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Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as all of the attention turns to Tiger’s comeback this week at the Hero World Challenge.

1. Tiger on the state of his health, game

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”On Thursday, Woods is scheduled to make his first start since the third round of the Masters in April at the Hero World Challenge. He hosts the tournament, which benefits his foundation.”

• “My game feels rusty; I haven’t played in a while,” Woods said during a news conference Tuesday. “I had my subtalar fused. I’m excited to compete and play, and I’m just as curious as all of you are to see what happens because I haven’t done it in a while.

• “I can tell you this: I don’t have any of the pain that I had at Augusta or pre-that in my ankle. Well, other parts are taking the brunt of the load, so I’m a little more sore in other areas, but the ankle’s good. So that surgery was a success.”

2. Woods frustrated by Tour handling of framework agreement

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Tiger Woods, in his first comments since the Masters, admitted he was “frustrated” with the PGA Tour’s handling of the framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.”

• “Woods, speaking to the media at this week’s Hero World Challenge, was asked for his reaction to the tour’s surprise announcement with the financial backer of LIV Golf, as Woods had been publicly silent on the matter. The 15-time major winner said he was “surprised” before expressing irritation for how the situation was handled.”

• “Well, going back to that, I would say that my reaction was surprised as I’m sure a lot of the players were taken back by it, by what happened,” Woods said on Tuesday. “So quickly without any input or any information about it, it was just thrown out there. I was very surprised that the process was what it was. We were very frustrated with what happened and we took steps going forward to ensure that the player involvement was not going —we were not going to be left out of the process like we were. So part of that process was putting me on the board and accepting that position.”

3. Tiger’s plans to play

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Best-case scenario? Playing “maybe a tournament a month,” Woods answered.”

• “We have set up right now the biggest events are one per month, it sets itself up for that,” Woods added. “Now, I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction.”

• “Looking at the PGA Tour’s schedule for next year, here are the events Woods could play if he chose to start in January and play once per month through July: Farmers, Genesis, The Players, Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open. The FedExCup Playoffs begin in August, though assuming Woods’ still light schedule, he’d be a longshot to earn enough points to qualify.”

4. Rob McNamara to caddie for Woods

PGATour.com staff report…”There’s an open position on Woods’ bag following longtime caddie Joe LaCava’s move to Patrick Cantlay earlier this spring. For now, a full-time replacement is still in flux.”

• “I don’t think Charlie’s going to be able to caddie,” said Woods, who spent several weeks this fall caddying for Charlie in various junior tournaments. “[He] can’t play hooky that often.”

• “Woods confirmed Tuesday that Rob McNamara, his longtime business partner and vice president of TGR Ventures, will fill in this week at the Hero World Challenge. It is Woods’ first start since he underwent a subtalar fusion procedure in his right ankle in April. Woods withdrew from the third round of the Masters because of pain in the ankle, which stemmed from a broken talus bone suffered in a February 2021 car crash.”

5. Don’t forget about Will Z!

PGATour.com staff…“Tiger Woods and Will Zalatoris, each of whom withdrew from the Masters Tournament in April only to undergo season-ending surgery shortly afterward, return to action at this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.”

• “…One of the most promising up-and-coming Americans, Zalatoris had already suffered a few near-misses in majors by the time he captured his first PGA TOUR title in a playoff at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in 2022. It seemed like the start of something big, but fate intervened.”

• “He suffered two herniated discs the next week, withdrew from the BMW Championship and missed the TOUR Championship and Presidents Cup. Although Zalatoris returned early this year, so did the pain, and he withdrew from the Masters without hitting a shot.”

• “A microdiscectomy…ended Zalatoris’ season.”

6. G-Mac joining Smash

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After finishing outside of the top-24 in the LIV Golf standings (40th) last season, Graeme McDowell has not been resigned by his former LIV Golf team, Cleeks GC.”

• “However, McDowell received some good news after losing his guaranteed spot and has been signed by Smash GC which is captained by Brooks Koepka.”

• “According to James Corrigan of The Telegraph, McDowell, an insider told him “Could not believe his luck.”

• “Obviously, all was not rosy on the Cleeks and with G-Mac and Kaymer. He thought he was out of LIV and would have to be participating on the Asian Tour next year. Playing alongside Koepka – probably the best player on LIV – is a massive result for him.”

• “G-Mac is the second player to depart from Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC, as Austrian Bernd Wiesberger also failed to finish inside the top-24 on the standings and is now returning to the DP World Tour to play once again.”

7. Donald to captain Europe in 2025

8. Spieth reaggravated injury in bizarre way

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Last season, Jordan Spieth struggled with a wrist injury for most of the year. The three-time major champion failed to earn a victory and finished 27th in the FedEx Cup standings.”

• While speaking with the media prior to the Hero World Challenge, Spieth shared how he reaggravated the injury after he finally started to feel better over the summer months.

• “I was reaching for a toaster to make my son breakfast. The toast wasn’t even in the toaster.”

• The injury stems from overuse, so the 30-year-old has been cautious about too much practice.

• “It’s not anything to mess with, so I’ve been trying to take it very, very carefully.”

9. WITB Time Machine: Rickie Fowler’s winning WITB, 2017 Hero World Challenge

We’re jumping in the WITB Time Machine and heading back to 2017 when Rickie Fowler was head of the class at Albany. The patron saint of orange finished with an 18-under tally, four strokes ahead of Charley Hoffman, thanks to a scorching final-round 11-under 61.

Let’s take a look at what Rickie had in play that Sunday in the Bahamas.

Driver: Cobra King F8+ Nardo (8 degrees)

Shaft: Aldila 2KXV NV Blue 70 X (43.35 inches)

3-wood: Cobra King F8+ (14.5 degrees)

Shaft: Aldila Synergy 70 X

5-wood: Cobra F8+ Baffler (18.5 degrees)

Shaft: Aldila Synergy 70 X

Irons: Cobra King Forged MB (4-PW)

Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper S+ 125

Wedges: Cobra King V-Grind (52, 56, 60)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as all of the attention turns to Tiger’s comeback this week at the Hero World Challenge.

1. Rollback on the horizon for all?

S.I.’s Bob Harig…”A decision on the proposed rollback of the golf ball is due by the end of the year—and it might not just be for elite players as part of a Model Local Rule originally put forth by the United States Golf Association and the R&A.”

• “Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A, told Golf Digest in an interview last week that he expects a final decision soon; a comment period on the matter ended in August.”

• “There has been considerable pushback about the proposal, with a majority of professional players and golf ball manufacturers not in favor of the idea. Both the PGA Tour and PGA of America have come out against it, although key names in the game, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, expressed their support.”

2. Adam Scott: Do this instead

Our Matt Vincenzi…”The debate on whether or not to “roll back the golf ball” is once again taking center stage in the world of golf. This month, R&A chief executive, Martin Slumbers, announced there is a plan in place for bifurcation of the golf ball and the plan will be revealed by the end of the year.”

• “While speaking at the Australian PGA Championship over the weekend, Adam Scott said he believes the driver is more of a problem than the golf ball itself.”

• “The biggest fundamental change in the game since I’ve been a pro, is traditionally the driver has been the hardest club to hit in the bag, and now it’s the most forgiving.

• “And that’s the biggest evolutionary change in the golf bag to me out of the equipment.

• “The ball is the ball, but the driver went from the hardest club to hit to now the most forgiving and the go-to club for guys if they are nervous.

• “The penalty for missing a driver just isn’t high enough anymore, in my opinion, at the top level.

• “I’d like to address that first and see what knock on effects that has. If guys wanna swing at it 130 with a tiny driver head then good luck.”

3. Tiger returneth

Adam Stanley for PGATour.com…“He will once again play a dual role of host and participant at the Hero World Challenge, contested in Albany, Bahamas, and it was announced last week that Team Woods will play the PNC Championship for the fourth straight year. These are two very different situations for Woods, as the 72-hole Hero World Challenge requires walking, while the 36-hole PNC allows the use of a cart.”

• “Woods did not play last year’s Hero World Challenge – withdrawing before the competition due to the same plantar fasciitis condition. He made two TOUR starts earlier this year, finishing T45 at The Genesis Invitational before the Masters.”

• “In an interview with the Associated Press two weeks ago, Woods said he was pain-free when it comes to his right ankle which was fused in April…”

• “Regardless of body issues, though, Woods has always been a fighter. And the fact that he is working on a return to action, starting in Albany, is going to make an already exciting week that much more fun.”

4. Senden to play on after Parkinson’s diagnosis

Golf Digest’s Tod Leonard…”Australian senior tour pro John Senden says he can have a satisfying warm-up session before a competitive round, “but as soon as the anticipation of hitting the first shot or a difficult shot or even the name called on the first tee, all of a sudden my right arm starts shaking and I can’t control that sometimes.”

• “That’s an extremely challenging way to play golf, of course, and the 52-year-old two-time PGA Tour winner has been doing so for the last 18 months with symptoms associated with his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. In an interview with Australia’s ABC Sport, Senden said he has no plans to stop playing.”

• “I’ve got to stay in the gym, stay fit and stay open, because Parkinson’s wants to close you down, wants to make you feel a bit more depressed,” Senden said. “I’ve got to stay playing, stay light-hearted about everything. It doesn’t actually undermine my strength; it just sort of makes me feel a bit weird sometimes. … “It’s not going to go away, but I’m still able to play and still enjoying golf.”

5. More restrooms, courtesy cars, better food for pros in 2024

Golf Digest’s Tod Leonard…The requirements are:

• “All tournaments now must provide complimentary courtesy cars during the week.”

• “Tournaments will have amenities for players’ families on the course, including a private restroom on each nine, with flushable toilets, water and dry snacks. Additionally, four restroom stations on each nine will be provided for the players.”

• “Cold plunge tubs, which have become popular to the players, will be provided by the tour, with tournament directors needing to find a place to put them and keep them maintained during the week.”

• “The memo states that tour players are focused on their nutrition and wellness, and that the tour is “encouraging” events to re-evaluate the meals that players and their families are receiving in player dining.”

6. Remembering the Little Pro

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…”Merrins, who died at 91 in Los Angeles, was one of golf’s most respected professionals, a championship-winning coach at UCLA, a beloved figure and an institution at Bel-Air Country Club. In recent years, as pro emeritus, he could still be found there impeccably dressed in a coat and tie and white-knit tam o’shanter, ready to impart his wisdom to another golfer desperate for help.”

• “I had the privilege of writing a story for the 2013 U.S. Open preview issue on the 5-foot-7 Merrins, affectionately known as The Little Pro, and it was the start of a beautiful friendship. Without fail, he’d seek me out at every Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship he attended – add me to the list who received an impromptu lesson from Merrins, who advised me to start my swing in New York, flow through Chicago on the way to Los Angeles. I’d be called to the front desk of the media center at the Masters or come back to my desk and find a note that I could come to find him setting up shop on the range. One year, I dressed to the nines in a tuxedo for the Ben Hogan Award as his guest at the ceremony held annually on the Monday of the PGA Tour stop at Colonial. He’d often welcome me to Bel-Air for a get-together when I was in town for Riviera, including one time when he walked all 18 as I played.”

7. Hisatsune voted Euro Tour top rookie

AP report…” Ryo Hisatsune was voted as the European tour’s top rookie on Tuesday after a memorable season that saw the 21-year-old Japanese player win the French Open and earn dual membership with the PGA Tour.”

• “Hisatsune became the first Japanese golfer to receive the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award, beating a list of contenders that included highly rated Swede Ludvig Aberg.”

• “Hisatsune was outside the world’s top 200 at the start of the 2023 season. Three years ago, he lost his card on Japan’s leading tour.”

8. McGinley to step into Azinger’s role for Hero

Joel Beall for Golf Digest…”Paul McGinley will step in as temporary lead analyst for NBC Sports’ golf coverage this week at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Golf Digest has confirmed the news first reported by The Independent in Ireland.”

• “McGinley, 56, is a four-time European Tour winner best known for his captaincy at the 2014 Ryder Cup, where he led the Europeans to a resounding victory. The Irishman has previously appeared on Golf Channel’s “Live From” show, which is owned by NBC, and also appears in Sky Sports’ golf coverage. McGinley reportedly will work alongside NBC play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks and analyst Curt Byrum.”

• “According to the Independent, “McGinley’s [TV] future will likely depend on how he does in the Bahamas and future events over the next few months.” McGinley has received kudos for his commentary on “Live From” as he often gets into spirited golf debates with fellow commentators Rich Lerner and Brandel Chamblee.”

9. ICYMI: Trending golf gifts

• Check out the current hottest golf gifts to get your hands on!

For comments: [email protected]

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we approach Thanksgiving Day.

1. Pat’s hat

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”According to DealBook, Goldman Sachs opted not to renew its contract with Cantlay, the world’s fifth-ranked golfer, who it signed to a three-year deal in 2020. Cantlay initially repped Goldman’s online consumer banking platform, Marcus, on his headwear but more recently has featured just the Goldman name.”

• “…This, of course, isn’t the first news about Pat’s hat. Cantlay made headlines a couple months ago when rumors swirled that he was refusing to wear a hat at the Ryder Cup out of protest for not being paid to compete in the international team competition. Cantlay denied the claims, instead saying that he wasn’t donning a hat because the team’s headwear didn’t fit well.”

• “Cantlay also was supposed to play the Hero World Challenge in two weeks in the Bahamas, but he was taken off the final commitment list along with friend Xander Schauffele.”

2. LPGA stats of the year

Kent Paisley for Golf Digest…

• “83,962…Approximate total mileage between all 35 LPGA events this season, including the Hanwha LifePlus International Crown in San Francisco and the Solheim Cup in Spain. For a frame of reference, that dizzying amount is three trips around the earth’s circumference (or almost six times as far as Forest Gump ran during his five-time trip across the United States).”

• “25.95…The average age, in years, of winners on the LPGA in 2023, down from 27.32 in 2022. Only two players 30 or older won this year, with Ashleigh Buhai (34.08) at the ShopRite LPGA Classic alongside Yang (34.31). The youngest winner was Alexa Pano, who turned 19 the day she claimed the title at the ISPS Handa World Invitational in August. Pano was one of two teens to win in 2023, joining Chanetee Wanassean at the Cambia Portland Classic.”

3. Smith’s Olympic hopes

Evin Priest for Golf Digest…”Cameron Smith has conceded he may have to travel to the far corners of Asia in 2024 to keep his dreams of playing golf in next summer’s Olympics in Paris alive.”

• “One of the consequences of Smith’s 2022 defection to LIV Golf—which had its application to receive Official World Golf Rankings points for its no-cut, 54-hole events denied in October—has been his plummet down the OWGR. The problem is, the Olympics uses the OWGR as a basis to determine who qualifies to compete in its event.”

• “When Australian star Smith joined LIV in the fall of 2022, he was ranked No. 2 in the World and the reigning Open champion with six-time PGA Tour winner to his credit. Now, he’s 18th—and only after a runner-up the previous week in the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open.”

4. Hubbard sets mark for most starts in a season

Golf Digest’s Tod Leonard…”As strange as it is to consider, the PGA Tour campaign that ended on Sunday at the RSM Classic stretched all the way back to the first round of the Fortinet Championship on Sept. 15, 2022. Over that entire period, there were 51 weeks in which tour events were staged, sometimes with two being held per week.”

• “That is an incredibly long “season,” one that was necessitated by the tour tweaking its schedule in ways big and small, and ultimately going back to a calendar-year schedule that begins in 2024.”

• “…That all fed straight into the insatiable desire to play and travel for tour veteran Mark Hubbard. So much so, that the 34-year-old set a PGA Tour record for the most events played in one season as Hubbard racked up a whopping 39 starts over 15 months.”

5. PGA Tour stats of the year

Justin Ray for PGATour.com…

• “Rahm’s improved approach play…”Through the first several months of 2023, there was nobody playing better golf than Jon Rahm. At The Sentry, Rahm put together the biggest final-round comeback to win of the season, starting that Sunday seven shots off the lead. When Rahm won his third tournament of the season at The Genesis Invitational, it was the fastest in a calendar year that a player had won three times since Johnny Miller in 1975.”

• “Rahm brought that incredible form with him to Georgia in April for the year’s first major championship. With his victory there, Rahm became the first European player to win both the U.S. Open and the Masters. Not that the week got off to the best start – the Spaniard made double-bogey on the opening hole of the tournament, becoming the first player to do that the week of a Masters win since Sam Snead in 1952. It helped to have one of the best ball striking performances in the history of the Tournament: Rahm hit 85 percent of his fairways and 72 percent of his greens in regulation, benchmarks not dually reached by a Masters winner since Ben Crenshaw in 1995.”

6. Rory, Shane, Luke and MJ

AP report…”The Ryder Cup celebration didn’t end in Rome, at least not for Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy.”

• “In the second part of an interview with The Irish Independent, they talk about their flight home to South Florida and then McIlroy inviting Lowry over for lunch the next day. A bottle of wine was opened. And then another. And lunch turned into dinner.”

• “Captain Luke Donald soon joined them, as did Michael Jordan.”

• “Rory and Luke started texting him, and the next thing we’re sitting there drinking with Michael Jordan, just the four of us,” Lowry said. “He’s very much a pro-USA guy. I think it was the first Ryder Cup he hadn’t been to in 25 years, so we gave him a good slagging.”

• “McIlroy said Jordan stayed from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Among the topics: Pay for play, of course.”

• “He told a story about the U.S. basketball team, the Dream Team at the Olympics in ’92. ‘Do you not think I could have got paid to play in the Olympics?’” he said. ”‘These people are missing the point of what it means.’

• “He saw the long-term value of winning an Olympics, and said he ended up doing way better than if he had taken money there and then.”

7. Ryder Cup pros jump to defense of Zach

Tom D’Angelo for Palm Beach Post…”Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele spoke to The Palm Beach Post last Friday about the disappointing week at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome. Europe dominated the U.S., winning 16.5-11.5.”

• “The three players were attending the opening of Panther National, a course co-designed by Thomas and Jack Nicklaus.”

• “The No. 1 regret he should have is we should have played better,” Thomas said. “We all told him that, ‘Zach, it’s easy to look back after a week where they just played monumentally better and we did not play well. It’s easy to say you should have changed things.’

• “We just should have played better for him.”

• “Fowler said he had no complaints about how Johnson handled the team.”