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.