Adam Scott’s streak of major-championship starts is expected to continue this week at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst (North Carolina) Resort after the Australian appeared poised to slip into the field at the last minute.
Scott’s streak of 91 consecutive starts in major championships ranks second all-time behind Jack Nicklaus’ 146 uninterrupted starts. The run was in jeopardy of ending when Scott failed to advance in final qualifying one week ago.
In a sudden-death playoff with fellow Australian Cam Davis for the final spot at the qualifying event in Springfield, Ohio, Scott was eliminated on the third extra hole.
However, Scott ranked 61sth in the world after the Memorial Tournament and was among a small group of players expected to get into the field at the last minute through the Official World Golf Ranking and/or their place on the alternate list. It would allow the 43-year-old Scott, who won the 2013 Masters, to make his 92nd consecutive start in a major. Scott has played in every major championship since he failed to start in the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills.
For a look at the field for the 124th U.S. Open, click HERE.
Jonathan Ernst, USGA
The late Grayson Murray likely will remain listed in the Official World Golf Ranking for a few more weeks, the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson reported, citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the OWGR’s plans.
Murray’s post-mortem reign in the OWGR would mirror how the late Payne Stewart was treated in the weeks after his death in a plane accident October 25, 1999.
Murray, a 30-year-old two-time winner on the PGA Tour, died by suicide on May 25. He was ranked No. 61 last week and could have affected the exemptions for this week’s U.S. Open.
In related news, Murray was remembered as a caring and thoughtful friend whose life seemingly was on an upward trajectory during a funeral service June 4 in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. And at last week’s tour stop in Dublin, Ohio, dozens of players gathered at Muirfield Village Golf Club to remember Murray. READ MORE
Jon Rahm was questionable for this week’s U.S. Open after he withdrew Saturday during the second round of LIV Golf Houston because of an infection in his left foot. Since Rahm, a 29-year-old Spaniard who is ranked No. 7 in the world, signed with the rival tour in December, the two-time major champion has struggled on golf’s biggest stages. He tied for 44th in his title defense at the Masters before missing the cut at the PGA Championship. READ MORE
Ángel Cabrera played his first U.S. tournament in nearly four years after serving 30 months in prison in his native Argentina and Brazil on domestic-violence convictions. Cabrera, 54, a two-time major champion who holds a lifetime exemption to the Masters, called his appearance at the PGA Tour Champions’ American Family Insurance Championship last week “a new beginning” in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski. READ MORE
Tim Widing has clinched a spot on the PGA Tour for 2025, the tour announced. Widing has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour this season. A third victory on the developmental tour would earn Widing (pronounced VEE-ding), a 26-year-old Swede, an immediate promotion for the rest of 2024. READ MORE
Miles Russell, the 15-year-old Floridian, will make his PGA Tour debut this month at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Russell became the youngest player to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour when he tied for 20th at the Lecom Suncoast Classic. Two 16-year-olds – Kris Kim at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and Blades Brown at the Myrtle Beach Classic – qualified for weekend play this season on the PGA Tour. READ MORE
Jim Furyk, the U.S. team captain for the 2024 Presidents Cup, appointed three assistants for the September 26-29 matches at Royal Montreal (Canada) Golf Club: Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard and Kevin Kisner. READ MORE
ISCO Industries, a pipe manufacturer in Louisville, Kentucky, will title-sponsor the state’s annual PGA Tour stop. The $4 million ISCO Championship will be played July 11-14 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, opposite the Genesis Scottish Open, which is co-sanctioned by the PGA and DP World tours. READ MORE
Three police officers in Louisville, Kentucky were found to have violated department policy when they did not activate their body cameras during the arrest of Scottie Scheffler on May 17 near the entrance to Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship. Scheffler, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, had all four charges against him dismissed and said he holds “no ill will” toward the arresting officer. READ MORE
The top non-collegiate amateur in the World Amateur Golf Ranking will receive a one-year exemption on the DP World Tour under a program launched last week by the European-based tour, the R&A and the PGA Tour. The program, known as the Global Amateur Pathway, will offer a tour card to the top male amateur who is not a college golfer and ranked among the top 20 in the WAGR. The GAP is designed to complement the PGA Tour University program. READ MORE
Paul McGinley has been added to European captain Luke Donald’s team as a strategic adviser for the 2025 Ryder Cup. McGinley, 57, of Ireland, played on three consecutive winning teams in the biennial series against the Americans and captained Europe to victory at the 2014 Ryder Cup. McGinley will continue in his role on the Ryder Cup Advisory Committee. READ MORE
Richard McEvoy, who won the 2018 European Open, announced on social media he will retire as a touring professional to pursue an undisclosed “professional ambition.” McEvoy, who will celebrate his 45th birthday on Wednesday, turned pro in 2001 after representing Great Britain and Ireland in that year’s Walker Cup. READ MORE
The ticket ballot for the next year’s Open Championship will be held July 1-31, the R&A announced. The 153rd Open will be played July 17-20, 2025 at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. READ MORE
The TV audience shrank for the final round of the recent U.S. Women’s Open compared with viewership for the 2023 USWO that was broadcast in prime time from storied Pebble Beach, Sports Media Watch reported.
An average of 943,000 viewers on NBC saw the final round from Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Country Club, where Japan’s Yuka Saso won her second USWO title. That figure was down 39 percent from the 1.55 million who saw American Allisen Corpuz win last year at Pebble Beach. The decline mirrored a sharp fall-off in audience for CBS’ final round of the PGA Tour’s Canadian Open, which also posted a 39-percent drop. READ MORE
Nasa Hataoka was disqualified from the ShopRite LPGA Classic after she took too long to search for a lost ball and violated Rule 14.7 (“Playing from Wrong Place”), the LPGA said. READ MORE
Yuka Saso’s victory at the recent U.S. Women’s Open was big news on Monday, June 3, as Tokyo commuters were greeted with hawkers touting the achievement via a special edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. READ MORE
The Amundi Evian Championship will increase this year’s prize fund by $1.5 million, to $8 million, with $1.2 million going to the winner, the LPGA Tour announced. The Evian, the fourth of the women’s tour’s five major championships, will be played July 11-14 at Evian Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France. READ MORE
The LPGA’s 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship will move to El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California, next year while renovations are being made to Wilshire Country Club. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon