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‘Minjee Lee shouldn’t be caddying for anyone’ – Par 3 contest reignites Women’s Masters debate

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The Par 3 contest at Augusta National is typically the calm before the storm, as partners, kids, and even celebrities join forces with the pros for an afternoon of entertainment.

This year’s contest was cut short by an actual storm, but there was still plenty going on at the event to get people talking, and none more so than the appearance of Minjee Lee, sister to Min Woo, who is making his debut at the tournament this week.

The World Number four in the world, Minjee and current holder of the Evian Championship last year, played a supporting role to her brother on Wednesday before getting her chance on one of the holes and sticking her approach close.

Following the contest, Minjee took to social media to share her delight at caddying for her brother at the event before some golf fans declared it was high time that the top women players had their chance to compete at Augusta National.

Twitter user @HgMac6 wrote: 

“Sorry that I don’t find this cute. Minjee Lee is #4 in the world.. much better than her brother. Minjee shouldn’t be caddying for anyone… the world’s best women PRO golfers should get to play at Augusta…. It should be like tennis .. men and women should play the same Majors.”

Prominent golf writer/tipster for Sporting Life Ben Coley also weighed in with a similar view, saying:

“This is lovely but also it makes for a pretty stark contrast: up-and-coming brother preparing to play Augusta; world-class sister has to make do with being a caddie in the par-3. Absolutely mad that there is still not a Women’s Masters for Minjee Lee to play in too.”

While when I wrote in 2018 ‘Why the LPGA deserves a major championship at Augusta National‘ for GolfWRX, my view was (and remains the same) that:

“The LPGA players deserve the same equal opportunity as the male players. There may never be the same general interest in the women’s game compared to the men. However, inclusivity is an area that has too often been lacking in the game of golf, and there is now more than enough quality and interest in the women’s game to justify Augusta National staging a women’s major championship.”

Augusta National deserves plenty of credit for the work it was done with the ANWA and the impact that has had.

Chairman Billy Payne said the event would have the “greatest impact on women’s golf.” The winner of the inaugural ANWA was Jennifer Kupcho, who last week won the first women’s major of the year, the Chevron Championship.

So what do you think? Is it time the LPGA pros got their chance to tackle Augusta National, or should things stay as they are?

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19th Hole

TaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract

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This week, TaylorMade Golf announced that they’ve signed AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell, to an NIL contract.

In a statement, TaylorMade called Russell “nothing short of remarkable”.

“Miles’ record setting success at his young age is nothing short of remarkable and we are excited he chose us to support him in his growth as a golfer to continue to accomplish his career goals. Identifying and developing the top junior talent in the world has always been a priority for us at TaylorMade. Miles and his family epitomize the type of athlete and human being we are looking to add to Team TaylorMade.”

Russell has broken plenty of records in recent months. This season, he was named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, making him the youngest male player to receive the award. The record was previously held by Tiger Woods who was about 10 months older than Russell at the time he received the award.

At age 14, J he became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass at age 14.

The 15-year-old also played in his first Korn Ferry Tour event on Thursday, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and shot a first-round 68.

In the aftermath of the agreement, Russell released a statement.

“I have had a great relationship with the team at TaylorMade for years now and couldn’t be more excited to continue to work with them in the future. TaylorMade has a history of developing the top junior talent in the world to help reach their goals of becoming PGA TOUR and major championship winners. I am looking forward to working with the team to reach those and other goals I have laid out for my career.”

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Group of PGA Tour caddies sign endorsement deal with underwear company

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In an interesting turn of events, a group of PGA Tour caddies have signed an endorsement deal with an underwear company.

Geno Bonnalie (Joel Dahmen), Aaron Flener (J.T. Poston), John Limanti (Akshay Bhatia) and Joel Stock (Will Zalatoris) and John Ellis (Wyndham Clark) have signed a deal with the underwear brand, SAXX.

Here are some details about the endorsement deal:

  • The deal eclipses six figures in total value, extending what last year marked the first significant apparel agreement with a group of pro caddies. Of note, Geno and John Ellis appeared in the Netflix docuseries, Full Swing.
  • The caddies will wear SAXX underwear, shorts and polos on and off the course.
  • SAXX will donate $100 to the Testicular Cancer Foundation for every birdie made by the caddies’ players for the rest of the season.
  • SAXX will bring the Ball Masters to the masses at the Travelers Championship, hosting a fan activation with underwear giveaways, photo opportunities, appearances from the Ball Masters and more.
  • Fans can become an honorary Ball Master, which includes a year’s worth of underwear, among other things. Go to SAXX.com/ball-master-application from now until June 15 to enter.

The partnership is great for the caddies and also represents a great cause.

Check out the video they shared on YouTube:

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Man charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of memorabilia from Augusta National

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Augusta National

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man has been charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Per the court records there is no mention that Globensky worked for the golf club.

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