Sports Writer Challenges Donald Trump To $100,000 Game Of Golf

JERSEY CITY, N.J. –  Even when the Internationals won a hole on Saturday, it seemed to backfire on them. A ruling on the 325-yard par-4 12th disqualified Jordan Spieth from the hole, but that only served to fuel his rally with partner Patrick Reed, as they won the final three holes of their afternoon Four-ball match to claim a 2 and 1 win over Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen at the Presidents Cup. The match was all square going into the drivable 12th. The Americans had already conceded a birdie to Day when Oosthuizen attempted a chip for eagle from behind the green. The ball rolled well past the hole, then Spieth scooped up the ball while it was still in motion with the back of his putter. “The crowd was all cheering for it to continue to go down the slope,â€� Spieth said in explaining his actions. “I thought that was a little excessive, so I just tried to pick it up so we could just then … be quiet and we could go on with the rest of the hole.â€� The ball had not yet come to rest, and European rules official Andy McPhee had no choice but to disqualify Spieth from the hole. That prevented Spieth from attempting a 12-foot birdie putt that could’ve halved the hole. Instead, the Internationals won the hole to go 1 up. A discussion took place on the 12th green after the ruling, with Spieth explaining his actions to McPhee. U.S. Captain’s Assistant Tiger Woods also spoke with McPhee. “It’s a bad rule. We all agree,â€� Spieth said. “The Internationals wanted to concede the 13th hole. They felt so bad, even though I was a good 12-, 15-feet away from the hole. They handled it so well. Obviously we were trying to do the right thing; a rule’s a rule.â€� The International duo each said they did not want to win the hole that way. “I had no idea that there was a rule like that,â€� Oosthuizen said. “Unfortunately, you know, he’s there — a rules breach — we didn’t want to halve it. We wanted Jordan to putt and we offered the 13th hole to them, to walk to 14, and Jordan said, no, that’s the rule, and that’s how it is and don’t worry about it. “You know, that is the rule but again, silly rule. Added Day: “This is what’s wrong with rules sometimes in golf. He’s just doing the courtesy thing. I understand that Andy is trying to do his job and we’ve got to live by the rules out here in golf but it’s just unfortunate. “We wanted him to putt. No one wants to win a hole like that. It’s kind of a stupid rule. That’s why I think golf rules should be simplified a lot more.â€� NBC rules analyst Stephen Cox said that if McPhee hadn’t been assigned to the match, “I think you probably would have seen a situation where nothing would have happened. But as he has been assigned by the committee to accompany that match, if he spots a breach of the rules, unfortunately – as innocuous as it may seem and not necessarily in the spirit of the game – unfortunately he has got an obligation to act upon that. And unfortunately that’s the way it’s played out.â€� It only served to rile up the Americans. Spieth squared the match three holes later with a birdie at the 15th, then Reed and Spieth posted back-to-back birdies to win the next two holes and close out the match. “Yeah, I was fired up,â€� Spieth said. “I hit my next putt on the next hole about 8 feet by, really trying to throw it down the throat. Fortunately we both were able to come through and ham-and-egg it nicely coming in and make a comeback.â€� The comeback win moved the Spieth/Reed partnership to 3-0-1 this week.

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Round 4 of the Valspar Championship takes place Sunday from Palm Harbor, Florida. Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns share the one-shot lead with Max Homa and more close behind. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Sunday, 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Dustin Johnson, J.B. Holmes Sunday, 8:35 a.m. ET Wesley Bryan, Luke Donald Sunday, 9:15 a.m. ET MUST READS A tougher Innisbrook awaits leaders at Valspar Sam Burns keeps share of lead with Keegan Bradley at Valspar Jimmy Walker misses tee time, should still make cut Win probabilities: Valspar Championship Kevin Kisner ditches armlock experiment for a new putter Insider: Doug Ghim making most of second chance Beyond the Ropes: Doc Redman does things the hard way Emotional Michael Visacki Monday Qualifies for the Valspar Championship CALL OF THE DAY

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POTOMAC, Maryland – Matthew Wolff came to the Wells Fargo Championship with more rounds in the 80s (three) than 60s (one) this year. He missed the cut at the Masters, PLAYERS Championship, Honda Classic. Went 0-3 in pool play at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Playing his home course earlier this week, he lost every ball in his bag. “I really didn’t come here expecting to play well,” Wolff said. But he did, his 5-under 65 placing him amongst early leaders at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. How unexpected was this? Wolff, 23, had never even seen the back nine until Thursday. Then again, volatility has been the norm, especially lately, for the superstar out of Oklahoma State. After winning the NCAA individual title, Wolff turned pro in June of 2019 and copped his first PGA TOUR title at the 3M Open a month later. Shot of the week: his 26-foot eagle putt on 18 as the crowd roared with delight. He was barely 20 years old. It’s been a roller-coaster ride since then, the highs (T4 at 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park; solo second at 2021 U.S. Open at Winged Foot) followed in short order by wayward shots, slumped shoulders and big numbers. Wolff has been nothing if not an enigma. Part of the issue has been the tendency – by Wolff and others – to make comparisons to Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland, world-beaters who turned pro at the same time as Wolff. They’re good friends, he said, and he’s happy for their impressive accomplishments. But he’s not them. “There was so much pressure,” Wolff said, “and so much expectation around me that it was just really hard to live up to.” He calls himself a people-pleaser, but admits there may be too many people to please. It’s been a hard lesson. Also, one of the great misapprehensions about playing the TOUR is that it’s all about the golf. If that were true, Wolff, one of the longest hitters and toughest clutch players, would be in the clear. Instead, unaccustomed to the loneliness of being on the road, and saddled with expectations after his success, he disappeared for long stretches. He was living what other people would call a dream life, so why didn’t he feel happier? He looked for answers. He didn’t give up. He came back … and results varied. A solo second at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at the start of the current season last fall marked his second runner-up there in as many years. He shot an opening 61 at the Worldwide Technology Championship at Mayakoba (T5) and had two other top-20 finishes. Alas, since the calendar turned to 2022, the good shots, and smiles, have been scarce. Dismayed by his behavior, Wolff said he is trying to focus on staying upbeat regardless of what the scorecard says. He’s been listening to audiobooks, thinking about the people closest to him and their unconditional support. Mostly, he’s trying to tilt the scales to bring in more joy. “It’s definitely just been learning experiences and growing and maturing a little bit,” he said. He admitted the part of him wishes he’d stayed at Oklahoma State – he turned pro after two years – but in the next breath he said he wouldn’t change anything. It’s just the path he’s on. He might shoot 90 on Friday, he added, but that’s not the point. “As long as I have a good attitude,” he said, “I can put a check mark on this week and say that I’ve grown as a person and as a player and that’s just all I really care about … it’s funny but I’m not here to win a golf tournament, I’m here to have a good time.”

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