Former world No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut called out the Madrid Open organizers as he is stunned that there could be a tournament in Spain that is not distributing the majority of its wildcards to Spanish players.  In late 2021, it was announced that American company IMG was purchasing the Madrid Open from ex-Grand Slam champion Ion Tiriac. Since then, wildcards have been distributed a bit differently as players represented by IMG usually have the edge in the wildcard selection.  Bautista Agut, a 2019 Wimbledon semifinalist, is currently ranked at No. 86 in the world and he didn't co ..read more

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have proven to be excellent partners right from the start of the Zurich Classic. They scored a combined 61, which is a fantastic and promising beginning. Together, they are eleven-under-par.  Shane Lowry expressed excitement about their start in his media comments. He highlighted that both of them enjoyed their golf, considering their impressive performance. However, their focus is already on the next round and the opportunity to make an even bigger leap compared to their opponents. Lowry is excited about the foursomes format, admitting that he enjoys it. “A ..read more

Promising American Darwin Blanch admitted he felt "really nervous and stressed" while playing against Rafael Nadal in front of a sold-out crowd at the Madrid. On Thursday, 16-year-old Blanch made his Madrid debut and it was quite something since he was drawn to face the greatest clay courter in his opening match. But against Nadal, Blanch expectedly stood no chance as the four-time Madrid champion sealed a 6-1 6-0 win.  "I was really nervous. Really nervous, but I was just telling myself just to go and enjoy it, do the best I could, and I was going to be proud of myself, however the matc ..read more

Greg Norman, the director general of LIV Golf, will "consider" the traditional 72-hole professional golf tournament format while weighing the financial implications of adding a round to the current three-day events on the new circuit sponsored by Saudi Arabia. Greg Norman, results As it stands, LIV Golf utilizes a 54-hole format without a cut designed to mitigate what Norman termed the "economic impact" compared to the four rounds played by the PGA Tour, European Tour, Japan Tour, LPGA Tour, and others. Norman, seated alongside Jon Rahm in Adelaide, South Australia, where there is a new LIV e ..read more

The question on everyone's lips in the golfing world: Is Scottie Scheffler the New Tiger? Well, the statistics don't lie. Until 2024, Tiger Woods was the only golfer to have won both the Masters and the Players Championship, but now he's not alone. Scottie Scheffler is simply dominating the world of professional golf, with a consistently humble and composed attitude, never attracting too much attention. This may frustrate some golf fans overseas who crave a bit more "spark" to truly replace Tiger. Whenever Scottie steps onto the tee, much like Tiger in his prime, he's always considered in con ..read more

When Jay Monahan returned to his position after a brief period away from the spotlight, following the signing of the framework agreement between the Tours, he immediately sent a memorandum to all players outlining how the path to the final agreement would unfold. Pga Tour, news At the top of the list was the Player Benefit Program, created to reward loyalty to the PGA Tour from players who had previously rejected offers from LIV Golf. According to reports from The Telegraph, players received an email yesterday from the PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach (the one depicted in the openin ..read more

Andy Roddick reveals his tactic against Rafael Nadal on hard was just to play as aggressively and quickly as possible as it didn't take him long before he realized that extending points against the Spaniard would only mean "a slower and more painful death." Roddick, a former world No. 1, clashed against Nadal 10 times and he had certain success, winning three of their 10 meetings. To no one's surprise, all of those three wins came on hard, where Roddick was a strong force in his prime.  In 2004 - shortly after Roddick won a Grand Slam and became the world No. 1 - he defeated Nadal at the ..read more

After a delayed start due to less than favorable weather conditions, the first round of the 2024 ISPS Handa Championship, held at the Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba, Japan, saw a suspension. Currently, the leaderboard is shared at -5 by German Yannik Paul and four Japanese players: Taisei Shimizu, Taiki Yoshida, Tomoyo Ikemura, and Taiga Nagano, with Nagano currently at the 11th hole. Isps Handa, results Close behind, just one shot off the lead, are numerous players, including some notable names, with most already back in the clubhouse, except for Spain's Alejandro del Rey (also at the 11th hole ..read more

Rafael Nadal can still score victories at the home Masters 1000 event in Madrid, 21 years after his debut! The veteran kicked off his 20th Madrid Masters campaign with a rock-solid 6-1, 6-0 triumph over the 16-year-old Darwin Blanch in 64 minutes. Rafa notched his 57th victory in Madrid and first at a Masters 1000 level since Paris 2022 after struggling with injuries. Nadal did not feel well ahead of Madrid. However, there was nothing wrong with his game against the young gun, dropping nine points behind the initial shot and never facing a break point. Blanch could not fol ..read more

Emma Raducanu has added a WTA 500 tournament to her clay schedule as the 2021 US Open champion has been confirmed for Strasbourg, the tournament announced on Thursday. For this year's clay season, Raducanu is set to have a packed schedule as she is now expected to play four tournaments leading up to the French Open. After competing in Stuttgart last week and making the quarterfinal, Raducanu also played at this week's Madrid Open - which she exited early in the first round on Wednesday.  Now, Raducanu has returned home, where she will try to rest and recharge before resuming action in Ro ..read more