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Morning 9: LIV opener underwhelms? | Feherty roasted | LIV promotion/relegation plans

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

February 28, 2023

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for what is one of the best fields we will see all year at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

1. Lavner: LIV season debut underwhelms

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”The actual tournament competition? That remains the least compelling aspect, and apparently millions of sports fans agree – the ratings for the first CW broadcast were abysmal, even when strategically put up against what was easily the weakest PGA Tour event of the year. The product now has to stand on its own merits, and this was an unsteady start.”

  • “LIV’s drawbacks can’t immediately be remedied, because they’re part of the upstart league’s DNA. There are no stakes, no consequences, no substantive storylines. There is no upward mobility, no context to a player’s performance, no career milestones to achieve. It’s a closed shop: the same 48 players in 13 stroke-play tournaments, all of equal importance, competing for nothing but pride and a boatload of cash, devoid of any meaning or significance.”
  • “League officials eagerly flaunt how much they’re playing for, and yet that doesn’t really resonate with the audience when these guys have already signed up for massive signing bonuses. It creates the perception that all they want is more, more, more. It’s like rooting for Leonardo DiCaprio to finally find true love.”
Full piece.

2. An “unbelievable” week

PGATour.com’s Kevin Prise on the Monday qualifiers incredible week…”Gerard, 23, earns a spot in next week’s Puerto Rico Open via a top-10 finish, an appreciative addition to his winter schedule as the Korn Ferry Tour is in the midst of a five-week break.”

  • “The North Carolina native was bogey-free in Sunday’s final round before his second shot at the par-5 18th found the water en route to bogey. Gerard remained upbeat, though, realizing the magnitude of his accomplishment. He was greeted off the 18th green by fellow UNC-Chapel Hill alum Ben Griffin, who finished T21 at the Honda, as well as fellow pro and friend Austin Hitt – who will compete in Monday’s open qualifier for the Puerto Rico Open.”
  • “Gerard had a tee time in the Monday qualifier, but he won’t need it.”
  • “It was unbelievable,” Gerard said of his week at the Honda. “It’s everything you could dream of. When you’re a kid practicing at night on a putting green, you’re like, ‘I have this putt to win a PGA TOUR event.’ It’s funny to say because I was just there four or five years ago in high school thinking about it, and now – I never had a putt to win, but I kind of felt like I had a chance coming down the stretch if I put some stuff together.
Full piece.

3. No more LIV signings in 2023?

James Corrigan for the Telegraph…”LIV Golf has slammed down the shutters and revealed that no new signings will be competing in the 2023 season.”

  • “Insiders in LIV are adamant that even in the highly implausible scenario of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy suddenly wanting to jump ship to join Greg Norman’s enterprise, they would have to bide their time until next year to tee it up.”
  • “The field is the field for this year,” a spokesperson said. “And the 12 teams are the 12 teams.
Full piece.

4. On LIV’s promotion/relegation plans

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”When it comes to the league format, those plans are more European than American, especially with its new promotion and relegation system. LIV views open competition not only as a cornerstone of its evolving product, but also as a way to legitimize its place in the professional golf landscape.”

  • “Starting later this year, the LIV Golf Promotions Event will help to ensure there are open player pathways for golfers to join the LIV Golf League in 2024.”
  • “Who automatically qualifies for the 2024 season and is safe from relegation?…The season-long points list that ultimately decides the individual champion – Dustin Johnson in 2022 – will also double as a way for players to earn their spot for the next season. Players who finish Nos. 1-24 at each event during the regular season earn a massive payday as well as points: 40 points for the winner all the way down to just one for the 24th-place finisher. After the 13 regular-season tournaments, those who finish inside the top 24 for the year will keep their status for the following season. Simple enough.”
Full Piece.

5. Jack expecting a stronger “Honda” field ahead

AP report…”This year, the tour had two elevated events before the Honda, with two more to immediately follow at Bay Hill and The Players Championship.”

  • “Honda is ending its title sponsorship of the tournament at PGA National, but Nicklaus said the event will remain the start of the Florida swing in 2024.”
  • “Next year’s schedule are Pebble and LA are their elevated tournaments,” Nicklaus said. “Phoenix is not. Then they go to Mexico, then they come here. So, we will have players next year. And then they’ve got Bay Hill and Players. The tournament’s going to be just fine.”
Full piece.

6. Feherty roasted

7. Heck out indefinitely with shoulder injury

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…“If Stanford is to repeat as NCAA champion, it may have to do so without one of its best players….Junior Rachel Heck, the 2021 NCAA individual champion and player of the year, missed the Cardinal’s first two events of the spring because of thoracic outlet syndrome, a shoulder condition in the area between the first rib and the collarbone.”

  • “Stanford head coach Anne Walker told GolfChannel.com that Heck’s return is “up in the air” as she continues to be evaluated by doctors.”
  • “Heck last played for the Cardinal at their fall finale in October, the Pac-12 Preview, where she tied for 22nd. She was also T-3 at the Stephens Cup earlier that month, and she began the spring on the watch list for the Annika Award, which she won as a freshman.”
Full Piece.

8. Two LIV pros climb rankings

Mike Hall for Golf Monthly…”Because of the inability of LIV Golf to offer its players world ranking points, attention has regularly turned to the plight of players who have tumbled down the rankings since opting to play on the big-money circuit.”

  • “Bizarrely, though, it wasn’t all bad news for LIV Golf players in the world rankings following the tournament at El Camaleon Golf Club. Harold Varner III began last week’s tournament as World No.51, but even though his appearance meant he didn’t accumulate so much as a single world ranking point in Mexico, he rose two places to sneak back inside the world’s top 50 at World No.49.”
  • “He wasn’t the only LIV player to experience an unexpected boost either. New recruit Mito Pereira climbed two places as well, from World No.50 to World No.48. In both cases, though, the rise is highly likely to be the exception rather than the norm over the weeks to come.”
Full Piece.

9. Best driver

  • Another shameless plug for our 2023 Best Driver piece! Find out what driver is best for YOUR game.
Full Piece.
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GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Jeff Witzeman

    Mar 1, 2023 at 12:50 pm

    When no comments are allowed on Ryan’s golf channel article or they are stopped on Yahoo, you always know the article is propaganda. It does not represent a balanced approach. Fact of the matter is golf is compelling whether it is Liv or PGA. Fascists are being exposed in every area of life right now gratefully. Golf channel will have to grow up and put their big boy pants on like everybody else.

  2. Bob

    Mar 1, 2023 at 7:25 am

    Ryan Lavner along with the rest of the golf journalists (propagandists) seem to be anti LIV.

  3. Mike

    Feb 28, 2023 at 9:22 pm

    Sorry David, Larry Bird and magic Johnson were the two most recognizable athletes in the world from the early ’80s onwards. But, we in America sometimes forget that there is a world outside of America. Greg Norman, though he never won a Major on U.S. soil, was winning golf tournaments all over the world for over a decade (basically until Tiger came on the scene).

    So let me ask you this, so I’d converted magic, in the 1980s. Who was the most recognizable athlete in the world? Don’t show how dumb you are & say Michael Jordan, he didn’t win a damn thing until the 90s.

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Equipment

Photos from the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge

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GolfWRX is live this week at Colonial Country Club for the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Custom Camerons and some “super” new grips from SuperStroke are filling our galleries early in the week as well as WITBs — including the always interesting “Cashmere Keith” Mitchell.

Check out links to our photos below, which we’ll continue to update throughout the week.

And while you’re making your way through our photos, be sure to check out last year’s incredible gallery of prototype and personal Ben Hogan golf clubs.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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Morning 9: Scheffler arraignment delayed | Missing Bryson? | Garcia, Reed miss out on U.S. Open

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we look ahead to the Charles Schwab Challenge.

1. Scheffler arraignment delayed

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Scottie Scheffler’s arraignment date over multiple charges stemming from an incident at Valhalla with a Louisville Metro police officer has been delayed.”

  • “On Monday court documents show the arraignment date, originally scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, had been pushed back to June 3. Scheffler’s attorney Steve Romines has told multiple news outlets that Scheffler will enter a not guilty plea.”
  • “Scheffler was arrested on Friday morning outside Valhalla Golf Club ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship and charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, criminal mischief and reckless driving. Scheffler is alleged to have driven past a police officer against the officer’s instructions while trying to enter the club. Scheffler called the incident a misunderstanding, although a police report states that arresting officer Bryan Gillis was dragged by Scheffler’s car, which led to injury and damage of Gillis’ pants. Scheffler’s lawyer disputed the nature of the incident.”
Full piece.

2. Missing Bryson?

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Bryson DeChambeau – whose initials “B.A.D.” are displayed proudly on his yardage book – is the variable, a wildcard who decided to ply his trade on LIV Golf and, in doing so, robbed the Tour and its fans of the kind of polarizing star that makes sports so compelling.”

  • “To call DeChambeau an antihero would be unfair and inaccurate, but he is very much an antagonist whose stated goal is to reshape how the game is played in his unique imagine. Single-length clubs, a fixation on speed and strength and a mind that always seems to be three shots ahead.”
  • “In a world filled with Fords and Chevrolets, DeChambeau is a Tesla, and the contrast between the leading men was there for the world to see Sunday at the PGA Championship. Schauffele was focused and fixated, keeping his emotions and his energies in check, while DeChambeau was larger than life.”
  • “DeChambeau set the stage for his emotional Sunday late on Day 3 when he chipped in for eagle at No. 18. “Exhilarating,” he gushed when asked how he felt after his finish. “I haven’t felt like that in a long time.”
Full piece.

3. Why Schauffele’s dad watched from afar

Tod Leonard for Golf Digest…”The 22 acres of land is outside of Poipu Beach on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The Schauffele family owns it now, and on it sits a large cargo shipping container that doubles as a “house,” an excavator with a mulcher and several chainsaws. There is no running water or air conditioning, and the only power is generated by solar panels. Bathroom? “You take a spade and you walk into the jungle—that’s your toilet,” Stefan Schauffele says.

  • “Rather fitting for a man whose centuries-old German-French name literally means “man with a small shovel.”
  • “This rustic camp is where professional golfer Xander Schauffele’s parents, Stefan and Ping Yi, have spent weeks at a time away from their tract home in San Diego so they can eventually create an escape from the world for future generations of their family. Stefan is currently on a three-month stint there. Still, there are sacrifices, like not being able to have a television around when your son is contending in the final round of major championship.”
  • “That was the case on Sunday for the elder Schauffele, who rose with the cries of Kauai’s ever-present roosters to work his land. It rained overnight and he wanted to check on the plants he had just put in. Some 4,300 miles away and six hours ahead in time, Xander Schauffele began his round in the 106th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club tied for the lead and with his best chance to win what had been an elusive first major.”
Full piece.

4. Inside the Colonial renovation

Paul Hodowanic for PGATour.com…”There would be many more like it. Still 10 months from their deadline, a quiet intensity loomed over every decision and action. Crews began ripping up Colonial less than 24 hours after Emiliano Grillo beat Adam Schenk in a playoff to claim the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge, and they did so with an ambitious directive: fully renovate one of the most historic courses in America in time for the PGA TOUR’s annual visit the following May.?”

  • “A project of such scale normally takes at least 18 months to complete; Colonial had little less than a year, though. As the venue for the Charles Schwab Challenge since 1946, Colonial hosts the longest-running TOUR event held annually at the same site. The club had no intention of interrupting that streak. The renovation had to fit its schedule.?”
  • “Gil Hanse, the renowned architect in charge of restoring the 1936 Perry Maxwell design, had worked under similar time constraints only a handful of times before. Each of those had more favorable growing seasons. Colonial’s renovation banked on the course surviving the winter.??”
  • “Hanse, McIntosh and their teams had spent the last year with those stakes as their backdrop. The $20 million renovation, designed to reinvigorate the classic design and maintain Colonial’s reputation as one of the top clubs in the country, was accompanied by an unforgiving timeline. The world would know if the course wasn’t ready, and there would be no time for adjustments. The pros playing Colonial this week are the first to play the course. Members won’t play it for another month.?”
Full piece.

5. Bryson feels the love at Valhalla

Will Knights for Fried Egg Golf…”??While he ultimately came up one shot short, the 2024 PGA Championship will go down as a rousing success for Bryson DeChambeau. He said he didn’t play his best and yet he shot four rounds of 68 or better, finishing strong with a Sunday 64. More surprising than the on-course success, though, was the clear, obvious, and at times overwhelming crowd support DeChambeau found in Louisville. Down the stretch, Joel Beall posted “the crowd is pulling for Bryson and it’s not even close.” That was very clear on the broadcast, as Bryson’s birdies were greeted with roars and he met the moment again and again with increasingly large fist pumps, playing to and feeding off of the crowd.”

  • “Whether it’s just the passage of time, a lack of exposure due to his LIV move, a maturation within Bryson, or some combination, DeChambeau has come a long way from the days when he was harassed with chants of “Brooksy!” Belief-straining statements about people thanking him for what he does online notwithstanding, I truly think his YouTube channel is helping his reputation. It lets him connect with people in a way he’s comfortable with, and he seems somewhat more comfortable out there, to the point he stopped to shame an adult who swiped a ball he tossed to a kid. He may not be for everyone. He may always say some outlandish things at press conferences. But he’s certainly more popular than he was in years past.”
Full piece.

6. Reed and Garcia miss out in U.S. Open qualies

AP report…”Patrick Reed withdrew from U.S. Open qualifying on Monday to end his streak of playing every major since the 2014 Masters. Sergio Garcia made two big mistakes late that cost him advancing to his 25th straight U.S. Open.”

  • “Garcia, who made it through 36-hole qualifying last year, was poised to get one of the 11 spots at Dallas Athletic Club until taking a double bogey on the par-5 16th of the Gold course. He finished with two pars for a 71 and was forced into a seven-man playoff for six spots.”
  • “Everyone else made par or birdie. Garcia made a bogey on the first hole of the Gold course and had to settle for first alternate, keeping his hopes alive to be at Pinehurst No. 2 on June 13-16.”
Full piece.

7. Only one LIV golfer successfully qualifies

Mike Hall for Golf Monthly…”Three US Open final qualifying events were held on Monday, and LIV golfers were in the field in each.

  • “However, while a total of 13 teed it up for a place at Pinehurst No.2, only Eugenio Chacarra achieved it, and it will be a particularly special occasion for the Spaniard as it will be his maiden Major appearance.”
Full Piece.
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Morning 9: Nelly does it again | Bryson: Definitely disappointing | Xander wins PGA

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Monday morning, golf fans, as Xander Schauffele celebrates becoming a major champion after a dramatic Sunday at Valhalla.

1. Xander wins first major

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”They can’t call Xander Schauffele the best golfer in the world without a major championship victory any longer.”

  • “The 30-year-old from San Diego captured his first major victory Sunday by outlasting LIV Golf League captain Bryson DeChambeau and Norway’s Viktor Hovland in the final round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.”
  • “After starting the day tied for the lead with two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, Schauffele silenced his critics who claimed he couldn’t close out a big one by posting a 6-under 65 in the final round to finish with a 72-hole total of 21 under and defeat DeChambeau by 1 shot and Hovland by 3.”
Full piece.

2. Bryson comes up agonizingly short

Elliot Heath for Golf Monthly…The LIV Golfer shot a stunning final round of 64 (-7) at the PGA Championship, which included a birdie at his final hole, to come up one stroke shy of Xander Schauffele’s new record 21-under-par total.

  • “Definitely disappointing, but one that gives me a lot of momentum for the rest of the Majors. I said today it was closing time, but it will be closing time hopefully, hopefully over the next couple Majors,” DeChambeau said.
  • “Having began the day two strokes off the lead, his seven-under score got him to 20-under to force the pressure on Schauffele to shoot a low number. The American duly did that, with DeChambeau revealing that he thought his eventual score would have got the victory before the round.”
  • “Yeah, I certain seriously thought 18 [under-par] was going to do it,” he said.”
  • “Then when I saw what Xander was doing, it’s like, man, he’s playing some unbelievable golf. Viktor was right there. I mean, he was beating me for quite awhile, and I was hitting it all over the place. But, yeah, I mean, it was an impressive, impressive round of golf by all three of us. I don’t know what else to say. It was just difficult.”
Full piece.

3. Scottie “Ready to get home”

Ryan Lavner at Golf Channel…”The pre-tournament favorite was part of a confusing and chaotic situation Friday at Valhalla when he was arrested following a traffic incident with a police officer while trying to enter the course.”

  • “Scheffler was booked on four charges – the most serious, second-degree assault of an officer – and released after about an hour in jail. He made it to the course in time for his second round, shot 66 and was firmly in contention heading into the weekend.”
  • “But that’s when, Scheffler said, the magnitude of what had transpired finally caught up to him.”
  • “…Afterward, Scheffler said that he was more tired than usual following a tournament – a noteworthy admission seeing how he’d just won four of his past five starts. He said he was uncertain about his plans for the next few days – his arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday – but he was still planning to play next week at Colonial.”
  • “I’m just wondering what time bedtime is,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out how quickly I can get home from here, and that’s pretty much it. I’m just fairly tired and ready to get home.”
Full piece.

4. Nelly wins again

AP report…”With her record-tying winning streak over, Nelly Korda got back to doing what she does best — winning.”

  • “Nelly Korda won a back-nine showdown with Hannah Green of Australia with a par on the 18th hole to capture the Mizuho Americas Open by a stroke Sunday for her sixth win in seven starts on the LPGA Tour this year.”
  • “Oh, my gosh, six,” Korda said. “I can’t even really gather myself right now with that, the head-to-head that Hannah and I had pretty much all day. Wasn’t my best stuff out there today, but fought really hard on the back nine.”

 

Full piece.

5. Another policy board resignation

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Mark Flaherty resigned from the PGA Tour’s policy board on Sunday, becoming the second independent director to step down in less than a week.”

  • “On Monday, independent director Jimmy Dunne, who helped negotiate the PGA Tour’s framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment fund last year, resigned, effectively immediately.”
  • “In Dunne’s resignation letter to PGA Tour members, he wrote that “no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with PIF” and that “my vote and my role is utterly superfluous” now that player directors outnumber independent directors on the policy board.”
  • “PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sent a memo to PGA Tour members Sunday night, informing them of Flaherty’s resignation. Flaherty is a former vice chairman of Wellington Management, an investment management company.”
Full piece.

6. Harry Higgs wins on Korn Ferry Tour

PGA Tour report…”Higgs holed out for eagle from 83 yards at the 72nd hole of the Korn Ferry Tour’s AdventHealth Championship, ultimately landing a spot in a playoff with Tanner Gore at 19 under at Blue Hills Country Club outside Kansas City. Higgs won with a 7-foot birdie on the first playoff hole, again the par-5 18th, an outcome that delighted the spirited observers in Higgs’ home region (he was born in Philadelphia but grew up in nearby Overland Park, Kansas).

Full piece.

7. Winning WITB: Xander Schauffele

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees @10.1)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 70 TX (45.5 inches)

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees @14.4)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX

Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees @19.7)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX

Irons: Callaway Apex TCB ’24 (4-10)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-10)

Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-10S @57), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-K @61)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Putter: Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas Prototype 7CH

Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0

Grips: Golf Pride MCC Align

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.

Full WITB.
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