by Remember me?
It’s been a busy fall for the golf world, myself included, and I’m admittedly a little* behind on WOWgr. So, today, I present a special edition of WOWgr to catch us up on the Q4 developments in the world of golf. I would suggest having a significant other read it to you in the car as you travel to holiday activities or queueing it up on a plane ride. However you read it, just know that I appreciate you.
New to WOWgr? Check out the rules.
*So far behind, like 12 weeks behind. ‘Tis the season.
WOWgr, Vols. 2023.12 Weeks of WOWgr
No. 1A – Viktor Hovland (Up two spots from last week) – Unequivocally the player to beat in men’s professional golf heading into 2024.
No. 1B – Lilia Vu (No change) – Unequivocally the player to beat in women’s professional golf heading into 2024.
No. 2 – Solheim Cup Leona Maguire (No change) – One of a few golfers that would be terrifying to see in a singles match.
No. 3 – This photo of Viktor Hovland (N/A) – You gotta love him.
No. 4 – Making demands (Up 99) – We were all in need of some comedic relief last weekend. The mule log sent to the PGA Tour Policy Board did just that.
No. 5 – PGA Tour University (Up 38) – Did it take the threat of LIV siphoning off top collegiate players for the Tour to finally update its policies and give elite players playing opportunities? Seems like it, yeah. But the system has been rewarded handsomely with Ludvig Åberg’s play. Here’s to hoping we get more breakout stars like him through the program in the future.
No. 6 – Hayden Springer (Up 91) – Weeks after losing his daughter to Trisomy 18, Springer grabbed one of the five PGA Tour cards available at this week’s Q-School. He’s been one of the stories of the year on the Korn Ferry Tour and will undoubtedly garner a ton of support in his rookie season on the PGA Tour.
No. 7 – Bad faith arguments (Up 44) – Rollback discussions bring out the best. And while not technically from the last couple months, this Brandel take is too good to not bring up again.
No. 9 – Erik van Rooyen (Up 23) – Without a doubt, the story of the PGA Tour’s fall swing was Erik van Rooyan’s back nine charge to win the World Wide Technology in Mexico. His emotional post-round interview about his friend Jon Trasamar’s battle with cancer will be a moment I remember for a long time. Jon passed away shortly after the victory, but van Rooyan was able to make it to Minnesota to visit his friend one last time.
No. 12 – Kingsley Club (Up 14) – If you ever find yourself with the opportunity to play Kingsley on an 80 degree day in October, don’t miss it.
No. 14 – Private equity (Up 1) – I guess they’re in the lives of every professional golf fan these days. Yippie.
No. 16 – Camilo Villegas (Up 104) – We had a couple unexpected winners this fall, but Camilo’s run of form really surprised a lot of people. Like EVR and Hayden Springer, Camilo dealt with the loss of a loved one, his daughter, and has been dealing with that heartbreak for a while now. That these guys are able to perform at such a high level despite going through what they’ve gone through is nothing short of amazing.
No. 18 – Giving old guys a leg up (No change) – Bernhard Langer got to play from 1,000 yards closer than his fellow PGA Tour Champions guys at the PNC Championship? That’s some BS.
No. 22 – Being wrong (Up 711) – Remember when Phil Mickelson told Alan Shipnuck that “the Tour is sitting on multiple billion dollars worth of NFTs” ? Well, a new report suggests that Phil may not have known what he was talking about. Turns out 95% of NFTs are worthless.
No. 34 – Love (Up 22) – This quick story about my pair of socks will have you believing in love again.
No. 44 – Lavar Ball (Up 33) – The basketball dad is no longer the lightning-rod father I most look forward to hearing from. Stefan Schauffele, come on down!
No. 56 – Football-golfer comparisons (Up 88) – If the Chiefs keep trotting out this receiving corps, I think you could convince me that one of these PGA Tour players could actually compete in the NFL.
No. 67 – Disappointment (Up 22) – I hold Jon Rahm in extremely high regard. Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy with his decision to join LIV. But like many of you, I’ve been beaten down by professional golf for so long that it’s no longer a surprise when golfers disappoint me. Otherwise this ranking would be much higher.
No. 99 – Andrew Waterman (Down 56) – He really had a moment this fall but his name recognition is slipping too much for him to stay in the top 100 much longer.
No. 144 – Tiger Woods catnip (Down 143) – Ain’t no catnip like a PNC Championship catnip because a PNC Championchip catnip don’t stop.
No. 988 – Pressure (Down 933) – Paul Azinger will no longer grace our television screens on NBC broadcasts. While I won’t pretend that he was my favorite talking head, he was certainly entertaining. Maybe he’ll start a TikTok channel.
No. 991 – Mac Daddy Santa (Down 873) – Taylormade ruined it.
I’ll even go easy on not having a bleached goatee, but you can’t call it Mac Daddy Santa if he’s got a shirt on. That’s the whole deal. The #brands have misappropriated this. #NotMyMacDaddySanta https://t.co/ND4ShZLLOv
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) December 20, 2023
No. 1,081 – Whoever asked Lexi Thompson this question (Down 322) – It’s ridiculous that Peter Malnati’s mention of the word ‘gimmick’ ever received the criticism it did. But the fact that it was used out-of-context in a question directly to Lexi is just hilariously poor etiquette.
No. 1,211 – Delta’s gumption (Down 884) – After announcing their new status levels for 2024, Delta made an about-face and decided not to implement the new lofty requirements for their travelers. I won’t pretend to be king of the skies but man was that a silly exchange between an airline and its most loyal travelers.
No. 1,235 – Hats (Down 1,033) – Apparently no one is wearing them anymore.
No. 1,321 – The Chicago Cubs (Up 12) – They have to go up a little because you can’t get any lower than losing 14 of 20 to fall out of the playoffs. What really helps is that there was no way they were getting through the Phillies or Diamondbacks. We do have a new manager though…
No. 1,400 – Bert Kreischer (No change) – His performance at the Netflix Cup was ridiculous. I know that was the point of him being there and all, yet he was just not additive to the presentation.
No. 1,442 – Zach Johnson (Down 844) – Good try, Captain.
No. 1,553 – TGL (Down 588) – It wasn’t exactly a smooth fall for the TGL, and we still don’t really know what the acronym stands for. What we do know is that they don’t have a roof and won’t be playing golf until 2025.
DFL – Holiday curmudgeons (no change) – Have a great holiday season, everyone. Thanks for your support of our little program and, more specifically, WOWgr.
