John Feinstein, one of America’s best-known sportswriters whose more than 40 books included multiple golf titles, died last Thursday at his brother’s home in McLean, Virginia. He was 69, and the cause may have been a heart attack, his brother, Robert Feinstein, told The Washington Post.
Feinstein, who began his career as a night police reporter at the Post in 1977, wrote several best-selling books, starting with his first, “A Season on the Brink” (1986), which chronicled college basketball’s Indiana Hoosiers and their combustible head coach, Bobby Knight. “A Good Walk Spoiled,” his 1995 chronicle of life on the PGA Tour, was a No. 1 New York Times best-seller, and his other golf titles included “Caddy for Life,” the story of Tom Watson’s longtime caddie Bruce Edwards and his battle with ALS; “Tales from Q School,” an inside look at the 2005 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament; “Open,” a chronicle of the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black; and “The Majors,” examining golf’s four biggest tournaments.
A familiar figure in tournament press rooms, Feinstein was also a longtime Golf Digest and Golf Channel contributor. READ MORE
Less than a week after pro-Palestinian protestors vandalized the course and clubhouse at Turnberry, the Scottish resort and three-time Open Championship venue owned by President Donald Trump, vandals dug up areas of the course at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, Ireland.
The damage occurred shortly after President Trump hosted Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister, for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at the White House last Wednesday. The BBC reported that the vandalism included graffiti linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict, while the Irish Times reported that Palestinian flags were planted as part of the attack. READ MORE
Grant Horvat, an online golf content creator whose YouTube channel boasts more than a million subscribers, won the Creator Classic, a nine-hole showdown on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass last Wednesday in advance of the Players Championship.
The competition, which featured 10 leading golf content creators, was the second in a series that kicked off at last year’s Tour Championship and will continue at this year’s Truist Championship in May and Tour Championship in August. READ MORE
A foursome of Florida State University students playing a round at Hillman Golf Course in Tallahassee helped save the life of a fellow golfer who had suffered a heart attack on the course earlier this month.
One of the students, 21-year-old Tommy Provenzano of New Rochelle, New York, administered CPR to 61-year-old Todd Watkins, who had no pulse. The students called 911, and paramedics subsequently shocked his heart back into rhythm. Watkins, who had been playing as a single to prepare for a golf tournament, recovered at a Tallahassee hospital.
“I wouldn’t be here without them,” Watkins said of the students. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
Former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem received the tour’s Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony during the Players Championship. READ MORE
Jacquie Faldetta-Silver of West Nyack, New York, won the women’s open division of the PGA National Club Championship at Georgia’s Reynolds Lake Oconee resort. Suzanne Ricard of Boynton Beach, Florida, won the senior division, while Lynn Thompson of Loveland, Ohio, won the legend division. READ MORE
Youth on Course, a nonprofit organization providing youth with access to life-changing opportunities through golf, has launched Advocates for Access, a video series showcasing Youth on Course changemakers driving meaningful progress in the game and featuring online content creator Roger Steele. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity
