Americans - with some exceptions - don't 'get' Lee Westwood. He's not flash, not a bighead and knows there are things way more important than golf. In Britain, he is a national treasure
Am no fan of Team Sky, Wiggins and certainly not Brailsford, but when politicians start to talk about “ethical lines” I can’t help but feel a bit nauseaus
I love
@WestwoodLee
. He is such a fantastic competitor. British sport should be proud of him. He is an inspiration to everybody over 40. (And over 50... and probably over 60)
@GaryLineker
Its four years to the day thar my dad died..he reported for so many newspapers on pele and maradona and had no doubt messi was the best he ever saw. 'By a mile and if anyone says any different it's just nostalgia,' he told me. Miss him so much
Tommy Fleetwood, a popular Englishman, finished second at The Open this year He has not even been mentioned on SPOTY tonight. Imagine if an Englishman had finished second at Wimbledon? The BBC would have extended SPOTY by an hour. The BBC is shameless
Dont understand Harrington's thinking. Fleetwood has yet to lose a foursomes or fourballs match in the Ryder Cup - 5 on the spin undefeated. Bizarre to drop him
If every team played like this South Africa team, I'm not sure I'd watch rugby union again. Might be physically impressive, but it aint any fun to observe
There can be no doubt that
@markchapman
is the sports broadcaster of his age. An absolute masterclass in the art of the build-up this last hour or so. Worth the licence fee on his own
wales are two games away from winning the grand slam. so the wru decides to tell the players (most of whom play for the scarlets and ospreys) that they are merging. un-bloody-believable. wales is mental
You are, without a doubt, one of the most gentle people that I have ever met in the world of football. You have been a man of your word, a caring man and a fair man who never hesitated to protect us. I will never forget how you treated me, for that I will be forever grateful
I know I shouldnt, but when I am clapping I can't help thinking back to all those Tory MPs clapping (and laughing and cheering) when they voted for nurses NOT to receive a pay rise. It wasn't long ago
That was brilliant
@GaryLineker
showing the FA Cup to the Shrewsbury fans congregated below the BBC booth. This is what sport is about. Not all about that billionaire bollocks
DON'T CUT THE CUT... I am starting this campaign here and now. The BBC must not ditch the fabulous podcast presented by
@iaincartergolf
and
@MrAndrewCotter
. Please show your support
The BBC’s SPOTY snub of Matt Fitzpatrick is appalling. Just the latest insult by the corporation to golf. But as Telegraph Sport previously revealed the Fitz camp were expecting to be overlooked - so turned down an invite to tomorrow’s glitzy guff fest
R&A and USGA to introduce local rule that can stop DeChambeau using a 48in driver at The Masters in April and planning to bring in local rule to limit the distance a ball travels. Big moment in the game
I took my mum's dinner to her earlier on and for some reason, without thinking, went the long way home.
I now know why.
I drove passed the hospice where my dad died six years ago, almost to the day.
God, he would have loved today.
Will always drive that way home from now on
Been 20 years since Wales only had 2 representatives in a Lions Test team. Wales are 6 Nations champions. But will you hear the same level of moaning from the Welsh as you often hear from the English, the Irish and, oh yes, the Scots? Nope. Because Wales understands the concept
Why does it have to be Wales or Scotland stepping aside. Why can't another country give up their place? Such as England perhaps? It's easy to ask for some other sap to make the sacrifice, isnt it??
"If I was asked to play golf with Trump I’m not going to say ‘no’, I’m not going to say ‘yeah’.
Cue abuse but while happy for Shane Lowry his acceptance of fascism won't hold up as well as his name on a jug. Some things are bigger than golf. History will judge this era badly.
Amazed at those playing down LIV captures. The world No 2 who is Open and Players champ and also finished 2nd in Masters. The youngest player in the world's top 20. The best player in India. LIV now has 12 of the last 24 major champions. LiV has not even been going 3 months!!
staying in st andrews hall of residence for the open. not en suite. remember sharing here with my dad for the 2000 open. on first night he gave me a lecture. 'no pissing in the sink - there's a toilet down the corridor.' i was awakened at 3am by a noise. 'pssshhhhhht'. miss him
Rory McIlroy: "I don't know if anyone could have beat Xander and Patrick today. They played really good, four birdies in a row. Geez, yeah, they played great. They were a great pairing today, and all you can do is praise them for the way they played."
The incomparable, all-knowing Matthew Syed declaring without doubt in today's Times that it all went wrong for Rory McIlroy when he signed with Nike. In 2013. A year before he won back-to-back majors
A putt for the history books 💥
@suzannpettersen
won the 2019 Solheim Cup for
@solheimcupeuro
with this unforgettable moment 👇
Pettersen announced her retirement from competitive golf moments later. 👏👏
#LPGA70
No reason at all to shut golf courses at the moment. Sure, shut the clubhouses, but keep the golf courses open. Great for physical and mental health at this time (unless you putt like me, that is. I put my putter into permanent self isolation, two years ago)
I wrote yesterday that Dustin Johnson had applied to join the European Tour. This was wrong. I am happy to put up my hands and admit that it was shoddy journalism
After summarily dismissing the notion at first, the PGA of America and European Tour are now genuinely considering playing the Ryder Cup behind closed doors. If it happens, it will truly be awful. Akin to re-filming Jaws without the shark
Heard that, yet again, Pete Cowen has not even received an invite to BBC Sports Personality tonight. Well, the Yorkshireman only coached two major winners this year... why do they hate golf so much??
At least Sky's social media has some balls. Adam Smith and the other shills should be even more ashamed than Joshua. AJ took the belts off the victor and threw them. He took Usyk's moment with that embarrassing speech. And the Sky ringside team were silent. And we paid £26.95
People are now saying United did this wrong, that wrong over the last year. If they had won the penalty shootout, it would all be United did this right, that right over the last year. It's all bollocks. So much of sports analysis is utter bollocks
Have to be honest. If i was late on in my golf career and the Saudis offered me their millions, I'd probably go. Very easy to talk about principles and loyalty (and I know it's easy to write about them). But if push came to shove...
"After a long period of sobriety, I had a relapse and subsequently failed a drug test for marijuana."
The PGA Tour has handed Robert Garrigus a three month suspension for violating its drug policy:
@chambleebrandel
Hell yeah, brother. Let's go!
1. To start, are you comparing our 2 minutes of commercials per 60 minutes of content policy to the PGA Tour's 18 minute policy?
2. Do you actually think we believe there should be ZERO commercials in professional golf?
3. Do you actually think
A superb obit of Hugh McIlvanney by Phi Shaw. Phil generously mentions my father and his time as The Observer sports editor and, to my mind, this period witnessed the very best of Hugh. They will be up there now, arguing about Joe Jordan and that handball
Thank God the Ryder Cup is about to begin. The build-up is excruciating. The created aura around it suggests it's up there with the Birth of Christ. Get a grip. It's a golf match
The whole 'sheep shagger' thing with Gerwyn Price has long passed into the disgusting category. The sport needs to intervene. Dickheads ruining it. Well played Michael Smith, tho
personally, I'm delighted britain has voted a black muslim immigrant to be sports personality of the year. that's far, far bigger than sport in my view
Have to be honest, watched LIV last night
and there was some great golf played by some very accomplished players. Some of the broadcast is sadly not at that level, but enjoyed it. Don't really get this "it's meaningless" argument. It's golf. Of course it's bloody meaningless.
Leaving Rochester after a great US PGA and as I always did went to ring my old man for the major post mortem. He died 7 years ago next month. Hold on to them, peeps. Hold them very close and dear x