Golf

6:07 AM ET Associated Press SHIGA, Japan — Japanese players Ai Suzuki and Momoko Ueda each shot 7-under 65s on Thursday to sit atop the first-round leaderboard at the LPGA Tour’s Toto Japan Classic. Two other Japanese player were a shot behind: Ayaka Furue and Sakura Koiwai. The tournament is being played at the Seta

7:24 PM ET The controversial LIV Golf circuit wrapped up its inaugural season last week with its team championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami. The new circuit, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and fronted by two-time Open Championship winner Greg Norman, has plans to expand to a

5:49 PM ET Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson isn’t sure why LIV Golf players are being heavily criticized by some PGA Tour players for taking guaranteed money from the new circuit. Watson, 43, told ESPN that he received guaranteed appearance money from sponsors and tournament organizers while playing on the PGA Tour, which wasn’t allowed

8:48 AM ET A group of high-profile investors, including NBA star Stephen Curry, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, women’s soccer player Alex Morgan, Los Angeles Angels All-Star Shohei Ohtani, entertainer Justin Timberlake and tennis star Serena Williams, are backing Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy‘s new company, which plans to launch a tech-infused golf league in

11:31 AM ET Free agency is coming to LIV Golf. Only two days after capturing LIV Golf’s first team championship at Trump National Doral in Miami, 4 Aces GC captain Dustin Johnson is shaking up his team’s roster for 2023, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. Talor Gooch is moving to the Niblicks GC, which

2:04 PM ET Associated Press Thai teenager Atthaya Thitikul reached No. 1 in the women’s world ranking on Monday, the 16th player and second-youngest to get to the top since the ranking began in 2006. Thitikul had a chance to reach No. 1 by winning any of her last three tournaments on the LPGA Tour.

7:50 AM ET MIAMI — During Wednesday’s pairings selection at the LIV Golf Team Championship, held inside the Ivanka Trump ballroom at Trump National Doral Golf Club, eight team captains sat in front of a group of reporters, while a moderator announced the matchups, in which the higher-seeded teams were allowed to pick their opponents.

5:35 PM ET Associated Press SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Seamus Power did enough right and left all the mistakes to PGA Tour rookie Ben Griffin on Sunday to win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship for his second tour title. Power took the lead for good with a 25-foot birdie putt at the 14th. A bogey on the

5:32 PM ET Associated Press DORAL, Fla. — Dustin Johnson watched the final putt of his season roll in, pumped his right fist and waited for the party to begin. Another big celebration. Another big check, too. Johnson drove the green on the 370-yard par-4 16th to set up an easy birdie that provided a

6:11 PM ET Associated Press DORAL, Fla. — Dustin Johnson‘s season of big LIV money will finish with another seven-figure check. Johnson and his 4Aces GC team are one of four squads that will play in the finals of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf team championship Sunday, with $16 million — $4 million for each of

5:54 PM ET Associated Press SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Seamus Power knows the wind and Port Royal well enough to realize he’d better do his scoring early. He did just that Saturday, added a few birdies late and had another 6-under 65 to share the lead with Ben Griffin in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Power holed

8:36 PM ET Associated Press DORAL, Fla. — Phil Mickelson‘s long year that led him to being a central figure in Saudi-funded LIV Golf ended on Friday when British Open champion Cameron Smith holed a 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole to beat Mickelson and eliminate his team. The LIV Golf Team Championship-Miami at

7:27 PM ET Associated Press SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Ben Crane took advantage of a rare start on the PGA Tour with his lowest score in 10 years, a 9-under 62 that gave him a one-shot lead going into the weekend of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Crane’s last victory was in 2014 at the FedEx St.

6:12 PM ET Associated Press SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Arjun Atwal went to Bermuda without having competed in the three months since his father died and without the guarantee of a tee time. He walked off Port Royal on Thursday with an 8-under 63 that left him one shot behind in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Atwal

5:32 PM ET Associated Press Despite feeling unwell, Jordan Smith shot a 9-under 62 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead at the Portugal Masters. The Englishman made seven birdies and a 30-foot eagle in a bogey-free round on a low-scoring opening day at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course. “I’m really happy with the way

2:34 PM ET MIAMI — Bryson DeChambeau told ESPN on Thursday that he remains a plaintiff in LIV Golf’s federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour because the PGA Tour won’t pay him a $1.75 million bonus it owes him as part of its Player Impact Program. DeChambeau, speaking to ESPN before playing in the

7:37 AM ET Associated Press Phil Mickelson has responded to Rory McIlroy‘s most recent criticism of LIV Golf by saying the Saudi-backed breakaway series is “a force that’s not going away.” This week The Guardian published an interview in which McIlroy — the world’s No. 1 player again — said the game was not benefitting

1:59 PM ET Bob McClellanNFL Joe Biddle, whose Nashville sportswriting career spanned five decades, died early Wednesday. He was 78. Born June 13, 1944, in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he was a high school classmate of Heisman Trophy winner and legendary coach Steve Spurrier, Biddle rose to prominence as the sports editor and columnist of