It’s that time of year when the streets turn that ugly white-grey color and you know you live in the wrong place.

WOWgr, Vol. 2022.4

If you’re new, welcome! Here’s a rundown of what WOWgr is all about.

No. 1 – Big Ink (Up 712 spots from last week) – Epson and the LPGA Tour announced a new agreement for the naming rights to the LPGA’s qualifying tour, previously known as the Symetra Tour. The five-year deal boosts purses and lowers entry fees with the hope of making the qualification process financially feasible for more players. Epson is also giving $10,000 to every graduate to help pay expenses the following year. You love to see it!

No. 2 – Danielle Kang (Up 14) – Left in the proverbial dust by Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko last year, Danielle Kang seems reinvigorated in 2022. Her victory at last week’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions felt easy, and she jumped out to a strong start at the LPGA Gainbridge on Thursday. It will be a tall order to chase down Korda and Ko in the world rankings, but Kang has the game to do it. She also got props from Michael Jordan this week, which is fun.

No. 3 – Jon Rahm (Up 2) – He may call WOWgr a piece of s**t f***ing ranking for putting him third, but my commitment is to truth. The Spaniard’s muttered critique of last week’s setup in Palm Springs was the most delightful kind of catnip, and this week he has stood by his words. “I mean, we’re the PGA Tour,” he said on Tuesday at the Farmers Insurance Open. “We’re the best golfers on the planet, and we’re playing a golf course where missing the fairway means absolutely nothing.” On the course, Rahm continued his remarkable run of form; he is tied for the lead through two rounds. In six career starts at Torrey Pines, he has recorded two victories and five top 10s.

No. 4 – Whoever came up with the PIP (Up 999) – In case you haven’t been on the internet in the past couple of days, Brooks Koepka showed up to Torrey Pines on Wednesday with bleach blonde hair. Before Wednesday’s round, he changed his social media profile photo to a childhood image of himself with lighter hair. He also posted a before-and-after video of the haircut itself. It’s hard to imagine him doing any of this for something other than social media engagement. Long live the Player Impact Program.

No. 6 – Bryson DeChambeau’s insurance agent (Up 874) – Buy that new car, Mr. or Mrs. Insurance Agent: Bryson’s policy is going up! Our own sleuths at The Shotgun Start have sources telling tales of smashed windshields in the caddie lot at Torrey Pines. Allegedly, Thicc Boi was “shipping balls over the fence” at the driving range. Tough scene.

No. 13 – Mother Nature (Up 63) – Conditions have been largely pleasant on the PGA Tour so far this winter, but last weekend on the DP World Tour was a different story. Winds whipped upwards of 30 mph on Friday in Abu Dhabi, and fewer than 10 players broke par in the second round. Real shot-making was required for survival, which is always fun to watch.

No. 1,111This Farmers Insurance volunteer (Down 81) – If you look around and don’t see a problem, you’re the problem.

No. 1,431 – People who laud Jon Rahm for working on his temper (Down 325) – Is he more calm overall? Maybe. But he’s still a bit of a hothead. And that’s exactly how we want him. *Slams club again*

The Latest from The Fried Egg

Essex County Club: Donald Ross’s Backcountry Trek – Home to Donald Ross in the early 1900s, Essex County Club boasts one of the best back nines in America. Andy Johnson breaks down a few holes that make ECC’s inward nine so great.

The Evolution of Cameron Smith – Cameron Smith has recently gone from solid pro to elite performer. Joseph LaMagna dug into the stats to see how the Aussie made the jump.

Fore the Ladies at The King Tide – A couple of spots are still reserved in our Charleston Municipal event for Fore the Ladies members. These will remain available through this weekend, so make sure to get in there soon!

The Fried Egg Podcast: Old Macdonald Deep Dive – In their second deep dive on the 18-hole courses at Bandon Dunes, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison discuss Tom Doak and Jim Urbina’s Old Macdonald. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

The Shotgun Start – The boys run through some Torrey odds and ends before delving into a double-scoop Flashback Friday. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Boards

Adam Schenk, Jon Rahm, and Justin Thomas lead at the halfway point of the Farmers Insurance Open.

Marty Dou made two bogeys down the stretch of the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic and fell to Brandon Harkins in a playoff on Wednesday. It was Harkins’s first victory in 179 PGA Tour-sanctioned starts.

Arizona State secured its national-title-contender status by closing out a 13-shot win over Pepperdine at the Southwestern Invitational.

Joachim B. Hansen fired a 65 to take the 18-hole lead at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, while stars like Tommy Fleetwood (T-3), Sergio García (T-3), Collin Morikawa (T-9), and Viktor Hovland (T-9) lurk.

Lydia Ko leads Danielle Kang and Aditi Ashok through one round at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.

Quick Hooks

Ryan Alford, an APGA Tour golfer playing in the Farmers Insurance Open on a sponsor invite, holed out for eagle on the first hole of his PGA Tour career.

Perhaps it’s the new haircut, but Brooks Koepka was introduced as “Bruce” on the first tee at Torrey Pines on Thursday.

The Human Rights Foundation gave the PGA Tour a 95 out of 100 on its Corporate Equality Index, a report that focuses on LGBTQ policies within a workforce.