Fifteen past champions are competing in the event, including Justin Thomas, winner a year ago at Southern Hills when he shot a closing 67 to overcame a seven-shot deficit in the final round before emerging as the winner in a three-hole aggregate playoff with Will Zalatoris. One who is not is Tiger Woods, who underwent ankle surgery last month and appears doubtful to compete in any of this year’s remaining majors.
Also notable are the 18 golfers who compete on the LIV Golf circuit who will be in upstate New York: Abraham Ancer, Dean Burmester, Paul Casey, Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Sihwan Kim, Brooks Koepka, Anirban Lahiri, Phil Mickelson, Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, Thomas Pieters, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Brendan Steele and Harold Varner III.

Ninty-nine of the top 100 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are listed in the field, with Zalatoris (No. 9) the only one missing as he is not competing due to recent back surgery.

Currently listed in the field is Jordan Spieth, although his status is uncertain after he went public on Monday with an announcement that he has a left wrist injury that he’s treating on a week to week basis. He pulled out of this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson event in hopes that rest will allow him to compete at Oak Hill and attempt to complete the career Grand Slam.

One spot is open for the winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson this week should that player not already have qualified.

Full Field
CP = Club Professional qualifier
Steven Alker
Abraham Ancer
Adri Arnaus
Alex Beach (CP)
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Michael Block (CP)
Keegan Bradley
Hayden Buckley
Dean Burmester
Sam Burns
Matt Cahill (CP)
Patrick Cantlay
Paul Casey
Wyndham Clark
Corey Conners
Anthony Cordes (CP)
Joel Dahmen
John Daly
Cam Davis
Jason Day
Bryson DeChambeau
Thomas Detry
Luke Donald
Jesse Droemer (CP)
Jason Dufner
Nico Echavarria
Harris English
Tony Finau
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Tommy Fleetwood
Rickie Fowler
Ryan Fox
Chris French (CP)
Talor Gooch
Ben Griffin
Emiliano Grillo
Russell Grove (CP)
Adam Hadwin
Nick Hardy
Brian Harman
Padraig Harrington
Tyrrell Hatton
Russell Henley
Lucas Herbert
Kazuki Higa
Tom Hoge
Nicolai Højgaard
Rasmus Højgaard
Steve Holmes (CP)
Max Homa
Billy Horschel
Rikuya Hoshino
Beau Hossler
Viktor Hovland
Mark Hubbard
Mackenzie Hughes
Sungjae Im
Colin Inglis (CP)
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Sadom Kaewkanjana
Martin Kaymer
Ben Kern (CP)
JJ Killeen (CP)
Si Woo Kim
Sihwan Kim
Tom Kim
Chris Kirk
Kevin Kisner
Kurt Kitayama
Greg Koch (CP)
Brooks Koepka
Matt Kuchar
Anirban Lahiri
Pablo Larrazábal
Thirston Lawrence
KH Lee
Min Woo Lee
Davis Love III
Shane Lowry
Robert MacIntyre
Hideki Matsuyama
Denny McCarthy
Rory McIlroy
Maverick McNealy
Adrian Meronk
Shaun Micheel
David Micheluzzi
Phil Mickelson
Keith Mitchell
Francesco Molinari
Taylor Montgomery
Taylor Moore
Collin Morikawa
Trey Mullinax
Matthew NeSmith
Joaquin Niemann
Alex Norén
Thorbjorn Olesen
Adrian Otaegui
Yannik Paul
Taylor Pendrith
Mito Pereira
Victor Perez
Thomas Pieters
Kenny Pigman (CP)
JT Poston
Seamus Power
Andrew Putnam
Jon Rahm
Chez Reavie
Patrick Reed
Gabe Reynolds (CP)
Davis Riley
Patrick Rodgers
Justin Rose
Sam Ryder
Chris Sanger (CP)
Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler
Adam Schenk
Adam Scott
Braden Shattuck (CP)
Callum Shinkwin
Webb Simpson
Vijay Singh
Cameron Smith
Jordan Smith
John Somers
JJ Spaun
Josh Speight (CP)
Jordan Spieth
Scott Stallings
Brendan Steele
Sepp Straka
Ockie Strydom
Justin Suh
Adam Svensson
Ben Taylor
Nick Taylor
Sahith Theegala
Justin Thomas
Davis Thompson
Brendon Todd
Harold Varner III
Jimmy Walker
Matt Wallace
Jeremy Wells (CP)
Danny Willett
Aaron Wise
Gary Woodland
Wyatt Worthington II (CP)
Brandon Wu
YE Yang
Cameron Young
AT&T Byron Nelson Winner

The post PGA Championship 2023: Here’s the full field competing at Oak Hill appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Thompson shot three-under-par 69 on Saturday at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point to win the LET’s Aramco Team Series event. With an 11-under total, the World No. 8 beat Brooke Henderson (68) and Madelene Sagstrom (69) by three shots after she’d taken a two-stroke lead with a 65 on Friday.

The victory was Thompson’s first since she won the 2019 ShopRite Classic for her 11th LPGA Tour win and was followed a string of difficult losses. Thompson’s only previous victory on the LET came in the 2011 Dubai Ladies Masters.

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 Amelia’s takes in New York ahead of Aramco Team Series
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“I came into today just the way I played yesterday, just playing aggressive golf, and being kind of fiery,” said Thompson, 27.

“I’ve been working extremely hard on my game,” she said. “I felt like it was a matter of time but just wanted to play golf and put myself in contention in the final rounds and learn from the losses that I had and what I needed to work on which I brought into today.”

The Aramco Series, comprised of six events, is backed by Golf Saudi and carries points for the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and the LET’s Race to Costa del Sol.

Dubai’s Chiara Noja finished an impressive T-11 on three-under after a final-round 70.

The Aramco Team Series reaches its 2022 climax next month for the final event of the year in Jeddah at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

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The post Lexi Thompson halts three-year drought by winning Aramco Team Series in New York, as Dubai’s Chiara Noja impresses appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

WATCH: Highlights from New York

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The Swedish skipper joined Jessica Karlsson, Karolin Lampert and New York college star Jennifer Rosenberg on the top step of the podium amid perfect playing conditions at Trump Golf Links to finish on 23-under-par.

“It’s a win and it’s a team win and it’s just great to celebrate with the others and have this kind of experience,” said Gustavsson. “The joy of winning is so much better when you share it as well. It’s just been great and having Jennifer with us, she’s got a bright future, turning pro soon, and I think we’ll see her again.”

Runners up in the team competition was Team Hewson (-21) with Team Maguire (-19) and Team Babnik (-19) in third respectively.

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Amelia set to rub shoulders with the best in New York
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Chiara Noja touches down in New York for Aramco event

In the individual competition World No. 8 Lexi Thompson shone in the sunshine — following Thursday’s stormy weather — with a round of 65 to finish on eight-under-par to take a one-shot lead into the final round on Saturday.

“It was a great day out there,” she said. “We couldn’t have asked for better weather compared to yesterday and it was obviously a little softer due to the rain. It’s a tough track and it can get windy — so you just have to take advantage of the easier holes.

“All I can focus on is my game and my emotions, so I’ll just try and take that into tomorrow,” added Thompson. “I’m sure I have to come out and play my A Game. But all I can focus on is my game and my emotions.”

World No. 4 Nelly Korda is lurking one stroke back of the leader after a second round of 67 took her to seven-under.

Chasing Thompson and Korda is Madelene Sagstrom (-5) and World No. 6 Brooke Henderson (-4.)

Dubai youngster Chiara Noja took advantage of the more benign conditions to card a 68 and move up to a share of ninth on one-under.

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The post Team Gustavsson win in New York as Thompson and Korda get set for Saturday showdown and Dubai’s Noja surges appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

This looks like the strongest field ever in an ATS event with stars checking in from across the globe.

The individual 54-hole strokeplay tournament and 36-hole team event kicks off on Thursday with $500,000 on offer in both competitions.

Last time out, the Korda sisters wowed the crowds at Sotogrande, Spain, with Nelly grabbing the individual title, while Jessica took the team crown.

The Korda sisters are back for more in the Golf Saudi event, with Jessica ready to defend her NY team title from 2021, and Nelly ready to go one better, as she missed out to Charley Hull last time out in the Big Apple.

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Van Dam targets a double impact

Speaking of which, Hull is back to defend her ATS — New York Title, alongside a raft of contenders. World No. 8 Lexi Thompson and 2022 Evian major champ Brooke Henderson will both be in attendance, along with fellow North Americans Lindsey Weaver-Wright, Natalie Gulbis, Kelly Whaley, Annie Park and Jillian Hollis.

The legend that is Laura Davies did not want to miss out and former Order of Merit champs Emily Kristine Pedersen (2020), Beth Allen (2016), Hull (2014), Lee-Anne Pace (2010) and Carlota Ciganda (2012), are lining up another shot at glory.

No one looks like having an easy task as there are plenty of 2022 LET champs in the field including Pace (Investec SA Women’s Open) and Ciganda (Estrella Damm Ladies Open) joined by Ana Peláez Trivino (Madrid Ladies Open), Manon De Roey (Aramco Team Series – Bangkok), Tiia Koivisto (Jabra Ladies Open), Bronte Law (Aramco Team Series – London), Anna Nordqvist (Big Green Egg Open), Maja Stark (Women’s NSW Open, Amundi German Masters, ISPS Handa World Invitational), Anne-Charlotte Mora (Åland 100 Ladies Open by Ålandsbanken), Liz Young (VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open), Ines Laklalech (Lacoste Ladies Open de France) and Klara Spilkova (KPMG Women’s Irish Open).

Then there are the Solheim Cup stars such as Becky Brewerton, Linda Wessberg, Anne Van Dam, Leona Maguire, Madelene Sagstrom and Caroline Hedwall.

Strap yourself in for a thrilling weekend at ATS — New York, where anything can happen!

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The post From Korda to Davies, with Dubai’s Chiara Noja thrown in, strongest field takes on Aramco Team Series — New York appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 22-year-old graduated from New Mexico State University this summer as part of their famed ‘Aggies’ golf team, and set out on her own journey in the unpredictable world of golf.

Following her safe negotiation of Q-School 1 in August, she is a step closer to achieving her life-long of teeing it up with the best in the game.

And she will get an early opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of Nelly and Jessica Korda at Ferry Point, New York, before again playing alongside the cream of the ladies’ game in Jeddah. Also confirmed are legends such as Laura Davies and Emily Kristine Pedersen, along with stars like Charley Hull, Lee-Anne Pace, Carlota Ciganda, Ines Laklalech Maja Stark, Anna Nordqvist  and Bronte Law.

Arranged by Golf SAudi, Amelia has been confirmed for the pro-am Aramco Team Series’ final two events of the Ladies European Tour season — starting at New York on October 12, before the finale at Royal Greens in Saudi Arabia in November.

“It is just incredible,” she tells Golf Digest Middle East on the phone from her home in Texas. “I am so grateful to Golf Saudi. These events all go back to my love of golf and where it all began in the Middle East. To get this opportunity in the pro-am in New York and then Jeddah in November is surreal. It isn’t something I ever thought I would have at this stage in my career and I cannot wait.

“To be around some of the biggest players like the Kordas, Van Dam, Davies, Ciganda and Pedersen … it is actually happening, and I haven’t even got through Q-School yet!

“I want the other players to see that I am on their level and I do what they do. I want to be what they are and finally be able to say that I am there.”

Amelia Mc Kee. Supplied

It has been an eventful year since graduation for Amelia, as she makes the switch from college golf to life on her own, with a little help from dad, who has been with her since her days as a youngster in Dubai.

“It’s been very different,” she explains. “It’s a huge change from college golf, which I think I will always miss from time to time. I miss my teammates, and my coach. But playing pro has been nothing short of a dream come true. Travelling, and playing as a career — especially with my dad on the bag — has been something I have been looking forward to since I was a kid. To look back at who I was 15 years ago, and be able to say: ‘I’m finally here’ is even hard for me to believe. I’m trying to take it all in as much as I can. It is honestly kind of emotional to think about.

“That ‘big dream’ a little seven-year-old talked about on the range at Hearthstone Country Club is finally a reality. It feels like forever ago, and just yesterday at the same time.”

With pro golf comes the financial difficulties of stepping out on your own, and Amelia opted for a GoFundMe appeal to help her get started.

“I was a bit sceptical about starting it in the first place,” she explains. “I didn’t want to come across as asking for hand-outs. After I had a few friends and family members ask me about making one, I decided that I should give it a shot and just see what happens. So many people became such a huge part of my career in just a few days. I was able to afford to go to stage one of Q-school after only 2 days of it being published. Otherwise I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay for it. I was a new pro and didn’t have many sponsors. But aunts, uncles, cousins, old friends, people I haven’t been around in years were all there to support me. It meant more to me than I could ever explain to them. Next thing I knew, my biggest donation yet came in and it was Abdullah Al Naboodah. That was huge for sooooo many reasons. He was such a big part of my success as a little kid living in Dubai all those years ago, and here he was again. Helping make my dreams come true. Because of all these amazing people, I was able to get through Stage I, and pay for Stage II! Anyone who follows golf, knows how big of an expense that is. I’m so grateful to all of them. They’re the reason I’m able to do this.”

Amelia has her own quirks on the course, including wearing one long sock and one short one while competing — and it is all for a good cause.

“It stands for inclusiveness,” she explains. “I was a teacher’s assistant for kids with special needs for a long time when I was a teenager. I have a cousin named Cora Jan, who has Down syndrome, and a very close family friend with a little girl who we call Doodles, who also has Down syndrome. I’ve spent a lot of time around those with disabilities, and they have always had a very special place in my heart. Being around them I saw how differently they can be treated by the community. I wanted to show them that being different does not make you any less capable. In fact, being different can be one of the most special things about you.”

Amelia goes back to the hard work at Q-School in Florida straight after New York, and she is prepared for whatever may come next in her career, and also how the whole thing will unfold following the damage of Hurricane Ian in the south-eastern US State.

“I’m not sure how Stage II will work after the hurricane,” she says. “They may have to move courses. I’ve heard that the course we are supposed to play has some pretty bad damage. But we will see what happens. Next steps really depend on what happens in Stage II. Best case, I make it through and start prepping for Stage III. Of course that is what we are hoping for. After that, I should have a higher Epson (feeder tour) status, and a few LPGA starts. I definitely plan on taking full advantage of that. If Stage III is where my Q- School journey ends (knock on wood), I will look into any and all possible options to get on a full-time tour. I want to try and get into a few LET and LPGA events, and maybe work toward status that way. Through Monday qualifiers and sponsor invites, I definitely think it’s an alternative path. I have a few possible sponsors in the works, but you never know which way the end result will go. I’m definitely going to need a few committed partners for it all to go as planned. So I’m working on that in the background as well. I’m hoping to secure those sometime soon, so I’m able to focus solely on my game for a while.”

It has been a full-on adventure for Amelia, over the past decade-and-a-half, and she is always happy to reflect on her time in the UAE and before, where it all began.

“Oh man, I could talk for hours about this but I’ll do my best,” she explains. “I started playing for fun with my dad when I was 7. At the time I lived in Houston Texas. It became an obsession over the next 6 months and I started playing in competition. I told my dad about a year later that I wanted to be a pro. He asked how serious I was and said: ‘I will help you get there, but sometimes you may not like me for it.’

“I’ll never forget that. But I owe most of my dedication and work ethic to him. Two years later (when I was 9) we moved to Dubai. They didn’t have a girls division. So I played with the boys. I met some of my best friends throughout those events. Over time, I got to watch Dubai create a girls division. That was incredible to watch and be a part of. I had the opportunity to play in a few pro-ams like the one for the Moonlight Classic / Ladies Masters at Emirates Golf Club thanks to Golf Digest and Abdullah Al Naboodah. Living in Dubai was the time in my childhood that really secured the fact that there was nothing in the world I wanted more than to play for the rest of my life. For that reason, the Middle East — Dubai specifically — will always have such a special place in my heart. I owe so much of who I am, and what I have become to that part of the world. It’s crazy to think that many people here in the US will never have to opportunity to see all that it is. I really hope to get back there someday soon, I miss it a lot.”

As if all this wasn’t enough for a whirlwind year, Amelia is also well advanced with wedding plans for December, where she will marry fiance and fellow sports star Chase.

“I get married less than a week after Stage III of Q- school,” she adds. “That is in December. Luckily Chase (my fiancé) is extremely supportive of my career, and works in MLB himself. So he understands the time commitment of a professional athlete. We are building a home in Magnolia, Texas, currently which should be done in October, get married in December, and the rest is history!”

Hopefully, some pretty cool history is on the way, Amelia.

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The post Dubai’s Amelia McKee set to rub shoulders with the big guns at LET Aramco Team Series events in New York and Jeddah appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

USGA officials had hoped to hold the reschedule major at Winged Foot in September with a limited number of spectators, but decided not to for health and safety reasons amid the continued COVID-19 pandemic. (Dom Furore)

By Brian Wacker
The U.S. Open is still on schedule to be played at Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York, Sept 17-20, but as previously reported will take place without fans in attendance.

The USGA, which runs the championship, made the decision official on Wednesday, in accordance with state and local officials.

“After months of going through scenario planning from everything to a full U.S. Open, to having no fans, to asking if we can play in Westchester County given that it was the epicentre for a while for COVID-19, to thinking about what other courses we could play and when we might be able to play and how to work through a very crowded fall calendar in terms of sports broadcasting, we got the thumbs up from [New York] Governor [Andrew] Cuomo this week,” USGA CEO Mike Davis told Golf Digest. “Our whole goal is that we want to conduct a U.S. Open and want to do it in a safe way, and we consider it a bonus that we’re able to still do it at Winged Foot. If done safely, we see it as something that can be uplifting. We’re elated that we can conduct the U.S. Open.”

The championship, which was originally scheduled for June 18-21 but postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, becomes the second major championship in 2020 to announce that it will take place without spectators in attendance. Last month, the PGA Championship, which will take place next week at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, said that it will be held without fans.

“We have come a long way in the fight against COVID-19, and I am so proud of New Yorkers, who rose to the occasion and bent the curve,” Gov. Cuomo said. “While the tournament will look different this year with no fans and enhanced safety protocols, this event is a welcome sight for sports fans across the country and will help restore a sense of normalcy as we build back better than before.”

Beyond no spectators there also will be other strict guidelines and limitations at the U.S. Open, according to Davis. The most significant being that everyone who will be on site at Winged Foot must undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival.

RELATED: The 15 best U.S. Opens, ranked

Testing will involve a nasal or saliva swab and be conducted off-site nearby. No one will be permitted on the grounds of the event until receiving a negative result. That includes Davis, who said that he will undergo a saliva swab before attending next week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur in Maryland. Temperature checks and questionnaires also will be issued daily for everyone on the grounds.

Anyone who tests positive, save for players and caddies who have already gone through 10 days of isolation and 72 hours without any fever or respiratory symptoms, as per PGA Tour guidelines, also would be isolated.

Also, under state guidelines issued by the Department of Health earlier this month, players, caddies and all others who are on site will be deemed as essential personnel and therefore will be exempt from having to quarantine 14 days after arrival in New York. This is a key element given current restrictions on visitors from a number of states and countries to New York.

There will be other limitations at the event as well.

Fans watch on the 18th hole at Winged Foot as Geoff Ogilvy closes out his final round en route to victory at the 2006 U.S. Open. (Robert Beck)

Rules officials, which typically number around 75 for a U.S. Open, will be reduced to roughly 25 percent of that. The number of media credentialed, usually in the 800 to 900 range for a New York City area U.S. Open, will be cut down significantly as well.

In all, there are expected to be approximately 2,000 people in all on the grounds during the tournament, between players, caddies, staff, officials, media and family members of players. That’s compared to what would ordinarily be around 40,000.

“This will not be a typical U.S. Open in several respects,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior managing director of championships. “Would it have been easier to simply cancel or even move the 2020 championship rather than play it in what has been the epicentre of the virus in our country? Possibly. But all of us at the USGA know how much the U.S. Open matters, and we weren’t willing to give up on playing it at Winged Foot Golf Club so easily. We are very proud to give our competitors and champions a platform to chase their dreams. Their perseverance motivates us, in a year when such tenacity means so much.”

“I think the big deal is that they didn’t cancel it,” said Gary Woodland, last year’s winner at Pebble Beach. “I would have loved my family and friends to be there. And the NYC crowds are great. But I’m excited to be able to defend, and to do it at Winged Foot. That’s a big-boy golf course. A ball-striker’s paradise.”

At one point, the USGA had discussed the possibility of moving its biggest tournament to another location as the New York City area was a hotspot for coronavirus early on in the pandemic. However cases of the virus in the region have declined significantly and the curve has flattened over the last two months.

Still, cases of coronavirus in many parts of the country and world have continued to rise and it became clear to Davis in late June when New York imposed a two-week quarantine for visitors from certain parts of the world that there was no way the tournament could move forward with fans.

“We realized the chances of conducting a U.S. Open even with limited fans was quickly going away,” Davis told Golf Digest. “Once we knew that we couldn’t play in June, at that point we looked at having a limited number of fans, maybe 5,000 or 10,000. But it was about then that state officials said things are changing and we had to think of it as essential personnel only.”

The news also comes after the PGA Tour last month said that it would not have fans for the rest of this season, which concludes in mid-September, though it will allow a small number of sponsor guests at some of its remaining events as well as spouses and significant others. The 2020-21 season opener, the Safeway Open, which is scheduled for the week before the U.S. Open, also will not have spectators.

Meanwhile, the USGA said it will offer refunds for those who purchased tickets in advance.

Still to be determined is whether fans will be allowed at the Masters, which was rescheduled from April 9-12 to Nov. 12-15. Augusta National has been silent since April 6 when it announced the new date for the tournament. It’s also unclear if fans will be allowed at any tournaments on the PGA Tour for the rest of 2020, though commissioner Jay Monahan has said he remains hopeful to have fans by the end of the year.

 

The post U.S. Open to be played without fans at Winged Foot appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It should come as no shock that c, even as he approaches his 82nd birthday, has some pretty nifty dance moves. Even less of a surprise? They incorporate his golf swing.

The nine-time major champ and energetic marvel was on hand for his Berenberg Gary Player Invitational in New York on Monday evening. And as Player cut a rug to the sound of the Bee Gees, he also took a cut as if he were taking a crack a par 3. Check it out:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZy8HSbhaAN/

Not exactly John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, but pretty impressive nonetheless — especially Player using the transition of the downswing to transition into some sort of swirling motion. Smooth. Thanks, Gary. I’ve got a wedding to go to this weekend, and I just might give that one a try.

The post Watch Gary Player incorporate his golf swing into some pretty nifty dance moves appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.