It’s hard to imagine a world of golf without Arnold Palmer. So many sports icons disappear into as much anonymity as possible after their playing days are over; but the man who was golf’s first true superstar was at home on the course whether he was winning one of his seven Majors, becoming an accomplished course architect or making Bay Hill into one the most impressive tournaments outside of the four Majors. Playing with the President What is often lost on modern-day golf fans is that Palmer wasn’t just a champion, he was an ambassador to the everyman who in the 1950s and 1960s had no concept ..read more

Paul Casey pushed his way towards the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) on Sunday with his victory at the Valspar Championship in Florida. Casey rose from 17th to 12th to the win. Justin Rose (#6) is the only Brit in the top 10 currently, But #11-#14 are all Englishman: Tommy Fleetwood, Casey, Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton. Sergio Garcia re-entered the top 10 and #9 with his fourth-place finish at Valspar and Patrick Reed climbed four spots to No. 23 for finishing tied for second. Even though he fell apart in the final round for a second straight week, India’s Shubhankar Shar ..read more

Everyone was so enamored with Tiger Woods and the men bunched around him – Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker, Justin Rose and rookie Corey Conners that nobody bothered looking any farther down the board to start Sunday at the Valspar Championship. That proved to be a mistake. England’s Paul Casey shot a final-round 65 to get to 10-under, then hung on as Woods and Reed both faltered on 18 to take the win, earning himself $1.17 million and 500 Fed Ex Cup points. Starting earlier than the leaders, Casey was even par through three holes before birdying #4, #5 and #7 to hit the turn 3-under. He turned ..read more

It wasn’t the ending the crowd wanted at the Hero Indian Open Saturday, but it was a thrilling finish. England’s Matt Wallace defeated countryman Andrew Johnston in a one-hole playoff to take the title after local favourite Shubhankar Sharma fell apart in the final round after being tied for the lead through 54 holes. Johnston was nearly perfect in regulation, shooting a bogey-free 6-under 66 to catch Wallace and force a playoff. Wallace had been close to perfect himself, shooting the front nine at 4-under and adding a birdie on #10. But he couldn’t add to it the rest of the way, and a bogey o ..read more

Tiger Woods trailing by one stroke going into the final round used to mean an easy win was soon to come. This Sunday, who knows? But Wood is sure to give the Valspar Championship its greatest ratings of all time because he’s a single stroke off the lead heading into Sunday. To win, he’ll have to recall the great killer instinct that made him one of the greatest players of all time, but also catch rookie Corey Connors (-9). “I’m excited,”  Woods said. “I’ve been ready to go. I’m excited to play. It’s going to be fun, lot of fun, and these [fans] have been great. They’ve been fired u ..read more

A birdie on #14 and the crowd went bonkers. It didn’t matter that Tiger Woods was just 30 holes into the Valspar Championship; he’d just moved into the lead. The spot at the top was short lived, but the result is the same. Tiger Woods is in contention for a PGA golf tournament title heading to the weekend for the first time in almost three years. The Valspar Championships tickets just became a rock concert. Its broadcast this weekend just became Must-See TV. “I’m up there,” Woods said at the conclusion of his early-morning start, a round that included no bogeys until the final hole. “At ..read more

If he was old enough, Shubhankar Sharma could probably run for mayor and win in New Delhi right now. The 21-year-old golfing sensation wrote another chapter in his remarkable rise to fame as he shot an even-par to move into a first-place tie with Matt Wallace at the Hero Indian Open. A late mistake cost Sharma the outright lead. He double-bogeyed No. 17, but salvaged a birdie on 18 to close with a 72. “I’m just looking forward to playing out there again,” he said. “I just want to have fun. It’s the second week in the row I’m in the leading group. I’m going to draw from my experiences l ..read more

Earlier this week, PGA rookie Corey Connors missed qualifying for the Valspar Championship by six strokes. On Wednesday, he found out he was in the field when another player withdrew. At the end of Thursday, he was leading the tournament. Connors had five birdies against one bogey to take the lead at Valspar with a 67. The 26-year-old has never finished in the top 25 of an event in 18 prior tries. “I just finished (the Monday qualifier) and got a call from the Tour saying that I was in,†Conners said. “It was obviously a great feeling to get into the field and I kind of had a mindset of t ..read more

Emilliano Grillo has a four-stroke lead halfway through the Hero Indian Open. So why is all the buzz not about him? Because the man in second place has become a folk hero to the local golf fans in the last three months. That’s 21-year-old Shubhankar Sharma if you’ve been on Mars for the last three months. Sharma has two wins already this year on the European Tour and lead the WGC-Mexico City last week going into Sunday before finishing ninth. After a rocky 73 to open the tournament, Sharma tore up the course with a new record of 64, breaking the mark Grillo set just 24 hours earlier. Sharma lo ..read more

Colombia’s Emiliano Grillo fired a course-record 65 to take the early lead at the Hero Indian Open on Thursday. Drawing a wild card looked worth it to Grillo who fired eight birdies to reach 7-under,  leading him to shoot a 65 and lead the field by two strokes by a trio of players including Pablo Larrazabal. “You have no idea how difficult the course is,” said Grillo. “I had to play almost perfect golf to shoot a seven under. I think anywhere else it would have been close to a 59 or something. It was definitely a magnificent round of golf. “I’m very happy with the way I handled myself ..read more