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.