ORLANDO, FL. – Akshay Bhatia, a bespectacled 24-year old left-handed golfer who uses an unusual split grip for putting, won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, but this one was more about how Daniel Berger lost it. Berger led virtually all the way in this lucrative PGA Tour signature event that leads into two of…
Tournament Reports
Back injury forces McIlroy to WD from Palmer tourney
ORLANDO, FL. – Rory McIlroy was feeling good about his golf game going into this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club, but now the world’s No. 2-ranked golfer has to wonder. Not only was McIlroy a surprise withdrawal from the API – one of the PGA Tour’s lucrative signature events – on…
LIV Tour won’t have a Chicago tournament in 2026
The LIV Golf Tour kicks off its fifth season this week in Saudi Arabia minus four of its mainstay players and one notable change in its 14-tournament schedule. Chicago was the site of tournaments in the lucrative Saudi-backed circuit’s first four years, but not this time. “No Chicago event this year,’’ a LIV spokesperson confirmed…
Anthony Kim earns his way back to the LIV tour
LECANTO, FL. – Anthony Kim is back on the LIV Tour in 2026, and he earned it with his clubs this time. Kim, who had a 12-year hiatus from golf after a promising start to his professional career, finished third in LIV’s Promotion tournament at Black Diamond Ranch. That was good enough to regain his…
Kim survives, Chase Koepka out in LIV Promotion event
LECANTO, FL. – Three players will earn spots on the lucrative LIV Golf tour this weekend, and they know it won’t be easy. Promotion to the Saudi-backed circuit is demanding. The qualifier started with 60 players from 24 countries on Thursday. The low 20 and ties – it turned out to be 29 players –…
Hensby fits right in at pro golf’s most unusual event
CLEARWATER, Florida – When Mark Hensby was getting started in professional golf he was definitely different. He moved from Australia to the Chicago area in 1996, devoted himself to golf and promptly won the Illinois State Amateur. He was known to occasionally sleep in his car in the Cog Hill parking lot in those…
Is a Chicago player turnover coming on the LPGA Tour?
BELLEAIR, FL. – Elizabeth Szokol, the only player on the Ladies PGA Tour with Chicago area roots, announced her retirement on the same day that Lauryn Nguyen, the most recent Northwestern star, concluded her debut on the premier women’s circuit. Both missed the 36-hole cut on Friday in The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican…
Caitlin Clark can play more than just basketball — Is golf next?
BELLEAIR, FL. – There’s a chance that the pro-am at this week’s LPGA Tour event, The Annika driven by Gainbridge, will create more excitement than the 72-hole event proper and there’s one major reason for that. Her name is Caitlin Clark. As a basketball sensation Clark has brought more attention to women’s basketball at both…
Northwestern alum Nguyen set to make her LPGA debut
The legendary Patty Berg, who played out of St. Andrew’s in West Chicago, was among the original members of the Ladies PGA Tour was formed in 1950. There have been very few LPGA players from the Chicago area since then. Winnetka’s Elizabeth Szokol has been the only one in recent years but this week –…
Stinger sweep provides a climax to LIV/Chicago
It was a rare team sweep in the fourth version of the LIV/Chicago tourney Sunday at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Dean Burmester won the individual title and his Stinger unit won the team crown – and both came in one-hole sudden death playoffs. Burmester, whose only previous LIV win was at Miami last year, watched two…