Jhonattan Vegas has withdrawn from this week’s PGA Tour event, the Sony Open in Hawaii, after testing positive for Covid-19.

You didn’t have to scroll far on any social-media platform to figure out the sentiment toward Patrick Reed and his use of the embedded-ball rule Saturday at the Farmers Insurance Open. But Twitter hate and Instagram vitriol are so ubiquitous that the shouting becomes white noise. Plus, there is really only one group whose opinion on the subject would carry real resonance: his fellow players

In that respect, Reed, who went on to win the tournament by five shots on Sunday, might have work to do to make amends for the events of the weekend.

“It’s sad,” said Lanto Griffin, who finished tied for seventh, six shots back, when asked about the Reed affair. “Kind of pisses us off.”

“Obviously, the talk amongst the boys isn’t great, I guess,” echoed Xander Schauffele, “but he’s protected by the tour and that’s all that matters, I guess.”

Schauffele, who finished tied for second after a Sunday 69, spoke about the matter despite noting he had not seen the video of what happened. Informed that Reed has picked up his ball on the 10th to check on whether it was embedded and then called in a rules official, Schauffele said that would not have been the way he would have handled the situation.

“If my ball’s embedded, I usually will wait and call someone and kind of wait until everybody’s on the same page, wait to look at video,” Schauffele said. “So I try to avoid situations like that just for that reason.”

“I mean, it’s tough,” Griffin said. “Golf’s a game of sportsmanship, and it’s tough to put us in the spot to call him out because we weren’t there. But at the end of the day, I think 99 percent of the golfers out here, if it’s in question one way or the other, they’re going to go the other way, not taking a drop, it didn’t cross [a penalty line], that type of deal. So it’s tough to see. It’s sad, kind of pisses us off, but it’s the way it is. Hopefully something changes and come to a conclusion.”

Rory McIlroy was also asked about the matter on Sunday. He had a different perspective on the incident in that McIlroy had similarly employed the embedded-ball rule on Saturday while playing the 18th hole. Like Reed, McIlroy had not seen his ball land, but upon looking at his lie, he questioned whether he was entitled to relief. McIlroy picked up his ball without calling in a rules official and decided on his own that the ball was embedded (which is allowed under the rules).

“I was sort of giving … Patrick the benefit of the doubt because it seemed to me like it was a bit of a storm in a teacup,” McIlroy said. “You’re trying to deal with the info that you have at the time, and the info that Patrick had at the time was the ball hadn’t bounced, and the info I had at the time was the same. I went down, and on my life that ball of mine was plugged; it was in its own pitch mark, so I took relief.”

The PGA Tour released a statement on Sunday saying that McIlroy and Reed were virtually the same situations and that they were comfortable with how both players handled the situation.

Suffice it to say, not everyone was ready to out Reed. Some players when asked came to his defense.

“At the present time, the circumstances they were in, I think all the procedures that they went through were proper,” said Tony Finau, echoing the tour’s sentiments. “The official deemed that it was an embedded golf ball, so he took his club length and took relief.”

In other words, opinions vary.

Patrick Reed was involved in another rules controversy during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines; former Masters champion takes share of the lead with Carlos Ortiz into the final round

Patrick Reed has insisted he would not have handled his rule dispute at the Farmers Insurance Open any differently if faced with the same situation again.

The former Masters champion posted a two-under 70 at Torrey Pines to join Carlos Ortiz at the top of the leaderboard, although his third round was overshadowed by an incident at the par-four 10th.

“It is an unfortunate thing that happened today, but at the same time it’s exactly what I would have done every time, exactly what every player should do,” Reed told reporters post-round.

“You should ask your playing opponents if they’ve seen whether it’s a ball bounce or whether it crosses a hazard line, you always ask them first and then you ask the volunteer, and then from there you check to see and at that point you call a rules official.

“When you have the rules officials and everybody come up and said that you did it textbook and did it exactly how you’re supposed to do, then that’s all you can do. I mean, when we’re out there and we’re playing, we can’t see everything.

“That’s why you rely on the other players, other opponents, you rely on the volunteers as well as rely on the rules officials. When they all say what we’ve done is the right thing, then you move on and you go on. You know, the great thing is I still have a chance to win a golf tournament.”

Reed – who has heavily criticised on social media for his actions – was shown footage of the incident post-round by Senior Tournament Director John Mutch, who reiterated that Reed followed golf’s rules correctly.

“It’s pretty clear watching the video that he got to within 10 yards of the ball and asked the volunteer who was standing right there “did it bounce” and the volunteer said it did not bounce,” Mutch told reporters.

“It was reasonable for him to conclude that that was his ball, it did not bounce and he was then entitled to see if it was embedded. Once it was determined to be embedded, he would be allowed to clean it and he also did mark it.

Not content with winning the Race to Dubai title at the DP World Tour Championship earlier this month, English golfer has been voted as the European Tour’s golfer of the year for 2020

A look back at the best of the action from the opening round of Charlie Woods’ debut alongside Tiger Woods at the PNC Championship.

Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, both Major Champions and Ryder Cup superstars, have confirmed their participation at the 16th edition of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship from January 21-24, 2021.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will mark the first Rolex Series event on the 2021 Race to Dubai, with a world-class international field set to assemble at the iconic Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

McIlroy, the current world No. 4, will be looking to start the year off on a high note when he returns to Abu Dhabi for the first time since 2018. The Northern Irishman has finished second on four occasions in his quest to lift the Falcon Trophy and will be hoping he can go one better when he returns in January.

“I’m looking forward to coming back to Abu Dhabi,” McIlroy said. “It’s always a great event for the players and it’s the perfect place for me to start the 2021 season. Abu Dhabi Golf Club is a world-class golf course, one that I have come close to winning on several times over the years, so hopefully I can do well again and be right up there contending come Sunday.”

World No. 3 Thomas, who recently recorded his best result at Augusta National when he finished fourth at the Masters Tournament, will make his debut in the Middle East at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The 27-year-old has become a prolific winner on the global golf stage with 13 victories to his name, his most recent coming at the 2020 WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational, and will make his third Rolex Series appearance having previously teed it up in France and Scotland.

“I’m excited to play for the first time in Abu Dhabi,” Thomas said. “I’ve heard really great things about the course and with it being the first Rolex Series tournament of the year, I’m sure it is going to deliver a strong field. I enjoy new challenges, I like playing different golf courses around the world, and competing against the best players in the game, so of course I have my eye on trying to take home the Falcon Trophy.”

Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: “We are delighted to welcome back Rory McIlroy to Abu Dhabi for our award-winning Championship and we are thrilled to host Justin Thomas for the first time as he makes his debut in the UAE at this prestigious tournament. Abu Dhabi is a global capital of world sport and the presence of players such as these only strengthens that position and reinforces our esteemed reputation.”

Abdulfattah Sharaf, CEO of HSBC UAE, commented: “The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is one of golf’s premium tournaments with an unwavering ability to attract the world’s best players. Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas are two of golf’s most exciting superstars, and will help the event continue to play its vital role in shaping the future of golf in the region by inspiring the next generation.”

First staged in 2006, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is hosted at the iconic Abu Dhabi Golf Club for the 16th consecutive year from January 21-24, 2021.

Matt Kuchar’s family has been part of both championship ceremonies when he and Harris English won the QBE Shootout in 2013 and 2016.

Bearing the burden of an unexpected loss, Amy Olson felt “weak and helpless” entering the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open.

QBE Shootout is the last golf event of 2020, will play under the PGA umbrella. It was originally played during the off-season, but now it is played during the wrap-around season’s December break.

With the PGA Tour off this week, the spotlight is on women’s golf at the season’s final major championship, the U.S. Women’s Open.