Rory McIlroy became the first player to qualify for the 2025 Europe Ryder Cup team, it was announced last Monday. The Masters champion is set to make his eighth consecutive appearance in the biennial event against the United States.
McIlroy sealed his spot through the European points list, a qualification pathway based on performances in DP World Tour and co-sanctioned events. The 35-year-old Northern Irishman has scored four victories since last August.
McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta National in April, on top of victories at last November’s DP World Tour Championship and this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Players Championship.
A top-20 finish at the U.S. Open was enough to mathematically guarantee his place on the team. The Ryder Cup is slated for Sept. 26-28 at Bethpage Black in New York. READ MORE
Jordan Spieth withdrew from the Travelers Championship midway through Thursday’s first round due to injury, the first time he has withdrawn mid-tournament in 297 career starts.
Spieth said he sustained an injury to his neck/upper back during his warm-up at TPC River Highlands. He tried to play through it and was 5-over par through 12 holes when he elected to withdraw following his second shot on the par-5 13th hole.
“Everything was great in my gym session, and I’ve been very, very excited to go out and play,” Spieth said. “Things have been getting better and better, and then my right (scapula) just kind of locked, like tightened midway through the warm-up, and I just kept hitting, and then all of a sudden it was moving up ... and then it was over the left and then it was like everything, so I stopped. It was both sides of my neck and upper back.” READ MORE
Two players shot 59 during the Korn Ferry Tour’s Wichita Open last week.
Belgian Adrien Dumont de Chassart started the fireworks with an 11-under-par round at the par-71 Crestview Country Club in Thursday’s first round, making 12 birdies and a bogey. Because of wet conditions, players were allowed to lift, clean and place during the round.
On Saturday, Canadian Myles Creighton matched the feat, chipping in for birdie on the 18th hole to shoot the magic number. Creighton also made 12 birdies and a bogey, though the third round was played without preferred lies in effect. Creighton shot 68 Sunday and won the tournament.
The two 59s were the 14th and 15th sub-60 rounds recorded on the Korn Ferry Tour, and it was the second time two sub-60 scores were posted in the same tournament, following last year’s Astara Golf Championship, where Cristobal del Solar carded a record 57 in the first round before Aldrich Potgieter shot 59 the next day. READ MORE
tap-ins
AT&T has signed a multi-year extension to sponsor the PGA Tour’s signature event at Pebble Beach, the tour announced last Wednesday. READ MORE
Final-round TV ratings for the U.S. Open were down 8 percent from last year’s championship, averaging 5.4 million viewers. Viewership peaked at 9 million just after 8 p.m. EDT. The final round was delayed by weather for more than 90 minutes before J.J. Spaun prevailed in dramatic fashion at Oakmont Country Club. READ MORE
ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter made his golf broadcasting debut in Thursday’s opening round of the Travelers Championship, serving as an on-course reporter for ESPN+. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity