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Rory McIlroy in disbelief at heart-stopping moment before

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Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy in disbelief at heart-stopping moment before winning Irish Open play-off

Rory McIlroy has become a two-time Irish Open champion following a dramatic play-off victory over Joakim Lagergren.

The pair could not be separated for the first two play-off holes, but it was Lagergren who lost his composure on the third when his ball bounced off the green and trickled into the water.

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McIlroy, who missed his lengthy putt for eagle, made no mistake to finish with a birdie.

Unfortunately for Lagergren, he fizzed his effort beyond the hole to hand McIlroy the victory.

It was McIlroy’s first win since he completed the career grand slam in April when he won the Masters which, coincidentally, was also via a nerve-jangling play-off against Justin Rose.

Not only that, but he secured a tidy pay day of $1.02million (£755,130).

McIlroy’s reaction to winning play-off

“I love coming home, I love playing in this atmosphere,” McIlroy told Sky Sports.

“Moments like this, these are the things as you’re going to remember well after your career is over.

“This is a really special day.”

McIlroy’s victory at the K Club in Saffran couldn’t have come at a better time as it gives the Northern Irishman plenty of momentum heading into the Ryder Cup, which begins on September 26 at Bethpage Black in New York.

McIlroy’s all-time shot forced play-off

The 36-year-old’s triumph was also achieved in rather improbable circumstances given he arrived at the 18th hole during the final round knowing he needed an eagle or better to stay alive.

That’s because of Lagergren’s brilliance on the final stretch, as he recorded an eagle on the par-five 16th and then a birdie on the par-five 18th to finish the final round at the Irish Open on -17.

But McIlroy, who has so often proved he has ice in his veins, delivered just that with a staggering 27-foot putt to secure the necessary eagle on the 18th to force a play-off against Lagergren.

It was the perfect hole from McIlroy, as a 340-yard drive off the tee box was followed by a stunning 192-yard shot onto the green.

McIlroy’s final-hole eagle continued what had been a dazzling final round which included an improbable putt that lipped around the entire hole before it fell in.

As he set up for a putt on the par-four 13th, the Northern Irishman was locked in a four-way tie for first place at the K Club.

But one heart-stopping tap of the ball later and he had the lead all to himself.

McIlroy’s dream putt sends commentators wild

McIlroy, who was putting for a birdie, sent the ball towards the hole and instantly would have thought his chance to nudge ahead of the pack was gone when it lipped around.

But, in the most remarkable of circumstances, the ball dropped in to hand McIlroy a vital birdie and the outright lead.

As the crowd roared in approval, McIlroy didn’t quite know how to initially react as he stood frozen in time.

After the camera panned to the patrons at the K Club, it returned to McIlroy who was now hunched over and wore a look of utter disbelief on his face.

One commentator said: “Stop it!”

Another commentator replied: “A little McIlroy magic right there.”

Sky Sports’ Paul McGinley added: “I think the crowd blew it in. Is that the little bit of luck and the break that you need, at the right time, of a tournament?”

McIlroy’s remarkable putt took his score for the overall tournament to -15.

Unfortunately for McIlroy, his time at the top of the leaderboard in the final round didn’t last long.

How McIlroy’s rival snatched lead off of Northern Irishman

Swedish star Lagergren took the lead for himself when he produced a stunning eagle on the par-five 16th to improve his score to -16 with only two holes remaining in his final round.

After a solid tee shot which put him on the fairway, Lagergren fired the ball 266 yards onto the green, leaving only a five-inch putt between him and the lead.

The Swede showed all the composure in the world to drain the putt as he assumed first place.

Lagergren then extended his lead with a birdie on the par-five 18th to all but seal the title, or so he thought as McIlroy pulled off the improbable.

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Pressure Mounts on Tiger Woods as PGA Tour’s Flailing Fall Stretc

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Tiger Woods

Pressure Mounts on Tiger Woods as PGA Tour’s Flailing Fall Stretch Tests His Leadership

For the first time in recent memory, the PGA Tour’s fall season is receiving more attention than it usually does. Next week’s Procore Championship, the first of seven FedExCup Fall events, features 10 of the 12 U.S. Ryder Cup players. But don’t be fooled by the temporary noise, as the fall stretch is still in a precarious position, and now, all the pressure is on

Tiger Woods and his new committee to fix it.

The Procore Championship begins September 11 at Silverado Resort, featuring several top players in sharp contrast to last year’s quiet fall season, when stars like Scottie Scheffler stayed home and the leaderboard lacked excitement. This year’s boost comes from Ryder Cup prep, but without lasting changes, the fall season will soon return to its usual low energy, low stakes, and limited fan interest.

Tiger Woods

READ: How one round of golf with Tiger Woods inspired Scottie Scheffler to become

At this point, Tiger Woods’ new committee, the Future Competition Committee, may be the Tour’s only real hope of turning this stretch into something more meaningful and engaging for both players and fans alike. As Eamon Lynch sharply put it — “Perhaps a long-term solution for this portion of the schedule will emerge from the Tiger Woods-chaired Future Competition Committee that is reviewing the Tour’s business. Let’s hope so, because this ain’t it.” Outside of Ryder Cup prep, most top-50 FedExCup players skip the fall since their spots for next season are secure.

This leaves fans watching lower-ranked players fight to keep their cards, adding to the pressure on Tiger Woods and his committee to revitalize the fall schedule. That vision is now in the hands of the newly formed Future Competition Committee, which is chaired by Tiger Woods and was created by CEO Brian Rolapp on August 20, 2025, roughly 18 days into his tenure.

The nine-member group includes influential Tour players like Patrick Cantlay and Adam Scott, partnered with the Strategic Sports Group to redefine “the optimal competitive model that enhances the PGA Tour’s value to fans, players, and partners.” Rolapp’s vision with this committee isn’t just to make small tweaks, but rather significant changes to the tour.

“The goal is not incremental change. The goal is significant change,” he said during the press conference at East Lake, where he announced the big step. The committee, as Rolapp highlighted, will operate on three principles: Parity, Scarcity, and Simplicity. While the tour has achieved competitive parity thanks to the depth of talent, the other two pillars have been sorely lacking. Scarcity was highlighted with the vision of ensuring top players compete together often to keep fans engaged, and simplicity, in better tying together the regular season and postseason. Clearly, neither of these two principles holds for the fall season.

While the committee works behind the scenes to reshape the Tour’s future, this week’s Procore Championship offers a rare glimpse into what a fall event could look like.

Who is teeing it up at the Procore Championship this week?

Ten members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team are set to tee it up at next week’s Procore Championship at Silverado Resort, including big names like Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, and Sam Burns, to name a few. This unusually stacked field for a fall event comes at the urging of Captain Keegan Bradley, who’s determined to avoid the sluggish start that plagued Team USA during the 2023 Ryder Cup loss in Rome. Bradley emphasized the need for sharper preparation, calling this tournament a crucial final tune-up before the team heads overseas.

However, not everyone is on board. Xander Schauffele, a Ryder Cup automatic qualifier who had a standout 2024 season with two major wins, is notably absent from the field. Schauffele struggled throughout this season and failed to qualify for the Tour Championship, finishing 42nd in the FedEx Cup standings. Asked in August if he planned to play in Napa, he was evasive — “I wouldn’t say there’s an expectation for us to play, but a lot of us do want to play just to stay fresh… I’ll have an even longer break, so we’ll see how that goes.” He, along with Bryson DeChambeau, is the only two members of the team skipping the event this week. Bryson DeChambeau is absent because he is banned from the PGA Tour due to his ties to LIV Golf.

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Ryder Cup:Tiger Woods’ Surprising Act Beyond Rivalry Sparked

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Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods’ Surprising Act Beyond Rivalry Sparked Shane Lowry’s Transformation Into a Ryder Cup Star

“A few days before Heather passed away she said to me, ‘If Woosie calls you, you have to play’.”

This is a tale of loss and destiny: the story of how Darren Clarke and Team Europe said goodbye to the golfer’s wife, Heather, at the 2006 Ryder Cup.

Golf is back at The K Club this weekend as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry compete in the Irish Open.

And with it being a Ryder Cup year – many can’t help but cast their minds back to when the famous event was here.

A game of etiquette briefly lets it hair down once every two years to let rivalry run riot – but back in 2006, everyone was with Clarke. On both sides.

The scenes in Dublin that year reduced a usually-reserved Lee Westwood to tears and melted one of sport’s coldest-ever competitors in Tiger Woods.

Six weeks before it began, Heather Clarke passed away, aged 39, after battling breast cancer for several years.

Throughout her illness, she encouraged her husband to play, and insisted he accepted an unlikely wildcard from captain Ian Woosnam should it be offered to him.

READ MORE : Tiger’s Son Charlie Takes Down America’s Best Juniors for

“Heather would’ve wanted me to play,” Clarke said. “And the support I had through Heather’s illness, not just from the European players, but from the American players as well, the support they had given me was fantastic.”

Charlie Woods

The Northern Irishman hadn’t played since Heather’s death, but took the call nonetheless.

Paired up alongside Westwood, Clarke somehow went on to inspire Europe from the depths of grief.

It even inspired a young Shane Lowry – who has since revealed he was in the crowd and first dreamed of competing at the Ryder Cup as a 19-year-old at The K Club.

A memorable event began with one of the greatest moments in golf history, when Clarke was roared onto the first tee on Friday.

He told Golf Channel: “The emotion from everyone on that first tee was just incredible.

“I get onto the tee with the ball in my I hand, I look at Lee, and he’s crying. And Billy, his caddie, is crying.

“I put the ball down and I didn’t know if I was going to top it, hit it 40 yards, left, right, or whatever. I had no idea.

“I’m standing there over the ball and I thought, ‘Just make contact’.

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“The ball came off and went 320 yards off the stick into the middle of the fairway.

“To this day, I have no idea how I managed to do that. You talk about how cool I was in the last round of The Open [in 2011].

“That wasn’t even a patch on that first tee shot at the K Club.”

Tiger woods

The likes of Phil Mickelson and Woods were among his victims over the week as Clarke won all three of his matches, and even Team USA could not deny him the moment.

Even Woods, typically stone-hearted at tournaments, stopped his practice before the event began and gave his rival a warm embrace on the driving range.

Upon making birdie on that opening hole, Mickelson and fellow opponent Chris DiMarco were the first to congratulate Clarke.

Woods didn’t pick many friends on Tour in his pomp, but he liked Clarke – the cigar-smoking, unchiseled man who took the exact opposite approach to golf.

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How one round of golf with Tiger Woods inspired Scottie Scheffler to become

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Tiger Woods Scottie Scheffler

How one round of golf with Tiger Woods inspired Scottie Scheffler to become one of the most dominant athletes in the world

Every superhero has an origin story and Scottie Scheffler’s narrative arc can be traced back to November 15, 2020 – a series of events that barely anybody noticed at the time.

That was the day Scheffler and Tiger Woods played together in the Masters tournament: the first and only time that they’ve ever played together. Despite the fact Woods was defending champion, he was out of contention on the final day.

It was the year of Covid, the tournament was being played in winter instead of the traditional spring, and the galleries were as barren as the Augusta trees, social distancing protocols had kept the patrons at bay. And yet, this was arguably the moment when the torch of greatness was handed from one American golf star to the next.

The 'underrated' trait that Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods share in common

READ: Tiger Woods handed major new golf role amid doubts he’ll ever pla

Scheffler says that what transpired over those 18 holes changed his career. “I’ve only played one round of tournament golf with Tiger Woods,” he said this week at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, “and it completely changed the way I play tournaments.”

With Ireland’s Shane Lowry making up the threesome, the group was one of the first to tee off at 8:12 AM on that Sunday in 2020. At the time, Scheffler, who is now mentioned routinely in the same breath as the 15-time major winner, was still 15 months away from his first professional win.

“I can’t tell you,” he explained, “the look on his face when we got to the first green. We’re in 20th place, kind of playing yada, yada, yada, and this guy is just locked in. I was taken aback, I was like, ‘Holy smokes, this guy is in it right now!’”

Both men parred the opening hole, Scheffler then described Tiger’s approach to the second: “He had this chip shot, and he looked at it like it was an up-and-down to win the tournament. I’m like, ‘This is incredible! I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life.’”

Scheffler is now a four-time major winner and an Olympic gold medalist with a total of 18 PGA Tour wins to his name, although he’s winning with such frequency these days that the number might have changed by the time you are reading this. He’s been the world No. 1 player since May 2023 and he’s the first golfer since Tiger Woods in 2007 to win at least five tournaments in consecutive seasons.

But on this particular day, he hadn’t yet been able to convert any of his considerable promise into a trophy. “The question was always, ‘Hey, how come you haven’t won?’” he said.

“The reason I felt like I hadn’t won yet is I hadn’t put myself in position enough times and that’s one of the things I learned from playing with Tiger. My biggest takeaway was the amount of intensity that he took to every shot, it was like the last shot he was ever going to hit.”

Having both birdied the second hole at Augusta, Scheffler and Woods headed in different directions; Woods had dropped three strokes by the time they walked off the 11th green, Scheffler had made two bogeys but recovered with a birdie and what happened next is etched into his memory – Woods played the worst hole of his PGA Tour career.

With his tee shot on 12, Woods found the water at Rae’s Creek. He incurred a penalty stroke and ended up in the water again. Another penalty, and with now a fifth stroke, Woods made sure to avoid the Creek, sending his ball to the back of the green and into the bunker.

From there, he thinned an awkward pitch out of the sand, over the green and back into the water. By now he was playing like a weekend hacker, his next shot from the bunker was his eighth and a subsequent two-putt resulted in his first double digit score on a PGA Tour hole, a 10. On a par-three hole, he’d dropped an incredible seven strokes for a disastrous septuple bogey.

Woods’ chances of a sixth green jacket were already remote, but now they were completely and utterly dashed. But that’s not what Scheffler remembers.

Many golfers would have gone into a tailspin after such a nightmare, not Tiger Woods. He immediately punched back with a birdie on 13. In fact, he finished his round with five birdies in his last six holes. With a ringside seat to an extraordinary recovery, Scheffler was taking notes.

“It was like, ‘What’s this guy still playing for?’” he wondered. “He’s won the Masters four or five times, best finish he’s going to have is like 20th at this point. I just admired the intensity that he brought to each round and that’s something I try to emulate.”

Scheffler has always been a strong iron player, and in recent years, he’s dramatically improved his putting. But his secret sauce seems to be his ability to quickly recover from a setback; his biggest strength is mental.

Scheffler has made fewer bogeys than anyone else on tour this season; he only fumbled four holes at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, but he makes a habit of mitigating the damage with a birdie or eagle on the very next hole.

At The Open, Scheffler’s recovery rate was 50%. At the PGA Championship, it was an extraordinary 60%. He won both majors.

Sports psychologist Dr Phil Hopley explained to CNN Sports how Scheffler makes something so difficult look so simple.

“He stays focused in the present moment,” he said. “He lets go of what’s happened and recognizes that the more time he spends thinking about things that haven’t gone well, the more potentially nervous, anxious, fearful or negative he’s going to feel.

“If you’re still simmering, even small things like a minor increase in the tension in your forearms because you’ve released too much cortisol and adrenaline, is going to have a potentially disastrous effect on your swing pattern and your execution.”

Scheffler witnessed first-hand how Tiger Woods was able to do it, and now it’s become the foundation for his own dominant game. Just two years later, he won the first of his two Masters titles, and he’s hardly stopped winning since. Even many of his rivals now admit that he’s almost untouchable.

“The things that I do on the golf course, other people can do,” Scheffler surmised. “I don’t hit the ball the furthest. I think it’s just the amount of consistency and the intensity that I bring to each round of golf, not taking shots off, not taking rounds off, not taking tournaments off. I’m here for a purpose and that’s to complete hard on every shot.”

Scheffler’s prolific success has led to inevitable comparisons with Woods himself, which he dismisses as “very silly.”

“I don’t like comparisons to other players because I’m doing the best I can to be the best version of myself. He completely transcended the game. I think Tiger is a guy that stands alone in the game of golf, and I think he always will. Tiger inspired a whole generation of golfers. Watching what that guy did week in, week out, it was pretty amazing to see.”

So, he doesn’t want to be known as the next Tiger Woods, but he’s pretty amazing himself, and as fans of the Marvel comics will tell you, there’s always room for more than one superhero in the universe.

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Tiger’s Son Charlie Takes Down America’s Best Juniors for

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Charlie Woods

Tiger’s Son Charlie Takes Down America’s Best Juniors for Maiden AJGA Title After Humiliates Ranked Rivals in Breakthrough AJGA Win

Charlie Woods has taken a big first step out of his father’s immense shadow in the golfing world. The 16-year-old son of golf legend Tiger Woods made a huge statement this week by winning the American Junior Golf Association’s Team TaylorMade Invitational at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Fla. He shot a 15-under-par 201 (70-65-66) to finish three shots ahead of a trio of players tied for second place.

“Being able to say to myself that I’ve won in an absolutely amazing event and to say I preformed under some high, high pressure situations is just huge going forward,” Charlie Woods said afterward, “because I haven’t been able to say that I have done that. And now that I can, it is just a big thing for my mental game going forward

Currently ranked as the No. 609 boys junior player in the U.S., Woods is expected to move into the top 20 next week, after topping a 71-player field that featured four golfers who currently rank in the AJGA’s top five. That includes top-ranked Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., who finished six shots behind Woods and in seventh place with a nine-under 207.

READ MORE : “The King Roars Again: Tiger Woods Seizes Leadership Role in

Tiger Woods

Playing in his first AJGA invitational, Woods finished the event with 26 birdies — the most ever at an AJGA Invitational, based on information available to the organization — to go with one eagle. He was tied for 14th place after Monday’s opening round but had pulled into a tie for second going into Wednesday’s final round.

“I didn’t look at the leaderboard once today,” said Woods, who gained fully exempt AJGA status with his victory.

A sophomore at Benjamin School in Palm Beach, Fla., Woods finished tied for 25th at the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley (a tournament that counts toward the AJGA rankings but is not an AJGA-sanctioned event) in March.

He and his father have competed in the parent-child PNC Championship every December since 2020. They finished as runners-up in 2021 and 2024, with Charlie Woods notching his first hole-in-one at the most recent event.

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Rory McIlroy delivers Masters gesture at Irish Open after venting fru

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Rory McIlroy Masters

Rory McIlroy delivers Masters gesture at Irish Open after venting frustrations with officials

Rory McIlroy’s dramatically shifting demeanor at the K Club mirrored the unpredictable weather in Ireland on Thursday. The Masters champion delivered a pointed message to the DP World Tour and PGA Tour after his group was placed on the clock twice during the opening round of the Irish Open.

Then, fewer than two hours later, McIlroy captivated the audience on stage in the Championship Village, where he made his inaugural public appearance donning the green jacket he secured at Augusta to claim Masters champion status for the first time.

Rory McIlroy on stage

READ: Rory McIlroy fumes at Irish Open officials for not using ‘common se

The storm clouds had cleared by that point, even though his conversation with broadcaster Shane O’Donoghue was sporadically disrupted by rainfall. 30 minutes before their question-and-answer session commenced, competition was halted on the course for 36 minutes due to lightning concerns, reports the Irish Mirror.

“Who thought of holding this outside,” McIlroy chuckled, as spectators raised hoods and opened umbrellas.

Yet nobody departed as they heard him analyze his Grand Slam accomplishment, how he pursued his ambition and his aspirations of completing the Grand Slam once more.

Regarding the Irish Open, McIlroy revealed that his mother, Rosie, derived greater joy from his 2016 victory at the K Club than from any of his major championships.

He also confessed that, aside from that single triumph, he has fallen short of expectations in his 20 years competing in the tournament.

An opening 71 indicates he has ground to makeup to position himself for contention when he begins his second round at 1pm. “Get off to a good start tomorrow, hopefully the weather sort of sorts holds and try to climb my way up the leaderboard and have a good weekend,” said McIlroy from the stage.

“But I still feel like I’m right in there. I don’t think anyone is going to really run away over the next two days so if I get out there and shoot something in the mid-60s I’ll have a great chance going into the weekend.”

Nevertheless, leaving the course earlier he had expressed annoyance that he hadn’t extracted more from a solid round. Surrendering two strokes in his final three holes didn’t assist matters and he placed the responsibility on his group being timed for sluggish play.

Yet McIlroy blamed the issue on Tour officials failing to consider the commotion that accompanies the world’s elite players with massive crowds – particularly when they’re competing on familiar territory – and the television crews required to broadcast the featured groups for live coverage.

“In all honesty, I felt a little rushed out there for the last 12 holes,” he told reporters afterwards. “We got put on the clock pretty early, and then the first official went away and then we were put on the clock for the last three holes to try to make time up.

“And it’s hard because you feel a bit rushed. You’re playing some tough holes and we obviously, our group, have to deal with a lot more than any other group on the course. So it’s understandable that we lose time.”

McIlroy suggests that Tour officials should be more understanding. He feels singled out: “I feel like any time I either come back to Europe or I play in some of these like one, two, three in the world type groups, we’re always put on the clock for that reason,” he expressed.

“So I got a little frustrated the last few holes because I feel like it always happens and I don’t think they use sort of common sense in terms of, well, of course we’re going to lose ground because we’re going to have to wait on crowds and wait on the two camera crews that are out there.

“There’s just a lot more going on with our group than any of the other groups on the course, and sometimes I feel like they have to give us a little bit of leeway and use a bit of common sense.”

Interestingly, McIlroy is known for his quick pace in the game, yet he feels unfairly targeted, confessing that he “lost my s—” with a PGA Tour official during the Players Championship earlier this year.

For instance, on the 7th hole, both Lawrence and Reitan ended up in the water. Recalling the incident, McIlroy said: “Yeah, and then obviously they’re taking their time, whatever, and I was in my mind like, ‘oh, do I just go first to try to save a bit of time here?’

“But not really, you can still wait your turn. So it wasn’t really that, I guess it was more I just felt because it’s happened to me quite a lot before in these sort of big groups who want to come back to Europe and play, I felt like I just let it agitate me a little bit.”

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Rory McIlroy fumes at Irish Open officials for not using ‘common se

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Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy fumes at Irish Open officials for not using ‘common sense’ in frustrating round

Rory McIlroy voiced his frustration after officials placed his group on the clock for slow play during the final three holes of his opening round at the Irish Open, as he steps up his preparations for the Ryder Cup.

The Masters champion was sailing smoothly on day one at the K Club, sitting comfortably at three-under-par as he approached those concluding three holes, with massive crowds following his every shot throughout the morning. However, things took a turn for the worse when his threesome, including Thriston Lawrence and Kristoffer Reitan, found themselves battling the clock for the second time during their round.

McIlroy, who has offered his verdict on playing at one of Donald Trump’s courses, paid a hefty price for the added pressure, dropping shots on the seventh and eighth holes – his 16th and 17th of the day – falling to one-under-par and sliding beyond the top 20.

Rory McIlroy

READ: Tiger Woods handed major new golf role amid doubts he’ll ever pla

“In all honesty, I felt a little rushed out there for the last 12 holes. We got put on the clock pretty early,” he said. “And then the first official went away, and then we were put on the clock for the last three holes to try to make time up.

“And it’s hard because you feel a bit rushed, you’re playing some tough holes, and we obviously, our group, have to deal with a lot more than any other group on the course. So it’s understandable that we lose time.”

McIlroy contends that, considering his position as the tournament’s highest-ranked player and regular star of prime-time television broadcasts, officials should show him greater leniency. “I feel like any time I either come back to Europe or I play in some of these like one, two, three in the world type groups, we’re always put on the clock for that reason,” he said.

“So I got a little frustrated the last few holes because I feel like it always happens and I don’t think they use sort of common sense in terms of, well, of course we’re going to lose ground because we’re going to have to wait on crowds and wait on the two camera crews that are out there.

“And, you know, there’s just a lot more going on with our group than any of the other groups on the course, and sometimes I feel like they have to give us a little bit of leeway and use a bit of common sense.”

The paradox is that McIlroy, recognized for his brisk tempo on the course, feels unjustly targeted, admitting that he “lost my s—-” with a PGA Tour official at the Players Championship earlier this year.

During Thursday’s 7th hole, for example, both Lawrence, who secured the Swiss Open last week, and Reitan found themselves in the water.

McIlroy explained: “Yeah, and then obviously they’re taking their time, whatever, and I was in my mind like, ‘Oh, do I just go first to try to save a bit of time here?'”.

“But not really, you can still wait your turn. So it wasn’t really that, I guess it was more I just felt because it’s happened to me quite a lot before in these sort of big groups who want to come back to Europe and play, I felt like I just let it agitate me a little bit.”

At the Straffan venue in County Kildare, Spain’s Nacho Elvira is leading the field with a six-under-par after carding a 66, while Shane Lowry is leading the Irish charge with a three-under-par 69, finishing strong with three birdies in his last six holes.

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Tiger Woods handed major new golf role amid doubts he’ll ever pla

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Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods handed major new golf role amid doubts he’ll ever play again

Tiger Woods has been put in charge of a bold PGA Tour overhaul that could reshape the future of golf.

On Wednesday, the PGA Tour announced that Woods will chair a ‘Future Competition Committee,’ tasked with reimagining how the tour runs its tournaments.

The nine-member panel is being framed as a fresh start for a sport still fractured by the rise of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League.

Top NFL executive Brian Rolapp takes over as PGA Tour CEO in bombshell move | Daily Mail Online

READ: ‘Scariest Moment’: Tiger Woods’ Daughter Sam Reflects on Dad’s

‘This is about shaping the next era of the PGA Tour,’ Woods said in a statement posted onto social media.

The move gives the 15-time major winner a leading voice at a pivotal moment, even as he remains sidelined from competition with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Brian Rolapp, three weeks into his role as the tour’s first CEO, said the committee would have a clean sheet to consider changes that uphold traditions without being tied to them.

Rolapp didn’t have details on several issues he faces as he takes over for Jay Monahan, including the future of a sport that has been splintered by Saudi money that created the rival LIV Golf League and lured away a number of top players.

The PGA Tour’s negotiations with the Public Investment Fund have stalled, and Rolapp did not make that sound as if it were a top priority when asked about the fans’ desire to see all the best players together more often.

‘I’m going to focus on what I can control,’ Rolapp said. ‘I would offer to you that the best collection of golfers in the world are on the PGA Tour. I think there´s a bunch of metrics that demonstrate that, from rankings to viewership to whatever you want to pick. I´m going to lean into that and strengthen that.

‘I will also say that to the extent we can do anything that´s going to further strengthen the PGA Tour, we´ll do that,’ he said. ‘And I´m interested in exploring whatever strengthens the PGA Tour.’

Woods, who has played only 10 times on the PGA Tour since his February 2021 car crash and has been out all of this year with a ruptured Achilles tendon, already serves on the PGA Tour board without a term limit.

Now he will lead five players from the board – Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas, Maverick McNealy and Keith Mitchell – along with three from the business side. That includes baseball executive Theo Epstein.

The tour released a 2026 schedule on Tuesday that adds another $20 million signature event, this one to Trump National Doral, as part of a 35-event schedule from January through August. Rolapp said the simplicity was mostly about connecting the regular season to the postseason.

He referred to the committee’s work as a ‘holistic relook of how we compete on the tour’ during the regular season, postseason and offseason.

‘The goal is not incremental change,’ he said. ‘The goal is significant change.’

Meanwhile, back in June, news reports claimed that Woods and Vanessa Trump were getting so serious wedding bells were imminent.

Friends close to the couple said that the Woods, 49, and Vanessa, 47, were madly in love, spending all their free time together, and slowly integrating their families.

But a friend of Woods recently told the Daily Mail that any talk of an imminent wedding is absurd — and that both Woods and Vanessa have financial reasons for why marriage would not make sense.

‘Cynically, why should she get married? There’s no point of it, and it would just complicate her alimony from Donald [Trump Jr.],’ the friend said.

‘And Tiger of course paid out a lot in his divorce from Elin [Nordegren], and I don’t think he’s particularly excited to do that again.’

Vanessa has five children with ex-husband Don Jr., who she married in 2005. The couple divorced in 2018. The terms of their divorce settlement were not made public.

Woods shares two children with ex-wife Elin Nordegren. They split after six years of marriage in 2010 following one of the biggest sex scandals in sports history, in which dozens of women claimed to have had affairs with the golf star.

To settle that divorce, Woods paid a reported $100 million to Nordegren.

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‘Scariest Moment’: Tiger Woods’ Daughter Sam Reflects on Dad’s

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Tiger Woods Sam Alexis Woods

Tiger Woods’ Daughter Sam Reflects on Dad’s Car Crash

Tiger Woods' Daughter Sam Woods Delivers Emotional Speech in Red Minidress and Butterfly Heels at World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

An emotional speech. One year after Tiger Woods’ car crash, his 14-year-old daughter, Sam, spoke at his World Golf Hall of Fame induction about the accident

When the teenager reflected on the 46-year-old athlete’s February 2021 collision during the Wednesday, March 9, event, she called it “one of the scariest moments” of her life.

“About a year ago, you were stuck in your hospital bed at one of your ultimate lows,” Sam said in her speech. “We didn’t know if you’d come home with two legs or not. Now, not only are you being inducted in the Hall of Fame, but you’re standing here, on your own two feet.”

The teen called the professional golfer a “fighter,” gushing, “This is why you deserve this. … You’ve defied the odds every time. Being the first Black and Asian golfer to win a Major, being able to win your fifth Masters after multiple back surgeries, and being able to walk just a few months after your crash.”

Tiger Woods' daughter gives speech at dad's World Golf Hall of Fame Induction ceremony: Watch

READ: VIDEO: Why Tiger Woods Denied Bryson DeChambeau’s Urgent R

The California native shares his daughter with ex-wife Elin Nordegren, as well as son Charlie, 13. Woods’ youngest child attended the ceremony, along with the How I Play Golf author’s girlfriend, Erica Herman, and his mother,Kutilda Woods.

Herman, 38, was a huge support to her partner during his car crash recovery, Woods told Golf Digest in November 2021.

“There was a point in time when, I wouldn’t say it was 50/50, but it was damn near there, if I was going to walk out of that hospital with one leg,” he explained to the outlet at the time “Once [I knew I was keeping it], I wanted to test and see if I still had my hands. So even in the hospital, I would have Erica and [my friend] Rob [McNamara] throw me something. Throw me anything.”

The 1997 Masters: My Story author, who was driving nearly 90 miles per hour when he hit a tree, went on to say that he was “lucky to be alive but also still have [his] limb.”

Woods explained, “Those are two crucial things. I’m very grateful that someone upstairs was taking care of me, that I’m able to not only be here, but also walk without a prosthesis.”

While he returned to golf in December 2021, Woods revealed during a press conference eight months prior that he doubts he’ll ever return to a full-time career.

“Will I come back? Yes. Will I come back and play a full schedule? No,” he explained in April 2021. “That will never happen again. I can play certain events here and there, but on a full-time level, no, that will never happen again.”

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VIDEO: Why Tiger Woods Denied Bryson DeChambeau’s Urgent R

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Tiger Woods Bryson DeChambeau

Tiger Woods Denied Bryson DeChambeau’s Urgent Request on His Ryder Cup Debut to Teach Him Valuable Lesson

Bryson DeChambeau still remembers his Ryder Cup baptism and the nerves that came with it. Paris, 2018 — his first appearance on one of golf’s most intimidating stages, and of all people, he was paired with Tiger Woods. The grandstands were heaving; they were in enemy territory. There was the loud chanting of fans. And a young DeChambeau was in the midst of all that, thinking maybe — just maybe — the Big Cat would help him take the edge off. Spoiler alert: he didn’t.

DeChambeau narrated the incident that took place almost eight years ago, on the Golf Channel. “I asked Tiger, ‘OK, so who’s in the first tee shot?’ Kind of trying to, like, come on, like, help me out. And he goes, ‘You’re in the first tee shot.’ And I’m like, ‘uh, yes, sir. OK. I guess I’m in the first tee shot.’ Luckily, I hit it in the fairway, but that was the most nervous I’d ever been hitting a tee shot.”

This moment captures something that many others have wrestled with for decades. Tiger’s stoicism. Where others might reassure a rookie like DeChambeau, Woods stuck true to his infamous cold and neutral personality on the course. This has been consistent with the way he operates in team rooms, practice ranges, and fairways.

JUST IN: Golf legend Tiger Woods drops some personal news ahead of

Former Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III once recalled this dynamic. Love shares how Woods’s personality emanates from his effort to carry the whole team on his shoulders. “When you feel pressure because it’s your own teammate, that doesn’t really help.” For Love it explained why so many pairings with Woods faltered. This pattern showed itself in Paris 2018, where Woods and DeChambeau ultimately lost 5 & 4 to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood. The USA ultimately lost to Europe, with the match being remembered as one of the toughest losses for Team America: 17 1⁄2–10 1⁄2.

At the same time, others believe this intensity is simply ingrained in Woods, something he can’t turn off. Paul Azinger, who paired with him in the 2002 Ryder Cup, described this in simpler terms. “Tiger is an intimidator even if he doesn’t try to be one.” He recalled a feeling that there was a standard Woods expected of him, just as he expected of Tiger, and neither could quite meet it. This made him feel suffocated when it should have felt liberating, considering he was playing alongside the greatest.

Now, one can say that Woods, in DeChambeau’s instance, was trying to teach a lesson. To stay focused on his own game and not rely on others. To not get bogged down due to pressure and emerge as the better player overall. And this can be seen in how the American plays now, with his powerful swings and hard drive. The Mad Scientist has indeed come a long way. And he has improved so much that he has been planning hilariously to take down the Europeans later this month at Bethpage Black.

Anyway, coming back to Tiger Woods, these intimidating stories were not just limited to the Ryder Cup. Writers and fans who observed Woods often were struck by the same stone-faced aura. At the 2012 PGA Championship,Adam Harnett described Woods as “stone-faced, only looking straight, no eye contact, no talking, no autographs.” Although Harnett believes this isn’t arrogance, but rather a necessity. Woods faced distractions no one else could imagine due to his influence in the game, and his solution was radical focus. “His distractions were greater than any other player out there.”

This trademark intensity picked up a name on the golf circuit: The ‘Tiger Stare.’ Those who have experienced it said that it could rattle even the most seasoned professionals. Arron Oberholser once admitted Woods looked “through your soul” and left him scrambling to “re-gather” himself mid-round of a match. Hunter Mahan, on the other hand, described it more broadly on the Par 3 podcast: “There was an intimidation, there was an intensity that was very unknown to everybody… everyone was very uncomfortable.”

However, this also led to accusations of how he made others feel ‘inferior’ to him. Although murmurs like these still echo through golf’s storytelling, there’s actually a reason Woods behaved this way.

The reason behind Tiger’s cold demeanour

Tiger Woods began working with sports psychologist Dr. Jay Brunza when he was just 13. Brunza, a close friend of Earl Woods, introduced techniques like subliminal tapes and hypnosis that helped Tiger develop the ability to lock into a ‘zone’ on the course. Though Woods has said he no longer uses formal hypnosis, he credits those formative years with hardwiring a level of focus that became second nature. Combined with his natural talent and the disciplined environment built by his parents, that early training produced the mental toughness many often misread as coldness or detachment.

Woods himself has always been blunt about what this means. Speaking on this topic once, he laid out his philosophy in stark terms: “I can’t control you. The only thing I can control is me. Now, if I do this more efficiently than you, if you get intimidated that’s your own f—ing issue.” To him, this is not intimidation, but rather a byproduct of a mental system that is designed to shield him from noise and distraction.

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