Weekend Wrap - Bomb Cyclone Edition

As with all aspects of life, yesterday's bomb cyclone failed to deliver the goods.  But I only come to New York to see the snow, which looks like it will be covering our golf course well into May.... Soon I'll be heading back to the Mountain Greenery (anyone but me remember that song) of, wait for it, Utah.

In other news, I'm still trying to reignite my enthusiasm for this blogging thing.  Just when I've worked up a smidgeon of enthusiasm, PReed heads back to town.  Can't a fellow get a break?

A Rose By Any Other Name - It was quite the week and I do agree he's one of the good guys, but perhaps a deep breath is in order?  Not to be Debbie Downer, but fields don't get much weaker and weather doesn't get more benign, so I'm still thinking that Tiger guy was probably the better player...

This is a good take on how we got here:

In 2022, Rose’s game had dipped. The former World No. 1 had fallen into the 60s in the OWGR and LIV came calling. The Saudi-backed breakaway league was collecting names and resumes. It 

was paying for past achievement, hoping the major-winning names would drive initial interest. Where Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and others said yes, Justin Rose said no. It was fitting that, during the week Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour after a three-plus-year voyage with LIV, Rose continued to validate his decision with a romp that saw him break the 72-hole scoring record set by Tiger Woods.

Rose was able to do that because he wanted more. He has been able to do all of it because he wanted more.

“My career goals have always only been attainable by staying on the European Tour and the PGA TOUR because access to them is not, you know, not possible the other way,” Rose said on Sunday about his decision to reject LIV and the ripple effects of it.

“But obviously I want to play amongst the best players in the world. That obviously for me is kind of what keeps me motivated, what keeps me hungry, what keeps me pushing. So yeah, it would have been easy to potentially do other things, but none of that excited me, I don’t think really. And none of it gave me access to what I wanted to achieve. So I kind of always felt like my childhood self wouldn’t feel very good about making that decision and kind of giving up on those dreams.”

Compare this boring contentment with Phil's white-hot anger and his alleged poor treatment from the Tour.  I suspect JR is actually selling himself a little short, because if we prompted him he'd add for sure a concern that the Tour be sufficiently strong to support the next generations of newbies.

It's that time where we typically duck into the Tour Confidential roundtable, which today is most interesting and even noteworthy for the order in which it presents the issues of the day, although the absence of numbered questions perhaps indicates some internal lack of comfort with their editorial decisions.  They didn't get to this until the last query::

Justin Rose won the Farmers on Sunday, cruising to a seven-shot victory at Torrey Pines for his 13th PGA Tour win of his career. At 45 years old — and with an Olympic gold and U.S. Open title — does Rose get enough credit for being one of the game’s most consistent performers? How is he still doing it?

Colgan: When Rose faded down the stretch at the 2024 Open, I remember wondering if the “Indian Summer” chapter of his career was over. I was amazed by his performance then, and I’m even more impressed by it today. Rose is one of golf’s most impressive strategic thinkers and all-time decent dudes — he deserves the love he’s receiving.

Dethier: Rose just keeps writing new chapters and my goodness was this one particularly impressive. Rose is smashing drives; he’s up several miles per hour in ball speed over last season, looking and playing like a younger man. He led wire to wire. Broke Tiger Woods’ Torrey Pines scoring record. Won by seven. Looked in control very literally the entire tournament. Now he’s up to No. 3 in the world, which is unthinkable. Inspiring play from an inspiring player.

Schrock: It’s probably the best story we have going in professional golf right now. There’s nothing better than the aging guy who refuses to give Father Time what it wants to take from him. That he is arguably an even better player now than he was when he was World No. 1 speaks to his talent, drive and commitment to his craft and his body. At the Open, he said that losing the Masters to Rory didn’t sting in the way you’d think because it told him he can still bring it on the biggest stages against the best players in the world. Didn’t sound like a guy whose “Indian Summer” was ending and now he has won two times in the last six starts and continues to be a Ryder Cup killer. Tip of the cap.

It is a great story, mostly because we all like rooting for the good guy, especially given the peer group.  That said,  this is very much a second tier Tour event with a third tier field, so methinks we're subject to the dreaded recency bias.  What most interests me is how old school he seems, featuring consistency in a world that no longer values that trait.  

He's now risen to No. 3 in the OWGR, but does anyone really believe he's the third best player in the world?  To me, the real interest is in seeing if he can bring it on demand and pick off another major before the sands run through the hourglass.  If we're writing the script for what one writer called the best story in golf, wouldn't that have to happen at Augusta?  

They say that any time you share a record with an all-time great, you must be doing something right.  Yet the Masters record that JR shares with Hogan defies that conventional wisdom, no?  That Hogan guy has two wins to go with his two playoff losses, it's Justin that needs one to break his way.

The Prodigal Son - I'm something of a Mark Twain fanboy, so his famous quote, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes", is top of mind this morning.  I find comfort in the fact that Brooksie's return to the fold was every bit as exciting as as Brooks can be.  Which is to say, who is that thinks Brooks moves the needle?

Geoff had some fun snark, aimed at all the usual suspects:

Judging by the hype, you’d think Brooks Koepka had been hit by a Greyhound bus, transported to Area 51 to have his limbs removed, only to have them reattached in a Netflix live-streamed surgery by Dr. Neal El Attrache.

The 35-year-old five-time major winner is merely returning to PGA Tour play after a brief three-year tour of some of the worst golf courses known to man. Koepka appeared early this week in La Jolla just as everyone remembered from seeing him at last year’s majors: looking like he’d just gotten out of bed and delivering clipped answers in a monotone flatter than a Rees Jones design.

Golf fans already knew the faux tough guy wouldn’t be crooning classics while backed by the Ponte Vedra Brass. The five-time major champion’s appeal comes from an innate ability to flip a switch at majors, a superpower that vanished after his 2023 PGA Championship win.

The Tour Confidential panel had this:

LIV golfer-turned-PGA Tour player Brooks Koepka made his return at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, making the rounds in the media and even jumping on the broadcast before finishing T56. What did you think of his week and the reception?

Colgan: I was surprised by how vulnerable he seemed in his conversations and his interactions on

the course. For the vast majority of Koepka’s interactions with the public over the last five years, he’s appeared somewhere between surly and outright combative. This week was quite the opposite. I think it’ll be a while before I fully buy the “changed man” narrative — but it’s something I’m monitoring.

Dethier: I’m wary of getting too over-the-top with anything Brooks. Still, he was greeted like a conquering hero. He sounded humble and grateful and did extensive media before the tournament and then after each round, even sitting for the CBS broadcast on both Saturday and Sunday. Also, his golf swing looked great. Tee to green he was good enough to contend. He was dreadful with the putter, but there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic.

Schrock: I agree with James and Dylan that we should tread carefully when psychoanalyzing Brooks. We’ll see if the Koepka who seemed genuinely happy and grateful to be back and said he has “grown up” is indeed the Koepka who has returned from LIV. But my biggest takeaway was that a guy who famously couldn’t be bothered by regular PGA Tour events really seemed to soak up his return, enjoy the moments with his family and relished the opportunity to be the first guy back across the bridge. It was cool to see him back. His putting was dreadful. Hopefully he can find his way into contention soon.

How precious that James thinks he was vulnerable as he read from his prepared script.... Obviously the Tour is prepping for what could come next, and Brooks needed to play his assigned role.  But it was fun watching him on the greens.

I'll allow Geoff to also lede on that other guy:

Koepka will eventually be joined on the PGA Tour by Patrick Reed, who announced he is returning for the 2027 season after an early check-out from the Four Aces hotel. But if anyone defines checking out but never leaving, Reed’s PGA Tour return won’t be celebrated, given the pathetic legal actions befitting a man of little character and taken during an ill-fated partnership with now-suspended lawyer Larry Klayman.

Unlike Koepka’s decision to return, the PGA Tour posted a tidy and hardly-celebratory story confirming Reed’s eligibility. He resigned his membership prior to “violating any regulations” and would be eligible to return to competition “on Aug. 25, 2026, as a non-member, provided that he complies with Tour regulations and does not participate in additional unauthorized events.”

Smart stipulations given that we’re dealing with PReed and his bonkers “team.”

This also means the former Farmers Insurance Open champion won’t get to pick up and improve his lies at Torrey Pines this week. Instead, he’s the top-ranked player at this week’s DP World Tour stop in Bahrain.

Notice how Geoff always buries the good news.  In this case it's that we won't have to watch Patrick improve his lie by placing each of his fourteen clubs and ball retriever behind his lies in the rough. 

And now for the obligatory stupid question, yanno, in lieu of a potentially interesting one:

Speaking of LIV defectors, Patrick Reed announced Wednesday he’s leaving LIV and will be eligible to rejoin the PGA Tour in the fall of 2026. Bigger news for the Tour, or worse for LIV Golf?

Colgan: Worse for LIV, if only because name value is the currency of sports, and Reed’s departure removes one more familiar name from LIV’s fields.

Dethier: Worse for LIV. One quote Reed gave to ESPN explains why: “After winning [on the DP World Tour last week], I realized just how much I missed the grind and the dogfight; that’s who I am,” he said. The implication there is pretty clear. To Reed, golf’s established tours offer something that LIV didn’t. His decision to come back is a tough narrative to counter.

Schrock: Worse for LIV. They’ve now lost two of the six names they have that truly register. LIV built itself on buying names and two of those have now left. Combined with reports that the PIF is tightening the belt and that’s two successive blows to LIV.

Wrong, it's actually good for neither (though I'll concede worse for the bonecutters.

The interesting question is to understand how this deal with PReed does or does not provide a template for future LIV defectors.  The real question is what the hell is up with LIV.....

King Of The Segues - Did I hear someone ask about the future of LIV?  Let's throw this out first:

LIV Golf begins its season this coming week in Saudi Arabia, although without Koepka, who took up the PGA Tour’s offer to return via the newly created Returning Member Program. The window for application ends Feb. 2, and at this point it seems unlikely the only other eligible players (Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith) will flip. Given that Koepka might be the only one to return, was new CEO Brian Rolapp’s program a success?

Colgan: Uh, it wouldn’t have been a failure if nobody rejoined the Tour. The biggest talking point of the last three years has been bringing the best players back together. The Tour has now very clearly defined how that pathway looks. Adding two former major winners (including one willing to endure an eight-month suspension)? That’s just a bonus.

Dethier: Koepka’s decision to return is a massive win for the Tour. Reed’s decision to return is, too. These guys are essentially paying to play the PGA Tour; that’s a narrative win. Rolapp deserves a ton of credit, but so do those around him; this is a reinvigorated Tour thinking bigger and better and in this case, it really shows.

Schrock: No other way to square it than as a massive win for the PGA Tour. They brought back two big names, both of whom are major champions and generate emotion, and have them both agreeing to penalties — in Reed’s case an eight-month suspension — to come back. Rolapp being untethered to the past has freed the Tour up to do what previously seemed unlikely under past leadership. The response and coverage of Koepka’s return showed how big of a win this was for the PGA Tour. Reed coming back and doing so after an eight-month exile is icing.

Obviously that doesn't add much to our discussion or understanding of LIV's status and prospects. Do you remember when LIV was created, and how everyone felt compelled to offer their unique insights, which were typically along the lines that the Saudis could spend as much as they wanted or needed to.  Your humble blogger is an old curmudgeon who has absorbed one or two life lessons, one of which is that, no matter how much money one has, it's always a finite resource.

What do you know, but suddenly there are all sorts of references to belt-tightening in the Kingdom, mostly linked to this boondoggle:

Neom no more? Saudi Arabia reduces ambitious plans for 'The Line' and futuristic megacity

After years of cost overruns and delays, Saudi Arabia’s flagship futuristic megaproject, Neom, is set to be significantly scaled back. The futuristic super-city, meant to run entirely on alternative

energy sources, was due to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which has now been postponed.

Saudi Arabia is set to significantly scale back Neom, its flagship super-city project.

According to reports, Saudi Crown Prince and Neom chairman Mohammed bin Salman now envisions a much smaller development than originally planned, following years of cost overruns and delays.

On Saturday, the kingdom announced the indefinite postponement of the Asian Winter Games, which had been scheduled for 2029 at Trojena, a year-round ski resort in the Neom mountains.

Which do you think is funnier, that year-round ski resort or the Saudis falling for the green energy scam?  Tough one, as they're both comedy gold.

But here's the key bit on scale:

Covering roughly the size of Belgium, Neom was first billed as Saudi Arabia’s answer to Silicon Valley — a hub for technology and futuristic innovation. The projected cost was around $500 billion, but recent reports suggest the true figure could approach $9 trillion.

First touted in 2017, the desert megacity was expected to be home to nine million people by 2045, as Saudi Arabia sought to grow its population and become a global economic powerhouse.

Yanno, $9 Trillion here and $9 Trillion there....

We understand that a dysfunctional camel herding culture will inevitably misallocate capital, but in $9 Trillion increments it goes pretty quickly, even for the Saudis.  Of course, the larger issue is the absence of any tangible benefit from LIV.

Of course, LIV would have better prospects if it wasn't such a clown show.  This was my favorite bit this past week:

I for one am excited to see Dustin Jonhson, Phil Mickeslon and Martin Kraymer play.  They didn'ty even get the Tour name correct, which is now LXXII.

Wither Torrey - Did you notice how often Jim  Nancy-Boy referenced the term of the Tour at Torrey, as well as the length of the Farmers Insurance sponsorship?  Maybe it's me, but they seem to have elided a few relevant details:

As Farmers Insurance exits, what’s the future for San Diego PGA Tour event?

Why would they move on?  Maybe because the Tour treats them like the Mob treats its borrowers?

The PGA Tour returns to Torrey Pines and the Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday with much fanfare. Brooks Koepka is back on tour after four years away. Torrey Pines is one of the more visually stunning tour stops. And CBS makes its season debut for weekend coverage after nearly six months off.

But this very well could be the final January edition of the event. Farmers Insurance did not renew its longtime deal as title sponsor (it signed on in 2010), and much has been made about what the tour and its new Future Competitions Committee (FCC) is planning for 2027 and beyond.

Instead of looking forward, maybe we should look at how the Tour has treated Framers since 2010, specifically those back-to-back Signature events coming up.  It's not just that the Tour dumped them behind this event and made it impossible for them to attract a strong field, but rather that would have come after the extortion attempt.  Nice little event you have there.  Sure would be a shame if anything happened to it....

Amusingly, this may be the most likely scenario:

Though the tournament does not yet have a title sponsor beyond this week, Golf Digest reported recently that there was “strong interest” in the event. One potential sponsor for the San Diego tournament, sources said, is Sentry.

The insurance company first signed on for “The Sentry” prior to the 2018 tournament, which has been the PGA Tour’s annual first event of the season. But the 2026 tournament was canceled in September due to water delivery issues on Maui, and it’s widely expected that it will not return, meaning Sentry would be without an event to sponsor. Golfweek also recently reported on the possibility of Sentry moving to the San Diego event.

Sources said it’s possible -- even “likely” -- that Sentry would move in to sponsor the Torrey Pines tournament in future years should the Maui tournament not continue. Its deal for the Hawaii tournament runs through 2035. Also, sources said it’s possible that the Torrey Pines event, with Sentry as a sponsor, could move into a spot in the tour’s three-event postseason.

Stupidity on parade.  The best part of the PGA Tour schedule is the West Coast Swing, so naturally it needs to be destroyed.  Ask yourself a simple question: What is Torrey's appeal?  I'll concede the history, but it's far from a great golf course.  What it offers are the Pacific Ocean views, the cliffs and the hang gliders, in other words, the eye candy.  Does that eye candy resonate in August?  Yes, a little, but not like it does in frigid late January.  

Exit Strategy - I teased it above and damn near forgot to pay it off.  Did you catch the last round of the LPGA TOC?

Props to the TC gang for leading with this.  If you wonder why I call the LPGA The Tour That Can't Shoot Straight, come along for this ride:

The LPGA Tour opened its 2026 season with the Tournament of Champions at an uncharacteristically chilly Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Fla., and Nelly Korda was named the winner after the event was reduced to 54 holes (eight players finished their third rounds Sunday after weather also delayed the third round). The LPGA told reporters on-site that the weather (temps in the low 30s, plus wind) did not create an “optimal competitive environment for pros,” although the celebrities in the pro-am event still played nine holes Sunday. One of them, Annika Sorenstam, called the course “very playable.” Any issue with this one being shortened to 54 holes?

James Colgan:: I feel sympathy for the LPGA, because this is one of those “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situations. But I think any time things are close to playable, tours should opt for 72-hole events. The mojo of an event is totally changed, if not ruined, by the decision to cleave off 25 percent of it, and I’m not sure the conditions in Orlando justified radical change.

Dylan Dethier: I cannot understand how this was the best option. Y’know what’s interesting about golf? The fact that it’s never an “optimal environment.” It was incredible watching Nelly Korda surge up the leaderboard on Saturday — in part because she played so well in less than optimal conditions. It would have been a huge win for the league to showcase Korda taking on the elements (and the rest of the field) on Sunday or Monday if needed; instead we’re left in awkward limbo with the league sheepishly handing its biggest star what should have been an incredible victory.

Josh Schrock: It really seems like this was an incredible own goal on the LPGA’s part. Not just because they elected not to grind through a cold day on Sunday or play in slightly warmer but still cold temps on Monday. But they could have moved up tee times on Friday and Saturday and grouped the players together instead of with the ams to allow for players to play in similar conditions — Nelly’s Saturday round was awesome, but she also went off well ahead of the leaders and only got the really bad stuff on the final two holes. With the LPGA not playing against until Feb. 19, I find it hard to believe they couldn’t find a way to get 18 more holes in and showcase their biggest draw snapping her winless drought in impressive fashion. It would have been a big win for the LPGA to have Nelly win in this way in Week 1. Instead, we got “optimal competitive environment” and Annika wondering why they weren’t playing. Perplexing stuff.

I have a very simple reaction here.  The next time you hear the ladies whining about their lack of respect or their lack of network coverage, remind them of this.   If you want to taken seriously, then perhaps you might want to actually be serious.

And this:

Six-time LPGA Tour Danielle Kang commented on social media that shortening rounds to 54 holes due to bad weather seems to be the LPGA’s first option, while on the PGA Tour it seems to be the last resort. Do you think there is validity to that? And why?

Colgan: It does certainly feel like that’s the case, but by my accounting, Sunday was just the third time since 2022 that the LPGA has shortened from 72 to 54 holes. The PGA Tour has done so once in that same stretch (Wyndham Clark’s Pebble Beach win in ‘24). Yes, statistically that does make the LPGA three times as likely to shorten an event, but it’s hardly an epidemic.

Dethier: Look, I know it’s not their first option. I know they want the best for the league. I’m excited about the LPGA’s trajectory. It just feels to me like they should have done everything they could have to make it work, frost be damned.

Schrock: It’s not their first option, but reducing it to 54 holes in the manner they did and with a pretty soft explanation is a bad look. Have to feel like they could have found a way to get the final round. There were no frost delays and the high winds from Saturday are not expected to return. Monday will be cold but playable. Let’s see who can grind out a win. That’s the fun part of golf!

I'm glad you guys took on this issue, but it would have worked better if you were actually any good at your day job.

First, there's an obvious category error above.  Shortening a golf tournament to 54 holes is always unfortunate, though sometimes necessary.  But what they did here is far worse, they called off the last round after completion of the third round, meaning a player won the tournament without ever having to, yanno, win the tournament.   You can't let that happen and pretend that your events are serious athletic competitions.

But am I really the only one that will ask the obvious question.  When the LPGA majordomos decided what to do, they knew who was leading, which just happened to be that one woman that they most needed a win.  How can you not ask whether a different decision would have been made were any other woman in the lead?  There, I said it out loud...

That's it for today, kids.  Stay warm and I'll back at some point.

Weekend Wrap - Snowmageddon Edition

Still trying to get back into this blogging thing.  The funniest bit might be that a week ago I used a powder day reference in my header.  Wow, you'd think that I would know to, wait for it, keep my powder dry....

I'll be here all week, folks.  Please remember to tip your waitress....

Scottie, Still Good At Golf - You'll know that this kind of header is inevitable:

Scottie Scheffler enters Tiger Woods territory in the most Scottie way possible

Hmmm, is that more or less impressive than doing it in the most Tiger way possible?

Although I didn't see this lede coming:

The final Sunday in January is a sacred time in sports television — and this final Sunday was even more special.

For one glorious weekend, while the weather is cold and the living room is warm, everyone’s eyes are on television. And, with an enormous snowstorm sweeping much of the United States, sports TV executives were salivating: this weekend’s numbers could be even bigger than normal.

In theory, these conditions set the scene for a mammoth audience for Scottie Scheffler’s first victory of 2026 at the American Express in Palm Springs, Calif. — a blowout win that served as the latest and most consequential evidence of Scheffler’s historic trajectory. But in practice, they were the conditions that made for a perfectly fitting Scheffler victory celebration: a routine ass-kicking that hardly anyone appreciated, because it occurred during the same time as the weekend’s primary sports draw, the NFC and AFC Championship Games.

It's actually quite the clever lede, because it does hit on the walking understatement that is Scottie Scheffler....

Just a fun fact.  When the NFL Conference Championship gamers were on opposite Torrey, the Tour decided to finish on Saturday.  No need to do that here, as Golf Channel coverage ensures that not more than a baker's dozen will be watching at any one time...

Shall we duck into the Tour Confidential writers' room?  Yeah, once again, that was rhetorical....

Scottie Scheffler kicked off his 2026 season just as you might have imagined: with another victory. Scheffler shot a final-round 66 to win the American Express by four and claim his 20th career PGA Tour win. What did you think of Scheffler’s season debut? And if you are the rest of the Tour, what are you thinking?

Alan Bastable: Forget what I think. How about what the 18-year-old playing alongside Scheffler

on Sunday thinks! “One of the coolest things that I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Blades Brown said after his buzz-kill fourth-round 74. “To see it in person and just to look at kind of the trajectory and the spin, and just the control that he has with his wedges and short game. Obviously his putting is insane too. It was really cool to watch.” I would concur — Scheffler’s 1.18 putts per green Sunday was best in the field. His 9 birdies were also impressive. Every time I looked up, it seemed Scheffler was spinning a wedge back to within four feet of the hole. Looked like a Golden Tee round. What is the rest of the Tour thinking? Probably. . . [sigh] here we go again.

James Colgan: I know this deserves like a thousand qualifiers, because the American Express is historically one of the easiest tournaments relative to par, but Scottie won in a way we’ve never seen on Sunday. He didn’t just outweather his opponents; he outgunned them. He made nine birdies, and eight of them were converted from inside of five feet (!!!). He’s the third player ever (behind Tiger and Jack) to 20 wins and 4 majors before his 30th birthday — and to everyone else in golf, that should be … terrifying.

Josh Sens. To me, this looked like more of the same. A golfer with no physical weaknesses whose mental game is every bit as good. In this, a relatively low-wattage event, Scheffler proved again that unlike some other big guns in the game, he never takes a week off.

That Tiger/Jack 20-4 bit got a lot of airtime and I hate those slice-and-dice statistical oddities, but this one does frame it quite effectively.  To me, though, he's far more Jack than Tiger, as that image of his family celebrating readily confirms.

This one is a bit silly, though:

Scheffler won six times last year and seven the year before. If you are Vegas and deciding the over/under line for Scheffler wins in 2026, what are you setting it at?

Bastable: Feels like cheating given we already have one. Can he win five more? Of course! Six more? Maybe. Seven more would bring us to Tiger territory (TW won eight times in both 1999 and 2006). And eight more would bring us to Vijay Singh (2004) and Tiger again (2000) territory. Feels like a big ask. We’re setting the o/u at 6. What say ye, colleagues?!

Colgan: Agreed, Basty. Six is the only rational number. But great athletes teach us to believe in the irrational. I don’t think eight is out of the question.

Sens: If the line is six, I’m all in on the over. One down already, with –if his past schedule repeats–upwards of 15 to 20 starts remaining? I’ll be collecting my money by late August.

This week should reinforce an obvious point, to wit, that's it's less important how many he wins, than it is where he wins.... Tiny field sizes have made winning actually easier once you've got a tee time (every week is the Masters), but There's 4-5 weeks that will tell me the most.  The list topped, shockingly, by a June even on the Eastern end of Long Island....

To me, it's passing strange that Scottie even pegged it this week.  Seems like more of the guys are kicking off their seasons next week in LaJolla, not that running away from the field isn't an effective warning shot across the bow.

The Blades Brown Experience - This one I've been watching for s while.  His name has been bandied about for a while now, obviously a young kid with seemingly unlimited upside.  I have a good friend and golf buddy that's involved with the management of a Florida golf club.  Local U.S. Open qualifying was held there last summer, and Ed ended up spending ninety minutes with Blades in the clubhouse, and followed him during his round (if I remember correctly, he lost out on Sectional in a playoff).

The first thing you need to know is that the kid comes from an interesting gene pool, his mother having played two seasons in the WNBA after a strong college career at Vanderbilt.  The other bit to throw in is that that epic golf name may not be what it seems, as "Blades" is actually his mother's maiden name.

The second bit is his age, all of eighteen.  His family has a plan for him, and that plan, unlike most of today's kids, had no role for college.  He has already earned status on the Korn Ferry Tour, and I believe this was his tenth PGA Tour event, and far from his first made cut.

Besides Scheffler taking control of the tournament, it was 18-year-old Blades Brown who made headlines earlier in the week. He received a sponsor’s exemption and made his 10th career PGA Tour start, shot 60 on Friday and was one off the lead after 54-holes before shooting 74 Sunday and falling out of the top 10. Was this finish an outlier? Or is Blades a name golf fans should expect to see more of?

Bastable: Outlier? Hardly! He’d already made three PGA Tour cuts heading into this week at an age at which most of his peers are less worried about staring down Scottie Scheffler on a Sunday afternoon than they are about prepping for their next pre-calc exam or landing a prom date. Blades sounds like he’s in full sponge mode. On Sunday evening, he said he could “write a book about what I’ve learned these past couple of days.” In pro golf, 18 is the new 28. There’s little reason to think we won’t see Blades playing more meaningful weekend golf on the PGA Tour this year.

Colgan: The finish wasn’t an outlier. Blades is a name that fans should remember. BUT — and there is a “but” — Sunday was a lesson in how much separates him from consistent PGA Tour success. I’m unbelievably impressed that, at 18 years old, his ceiling is already up there with the best in the sport. But careers are built on raising your floor.

Sens: Blades is no fluke. A name like that is destiny. Guess I shouldn’t have named my son “Shanks.” Poor kid never stood a chance.

The other bit no one is noting is his brutal schedule.  he played a Sunday-Wednesday Korn Ferry event in the Bahamas, then hopped a private plane to utilize this exemption.  He played competitive rounds on eight straight days (not to mention the travel), so a clunker may have been inevitable.  The kid has no shortage of game, and we'll see him on the big tour soon enough.

LIV Stuff - This isn't the most interesting aspect of things right now, but it's anaerobic blogging:

Speaking of the Returning Member Program, next up on Tour is the Farmers Insurance Open where Brooks Koepka will make his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour. What are you most looking forward to hearing from Koepka about, and how do you expect him to play in his first start?

Bastable: I’m not sure we’ll get a whole lot from him — in the press tent, anyway. I would expect focused, tight-lipped Koepka in San Diego. And who knows what we’ll see on the course? The dirty little secret about Brooks is . . . he has not been playing well. He had just two top-10s on LIV in 2025 and both came in his first four starts. In his last four starts he finished no better than T29. Maybe he was unmotivated. Maybe he was distracted by personal issues. Maybe he was dreaming of his PGA Tour return. Hard to know with Brooks. What we do know is he has much to prove. Would it surprise me if he contends? It would not.

Colgan: I’ve heard a few of Brooks’ LIV counterparts mention Koepka’s personal situation was a key component of his decision to return. I’m not expecting him to clue us in, but it would be nice to hear his on-the-record reasoning for returning to the Tour.

Sens: I’m trying to remember the last time I heard something truly revealing in a press conference. I don’t expect that to change when Koepka steps to the podium. But I expect him to play well, recent form be damned. If ever there was a guy who can turn it off and then back on when it matters to him, it’s Koepka.

Yeah, Josh, but I don't expect that he'll be turning it on for the Farmers....  Not sure what Brooks has left in the tank, but His Excellency doesn't see distraught at losing him....

To me, there are two far more intriguing threads, beginning here:

Patrick Reed, days before he won the Dubai Desert Classic, told The Telegraph he’d consider rejoining the PGA Tour if allowed. Then, on Sunday morning, he revealed he has yet to re-sign with LIV Golf — whose season begins in less than two weeks. The Tour’s Returning Member Program specifically created pathways for major winners of the past four years, which Reed doesn’t fall under. Why wouldn’t the Tour be interested in Reed rejoining?

Bastable: Who says they’re not?! I think Brian Rolapp and Co. are interested in welcoming back any player who makes PGA Tour fields stronger and LIV fields weaker. Yes, the current framing

of the RMP precludes a Reed return, but rules, as the PGA Tour has been proving of late, are made to be broken — or, at the very least, altered. Who knows where we’ll be in a year? When asked Sunday if he’s been talking to the PGA Tour, Reed said, “Not right now,” which suggests conversations have been happening. I, for one, miss P-Reed. However you feel about the guy, he makes tournaments more interesting.

Colgan: That whole P-Reed back-and-forth was SO weird. If we’ve learned one thing from the Brooks and Bryson situations, it’s that LIV contracts are like every other negotiation — they’re all about leverage! Why is Reed surrendering his leverage by keeping his free agency a secret? I have no idea. But if his PGA Tour return odds are hampered, I’d bet it’s because he’s been operating under the cover of darkness.

Sens: Golf’s civil war is also a zero-sum game. I’m sure the Tour would be interested in getting Reed back for that reason. A win for Ponte Vedra equals a loss for LIV, and the other way around. My guess is that we won’t see that this year. He’s already exempt into the Masters, his world ranking is now solidly inside the top 50, and he’s just improved his market value in any negotiations with LIV. That’s another way of saying that he can likely have his cake and eat it too, resigning for big money without necessarily missing out on the majors.

Gee, James, I would think his PGA Tour return will more likely be hampered by being the biggest a******e in golf.  Do you not remember his behavior in Paris?  More importantly, do you not remember Justine?

You would expect a little more introspection from these writers, no?  Bastable just operates in a binary world where they either do or don't want him back.  The reality is far complicated, where Rolapp has  multiple constituencies to accommodate.  There are no doubt many Tour members that don't want any of these asshats back, yet the adults are saying, "OK, but let's not shoot ourselve4s in the foot unnecessarily."  But there is no needle that PReed moves, so good luck to him in 2026.

Eamon Lynch has some thoughts on the status quo:

Lynch: Brian Rolapp scored an early win with Brooks Koepka’s return. His tougher battles are coming next

And we have a GMTA moment, though you'll have to believe that I wrote the above before reading Eamon's lede:

As a voracious reader on the lives of former presidents, Brian Rolapp is probably familiar with Dwight Eisenhower's quip about leadership being the art of getting someone else to do what you want done because he wants to do it. The PGA Tour’s CEO has already measured up favorably to Ike’s metric, having engineered the return of Brooks Koepka to the fold while keeping a lid on whatever simmering resentment exists in the locker room. (It helps that Koepka is popular among his peers; it’s not like Rolapp was asking them to save seats in player dining for Patrick and Justine).

Maybe they'll allow PReed back under the condition that he dump Justine?  Win-win, baby!

The first real test of Rolapp’s writ comes six weeks from now however, around The Players, when the Future Competition Committee he impaneled makes public its preliminary concepts about the Tour’s future. That will be followed by a period of negotiations, horse trading and reconciliation until a final plan is agreed upon – which suggests actual material changes to the Tour product are still a couple of years away.

That process will be akin to threading a needle while walking on hot coals. Consider just one dilemma: the chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises is Joe Gorder, who was the former board chair and CEO of Valero Energy, which has for 24 years sponsored the Texas Open, an event not guaranteed to survive the anticipated schedule cuts. And that’s before Rolapp addresses factions that, if not exactly competing, aren’t entirely aligned even as they pay lip service to the shared goal of a better business.

But here's where Eamon sets himself apart from the TC clowns, because he gets that the return of the prodigal sons comes in the context of dramatically reduced playing opportunities:

Like his membership, long accustomed to a benevolent organization devoted to providing them work, but who now face significant reductions in opportunities, narrowing pathways to status, and less likelihood of keeping a job with middling performance. Or his investors, who’d like a return on their $1.5 billion infusion, even if they aren’t the typical burn-and-run private equity ghouls. And the loyal tournaments and sponsors who might find there’s no welcome for them or their money in the new order. Not to mention his media partners, who paid handsomely for a product that will no longer be the one delivered. And of course golf fans, by now weary of hearing how they should bide their time while the aforementioned cut the line to get theirs.

I think the key concept is Good Luck with all that:

To put it crassly, Rolapp will need the persuasive powers of a lady of the night who finds herself trawling for clients in a gay bathhouse.

So how does he accomplish it? By coaxing the reluctant and facing down the refuseniks.

For example, positioning schedule and eligibility changes as being about rewarding excellence, implicitly daring players to make the opposing case that mediocrity is entitled to continued employment (socialism for me, but not for thee!). That demands decent field sizes and smarter criteria for filling them, not prioritizing a 62-year-old veteran like Vijay Singh over an up-and-coming teenager like Blades Brown. By schooling his investors that the Tour's responsibilities extend beyond bottom-line profit to the broader golf ecosystem and to charities. By engineering off-ramp options for impacted events and sponsors for whom no place can be found at the top table, whether as part of an international swing, on the Korn Ferry or Champions circuits, or in a Fall scramble for status, a window that’s destined to have more relevance (and familiar names) thanks to the reduction in fully exempt cards.

That's great, but to do so he'll have to stare down Patrick Cantlay and Tiger Woods....

Not sure, though, that I'm with him on thisd:

But good luck convincing media partners to pay more for a shrinking product. A smaller Tour may turn out to be a better Tour in time, but the networks will likely start from a position that the price tag should be commensurately smaller too.

Crucially, Rolapp must be able to point fans toward what's additive, otherwise they'll focus on what is being deleted. The past couple of weeks provided a low-grade example of that fever with grumbling about the potential loss of the Hawaii swing. A compelling case can be made that the season should open with a ‘hello world’ roar and not the traditional laid-back aloha before sparse crowds in Maui. That case, among many others, falls to Rolapp to present.

Where does Eamon think the roar will appear?   I actually think Kapalua is a perfect warm open to the season, not demanding too much from folks still watching football.

Let me just leave you with this story I hate:

Michael La Sasso, the reigning NCAA individual champion, has joined LIV Golf.

The Ole Miss senior, who is teaming up with Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC on a multi-year

agreement, is expected to debut at next month’s LIV opener in Saudi Arabia, meaning he will forfeit his remaining college eligibility and leave the Rebels before his final semester.

La Sasso, 21, also had an exemption lined up at the Masters this April, courtesy of his one-shot win at La Costa, though that was provided he remained amateur.

“I’m incredibly excited to join HyFlyers GC and take this next step in my career,” La Sasso said in a release. “It’s a rare opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and I don’t take that lightly. LIV Golf allows me to compete at the highest level on a global stage, and I thrive in a team environment, especially one with the camaraderie and support that defines HyFlyers GC. My focus is on learning, continuing to improve, and doing everything I can to help our team succeed.”

I have qualms about the path that Blades Brown and his family have chosen, as he's passing up a chance to develop relationships within a college program that most kids end up treasuring.  It's a lonely life out there on Tour, and I instinctively don't love them growing up too soon.

But this goes way beyond qualms.  There's so much money in golf that I almost don't think kids like Brown and LaSasso need to aggressively chase it.  The objective should be to maximize the return on their natural talent, and the best way to ensure that is embrace the grind.  I can't bring myself to respect or expect much from a kid that runs away from the challenge.

What do you say to a kid that says "No" to a Masters tee time?  If there's a God, he won't get another....

Have a great week and keep warm.

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.