It’s always shocking when a tour pro does something we see our hacker buddies do on a regular basis. If you haven't whiffed on a shot (c'mon, you can admit it), you certainly have seen it happen on the golf course.
Beatriz Recari's whiff on Friday at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic was certainly surprising to watch live, especially considering the stature of Recari—having won three times on the LPGA Tour and represented the Europeans at the Solheim Cup in 2013. But it's perhaps just another reminder that golf is a really, really hard sport, even for those who compete at the highest level.
https://twitter.com/golfguy77/status/1015385517867786240
Remember when Phil Mickelson whiffed this year at the Masters? It happens to the world's best golfers.
Kudos to Recari for shaking the miss off and stepping right back up and nailing her drive. It appears she was wearing spikeless shoes, and with wet turf on the tee box, she slipped as she was swinging. We've all ..

ONEIDA, Wis. (AP) Sei Young Kim got off to a great start in the second round and finished the day with a four-stroke lead at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. Her advantage could have been even better.

After missing makeable birdie putts on four of her final five holes, Kim had to settle for a 7-under-par 65 to move to 16-under 128 – tied for the lowest on the LPGA Tour this season. She then headed straight to the practice green.

”Just a couple minutes of putting. That’s it,” Kim said. ”I missed a couple birdie putts the last few holes. Just check out that and then no more practice.”

Starting on the back nine, Kim birdied her first four holes and six of her first seven before a double-bogey on her eighth, the par-3 17th.

”The first hole, my second shot was a tap-in birdie,” said Kim, who is seeking her first win since May 2017. ”After that, every hole I got it close to the pin. I had a lot of birdie opportunities. It was perfect weather so, every hole, I could attack the pin.”

Yu..

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) Kelly Kraft is about to find out whether he’s ready to handle the lead entering the weekend for the first time on the PGA Tour.

Kraft shot a 7-under 63 in the second round of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier on Friday to take a one-stroke edge over first-round leader Webb Simpson and Anirban Lahiri of India.

Kraft posted his career-best round at the Old White TPC. He was at 13-under 127.

Kraft is looking to turn around a season that has included missed cuts in seven of his 10 previous tournaments, including last week at the Quicken Loans National. But he has had some success in West Virginia, where he tied for fifth last year.

”I’ve kind of changed my attitude a little bit starting with last week,” Kraft said. ”I just feel like I’m ready to keep playing good.”

Kraft made four birdies on the front nine and didn’t let a bogey on the par-5 12th hole derail him. He added birdies on the next two holes and took the lead with a six-foot birdie putt o..

DONEGAL, Ireland (AP) Ryan Fox of New Zealand, Matthieu Pavon of France and Dutch golfer Erik van Rooyen shared the lead after the second round of the Irish Open on Friday, while Danny Willett’s return to form catapulted him into contention at Ballyliffin Golf and Country Club.

Willett reached a career-high ranking of ninth after claiming his first major title at the 2016 U.S. Masters, but slumped to 442nd after missing his ninth cut in 12 events at last week’s French Open.

The 30-year-old Englishman added a 2-under 70 to his opening 68 to lie two shots behind Fox (69), Pavon (68) and Van Rooyen (65).

Joakim Lagergren is one off the lead on 7-under, with Willett joined on 6-under by Sam Horsfield and Zander Lombard. Lee Westwood is on 5-under, while tournament host Rory McIlroy is seven off the pace after a disappointing 73.

”It’s been tough to see somebody that good struggle for that amount of time but today was the Danny Willett of old and it’s nice to see,” European Ryder Cup ca..

Are golfers athletes? It's an age-old debate that tends to get very heated, very quickly. On one hand, of course they are! Have you seen Brooks Koepka's biceps? Ever watch Dustin Johnson stroll to the first tee in person? Did you watch Tiger Woods during his prime? These guys aren't pro cornhole players, they are well-oiled machines.
RELATED: Watch Russell Knox come up clutch when asked to repeat his winning putt from Travelers Championship
On the other hand, John Daly plays golf, which could hurt the argument depending on how you view John Daly. Personally, I think the man is a flexible freak of nature that's enjoyed a few beverages in his day, but I could see why some wouldn't consider him an athlete.
Unfortunately, the golfers are athletes argument took a big hit on Friday at the Irish Open when Russell Knox attempted to toss an apple into the rough at Ballyliffin Golf Club. Let's just say he doesn't have the arm of Phil Mickelson:
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This documentary series from the R&A is now in its third season and offers some of more fascinating stories about past Open Championship winners

NEW YORK (AP) Golf.com is reporting that Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods are contemplating a $10 million winner-take-all exhibition match.

The report says Mickelson was hopeful the match would have taken place on July 3 in Las Vegas, except that negotiations with a television network and corporate support could not be worked out in time.

Mickelson says they are working on a different date.

Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, declined to comment on the report.

Woods was involved in made-for-TV exhibitions some 15 years ago. They evolved from singles matches with David Duval and Sergio Garcia to team matches, one of them a mixed team exhibition. Mickelson was part of just one of those matches.

Mickelson playfully hinted at such a match when he and Woods were in the same group at The Players Championship.

While you were slurping down your fifth rocket pop and celebrating America by throwing a bean bag through a hole in a piece of wood until you need Tommy John, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp play-by-play maestro Roger Hoover was having, and we quote, “one of the worst days I've had in quite some time.” That's because Hoover, during the Jumbo Shrimp's July 4th matchup against the Mobile BayBears, was on the receiving end of a big, fat middle finger from the universe, when a foul ball came straight back into the booth, smashing his laptop to literal pieces in the process. Here's his hilarious call:
Here's the less than hilarious result:
https://twitter.com/Roger_Hoover/status/1014684111401897985
Here's hoping the Jumbo Shrimp step up and comp Hoover a new MacBook, because this guy is nothing if not the employee of the month. Working on the 4th is one thing, but getting your computer killed and still managing to recover in time to call nothing and two on Walsh? Wel..

There's going to be a lot of talk about the potential high-stakes showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson that's causing golf nerds everywhere to lose their minds on Friday. That should be cute, but the only showdown that matters occurred on Thursday night during an NBA Summer League game, of all places.
RELATED: Why Grayson Allen was one of the most important players in college basketball
Sure, that may be a slight exaggeration, but any time Grayson Allen goes full Grayson Allen it's going to turn heads. Add Trae Young, one of college basketball's other more polarizing players last season, into the mix and we've officially got pay-per view material. Allen's Jazz and Young's Hawks faced off in Summer League on Thursday, and early in the third quarter the two met up at the top of the key for a battle of which player will be a bigger bust in the NBA. Allen, as he's prone to do, was actually playing some hard defense, which Young did not tak..