🏌🏻5 Biggest Solheim Cup Controversies

Good morning! Round 1 of the Procore Championship tees off today - you can watch all the live action on Golf Channel.

For all the latest updates and news from the tournament, follow our YouTube Channel.

Fun Fact: Donna Andrews won the 1993 Ping-Cellular One LPGA Golf Championship on this date at 8 under par, taking home $67,500.

⛳ This day in history: Donna Andrews won the 1993 Ping-Cellular One LPGA Golf Championship on this date at 8 under par, taking home $67,500.

ALBATROSS
Procore Championship: Can Theegala Defend Title?

Sahith Theegala is eyeing his second straight Procore Championship title as he tees off Thursday at Silverado Country Club to open the four-day tournament, which features a $6 million purse. Theegala will make his fifth appearance at the tournament.

Playing roughly 450 miles north of his hometown Orange, Theegala posted a 21-under 267 to win by two strokes at last year's event, known then as the Fortinet Championship. It remains the 26-year-old's lone PGA Tour victory since debuting in 2020.

Theegala has placed in the top 10 in eight of his 24 events this year, including a pair of second-place finishes. He placed third at the Tour Championship earlier this month despite forfeiting two strokes on a self-reported penalty.

The Procore Championship kicks off the FedEx Cup Fall slate, an eight-event stretch for golfers to secure PGA Tour cards for next season.

⛳️ Can Fowler Bounce Back?: When Rickie Fowler put together a resurgent 2023, featuring a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and a US Ryder Cup Team berth, it was perceived as a course correction back to Fowler’s norm as one of the world’s top players.

Fowler fell back this season, failing to register a top 10. He finished 108th in the FedEx Cup and missed the Playoffs for the third time in four seasons.

He regressed in every Strokes Gained category compared to last year.

Fowler doesn’t have that long, but with his card locked up for 2025 via his victory in Detroit, the FedEx Cup Fall could be the perfect time to find a spark for next season.

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TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Rahm Risks Ryder Cup Future

Jon Rahm is putting his Ryder Cup eligibility in danger with his insistence on not paying fines levied on him and seemingly appears to be content with the consequences.

During LIV Golf Chicago, reporters asked the Spaniard his thoughts regarding his outstanding fines and whether he would pay them to compete with his Team Europe teammates at Bethpage Black. The 29-year-old made it clear that he would not pay the fines.

The former Masters champion was initially fined for playing LIV Golf tournaments which conflicted with DP World Tour events without first requesting permission. In order for him to maintain DP World Tour membership - and to be eligible to play for Team Europe in 2025 - Rahm will have to compete in three more events this year.

If Rahm is unable to pay the fines or simply chooses not to, the world No 14 will have to settle to watch Team Europe take on Team US in New York from the side.

📍Commits To DPWT: Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, two of the biggest stars on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League, plan to play on the DP World Tour this fall.

Rahm plans to play in the Spanish Open, Andalucia Masters and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Those three events, plus the Olympics, will fulfill the European Ryder Cup requirement - but again, he won't pay the fines.

Rahm will next be seen in a LIV Golf event though. LIV Chicago kicks off Friday at Bolingbrook Golf Club and is the league’s final event before its team championship in Dallas, Sept. 20-22.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

Presidents Cup: Brandt Snedeker has been named a captain's assistant for the 2024 Presidents Cup, which will be contested later this month in Montreal. He will join Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard and Kevin Kisner on the staff of captain Jim Furyk.

Zalatoris' Tribute: Will Zalatoris will donate $25000 to the Grayson Murray Foundation. Zalatoris first met Grayson Murray at age 13 and long admired his golf game and kindness.

Happy Gilmore 2: The 1996 Adam Sandler comedy “Happy Gilmore” is returning for another round - the golf comedy, to be released on Netflix, will be a reunion for Sandler and his co-stars Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald, who are slated to reprise their roles.

LIV Golf: Adrian Meronk is the latest LIV golfer to commit to play multiple DP World Tour events once the 54-hole league's 2024 campaign has been completed later this month.

BIRDIE
These Are The Biggest Solheim Cup Controversies

The 2024 Solheim Cup tees off today and that gives us the opportunity to take a look at some of the biggest controversies in the history of the competition.

📌 A conceded-putt controversy: In a famous 2015 Solheim Cup controversy, Alison Lee and Brittany Lincicome faced Suzann Pettersen and Charley Hull in a four-ball match in Germany. With the match tied, Lee missed a birdie putt on the 17th hole and picked up her ball, assuming it had been conceded.

However, Hull and Pettersen informed the official it wasn't conceded. As a result, Lee and Lincicome lost the hole and the match, with Europe leading 10-6 going into singles play.

📌 A botched ruling: At the 2013 Solheim Cup, Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson were tied with Suzann Pettersen and Carlota Ciganda after 14 holes. A 30-minute delay occurred when Ciganda hit the water on the 15th.

She was incorrectly allowed to drop 40 yards behind the entry point but still made par. Frustrated, the U.S. team lost the 16th hole and the match.

📌 The 10-second rule: At the 2021 Solheim Cup, Nelly Korda narrowly missed an eagle putt on the 13th hole. Europe’s Madelene Sagstrom conceded the birdie by picking up the ball, unaware that she violated Rule 13.3b by not waiting 10 seconds to see if it would fall.

A rules official ruled Korda’s eagle valid, and she and Ally Ewing won the hole and later the match, 1 up.

📌 Hot mic: At the 2007 Solheim Cup in Sweden, Dottie Pepper was a member of the TV squad and thought the broadcast had paused for a commercial break when she said that, ahem, Americans Laura Diaz and Sherri Steinhauer were “choking freaking dogs.”

Pepper apologized, and six years later she served as a Solheim Cup assistant captain for Meg Mallon.

📌 Mulligan: During a four-ball match on Saturday of the 2000 Solheim Cup in Scotland, Annika Sorenstam thought she chipped in for birdie to tie the match, only to find out she played out of turn since American Kelly Robbins was actually away.

The future hall-of-famer had to replay her shot, failed to chip in and Sorenstam and Janice Moodie lost the match 2 and 1 to Robbins and Pat Hurst.

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DRIVING RANGE
How To Practice Chipping

In today's video, we share short game tips, focusing specifically on how to practice chipping.

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