Rippers win LIV Golf Adelaide, Brendan Steele takes individual title

Captain Cameron Smith of Ripper GC celebrates on the 18th hole after Ripper GC won the playoff round of LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club on Sunday. (Chris Trotman/LIV Golf)
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Updated 29 April 2024
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Rippers win LIV Golf Adelaide, Brendan Steele takes individual title

  • Hometown team beats all-South African Stinger GC to claim ‘dream’ victory

ADELAIDE, Australia: LIV Golf’s first team playoff has been long overdue. But after two-and-a-half seasons and 28 tournaments, it finally happened on Sunday at LIV Golf Adelaide — and resulted in an epic storybook ending for the hometown Ripper GC.

The all-Australian team, captained by Cameron Smith, beat the all-South African Stinger GC on the second playoff hole to capture a victory that the entire country had been hoping to experience, with more than 90,000 fans attending the three rounds of competition at The Grange Golf Course.

“This is unreal,” said Smith, standing on the 18th green and draped in an Australian flag with his teammates Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert. “It’s a dream come true for us.”

Another dream was experienced by Adelaide individual champion Brendan Steele, who won the first trophy of any kind for his HyFlyers GC team. The 41-year-old American shot a gritty 4-under 68 to finish at 18 under, one stroke better than Stinger captain Louis Oosthuizen.

“Really surreal,” said Steele, whose win was the 11th of his professional career, but the first since 2017.

“I’m pretty overwhelmed, but to win this event is really special. I can’t say enough good things about the fans and the golf course and the whole experience this week.”

Steele entered the final round with a one-stroke lead and produced a string of five consecutive birdies on Sunday to give himself enough of a cushion against the hard-charging Oosthuizen, who shot a 7-under 65. Five players tied for third, two strokes back: HyFlyers teammate Andy Ogletree (65), Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm (64), the Stingers duo of Charl Schwartzel (64) and Dean Burmester (67) and Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann (66), the season-long individual standings leader.

Steele was able to hold off all challengers, and the Rippers appeared to be doing the same for most of the final nine holes, riding the support of the Adelaide fans to the top of the leaderboard. At one point, they led by as many as five strokes until the Stingers started to whittle away at the lead.

When Smith bogeyed his last hole of the day, the 18th, while Oosthuizen birdied his next-to-last hole, both teams finished at 53 under for the week — a record-low counting score in LIV Golf history.

That set up LIV Golf’s first team playoff, with Smith and Leishman representing the Rippers, while Oosthuizen and Burmester represented the Stingers, with the scores for all four players counting for their respective teams on each playoff hole.

The Stingers appeared to have the advantage on the first playoff hole, with Oosthuizen and Burmester hitting similar tee shots and approaches, leaving them within makeable but a challenging birdie range above the 18th hole pin. Meanwhile, Smith was in trouble off the tee and found the bunker with his approach, while Leishman’s approach came up short and rolled back toward the fairway.

As he walked toward the green, Leishman estimated his chances of extending the playoff at 25 percent — and that is being optimistic, he added. But each Ripper managed to save par, while the Stinger duo each missed their birdie putts, Oosthuizen’s lipping out.

“How we got out of that, I don’t really know,” Leishman said. “We were done and dusted by the looks of it.”

Given a reprieve, the Rippers took advantage on the second playoff hole. Leishman was on in two and made par, while both Stingers found the back greenside bunker, eventually suffering bogeys. Smith had two putts for a bogey to win and needed both of them to set off a raucous celebration.

“You couldn’t have staged a better place to do the first playoff,” said a gracious Oosthuizen in defeat. “Probably couldn’t script it better with the Rippers winning. We had chances. We had two putts on the first hole. And I hit a good putt on the second playoff hole as well. Some days they go in, some days they don’t.”

For the Australian quartet, it was the dream ending for a week of incredible support. For Smith, it was the reason he joined LIV Golf in 2022, shortly after winning the Open Championship at St. Andrews.

“This week has far exceeded my vision for what was ahead,” Smith said. “I think I always knew internally that Australia would really embrace LIV with the culture, with the music, with the entertainment, everything that goes on around it. I always felt like this was the place where it was going to make it big, and how it’s been the last couple of years has been just insane.

“Last year I said, I’m biased, this is the best tournament I’ve ever played. I think this year it’s done it again.”

Final team standings

Standings and counting scores for Sunday’s final round of the team competition at LIV Golf Adelaide. The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title. (won in playoff)

1. RIPPER GC -53 (Herbert 65, Leishman 65, Jones 68, Smith 70; Rd. 3 score -20)

2. STINGER GC -53 (Schwartzel 64, Oosthuizen 65, Burmester 67, Grace 68; Rd. 3 score -24)

3. HYFLYERS GC -48 (Ogletree 65, Steele 68, Mickelson 70, Tringale 71; Rd. 3 score -14)

4. TORQUE GC -46 (Niemann 66, Muñoz 69, Pereira 69, Ortiz 73; Rd. 3 score -11)

5. LEGION XIII -42 (Rahm 64, Hatton 67, Surratt 68, Vincent 70; Rd. 3 score -19)

6. IRON HEADS GC -41 (Kozuma 68, Na 69, Lee 71, Vincent 73; Rd. 3 score -7)

7. CLEEKS GC -40 (Kaymer 64, Meronk 66, Bland 69, Samooja 69; Rd. 3 score -20)

8. CRUSHERS GC -40 (Lahiri 67, Casey 68, DeChambeau 70, Howell III 71; Rd. 3 score -12)

9. RANGEGOATS GC -38 (Pieters 67, Wolff 69, Uihlein 71, Watson 71; Rd. 3 score -10)

10. FIREBALLS GC -35 (Ancer 64, Garcia 66, Chacarra 67, Puig 69; Rd. 3 score -22)

11. SMASH GC -31 (Koepka 66, Kokrak 69, Gooch 70, McDowell 71; Rd. 3 score -12)

12. 4ACES GC -30 (Perez 68, Johnson 69, Reed 72, Varner III 72; Rd. 3 score -7)

13. MAJESTICKS GC -11 (Westwood 69, Horsfield 71, Stenson 71, Poulter 74; Rd. 3 score -3)


Jenno Thitikul stays patient and goes on a birdie streak to take first-round lead at Women’s PGA

Updated 36 sec ago
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Jenno Thitikul stays patient and goes on a birdie streak to take first-round lead at Women’s PGA

  • Thitikul made five birdies in a six-hole stretch, with a 60-footer on the par-3 eighth hole in the middle of three in a row
  • Thitikul played with top-ranked Nelly Korda (72) and No. 3 Lydia Ko (75)

FRISCO, Texas: Jenno Thitikul walked off the fifth green after a double bogey in the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship reminding herself to stay patient and that some missed shots are going to happen.

“Majors, you’re going to miss anyway,” said Thitikul, who’s No. 2 in the women’s world ranking. “A way to bounce back, it’s more important.”

Thitikul certainly found a way to do that on a hot and windy Thursday, finishing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke lead over Minjee Lee (69). Haeran Ryu, Rio Takeda and Somi Lee all shot 70.

That only hole over par for Thitikul was followed by a par before she made five birdies in a six-hole stretch, with a 60-footer on the par-3 eighth hole in the middle of three in a row.

“My putter went really well,” said the 22-year-old from Thailand, who is seeking her first major title. “In the front nine we had a lot of breeze going, and more than the back nine, but like (made) putts 7, 8, 9, which boosts the confidence up making the turn to the back nine.”

Thitikul, who lives in the Dallas area, needed only 25 putts on the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco. Her makes measured 199 1/2 feet.

Thitikul played with top-ranked Nelly Korda (72) and No. 3 Lydia Ko (75).

Korda, who reaggravated a neck injury with a shot out of the rough during a practice round Monday, opened with seven consecutive pars in a round that had two birdies and two bogeys. Ko was the only in the group to make a birdie at the 513-yard, par-5 first hole, but didn’t make another the rest of the day.

While Korda said she doesn’t feel pain hitting shots, the two-time major champion said she has pain “just with rotation” of her neck and that it is hard to get comfortable to sleep at night.

“It’s better, yeah. Getting better every day, which is nice,” she said. “Just because I injured it last year, whenever I do injure my neck it takes a little bit longer than normal. ... Just takes me like a week to kind of recover when I tweak my neck now.”

Korda opened with seven pars, including at the 317-yard, par-4 seventh hole, where she hit a 294-yard drive into a valley just short of the green. Her initial pitch from there ricocheted off the edge of the green and rolled back down the slope to where she was. Korda hit her next shot to 2 feet.

That fifth hole for Thitikul started with a drive out of bounds and a penalty. Her birdie streak began with a nearly 18-footer at No. 7 before the long one at the eighth. She rolled in a 35-foot birdie at No. 17, and just missed making another one more than twice that long on the 434-yard, par-4 18th.

Two-time major winner Lee, a 29-year-old Australian, hasn’t won since 2023. She opened Thursday with a bogey and finished with two bogeys over the last three holes. In between, she made seven birdies.

“I feel like they were pretty soft bogeys. ... Well, on 16, that was a bit soft and obviously the first hole is a par 5. I should be making birdie or par at the least,” Lee said. “Obviously there will be bogeys, but I think for me, I just try to stay patient. If I make a bogey I just try it back it up with something better than that. Can’t get ahead of yourself, especially in this kind of weather. I think it’s more just the heat that’s draining your focus.”

Lee bogeyed the 425-yard 12th hole, where she drove into thick rough to the right and from there went into the left rough. She saved par at the par-3 13th by blasting from a bunker to 5 1/2 feet and had consecutive birdies to get to 5 under — the lowest by anyone in the first round. Then came her late bogeys, missing a 7-foot par on the 16th and hitting her approach on the 18th into a bunker.


Amy Yang looks to repeat at Women’s PGA in wide-open field

Updated 19 June 2025
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Amy Yang looks to repeat at Women’s PGA in wide-open field

  • Yang: That experience (2024 victory) taught me that I can do it. I can still do it
  • The entire top 25 in the Rolex Rankings are in the field

FRISCO, Texas: The LPGA has a new commissioner on the way, a new course to play and no shortage of parity as it marks the halfway point of the season at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which begins Thursday in Frisco, Texas.

It’s an important time on the women’s golf calendar for more reasons than one. Three of the next five events are major championships, and no one is running away with the season-long points competition, the Race to the CME Globe.

Through 15 tournaments in 2025, 15 different players have claimed a title, none of them named Nelly Korda. The first two majors were won by first-timers with scant previous experience in the United States — Japan’s Mao Saigo at the Chevron Championship, followed by Sweden’s Maja Stark at the US Women’s Open.

Korda is World No. 1 and entered the week as the slight betting favorite to win what would be her third major. However, she revealed that she suffered a neck spasm on Monday from hitting a practice shot out of the rough. It was concerning, given she missed time last fall with a neck injury.

“But I have a great physio who takes care of me,” Korda went on to say. “Trying to work through it, but I’ll be ready by Thursday.”

For Korda, it was far from a friendly welcome to PGA Frisco, the new resort that also serves as the PGA of America’s headquarters. The Fields Ranch East course will host the Women’s PGA again in 2031 as well as the men’s PGA Championship in 2027 and 2034.

This week, the course will be a par-72, 6,604-yard setup and serve as a test run for holding major championship golf in the Texas summer heat.

“To my knowledge, I think Gil Hanse and the team, they designed this course to host championships,” Lydia Ko of New Zealand said. “It’s designed with a purpose, and obviously the more frequently you go to these kind of sites, you kind of get more familiar with it.”

Ko played a practice round alongside Craig Kessler, who will take over as commissioner of the LPGA next month. Kessler was previously COO of the PGA of America and will be tasked with increasing the LPGA’s visibility and financial solvency.

“I’m sure he’s busy with still wrapping things up with the PGA of America and transitioning into our role as well, but it’s exciting,” Ko said. “I think it’s a great time for golf. It’s great to have somebody like him that’s enthusiastic and really wants to see where — like how far we can go.”

Korean veteran Amy Yang is the defending champion following a three-stroke victory in 2024.

“I came very close to many major championships and never won before, so on Saturday night I was very nervous and I was questioning myself, ‘Can I do it this time?’” Yang recalled. “But I distracted myself calling my friends and family and just told myself, ‘You know, go out tomorrow and just every hole, every shot, just embrace everything and see what’s going to happen.’

“That experience taught me that I can do it. I can still do it.”

The entire top 25 in the Rolex Rankings are in the field. World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand has one victory this season, but the promising 22-year-old has yet to win a major.

“Every major I just want to make the cut, to be honest,” Thitikul said. “It would be really great to win it, and definitely I can tell that it would be like, everyone dreams to win a major. To me, what I have now under my belt, I’m pretty happy with all I’ve achieved.”


Nelly Korda suffers neck spasm, but will be ready for Women’s PGA Championship

Updated 18 June 2025
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Nelly Korda suffers neck spasm, but will be ready for Women’s PGA Championship

  • Korda cited a neck injury for missing a pair of tournaments on the Asia swing late in the 2024 season
  • Korda said the heat in Texas this week will be a potential complicating factor as she tries to gameplan how to “be smart” and take care of her body while going out and competing

FRISCO, Texas: World No. 1 Nelly Korda attended a press conference Tuesday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with therapeutic tape on her neck.

Korda explained that she suffered a spasm the day before during practice at PGA Frisco, the site of this week’s major championship.

“I hit a shot out of the rough yesterday (Monday), and my neck went into a full spasm,” Korda said. “It’s getting better, but yeah, it was not very good yesterday.”

But Korda — the betting favorite to win this week despite a winless start to her season —  said she expects to be ready for her first-round tee time Thursday.

The injury nonetheless comes at a tough time for Korda, whose last win on the LPGA Tour came in November. She tied for second at the US Women’s Open earlier this month.

Korda cited a neck injury for missing a pair of tournaments on the Asia swing late in the 2024 season. She also sat out a chunk of the 2022 season due to a blood clot in her arm.

“Obviously with the injury that I had last year, every single time something kind of flares up in my neck now, I think I feel it a little bit more than what I used to,” she said.

“But I have a great physio who takes care of me. Trying to work through it, but I’ll be ready by Thursday.”

Korda said the heat in Texas this week will be a potential complicating factor as she tries to gameplan how to “be smart” and take care of her body while going out and competing.

Korda won the first of her two major titles at the 2021 Women’s PGA in Atlanta. That earned her a lifetime invite to the champions’ dinner, but she had to pass on the tradition Monday evening while getting treatment for her neck.

“I didn’t go because of my neck. I was so sad to miss it, though,” Korda said. “I messaged (defending champion Amy Yang of South Korea); the menu looked unbelievable. I love Korean food. So I was really jealous.

“At the end of the day, I need to prioritize my body. So I wasn’t able to go, but I missed out on a good dinner.”


J.J. Spaun weathers the worst of wet Oakmont to win US Open

Updated 16 June 2025
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J.J. Spaun weathers the worst of wet Oakmont to win US Open

  • “I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career

OAKMONT, Pennsylvania: J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a US Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship.

First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole onto the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a 2-over 72.

That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntire of Scotland.

And it made Spaun, the 36-year-old Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second US Open.

“I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career. “I always had aspirations and dreams. I never knew what my ceiling was. I’m just trying to be the best golfer I can be.”

It was calamity for so many others.

Sam Burns had a two-shot lead going to the 11th tee, made a double bogey from a divot in the first cut and from a lie in the fairway so wet he thought he deserved relief. He shot 78.

Adam Scott, trying to become the first player to go more than 11 years between major titles, was tied for the lead with five holes to play. One of the best drivers could no longer find the fairway. He played them in 5 over and shot 79.

“I missed the fairway. I hadn’t done that all week really. Then I did, and I paid the price and lost a lot of shots out there,” Scott said.

Carlos Ortiz and Tyrrell Hatton also slashed away in slushy lies, all making mistakes that cost them a chance to survive this beast of day.

The rain that put Oakmont on the edge of being unplayable might have saved Spaun.

One shot behind at the start of the day, he opened with five bogeys in six holes with some horrific breaks, none worse than hitting the pin on the second hole and seeing it spin back to the fairway. And then came a rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes.

“The weather delay changed the whole vibe of the day,” Spaun said.

Remarkably, he made only one bogey the rest of the way.

But oh, that finish.

MacIntyre, the 28-year-old from Oban toughened by the Scottish game of Shinty, became the new target. He also struggled at the start and fell nine shots behind at one point. But he birdied the 17th and split the fairway on the 18th for a key par, a 68 and the clubhouse lead.

Three groups later, Spaun delivered what looked like the winner, a powerful fade that rolled onto the green like a putt and settled 18 feet behind the cup.

And then the final putt — no one made a longer one all week. He was helped by Viktor Hovland being on the same line and going first. Spaun rapped it through the soaked turf, walked to the left to watch it break right toward the hole and watched it dropped as thousands of rain-soaked spectators erupted.

He raised both arms and tossed his putter, jumping into the arms of caddie Mark Carens.

The celebration carried into those who lost the battle.

MacIntyre, so close to becoming Scotland’s first major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999, sat in scoring in front of a TV and applauded.

Hatton was talking with reporters, bemoaning a bad break on the 17th ended his chances of winning. He watched the Spaun’s putt and it brightened his mood.

“Unbelievable. What a putt to win. That’s incredible,” he said. “I’m sad about how I finished, but I’m very happy for J.J. To win a major in that fashion is amazing.”

Hovland, who shot 73 to finish third, saw it all — the putt at the end, the bogeys at the start.

“After his start, it just looked like he was out of it immediately,” Hovland said. “Everyone came back to the pack. I wasn’t expecting that really. I thought I had to shoot maybe 3-under par today to have a good chance, but obviously the conditions got really, really tough, and this golf course is just a beast.”

Hatton (72) and Ortiz (73), both part of LIV Golf and in serious contention at a major for the first time, tied for fourth along with Cameron Young (70). The consolation for Ortiz was getting into the Masters next year.

Scottie Scheffler, 10 shots behind early in the final round, was somehow still part of the conversation on the back nine. But he missed far too many birdie chances even three-putting from 12 feet no the 11th hole. The world’s No. 1 player finished with a 70 to tie for seventh with Jon Rahm (67) and Burns, his best friend who will feel the sting.

He had a double bogey by missing the green into a bad lie on the slope of a bunker. He missed a pair of 6-foot birdie putts to seize control. And when he made a mess of the 15th for another double bogey.

Through it all, Spaun emerged as a US Open champion hardly anyone saw coming — not at the start of the year, not at the start of the round.


Rory McIlroy ends his US Open on a high note with a 67. The next major is in his home country

Updated 16 June 2025
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Rory McIlroy ends his US Open on a high note with a 67. The next major is in his home country

  • McIlroy shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday, finishing the US Open at 7 over

OAKMONT, Pennsylvania: Rory McIlroy could leave Oakmont feeling like he accomplished something, even if it took the full four days for him to produce a truly impressive round.
McIlroy shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday, finishing the US Open at 7 over and giving himself a performance he can build off as he works toward the year’s final major — next month’s British Open at Royal Portrush in his home country of Northern Ireland.
“It will be amazing to go home and play in that atmosphere and see a lot of people,” McIlroy said. “I’m really looking forward to it. It was nice to end this week with a bit of a positive note with the way I played today.”
McIlroy skipped talking to the media after his first two rounds this week, and much of his availability Saturday was spent being asked why. His golf was a bigger topic Sunday. It had been unremarkable through three days, but he at least momentarily had Sunday’s low round after finishing with six birdies — four on the back nine.
“Physically I feel like my game’s there,” he said. “It’s just mentally getting myself in the right frame of mind to get the best out of myself.”
That’s been a theme for McIlroy lately when he has talked. Winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam was a seismic moment in his career, and returning to those heights has been a struggle.
“Look, I climbed my Everest in April, and I think after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down, and you’ve got to look for another mountain to climb,” he said. “An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.”
First, McIlroy has the Travelers Championship in Connecticut next week. And the Scottish Open is a week before Royal Portrush.
In addition to finding motivation, McIlroy has needed to work out some issues on the tee after his driver was deemed nonconforming before the PGA Championship.
In that respect, Oakmont was a step forward — even if at times this week he seemed eager to leave this course behind.
“I feel like I’ve driven the ball well all week,” McIlroy said. “Really encouraged with the driver and how I drove it as well. It’s not necessarily the driver, it’s more me and sort of where my swing was. I feel like I got a really good feeling in my swing with the driver, which was great. Hopefully I can continue that on into next week.”
After the Travelers, a return to the other side of the Atlantic looms, and McIlroy is looking forward to it.
“If I can’t get motivated to get up for an Open Championship at home, then I don’t know what can motivate me,” he said. “I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind. I probably haven’t been there the last few weeks.”