ASIA TOUR SEVERS LIV GOLF TIES, SIGNS DEAL WITH PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR

New partnership to run through 2029 at least, DP World Tour to return to co-sanctioning events in the region

Taichi Kho won the International Series event in Morocco in June, but there are now doubts about the circuit’s future. Photo: Asian Tour

The Asian Tour has cut ties with LIV Golf and signed a partnership agreement with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in another shake-up of the game globally.

In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the three organisations said the deal would run “through until at least 2029”, and hailed the start of a “new chapter for global golf”.

The partnership would be “effectively immediately”, the statement said, adding it would establish pathways for the leading players on the Asian Tour, and would see the DP World Tour return to co-sanctioning events in the region.

More to follow...

- Josh Ball, SouthChina Morning Post

FINAL ROUND HIGHLIGHTS | RYAN FOX WINS THE 154TH BRITISH OPEN

 

DID BRYSON DECHAMBEAU CHEAT? A BREAKDOWN OF THE PENALTY

 

RORY MACILROY SLAMS BRYSON DECHAMBEAU AFTER CONTROVERSIAL RULING | THE OPEN 2026

 

ROUND THREE HIGHLIGHTS | THE 154TH OPEN AT ROYAL BIRKDALE

 

RYAN FOX MATCHES MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD WITH A 62 IN THE BRITISH OPEN

Ryan Fox has joined the list of players with a major championship scoring record

Ryan Fox of New Zealand acknowledges the crowd on the 188th green after completing his third round during the third day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

SOUTHPORT, England — Ryan Fox added his name Saturday to the growing list of players who share the major championship scoring record when he became the third player this week with a record-tying 62 in the British Open at Royal Birkdale .

Fox started early with barely a trace of wind, and he took advantage. He made five birdies on the front nine, and birdied two of his last three holes for 62 on the par-70 Birkdale links. Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns each had 62 some 20 minutes apart on Friday.

There now have been eight rounds of 62 in major championship history, half of them at Royal Birkdale. Branden Grace was the first to set the record with a 62 at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

Fox was in a pot bunker off the fairway on the 18th and still managed to find the green, leaving a birdie putt of nearly 50 feet for a 61. He left it short by about 5 feet and holed the par putt.

“When I got to 6 under through 14 I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve got a chance.’ I would have liked to give myself a birdie chance at the last, but happy to make par,” Fox said.

He played alongside Xander Schauffele, the only player with 62 twice in a major. Schauffele and Rickie Fowler each shot 62 in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club — like Herbert and Burns, they were playing two groups apart — and Schauffele and Shane Lowry each shot 62 in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Haeran Ryu set the record in women's majors last week with a 60 in the final round of the Evian Championship, which has yielded all the top scores in LPGA majors since it was designated one 13 years ago.

Schauffele is the only player with 62 in a major to win. Fox, who made the cut with one shot to spared, finished atop the leaderboard with Herbert, who was still more than an hour away from teeing off in the third round.

The links have rarely been this brown and fast, but it’s the wind — or lack of it — that has allowed for such low scoring this week.

Fox, one of the strongest players in golf with his rugby heritage, leaned on his driver for much of the round and set up good scoring chances.

“The game plan was to be aggressive,” Fox said. “I was aggressive on a lot of good wedge shots. Pretty happy with 62 at the end.”

All but one of his nine birdies — Fox made his lone bogey on the 13th with a drive into a pot bunker — came from about 10 feet or closer. His drive on the 321-yard fifth hole was about 30 feet from the hole, and his most important shot was a wedge from the rough on the par-5 17th that rolled out to about 4 feet.

Herbert also had a bogey on his card during his 62 on Friday.

There have been weeks of soft conditions or little wind — two elements that lead to low scores — at previous majors. Seven major courses — three of them links courses — have yielded two rounds of 63 or lower in the same championship.

Royal Birkdale is the first to give up three of them — with half of the field Saturday and the final round still to come.

- Doug Ferguson | AP

2026 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP:: BRYSON DECHAMBEAU ASSED FOR 2-STROKE PENALTY

 

ROUND TWO | THE 154TH OPEN AT ROYAL BIRKDALE

 

ROUND ONE HIGHLIGHTS | THE 154TH OPEN AT ROYAL BIRKDALE

 

ROUND 4 HIGHLIGHTS | GENESIS SCOTTISH OPEN 2026

 

STEVEN FISK BEATS TAYLOR PENDRITH ON THIRD PLAYOFF HOLE.TO WIN ISCO

 

Steven Fisk drives the ball off the 9th tee for the final round of the ISCO Golf Championship at Hurstbourne Country Club. July 12, 2026

Steven Fisk won his second PGA Tour title in nine months by prevailing on the third hole of a playoff against Canadian Taylor Pendrith to claim the ISCO Championship on Sunday in Louisville, Ky.

Fisk shot a 3-under 67 and Pendrith a 5-under 65 at Hurstbourne Country Club to finish regulation tied at 16-under 264. They replayed the par-4 18th hole twice, both players coming out with pars each time.

Tournament officials changed the pin location on the 18th green before their third playthrough. Pendrith's drive found a bunker, his second shot didn't have enough to reach the green and he failed to get up and down for par.

That meant Fisk's third consecutive par was enough to decide the tournament.

"Definitely (was) more nervous in regulation," Fisk said. "I think when you're in the playoff, it's kind of a match-play thing. Taylor and I are kind of feeding off each other, seeing what each other are doing. Once you get in that playoff you feel like you have a really good chance, but until you're there, it can be a little more nerve-wracking."

Fisk said it had been "a frustrating year trying to back up that first win" at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October.

"I've showed some pretty good signs of some solid golf, but haven't really had that opportunity to win a golf tournament that I've been kind of craving," he said. "It was unbelievable to get it done again."

Pendrith, 35, was looking for his second PGA Tour title as well and his first since the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

"I didn't hit a great drive," Pendrith said of the third playoff hole. "It's not a super comfortable tee ball for me and that right bunker's not ideal. I was there in Round 2 maybe and hit kind of the same shot. Just No. 1 thing is to get it over the lip, and missed my spot on the pitch shot. Thought I hit a good putt."

Fisk made the turn at even par before birdieing Nos. 10, 11 and 15, the latter a 4-foot putt after a precise approach shot. He needed birdie at the par-4 18th to win outright or par to tie Pendrith and force extra holes, and he two-putted from 30 1/2 feet to precipitate the playoff.

Canada's Ben Silverman shot 66 and Aaron Wise posted 69 to tie for third at 15 under, one stroke out of the playoff.

Lucas Glover squandered a 54-hole lead for the second week in a row. After tying for third at the John Deere Classic, he faded Sunday with a 1-over 71 and tied for fifth at 14 under with Davis Chatfield (66) and Norway's Kristoffer Ventura (66).

"I hit too many bad shots. Uncharacteristic," Glover said. "Missing a green with a wedge and big pull with a 6-iron on 12 and 13 and that was kind of it. Couldn't make enough birdies down the stretch. But those guys played great, hats off to them. And I did not, so that's the way it goes."

--Field Level Media

ROUND 3 HIGHLIGHTS | GENESIS SCOTTISH OPEN 2026

 

PGA TOUR HIGHLIGHTS | SATURDAY | GENESIS SCOTTISH OPEN 2026 | 2026

 

PGA TOUR HIGHLIGHTS | ROUND 2 | HIGHLIGHTS | JOHN DEERE CLASSIC | 2026

 

PGA TOUR HIGHLIGHTS | ROUND 1 | JOHN DEERE CLASSIC | 2026

 

SERENA WILLIAMS SUFFERS HEARTBREAK IN WIMBLEDON RETURN AS DREAM RUN CUT SHORT IN FIRST ROUND

Williams was back in Wimbledon action four years on from her last appearance at SW19, but any hopes of a special singles run were snuffed out

Serena Williams' dream Wimbledon comeback was derailed by Maya Joint in a tight defeat on Centre Court.

The American tennis icon made her singles return at the age of 44 in front of a packed crowd under the roof to close out the action on Day Two, nearly four years after her emotional retirement at the 2022 US Open.

But any hopes of a fairly-tale run at SW19 were snuffed out by Joint in the first round, the 20-year-old winning an epic, back-and-forth battle 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3.

Williams, who announced an astonishing tennis comeback on June 1 before securing a Wimbledon wildcard, becomes the second-oldest woman to compete in the main draw at the All England Club in the Open Era.

She proved she's still an elite athlete at her tender age and had the Centre Court crowd behind her as she returned to SW19 in a bid to defy father time.

But there will be no dream singles run on grass for the greatest tennis player ever seen.

"I really don't know what to say right now," an emotional Joint admitted, after downing Williams.

"I don't know what happened, to be honest. I didn't get much sleep last night, I was up until 2am just thinking about (walking out).

"I forgot the warm-up, my legs weren't working."

Joint added that Williams, a player who she idolized, has 'so much aura' and that challenging her at Wimbledon was tough.

"The start was very nerve-wracking, and then trying to finish out the match as well, she definitely lifted her level.

"She played some great tennis."

With defeat to Joint, Williams is win-less in Wimbledon singles action since 2019, and has lost in her last four appearances at the famous tournament.

But she came very close to a stunning comeback story.

Serena Williams falls just short in comeback bid

Joint took charge early and held serve well in the opening set as she went to battle with 23-time major champion Williams, who made her way out to a standing ovation from the Centre Court crowd.

After saving two break points in the first challenge to her serve, the Australian went on to capitalize and break her legendary opponent for a 5-3 lead.

She then closed out the first set, sealing the deal with a cross-court forehand winner that brought the crowd to their feet on her own Centre Court debut.

Amid all the talk around Williams' return, Joint was able to weather the early pressure and put herself in position for a big win.

She made the perfect start to the second set, when a double fault from the seven-time Wimbledon Ladies singles' champion opened the door for an early break.

Joint took what was offered, and held her next serve for a 2-0 lead.

But, this is Serena Williams on Centre Court, and the American icon soon battled back, breaking Joint to level the set at 3-3.

The two then exchanged breaks once more, and Williams held her nerve on the biggest stage to take a 5-4 lead in the second.

She took the set in a dramatic tie-breaker to send the match to a deciding third, as Joint wasted three break points and the chance to serve it out.

Williams held serve to open the deciding set, before breaking Joint to take the lead for the first time in the match.

But momentum then started to swing again, and two more breaks put Joint in a commanding third-set lead.

She kept her cool to go up 5-2, and went on to serve out the biggest win of her career.

The Centre Court crowd rose to their feet to applaud both women after close to two and a half hours of action, but it's Joint who moves on to the second round.

Williams, meanwhile, will now prepare for doubles action alongside her sister, Venus.

- Oliver Browning

PGA TOUR HIGHLIGHTS | ROUND 3 | TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP 2026

 

2026 U.S. OPEN FINAL ROUND | CONDENSED HIGHLIGHTS

 

2026 U.S. OPEN | ROUND 2 | CONDENSED

 

WYNDHAM CLARK LEADS US OPEN WITH MIXED BAG AFTER TITLEIST DEAL ENDED

Clark entered 2026 as an equipment free agent and built a multi-brand setup spanning TaylorMade, Ping and Titleist. Halfway through the US Open at Shinnecock Hills, the experiment is working.

Wyndham Clark holds the lead after the second round of the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills with one of the more unusual bags on tour. The 2023 US Open champion entered the season as an equipment free agent after his full-line Titleist contract ended, and the setup he has assembled across four brands is now contending at a major.

Clark’s US Open bag features TaylorMade woods, a Ping fairway wood and putter, Titleist irons and wedges, and a Titleist Pro V1x ball. It is a setup built without a single full-line obligation, outside a ball-and-glove arrangement with Titleist and a putter-only deal with Ping that was confirmed ahead of the championship.

Driver settled at the right time

Clark cycled through four different drivers in his first five events of 2026 before settling on the TaylorMade Qi4D at the end of April. The move came with a notable spec change: he went from a 9° head to 10.5°, which Golf Monthly reports helped increase spin and accuracy.

The shaft also changed. Clark had been using a Project X Titan Black 70 TX but switched to the brand-new Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX, which debuted at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in late May. He won that event by three shots with a final-round 60, ending a two-year winless drought.

The rest of the top of the bag includes a TaylorMade Qi4D Tour 3-wood (15°, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 80 TX shaft) and a Ping G440 Max 7-wood (21°, Project X Titan Black 80 TX shaft).

Putter became the breakthrough club

The most consequential equipment change of Clark’s 2026 season may be the Ping Scottsdale Tec Ally Blue Onset putter he has used since The Masters. Today’s Golfer reported that Ping signed Clark to a putter-only agreement ahead of the US Open, the first time the company had entered a single-club endorsement deal with a PGA Tour player.

Clark’s own comments explain the fit. “The white finish first got my attention and when I started rolling putts with it, it set up easily and gave me immediate confidence,” he said. “I’d never used a putter with onset before, so it was a new look for me that really matches my eye. The onset combined with the top-rail dot simplifies alignment and my consistency has improved. I’m sinking more long putts than ever.”

At the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Clark gained 12.5 strokes on the greens for the week, a PGA Tour record for strokes gained putting in a single event.

Irons, wedges and ball stayed with Titleist

Despite moving away from a full-line deal, Clark kept Titleist equipment in the scoring half of his bag. His iron set is a blend of the Titleist T200 in 4-iron and 5-iron and the Titleist T100 from 6-iron through 9-iron, all on True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 shafts. Earlier in 2026 he had the T200 covering 4-iron to 6-iron but switched the 6-iron to the T100 model for a more compact head.

His wedge setup is Titleist Vokey SM11 in 46°, 50° and 54° configurations, plus a Vokey WedgeWorks 60°. He upgraded from the SM10 shortly after The Masters.

Clark continues to play a Titleist Pro V1x ball, the one piece of Titleist equipment that remained contractually tied after his endorsement shifted.

What the mixed bag signals

Equipment free agency has been part of the PGA Tour for years. Clark’s bag at Shinnecock is a clear example of what happens when a major winner builds a setup without brand constraints. The TaylorMade driver and woods sit at the top. Ping covers the putter and one fairway wood. Titleist handles irons, wedges and ball. Municipal, the apparel brand co-founded by Mark Wahlberg, provides Clark’s clothing, and he wears FootJoy Fields shoes.

Clark has 36 holes to turn this experiment into a US Open-winning setup. Through two rounds at Shinnecock Hills, the mixed bag is holding up.

- Simon Bale