A RYDER CUP star was dumped out of the BMW PGA Championship after three rounds – following a rarely-seen SECOND CUT.
All 12 Team Europe players plus captain Luke Donald teed it up at Wentworth this week in the last big event before they fly to New York to face the USA.
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Robert MacIntyre missed the secondary cut at the BMW PGA ChampionshipCredit: Getty
But DP World Tour chiefs were forced into an unusual rule change.
A whopping 86 made it through the regular cut at the mid-way point after 36 holes on Friday evening – with 26 players tied on two-under-par.
However, a secondary cut can be introduced by the Tournament Director after the third round on Saturday to reduce the field for the final day if more than 84 make it to the weekend.
The secondary cut is designed to ensure the maximum number of players on Sunday is 78.
This was the first time the little-known rule was implemented on the DP World Tour since the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in 2023.
That ensures the leaders can go out at 11.10am on Sunday – allowing enough time for a possible play-off and to stick to TV schedules.
His level-par 72 kept him at -2 and sent him packing alongside Alex Fitzpatrick and Niklas Norgaard among others.
But unlike the regular cut, the 13 golfers ditched after Saturday are still entitled to both ranking points in the Race To Dubai and prize money from Wentworth.
‘This rules’ hail fans at dad & son’s viral reaction to Rory McIlroy sinking epic putt to send Irish Open to play-off
Tommy Fleetwood, fresh from his maiden PGA Tour win, just scraped through to Sunday on -3 with Rory McIlroy two shots better off.
Justin Rose, Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry are all at -7 with Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick on -10.
But MacIntyre’s European team-mates Viktor Hovland (-12) and Tyrrell Hatton (-13) will be hoping to chase down the leaders Alex Noren and Adrien Saddier on -15.
Ironically, Noren is a vice-captain for Donald at Bethpage Black in two weeks’ time.
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Tommy Fleetwood scraped through to the final round at WentworthCredit: Getty
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Tyrrell Hatton shot a brilliant 64 to get to -13, two off the leadCredit: Getty
Ryder Cup line ups
Here are the players who will be competing in the Ryder Cup…
This is a story about a movie that saved a sport. OK, that’s a stretch, but only a little one.
Scottie Scheffler is the No. 1 golfer in the world. Has been for a couple of years. He has won two Masters titles, one PGA Championship and the recent British Open, as well as an Olympic gold medal. He is so good that somebody ought to check his golf balls for tiny magnets that hook up to the cups on the greens. So far this year, by slapping a little white dimpled ball around in the grass, he has won $19.2 million. He has yet to turn 30, but his overall income, just from golf tournaments, is around $90 million.
This guy is so good that his caddie, Ted Scott, is estimated, at the normal 10% of winnings, to have pocketed about $5 million. For carrying a bag.
So, what’s the problem?
Scheffler is so good that he might also be sparking a trend called remote remorse. You really want to watch, but once he gets ahead by a couple of shots, there is nothing left. No drama, no possible twist and turn, no chance of any excitement. Other players in those tense, title-on-the-line final holes, dunk a shot into the water or bury one so deep in the sand that their only choice of club is a shovel.
Not Scheffler. He is a 6-foot-3 human robot whose veins circulate ice water. When the going gets tough, Scheffler yawns.
Scottie Scheffler, right, and wife Meredith Scudder attend the premiere of Netflix’s “Happy Gilmore 2” on July 21 in New York.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
So, you see this and you know what is coming next — final putt, arms raised in satisfaction, a hug for his multi-millionaire caddie, the mandatory TV interview with the apparently mandatory British-accent female sportscaster, who will always start with, “How does this feel?”
You, and millions more, click the button on your remote for something more interesting, like HGTV or the Gardening Channel. When Scheffler gets ahead in the final round like that — which is almost always — it is game over. He can squeeze the drama out of a golf tournament like Bill Belichick could out of an NFL postgame interview.
Certainly, you say, Tiger Woods used to win lots of tournaments by lots of big margins and that never seemed boring.
That’s because it wasn’t. Tiger was animated, angry, annoyed, analytical, fed up with some part of his game, charged up over another part, mad at a reporter, upset with his agent. Tiger could win by eight, occasionally did, and it was still must-see TV. When Tiger was at his best, nobody could beat him and the public loved him and just wanted more. Scheffler is currently at his best and the public certainly is terribly impressed and, sadly, kind of meh. Tiger was a pound-on-the-table-and-shout-at-the-TV kind of player. Scheffler is a nod and a shrug.
But there is hope. Hollywood has intervened, as only Hollywood can.
Twenty-nine years ago, an up-and-coming comic named Adam Sandler made a movie inspired by one of his New England friends, who was a great hockey player and could also hit a golf ball a long distance with a hockey stick. Sandler called the movie “Happy Gilmore” and found a wide audience that loved it for its irreverence about a game that flaunts hushed reverence.
Among the highlights was an on-course fistfight between Happy Gilmore (Sandler) and aging TV game show host Bob Barker. Barker won by KO.
The movie was hilariously overdone slapstick. It was a gut-laugh-a-minute. It was so stupid and wacky that it was wonderful.
Now, Sandler has made “Happy Gilmore 2,” and it is again a must-see for all the reasons that the original was. Plus the cameo appearances. Especially one by Scheffler.
In the movie, Scheffler is good, funny, fun. He doesn’t have a lot of lines, but he has perfect timing. He punches a guy out on the green and the cops come and haul him away. “Oh, no. Not again,” he says.
Remember, earlier this year, when Louisville cops hauled him away and put him in an orange jail suit, when he was accused of making a wrong turn while driving into the golf course at the PGA Championship, a tournament that he would eventually win? Well, Sandler and his writers made hay out of that, but more significantly, Scheffler played to it perfectly.
After the movie punch-out, Scheffler is pictured in a jail cell, in an orange jail suit, as a guard asks, since he has been in that cell for three days, if he wants to get out. Scheffler replies, “Ah, what’s for dinner?” When he is told chicken fingers, he says, “I think I’ll stay another night.”
Now, of course, none of that is knee-slapping stuff, but it is Scheffler, and the self-effacing comedy is a perfect image-enhancer, even if it is only in a stupid movie. It is so much better for golf fans to see Scheffler as a roll-with-the-punches fun guy, than an emotionless, ball-striking robot. Neither is totally accurate, but in this media world of image-is-everything, “Happy Gilmore 2” has done wonderful things for this wonderful golfer. Even moreso, for his sport
He will be all over your TV screens for the three-week FedEx playoffs. It starts Aug. 7 with a tournament in Memphis, followed by the next week in Baltimore and the grand finale Aug. 21 in East Lake, Ga., near Atlanta. For the playoffs, the PGA will distribute $100 million in prize money and the winner will receive $10 million.
Scheffler, a likely winner, would then certainly be invited to appear on TV, especially the late-night shows such as Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon. This would present another great image-building opportunity. He could show up in an orange jump suit.
FRISCO, Texas — Minjee Lee closed with a two-over 74 but never gave up the lead Sunday in the final round of the Women’s PGA Championship to win her third major title.
While Lee had three bogeys in a four-hole stretch on the front nine, she had started the day with a four-stroke lead over Jeeno Thitikul. And the world’s No. 2-ranked player, also in that final group, bogeyed both par fives that are among the first three holes on Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco.
Lee, ranked 24th, finished at four-under 284, three strokes ahead of Auston Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen, the only other players under par.
“A lot of patience out there today. Obviously, I had ups and downs today,” Lee said. “It’s a battle against myself pretty much, especially with how tough the conditions were this whole week, not just today. Just amplified because it’s major Sunday.”
Kim and Wannasaen both shot 68 to match the best rounds of the day, and the tournament, after only two 68s combined the first three rounds. Kim was bogey-free, but had only pars after three consecutive birdies to wrap up her front nine.
With a record $12 million purse that was up from $10.4 million a year ago and matched the U.S. Women’s Open for the most price money, Lee took home $1.8 million. That matches the $1.8 million Lee got for her four-stroke win in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open.
The 29-year-old Australian who is a Texas resident, living in nearby Irving, got her 11th career win. It was her first this season, making it 16 players to win 16 LPGA tournaments this year.
PGA Tour
Keegan Bradley celebrates after winning the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on Sunday.
(Jessica Hill / Associated Press)
CROMWELL, Conn. — Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley rallied from three shots behind with four holes to play and birdied the 18th hole before a delirious home crowd for a two-under 68 to win the Travelers Championship.
The victory only strengthened the case for Bradley to bring his clubs to Bethpage Black for the September matches against Europe. He moved to No. 9 in the standings.
And he wound up beating Tommy Fleetwood, who scored the clinching point for Europe at Marco Simone two years ago.
One shot behind Fleetwood going to the 18th hole, Bradley stuffed his approach to just under 6 feet below the hole. Fleetwood, looking like this might be the time he wins a PGA Tour title, came up some 50 feet short and took three putts for bogey and a 72.
PGA Tour Champions
AKRON, Ohio — Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Kaulig Companies Championship for his fourth PGA Tour Champions victory of the season, rallying to force a playoff and beating Steven Alker with a 20-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole.
Two strokes down after playing partner Alker birdied the par-five 16th, Jimenez made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-four 17th and an 18-footer on the par-four 18th.
Tied for the lead entering the round at Firestone South, the 61-year-old Jimenez and 53-year-old Alker each shot two-under 68 to finish at 10-under 270. Stewart Cink was third at eight under after a 66.
Jimenez won his third major title after taking the Regions Tradition and the Senior British Open — both in 2018 — and earned a spot next year in The Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass. The Spanish star has 17 career victories on 50-and-over tour.
The U.S. Senior Open begins Thursday at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Scottie Scheffler worked harder than he imagined and got the result everyone expected Sunday in the PGA Championship: A most pleasant walk to the 18th green with another major title secure in the hands of golf’s No. 1 player.
Scheffler was flawless when he had to be on the back nine of Quail Hollow, leaving the blunders to Jon Rahm and everyone else trying to catch him on a final day that turned tense until Scheffler pulled away with a steady diet of fairways and greens.
“This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time,” Scheffler said. “It was a grind out there. I think at one point on the front I maybe had a four- or five-shot lead, and making the turn, I think I was tied for the lead.
“So to step up when I needed to the most, I’ll remember that for a while.”
He closed with a bogey he could afford for an even-par 71, giving him a five-shot victory and his third major title. Scheffler became the first player since Seve Ballesteros to win his first three majors by three shots or more.
The margin doesn’t match up with the grind. That much was clear when Scheffler raised his arms on the 18th green and then ferociously slammed his cap to the turf, a brand of emotion rarely seen by the 28-year-old Texas star.
Scheffler was five shots ahead coming to the last hole when he won his first Masters green jacket in 2022. He was four shots clear of the field when he won at Augusta National last year. And he had a six-shot lead at Quail Hollow.
But this sure didn’t feel like a walk in the park.
He had a five-shot lead standing on the sixth tee. But with a shaky swing that led to two bogeys, and with Rahm making three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn, they were tied when Scheffler got to the 10th tee.
It looked like a duel to the finish, with Bryson DeChambeau doing all he could to get in the mix. Under the most pressure he felt all day, Scheffler didn’t miss a shot off the tee or from the fairway until his lead was back to four shots.
Rahm wound up seven shots behind, but the two-time major champion was the only serious threat. His chances began to fade when he failed to birdie the 14th and 15th holes, the two easiest holes on the back nine and the last good scoring chances.
His five-wood on the reachable par-four 14th was a yard from being perfect, instead going into the bunker. He blasted out weakly and his seven-foot birdie putt never had a chance.
He drilled a 345-yard drive on the par-five 15th and his four-iron went just over the back. Rahm putted it too hard and it rolled 12 feet. He missed that birdie putt and then came unglued.
A bogey on the 16th hole went from rough to bunker. Having to take on a dangerous pin at the par-3 17th, it bounded over the sunbaked green into the water for double bogey. And his last tee shot went left off the grassy bank and into the stream for another double bogey.
All that work to make up a five-shot deficit at the start of the day and Rahm closed with a 73 to tie for eighth.
“Yeah, the last three holes, it’s a tough pill to swallow right now,” said Rahm, his first time seriously contending in a major since he left for the Saudi riches of LIV Golf two years ago.
“I’ll get over it. I’ll move on,” Rahm said. “Again, there’s a lot more positive than negative to think about this week. I’m really happy I put myself in position and hopefully learn from this and give it another go in the U.S. Open.”
DeChambeau birdied the 14th and 15th to get within two shots, but he never had another good look at birdie and bogeyed the 18th for a 70. He tied for second with Harris English (65) and Davis Riley, who overcame a triple bogey on No. 7 to play bogey-free the rest of the way and salvaged a 72.
“I’m baffled right now. Just felt like things just didn’t go my way this week,” DeChambeau said. “I drove it as good as I can. … I gave myself a good chance. I just felt like a couple breaks went a different way.”
J.T. Poston, the North Carolina native who also flirted with an outside chance, bogeyed the last two holes for a 73 to tie for fifth.
Scottie Scheffler hits from the bunker during the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
English finished his Sunday-best score as Scheffler was making his way down the third hole. He had a flight to catch that afternoon. He also was the clubhouse leader. But he looked at Scheffler’s name atop the leaderboard and said with a smile, “I don’t see him slipping a whole lot. I see myself catching my flight.”
But then Scheffler was unable to find his swing. He hit only two fairways on the front nine. He failed to convert birdies on the par-5 seventh and the reachable par-4 eighth. On eight of his nine holes, his miss was to the left. And he was tied with the red-hot Rahm.
But part of Scheffler’s greatness is his ability to wear down a field, which he did at the Masters both times he won.
“I hit the important shots well this week, and that’s why I’m walking away with the trophy,” Scheffler said.
He finished at 11-under 273 and picked up his 15th victory in just his sixth year on the PGA Tour. Dating to 1950, Scheffler is the third-fastest player to go from one to 15 tour wins, behind only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, and even then by a matter of months.
His victory comes a month after Rory McIlroy captured the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam. The PGA Championship was always going to be a tough act to follow and it didn’t come close in terms of drama. But it served as a reminder why Scheffler has been No. 1 for two straight years, and why it will take a lot to replace him.
McIlroy made the cut on the number, shot 72-72 on the weekend and tied for 47th. It was his lowest 72-hole finish in four years in the majors. McIlroy declined all four days to speak to the media.
Scheffler came into the PGA Championship off an eight-shot victory in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. And then he won a major by five. It was the first time since Woods in 2000 that a player won consecutive PGA Tour starts by five shots or more in the same season.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The strongest field of the majors gave way to a few surprises Thursday in the PGA Championship, starting with Jhonattan Vegas charging into the lead with a seven-under 64 and the top 10 players in the world nowhere to be found among the top 10 at Quail Hollow.
A long day filled with sunshine and mud balls ended with Vegas in the penultimate group playing the best golf hardly anyone saw.
A briefly energized crowd had mostly left when Vegas blazed his way to the finish with five birdies on his last six holes, ending with an 18-footer on No. 8 and a 25-footer on the rugged ninth.
It was Vegas’ best score in 45 rounds playing the majors. The Venezuelan has never finished in the top 20 in a major and hadn’t qualified for this one in three years.
He had a two-shot lead over Ryan Gerard, the PGA Tour rookie who grew up in North Carolina and was the only other player to reach 7 under until bogeys on his last two holes. He was joined at 66 by Cam Davis of Australia.
The biggest crowds belonged to the top three in the world, and it wasn’t nearly as inspiring as four of the last five majors they have combined to win.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy didn’t make birdie over his last 12 holes and had nothing to say about that after a three-over 74 sent him straight to the range.
Scottie Scheffler and defending PGA champion Xander Schauffele had plenty to say about mud balls on tee shots, particularly on the 16th hole that sent both to double bogey. Scheffler at least holed two shots from off the green — one for birdie, one for eagle — and he finished with a 6-iron from 215 yards to three feet on No. 9 that sent him to a 69.
“I did a good job battling and keeping a level head out there during a day which there was definitely some challenging aspects to the course,” Scheffler said. “Did a good job posting a number on a day where I didn’t have my best stuff.”
For the first time in at least 30 years, the top 10 scores after the opening round of a major did not include anyone from the top 10 in the world ranking.
In their places were Vegas, who only got his game back in order last year when he won in Minnesota, and a host of other surprises.
Alex Smalley, the first alternate who found out about 15 hours before he teed off that he had a spot in the field, rolled in a 70-foot eagle putt on his way to a 67. Ryan Fox of New Zealand, who qualified by winning the Myrtle Beach Classic, also was at 67.
They were joined by a large group that included Luke Donald, the 47-year-old Ryder Cup captain for Europe who was the only player without a bogey on his card. The U.S. captain, Keegan Bradley, was another shot behind.
“It’s always fun, bogey-free in a major championship on a course that you wouldn’t have thought would be ideal for me,” said Donald, who is only in the field because of a PGA of America tradition to invite active Ryder Cup captains.
Considering the champions the majors have produced in recent years, this leaderboard more closely resembled the Myrtle Beach Classic. None of the top eight players have won a major, nor have they ever seriously contended.
Gerard looked comfortable playing before a home crowd. He made a tough par on the rugged ninth hole, then ran off four straight birdies on the back nine, and was seven under for the round after holing a 60-footer for eagle on the par-five 15th.
Davis had seven birdies and narrowly missed a 10-foot par putt on his last hole for the lead. Not bad for someone who recently ended a stretch of five straight missed cuts and hasn’t had a top 10 since early February.
“It’s just constantly trying to go back to things that have worked, trying to keep the head in a place where you’re not feeling like you’re banging your head against the wall all the time,” Davis said. “It’s letting it organically come — good processes, good routines, all those little one percenters add up to good golf eventually.”
The others at 67 were Stephan Jaeger and Aaron Rai, who both became first-time PGA Tour winners last year.
Scheffler at 69 had the best score of anyone from the top 10 in the world.
McIlroy, a four-time winner at Quail Hollow, came into this PGA Championship believing that thrill-a-hole Masters title last month that gave him the career Grand Slam would be the highlight of his career no matter what he does from here.
A sloppy round, particularly off the tee, wasn’t going to change that. It was no less surprising to see him struggle at Quail Hollow, posting his highest round since a 76 in the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship in 2018.
Schauffele wound up with a 72 in his bid to go back-to-back in the PGA Championship.
Jordan Spieth likely will have to wait until next year at Aronimink to try for the career Grand Slam. The three-time major champion, lacking only the Wanamaker Trophy for his major collection, ran off three straight bogeys early on the back nine and shot 76.
Scottie Scheffler was seen wearing burnt orange for the PGA ChampionshipCredit: Getty
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Scheffler was arrested hours before tee off for the PGA Championship last yearCredit: The Mega Agency
He faced charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
THE second golf Major of the season is here with the PGA Championship from the stunning Quail Hollow.
Having completed the Career Gland Slam at Augusta in the previous big one, Rory McIlroy will arrive at his most fruitful venue on the PGA Tour, surely in the best condition he’s ever been and with an ability to swing free.
He’s still not the pick of the bookmakers though, with Scottie Scheffler heading an ultra-competitive field in the betting markets and a host of top golfers on their tails.
SunSport’s betting experts have taken a closer look at the tournament to provide you with the best bets, exclusive offers, bonus deals and amazing price boosts.
The 7 best sign-up offers for the PGA Championship 2025
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The ever-popular bet365 are giving brand new customers to a tasty £30 in free bets to spend on the upcoming PGA Championship when they register an account and stake £10 on anything!
talkSPORT BET have boosted the odds on Rory McIlroy to win the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow!
The usual price of 9/2 has gone and the bookmaker is offering super boosted odds of 5/1 for the Northern Irishman to back up his Masters win with another here!
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