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VIDEO: Trump protestors carve Tiger Woods-inspired quote into green

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A group of activists vandalized Trump National Golf Course (Los Angeles) in Rancho Palos Verdes between Sunday night and Monday morning, allegedly sending a message to President Trump and his administration.

The group carved “NO MORE TIGERS, NO MORE WOODS” into the green of hole No. 5 in letters that ABC News said were 6-feet tall. One member of the five-person group captured the criminal activity on video, which is posted at the bottom of the article. A member of the group also spoke to ABC News using a voice-disguising mechanism.

“It’s a protest piece against Trump’s administration’s handling of our environmental policies,” the group member told ABC News. “He’s been very aggressive in gutting a lot of the policies that we’ve had in place for a very long time. We felt it necessary to stand up and go take action against him.”

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100 Comments

100 Comments

  1. KCCO

    Apr 9, 2017 at 7:27 am

    This is as low as keying someone’s car. If I caught someone doing either of the sneaky lack of balls actual I’d let them try make a video titled “running from a person crazy enough to make me dance on camera courtesy of SIG.” Vandalism like this gets under my skin. No balls, when caught, bury on practice range with only their heads above ground.

  2. Brains a golfer

    Mar 23, 2017 at 8:06 am

    Vandalism is NOT protest!

  3. JuNiOR

    Mar 16, 2017 at 12:32 am

    Amazing how fast Rachel Maddow flew to SoCal for with vengeance after embarrassing herself on her very fake new MSNBC.

  4. J

    Mar 15, 2017 at 5:17 pm

    I love golf. If civil war breaks out and we can’t play golf, I’m gonna go hulk mode on everyone. So, golfers, chill the eff out with the childish insults. Haha.

  5. Dave R

    Mar 15, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    I’m a Canuck and there are idiots every where . This type of response does your little gang of mutts nothing . Believe me these types are everywhere ,and the sad part is they are allowed to breed.

  6. Raven

    Mar 15, 2017 at 12:02 pm

    Argh! So many idiots! The people responding on Facebook with inappropriate language. The people defending poor actions because Trump does worse. Trump. Left wing lunatics. Right wing lunatics. Seriously, wait 24 hours and if you still think you need to post then come back.

    Anyhow, the whole thing was a hoax. This is just a huge and coincidental divot, and when the left wing golfer saw it he decided to pretend it was a political statement.

    • Casey Ford

      Mar 20, 2017 at 9:28 am

      this is the post everyone on here should be seeing

  7. Mike

    Mar 15, 2017 at 10:59 am

    If they really wanted to make their voice heard and cause a war cry, just try tinkering on down to Augusta National GC dig up their greens and see what happens ???? I’m not condoning this act by the way, but it sure would let the shit hit the fan, with the millions of golf lovers in America.

    Or if you wish to protest then phone Mr trump up arrange a meet, then you can sit down and discuss like normal citizens ways to overcome global warming, not much hope as someone on here said, that Mother earths being changing and evolving for millions of years, and she aint about to change her ways, when we burnt fossil fuels the world over didn’t hear a peep about global warming, probably we were too busy fighting world wars, if they want to protest about Tigers being drove to extinction then go to China and India and protest, if their concerned about trees and forests then go to Brazil and protest, and also the ivory animals, Elephants and rhinos the go to African countries and protest about the Poachers, and war lords condoning this mass killing, I mean Mr trump cant be held responsible for every frigging thing that goes wrong.

  8. David Ciccoritti

    Mar 15, 2017 at 10:29 am

    What’s the problem? Probably no more damage than Trump causes playing a round of golf 🙂

  9. GMatt

    Mar 15, 2017 at 9:43 am

    So many idiots on this site. I love the stupid comment about needing more liberals to grow the game. Vandalism is wrong nothing more to be said. Do you really think this stupid act will change policy? If you do then you’re less intelligent than you think you are. Hope and change by these tactics? Maybe another plan of attack that doesn’t involve anarchy might serve your agenda better, you can’t say that the conservatives would employ these kind of tactics. Stupid is as stupid does

  10. MrMayhem

    Mar 14, 2017 at 9:19 pm

    Forget the word activists, just plain vandals would be enough.

  11. Steve

    Mar 14, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    Vandalism is the most senseless crime.

    • Raven

      Mar 15, 2017 at 12:15 pm

      While activities like this are wrong, sometimes people have to cross boundaries to make a statement heard. There are a very small number of people who can change laws so that they don’t have to abide by them. The rest don’t have that luxury. Whatever you or I think, these people were smart enough to find a way to get themselves heard and they have us talking about it.

  12. Ben

    Mar 14, 2017 at 5:55 pm

    I don’t come to Golfwrx to talk about politics. This trash doesn’t belong here. It belongs on the dreck that is both sides of the media, desperate for a reason for being.

    • get off your high horse

      Mar 14, 2017 at 6:42 pm

      then why did you read/post in the article? just skip it, your lordship!

    • birdie

      Mar 15, 2017 at 9:11 am

      who forced you to read the article?

  13. birdie

    Mar 14, 2017 at 11:57 am

    I can only hope that criminals, vandals, violent paid protestors, anarchists, and nancy pelosi become the face of the democrat party. lol

    • good luck with your stupid wall

      Mar 14, 2017 at 6:51 pm

      you dumpsters just dont get it. go ahead and keep voting against your own best interests. in 20 months there shall be a reckoning. you’re welcome

      • MrMayhem

        Mar 14, 2017 at 9:22 pm

        I bet you lock your door and have a fence at your house!

      • birdie

        Mar 15, 2017 at 9:12 am

        oh look, another dem who thinks they should get to decide what someone else’s best interests are. curious, what are the best interests of someone in the working middle class and how were they met under previous president?

  14. Matt

    Mar 14, 2017 at 11:37 am

    Support this action 100%. Science denying, no-nothing republicans are the ugliest sentient beings in the history of the universe. No time for argument these days, its literally pointless to use facts anymore.

    • Matt

      Mar 14, 2017 at 11:40 am

      know-nothing*

    • birdie

      Mar 14, 2017 at 11:55 am

      so you’re saying its ok to vandalize others property?

    • birdie

      Mar 14, 2017 at 12:03 pm

      The truth is that fossil fuels have resulted in increased human health and prosperity and have extended human life in every nation where they have been used plentifully.

      • Double Mocha Man

        Mar 14, 2017 at 6:26 pm

        Birdie, I think you are making bogeys.

    • IHateLoveGolf

      Mar 15, 2017 at 6:03 pm

      Appreciate you once again insulting me for disagreeing with you enlightened ones. Budget-denying, do-nothing, lying libs are a scourge on this country. There – that really forwarded the dialogue, didn’t it. Name-calling never does.

      First amendment for libs only, right? Shout down conservatives and non-lib students everywhere.
      Require total transparency on Trump’s taxes but it’s ok for Wasserman Schultz to surreptitiously undermine Bernie’s campaign.
      Laws should be adhered to unless the crimes are committed against conservatives.
      Laws should be adhered to unless it’s for illegals, their families, and their voting.

      If we can’t even agree that crimes are crimes, where do we start? Your move, sport.

      Signed,
      A 1%er, ex-military, summa cum laude college grad who supports Trump while also supporting gay marriage, Roe v Wade, and legal immigration while condemning the incredible untruthfulness seen from Dems and from some on the GOP side

  15. Mat

    Mar 14, 2017 at 9:57 am

    Almost nothing to do with the sport of golf. Just clickbait.

  16. birdie

    Mar 14, 2017 at 9:34 am

    as usual, our media labels this as coragous and brave act of defiance (Wash Post) ….yet if this was a conservative they’d label it as hateful, intolerant, vandalism, and anarchists.

    the double standard among the media is stunning, yet predictable. As is the intolerance and hypocrisy among the left

    • PCR

      Mar 14, 2017 at 11:44 am

      Read. He wrote that the act was spun that way in the Washington Post. And suggestions that there is no media bias to the left, is as ridiculous as they come.

  17. chip

    Mar 14, 2017 at 9:32 am

    which is worse? Some damaged grass or a man trying to turn the United States into the most hateful, deceitful, and corrupt country in the world?

    • birdie

      Mar 14, 2017 at 9:49 am

      luckily obama is now out of office huh

      • Blake

        Mar 14, 2017 at 11:20 am

        What did obama do? Im sincerely asking because i see you people say things like this and then i cant find any speeches or quotes or actions that would justify it. So what did he do?

        • Toad2017

          Mar 14, 2017 at 12:23 pm

          His hope and change was nothing more than business as usual. He fixed nothing, just made existing problems bigger.

        • birdie

          Mar 14, 2017 at 1:33 pm

          used irs as political weapon, blamed benghazi on youtube video for months, lied about aca saving families money, fast and furious (illegal arms transfers to mexican cartels), jumped into every criminal cases based on race before facts and verdict known only to incite anger and divide, payment to iran, spying on journalist james rosen…… i can go on if you want…..

    • PCR

      Mar 14, 2017 at 11:53 am

      So we can tear up your grass and say, “Well, it’s not as bad as the President”.

    • Tom

      Mar 14, 2017 at 1:33 pm

      we’re not running a popularity contest

  18. JThunder

    Mar 14, 2017 at 6:46 am

    “Murdering grass”? Really? Grass is not an endangered species, nor is it difficult to grow back. Would you call taking a divot “murdering grass”? Because the average 130-shooting hack tears up that much grass with their play.

    • Double Mocha Man

      Mar 14, 2017 at 11:45 am

      Bubba doesn’t take a divot… but he does dent a lot of perfectly good trees.

  19. JThunder

    Mar 14, 2017 at 6:27 am

    It’s funny how to conservative golfers, this is such a “disgusting crime”, and they are appalled and judge all liberal-minded folks by these actions. But when conservative politicians manage to legalize the fleecing of the American people via things like the healthcare industry and pharmaceutical companies, which KILL people on an hourly basis, this is “just business” and defended to the hilt.
    (And when Trump, Bannon and Pence take charge on their vote, they can claim “but I’m not racist or misogynist”.)

    To say we have different values is an understatement.
    But the past 9 years have proven that.

    One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

    • birdie

      Mar 14, 2017 at 9:36 am

      what are you talking about? were people not being fleeced under obama? were prescriptions cheap under obama? fun fact…obama oversaw a fleecing of the american working class. trump is reflection of americans turning against liberal policy.

  20. R

    Mar 14, 2017 at 4:46 am

    Liberals what is your problem.
    You are worthless. Just causing more
    and more problems. We have enough
    in the world as it is. Get over it.
    Grow up.

    • JThunder

      Mar 14, 2017 at 6:32 am

      They’re protesting the destruction of the environment, and your suggestion is “get over it”? Why couldn’t the billionaires and their corporations “get over” the regulations enacted to save the planet? Why couldn’t Republican Congress and 42% of the country “get over” the fact that Obama won two elections? People who put greed and ignorance above the good of the people and planet are the ones who need to “grow up”. But if you see shining a light on real problems as “causing more and more problems”, then that explains why the world is as f-ed up as it is now. I guess everyone should just keep their mouths shut and put up with whatever is done to them, and somehow it will all be OK.

  21. Michael

    Mar 14, 2017 at 4:15 am

    Fantastic work.

  22. Bubba Wilson

    Mar 13, 2017 at 11:12 pm

    Wow – Talk about a country divided right now.

    • mik

      Apr 7, 2017 at 11:22 pm

      So true, my local course installed separate restrooms. Liberals on the left and republicans on the right. It’s bad, very very bad.

  23. Bubba Smith

    Mar 13, 2017 at 10:05 pm

    Stupidity at its finest.

  24. SlapHappy

    Mar 13, 2017 at 7:23 pm

    I mean seriously……. we ought to be able to hang these people in public once we arrest them

    • Brian

      Mar 13, 2017 at 8:46 pm

      Like Pete Dye said, “It’s just grass.” Really, hang someone from wrecking some grass? Did you think about those words before you typed them, or are you just a ridiculous reactionary like the morons that defaced this green?

      • JThunder

        Mar 14, 2017 at 6:43 am

        If you’re suggesting hanging people for hurting some grass, what do you suggest for all the Wall Street execs who destroyed peoples’ lives? Or the pharmaceutical companies and health care companies who kill people every day for profit?

        Oh, right, laws in their favor and achievement awards. Nice values.

        • Tom

          Mar 14, 2017 at 1:36 pm

          I don’t think so, that’s counter productive to the bottom line.

          • J

            Mar 15, 2017 at 4:05 pm

            I think you’re being over-simplistic. The reality is if you’re trying to bank a bonus, you couldn’t care much less if there’s a long term fallout on the bottom line. It’d be dishonest to say people only consider the company’s infinite bottom line. More likely, there are some individuals who focus on the near terms profits, without regard for what happens later. And these decisions have consequences much larger than turf damage. They just don’t have the image problem of someone carving into a green.

      • birdie

        Mar 14, 2017 at 9:38 am

        firing squad works too

  25. KoreanSlumLord

    Mar 13, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    So that is your new America, huh? If you don’t agree with another political party, just burn, vandalize, perform acts of violence against supporters of the other party. In Japan, were not shown this type of behavior that Republicans did when Obama was in office. Odd.

    • Bryan

      Mar 14, 2017 at 12:22 am

      It’s the liberal way, it’s how they roll. Kind of reminds you of a 3 year old when they don’t get their way.

      • JThunder

        Mar 14, 2017 at 6:34 am

        Reminds me of Republicans for the last 8 years. And I mean, ALL of them. Not a handful of people who “vandalized” some grass. Republican golfers care more about a patch of grass than peoples’ lives or the planet. That’s the conservative way, because that little patch of grass is PROFIT!

        • birdie

          Mar 14, 2017 at 9:40 am

          maybe you should go burn down a building or block people from getting to work…..vandalism is the liberal way. don’t agree or don’t get your way….stomp your feet and destroy others property…so pathetic yet so predictable. i can only hope these protestors become the face of the democrat party.

        • Tom

          Mar 14, 2017 at 1:39 pm

          play the victim card much?

  26. ROY

    Mar 13, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    Think I will go cut down some trees and dump some oil into the local lake to show my support for them and the environment!!!

  27. Barry

    Mar 13, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    This makes me angry

  28. Double Mocha Man

    Mar 13, 2017 at 5:44 pm

    I think we’re on to something here! 90% of the responses below are from conservatives/Republicans. If GolfWRX is a cross section of the average golfer then it’s obvious we need many, many more liberals to grow the game.

    • Barry

      Mar 13, 2017 at 5:55 pm

      Good luck with that. “Liberals” (nothing liberal about them these days) aren’t going to be attracted to golf because it’s too hard and requires too much patience.

      • JThunder

        Mar 14, 2017 at 6:52 am

        Yeah, liberals fight for the environment and the poor and disenfranchised because it’s not hard and requires no patience. Well said.

    • JThunder

      Mar 14, 2017 at 6:50 am

      Golfwrx is not a cross-section of the average golfer. it’s a cross-section of the avid golfer. It might be suggested the connection is avid golfer = likely wealthier golfer = likelier conservative.

    • birdie

      Mar 14, 2017 at 9:41 am

      they’ll start demanding that others pay for their round of golf…..because equality or something

      • Blake

        Mar 14, 2017 at 11:23 am

        Oh i get it. Your doing some bit where you act like a “typical dumb trump supporter”. Good one

    • Bert

      Mar 14, 2017 at 5:18 pm

      +1 exactly on the point.

    • mik

      Apr 7, 2017 at 11:04 pm

      I agree.

      I like to keep the Republicans in the group ahead of me, I pick up their Prov1s and Prov1xs that they don’t want to look for along the tree line. I keep the Liberals in the group behind me in case I leave a club or a head cover, I’ll get it back on the next hole.

  29. golfomatic

    Mar 13, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    Kind of a stupid crime. Much less risky to make money as a Wells Fargo exec while looking the other way as thousands of employees open millions of accounts without customers’ permission over many years to meet absurd quotas, then retire with a 9-figure payout as your punishment, then play lots of golf on courses like this.

  30. larry

    Mar 13, 2017 at 5:36 pm

    Stuff like this makes me hate liberals even more, what a joke.

    • Dr Troy

      Mar 13, 2017 at 7:45 pm

      Could not agree more Larry.

      • JThunder

        Mar 14, 2017 at 6:55 am

        This thread makes me hate conservatives more. What a joke.

        • birdie

          Mar 14, 2017 at 9:44 am

          why because conservatives support law and order? or is the fact that liberals don’t get their way no matter how much they whine, destroy property, protest, or all the other useless means of organized intimidation and destruction they employ

          • Tom

            Mar 14, 2017 at 1:41 pm

            +1

          • J

            Mar 15, 2017 at 4:23 pm

            What a joke. What makes you think conservatives support law and order, and liberals do not? Those vandalizers = all liberals, just as Dennis Hastert = all conservatives. Non-reasoning individuals on both sides are the coals that keep this division going. It’s all so stupid. I’m not your enemy, and you’re not my enemy. Congratulations on both sides being used as pawns.

  31. alan

    Mar 13, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    destroy something the POTUS owns, and get caught on camera? and do interviews. amateur hour. i hope no one feels sorry for them when they get hammered for this.

    • Double Mocha Man

      Mar 13, 2017 at 5:41 pm

      They did the video recording themselves… didn’t “get caught” on camera.

  32. Bryan

    Mar 13, 2017 at 4:15 pm

    Liberals at their finest….

  33. Double Mocha Man

    Mar 13, 2017 at 3:25 pm

    It got the message across (and directly to Trump in this case) without anyone getting hurt. Other than hurting the wallets of some very well-off club members. On a positive note it caused the extra employment of some greenskeeping crew members, thus strengthening the economy as Trump has promised.

    Though the message was weak… if Tiger wants to rub shoulders with Trump that’s his right. Doesn’t mean we have to like him for it.

    • Barry

      Mar 13, 2017 at 6:37 pm

      If the message was “we are idiots and criminals,” then yeah, message received

  34. Blake

    Mar 13, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    Really? He has nominated a climate change denier to the head of the epa and he sees any regulations that protect clean air and water as bad and is actively trying to repeal them to benefit big business. His nom to the epa has actively sued the EPA to lighten restrictions on coal plants, and several other issues. Basically he is doing everything in his power to harm the environment.

    • Joey5Picks

      Mar 13, 2017 at 3:56 pm

      LIKE^^^

    • JThunder

      Mar 14, 2017 at 6:54 am

      Read a book.

    • Blake

      Mar 14, 2017 at 11:24 am

      Oh i get it. Your doing some bit where you act like a “typical dumb trump supporter”. Good one

    • Bert

      Mar 14, 2017 at 5:22 pm

      Great news! I didn’t know he was doing so well.

  35. Chris

    Mar 13, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    Idiots.

  36. Steve

    Mar 13, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    Disgusting. I’m not a big Trump guy by any means, but I find it absolutely disgusting that A) people would do this to a golf course just because it has his name attached to it, and B) that ABC would happily keep these people anonymous and disguise the voice just to get the scoop. THIS IS A FREAKIN CRIME. They belong in jail.

  37. Golfwhiler

    Mar 13, 2017 at 12:22 pm

    Eco-terrorists. They will be found out and will be shocked to learn the cost of repairing greens, not to mention felony trespassing.

  38. Silky Johnson

    Mar 13, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    Why the voice-disguising mech, you wuss? You want to vandalize private property, own up to it. Coward.

  39. Blake

    Mar 13, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    Good. At least this way he cant say he never saw it.

  40. Joe

    Mar 13, 2017 at 11:55 am

    when it is against Trump (or conservatives) they’re called ‘activists’ and ‘protesters’. When it was against Obama (or the left) they’re ‘racists’ and ‘terrorists’.

    • JThunder

      Mar 14, 2017 at 6:41 am

      Yep, there’s no difference between fighting for the environment by harming some grass and carrying a sign with a painting of lynching an African American President. Yep, exactly the same.

      At least you admit that fighting for the environment is “against conservatives”.

  41. MikeyB

    Mar 13, 2017 at 11:47 am

    Well the solution is quite clear. These people have a deep abiding love and respect for the environment. I think they should be given the chance to experience the environment in all it’s glory.
    So, with just the clothes on their backs, they will be flown to a spot that is 500 miles from any trace of civilization and be chucked out of the airplane with a static line parachute attached.
    If they can survive, and walk out, they don’t have to go to jail. Seems fair. I mean since their point is the Trump administration has allegedly endangered the environment, a pen and notebook will be provided to our hapless eco-warriors so that they can log, in person and in real time, the effects of said policy reversals on their immediate surroundings. Well, it’s research, right?

    • Mower

      Mar 13, 2017 at 2:07 pm

      As long as it’s televised. #nakedandafraid lol

  42. Tom

    Mar 13, 2017 at 11:42 am

    putz(s)

  43. Whaatt

    Mar 13, 2017 at 11:41 am

    Vandalism isnt a protest it is a crime, Im no Trump fan, but I hope these criminals are prosecuted.

    • JThunder

      Mar 14, 2017 at 6:37 am

      As long as they’re not millionaire businessmen, they’ll likely be prosecuted for crime. If they’re millionaire conservative businessmen, they’ll be praised and have a chance to run for President.

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News

Morning 9: Scheffler repeats at Players | Monday PIF meeting | McIlroy takes another shot at Norman

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Monday morning, golf fans, as an exciting final day at the Players Championship saw Scottie Scheffler retain his title.

1. Back to back, X2

Doug Ferguson for AP…”The roar could be heard from a half-mile away just 16 minutes after the final group set out Sunday in the final round of The Players Championship. It was loud enough to indicate something special had happened. The question was more “what” than “who.”

  • “Moments later, Scottie Scheffler’s name appeared on the leaderboard, and he was on his way, adding another layer to his legend as the best in golf.”
  • “His 8-under 64 tied the Players Championship record for best Sunday score by a winner. His five-shot comeback matched another tournament record. And he now stands alone as the only back-to-back champion in 50 years of the PGA Tour’s premier championship.”
  • “It’s tough enough to win one Players,” said Scheffler, who was coming off a five-shot victory last week at Bay Hill. “So to have it back-to-back is extremely special. Yeah, really thankful.”
Full piece.

2. Cantlay confirms Monday meeting

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”On Friday, Golfweek was first to report a group of PGA Tour players were nearing a meeting with the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in an effort to continue to broker a deal between the Tour and the controversial sovereign wealth fund that has been disrupting men’s professional golf.”

  • “Two sources told Eamon Lynch a meeting was tentatively scheduled for Monday at a private residence in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, following the conclusion of the Players Championship at nearby TPC Sawgrass. Patrick Cantlay, a player director on the PGA Tour policy board, confirmed the meeting with Sports Illustrated on Sunday and tabbed the event as a meet-and-greet.”
  • “Well, I’ve gotta hear out what they have to say, and I will always do my best to represent the entire membership whenever I am in a meeting in that capacity,” Cantlay told SI after his final round at the Players Championship. “I think more information is always better.”
Full piece.

3. Mystery abounds

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”It turns out Monday’s expected “secret” meeting between the PGA Tour policy board player directors and the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is even clandestine for those who are being “strongly encouraged” to attend.”

  • “I don’t even think our membership knows anything about a meeting on Monday yet. I don’t know the details of it,” said Peter Malnati, one of the six player directors who would meet with the fund’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, on Monday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. “I would rather tell our membership first, but, honestly, I think at this point I probably should have more details because there may be a meeting but I don’t even know. I don’t know where it is or how I’m getting there.”
  • “The possible meeting, which was first reported by Golfweek.com and would take place in a private residence, would be the first time the player directors have met with anyone from the PIF. Malnati said Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has been pushing for a face-to-face meeting between the players and Al-Rumayyan “for months.”
Full piece.

4. McIlroy takes aim at Norman

Jack Milko for SB Nation…”McIlroy still wants to see a deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) go through.

But he holds no remorse for LIV Golf’s CEO, Greg Norman.”

  • “They’re a sovereign wealth fund. They want to park money for decades and not worry about it,” McIlroy said of the PIF.
  • “They want to invest in smart and secure businesses, and the PGA Tour is definitely one of those, especially if they’re looking to invest in sport in some way… I have spent time with [PIF Governor] Yasir [al-Rumayyan]. I think the people who have represented him in LIV have done him a disservice, so Norman and those guys.”
  • “Norman has championed LIV Golf’s cause for more than two years now, celebrating its format, players, and how the Saudi-backed circuit continues to ‘change the game.’
Full piece.

5. Boo birds

Bunkered report…”Jay Monahan was booed at The PLAYERS Championship as some golf fans made their feelings clear on the PGA Tour commissioner.

Monahan has been under fire ever since blindsiding his players with a top-secret framework agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund which bankrolls LIV Golf last June.”

  • “He confirmed in his pre-tournament address at TPC Sawgrass that negotiations were “accelerating” with the sovereign wealth fund over a deal to unify the game.”
Full Piece.

6. Scheffler first in money won at The Players

Todd Kelly for Golfweek…”With a first-place prize of $4.5 million on the line, Scheffler came from five shots back on Sunday to win the 2024 Players Championship. And with that, he took over the top spot for most money won in a career at the PGA Tour’s flagship event at TPC Sawgrass.”

  • “Scheffler was previously third all-time at the Players with more than $4.5 million (with most of that earned for winning there in 2023) but now he’s over the $9 million mark.”
  • “He takes over the top spot from Sergio Garcia. Tiger Woods slides from the second to third.”
Full Piece.

7. Winning WITB

*Presented by 2nd Swing*

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (8 degrees @8.25)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3, 4) Buy here, TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW) Buy here.

Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Hybrid Prototype 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60.5-T)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Grip: Golf Pride Pro Only

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Full Piece.
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Tour Rundown: Matching luggage for Scheffler

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For those of us from another generation, the disruption of the golf world that we knew well is both exciting and unsettling. The two most potent disruptors are rival golf leagues, not unlike the turmoil seen in the NCAA, and the Anchorman-style gangs of golf reporters. Reconciled to a past era are the dominance of the U.S. PGA Tour and the monthly golf magazines. One element that will not change, at any time in the foreseeable future, however, is the sanctity of the grand slam and golf’s four male major championships. While the LPGA and the PGA Tour Champions have seen a light and added fifth and sixth power titles, the men’s game remains staunchly in the 20th century.

This last topic surges in pertinence each March, just before the playing of The Players Championship. Two camps stake tents and run banners up the poll. One cries out for elevation of the PC to major status, while the other digs a trench around its impregnable quadrilateral. My personal take is this: Every four years since 2016, golf is played at the Olympics. Is Olympic Gold the equivalent of a major title? Yes, it is. It comes around every 1,500 days and brings elite golfers together in competition at the most important athletic event and venue. In my mind, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele earned major titles in Brazil and Japan, as did Inbee Park and Nelly Korda. As for the Players Championship, why not? The field is stronger by ranking than any major event, and the golf course demands every shot that golfers can create.

The Players Championship is so important to the U.S. PGA Tour that all other tours under its umbrella take the week off. No Korn Ferry, no Tour Champions. The LPGA and the DP World Tour follow suit, which shrinks the amount of watchable golf to two events. On that sour note, let’s run down this week’s play, beginning with the Players Championship and ending with the Asian Tour in Macau.

PGA Tour @ Players Championship: matching luggage for Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler is making a bid to be the player of his generation. From the previous one, a fair number have taken leave from traditional competition. The Johnsons, Koepkas, and Reeds from the 1980s no longer play the events that stand the test of time. The born-in-the-90s generation had its first great champion in Jordan Spieth until he took leave of the senses that brought him to golf’s pinnacle. Spieth’s descent ran opposite Scheffler’s rise.

Scottie Scheffler had won nothing on the PGA Tour until February 13th of 2022. He won on that day in Phoenix, then won three more times by the middle of April. One of those wins was the API at Bay Hill. Last week, Scheffler won for a second time at the Orlando course. Last March, Scheffler won his first Players Championship, by five shots over Tyrrell Hatton. On Sunday, Scheffler dived headfirst into a cauldron of fierce competition. Facing challenges from Olympic champion Schauffele, Open champion Brian Harmon, and U.S. Open champion  Wyndham Clark, Scheffler breathed. As the only man to reach 20 under par, he earned a second consecutive title at Sawgrass and reminded us that it has been two years since he won the Masters and that he is on a tear.

It all began at the fourth on Sunday for Scheffler. After pars at the opening three holes, Scheffler’s driving wedge from 92 yards landed 20 feet shy of the hole, took one large bounce, then spun left, trickling into the hole for eagle. He followed that incantation with another birdie, then two pars. The stretch from 8 to 12 was where the champion made a statement. His quartet of birdies over that run, brought him to 19-under par and let the pursuing pack know that even lower than the winning 17 under in 2023 would be necessary.

And the trio was game. Harman and Clark both dipped below 70, to reach 19 under at the final pole. Schauffele could not find a similar gear and closed with 70 — 69 would have earned him a playoff with Scheffler. It was the extra gear, the ability to go low when all things mattered, that eleveated the now two-time champion to the top of the podium. In five of his eight tour wins, Scheffler has posted a sub-70 round on day four, and four of those have been 67 or lower.

With elegant precision, Scheffler applied the final thrust at the par-5 16th. He played safely away from Pete’s Pond on the right, into the left greenside bunker at the back of the putting surface. His bunker shot was thing of exquisite accuracy, trickling to a planned stop about 20 inches from the hole. The birdie concluded matters and rang the sort of bell that Dye courses tend to display.

Asian Tour @ International Series Macau: Catlin earns playoff victory

There are two sorts of golfers that compete on the Asian Tour, which makes no secret of its alliance with the LIV. The first are the AT stalwarts, the ones who play as golfers have always played, with little guarantee and much pride. The others are the ones who compete on the LIV, eschewing both risk and pride for the guaranteed payday. Their deal costs them world ranking points, so they play in AT events, hoping to qualify for golf’s major events.

This week in Macau, one of those LIV golfers shot 60 on Sunday and did not win the tournament. Hard to believe, you say? Aye, but when another golfer shoots 59 in the third round, follows it up with a 65 on day four, then makes overtime birdie twice at the par-five closer, the razor’s edge of great golf is sharpened. Thus did it happen with American John Catlin and Spaniard David Puig.

It was Catlin who signed for 59, and it took a twisting, eagle putt at the last to enshrine the first-ever, sub-60 on the Asian Tour. It was Puig who closed the gap on Sunday with a 60 of his own, which featured a bogey at the lengthy fifth hole, but was followed by seven birdies and an eagle over the next 13 holes. Catlin had a six-feet putt for the regulation win, but missed. In extra time, Puig nearly holed for eagle at 18, then tapped in for birdie. Catlin’s second danced along the OOB perimeter, before ending on an access road. His drop and pitch left him another six feet to remain alive, and this time, he converted.

At the second go-round of the par-5 finisher, Puig found the green in two, but took three putts from nearly 50 feet. Catlin confronted another challenging pitch for his third, and once again, his wedge game won the day. He tapped in for birdie and the win.

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Morning 9: Rory, Xander, Clark share Players lead | Rory on controversial drop | AK misses Macau cut

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Friday morning, golf fans, as day two of the Players Championship gets underway from TPC Sawgrass!

1. McIlroy grabs share of the lead

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”Despite hitting two tee shots into the water and being at the center of a controversial drop after the second one, four-time major champion Rory McIlroy opened the 50th Players Championship with a 7-under 65 to grab a share of the first-round lead Thursday.”

  • “McIlroy, the 2019 Players Championship winner, was tied atop the leaderboard with Xander Schauffele and reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, who had much more uneventful opening rounds at TPC Sawgrass.”
Full piece.

2. Xander and Clark also fire 65

Ali Stafford for Sky Sports…“Schauffele, playing in the group ahead of McIlroy, charged up the leaderboard with five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn to make a bogey-free start to the week and set the initial clubhouse target.”

  • “The pair held a share of the lead until Clark produced a spectacular back-nine birdie run, where he rolled in from 20 feet at the 15th before taking advantage of the par-five next and birdied the 17th to join the group on seven under.”
Full piece.

3. McIlroy drop debate

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”McIlroy rinsed two tee balls into the water, the first at TPC Sawgrass’ par-4 18th hole and the second on the par-4 seventh. While the former prompted some discussion, the latter produced an especially lengthy back-and-forth between McIlroy and the other two players, as the trio spent more than eight minutes trying to determine where McIlroy should drop.”

  • “Initially, the walking ESPN+ reporter said that McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, said that McIlroy’s ball “absolutely” hit above the red penalty line before kicking into the water left of a long fairway bunker. The one television camera angle showed McIlroy’s ball clearly bouncing once, though it was unclear where exactly it pitched.”
  • “That’s an emphatic 250-yard difference,” an announcer said of where McIlroy was looking to drop, and where he’d have to drop, had his ball not crossed in play.”
  • “It bounced into the water but we were just trying to make sure that it was above the red line,” McIlroy shouted over to his playing competitors, who were inquiring about his thought process.”
Full piece.

4. Beall: Time for a different system?

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Reputations in golf are a fickle thing, and to compromise them for what may or may not have happened hundreds of yards away is an avoidable gamble. Perhaps McIlroy should have been more open to what his opponents were saying, yet there’s a case that he shouldn’t have had to defend himself in the first place; that should have fallen to a rules official. And the current system isn’t just failing the player whose score is in question. It shouldn’t fall to opponents to police the field, for that responsibility can put them in awkward, uncomfortable positions that can simultaneously put them in an unfavorable light.”

  • “Just because this is how golf has always done it doesn’t mean it has to be this way in perpetuity. It’s a change easier said than done, one that requires more rules officials and more cameras, two resources that are not in plentiful supply. But this week the PGA Tour is returning its Every Shot At broadcast option and its new television center opens up a world of possibility for how the tour is watched … and in some cases, reviewed.”
  • “Much of the conversation this week has been about the tour product, specifically, how it can be enhanced and refined. But the tour’s primary product is its players, and what the tour wants to improve also needs to be protected. In this case, that means protecting them from themselves. Something so valuable shouldn’t be vulnerable to five minutes.”
Full piece.

5. Tom Kim out with illness

Golf Channel report…”Tom Kim withdrew Thursday after eight holes of the opening round of The Players Championship. The PGA Tour sent out a social media post citing an unspecified illness as the reason.”

  • “Kim, who started on the back nine on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, was 5 over par at the time, including two bogeys and a triple bogey.”
Full Piece.

6. Owen Wilson poised to play golf’s Ted Lasso

Hollywood Reporter…”The streamer behind Ted Lasso has placed a series order for a show starring Owen Wilson as a former pro golfer who needs to get his life back in order. The Loki star will also be an executive producer of the untitled series, which comes from Apple Studios and creator Jason Keller (Ford v. Ferrari).

  • “Wilson will play Pryce Cahill, whose golf career ended prematurely 20 years ago. After he gets fired from his job at a sporting goods store in Indiana and his wife leaves him, Pryce sees a troubled 17-year-old golf phenom as his way back.”
Full Piece.

7. AK one of five to miss Macau cut

Paul Higham for Golf Monthly…”Although he was four shots better in his second round, Anthony Kim still came unstuck at the International Series in Macau as he missed his first professional cut in 12 years.”

  • “Kim was one of 21 LIV Golf League stars teeing it up at Macau Golf & Country Club, and one of five to miss the cut along with Harold Varner, Danny Lee, Eugenio Chacarra and Graeme McDowell.”
  • “The American improved from his opening 74 with a second-round 70, but still finished on four over which saw him miss the cut by eight shots.”
Full Piece.

8. Best Driver 2024 is live now on GolfWRX

What’s the best driver of 2024? This year, to answer that question, we have expanded our panel of expert fitters to help you find which of the 2024 drivers is best for your game, breaking down the candidates by clubhead speed.

Full Piece.

9. Photos from The Players

  • Check out all of our galleries from TPC Sawgrass!
Full Piece.
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