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Morning 9: Pondering Presidents Cup captain’s picks | Daly has knee surgery | The Shark’s letter

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at [email protected] and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.

November 6, 2019

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans. 
 
**Just a reminder we’re looking for advertisers for 2020. Drop me a line if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership.** 

 

1. Presidents Cup captain’s picks on the way
Golfweek’s Adam Woodard on who captain Woods should select (he picks tomorrow), and Brooks Koepka adding a wrinkle to the process…”There’s a legitimate case to be made for a handful of players, and earlier this week my colleague Steve DiMeglio put himself in Woods’ shoes and made the following four selections: Woods, Gary Woodland, Patrick Reed and Tony Finau. That leaves newlywed Rickie Fowler, who has made two Presidents Cup appearances with a 4-3-1 record, riding the pine pony.”
  • “But, Woods may have to make a fifth pick if Brooks Koepka can’t play. Koepka aggravated a left knee injury last month at the CJ Cup and withdrew after two rounds in Korea, then decided not to play last week’s WGC-HSBC Champions. DiMeglio argued in favor of Fowler taking Koepka’s place if the world No. 1 doesn’t go, but what about a player named Kevin? There are two who deserve consideration.”

Full piece.

2. And on the International side…
Golf Channel’s Will Gray breaks down the contenders…
The Lock…“Jason Day: The former world No. 1 barely missed out on qualifying automatically, and he has played in every Presidents Cup dating back to 2011. Day is a logical selection with the matches taking place in his native Australia, and with four rookies already on the team his veteran leadership will be an asset in the team room. Although he only has one top-10 finish since the Masters, he’s as close to a slam-dunk pick as you can find.”
  • The Contenders…“Sungjae Im: At No. 34 in the world, Im is behind only Day among International players not already qualified for Els’ squad. While he has yet to win on the PGA Tour, his consistent 2019 rookie season led to a Tour Championship berth and Rookie of the Year honors. He hasn’t slowed down since, finishing T-3 in Japan and T-11 in China over the last two weeks. At age 21, he has all the makings of an International stalwart for years to come.”
  • “Byeong-Hun An: Few players had a more successful Asian Swing on the PGA Tour than An, who finished T-14 or better each of the last three weeks. Throw in a third-place showing at Sanderson Farms and he already has four top-15 results in the early part of the new Tour season. While An has yet to win in the U.S., he did take home the European Tour’s flagship event in 2015 and his match-play bona fides include a U.S. Amateur win back in 2009.”

Full piece for the rest.

3. Surgery for Daly 
Golf Digest’s Joel Beall with the report on JD’s knee replacement…”At this year’s A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, Daly confirmed he has bi-compartmental degenerative arthritis in his right knee, a condition that requires a knee replacement. “The doctor says it’s got to be done,” Daly said.”
  • “On Tuesday, Daly underwent surgery on the troubled limb in Little Rock, Ark.”

Full piece.

4. Speaketh Rory
Our Gianni Magliocco…”On Tiger Woods’ recent win at the Zozo Championship, McIlroy expressed his surprise at how Woods was able to win the event after seeing his game up-close at the Japan Skins match the previous Monday and also heaped praise on the 15-time major champion’s victory.”
  • “Not at all (on if he saw Woods’ Zozo victory coming). Look we were all a little tired, we had just gotten there, but I did not, I didn’t see it. I mean, look, he’s Tiger Woods and everything, and he does things that other people just can’t do, but from what I saw on the Monday, I didn’t think that his game looked sharp enough to contend.”
  • “Whatever he did, he got it together for a few days, and that was some performance. I mean to play that good on that golf course, that was a pretty tough golf course. So to have control of his ball like that and to shoot -19, and win pretty easily in the end was awfully impressive.”
5. Chris Kirk

Excellent stuff from Helen Ross chronicling Chris Kirk’s issues with/decision to give up drinking.
  • “That is a day that is definitely stuck in my mind and will be for a long time,” he says.
  • “It was the day Chris Kirk quit drinking.”
  • “He’d previously tried twice to quit. Both times on his own. And he was able to stop drinking — but after six or eight weeks, the anxiety and depression that contributed to the problem became too much to bear. So he reached for another vodka or bourbon or glass of wine, and the cycle started again.”
  • “Kirk would later learn that’s what recovering alcoholics and addicts call “white knuckling.” It wasn’t until he found a support group to help him address the underlying issues that led him back to drinking that he was able to successfully quit.”

Full piece.

6. Well earned
Adam Schupack for Golfweek…”Barbara Nicklaus exemplifies what the words ‘giving back’ truly means,” said PGA president Suzy Whaley.
  • “Barbara and Jack first organized the Columbus Pro-Am to raise funds for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the very same hospital that saved Nan’s life. Then he and Barbara took it to the next level with the creation of the Memorial Tournament, founded in 1976 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, which has benefited the hospital since its inaugural year. The tournament has raised more than $36 million for the hospital and other Central Ohio charities.”
  • “Barbara is the chair and co-founder of the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which was established in 2004 to support numerous pediatric healthcare services in South Florida and across the U.S. As chair of the Foundation, Barbara has been the catalyst to raising more than $100 million in nearly 15 years.”

Full piece.

7. Greg Norman’s note, revealed
Credit to Geoff Shackelford for tracking this down! (Satire!)
  • “Mate! …What a performance at the Masters! Congratulations from a fellow gym rat, living brand and member of the Major Club.”
  • “Look, I know we’ve had our moments and I’m ready to let bygones by bygones. Like, when I declared you’d never win another major, or when I said that I’d hate to see golf get lost again in that Tiger talk, or how ratings are up because you brought in new fans who really took to all of the young guys, or when you were looking intimidated by Rory, or that I defended Stevie Williams, or that I criticized The Match. All of that was fake news (well, except The Match part. That thing stunk!).”
  • “What isn’t fake is that my 285-foot yacht measuring 130 feet longer than yours with a fantastic wine cellar.  Kirsten and I would love to have you and the lady friend over some time, maybe share some war stories about finishing off a win or where you see the equities market over the next five years. Guy-to-guy, man-to-man talk about how to be better than the guy you were yesterday.”

Full piece. 

8. “The most visually stunning course I’ve seen”
Alan Shipnuck with high praise for Cape Wickham…”The course now stands as one of golf’s ultimate pilgrimages, sited on the craggy headlands of King Island, a tiny speck halfway between Melbourne and Tasmania. (Commercial and charter flights are available out of Melbroune). There are only 1,500 people on the island but in 2013 the population spiked when Mike DeVries and his family lived there for six months. In partnership with Aussie Darius Oliver, this innocent abroad conjured a modern masterpiece.”
  • “A one-time acolyte of Tom Doak, DeVries incorporated into Cape Wickham the bold strategic questions that are the hallmark of his former boss while making the course more user-friendly than the typical Doak. At a place like Cape Wickham the ocean holes will always be the star – especially with an iconic 150-foot lighthouse always looming – but the inland holes are just as bold, making use of towering sand dunes, rugged ridges and limestone outcroppings. The sandy loam is the ideal base for growing grass; Augusta National wishes its fairways are as pristine as Cape Wickham’s and the greens are equally pure.”

Full piece.

9. USGA and R&A launch new World Handicap System for 2020

Our Gianni Magliocco…”The new World Handicap System (WHS) will launch in January 2020, which seeks to provide golfers with a unified and more inclusive handicapping system for the very first time.”
  • “The system has been developed by the USGA and The R&A in close coordination with existing handicapping authorities. It aims to offer all golfers with a consistent measure of playing ability, with handicaps calculated in the same way across the globe.”
  • “Through the new system, golfers will be able to transport their handicap index globally and compete or play a casual round with players from other regions on a fair basis. The new WHS will also indicate the score a golfer is reasonably capable of achieving the next time they go out to play.”

 

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1 Comment

  1. underachiever

    Nov 6, 2019 at 3:46 pm

    There go Daly’s chances of being picked for the Presidents Cup

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Tour Rundown: Malnati’s 2nd, Korda rebounds

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March has brought out the lion as the month draws to a close. An early spring fortnight brought dreams of golf for the northern states until Mother Nature shrieked a veil of snow across those emerald fairways. Fortunately for golf, the sun shined bright and warm across a fair part of the links landscape, and events in Singapore, the Yucatan, California, and Florida, went off as planned. We hold our breath when champion golfers rise to the occasion in grand slam events. For the Malnatis, Feaglers, and Svenssons of the golfverse, every week is a major opportunity. In honor of their efforts, let’s begin this week’s Tour Rundown with a flying beast seen rarely outside the southern oceans: the albatross

PGA Tour @ Valspar: Malnati earns second tour title

Keith Mitchell played 54 great holes from Thursday to Saturday in Florida and played two more great ones on Sunday. It was the eight rotten holes on day four that cost him nine shots and dropped him from first to 17th in one round. Mitchell looked like a man poised to collect his first tour title, until his Sunday malaise. His struggles cleared the way for a number of challengers to move up the board. The tournament was won at 12-under par, but eight players finished within four shots of that lead.

Four shots are not a lot to make up on the Copperhead golf course at Innisbrook. Adam Hadwin, Carly Yuan, Xander Schauffele, and Ryan Moore finished on 276 strokes, four back fo the leader and tied for fifth. Mackenzie Hughes and Chandler Phillips finished one shot lower, at 275 strokes, in a tie for third spot. The runner-up spot was claimed by Cameron Young, perhaps the most talented player on tour without a win. Young was spectacular all week, never leaving the 60s.

Late in the round, Peter Malnati posted his fifth birdie of the day, at the difficult 17th. His tee ball from 200 yards settled six feet from the hole, and he guided the putt home. Ahead of him, on the uphill 18th, Young flew his drive far left but was able to loft an approach onto the green. His first putt, from 50-ish feet, came up woefully short and his attempt to save par was wide of its mark. Despite a drive into the left fairway bunker at the last, Malnati was able to recover to the green in two and coax a 25-feet approach put to tap in range. The victory was Malnati’s first since 2015, and his second overall.

LPGA @ Se Ri Pak Championship: Korda rebounds for overtime win

During the first week of March Madness, maddening things happened on and off the hardwood. For Nelly Korda, the eagle she collected with five holes to play, should have given her momentum and confidence. Instead, it took her in the opposite direction. She found bogies at 15, 17, and 18, and it was only a saving birdie at the 16th that allowed her entry into a playoff with Ryann O’Toole. The pair returned to the 18th tee, and Korda once again managed to reverse fortune.

After the eagle, Korda strode at 11-under par, while her closest pursuers were a solid handful behind. At that juncture, O’Toole snared birdies at 15 and 16, and closed with pars at 17 and 18. She waited 45 minutes for Korda to finish, certainly uncertain as to her chances for more golf. In the playoff, both golfers hit stellar approach shots to the home green, with Korda about four feet inside O’Toole. The UCLA alumna missed her run at birdie, but Korda’s aim was true. The victory was her 10th on tour and her second of the 2024 campaign.

DP World Tour @ Singapore Classic: That’s Svensson with three S’s

Svenson and its variations must be somewhat similar to the name Smith across the English-speaking world.  Your father was a guy named Sven, so they didn’t think too long before giving you a last name. Jesper Svensson must be relieved: coming from a long line of Svens (hence the double S in the middle) his parents strayed from the norm and went all in on Jesper. This week in Singapore (which might be renamed Ssingapore for a bit) Jesper, son of Svenss, took down a guy that the golf world was all in on, just a decade ago.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat has a fun name to pronunce, at least for filologists. Back in the 2010s, he was a rising star, bound for glory. He collected four wins on the DP World Tour, from 2015 to 2018. Then, inexplicably, he went away. The Thai golfer made his return to our collective view in 2024 and came within a whisper of collectin win number five on Europe’s tour. Aphibarnrat opened and closed the event with rounds of 64, and normally, those fireworks would have sufficed to ice the trophy. Then came a guy named Jesper, son of Svenss.

Despite three bogies on his Sunday card, Svensson amassed eight birdies and two eagles and posted 63. This indiscrete round was enough to earn him a spot in a playoff with Aphibarnrat. The duo returned thrice to the 18th tee, and things appeared to worsen with each voyage. After having the hole with birdies in trip one, the pair managed pars in trip two, then a par and bogey in trip three. Just like that, the tournament had reached a conclusion, and Jesper Svensson the golfer will now threaten Jesper Svensson the bowler’s hold on Wiki searches. Enjoy one of his approach shots for eagle during round four.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Bupa: Feagler stands tall after playoff

The KFT event along the Mexican Riviera began day four in the hands of an Argentine golfer. Nelson Ledesma appeared worthy of the title, until he endured a thousand small cuts, on his way to a closing 81. He dropped from 1st to 31st and didn’t just open the door for his chasers. He took out two or three walls and exposed the entire barn for all to enter.

The PGA Riviera Maya course played a stout, 7200 yards this week, and its defenses were apparent for all who came to compete. The week’s low round of 65 came on Thursday, and was redeemed by Jesus Montenegro, He soared ten shots higher on day two but would steady himself enough to finish in a seventh-place tie. With 66 on Thursday, Davis Shore found himself in contention, and he would remain until closing time. As the challenges increased, scores headed north and rounds of 76 and 74 would ultimately be found on the scorecards of the men who tied at the top.

Shore posted a 76 on day three, while Clay Feagler signed for a 74. On Sunday, as Ledesma was tumbling, both Shore and Feagler marched toward a 4-under-par total. They edged past Julian Etulain and tied for the pole position. Off to extra time they went, but three trips over the 436-yard 18th resolved nothing. Each golfer posted par-bogey-par, and the playoff moved to the 10th tee for its conclusion. There, Feagler made another bogey, but Shore went one worse. Unable to avoid double bogey, Davis Shore was relegated to runner-up status, and Clay Feagler collected a shield for his first Korn Ferry Tour title.

PGA Tour Champions @ Hoag Classic: Six seniors for Padraig

If any man could ever match Bernhard Langer’s 46 wins on Tour Champions, he would certainly have many of the characteristics of Padraig Harrington. The reason he won’t is his heavy investment in a wider reach of golf. Harrington captained the European Ryder Cup side in 2021, a venture that consumes close to two years of a golfer’s attention. After turning 50, Harrington continued to play the PGA Tour, mixing in Tour Champions appearances when time allowed. The Irish golfer has also become a YouTube favorite, offering advice and wisdom to those who wish to improve at the game. In other words, he lacks Langer’s laser focus on one task: winning titles.

That’s quite all right because when Padraig Harrington is on his game, wins come his way. They are rarely runaway victories, and this enhances his reputation for performing at the wire. This week in California, Harrington managed to close out Thongchai Jaidee in a most un-Harrington-esque manner. The lad from Dublin closed birdie-double-birdie-birdie, and this was enough to hold off the champion from Thailand by one.

The double at 16 was Harrington’s second of the day. A pair of doubles is welcome in no poker hand, yet Harrington found a way to overcome. The win was his sixth on Tour Champions. With a pair of playoff losses on the senior circuit, Harrington was fortunate to conclude matters in regulation time.

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Morning 9: Streelman leads Valspar | Woods in for Masters | Callaway on sale rumors

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.
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Morning 9: Scheffler’s 65% top-10 finish rate | Monahan: Constructive Monday PIF meeting | Hal Sutton alive and well

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.

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.”
Full piece.
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