Category: Tournament Reports

Korn Ferry Finals are next on French Lick’s tournament schedule

The pro shop at French Lick’s Pete Dye Course has devoted itself to the next big attraction. (Joy Sarver Photos)

FRENCH LICK, Indiana – Add the Korn Ferry Championship  to the long resume of big golf tournaments played on the courses at French Lick Resort. Lots of new things have been going on at the southern Indiana destination, the latest being the staging of the season-ending event for the PGA Tour’s alternative circuit.

The concluding event in the four-tournament Finals be played Sept. 24 through Oct. 6 and when the last putt drops about 30 hopefuls will, in addition to their tournament paychecks, be handed their PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season.

Victoria National, after hosting a regular Korn Ferry stop from 2012-18, was the site of the circuit’s Finals from 2019-23. An ownership change at Victoria National led to French Lick being named the site through 2028.

“It’s great for us,’’ said Dave Harner, long-time director of golf at French Lick. “From all indications this will be very successful.  We have six pro-ams, and they’re practically all filled.’’

Those preliminaries will be split between the super-scenic Pete Dye Course, which will  host all four tournament rounds starting Oct. 3, and the historic Donald Ross Course. which celebrated its centennial in 2017.  It has had its share of big moments, beginning with the 1924 PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen that started that legendary player on his way to five straight wins in the event.

Director of golf Dave Harner is no stranger to tournament play coming to French Lick’s courses.

The Ross also hosted the LPGA three straight years from 1958-60, and all were won by famous players.  Louise Suggs won the first tournament and the other two went to Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright when the event was designed as the LPGA Championship.

There was a big lull in tournament play after that as the community was known mainly as the home of basketball great Larry Bird.  The golf activity started kicking  in again  around 2010 with the renovation of the Ross course and Dye’s creation of a the dazzling course that bears his name.

French Lick gave the senior LPGA players a huge boost by creating the Legends Championship in 2013.  It grew into the LPGA Senior Championship in 2017, which was also played at French Lick. French Lick also found a place for the Senior PGA Championship in 2015, when Colin Montgomerie won the title, and the women’s Symetra (now Epson) circuits.

Also mixed in with those big professional events were three Indiana Opens, seven Big Ten collegiate championships,  a U.S. Golf Association Men’s Team Championship and a PGA Professionals National Championship.

Now the Korn Ferry begins its scheduled five-year run.

“It’s only the second of those tournaments that has a group that takes care of the detail work,’’ said Harner.  “It’s nice to have the support and knowledge that these guys have.’’

French Lick’s Pete Dye Course is the road to the PGA Tour and the climax to the Korn Ferry season.

Unlike French Lick’s other big tournaments, the Korn Ferry has fall dates.

“That shows us in a different light, when we can all enjoy the fall colors,’’ said Harner. “The temperature should be cooler, we’ll have winds that we didn’t have in the summer and the course is in great shape.’’

A new charity, Golf Gives Back, is also in place. It focuses on early childhood education and funds gained from the tournament will be spread around all of southern Indiana, as was the practice when the tournament was played at Victoria National.

While the Korn Ferry’s arrival is the biggest deal, it’s not the only new thing at French Lick.

A fourth course is under construction that will eventually supplement the Pete Dye, Donald Ross and Valley Links, which is a nine-holer. The new course will have nine holes ranging from 47 to 97 yards, music will be a side attraction and lights will be available for night play.  Russ Apple, the superintendent for the Dye course, has done the bulk of the architectural work. The course’s opening is uncertain.

“We want it to be a family experience,’’ said Harner, “but a lot of guys coming off the hills (at the Dye and Ross) will want to knock it around.  It’s short but this course has some teeth, sort of a mini-Pete Dye.’’

French Lick has also added a PGA Tour player, Adam Schenk, to its staff.

“We took him on this year to sponsor him,’’ said Harner.  “He’s a real nice young man who’s from Vincennes (just a few miles away), so he’s a natural fit for us.’’

Schenk is French Lick’s first major tour player since the days of Bob Rosburg and Marilyn Smith, both stars in the 1960s and 1970s.

Only three holes are completed now, as the French Lick Resort  awaits the opening of its fourth course. The lights, though, are already up on this completed hole.  Not date for the course opening has been set.

 

 

 

Rahm, Niemann will battle for LIV bonus money in Bolingbrook

Money.  That’s what differentiates the LIV Tour’s third tournament in Chicago from the others in the circuit’s first three seasons.

The event that tees off on Friday at Bolingbrook Golf Club will have the standard purse for the Saudi-backed circuit — $20 in the individual competition and $5 million in the team competition. That was also the case in LIV’s first two Chicago events at Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove.

This three-day event – last of the regular season — will also decide the three players picking up bonus checks for their season-long performances. Those checks are hefty, too — $18 million for first place, $8 million for second and $4 million for third.

Only Spain’s Jon Rahm and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann are still mathematically in contention for the top prize, but five others – Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka – could claim third-place money.

Niemann, who won two of the season’s first three tournaments, held the point lead until Rahm got hot in the last two.  He won his first LIV title in the United Kingdom and had a playoff loss to Brooks Koepka in the last event at Greenbrier in West Virginia. Rahm goes into Bolingbrook with 195.17 points and Niemann with 192.20.

“I’m probably going to need to win,’’ said Rahm.  “(Niemann) is going to be up there.  I’m going to need another good week.’’

“(Rahm) has been playing great lately, so he’s probably going to do the same.  I’ve got to try to bring my A-game,’’ said Niemann.  He didn’t do it at Greeenbrier, finishing tied for 15th after three straight top-six finishes.

Niemann, however, is the season money leader with $14.5 million in 12 tournaments.  Rahm, who had to withdraw at Houston, has $12.7 million.

Much more is on the line than bonus money, too.  Bolinbrook is the last tournament for players to secure their positions on the LIV circuit for next season.  The top 24 get in.  Those from 25-48 fall into the Open Zone and can move around the teams.  Those from 49 or below go to the Drop Zone and are relegated  off the circuit for individual spots in tournaments in 2025.

Bolingbrook also decides the three teams that will receive first-round byes in the season-ending Team Championship Sept. 20-22 at Maridoe in Dallas.

 

 

 

This first-time PGA Tour winner also set a JDC scoring record

The John Deere Classic champions trophy now belongs to Davis Thompson. (Joy Sarver Photos)

SILVIS, IL. – Sungjae  Im started his Sunday round in the John Deere Classic with five straight birdies, and Ben Griffin also was 5-under through the first five holes, making an eagle, three birdies and a par.

Those were extraordinary starts in the $8 million PGA Tour stop at TPC Deere Run, but not nearly enough.  Third-round leader Davis Thompson was just too good.

He increased a two-stroke lead from the start of the day to six  after making seven threes and two fours in a front nine 29. Thompson had  more challengers on the back side but held off Michael Thorbjornsen, C.T. Pan and amateur Luke Clanton.  They were were four strokes back in sharing second place.

Thompson, rarely smiling throughout the tournament, broke into tears when his wife Holly greeted him on the 18th green.  Then all could appreciate his 28-under-par 256 total for the 72 holes, a tournament record and one better than Michael Kim had in an eight-stroke victory in 2018.

Clanton, who set a tournament record by an amateur, and Thorbjornsen  both shot 63s on Sunday and Thompson had a 64.

Thompson added his name to a John Deere Classic tradition. The 53-year old tournament has been a friendly place for players who haven’t won on the PGA Tour.  Thompson became its 24th first-time champion, joining the likes of TPC Deere Run designer D.A. Weibring, Scott Hoch, Payne Stewart, former Illinois Amateur and Open winner Mark Hensby, Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau. Thompson was the ninth first-time winner on the tour this season.

“I had the feeling when I turned at 6-under I had to have some cushion,’’ said Thompson. “Thankfully I was able to make some birdies early from some weird positions, and finally I hit some good tee shots coming down the stretch.’’

Davis Thompson’s last tee shot led to a record-setting win at TPC Deere Run.

Low scores are nothing new in the JDC, but this staging was exceptional. All 77 players who qualified for the weekend rounds broke par for the 72 holes and the field combined for a 67.90 average on Sunday, the lowest in tournament history.  The 68.60 average for the entire tournament was also a record.

There was other interesting footnotes:

Clanton, a junior at Florida State in the field on a sponsor exemption, became the first amateur to finish in the top 10 in back-to-back PGA Tour events since Billy Joe Patton in 1958.

Thorbjornsen was in only his third PGA tournament, having received playing privileges as the top player in the PGA University standings in 2024.

And, for the third straight year, the champion resided in the same Geneseo rental home during the tournament.

Sponsor exemption Luke Clanton did something no amateur has done on the PGA Tour in 66 years.

Thompson got his first victory in his 63rd career start on the PGA Tour.  He had been second three times, beaten by Jon Rahm in last year’s American Express Classic last year, Chris Gotterup at Myrtle Beach in May and Australia’s Cam Davis last week in Detroit.

“My goal for this week was to kick the door down, and finally get a win,’’ said Thompson, who is now No. 22 in the FedEx Cup standings and on his way to the British Open in two weeks.

The 6-4 Thompson, 25, is a University of Georgia product and lives on Sea Island, Ga. His father Todd was a two-time golf captain for the Bulldogs and is a good friend of Zach Johnson, the JDC’s ambassador on the tour and the most recent U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

“They’re a great family,’’ said Johnson, who has played many practice rounds with Davis.  “I’m not saying that just to be nice. I saw this (win) coming about two-three months ago. He did some changes in his golf bag and it started to click. If you know him it’s not surprising.’’

Great weather and great golf swelled the crowds each day at this John Deere Classic.

 

Bizarre — that’s the best way to sum up the PGA Championship

Bizarre. I’d say that was the best way to sum up the 106th PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky.

No question the golf was great.  So was the drama. Xander Schauffle was 21-under-par in finally winning a major championship on Sunday. You couldn’t beat the drama, either.  Bryson DeChambeau renewed the PGA Tour vs. LIV rivalry with a final-round charge that ended with him walking off the practice range, his chances at being in a playoff doomed when Schauffle’s six-foot birdie putt dropped on the 18th green to give him a one-stroke victory.

All that was well and good.  I’m afraid, though, that this PGA Championship will be better remembered for some strange things.

They started on Monday as players started arriving at Valhalla. Out came the report that Rory McIlroy had filed for divorce from Erica Stoll, his wife of seven years.

Divorces are sad things, but McIlroy’s timing was unfathomable. Here he’s coming off a big win at the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday, then files for divorce the next day,  a few days before the next major championship – one where he had won in 2014.  A distraction, both for himself personally and for the tournament overall, was inevitable.  What was Rory thinking?

Stoll was quoted as saying, “There wouldn’t be a divorce if Rory was as faithful to me as he has been to Tiger.’’  To no one’s surprise, there was no comment from McIlroy. (Woods, incidentally, received little attention for good reason; he missed the cut after a second-round 77).

Anyway, the McIlroy scenario wasn’t the biggest news for long.  Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player,  skipped the Wells Fargo the week before to adjust to becoming a father for the first time.  He got to Valhalla in good spirits until he drove to the course early on Friday for his second round.

An auto accident near the course led to the death of a man moments earlier, and Scheffler was arrested for an unrelated driving offense. He was slammed against the side of his car by a police officer, handcuffed, finger-printed, photographed in an orange jail shirt and put in a cell. He started his pre-round stretching there before a friendly police officer offered him a sandwich as he was being released.

Scheffler played well despite the unpleasant ordeal and – in sharp contrast to McIlroy – talked to the media for 13 minutes after his round, displaying concern for the family of the accident victim. How he regrouped to shoot 66 still amazes me. Scheffler faded in the third round, finishing in a tie for eighth.

His nightmare isn’t over, though.  Scheffler faces four charges, one a felony. His arraignment was to be on Tuesday, but it was later postponed until June 3.  Scheffler plans to play in the Charles Schwab Challenge this week in Texas.

There were a few other notable things that, of course, paled in comparison to the McIlroy and Scheffler episodes.

Steve Stricker’s withdrawal before the first round was noteworthy, though understandable. The 57-year old PGA Tour Champions star had tied for seventh in the 2014 PGA at Valhalla after playing his first Ryder Cup there in 2008. Those memories had Stricker looking forward to playing Valhalla again, even though he would be in the midst of playing three major championship in three weeks and making three title defenses in five — a stretch that even Woods didn’t have to face  during his heyday.

“I’m excited to get to play the PGA Championship in the middle of all this with the young guys,’’ Stricker had said.  Only he didn’t play.  After all, three Champions Tour majors coupled with his dual role as defender and host at his own tournament just became too much. He’s in the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in Michigan this week.

More footnotes:

Collin Morikawa made five straight birdies in his Saturday round to get to the top of the leaderboard but didn’t make another until final hole on Sunday.  At least, as Schauffele’s playing partner,  he got a close-up view of the champion’s exquisite final round.

Jon Rahm, who had the longest streak of the season for avoiding missed cuts, missed this time.  Rahm had gone 18 tournaments before his letdown.  Now Hideki Matsuyama has the longest streak, at 16.

Schauffele’s 21-under-par 263 was a scoring record for a major championship.  He became the 11th wire to wire winner of the PGA, the first being Kentucky native Bobby Nichols in 1964. Shauffele’s first-round 62 tied a record in major championships and Shane Lowry matched it in the third round.  Only five players have shot that number in a major, and Schauffele has done it twice.  The first came in last year’s U.S. Open.

The nicest thing about the week, though, was a break in the frequently ugly confrontations between members of the PGA and LIV circuits.  LIV member Brooks Koepke won the PGA in 2023 and DeChambeau – with three birdies in the last six holes and two in the last three — made an emotional run at another win for the Saudi-backed circuit.  Though he didn’t get it, he was popular with the gallery and showed appropriate sportsmanship afterwards.

“I gave it my best and lost to someone who played incredibly well,’’ said DeChambeau.  “I put as much effort as I possibly could into it.  Xander is well-deserving of a major championship.’’

Kind words are especially nice to hear during these turbulent times in professional golf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gotterup is an appropriate first champion at Myrtle Beach

Chris Gotterup sports his new blue jacket as Myrtle Beach’s first champion. (Joy Sarver Photo)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – This was only fitting.  The newest tournament on the PGA Tour was won by one of the circuit’s youngest players.

Chris Gotterup, just 24 and barely a year removed from his last college tournament, captured the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic at the Dunes Golf & Beach Club.  He took a four-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round, then floundered twice before finally putting the win away.

Gotterup opened the final round with two bogeys then went birdie-eagle-birdie to open a five-shot lead.  The lead was in jeopardy again when he struggled on the first four holes of the back nine.  His advantage was cut to two after 13 holes before he regrouped again to beat closest rivals Davis Thompson and Canadian Alistair Docherty and earn the blue jacket — the start of a tradition for the tournament’s champions.

“No matter what tournament I’m in, I’m going to grind it out,’’ said Gotterup, whose two comebacks made the surprise arrival of his parents and two brothers all the more special.  They weren’t expected here until Monday.

The final round was marked by a 10-under-par 61 by Denmark’s Thorbjern Oleson, a course record on the ocean-side layout designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1948. Gotterup’s closing 67 and gave him a 72-hole score of 22-under-par 262.

Meanwhile, Gotterup had only one top-five finish to show for his first 26 starts on the PGA Tour but is now headed for this week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, in Louisviile, KY. The year’s second major championship tees off on Thursday and Sunday’s win got him there.

Gotterup spent his first four collegiate years at Rutgers, where he had a Player of the Year season.   Then he took a redshirt year at Oklahoma and was even better there. He followed it up by getting eight starts on the PGA Tour, many through sponsor exemptions.

Those eight starts technically ruled Gotterup out of rookie status on the PGA Tour for this season, but he has no complaints about that.

“Those eight starts were huge for me,’’ he said.  “I left school with no status at all but I played good and grinded it out.’’

He also did just that to get his first professional win in the first PGA Tour event at Myrtle Beach, a golf mecca that justifiably bills itself as “the World’s Golf Capital.’’

The tourney, blessed with beautiful weather and good crowd support, made its debut on the same day that the Wells Fargo Championship, held just 173 miles away in Charlotte, N.C., with a much stronger field than Myrtle Beach’s, ended its PGA Tour run.  That decision was made by its sponsor several months ago, but its site – Quail Hollow – will host next year’s PGA Championship.

 

 

One tournament begins, another ends on PGA Tour this week

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club may be the most history-rich course in Myrtle Beach.

OCALA, FL. – Even without a ball being hit yet, the week ahead looms as an interesting one on the PGA Tour.

Holding two concurrent events in the same week isn’t unusual on the PGA Tour, but this is a little different.  The Wells Fargo Championship, in Charlotte, N.C., and the Myrtle Beach Classic are similar in that both are 72-hole events that begin their four-day runs on Thursday.

The Carolina events aren’t that far apart either – only 172 miles, less than four-hour drive.  Otherwise there are some stark differences.

The Wells Fargo is a tournament with some rich history, while Myrtle Beach – which bills itself “the Golf Capital of the World ‘’ with some justification  — has never hosted a PGA Tour stop. The Wells Fargo is a Signature Event with a $20 million purse and many of the game’s top stars.  The Myrtle Beach Classic has a $4 million purse and its field is dominated by the young up-and-coming stars.

While the Myrtle Beach Classic is a new event, the Wells Fargo is being held for the last time.  Its inaugural playing was in 2003, and its list of champions include Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fower, Brian Harman and Max Homa.  Its defending champion is Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open titlist. Wells Fargo, though, has announced that it won’t renew its sponsorship after this year’s playing.

Charlotte has been a PGA Tour site long before the Wells Fargo teed off for the first time at Quail Hollow Club, and that venue won’t be disappearing from big-time golf.  It’ll host the PGA Championship in 2025. That won’t be anything new for the club, either.  It was the site of Justin Thomas’ PGA victory in 2017 and the President’s Cup was also played there in 2022.

Robert Trent Jones Sr. created The Dunes course in 1948. (Joy Sarver Photos)

Switching the focus to Myrtle Beach, it’s shocking that this community hasn’t attracted  corporate sponsorship for a PGA Tour event until this year.  For over 40 years MB’s nearly 100 courses have been used for the World Amateur Handicap Tournament.  With entries topping 3,000 annually, it’s believed to be the biggest golf event in the world.

This is a really avid golf town,  and there have been professional tournaments held there in the past.  The U.S. Women’s Open was played in MB in 1962 and the women’s circuit held four tournaments there in the 1990s, with Australian star Karrie Webb winning two of them. Seven Senior PGA Tour Championships were also held there, the last in 2000.

Myrtle Beach even has a TPC course, and many of Dustin Johnson’s trophies are on display there. The Myrtle Beach Classic, however, will be played at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, a par-71 layout measuring 7,347 yards.  It’s the second-oldest course in Myrtle Beach.

Robert Trent Jones Sr. was the designer in 1948, and insiders believe it can be stretched a little longer to better suit PGA Tour players. Those who were early entrants included Brandt Snedeker, Jonattan Vegan, Daniel Berger, Joel Dahmer, Cameron Champ and Charley Hoffman.

Organizers of the MB event held a unique qualifying event, called The Q, as part of its pre-tournament promotional festivities.  They also had no trouble finding volunteers.  The number needed filled up quickly, — faster, they believe, than any  event with the exception of a Ryder Cup. Clearly the enthusiasm for golf on its biggest stage is bubbling over in Myrtle Beach.

The new event has one – at least minor – concern.  Sunday’s final round will be played on Mother’s Day, and that might cut into attendance. Of course, that could minimally impact the Wells Fargo, too.

What the future holds for both events is uncertain.  It’s unlikely Quail Hollow will be without a big event after the PGA Championship next year.  It’s been just too good of a tournament site and new sponsorship should be forthcoming eventually.  The Myrtle Beach Classic has a contract for two more years and would likely continue long beyond that, assuming the sponsoring and crowd support are up to expectations at the inaugural event.

The ocean views at The Dunes create a stunning backdrop for golfers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Malnati an emotional winner at Valspar tourney

Peter Malnati uses a yellow golf ball to win the Valspar tourney. (Joy Sarver Photo)

PALM HARBOR, Florida — The winners at PGA Tour events are frequently emotional, but Peter Malnati was in tears immediately after his last putt dropped at the Valspar Championship on Sunday.

Malnati, 36, won his second title nine years after his first.  He had qualified for only three major championships and never made it to the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

This year he had four missed cuts and only one top-10 finish while doubling as a recently-named Player Director on the PGA Tour Policy Board. That has put him in the forefront of the complicated negotiations over the proposed merger with the Saudi-based LIV Golf League.

While that’s a time-consuming extra job Malnati had been better known as one of the few players to use a yellow golf ball.  He switched from white to yellow balls because one of his sons “liked them.’’

“He’s gotten over it now,’’ said Malnati, holding one son while fighting back tears during his first post-round televised interview.  “But it still makes me think of him.’’

Malnati, along with his wife Alicia, attended the University of Missouri before Peter turned pro in 2009. They have two sons – Hatcher and Dash. They were more in the spotlight at the Valspar, which offers an unusual opportunity for players to put what they want on their caddy’s bibs.  Malnati chose honor his sons.

Keith Mitchell started the day with a two-stroke lead on Malnati, who was in a three-way tie for second.  Mitchell faded to a 77 in the final round while Malnati shot 67 and won by one stroke over Cameron Young. Malnati posted a 12-under-par 272 for the 72 holes and earned $1,512,000.

“That moment of winning a tournament and have your family come out on the green, the big hugs and all that, that’s something I’ve seen other families have and that has been my dream,’’ said Malnati.  “ There’s been a lot of stretches in golf over the last nine years when I wondered if I’d ever have that experience. It feels completely surreal.’’

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, who led the tournament after Round 1 and was tied for the lead after Round 2, shot 73-72 on his weekend rounds and finished in a tie for 28th with, among others, Northwestern alum Dylan Wu. It was Streelman’s best finish of the season. Defending champion Taylor Moore tied for 12th.

 

LET Tour starts a team series in Florida with Saudi ties

 

Charley Hull, Carlota Ciganda and Lexi Thompson (left to right) are among the stars in the Aramco Team Series season opener. Ciganda is the defending champion. (Joy Sarver Photos)

CLEARWATER, Florida – The scheduling for the Aramco Team Series opener was unusual, its opening event being slated opposite the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational just an hour away in Orlando.

With a teeoff Friday on International Women’s Day, the Aramco event is unusual enough.  Imagine a women’s team event — one put on by the Ladies European Tour (LET) with $1 million in prize money provided by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which also bankrolls the controversial men’s LIV Golf League — being played on American soil.

After this tourney concludes on Sunday the series will have stops in South Korea, London, Asia and Saudi Arabia.

This women’s tourney at Feather Sound Country Club has a stellar field. The 82 players come from 24 countries and own 39 wins on the European Tour, nine on the LPGA Tour and three in major championships.

Though it’s an LET event, the field includes American stars Lexi Thompson, Brittany Lincicome, Marina Alex and Megan Khang.  Top Europeans are England’s Charley Hull and Bronte Law and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, who won the tournament last year at Trump International in West Palm Beach, FL.

Ciganda and Alex were the only ones among those hotshots to show top form in Friday’s Round 1.  Both carded 6-under-par 66s to share the lead with Chloe Williams, of Wales, and Kim Metraux, of Switzerland.

Defending champion Ciganda had a great start (birdies on the first two holes) and a solid finish.  “I birdied three of my last five holes.  I’m very happy,’’ she said.

This year’s tournament was under the radar because lining up a U.S. site was a  slow process.  Feather Sound wasn’t assured of hosting until five weeks ago, a very short time for tournament preparation. First-round play was also slow, reaching 5 ½ hours at the end of the day on Friday.

This event, though,  is being contested in four-player teams (of three pros and one amateur) for two days.  It’s the only team series on any of the pro golf tours.

After 36 holes the top 60 pros will compete for individual prize money in Sunday’s final round with no qualms about going head-to-head with the $20 million Arnold Palmer Invitational, one of the “elevated’’ events on the PGA Tour schedule.

 

 

 

LPGA changes are imminent as season winds down

Linking up with Annika Sorenstam changed the atmosphere at Pelican.

BELLAIR, Florida – Changing times on the LPGA Tour are unlike the PGA-LIV soap opera on the men’s circuit, but the women are in the progress of some adjusting, too – starting with the name of the season’s penultimate tournament.  Instead of using the name of the host club in the title, what was the Pelican is now The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

It honors Annika Sorenstam, one of golf’s all-time greats.  It’s the first time an LPGA tournament has been named in honor of a player, and more legends might be recognized down the road.

“It’s important to have history involved in the game,’’ said Stacy Lewis, the U.S. Solheim Cup captain.  “It’s important for these girls to know the players that have come before them.  Fortunately, everybody knows Annika. I wish we had more of them because there are a lot of players that played even before Annika that we probably haven’t done a good job of honoring.  There needs to be more of it.’’

Betsy King, Nancy Lopez and Kathy Whitworth have been similarly honored at tournaments, but not quite like Sorenstam. The Annika has a bigger purse ($3.25 million, biggest on the LPGA circuit minus the majors and CME event) and a better field than was the case in the event’s three seasons as the Pelican. The signage and décor very much highlighted Sorenstam’s connection to the event.

One difference was evident even before Thursday’s first round was over when darkness set in at 5:48 p.m. with one player still to finish.  Nelly Korda, the champion the last two years, had a less-than-ideal start. Though she shot a 67 on the par-70 Donald Ross design course, Korda trailed nine of the players who also had morning starting times and she was tied for 31st when Thursday’s play ended. Canadian Brooke Henderson was the leader with an 8-under-par 62.

Two-time defending champion Nelly Korda wasn’t at her best in The Annika’s debut at the Pelican, but the colorful atmosphere was refreshing.

Lexi Thompson, runner-up twice in the previous three years, started in the afternoon and posted a 64 with a lot of added pressure.  The CME Group Tour Championship, the biggest money event in women’s golf with $7 million on the line, is coming up Nov. 16-19 to conclude the season.  Only 60 players will qualify for the CME at another Florida facility, Tiburon in Naples. (Tiberon will also be the site of a new December event in which some LPGA players team up with players on the PGA Tour).

Thompson, who has missed the cut in eight tournaments this year and had only two top-10 finishes, stands 88th in the point standings so she needs to climb the leaderboard before the tourney ends on Sunday.  New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, another top player for many years, is also on the outside of the CME field, too.  She stands 101st.

Stacy’s Solheim Cup team is also smarting from a 14-14 tie in Spain, which enabled their European counterparts to retain possession of the trophy.

“I hate how it finished because I felt we played good enough to win,’’ said Lewis, who will return as the American captain the next time the bi-annual event is played.  “There are definitely some changes to be made.’’

 

The Annika will give a big boost to more than just the LPGA

Ready for The Annika’s November debut are (from left) sponsor exemption Louise Rydqvist, executive director Marci Doyle, host Annika Sorenstam and Pelican member and recent LPGA winner Elizabeth Szokol. (Pat Eastman Photo)

 

BELLEAIR, FL. — Annika Sorenstam was a legendary player before she stepped away from the LPGA Tour in 2008. Now she’s back again in a variety of roles, most notably as the host of a revitalized tournament called The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

The Pelican Golf Club, on the outskirts of Tampa, hosted the LPGA circuit for tournaments beginning in 2020. It was called the Pelican Women’s Championship then and Nelly Korda goes into the revised version as the two-time defending champion.

Sorenstam’s presence changed the event considerably from when Pelican was the title sponsor. This year’s penultimate event on the LPGA schedule has an elevated purse of $3.25 million, the largest outside of the major championships and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples. Marci Doyle has come from the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational to assume the executive director’s role at The Annika.

The Annika effect also showed in the field. Eight of the world’s top 10 and 16 of the top 20 in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings  are scheduled to compete this time around, headed by Korda and world No. 1 Lilia Vu. Also in the stacked field  are major championship winners Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, Danielle Kang and Lexi Thompson.

So, why is Sorenstam here?

“When I stepped away in 2008 it was a step away from competitive golf, but I wasn’t stepping away from the game,’’ said Sorenstam.  “It was more what can I do to share my passion and knowledge or inspire the next generation.  It started with the foundation, then a few things all connected.  I’m still here, and I want to do things.  I want to inspire.  I want to grow women’s golf, and all the things that this tournament stands for are things that I stand for personally.’’

At the Media Day she shared the spotlight with Elizabeth Szokol, a Pelican member who won for the first time on the LPGA circuit this year, and Louise Rydqvist, a Swedish player who is a junior at the University of South Carolina.  She will make her first LPGA appearance as a sponsor’s exemption at The Annika.

“I played the Annika Cup in Sweden and then I played her Annika Invitational in Europe,’’ said Rydqvist.  Then I came to college and I played her intercollegiate event.  Now, all of a sudden, it’s kind of closing the full circle.  It’s very surreal, and I’m super, super thankful to be here.’’

Sorenstam has made a few tournament appearances and her husband-caddie Mike McGee says she’s also become the main swing coach for their son Will.  The 13-year old, who plays daily with the sons of Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter at Lake Nona, made a big splash playing in the PNC event in Orlando last year.  Annika and Will were paired with Tiger and Charlie Woods. Mike has also been a go-between for Annika’s projects involving the LPGA.

“I have a long wish list of things I want to achieve at the Annika Foundation,’’ she said.  “We started at the end of 2007, and 15 years later we have seven global tournaments.  We are in different parts of the world.  We do different initiatives, whether it’s six year olds to 12 year olds to 22 year olds. We started with different initiatives this year.  It’s a development program for young players who just left college and are now turning professional.’’

What Sorenstam has done for women’s golf is nothing short of terrific – and much needed if the game is to grow.  Her role at the inaugural Annika hasn’t been clearly defined yet.  She was asked if she’d hit the ceremonial first tee shot. Surely she’ll do much more than that.’’

“I am playing in the pro-am.  I’m committed to that’’ she said.  “I look forward to that, but I’m a host and I’m up for anything to make this tournament great.’’

The pro-am is on Wednesday, Nov. 8.  Then there’ll be four rounds of tournament play on the private course, a Donald Ross original design that has been redesigned by Beau Welling.