The Card – Volume LII

by Gary Williams | Aug 26, 2024 | The Card

18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…

1. The Curtis Cup will be contested this week at Sunningdale located 30 miles Southwest of London.  It’s among the very finest 36-hole facilities in the world.  The golf courses are an enchanted forest, the holes are architectural gems, and the clubhouse is a treasure trove of historical artifacts while being exceedingly warm and comfortable.  With the future sites in the United States that include Bel-Air, National Golf Links, Pine Valley and Bandon Dunes it is a dead heat between the Curtis cup and Walker cup for best rota in golf.

2. Speaking of Pine Valley, the U.S. Curtis Cup team did some team building, bonding and just hanging out with each other at one of the game’s iconic spots.  I know it was not lost on Meghan Stasi, the U.S. captain, that Harry Colt had some input into the design of Pine Valley, and he was a central figure in the evolution of the Willie Park Jr. design of the Old Course at Sunningdale.  It’s fantastic that PV is being used for a pre-departure venue for team competitions and while the land does not have the majestic tall species of trees that Sunningdale does, there is no place to get more lost in the next shot than the solitary experience of each hole at Pine Valley.  These young women are embarking on one of the great experiences of their lives only enhanced with a trip to PV.

3. Viewing all four days of the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews and it only re affirms what I’ve felt since the first time I stepped onto the first tee at the Old Course 30 years ago.  There is no golf course more interesting, no walk more invigorating and no experience more nourishing.  Seeing the women layered up, which is the only way to go around the Old, the gray town bouncing between blue sky and dull low greyish clouds is what makes it haunting and a singular experience.  

4. I.K. Kim finished her final round of the Women’s Open and after shaking Martin Slumbers of the R&A’s hand and announced her retirement from professional golf.  Kim is a major winner having won the 2017 Women’s Open and she finished in the top 5 in nine major championships.  She will always be remembered as the player who missed a putt of roughly one foot at the Kraft Nabisco to win her first major in 2012.  She lost in a playoff but never lost her positivity and grace is a testament to a career well led.

5. Lexi Thompson made the cut at the Women’s Open and took a moment on the Swilcan Bridge on the 18^th hole to acknowledge her exiting the competitive stage.  I would think she will cherry pick an event somewhere in the future but her career as we knew it is over.  She was a dynamic, explosive, and captivating player and she suffered some gut-wrenching losses that only made her more interesting.  Lexi never appeared totally comfortable holding such a lofty perch as the quasi face of women’s golf in America and she was in the public eye long before high school.  She will captain a future Solheim Cup team and I hope she finds immense joy in the next chapter.

6. The report this week that LIV Golf has signed a rights management deal with the global sports monolith only reinforces what we’ve said here for two years.  LIV isn’t just going away.  CAA is a leader in marketing, sponsorship and media rights and they are being paid to raise PIF’s profile at a time the PGA Tour and the PIF are trying to find common ground.  With a media deal expiring with the CW for over the air broadcasts and many contracts of players also expiring at year’s end this is a fascinating and significant end of year for LIV, but they are doing the opposite of drawing down toward a conclusion.  Where and when do the two tours find entry points for players?  2026.

7. Nelly Korda arrived at the 14^th tee, the par 5 at the Old Course, with a two-shot lead and she was playing a steely and sturdy round of golf.  She was not a lock by any means to win but what transpired in the next 15 minutes was mind numbing.  After a good tee shot down the right side of the 14^th fairway, she then hit a worse shot for her second. The third shot was worse than the second, the fourth worse than the third, the fifth worse than the fourth, the sixth worse than the fifth and finally a double bogey 7.  She missed an 8-footer for birdie on 16, left a 10-foot par putt short on 17 and she was effectively out of contention.  She’s had a historic year but leading the Open by two with five to go and losing stings.  A lot.

8. Lydia Ko completes the month of her life.  First, she wins the gold medal in Paris and now adds her third major victory at the Old Course.  It’s been eight years since her last major victory, and she has had so much change for someone only 27 years old.  21 LPGA wins, three majors, all three medals in Olympic golf and now a major win at the Old Course.  No one knows how long she will keep competing, but she is one of the truly historic figures in golf.  Her early rise, her humility and her appreciation.  A true champion.

9. Lilia Vu will be smarting from leaving her tying putt short on the 18^th hole, but it is very clear that she is the most capable and comfortable American along with Nelly on the biggest stages.  She is a big game hunter and Stacy Lewis will lean on her big-time next month at the Solheim Cup.

10. The beauty of golf courses has never been celebrated more than they are currently.  The beautiful work of so many dedicated content creators have taken the lead but seeing Castle Pines for the first time in almost 20 years with aerial footage via drones has been phenomenal.  20 years ago, you never got the long views of the Colorado landscape and the rise and fall of the land.  With the massive support of fans locally and the gushing of the players and broadcasters.  Castle Pines will be visited again, soon.

11. Earlier last week the PGA Tour had a player call/meeting scheduled to discuss future issues including field size and reportedly the number of players who may have tour cards starting in 2026.  One of the items is the continuing discussion about the number of players in fields from Signature series events to all the other tour stops.  It has been suggested that one of the driving concerns about field size is the challenge to make a cut by Friday night each week.  I promise you the main reason is not the concern about cuts being executed it’s about money.  More for less.  At a time that more players from all over the world can play at an elite level the PGA Tour is deliberately trying to contract.  I have no problem with more elite fields, but the door must stay open for the underdog, it’s the essence of sports.  The mules on the PGA Tour must be restless because the barn door may be closing.

12. Chris Kirk made the Tour Championship in 2014 and he had not been back to East Lake since.  After being the only player who played his way out of the Tour Championship last year at the BMW Kirk returns to Atlanta.  His victory at the Sentry in Maui book-ended by a trip back to East Lake.  As someone who also lives a life of recovery Chris is an inspiration and for all the success playing golf, I can assure you that the thing he values most in life is peace of mind.  

13. If you said in January that Max Homa, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jason Day and Brian Harman would all play a full schedule and all miss the Tour Championship you’d have gotten great odds on the parlay card.  They are just 2024’s reminder that getting there is a big deal.

14. Ludvig Aberg did a bunch of firsts this season. The majors were all new and all the big events were new as well.  With a heaping of expectations on him entering the year off the Ryder Cup appearance he has produced eight top 10’s and was in the deep end of the pool at the Masters finishing second and he also nosed himself into the mix at the U.S. Open.  He made a big blunder on 14 on Sunday with a 6 iron in his hand on the par 5 and walked off with bogey and that was the swing hole for him to possibly win.  Nonetheless he’s headed to East Lake having validated the buzz.

15. Adam Scott playing well late in the season and all the way to East Lake is a testament to many things.  Generational talent, dogged determination and a true worker.  All of those things while Scott deals with a putter that CAN be capable but his inability to make a handful of six footers and shorter kept him from a minimum likely forcing a playoff.  Mike Weir must feel more confident in his ability to play Scott in any session of the Presidents Cup.

16. Keegan Bradley is going to make the Presidents Cup team off his win.  The 5 iron he struck on the 17^th hole with a one-shot lead was one of the finest and biggest shots of his career.  I do not think he can be a playing captain at Bethpage and do not think he will be in the top 6 next year but we can debate that plenty in the next year.  Bottom line, Furyk should pull the trigger and put him on the team, and I expect he will.

17. The Bradley appointment to Ryder Cup captaincy has created a vibe around him that has never existed before.  He was a very relevant player but the combination of the ‘Full Swing” documentation of his Ryder Cup snub and his shocking appointment as captain for Bethpage have made him more relevant than he’s ever been at age 38, interesting.

18. The significant changes to East Lake will be the story of the week in Atlanta.  I spent an hour with Andrew Green on Friday and that extensive conversation will be available Monday AM, August 26 on all 5 Clubs platforms.  His thoughts and what was there before, what they changed, misconceptions about Donald Ross designs and why his job is his passion.  Please give it a watch or listen.