by You hear that?
It’s quiet.
The golf world is all but shut down this week. Still, there is plenty of news to go around, and we have some surprisingly decent fields at the events that are going on. Who doesn’t love a little holiday season golf?
This event exists?
Marketing dollars can convince people to do a lot of things, and that includes playing a pointless event in Naples in December. The QBE Shootout gets underway on Friday with a bunch of tour pros, LPGA star Lexi Thompson, and former model Greg Norman in the field. The players will partner up and play one round of scramble, one round of modified alternate shot, and one round of best ball before the trophy is given out.
| Bryson, Bubba, Cam Champ, Kevin Kisner and many others are in the field, so it will be an entertaining affair at least. Tee Times
I hear the drums echoing tonight The other event of the weekend is on the European Tour as they head to Johannesburg for the South African Open. The field is headlined by Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Matt Wallace, Dylan Frittelli, and Branden Grace. Tee Times (It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you) Frisco, That’s Fun to Say – Buddy the Elf The PGA of America announced on Tuesday that they are moving their headquarters from West Palm Beach to Frisco, TX. The move will be accompanied by a $520 million dollar development that will include two championship courses, a resort, a short course, a two-sided driving range, and a convention center. Business moves aside, the golf course side of this announcement is actually pretty exciting. One course will be designed by the highly-regarded Gil Hanse, and the other will be given to Beau Welling. This should bring two pretty exciting designs and championship golf to Texas. The PGA of America also announced that the new development will host the 2027 and 2034 PGA Championships, 2025 and 2031 KPMG Women’s PGA Championships, and the 2023 and 2029 Kitchenaid Senior PGA Championships. The PGA Championship hasn’t been hosted in Texas since 1963, so this is a very big deal. Back to Q-School This week marks the start of the final stage of Web.com Tour Q-School. All participants have already earned themselves conditional status on the Tour by making it this far. This week, they will play for guaranteed starts. The winner will earn $50k and earn themselves guaranteed status in every event of the season. Those who finish 2nd-10th (and ties) will get 12 starts, and 11th-40th (and ties) will get 8 starts on the Web. Check out the full field here and watch live scoring starting Thursday on PGATour.com You don’t have to go to college, this isn’t Russia. Is this Russia? This isn’t Russia. Big news out of the PGA Tour on Tuesday as the tour is contemplating a system that would guarantee starts to the NCAA’s best players. This system would give the best collegiate players access to various tours as they prepare to transition to the professional stage. Our guess is that this system would eliminate the need for sponsor’s exemptions for these players and that might actually open up spots to other players. There are a lot of details that need to be worked out, so this could be much ado about nothing. The idea is exciting though, so let’s hope it happens. Andy wrote about this idea and the youth trend that we are seeing in professional golf. You can find his full article HERE. Shotgun Start: PGA gets in bed with Big Tex and the new Tour “feeder system” for college players It’s a light week for golf on TV but the content gods always provide for the Shotgun Start podcast. Andy and Brendan discuss the report that Tiger Woods may get his own Monster drink and he may now also have a new Presidents Cup assistant captain if one oddball star’s pleas are answered. They then explore the idea of the Tour providing a system that gives NCAA stars access to more playing opportunities. Andy explains what this embrace of the youth movement says about the state of the game. Then they move to the PGA of America announcement that they’re headed to Texas as part of a mega-development that is being called the “Silicon Valley of golf.” They offer a skeptical critique of the lengthy release outlining these plans. Finally, they wrap with a discussion of the South African Open in Joburg, where three spots for the British Open are up for grabs. Is this the best way to qualify for the world’s major championship? Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify Quick Hooks Most fun course in the US? Jason Way and Jon Cavalier lay out the case for Ballyneal. Story Bubba Watson apparently wants to be a vice captain at the President’s Cup again. Story Mark Broadie is working on a stat that would show how players perform under pressure. Story |
