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Jason Day’s withdrawal at the API ignites debate on the implementation of weekly injury reports to protect daily fantasy sports users
Jason Day’s withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational during his seventh hole of the day sparked a lively debate on Thursday, with many daily fantasy sports (DFS) and gamblers feeling cheated.
A plethora of angry DFS players aired their thoughts on social media after the withdrawal, with some requesting that the PGA Tour implements weekly injury reports, as the relationship between golf and gambling begins to heat up.
Live look at Jason Day investors: pic.twitter.com/sCQMnBprhF
— Glass (@MikeGlasscott) March 7, 2019
The Australian called it quits during the seventh hole of his round, explaining to playing partners Ian Poulter and Rickie Fowler that he couldn’t continue due to the pain in his back. Day revealed after the round the significance of his injury, which involves an annular tear in his L4-L5 discs.
“I (aggravated) it last Sunday, and then got an MRI Monday which came back that I had an annular tear in my disc and then I’ve got ‘set problems’ as well.
“My back was sore when I was practising from Tuesday to Saturday (last week) and I was going to practise on Sunday, but I woke up and couldn’t really walk or sit in the car. I was on a dose pack to try get the inflammation out of it that didn’t get any better.”
The explanation had some questioning whether Day was right to tee it up in the first place, not just to protect those in the fantasy sports world but also for preventing first alternate Chase Wright an opportunity to tee it up, but Day had hoped that the injury would “loosen up” as his round went on.
Last week, Tour Chief Jay Monahan said to players at the Honda Classic
“We are aggressively and also carefully pursuing commercial deals in the U.S. gambling and daily fantasy spaces and expect to make announcements in the coming months. We see strong opportunities for commercial deals.”
But despite those opportunities and growing relationships with these DFS companies, in light of Day’s costly withdrawal for many of those gamblers, golf fans should not expect to see weekly injury reports like they do in the NFL and MLB in the near future, due to the players of the Tour being independent contractors.
Speaking to The Action Network, a PGA Tour spokesman stated
“For the foreseeable future, medical information is considered confidential. Players are not required to disclose an injury.”
The heated debate over Day’s withdrawal also involved Tour players, who were happy to share their view on the subject, with some holding strong opinions on the matter.
Kevin Kisner, co-chairman of the Tour’s Player Advisory Council, has little sympathy with those who lost money on Day’s withdrawal, stating to Golf Channel’s Will Gray.
“It’s nobody’s business. I mean, are we out here to gamble, or are we out here to play golf? I don’t really give a s*** about the DFS guys. You should have picked someone else. If he had shot 65 and he had a hurt back, those guys wouldn’t have said anything.”
Jimmy Walker had more sympathy and concern over those that could contain more inside information than others.
“I’m not saying that anyone did anything malicious, but yeah, it’s a bigger deal. There might have been a head-to-head (matchup) with Jason today, and if a few people know that he’s probably not feeling good, people need to know that. It’s a big deal. There’s a lot of money out there.”
As the PGA Tour’s relationship with gambling continues to evolve, it’s unlikely that the fiery debate will subside anytime soon. Whatever side of the fence you’re on though, the timeless words which Brandt Snedeker issued on Thursday afternoon are perhaps the most relevant, and a stark reminder to those DFS users: “That’s why they call it gambling”.
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SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips
SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”
“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”
Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.
According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”
CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.
“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.
Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history
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Tour Rundown: Pendrith, Otaegui, Longbella, and Dunlap soar
Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.
It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.
PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place
The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.
This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.
With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.
360° and in!
A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024
DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four
It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.
It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.
.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024
PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella
Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.
64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.
.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024
PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win
Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.
The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.
Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063
8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024
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Rich
Mar 9, 2019 at 1:55 pm
I could care less what DFS players think of some jock’s injury-like Jason Day. No sports player knows when he/she is going to get injured.
Jason Day, don’t pay a whit of attention to their whining.
FkKisner
Mar 8, 2019 at 9:59 pm
I don’t bet or gamble – but Kisner is an absolute b1tch.
SImms
Mar 8, 2019 at 4:41 pm
Maybe I should play on Tour, I would be a shoe in to miss the cut each week and gamblers would love me as a sure thing…
dat
Mar 8, 2019 at 4:14 pm
Imagine betting on sports. Lol.
I Man
Mar 8, 2019 at 2:21 pm
Nobody on tour could care less about people gambling on their sport, nor should they. If you aren’t prepared to lose, don’t make the bet. Worst thing the PGA Tour could have done .
Prut
Mar 8, 2019 at 2:00 pm
…and now that WRX writes about it, we’re supposed to think it’s an actual issue. Just because people say shit doesn’t make it important.
Phil D. Snuts
Mar 8, 2019 at 12:20 pm
Fantasy sports lmao. Get a grip people
HacknGolf
Mar 8, 2019 at 12:12 pm
As a DFS player there are certain rules:
1) Don’t pick Jason Day
2) Don’t pick Kevin Na
3) Don’t pick Danny Lee
4) Don’t pick John Daly
If you stick to those rules, you avoid 99% of WD’s
Loto
Mar 8, 2019 at 6:58 pm
You forgot Tiger
ryan
Mar 8, 2019 at 12:07 pm
anyone who cant own the fact that the guy they picked WD’d is truly a cuck and sucks at gambling. In Sports gambling every outcome is out of your control. Take your losses like a man and realize these guys play for a living, and your some idiot who lost a 50$ entry fee and will be over it in about 4 hours time
Tom
Mar 8, 2019 at 12:01 pm
Gianni is a beast!
LD
Mar 8, 2019 at 11:20 am
It’s gambling, what do the people betting expect? A sure thing? Like assuming when you go to Vegas you’ll win, yea right.
Barney
Mar 8, 2019 at 10:40 am
Kisner would be wise to keep his mouth shut and let folks presume he’s a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt.
JugHead
Mar 8, 2019 at 10:28 am
People crying about losing money gambling… Sounds about right in this day and age. Gotta side with Snedeker and Kisner on this one.
Thomas A
Mar 8, 2019 at 10:23 am
Feeling bad about GAMBLERS losing money? It’s called gambling for a reason. You lost, tough s**t.
Mower
Mar 8, 2019 at 12:01 pm
Exactly! If they’ve got money to throw away on sh*t like this – zero sympathy.
2putttom
Mar 8, 2019 at 1:25 pm
spot on
Chuck
Mar 8, 2019 at 6:03 pm
spot on