5. El Tucan caddieth again
“When Jason Dufner withdrew from this week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic to open the door for first alternate Rob Oppenheim to get into the field, Oppenheim hopped a last-minute flight from his home in Orlando to Cancun, arriving on Wednesday night.”
- “The only snag? Getting his regular caddie, Dean Emerson, from his home in Boston to Mexico in time for Thursday’s opening round.”
- “So Oppenheim turned to a familiar name: David (El Tucan) Ortiz…”I needed a caddie,” Oppenheim told Golf Digest. “He lives here, was available and aside from everything that has gone on I was looking for the best opportunity to play well. He knows the course and has had success here.”
Full piece.
6. Captain Matthew
Alistair Tait at Golfweek…”Catriona Matthew will attempt to pull off something two years from now that no European Solheim Cup captain has ever done: She’ll try to become the first captain to successfully defend the cup on U.S. soil.”
- “Indeed, the 50-year-old Scot will try to become Europe’s first multiple Solheim Cup-winning captain.”
- “Matthew will once again lead the European team when she takes the trophy to Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio in 2021. She led Europe to a dramatic 14 ½ – 13 ½ victory at Gleneagles this year.”
Full piece.
7. Golfing in a smog mask
Golf Channel’s Will Gray...”Opening-round play at the Asian Tour’s Panasonic Open in India was delayed for five hours because of “toxic smog,” leading some players to wear anti-pollution masks once play began.”
- “Areas in and around the Indian capital of New Delhi have been affected in recent days by the smog, which builds each winter as a byproduct of traffic fumes, industrial emissions and smoke from agricultural fires. Some schools have been closed as a result, and officials are rationing the amount of cars that can be on the road at a given time based on vehicle registration numbers.”
- “According to an AFP report, tournament organizers opted to delay play at Classic Golf and Country Club because of “poor visibility and weather conditions,” and initially considered shortening the event.”
Full piece.
8. Why the Carolina Panthers bought a golf course
Via the National Golf Foundation…“The Carolina Panthers have an agreement to buy a public golf course near the new headquarters they’re planning in Rock Hill, South Carolina, viewing it as an opportunity to create stronger ties with the local community.”
- “Waterford Golf Club is about two miles from the Panthers’ potential future home, in a region where the population has more than doubled since 2000. The Rock Hill/Fort Mill area is about 20 to 25 miles from Charlotte and continues to grow, with more and more new housing and ongoing development that includes shopping centers, restaurants, bars and breweries.”
- “Panthers Chief Operating Officer Mark Hart says the NFL team envisions making Waterford, an 18-hole Hale Irwin design that opened in 1997, an even greater community amenity.”
- “Anything we do we’re going to try to improve it over its current state,” Hart said. “It’s already a great asset, a great course, a great layout. Perhaps if we can do something in conjunction with the development on the (new) site and make it something that’s got a Panthers brand or something that’s even better for the community, that’s something that we look forward to trying.”
Full piece.
9. Payne’s Valley preview opens
Erik Matuszewski, writing for Forbes, got a look at the new track…”No golf property in the U.S. is growing as quickly as Big Cedar Lodge in southwest Missouri, having opened a 13-hole course designed by Gary Player (Mountain Top) along with an 18-hole championship course from Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw (Ozarks National) in the past few years.”
“Now, golfers have a chance to experience the first public layout from Tiger Woods’ design firm….Big Cedar has opened the first 13 holes at Payne’s Valley for limited preview play, with a full opening set for summer of 2020. The newest addition – a tribute to late Missouri native Payne Stewart – will give the resort 77 holes of great golf spread over five courses. I recently had the opportunity to tour Payne’s Valley, which sits on a terrific piece of land close to Mountain Top, Ozarks National and Tom Fazio’s Buffalo Ridge Springs that’s about 15 minutes down the road from Big Cedar Lodge’s main property.”
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