by Gary Williams | Nov 20, 2023 | The Card
18 thoughts, observations and predictions…
- Ludvig Aberg has done more to legitimize PGA Tour U than any million-dollar ad campaign. Plus, he may have just influenced a few college players to pass on potential LIV dollars. I said MAY HAVE.
- Nicolai Hojgaard is younger than Aberg and with his win at the DP World Tour Championship has secured his place in the first couple Signature Events on the PGA Tour. Along with his brother Rasmus the three of them represent the potential for three real stars simultaneously from Scandinavian countries. Who needs speed skating?
- The European pivot to the next generation is one of the swiftest restocking of the Ryder Cup cupboards of all time. Hovland, the Hojgaards, plus Aberg join Rahm and Rory to form a lethal first six. And that group is built to take on Bethpage.
- Ten PGA Tour cards were earned in Dubai this week. Not many likely took notice but the DP World Tour is going to benefit from co-opting space with the PGA Tour and their cash infusion compliments of the PGA Tour was a shrewd deal.
- The winners on the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and LPGA Tour this week were 21, 29, and 27 under par respectively. Any month, anywhere, any conditions, you put 18 flags in the ground and these aliens will knock them over. Absurd.
- Paul Azinger will not be back as the lead analyst for NBC’s golf coverage. There are basically two lead analysts at the network level, so the job is coveted and rarely available. The phone call may be very short, but NBC must gauge the interest of Tiger Woods. Price too high and interest likely next to zero, does not matter, you call him.
- The season of Tiger is open us. He will play the Hero World Challenge and likely the PNC parent child with Charlie. BEST case for 2024 is five events in my mind… four majors and the Genesis. Percentage chance of that happening? 10%
- The fall portion of the PGA Tour schedule gave us winners that included Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim, Colin Morikawa, and Ludvig Aberg plus heart-warming stories in Eric Van Rooyen and Camilo Villegas. As a moving target this fall was a fluky success.
- At 34 Amy Yang wins a massive event and two million dollars. Yang turned pro in 2008 and she’s been a respected professional for 15 years, so her win was wildly popular.
- By any metric Lilia Vu is the player of the year on the LPGA. I am not a fan of leaning on metrics for determining who is the player of the year. Players should vote. They know better than anyone, including an algorithm, who was the best among them for the year.
- Eric Cole is likely to get pinched now by Aberg for rookie of the year. Cole played 37 events! Wake up 1977, Eric Cole is here. He is one of the best stories in 2023 and the vote will be very close. He finished 43 in the FedEx cup and his last six starts including five top 5’s. I think Aberg’s win tips it, but Cole was a plow mule.
- The next ten into the first two full field events of 2024 were determined this fall. Beau Hossler, Matt Kuchar, Nick Hardy, Ben Griffin and Luke List were among that group. All of them exemplify that the pro game sizzles everyone to varying degrees but you can come back from the depths.
- Rory McIlroy leaving his board seat on the PGA Tour surprised some. Why? He did what he’s inclined to do which was be committed to it and it got him tons of unneeded stress and in the end, he was left out of the biggest decision. Onto 2024 and let others shoulder that unnecessary load.
- ESPN wisely secured digital rights to the LPGA for a limited number of events in 2024. Pro golf eats hours and its perfect for ESPN+. For the LPGA they have just put themselves on the monolith of all sports platforms. Winner.
- I spent two days at Congaree golf club in South Carolina. In addition to having the firmest and fastest playing conditions in America they have raised millions for their foundation which provides ample foundational support for aspiring college golfers who are from modest means. Dan Friedkin, the owner of the club, is truly changing lives through golf.
- The new book, “The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor” is a fantastic illustrative book on the work and impact of one of the true giants of course design. Get it for someone you love who loves Raynor courses for Christmas.
- I’ve put Jordan Spieth on the top of my list of people I want to have a long conversation with in 2024. There’s a ton there and will not be enough time.
- Giving thanks should never be reserved for just one day but we do celebrate it this Thursday. I am thankful for the support and compassion of so many and for anyone reading this line that signifies you supporting our efforts to talk about this game we love. Happy Thanksgiving.
by Gary Williams | Nov 13, 2023 | The Card
18 thoughts, observations and predictions…
- When a successful tour player ventures into a broadcast booth it’s a sign that that player has likely pondered their own professional mortality. Camilo Villegas did that in August at the Wyndham Championship and three months later he won for the first time in nine years. One of the best stories in years on tour.
- After Villegas had polished off his fifth win, and over time he has struggled mightily as he and his wife lost their 22-month daughter, Mia, to brain cancer, Villegas started by expressing how much the game had given him, not what he was deprived or stripped of, but what he was given. That’s a view of the world worth emulating.
- Rory McIlroy wrapped up the Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour without playing this week and a week before their final event of the year. He played in nine events that count and four were majors, a world golf championship played in Texas and zero events played in continental Europe. Bottom Line, he still plays a few events that count, and Pelley and company will take Rory anywhere and anytime.
- The Bermuda event picked up a few more years on their sponsorship. The event works. Jobs are on the line now with the “fall” and Bermuda doesn’t just like golf, they can’t get enough golf.
- Fred Biondi finished T13 at Bermuda and off a national title and individual title it’s a nice week for a guy with Korn Ferry status by virtue of PGA Tour U.
- On my 5 Clubs podcast this past week, CBS’ Frank Nobilo shared his thoughts on many subjects, all of them interesting but his opinion that tour players are overpaid has gotten a lot of attention. He’s right, this is not just fair market principles, this is the existence of LIV that has altered the pay scale. This will become a real issue if the public investment fund does not become an investor in the PGA Tour.
- LIV is going to have a transfer window, free agency and their new “qualifying” event. You can quibble and all out dismiss the league. These are wrinkles and they MUST be different. Different will not sway many but they have to employ new and different as their plan.
- In an excellent interview with the Irish Independent, Rory McIlroy shares details on the fallout from the Ryder Cup dust up with Joe Lacava and points out that he doesn’t vibe at all with Patrick Cantlay. The interesting thing about that is that they are both board members of the PGA Tour. That could be an issue as they determine the vacant board seat and the vision of the tour going forward.
- Max Homa won the Nedbank in South Africa. Winning outside the U.S. is a big deal and on the heels of being the best player for the USA at a road Ryder Cup, Homa has big mental “mo” going into ‘24.
- Justin Thomas had a top 5 week in South Africa. 2023 was his worst year since winning his first tour event and it will end up being his worst in the next seven. He’s going to have a big ‘24.
- I wrote about my day at Sweetens Cove this past week. To sum it up if you didn’t read my blog, the course, the staff, the environment is the perfect blend of everything golf should aspire to give to the golfer. It’s a game to the game.
- I spent Thursday night sitting with Andrew Green who has restored Oak Hill, Scioto, Inverness, is currently resuscitating East Lake and will soon renovate Charlotte Country Club. He is becoming the most capable guy next to Gil Hanse to breathe real life into the most historic venues.
- Playing Old Town in Winston Salem this past week was a chance to see one of the finest routed courses in the world. Perry Maxwell used a superior piece of land to create a masterpiece and Coore/Crenshaw has sprinkled their magic with tree removal, bunkers being re-built and the greens being returned to their prior character. It’s a bonafide star.
- Andy Ogletree took a spot start in the first LIV event when he had no money and no place to play. He’s now won their international series and will return to LIV a much better player with a spot on their roster.
- Keegan Bradley was left off the Ryder Cup team and suggested he was an outsider. He’s now a part of the Boston TGL team with Rory and Tyrell Hatton. He probably fits in better with them anyway.
- The soon to be revealed new reversible 9-hole course at Palmetto Bluff designed by Rob Collins and Tad King will be a grand slam.
- The Bryan brothers were cobbling together an existence in golf with YouTube videos of trick shots almost a decade ago. This week they both made the cut in Bermuda. That’s impressive.
- If Tiger doesn’t want the Ryder Cup job at Bethpage they should go off the page and give the job to Lucas Glover. He never played in a Ryder Cup, but he won the U.S. Open there and is undeniably one of the wisest and smartest guys in golf and players would love playing for him.
