Players won’t boycott U.S. Women’s Open at Trump courseThe U.S. Women’s Open will be played this week at Trump National Bedminster in Bedminster, N.J., despite earlier protests and calls from some to move the event from a course owned by President Donald Trump because of comments he has made about women.Most LPGA Tour players have been reluctant to speak out on the issue, but not two-time major champion Brittany Lincicome.”Hopefully, maybe he doesn’t show up and it won’t be a big debacle and it will be about us and not him,” Lincicome told the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t know him. I have met him probably once. I think it will be fine. We’re going to play an amazing golf course and let our clubs do the talking. …”It would be so impossible, even if we wanted to boycott it. I mean, the purse is so big, I don’t think anybody would. … We don’t get to play for that much money that often.”Lincicome also said that moving the tournament to another course wasn’t a logical option.”It’s a fine line because the USGA picked that golf course years ago,” Lincicome said.Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer refused to comment when asked about Trump, while Cristie Kerr said she tries “not to be political,” although she added: “I happen to believe that he is going to do some great things for this country.”McIlroy takes break from social mediaRory McIlroy temporarily took a break from Twitter after having a negative back-and-forth with 1995 PGA champion Steve Elkington of Australia.Elkington started it after watching the fourth-ranked player in the world from Northern Ireland miss the cut recently in the U.S. Open at Erin Hills.”Rory is so bored playing golf…without Tiger the threshold is prolly 4 majors with 100mill in bank,” the 54-year-old Elkington wrote on Twitter.Responded McIlroy: “More like 200mil… not bad for a ‘bored’ 28 year old… plenty more where that came from.”McIlroy spoke to reporters about the incident before defending his title last week in the Irish Open at Portstewart Golf Club in Northern Ireland.”I must have wrote that tweet and deleted it about five times before I actually sent it,” McIlroy said during a press conference. “I sort of regretted sending it at the end. I actually gave my wife Erica my phone and said: ‘Change my Twitter password and don’t tell me what it is.'”Nothing appeared on McIlroy’s Twitter feed from July 1-8, but a congratulatory message to Jon Rahm was posted Sunday after the Spaniard won the Irish Open. McIlroy missed the cut in his title defense at the event for which he is the host.R&A to pay out Open Championship in US dollarsThe R&A announced the prize money pool for the 146th Open Championship, which will be played from next week at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, and for the first time, the payout will come in the form of U.S. dollars.The actual dollar payout has been a bit of an inexact science in recent years because of exchange rate complications.”We are operating in an increasingly global marketplace and have made the decision to award the prize fund in U.S. dollars in recognition of the fact that it is the most widely adopted currency for prize money in golf,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said.The total purse for the Open Championship will be $10.25 million, which is more than the purse at this year’s Masters ($10 million) but below that of last month’s U.S. Open ($12 million).It is a notable increase from last year’s Open purse, which equated to $8.45 million when converted from pounds to dollars.The winner this year will receive $1,845,000, and the runner-up will make $1,067,000. Last year at Royal Troon, winner Henrik Stenson of Sweden received $1,551,000, and runner-up Phil Mickelson got $891,000.Bones joins Golf Channel, NBC Sports as analystJim “Bones” Mackay recently parted ways with Phil Mickelson after 25 memorable years as his caddie, but he soon will be back on PGA Tour golf courses.It was assumed that Mackay would sign on to caddie for another top player, but instead he will join Golf Channel and NBC Sports as an on-course reporter, beginning with the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale next week.”During my years as a caddie, I had the opportunity to watch Tommy Roy work his magic in the production truck and walk the fairways with Notah Begay, Roger Maltbie and Mark Rolfing,” said Mackay, who was on the bag for 41 of Mickelson’s 42 PGA Tour victories, including five majors.”To join them and be a part of the coverage of some of golf’s biggest events, starting with The Open, is an opportunity I’m very grateful for. I’m eager to add my take to help illustrate the strategic decisions golfers face inside the ropes.”Mackay, 52, got his first taste of broadcasting at the 2015 RSM Classic, when he and John Wood, Matt Kuchar’s caddie, were on-course reporters during Golf Channel’s coverage.According to NBC, Mackay signed a multiyear deal to become the first former full-time caddie to join to a network’s broadcasting team.”I was a golf rat as a kid,” said Mackay, who was an NCAA Division II All-American at Columbus State in 1988. “I would watch everything from start to finish. I would read golf magazines from beginning to end. I’ve always been fascinated by the game at this level.”Said Roy, lead golf producer for NBC: “The player-caddie dynamic in golf is often one of the most compelling and unique narratives being captured during our coverage. Bones has a career’s worth of experience being immersed in the most pressure-packed situations on golf’s biggest stages working alongside Phil, one of the most cerebral champions in the sport.”Mackay also will work the FedExCup playoffs and the Presidents Cup in his new role.
