GOLF legend Padraig Harrington has questioned the PGA Tour’s decision to scrap Monday qualifying for seven of its tournaments on the 2025 schedule.

PGA Tour brass have scaled by the size of their fields by no longer have Monday qualifiers for certain events.

Monday qualifying (often called a ‘Monday Q’) is an official process on the PGA Tour.

It is a structured pathway for non-exempt players to earn a spot in the field for select PGA Tour events.

One of those events happens to be this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The event which attracts hundreds of thousand through its gates had ‘Monday Q’ for the past 70 years, but now that is a thing of the past with the tour’s latest eligibility criteria change.

And 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Padraig Harrington is less than impressed with the change.

There have been five Monday qualifier winners since 1980.

Dubliner Harrington called the decision strange before saying that it takes away potential fairy tale stories.

Taking to X, the three-time major winner stated: “This has to be one of the strangest decisions of the PGA Tour when it comes to being in the entertainment business.

“If it was up to me I’d be focusing more on Monday qualifiers. There’s a movie script story nearly every week.

“I’d give the leading qualifier a tv draw and get a tv crew to follow him for the week.

“I would do this even more so in the signature events. We could have a “tin cup” story any given week.

“Could you imagine a struggling pro finishing in the top 10 and winning half a million. Nobody would begrudge that payout.”

How Monday Qualifying Works:

• Open to professionals and amateurs with a USGA handicap index of 2.0 or lower.
• Typically held the Monday before a PGA Tour event (except for majors, invitationals, and certain designated events).
• Four spots are usually available for each tournament.
• 18-hole stroke play format, with the lowest scores securing entry.
• Administered by the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and PGA Tour Canada/Latinoamérica.

All Monday Qualifier winners Since 1980

• Corey Conners, 2019 Valero Texas Open
• Arjun Atwal, 2010 Wyndham Championship
• Fred Wadsworth, 1986 Southern Open
• Kenny Knox, 1986 The Honda Classic
• Jeff Mitchell, 1980 Phoenix Open

APPLE has just dropped a surprise new app for your iPhone – and I’ve tried it out.

It’s called Invites and it’s meant to make it easier to see pals, but there’s a little detail that might ruin things for you. Even if you’re just trying to organise drinks at the pub.

Sean Keach / The Sun

Sean Keach / The Sun

First off, what is Invites?

Well it’s meant to help you invite people to events that you’re planning, and then manage those guests afterwards.

It won’t be on your iPhone by default. You’ll need to go to the App Store to find it.

The app didn’t show up right away when I searched for it. So instead I looked for Apple TV, tapped on the Apple brand, and then downloaded the app from the page.

By the time you read this, it’ll probably be easier to bag.

Once you’re in the app, you can get started with creating events.

I was able to choose a background – you can pick anything you like, but there are some presets, including fun emoji-themed ones.

Then you set up a title, as well as a date and time. There’s also the option for “All Day” if you’re planning something big.

You get the option to plug in a location and an event description too.

Where it gets a little more exciting is the Shared Album option.

You can create an album that anyone who comes to the event can add to.

That way, everyone can stick in their snaps – rather than you having to beg for pics from mates over WhatsApp for days afterwards.

And if you’re throwing a party, there’s also the option to create a Shared Playlist.

This lets guests add their songs to a music playlist that you can use at the event.

Sean Keach / The Sun

Sean Keach / The Sun

Don’t worry: if someone picks something naff, you can simply delete it. It’s your party.

Once the event is set up, you can invite people – and manage the RSVPs.

If you want, you can set it up so that you can deny entry to certain people. This might be useful if you’re creating a more public event.

And you can send notes to guests at any time updating them on plans.

Sean Keach / The Sun

There’s an option to sync your event to your calendar so you don’t forget about it too.

It all sounds pretty handy, so what’s the catch?

Well it turns out that the app isn’t free – or rather, creating events isn’t.

You can be a guest and RSVP to events created with the app even if you don’t have an Apple account – or an iPhone.

Sean Keach / The Sun

But if you want to use the app to create invitations, you’ll need to subscribe to iCloud+.

In the UK, that’ll cost you at least £0.99 a month – or $0.99 in the US.

So if you’re not willing to fork out for that, you’re stuck.

Of course iCloud+ comes with some other benefits – it’s not just this app.

ICLOUD+ PRICES – HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Here's how much iCloud+ costs in the UK each month based on the amount of storage you get with each tier...

• 50GB – £0.99 / $0.99
• 200GB – £2.99 / $2.99
• 2TB – £8.99 / $9.99
• 6TB – £26.99 / $29.9
• 12TB – £54.99 / $59.99

And here’s Apple’s official list of iCloud+ perks:

• Expanded storage allows users to keep large libraries of original, high-resolution photos, videos, and files safe in iCloud®, and easily accessible across all of their devices and the web.
• Private Relay keeps browsing in Safari® entirely private from network providers, websites, and even Apple. 
• Hide My Email generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed.
• HomeKit® Secure Video allows users to capture and review home security footage in an end-to-end encrypted format. 
• Custom email domains enable users to personalize their iCloud email address.
• Family Sharing allows users to share their iCloud+ subscription with up to five people at no extra cost.

Picture Credit: Apple

With the base plan, you’ll also get 50GB of iCloud storage to back up your files.

There’s a Private Relay feature to help hide your browsing activity, and Hide My Email to create fake email addresses to reduce spam.

And you can also use Family Sharing to let up to five people in your household borrow your iCloud+ subscription at no extra cost.

There’s a good chance that you might already have iCloud+, so just head into Settings > [Name] > iCloud on your iPhone to check.

Sean Keach / The Sun

In any case, remember that when you create an event, you can share it with anyone. They won’t need iCloud+ to see it.

It seems like a decent way to create, share, and manage events.

People might not want to use it for weddings where physical invites can feel more personal.

But if you’re throwing a birthday party or just want to go for pints down the pub, it’s pretty easy to chuck something together with Invites.

Of course, it can’t guarantee that anyone will actually come. There’s no app for that yet.

ONE of the residents of Coronation Street is set to abruptly leave Weatherfield after 26 years.

The long-running ITV soap is facing major cutbacks as dozens of staff are set to lose jobs.

ITV

ITV

ITV

Up to 75 staffers are set to depart the company as the commercial network has slashed the number of episodes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

The cuts will be made across the cast, crew and writers as redundancy talks are now underway.

So far huge cast members are either leaving or have left the soap after legendary soap star Helen Worth departed in December.

Sue Cleaver, Colson Smith, Charlotte Jordan and Sue Devaney will all step back from their roles.

However, it seems the next character whose scenes will apparently be slashed is Dev Alahan.

Actor Jimmi Harkishin, 59, first joined the cobbles in 1999 playing the bumbling corner shopkeeper.

However, he is set to seemingly depart the soap for the time being after his character will receive some bad news.

He will tell Bernie (Jane Hazlegrove) that his Aunt Gita has had a fall and he needs to go abroad.

Dev is set to tell his partner that he has to fly to India to help his family.

But in a bombshell announcement, he says that he would like Bernie to accompany him.

The question is, what will she say in response?

Meanwhile, Dev also has to think of his businesses as he books his tickets.

He owns both the Kebab shop and the corner shop at the end of the street.

Keeping it in the family, he will agree to let his 19-year-old son Aadi (Adam Hussain) keep watch.

Corrie cash crisis: shock exits for 2025

ITV bosses are locked in a battle to save the cash-strapped soap.

This means that a number of stars have either been axed from or have abandoned the long-running serial drama.

Colson Smith – Craig Tinker

The character of Craig Tinker has been axed by bosses after 14 years. After he was told of the news in Autumn 2024, Colson Smith confirmed that would be written out of the show with scenes to air later this year. Craig’s on-screen mum, Beth Tinker, also left the show in the summer when actress Lisa George was written out from the role.

Sue Cleaver – Eileen Grimshaw

After 25 years playing Eileen Grimshaw, former I’m A Celebrity campmate Sue Cleaver will quit the show. The Sun on Sunday reported in January that she’s already begun to film her exit scenes. However the character will not be killed off in case Sue opts to make a return in the future.

Luca Toolan – Mason Radcliffe

Bosses decided to axe the teenage character after just 16 months after he first joined the show. Recent scenes saw Mason stabbed by his criminal brothers after his pal Dylan brought a knife in an attempt to defend him.

Sue Devaney – Debbie Webster

In November 2024, we revealed that Debbie Webster is set to be killed off after 40 years on the cobbles. The character will die as part of a heartbreaking long-running dementia storyline.

Charlotte Jordan – Daisy Midgeley

The actress became the fifth star to leave Coronation Street in just one month. We revealed that she will bow out of the ITV soap later this year after four years on-screen. Charlotte told sources that she’s hungry to see what other opportunities await.

Shelley King – Yasmeen Metcalfe

The actress has played Yasmeen Metcalfe on the cobbles for the past 11 years and we revealed in January that she finished filming her final scenes. This follows the departure of her on-screen partner Stu Carpenter.

This comes as ITV boss Kevin Lygo spoke about the shock cutbacks to the soap.

He said: “This new commissioning pattern will mean five hours of soaps a week, rather than the current six.

“We are conscious this will have an impact for the people who work on the soaps team.

“We will support our colleagues in ITV Studios as they work through these changes, and will do what we can to mitigate the impact on our people.”

He went on: “These changes are motivated by doing what we believe is best for the continuing success of these important programmes in the long term.

“They also create headroom in the overall programme budget for investment in programming that can help ITV grow reach in a very very competitive market.”

ITV

ITV

ITV Press Handout

Coronation Street continues on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.

ARTHUR Gourounlian and Brian Dowling enjoyed a “well needed” break from their “full on household”.

The celebrity couple have two kids together; Blake, 2, and Blu, who they welcomed to the world in June 2024.

Instagram

Instagram

Instagram

The pair often share their day-to-day life at home as a family with their fans.

Yesterday, Brian took to Instagram to post some stunning snippets of their wholesome weekend spent together.

The family-of-four went to the playground together and enjoyed a delicious lunch at a cafe afterwards.

Blake looked like she had a blast as she climbed up the jungle gym, flew down the slide and yapped on the phone while sitting at the restaurant.

The two-year-old wore an adorable cream knit jumper that said “little explorer” on the front, brown leggings and a Micky Mouse green and cream puffer jacket.

Brian and Arthur sectioned off her hair into four plaits and tied them into little buns.

While Blu cuddled into her dad wearing a cream knit jumper with a strawberry on the back and a blue knit hat.

Brian captioned his post: “Thank you, St Bridgid, as this Bank Holiday Weekend was CERTAINLY needed!!!

“It’s been FULL ON in the Dowling Gourounlian Household since January 2nd.

“Myself & @gourounlian are DEFINITELY NOT COMPLAINING as we are so blessed to be doing what we are doing.

“But today, it was just so nice to be able to press pause on everything & spend the whole day together as a FAMILY.

“PATIENCE is key people, especially when dealing with Arthur.”

FAN FAVES

Arthur added: “I mean, what an eventful day. I think I’ll be in bed by 8:30pm, that’s for sure.”

The family’s friends and fans all loved their pictures and raced to the comment section with praise.

Elizabeth wrote: “Just adorable – enjoy your day.”

Aisling said: “Blake’s so funny she just brightens up my day.”

Bernadette commented: “Beautiful girls, bless them.”

Another fan added: “She’s hilarious on that phone.”

Instagram

A MUM-TO-BE has been left doubting her Scottish baby name – with people insisting nobody will be able to pronounce it.

Picking a name for your little one can be an incredibly difficult task as you want to make sure you choose something unique, but not so unusual that your child gets bullied.

Alamy

Some people opt to name their child after their favourite book or film character, or even sports star.

Others find inspiration from elderly relatives and their family roots.

One woman, however, has revealed that her plans to give her little girl a Scottish name as a nod to her heritage is proving problematic as they live in America.

Posting on Reddit, the mum-to-be said: “I just recently found out I am having a girl (currently 4 months along) and my boyfriend and I have decided on a name.

“I have Irish and Scottish ancestry and he is South East Asian, so we decided to each take a first and middle name.

“The middle name he chose sounds exactly like it’s spelled, but the first name we both agreed on definitely does not.”

The name in question is Iseabail, pronounced ‘eesha-bell’.

Iseabail is the Scottish Gaelic form of Isabella, a name steeped in history and tradition throughout the ages.

Meaning ‘my God is an oath’, the name Isabella and its anglicised counterpart Elizabeth have been used by countless royals over the course of history.

In Scotland, only one baby girl was named Iseabail in 2023. Meanwhile, there were 17 Isobels, 12 Isabelles and six Isabels.

The pregnant woman continued: “I’ve been told my child will always get their name pronounced wrong and I’ve made jokes that it’ll build character but I’m honestly a bit worried since we are both American and this is a very Scottish name and spelling.

“I don’t want to have to Americanise the spelling but I also don’t know if I’m being obtuse on the issue and should compromise.

“I think the spelling is hard enough, I don’t mind a different pronunciation. I think the spelling itself is beautiful.”

And the mum-to-be isn’t the only one confused by the name, as it has left social media users divided.

Some think the she should reconsider the spelling, as one said: “Isabel is more ‘international’. I know you both like Iseabail very much, but she will be grateful in the future. Spelling the name is exhausting.”

A second wrote: “Personally I think that spelling is setting her up for a lot of spelling and pronunciation problems throughout her life and I would try to find a way to simplify it in a way that makes you happy.

“However the name itself is lovely and as long as you and your husband are happy that’s all that really matters.

“Your daughter will learn to adjust and will not be the only one with a ‘unique/weird’ spelling in her class or her work place.”

Meanwhile, a third added: “This is going to be a difficult name for people to spell and pronounce if you’re in the US.

“Even Isobel allows you to fairly easily say ‘we went with the Scottish spelling’ or something similar. But I worry that with Iseabail, the downside is that almost no one will be able to spell or pronounce her name.”

Others, however, have encouraged her to stick to the name.

“Keep it spelled the traditional way”, insisted one person.

“Nobody should ever change a cultural name to make it easier for others.”

And someone else chimed in: “The spelling jokes should only be reserved for people making names unnecessarily complicated, not when they are legitimate names from different countries. i think it’s beautiful!”

Banned Names in the UK

The UK has no law restricting names, but names that contain obscenities, numerals, misleading titles, or are impossible to pronounce are likely to be rejected when registering a child.

• Hitler
• Monkey
• Cyanide
• Martian
• Akuma
• Chow Tow
• Rogue

It’s not the first time Scotland has influenced a new mum’s baby name choices.

One woman revealed she turns to the map of Scotland to find inspiration for her kids’ names.

Sammi lives in England but chooses to name her children after Scottish places.

And another mum-to-be was forced to scrap her baby name choices after moving north of the border.

She told social media users she was disappointed after realising that people pronouncing the monikers in a Scottish accent would ‘change’ the names.

The post Mom’s Diary (2016) Episode 428 appeared first on MyAsianTV.

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