There has been an outpouring of emotion in the last few days, both on and off the golf course. In the absence of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick won the Valspar Championship at the weekend by a single stroke.

The 31-year-old celebrated his first PGA Tour title since 2023 in jubilant fashion, unleashing a right fist pump and yelling in delight. In LIV Golf, Bryson DeChambeau secured his fifth career LIV victory before being reduced to tears.

The golf season is now well and truly in full flow, with excitement building as we approach the first major of the year with the Masters getting underway on April 9. Mirror Sport delves deeper into the biggest stories from the past few days.

Veteran Sky Sports golf commentator Ewen Murray says he decided to retire after seeing the "disgraceful" abuse Rory McIlroy and his wife received at the Ryder Cup last year. The 71-year-old has been the voice of Sky Sports’ golf coverage for 35 years but has started to step back from his role. He is expected to fully retire this summer, with the recent Players Championship and the upcoming Masters marking some of his last tournaments.

Murray told the Sliced Podcast: "I heard stuff in that half-hour that I can’t repeat to you, it’s that bad. Not fired at Rory but at Rory’s family. I walked back and I thought, 'Do you really need to be part of this any more?'

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"And that’s when I decided to finish commentary. By the time I got on the plane on the Monday, I looked out over New York and thought it’s been a fantastic journey, but if that’s our future I really don’t want any part of it."

Bryson DeChambeau broke down in tears while explaining why winning Sunday’s LIV Golf South Africa event made him so emotional. The two-time US Open champion beat Jon Rahm in a playoff to secure a victory, revealing afterwards that he had been dealing with some off-course issues recently.

A visibly emotional DeChambeau, having won two events on the bounce, didn't give too much away about his struggles but hinted he'd been dealing with a lot.

Explaining his outpouring of emotion, DeChambeau said: "I wish I could tell you. A lot has happened in my life in the past week. I'm just so grateful for my team, the Crushers, everybody supporting me.

"It's so funny, golf is a fickle game, and you work so hard at it your whole entire life, and you realize that golf is just golf and there's a lot more to life than just golf. I had some things happen in the off time during this week and I was just praying all day, praying to give me the perseverance to move forward and keep looking forward. I've just got to say I love everybody.

"Thank you for supporting. South Africa was unbelievable. I mean, got to be the best LIV event we've ever had. I've had you for eight straight days, plus two playoffs. I guess I need to bring you to the Masters or something."

Matt Fitzpatrick joked that he will win the Masters after his Valspar Championship victory last weekend. Just days after finishing second at The Players Championship, Fitzpatrick claimed only his third PGA Tour success at Valspar, having holed a brilliant 13-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole on the Copperhead Course.

The Englishman is clearly enjoying his game at the moment, which could bode well for his prospects at Augusta National next month. Fitzpatrick was clearly in good spirits ahead of his 12th Masters appearance, having been asked about teeing off at Augusta.

He joked: "Yeah, I mean, I’m probably going to win, yeah," before adding: "No, no. Yeah, I mean, I’m obviously very confident in my game right now. But what it takes to win a major is very different to what it takes to win on the PGA TOUR, in my opinion. Particularly the Masters, there’s extra pressure on the Masters, no matter who you are. You know, it just has that standing above all the other events, as well as the majors, you know.

"The stuff that I still want to work on. I’m coming away from this week, obviously I won, delighted with where my game’s at, but there’s stuff I want to improve. I want to make sure that I’m ready for when I get to Augusta to be ready to play and be ready that Thursday morning. So, yeah, I’m really looking forward to that week."