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Good Friday morning, golf fans, as day two of the Valspar Championship gets underway.

1. Streelman leads Valspar

AP report…”Kevin Streelman has a new ball marker to help with alignment that required USGA approval before he teed off Thursday in the Valspar Championship. He had 10 consecutive one-putt greens on his way to a 7-under 64 and a one-shot lead.”

• “Streelman took advantage of gorgeous weather while it lasts with birdies on all four of the par 5s on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook. He took only 24 putts for the round.”

• “I knew today was going to be solid and then it’s going to be hold-onto-your-shorts here for the next few days,” Streelman said. “So trying to just keep a good attitude and have some fun.”

2. Tiger included in Masters field list

PGATour.com staff report…”Tiger Woods has been added to the Masters Tournament field list, a positive sign for his prospects of competing at Augusta National next month.”

• “Woods, 48, has competed in 25 Masters, with five victories (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019) – one back of Jack Nicklaus’ record of six green jackets. He also has made the cut in 23 consecutive starts at Augusta National, tying Fred Couples and Gary Player for most all-time.”

• “Woods is included on the Masters website’s 2024 field list, which separates “past champions not playing.” Woods is listed among “2024 players.” This year’s Masters will be contested April 11-14.”

3. Callaway on sale rumors

Our Matt Vincenzi…”According to South Korea’s Chosun Daily, Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. is considering selling its Callaway Golf business, which is based in California. The report indicates the brand has a $3 billion valuation.”

• “The current rumored sale price for Callaway Golf is around $2.98 billion (4 trillion won). The price is considered to be reasonable by industry players given its significantly low market capitalization of $2.554 billion (about 3.4 trillion won), compared to that of rival Acushnet Holdings (Titleist) of $3.902 billion, and an accompanied management premium,” the report says.

• …”However, since the report has surfaced, Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp have stated that they are “unaware” of these discussions.”

• “While it is our long-standing practice not to respond to market rumors and speculation, in light of today’s unusual market activity, coupled with a recent media report originating in Korea regarding discussions of a potential sale of the Company or its golf equipment business, we confirm that we are not aware of any such discussions,” the company wrote in an emailed comment. “We do not intend to comment further on this topic, and we assume no obligation to make any further announcement or disclosure should circumstances change.”

4. So Yeon Ryu retires

GolfWRX staff…”Multiple major champion and former World Number One So Yeon Ryu has announced that she will be retiring from professional golf.”

• “Ryu, who won the 2011 US Women’s Open and 2017 Ana Inspiration (Now Chevron Championship), made the announcement via social media, calling the decision “one of the most significant decisions of my life.”

5. Leblanc leads on LPGA Tour

AP report…”Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Canada matched her best score on the LPGA Tour with a 7-under 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship.”

• “Leblanc, 35, finished on the front nine at Palos Verdes Golf Club, closing with three straight birdies. She had the lone bogey-free round of the day.”

• “I felt like I hit the ball really well today and whenever I missed the green I was able to make up and down,” Leblanc said. “Made some really good saves and just kept the momentum going throughout the round, so, yeah, the putting was good as well. These greens can get really tricky. They’re hard to read, but I feel like my caddie and I did a good job reading them today, so I’ll take it.”

6. Scheffler, Vu lead Olympic qualifying

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”We are 13 and 14 weeks away, respectively, from solidifying the field for the men’s and women’s Olympic golf competitions, which are set for early August in Paris.”

• “The pair of 60-player fields are determined based on the world rankings, and countries are permitted up to two representatives – and up to four if they are all ranked inside the top 15. France is guaranteed one athlete in both events, though it will easily qualify a player for both. The same goes for each continent.”

• …”World No. 1’s Scottie Scheffler and Lilia Vu, both Americans, lead their respective standings. A pair of Fins, Kalle Samooja and Ursula Wikstrom, are currently the last players in.”

7. No Cabrera at the Masters

The Telegraph’s James Corrigan…”Augusta National has been spared a visit from past champion Angel Cabrera at next month’s Masters after he was denied a visa to enter the United States following his time spent in prison for domestic violence.”

• “?The 54-year-old was released last August after more than two years of incarceration, most recently in Monte Cristo, the minimum security institution near his home city of Cordoba in Argentina.”

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Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads over to the Valspar Championship.

1. Not since Tiger Woods

The AP’s Doug Ferguson…”Scottie Scheffler is next in line for comparisons with Tiger Woods because golf, like other sports, is always looking for the heir to the throne.”

• “Scheffler is playing great golf, measured as much by his elite ball-striking and alarming consistency as the results. He now has nine victories against the strongest fields — one of them a small field in the Bahamas — in the 25 months since he won his first PGA Tour title.”

• “Equally impressive is his 65% rate of finishing in the top 10.”

2. The Scottie-Meredith dynamic

Sean Martin for PGATour.com…”Unconditional love is what we’re all seeking, whether we want to admit it or not.”

• “If you watch the PGA TOUR’s video from the moments after the win became official, one of the first questions that Ted Scott asks is, “Where’s your bride?” The most elation Scottie showed was when he first saw Meredith coming out of the clubhouse. He raised both hands in the air in victory and was grinning from ear to ear. It was a stark contrast to the intimidating, bearded world-beater we see on the course.”

• “The TOUR also posted a video earlier in the week of Scottie reliving his 2023 PLAYERS win on TPC Sawgrass’ 18th green. He started tearing up when he talked about his wife.”

• “I always get emotional when I talk about Meredith for some reason,” he said.

• “In his post-victory press conference, Scottie talked again about how she keeps him grounded: “At the end of the day, I think it all goes back to the support system at home,” he said. “I really do have a great support system. I’m very thankful for it. I have a great wife, and if I started taking my trophies and putting them all over the house and walking in all big-time, I think she would smack me on the side of the head and tell me to get over myself pretty quickly. Winning golf tournaments doesn’t give me any brownie points at home, so I just try and do my best.”

3. LaMagna: NBC delivered a telecast worth of The Players

Joseph LaMagna for the Fried Egg…”At the Players Championship, NBC (and their Golf Channel subsidiary) finally showed some pride. From start to finish, the telecast was clean, showed a ton of golf shots, and entertained viewers with creative segments and limited commercials. On Thursday and Friday, Golf Channel brought Roger Maltbie and Gary Koch back to lend their insights from the ground and from the booth, a return that was met with plenty of praise. On Friday afternoon, Smylie Kaufman and Kevin Kisner stationed themselves on the 17th hole to host Happy Hour, showed a plethora of shots on the 17th and featuring drop-ins from other tour players like Brian Harman and Keith Mitchell.”

• “Throughout the week, Johnson Wagner went viral a few times while amusingly recreating a few notable moments from the tournament. The main broadcast was a delightful watch. High production values and a limited commercial load allowed the talents of the NBC cast to shine. Furthermore, the broadcast allowed the actual golf competition to shine brightest, without constant interruptions or missed shots. All in all, the presentation reminded me of why I love competitive golf, and why I invest so much time and energy into the sport. I’d imagine many other golf fans came away from the weekend feeling the same way. It was also a refreshing reminder that there are smart, hard-working, talented people out there who, when given the opportunity and resources, want to build and create things of value.”

4. Monahan: Monday’s meeting with PIF was constructive

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player directors from the tour’s policy board met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, in the Bahamas on Monday, a meeting that could be an important step in reuniting men’s professional golf.”

• “On Monday, X accounts tracked planes owned by the PGA Tour, the PIF and player director Tiger Woods (as well as the 15-time major champion’s yacht) to Nassau, Bahamas. A plane owned by Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry, who owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins and Liverpool FC, also arrived in the Bahamas on Monday.”

• “Monahan sent a memo to PGA Tour members Monday night, confirming the meeting but offering few details. Golfers Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth, Peter Malnati, Patrick Cantlay and Adam Scott are the other player directors.”

• “The conversation throughout was constructive and represents an important part of our due diligence process in selecting potential investors for PGA Tour Enterprises,” Monahan wrote in the letter. “This mirrors the approach we employed earlier this year as we evaluated an investment offer from the Strategic Sports Group. During the session, Yasir had a chance to introduce himself to our player directors and talk through his vision, priorities and motivations for investing in professional golf.

• “As we continue these discussions with the PIF, we will keep you updated as much as possible, but please understand that we need to maintain our position of not conducting negotiations in public. To that end, we will provide no further comments to the media at this time.”

5. Hal Sutton confirms he’s alive and well

6. Ted Scott’s PGA Tour earnings likely more than Rory in 2024

Mike Hall for Golf Monthly…”Scottie Scheffler overcame a neck injury to win his second PGA Tour event in a row at The Players Championship.

That bagged the World No.1 a first prize of $4.5m to add to the $4m he claimed for his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational the previous week.

• “However, Scheffler’s caddie Ted Scott will also have benefitted very well financially from his two victories.”

• “Caddies typically earn 10% of a player’s winning prize money and, assuming that is the case for Scott, Scheffler’s two victories will have seen Scott’s bank balance swell by $850,000 in the last two weeks alone.”

• “Amazingly, that figure is also more than Rory McIlroy’s earnings on the PGA Tour so far this year. The four-time Major winner, who is currently ranked second in the world behind Scheffler, has earnings of $798,205 from his five PGA Tour appearances so far this year – over $50,000 less than Scott’s earnings in March so far. Scott’s earnings over the last two tournaments are also more than the Tour average for the year so far of $773,049.”