Vijay Singh hadn’t won a PGA Tour Champions event in nearly five years. But that wasn’t what made the 60-year-old’s Sunday victory at the Ally Challenge a surprise. Rather it’s how he won … or rather how Paul Goydos lost.

Looking for his first senior win in six years, Goydos held a one-stroke lead heading to the par-3 17th hole at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, Michigan. But after hitting the green off the tee, Goydos watched his 18-foot birdie try go three feet long. And then it got ugly.

Four putts from 3 feet.

Paul Goydos' 1-shot lead became a 2-shot deficit after a triple bogey on the 17th hole @AllyChallenge. pic.twitter.com/KRRdp97iXo

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 27, 2023

Four putts from three feet, and five putts total for a triple-bogey 6 left him now two shots back of Singh, who was in the group in front of Goydos and in the midst of posted a four-under 68 to get to 14-under 202 for the tournament. When he looked at the leaderboard, he realized he was suddenly out front.

“I was 14 (under), Jeff [Maggert] was 13 and no … no Goydos,” Singh said. “I was surprised what he did there.”

That contrasted the incredulous look Goydos had on the 17th hole, wondering how things had slipped away. Not to mention the incredulous voices of the Golf Channel announcers watching what was happening.

John Swantek: “It has become complete unglued for Goydos, who was in command here at 17.”

Lanny Wadkins: “I was thinking all he had to do was tap this short one in and par 18 and it’s his. But not now …”

Goydos would make a par on the 18th hole to finish with a one-under 71 and in a tie for third place.

The win for Singh was his fifth career PGA Tour Champions title but first since the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in November 2018. Interestingly, it was the fourth time he’s won a pro event at Warwick Hills; the course used to host a PGA Tour stop that Singh was the victor in at 1997, 2004 and 2005.

“For some reason, I drive the ball very well here,” Singh said. “I did that this week, and I putted well. Putting has been a mystery for a long time. I found a few things out in the last few weeks and I’ve been putting really well.”

And as for Goydos’ reaction to what happened? Well here was his response on social media, posting this music video with the lyric: “I’m not sick, but I’m not well.”

Harvey Danger – Flagpole Sitta (Official Music Video) – YouTube https://t.co/dlPbh3GWmU

— Paul Goydos (@PaulGoydosPGA) August 27, 2023

The post WATCH: Gut-wrenching five(!)-putt costs PGA Tour Champions pro first win in six years appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Two past champions and World Golf Hall of Fame members Davis Love III and Vijay Singh have withdrawn from next week’s PGA Championship at Oak Hills Country Club in Rochester, New York. They will be replaced in the 156-man field by Alex Smalley and Lee Hodges.

Love, 59, won the PGA Championship at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, in 1997, the lone major of his 21 PGA Tour victories. He last played in the PGA in 2020.

Singh, 60, won the PGA in 1998 at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington, and again in 2004 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. He also won the Masters in 2000, giving him three majors among his 34 PGA Tour victories. Singh last played in the PGA in 2018.

Smalley, 26, and Hodges, 27, will be making their PGA Championship debuts.

The post Past champions Davis Love III and Vijay Singh out of PGA Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

However, the 20 pros in the field didn’t just turn the competitive side of their brains off because their hearts were melting while playing with a dad or a son. On Sunday, Vijay Singh and his son Qass, playing in the event for the 16th time, rallied from two shots back of Justin and Mike Thomas to take the title for the first time (after eight top-five finishes) with a closing 59 in the scramble format.

The Singhs’ 26-under 118 total — accomplished by becoming the first team to shoot back-to-back sub-60 rounds in the 25th playing of the event — allowed them to hold off another comeback challenge from John Daly and his son John II, the defending champs, who shot a closing 59 to finish two shots short.

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“Every year we came here from the very first time I wanted to win this, we wanted to get it together. And it got harder and harder,” said Vijay, who turns 60 in February. “Each time we went out as the first loser or second loser. But never won. And we’d talk about it a lot, ‘OK next year we’re going to go back and win it.’ And to finally do it, it means a lot. This is one of the highlights of my career. Doing it with him and seeing him hit so many great shots when we needed to, you know it’s a great feeling. I’ll keep this forever.”

The Thomases threatened on the back nine to win for a second time in three years, but faltered with a final-round 63 to finish to also tied for second.

Tiger and Charlie Woods also started Sunday two shots off the lead but couldn’t find the same final-day magic they did a year ago (when they made 11 straight birdies to finish in second). They shot a seven-under 65 to finish tied for eighth.

The victory comes with a nominal financial reward, but more importantly brings with it a sense of pride in being to say you won a golf title with one of the closest people in your life. That’s a memory that lives forever.

All that said, there was some money on the line for winning the event. The overall prize money payout is $1.085 million with Vijay earning $200,000 for his team’s victory.

Here’s the prize money payout breakdown for every team at this week’s event.

Win: Vijay & Qass Singh, -26, $200,000
T-2: John & John II Daly, -24, $68,625
T-2: Justin & Mike Thomas, -24, $68,625
4: Padraig & Patrick Harrington, -22, $50,000
T-5: Matt & Carson Kuchar, -21, $48,000
T-5: Nelly & Petr Kuchar, -21, $48,000
T-5: Bernhard & Jason Langer, -21, $48,000
T-8: Tiger & Charlie Woods, -20, $45,166
T-8: Mark & Shaun O’Meara, -20, $45,166
T-8: Jordan & Shawn Spieth, -20, $45,166
11: Stewart & Connor Cink $44,000
12: David & Brady Duval, -18, $43,500
T-13: Lee & Daniel Trevino, -17, $42,750
T-13: Tom & Sean Lehman, -17, $42,750
T-15: Nick & Matthew Faldo, -16, $41,750

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each pro at the 2022 PNC Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

As the years kept piling up, Singh began noticing an alarming — and relatable — trend in his golf swing: His drives started travelling shorter.

Singh’s driving distance average hovered around 300 yards when he first arrived on the PGA Tour Champions in 2013. By 2019, his average had dipped below 290 yards. The cause, he quickly determined, was his backswing.

“The length of your backswing is a big factor as you get older,” Singh says. “When you’re in your 20s or 30s, you can hit the ball far because you can get your backswing to parallel or past parallel. As you get older, it gets shorter and shorter. If you look at the PGA Tour Champions, 50, 60 per cent of [players] can’t even get their swing to parallel.”

“It’s like throwing a ball, or boxing. A longer wind-up creates automatic power,” he says. “If I can increase the length of my back swing, it gives me a few more yards without even thinking.”

His journey to a longer backswing culminated in a partnership with DeWiz, a cutting-edge product that golfers wear like a wristwatch on their lead arm. Once they do, the DeWiz will track a variety of advanced metrics, such as length, time and direction of backswing in 3D.

Singh has been using DeWiz to practice, and it’s been working. At 59 inches, his backswing is as long as it was in his prime, and despite pushing 60 years old, he’s been inside the top five in driving distance with a nearly 300-yard average for the past two PGA Tour Champions seasons.

Vijay Singh. Cliff Hawkins

But looking for an extra edge, Singh embarked on a little experiment recently: At the PGA Tour Champions’ Constellation Furyk and Friends tournament last month, he wore DeWiz in competition to see how his swing changed from the golf course.

“For every golfer, taking your range swing to the golf course is the hardest thing to do,” he says. “On the range I swing really well and so free, I wanted to see what the difference was.”

DeWiz adapted the device so it was rules compliant, and it was only after the competition ended that he was able to look at the results. When he did, here’s what he found.

His swing got shorter

On the range, the average length of Singh’s backswing (as measured by the distance his lead arm travelled) averaged more than 61 inches. On the course, his average backswing length dropped 1.3 inches, to less than 60 inches.

Whether it’s the subtle nerves that come from being on the course in competition, a subconscious desire to seek more control or a result of hitting fewer golf shots in rapid succession, golfers’ swings simply get shorter on the golf course.

“Vijay does very well to keep his backswing length between the range and the course so similar,” says Markus Westerberg, DeWiz co-founder. “We typically measure amateur golfers with a 6-inch difference in their length of backswing between the course and the range.”

His swing got faster

Another finding in Singh’s data was the speed of his swing, as measured from start to impact. His subtly shorter swing caused his swing to get about a tenth of a second faster.

“I really have to be aware of the slowness of my backswing,” Singh says. “My focus has to be slow all the way to the top of the backswing, so I can complete a full turn.”

When he doesn’t do that, that’s when things went wrong …

His transition got more in-to-out

Perhaps the most interesting finding from Singh’s experiment was the data from his mis-hits. While his swing got slightly shorter and faster on the course generally, his swing got even shorter and faster, on his poor shots. When that breakdown in his swing’s rhythm happened, it threw off the timing of his transition: His arms dropped an extra two inches more behind him. This created a series of compensations that caused Singh’s downswing to move too in-to-out, and often meant he was missing shots out to the right.

“I hit a miserable shot on the third hole,” Singh remembers. “When I went back and looked at the data, I saw how my downswing changed. Now I have the information that you can be aware of and improve.”

It gives him something to work on and underlines an important point for the rest of us along the way: That golfers’ swings tend to get shorter and faster on the golf course, which will throw off the timing of your transition. Feeling a longer and slower backswing may feel odd, but it could be your secret to finally transferring your range swing to the course.

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The post A Hall of Famer ran an experiment on his own golf swing. These were the results appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Five months after his wail-away strategy blew up in his face at the Masters, Bryson DeChambeau does not appear to be abandoning it for a more conservative approach.

Of course, we won’t really find that out until he tees off Thursday, but early indications are that he’ll be swinging for the fences once again. He’s apparently putting a new driver into play, one he had loaded up with lead tape on Monday. At the range, he looked like he was prepping for a world long drive contest, which is nothing new.

What was new, though, was Vijay Singh standing directly behind DeChambeau as an innocent onlooker. Singh, the 2000 Masters champ, stood back and watched in awe, chuckling multiple times at the absurdity of it all:

We are all Vijay Singh watching Bryson DeChambeau on the practice range. pic.twitter.com/PXkM3ks4NO

— Justus Cleveland (@JustusCleveland) April 5, 2021

Same, Veej, same.

What’s funny, is that Singh knows what it’s like to be chasing distance in the gym like DeChambeau has been over the last year. Nobody works out like Vijay, who remains in incredible shape at the age of 58. But even he can’t help but respect DeChambeau’s range routine.

The post Vijay Singh had the perfect reaction to Bryson DeChambeau’s long-drive routine on the range appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
When the morning wave finished on Thursday, Tyrrell Hatton was leading the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after an opening-round six-under 66 at the 7,267-yard West course.

Which is not so surprising.

Hatton is, after all, a four-time winner on the European Tour, a Ryder Cupper and, earlier this year, claimed his maiden victory on the PGA Tour at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. So Hatton is a bit of a player, even if his record at the European Tour’s flagship event is hardly distinguished. In six previous appearances at Wentworth, the 28-year-old Englishman has managed only one top 10. He has missed the cut twice and recorded three other finishes no better than T-30.

Which is surprising.

Because few in this week’s 120-man field will know the course known as the Burma Road better than the man who hails from nearby High Wycombe. Accompanied by his father, Jeff, Hatton first saw Wentworth in 1997 at the age of 5, back when the event was the Volvo PGA Championship. The diminutive figure of Ian Woosnam won that year, in what was surely an inspiration for the then tiny youngster.

“I just feel pretty comfortable out on the golf course,” said Hatton, who made an eagle, five birdies and dropped only one shot in what was his 21st competitive round in this $7 million event. “I’ve been around it so many times now. It almost has that home course feel, like one you know so well. So it was a nice start today. Hopefully I can keep that going the next few days. Winning would be special. To lift the trophy here is a career goal of mine. Coming here was one of my sort of favourite things to do when I was a kid. That’s what makes this week so special for me.”

There was one discordant note from back in the day. Asked for his earliest Wentworth memory, Hatton recalled nearly being “taken out” by an errant Vijay Singh tee shot while standing to the right of the 18th fairway.

“Thankfully he just missed us and we’re able to stand here today,” said Hatton with a smile.

There was another near-thing too.

“Tyrrell must have been 8 or 9,” said his father, Jeff. “We were standing behind the fourth green when [2010 champion] Simon Khan walked past. As the pros often do when kids are around, he lobbed a ball in our direction. Unfortunately, Tyrell was looking the other way and didn’t see the ball coming. I caught it right in front of his nose.”

Inevitably, the subject of Hatton’s often-volatile personality came up in post-round conversation. The two-time Dunhill Links champion is (in)famous for his propensity to explode mid-round. Few players have ever reacted more graphically to less-than-satisfactory shots. But a combination of off-course contentment—after more than eight months in the U.S. he has been home for the last 2½ weeks—and a recent weight loss has Hatton claiming things are a-changing in the temperament department.

“I feel like I’m in a good place right now,” he said. “And if I’m obviously happier, I’m going to be calmer on the golf course. That’s obviously going to help me. I felt pretty relaxed out there today. I think that’s just through having my home comforts again. The first thing I did when I got home was have a bacon sandwich, a cup of tea and a curry at night. And there’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed. So it is good to be back.”

At home and, so far at least, at Wentworth.

The post This quirky story involving Vijay Singh and an errant drive explains the soft spot Tyrrell Hatton has for the BMW PGA Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Matthew Wolff, age 21, had never met Vijay Singh, age 57, prior this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, and says he didn’t know much about the 34-time PGA Tour winner before being paired with him (and C.T. Pan) for the opening two rounds at Detroit Golf Club.

“I think he was a little before my time,” Wolff said on Friday. “No, I’m just kidding. Don’t tell him I said that.”

There’s more truth, however, to that statement then either of the two might like to admit. Wolff was born in April 1999, nine months after Singh won the first of his three major titles at the 1998 PGA Championship. Wolff was only 5 in 2004, the best statistical season of Singh’s PGA Tour career.

Yet playing with the World Golf Hall of Famer proved anything but a stressful experience for Wolff. After posting an opening-round 69 on Thursday, Wolff shot a second-round 64 to take a share of the lead at 11 under through the morning wave of play on Friday.

A run of six-straight birdies in the middle of the round—in which no made-putt came from longer than 11 feet—helped fuel Friday morning’s effort for the 2019 NCAA champ at Oklahoma State. Even with a bogey on his second-to-last hole of the day, Wolff’s 64 was the second-lowest he had shot in 75 career rounds on the PGA Tour.

Wolff’s lowest score came a year ago when he shot a third-round 62 en route to his breakthrough victory at the 3M Open. For that round, Wolff was paired with another PGA Tour Champions golfer, Tom Lehman, age 60, something that wasn’t lost on the young phenom.

“Maybe it’s something about the old greats, me feeling like I need to impress them or something like that,” Wolff said.

Impressive isn’t necessarily how you’d describe Wolff’s play thus far during the PGA Tour’s restart. Competing in the three previous tour events, Wolff’s best performance was a 53rd-place showing at the Charles Schwab Challenge, with missed cuts at the RBC Heritage and Travelers Championship.

Wolff said that getting off to a solid start, a birdie on his first hole, then five more to make the turn in a six-under 30, was critical in terms of clearing his mind.

“I just felt like, you know, I wasn’t really worrying about the cut at that point, I was worrying about putting myself in the best spot and keep on making more birdies,” Wolff said. “It was nice to not be around the cut this time and to put myself into a good spot going into the weekend because as I’ve learned the last couple weeks you definitely can’t win on the first two days, but you can sure as heck lose.”

Of course, following up his good play with two more solid rounds is equally important for Wolff’s psyche. Wolff has broken par in a weekend round only once since February.

The post The two lowest rounds of Matthew Wolff’s PGA Tour career now have this strange connection appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

My pledge is to do the same. I’m proud to work for a company, Discovery, that faded to black for eight minutes and 46 seconds—the same amount of time a former police officer kneeled on George Floyd’s neck—across all 19 of its U.S. brands on Tuesday night. But I’m also well aware that we need to keep the conversation going if we are ever to promote real change. Whether its peaceful protests, donating money or having serious conversations, let’s all try to do better. And with that, let’s try to talk about some golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Mic’d up players: The European Tour announced its restart will begin with a six-tournament UK Swing beginning July 22. Also beginning then will be a new policy in which players in featured TV groups will be mic’d up. “It really comes down to how open you are, how creative you are and how your players want to embrace change,” Euro tour chief executive Keith Pelley told BBC Sport. “This is the time for us to do some things completely differently.” Couldn’t agree more. Well done. Just please make sure to put a mic on Eddie Pepperell at all times.

Annika Sorenstam: Arguably the GOAT of the women’s game, Sorenstam stepped up by pledging $50,000 to struggling Symetra Tour players. Well done. The 10-time major champ was also named as a U.S. Women’s Open ambassador for the 75th anniversary of the tournament, which was to be played this week, but will take place in December instead. Oh yeah, she also was this week’s guest on the Golf Digest Podcast, where I enjoyed talking to her about her career and pickleball. Please have a listen:

PGA Tour University: The tour unveiled a new program that will reward the top college golfers (in their fourth or fifth years) by guaranteeing the top five ranked players status on the Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of the season once the college season ends. This will give young golfers a better chance of playing their way onto the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour for the following season. It also incentivizes staying in school, which will make parents everywhere happy. And speaking of college golf. . .

The Wake Forest team bus: Yes, I’m a Wake alum, but even the most objective observer would say this bad boy is sweet:

New week, new month, NEW VAN ?#GoDeacs pic.twitter.com/wHwc03q7JU

— Wake Forest Men's Golf (@WakeMGolf) June 1, 2020

Imagine going on a golf trip in that thing? Hmm. . . My golf trip is in Pinehurst this August and the college golf season will be on a break. . . Guys, did I mention I went to Wake?

WE’RE SELLING

Vijay Singh’s WD: It turns out, the three-time major champ and fourth all-time money earner in PGA Tour history won’t play in a Korn Ferry Tour event after all. Good. But we’re not giving Singh much credit for having a change of heart, because it appears he would not have gotten a spot in the field by the time the tournament started. In any event, the 57-year-old will not be taking someone else’s spot on the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit.

Cancelled John Deere Classic: The PGA Tour restart will sadly not include this major of the Midwest, informally known as the Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson and friends Invitational. It’s too bad it won’t be played this year, but it’s also understandable. In the meantime, the tour is looking to replace the event by holding back-to-back tournaments at Muirfield Village with the Memorial scheduled for the week after. We’re guessing golfers won’t be too upset about spending two week’s at Jack’s place considering that golf course—and those glorious-looking milkshakes.

Rory’s Peloton prowess: McIlroy’s cycling reputation took a bit of a hit when he finished fourth out of eight in ESPN’s first Peloton Pro-Athlete All-Star Race. And while getting dusted by an Olympic medal-winning swimmer (Matt Grevers) is nothing to be ashamed of, McIlroy got beat by former NFL player and former Monday Night Football analyst Booger McFarland. “Since I can’t beat Rory McIlroy on the golf course,” Booger said before the race, “my one goal for today is to prove that golfers aren’t athletes.” While we wouldn’t go that far, it wasn’t a great showing by our guys.

Bubba Watson was sixth and Justin Thomas finished in last place. JT! Pick up the pace! You’re a young man! Props to Morgan Pressel, though, for finishing second on the women’s side. See? Golfers are athletes!

ON TAP

CBS will air the final round of the 2012 Memorial on Sunday. Unfortunately, I missed the end because I was boarding a flight back from a wedding in New Orleans after drinking a few too many hurricanes, but that was a good one. Two words: Flop shot. Sorry, four words: Tiger Woods flop shot.

My word.

Random tournament fact: This will be the last weekend (hopefully) without live golf for a while. Thank goodness.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—I would survive drinking that many hurricanes now: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Michael Jordan/Steph Curry will be play in the next The Match: 2-to-3 odds
—Larry David would be a more entertaining choice: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Two golfers broke 70 on Streamsong Black—and lost by a combined 19 shots to European Tour pro Sam Horsefield, who shot 59 on the par 73:

A 59 to brighten your Sundays, courtesy of @hr59sam ? pic.twitter.com/jfanDCkUrw

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 31, 2020

These guys are good. Hey, if the European Tour is looking for a new motto while it revamps, that one is available.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION SOLIDARITY

Perhaps more than any other time ever, pro golfers spoke out about social injustice amid national protests following the tragic killing of George Floyd. Players like Tiger Woods and Harold Varner III released statements:

pic.twitter.com/Wn7EoTInzU

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) June 2, 2020

There is a lot of of beauty and love in this world. I pray for equality & social justice as we all so desperately deserve that in this day and age. I pray for humanity even more because regardless of color, WE need each other to make that change. Stay safe. Love you guys ??? pic.twitter.com/LrFEff94IF

— Harold Varner III (@HV3_Golf) June 1, 2020

And others like Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Justin Thomas joined the social media #BlackoutTuesday campaign:

As awful as these recent events have been, it’s nice to see the game’s stars taking a stance and spreading awareness. Let’s hope they keep it up.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

Congrats to Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt on making his first-ever hole-in-one. I guess. Kidding. Sort of.

Finally happened today…my first ACE!!!!

Shady Canyon Golf Club
17th 145 yd PW pic.twitter.com/K6cSxyJIyb

— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) May 27, 2020

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I don’t know the avenue to fix this. But I do know that calling someone an idiot, saying they’re stupid, making fun of them for their belief or their vision or how they feel, that’s mean. That’s it. It’s so simple. That’s just mean. So don’t be mean. Think, maybe take a step back. Process, empathize, do something to at least see their—and if you don’t agree, don’t agree, go away. I literally think I leaned 75 percent of all this in pre-school. Treat people the way you want to be treated. If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it.” —Max Homa. Well said.

I’m a 29 year old white dude who has played golf his entire life and knows nearly nothing about what it feels like to be oppressed, discriminated against, or unsafe. So I spoke on what I do know and that’s being a nice and respectful person. pic.twitter.com/CEHKscIlEQ

— max homa (@maxhoma23) June 1, 2020

THIS AND THAT

Sahith Theegala, who won the Fred Haskins Award as the nation’s top collegiate golfer last month, fired a 62 in his first round as a pro—on the Outlaw Tour. Not exactly how other past POYs like Tiger and Phil started their pro careers, but 2020 is not exactly your normal year, either. . . . Speaking of 62s, Tiger Woods moved up from No. 11 to No. 8 in Forbes’ annual highest-paid athletes list with earnings of $62.3 million. Of course, when you’ve been ranked No. 1 a dozen(!) times, this isn’t all that exciting. . . . And finally, it’s been a tough couple months, but I recently got a nice pick-me-up when my favourite artist gave a shout-out to my daughter, who I have already trained well when it comes to music.

Awwwww !! https://t.co/lqHhDSpeen

— benjamin folds (@BenFolds) May 24, 2020

Thanks, Ben. You’re the GOAT.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why isn’t Ben Folds more famous?
What would Tiger’s career earnings be on the Outlaw Tour?
What would Tiger say about my golf swing?

The post PGA Tour pros speak out, Rory McIlroy’s cycling rep stalls, and Tiger takes on the role of swing coach appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
In the end, Vijay Singh drew heat for entering an event he will not play.

A month after signing up for the Korn Ferry Tour’s season reopening tournament, Singh has withdrawn from the field, the PGA Tour confirmed to Golf Digest Sunday.

Though Singh did pull out voluntarily, there was a chance, according to the KFT priority rankings, he wouldn’t have ultimately qualified for the event, which begins on June 11 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Singh’s initial decision to play proved controversial. Singh, 57, earned the right to enter the developmental-tour event as a lifetime PGA Tour member. However, some felt Singh, who primarily plays on the PGA Tour Champions, did not belong in the tournament, a belief that held Singh was taking a spot, money and opportunity from a player of lesser means. The optics were especially harsh given that KFT members had been without a place to play or a source of income for much of 2020 with the schedule halted due to the coronavirus.

KFT player Brady Schnell amplified the matter in a string of now-deleted tweets, remarking to Singh, “You are a true piece of trash if you except (sic) money playing in a Korn Ferry Tour event and I’ll say it right to your face.”

At the time of writing, Singh and his representatives have not responded to a request for comment on the decision to withdraw.

The post Vijay Singh withdraws from Korn Ferry Tour event appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
On Thursday, the eyebrows of Golf Twitter collectively raised when Ryan French, author of the popular Monday Q Info Twitter account, pointed out that Vijay Singh entered the Korn Ferry Challenge, June 11-14—the scheduled re-start event on the Korn Ferry Tour. French obtained a copy of the field list from a player who will also be competing in the event:

The new Korn Ferry Event that will reopen the season has:

34 PGA Tour Wins
13 Euro Wins
5 Asian Tour Wins
2 Sunshine Tour Wins
4 Champions Tour Wins
and Roughly $100 Million in worldwide Career earnings…

in the field…by guys named Vijay Singh pic.twitter.com/UONKyeIN6y

— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) May 7, 2020

To the surprise of no one, social media has not responded kindly. The common take is that Singh, a three-time major champion who has made north of $70 million in his career on the PGA Tour, should not take a potential paycheck from a player who may need it more, especially given the world’s current situation. On the other hand, the 57-year-old Singh is one of the most competitive players the game has ever seen. One could argue he’s simply looking to get those competitive juices flowing once again. And since he’s not eligible for the Charles Schwab Challenge on the PGA Tour that same week, the inaugural Korn Ferry Challenge is his only alternative.

Brady Schnell, a 35-year-old journeyman who has spent much of his career grinding on the Korn Ferry Tour, isn’t happy. The 2018 Wichita Open winner took to Twitter to call out Singh when he saw the news, and he didn’t exactly hold back:

Hey @VijaySinghGolf you are a true piece of trash if you except money playing in a Korn Ferry Tour event and I’ll say it right to your face

— Brady Schnell (@brady_schnell) May 7, 2020

Schnell wasn’t done there, later calling him “selfish” and a “complete turd” in two replies:

I think covid or no covid this would be a big deal. Its just Vijay being Vijay. Selfish

— Brady Schnell (@brady_schnell) May 7, 2020

Its one spot?! Do you know how much those points and money could do for a young kid? He’s a complete turd for playing. He’s got his money and he’s got his career. Just wait another month and roll with your senior friends

— Brady Schnell (@brady_schnell) May 7, 2020

In another reply, Schnell said, “I can promise you I’m not alone,” implying that there are other Korn Ferry pros who share his stance but did not express it in the way Schnell did on social media. If any of them do, we doubt it’ll be as fiery as some of these tweets.

To be clear, Singh has not actually confirmed he’s playing in the event, but given his name is on that list and the fact the event is being held at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye Valley Course in Singh’s backyard, it’s easy to connect the dots.

The post Tour pro rips Vijay Singh for entering Korn Ferry Tour event appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.