Slow play penalized at LIV Golf; Adam Hadwin’s wife calls out his slow play

Slow play penalties are rare on the PGA Tour. The last occurred at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah.

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The slow-play police finally handed out a ticket on Saturday.

England’s Richard Bland was hit with the first slow-play penalty on LIV Golf during the second round of the tournament at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain.

At the 217-yard, par-3 15th hole, Bland took too long to play his tee shot. Here’s the explanation via a statement from LIV.

“In round two, the group of Dean Burmester, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland were officially warned by a rules official after their 4th hole of the day (hole 8) where the group was out of position on the golf course as well as behind in relation to time par,” the release said. “After their 9th hole of the day (hole 13) the group, who had further lost position on the course, was officially timed by a rules official. In accordance with the LIV Golf League Pace of Play Policy, ‘A player has 40 seconds to play each stroke, with an additional 10 seconds if they are the first to play any stroke in the group.’

“On the tee of the 15th hole, Richard Bland, who was first to play, received a time of 84 seconds for his first stroke. This exceeded the allotted time per the policy. Bland was immediately notified by an official and assessed a one-stroke penalty. With the one-stroke penalty, Bland’s score of 4 on the par-3 15th hole resulted in a score of 5.”

Slow play penalties are rare on the PGA Tour. Jon Catlin, who plays regularly on the DP World Tour, was the most recent to be assessed one at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah. But it has been under the spotlight this season despite pace of play being the scourge of the professional game for years. PGA Tour veteran Adam Hadwin noted that his wife, Jessica, called him out recently for his own slow play.

“[She said], ‘You look uncomfortable out there; you look like you’re deciding too much [and] taking too long,’” Hadwin told CBS during his post-round interview at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. “[She continued,] ‘It’s not just me. The fans in the crowd at LACC, apparently, were calling me out for it too.’”

Hadwin took note and on Saturday he tied the course record at Detroit Golf Club, shooting 9-under 63 to leap into contention for his second PGA Tour title.

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‘It’s certainly a shame’: Rory McIlroy on Europe losing Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood as future Ryder Cup captains

“That was their choice and they knew that these were potentially going to be the consequences,” added McIlroy.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood were going to be long shots, or at best on the fringe, for the European squad at the 2023 Ryder Cup later this year in Italy, but the trio were sure-fire future options to captain the team in the biennial bash against the United States.

After the three players, as well as Richard Bland, resigned their DP World Tour membership on Wednesday, their hopes of being at the helm for Team Europe were dashed.

“Their resignations, however, along with the sanctions imposed upon them, are a consequence of their own choices,” said the DP World Tour via a statement, and world No. 3 Rory McIlroy, the face of the European team, couldn’t help but agree.

“I think it’s a shame, right? I think it’s a shame that you’ve got the highest points scorer ever in the Ryder Cup and two guys that when they look back on their career, that’s probably going to be at least a big chunk of their legacy is the roles that they have played in the Ryder Cup for Europe,” said McIlroy after the first round of the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship on Thursday. “For those three guys to not captain Europe one day, it’s a shame.”

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Garcia leads the European side in total points score (28.5) and boasts an impressive 25-13-7 record, while Westwood is the most capped player with 11 appearances and is tied for the third-most points scored (24) with Bernhard Langer. Poulter has been a chest-thumping thorn in the Americans’ side with his 15–8–2 record, 6-0-1 in singles.

“But as the DP World Tour said in their statement, at the end of the day that was their choice and they knew that these were potentially going to be the consequences of those choices and of those actions and here we are. Yeah, it’s certainly a shame.”

For a player to be eligible to represent Europe, they must be a DP World Tour member.

The players “were sanctioned for serious breaches of the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation committed last June,” after they played in the inaugural LIV Golf event in London without conflicting event exemption from the tour. On April 6, an independent United Kingdom-based panel, Sports Resolutions, ruled in favor of the DP World Tour to be able to fine and suspend LIV players who played in conflicting events without permission.

Luke Donald will captain the Europeans at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in near Rome, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, after Henrik Stenson was relieved of his duties following his move to LIV Golf last summer.

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Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Richard Bland officially resign from DP World Tour

“Their resignations … are a consequence of their own choices.”

Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Richard Bland have officially resigned from the DP World Tour, according to a news release from the European circuit.

The players “were sanctioned for serious breaches of the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation committed last June,” according to the release.

“The DP World Tour would like to take this opportunity to thank the four players for the contribution they have made to the Tour and in particular to Sergio, Ian and Lee for the significant part they have played in Europe’s success in the Ryder Cup over many years.

“Their resignations, however, along with the sanctions imposed upon them, are a consequence of their own choices.

“As we have consistently maintained throughout the past year, the Tour has a responsibility to its entire membership to administer the member regulations which each player signs up to. These regulations are in place to protect the collective interests of all DP World Tour members.”

On April 6, an independent United Kingdom-based panel, Sports Resolutions, ruled in favor of the DP World Tour to be able to fine and suspend LIV Golf players who played in conflicting events without permission.

Members of the DP World Tour who played in Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf’s opening tournament last June in London asked for a conflicting event exemption, but the DP World Tour denied the request. Those players received three-event bans and fines.

For many LIV members, participating in DP World Tour events was one of the few ways they could earn world ranking points.

For a player to be eligible to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup, they need to be a member of the DP World Tour.

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LIV Golf member Richard Bland admits he was ‘under the influence’ when he started Twitter spat, and now his account is off

Bland admitted he was drinking when he sent the tweet, and Pepperell had already noted he hadn’t taken the comment personally.

After a weekend in which a pair of English golfers snapped at each other on Twitter, one admitted he was under the influence and “should have known better.” He then turned his account off.

It all started on Sunday after LIV Golf Adelaide in Australia as fans showered Chase Koepka with beer when he aced the par-3 12th for just the second hole-in-one in LIV’s short history.

DP World Tour player Eddie Pepperell responded to a comment on Twitter by saying the raucous scene was akin to similar experiences on the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open in Scottsdale.

“This has been happening at Scottsdale for years now, so not sure how much LIV is really changing things here,” wrote Pepperell, who has been known as an active member of Twitter.

Richard Bland, a LIV Golf member, responded with a shot at Pepperell’s tenure on the European tour.

“Ed.. tell me where on DP World there’s been a hole like this? Because in 22yrs of playing the tour I can’t think of any. But maybe your 15 minutes on tour you know different,” his tweet read.

That led Pepperell to this response:

On Monday, the two made up as Bland admitted he was drinking when he sent the tweet, and Pepperell had already noted he hadn’t taken the comment personally.

“Unfortunately I did have too many last Ed. I apologize for what I said. I should know better not to tweet under the influence,” Bland wrote.

As of Tuesday morning, Bland’s account was deactivated.

Bland finished 32nd at the LIV event in Australia and had just one top-10 finish during the circuit’s initial campaign, finishing fourth in Bangkok. His claim to fame is he won the 2021 British Masters at the age of 48 in his 478th start on the tour.

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Talor Gooch shoots lowest round of professional career, a 10-under 62, and leads LIV Golf Adelaide by four

Here’s how it stands after day one from Australia.

Talor Gooch went deep during the opening round of LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club to lead by four after the event’s first 18 holes.

He played his opening 10 holes 4 under after starting his round on the par-3 12th, and then got hot. Gooch made birdies on Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 coming home and signed for a first-round bogey-free 10-under 62. The 31-year-old doesn’t have a top-10 finish in three LIV starts so far this season but is in prime position to make a run at his first title on the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit.

Four shots behind Gooch are Richard Bland and Dean Burmester at 6 under. Burmester’s highlight of the day came at the par-4 eighth where he made eagle, while Bland, like Gooch, kept blemishes off his card and signed for a bogey-free day.

Five players are tied for fourth at 5 under and eight are tied for ninth at 4 under.

As for big names, Cam Smith and Brooks Koepka both sit at 3 under, T-17. Phil Mickelson is tied for 24th at 2 under while Dustin Johnson sits T-29, 1 under.

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Drama in Dubai: Thomas Pieters tied for lead while LIV member and ex-European Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson paired with Luke Donald on Sunday

Things may get a bit awkward in Dubai.

Until the dispute between LIV Golf and the DP World Tour is settled in court, tension will riddle the range at most events throughout the season.

Exhibit A: Henrik Stenson, who lost his position as European Ryder Cup captain once he joined the Saudi-backed LIV Series, will be paired with Tyrrell Hatton, a Ryder Cup veteran, and Luke Donald, the man who replaced Stenson as captain, on Sunday for the third round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

All three players are 2 under through two days and eight back of Thomas Pieters, Richard Bland and Michael Thorbjornsen.

Dubai Desert Classic: Leaderboard, round three tee times

Thorbjornsen, a junior at Stanford and Massachusetts native, was a Golfweek 2022 All-American honorable mention. At the ’22 Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour, an event played down the road from where he grew up, Thorbjornsen finished solo fourth.

Rory McIlroy didn’t have his best stuff Saturday, making 15 pars, one birdie, one bogey and an eagle to post a day two 2-under 70. He’s tied for seventh, two back of the lead.

Patrick Reed, who’s been in headlines all week thanks to a viral moment with McIlroy, is also at 8 under. The old Ryder Cup rivals aren’t paired together for the third round.

A disappointment for most of the golf community.

Due to weather delays earlier in the week, play will conclude Monday in Dubai.

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Two LIV members tied for lead in Dubai, Rory McIlroy went nuts to finish first round and play will now conclude Monday due to weather delays

Playing his final three holes at 4 under? Just Rory McIlroy things.

Weather has wreaked havoc on the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour this week. On Thursday, play was delayed due to dangerous weather while Friday’s action couldn’t start on time due to course flooding.

The second round will conclude Saturday, while the third round will be played Sunday with the final round slated for Monday.

Richard Bland and Ian Poulter, both members of LIV Golf, are tied atop the leaderboard at 8 under. Bland was 3 under through four holes of his second round when the horn blew while Poulter was 1 under through three.

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy was on the course early Friday to finish up his first round and he made the most of it.

He began by making a short-range birdie putt at the par-3 seventh, his 16th hole. Then he holed out an approach shot on the par-4 eighth for eagle. McIlroy finished his day by sticking a 159-yard shot to four feet on the ninth to play his final three holes 4 under.

Not bad.

With McIlroy at 6 under is Patrick Reed, who made headlines earlier this week after throwing a tee at the Northern Irishman. The two players have exchanged verbal blows for the past several days.

If there is a golf god, he’ll pair the two for a weekend dual.

Victor Perez, Lucas Herbert and Thomas Peters are 5 under, Tommy Fleetwood is 4 under and Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Ryan Fox are 3 under.

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Louis Oosthuizen teeters on missing three majors next season as three LIV golfers earn spots in 2023 British Open

Oosthuizen is teetering on the brink of missing three majors in 2023.

Unless the R&A announces a change in the criteria for earning spots in the British Open, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen will have a chance to play next July at Royal Liverpool because he won the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews. All past winners are given a spot in the field until they reach age 60.

However, after tying for second at the 2021 PGA Championship, then being the runner-up at the U.S. Open and tying for third at the British Open that same year, Oosthuizen is teetering on the brink of missing the other three majors in 2023.

Last week, Golfweek explained to readers how pros earn spots in all four major championships, and while each uses a slightly different set of criteria to fill out their field, maintaining a high spot on the OWGR is a primary method elite golfers use. For instance, golfers ranked 50 or better on Dec. 31, 2022 can expect to get an invitation to compete in the 2023 Masters.

As of Monday morning, Oosthuizen is No. 49.

The OWGR does not award points for performances in LIV events, so like most LIV golfers, Oosthuizen’s spot on the OWGR has slowly risen since he was suspended from the PGA Tour. In his case, Oosthuizen has risen from No. 21 in early July to No. 49 on November 20. If he goes higher than 50, and he likely will in the next week or two, Oosthuizen will not meet any of the traditional criteria used by the Augusta National Golf Club to warrant an invitation. He also won’t have an exemption into next season’s PGA Championship. As for the U.S. Open, Oosthuizen will likely need to go through qualifying to get into the field at Los Angeles Country Club because the OWGR cutoff for an exemption has traditionally been No. 60 two weeks before sectional qualifying (May 23, 2023) or on the day of sectional qualifying (June 6, 2023).

Three other LIV golfers are likely feeling better than Oosthuizen on Monday because they appear to have earned spots in the field at the 2023 British Open.

Traditionally, golfers who finish in the top 30 in the DP World Tour’s Race to Duabi earn a spot in the following year’s British Open. Rory McIlroy won on Sunday, but Spain’s Adrian Otaegui finished 15th and fellow Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal finished 23rd. England’s Richard Bland finished 24th.

Those performances do not earn them a spot in any of the other three major championships and their world rankings of 98 (Otaegui), 86 (Larrazabal) and 89 (Bland) are not high enough to earn exemptions either.

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Richard Bland loves being the ‘exception’ as he emerges from a high-profile pool at WGC-Dell Match Play

Bland is the first to admit he’s still scrambling to learn New Math.

AUSINT, Texas — Please pardon Richard Bland. As with many others peeking at a 50th birthday on the horizon, Bland is the first to admit he’s still scrambling to learn New Math.

For example, the journeyman — who captured his first European Tour victory last at the Betfred British Masters in his 478th start — had been advised by those on his side to sit out the last few weeks, regardless of his desire to improve his Official World Golf Ranking prior to the upcoming Masters.

“In all my career I really never had to worry about my World Ranking and then suddenly when I went to I think 53 after Dubai, it’s been really weird,” Bland said after his match Friday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. “I’ve had a guy sort of helping me with sort of permutations, and he’s going like, ‘It’s probably best you don’t play this week — or not this week, you know, on another week.’

“And I’m like, ‘How does that work? I want to play.’ And I didn’t play for three weeks and I think I went up seven spots. So I was kind of thinking, well, if I don’t play for the rest of the year I might be world No. 1.”

WGC-Match Play: Yardage book | PGA Tour Live on ESPN+

Bland might not be due to overtake Jon Rahm any time soon, but the Englishman is playing some of the best golf of his life, regardless of his ranking. And in a group with high-profile players like Bryson DeChambeau, Lee Westwood and Talor Gooch, Bland surprisingly emerged from Pool 9 at Austin Country Club, meaning he’s reached the Round of 16, which begins Saturday.

He edged Westwood 2 and 1 on Friday to advance. Bland, the bracket’s No. 54 seed, will face No. 8 seed Dustin Johnson next.

And while the questions about his age keep surfacing — Bland is the oldest player to advance out of group play since the format was introduced in 2015 and he’s getting closer to qualifying for his first Masters at a time when he should be sharpening up for the PGA Tour Champions — he takes it all in stride.

“I guess probably someone at 49 shouldn’t be doing this for the first time. But I guess there’s always the exception to the rule, isn’t there? Not necessarily just in golf. You see it in other sports as well,” he said. “You look at Bernhard Langer, 63, 64 years old, still winning on Champions tour. What an inspiration that is for someone like myself who is maybe looking to a career in the next couple years on Champions tour.

“If you stay fit and healthy, maybe I’ve got another 10 or 12 years in me yet, who knows. So, yeah, you’ve only got to kind of look at it, in tennis you still got, okay, Rafa Nadal’s still beating all the young ones, and Roger Federer, I’m sure when he comes back will be exactly the same. So there’s always the exception to the rule. So it’s quite nice to be that exception.”

He’s certainly due the consideration for Augusta. After winning the British Masters last May, he held a share of the lead after two rounds at last summer’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He was also in the hunt at the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year, falling in a playoff to Viktor Hovland.

Now, his showing in Austin continues to fill his schedule one that was supposed to be clear this week. In fact, he was due to take his wife Catrin to New York next week for her 40th birthday. Instead, his impressive play netted him a spot in the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

It’s all an equation Bland didn’t think he’d have to work on, but one that he’s thoroughly soaking up.

“She flies in tomorrow,” Bland said. “With getting an invite into the Valero next week I had to put it kind of nicely that we’re not going to New York. She said she’s coming here. So that will probably cost me a bit more with a birthday present.”

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Bryson DeChambeau returns from injury with tie at WGC-Dell Match Play, insists ‘my body is healing’

While he was searching for parts of his golf game, DeChambeau seemed ecstatic to be back in the public eye.

AUSTIN, Texas — If Bryson DeChambeau was looking to quietly slide back into PGA Tour action nearly two months since he’d last played a round of competitive golf, he certainly found the perfect stage for it on Wednesday.

Due to a loaded field and a late start time, the gallery following the 2020 U.S. Open champ was paltry by normal standards, with only a few wisecracks to be heard as he walked the grounds at Austin Country Club.

And although Brian Zeigler, DeChambeau’s caddie, seemed to be seeking attention by sporting a pair of circa-1970 striped tube socks pulled high up his leg, in hipster-friendly Austin, even that only drew a handful of stares.

But most accommodating on Wednesday was his opponent, 49-year-old journeyman Richard Bland, who had every chance to hop on a rusty and erratic DeChambeau, but failed to ever manage a lead before eventually earning a draw in the opening match of pool play at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

Having last played at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January, DeChambeau told Golf Channel on Tuesday that he had no expectations heading into the week, one in which he finally returned from a hand injury. The 8-time PGA Tour champ said he hadn’t started working with his driver until last weekend, and added that he might need surgery on the hand, a problem he compounded playing ping-pong prior to the Saudi International.

WGC-Match Play: Yardage book | PGA Tour Live on ESPN+

Bryson DeChambeau putts on #9 during the first round of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

“We didn’t play our best, obviously, but just a bit rusty,” DeChambeau said. “Obviously hit some wayward shots, just concerned — just more or less cautious, very cautious. There were some pretty good wayward shots because of that, and that probably cost me quite a bit, and then I three-putted a few times. I haven’t practiced the way I should have on the putting green for speed, and I’ll work on that after.”

In his return to action, DeChambeau knocked his first tee shot well right, rolling into a medical tent adjacent to a Torchy’s Tacos — a famous Austin-area chain. Although he hit his second shot fat and followed with a timid putt, Bland three-putted from 21 feet to halve the hole, effectively letting DeChambeau off the hook.

This script was the same on other holes — Nos. 3, 8, and 12, for example — as Bland had golden opportunities to gain an advantage after wayward shots from DeChambeau.

Although he did bury a lengthy par putt on No. 11 to halve one hole and another on No. 14 to do the same, DeChambeau was erratic throughout the round, even though he never fell behind.

Bryson DeChambeau and caddie Brian Zeigler wait on the front nine at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

And DeChambeau had a chance to win the match on the final hole, but missed a 17-foot birdie putt.

But while he was searching for parts of his golf game, DeChambeau seemed ecstatic to be back in the public eye, playfully bantering with fans and smiling as he encountered a number of interesting scenarios.

For example, on the 13th hole, DeChambeau’s ball came to rest in a sprinkler head, in a similar area to where Thomas Pieters’ had landed earlier. While Pieters was not extended relief, DeChambeau was given a drop and he smiled throughout much of the exchange. He admitted he was a little anxious about his return.

“The butterflies are always there,” he said. “To be honest I’m very happy and content with the place that I’m at right now, and I feel like I’m progressing in the right direction. There’s a lot of things that people don’t know behind the scenes that I’m very, very pleased about in a very good way. My body is healing. That’s a very positive thing that I’m happy with. Today it didn’t fail.”

Next up for DeChambeau, who has slipped to No. 13 in the Official World Golf Ranking, is Lee Westwood, who is licking his wounds after a sound 3-and-2 beating at the hands of Talor Gooch on Wednesday. Pool play continues Thursday and Friday.

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