News

Tiger, Phil cut a promo | European Tour schedule reshuffle | WGHOF popularity contest

Published

1 year ago

Oct 30, 2018

Ben Alberstadt

1. Tiger-Phil promo

Oh boy. WWE’s got nothing on these two!

SI’s Chris Chavez…”HBO has released the trailer for the 24/7 series that will follow Tiger Woods and Phil Mickleson before ‘The Match’ on Nov. 23…It would mean more than the $9 mill to take it off of him,” Woods says in the trailer. “It’s just that much better.”…The first episode of 24/7 will air on Nov. 13.”

See it here.

2. European Tour schedule shuffle

ESPN’s Bob Harig…”The European Tour on Monday released its 2018-19 schedule, with several changes occurring, many in response to the overhaul of the PGA Tour’s schedule.”

“The tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship played at Wentworth, will move from May to September and be part of a series of events after the PGA Tour’s schedule ends in August meant to attract European stars home.”

“The 47-tournament schedule begins next month in Hong Kong and concludes nearly a year later in Dubai with the season-ending DP World Championship. The Dubai event follows playoff tournaments in Turkey and South Africa.”

More details.

3. DL3 taking blame

Just when you thought the 2018 Ryder Cup was dead and buried…”I dropped the ball on two or three things that could have helped, and I apologized to Jim…I should have seen some of those things coming.” (Davis Love III to Golf Digest).

But what things!?

4. Best Young Teachers in America

GD’s biennial ranking is here…Here’s a look at a few who are new to the list.

JASON BARRY / 30

Mercer Oaks G. Cse., West Windsor, N.J.

$110/hr.

JASON BIRNBAUM / 36

Manhattan Woods G.C., West Nyack, N.Y.

$250/hr.

JESSICA CARAFIELLO / 35

Innis Arden G.C., Greenwich, Conn.

$140/hr.

SCOTT CHISHOLM / 33

Rolling Green G.C., Springfield, Pa.

$170/hr.

JOE COMPITELLO / 33

Plainfield C.C., Edison, N.J.

$175/hr.

SARA DICKSON / 31

The Country Club, Brookline, Mass. $130/hr.

GREG DUCHARME / 27

Michael Breed Golf Academy at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, New York City

$300/hr.

Full list.

5. A sister act not to be overlooked

Geoff Shackelford rightly points out how impressive the fact that both Korda sisters are now LPGA Tour winners is. Quoting Al Lunsford of the LPGA…

“With her win, Nelly Korda joined her sister, five-time LPGA winner Jessica Korda, in the winner’s circle on Sunday, making the Kordas just the third set of sisters to win on the LPGA Tour in history.”

“Annika Sorenstam (72 wins) and Charlotta Sorenstam (one win) were the first to accomplish the feat in 2000, and were joined by Ariya Jutanugarn (10 wins) and Moriya Jutanugarn (one win) earlier this season when Moriya won the 2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open.”

An associated question: What percentage of casual golf fans know Annika Sorenstam’s sister won a tournament?

6. Popularity contest?

Also from Shack commenting on a Reuters piece regarding the WGHOF… “Steve Mona said eligibility is not strictly based on playing record, as it shouldn’t be-Captaincy’s, course designs, influence as a media member and other influencer intangibles should help push some over the finish line.”

“But then there is this face-in-the-palms admission from someone paid lavishly to not to say stupid things….”The Fame element is part of it. Some people were just more popular than others when they were on tour.” (Mona)”

“Still not sure where that leaves us with Monty. But there you have it. A popularity contest. On the record. It’s cronyism gone public.”

7. Roberta Bowman

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…The LPGA Tour’s Executive Leadership Team welcomes a new member…”The LPGA has named former board member Roberta Bowman as its new Chief Brand and Communications Officer. Bowman will oversee communications, public relations, television, website/digital, social media, branding, marketing and the LPGA’s creative department in the newly created position.”

“Bowman served six years on the LPGA board. Whan called her a “true visionary” for the tour….Bowman spent most of her business career at Duke Energy in Charlotte, N.C., retiring in January 2012 as Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. She spent 25 years with the company, spending the bulk of the time as Chief Communications Officer and President of the Duke Energy Foundation.”

8. No ams allowed!

So says Randall Mell writing about amateur inclusion in the LPGA Tour’s Q-Series.

“There ought to be a sign on the first tee at Pinehurst No. 7 this week: Only pros are welcome! A player ought to be required to declare herself a pro before signing up for Q-Series.”

“Apologies to the 11 amateurs playing at Pinehurst. You’re gifted, talented players who’ve done nothing wrong. You’re guilty of no breach of rules or ethics. You’ve committed no indiscretion. You’re simply following the path to a lifelong dream that any reasonable young person would consider if open to them.”

“It’s the path, not the players, which ought to be condemned…It’s just so unfair to the pros competing against amateurs for their livelihood at Q-Series. Amateurs aren’t playing the same game. They aren’t dealing with the same daunting challenges that define this event.”

Full piece.

9. New Pro V1, Pro V1x debut on Tour this week

Our Gianni Magliocco…”On Monday, players were given a chance to practice with the final version before many put the ball in tournament play this Thursday. Titleist’s Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls have been the most popular golf balls on Tour for some time, and at last year’s John Deere Classic 126 of the 156 players in the field (81 percent) played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x ball.

The Las Vegas stop has become customary with the introduction of the new prototype additions from Titleist, ever since they introduced the original Pro V1 prototype at TPC Summerlin in 2000.

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Report: 2020 Open Championship set to be cancelled; R&A releases statement in response: “continuing to work through options”

Published

2 days ago

Apr 2, 2020

Gianni Magliocco

This year’s Open Championship will be cancelled outright by the R&A due to the Coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from Golf Digest.

Per the report, an unnamed source has divulged to the publication that the championship will next take place in 2021 with St. Andrews hosting the event. Royal St. Georges, due to host the 2020 Open Championship, would instead host the 2024 edition.

According to Golf Digest’s source, insurance has played a pivotal role in the decision making. As with Wimbledon, the Open Championship has an insurance policy that protects itself against a global pandemic if the event is cancelled by a specific date.

On Wednesday, the R&A officially announced that the 41st Curtis Cup would be played in 2021 while the organization also moved the British Amateur and British Women’s Amateur from June to August.

Though unconfirmed, this would mark the first major championship of 2020 to be cancelled outright, with the Masters and PGA Championship having been officially postponed.

*UPDATE*

On Thursday morning, in light of the speculation surrounding this year’s Open Championship, Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, released a statement where he said the R&A are “continuing to work through our options for The Open this year.”

“We are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement. Due to a range of external factors, that process is taking some time to resolve. We are well aware of the importance of being able to give clear guidance to fans, players and everyone involved and are working to resolve this as soon as we can. We will give a further update as soon as we are in a position to do so and thank everyone for their support and understanding in this challenging situation.”

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Report: Woods-Mickelson Part 2 likely to happen in May and will feature two other sporting superstars

Published

2 days ago

Apr 1, 2020

Gianni Magliocco

Earlier this week, Phil Mickelson teased “The Match” Part 2 on his social media, and according to a report from CNBC the exhibition, though unconfirmed, is likely to take place in May and will include both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

On Monday evening, golf journalist Robert Lusetich stated that the potential “The Match” Part 2 would likely involve NFL legends, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in a two on two contest.

Now per CNBC’s report, who claim that “a person familiar with the negotiations” confirmed the story to them, the contest is organized by AT&T’s WarnerMedia and the PGA Tour, and would likely take place in May with the proceeds going towards coronavirus relief charities.

The report also claims the event would likely not be a pay-per-view contest, with plans also in place to feature big names throughout the PGA, NFL, and National Basketball Association.

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Schedule postponements and cancellations on the PGA Tour, European Tour plus the four majors: What we know so far

Published

4 days ago

Mar 31, 2020

Gianni Magliocco

With the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the PGA Tour and European Tour have taken steps to cancel or postpone several events. Action has also been taken on some of golf’s major championships, and here we’ll summarize what decisions have been made so far altering the 2020 calendar.

The Majors

Both The Masters (April 9-12) and PGA Championship (May 14-17) have been officially postponed with hopes of rescheduling both events for later in the year. According to the NY Post, the US Open is also set to be postponed and rescheduled for “later in the summer”, though as of Tuesday, March 31 the USGA has made no formal announcement confirming this news.

The R&A has of yet made no announcement on this year’s Open Championship which is due to take place from 16-19 of July.

April 9-12: The Masters – Postponed
May 14-17: PGA Championship – Postponed
June 18-21: US Open – NY Post reporting postponed; not yet confirmed by USGA
July 16-19: Open Championship – On Schedule

PGA Tour

Since cancelling the Players Championship mid-event, the PGA Tour decided to cancel several subsequent tournaments. As of now, the earliest return date for the PGA Tour is May 21 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship which is played the same week as the WGC-Match Play was postponed with plans to reschedule the event.

March 12-15: The Players Championship – Cancelled
March 19-22: Valspar Championship – Cancelled
April 16-19: RBC Heritage – Cancelled
April 23-26: Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Cancelled
April 30-May 3: Wells Fargo Championship – Cancelled
May 7-10: AT&T Byron Nelson – Cancelled

European Tour

Along with the cancelled WGC-Match Play and confirmed postponed major championships, the European Tour has postponed a further seven events. Unlike the PGA Tour, the European Tour has chosen to postpone almost every upcoming event for the time being instead of cancelling. The GolfSixes Cascais is the only confirmed cancellation as of now.

On Monday, the Dubai Duty-Free Irish Open became the latest tournament to be postponed meaning the earliest possible return date for action on the European Tour is now June 4 at the Trophee Hassan II.

March 12-15: Magical Kenya Open – Postponed
March 19-22: Hero Indian Open – Postponed
April 16-19: Maybank Championship – Postponed
April 23-26: Volvo China Open – Postponed
April 30-May 3: Andalucia Masters – Postponed
May 9-10: GolfSixes Cascais – Cancelled
May 21-24: Made in Denmark – Postponed
May 28-31: Irish Open – Postponed