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Will Olympic Golf Get a Mixed Team Event?

The Olympic golf tournament could soon have a mixed tournament, according to a report by the Associated Press. A new format is close to being agreed on and could come into use at the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

Olympic golf soon to be a mixed event?

The current format, which will also be used at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, only plans for two separate tournaments, one for men and one for women, each lasting four days. This has been the case since golf was reintroduced to the Olympic Games in 2016. However, since golf returned to the Olympics, there have also been calls for a more exciting format, for example as a team format, in order to be able to present the emotions that come to light at the Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup, for example, on the Olympic stage.

After the Grant Thornton Invitational, the first mixed event between the PGA and LPGA Tour since 1999, was met with great enthusiasm by players from both tours, there now seem to be considerations of introducing a similar team format at the Olympics in addition to the existing competitions. According to a source from the Associated Press, details such as the number of teams and the specific tournament format still need to be clarified before an official announcement is made.

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Highlights Tours

US Masters 2024: Tiger Woods listed in field

The anticipation for the US Masters 2024 is growing and it seems that we will also be able to look forward to Tiger Woods‘ next tournament start. The 48-year-old was recently added to the field of participants listed on the Masters website. As a former winner of the prestigious tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Woods has a lifelong expemption to participate in the major tournament. He has won the Masters a total of five times, including his first major victory in 1997 and his last major victory to date in 2019 following his magnificent comeback from back surgery.

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US Masters 2024: Tiger woods returns to the Augusta National

Tiger Woods last competed in the Genesis Invitational, which he hosted, but had to withdraw during the second round due to illness. At the Hero World Challenge in December 2023, he had announced that he planned to play more tournaments in 2024, ideally one a month, starting with Genesis. Tiger Woods skipped the Players Championship this year, but played the Seminole Pro-Member Tournament for the first time the week before.

Instead, Woods has been particularly active off the golf course and involved in the affairs of the newly formed PGA Tour Enterprises and negotiations with the PIF.

The Masters now appears to be the next big event on his schedule. Last year’s experience was not really positive. Woods made the cut but struggled badly with walking and withdrew in round 3 when the tournament was suspended due to weather chaos and it became clear he would have to complete 29 holes on Sunday.

With the exception of his illness at the Genesis Invitational, however, the 15-time major winner appears to be in better physical condition and more confident on his feet again.

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PGA Tour

US Masters 2024: Jon Rahm’s Champions Dinner with Spanish flair

When golf’s elite gather at Augusta National Golf Club in April for the 2024 US Masters, Jon Rahm will have the honor of judging the former Masters winners at the Champions Dinner. The champions in green can expect a menu full of Spanish specialties, as announced by the defending champion and Augusta National.

US Masters 2024: Jon Rahms Champions Dinner

Rahm explained about his menu: “With the help of José Andres, the chef who I feel like needs no introduction for a lot of people, we made what would be a northern Spanish Basque country Bilbao menu and basically put in all of my favorites and even included a dish from my grandma. He called my grandma for the recipe. If somebody doesn’t like it, please just don’t tell me. Don’t tell anyone actually. It means a little bit too much to me to hear it.”

A selection of tapas and pinchos will be served as appetizers during the cocktail reception: Iberico ham, Idiazabal cheese with black truffle, tortilla de patatas (omelette with potatoes), chistorra sausage with potatoes, chicken croquettes and Mama Rahm’s traditional lentil stew.

The first course will consist of a Basque crab salad with potatoes, followed by a main course of either Basque ribeye steak with salad and piquillo peppers or pil-pil style turbot with white asparagus.

Rahm had already decided on the dessert last summer: milhojas. “The translation from Spanish would be 1,000 leaves”, he explained. “It’s basically a puff pastry with custard and just very little layers. It was basically Kelley and I’s wedding cake. It varies a little bit where you’re doing it in Spain, but it’s absolutely one of my favorites.”

“Then with the wine selection, we have a Basque white wine from Vizcaya which is called Txakoli. It’s not regular white wine. It’s a little bit drier. Then the red wine, it’s called Imperial. It’s pretty much the same — actually I can do you a favor and show you right here. That’s the name right there. Definitely a different year, obviously.”

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PGA Tour

Players Championship 2024: 17 presents the tamest on Saturday

In 2023 the 17 on Players Championship Saturday had been the second.easiest since 1983 with a scoring average of 2.72 and only two balls in the water. The easiest day was the the third round in 1996 with an average score of 2.68.

While the 2024 moving day stats were not as easy as that, it still was the easies day on 17 of the tournament so far with a scoring average of 2.836 and six balls in the water. Among those was one of Wyndham Clark, who was co-leader before making a bogey on 17.

The hole with the iconic island green played 123 yards. There has only been one hole in one this week so far, which came in round 1 from Ryan Fox. The closest shot to the pin on saturday came from Peter Malnati, who placed his ball 1 foot and 6 inches from the hole. A total of 24 birdies were made, 41 pars and only 4 bogeys plus 4 double bogey.

Players Championship 2024: 17 in Numbers

Actual length 123 Yards
Balls in the water 6
Closest to the hole Peter Malnati, 1 Fuß, 6 Zoll
Hole-in-ones 0
Birdies 24
Pars 41
Bogeys 4
Doppel-Bogeys 4
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PGA Tour

Players Championship 2024: Wyndham Clark: “The shot and the putt that meant it all.”

Wyndham Clark lost his lead on saturday at the Players Championship. While he was lapped by other players he himself made a deciding bogey on 17, when his first shot landed in the water.

Players Championship: Wyndham Clark on his moving day

Q. Did that feel like a pretty important bogey on 17? You seemed really pumped to make that putt. After a mistake like that, is it a big deal?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, it’s massive. It’s unfortunate on a hole that’s so iconic and has a bunch of trouble to have kind of your worst swing of the day. But yeah, I followed it with a great swing and a great putt. I’m in the final group tomorrow, which is huge.

I’m hoping that’s a huge point in the tournament and we look back after tomorrow and look at that hole and say, hey, that was maybe the shot and the putt that meant it all.

Q. Does not going to the drop area, is that your thing that you would always do, or is it a circumstances where the pin is?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Fortunately I went first and I had some time to think about it. I asked my caddie John, and he’s like, it’s just too close for us to be able to hit it — the easier shot was just redoing it. We had a good club. Honestly, I made a bad swing and chunked it, and if we went closer, I think it made it a tougher shot.

Q. Did you lose your focus?

WYNDHAM CLARK: No. I mean, I’m not throwing John under the bus by any means, but it was probably a perfect sand wedge. He thought if I nuked it, it could get on top. Kind of, as we were walking to put the ball down, he’s like, Let’s take a little off a full sand wedge. As I was over the ball I kind of got to the top and I was like, take a little off and then I just kind of deceled and chunked it. It wasn’t really a lack of focus or anything. It just was honestly a poor swing.

Q. You shot 70, kind of felt like maybe your bad round, but to still be in the final group —

WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, exactly. I think everyone kind of has one round where they have to really grind it out and make those par putts and bogey putts or whatever it is. I felt like that was today. I’m hoping tomorrow I’ll wake up laser locked-in focused and can go have an awesome round and hopefully have a great finish here.

Q. I heard you talking to Todd. Did you feel like you lost focus at any point throughout the round?

WYNDHAM CLARK: No. I mean, gosh, it’s hard in a final group on a Saturday, and especially when everyone else is making a lot of birdies. Sometimes you can press and try to force the issue, and I thought I did an amazing job. If I make the par putt on 8 and make the birdie putt on 9, could have been a totally different round. I could be at 19 or 20, and we’d be having a different conversation.

I felt like I still played good golf. I hit a lot of good shots. Just seemed like a couple missed clubs, a couple missed putts. Other than that, I thought I played fine.

Q. How important was it for you to be in the final group? Does it feel a bit like Wells Fargo all over again?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, I always think it’s great to be in the final group and kind of know where everyone is at, so depending on what the circumstances are, you can either press it or play really smart coming in.

But yeah, it’s fun playing with Xander. He’s so good, and his caddie, we’re all good friends. It’s going to be fun tomorrow. He has the upper leg right now, and I’m hoping tomorrow I bring it and we can have some fireworks and play some great golf.

Q. What do you think makes him tough as a competitor?

WYNDHAM CLARK: He’s so consistent, and obviously you saw today the guy makes a lot of putts. Hopefully tomorrow he doesn’t make that many putts and I make some putts. I have a lot of respect for Xander’s game. He’s just so steady. He doesn’t really have any flaws.

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PGA Tour

Players Championship: Watch Scottie Scheffler Getting A Massage During The Round

Scottie Scheffler was treated by his physio during the second round of the Players Championship. It appears to be a problem with his neck. On the tee of the 14th hole, the world number 1 received a massage while sitting on a folding chair. Scheffler, who should have had the honour of teeing off after his birdie on hole 13, allowed his flight partners Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas to tee off first. The two were already on the fairway before Scheffler hit his tee shot.

Video: Scottie Scheffler receives treatment at Players Championship

Scottie Scheffler receiving treatment on the 14th tee for discomfort in his neck. He remains just one shot back of the lead. pic.twitter.com/CM13olqc0y — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2024

At this point, Scheffler was two shots under par after four holes and just one shot behind the leaders. As a result of his treatment, the flight was informed that they had lost too much time and needed to pick up the pace.

The problems apparently began after his tee shot on hole 12, after which Scheffler enquired with a rules official whether treatment would be possible during the round.

The Scheffler Shuffle is evolving. (He found the fairway.) pic.twitter.com/QjtmuTi1Yf — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2024

Scheffler would be the first player to defend his title at the Players Championship. After a round of 67 on day 1, he is a good step closer to this achievement, if his neck problems don’t affect him now.

Zum Leaderboard der Players Championship

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PGA Tour

Players Championship 2024: Hovland and Spieth Question Rory McIlory’s Drop

Rory McIlroy hit his ball into the water twice in the first round of the Players Championship 2024. On hole 7, this resulted in a discussion with his flight partners Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland. The discussion centred on the question of whether the ball crossed the red line after crossing the penalty area or whether it bounced and rolled into the water before crossing the line. Another part of the discussion centred on where the ball may have crossed the line.

Players Championship 2024: Discussions about Rory McIlroy’s drop

The PGA Tour captured the entire discussion on video:

Rory McIlroy was pretty sure of his drop on the hole side of the penalty area when Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth questioned whether the ball had really crossed the red line. If it hadn’t, McIlroy would have had to hit again from the tee. According to Spieth, the TV crew were of the opinion that the ball had “one hundred per cent” not crossed the line. However, he himself had not seen where the ball had landed. Hovland couldn’t say for sure either and called the situation “very speculative”. McIlroy, meanwhile, emphasised that he was convinced the ball had crossed the line, he just wasn’t sure exactly where.

A rules official was called in to help and the camera footage was consulted. However, it was concluded that the television images did not provide clear evidence and the decision would therefore have to be made based on the players’ judgement. It was agreed that the ball had landed on land.

McIlroy, to be on the safe side, chose a spot to drop that was on the line a few metres back from where he estimated the ball had crossed the red line. The rules official made sure that Spieth and Hovland were not against the location of the drop, which they both confirmed, even if they still didn’t seem entirely convinced that the ball had actually crossed the line. Golf journalist Dan Rapaport, who accompanied the group, described the atmosphere as “very strange”.

McIlroy took the shot and ended up making double bogey on that hole.

Rory McIlroy: “I started to doubt myself a little bit”

After the round, McIlroy said the following about the situation to the media:
“I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing. I mean, I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it. It’s so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence. I was adamant. But I think, again, he was just trying to make sure that I was going to do the right thing.”

“If anything, I was being conservative with it. I think at the end of the day we’re all trying to protect ourselves, protect the field, as well. I wouldn’t say it was needless. I think he was just trying to make sure that what happened was the right thing.”

“I guess I started to doubt myself a little bit. I was like, okay, did I actually see what I thought I saw. But I mean, as long as — I was comfortable, and I was just making sure that Jordan and Viktor were comfortable, too.”

“It is a bit of a blind spot. I think the best view was from the tee, which was the view that we had.”

“I was adamant that I saw it bounce above the red line, but then when someone comes in and says, well, someone thought that it didn’t. Then you’re like — it just puts some doubt in your mind. Again, it’s up to you to be comfortable enough with your decision that you did see what you saw, I guess.”

“It was disappointing not to get that up-and-down on 7, but that’s probably why I give it a little mini-fist pump on 9 to feel like I got one of those shots back. You have to reset and you have to try to get back into the zone that you were in for the 15 previous holes.”

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PGA Tour

Players Championship: Early Hole in One on 17

Ryan Fox makes the first hole-in-one of the 2024 Players Championship on hole 17. The famous island green is actually known for being particularly challenging and only a few holes-in-one have been made here in the history of the Players Championship. The record was set last year with three aces over the course of the tournament week.

And before most players have even completed half of the round, the first hole-in-one of 2024 has already been made. Mild weather conditions with little wind and an easy flag position made Ryan Fox’s task a little easier.

Hole in One at the Players Championship 2024

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PGA Tour

Jay Monahan on the state of the PGA Tour: The focus should be on the fan

Commissioner Jay Monahan used the 50th Players Championship, the flagship tournament of the PGA Tour, to provide an overview of the current state of the Tour. The ongoing negotiations with the PIF as well as the partnership with the Strategic Sports Group announced at the beginning of the year took centre stage. The overarching message, however, was that fans should be taken into account in all decisions.

Negotiations with PIF are “accelerating”

Monahan was unable to go into detail about the negotiations with the PIF, but stated that the negotiations are progressing and that he continues to believe that a deal will be the best outcome.

“I do know everyone is curious about the status of our negotiations with the PIF. As I’ve said on a number of occasions, you can’t negotiate a deal like this in public, so I will be brief. I recently met with the governor of the PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and our negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together. While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf’s worldwide potential.”

The deal with SSG is by no means an obstacle; on the contrary, it has improved the chances of a successful negotiation, as the expertise behind it is also attractive for the PIF.

“There are a finite number of athletes, and this is a point in time, a unique point in time where unification ultimately puts the sport in the best possible position to take advantage of this growth on a go-forward basis.”

What the fans want

The cooperation with the Strategic Sports Group is also intended to guarantee future growth, but it is imperative that the cooperation between SSG, players and the PGA Tour focuses on the fan.

“Our business thrives when together we’re all laser focused on delivering for our fans. If we fail on that front, we fail on every front. Three weeks ago we had our first Policy Board meeting since SSG became an investor. The substance of that meeting focused primarily on how we can place our current and future fans at the center of our decision making.

We’ve done extensive research with our fans, and what they’re telling us today is simple: They love golf, and they’re loyal to the PGA TOUR. They’re tired of hearing about conflict, money and who is getting what. They want to watch the world’s best golfers compete in tournaments with history, meaning, and legacies on the line at venues they recognize and love. They also want to know how we’re planning to make the sport more entertaining and easier for them to watch and follow.”

Together with the SSG, they want to focus on these fan priorities. That’s why Monahan addressed the fans directly in his press conference:

“We remain committed to this mission-driven formula, and as I close, I want to speak directly to our fans, our most important constituent, and ones that maybe haven’t felt their voices heard lately. All of this talk about investment and growth, I want you to know that we’re focusing that energy on bringing forth the most competitive and entertaining TOUR possible for you. It’s my commitment and it’s our players’ commitment.”

The PGA Tour ethos: Pure competition

Despite concerns that the PGA Tour has been weakened too much by the departing stars, with the unknown faces at the top of the game as supposed proof, Jay Monahan defends the Tour’s current course, especially with regard to the Signature Events and their effect. The Signature Events are a product of the PGA Tour’s balancing act of creating better earning opportunities for the PGA Tour’s top players while bringing them together more often in one place in the interests of both sponsors and fans, but it is still too early in the season to really judge the newly introduced model.

“Early returns for 2024 show that field strength, player participation, and access for full-field and signature events are strong and delivering on our expectations based on the modeled projections. Year-to-date data includes the following: We’ve had 49 unique players outside the top 50 who have competed in signature events with help of the AON Swing 5 and AON Next 10.”

“We are currently tracking at a 60 percent retention rate among the top 50. Using data comparing participation from the top 50 and top 125 in the FedExCup standings in 2023, or versus 2023, the strength of field at full-field events has improved by nearly 30 percent. Better yet, the reimagined schedule is delivering the essence of the PGA TOUR’s ethos: Pure competition which shows just how hard winning is.”

“Three rookies who took distinctly different paths to the PGA TOUR have already entered the winner’s circle in 2024. Nick Dunlap, the first amateur to win on the PGA TOUR since 1992; Mathew Pavon, a new arrival via the DP World Tour top 10, who sits third in the FedExCup standings; and Korn Ferry Tour graduate Jake Knapp. We’ve also witnessed the game’s elite excelling on the biggest stages: Hideki Matsuyama’s Sunday 62 at the Genesis Invitational, to become the most accomplished Asian-born player in PGA TOUR history; Wyndham Clark winning his second Signature Event at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on the strength of a course record 60 at Pebble Beach; and last week, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler pulled away from a stacked leaderboard with a master class performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard to take over the lead in the FedExCup standings.”

“While it’s still early in the season, there are also a number of stars and fan favorites who haven’t hoisted a trophy yet in 2024. They know it, and in talking to them, they’re looking to put an end to that narrative as early as this week.”

Between legacy and new talent

The PGA Tour is in such a good position precisely because it offers the opportunity to “consistantly regenerate talent and create stars.”

“Jason Gore talks about the fact that a star on the PGA TOUR can be born in three weeks, and that’s what we do, and that’s the strength of our product, and that’s the durability of our products.”

Ultimately, it is not just the players, but the history and tradition of the tour and the individual tournaments that make the tour so strong.

“When you have tournaments that have been in place for decades with history, legacy, tradition, great list of champions, familiarity with your fans, on a global basis, there’s a recognition that winning out here is an incredible accomplishment. That emotion that you see on Sunday after a player wins, that emotion that you see from fans, you know, as players are coming down the stretch and they’re seeing our athletes and their exceptionalism, to me that is something that the PGA TOUR has and always will uniquely provide.”

But you can never discount, and in fact, it’s a great strength to have that established history and legacy at each one of these tournaments, including this great tournament this week that’s 50 years since its debut, and you look at that list of champions, and the person, the player that drives away here Sunday night winning this championship will have their career and their life changed in very meaningful ways. That’s what we do; we change players’ lives and we change people’s lives, and no organization does that better than the PGA TOUR.”

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Luke Donald on the Ryder Cup: The Trickiest Things About Foursomes

Luke Donald chats on the range with Mizuno in company of Ben Griffin and Keith Mitchell. He reflects on his past captaincy at the Ryder Cup in Rome, on the positive result but also the decisions a captain has to make leading up to that.

Luke Donald reflects about the Ryder Cup