Category: Golf

• World No 158 claims second tour title with North Berwick triumph

• American also had to battle the clock during the closing stages

East Lothian witnessed a David v Goliath story as Rory McIlroy was denied victory immediately before his return to Northern Ireland for the Open Championship. Chris Gotterup, who arrived at the Scottish Open as the 158th-ranked player in the world, saw off McIlroy for the biggest win of his career.

McIlroy’s thoughts have already turned towards Royal Portrush and the major that has carried even more significance for the 36-year-old since he completed a career grand slam at Augusta National in April.

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• English player suffering from virus at French major

• 29-year-old unable to continue after tee shot at 4th

Charley Hull has withdrawn from the Evian Championship after collapsing after a tee shot during her first round. The Englishwoman was taken from the course at the French major on a medical cart on Thursday morning.

Reports from the event said Hull sat by the side of a bunker on the 3rd hole, clearly looking unwell. Having taken a 15-minute medical break, she hit her tee shot on the 4th and slumped to the ground.

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• More than 2,000 participants expected on 19 July march

• ‘We are working on plans,’ says R&A

The R&A is considering a plan to start the third round early at the Open Championship this month, to minimise disruption from a planned loyalist parade in Portrush. More than 60 bands and 2,000 participants are expected to begin their march through the town streets shortly after thousands of spectators would be leaving the sold-out Royal Portrush, if organisers stuck to typical tee times.

The R&A has been concerned for some time about the logistical challenges associated with the simultaneous events on Saturday week. Significant congestion for people leaving the course, or thousands choosing to depart early to avoid this, have been uppermost in the thoughts of the major tournament’s organisers.

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• English golfer three-putts on 18th while Bradley birdies it

• American Ryder Cup captain wins by one shot

The US Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley, birdied the final hole of the Travelers Championship and soared past England’s Tommy Fleetwood to win the tournament in a stunning finale in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Bradley shot a two-under-par 68 for a four-round total of 15 under to win by one stroke over Fleetwood (72) and Russell Henley (69).

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• Lee finishes with 72-hole four-under 284 total in Texas

• She becomes just third Australian to win three different majors

Cementing her greatness, Australian golf superstar Minjee Lee claimed a historic third career major with a steely victory at the big-money Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.

Lee had her four-shot overnight lead slashed in half early in the final round before hanging on, then surging gamely for a three-shot triumph in more extremely trying conditions at PGA Frisco’s windswept Fields Ranch East course.

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• Former world No 1 fades after holding share of lead on final day

• Australian earns shot at 100th straight major with 12th-place finish

Exemption to a magnificent 100th consecutive major championship is the silver lining to Adam Scott’s latest crushing collapse.

Scott’s late fade in “near unplayable” conditions from a share of the lead on the 12th hole to a tie for 12th behind US Open winner JJ Spaun adds to the list of agonising finishes for Australia’s former world No 1.

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• JJ Spaun’s magical 64-foot birdie putt holds off Robert MacIntyre at Oakmont

• Official leaderboard

Robert MacIntyre starts the day just about within striking distance of the leaders. But at +3 he’s not got much margin for error. So he could do without sending a wild Hovland-esque drive towards the bushes down the right. It stops just short, but he’s still hacking out of the thick stuff, and the errant tee shot leads inevitably to bogey. He’s now +4 and the look on his face suggests he knows any slim hope of a sensational Arnold Palmer style comeback is gone. He’s +4.

Seems clearing out the pipes last night did Rory some good. A weight lifted. He should bollock the press pack more often.

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• Sam Burns leads Adam Scott and JJ Spaun by one after Moving Day

• Official live leaderboard

Back-to-back birdies for Sam Stevens. The 28-year-old from Wichita picks up shots at 3 and 4 to move to +1 overall. All together now: ♫♪ I know I need a small vacation, but it don’t look like rain ♪♫ … except … “Those clouds are not looking friendly,” notes Rich Beem on Sky, snapping us out of our Campbell-Webb reverie. Indeed they do look dark and menacing in the middle distance. A fair chance we could have an enforced weather break sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen, but it doesn’t look promising.

This is Matt Wallace’s first appearance at a US Open for four years. The 35-year-old Londoner is grabbing the opportunity with both hands: decent opening rounds of 72 and 74, and he’s on the move today, with birdies at 4, 11 and now 13, the latter the reward for a glorious tee shot sent over the flag to six feet. He’s +3 overall.

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• Latest updates from day two’s play at Oakmont

• Official live leaderboard | Drop Scott an email

Day one wasn’t exactly carnage – the course was relatively soft and receptive after rain earlier in the week, while there was little wind – but unless storms come at the weekend, something not yet certain, it’s not going to get any easier. And despite it all, there were only ten players in a field of 156 who finished the first round under par.

-4: JJ Spaun
-3: Thriston Lawrence
-2: Kim Si-woo, Brooks Koepka, Im Sung-jae
-1: Ben Griffin, Thomas Detry, Jon Rahm, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, James Nicholas

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• Reed holes 286-yard shot for rare double eagle

• Furth albatross in US Open history since 1983

• American finishes 3-over after triple on No 18

Patrick Reed made the third double-eagle of his career Thursday. He’s still only seen one of them go in.

Reed raised his hands to the sky, wondering what happened when he unleashed a 3-wood from 286 yards in the fairway of the par-5 fourth hole at the US Open.

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• Masters champion struggling with driver troubles

• ‘I’m still searching for the missing piece off the tee’

Rory McIlroy admitted he is concerned about his form before next week’s US Open after missing the cut at the Canadian Open. The Masters champion shot a dismal second-round 78 on Friday, carding a quadruple bogey, a double and four other bogeys in an eight-over-par round that left him languishing 21 shots behind the halfway leader, Cameron Champ, who finished on 12 under.

It is the first time the world No 2 has missed the cut since the Open at Royal Troon last July. McIlroy’s round continued his troubled buildup to Oakmont having been forced to switch to a different driver after his previous model was deemed non-conforming in a random test on the eve of last month’s US PGA Championship, in which he finished joint-47th.

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• Masters champion’s driver failed test at Quail Hollow

• ‘The process is supposed to be kept confidential’

Rory McIlroy has admitted being “pissed off” and “annoyed” after news of a forced driver change leaked during the US PGA Championship last month. McIlroy had to switch heads early in the week at Quail Hollow after his driver was deemed non-conforming by a United States Golf Association test.

The scenario is perfectly common – when club faces become too springy through overuse – and also happened to the eventual champion Scottie Scheffler. The process, though, is meant to be private.

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