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The USGA might have a problem with PGA Tour yardage books

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Less than a week after introducing the “Lexi Thompson Rule,” or New Decision 34-3/10, the USGA sent a signal that it has something else on its radar. Namely, defending the art of green reading.

Viewing the issue through the lens of Rule 14-3, the USGA expressed concern over, it seems, the green detail in professional yardage books. Rule 14-3 bars a player from “the use of any artificial device or unusual equipment … for the purpose of gauging or measuring distance or conditions that might affect his play.” Thus, in a roundabout way, the green-mapping technology used to create the highly sophisticated and detailed pro yardage books is troubling to the guardians of the game.

The USGA-R&A’s full joint statement reads:

“The R&A and the USGA believe that a player’s ability to read greens is an essential part of the skill of putting. Rule 14-3 limits the use of equipment and devices that might assist a player in their play, based on the principle that golf is a challenging game in which success should depend on the judgment, skills and abilities of the player. We are concerned about the rapid development of increasingly detailed materials that players are using to help with reading greens during a round. We are reviewing the use of these materials to assess whether any actions need to be taken to protect this important part of the game. We expect to address this matter further in the coming months.”

Reading between the lines, it certainly seems the “concern” is centered around yardage books that show slope and topographical information. You know, like these.

Credit: Golf Digest/Tour Sherpa

Credit: Golf Digest/Tour Sherpa

Credit: Golf Digest/Tour Sherpa

Credit: Golf Digest/Tour Sherpa

Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior director of rules and amateur status, told Golf Digest’s Mike Stachura the worry centers around the following:

“The increased level of detail that the USGA and the R&A has seen of late, both in printed and electronic form, that has prompted the study. It is fair to say all materials will be reviewed, but the original intent was not focused on basic printed yardage guides found at most golf courses, but those with an increased level of detail/sophistication.”

This led Stachura to connect the dots, writing, “It seems conceivable that green charts instead of contour lines measuring the percentage of slope…might someday reach a stage where all putting locations might be determined to have a certain break like two feet right or six inches left.”

Yardage books in general have long been contentious on the PGA Tour, but the USGA largely hasn’t had an issue with the pocket course maps until now. It will be interesting to see if the folks in Far Hills ultimately rule on the level of detail in Mark Long’s (and similar) yardage books.

If you ask PGA Tour pro Luke Donald, he seems to agree with the concern.

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52 Comments

52 Comments

  1. Don

    Jun 1, 2017 at 8:46 am

    Give them lasers for yardage use only. let them carry there own bags read there own greens. Spoilt children these pros are.

  2. Mat

    May 30, 2017 at 2:25 am

    So, here’s a question… if the USGA generally allow rangefinders that don’t allow slope, how is it they’re being provided with slope information? How has that been allowed to become a cottage industry?

    Personally, I think this is all a waste. I think the slope algorithm in the current rangefinders aren’t a big deal. Frankly, whatever speeds play is good, and those books don’t sink putts. But this type of grandstanding just annoys players. But please start making the pros play like we have to. Let them have a laser, but take their books. Or don’t, and clarify that slope information is ok. What drives me batty about the USGA is they approach it as if it’s this new thing. It’s not.

  3. Kyle

    May 21, 2017 at 1:02 pm

    But they want to allow range finders? i don’t understand

  4. Dave R

    May 8, 2017 at 9:03 pm

    Personally I think you would have to have studies in rocket science to even read this thing. I would not know which way to turn the thing up down or sideways. But then I never went far in college never got to map reading.

  5. GH

    May 3, 2017 at 12:26 pm

    The game has gotten too concerned with low scores and records. We also should go back to not allowing to mark the ball on the green and play stymie. It’s about who navigates the situations to win the tournament, not about just getting low scores

    • PG

      May 4, 2017 at 5:18 pm

      Stymie is awesome for match play. It would be fun to watch. During stroke play it could be abused and would be unfortunate if it affected the outcome.

  6. Dace

    May 3, 2017 at 11:53 am

    I would like to see this stopped.
    Along with that I would also like to see caddies actually just caddy.
    Carry the bag, give distance from the ball to the pin and little else.
    Keep them off the greens and lets see the pros use their own skills to navigate the contours.
    Simplify the rules also, ball on tee not to be touched again until it is on the green.
    Any unplayable/lost/hazard ball, drop at the original point of strike with a shot penalty.
    Remove all line of sight relief.
    As mentioned above remove all grandstands from the green area.
    Also in agreement with Brandon … Brandon May 3, 2017 at 10:05 am

    Actually I would like to see a 90 second shot clock with 3 60 second extensions per round, but that is me personally.

    The game is too slow and the rules too complex.
    We are losing a generation to the game, almost no one understands the rules now .

  7. Bob Jones

    May 3, 2017 at 11:39 am

    Why not go all the way and make the pros play like the rest of us do? Ban yardage books (except for notes they personally make during practice rounds), ban daily pin sheets, ban caddies. Make them pull their clubs around on a cart and hunt for sprinkler heads to get their distances. Really! I’m not kidding. Once a year I would like to see a tournament played like this.

  8. Duncan Castles

    May 3, 2017 at 9:30 am

    Fully agree that the governing bodies should ban the use of detailed green charts during competitive rounds. They both slow down the game and reduce the need to develop and deploy one of golf’s key skills.

  9. JLBIII

    May 3, 2017 at 8:35 am

    For the last 15 years, I’ve used my feet to read greens. I would never use a mapped chart because it would change my trust and confidence in what I feel.

  10. Ron

    May 3, 2017 at 8:29 am

    Good idea! Caddies should also not be able to give players any information other than distances and wind direction. The player ought to be able to figure out what club to hit and how to hit it. That goes for alignment too.
    And, USGA, address the ball in motion rule, where the wind moves the ball on the green. The player who doesn’t cause the ball to move should be able to replace it in its original spot without penalty.

  11. Jack Nash

    May 3, 2017 at 8:05 am

    Great idea. Let’s make a 6 hr round 6 1/2 while watching a pro do laps on a green before they decide to get over the ball. Next thing you know there’ll be a 24 sec. clock.

    • Brandon

      May 3, 2017 at 10:05 am

      Actually I would like to see a 90 second shot clock with 3 60 second extensions per round, but that is me personally.

  12. Ron

    May 3, 2017 at 1:24 am

    I’m curious who and what kind of tech creates these topographical green maps? Must be already in the yardage books given to the players before the tournament.

  13. Gordy

    May 2, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    I wish they’d ban the grand stands behind every green that stops the ball from going 30 yards past the hole on a bad shot.

    • Adam P Smith

      May 3, 2017 at 8:54 am

      Agree 100%. In fact last week in China at the European Tour event the 18th hole had water cutting in to the green on the right side with the flag (for round 4) inaccessible some 6 paces from the water. Immediately left of the green was a stand, the closest to a green I’ve ever seen. What happens? More than one pro took dead aim at the lower portion of this stand from 150-180 yards away and bounced the ball onto the green and close to the flag; closer than could have been achieved by a normal shot. Utter madness on the part of the tournament director and officials…those guys need sacked. It’s golf not billiards!

  14. larrybud

    May 2, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    Yeah, I can see how this is a problem since nobody seems to miss any putts…. lol I mean, who cares? You better ban all yardage books then, and sprinkler heads with numbers on them, since those numbers were derived from laser range finders.

    Stupid is as stupid does, sums up the USGA nicely.

  15. avg_joseph

    May 2, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    If all players have access to this same information what does it matter? If the information is out their and they are banned during tournament play, all you are doing is giving a leg up to players with better memory/photographic memory…

    Access to this information speeds up play as well. Do you really want to have these guys(and gals) with millions of dollars on the line taking longer to read putts on their own? If pace of play is such an important issue to the USGA why would they take detailed information out of a players hand that is going to make the pros take longer to do their job? If anything, Courses that have this information should give these to any player with the knowledge to use them to help speed up play!

    • Adam P Smith

      May 3, 2017 at 8:57 am

      Nonsense, use of these green-reading books slows play down; are you Stevie Wonder? But slow play isn’t the real issue in this: skill and judgment is what golf is founded upon not having fancy, cheat-bibles like these.

    • drkviol801

      May 29, 2017 at 7:45 pm

      I don’t see a problem either, nobody has an advantage over one another with these technological breakthroughs, and it results in better quality golf

  16. chinchbugs

    May 2, 2017 at 1:47 pm

    About Time! This game was getting too easy!

  17. Taylor

    May 2, 2017 at 1:42 pm

    I thought the yardage books just had blank green shapes and the pros filled them out as they read the greens. The advantage to the more veteran guys whom have played the greens more and have had many different looks. I didn’t know they were given how the topography of the greens were.

  18. Mark

    May 2, 2017 at 1:29 pm

    Good grief. I had no idea they were that detailed. Let us get back to the player and only the player lining up his putts. And these maps should be banned. The club player uses his own eyes so why not someone supposedly more skilled?

  19. ROY

    May 2, 2017 at 9:40 am

    So if I can bring a topographical map why not a wind gauge?? Could extend my 18 foot ball retriever, stick it on the top of that and be a little more certain about what the winds speed and direction is.

    • John

      May 2, 2017 at 11:55 am

      you might be the only guy who knows some rules of golf AND carries an 18 foot ball retriever.

      • Anthony

        May 3, 2017 at 6:58 pm

        he’s that guy that holds people up behind while he retrieves 15 balls from the lake instead of just his own 😉

      • Anthony

        May 3, 2017 at 7:00 pm

        he’s that guy who holds up play while retrieving 15 balls from the lake instead of just his own hahaha

  20. DB

    May 2, 2017 at 9:33 am

    I believe the charts get even more complicated/detailed than what is pictured.

    And I think they should be restricted at some point. Laser rangefinders that calculate slope are banned from tournament use. What’s the basic difference between that and a fold-out chart that details every little slope in the green?

  21. RG

    May 2, 2017 at 7:03 am

    More ridiculousness from the USGA. Graphite shafts, titanium golf clubs, range finders and four piece multi material golf balls are good, topographical maps bad! ridiculous! the toothpaste is out of the tube.

  22. H

    May 2, 2017 at 3:07 am

    Lemur?

  23. Matt Gates

    May 2, 2017 at 1:18 am

    Seriously USGA….

    This is completely ridiculous. These guys talk about growing the game but yet have zero clue as to what it takes to actually pulls off what current PGA tour pros do. Its actually a little disgusting that these dinosaurs are guiding a sport that so desperately needs an injection of life.

    This still comes down to execution. You HAVE to be able to execute exactly what it says on the books, whether its yardage or the slopes on a green.

    Pathetic…..

    • Brian

      May 2, 2017 at 9:22 am

      What does the use of detailed topographical maps by Tour Pros have to do with growing the game?

      • Joey5Picks

        May 2, 2017 at 3:55 pm

        My question, as well. The two are not related in the slightest.

    • Aaron

      May 2, 2017 at 11:00 am

      ya dumb response, nobody else has access to these charts and even if they did talk about slowing the F out of the game….I can’t stand the USGA but 100% agree with this concern. Putting at all levels is fun to be a part of and the art of the “guess” is great at all levels……

    • Judge Smells

      May 2, 2017 at 12:03 pm

      cant wait till you see kids at Junior tournaments making topographically maps of the green during their practice round so they can be like Dustin Johnson referring to their green map

  24. DMACK

    May 1, 2017 at 9:43 pm

    I have been playing the same courses for years and am still trying to figure out and remember all the breaks. I definitely think green reading is a big part of the art of putting. The green contour map like shown above can be viewed as equipment that aides the golfer. It’s at least worth a debate. (Can I order such a map for my home course, surely could eliminate some 3 putts.)

    • Scott

      May 2, 2017 at 7:57 am

      DMACK, I was told by a guy at Golf Galaxy that there are highly detailed yardage books out there now (or on their way), but I was told they are a bit pricey. Might be worth it for a few courses though.

    • Zach

      May 7, 2017 at 8:25 am

      We can provide you one…www.flaghunting.com
      Or email us at [email protected]. Not nearly as expensive as people think

  25. Daniel

    May 1, 2017 at 6:53 pm

    If reading a green is an integral part of the game to be preserved where does that leave us with rangefinders? If judgement of a putt is a skill to be preserved and rewarded why not yardage estimation?

    But, I don’t need a thing to make the game harder and I’d wager the bulk of golfers don’t either. Furthers the argument that rules bifurcation is needed in some degree.

    • H

      May 2, 2017 at 3:06 am

      You can’t use rangefinders in professional competition. So that’s what this is implying, that perhaps during play, these contour-Aimpoint maps will be banned, only to be used during practice rounds, as the rangefinders are.

  26. Adam

    May 1, 2017 at 6:40 pm

    I assume, then, that these things are why pros look COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY BEWILDERED when they miss something inside 10 feet? They look at these sheets, it tells them one things, they go with it, they miss, they curse the world. How much reliance is on these books and how much of it is actual green reading?

  27. Double Mocha Man

    May 1, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    It is an interesting sort of “give an inch, take a foot” quandary for the USGA. A topographic map for backpacking is good, a topographic map for reading greens is cheating. Unless you’re camping out on the steep ridge on #14 green at Pebble Beach.

    • Adam P Smith

      May 3, 2017 at 9:00 am

      You are funny but you are 100% correct!

  28. Paul G

    May 1, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    seems like luke donald needs to heed some advice from Kendrick Lamar – sit down, be humble.

    wow, players doing what they can while adhering to the rules to help gain information about a course? crazy talk. USGA, stop screwing things up every chance you get. Let your DVR-committee do your bidding to get your rulings right. USGA puts out that they want to allow rangefinders or measuring devices but want to dial back the information you can put in your yardage book? smh.

    • TR1PTIK

      May 1, 2017 at 5:08 pm

      I don’t think their issue is necessarily the level of detail within a yardage book as much as it is how that information is obtained. However, you could not achieve the same level of detail by simply walking a green and rolling a few putts. I agree with the USGA and with Luke Donald though. Green reading is an acquired skill and a bit of an art. Players should be allowed to record slope information in their yardage book, but without the assistance of special equipment. They should only be allowed to make note of the things they can visibly see and physically feel. They should not be able to use any type of technology to help them measure the various contours of a green. Plain and simple. And no, I don’t believe this is in any way similar to using a rangefinder that ONLY measures yardage. Yardage is a far easier measurement to obtain through other means and I believe the use of rangefinders can only help pace of play.

      • Kim

        May 2, 2017 at 10:59 am

        These contour maps are made by digital mapping of the greens. It would be impossible to enforce a rule banning the maps as players could review in privacy off the course. They should be banned on the course during play, including practice and tournament rounds.

        • TR1PTIK

          May 2, 2017 at 1:51 pm

          I think that kind of goes without saying which is why it wasn’t said. Lol. Anyone can do whatever they want off the course.

    • H

      May 1, 2017 at 6:40 pm

      Who the F is Kendrick Lamer

      • Poetic Justice

        May 1, 2017 at 7:00 pm

        I thinks he’s the guy who emailed the usga regarding his disdain for these pga tour yardage books and started this whole quandary.

      • Judge Smells

        May 2, 2017 at 12:05 pm

        hes lexi thompson’s caddy

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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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