Open Championship - Preview: Player Picks at Royal Troon

Set upon the rugged coastline of the West of Scotland, the historic links of Royal Troon is one of golf’s most challenging venues. Deep rough mixed with gorse and broom combined with an unforgiving prevailing north-westerly wind make the Old Course a true test of golfing skill and ability. The Open Championship returns to the Old Course for a ninth time in 2016. While minor adjustments have been made to every hole in preparation for the Championship, more significant changes have been made on holes 9, 10 and 15, largely to restore some of their previous characteristics and features. Can defending championship Zach Johnson repeat to capture a second Claret Jug? The pundents suggest this is highly unlikely given the surge during the past year of Jason Day (Australia), Jordan Spieth (USA), Dustin Johnson (USA), Rory McIlroy (N. Ireland) and Masters champion Danny Willet (UK). One of the great links courses in Scotland, Royal Troon has hosted THE OPEN on eight occasions since 1923. The Old Course has a rich history of producing memorable moments from Arthur Havers’ winning performance in 1923, in which he holed from a bunker on the 18th green to lift the Claret Jug, to 71-year-old Gene Sarazen’s hole in one on the famous Postage Stamp 8th hole in 1973 on the 50th anniversary of his own victory at The OPEN. The OPEN at Royal Troon is regarded as one of the most difficult challenges in championship golf and 2016 promises to deliver another worthy Champion Golfer of the Year. This year the course will measure 7190 yards and play as a par 71.So which golfer has the edge going into this week's championship? Share your picks' with the Pro Golf Tour.

USGA Crowns Dustin Johnson at the 2016 US Open Winner ... Well Deserved DJ!

Just off his first major victory, Dustin Johnson is now claims his highest-ever spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Thanks to his U.S. Open triumph at Oakmont, Dustin Johnson jumped from No. 7 to No. 3 in the world, directly behind Jason Day, and Jordan Spieth, and directly ahead of new No. 4 Rory McIlroy. Sunday's win was DJ's first since the WGC-Cadillac last March but it did extend a streak of nine consecutive PGA Tour season with a victory, the longest active streak on Tour. Separately, Scott Piercy who tied with Shane Lowry and Jim Furyk for second, vaulted from 67th to 43rd, putting him in line for a invitation to next week's WGC-Bridgestone. Johnson was preparing to hit a putt on the fifth green when the ball moved. He backed away and summoned a rules official. Johnson informed him that he had done nothing to cause it to move, no penalty was assessed, and the matter appeared settled. Then on the 12th tee, USGA officials informed Johnson that they would re-assess the situation after the round, creating a situation where he, and his closest competitors, could not be sure where they stood in pursuit of a U.S. Open championship. The victory ended a skein of close calls for Johnson, 31, who finished T4 and T2 in the last two U.S. Opens, T6 and T4 in the last two Masters, and T7 in last year’s PGA Championship. He also has a T2 in the British Open. How will this historic win impact DJ's confidence going into the WGC and Open Championships? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour.

US Open-Update: Andrew Landry Holds a 1 Stroke Lead With Play In-Progress

The players are completing Round 1 and attempting to finish Round 2 following yesterday's extensive rain delay. Following two scrambling pars to start his weather-delayed opening round, Dustin Johnson was perfect – posting three birdies and not a single bogey to move into second place at the U.S. Open. DJ's bogey-free round was the first bogey-free round in a U.S. Open at Oakmont since Loren Robert's third round in 1994. Johnson, who finished runner-up to Jordan Spieth last year at Chambers Bay, played a quintessential U.S. Open round with birdies at Nos. 6, 11 and 14 for 3-under 67 that left him one stroke off the lead. His stress-free opening effort was short lived, however, with Johnson heading back out for Round 2 about an hour after signing his first-round card.“It's going to be a long day. I still do everything exactly how you would if you were just playing 18,” Johnson said. “It's nice to go and get 36 holes, 36 straight holes.” Meanwhile, Bubba Watson stands at -1 under par after Round 1, Jordan Spieth is at +2 over par and OWGR #1 Jason Day is at +6 over par. What does these scores foretell about Rounds 3 and 4 this weekend? Share your predictions with the Pro Golf Tour.

US Open: Round 1 Rain Delay - Andrew Landry Holds a 2 Stroke Lead (play in-progress)

It wouldn’t be a U.S. Open without some disgruntled grumbling from players, but Thursday’s weather delays have created an entirely new set of issues for those competing at Oakmont. Play was halted for 79 minutes just past 10 a.m. (ET) because of an approaching thunderstorm. American Andrew Landry currently holds a two stroke leader at -4 under par over Bubba Watson. When play resumed it only lasted another 44 minutes before the horn blew again, sending players scrambling for shelter. The issue for some players was that the USGA didn’t give them a chance to warmup before going back out after the first delay.  Jordan Spieth’s title defense at the U.S. Open will begin at 8:35 a.m. Eastern on Thursday. He’ll play the first two rounds at Oakmont alongside Zach Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau in the traditional grouping of the winners of the U.S. Open, Open Championship and U.S. Amateur. Day and Scott are the top two players in the FedExCup; Day, whose three wins this season include THE PLAYERS Championship, also is No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He finished second in the 2011 and 2013 U.S. Opens. Day has never played a U.S. Open at Oakmont. His agent, Bud Martin, is a member there, though. Which player has both the patience and tenacity to perservere under these conditions? Send your picks to the Pro Golf Tour.

US Open - Preview: The Oakmont Country Club - A Legend of a Course

Legends are made at the historic Oakmont Country Club was founded in 1903 by industrialist Henry Clay Fownes. The layout he created and tweaked through the years with his son, William, has set the standard for championship competition ever since. The nation’s first golf course to be recognized as a National Historic Landmark, Oakmont has previously hosted 15 USGA championships, including eight U.S. Opens (1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994 and 2007). Augusta's greens are famed for how they confound and confuse with their speed and undulations in a Masters week. So are Oakmont Country Club’s in a U.S. Open. What’s the difference? Henrik Stenson says Oakmont’s can be more impossible to navigate. “If you’re talking tough at Augusta, there’s always a shot to play where you can at least get it close,” said Stenson, who has seven finishes of T-4 or better in major championships but is still seeking to win his first. “Out here at Oakmont, there are some places where no matter how good a shot you hit, you can’t get it close.” Jordan Spieth called it "the hardest test in all of golf." Tiger Woods said a 10-handicap wouldn't break 100. Lee Trevino described it as the only course in the country "where you could step out right now--right now--and play the U.S. Open." You get the gist. Oakmont's pretty tough. What makes it such a challenge? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

Ladies' PGA Championship: Brooke Henderson Beats Lydia Ko in Playoff

Just as quickly as Brooke Henderson is rising in the official world ranking, she's moving just as fast up the list of most-liked golfers. Following her impressive performance at Sahalee Country Club to claim her first major championship, the 18-year-old phenom showed class beyond her years with this message to the 19-year-old phenom, Lydia Ko, she had just beaten in a playoff. Lydia Ko lost a chance to win a third consecutive major championship Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but there were no tears in the end. There was no choking back emotion. She didn’t betray any of the heartache we’ve seen other men and women struggle with in major championship losses. At 19, Ko once again showed poise beyond her years handling the difficult loss.  “It wouldn't be pretty if I was crying on this table, eye liner going everywhere,” Ko cracked. “I always worry about my makeup. “I know at the end of the day I played really solidly. I’ve come off with a bogey-free round. I'm proud of the way I played all week. And just to be even close to winning three majors in a row, I know there are a lot of positives, especially in this case, where it's not like I shot over par. I just got beat by a better player. I still played really great, just Brooke had another great day.” How well does this climatic win bode for Brooke Henderson as she ascends the ladies' world rankings? Share you predictions with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

Brooke Henderson Leads KPMG Women’s PGA Championship By Two Strokes

Brooke Henderson shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday, good for a 2-stroke lead over In-Kyung Kim and Christina Kim after the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington. The No. 4 player in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Henderson used a 7-iron to record her first hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour on the 152-yard 13th hole, her fourth hole of the day, after beginning play on Hole No. 10. With the ace, Henderson won a 2016 Kia K900, which she plans to donate to her older sister, Brittany, who is her caddy. Henderson, 18, is in search of her first career major championship victory this week at Sahalee. Meanwhile, Henderson broke through to win the Cambia Portland Classic with a Ping Craz-E putter. She had the club in her bag for about 18 months before switching to a Ping Vault Oslo mallet putter this week and posting a 4-under-par 67 to take the first-round lead. The Vault series is a new line of putters Ping is debuting this week. And South Korea's favorite daughter Inbee Park  became an active 10-year member of the LPGA, and thus, qualified as the 25th member of the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, and 24th player to qualify. Share your picks for Sunday afternoon's leaderboard? And just whom will take home the winner's trophy with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

KPMG Women's PGA Championship: Ladies Prepare for the LPGA's Second Major

Three-time defending Champion Inbee Park is the first player since Annika Sorenstam in 2005 to win a single major championship three consecutive times (Sorenstam won this Championship in 2003, ’04 and ’05). No player, however, has won any LPGA major championship four consecutive times. The only golfer, on any Tour, since 1900 to win a single major championship four straight years, without interruption, was Walter Hagen. He won four consecutive PGA Championships from 1924-27. Note that Tom Morris Jr. won four straight Open Championships from 1868-72, with the exception of 1871, when it was not contested. Lydia Ko has won two straight LPGA major championships. Last September, Ko won the final major on the 2015 LPGA schedule, the Evian Championship, before claiming the ANA Inspiration in April. If Ko can win this week at Sahalee, she’d join Inbee Park (2013), Pat Bradley (1985-86), Mickey Wright (1961-62), and Babe Zaharias (1950) as the only women to win three straight majors.Meanwhile, This week at Sahalee, Ariya (“Air-ee-ah”) Jutanugarn is gunning for her fourth consecutive victory, as in her previous three entries, she won the LPGA Volvik Championship (May 26-29), the Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC (May 19-22) and the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic (May 5-8). Jutanugarn did not enter last week’s ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer. To date, only six players in LPGA annals have won as many as four events in a row: Shirley Englehorn, Nancy Lopez, Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam, Kathy Whitworth, and Mickey Wright. Which player has the advantage heading into the year's 2nd Major? Share your picks with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

William McGirt Wins the Memorial Tournament After 165 PGA Starts

That was just fine with eventual champion William McGirt, who won for the first time in 165 starts. After handing him the trophy, tournament host Jack Nicklaus told McGirt he won plenty of tournaments with the same formula. “The golf course gave up birdie after birdie after birdie, and then all of a sudden, a little teeth got into it coming down near the end, and you just stayed dead steady right on track and kept on going,” Nicklaus said to McGirt. “That's what it takes to win golf tournaments. I've won - I don't know how many tournaments - I won half of my golf tournaments watching everyone else self-destruct. I didn't win them. They just self-destructed, and that's the way you win.” McGirt made 15 straight pars to close out his first win, none bigger than the 9-footer he made to beat Jon Curran on the second playoff hole. “Luckily, the wind kept it from being a shootout at the end, and pars were good enough coming down the stretch,” McGirt said.This win boosts McGirt's confidence just in time for his first U.S. Open in two weeks. Rory McIlroy finished T4, Jason Day ended up at T27 and Jordan Spieth came home at T57. What do these results foretell about the US Open at Oakmont in two weeks? Send us your comments here at the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

PGA Tour: Matt Kuchar and Brendan Steele Share the Lead in Round 2 at The Memorial

With second round play in-progress Kuchar and Steele finished theirs rounds at -12 under par while OWGR #1 Jason Day finished at -7 under par five strokes off the lead. Before Jason Day teed off Thursday on his home course, Dustin Johnson had already posted his best score in 31 rounds at the Memorial, an 8-under 64. But Day remembered the advice he received earlier this week from tournament host Jack Nicklaus:  Stay patient and play within yourself. Day went out and posted his best score in 23 rounds at Muirfield Village, a 6-under 66. “I'm pleased because usually I come into this event and start pretty poorly, maybe put a little too much pressure on myself,” he said. “It is my home course, and you want to play well, and you want to win this tournament because of Mr. Nicklaus and what he's done with the golf tournament and the golf course, as well. A lot of history behind this.” Day can join Tiger Woods as the only players to win at Arnold Palmer's  Bay Hill and Nicklaus’s Memorial in the same year. Woods accomplished the feat four times.  Day desperately wanted to win The Players, which he did three weeks ago for his third title of the season, and he’s trying to do the same at the Memorial. The first hurdle is out of the way. He is off to a good start, and with an early tee time on Friday, Day has a chance to give Johnson a number to look at when he tees off in the afternoon. While Muirfield Village is his home course, but Day’s best finish at the Memorial is a T-27 in 2009. “I don't know, I just sucked,” Day said, when asked to explain his poor record. “To be honest, I would love to go, ‘Yeah, this is it.’ I had distractions at home, or the course wasn't that great, or I had a bad draw, or whatever, but it's not. I just played terrible and kept on playing terrible for a good period of time.” Which player has the advantage moving into Round 3 on Saturday? Share our picks with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/