the 2021 PGA EuroPro Tour Championship when the circuit’s top 60 players tee it up at European Tour venue Slaley Hall on 20-22 October.
Victories at Mannings Heath and Studley Wood, another four top-10 finishes and 12 cuts made from 12 tournaments means Waite heads the mini-circuit with £38,910.24 in earnings. The Filton Golf Club member leads European Tour winner John Parry and is practically guaranteed a spot on next year’s European Challenge Tour.
The top five finishers on the 2021 PGA EuroPro Tour order of merit gain cards for next year’s Challenge Tour. Scotland’s Calum Fyfe is third on the money list, with England’s Will Enefer fourth and Dermot McElroy of Northern Ireland holding the fifth spot just less than £1,500 ahead of England’s Joe Dean.
The winner’s prize at Slaley Hall will be £25,000.
Hannah Darling’s reward for finishing second in her debut college golf tournament in her freshman year at the University of South Carolina was a move into the World Amateur Golf Ranking top 15 for the first time.
The Scot finished a stroke behind American Julia Johnson, a student at the University of Mississippi, in the Gopher Invitational. Johnson also made her initial move into the top 20 with a nine-ranking move to 17th place, while Darling climbed 10 places to 11th.
Darling has enjoyed a banner season that saw her triumph in the Girls’ Amateur Championship and St Rule Trophy. She was runner-up in the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open and reached the semi-finals of the Women’s Amateur Championship and Scottish Women’s Amateur Championship. She also made her Curtis Cup debut.
Colin Callander and Alistair Tait