Golf

Here's further proof pro golfers are a helluva lot better at the sport than you ... even BACKWARDS!!!

PGA Tour's J.T. Poston found himself in serious tree trouble at the 16th hole at the U.S. Open in NY on Friday ... but, like a serious boss -- he creatively found a way out of it.

Instead of snuggling up next to the base of a tree and trying to hit a regular chip shot ... Poston turned around -- and then fired at the green!!!

And, the craziest part?? THE SHOT WAS GOOD ... the ball rolled up and settled about 20 feet from the cup!!

The bad news ... Poston wasn't able to sink the par putt -- and had to settle for a bogey, moving him into serious danger of missing the weekend's cut.

Donald Trump is an AMAZING golfer. Kim Jong-un loves Dennis Rodman. And, Tom Brady will recover from his poor Week 1 outing ... this according to sports fan Donald Trump!

The President just appeared on FOX Sports Radio's Outkick The Coverage Show hosted by Clay Travis ... and hit everything from college football to the NFL to the PGA.

First ... TRUMP ON GOLF.

POTUS claimed he's shot in the "low 70s" -- a score most pros strive for -- at the impossibly hard Winged Foot golf course in NY ... adding he's done it "quite a bit!"

Of course, the feat -- if true -- would make Donald nearly a scratch golfer ... Winged Foot is known as one of the toughest courses in America, and is expected to give guys like Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson fits this weekend at the PGA Tour's U.S. Open.

In fact, some believe scores in the low 70s might win the whole tournament!!!!

But, Trump insists he's gone that low at the venue several times ... telling Travis on Thursday, "I've been a member there a long time."

Donald has never been shy about boasting about his golf game ... but, remember, PLENTY of people have accused him of shaving strokes around the course.

Celebs like Samuel L. Jackson and Oscar De La Hoya have said he's a big-time cheat ... but, then again, others like John Daly have claimed the President plays straight-up.

Trump also talked about his relationship with Tiger, saying they still golf all the time -- "he's a really great guy."

Trump also says he just loves to be around golfers, because, "I just find golfers to be a very high-quality group of people."

TRUMP ON NORTH KOREA

Trump told Travis that Kim Jong-un is a big fan of Dennis Rodman and he's considered using the NBA legend as liaison ambassador between the U.S. and North Korea.

"I always said Dennis would be better than these stiffs they send over to try to know him," Trump said.

Trump added, "We should use [Dennis] over someone who graduated from Harvard."

TRUMP ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Trump is very proud of helping to resurrect the Big Ten's 2020 football season and says he's now going to focus on helping the Pac-12.

Trump noted the clock is ticking on the conference to save its fall season ... but said he's making a real effort to try to help.

TRUMP ON TOM BRADY

Trump says he watched Tom's Buccaneers lose to the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 -- but isn't losing faith in the QB.

"I did watch Tom. I like Tom a lot. I think he'll be fine -- I guess it was a break-in game."

NOONAN!!!!!

"Caddyshack" star Michael O'Keefe is back on the bag ... the actor who famously played Danny Noonan in the iconic 1980 golf flick is a real-life caddie at the U.S. Open this week!!!

For real!!!!!

Here's the deal ... O'Keefe used to work at Winged Foot Golf Course in N.Y. back in the 1970s before his acting career took off -- and with the PGA Tour's U.S. Open scheduled to play there this year, Michael had an idea.

O'Keefe told the New York Post he wanted to reprise his role as Noonan and hop on a pro's bag ... all in an effort to help raise money for caddies who have been affected by the pandemic.

Of course, no pro was going to let him be their caddie during ACTUAL tournament play ... but O'Keefe at least found a taker for some practice rounds!!

Danny Balin -- a head pro at a local Long Island country club -- offered to let O'Keefe caddy for him Monday and Tuesday ... and the early pics from their outing are priceless.

Check out how Noonan looks today ... not a thing's changed!!!

Balin says he re-watched "Caddyshack" in anticipation of his rounds with O'Keefe ... and promised he'd have all the 1-liners down by the time the two hit the fairways.

Well, we're waiting!!!!

Golf legend John Daly says he has undergone a procedure to treat bladder cancer ... but doctors told him there's a high probability it returns.

54-year-old Daly -- who famously won the PGA Championship in '91 -- says he had been battling back pain and kidney stones in recent weeks.

But, after he passed the stones, Daly was still experiencing pain and doctors ultimately determined he had cancer.

"[The urologist said] it doesn't look like any stones are in there. But unfortunately, you have bladder cancer," Daly told the Golf Channel.

"After I did the CT [scan] I was fixing to sip on my Diet Coke and he said, 'Don't drink anything. We have to get you back in here and get this cancer out of you.'"

Daly says he's already had a surgery to remove the cancer -- but doctors say the fight is far from over.

"[The doctor] said there's an 85% chance it comes back. So, I've got to go back and see him in 3 months. They will probably have to cut it out again," Daly said.

"It's probably going to come back, and then another 3 months that you don't know. You just don't know. Luckily for me, they caught it early, but bladder cancer is something that I don't know all the details. But, it doesn't look like it may go away. We will just see what happens. Maybe, there's a miracle."

Daly says he will fight hard -- and will even change his diet and smoking habits as a result of the diagnosis.

"I'm cutting way, way back on the Diet Coke and counting minutes before I can have a cigarette. I'm trying to quit smoking," Daly said.

President Trump says cops who use deadly force and shoot someone are exactly like nervous golfers who can't sink the last shot ... seriously, he compared the two.

DT sat down for an interview with FOX News' Laura Ingraham Monday night, and while discussing high-profile police incidents lately -- especially with Black men -- Trump brought up Jacob Blake ... saying the officer who fired 7 times might as well have been Tiger Woods on a bad day.

It was so outrageous and tone-deaf, even Ingraham tried to steer him away, but Trump stuck to his guns ... and said cops who use lethal force are like golfers who "choke."

Trump did question whether the Kenosha officer, Rusten Sheskey, could've done something else other than shoot -- like tackling him -- but the comparison he made is still shocking and utterly lacking in empathy. As you know, Blake is paralyzed from the waist down.

WARNING: THIS VID WILL RAISE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE!!!

Here's PGA Tour star Ian Poulter putting a VERY EXPENSIVE Ferrari at risk all for a silly trick shot video ... and it's nerve-racking as hell!!

The 44-year-old golfer -- who made the clip to try to create some buzz for a credit card company -- pulled his whip out of the garage and then took aim at it with a ball and a wedge.

FYI -- the car appears to be a LaFerrari Aperta ... which can cost around $2 MILLION -- and yeah, it's tough not to sweat watching this!!!

Poulter, though, was able to chip the golf ball through the tiny windows on the ride no problem ... and like a boss, he got back in the car, revved it up and took off.

Pretty freakin' cool, huh?!

For his part, Poulter admitted the whole thing was a big-time adrenaline rush ... saying, "How else would I practice playing with Ryder Cup pressure."

Meet Rocco -- a 4-year-old budding golfer who can really drive it and even sink a ball in one shot. Take notice, all you Green Jackets ... this little guy is on the come-up.

Rocco's dad, Mario Figaretti, recorded his boy hitting a hole in one on a par-3 course in Wheeling, West Virginia. That type of course is super kid-friendly ... each hole is basically designed to be a 3-hit deal. One to get it on the green, and a couple puts afterward.

Welp, this little tyke didn't even need those additional strokes ... he hit it off the tee and watched it sail to down below, where it eventually landed and rolled right into the flag and sank. His pops took notice of the amazing trick shot before Rocco did with an awesome freak-out.

Just to confirm he had in fact gotten a hole in one, Rocco ran down to the green himself to confirm ... and sure enough, he pulled it out and showed to the camera from afar.

Of the wild moment, Mario writes ... "HOLE IN ONE!!!! Hole #1 at Oglebay’s Par three course. Rocco = 4yrs old." Mario adds, "He practices all the time In the yard. To say I’m proud would be an understatement!"

BE HONEST -- would you try to get your ball back if a giant alligator tried to steal it off a golf course?!!?

HELL NO, RIGHT!?

That's the question some golfers in Louisiana had to ask themselves after a 'gator tried to join their foursome this week ... and the whole thing was caught on video.

Lane Rodrigue tells us he was playing with friends at the Idlewild Golf Course in Patterson, Louisiana on Monday when  the monster walked right on to the course and snatched up his ball.

The guys were shocked -- and jokingly debated "playing it where it lies" ... but ultimately decided to let the gator keep it as a souvenir. No one got hurt. The gator is fine.

The whole thing harkens back to "Happy Gilmore's" mentor Chubbs Peterson who famously griped that a "damned alligator BIT my hand off" ... "cut me down in my prime!"

RIP Chubbs.

The golf blood clearly runs thick in the Woods family ... Tiger's 11-year-old son just mowed down the field in a tournament this month -- winning a kids event EASILY!!

Charlie Woods posted a super low score of 3-under 33 in the 9-hole event on Aug. 9 at Hammock Creek Golf Club in Florida, winning the whole thing by 5 strokes ... and it's got everyone wondering -- is he the next Tiger?!

Charlie carded 3 birdies and no bogeys in the round ... and it wasn't like the course was a cakewalk -- the scorecard shows 6 of the 9 holes were 300 yards or longer!!

Of course, Dad was with Charlie every step of the way ... Tiger was even spotted carrying his kid's clubs during the outing!

The 44-year-old golf G.O.A.T. has praised his son's swing in the past ... saying straight-up he wishes he could put some of it into his own!!

"He’s starting to understand how to play. He’s asking me the right questions," Tiger told GOLFTV this summer. "I’ve kept it competitive with his par, so it’s been just an absolute blast to go out there and just, you know, be with him."

Ya wanna see one of the tallest dudes in the world whack a golf ball??

Check out 7'6" Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall hit the links with his fellow NBA buddy and 7-footer, Mo Bamba, while in the bubble in Orlando ... and the dude's not too bad!!

As we've previously made very clear over here at TMZ Sports -- we are absolutely fascinated by Mr. Tacko Fall, and the challenges the friendly giant faces on a daily basis (see here).

But, Fall took things to another level when he hit the course in Orlando on Monday ... showing what a massively tall man looks like swinging a golf club.

For reference, the tallest golfer to ever win a major championship is 6'5" George Archer, who won the Masters in 1969.

We've seen NBA legends like Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley give golf a try in the past ... and it's always funny as hell.

But, Fall looks like he'd smoke either of these dudes ... impressively making solid contact with the ball while Bamba documents the shot.

No vid of Bamba's skills -- we'll assume it's for good reason.

Some of the biggest icons in pro sports -- from Patrick Mahomes to Marshawn Lynch to George Kittle -- have now publicly joined the fight to end racism in hockey ... sending a powerful video message Thursday.

The NFL All-Pros teamed up with golf superstar Brooks Koepka, Lakers forward Danny Green and many more -- including some of the NHL's best -- to show their support for the Hockey Diversity Alliance.

FYI -- the HDA was just created last month by Akim Aliu and Evander Kane ... and its main goal is to eradicate racism from a sport that's had a checkered history of it.

Mahomes and Green start out the vid ... while others chime in at different points -- with everyone involved promising to stand behind Aliu and Kane in the fight for equality.

"There's no place for racism in our sport," the players say in the video. "Let's all do our part. Because sport has the power to change."

TMZ Sports spoke with Akim about the impact those huge stars can make in hockey.

"Their support means the world to us," Aliu says.

"Having athletes of that stature and that caliber believe in our message will further broaden our reach to make the necessary changes we need, in not just hockey, but society as a whole."

He adds, "It's time the NHL and the rest of the hockey world begin to take tangible steps into making our game more inclusive and diverse."

Aliu, Kane and the HDA say in the six weeks since they formed the org. ... they've had "ongoing dialogue" with some of hockey's biggest organizations, including the NHL.

Michael Jordan says Tiger Woods is one of the most important figures in golf history -- crediting him with evolving it from a "white man's sport" into a game for everybody.

It's all part of newly released footage of a sit-down interview with Cigar Aficionado from 2017 ... when MJ was asked who's the G.O.A.T -- Tiger or Jack Nicklaus?

"Obviously Jack won more during the time he played," MJ said ... "Tiger evolved it to where it crossed a lot of different boundaries -- where it's not just a white guy's sport."

MJ says Woods paved the way for other minority golfers to get a shot on the big stage ... which led to a bigger audience and more interest in the game. In other words, Tiger made golf cool.

"Now, does that constitute him being the greatest? Does that mean he's any less than Jack -- I think [the sentiment] is unfair."

MJ noted at the time of the interview Jack had 4 more majors than Tiger (now, he has 3 since Tiger won the 2019 Masters) ... but Jordan says an apples to oranges comparison isn't really fair since they played in different eras.

"I won 6 championships, Bill Russell won 11 --  does that make Bill Russell better than me or make me better than him? No, because we played at different eras."

"So, when you try to equate who's the greatest of all time, it's an unfair parallel. It's an unfair choice. I think those are the demons that obviously Tiger had to live with and he's gonna be challenged, he's gonna be graded upon that but for me, I think they're both great. I would never say one is greater than the other."

There's more in the interview ... Jordan also reveals he smokes 6 cigars every day and tries to play 36 holes of golf almost every day!

That's so much golf!!

Devastating news ... PGA golfer Camilo Villegas has revealed his 22-month-old daughter has died after battling brain and spine cancer.

Mia Villegas passed away on Sunday in Miami, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed. Mia is the only child of Camilo and Maria Villegas.

Mia was initially diagnosed in March -- and underwent surgical procedures to try and remove the cancerous tumors found on her brain and spine.

Just last month, the family said Mia was set to undergo a second round of chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, the treatments just weren't effective enough.

"The PGA Tour is deeply saddened having lost a member of our family, Mia Villegas," Monahan said.

"We grieve with Camilo and Maria and our thoughts and prayers are with the Villegas family."

Back in May, Maria wrote an emotional note on IG to her daughter -- saying, "Being your mom has been the greatest gift in my life!"

"I thank God every day for this experience that we are going through together. Yes, it has been the most difficult challenge I have ever experienced but it has also been the most beautiful."

"I am thankful for the lessons. You are the strongest warrior and I am so proud of you, of us."

38-year-old Camilo joined the PGA Tour in 2004 -- and the Colombian golfer has 4 tournament wins on the PGA Tour since turning pro.

President Trump's latest guest on the golf course is someone many people probably didn't expect to see ... one Brett Favre, who recently voiced admiration for Colin Kaepernick.

The former QB and 45 hit the links Saturday, and even posed for a photo together that the White House later threw up online. They're both in golfing attire, and seem pretty chummy standing next to one another, with DT flashing the thumbs up and Brett with his arm on the Prez's back.

Up until now, we hadn't heard much from BF on his political leanings, especially as it pertains to Trump. Not that golfing with the guy indicates anything either, other than the fact that they're friendly. Still, though it's interesting -- especially when you bring Kap into the equation.

Remember, Brett told TMZ Sports that he considered Kaepernick in the same vein as Pat Tillman -- the former NFL player who enlisted in the armed services back in the 2000s, and then later died while at war ... a hero, in other words. Brett seemed to compare Kap to Pat.

He later clarified his comments, saying they weren't completely alike -- obviously, Pat made the ultimate sacrifice with his life -- but he noted they both sidelined their football careers for a cause bigger than themselves. Still, the sentiment was more or less the same.

With that in mind, you gotta wonder if CK was brought up during this outing. Of course, Trump has vocally criticized Kaepernick in the past, as well as any other players who take a knee during the National Anthem -- but he hasn't been so down on the guy these days.

Here's something that'll make you feel REALLY good about your golf game ...

PGA Tour star Bryson DeChambeau just carded a 10 -- YES, A TEN!!! -- on a Par-5 15th hole at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio on Friday ... and it's one of the worst holes EVER by a pro!!!

The entire hole -- from start to finish -- took Bryson 26 minutes to complete ... with 4 commercial breaks!!!

Things were bad right from the jump ... DeChambeau shanked his tee shot off some trees down the left-hand side of the fairway and was forced to take a drop.

He tried to make up ground by pulling out a 3-wood and swinging for the fences ... but overshot and hit the ball out of bounds.

In other words, it went from bad to worse quickly.

Bryson re-dropped -- and instead of playing it safe, he AGAIN went for a power shot to try and get to the green ... and again, he shot out of bounds!!

The announcers couldn't believe it ... especially Jack Nicklaus, who compared Bryson's meltdown to a scene from "Tin Cup" when Kevin Costner's character melts down and can't stop from hitting balls into water.

Meanwhile, Bryson continued to try and power his way back onto the green ... and on his 3rd attempt, he finally got close.

Although DeChambeau was finally out of the trees and in the clear ... there was still more drama -- he claimed one of the OB balls he clanked off a fence earlier wasn't actually out of bounds.

So, Bryson argued with TWO rules officials ... before they finally shut him down.

Eventually, after nearly a half an hour on the hole, DeChambeau chipped onto the green and putted twice for a quintuple bogey!!!

He took so many swings in total, he had trouble counting them all up!!!

Everyone on the broadcast was stunned ... with most guys saying the worst score they've ever carded themselves was a 9, 10 or 11!!

To his credit, Bryson came back and parred the 16th ... but dude now has ZERO chance of making the weekend cut after the blow up.

Tiger Woods is back ... and, yup, dude's still good at golf!!!

Playing on the PGA Tour for the first time since mid-February ... El Tigre is showing no signs of rust at the start of his opening round at The Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

Woods has two birdies through his first three holes ... and has nailed all three fairways and all three greens in regulation.

Of course, it ain't TOO surprising ... dude is the greatest golfer of all time -- but the last time we saw him on Tour at the Genesis Invitational, he finished last among those who made the cut and complained of back pain afterward.

But, Woods looks perfectly healthy to start the day Thursday ... which is not an easy feat, considering the wind his howling at the course and the greens are firm as hell.

Tiger's only 2 back from the lead through 3 holes ... and while there's a long day of golf ahead -- the guy just hit another green at #4 and has yet another birdie putt coming up.

HE'S BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!