The PGA Tour is in full swing and the first major of the year, the Masters, has come and gone. It was a great tournament to kick off the season with some of golf’s biggest stars on display.
The phil mickelson news is a list of the players who played well at the 2024 majors.
SANDWICH, England (CBSNewYork) — COVID-19, like everything else, flipped golf on its head.
There was no Open in 2024. In November, the Masters was held. The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament held in the United States. was held in August for the first time after being relocated to May the previous year. In September, the US Open was held.
Instead of nine months between The Open and the Masters, there was five months between majors, with back-to-back Masters, for a total of seven in 11 months.
Three of the majors will be played without spectators in 2024, with a small attendance for the Masters in April, a supposedly COVID-free, boisterous atmosphere at Kiawah for the PGA, and a controlled scenario at Torrey Pines for the US Open.
Since the epidemic started in March of 2024, the Open at Royal St. George’s has attracted the most attendance. The 30,000-plus fans each day were rewarded to spectacular weather, which regrettably wore down the old courses.
So the Masters and the next major tournament will have to wait another nine months. The Olympics and the Ryder Cup are on the horizon. And then there are the recollections of 2024. Here’s a look at the four major championships over the last four years.
The Masters of the Universe
Hideki Matsuyama was the winner.
What happened: After a strong finish to the weather-interrupted third round, Matsuyama carried a 4-shot lead into the final round, then held on for a 1-shot win over Will Zalatoris with a final-round 73. He was the first Japanese man to win a major golf tournament.
Best moment: On the 18th hole, Matsuyama’s caddy, Shota Hayafuji, grabbed the flag and returned it to the cup, as is traditional for the winning caddie. He then bowed and turned back to the course, removing his hat. “‘I was grateful,’ he said. “I hadn’t planned on doing that, but it simply occurred.”
Shota Hayafuji, Hideki Matsuyama’s caddy, bowed to the course after returning the pin on the 18th hole after Hideki Matsuyama’s Masters victory. pic.twitter.com/gdLsWSC0Ac #themasters
April 11, 2024 — ESPN (@espn)
Honorable mention: Matsuyama, after winning, becoming emotional when asked about the effect his longtime manager and translator, Bob Turner, has had on his career — and then Turner struggled to communicate those words in English since he was conveying Hideki’s remarks about himself.
Worst moment: On Sunday, Xander Schauffele’s 8-iron approach to the 16th green fell short. He’d rallied to within a stroke of Matsuyama, and he might have put pressure on him by striking the ball anywhere on the green. The water ball, on the other hand, effectively eliminated any drama.
The PGA Championship
Phil Mickelson is the winner.
What happened: Mickelson, at the age of 50, became the game’s oldest major winner after shooting a final-round 73 to beat Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen by two shots. Mickelson won his sixth major championship and 45th PGA Tour victory.
The sight on the 18th hole, with hundreds of spectators crowding around Mickelson after he hit his second shot to the green, was a golf celebration unlike any other in recent memory.
Honorable mention: During the third round, Phil requested that a drone be removed from his line of sight because he thought it was interfering with his ball flight.
Worst moment: The spectacle on the 18th hole, with tens of thousands of fans surrounding Mickelson… and Koepka, who claimed a spectator clipped his already damaged knee. The scenario turned out to be OK, but it was terrifying for a few minutes and might have been much worse.
U.S. Open
Jon Rahm and his family were able to share the joy of victory. Getty Images/Ezra Shaw
Jon Rahm is the winner.
What happened: Rahm scored a final-round 67 to beat Louis Oosthuizen by a shot, becoming the first player since Tom Watson in 1982 to win the US Open with birdies on the last two holes.
In this episode of America’s Caddie, Michael Collins goes to the United Kingdom to visit the host town of the Open Championship, Sandwich, and speak with Sir Nick Faldo, a three-time Open champion. ESPN+ is currently offering a live stream of the event.
Best shot: Rahm’s 18-foot birdie putt came when he felt he may need it in a playoff. It concluded a chaotic final round in which several players were in contention, and it gave Rahm his first major title after he tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks before and was forced to withdraw from the Memorial with a 6-shot, 54-hole lead.
Honorable mention: On the final day, ten players were within a shot of the lead at one time. The top included defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and two-time US Open winner Brooks Koepka.
Worst moment: DeChambeau’s back-nine collapse, which resulted in a score of 44. On the 10th tee, he was leading the event, but he bogeyed 11 and 12 and doubled the par-5 13th. He put the breakdown down to poor luck. He ultimately finished in a tie for 26th place.
The Open
Collin Morikawa was the winner.
What happened: At Royal St. George’s, Morikawa became the first player to win two majors in his debut, shooting a final-round 66 without a bogey to beat Jordan Spieth by two strokes.
Best moment: During the final round, Morikawa’s three-birdie run on the seventh, eighth, and ninth holes put him in front for the first time, and he was never challenged again.
Honorable mention: Morikawa’s touching victory speech on the 18th green, in which he thanked his parents, brother, girlfriend, coach, and caddy, as well as the audience for their support throughout the week. It didn’t bother anybody that he dubbed the event “The British Open.” It is, for the record, The Open.
Worst moment: Jordan Spieth’s Saturday finish. He bogeyed the 17th hole after missing the green from fewer than 100 yards. He subsequently made another bogey on the 18th hole, missing his par putt from 2 feet. In the end, those two bullets proved to make the difference.
