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A new—or in this case repurposed—format like we’ll see at the inaugural “The Challenge: Japan Skins” brings with a level of unknown to any golf competition. And with an anticipated set of mid-round challenges awaiting them, there’s even more intrigue as to what will take place on Monday between Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama

7:58 AM ET Associated Press ROME — A year after winning the British Open and one week after failing to make the cut in his home Italian Open, Francesco Molinari says he is changing his caddie. Pello Iguaran had been on Molinari’s bag for four years but Molinari writes on Instagram that Mark Fulcher, Justin

Before the United States Golf Association made the final decisions on the rules overhaul that brought us flagstick-in putting, knee-height drops and common sense about accidentally moving balls, the governing body asked golfers to email suggestions. My idea to grant every golfer a set number of minutes to search for lost balls per round (find

5:15 PM ET George Coetzee and Ryan Fox carded six-under-par 65s to share the lead in the French Open first round on Thursday, as the European Tour returned to Le Golf National in Paris a year after the course hosted the Ryder Cup. Making the most of good scoring conditions in the morning, Coetzee started

Former Open champion Francesco Molinari has parted ways with caddie Pello Iguaran and will begin next year with a familiar face on the bag, veteran looper Mark Fulcher, he announced on Thursday. Molinari and Iguaran were together the last four years, during which time the 36-year-old Italian enjoyed a breakout season in 2018 with three

8:26 AM ET Associated Press SHANGHAI — Amy Yang and Nasa Hataoka shared the lead at 5-under 67 after the first round of the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Thursday. Both players had six birdies and a bogey for a one-stroke lead. “I’m happy how I played today,” Yang said. “My swing felt very stable …

It is a good thing professional golf does not have a “Number of Days Since Last Rules Controversy” sign placed at tournament sites. Because it would never crack double digits. Already this week the sport has seen Lee Ann Walker assessed 58 penalty strokes for having her caddie improperly line her up on putts and

GOLFTV’s “The Challenge: Japan Skins” will take place on a Japanese golf course on Monday, but the new event got quite the introduction in a Japanese classroom. Well, sort of. In case you haven’t seen The Challenge’s promo in which HIdeki Matsuyama teaches his three opponents—Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day—a bit of Japanese,

6:25 PM ET Associated Press FRENCH LICK, Ind. — Helen Alfredsson added the Senior LPGA Championship to her U.S. Senior Women’s Open title, rallying Wednesday at cold and windy French Lick Resort to sweep the two major championships of the season. Two strokes behind Juli Inkster entering the day, Alfredsson closed with a 2-under 70

The 2018 Ryder Cup was decided when Phil Mickelson hit a tee shot in the water and conceded his match to Francesco Molinari, giving Europe the win. But the biennial competition wasn’t officially over until the final match between Alex Noren and Bryson DeChambeau concluded. And boy, was it a fitting finish. RELATED: 13 moments

10:34 AM ET Brooks Koepka is the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world. Rory McIlroy is No. 2. In September, McIlroy edged Koepka for the Jack Nicklaus Award for PGA Tour Player of the Year honors after a surprising vote by Tour members — after McIlroy beat Koepka in the final round of the season-ending

Brooks Koepka has emerged as golf’s best player over the past few years. When it comes to manufacturing motivation to stay on top, though, he’s even more dominant. Throughout his rise to World No. 1, the slights—both real and perceived—felt by Koepka have been well-documented. But now he’s using the “rivalry” between him and Rory

The PGA Tour heads to Asia for a three-tournament swing, which begins this week in South Korea at The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges. The tour then heads to Japan for the inaugural ZOZO Championship, followed by the WGC-HSBC Champions in China. Brooks Koepka is the defending champion at the CJ Cup, and is in

12:25 PM ET Associated Press Jordan Spieth returns from his longest break during a calendar year hopeful that a fresh start will end his longest drought. Spieth hasn’t won since the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, a span of 54 tournaments worldwide. He last played in August at the BMW Championship, where he failed

For the first time in more than a decade, a skins game will take place on the PGA Tour, this one featuring four of the biggest names in golf. On Monday, Oct. 21, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day will go head-to-head in “The Challenge: Japan Skins,” a high-profile, live competition presented

8:00 PM ET The situation that unfolded in Houston last week was inevitable. Not so much the feel-good story of Lanto Griffin winning his first PGA Tour event — and finishing in the top 10 for the first time, too. Those kind of tales are common in golf, perhaps more so when many of the

In deference to his mother, Carol, the name that has made regular appearances on European Tour leader boards the past few months is “Robert MacIntyre.” But to everyone else, the 23-year-old who already is Scotland’s greatest all-time left-handed golfer—a low bar, admittedly—is “Bob.” “Bob from Oban,” that is. Just as the superstar that Arnold Palmer

Few new golf courses have ever generated the buzz of Sheep Ranch, which is scheduled to officially open in June 2020. And judging from the early reactions, it’s not going to be the black sheep of the Bandon Dunes family. The highly anticipated fifth 18-hole track at the famed Oregon golf resort was built on

5:53 PM ET Associated Press CARY, N.C. — Jerry Kelly knew he needed to make as many birdies as he could Sunday in a sprint to the finish in the SAS Championship. He was so locked into the process that he didn’t realize how many he made until he marked them down on his card.

There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to the PGA Tour’s fall slate: It needs to be fixed, or it needs to be eliminated. Both share the same ideology, that this portion of the wrap-around schedule is an imperfect conceit. Such a sentiment is cemented by low TV ratings, the absence of

7:10 AM ET Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam will host a new tournament in Sweden next year with men and women facing off on the same course for a single trophy and prize fund, organisers announced on Monday. The 2020 Scandinavian Mixed, co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Ladies European Tour, will take place between

Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the June 2018 issue of Golf Digest. UNLESS YOU FOLLOW THE PGA TOUR CLOSELY, YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T HEARD OF ME. My best finish is a T-12 early into my rookie season on the PGA Tour. I got my card by finishing 22nd on the Web.com Tour in October

7:29 PM ET Associated Press HUMBLE, Texas — Lanto Griffin took the lead with a 35-foot birdie putt and won the Houston Open on Sunday with a 6-foot par that gave him a 3-under 69 and a one-shot victory that sends him to the Masters next year. Griffin was locked into a battle on the

Earlier this year, the European Tour announced a plan to combat the slow play problems that have plagued golf for years. In short, one-shot penalties will be doled out more quickly, along with increased fines, beginning next season. On Sunday, Thomas Pieters made his own statement. Pieters was first off as a single in the

8:35 PM ET Associated Press HUMBLE, Texas — Lanto Griffin recovered from a rain-delayed double-bogey finish to his second round earlier Saturday to post a 7-under-65 — the day’s best score — in his third and secure a single-stroke lead through 54 holes of the Houston Open. Mark Hubbard is alone in second place at

The Houston Open returned to the PGA Tour schedule this fall, and while some were disappointed that the field was void of many high-profile players, it wasn’t because of how much money was on the line. The $7.5 million purse up for grabs at the Golf Club of Houston this week matches the biggest payout

After an 18-month break and an adjustment to the PGA Tour schedule, the Houston Open returns this week with a new spot on the golf calendar. It’s a new beginning for a historic event, which will be played for the final time at the Golf Club of Houston before moving to the Memorial Park Golf

5:31 PM ET Associated Press CARY, N.C. — Woody Austin birdied his last two holes Saturday for another 5-under 67 that moved him into a share of the lead with Doug Barron going into the final round of the SAS Championship on the PGA Tour Champions. Barron, who seemingly took control with an eagle on

After popping the big question on a beach, it should come as no surprise that Rickie Fowler married Allison Stokke on one as well. Nor that the laid-back, SoCal-born golfer wore sneakers to the ceremony. Although, there was a stunning lack of orange in the Oklahoma State product’s outfit. RELATED: The Year in Golf WAGs

9:33 PM ET Associated Press HUMBLE, Texas — Expectant father Peter Malnati started strong and shot 7-under 65 on Friday to lead at the Houston Open after morning rain and lightning prevented the second round from being completed. First-round co-leader Austin Cook, who opened with an 8-under 64, briefly got to 11-under before dropping all