By 1 p.m. local time on Friday, the thermometer in Cromwell, Conn., where the Travelers Championship is being played this week, had reached 95 degrees. But with the humidity at 55 percent, the “feels like” effect on phone apps read an even 100 degrees. Summer has truly arrived in the Northeast.

It calls for maximum hydration for anybody venturing outdoors, and for those on hand at TPC River Highlands, simply standing could produce a heavy sweat. For the players and caddies who are walking close to five miles in their job, they’re gulping water like it’s, well … water.

MORE: Xander Schauffele says contending each week feel ‘like a drug’ for golfers

Word got out this week that Akshay Bhatia even has a bet with his caddie, John Limanti, on who is going to consume more water this week. Now, as we know, the 22-year-old Bhatia stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 130 pounds, so it would seem that he has a lot of room in that body to store liquids (a completely unscientific observation, of course).

And, thus far, the boss is “winning.”

“I’m probably drinking seven, eight bottles of water a day, and then mix that with electrolytes hydration stuff, so it’s a fun battle, it’s good to keep us on our toes about that,” Bhatia said.

It certainly begs the question: Are they vying for “most bathroom breaks” too?

Bhatia doesn’t appear in danger of seeing his golf game go faint. He backed up an opening six-under 64 with a 65 on Friday and, with play suspended by lightning in the afternoon, he was tied for second, two shots behind sole leader Tom Kim.

It’s another impressive performance for a guy who is playing for a seventh consecutive week. Prior to the Travelers, Bhatia already had logged 18 starts in 2024 and notched his second PGA Tour win in April at the Valero Texas Open.

He is, however, seeking a first top-10 start since that victory. Indeed, though Bhatia has nine top-25 results, he doesn’t have another top-10. So there’s obviously room for improvement.

“I just want to keep building on good golf and kind of learning as I go. I feel like I’ve been working really hard on my technique especially this week, and I feel like my coach and I have found a feel that works, so we’re just kind of trying to build on that and focus on that as much as I can.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com

The post Akshay Bhatia is ‘winning’ this unusual bet with his caddie at Travelers appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

Considering the level of his competition over his last five starts, the results are truly impressive. Since mid-May, Xander Schauffele has finished second in the signature Wells Fargo Championship, won the PGA Championship, placed eighth in the signature Memorial, and last week tied for eighth in the U.S. Open. For the season, the San Diegan has 11 top-10s in 15 starts, and only Scottie Scheffler (duh) has been consistently better (12 top-10s, five wins). The winner at Pinehurst No. 2, Bryson DeChambeau, is the only player to have gone cumulatively lower in scoring among the three majors played.

It has truly been a season like no other for Schauffele, who’s won a whopping $12.2 million in the process.

MORE: How Xander Schauffele’s life lessons led to him winning the PGA

And it’s also been one heck of a grind of late. Ater shooting a second-straight five-under-par 65 on Friday at TPC River Highlands to be tied for fourth, three shots behind leader Tom Kim, heading into the weekend of the signature Travelers Championship, Schauffele admitted as much.

“I think I was in a little bit of denial,” Schauffele, 30, said. “This is probably the most in contention I’ve ever been in my life through a pretty hot stretch of golf. I think I’m probably more worn down than … I wanted to admit to my team. I think I got tired once everyone told me that I looked tired. I felt like I was fine.

“It’s a lot of golf and, yeah, I think not playing this afternoon for myself is going to be helpful to sort of rest up and get ready for the weekend.”

The PGA Tour moved up the tee times on Friday because of storms in the Cromwell, Conn., area, and the entire field was done earlier than usual. That meant some recovery time for everyone who has competed for three straight weeks for some of the largest prizes of the season in both money and points.

Understand, Schauffele, whose PGA Championship triumph at Valhalla gave him eight career victories, is not even close to complaining about the work. This is essentially what the tour delivered to the game’s top players so they could have stretches of playing against the top level of competition.

In Schauffele’s case, one week has built on the next.

“For us golfers it’s like a drug to be in contention. It’s an awesome feeling,” he said. “It’s why we practice, it’s why we play the game, at least speaking for myself. Having a lot of opportunities to be in that final group on Sunday, even though I haven’t gotten it done very often—only once actually, in the last two years—is all I could ask for.”

Coached for years only by just father, Stefan, Schauffele has worked more recently with Chris Como, and the golfer has called it a “slow trickle” of information to help him both mentally and physically. As a result, his game is arguably at its best ever.

How is this for a well-rounded attack? Schauffele is second on the tour in strokes gained/total, ninth off the tee, fifth in approach to the green and 17th in putting. It there is anything to improve on considerably, it’s sharpening his iron play; he ranks a surprising 124th in tour proximity to the hole at 39 feet, seven inches.

Asked where this high level of confidence and execution are coming from, Schauffele said, “It’s everything. Golf, it’s not just one thing. You got to be in a good head space. I got a really good team around me, fortunately. You got to do all things pretty well. I think picking up some slack in certain areas of my game that was lacking has helped me compete week-in, week-out, and also given me a little bit more confidence.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com

The post Contending again, PGA champ Xander Schauffele admits he’s been ‘in denial’ about being worn out appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

[PHOTO: Steph Chambers]

Lexi Thompson downplayed that announcing her retirement was the key to rediscovering her prime form. The 29-year-old shared at the US Women’s Open that this would be her final season of full-time play on the LPGA Tour. After missing the cut at Lancaster Country Club, she has played some of her best golf in years.

Thompson was topped by Lilia Vu in last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic in a three-way playoff. The American continued her stellar play with a four-under 68 in the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to take the outright lead after the first round of a major for the first time in her 13-year career.

Lexi Thompson announces her retirement

“I don’t think that has to do anything with announcing what I did,” Thompson said. “It’s just a matter of being comfortable out there and playing free-swing Lexi and just enjoying being out there every step of the way.”

Thompson felt she found something in her swing on Tuesday of last week that allowed her to slow down her tempo, unlocking a free-flowing nature. In her last five rounds, she has hit 78.9 percent of greens in regulation, more than 8 percent higher than her season average (70.5 percent). She hit 14 greens in her opening round at Sahalee Country Club.

After starting poorly in her past two events, Nelly Korda jumps out quickly in search of second major this year

Thompson also credited her success to starting to work with long-time friend Mark Wallington last week. The veteran caddie’s consistent positive affirmations keep Thompson lighthearted and happy on the course. The tandem made a needed birdie on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff at Blythefield Country Club last week, then birdied the first two playoff holes before Vu birdied the third extra hole for the win.

“I don’t know if it was the atmosphere of the event and just enjoying being out there, and just felt more free and enjoyed myself a lot more,” Thompson said. “So it kind of just all clicked.”

Lexi Thompson with the field high!

Make it 6⃣ birdies on the day #KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/VZTp8qlslD

— KPMG Women's PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 21, 2024

Thompson remained on fire amid the towering trees in Washington state with her ball-striking. She didn’t have a putt outside five feet for birdie over her first three holes, jumping to three-under and tied at the top of the leaderboard. A birdie on the ninth completed a clean opening side with a four-under 32. Thompson carded six birdies to tie her with Nelly Korda for the most birdies despite hitting only six fairways.

“I played solid golf,” Thompson said. “I just try to stay in the moment. There’s a lot of tough holes out there. So just try to visualise and really pick small targets, and just take advantage of the few birdie opportunities that you get out there.”

Thompson is contending in a major for the first time since the 2022 Women’s PGA, where she squandered a two-stroke lead with three holes to play at the Congressional’s Blue course. Her group-mate at Sahalee Country Club today, Yuka Saso, was the beneficiary of Thompson’s back-nine collapse in the 2021 US Women’s Open at the Olympic Club. Thompson lost a five-shot lead before missing out on a playoff that Saso won over Nasa Hataoka. Since then, she has struggled in majors.

Thompson has only made one cut in the past seven majors, that coming in last year’s Women’s PGA, where she tied for 47th place. Before today, she had not broken 70 in a major since the second round at Congressional two years ago. The 11-time LPGA winner’s lone major title came at the 2014 ANA Inspiration a decade ago.

When asked if she could see herself changing her retirement decision should she win a big title, Thompson did not definitively commit to that decision.

“I figured I would be getting that question,” Thompson said. “I’m just taking it one day at a time. I made my announcement. I’m very content with it. Golf is a crazy game, so I’m not going to look too far ahead. Just taking it one day at a time and see where it takes me.”

Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Hannah Green’s love affair with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the Pacific North-West of the US continued during the first round at Sahalee, where she tops the eight-strong Australian contingent.

Out early alongside world No.1 Korda, who signed for three-under to share second with Patty Tavatanakit to sit one behind Thompson, Green opened with a one-under 71 to sit in a tie for 15th after starting her day with a bang.

The 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA champion got underway with back-to-back birdies after teeing off the 10th hole, where Green struck her 134-metre second shot inside three feet for the best imaginable start.

Bogey at the 14th and a third birdie at 16 saw the world No.5 make the turn in two-under before recovering from two bogeys in the middle of her second nine at the final hole of the day.

Sitting even-par, Green struck another pure iron shot from 162 metres at the par-3 ninth, where she rolled in a 16-foot birdie putt to be the lone Australian under par and well placed as she chases a third win in 2024.

Missing out on a win of her own in a play-off last week, Grace Kim is the next best of the Australians after opening with a one-over 73 that was made better late in her round when the Sydneysider dropped a 35-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th to join a tie for 36th.

Similarly ending her day on a high, Steph Kyriacou birdied the par-5 18th to sign for an opening two-over 74, with the 23-year-old alongside Gabi Ruffels and Minjee Lee in a share for 54th.

Ruffels looked set for another enjoyable day at the majors after making the turn in one-under, having started from the 10th before a rollercoaster five-hole stretch which included four bogeys and a birdie.

Opening her first round with a bogey, it was steady stuff around the ultra-narrow Sahalee for Lee, who entered as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

At one-over through nine holes, the two-time major champion mixed two bogeys and a birdie at the par-3 13th after a trademark flushed iron to seven feet to end the day two-over and six behind Thompson.

LPGA rookie Robyn Choi and veteran Sarah Kemp are the next best of the Australians sitting middle of the field after their first rounds of 75 to be three-over and tied for 70th, with Kiwi Lydia Ko on the same score after a final-hole birdie on her return to Sahalee where she lost in a playoff in 2016.

Making her championship debut, Hira Naveed rounds out the Aussies after finishing the first day 10-over-par.

The post Insisting retirement is not the reason why she’s swinging freely, Lexi Thompson (68) leads KPMG Women’s PGA appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

[PHOTO: Ezra Shaw]

Nelly Korda’s first round has not treated her kindly in her past two starts. The six-time winner in 2024 carded a 10 on her third hole in the US Women’s Open for an opening 10-over 80 and went out in four-over through three holes in the Meijer LPGA Classic last week on her way to a four-over 76. She couldn’t recover enough to make either cut.

Ahead of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Korda and long-time caddie Jason McDede subtly changed their club-selection process to give the 25-year-old more responsibility on her club choices at Sahalee Country Club.

“Some weeks I get a little too reliant on him, let’s say, where it comes to the decision that I want to make going into the greens,” Korda explained. “This week we decided that he was just going to give me the number, he was going to tell me how far I should land it, and then I’m going to make my decision based off that so I’m a little bit more confident with it. He’s going to disagree or agree, but for the majority it was a lot of agreeing today, so it was good.”

The change turned into a three-under 69, putting Korda near the top of the leaderboard in Sammamish, Washington. Korda started her round with sister Jessica and nephew Greyson watching on the 10th tee. The 4-month-old wore a turtle outfit Aunt Nelly picked out for him. With her family watching, Korda blasted her first tee shot 299 metres then parked her 75-metre second to inside four feet for an opening birdie.

Korda briefly dropped back to even par with a bogey on the 12th before carding three straight birdies on holes 13 to 15. The No.1 player in the world displayed deft touch with her club selection, hitting it to eight feet on the 141-metre par-3 13th, 16 feet on the 341-metre par-4 14th, and four-and-a-half feet on the 371-metre par-4 15th, the second hardest hole on the course in the opening round.

Slowing things down with @NellyKorda in Round 1#KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/PQR9BQeLez

— KPMG Women's PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 20, 2024

“I just hit the fairways honestly,” Korda said. “That’s the tough part about the golf course here. If you don’t hit the fairway you don’t get to be aggressive. You can’t take your opportunities.”

Korda birdied 44 percent of the holes when she reached the fairway. She didn’t make any from the five times she drove it into the rough. Korda got to four under with a birdie on the third, then double-bogeyed the fourth to drop back to two under. Korda stabilised the rest of the round, birdieing her final hole in her three-under effort.

The steady-handed rebound after the double-bogey came from a lesson learned repeatedly in Korda’s career, most recently after missing the cut in her last two events. Korda shared that she witnessed several athletes, including her brother Sebastian, a professional tennis player, and Jessica deal with up-and-down career moments. The key for Korda, who had won six of seven starts, including five-in-a-row culminating with her second major at the Chevron Championship, was remaining positive and reaffirming the talent inside of her.

“You can’t dwell on the past,” Korda said. “You just have to focus 100 percent on what’s lying right in front of you. That’s just the attitude you have to have. You have to have short-term memory loss out here.”

While the Floridian was happy about her round, she glowed gleefully when talking about her post-round plans. Korda spent most of Wednesday cuddling with Greyson and planned to do the same with him on Thursday afternoon. His laughter, Korda explained, lets her feel pure happiness and provides a different perspective away from the course.

“It’s so nice to have them out here,” Korda said. “I haven’t seen her in a while. She came out early to support me on the first day, and I can’t be more thankful.”

The post After starting poorly in her past two events, Nelly Korda jumps out quickly in search of second major this year appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

It’s Bryson DeChambeau’s world. Everyone else is just living in it.

The U.S. Open champion has had several days to celebrate his second major championship title and, by most accounts, he’s made the rounds. He said he left Pinehurst after midnight on Sunday and on Monday he showed up in New York City and appeared on the “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” among other places. He also partied with San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and was seen wandering the streets of downtown Nashville holding the U.S. Open trophy.

But it’s time to get back to business as LIV Golf now heads to The Grove for its ninth event of the year. The field is competing for its usual $20 million purse with the winner taking home $4 million for the victory. The winning team will split $3 million.

RELATED: Bryson DeChambeau’s 72nd hole bunker shot at the U.S. Open was amazing, but was it a major best?

Joaquin Niemann leads the league’s individual standings, having won two of the first three events of the season. Jon Rahm, despite not winning an event, is in second place. He withdrew from the U.S. Open last week because of a foot infection.

DeChambeau, oddly, is all the way down in 15th place in the standings with only one top-five finish in eight events. We’ll see if the U.S. Open momentum helps him for the rest of the season.

Here’s the rundown of what each player will earn this week in Nashville. Check back here shortly after play is complete for updates

INDIVIDUAL

1: $4 million

2: $2.25 million

3: $1.5 million

4: $1 million

5: $800,000

6: $700,000

7: $600,000

8: $525,000

9: $442,500

10: $405,000

11: $380,000

12: $360,000

13: $340,000

14: $330,000

15: $300,000

16: $285,000

17: $270,000

18: $260,000

19: $250,000

20: $240,000

21: $230,000

22: $220,000

23: $210,000

24: $200,000

25: $195,000

RELATED: Here’s how Bryson DeChambeau became the best golfer on YouTube

26: $190,000

27: $185,000

28: $180,000

29: $175,000

30: $170,000

31: $165,000

32: $160,000

33: $155,000

34: $150,000

35: $148,000

36: $145,000

37: $143,000

38: $140,000

39: $138,000

40: $135,000

41: $133,000

42: $130,000

43: $128,000

44: $128,000

45: $125,000

46: $125,000

47: $123,000

48: $120,000

49: $60,000

50: $60,000

51: $60,000

52: $50,000

53: $50,000

54: $50,000

TEAM

WIN: $3 million

2: $1.5 million

3: $500,000

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2024 LIV Golf League Nashville appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

There is no rest for the weary as most of the top players on the PGA Tour are back in action for the third consecutive week, this time at the Travelers Championship, a signature event at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.

The field of 70 will be playing for a $20 million purse, with the winner taking home $3.6 million for his victory. Rory McIlroy withdrew early in the week, leaving the field in an odd number. But then Byeong Hun An withdrew midway through Round 1 to make it 70.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is back after tying for 41st place at the U.S. Open, his worst finish of the season. Of course, that came on the heels of a victory the week before at the Memorial Tournament, Scheffler’s fifth of the season, all of them coming at huge events. He tied for fourth place at the Travelers last year.

RELATED: Charlie Woods wins U.S. Junior qualifier, advances to first USGA championship

Keegan Bradley returns to defend his crown, an emotion affair in 2023 as this is the tour event that closest to where he grew up. No one has defended their title in Connecticut since Phil Mickelson back in 2001-02.

Xander Schauffele won the 2022 and looks to continue his impressive season, which of course, includes winning the PGA Championship. Other top-10 players in the field include Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Max Homa.

Here is the rundown for what each player will earn this week. There is no cut. Check back here shortly after play is complete on Sunday for updates.

WIN: $3.6 million

2: $2.16 million

3: $1.36 million

4: $960,000

5: $800,000

6: $720,000

7: $670,000

8: $620,000

9: $580,000

10: $540,000

11: $500,000

12: $460,000

13: $420,000

14: $380,000

15: $360,000

16: $340,000

17: $320,000

18: $300,000

19: $280,000

20: $260,000

21: $240,500

22: $223,500

23: $207,500

24: $191,500

25: $175,500

26: $159,500

27: $153,000

28: $147,000

29: $141,000

30: $135,000

31: $129,000

32: $123,000

33: $117,000

34: $112,000

35: $107,000

RELATED: Commissioner Jay Monahan shuts down latest PGA Tour-PIF rumors

36: $102,000

37: $97,000

38: $93,000

39: $89,000

40: $85,000

41: $81,000

42: $77,000

43: $73,000

44: $69,000

45: $65,000

46: $61,000

47: $57,000

48: $53,500

49: $51,000

50: $50,000

51: $49,000

52: $48,000

53: $47,000

54: $46,500

55: $46,000

56: $45,500

57: $45,000

58: $44,500

59: $44,000

60: $43,500

61: $43,000

62: $42,500

63: $42,000

64: $41,500

65: $41,000

66: $40,500

67: $40,000

68: $39,500

69: $39,000

70: $38,500

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2024 Travelers Championship appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

Bryson DeChambeau launched into celebration mode after making that final three-footer at Pinehurst No. 2 to win the U.S. Open, but then quickly pleaded with the crowd to quiet down. His playing partner, Matthieu Pavon, still had to finish.

It was a nice gesture by DeChambeau, especially because many fans were curious why Pavon hadn’t just putted out first from closer range to clear the stage for him to win his second major. But a few days later, it makes total sense.

RELATED: Bryson DeChambeau’s ‘drunk’ drive & an all-time live TV segment

Pavon explained the sequence to Barstool’s Dan Rapaport, acknowledging that he didn’t want to rush such an important putt—he finished solo fifth, one shot ahead of Hideki Matsuyama—although he overestimated just how important it was.

“In my mind, I felt like if I finish solo fifth I got all the majors for next year,” Pavon told Rapaport, who informed him that was not correct. “Not correct, right?”

RELATED: How to hit Bryson DeChambeau’s power draw

Still, it made a difference—about $50K—in how much of that record purse Pavon received for his career-best major finish. And he revealed that moments later, DeChambeau acknowledged that he had done the right thing. Both for himself and the tournament.

“He said, ‘Thanks (for) not doing it because you would have showed me the line and I think it’s not fair for Rory, and I don’t want to win it that way,'” Pavon said.

And just like that, the legend of Bryson the sportsman grew. Watch the entire exchange here:

RELATED: Scottie Scheffler refused to sign this for a fan—and we don’t blame him

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com

The post Matthieu Pavon explains why he didn’t putt out first, shares amazing reason Bryson DeChambeau thanked him after appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

There are playoffs and then there’s what happened earlier this week in Ireland at the Amateur Championship, a.k.a. the British Amateur.

The strokeplay portion of the event that makes the cut for matchplay at the top-64 and ties produced a 19-man playoff. That’s right, nineteen golfers. And that wasn’t even the craziest part.

It was a 19-for-18 playoff, which was always going to leave one guy feeling extra crappy about not advancing. First, here’s a look at the leaderboard logjam that caused this madness:

19 for 18 playoff in @Ballyliffin to make match play stages in the amateur championship some drama to be had pic.twitter.com/OsQGqnRjdt

— Irish Amateur golf info (@amateur_info) June 18, 2024

Then here’s a look at the actual madness as it was about to unfold:

All 19 on the tee pic.twitter.com/AODQXF8USn

— Irish Amateur golf info (@amateur_info) June 18, 2024

What a wild scene. So how did the tournament organise this playoff? It looks like they broke up what was basically a golf trip into three fivesomes and a foursome. And everyone waited after playing one hole until everyone else was done.

You could argue that this bizarre situation got even crazier by the fact that only one extra hole was needed. Poor Bob van der Voort made a triple-bogey – and all 18 other golfers beat that to end a long day at Ballyliffin Golf Club.

The first tee shot was hit at 6:45 am by Peer Wernicke

The last putt at 10:20 pm by Niall Shiels Donegan

Bob van der Voort lost out in 19 for 18 playoff @acaseofthegolf1 match play starts tomorrow pic.twitter.com/HbypFK5CD2

— Irish Amateur golf info (@amateur_info) June 18, 2024

Sorry, Bob, that’s a brutal beat. Hopefully, the guys advancing bought him a drink. All of them, that is.

The post The British Amateur featured a 19(!)-man playoff – and that wasn’t even the craziest part appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

The comedown after a major championship is always real, when golf retreats to its niche corner in sports, away from the attention that a battle between US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy at Pinehurst commands from mainstream media and New York talk shows. The “other” four weeks of the year that follow men’s majors – even when they include PGA Tour signature events – are professional golf’s equivalent of a B-side in the music industry. They can become cult hits, but more often they’re just talented people messing around for our entertainment.

The humbling experience will be shared, to a degree, between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, which has already lobbed into Connecticut for the Travelers Championship. The $US20 million signature event will no doubt produce some entertainment despite the absence of McIlroy, who withdrew from the event at TPC River Highlands to take a break from golf after two missed short putts cost him a fifth career major. But it won’t offer the same adrenaline rush as DeChambeau saving a 72nd-hole par from a treacherous 50-metre bunker shot to claim a second career major by one shot.

However, it’s likely that DeChambeau, and his LIV Golf League, will have the sharper hangover than the PGA Tour as the rival circuit heads to Tennessee for LIV Nashville. The brand-new tournament is the ninth on LIV’s 14-event schedule for 2024. The fledgling league has not been able to gain the same traction in the US that it has enjoyed overseas, like its flagship tournament in Adelaide in April, which saw 94,000 fans attend over three days. DeChambeau will go from being the star of the most-watched East Coast US Open since 2013 – the final round peaked at 11.4 million viewers – to a league whose broadcast is split between The CW network, Caffeine TV and the LIV Golf+ app.

“I’ve been running on probably a cumulative total in the past three days of maybe 12 hours of sleep,” said DeChambeau during a press conference on Wednesday in Nashville when asked what life has been like in the wake of the Pinehurst victory. “Certainly, it’s been a whirlwind for me, and a lot of adrenaline going through my body the past few days. There’s going to be an adrenaline dump here in the next day.”

You’ll get a laugh out of the most searched internet phrase for Bryson DeChambeau

But LIV Nashville, being held at The Grove, a course designed by LIV commissioner Greg Norman, is showing early signs of experiencing a Bryson Bump. Although no specific numbers were offered – and they won’t come close to the 200,000-plus spectators that attended the US Open throughout the week at Pinehurst – league sources tell Golf Digest Nashville is expected to become the highest-attended LIV event in the US since LIV’s inception in 2022. Seventeen of the 30 LIV tournaments prior to Nashville were held in the US. The Tulsa World reported after the conclusion of the LIV event in Oklahoma in May 2023 that the 40,000 attendees was the biggest in the US to that point.

A majority of the ticket categories for the second round in Nashville have sold out, including grounds passes (general admission). In the three days after DeChambeau’s Pinehurst triumph, LIV saw a 240 percent increase in its average daily ticket sales for an event week. A spokesperson for LIV said Nashville had ticket buyers from 15 different countries and all 50 US states. More than 30 percent of ticket purchases came from outside Tennessee.

The Bryson Bump also reportedly extends to LIV’s merchandise sales, and specifically, DeChambeau’s own LIV team, Crushers GC. Crushers apparel is manufactured by the stylish golf brand, Stitch Golf. The team, which includes Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri and Paul Casey, plays under a logo featuring a golf ball silhouette hovering above two crossed golf tees. While the Crushers logo and swag is not everyone’s cup of tea, it was beamed to US Open viewers around the world and that exposure has certainly helped. While not disclosing overall dollar figures, league sources claimed Crushers GC merchandise sales increased 985 percent in the week from Tuesday at Pinehurst to yesterday. The sources also claimed the league overall also saw a 308 percent uptick in merchandise sales in the same span.

Of course, we can’t forget the Google realm, either, where DeChambeau arguably does his best work. A Google Trends spokesperson told Golf Digest that search engine interest in DeChambeau spiked 490 percent in the US (and 430 percent globally) in the 72 hours after Pinehurst. On YouTube, where DeChambeau has a channel with 740,000 subscribers, search interest for the month between the PGA Championship in May 19, when DeChambeau finished second to Xander Schauffele, and June 19, peaked on the day after the final round at Pinehurst. DeChambeau’s 23-minute video upload, “My US Open Highlights,” garnered 511,000 views while his match against YouTube golfer Garrett Clark, using hickory-shafted golf clubs, amassed almost a million views since it was published during the US Open.

While LIV Nashville won’t offer anywhere close to the drama of DeChambeau’s bunker shot – the most memorable 72nd-hole shot since Tiger Woods’ putt on the 18th green at Torrey Pines in 2008 – he will at least be back among his fraternity of league stars. Brooks Koepka, the first LIV player to win a major (his fifth overall) at the PGA last year already greeted DeChambeau warmly on the range at The Grove.

“I’ve got to recover for Friday, which I should be ready to do, and give the fans an exciting weekend,” DeChambeau said, returning to his entertainer mindset. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Try as DeChambeau will, however, it’ll be a comedown. But the silver lining is there’s still one more major this year. Let’s hope the week after the Open Championship at Troon is just as tough.

The post As US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau returns to LIV Golf, will be bring any new fans along with him? appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

[PHOTO: Scott Taetsch/PGA of America]

NBC on-course analyst Smylie Kaufman caught quite the stray during Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII press conference at LIV Golf Nashville on Wednesday.

Rahm came to the defence of his European Ryder Cup teammate, Rory McIlroy, who shockingly missed a three-foot, nine-inch putt on the 72nd green at Pinehurst No.2. Had the Northern Irishman’s par effort dropped, he would have secured a spot in a playoff with Bryson DeChambeau, keeping his chances of a fifth major title alive.

The best-case scenario for Rory McIlroy after Pinehurst

Instead, McIlroy’s ball darted right, lipping off the right edge and rolling two feet past. To the untrained eye, it looked like McIlroy had missed a “gimme” with a US Open trophy on the line. Rahm, who was watching on the couch like the rest of us after withdrawing early in the week due to injury, believes it was anything but.

“One of the things that absolutely burned me, I think it was Smylie [Kaufman] who said it, he severely underplayed how difficult Rory’s putt on 18 was,” Rahm said. “When they said it’s a ‘left-centre’ putt, if you hit that putt left-centre and you miss the hole, you’re off the green, because of how much slope there is.

“You could see Rory aiming at least a cup left from three feet,” he continued. “They severely underplayed how difficult that putt was. Severely. I think that can happen a few times where, unless you’ve been there on the golf course and you’re playing it, or you’ve played it, it’s hard to truly explain how difficult that golf course can be.”

If you go back on watch the broadcast of McIlroy’s final putt, you’ll hear Kaufman say that he took a look from behind the green and said it was “not outside the hole, left-centre putt, but you can make it if you start it right in the middle, too”.

In fairness to Kaufman, McIlroy’s putt, hit firmly at the left-centre of the hole, may very well have gone in. The problem with that, as Rahm said, is that a firm putt from where McIlroy was could be in danger of rolling off the green, and that’s no exaggeration to those who watched balls pinballing all over Pinehurst No.2’s greens last week.

Rahm also made sure to clarify how tricky the job of on-course analyst is.

“A lot of times they only have those five seconds to say something quick,” said Rahm. “Besides that, I thought [the broadcast] was good.”

The post Jon Rahm says broadcast ‘severely underplayed’ the difficulty of Rory McIlroy’s final putt at Pinehurst appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.