Golf

It sure LOOKS like pro golfer Patrick Reed cheated his ass off on a hole Tiger Woods' big Hero World Challenge tourney on Friday ... but Reed insists he's INNOCENT!!!

Here's the deal ... Reed was caught in a sand trap on the 11th hole -- and during a practice swing, he appeared to use his club to knock away a clump of sand behind the ball, setting him up for a cleaner shot.

The problem ... YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!

Tournament officials hit Reed with a 2 stroke penalty which is a big deal -- he's currently in 6th place ... 3 shots behind tourney leader Gary Woodland.

But, Reed insists he did NOT cheat -- claiming it was a bad camera angle that's making it LOOK like he cheated ... when he really didn't.

Instead, Reed says his club hit a mound of sand created by a footprint that was NOT close to the ball.

"At the end of the day, it's my word vs. their word and they weren't standing there. They had a camera angle," Reed said.

Reed says he's trying to accept the punishment and move on since he still has another round of play on Saturday.

The best young power hitter in the MLB hits a golf a ball like THIS?!?!?!

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took a trip to Top Golf on Monday ... and the results were shockingly average.

The Toronto Blue Jays superstar stepped up to the range mat with what appeared to be a 3-wood in his hands ... and proceeded to show off less power than your average dad.

Watch the clip ... the same violent swing that allows the 20-year-old to launch baseballs 500 feet only yielded some 175-yarders.

OKAY, he ain't exactly Zion Williamson with a golf club ... but come on, look at this kid with a baseball bat in his hands!!!

For their part, Vladdy's friends appeared to be making fun of his lack of pop on the links too!!

Don't worry, baby Guerrero's still raking on the baseball diamond ... he later posted some clips Monday night showing off his classic power.

But, still ... call up Nelson Cruz and get some golf lessons, bro!!!

Sorry, Wayne Gretzky ... seems the grandkid's got the golf genes and not the hockey ones -- 'CAUSE LOOK AT THE SWING ON DUSTIN JOHNSON AND PAULINA'S SON!!!

DJ and Paulina had an impromptu range sesh with their 2-year-old outside their home Tuesday ... and thank God someone brought the camera -- 'cause the Great One's grandson can seriously hack it.

Watch the clip ... River Johnson has the classic DJ backswing and he keeps his head down throughout the whole stroke. Plus, he even takes a little bit of a divot!!!

The swing clearly impressed Mom ... 'cause Paulina said of the vid, "Watch out pga tour 2035."

Even Grandma loved seeing it, with Janet Gretzky saying, "Takes after his Grandma Honey!!! Go get it River !!"

Of course, the athletic feat shouldn't surprise a soul ... Dustin's one of the greatest golfers of all-time and Paulina is the daughter of the best hockey player ever.

But, don't worry too much about the Gretzkys not carrying on the hockey tradition ... River's pretty good with a stick too -- remember when he put pucks past grandpa earlier this year?!?!

Touching moment on the golf course this weekend ... a fan with Down Syndrome yelled during a critical putt, but the PGA Tour Latin America golfer who missed the shot quickly forgave the guy with a hug and autographs.

The incredible scene all went down on Sunday at the Visa Open de Argentina in Buenos Aires ... where Brandon Matthews needed to sink an 8-footer in a playoff hole to keep his championship hopes alive.

But, while the 25-year-old was in the middle of his backswing ... a fan yelled out, causing Brandon to shank the putt -- and you can see on video, Matthews was initially pissed.

"I kind of flinched on the putt and immediately knew I missed it," Matthews told Golfchannel.com. "I thought someone had done it intentionally. I was frustrated."

But, when tournament officials went to Matthews and explained to him the fan had Down Syndrome and didn't mean any harm ... they say Brandon nearly cried.

Matthews raced over to the fan ... embraced him and handed him a signed glove and golf ball.

"I gave him a hug and I asked him, 'Hey, are you doing okay? Are you having fun?'" Matthews said. "I just wanted to make sure he was enjoying himself, that he had no hard feelings, that he didn’t feel bad about what happened."

It's an awesome gesture from Matthews, considering if the guy had won the tournament, he would've received an automatic invite to the prestigious British Open in 2020.

Wanna see how far one of the MLB's best power hitters can launch a golf ball??

Good ... 'cause Minnesota Twins slugger Nelson Cruz pulled out the driver at a Top Golf earlier this month -- AND HE SENT A BALL TO THE FREAKIN' MOON!!!!

The Babe Ruthian swing all went down on Nov. 1, when Cruz was getting in some offseason golf hacks at the range.

Cruz only posted one video ... but it was seriously epic -- he blasted a ball that appeared to clear the top of the netting some 300-ish yards away!!!

Of course, Cruz is 6-foot-2, 230 pounds and is used to killin' balls ... he's hit 37 or more home runs in the MLB for 6 straight seasons.

But, it ain't like power in one sport always translates to another ... just ask 6-foot-6, 284-pound NBA beast Zion Williamson, who REALLY sucks at golf!!!

As for Cruz, the 39-year-old seemed impressed with himself after the hack ... writing on his social media page, "¿Futuro golfista?"

Nothing ruins a romantic vacation quite like diarrhea ...

Just ask golf superstar Rickie Fowler who says he came down with a terrible case of food poisoning while honeymooning with his smokin' hot wife, Allison Stokke.

Fowler and Stokke got married on Oct. 5 down in Mexico ... and to celebrate the nuptials, the two hopped on Puma's private jet and took a sick vacay to some remote beaches.

But, at some point near the end of the trip, Fowler caught Campylobacter jejuni -- a nasty strain of food poisoning -- and told Golfweek he was pretty miserable.

"It was not a fun stretch," Fowler said.

In case you didn't know ... the Center for Disease Control's description of Campylobacter jejuni is awful -- symptoms include "diarrhea (often bloody), fever, and abdominal cramps."

Yeah, not good.

Rickie says he's taking meds to get better ... but the 30-year-old was forced to pull out of this weekend's Mayakoba Golf Classic while he rests up.

It's a bummer for Fowler ... but hey, a lifetime of Stokke should be more than enough to make up for it!!!

Phil Mickelson nearly carded the greatest hole in PGA Tour history Friday -- missing a hole in one on a 353-yard Par 4 ... by INCHES!!!!

Lefty was playing in the second round of the CJ Cup in South Korea ... when he stepped up to the tee box on the 14th hole at Nine Bridges -- and nearly did the unthinkable.

With a driver in his hand ... Phil took a violent swing and ripped a golf ball that hit the green on the fly.

It tracked all the way to the hole ... but had just a little too much heat on it -- and instead of falling, it kicked off the pin and settled just inches away from the improbable ace.

Of course, Phil was able to roll in the eagle putt ... but you just know the dude was fuming over missing history!!

There's only been one Par-4 ace EVER on the PGA Tour -- and it was a wacky 332-yarder by Andrew Magee at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona back in 2001.

There's no video of that shot ... which means Phil's swing Friday would have been truly the most legendary one in PGA Tour history!

Hilarious moment on the links Wednesday ... Tony Romo was scared crapless by a fake snake -- and it was all because of a prank played on him by ex-NBA star Deron Williams!

Romo -- a near-scratch golfer when he's not broadcasting NFL games -- was out at Maridoe Golf Club in Texas with Williams when Deron decided to have some fun.

The former Utah Jazz superstar laid down a rubber snake by Romo's golf cart ... and fired up his phone's camera.

What happened next was hilarious ... Romo initially walked by it without seeing it, but when he got out of his cart and finally noticed it -- HE ALMOST JUMPED OUT HIS SHOES!!

Once the QB realized he'd been pranked, he smirked and said, "That son of a bitch!" -- while Williams laughed his ass off!!!

"I’m sorry @tony.romo I had to do it!!!" Williams said of the joke. "All this proves is if they put u back there for a few snaps u could shake off them ankle tackles."

Williams plays this trick all the time while he's out on the golf course ... and it's laugh out loud hilarious EVERY TIME!!!

An NBA player being compared to Charles Barkley isn't always a good thing -- especially when it comes to golf ... because Mortiz Wagner is giving Chuck a run for his money for WORST SWING EVER!!!

NO EXAGGERATION -- THIS DUDE IS A PRO ATHLETE AND COULDN'T HIT THE BROADSIDE OF A BARN!!!

Here's the deal ... 22-year-old Mortiz joined the rest of his Washington Wizards teammates for an outing at Top Golf in Virginia on Monday -- and saying it went poorly for Wagner is a gross understatement.

Watch the vid ...the 6'11" power forward missed so badly, he nearly took a chunk out of the floor mat ... and his Mulligan swing wasn't much better.

But, is it worse than Barkley??? Watch and compare ...

And, get this, Mo's swing was so terrible ... Wagner's ex-Lakers teammate, Josh Hart, went to social media to make fun of him.

"Bro what is this...." Hart wrote.

Wagner tried to defend his painful assault on golf balls by firing back, "This was literally my worst try. I hit that thing over the net one time I swear."

Sure, Mo ...

As for the Hart-Wagner rivalry ... the two have been good for a TON of laughs over the last year -- remember when Josh got after Mo for his Michigan ring last season?!?

Rickie Fowler is officially a married man ... the golf superstar got hitched to track hottie Allison Stokke during a beach ceremony last weekend!!

Fowler and Stokke spilled the beans on Friday ... sharing the announcement with pics of their ceremony after somehow keeping it under wraps for nearly a week.

The couple tied the knot at an undisclosed beach location on Saturday ... with Fowler rockin' a powder blue suit and white kicks (we're guessing they're Pumas).

Fun fact -- Justin Bieber's longtime stylist and Fowler's bud, Ryan Good, served as the officiant for the big event.

"last week was the best yet...she’s mine...still winning," Fowler said in his IG post ... with Stokke adding, "10.5.19....and it just keeps getting better!"

30-year-old Fowler and 30-year-old Stokke's superstar friends congratulated the couple on their big day -- from Tom Brady to Paulina Gretzky to Michelle Wie.

Of course, Fowler is currently ranked No. 19 on the PGA Tour ... and Stokke is a pro pole vaulter and fitness model. They have been together for years ... and got engaged (also on the beach) back in June 2018.

Congrats!!

A Korean Tour golf star was so pissed when he heard a fan snap a cell phone pic during his backswing, he flipped the guy off ... and now the golfer just got hit with a 3-YEAR BAN!!!

Kim Bi-o -- an ex-PGA Tour golfer and the current money leader on the Korean Tour -- snapped on a fan on the 16th hole at the DGB Financial Group Volvik Daegu Gyeongbuk Open on Sunday when he heard the phone make a shutter sound effect during his swing.

Everyone knows that's a big no-no -- golfers HATE noise when they're on the tee box.

So, after 29-year-old Kim heard the camera click ... he wheeled around and shot the fan the bird right in front of EVERYBODY!!!

Kim -- who still went on to win the tournament -- apologized for the gesture afterward ... but clearly, officials felt that wasn't enough.

The Korea Professional Golfers' Association announced Tuesday they were hitting Kim with a THREE-YEAR SUSPENSION for the incident, saying, "Kim Bi-o damaged the dignity of a golfer with etiquette violation and inappropriate behaviour."

The KPGA also announced it was fining Kim the equivalent of $8,350.

The golfer didn't take the news lightly ... he got down on his knees in front of Korean media on Tuesday and apologized for his actions once again.

PGA Tour stud Paul Casey nearly had one less trophy on his mantle this week ... and it's all 'cause he struck a bug with his golf ball on a routine putt!!

Here's the deal ... Casey was playing in the European Tour's Porsche European Open in Germany last week -- when he lined up for a short putt on one of the holes.

Casey pulled back his club, struck the golf ball ... and he sank the shot no problem!

BUT ... turns out, there was a small issue -- video replay showed Casey's ball had struck a tiny bug on its way to the hole.

And -- as every no golfer knows -- hitting a bug on the green is giant no-no ... and could have resulted in a huge penalty!!!

Per golf rules, when a ball hits a person, animal (including bugs!) or movable obstruction on the green, the stroke is NOT supposed to count.

But, since Casey did not KNOWINGLY hit the little critter ... tournament officials let it slide -- and the 42-year-old ended up winning the event by two strokes.

As for the bug, we're pretty sure it survived the brutal assault.

Dustin Johnson ain't gonna let a knee surgery keep him from helping those in need ... 'cause the golf superstar's spending his downtime stuffing backpacks to send over to the Bahamas!!

DJ just had arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee on Thursday ... while he's expected to return to the course later this year, he's sidelined for now.

The 35-year-old and his smokin' hot lady, Paulina Gretzky, are doing their part to help those affected by Hurricane Dorian ... hitting Costco to buy out a bunch of backpacks and supplies to send over to the kids in the Bahamas.

"Even surgery won’t stop me from helping our friends in the Bahamas.! #helpthebahamas," DJ said in his IG pic, showing huge piles of coloring books, crayons and other supplies.

DJ and Paulina ain't the only sports stars helping out in a big way ... as we previously reported, Sacramento Kings star Buddy Hield is currently trying to raise $1 million for his native country for hurricane relief ... and his coach, Luke Walton, has chipped in $10k as well!

Great gesture by everyone involved.

... and just for the hell of it, here's Paulina. You're welcome.

Rory McIlroy got sick and tired of watching his Pro-Am partner Justin Timberlake getting stuck in the sand ... so he stopped down and gave the pop star one of the coolest personal lessons ever!!!

It all went down this week in Switzerland ... where Rory and JT were teamed up to compete in the Pro-Am event at the Omega European Masters tournament.

Timberlake is a VERY serious golfer (he's a 2 handicap) who has a reputation for being one of the best celebs on the links. So, when Rory decided to give him a little 1-on-1 bunker clinic, you can see Justin was all ears.

And, when it came time for Rory to demonstrate how a bunker shot SHOULD be hit ... man, HE ALMOST HOLED IT!!! Incredible.

Timberlake brought the whole family to Switzerland -- and was seen playing around with his kids on the course ... good times for everyone!!!

A lightning bolt struck a PGA Tour Championship golf course this weekend -- and it ended up hurting a number of people ... including one kid.

The scary moment happened Saturday afternoon at the East Lake golf Club in Atlanta, GA at 4:45 PM ET, when lightning struck a tree in the middle of the third round of the FedEx Cup Championship -- which was on a brief break amid stormy skies.

The lightning reportedly sent a bunch of debris flying, and that struck at least six people ... one of whom was reportedly a child. Nobody was hit by the thunder bolt itself, and thankfully ... no one is said to have suffered life-threatening injuries. Terrifying, nonetheless.

Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter to treat the victims, and the scene couldn't have been more chaotic with folks lying out, waiting for help ... and being carried away on stretchers. Eyewitnesses on the ground say the moment sounded like a bomb going off on the course ... and you can see why.

The moment the lightning hit the tree was captured on camera from afar, and even in the still images of the strike ... you can see sparks, if not outright fire, emitting from the tree. There are reports of the tree catching fire, but it must've been put out quickly.

Steph Curry is calling on one of his most powerful friends to help relaunch the golf program at Howard University -- Barack Obama -- and he's willing to use bribery!!!

You may have heard, Curry is spearheading the return of Howard University's golf program ... so when we saw him out in D.C., we asked if his longtime golfing buddy would be make a cameo on the course.

"Oh, for sure. For sure," Curry told TMZ Sports ... "He can get his own presidential cart and chase them around!"

Curry didn't go to Howard -- he famously attended Davidson Univ. -- but he's very passionate about bringing golf back at the historically black university (HBCU).

Howard hasn't had a golf team in decades (since the '70s) ... but Curry has stepped up to fund the program for the next 6 years.

So, why is Curry so passionate about this particular issue? He explained it in a previous press release ...

"Golf is a sport that has changed my life in ways that are less tangible, but just as impactful," Curry said.

"It's a discipline that challenges your mental wherewithal from patience to focus, and is impossible to truly master, so when you hear about these passionate student athletes who have the talent but don't have a fair shot at the game, it's tough. I feel really honored to play a small role in the rich history of Howard University."