News
GolfWRX Morning 9: Tiger turns down Saudi Arabia | Call him Brandel Langher? | What gives, PGA?
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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])
November 8, 2018 Good Thursday morning, golf fans. In the spirit of an election week, I’m pandering to the “bullet point free” readers today.
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1. Brandel the next Bernhard?
It sounds like the Golf Channel’s most divisive analyst is keen to get out of the studio to put a peg in the ground on the Centrum Silver circuit.
The Forecaddie reports.
“When Brandel Chamblee entered a qualifier for the Senior British Open last summer it was his first competitive round of golf in a decade. The Golf Channel analyst won that qualifier to earn a spot in the field at the Old Course in St. Andrews, where he missed the halfway cut in his debut on the senior circuit.”
“The experience lit Chamblee’s competitive fire enough that he intends to play a lot more senior golf next year…The pint-sized provocateur told The Forecaddie that his goal is to enter at least six events on the PGA Tour Champions in 2019.”
“Why now? I realized that time is fading, you know?” said Chamblee, who turned 56 in July. “It used to be once you got past 55 the skills eroded. But with the success of numerous players post-55 – not just Bernhard Langer – I kind of thought I have another three or four years where I might be able to compete a little bit. I miss competing.”
2. $3.2 million to play in Saudi Arabia? No thanks
The Telegraph’s James Corrigan with the exclusive…”Tiger Woods has turned down his biggest ever potential overseas pay cheque to play in the European Tour’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia next year, amid the international outcry over the recent murder of a journalist.”
“In the past, Woods has travelled to such countries as China and the United Arab Emirates. Yet it is understood he deemed Saudi Arabia to be an excursion too far – even for at least £2.5m – an amount that apparently dwarfs anything he has received before for an official overseas tournament.”
3. Spieth returns to old driver, 3-wood
PGATour.com’s Cameron Morfit…”Making his first visit to the Riviera Maya for the Mayakoba Golf Classic this week, Spieth, the 2015 FedExCup champion, has gone back to the driver, 3-wood he’d played for the last five years. And it’s gone so well, he said, Vegas is a distant memory.”
“It’s way more positive than that,” Spieth said after his pro-am round on the El Camaleon Golf Course at Mayakoba on Wednesday. “Last week I just, I was looking at something different, and the performance just wasn’t coming out the same. It’s been totally different the last couple days for me here. I’ve been striking the ball extremely well, hitting a lot of the fairways, and the short game has been just-trying to improve a little bit more.”
Spieth had switched to a Titleist TS2 from a 915D2.
4. What is the PGA trying to hide?
Oh boy. Alex Miceli begs an interesting question in his Morning Read missive…
“The PGA of America is holding its annual meeting this week in Palm Springs, Calif. The gathering is being conducted in a bubble, with the media excluded from all aspects, including the likely election of the association’s first female president, Suzy Whaley.”
“The PGA of America issued the following statement about the absence of media coverage:
“The PGA Annual Meeting is primarily about governance and the discussion of Association matters. While there may have been a handful of exceptions over the years based on a specific element of the program (Hall of Fame announcements and celebrity guest speakers, for example), we don’t consider the Annual Meeting to be a media event. In fact, there have been several Annual Meetings with no media in attendance at all. We do invite some media to attend our National Awards Dinner and to interview our leadership immediately following the conclusion of the meeting. We believe this is the best way to manage any media interest without disrupting the governance process of our Association.”
“On its face, the statement seems disingenuous...First, how is it that the anticipated election of the PGA’s first female president doesn’t eclipse a Hall of Fame announcement or a celebrity guest speaker?”
“Second, as one former president told me, the PGA of America would have killed for press coverage in the past at annual meetings. So, why is this year in Palm Springs different?…The U.S. Golf Association allows media into its annual meeting….What is the PGA of America trying to hide?”
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5. Melreese in trouble
Brian Wacker with the grim news…”The future of Miami’s lone city-owned golf course became more muddied on Tuesday when local voters approved a referendum that will allow city officials to forego the usual bidding process for public land.”
“By a 60-40 margin, residents have provided a way for famed soccer star David Beckham and his wealthy real estate partners, Jorge and Jose Mas, to negotiate a deal with the city to use the land now occupied by International Links Melreese Golf Club and build a 25,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium, along with a hotel, offices and retail space.”
“The decision, understandably, hit the golf community in the area hard. The course has been around for more than a half century, has hosted the PGA Tour Latinoamericano Championship the past two years and is home to the Miami-Dade chapter of the First Tee, a program with 5,000 kids. It also helped produce tour players Cristie Kerr and Erik Compton.”
6. Rose to Honma is…happening?
Our Oct. 26 Forum Thread of the Day centered around Justin Rose’s potential defection from TaylorMade and move to Japanese luxury club brand Honma. Golf Digest’s Mike Stachura, the Morning Read, the Irish Times, and the Sun Times, have all added fuel to that fire.”
“And on the subject of fire, asked about the potential change following his Turkish Airlines Open win, Rose said..”Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.'”
Speculation had been rampant in the GolfWRX forums for weeks, with several members with connections to the company indicating they’d heard Rose would soon be a Honma man. For example, mallrat said: “A teaching pro at our club is on staff with Honma and told me the same thing on Weds.
Beyond the Englishman’s seeming admission that the rumor is true, his agent, Mark Steinberg is mum. Likewise, neither TaylorMade nor Honma has commented.
Suspicion as to why Rose, a long-time TaylorMade staffer and the No. 1 golfer in the world, would defect to a Japanese luxury brand with little presence on the PGA Tour centers around Mark King. The former TaylorMade president and CEO joined Honma as a consultant in August.
7. CNCPT
Our Andrew Tursky…”In recent weeks and months, we’ve seen photos and information surface regarding new “Titleist CNCPT-02” irons. That begged the question, “What about CNCPT-01 irons?” Well, it appears we may now have that answer.”
“A photo, allegedly of the “Titleist CNCPT-01” iron in question, was posted on Instagram today by user Chris92009, with Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside, California as the tagged location.”
“Judging by the photos, it appears the CNCPT-01 irons will be the more forgiving option of the two CNCPT irons. As such, you’d expect the 01 irons to have slightly thicker soles and toplines, offering more forgiveness across the face, a higher launch, and higher ball speeds than the 02 irons. But, of course, that remains to be seen.”
“As some GolfWRX Members have speculated, it’s also likely these irons will come with a hefty price tag; one member, John Golia, said his inside information tells him $4,000 for an 8-piece set. That is simply speculation and rumor, however, until we have confirmation about the irons and their availability from Titleist itself.”
8. Desert Inn prevails
Geoff Shackelford notes…”The Strip’s historic Desert Inn course, rebuilt by Steve Wynn and then closed, is going to get new life after Wynn Resorts decided to abandon an ambitious expansion project. Oh, and they found out golfers were taking their money elsewhere.”
Quoting Richard Velotta’s Las Vegas Review Journal report…Company executives discovered that removing the golf course resulted in some loyal customers going elsewhere. Maddox estimated the company lost $10 million to $15 million of domestic casino business from people coming in for golf trips who decided to go elsewhere.
9. After airline loses his golf bag, Wesley Bryan…takes a spa day
Golf Channel’s Jason Crook…”An increasingly big part of being a professional golfer is having your golf clubs lost or broken by a commercial airline and then having a meltdown about it on social media.”
“Which is what makes this story so refreshing. Leave it to Wesley Bryan to show the world there’s another way…Bryan made it to Mexico early this week for the Mayakoba Classic. His clubs, however, didn’t get the memo.”
“But instead of tagging the airline and complaining to his thousands of Twitter followers, the 28-year-old took the bad break in stride – sending a heartfelt thank you to the airline from his day at the spa.”
Bryan posted this photo featuring the official garment of all spa days: the white bathrobe.
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Morning 9: 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour | Rory on possible return to policy board
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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News
Morning 9: Tiger’s TGL teammates | Woosnam’s criticism of Cantlay | Rory’s return to tour policy board
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Tommy
Nov 9, 2018 at 12:12 pm
It’s L-A-N-G-E-R, not “Langher”
geohogan
Nov 8, 2018 at 10:16 pm
Not a Tiger fan, but kudos to him for having the balls to turn down the Saudi’s.
Tom
Nov 8, 2018 at 11:24 am
Suzy Whaley brags about being a woman to qualify for a mens’ PGA Tour event….what she fails to mention is she was allowed to play from the Ladies Tees!So much for “EQUAL” competition in our politically correct world. What a joke!!!
That is like a woman running the 100 yard dash against men, but she gets a 15 yard head start….LOL!
Jose Pinatas
Nov 8, 2018 at 10:01 am
I bet Trump is the guest speaker at PGA meeting. Might be the reason for no media and extreme secrecy….
Golf Golf Golf
Nov 8, 2018 at 7:32 am
I love nothing more than the know-it-all Brandel Curmudgeon going out and attempting to qualify and play, only to “MC”. Kinda warms the heart.