Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman has been the Chicago area’s most successful PGA Tour player since joining the circuit in 2008, and has $26.7 milllion in career winnings to show for it. This season, though, hasn’t started well.
Now 45, Streelman has been one of the circuit’s most durable players but this season started with missed cuts at the Sony Open and American Express Championship. Last week’s Farmer’s Insurance Open was even more painful however.
Streelman shot 71 in the first round, then withdrew. He later tweeted that he had “strained something in my lower back badly.’’ The injury happened when he hit a wedge shot out of heavy rough. He won’t be playing in this week’s AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the next stop on the West Coast swing. That’s an event Streelman has played well in. He finished inside the top 20 as an individual every year since 2016 and was the runner-up in 2020.
He also teamed with football player Larry Fitzgerald to win the team title in 2018 and 2020, leading Streelman to call Pebble Beach “my favorite stop on tour.’’
Streelman lives in the Phoenix area now. “I hope to rest for a week and hopefully be 100 percent for the Waste Management (Phoenix Open). One of the most popular tournaments on tour, it’s two weeks away.
HARDY’S HOT: Northbrook’s Nick Hardy is off to the best start of the Chicago connected players. He made the cut in all three of his starts, the best finish being a tie for 37th at the Farmer’s Insurance Open last week. He’s in the field at Pebble Beach.
Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim had missed cuts in his first two starts but bounced back with a tie for 13th at the Farmer’s. He didn’t enter the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
LIV GETS GOING: The LIV Tour, which added Masters champion Jon Rahm to its roster for its third season, opens its 14-tournament campaign in Mexico on Friday. Rahm also brings in his own team, with Tyrrell Hatton the most notable of the other three members. That’ll boost the field from 12 to 13 teams.
LIV shifted its pre-Masters tourney from Florida to Trump Doral in Florida in March, leaving Chicago’s chances of having an event this season in serious jeopardy. Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, hosted tournaments in the fledgling circuit’s first two campaigns and owner Jerry Rich invited the tour back for 2024 but the invitation hasn’t been accepted yet. The only hopes left are for Rich Harvest to be picked for one of LIV’s two season-ending events in September. No sites have been announced for those.
SHOW TIME: The Chicago Golf Show returns to the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Feb. 23-25. Show hours will be noon-6 p.m. on Feb. 23, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. On Feb. 24 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m.on Feb. 25. Tickets are $7 for adults and youth 16 and over on Friday and $12 on the weekend days. Rates will be $4 on the weekend for youth 12-15 and there’ll be free admission for those 11 and under.
PGA SHOW AFTERMATH: Two frequent winners in International Network of Golf contests – John Iacono of Zero Friction and David Glod of club manufacturer Tour Edge – were successful again in the ING Industry Awards presented Thursday at the 71st PGA Show in Orlando, FL.
Both Chicago area companies were honored in the Product Ingenuity categories, Iacono for his just-introduced Stride remote control golf bag and Glod for his company’s latest driver model.
The ING Media Awards were also announced, with Steve Kashul’s Golf Scene topping the television show category. The Chicago area also had four Outstanding Achievers in the Media Awards – Dave Lockhart (TV show), Ed Sherman (features), Rory Spears (radio) and Len Ziehm (features).
Gary DiSalvo shows how Poptical sunglasses can benefit golfers. (Joy Sarver Photos)
ORLANDO, FL. – Every year it’s the same thing – only different.
The 71st PGA Show again showcased the newest of the new in golf gear and attire. There were more than 1,000 companies and brands to entice the approximately 30,000 industry members who gathered at Orange County National Golf Center, for the traditional Demo Day, and the Orange County Convention Center for three days of indoor browsing.
This massive gathering began with merchandisers showing their wares from the trunks of cars in 1954 and grew into one that had representatives from 84 countries and all 50 states this year. More than 7,000 PGA professionals attended this year’s gathering, and they’ll be bringing much of what they saw to their shops and stores back home.
That should intrigue the reported 41.1 million Americans who play golf and create a $22.6 billion total economic impact in America.
It’s not easy to wade through the lines of exhibits at the OCCC, where each day began with traffic nightmares for attendees trying to find parking spots. It was all worthwhile once they got inside, however. The products were diverse and – in most cases – worthwhile additions to American golf consumers.
Enough said for the scene-setting. Let’s get to the good stuff, and there was a lot of that. Interestingly much of it was brand new to the show, and organizers made a well-received change in how the newbies were displayed. The New Products section was expanded and easier to walk through. It was a busy place and included some items judged – by me at least – as the most interesting at the overall show.
Whether they work is up to the golfers who try them. Golf’s an individual sport and some things work better for some than others. We stayed clear of the major equipment companies for this report because they have their own promotional styles, but these are worthy of your attention, too.
Two of the most eye-catching products are the PGA Show were the Omnix golf bags (left) and LagMaster training aid.
MY MOST INTERESTING PGA SHOW PRODUCTS
1, POPTICALS – This is a sunglass company with its products hand-made in Italy. What’s intriguing here is that the company makes sunglasses designed specifically for various sports and needs.
“Our most popular is our golf line,’’ said Gary DiSalvo, chief executive officer for the company’s headquarters in Ellisville, Mo. “These glasses are specifically made for golf. ”
The violet-tinted lens accentuate the contour of the greens on the course.
DiSalvo says the difference in viewing will be immediate.
“As soon as you put on a pair on a golf course you’ll notice something different. You’ll see different shades of green and that’ll help in putting,’’ he said. “You’ll be able to tell the levels of the green and whether your putt is uphill or downhill. The second you put these glasses on they’ll show miniscule differences in the grass — the elevation changes and where the break in your putt might be.’’
The golf sunglasses, listed on the Popticals website at $143, are collapsible for storage. Dr. Craig Farnsworth, “The Putt Doctor,” endorsed the product, and he works with the likes Dustin Johnson and Nick Faldo.
2, PERFECT HANDS GOLF – Training devices abound at all PGA Shows, but this one was billed as “the world’s first ever swing and strength trainer.’’ It’s equipped with a belt, four accleration bands that come in 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-pound increments, gloves for both hands and a carry case.
If used as suggested, this device is said to help a player both get his swing on plane and increase his strength and range of motion. In short, Perfect Hands can develop proper technique and increase swing speed. The listed website price is $199.99.
Chicago-based Zero Friction’s last creation is the Stride, and it comes in a variety of colors.
3, WHEEL PRO STRIDE – This electric bag trolley, is the newest innovation by Chicago-based Zero Friction, one of the most active creators of new golf products in recent years. The Stride is an offshoot of the Wheel Pro, which was part of the 2023 show, and the Stride was a winner in the International Network of Golf’s Industry Honors at this year’s show.
The Stride’s 35-pound bag has a pocket-sized remote control that uses Smart Technology to follow within three feet of the golfer. It’s a versatile product, though, as you can push it, carry it or put it on a cart.
It comes with an umbrella holder, a cooler that can hold up to six cans or bottles, two invisible magnets to secure a rangefinder or Bluetooth speaker and a built-in USB port. Its price at the PGA Show was $2,499.
4, OMNIX BAGS – This company specializes in customizing bags, and some of its creations were the most eye-catching items at the show. They had an interchangeable outer shell, seven multiple pockets, 14-way club dividers – and, most importantly, a distinctive appearance. The company calls it “revolutionary’’ with its combination of advanced technology, functionality and edgy style.
The models that caught my eye the most were mostly in the company’s Rainbow Series. The Black Vodka and Sex on the Beach models in that series are both priced at $540.
“Omnix bags will illuminate the course and feed free spirits,’’ according to the company’s website. No argument there.
Want a beer on the course? Chris Hurry might be able to help you with his Zigit Dispenser.
5, ZIGIT BEER AND DRINK DISPENSER – This one could be controversial because it might involve dispensing alcoholic beverages on golf courses. The Phoenix-based company has it in operation at, among other places, the American Airlines Center in Dallas and wants to make inroads into the golf community
“We’re targeting golfers because they could use it year-around,’’ said Zigit’s Chris Hurry.
Zigits can serve beverages on the course, but the choice of which ones is up to the course owners. They’ll decide what beverages are offered, but Zigit has technology that can screen out under-age buyers and limit the alcoholic daily intake of others.
6, RIMAC BALL TESTER – Golfers want to know the compression of their golf balls to ensure they’re all the same. This machine, patterned after one used in the auto industry starting in 1930, can do this.
Rimac isn’t just a clever tool. It reveals the precise compression of each ball far beyond the vague labels like “firm,’’ “soft,’’ “softer’’ or “soft feel.’’
Understanding compression enables golfers to select balls more knowledgeably and find the best-suited ball for their style of play. The company’s website lists the price at $1,495.
Alcide Deschesnes’ One Club trainer can also double as a warmup tool.
7, ONE CLUB TRAINING DEVICE – This One is engineered to enhance a golfer’s swing mechanics and engrains the correct neuromuscular paths for swing consistency. Thanks to technology it provides instantaneous tactile, audible and sensory feedback.
Alcide Deschesnes, a Canadian-born mechanical engineer, was an outstanding athlete in multiple sports. He developed the One Club and sells it with a training guide designed to increase golfers’ swing speeds.
“It’s more than a weighted club,’’ said Deschesnes. “It combines the principles of dynamic inertia resistance with instant feedback and can be used as an exercise tool.’’ It retails for $197.98.
8, TOWELTAG – A Canadian company, TowelTag manufactures popular golf towels, I have two versions on my bags, one customizes a radio show and the other a golf organization. The company’s product that intrigues me this year is a ball marker that can help golfers draw straight lines on their balls for identification purposes but is more valuable after play begins.
“It can be used as an alignment tool,’’ said Craig Holub, who labels himself as TowelTag’s “founder and visionary.’’
The ball marker comes with a dial that can help line up putts, be it on the putting green before a round or on the course. Listed price at the PGA Show was $19.99.
9, LAGMASTER – Another training aid, this one looks like the drain pipe under your kitchen sink. Mike Dickson is the founder and believes it can accomplish big things for golfers who use it.
The Lagmaster is said to “teach movement that gets the body, arms, hands and club synced correctly and trains the power swing, weight shift, sequence, low point and finish.’’
And, according to promotional material, “it keeps it simple.’’ You’ve got to see it and use it to believe it. Cost is $119.99.
10, ZOOM BREEZE – This product is the golf version of the Zoom Broom — a name that I love because it has a nice ring to it. It’s also fun to use. On a windy day it can be a ball-saver. Turn the battery-powered gadget on, and the leaves get out of your way.
It weighs only two pounds, fits in a golf bag and the sound it makes – according to creator Randy Kuckuck – isn’t a negative.“In a room it’s a little noisy, but on a wide open course it isn’t bad,’’ Kuckuck said.
Kuckuck, a Michigan State alum, got the idea for the Zoom Broom after a few of his rounds as a retiree were negatively impacted by too many leaves. The Zoom Broom can also be used around the house and is priced at $189. The golf-specific version is $179.
Randy Kuckuck’s Zoom Broom and Zoom Breeze can eliminate leaves as a problem for golfers.
ORLANDO, FL. – PGA Tour Champions opens its season in Hawaii and the PGA Tour has shifted its events to California, but — for the next couple weeks, at least — Orlando is where most of the action is in professional golf.
The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions – first event of the Ladies PGA Tour season – tees off on Thursday at Lake Nona. The Golf Writers Association of America Championship starts its two-day run on Sunday at recently renamed Mission Resort and Club (formerly Mission Inn). The 71st PGA Merchandise Show begins with a Demo Day on Tuesday at Orange County National and then moves to the Orange County Convention Center for three more days.
After that flurry of activity the LPGA begins its regular season just a few miles away, with the Drive On Championship at a new site, Bradenton Country Club.
The LPGA’s Tournament of Champions, in its sixth staging, starts it all with an event that includes celebrities, but Canadian Brooke Henderson dominated last year with a wire-to-wire four-stroke victory.
Legendary Annika Sorenstam, a Lake Nona member who can still play with the best women, will be competing in the celebrity division. The 72-hole no-cut event has a record 36 LPGA players competing. Only those who won tournaments in the last two years get invitations.
“We’re really, really excited,’’ said tournament director Aaron Stewart, son of the late, great Payne Stewart. “We’re thrilled to have the Tour represented in a little deeper field (the previous high was 29), but that means there’s been a lot more first-time winners.’’
“Winning last year was a huge boost for my confidence,’’ said Henderson. “This is a great way to start the season. It’s an amazing atmosphere and a lot of fun.’’
Sorenstam has contended for the celebrity title in the past and entered several women’s senior events in recent years. She’s not sure what her competitive schedule will be going forward, however.
“I’m going to take it week by week,’’ she said. “I’m not playing the U.S. Open. I’m not playing any LPGA events. I’m not playing in the LET (Ladies European Tour). Nothing like that. If it’s a celebrity event, I appreciate the invites.’’
Now starting her 10th LPGA season Henderson changed virtually all her clubs in the last two months and continues to struggle with a thumb problem that has hampered her off and on since 2017. A bad omen for her is that none of the previous Tournament of Champions winners won any tournament in the following year.
The PGA Merchandise Show has recovered from a few lean years caused by the pandemic. The industry-only event is being held for the 71st time with a staggering array of new equipment and apparel. Over 1,000 brands of golf and golf lifestyle products will be on display.
Rather than analyze the newest products I’ve decided to take the easy way out and play the name game. Catchy names are nothing new in the golf industry, and this year’s best are the Zoom Broom, a fun-to-use product that is used to blow leaves away from hard-to-find golf balls, and the Caddy Daddy, a cart bag.
After all that the LPGA will hold its first regular season event at the Bradenton Country Club’s Donald Ross-designed course. The club is celebrating its 100th anniversary and the LPGA player turnout is excellent.
Lilia Vu, Ruoning Yin and Celine Boutier – the top three players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings – will be there. So will 31 players who competed in the 2020 Olympics including all three medal winners – Nelly Korda (gold), Mone Inami (silver) and Lydia Ko (bronze).
Inami won the Japan Classic on the LPGA Tour last year but didn’t immediately turn pro. She made her official LPGA debut at Lake Nona.
Brooke Henderson did the celebrating at Lake Nona in 2023. (Joy Sarver Photos)
The PGA Tour no longer starts its season with a Tournament of Champions. The field at last week’s Sentry event in Hawaii, for better or worse, was dominated by players who got in by finishing in the top-50 finish in last year’s FedEx Cup.
The LPGA, though, will again celebrate its recent winners at its season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona, in Orlando FL. It’ll have a January 18-21 run, which makes it a convenient lead-in to the nearby PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center.
While the women have preserved the Tournament of Champions concept by inviting the winners of its tournaments over the last two years, they must share the attention and tee times with celebrities and amateurs who come from the worlds of music, entertainment and sports.
The LPGA stars play for a $1.5 million purse – official prize money — over 72 holes and the celebrities and amateurs compete in a separate competition using a modified Stableford scoring system. The event will be televised nationally on The Golf Channel and NBC.
Admittedly using two formats in one event is unusual, but this one works given its spot on the schedule. The LPGA debuted this format in 2019 and the celebrity/amateur division has been dominated by baseball standout John Smoltz and Mardy Fish, a one-time professional tennis player. That division has a $500,000 purse and supplements – without distracting from – the LPGA competition.
The preliminary entries included 35 LPGA players, among them a solid contingent of the circuit’s top stars, and about 50 celebrity/amateurs are also expected to compete. LPGA players include Canadian Brooke Henderson, the defending champion; 2023 Rolex Player of the Year Lilia Vu, Olympic champion Nelly Korda and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.
They’ll be in competitive mode, with the regular season beginning Jan. 25 with the Drive In Championship at another Florida course, Bradenton Country Club.
While the now gone PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions was a long-time fixture for the men, the LPGA’s version didn’t start until 2019. It was first held at Four Seasons in Lake Buena Vista before moving to Lake Nona in 2022.
Lake Nona is the home course of LPGA legend Annika Sorenson, and she has been a competitor in the competition in the past as a celebrity. Her foundation will be the prime beneficiary of this year’s tournament.
Henderson led wire-to-wire last year, finishing with a four-stroke edge on runner-ups Charley Hull of England and Maja Stark of Sweden. Fish won the celebrity division for the third time.
The first event on the pro golf tours teed off at The Sentry tournament in Hawaii, on Thursday. Formerly the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions, it had a new format, with 35 winners on the PGA Tour in 2023 and the top 50 in the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs eligible to compete.
It’s a good thing that the FedEx Cup stars were included, because otherwise two top players — Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele — wouldn’t be there. They didn’t win tournaments in 2023. Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy did, but they weren’t in The Sentry field either.
Rahm’s title defense was ruled out because the PGA Tour suspended him for signing with the LIV Tour. McIlroy, who has called himself “not much of a Hawaii guy,’’ opted to start his season with three events on the DP World Tour.
That left The Sentry, with a $20 million purse, offering a field of 59 players. Sixty were invited, but only McIlroy opted out. His comments in the days leading up to the start of the 2024 campaign was eye-opening, though. Once the most outspoken critic of the LIV circuit, McIlroy made an almost complete reversal. Not only did he admit being “too judgmental’’ in his earlier views of players who joined the Saudi circuit, he came out critical of the PGA Tour that he so consistently defended in 2023.
“What LIV and the Saudis have done is expose the flaws in the system,’’ said McIlroy. “We’re all (PGA Tour players) supposed to be independent contractors and we can pick and choose what tournaments we want to play. What LIV and the Saudis exposed is that, if you’re going on a tour, you’re asking sponsors for millions of dollars to sponsor these events and you’re not able to guarantee that the players are going to show up. I can’t believe the PGA Tour has done so well for so long. If we’re going to ask these people for so much money we need to be able to guarantee to them what they’re getting.’’
Viktor Hovland, the FedEx Cup champion, and Ernie Els, the long-time star now competing on PGA Tour Champions, were also among those openly critical of the PGA Tour management as the new season closed in.
An agreement PGA Tour, LIV and DP World Tour leaders by December 31 was proposed, but that deadline came and went. Now the hope is that an agreement will be reached before The Players Championship so the ugly negotiations don’t negatively affect April’s Masters.
Not a great way to start a season, is it?
LIV players won’t hit a ball until their season begins in Mexico on Feb. 2. They have problems, too, but they’re different. The signing of Rahm was huge for the fledgling circuit, but created a dilemma in its tournament format.
Rahm is supposed to captain the 13th team, but he has no players. As a 12-team circuit last year LIV had a workable 48 players in each tournament. With a Rahm team added that won’t work. We’ll see how that problem gets solved – if indeed it does.
The other pro tours are comparatively quiet with their season openers closing in. The LPGA has its Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions running Jan. 18-21 at Lake Nona, in Florida. The top women players – headed by defending champion Brooke Henderson — share the spotlight with celebrities in that one, a prelude to the regular season start at the Jan. 25-28 Drive On Championship.
Also a Florida stop, the Drive On is helping Bradenton Country Club celebrate its centennial. Bradenton is Nelly Korda’s hometown and the club members include Hollis Stacy, an 18-time winner on the LPGA tour, and Paul Azinger. The course was designed by Donald Ross, restored by Ron Garl in 1999 and renovated by Tony Jacklin in 2018.
PGA Tour Champions tees off Jan. 18-20 at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, also in Hawaii. It’ll be the tourney’s 28th staging with 42 legends in the field. Steve Stricker, who won six times last season on the 50 and over circuit, is the defending champion.
The Korn Ferry Tour gets going with two January tournaments in the Bahamas. The first is the Great Exuma Classic Jan. 14-17. The Epson Tour, for the up-and-coming women players with LPGA aspirations, hasn’t announced its schedule yet.
It’s most appropriate to wish all our golf enthusiasts a happy holiday season. This is a season-ender is like no other, however.
Only the much-debated “Framework Agreement,’’ that is to bring together the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Tour, is left among major golf developments in 2023. The agreed upon deadline for this agreement is Dec. 31, but I don’t expect anything substantial to be announced. Men’s professional golf is, sadly, in for another year of turmoil.
Jon Rahm’s late-season jump to the LIV Tour was monumental, and Viktor Hovland’s comments in the immediate aftermath of it suggest that peace in the wonderful world of golf is a long way off.
Hovland may be the best young star in the game. At least he has my vote as player-of-the-year. Hovland says he won’t leave the PGA Tour like Rahm did, but he’s not happy either.
“The (PGA Tour) management has not done a good job,’’ said Hovland. “They almost see the players as labor, and not part of the members. After all, we are the PGA Tour. Without the players there is nothing.’’
Being more specific about tour management, Hovland says “They are not professional golfers, after all. They are businessmen…There is a great deal of arrogance behind it all.’’
Rahm’s jump to LIV may not be the last. LIV boss Greg Norman says “eight to 12 guys’’ are interested in filling the last two or three available positions on LIV’s 2024 roster thanks to the interest Rahm’s jump created.
“Since Jon signed I know he’s been inundated by players saying ~I want to play on your team. How do I do that?’’ said Norman. But he didn’t say who those players are.
ANYWAY, these things also bother me:
BULLET There’s a growing call for PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to resign. He did a terrific job bringing the circuit through the pandemic but the competition with LIV is another matter. I was stunned to see Sportico’s report that the PGA Tour’s legal fees jumped from $2 million in 2021, when the PGA-LIV battle began, to $20.7 million in 2022 and Monahan’s overall compensation climbing from $13.9 million in 2021 to $18.6 million in 2022. The 2022 numbers for Monahan cite a $1.8 million base salary, $9.2 million in bonuses and incentive compensation and an actuarial estimate of $7.4 million for non-cash benefits Monahan will receive after he retires. Do those figures make sense to you?
BULLET Then there’s the return of Angel Cabrera. Winner of two major titles, he spent 30 months in jails in Brazil and Argentina in gender violence cases again two ex-girlfriends. Cabrera was released on Aug. 4 and competed on the PGA’s Latinoamerica Tour three months later. Seems odd that a 54-year old who last played on PGA Tour Champions before doing all that jail time (and fathering a child while he was incarcerated) could be back in action while two young players on the Korn Ferry circuit are serving suspensions for violating the tour’s gambling rules.
BULLET On a positive note, the PGA Tour found a sponsor to replace the Honda Classic, a fixture on the Florida Swing at PGA National, and is finally putting a tournament in the golf mecca of Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Cognizant Classic will replace the Honda with Feb. 29-March 3 dates. The new sponsor, a New Jersey-based personal services company, has a six-yer agreement. Honda ended its 42-year sponsorship run in 2023. The new Myrtle Beach Classic will be held May 9-12 at The Dunes course. My only thought on both is, why did it take so long?
BULLET The Masters, of all tournaments, needs more players. The first major championship of the year is in April, and it’s an invitational. Generally the membership wants to hold the field under 100 (it last went over that number in 1966 when 103 competed). Usually the field is between 85 and 100 but this year the likely number of starters is only 77 unless the club revises its invitation policies.
BULLET And, finally, there’s the rollback announcement from the U.S. Golf Association and R & A to revise golf ball test conditions. That won’t begin until 2028. Do you think the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV can reach an agreement before that?
What? Jon Rahm has jumped to LIV? Who woulda thunk it?’’
Certainly not me, at least not until the rumors of his signing dragged on long enough to make the actual event almost anticlimactic. This development made it emphatic that the Saudi-backed circuit is here to stay.
So, how big was it? Too big for it to be just considered a sports event.
Rahm, who is probably the best-paid athlete of 2023 now, bypassed the golf media to make his personal comments in a Fox News interview with Bret Baier, a veteran news anchor. No sports media were involved in this one.
Shortly after the Rahm signing was announced officials of the Wells Fargo Championship, one of the PGA Tour’s best events, announced that the tournament would be discontinued after its staging in 2024. Just a coincidence that the Wells Fargo announcement came on the heels of the PGA Tour losing one of its biggest young stars? Just asking.
Until the the 29-year old reigning Masters champion took the jump the most significant LIV Golf League post season development was the trade of Talor Gooch, the circuit’s 2023 individual champion, from the RangeGoats to Smash. Within LIV circles that was huge. Imagine a Major League Baseball or National Basketball Association team trading its Most Valuable Player. That’s how Smash captain Brooks Koepka saw it.
“There couldn’t have been a stronger offseason move for us,’’ said Koepka. “It goes from making us a contender to a juggernaut.’’
Well, maybe. The signing of Rahm could enhance LIV’s increasingly interesting team format. In addition to signing for – reportedly –somewhere between $400 and $600 million Rahm also got his own team in the deal. So who is Rahm bringing with him as teammates?
The LIV crowd takes the team competition seriously, as shown by other offseason moves. The 4Aces got Harold Varner III from the RangeGoats for Peter Uihlein. Koepka also revised his roster by adding Graeme McDowell, a former U.S. Open champion, and Jason Kokrak before nabbing Gooch.
Of course the reported Dec. 31 deadline for a framework settlement with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour is still out there, but player movement is more interesting now. So, who will go next?
Best bet is Tony Finau. Not only is he a friend of Rahm’s, he’s facing some lawsuits that could be expensive. LIV money could be helpful.
Finau was asked about a move to LIV while he was competing in the Grant Thornton Invitational, a new mixed team event at Tiburon, in Naples FL. Finau certainly didn’t rule it out.
“I haven’t heard anything yet,’’ he said. “I haven’t let anything marinate other than just playing, but I’m happy for Jon. He made the best decision he felt was right for his family and himself.’’
Another Rahm friend, Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, was reportedly in negotiations with LIV. While his signing wouldn’t have nearly the impact of Rahm’s signing or Finau’s (if indeed it materializes), Hatton was on the victorious European Ryder Cup team.
The Ryder Cup is already a consideration with no less a LIV critic than Rory McIlroy quick to declare that the DP World Tour must change its rules. The DP World Tour ruled out the use of LIV players in the last Ryder Cup, meaning Rahm would be ineligible, but Euro captain Luke Donald may not have that problem in getting his next squad ready for the 2025 matches at New York’s Bethpage Black. The Euros will need Rahm.
It might a stretch at this point, but another PGA star – Patrick Cantlay – might also be a LIV candidate. He’s reportedly taken on a very active role on the PGA Tour policy board’s planning for the framework negotiations. If he doesn’t get his way he might consider the LIV alternative and good friend Xander Schauffele could conceivably follow him.
LIV concluded its exciting Promotion event Sunday in Abu Dhabi with the winner, Kalle Samooja, giving the circuit its first player from Finland. LIV still has some loose ends to take care of before its third season tees off in February. The TV coverage needs an upgrade and three tournaments, including the two biggest ones at the end of the season, still don’t have sites lined up yet but the player roster is critical.
Given the offseason developments, especially the Rahm signing, there are likely more than a few PGA Tour players second-guessing themselves for not heading to the Saudi circuit sooner. We’ll see how many take the plunge now.
BRADENTON, Florida — Who says who can’t teach an old dog new tricks?
In the case of the wonderful world of tournament golf the “old dog’’ is PGA Tour Champions, and the 50-and-over circuit has never been reluctant to try something new. This week, though, it may have gone overboard with its World Golf Champions Cup.
It’s a team competition, which triggers thoughts of the Ryder Cup, President’s Cup and Solheim Cup — but it’s unlike any of those. They only have two teams competing. The World Golf Champions Cup has three so – while it’s a match play event – it is in reality a “teams’’ competition.
And that’s not all. The team scores are determined by holes won, not matches. I can’t recall any big-time pro golf event with a concept as different as this one, which tees off on Thursday (DEC 7) at Concession Club in Bradenton, FL.
It won’t even be held over consecutive days. There’ll be eight nine-hole matches each tournament day, featuring team formats and singles but the traditional pro-am will be on Saturday and without spectators.
Matches begin on Thursday after the 9 a.m. opening ceremonies and resume on Friday with ESPN providing broadcast coverage. After the pro-am the event concludes with two waves of singles matches on Sunday. ESPN and ABC will share broadcast coverage on that day.
Unlike traditional match play there’ll be no close-outs if one player leads by more than the number of holes remaining. Every hole matters.
The three teams are Team USA, captained by Jim Furyk; Team Europe, captained by Darren Clarke; and Team International, captained by Ernie Els. Each team has six players and their leaders will all be playing captains with their rosters filled with recognizable tour stars of the past.
While the event is unusual, it is a big-time event as evidenced by the names of the players, the network TV coverage and the prize money. The purse is $1.35 million with each player on the winning team getting $100,000. Each player on the runner-up team gets $75,000 and each one on the last place unit gets $50,000.
I found the team scoring format on the LIV Tour difficult to follow. This one – because it’s so different – might be even more tricky than that, but it’s certainly worth a try. I’m all for pro golf trying new things and this attempt is certainly at the perfect venue.
Concession Club’s leadership has never been reluctant to try new things. I was among about 20 media members invited to a two-day visit in 2013. We all arrived and wondered why we were there for a while. The program started late, suggesting a big announcement might be in the offing.
It came once club member Paul Azinger arrived. He spelled out the details of the Concession Cup, a biennial team event that brought together the best mid-amateur, senior and super senior players from the U.S. and Great Britain/Ireland two weeks before the next Masters. It was something different back then.
Later on the Bradenton club also hosted the 2015 men’s and women’s NCAA Division I Championship and the 2021 PGA Workday World Golf Championships.
Concession has my favorite logo in golf – one that honors Jack Nicklaus’ concession of a putt to Tony Jacklin in the 1969 Ryder Cup. It was a controversial gesture then, some feeling Nicklaus made a great display of sportsmanship in allowing the matches to end in a tie while others thought the spirit of competition was compromised because Jacklin didn’t have to putt out with the critical match on the line.
Jacklin is a Concession member and Nicklaus designed the course. Former PGA and Champions Tour star Peter Jacobsen is chairman of the World Golf Champions Cup and he guarantees that – while the event has an untested format – it will be played at a worthy venue.
“The Concession is a fabulous match play course, a ball strikers’ paradise,’’ said Jacobsen. “Missed greens here put a lot of pressure on your game. There is no way to coast, and you never can take a moment off.’’
Nick Price (top) and David Leadbetter are working together on a new Florida course.
MYAKKA CITY, Florida – When you put Nick Price and David Leadbetter together on a golf project you most likely will have a winner.
This week those two were in the spotlight at the ground-breaking for the Soleta Golf Club on the outskirts of Sarasota, FL. Soleta’s expected opening is in late 2024 and will be the centerpiece for a private residential golf community that will include 93 residences and other amenities. Needless to say, it’ll be highly upscale with the initiation fee for a full golf membership set at $100,000.
Both Price and Leadbetter are long-time Floridians. Price lives in Hobe Sound and Leadbetter has lived in the Sarasota area for the past eight years. Both were closely involved in the planning stages at Soleta and will be on site frequently during the course’s construction phase. Price is the course designer while Leadbetter is designing a 30-acre practice facility called Field of Dreams and an indoor center that will include a biomechanics studio, club fitting, a putting studio, simulators and other advanced training technologies.
“My buddy Nick and I go back a long way,’’ said Leadbetter. “I designed a course once, but it was in China. I figured it was far enough away that nobody would know about it. I thought Nick and I could be co-designers here, but he was afraid I’d screw it up.’’
Clearly they enjoy working together. Though the Soleta home sites will be worth a look, the most interesting aspect at this stage of the project is the pairing of Price and Leadbetter. Leadbetter was once Price’s swing coach. Leadbetter’s tutelage helped Price make a swing change in 1982 and that worked out so well that another Nick, this one named Faldo, underwent the same treatment a few years later and achieved even greater success.
Though Price is in the World Golf Hall of Fame, his playing career is not be as appreciated as it should be. That’s my perception, and I was up close and personal in witnessing just how good Price was. Being a Chicago-based writer then, I was most impressed by his back-to-back victories in the 1993 and 1994 Western Opens. In the first he beat Greg Norman by five strokes. Price had a shot at a third Western title in 2000 but lost in a playoff to Robert Allenby.
Sadly that late, great Western championship – first played in 1899 — was shut down in 2006 when the PGA Tour and Western Golf Association opted to convert it into a FedEx Cup Playoff event called the BMW Championship. Golf in Chicago hasn’t been the same since.
I was also on hand to watch Price win two PGA Championships, at Bellerive in St. Louis in 1992 and Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oka., in 1994. Oh, yes, there was also that eye-opening day in 1986, when I covered the Masters for the first time. Price set the tournament record with a 9-under-par 63. It’s a record that still stands, though Norman tied it in 1996. Throughout his playing career Price was a class act on and off the course.
Now 66, he notched the last of his 18 PGA Tour victories in 2003 at a time when he was just getting involved with golf course architecture. Not all great players turn out to be good course designers, but Price has held his own. His design website lists a portfolio of 13 courses, the first five of which were outside of the United States. One of those, TPC Cancun in Mexico, is the only TPC layout outside of the U.S.
Price plays out of one of McArthur Golf Club in Hobe Sound, a course he co-designed with Tom Fazio. The only Price course I’ve played is Grande Dunes – one of the very best layouts in the golf mecca of Myrtle Beach, S.C.
So what will Soleta be like? Other than the fact that it’ll be separated from the home sites, Price could give only an inkling.
“We’re here to create a special place for golfers to play, spend time with friends and have fun,’’ he said. “The property has wetlands, uplands, open grassland and some great trees. We’ve laid out the course to take advantage and incorporate those natural features into the design of the holes. I’m really happy that no wetlands have been impacted or eliminated anywhere on the property. These natural elements will be part of what gives the course its natural look and feel.’’
The Chicago District Golf Association won’t announce its 2024 tournament schedule until Dec. 6 but it will include two major additions.
For 90 years the Illinois Women’s Golf Association, a group based downstate, conducted the Illinois Women’s State Amateur as well as its state championship for senior players. With IWGA membership dwindling, those events would likely have been discontinued had the CDGA not stepped in.
The Women’s State Amateur will be switched from a match play format to a 54-hole stroke play event. It’ll be held June 10-12 at The Grove, in Long Grove. In addition, changes in the U.S. Golf Association’s exemption process means that the champion of both the Illinois women’s and men’s state amateur championships will receive exemptions into the U.S. Amateurs.
While The Grove also hosted last year’s Illinois Women’s State Amateur, the men’s version will make a rare departure from the Chicago area in 2024. It’ll be held July 16-18 at the Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois in Champaign.
LIV IN LIMBO: Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, hosted well-received tournaments on the LIV Tour the last two years, but a return in 2024, is uncertain. LIV owner Jerry Rich invited the circuit back, but the latest LIV schedule didn’t include a Chicago stop.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be one, though. The circuit plans another 14-tournament international schedule and three dates are still open. An April 5-7 event is planned at a U.S. facility and the season-ending individual and team championships, like held in late August or early September, don’t have announced sites yet either.
BROZEK’S BACK: Casey Brozek, a former Illinois PGA president, has landed the director of golf position at Medinah Country Club. He replaces Marty DeAngelo,, who took a position in Naples, FL.
Brozek was head professional at Crystal Lake Country Club for 16 years before moving to a director’s position at Quail West in Florida. Brozek arrives at Medinah as the club prepares to re-open its No. 3 course, which has undergone a year-long renovation, and is scheduled to host the President’s Cup matches in 2026.
INDIA APOLOGIZES: Deerfield’s Vince India, the reigning Illinois Open champion, regrets having violated the PGA Tour’s Integrity Program and plans to continue competing after his six-month suspension expires on March 17, 2024.
A regular on the Korn Ferry Tour, India admitted gambling on golf tournaments in which he did not compete. He issued his apology on social media outlets.
“I’m confident I’ll grow from this….and ultimately come out a better person and player and continue my goal to play golf at the highest level,’’ said India.
JDC PAYOFF: The John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event, announced that its Birdies for Charity program produced a record $14.1 million payoff for its 478 participating charities from its July staging at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis.
