Former Masters champion Patrick Reed – yet to win on LIV after defecting from the PGA Tour – finally found some success with a win in the Link Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour, which included a 59 in the third round.
Unfortunately for Reed, that feat didn’t count as an “official” 59 because lift, clean and place was in operation due to the soggy nature of the course.
The sub-60 score came after what Reed described as, “probably one of the worst warm-ups ever. I looked at my caddie, and he goes, ‘Hey, a warm-up is a warm-up, let’s go out and just play golf.’”.
Still, Reed’s return to winning ways, for the first time since his Farmers Insurance Open success of 2021 on the PGA Tour, brought with it some upward movement on the world rankings. There are no world ranking points yet available on LIV and Reed’s only chance to earn points is via the Majors or on the Asian Tour. His win moved him from 164th to 128th on the updated world rankings.
Three Irish players gain full status on Ladies European Tour next year
Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year Awards: ‘The greatest collection of women in Irish sport in one place ever assembled’
Two-time Olympic champion Kellie Harrington named Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year 2024
PGA decision to pay US Ryder Cup players a fatal blow for the competition’s old ethos
Lauren Walsh aims for rousing end to rookie season
Lauren Walsh has some tidying-up to do this week on the Ladies European Tour – where she has earned a place in the season-ending Spanish Open at Real Guadalhorce – before heading across the Atlantic to next week’s Final Qualifying in the Kildare golfer’s bid to earn an LPGA Tour card for next season.
First things first, and 24-year-old Walsh – who claimed four top-10s in a strong rookie season on the LET – is the lone Irish player in a field limited to 75 players. Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini has already wrapped up the order of merit title and one of the fringe benefits is a pass to the LPGA Tour’s final qualifying.
Walsh completes her rookie season in Spain on the back of a campaign that has seen her ranked 19th in the order of merit and move to 235th on the Rolex world rankings, having started the year in 664th.
The Castlewarden golfer has a quick turnaround after completing the European campaign as she joins Cork golfer Sara Byrne, who also came through the pre-qualifying tournaments, in next week’s LPGA Tour Final Qualifying in Mobile, Alabama.
Emotional time for Lexi Thompson
“I think as athletes you’re always told to be strong and be intimidating on the golf course. Don’t show any sign of weakness. I did it for a while, and it’s just, you know, it’s gotten to me sometimes. It’s hard. It’s not just me, it’s everybody that goes through a lot of things. It’s just a matter of how much you’re willing to hold in and let people in on your emotions. It’s kind of like the time I’m actually letting myself feel those emotions and actually be real” – an emotional Lexi Thompson after finishing her career as a full-time player on the LPGA Tour. Thompson plans to play a very limited schedule going forward.
In numbers
4,000,000 – That’s the amount in US dollars that Jeeno Thitikul collected for winning the season-ending CME Globe LPGA Tour Championship. Thitikul’s win enabled the 21-year-old Thailand player to set a new single-season earnings record on the LPGA Tour with $6,059,309.
On this day ... November 26th, 2000
Although he enjoyed a hugely successful career that included 54 wins as a professional, Colin Montgomerie never did manage to win on the PGA Tour.
However, the Scot did win on US soil.
It came in the Skins Game – an unofficial event played from 1983 to 2008 – at Indian Wells in California and Monty managed to scoop $415,000 in the novel format when he emerged as the winner over Fred Couples, Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia.
Garcia, actually, had played the best golf of anyone but the novel nature of the Skins Game (where players had to win the hole outright to collect) was such that it left him as a bystander by the time Montgomerie beat Couples in the playoff.
In the third extra hole of the playoff, Couples drove into a fairway bunker, then his second shot bounced off the lip, hit a cart and landed in a bush. His next shot found a watery grave, which led to an anticlimactic ending as Montgomerie won the jackpot.
As Couples put it late of his comedy of errors, “[the second shot] hit a first-aid cart, which is something I needed at the time.”
X-Twitter Twaddle
Incredible round of golf from @Joel_Dahmen when he needed it most!!! Time to relax with a couple cold ones!! – former PGA Tour player Colt Knost raising a glass to his friend. Dahmen shot a final round in the season-closing RSM Classic to retain his PGA Tour card (in 124th place) by the narrowest of margins.
That’s a wrap for competitive golf in 2024! Fun ending it in Hong Kong, one of my favourite cities to visit. Thx to everyone involved in the Link @TheHK Open and I hope to be back again soon. Lots for me to ponder and reflect on as I look to use these coming weeks to plan and prepare for a big 2025 season! – Justin Rose, who will be entering his 27th season as a tour professional. Rose’s decision to play in Hong Kong rather than the RSM Classic on the PGA Tour had consequences, as his drop from 60th to 62nd on the final FedEx Cup standings cost him places in the Genesis Invitational and AT&T Pebble Beach pro-am (two signature events) next season.
From watching you win your first grand slam in 2005 to watching you win your last in 2022, you have been a hero of mine and an inspiration to how I approach my own career. You will be so missed and tennis won’t be the same without you – Rory McIlroy tipping the cap to Rafa Nadal on his retirement.
In the bag
Jeeno Thitikul – CME Globe LPGA Tour Championship
- Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai-Smoke TD (9 degrees)
- 3-Wood: Callaway Paradym Ai-Smoke Max HL (16 degrees)
- Utility Wood: Callaway Apex UW 19
- Irons: Callaway XF 24 Star ((4,5), Callaway XF 24 (6-PW)
- Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw 48, 52; Callaway Opus Raw 58
- Putter: Odyssey White Hot Versa 7 DBL Bend
- Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
Know the rules
Q: A player searches for their ball and thinks it may have been lifted by a spectator but isn’t sure. After a three-minute search, and while the player walks back to the tee, a spectator admits that he had picked up the ball. What is the ruling?
A: The player must take penalty relief under stroke and distance for a lost ball and consequently will be playing their third shot from the tee (See Clarification: Known or Virtually Certain/2. The evidence must be known to the play at the time that the three minute search time expires).
