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NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — Fifteen-ish minutes before the shotgun start of LIV’s first foray onto U.S. soil,, a trio of retired Navy Seals employed American flag parachutes to plop down on Pumpkin Ridge’s 10th fairway. A few minutes earlier, a bald eagle glided just over the driving range, sparking an impromptu U-S-A! chant. (It is

9:38 PM ET ESPN News Services The first LIV Golf event in the United States has a first-time player in the rival series atop its leaderboard. Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, who was among the latest batch of players to join the LIV Series earlier this week, carded a 5-under 67 to take a one-shot lead after

As LIV Golf launched its first United States event Thursday, one American star took to social media to distance himself from the Saudi-backed league. That would be Will Zalatoris, who has finished runner-up in the past two majors. Zalatoris, 25, has been vocal in his support of the PGA Tour, stating in May he backed

1:31 PM ET Australia’s Ryan Fox carded an 8-under-par 64 to claim a 1-shot lead after the first round at the Irish Open on Thursday. The 35-year-old got off to a dream start at Mount Juliet Estate in Kilkenny, Ireland, as he birdied six of the first eight holes for a flawless opening round. 1

In the days following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, revoking the right to abortion, numerous LPGA Tour players have made statements on social media. More than 15 current and former players have shared an identical message on Instagram and Twitter, saying the ruling was a “monumental step backwards in women’s rights

8:09 AM ET The year’s final major, The Open at St. Andrews, is looming in two weeks. But there is still work to be done in the United States, and that includes a longtime stop on the PGA Tour — the John Deere Classic — which begins Thursday. Get ESPN+ here | Download the app

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — Apart from three tense half-hour press conferences, the vibe at Pumpkin Ridge has been remarkably stress-free. The caddies can’t believe how well they’re being looked after. Coaches, too. On the PGA Tour, they paid for their travel and accommodations. At LIV, it’s taken care of. The members and employees are ooohing

6:14 PM ET Associated Press NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — LIV Golf’s first U.S. event was set to begin Thursday, with a group of survivors and families who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 terror attacks planning to gather at a nearby park to speak out against the Saudi Arabia-funded tour. Brett Eagleson was 15

An unfortunate case of favoritism dashed the dreams of a handful of Missourians hoping to play a bucket list course, offering a window into how parochial golf organizations sometimes operate when they think no one is watching. Hosted at Bellerive Country Club, site of the 2018 PGA Championship, the recent Missouri Amateur drew a tremendous

10:59 AM ET Associated Press PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The CJ Cup is on the move again in America, this year shifting across the country from Las Vegas to South Carolina. The PGA Tour said a limited-field CJ Cup, which left Jeju Island in South Korea when the COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel, will be

As part of the Open Championship Qualifying Series, the John Deere Classic will help decide three spots in the field at St. Andrews along with offering the usual 500 FedEx Cup points and a not-too-shabby cashout. U.S. Open standout Adam Hadwin is in the field and still looking to play his way into the upcoming

10:00 AM ET ESPN staff The 2022 ESPYS presented by Capital One are finally here. It’s time to decide which of your favorite athletes will win the show’s biggest awards. The nominees for Best Athlete, Men’s Golf are 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler; Cameron Smith, winner of the 2022 Players Championship; PGA Championship winner Justin

Jason Day and Webb Simpson headline the field this week at the John Deere Classic, where the opportunity to claim one of three spots in the Open Championship is on the line for those who haven’t already qualified. After a strong showing at the U.S. Open, Adam Hadwin will look to keep things going from

7:10 PM ET NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka said Tuesday that he didn’t agree to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series until after playing in the U.S. Open two weeks ago. Koepka, speaking at a news conference before the first LIV Golf tournament in the United States, which starts Thursday at

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — Michael Thorbjornsen had a very solid sophomore season at Stanford, but it wasn’t particularly special. He finished the year ranked No. 17 in the nation and tied for 32nd in the individual portion of the NCAA Championship. First-team All Pac-12 and second-team/honorable meniton All-American, depending on which publication you trust. Again,

2:53 PM ET Associated Press The PGA Tour is awarding cards to the leading 10 players from the European tour and bringing back a direct path to the PGA Tour through Q-school. The changes were outlined Tuesday as part of an extended partnership between the PGA Tour and European tour through 2035. As part of

With most of the sport’s stars already passing on the event, the John Deere Classic took another hit Monday as the top-ranked player in its field dropped out. That would be Daniel Berger, who had withdrawn due to injury. “Gutted to have to withdrawal from the [@} JDCLASSIC this week,” Berger wrote on Twitter. “I

5:45 PM ET Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. — In Gee Chun shot a 3-over 75 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Women’s PGA Championship. On a day when Congressional Country Club gave the leaders plenty of trouble, Chun was holding her own until she made a double bogey

Two weeks after watching his big bro reach the pinnacle of the sport, Alex Fitzpatrick will begin his professional golf journey across the Atlantic. The 23-year-old Wake Forest graduate makes his professional debut at this week’s Irish Open on the DP World Tour, the same tournament where Matt, golf’s newest major champion, finished T-29 in

4:24 PM ET Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. — In Gee Chun rallied after losing the rest of her once-sizable lead, overcoming a bogey-filled front nine to win the Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday when Lexi Thompson faltered with her putter. Chun shot a 3-over 75 for the second consecutive day at Congressional, but that was

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — At the risk of wearing out this hit from a current playlist: The painful beauty of professional tournament golf lies in the adventures a golfer endures on the way to the bottom of the 72nd hole. That has been true for a hundred years and then some. Who can forget Walter Hagen

7:31 PM ET Associated Press CROMWELL, Conn. — Xander Schauffele celebrated his one-year wedding anniversary Sunday with a dramatic victory in the Travelers Championship. The Olympic champion won with a three-stroke swing on the final hole, hitting to 3 feet for birdie after rookie Sahith Theegala took two shots to get out of a bunker

Padraig Harrington went missing for a few years, a leading man relegated to bit roles in a Hall of Fame career that had stalled on the brink. Yet there he was on Sunday in Bethlehem, Pa., the last man standing, having delivered a reminder of how good he was and why enshrinement likely is imminent.

7:15 PM ET Matthew Wolff, whose meteoric rise at the start of his PGA Tour career was as surprising as his struggles in recent months, is the latest player to defect to the LIV Golf Invitational Series, sources confirmed to ESPN on Sunday. Wolff, 23, is planning to play in this week’s LIV Golf tournament

Stanford All-American Michael Thorbjorsen promised to be a nice side story on Sunday at the Travelers Championship, no matter how he finished. The 20-year-old from Wellesley, Mass., had local ties to the tournament, having grown up 90 minutes away from TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. He was playing on a sponsor’s exemption, continuing the

7:48 PM ET Associated Press BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Padraig Harrington holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 15th right when the last of his five-shot lead was about to vanish, and he closed with three tough pars for a 1-over 72 to hold off Steve Stricker and win the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday. Harrington

Say what you like about Haotong Li, when he wins he does it with some style. Ten months on from nearly quitting the game because he was so frustrated with his form, the 26-year-old from China is, for the third time and for the first time in 4½ years, a winner on the DP World

4:00 PM ET Associated Press Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf is getting a chilly reception in Oregon, its first stop in the United States. This coming week, the series, which is paying enormous signing fees for players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, descends on Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in tiny North Plains, nestled in the

BETHESDA, Md. — It was drink-a-water-every-hole hot on moving day at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Players were dripping sweat before they even teed off, and the massive tree removal that occurred during Congressional’s recent renovation left little shade out on the course. As the sun beat down, dominant leader In Gee Chun showed signs

7:13 PM ET Associated Press CROMWELL, Conn. — Xander Schauffele shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over good friend and playing partner Patrick Cantlay into the final round of the Travelers Championship. Schauffele had a 17-under 193 total at TPC River Highlands. Cantlay shot 63. Rookie Sahith Theegala was third