Weekend Wrap - NY Powder Day Edition

It's a sad state of affairs when, in mid-January, the deepest, fluffiest powder is found in my Westchester County driveway.... 

I will warn you that I watched exactly zero golf this weekend.  Heck, thanks to the nice folks at FIOS, I needed quite the hack to be able to watch football yesterday.

Aloha, Hawaii - As I noted, I didn't watch a minute of it, excepting a few odd moments in Utah on Thursday/Friday.  The early round leaderboard was none too familiar, though this familiar name ultimately prevailed:

Chris Gotterup cruises to 2026 Sony Open in Hawaii victory

Hmmm, cruising to or in Hawaii. I see what those clever fellows have done.

But, funny guy that I am, I'm a little outraged on his behalf over this:

As a PGA Tour rookie in 2024, Chris Gotterup flew to Honolulu for rookie orientation but failed to get into the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii and returned home.

“We sat in the conference room for eight hours,” he recalled. “So my first taste of Hawaii wasn't the best taste, but that wasn't Hawaii's fault. We came back. We came back the next year. I really enjoy it.”

Sure, he got into the field last year but was sent packing for the mainland after two pedestrian rounds and a missed cut. His world ranking at the time? No. 195.

What's wrong with these asshats?  Travel expenses are notoriously difficult for Tour Rabbits to absorb, so you make guys ranked in the hundreds fly halfway across the Pacific just for orientation?  

This will be the extent of our commitment to a game story:

Still, he returned again this week for the kickoff to the 2026 season and as the saying goes, third time was the charm. Gotterup birdied two of the first three holes on Sunday and never let his foot

off the pedal as he posted a 6-under 64 at Waialae Country Club and a two-stroke victory over Ryan Gerard on the island of Oahu.

This time, he’ll head home with a trophy among his checked luggage, and ranked in the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career — checking in at No. 17. Arriving at the course for the final round, Gotterup checked the wind and said to himself, giddyup!

“Finally,” he recounted, “the first time getting on the range where the flags were whipping 20, so you knew you had to bring your ‘A game’ because someone was going to play good, and happened to be me today,” he said.

Given how well he played in Scotland and Northern Ireland last summer we shouldn't be too shocked.  He's an emerging player and one assumes we'll hear more from him this year, but the most interesting aspect of the week is quite the downer, to wit, the duality of the word "Aloha."

Hawaii is sending PGA Tour off in the perfect way

Really?  I guess those orientation meetings went especially well....

Much has been made of this year’s Sony Open potentially being the PGA Tour’s last venture in

Hawaii. (For awhile at least.) The financials don’t exactly add up for the shrewd schedule makers, no matter how you hold them up to that lovely Hawaiian sunlight. But if there was a quintessential way of summarizing the Tour’s Hawaiian experience, well, this tournament is doing its best.

Everything about Saturday explains what is great and lackluster about Pacific island pro golf on this particular weekend in mid-January. Ultimately, we have a second-rate field — with all due respect to everyone involved — with a smattering of top pros, most of which have played well at this tournament before. And despite top 10 players like Russell Henley and J.J. Spaun and Bob MacIntyre all showing face, the likes of Collin Morikawa and Keegan Bradley and Tony Finau all departed before the weekend began.

To be fair, that's become Morikawa's signature move.   Which works because otherwise he'd just remind us that he doesn't owe us anything....

The article doesn't do much to explain the issues:

And yet, no Tour event will battle the same headwinds that the Sony will find Sunday. As we have learned for decades, the NFL reigns supreme over every televised entity in America, sports division or otherwise, and it has another pair of divisional round games that will crush any ounce of fascinating golf that the Sony could provide. If the tournament is lucky, the snowy game in Chicago will end in a blowout so the golfiest golf fans will flip over for the final few holes in sun-kissed O’ahu.

Not even next week’s Tour event — which will be up against the NFL’s conference championship games — will hurt quite as bad. Thanks partly to the cancellation of last week’s The Sentry, next week’s The AmEx will have its strongest field in many years with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler making his season debut.

In that sense, Hawaii’s loss will be California’s gain. We might find ourselves repeating that phrase for many Januarys to come.

Not sure about that last bit, as it sounds like the Tour would just start after the conference championship games.  Phoenix has made Super Bowl week work for them, though it's notable to me how other events just capitulate to the NFL.

But, given that we already have three events in California, I assume the gain involved would be to open the season there, presumably in Palm Springs.  Not a bad spot, but it doesn't offer those spectacular Pacific Ocean vistas in Prime Time on the East Coast.  What the existing schedule offers is the perfect cold open to the season, though it's admittedly one that will struggle to generate a big audience.  But, who cares, it's only on Golf Channel.... But, since fans like it, they have to take it way from us.....

LIV Stuff - We'd heard there were big defections in the works, and LIV has delivered (although perhaps Brooks is really the one de-LIVering) the goods:

Veteran PGA Tour pros Byeong Hun An and Thomas Detry both joined LIV Golf this week, while one of LIV’s biggest stars signed a new contract to stay on the league for years to come.

OK, I'll give you a sec to stop laughing....  Are you wondering about that biggest star?

While it’s hard to argue the additions of An and Detry make up for the loss of Koepka, owner of five major titles, a different multiple major-winning star chose to stick with LIV Golf for years to come.

Dustin Johnson, the two-time major winner, signed a new multi-year contract with LIV this week. Johnson was one of the first big stars to leave the PGA Tour for LIV in 2022.

I think Paulina was the bigger loss for the Tour.

The saddest part is that one of those two is replacing Kevin Na.....  Forget Koepka, if you don't have a spot for Kevin Na, no reason for me to tune in.

 Shall we see what the Tour Confidential gang has for us on this?

Major news shook the golf world on Monday, when the PGA Tour announced a new “Returning Member Program” that would allow a select number of players who fell under a certain criteria to rejoin the Tour with some penalties and conditions, and that Brooks Koepka had already accepted. What do you believe ultimately led to Koepka’s return?

Josh Berhow: I don’t think he was ever truly happy at LIV, or at least it wasn’t long before he realized he wasn’t. Sure the money was good but we know Koepka thrives on competition and it

simply wasn’t as good or meaningful on LIV. That’s why he’s been so good in the majors, and I think that was hard on him. Plus, while the LIV schedule isn’t as frequent as the PGA Tour, it’s more international travel, which can also be taxing and tough on a guy with a young family. You also have to wonder, with Scottie Scheffler winning 13 times over the last two years, if that motivated him at all. He wants to be measured against the best and no one is better than Scottie right now.

Josh Sens: Before he moved to LIV, Koepka made it clear he wasn’t all that interested in regular Tour events. They didn’t fire him up. Ironically, he then jumped to a circuit where every event must have felt like that to him. Clearly he wanted to be back in a more competitive mix.

Josh Schrock: Brooks admitted he initially went to LIV because of the uncertainty surrounding his health. He never bought into being a “LIV guy” in the way that Bryson DeChambeau has. He took the money but didn’t do so as some great soldier in pro golf’s civil war. He soured on the idea pretty quickly and once he won the 2023 PGA it seemed like he truly regretted the initial decision. Think Berhow makes a good point about Scheffler’s dominance. You add in Rory McIlroy winning the career Grand Slam and it’s clear that Koepka wanted to come back to compete against the best and feel better prepared to reassert himself as a force at major championships.

Have you seen LIV?  There's only one reason to be on LIV in the first place, and that reason is preceded by one of these "$".

After winning the 2023 PGA Championship, Koepka has failed to finish in the top 10 in his last 10 major starts, which includes missing three of four cuts last year. Now back on the PGA Tour, do you expect Koepka to return to his former world-beating self?

Berhow: I wouldn’t be surprised to see him bounce back a little. I don’t expect another year that includes three missed cuts but I do think he will find a little better form now that he’s in a better spot personally and playing more regularly. But don’t discount motivation. He knows eyeballs will be on him now and would love to prove to people he hasn’t lost a step.

Sens: I do. Few players are better with a chip on their shoulder. I think he’ll thrive off feeling like he needs to prove himself all over again. He will have to stay healthy, of course.

Schrock: Yes. I think preparing for the Masters in Houston or San Antonio and not having to fly to Singapore and South Africa before Augusta should make him sharper and more rested for the big weeks. After a few years of subpar major showings, I expect Koepka to be motivated to silence his “doubters” again.

The real answer is that it's unknowable though, some surprising results aside, it's hard to imagine those going to LIV to avoid the grind being at their competitive peak.

Here's where the plot thickens as bit:

Three other LIV players — Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith — also have the option to return, although they must decide by Feb. 2. In press conferences last week they said they were staying loyal to LIV, although there’s still time to flip. Do you think any will?

Berhow: I don’t think we will see it, although it’s not a complete zero chance. I can’t see Cam Smith flipping. Bryson has one year left and while his press conference tone was, ahem, interesting, he might play it out and see where he is a year from now. This also gives him a ton of leverage. If there’s anyone who I think could flip, it might be Rahm. He said he wasn’t interested a few days ago but he’s still got two weeks to think about it. And time is a dangerous thing for the mind.

Sens: Agreed, Josh. Rahm would be the guy. And as we’ve seen more than once in the LIV era, what players say they’re going to do isn’t always what they end up doing.

Schrock: Rahm is the one who all eyes should be on, but we don’t know what his contract looks like and the potential penalty he’d face for trying to bolt. I think he’ll come back but it won’t be by Feb. 2.

I don't think so, but we're all flying blind on this one, because no one knows how to negotiate one's release from those buying bonecutters by the gross.

The fine print of this rule said only winners of the Players or majors since 2022 would be allowed to return, which notably left out other major winners like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia, including non-major winners but big names such as Tyrrell Hatton and Joaquin Niemann. Why was it so specific when it could have been tweaked to allow more?

Berhow: The Tour knows it’s product is driven by stars and these are the guys — especially Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau — who can really make a difference. Plus, with everything that’s happened between the Tour and Mickelson, this seemed like a not-so-subtle way to thumb their nose at him. If the big names leave LIV, that damages it much more than a handful of top-50 guys. You could even make the case that making this group so small puts more pressure on them to make a decision, as they wouldn’t want to be the marquee name left behind.

Sens: The Tour-LIV battle has always been for the big names. This was clearly a play for the guys with the most wattage. That it was also structured in a way that explicitly left out Mickelson must have been a particularly gratifying bonus to the folks in Ponte Vedra.

Schrock: Brian Rolapp correctly identified the players who have legitimate value to the PGA Tour. That’s Bryson, Rahm and Brooks. Cam Smith fits into the category they created to shoehorn in the other three. Rolapp is trying to walk a tightrope in bringing back players who improve the PGA Tour’s product without upsetting his current membership. We saw Wyndham Clark say he was “very torn” that Koepka was allowed back with what he deemed a light penalty. But I think players can understand that there are different rules for players who have achieved a certain level of success in the game. It’s a lot harder to sell some of the rank and file on opening the doors for LIV’s non-elite players than it is for Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau.

I've expressed some reservations about a non-golfer running the Tour, though this looks like quite the effective bit of gamesmanship.  But I'm shocked at their treatment of Phil, who has always put the needs of the Tour above his selfish interests.  Oh, sorry, wrong Phil... But I also think they were sticking it to DJ as well because, after Alan Shipnuck revealed Phil's comments, it was DJ's betrayal that started the ball rolling.

In his short time as PGA Tour CEO, Brian Rolapp has already made a major impact. Are you surprised how fast he’s acted? And if you are a rank-and-file PGA Tour player, are you happy, annoyed or indifferent at this move?

Berhow: This is the perfect example of why it was probably beneficial to bring in someone from outside the sport (like Rolapp, from the NFL) who made it simple and said we need to find a way to get our best players back. I can’t imagine this move being made a year or two ago, when it seemed like the sentiment was more, “we don’t need you.” As for fellow Tour players, I’m sure it’s a mixed reaction, but they won’t get bumped out of events and that’s probably all they care about. The ones who might have more reason to be angry are those who were offered lucrative LIV contracts, turned them down and now realize they could have done both.

Sens: Rolapp promised from Day 1 he was going to shake things up. Not surprising that he made good on his word. It was also easier to make a play like this because the climate around the civil war has changed so dramatically. Long gone are the cries of ethical outrage over LIV and the source of its money. It’s now all about winning the fight, not maintaining the moral high ground.

Schrock: Not surprised at all. Rolapp is an NFL guy. He carries none of the baggage that Jay Monahan and the rest of the old PGA Tour leadership do with LIV. He wants to improve the PGA Tour and make everyone more money. That’s how the NFL operates and that’s how he will run the PGA Tour. If I’m a player who’s in the middle and didn’t turn down a big offer from LIV to jump, then I’m not concerned by this move. It makes the Tour better and Koepka isn’t taking anyone’s spot and isn’t eligible for sponsor invites into the Signature Events.

I think this was a clever reaction to the Brooks defection, but the key bit was limiting it to the four guys.  You can't guarantee that existing Tour players would be bumped if you're covering a larger number of LIV defectors, so that issues is till hanging out there.  Of course, you can always increase field sizes in the money grabs, I mean if Patrick will allow it....

They finish with quite the silly bit, unfortunately:

Was Monday’s news bigger for the PGA Tour or worse for LIV Golf? And what does LIV Golf do now, especially if more players flip?

Berhow: Worse for LIV. It hurt the Tour when Rahm left a couple of years ago, but LIV never made a splashy signing since. Now they are losing one of their few key guys, and if even one more of the three flip in the next two weeks, it would be disastrous. As for what LIV does now? They moved to 72 holes and reapplied for World Ranking points, which they need more than ever. A few more stars wouldn’t hurt either, but at this point it almost seems like allegiances have been made for so many.

Sens: Worse for LIV. The league wants to be seen as more than a well-funded novelty act. It wants to be seen as competitively relevant. It needs to attract big names, not lose them.

Schrock: It’s worse for LIV. The offseason has seen them reportedly fail to land the likes of Akshay Bhatia and Si Woo Kim, and now they’ve watched one of their big names walk back across the battlefield to the PGA Tour. If they lose Rahm or Bryson, that will probably end golf’s civil conflict. They will limp forward and keep going because they have bottomless funds and have gained some popularity in markets like Australia, but with a roster of aging former stars and young could-bees, their dream of overtaking the PGA Tour will be buried even deeper than it is now.

LIV has been forced to move on from Kevin Na.... Doesn't get much worse than that.

before we move on, I'll share a browser tab that I just happen to have had open for some time:

Phil Mickelson could have been modern-day Arnold Palmer. He chose another route

I'm going to blog the piece without actually reading anything beyond the header.  But I strongly disagree with its unread premise.   Phil in fact couldn't be Arnie, for the simple reason that he's not Arnie.  The King focused on leaving the game better than he found it.... Phil focused on leaving himself richer than he began.  You see how that's very different?

I'll just add a reminder of that famous Sportico analysis.  Phil was the 11th highest paid athlete of all time, yet burned with anger over the injustices he experienced.  Does that remind you of the happy warrior King in any regard?  

I've got some issues here, so will have to leave you at this juncture.   I'll be back, though I've no clue as to when.  Have a great week.

Weekend Wrap - Dry Wasatch Edition

Greetings from the Wasatch Front, where snow seems to have morphed into a Rare Earth Mineral.  Oh we did have nine inches late last week with appropriate temperatures, but that's drop in the bucket stuff compared to the volume needed.

The only place where it has snowed consistently this winter is inland British Columbia, where we're headed in about five weeks.  Still plenty of time for the taps to be turned off, just like last year.

First world problems for sure, though they are MY first world problems.... Still not all in on this blogging stuff, but shall we?

Kapalua, RIP? - Remember when our biggest concern was how soft the Plantation Course had become?  At least we still had those gorgeous Pacific Ocean views, right?

Golfweek has a multi-part series on the current issues on Maui, and it is indeed quite the hot mess:

Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course, on the northwest coast of Maui, is the latest battleground in Hawaii to determine who controls the rights to water – the Native Hawaiians who grow kalo

(taro) and other crops, or the golf courses, tourists and real estate developers. Ultimately, the courts could play a deciding factor in the fate of the PGA Tour's The Sentry at the iconic course.

This dispute has been brewing for some time and exacerbated due to the deadly fires of 2023 in Lahaina and historic drought conditions throughout much of Maui in 2025. Water conservation mandates were implemented to prioritize the needs of the local community, placing golf courses at the bottom of the list.

The Hawaii Water Services Commission started sending regular notices of Tier 4 water curtailments in March. Under Tier 4, non-potable water use is exclusively limited to fire protection purposes.

Taro vs. three-putts?  I suppose the folks need to grow their crops....

Faced with limited water received by its supplier – Maui Land & Pineapple (MLP), one of Hawaii’s biggest land developers and owned by AOL co-founder Steve Case – Kapalua’s ownership group, TY Management Corporation – led by Tadashi Yanai, the founder of the company that owns clothing retailer Uniqlo and the second-wealthiest man in Japan – has sued MLP over the water being cut off. MLP has countersued, claiming that water is scarce because of low precipitation in the Pu'u Kukui watershed, Maui's highest peak and one of the rainiest places on the planet, averaging almost 400 inches per year. MLP told MauiNow.com that it is simply following state mandates. Adding to the water battle is an effort by Maui County to explore buying MLP’s water distribution system.

It’s a battle of billionaires and Kapalua Resort’s two courses – Plantation and Bay – are caught up in the fight. But Kapalua’s brown and barren fairways at the Bay Course, which the resort elected to stop watering altogether this fall, “did highlight for the bigger world to see what’s happening here,” said lifelong West Maui resident Lauren Palakiko, who told Hawaii NewsNow that the fight over water in West Maui has been happening for more than a century.

Mark Rolfing, who has called Hawaii home for more than 50 years, spearheaded the original golf course water deal in 1987 when he proposed a joint venture between MLP and Rolfing Development to build the Plantation Course at Kapalua.

Yet all these folks don't seem to get the due diligence thing:

“To make a long story short,” Rolfing said, “after some considerable negotiation, MLP put in 500 acres and Rolfing put in the cash to build the course, and it was a perfect deal with one exception – they had all the water. I didn't have any water. I had a sink in my condo, but I didn't have any water unless they gave it to me.”

See how golf is unifying.  This feasibility study seems about as prescient as the one McKinsey did for His Excellency....

If this dispute is confusing, you’re not alone. “The rainfall isn’t that much different than two years ago and we’ve never had a water restriction before. So, we are wondering why now?” Nakajima added. “The water usage was 50 times what it is now in the days of growing pineapple (and sugarcane).”

The MLP always pumped into the reservoir in the past when the stream was low. The farmers who grow kalo don’t have the money to synch into the wells, and it’s expensive to dig a well and treat it to grow crops and drinking water and any other purpose. The farmers are dependent on rain and any surface water delivered to them.

TY – together with farmers and homeowners such as Hua Momona Farms LLC, Plantation Estates Lot Owners' Association; Association of Apartment Owners of the Coconut Grove on Kapalua, and the Association of Apartment Owners of the Ridge at Kapalua – filed a lawsuit on Aug. 18 in Maui Circuit Court alleging that MLP has been negligent in maintaining its Honokohau ditch system, which supplies water to West Maui. [MLP filed its own countersuit.]

“That disrepair, not any act of God, or force of nature, or other thing, is why users who need it are currently without water,” according to the complaint. “Plaintiffs bring this case against MLP because MLP has abused the trust of residents, farmers, and businesses in Kapalua and parts of West Maui, all of whom are now being starved for irrigation water by MLP.”

And I was sure they were going to blame it on SUVs....

While that Rolfing guy knows everything about Hawaii, he clearly can't know this:

“We've got a pretty big fight going on here between TY and Maui Land and Pine,” Rolfing said, “and I don't know how it's going to get resolved. I know who's got the most money, and it's not Maui Land & Pine.”

Of course, the "When" might be even more critical than the "How", but doesn't seem like this is a one year issue.

This follow up is provocative and won't make anyone feel better about the decisions, but it's a hard place to engage in post hoc analysis:

PGA Tour canceled The Sentry back in September. Was that too early?

What is left unsaid because Rolfing isn’t the type to point fingers is this: Could Kapalua owner TY Management Corporation, led by Tadashi Yanai, the founder of the company that owns clothing retailer Uniqlo and second-wealthiest man in Japan, Troon Golf, the operator of the resort’s courses, or the Tour, have done more and sooner? Given that 16 holes of the Plantation course re-opened for play on Nov. 10 – and it has been deemed in “tour-caliber condition” to hold the tournament this week – did the Tour make a premature decision?

Nakajima chuckled at this question because he’s been asked it so many times. He explained the various factors, including that the Hawaiian Islands are one of the most remote island chains and that everything for the tournament build-out had to be on boats by Oct. 1. No one knew if they would have the ability to water the course at all. [Kapalua eventually opted to take its water rations from the Bay Course and give it completely to the Plantation and let the Bay go.] “They waited to the last minute and made the only call they could,” Nakajima said. “I don’t blame them at all.”

Shack had some schedule-related thoughts:

Instead of season-opening golf from scenic and entertaining Kapalua, where the course is fully recovered from this summer’s water dispute, there is no opening tournament this week. Under the guise of not being able to make a limited field event work at Kapalua because of the murky water situation, the PGA Tour cancelled this week’s playing of The Sentry and seems on the cusp of ending its season-opening Hawaiian events starting in 2027. Other traditional stops, including some that built the Tour and which appear to be doing fine, may be in jeopardy even after modifying formats to accommodate players. Later in the year, tournaments played after majors may be moved, creating dead weeks on the schedule even when those are some of the most watched of the year thanks to residual major buzz.

The assorted people looking to deliver an 11% return for the Tour’s private equity investors have been dropping oldies-but-goodies: they’re ripping off Band-Aids, carving fat, and looking to deliver scarcity, paucity, simplicity, parity, or any other natural forms of Viagra for the money-is-everything types. Besides ignoring one of their buzzwords—the simplicity in knowing there will be a final round of high-level golf every Sunday afternoon—the masterminds seem oblivious to the value of a steady weekly schedule.

You've heard me make this point countless times, although mostly about the LPGA's TV contracts.

And Geoff includes this warning shot over the bow of SSG:

Killing off events like The Sentry at Kapalua may do all sorts of strange things to the big picture well-being of the Tour’s “product.” Stuff that money folks would never understand or care about until it impacts the bottom line.

Some players turn up in Maui to knock off the rust and prepare for the season. Some go there to find out how they will fare on a certain kind of hilly course with 92 days before The Masters. And some players turn up ready to compete. Throw in some Humpbacks, tropical vibes, brilliant backdrops, drives that roll 125 yards, and Kapalua leaves everyone feeling ready for another year.

Throwing the Tour’s schedule into the wood chipper also risks the health of an already strained relationship with core fans and tournaments. While the PGA Tour’s week-to-week flow might seem bloated and wasteful to people from other sports with fixed venues, each tournament feeds into the next. Players build momentum. Fans get into a viewing rhythm or get excited about the circus coming to their town. It’s just good marketing.

Time will tell if the Tour goes through with some of the more extreme ideas floated. Or whether their media partners are willing to pay more for less “inventory.” But for serious fans and players who use Kapalua to find out where they stand, it’s concerning that new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and his bosses at the Strategic Sports Group may cede multiple weeks with little regard for the circadian rhythm of players and fans.

In a way, this is a tad unfair, given an unexpected issue forcing the Tour's hands.  But the concept that a non-golfer like Brian Rolapp and a man of uncertain motivations will be dramatically reimagining the Tour's schedule doesn't fill this observer with confidence.

Frisco Blues -  It turns out that Brooks Koepka isn't the only guy making changes in order to spend more time with his family....  Just to be clear, I assume it's not to spend more time with Brooks' family.  From Geoff:

Derek Sprague informed the PGA of America board in December of his plans to step down to

spend more time with his family. The news of a brief tenure could have been dumped on any number of primo days for burying the story, and Sprague’s quick departure certainly qualifies by adding another strange chapter since the PGA’s move from Palm Beach Gardens to Frisco, Texas in August 2022.

“At my daughter’s wedding last month in upstate New York, it became clear that my family needs me nearby to assist with the care of my mother and mother‑in‑law,” said Sprague in a press release. “Focusing on family has become my priority, and the best decision for me is to step away from my role as CEO and return home to be with them.”

After nearly six months of searching for a new leader, the PGA of America revealed Sprague as its choice to replace Seth Waugh on December 20, 2024. He began work from the Frisco headquarters on January 18th, 2025.

This comes fresh off the PGA of America's face-plant at Bethpage.

The more interesting bits are Geoff's hints at trouble in paradise, not that Frisco, TX has ever been called by that P-word.

A two-time Section Merchandiser of the Year for Public Facilities in the late 90s, Sprague was chosen in one of the PGA of America board’s every decade-or-so push to have a CEO who knows what it’s like to settle club championship disputes, clean out golf cart ashtrays, and fold every variety of sweater. Sprague had never run anything bigger than a golf course, moving from the GM job at TPC Sawgrass to an organization with 30,000 members, multiple important championships, and complex financial issues.

Sprague was thrown into an already tough situation caused by the PGA of America’s move to Frisco and the ensuing brain-drain induced by shedding most of the Florida staff (or other embarrassments). There were signs of financial stress, ensuing C-level departures, and multiple moving parts outside the organization. But Sprague also inherited the CEO title with the sport thriving in ways unimaginable just a decade ago.

Ted Bishop is looking so much better with the passing of time....

 But Geoff has brought receipts:

But shed no tears for Sprague if this departure turns out to be performance-related. He inherited fantastic media deals for both the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup. He knew exactly what he

was getting into after serving as the organization’s president from 2014 to 2016, along with the usual smorgasbord of committee roles, honorary appearances, and countless hours devoted to working on PGA Sectional matters. And he was replacing former Deutsche Bank Americas CEO Seth Waugh, a more savvy operator in the golf and business communities who signed off on the move to Frisco. That’s proven to be a mess after appearing to shed more stability and wisdom than anticipated. And it’s saddled the organization with a facility appearing ill-equipped to host major championships. The new headquarters also seem to have cost the organization millions more than expected, despite being billed as an all-expense paid move to “the Silicon Valley of golf.”

Sprague came out swinging against 2028’s new equipment testing rules before he’d even figured out where to position his paper weights. He peddled easily provable falsehoods about the PGA’s supposed lack of involvement in the process. Sprague was practically pushed aside by president Don Rea during May’s PGA Championship press conference. And then he oversaw a complete fumbling of the totally predictable fan issues at September’s Ryder Cup. Days after it mattered and the circus had left town, Sprague acknowledged the issues publicly and sent an apology email to Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica, a former PGA of America employee.

It's really quite the organization.  One blessed with an abundance of assets, those 30,000 hostages to begin with, plus the legacy championships they retained after the split with the PGA Tour.  But, alas, Edifice Complexes are expensive.....

Wither LIV - Not as if I really care, but this was part of Alex Myers's latest installment of The Grind (which we've not sampled in an eternity):

WE’RE SELLING

LIV Golf: The Saudi-backed league had its worst off-season ever. First, rumors that LIV had

signed Korean players Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim turned out to be false. And then the league lost one of its biggest stars in Brooks Koepka, who walked away ahead of what was supposed to be the fourth and final year of his contract.

That is a huge blow to a league that initially lured five of the PGA Tour’s most popular players away. Of those five, Brooks has bounced and Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson have become mostly irrelevant. Two years ago around this time, LIV was celebrating the huge signing of Jon Rahm, but now it’s losing a five-time major champ. And it’s left with Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, who also has a contract running out this year, as its two remaining big guns. By the time I finished writing this paragraph, a report came out that LIV had signed Thomas Detry and Elvis Smylie. That’s something. But LIV still better re-sign Bryson or it’s really in trouble.

Well, worst off-season YET.

I'm not all that interested in Brooks' application to return to the PGA Tour, but do enjoy the irony it exposes.  Brooks' major-focused career prior to LIV exposed the soft underbelly of the Tour, to wit, it's lack of control over those pesky four events that matter.  His limbo status further explicates that, as he's exempt into all four majors, so what else actually matters?

But, while I'm not going to dive into this in any depth, you'll agree it's a fun header:

Bryson DeChambeau’s tricky contract situation is Greg Norman’s creation

Norman would enjoy listening to DeChambeau work through that hypothetical. It was back in 1994 that Norman petitioned the PGA Tour to let him compete in a non-sanctioned series of international matches, alongside Nick Price and against other two-man teams. That two-man, roving match concept has grown quite popular in these years of streaming golf content, particularly and unsurprisingly by LIV players who take their own marketing very seriously. That mindset is what Norman believed in. He loved the idea of golfers texting each other, not unlike NBA players do, to consider joining forces. He reveled in offseason discourse, stirring up the belief that a “big name” could jump from the PGA Tour at any moment, even if that rarely came to fruition. He had to love it when Koepka’s then-coach Claude Harmon took a victory lap in 2023, comparing his stud striker who just won the PGA Championship to Justin Verlander signing a 2-year, $90 million deal with the New York Mets. What’s important now is it seems to work both ways.

In other sports that would be called tampering, but there is no penalty for it in pro golf — partly because these two sides agreed to stop suing each other two years ago, but also because the rules of golf free agency are still being written, and they’ll likely be different for different people. It will surely benefit Koepka that he was never part of the aforementioned lawsuits. (See: The PGA Tour’s immediate, non-statement statement about Koepka. They’ll be happy to welcome him back.) DeChambeau likely won’t be afforded the same cheeriness, but he will have Koepka indirectly working on his behalf, charting some sort of journey in life after LIV.

In a matter of months, that path should be clearer. Just as DeChambeau will continue leading — in the final year of his contract — the most commercially viable LIV franchise. All of it is leverage of some sort in the system Norman created. He just probably never imagined it working this way.

Quite the mess, though it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of bonecutters.....  Really, Bryson has made himself the indispensable man, they can't hardly let him go while maintaining any pretense of viability.  So it's hard to see the Saudis having any leverage, except them being, in the immortal words of Phil, Bad Mo-Fo's.  Interesting negotiation, eh?

Exit Strategy - Mine, that is.... Just gonna riff off this week's Tour Confidential, which is thin gruel indeed:

After several weeks off, the 2026 PGA Tour season kicks off on Thursday with the Sony Open in Hawaii. Last week, we touched on some bold predictions for this year, so this week, we’ll jump into the second part of our season preview. Scottie Scheffler has won the PGA Tour Player of the Year award the last four years, so are you taking Scheffler or the field in 2026?

Josh Schrock: I’m going to take the field. Scottie just continues to get better, but eventually he’s not going to win everything. At least, I think.

Sean Zak: It would be a bit stunning not to see Scheffler win three times in 2026. That feels like his floor! So who is gonna beat that? Rory McIlroy could take the crown, sure, but it would have to happen in the biggest events. If Jon Rahm was a PGA Tour golfer, maybe I’d feel differently, but he’s not. So I’ll take Scheffler against the field.

Jack Hirsh: Yeah, it’s tough to bet against Scheffler. Last year, we were wondering how he would top a seven-win season. How about by winning six more times and doubling his major total to set up a potential Grand Slam completion on Long Island this summer? Depending on how I feel on a given day, I sometimes think Rory McIlroy can be the better player at his best, but he’s just not on every week like Scheffler is now. You just can’t bet against that kind of sustained greatness.

In golf you always have to take the field.  That doesn't mean that against Scottie you have to like it....

If Scheffler doesn’t win, who will? Or who will be the runner-up to him?

Schrock: I’ll take Tommy Fleetwood. Now that the PGA Tour monkey is off his back, he wins three times, including a major, and wins the POTY.

Zak: I think Xander Schauffele returns to world-beating form, so I’ll push my chips in on him. His floor was never really that low in 2025 despite working through some injury issues. He raises it this year.

Hirsh: I’m on the Fleetwood hype train as well, but I still don’t think (even if he wins the Masters like I expect him to) he will top McIlroy.

Tommy Lad is a an easy guy for whom to root, but don't we think it's an obvious short sale?

Last year, Ben Griffin started the season winless but won three times on the PGA Tour and earned a Ryder Cup pick. Who’s your pick for breakout player in 2026?

Schrock: I want to say Luke Clanton, but the results since he turned pro have been rough. He still has a lot of potential, but for a breakout player, I’ll go a different direction and pick Michael Thorbjornsen to win multiple times in 2026. I’d also look out for Marco Penge, who has one of the best swings in golf and is fresh off a three-win 2025 on the DP World Tour. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him stay hot and win once or twice on his new tour if the game stays in form.

Zak: Rasmus Hojgaard! I’ll plant my flag behind him as the better twin, with all due respect to Nico. He’s won and contended on the DP World Tour plenty; enough that you’d expect him to do it on the PGA Tour. My dart throw is that he bags a win in the spring and maybe another in the fall.

Hirsh: Does Cameron Young count? I know he got hot at the end of the season, finally got in the winner’s circle, and was the LLVP (Least Least Valuable Player) for the Americans at the Ryder Cup, but I see him carrying that momentum to at least two more wins this season.

Cam Young?  Thanks for digging deep....

J.J. Spaun made one of the most memorable putts of the season last year to win the U.S. Open and claim his first major. Which major-less player will win their first in 2026?

Schrock: I’ve already picked Fleetwood to win a major, so we will stay there. All eyes will be on him at the Open, but I think he gets it done at Shinnecock in June.

Zak: Gonna put my faith in Viktor Hovland and his endless hunt. The talent is there. Here’s hoping everything falls into place during the weeks that matter.

Hirsh: Fleetwood wins the Masters. Ludvig Aberg is the Champion Golfer of the Year. Did I stutter?

Tommy does have the lovely memory from Shinny, but still...

And the 2026 Rookie of the Year will be…?

Schrock: Give me Penge. I love the swing and the demeanor. He wins twice.

Zak: We’ll keep the Norway vibes high and go with Kristoffer Reitan. DataGolf ranks him 39th in the world right now, which is about 40 spots higher than I would have expected. He hits it plenty far and putts it great. He can win in the weeks when his irons are above average.

Hirsh: I like Penge a lot, too, but I’ll go with Johnny Keefer, the KFT player of the year. He nearly won $1 million on that Tour last year and then finished T7 at the RSM at the end of the year. Sky is the limit for the Baylor kid.

Yeah, can't say that I know enough about these kids.  With the limited field sizes of the Money Grabs, the kids need to make their moves early in the year, to Aon themselves into the mix.

And your final wildcard bold prediction is…?

Schrock: Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler both return to the winner’s circle in 2026. Spieth will win at Pebble Beach in February, while Fowler gets it done at the RBC Heritage.

Zak: Sepp Straka, major champion.

Hirsh: The trio of 40-somethings, Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, and Adam Scott, win three times collectively, and each one has a T5 in a major.

You want me to care about T5's in majors?  But, Josh, I assume you're predicting KF wins for Spieth and Rickie?   Because anything more than that would indicate that you have trouble moving on...

Have a great week.  I doubt I'll bother blogging again this week.  I travel home on Saturday, so best guess is we'll catch up to wrap the Sony on Monday.  

Weekend Wrap - Back In The Saddle Edition

It's been a while, eh?  I'm not expecting any traffic for this post, as I expect folks have long since tired of hitting refresh and seeing no updates.  In my defense, it's not like there's been any actual news to muse upon....

I am headed West tomorrow, where the paucity of snow should allow for blogging, unless inertia prevails.  Some actual golf news or, even better, and actual controversy, might be helpful....

Not going to push myself too hard until I get my sea legs back, but where shall we start?

Wither Brooksie - An actual story, although this bit should come with a spit-take warning:

Brooks Koepka just became the most interesting man in golf — again

That "again" is really a laugher, as I'm not sure that he's even the most interesting frat boy in golf.   

He may be the 244th-ranked player in the world but with one stunning decision, Brooks Koepka has become golf’s most interesting man . . . again.

Koepka has been the best golfer in the world and, at times, the game’s most intriguing personality — but as we race toward 2026, the former seems like a distant memory while, as of Tuesday evening, he has wrested back the latter title.

Koepka has officially moved on from Smash GC and his own LIV Golf experiment, a 3.5-year journey that rewarded him generational wealth. Which means his next move — paving a Life after LIV, while still in his playing prime — will be analyzed and anticipated by everyone from Justin Thomas to Joe Schmoe to John Henry. According to the complimentary public statements, Koepka will spend more time with his family. But after that…

Who knows?

And that might be the point.

OK, we have what I'll concede is a moderately interesting situation, but the underlying protagonist remains aloof and unsympathetic.  The story itself is interesting, though, but mostly for what it tells us about LIV.  Beginning with, well, the beginning:

There has long been a jocky looseness to Koepka’s decisions — this is a guy who dyed his hair blonde in the months before his wedding — but his move to LIV was no lark. It came in 2022, when he was racking up more injuries than victories and pondering whether his career as an elite player might be cooked. The timing coincided neatly with the year when Saudi funding upended the sport, and Koepka saw a fat check on offer, eventually committing to four years. And yet, throughout his time at LIV, during which he won four times, it never fully seemed like he was all-in on the league. When his fellow captains gushed about the league’s momentum, he was far more measured. When he won the 2023 PGA Championship, he was given every opportunity to make it a victory for LIV. He never took the bait. Now, on the eve of that contract’s final year, the sides have “amicably” parted ways. 

Most of the guys allegedly went to LIV to play less.  Brooks, more tellingly, went to LIV because he was unsure whether he was physically able to play golf.  Once he got healthy, the cashed checks diminished in value....

The last Tour Confidential of 2025 had this:

In an unprecedented move in LIV Golf’s brief history, the league announced it had split “amicably” with five-time major winner Brooks Koepka who, via the statement, said he wanted to prioritize spending more time with family. What does the domino effect — for LIV, the PGA Tour, and Koepka — look like? And which one of those is more intriguing to you?

Dylan Dethier: We at GOLF had a conversation in late 2022 about which LIV defector the PGA

Tour would miss the most. There were strong arguments for Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson (and we mostly whiffed on Bryson, who is probably the current answer) but I said Brooks Koepka for two reasons: He was, at the time, this generation’s greatest major champ (Rory McIlroy has since tied him). And because of that alpha-dog major record, he could have stayed and doubled down on the idea that the PGA Tour is where the fiercest competitors play. In other words, when he left the PGA Tour, that was a massive blow — and it’s a massive deal that he’s leaving LIV.

What’s next? DeChambeau now has an unthinkable amount of leverage as he renegotiates his own contract with LIV. The PGA Tour is clearly eager to get Koepka back — but will have to strike a delicate balance when it comes to actually bringing him into the fold. But what does Koepka himself want?! I’m most interested to hear where his priorities are and what he thinks of the pro golf ecosystem, if we get him speaking freely.

Josh Schrock: The most intriguing part of this to me is what it means for the PGA Tour and how they handle bringing Koepka back. There has understandably been a lot of talk about Koepka’s exodus potentially being the start of a death blow for LIV, but I think it’s more likely this is just Brooks Koepka being Brooks Koepka. He was never fully bought into LIV. When he won the PGA in 2023, he was famously uninterested in letting LIV share the credit for the win. He has been open that he might have made a different decision had his health situation — or knowledge of his future health — been different in 2022. This might end up only being about Brooks Koepka not being interested in going through the LIV motions anymore.

He was never all that interested in run-of-the-mill PGA Tour events when he was a member, either. But how the PGA Tour works to bring him back and the punishment (or lack thereof) they hand out will be telling as the fracture makes its way into Year 5.

As Dylan noted, Bryson has a lot of leverage now in contract negotiations and clearly knows it based on his recent comments. It will be fascinating to see how it all unfolds over the next handful of months.

Sean Zak: I would hardly be shocked if Koepka and DeChambeau have been in touch about their concurrent decisions. They’re somewhat linked, as discussed above. I think DeChambeau will now rightfully ask for a major, major payday — or insist that LIV be serious about the major, major payday he was already asking for. There’s a difference, though — Koepka ended his deal with LIV. It sounds like DeChambeau is at least interested in playing his out for one more season, if not more.

Massive?  The man won exactly four PGA Tour events, so we seem to be over-interpreting more than a little, no?  But these guys don't seem to do irony, so bear with me:

The PGA Tour released a somewhat cryptic response to the Koepka news. Would Koepka returning to the PGA Tour be bigger for the Tour, or most disastrous for LIV?

Dethier: It would be a much bigger deal for the PGA Tour if he came back. Koepka has already struck LIV a massive blow by leaving — the next step is bigger for the Tour.

Schrock: Agree with Dylan. Koepka becoming the first big name to leave LIV with time still on his contract has already done damage to the breakaway league but the bigger deal is how and if he returns. If the PGA Tour gets Brooks Koepka back, which we assume they will at some point, that’s a big deal for the Tour.

Zak: Devil’s advocate time. LIV hasn’t added anyone of note in two years. It now lost a major name and team captain for the first time. On paper, that looks like a plateau and then a step in the wrong direction. If 2024/2025 was LIV’s plateau, how high was the league’s peak? I know that sounds awfully premature, but where is the momentum entering season 4?

If you wanted to ask the stupidest question in Tour Confidential history, what would you do differently?  LIV has taken its hit, which is actually even a bit more profound in that Brooks left without a path back to the PGA (though there is likely some winking and nodding going on behind the scenes).

To me, the bigger picture is less favorable to the seeming winners.  The big picture look at golf as affected by LIV presents quite the grim picture for the seeming winners in this battle.  The primary effect of LIV, at least to this observer, is to expose the underlying weakness of all golf tours, especially the Big Kahuna, because of their lack of control over the majors.  

The PGA Tour, in order to placate the outsized egos of the elite players they needed to stay, has weakened their most important events.  Most folks are focused on the handful of LIV defectors that weaken Tour fields, but that's dwarfed by leaving half the field on the outside looking in.  In response to the competitive threat from LIV, they've boldly decided to weaken their own product.  What, you think Bud Light is the only product utterly indifferent to their customers?

Where will Brooks play in 2025?  It's not like his recent play has us on the edge of our seats, but I assume his primary path will be through Euro Tour membership, which is full circle for him given how he came up in golf.  What your humble blogger doesn't know if whether he can receive sponsors' exemptions, and this AI response doesn't exactly clarify that question:

Yes, Brooks Koepka could receive sponsor exemptions to PGA Tour events, but it's complicated by his status after moving to LIV Golf and potential suspensions, meaning he'd likely need to earn his way back through current exemptions, Q-School, or Korn Ferry Tour, while major wins might offer some pathway to majors regardless. While his past wins grant significant exemptions, his LIV affiliation and tour penalties mean he might have to qualify or use limited sponsor invites for regular PGA Tour events, making a full return challenging but possible.

Yanno, I'm realizing that I've missed an opportunity.  Blogging is difficult and time-consuming.....  I should just ask ChatGPT or Grok to write my posts, no?  Anybody think they could tell the difference?  OK, the absence of typos might be a tell, but other than that?

The Tiger Obsession - We can all agree that we need a crash program to develop a vaccine, but let the silliness commence:

This week, on Dec. 30, Tiger Woods turns 50. Easy one: what’s been your favorite Tiger moment you’ve seen or been a part of?

Dethier: I was lucky enough to cover a bunch of Tiger tournaments in the 2018-2019 range when he was showing signs of a comeback underway. The 2018 Valspar Championship, for example, was an unexpected blast. The 2018 PGA at Bellerive was electric. There was also a moment in 2020 — perhaps his last as a major championship contender — that has stuck with me. But yeah, it was obviously the 2019 Masters. Arguably the greatest golf tournament of all time, we got the result everybody wanted to see and you could taste the euphoria in the air.

Schrock: How could it not be the 2019 Masters? A perfect storybook finish to a legendary golf career. We can hope there’s one more moment for Tiger, but he already gave us it in 2019.

Zak: Watching Woods win the 2019 Masters from inside the Augusta National locker room was fun. Standing between Martin Kaymer and Rickie Fowler as they watched the broadcast, unable to look away, realizing they were now victims to the same scheme the old-heads always told them about. He did it again and he did it to a new generation of stars: Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and others, who all had a chance that Sunday. Still feels hard to believe.

Are you with me on how inane this is?  You're asking three young punk writers for their favorite Tiger moment, guys who were like three years old in 1997.  What a shock they all cite 2019, it's the only major of Tiger's that they remember.

Tiger’s role in pro golf is much different now than it was 30 years ago. Decades from now, how will we look back at Tiger post-50 and where will we notice his biggest influences?

Dethier: I think we’ll marvel at the fact that he went from being arguably the greatest golfer in history to an in-the-weeds administrator. But I guess I also still hope we’re marveling at the truly unthinkable comeback he made after his sixth back surgery.

Schrock: His on-course feats will always top the list but I do think that in 30 years we could look back on Tiger post-50 and see how he shaped what we will then know pro golf to be. He and Brian Rolapp are going to be the architects of the PGA Tour’s new reality and it’s clear that TIger is very focused on that being part of his legacy. Let’s also not forget much money Tiger made everyone else during his career — our James Colgan had a great piece on the financial Tiger effect that is worth your time.

Zak: I think he has a chance to do something big with the Ryder Cup — to grab the reigns from the PGA of America and lead the Americans back to glory. But as I wrote the other day, it doesn’t seem likely to happen soon. In the meantime, I suppose he’ll be grinding on reshaping the structure of the Tour’s competitive platform. That should keep him plenty busy.

Sean, you might want to reality test that answer.  The golf world needed Tiger to captain that Ryder Cup team at Bethpage and he, well, he just couldn't be bothered.  They seem unable to recognize that Tiger does what Tiger wants, and nothing more.  They uncritically credit him with transformational changes, without any consideration of whose interest will dominate.   

I'm a lone voice in the wilderness, but I would think we'd want to understand his Ryder Cup no-show before handing him the keys to the kingdom.  

Geoff has a 2026 preview post up with his tongue planted firmly within his cheek, including this Tiger call-out:

Tiger Woods tells a backed media center at the Cologuard Classic that’s he’s still waiting for the phone call about captaining the 2027 Ryder Cup team. But the PGA of America is in extended “talks” with Nick Saban about the job after Ryder Cup Captain’s Committee member Justin Thomas suggested the former Alabama coach is the “ideal leader” for 2027’s matches at Adare Manor.

More likely he's awaiting finalized financial arrangements from his buddy J.P. McManus.  Tiger should actually recuse himself, but now I'll need to give you a moment to stop laughing....

The Year Ahead - Predictions are hard, especially about the future.  I'll grab some bits from the first Tour Confidential of 2026, and maybe some of Geoff's bits as well:

1. Welcome to the first Tour Confidential of 2026, where we are still a week away from the opening PGA Tour tournament of the year, yet still have plenty to discuss. Let’s get into our first topic: Look into your crystal ball and give us your boldest bold prediction for the year.

Josh Sens: Scottie Scheffler wins at Shinnecock (not bold; just inevitable) to wrap up the career grand slam, and Fred Ridley announces that the Masters will move to a limited-flight ball by 2030.

Zephyr Melton: Sens’ first prediction is about as lukewarm as they come, but the second is quite tasty. I’ll say that we’ll see Brooks Koepka on the PGA Tour sometime this year. He may be suspended from certain events, but I’d have to imagine the Tour will allow him back on a limited basis.

Nick Piastowski: Some good ones above! I’ll use Sens’ theme and predict that Jordan Spieth wins the PGA Championship and completes the grand slam. The question wanted bold, so let’s go bold.

Jordan Spieth?  We'll credit Nick for going way out on a limb, but Jordan's career slam exists only as a fever dream in Nick's mind.

2. OK, now switch leagues from your previous bold prediction and give us one more.

Sens: LIV offers Bryson DeChambeau a $1 billion contract extension.

Melton: Jeeno Thitikul wins two majors. She’s been on the doorstep so many times, it’s baffling she doesn’t have one yet. I think 2026 for Jeeno will be much like 2024 was for Xander Schauffele.

Piastowski: More good ones! Let’s keep it rolling. Tiger Woods wins the U.S. … Senior Open. But maybe that’s not bold. So here’s another: I think we hear more chatter about Australia hosting a major championship.

Jeeno is an actual good call, but what do we think the odds are that Tiger even plays the Senior Open?  Nick is on a roll, but picking the one event where he can't ride seems, well, out there.

3. What 2026 major venue are you most looking forward to and why?

Sens: The U.S. Open at Shinnecock. Always fun to watch the best take on this undeniably great design, made even more intriguing when the course setup gets pushed to the edge for the national championship.

Melton: Riviera for the U.S. Women’s Open. I’ve seen the men tackle the George Thomas design several times in February, but I’m intrigued to see how it plays with the USGA in charge in June. I have a feeling it could be an all-time great USWO host venue.

Piastowski: All of the above! I’ll add a couple: Aronimink hosts its first men’s major since 1962, and the Chevron, according to reports, will be played at Houston’s Memorial Park, a muni, and that’s how you ‘grow the game.’

 Not an actually bad set of answers.  For me it's Aronimink, because we've only seen it the once.

4. And what 2026 storyline are you already salivating over?

Sens: I try not to salivate in public, but I am very curious to see whether/how new commish Brian Rolapp remakes the Tour. Clearly, the old model needs disrupting, but what shape will the new version take?

Melton: I’m eager to see if Sens can improve his understanding of technology (I currently operate as his IT support guy). Outside of that, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the golf-ball roll-back. The issue wasn’t discussed much in 2025, but as we get closer to the 2028 date of pros using the new ball, I’m sure the debate will ramp up even more.

Sens: I’ve drafted a pithy comeback and have sent it out by carrier pigeon.

Piastowski: LOL! Let’s stay with Sens’ commissioner theme and I’ll say that I’m interested to see how new LPGA boss Craig Kessler continues to build momentum. He’s secured a better TV deal — but now what? I also want to see if Rory McIlroy gets a Guinness tap installed for the Masters Champions Dinner.

 More importantly, will Tiger show for Rory's Dinner?  

Geoff has a dissenting thought on his hometown:

The final groups at Riviera’s U.S. Women’s Open will have more people inside the ropes than outside. As proven at the 1983 PGA, 1995 PGA, and 1998 U.S. Senior Open, LA’s a one-golf-event-a-year town. But the peaceful vibe fails to discourage Yuka Saso, who wins her third U.S. Women’s Open.

Yeah, he's probably correct given that it's mid-summer.  While the point made above about conditions is correct, I'd add that when the ladies play venues that we see the men on frequently, it's often to the disadvantage of the lasses.

I'm going to wrap here, and wish you all a belated Happy New Year.  I'll be back from Western HQ as news and interest allow.  We're a mere three months out from Augusta, so I hope that brings a smile to your face.  

Weekend Wrap - Refocused Blogger Edition

I'm having some difficulty deciding how many lies I've packed into that there header.... Certainly the opening word, as the weekend was more Packers-Broncos than Grant Thornton.  My last local ski buddy is a diehard Packers fan, so todays skiing may feel more like a Shiva call.  Perhaps not the most tasteful joke with the weekend news from Sydney and Providence, not to mention California.

It's strange days here in Utah.  I won't bore you with all the condo and car issues that hit me upon arrival, but the larger issue is the warm, dry weather.  When I arrived, the Canyons side of Park City had all of one trail open, expanded to three for last weekend.  We're skiing in temps up in the high 40's, not conducive to snowmaking or the preservation of what little snow exists.  The only reason I got the plane was that my nephew is expected to come through with a college buddy for what's become an annual visit.  Somehow I'm guessing that the former competitive mogul skier will be frustrated with skiing green groomers, but that's about all we have.  I expect we'll hit every ski shop in the Wasatch Front.

After my long absence, I expect about five pageviews for this post, but shall we?

The Times, They Are A-Changin' - As I understand the current state of play, we are combining a non-golfer and a notoriously self-interested egotist to redefine the Tour.  What could go wrong?  It's harder than you might think to home in on what is actually under consideration, but here's a Tiger-centric snippet that amuses with the change in tone:

“You’re chairing the Future Competitions Committee,” a reporter began. “l’d like to know, personally, what is your motivation to contribute heavily to the strength of the PGA Tour?”

It’s a question central to the present and future of men’s professional golf. Woods has enough money, prestige and time to do just about anything, of course — but he’s chosen to fill his days

with Zoom calls and strategy meetings in an attempt to reinvent a tour on which his own competitive days are numbered. Is Woods careless with his time? Nobody thinks that. But nobody knew how carefully he’d thought about his decision to moonlight as a golf bureaucrat. Not until Woods answered the question.

“Well, the PGA Tour gave me an opportunity to chase after a childhood dream,” he said. “I got a chance to hit my first ball in my first PGA Tour event when I was 16 years old. I know that’s what, 33 years ago, but I’ve been involved with the PGA Tour ever since then.

“A little kid from Cypress, California, growing up on a par-3 course got a chance to play against the best players in the world and make it to World No. 1. I got a chance to be involved in a lot of different things on our Tour. This is a different opportunity to make an impact on the Tour.

Woods’ monologue hit on a theme we haven’t heard much recently: That the PGA Tour isn’t a [winces] product in need of [winces again] optimization and [bangs head on desk] profit maximization. It asked us to remember that the PGA Tour is also something else entirely: A place where childhood dreams come true.

Gee, I had been reliably informed that it was Product v. Product.  So hard to keep up....

But, I hear you asking, what exactly might they do?  Well, depending upon Tiger to share his thoughts is fruitless, so how about an AI-generated summary of changes under consideration?  yeah, that was rhetorical:

Key Proposed Changes (For 2027 & Beyond)

Shorter, Focused Season: Moving from the current large schedule to roughly 20-25 events, featuring the best courses and biggest markets.

Post-Super Bowl Start: Delaying the season's main events until after the NFL Championship game to capture more viewership.

"Scarcity" & Simplicity: Creating more high-stakes, high-value events (like Signature Events) where top players are guaranteed to play, reducing the current elevated/regular event divide.

Bye Weeks: Introducing designated weeks off after majors for top players.

Strategic Event Placement: Considering moving or cutting certain events (like Florida tournaments) to fit in West Coast swings and avoid conflicts.

My favorite bit is that ChatGPT, or whatever AI model Google uses, hasn't learned to close quotation marks.... that sound you here is my mother the grammarian spinning in her grave.

The first thing that jumps out at your humble blogger is that a spot-Super Bowl start eliminates so many of the "best courses and biggest markets".  And, perhaps more importantly, some of those early-season, prime time TV opportunities.  Can they really jam Riviera, Pebble, Torrey and the Wasted in with a later start?  

The objective of a more streamlined Tour seems superficially worthy, though I feel compelled to remind folks that the impact on playing opportunities of a 20-25 event schedule can't be judged until they share their proposed field sizes for said events.  With the Tour seemingly controlled by a cabal featuring Patrick Cantlay, I naturally assume the worst.  Doesn't seem to be the best moment to be a Tour rabbit, eh?

Last week's Tour Confidential panel couldn't resist the siren song of the Striped One:

Tiger Woods spoke to the media for the first time in several months when he held his annual press conference at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas (won by Hideki Matsuyama). Tiger touched on a variety of topics; which was most interesting to you?

Dylan Dethier: I was most intrigued by Woods’ involvement in the future vision for the PGA

Tour; I wrote about that here but what’s fascinating to me is the pairing of Woods — the ultimate insider, and at this point one of the Tour’s longest-tenured figures in any position — and Rolapp — the ultimate outsider with admittedly very little golf-specific knowledge — as the shapers of the Tour’s future.

Josh Berhow: I don’t think anyone anticipated this particular presser getting so into the rumored schedule changes, but I thought Tiger speaking about it added some legitimacy to it. The health update was both unsurprising and disappointing. I don’t think Tiger can come back and contend regularly these days, but it would be fun to see him healthy and play a few times a year. The watch is on for the Masters.

James Colgan: I was most interested by Tiger’s comment about YouTube. He indicated he felt the infinite video library of swings on the internet was helping to turbocharge golf’s youth movement. Every so often, you’ll hear Woods say something that reflects he thinks about golf on a wholly different plane from most mere mortals. One example was when he started talking about the “cut” and “draw” spin necessary on chip shots at Augusta National. This was another.

I have a simple question.  Tiger has allegedly been so involved for quite some time, including in the negotiations with His Excellency.  Can anyone point to anything positive that has happened due to Tiger's involvement.

We know he's used his involvement to beg off the Ryder Cup captaincy, setting in motion the chain of events that led to the Keegan Bradley Hail Mary.  How'd that work out for everyone?

As the chair of the Future Competitions Committee, Tiger also indicated the Tour is looking at creating a shortened schedule (and avoiding the NFL) that could begin in 2027, although he was light on details. There’s been much talk about the potential for a new Tour schedule in the future, but what’s the biggest hurdle from making it all happen?

Dethier: Ironically one of the things the Tour wants to change is the same thing preventing it from making that change. There are so many [buzzword alert] stakeholders, so many separate deals with so many different tournaments that it’s challenging to get everything just right for everyone without crossing a dozen can’t-cross lines. Put another way: the Tour is a big boat, and it’s tough to turn a big boat around.

Berhow: Wow, love the boat analogy, Dylan. Good work. But the answer is there’s a lot in the way of making something like this happen. I’d love a schedule that takes the best 70-some players and puts them in the same 20 or so events a year (including majors) and all of a sudden we have some simplicity, continuity, distinction and burgeoning rivalries. But what about the middle class? How many members are there? How does the Korn Ferry Tour factor in? What about the smaller events? It’s frustrating we still don’t have a great way to do this, but I am also happy I’m not the person in charge of this. Because it can’t be easy.

Colgan: Every so often, the history of a major professional sports league comes down to the brute force capacity of its leadership. For baseball, this happened with the pitch clock. For basketball, with the first and second “aprons.” For football, with the 2011 lockout. I think brute force is the biggest hurdle facing the PGA Tour, and we’ll know if Woods and PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp have the gumption for it soon enough.

You see the problem in those first two answers, as Josh Berhow has succumbed to the appeal of 70-player fields.   But, Josh, why be a piker?  If you want Scottie v. Rory every week, why not just go to 20 player fields?  As I always ask, where is the limiting factor?  

We need to ask a simple question of everyone involved.  If 70-players fields are elite athletic competitions, why do the majors have 156-player fields (obviously excluding the one)?   Are we comfortable devolving the PGA Tour into a closed-shop of exhibition matches?

Wither LIV - Does it feel like the elite Tour players are continuing to use the risk of defections to LIV to create a more LIV-like PGA Tour, notwithstanding that LIV itself is floundering mightily?  

Shall we drop in to an interview with new LIV majordomo Scott O'Neill?  Again, rhetorical:

Scott, I’ve heard you refer to yourself a few times as a “change agent.” What did you think needed to be changed about LIV Golf when you took the job?

Yeah, I would say any four-year-old business in a very mature industry needs to be nimble, hard-charging, relentless. Needs to be on the journey of evolution, if you will. What the group went

through here to build and break through in golf — I don’t know if we’ll ever see it in our lifetimes again, and I think it’s somewhat spectacular.

What I’m coming here to do is to take that foundation and build the business. There are a whole host of paths that may lead us on. One is clearly on the golf side — on the golfer side. When you start to see faces like Tom McKibben, Josele Ballester and David Puig and Caleb Surratt — when you start to see an emerging next generation of talent, it should give us confidence that this is going in the right direction.

But I came here to complete, not compete — and, philosophically, that’s quite a shift and a change. How do we partner with the institutions that are becoming [our] very good friends at the majors? The USGA and the R&A are our agronomy partners; I’d imagine that was unthinkable four years ago. To think that those two organizations would open up pathways for us and recognize LIV? It’s wonderful.

I’d say getting on broadcast television was another one. Getting on one of the big four networks and launching on Fox; adding a handful of household names as marketing partners like HSBC and Salesforce and Qualcomm; and having endemics like Ping and Callaway raise their hand and say, “Oh yeah, some of the best players in the world are there.”

That’s the kind of stuff that we talked about achieving early on, and we’ve had a fair amount of success.

I'm still laughing at that "on the golf side".  What other side is there?

But my BS detector is in the red zone.  Yeah, they have a deal with Fox, but FS2 ain't exactly the mothership....

But I hope you have room to laugh some more:

Something I’ve always been a little perplexed by is that LIV doesn’t often publicly state its goals. It is very hard to know what LIV thinks about LIV’s performance to date. I’ve noticed you changed that a bit. You announced $500 million in new sponsorships earlier this year, and have been a little bit more transparent about bigger goals, like the OWGR. But before I get into the details, I wanted to ask you a simple question: If your time at LIV is a success, what will it look like?

I would say that we are the dominant global golf league and are recognized as such outside the U.S. I think that would be successful.

Well, they do own the Riyadh market, so they've got that going for them.

Going back to his first answer, it's more than passing strange that he would focus on the emerging talent, given LIV's ability to turn those careers stillborn.  There is no mechanism for those players to get into the majors, except perhaps by maintaining Euro Tour membership.  I don't understand those youngsters' decisions, because LIV can't provide a path to the next career step.

But again, the BS detector flashes red:

What are some of the general sports principles that you’re applying to LIV?

LIV is different from other tours. First of all, it’s a league, not a tour. But one thing I’ve noticed is that we have extraordinary talent who we’ve asked to make a commitment, and they have. Bryson [DeChambeau] has led the way on social media, but so has Phil Mickelson, who’s 55 years old. Our players are shaking hands, taking selfies, signing autographs when the cameras aren’t on them — that matters. They’re showing up for extra media sessions. They’re engaging in a broadcast. They’re my business partners. You know, these guys are out hustling for sponsorship deals.

Focusing on the product and the player is one thing that’s universal across sports. Sometimes everybody gets distracted by the everything else. But we have the product right, and we have a commitment from the players that matter most in the world.

Oh, it's a league that no one cares about, as distinct from a Tour that no one watches.  Got it.

But these guys still seem to be in a Product v. Product battle, and I'm guessing that is the more realistic take.

So, are they doing anything that will change the direction forward?  There might be this:

Is LIV Golf on the verge of making its biggest signing since Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton joined

the league?

Si Woo Kim is in "late-stage negotiations" to sign with LIV Golf, Tom Hobbs of Flushing It Golf reported Wednesday morning.

Kim joining LIV Golf would be another big gap to fill for the International team in the Presidents Cup. Kim is a four-time PGA Tour winner, including the 2017 Players Championship, and has played in the last three Presidents Cups. He's ranked 47th in the Official World Golf Ranking and finished inside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings following the 2025 season.

Clearly that changes everything....But, the news isn't all good:

For the past few months, speculation has swirled that Brooks Koepka is looking for a LIV Golf exit ramp. The assumption was that Koepka might move on when his contract expires at the end of the 2026 season, but new reports now suggest the five-time major winner has already made his last appearance on the Saudi-backed tour.

Sources told Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter that Koepka may not play on the LIV tour in 2026, forfeiting nearly $20 million but remaining eligible to play on the DP World Tour and in the year’s majors thanks to his 2023 PGA Championship win. Furthermore, it has been suggested that Koepka may use this gap year to serve out a 12-month PGA Tour suspension, potentially rendering him eligible to return to the sport’s (still) premier golf league in August 2026.

Actually, Brooksie's unhappiness goes back far longer than the referenced few months.  In fact, he's been a malcontent since his arrival on the Tour League.

Additionally, this other South Korean has shot down rumors of his defection:

Sungjae Im has a two-word response to reports linking him to LIV Golf.

PGA Tour star Sungjae Im has firmly dismissed speculation linking him to a move to LIV Golf, responding with a two-word message: "Fake news".

Do you see the irony in that rumor?  Sungjae is the guy that didn't even have a home in the States for a long time, because he played every single week.  Doesn't make him an ideal fit for LIV, given that the rationale was mostly about wanting to play less.

Udder Stuff - The sun is up in Utah and I'm eyeing the exit.  How about we use this week's Tour Confidential for some quick call-and-response blogging.  yet again, rhetorical:

As we count down the final days of 2025, let’s take a quick moment to reflect on the year that was. Who were the most important golf figures of 2025?

Jack Hirsh: Important? I think it’s got to be new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and new LPGA

commissioner Craig Kessler. Both have taken over legacy properties badly in need of fresh ideas and new perspective. Already we’re hearing talks of massive changes for the PGA Tour schedule as soon as 2027. Whether you like them or not, the Tour is clearly looking for something that will put its LIV Golf problem to bed. With Kessler and the LPGA, a new TV deal seems like it could be the spark to get the Tour to ride this new wave of interest in women’s sports around the world. There are certainly more important names in the golf world right now, but none will have more pressure to achieve their goals in 2026 than these two.

Zephyr Melton: Jack laid it out well, but I’ll go ahead and give Tiger Woods his obligatory mention. The popularity of the sport still ebbs and flows with Tiger — as evidenced by the heaps of coverage when he so much as posts a swing video. His competitive career may be behind him, but his influence on the game remains unmatched.

Josh Sens: Good answers above. To them, I’d add Rory McIlroy for providing the most compelling entertainment of the year at both the Masters and the Ryder Cup. And Tommy Fleetwood for best feel-good story. But that’s more about rooting interest than importance. Beyond those guys, some non-traditional golf figures come to mind, especially at a time when the game is stretching increasingly beyond its old boundaries. Caitlin Clark getting into golf. LeBron James going viral with every swing posted online. And though I’d rather get a root canal than watch a bunch of “influencers” knock it around, clearly people are interested, as we saw with the success of the Internet Invitational. Welcome to the future, for better or worse.

Zephyr Melton, take a bow.  What exactly did Tiger do in 2025?  His biggest contribution would seem to be playing Call of Duty during Ryder Cup week.  Tell me again, Zephyr, why he wasn't at Bethpage, if he's the straw that stirs the drink.

But I love Josh's answer.  I'm perfectly happy thinking of Tommy Fleetwood as the most significant golf figure of the year.  Not for the Tour Championship win which, while satisfying, involved beating only 29 other players.  No, what I liked most was his reaction to the disappointments at Hartford and elsewhere, where he was a consummate professional.  When asked why he talked to the press after crushing deafest, he said some delightfully simple, to wit, "It's my job."

Which makes him the anti-Rory, who in the aftermath of the career Slam turned into a self-interested jerk.  There's simply no other way to describe his summer hissy fit.   

And who — not mentioned above — might we be talking about in this space a year from now as a key figure of 2026?

Hirsh: I think it will be someone like Jon Rahm. His prominence in the game has seemed to diminish since his move to LIV, but he’s still played pretty well and I think will start making more of an impact in majors. He still hasn’t won one since the 2023 Masters.

Melton: How bout Brooks Koepka? Speaking of LIV, he’s long been rumored to want out of his LIV deal in order to get back to the PGA Tour. Could 2026 be the year we see a LIV star defect back to the Tour? If it is, BK is likely the first domino to fall.

Sens: Bryson. His impact shows no sign of slowing.

Yeah, not much to work with there.  Koepka will be of note for sure if he's the first to leave LIV, but it's not like he's been much of a player since Oak Hill.

 I didn't follow this, but sounds heartbreaking for Camillo:

Five players earned Tour cards for 2026 via PGA Tour Q-School Sunday at TPC Sawgrass. Which outcome — the good or bad — stuck out to you the most?

Hirsh: Sad to see one of the Tour’s great people, Camilo Villegas, come up one shot short of a playoff to keep full playing status on the Tour. He’ll still be around as a former winner, but I wouldn’t be surprised if former winners hanging onto fringe status is exactly what shrinking the number of exempt players from 125 to 100 is targeting.

Melton: Alejandro Tosti is headed back to the Tour — and the content gods thank him.

Sens: Villegas’ final missed shorty on 18 was painful. But it was touching to see him stick around to celebrate with his friend and countryman Marcelo Rozo. Personally, I was rooting for Spencer Levin, who has been around the block and then some and just didn’t have his best stuff today.

That will have to do for today.  I think I still have company coming, so you might not hear from me again until I'm home next week.  Then again, even then there might not be much to muse upon.  Have a great week and I'll see you when I see you.