News
Full field for LIV Golf opener unveiled (with a few surprises)
The field is set for the first tournament of the controversial LIV Golf Series.
The three-round, 54-hole, no-cut inaugural LIV event is set to take place from June 9-11 at the Centurion Club outside of London, England.
Some notable players in the field include Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Kevin Na, Martin Kaymer, Richard Bland, Louis Oosthuizen, Sam Horsfield, Matt Jones, Brandon Jones, and Talor Gooch.
Here is the full field for the event:
The total purse for the first event is $25 million. $20 million will be awarded in the individual portion of the tournament with $4 million going to the winner.
The PGA TOUR is expected to provide details about what the punishment will be for those competing in the LIV Golf Series shortly. Commissioner Jay Monahan previously said players teeing it up in a LIV Golf event will face suspension and a potential lifetime ban.
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News
Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls
This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)
This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.
LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms
There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.
This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.
Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.
Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte
Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.
Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.
HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!
He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week
It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.
The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.
Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.
Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie
Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.
In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.
Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.
At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.
Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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Disgusted Guy
Jun 9, 2022 at 7:17 am
Who knew Rory was such a sage? He said decisions solely based on money rarely end well. Well done that man!
I hope the PGA tour breaks it off in their butts. Money grabbing over pampered bums.
This won’t end well for the B players that jumped. Can’t compete on the “real” tour and as long as Bernhard is on the senior tour they can’t win there. If we never hear from Johnson, Garcia, Westwood or McDowell again we will be OK. Was always a massive Phil fan but a dumb move on his part.
Name a major sport ($$$$) that isn’t a monopoly? WNBA excluded.
Don’t like the rules move on and find another way to make a living. This one has a stink that won’t go away.
The $40 mil Phil pissed away gambling would have changed the life of generations of your family if used properly. It all came from being a member of the PGA tour. He’s doing OK.
If you look at the players that jumped there is a common thread- waning skills due to age, never had top skills, want the big payday at the end, etc.
They really don’t care about the game or giving back.
Remember what Sergio said- I can’t wait to get out of here.
Screw ‘em.
Pingback: The ‘mind-blowingly enormous’ offer Tiger Woods reportedly turned down from LIV Golf – GolfWRX
dave d
Jun 2, 2022 at 2:21 pm
This whole thing is clearly all about Greg Norman wanting to get paid untold millions per year simply to be Greg Norman…visible, charismatic, feisty.
He found some suckers (the Saudis) to fulfill his dream. What do you figure he’s making per year on this as leader? $10M? $50M $100M? Sadly, the players choosing to participate will be collateral damage as Norman takes a huge check from the Saudis for a year or two — as long as this fantasy can be sustained, which won’t be long with this kind of a field — and Norman will walk away with a bunch of money, no harm done.
Pingback: ‘Love that for us’ – Multiple LPGA Tour champ takes aim at LIV Golf ahead of US Women’s Open – GolfWRX
Brian
Jun 1, 2022 at 11:09 am
Ironic that Poulter would job a social media boycott to protest racial discrimination by users on the platforms but he’ll happily take money from a royal family that openly discriminates against 50% of its own citizens.
Jafar
Jun 1, 2022 at 10:25 am
The number of high ranking amateur players should be the biggest concern for the PGA. Why grind it out on the KF Tour when you can bank 20 million out the gate.
Don
Jun 1, 2022 at 10:23 am
Some will sell their integrity for the almighty dollar, if they even had any.
derek gzaskow
Jun 1, 2022 at 9:06 am
um, where’s Phil I thought he was going? $75 per day not bad for Pumpkin ridge, Tulsa was 250 per day, let the ;lawsuits commence!
Pingback: Amateur golfer has reportedly received an unbelievable sum to play in LIV Golf series – GolfWRX
Chad
Jun 1, 2022 at 8:51 am
I hope this tour runs the PGA into the ground.
Hopp
Jun 1, 2022 at 8:21 am
Here is the list of people chasing money to replace their integrity.
Gary
Jun 1, 2022 at 8:25 am
Yeah, like the LPGA, The NBA, NASCAR and all the other sport entities who play in Saudi sponsored events and territories.
Geno452
Jun 1, 2022 at 4:46 pm
NBA?… NASCAR?…. LPGA (actually it is the Ladies European Tour not the LPGA) Don’t know where you came up with NASCAR and NBA but… hey… I don’t know everything either.
Gary
Jun 1, 2022 at 8:29 am
Yeah, like the LPGA, The NBA, Nascar, The European Tour and all the rest of sports entities who play in events taking place and/or sponsored by/or with Saudi groups. So much hypocrisy and dishonesty.
Pingback: RBC ‘extremely disappointed’ with ambassador Dustin Johnson’s decision to play LIV Golf opener – GolfWRX
Bob
Jun 1, 2022 at 12:15 am
Well, bye. C-list losers and has-beens.
LOL.
reqq
Jun 1, 2022 at 5:41 am
you’re not wrong lol.. whos gonna watch that..like zero hype
Gary
Jun 1, 2022 at 8:23 am
Congrats to Johnson, Garcia, Na and all the rest for having the courage to stand up to the PGA and its dictatorial regime. Pro Golfers are independent agents and are allowed to practice their craft wherever and whenever they wish. The PGA needs to be sued.
Jed
Jun 1, 2022 at 9:58 am
Comedian
John Krug
Jun 1, 2022 at 10:09 am
Laughable comment.
Gary
Jun 1, 2022 at 3:11 pm
I guess we will see how funny it all is if and/or when it ends up in court. Time will tell.
Brian
Jun 1, 2022 at 11:10 am
You’re right. They should jump ship from one “dictatorial” regime and take their paychecks from an ACTUAL dictatorial regime.
Geno452
Jun 1, 2022 at 5:16 pm
First off.. it’s the PGA TOUR not the PGA. Big difference there. Also if the players are independent contractors, which they are, they can pretty much play when and where they want. The PGA Tour as an organization is well within it’s rights to say who can and cannot play in one of it’s events. They are not beholding to any of the players that play on their tour. If you want to play in a PGA TOUR event and can meet their qualifications then you can play. If one of their qualifications happens to be the fact that if you play on the LIV Tour you don’t meet the qualifications for the PGA TOUR then…. well then that’s it… you don’t qualify. So I wish anyone that tries to sue good luck… they’ll need it.
Tomas
Jun 1, 2022 at 5:58 pm
The PGA tour can give A Job to however they whishes
RJ
Jun 2, 2022 at 10:50 am
What? The tour is run by the players. There is no owner it’s a player run organization. Plus it’s a charitable organization that helps to donate millions to various charities at each event. It has made these greedy, morally bankrupt players millions and does so many things to help them it’s ridiculous. You have no clue what your taking about