“The talks are real, they’re substantial, and they’re being driven at the top levels of both organizations. Those talks have been significantly bolstered by President Trump’s willingness to serve as a facilitator. President Trump is a lifelong golf fan. He believes strongly in the game’s power and potential, and he has been exceedingly generous with his time and influence to help bring a deal together,” Monahan said on Tuesday. “He wants to see the game reunified. We want to see the game reunified. His involvement has made the prospect of reunification very real.

“We appreciate Yasir’s innovative vision, and we can see a future where we welcome him on to our board and work together to move the global game forward. As part of our negotiations, we believe there’s room to integrate important aspects of LIV Golf into the PGA Tour platform. We’re doing everything that we can to bring the two sides together.”

President Trump has participated in two meetings since he took office, the most recent of which took place on Feb. 20. It has been rumored that the last meeting didn’t go swimmingly, otherwise it could’ve been a very different press conference. Monahan confirmed that a meeting to continue discussions isn’t currently scheduled at this time. He noted hurdles still exist to a deal, and on multiple occasions pointed out that the Tour wouldn’t make a deal that “diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners.”

“So while we’ve removed some hurdles, others remain. But like our fans, we still share the same sense of urgency to get to a resolution,” he said. “Our team is fully committed to reunification. The only deal that we would regret is one that compromises the essence of what makes the game of golf and the PGA Tour so exceptional.”

The Tour and PIF announced a framework agreement in June 2023 with a deadline to make a deal by the end of the year. Monahan stated that there is no deadline in place for a deal to get done.

“It’s just not that simple,” Monahan said. “When you’re in the middle of these negotiations and they’re as complex as they are, you know, the reason I say ‘urgency’ is that that’s what we’re operating with, but there isn’t a concrete deadline that’s been established.”

Monahan also hinted that progress made during the initial meeting may have stalled when they reconvened in Washington D.C.

“When you’re in the midst of complex negotiations, particularly when you may be near a breakthrough, there are ebbs and flows in the discussion. The most important thing is the mutual respect that we’ve built over the last couple of years,” he said.

Monahan has changed his tune drastically from the days when he sat in the same room and said the Tour wouldn’t give any consideration to LIV Golf.

“Over the last three years, it’s undeniable that the PGA Tour has been pressure tested like never before. External forces created an environment where we had to speed up where we always needed and wanted to go,” he said. “But it’s the internal forces, and by that I’m talking about our players, that allowed us to take extraordinary steps to embrace the challenge and reimagine the future of the PGA Tour and the game. The level of commitment and engagement from our players, not just as part of the change but as developers and leaders of the change, has made all the difference. Bottom line, we’re better for it. Disruption has generated momentum, growth and real action.”

More than half of the 30 questions addressed the reunification negotiations and Monahan did his best at tap dancing around the fact that he had little meat he was willing or able to share.

Monahan has changed his tune drastically from the days when he sat in the same room and said the Tour wouldn’t give any consideration to LIV Golf.

“I think I’ve shared our position today. I’ve shared it in the past. I think at this point I don’t have any additional information to share beyond,” he said. “There will be a day when we can specifically talk about the end result and how that’s been addressed hopefully, but right now I’ve given you exactly what our focus areas are.”

When one media member took the questioning in another direction and asked Monahan about the five-year anniversary of COVID-19 shutting down the Players Championship, he replied, “Listen, I shared our priorities – no, I’m just kidding.”

Even Monahan cracked fun at how little he was willing to say.

Source: Golfweek

The post PGA Tour-PIF talks ‘substantial’ and being moved by Trump’s involvement, says Jay Monahan appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club had been eliminated from the postseason Monday night when the New York Golf Club beat Boston Common, which also ended Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common’s season as well.

The question all sports fans want an answer to now, after Atlanta Drive’s 9-1 victory over Jupiter Links is, “When will Tiger play again?”

The Players next week? The Masters four weeks after that?

Very likely no on the first one. Does anyone think he’ll miss a trip down Magnolia Lane?

“This is the third time I’ve touched a club since my mom passed, so I haven’t really gotten into it,” Woods said. “My heart is not into practicing right now. I have so many other things to do with the Tour. Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I’ll start looking at the schedule.”

TGL inaugural season struggle for Tiger Woods

Woods’ seven-week foray into the tech-infused league didn’t go as planned. First and foremost, Woods’ mother, Kultida, died on Feb. 4, a week after attending one of his TGL matches. Jupiter Links, which he owns a share of, won only once in five tries, and that was an overtime win against Boston Common. They only won a league-low 10 holes (out of 90). Woods also suffered through “one of the most embarrassing mistakes of my career” when, thinking he had 99 yards to the green, he actually had 199.

The good news is his wedge traveled 100 yards, while his teammates and competitors fell to the ground with belly laughs as Woods realized his gaffe.

Losing stinks, but Woods saw the big picture when asked to assess TGL’s first season. “I’m proud of my teammates,” he said, “I’m proud of what we’ve built here, the excitement we’ve been able to bring to Jupiter and, more importantly, the game of golf.”

As for his team winning just once: “I had a blast. We didn’t hit a lot of great shots, but we had fun. I think we led the league in mistakes.”

The Woods’ family, however, continues to win titles. Daughter Sam helped lead Benjamin to a state soccer championship last weekend, Tiger proudly cheering her on from the stands; and son Charlie was part of Benjamin’s state-winning golf team last fall.

“It was so special to watch her play,” Woods said. “There was a core of six or seven girls who have played together since they were 6. I’m just proud of her and the hard work she’s put into it to win a state title. The team deserved it.”

This country’s conspiracy theorists can’t point their fingers at TGL’s inaugural season, the way they overreact when quarterback Pat Mahomes gets touched to draw a roughing-the-quarterback penalty or LeBron James takes four steps on his way to the basket.

If any league wanted its stars to do well, it was TGL. But now that co-founders Woods and McIlroy don’t have to worry about when to throw the hammer, it’s left to squads from New York, Atlanta (4-1), San Francisco and Los Angeles to decide which team’s color will adorn the SoFi Cup.

The folks at ESPN can’t be smiling.

Woods eventually will turn his attention to returning to outdoors competition to break his tie with Sam Snead for most PGA Tour wins (82) and, perhaps, earn his 16^th major title.

It was more, or less, of the same Tuesday night for Jupiter Links (1-4-0), which fell behind 2-0 after three holes. Jupiter never led and finished fifth in the six-team standings with two points.

Not what we’re used to seeing from Tiger. But at least we saw him.

Source: Golfweek

The post When will Tiger Woods play PGA Tour golf again? ‘My heart is not into practicing right now’ appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

Woodland, 40, underwent brain surgery in Sept. 2023 to remove a brain lesion and continues to manage symptoms as he competes on the PGA Tour. Woodland won the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and is a four-time PGA Tour winner.

The PGA Tour Courage Award is presented to a person who, through courage and perseverance, has overcome extraordinary adversity, such as personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness, to make a significant and meaningful contribution to the game of golf. Woodland is the seventh recipient of the PGA Tour Courage Award, which was established in 2012, joining Erik Compton (2013), Jarrod Lyle (2015), Gene Sauers (2017), Morgan Hoffmann (2020), D.J. Gregory (2022) and Chris Kirk (2023).

Woodland formally received the award during a presentation Wednesday at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, and he was surprised Wednesday morning in an exclusive interview with Michael Strahan on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“Gary’s journey has been well documented, and the fact that he has overcome so many challenges associated with his initial diagnosis is nothing short of miraculous,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a release. “We are so proud to honor him with the PGA Tour Courage Award recognizing his relentless spirit and his willingness to share his story and inspire others.”

The Courage Award includes a contribution of $25,000 from the Tour to a charity of the award recipient’s choice. Woodland chose Champion Charities, an organization dedicated to research and patient support in the following areas: brain tumor, brain disease and brain trauma. Woodland and his wife, Gabby, will match the donation, with $50,000 going to Champion Charities.

Woodland, a native of Topeka, Kansas, turned pro in 2007 after graduating from the University of Kansas. He joined the PGA Tour in 2009. Woodland has represented the U.S. at the 2019 Presidents Cup. He was an all-state high school basketball player in Kansas and started his collegiate career on a basketball scholarship at Division II Washburn University before transferring to Kansas to compete on the men’s golf team.

Woodland first experienced symptoms in May 2023, then he underwent testing that revealed a brain lesion pressing on the part of the brain that controlled fear and anxiety. As symptoms worsened and medication didn’t help, Woodland underwent a craniotomy on Sept. 19, 2023. During surgery, doctors were able to remove a majority of the tumor, confirm it was benign and cut off the blood supply to prevent future growth.

Woodland returned to competition in Jan. 2024 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He recorded three top-25s in 26 starts in 2024, his best finish being T-9 at the Shriners Children’s Open, his first top-10 since his initial diagnosis. Woodland continues to manage physical, emotional and mental symptoms as recovery progresses.

Netflix’s Full Swing Season 3 features Woodland in Episode 6 and documents his recovery process from surgery and some of the challenges and struggles he faced.

Source: Golfweek

The post After brain surgery, Gary Woodland named recipient of PGA Tour’s Courage Award appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

One of his answers late during his interview teased something everyone has been patiently waiting on for nearly two years.

It seems reunification of men’s professional golf is happening sooner rather than later, especially after President Donald Trump has gotten involved since taking office. Whether it was a round of golf with Rory McIlroy, with Woods last Sunday before the Super Bowl or when Adam Scott and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan went to the White House last week, wheels are moving on the top players coming together in more than just the major championships.

Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman of CBS Sports asked Woods about reunification and the state of men’s professional golf, and he gave an insightful answer.

“I think we’re in a very positive place right now,” Woods said. “We had a meeting with the President. Unfortunately I had some other circumstances that came up but Jay (Monahan) and Adam (Scott), they did great during the meeting. We have another subsequent meeting coming up.

“I think things are going to heal quickly. We are getting this game going in the right direction, it’s been headed in the wrong direction for a number of years. The fans want all of us to play together, all the top players to play together and we are going to make that happen.”

Woods’ comments echoed what others have said in recent weeks, that it seems the wheels are actually moving and things are looking up.

How soon could it be?

“It could be this year? Or it could be very soon this year?,’ asked Nantz.

“Yes. Yes and yes,” Woods responded while laughing.

That’s positive news for fans of professional golf, but only time will tell how and when unification will happen.

Source: Golfweek

The post Tiger Woods teases unification between PGA Tour, LIV Golf could be happening soon appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it was a bad week for the PGA Tour, but it was a better week for LIV and its golfers.

Start with the announcement from the United States Golf Association that it was adding an exempt category to the U.S. Open specifically for LIV golfers. The U.S. Open is now the first of the four men’s major championships to make a targeted accommodation for golfers on the LIV.

Of course LIV golfers have been in the four majors in the last few years, but not for their play on that tour. Golfers like Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau have made the major fields based on previous exemptions and even off the Official World Golf Ranking.

The new category is actually for a single player who is ranked in the top three of LIV season-long points in 2025 and who is not otherwise eligible for the Open. So it’s just one extra player in the field for 2026, but it is still an important acknowledgment from the USGA of the status of LIV golf.

Soon after, the R&A announced a new category that allows LIV Golf players to earn a place in The Open. The leading player not already exempt in the top 5 of the 2025 Individual Season standings following the completion of LIV Golf Dallas will be awarded a place in The 153rd Open.

Another piece of good news for LIV came when it was revealed that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and golfers Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, on the Tour’s players advisory council, had met with President Donald Trump. After the meeting, Monahan released a statement saying that Trump had pledged his support in trying to reach a resolution to the split that has ruptured the game over the last three years.

“We are grateful that (Trump’s) leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of the men’s professional game,” a statement from Monahan, Woods and Scott stated.

Now, just what that means is kind of a mystery. Did Trump promise to end whatever investigation the U.S. Department of Justice was doing concerning a possible deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian-based Public Investment Fund, the money behind LIV? Did Trump promise to get involved with the negotiations himself, since he is a devoted golfer? And why exactly would Monahan “ask” Trump to get involved now, and not before?

Trump’s relationship with the PGA Tour and LIV has been complicated at best. Trump Doral Resort in Miami once hosted a PGA Tour event, but that tournament ended under then-commissioner Tim Finchem when Cadillac ended its sponsorship. That week was given to a new event in Mexico, and it was known that Trump was not happy.

Since then, Trump’s courses in this country have hosted LIV events on and off, including an event at Doral this April just before the Masters.

This is all interesting for LIV because it seems that much of the rancor and the rhetoric against LIV from the PGA Tour side of the split seems to have softened if not completely disappeared in the wake of the Monahan-Trump meeting. Even one of LIV’s harshest critics, analyst Brandel Chamblee of Golf Channel, admits he has changed his tune on the Saudi Arabian-backed league after playing a round of golf with Trump.

So LIV golfers know there will be one more LIV player in the U.S. Open in future years, perhaps the USGA acknowledging that LIV isn’t going away anytime soon. And LIV knows that the PGA Tour commissioner believes a reunification is closer than ever before because President Trump, somewhat of a LIV supporter, is willing to help the process in some way.

All in all, it was a great week for LIV, even if it wasn’t really a horrible week for the PGA Tour.

Source: Golfweek

The post Why was this such a big week for LIV Golf? appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

Staged every year since 1948, the Monday qualifier for the 2025 WM Phoenix Open was held at Pinnacle Peak Country Club, about six miles north of TPC Scottsdale. This year, however, is the final year of the Monday qualifier. New PGA Tour rules go into affect in 2026 regarding field size and the Phoenix Open, which for years had 132 golfers, will go to 120. Tournaments with field sizes of 120 can no longer have open qualifiers, say these new rules, so this closes the book on 77 years of tradition.

In 1980, Jeff Mitchell was a Monday qualifier and then won the Phoenix Open, held that year at Phoenix Country Club. Only four qualifiers have won since, the most recent in 2019.

But that’s not really the point. Making a PGA Tour field as a Monday qualifier is a victory in and of itself for many.

Take Jimmy Knous. In 2024, Jimmy Hard K as he’s known, Monday Q’d into Phoenix, then had himself a week. During the second round, he holed out a bunker shot for birdie at 18. The crowd went wild, and Knous would go on to make the cut. Now working full-time at Ping, Knous knows the loss of the Mondays means the loss of great stories for fans and TV networks and fellow pros alike.

“You wouldn’t have seen my story from last year, you know, top 30 and got the fans going,” he said after shooting a 4-under 68 and knowing it wouldn’t be enough to nab one of the three spots to advance. “Makes me sad, to be honest. A few things the Tour is doing I don’t love, in the past few years, but I know people were excited to have this qualifier here and it going away is a big bummer for the Southwest Section. I wish they’d still kept it open, the Phoenix Open, you know, for the people, it’s too bad.”

Gary McCord, who lives along the 18th hole at Pinnacle Peak Country Club and was out following Kevin Tway, himself once had to navigate Mondays.

“You’re asking me how I like them? I was right in the middle of them, it was impossible,” he said, noting that a few he played in had just one person advance.

For many years later, McCord worked in TV and was part of the crew that could shine a light on those long-shot Monday guys when they crashed leaderboards. But those stories may just fade away.

“How are you going to, you know, bring back the romance of a guy qualifying, that’s working at the 7-11, who’s been hitting balls at night at the range, and those balls look like eggs, oblong, and he makes it, he makes the cut. Man that’s good stuff. We’re going to lose all that,” McCord said.

The Southwest Section PGA has run the Phoenix Open qualifier all along. Bill Ibrahim, Southwest PGA Senior Director of Operations and Public Relations, said that dates back to when the PGA Tour split from the PGA of America. All the Sections have run the local qualifiers.

“These were unique only to golf,” he said. “That’s what has always separated golf from all the other major sports.

“Ask Max Homa. Max Homa has played in this event five, six times. Max couldn’t qualify. Finally, the one year he qualified, earned a spot, played well in the Phoenix Open.

The Mondays give “opportunities to those who otherwise would not have it,” says Ibrahim, who added that the Southwest Section always had a spot for its champion but that’s also now gone.

Jesse Mueller, who played high school golf in nearby Mesa and later at Arizona State, was the 2024 SWSPGA champion and in 2025, he’ll get the final exemption.

“Having that exemption ensured there will always be a local representative,” Ibrahim noted.

Getting into a PGA Tour is difficult and will become moreso in the future. Even if you have a PGA Tour card, though, even getting into some events is challenging.

“It’s frustrating that I finished No. 2 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list and I can’t even get into an open event,” said Max McGreevy, who shot a 7-under 65 on Monday, then had to play the waiting game before finding out a few hours later it was good enough, as he tied for second alongside Will Chandler, two shots back of Steven Fisk.

While it’s too late to save this Monday qualifier, McGreevy can still fight for guys like him, guys on the cusp but who also find themselves fighting a more uphill battle to make the big leagues.

“There’s better golfers than there ever have been, it’s deeper than it ever has been and we’re losing more avenues. So unfortunately things like that are going to happen,” he said. “Fortunately I got voted onto the PAC this year and hopefully I can voice any kind of concern to help with that situation but taking spots away from people probably isn’t the best way to do it.”

Tyler Leach won’t be playing in this year’s Phoenix Open. He shot a 2-over 74 in the qualifier but that was after he started 6 over through his first five holes. Often, golfers will walk off the course after a start like that, not even finishing their rounds. For Leach, this Monday qualifier was a learning experience but a reminder of another saying: If you’re good enough, you’ll find a spot on the PGA Tour.

“If you’re a good enough player, if you give yourself enough chances, eventually you should, you know, get to where you want to be,” he said. “I think my goal is I’m just going to keep trying to get a little better every day. That’s all I can really control right? And then I’ll have opportunities like today, I’ll have other opportunities like this, big opportunities, that could be a stepping stone for me.”

Source: Golfweek

The post ‘Unique only to golf’: Monday qualifier for WM Phoenix Open has come to an end appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

On Wednesday, the 75-year-old eight-time major champion attended the PGA Show in Orlando and was honored by the National Golf Course Owners Association with its Merit Award, the association’s highest honor. He participated in an hour-long fire side chat with NGCOA CEO Jay Karen and touched on some of the highs and lows of his career, sprinkling in a few swing tips with advice on the business of the game that attendees could bring home to their clubs. But it was during the tail end of the session when Karen opened the questioning to members of the audience that one attendee asked what seemed like an innocuous question that struck a chord with Watson.

“What’s your favorite memory you have about the game of golf whether it’s playing or anything else that you can share with this room?”

Watson went silent for 10 seconds. “Excuse me,” he finally said. Another 10 seconds of silence in the room as Watson tried to control his emotions.

“It was the last time I played with my dad,” he began. “I’ll tell you the story.”

Raymond Watson was a retired insurance salesman and former club champion at Kansas City (Mo.) Country Club, who stuck a cut-down, hickory-shafted 5-iron in his son’s hands in 1955 at age six and immediately taught him the correct grip and stance. A scratch handicap player, Raymond died of a heart attack in 2000 at age 80 while in Hawaii to watch his son compete in a PGA Tour Champions event.

“My dad had a stroke when he was 78 years old but he loved to play. He’d go out in those 38-degree days with a stocking cap on, gloves and his long handles and corduroy pants and he’d go out with six clubs in a little bag and he’d walk around the golf courses and play nine holes,” Watson said. “I’d always ask, ‘What did you shoot, dad?’ He’d say, ‘Ah, I shot a newspaper 50.’

“Newspaper means to guess what you’d shot when you picked up. I gave myself a 7. I kept asking, ‘What did you shoot?’ He’d say, ‘A newspaper 94.’ Before he had a stroke he shot in the upper 70s, shooting his age at 78 years old. We’d go up to Michigan by Long Lake. We would spend 2-3 weeks up there every summer. His favorite course up there was Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix, beautiful (Willie) Watson course up there. And we’re up there, this is 1999. The last round of golf we played in that trip was Belvedere. We got to the first tee and I said, ‘All right, dad, here’s the deal: No pick ups today.’ The reason I said that was he hadn’t broken 90 since the stroke. He got off to a great start. He was 3-over-par after 8. He’s got this wired. Nine, he makes a double bogey, damn, but still, he’s out in 41.”

Watson figured his dad could make 48 on the back side, no problem, but then he started making some double bogeys on the way to the house.

“We get to the last hole and he needs to make a bogey to shoot 89,” Watson continued. “He hits a perfect drive, just smokes it out there. But the second shot, the stroke got him. He had a right-hand problem and he lost the club and the ball hit off the toe of this hybrid and went straight right and underneath a tree in fescue rough and bare dirt. Oh, shoot!

“I didn’t have the heart to go over there. He took some club out and I’ll never forget his last swing, whoosh, he couldn’t take a full swing because of a tree limb that stopped his follow through but there’s dust and the ball comes rocketing out and lands about 20 yards short of the green and rolls up like this (hands held close together). He’s got it! I’m walking up there and I contemplated giving him the putt but knowing my father I knew he wouldn’t accept it. I made him putt it and he missed it.”

But Raymond Watson still finished with a bogey for 89 and broke 90 for the first time since suffering a stroke.

“Walking off the green, he probably reacted just how I would’ve reacted,” Tom said. “Dad, you know what you shot? Yeah, son, I know what I shot. He was pissed that he missed that short putt. That was the last round of golf I ever played with my dad.”

Watson’s favorite memory involving golf had nothing to do with any of his greatest accomplishments but rather a round with his dad, the man who introduced him to the game. And everyone in that room at the Orange County Convention Center that hung on Watson’s every word at the NGCOA conference closing luncheon will never forget the Hall of Famer’s emotional response to a softball, open-ended question.

Source: Golfweek

The post Tom Watson gets emotional recounting final round with his dad appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

Golfweek has learned that the Tour is in the final stages of negotiations to move the 2025 Genesis Invitational to Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, near San Diego, a “short” drive on Interstate 5 (better known simply as “the 5”) from its usual home at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.

The signature event is scheduled to begin on February 13. Woods has a tremendous track record at Torrey Pines, winning eight times – seven of them at the Farmers Insurance Open and the 2008 U.S. Open. (He missed the 2021 U.S. Open there after being in a car crash earlier that year, and hasn’t played in the Farmers Insurance Open since 2020.)

The Tour announced on Thursday that the Genesis Invitational would be moved to a different venue due to the wildfires that raged in the greater Los Angeles area, including near Riviera, which avoided damage. But the Tour had no other choice but to move the event to an alternate location.

“The PGA Tour’s focus continues to be on the safety and well-being of those affected by the unprecedented natural disaster in Greater Los Angeles,” the Tour said in a release. “We are grateful for the life-saving efforts of first responders and the tireless work being done to put an end to the tragic wildfires.”

The Tour is making its annual stop at Torrey Pines this week for the Farmers Insurance Open. Having the Tour return there following the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and WM Phoenix Open should allow the Tour to take advantage of having a course already set up with the necessary infrastructure — everything from grandstands and corporate hospitality chalets to concessions and the gallery ropes and allow enough time to change out the branding from Farmers to Genesis. The South Course at Torrey Pines ranks as the fourth best public course in California that you can play, according to Golfweek raters.

While social media already is calling it a done deal, sources tell Golfweek that it is premature and the Tour hasn’t crossed the T’s or dotted the I’s just yet. The Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West in Palm Springs, California, which was one of the host courses of The American Express last week, and TPC Scottsdale, which will host the WM Phoenix Open, also have been bandied about as replacement venues. But it looks like Torrey Pines, one of Tiger’s top hunting grounds, has emerged as the favorite to do double duty this year.

Efforts to reach the Tour and tournament officials for comment were not answered before this story went to publication. An announcement should be forthcoming.

Source: Golfweek

The post The 2025 Genesis Invitational likely headed to Torrey Pines due to Los Angeles fires appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

Max Homa kicked things off with the flip of the calendar at the Sentry. A longtime Titleist ambassador, he officially began endorsing Cobra clubs, Puma shoes and Lululemon apparel. But he’s not the only one with different logos on his apparel and bag.

Golfweek has learned that Rickie Fowler has signed a deal with Ernst & Young to wear its logo on the front right of his chest. Fowler wore the EY patch during the debut of TGL on ESPN last Tuesday and will be sporting it this week at his PGA Tour season debut on Tour at the American Express.

“They were in a position where they wanted to get back into the golf space a bit more,” Fowler wrote in a text to Golfweek. “Lucky for me I happened to be in the right place at the right time and everything came together organically.”

Fowler replaced independent CPA firm Grant Thornton with EY, one of the big four accounting firms.

“I had an amazing run with Grant Thornton and left on good terms,” said Fowler, who competed in the Grant Thornton Invitational with partner Lexi Thompson last month.

He’s also made a significant equipment change, transitioning from playing TaylorMade’s TP5x ball with his endorsement contract expiring to being a free agent in the category and choosing to start the year with the 2023 Pro V1.

“Everyone makes great product these days and I felt like there were multiple options I could go play from different manufacturers,” wrote Fowler, who is not being paid to endorse the Titleist ball but noted the Pro V1 just fit him best.

Scottie Scheffler’s deal with TaylorMade coming up for renewal

TaylorMade also let Kurt Kitayama leave for Bridgestone Golf and Chad Ramey head to PXG this season. Scottie Scheffler’s multiyear deal with TaylorMade is coming up for renewal and given his run as reigning world No. 1 and winner of three straight Player of the Year awards, his price tag, should he wish to re-up, is likely climbing.

In some other player movement, Nico Echavarria, who caught fire in the fall with a victory at the Zozo Championship, has signed a club and ball deal with Srixon.

Viktor Hovland will continue to wear some bright and provocative outfits as he renewed his apparel deal (dating to 2019) with J. Lindeberg, who also added Frenchman Mathieu Pavon to a multiyear deal as one of its official brand ambassadors.

Jake Knapp will have a snazzy, new cap this season. He signed a deal with premium headwear company Melin.

“I’ve been wearing their hats for a long time so joining the team was a no-brainer,’ said Knapp in a press release. “The quality of the product is what spoke to me in the first place, and after getting to know the team and seeing what they have in store coming up, I’m super pumped to be a part of that future.”

Even coaches to the stars are getting into the endorsement game. Claude Harmon III, who counts Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson in his stable of pros, inked a deal with Magellan Jets to be the private aviation company’s head golf professional.

“When I fly domestically and overseas to help Tour players and others improve their games, it’s essential my private air travel is seamlessly managed,” said Harmon III in an announcement of the relationship.  “Magellan’s reliability, comfort and safety-first orientation gives me peace of mind, as does its access to a wide range of planes where and when they’re needed, even last minute.”

Source: Golfweek

The post Rickie Fowler headlines sponsorship changes in hot-stove season for PGA Tour’s top players appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.

“I mean, he was matching me (Saturday) shot for shot, and I felt like I was playing lights out, right?” said Collin Morikawa, who had matched Matsuyama shot for shot and didn’t bother to hit another ball at the range. “Like, yes, you could leave some shots out there, but you shoot 11-under on any golf course, you’re going to be happy, right?”

Matsuyama, however, is his own toughest critic and he high-tailed it to the range to iron out the flaws he perceived in his game. What could he possibly need to do at the range is a head scratcher, but Matsuyama said he needed to fix his driver and we’ll take his word because it worked. The grind never ends, and very few can match Matsuyama’s grit and determination to scrape every ounce of brilliance out of his game.

All the hard work paid off on Sunday when Matsuyama took dead aim at the par-4 fourth hole and two-hopped a wedge from 107 yards into the hole for an eagle.

The mercurial Matsuyama, who has a well-earned reputation for hanging his head or dropping a hand off his club in disgust, only for the shot in question to be a thing of beauty, stared down his approach at the fourth and knocked knuckles with his caddie when it dropped. He closed in 8-under 65 to win The Sentry, the season-opening tournament on the PGA Tour by three shots over Morikawa, and notch his third victory in a signature event in the last 10 months.

Morikawa, who shot a final-round 67 despite his putter cooling off, reached the par-5 15^th in two and made birdie to trim his deficit to two but once Matsuyama wedged inside 4 feet at 16 to stretch the lead to three, Morikawa sensed that he wasn’t going to catch Matsuyama. He settled for his second runner-up at The Sentry in the last three years.

“Excuse my language, but 35-under par is, that’s low,” said Morikawa, dropping an F-bomb for emphasis. “Today he just never let up.”

Wearing his Sunday yellow, the color of his university back in Japan, Matsuyama closed in style with an 8-foot birdie putt to set the all-time 72-hole scoring record in relation to par with a total of 35-under 257.

“That last putt, it felt like if I make it, then it’s going to be the record, so I’m so happy that it went in,” Matsuyama said.

Matsuyama previously won the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2022, and his Sentry title made him the seventh player to win the Hawaiian Slam. To earn the 11^th Tour victory of his career, Matsuyama’s game fired on all cylinders. He ranked first in Stroke Gained: Tee to green, second in SG: Approach the green and third in scrambling and SG: Putting.

Matsuyama, who loves to tinker with putters and said he traveled to Maui with four different options, inserted a Scotty Cameron 009M CS prototype putter that he’d seen another player use and received shortly after Christmas into the bag for the first time this week.

“I thought, ‘Oh, this looks good,’ so I had them make one,” he explained of the putter change on Thursday.

His putter delivered on Sunday. After Morikawa hit a beauty to 10 feet at the par-3 11^th green, Matsuyama poured in a 31-foot birdie putt and one hole later he rolled in a 21-foot birdie putt to build his lead to four. He even waved to the crowd in delight.

“When the heat is on, he’s nails,” said Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.

And when the final putt dropped at 18 to break Cameron Smith’s 72-hole scoring record from the 2022 Sentry, Matsuyama’s caddie Shota Hayafuji celebrated the special week as only he can. Hayafuji, who famously took his hat off and bowed after placing the flagstick back in the hole at 18 when Matsuyama won the 2021 Masters, showed more emotion this time, bumping chests with Mikito Kiromiya, Matsuyama’s golf coach, before lifting him into his arms and then leaping into the arms of Yuyu Suzaki, another member of Matsuyama’s support team. Matsuyama was mid-interview as this was happening but the corners of his mouth turned upward.

At last, he had reason to smile.

Source: Golfweek

The post Hideki Matsuyama completes Hawaiian Slam with record performance at 2025 The Sentry appeared first on Falcon Crest Golf Course | The Valor Club.