golf

Travelers: Wyndham Clark battles back, contending after bad stretch travelers,wyndham,clark,battles,back,contending,after,bad,stretch,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Before Thursday’s first round at the Travelers Championship, Wyndham Clark had not recorded a round in the 60s since the RBC Heritage concluded two months ago.

He has had a tough stretch, missing the cut at the PGA Championship and the Memorial. Then, at last week’s U.S. Open, Clark posted a final round 77, which plummeted him down the leaderboard and into a tie for 56th.

Yet Clark has been laboring in recent months, hoping to recreate the magic he had earlier in the year at Pebble Beach, when he set a new course record and won the second Signature Event of the season.

“To be honest, it’s some of the hardest I’ve worked in a long time,” Clark said.

“First, we’re really trying to work on the short game and feel like we’ve gotten that to where it’s in a great spot—same thing with the putting. Then, unfortunately, you do that, and then you lose your swing. So then I was working on my swing, and the last two weeks have been a lot of grinding on the swing. I feel like we made some good headway, and I hit it pretty well today.”

Clark posted a solid round on Thursday. He posted a 4-under 66 to put himself in contention after day one. The 2023 U.S. Open champion now sits four strokes behind Tom Kim, who shot a marvelous 8-under 62 to set the pace.

“I played great. I just didn’t make the putts on the back nine,” Clark added.

“So I felt like it was a complete round, and one blemish on this golf course is pretty good.”

His one mistake came on the par-4 17th, which has water all up the right side and in front of the green. It’s a tricky hole, and finding the fairway is imperative. But Clark pulled his tee shot left and had to settle for a bogey-five.

Despite that, Clark got off to a roaring start, making three birdies over his first five holes. He even made a par-breaker at the challenging par-3 5th, where Clark produced his best shot of the day.

“Just because I’ve been working so hard on my swing and hitting cuts, the iron shot I hit on hole 5, I hit a cut 5-iron in there to about 12 feet,” Clark said.

“That was probably the best shot for me.”

But he hit plenty of terrific shots all day, although the putter abandoned him somewhat on the back nine. Yet, he would much rather miss birdie putts than par tries, which has recently been the case. Surely, Clark would not trade his position on the leaderboard Thursday for what he had to endure since mid-April.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Travelers: Tom Kim leads, celebrates 22nd birthday in style travelers,tom,kim,leads,celebrates,nd,birthday,in,style,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Tom Kim produced some magic on his last day as a 21-year-old.

He blistered TPC River Highlands, posting an 8-under 62 to take control of the Travelers Championship after round one. Kim leads Akshay Bhatia, Rickie Fowler, Kurt Kitayama, and Will Zalatoris by two strokes after day one.

“I hit the ball in the fairway a lot. Obviously, this course, if you start hitting the ball in the fairway, you can go at some pins and have some good opportunities,” Kim explained.

“Obviously, I putted well. When you shoot 62s or 64s, you have to putt well, and I took care of those opportunities.”

Kim made eight birdies to zero bogies, showing no blemishes in his game on day one. He ranked fourth in strokes gained putting and first in strokes gained overall.

The Seoul, South Korea native plotted his way around the course beautifully, easily picking and attacking his targets.

“I picked really good targets out there with my approach shots,” Kim added.

“When you have 8-irons in, sometimes you want to go for the pin a lot, but at the same time, you just go into this headspace where, okay, this is where I need to pick my target, I don’t feel like I need to push or anything and just sticking to that game plan.”

He played beautifully from tee to green, but the most remarkable aspect of Kim’s play Thursday is that this week marks his eighth straight event on the PGA Tour.

“I felt like my game was there, but it wasn’t really showing in tournaments. I feel like I’m playing well, but for some reason, I can’t show it off in golf tournaments,” Kim said.

“I think that’s why I’m playing a lot more than I normally ever would because if you keep getting reps in tournaments, you keep sharpening, sharpening, sharpening, and that’s what’s happening. So I’m glad to see it actually come out though.”

Kim’s eight-week stretch began at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he tied for 52nd despite shooting rounds in the 60s all four days.

In the six events since, his best finish came north of the border, where he tied for fourth at the RBC Canadian Open. He did not miss any cuts, but his average order of finish over the last seven weeks is 31.7—greatly exaggerated by that solid performance in Canada.

“It wasn’t like I was playing terribly; it was just a few things that didn’t go my way, and I couldn’t adapt to it and score well,” Kim added.

“It’s not like it was a bad week, but a bad round cost me that week. But at least it’s a 26th or 25th finish; it’s not like I’m finishing 50th or missing the cut. It shows me that my bad weeks are close, which gives me the confidence to go out and know that I actually am playing well and just trying to keep riding this momentum.”

Kim will celebrate his 22nd birthday riding a big wave of momentum, hoping to fend off the top players in the world, including Scottie Scheffler. Funny enough, Kim and Scheffler share the same birthday, and these two players have developed a friendly rapport and celebrate together each year.

So earlier this week, Kim and Scheffler went to Sally’s Apizza in New Haven, Connecticut, which has world-famous pies. Kim added that he would not indulge like that during a tournament, but it is his birthday, so he had to celebrate somehow.

But he also gets to celebrate his marvelous 62 as an early birthday present, which likely tastes better than Sally’s, something hard to do.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

KMPG Women’s PGA Championship: Nelly Korda delivered, contends again kmpg,women,s,pga,championship,nelly,korda,delivered,contends,again,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,lpga-golf,golf-news,all-womens-sports

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

Nelly Korda fought hard throughout her Thursday round at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She signed for a 3-under 69 and currently leads the field by one stroke with half the field left to play.

Korda began her day on the back nine and went out in 33 strokes. She recorded four birdies in her first five holes.

Despite carding a 69, the Florida resident had to scramble throughout her first round. The Douglass fir, red cedar and hemlock trees on the Sahalee Country Club course did their jobs as they made Korda work for her score.

“If you try and be aggressive when you’ve hit it offline, it just bites you in the butt,” Korda said after her first round. “Overall, I think I played pretty well. I took my chances where I could and I played safe the majority of the round.”

She made birdies on holes 13-15 before to get to 3-under. Korda moved to 4-under after a birdie on the 4th. However, the 25-year-old coughed up two shots on the fourth as the 14-time LPGA winner made a double-bogey.

“This entire golf course is so demanding. I had to make some pretty good up-and-downs,” Korda said.

Korda closed her round with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 9th to get back to 3-under on the day, giving her some much-needed momentum.

It is a much better start than her last major championship start. Three weeks ago, Korda shot an 80 at Lancaster Country Club in the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open. She shot 10 strokes better on Friday with an even-par 70 but missed her first cut of the 2024 season.

The 2-time major winner also missed the cut at last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic after she shot a 76 and 67. It is the first time all season that the No. 1 ranked player in the world missed consecutive cuts. Prior to that, she won the Mizuho Americas Open for her sixth victory of the year.

Korda made history by winning five straight before she settled for a T7 at the Cognizant Founders Cup.

She will tee off with Ruoning Yin and Hannah Green at 1:28 p.m. PT or 4:28 p.m. ET for her second round of the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

Jessica Korda’s informative KPMG PGA Championship advice to Nelly Korda jessica,korda,s,informative,kpmg,pga,championship,advice,to,nelly,korda,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,lpga-golf,golf-news,all-womens-sports

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

This week, the LPGA hosts its third major championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington.

It has been eight years since the LPGA played Sahalee for the Women’s PGA Championship.

The last time the venue hosted the major was in 2016 when Brooke Henderson defeated Lydia Ko in a playoff.

Jessica Korda played in that event before ultimately missing the cut. She returns to Sahalee in 2024, but this time to cheer on her younger sister and current World No. 1, Nelly Korda.

She explained the best way to attack this tree-lined track.

“Sahalee is one of the purest tracks I think we’ve ever played. It’s such a great test of golf and an amazing major championship host,” she said to the LPGA social media team.

“All you see are these big trees, the roughs up — you got branches in the way. So paying attention to where the pins are — coming in at the right angles from the fairway, those are all going to be really important things. You would say it’s a second-shot golf course, but it’s not. It’s an every-shot golf course.”

Pine trees line the fairways at Sahalee, making it a challenge to take home the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship trophy on Sunday.

Korda has been on quite the run in 2024, already racking up six victories on the LPGA Tour She won five straight, finished T7 at the Cognizant Founders Cup and won the Mizuho Americas Open the following week.

However, since that sixth victory, her game has gone cold.

Korda missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club earlier this year and the Meijer LPGA Classic last week. She looks to bounce back and play the weekend at this major championship.

The 14-time LPGA winner posted a 3-under 69 to sit atop the leaderboard after her round on Thursday. The afternoon group still has to play, but she leads by one shot.

Korda set the tone with six birdies, a bogey, and one double bogey.

“As long as she can keep it in the fairway, she’s going to be fine,” Jessica Korda said. “But she does scramble really well. So, as long as she can score, I think that’s going to be the most important thing.”

Nelly’s double bogey was rough, but she bounced back with a birdie on her 18th hole to reclaim the lead.

Travelers: Scottie Scheffler rebounds after frustrating U.S. Open travelers,scottie,scheffler,rebounds,after,frustrating,u,s,open,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — The World No. 1 looked like the best player on the planet again at the Travelers Championship on Thursday.

Scottie Scheffler, fresh off a surprising T-41 at the U.S. Open, carded a 5-under 65 during the first round of the final Signature Event of the season. He had control of his swing once again and holed plenty of putts, much like he did during his five wins.

“I feel like I hit it nice,” Scheffler assessed.

“Found some swings, or found some stuff in my swing at the beginning of the week, and definitely feel like I’m swinging a lot better than I did last week.”

Scheffler did not record a single under-par round at Pinehurst No. 2, a week he called “frustrating.” Thursday’s 65 in Connecticut is his first-under-par score since the third round of the Memorial Tournament when he shot a 1-under 71.

“I struggled to see the break on the greens last week. I had a hard time finding the right line,” Scheffler explained.

“I felt like I hit a lot of good putts that came off the way I wanted to, and I looked up, but they were just not even really close to going in at times. So that can always be a bit frustrating, but it’s nice to get here on some familiar surfaces and hit some good putts and see some balls go in.”

Scheffler gained two strokes on the greens on Thursday, ranking 9th in the field. Meanwhile, Scheffler lost 1.51 strokes to the field last week with his putter, which was good for 70th of 74 players who made the cut.

Of course, Scheffler switched to a mallet putter ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he then won. Since that change, Scheffler has added four more victories, and his putting has improved immensely since the beginning of the season.

Wooooo boy what a shot from Scottie here at 13. Went on to make eagle here, and has a stretch of birdie holes upcoming.

He’s -4 now, two back. pic.twitter.com/xfLoOCRi7U

— Jack Milko (@jack_milko) June 20, 2024

Look no further than early Thursday, when the top-ranked player in the world poured in three straight birdies over his first four holes. He made a 19-footer at the par-4 2nd, a 13-footer at the 3rd, and then, at the challenging par-4 4th, Scheffler drained a birdie try from 16 feet. He also made an eagle on the par-5 13th, thanks to a spectacular approach from 256 yards out that landed eight feet away.

“I hit two really great shots in there to give myself a look,” Scheffler said of the 13th.

“Then I got a nice read off Max [Homa’s] putt and was able to knock that in.”

Scheffler added another birdie at the par-4 14th, which got him to 5-under for the day. He failed to capitalize on a good tee shot at the drivable par-4 15th, finishing with four straight pars.

The reigning Masters champion struggled to save par last week in North Carolina, but now he has no issues making par this week. That should intimidate the rest of the field, as Scheffler looks back to being the best after an off week at the U.S. Open.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Rickie Fowler overcomes recent struggles, snags early Travelers lead rickie,fowler,overcomes,recent,struggles,snags,early,travelers,lead,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Rickie Fowler has not had a solid season, failing to contend in every event he has played, coming short of even recording a top-10 finish.

Yet, he discovered something on the greens on Thursday, which explains why he posted a 6-under 64 to open the Travelers Championship. He did not make a single bogey, either, as he shares the early lead with Akshay Bhatia and Kurt Kitayama.

“I made a nice putt just to save par and get the round going. Good up-and-down, that kind of got me going,” Fowler explained.

“Sometimes, I would almost rather that than birdie the first hole because then it’s kind of downhill from there. So, yeah, got off to a nice start. Birdied the 2nd. Started to see some balls go in, and making putts helps free up the rest of the game to where you don’t feel like you have to be perfect.”

Fowler missed his opening tee shot to the right, which nestled down in the rough. He then hacked it out, finding more thick stuff 44 yards short of the hole. An early dropped shot loomed, but Fowler went on to save his par from eight feet away. He also called that his best shot of the day.

But a big-time par save like that early in a round serves as a big boost of momentum, and Fowler fed off that. He only needed an incredible 23 putts to get around on Thursday, ranking 1st among the 71 players in this field in strokes gained putting. He even made a 38-footer for birdie on the par-4 17th, capping his best day of the season on the greens.

Yet, his putting prowess on Thursday is a far cry from what he has done this season.

Fowler ranks 131st on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting and 163rd in strokes gained overall. No wonder why he has yet to record a top 10 this season, with his best finish being a T-18 at Harbour Town. He also arrived in Connecticut fresh off missed cuts at the Memorial and the U.S. Open, the former of which he carded an 82 during his second round.

“I feel like a lot of it can go back to not putting well—putting well helps free up other things,” Fowler explained.

“You’re not seeing putts go in, and it adds some extra stress to having to hit greens or hit it closer, chip it close; that circle gets quite a bit bigger once you see some go in. That’s a big part. But when you’re not able to take advantage of it when you hit it well, putting is probably the easiest thing to point to. It does help a lot, but that’s not always the only thing.”

Fowler made 123 feet of putts on Thursday, which certainly freed him up. But now the question is, can he continue to rely on his hot putter? And, what if he did not get up and down at the 1st? How would this round have played out? At any rate, we will have to wait to find out. But for now, Fowler finds himself atop the leaderboard for the first time all season, a welcome sight for many.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Bryson DeChambeau effect in full force after incredible U.S. Open win bryson,dechambeau,effect,in,full,force,after,incredible,u,s,open,win,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-opinions,liv-golf

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open win is still the most talked-about golf news story despite LIV Golf Nashville and the PGA Tour’s final Signature Event this week.

In the 24 hours after DeChambeau’s win, Google searches about him went up by 250 percent, and he gained over 150,000 new followers across all his social media platforms.

The Bryson DeChambeau effect is in full force, but the professional golfer is taking it in stride.

“I’ve got to say I’m humbled by all of it,” DeChambeau said ahead of the LIV Nashville event. “I never would have thought that from a year and a half ago, things would be where they’re at right now. Gosh, I’m trying to hold it in right now. The support has been overwhelming. It’s with complete thanks and gratitude.”

His YouTube channel now has 750k subscribers. Two days ago, DeChambeau posted highlights from his historic win, which have already amassed 614,000 views, 26,000 likes, and 3,515 comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbSXn5q425U

On Twitter, he has 410,240 followers. In the last few days, he posted photos with Grant Horvat and San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle with the trophy. Kittle even got to drink out of the trophy with DeChambeau.

His Instagram has also grown since his victory. It is the social channel that has the most followers at 1.4 million.

He also posted a reel of his favorite shots on there less than 24 hours after it went live, and it already has 1.5 million views, 117,434 likes, and 1,100 comments.

The video of him hitting that incredible bunker shot to three feet, which he dubbed “the best moment of my life,” has four million views, 285,330 likes, and almost 3,000 comments.

He is taking over golf through a different lens, and the fans appear to like it.

“It was a risk a year and a half ago, but I knew it was a way for me to get my voice out there and inspire a younger generation,” he said.

DeChambeau saw what enormous YouTube star Mr. Beast did with his channel and added his own spin. Mr. Beast now has over 200 million followers as an entertainer who does all kinds of things on YouTube.

“I said, why can’t an athlete do something like that? Why is that not possible? He’s inspiring millions of people,” DeChambeau said.

“It was in 2021 that we produced our first video. It was a week-on-tour video, and it got a million views. We went out there filming and then pumping it on YouTube. No paid ads, no media spins or anything like that. It just happened. Everybody loved it.”

After that first video, DeChambeau saw the potential and how much it could change golf. His goal is to grow the game, and he found his way.

“How do I do it all the time and create great content that people want to see so people can not only be entertained but see who I truly am,” DeChambeau said.

“What’s nice is when I’m playing these challenges, it keeps me in that creative mindset. It keeps me focused on playing golf. Even though I’m filming, I’m still practicing and working. It’s a symbiotic relationship I have with YouTube that allows me to be the best and give my best to the fans.”

Growth like that on social media is not unheard of, but what DeChambeau has accomplished is huge for golf content creators. They see what he does, and it shows them how possible it is.

Paige Spiranac has company; Christo Lamprecht joins WME Sports paige,spiranac,has,company,christo,lamprecht,joins,wme,sports,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

Christo Lamprecht, the 6-foot-8 South African who held the first-round lead at the Open Championship last year as an amateur, has signed a deal with WME Sports for representation after turning professional.

He joins social media star Paige Spiranac, who joined WME Sports in May. The agency is a subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings, representing high-profile talent, athletes, and media while owning stakes in WWE and UFC.

Ari Emmanuel serves as the CEO of Endeavor Group Holdings, which expressed interest in negotiating a deal with the PGA Tour last fall. However, the tour ultimately went in a different direction, scoring a $1.5 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) as it continues negotiating an agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Nevertheless, WME Sports also represents a pair of three-time major champions, Padraig Harrington and Jordan Spieth, putting Lamprecht in good company among fellow professionals. Min Woo Lee is also a part of WME, as are five of the top 10 players in the LPGA’s Rolex Rankings.

“This is a special moment in my career,” Lamprecht said.

“Having fulfilled a lifelong dream of turning professional, it gives me confidence knowing I have the best team at WME Sports guiding me through this next chapter.”

Lamprecht had a terrific career at Georgia Tech, earning All-American honors three times while winning three individual titles as a Yellow Jacket. He also recorded 24 top-10 career finishes. On top of that, his impressive resume includes the 2024 Byron Nelson Award, which he received this year as the country’s top scholar-athlete.

“Christo is the modern face of golf with his exceptional length and power, coupled with a tremendous short game,” said Jason Horrell, the co-head of WME’s Golf division.

“His talent is surpassed only by the quality of person he is off the course and we couldn’t be more excited to represent and work with him as he launches his professional career.”

In his Korn Ferry Tour debut at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open, Lamprecht missed the cut, shooting an 8-over 78 on day one. But he rebounded with a strong 7-under 63 in round two.

He also missed the cut at The Masters this year, but surely, a bright future for Lamprecht lies ahead. He was the top-ranked amateur player before turning professional.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan: Travelers gets Signature Event status again pga,tour,s,jay,monahan,travelers,gets,signature,event,status,again,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan met with the media at TPC River Highlands on Wednesday and revealed that the Travelers Championship will receive Signature Event status again in 2025.

These tournaments feature elevated purses and limited field sizes, hovering around 70 players. This year’s Travelers Championship marks the eighth and final Signature Event of the 2024 season.

“This event will be a Signature Event in 2025,” Monahan said. “This is the 18th year with Travelers, and we have an agreement; they’re in a 10-year agreement through 2030.”

Travelers first sponsored this tournament in 2007, when Hunter Mahan won his first event on the PGA Tour. Since then, it has become a fan favorite among tour pros, who cite the golf course and hospitality as reasons why.

“It’s good to be back. I feel like this is always a fun tournament to come play,” said World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler on Wednesday.

“The community really rallies around the tournament. The fans are always tremendous. The golf course is typically always in great shape. The clubhouse. The way the tournament treats us as players is always tremendous. So it’s a very easy, fun week for us to come play, and glad to be back here.”

Caddies even receive courtesy cars this week, a rarity on the PGA Tour. But that’s not all. The top players on the PGA Tour receive plenty of other amenities.

“They do such an amazing job for us, our caddies, and our support team,” added Xander Schauffele.

“If you look at the range, it’s got the little umbrellas, we have a coffee stand, a lounging area, there’s the green truck there with the pizza. So it’s such a relaxing week coming after the U.S. Open and I think all of us really appreciate that.”

With this in mind, the Signature Event model—new for 2024—has drawn plenty of criticism. In March, Lucas Glover called these tournaments a “money grab,” adding that he “doesn’t like the idea at all.”

“Why do the signature events have [a maximum of] 80 players, and only 50 make the cut? Our biggest signature event next week is 144 players with a full cut. The signature event,” Glover said in March, referencing The Players Championship.

“I just don’t see what was so bad out here that we had to do all this. Let’s raise some purses to make sure we keep some guys around, but now we’ve eliminated a lot of playing opportunities for some really good players.”

Monahan recognizes this too, as many players, such as Min Woo Lee, who has had a strong 2024 season, did not qualify for the Travelers this week, even though Rory McIlroy withdrew.

“Nothing’s perfect, nothing ever is, but when you look at where we are today and as we shared with our board [on Tuesday], we feel like we’re delivering to our fans exactly what we set out to do, and that is to get our top players competing together more often, and to create the most competitive schedule we can possibly create,” Monahan said about the Signature Events.

Jay Monahan, Texas Children’s Houston Open — Jay Monahan during the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open.

“When you look at our full-field events, and you look at the strength of the field, whether it’s top 50 or top 125, our strength of the field at full-field events is up 35 percent.”

The Signature Events have undoubtedly provided opportunities for the best players to compete against one another. Look no further than who has won the seven Signature Events this season: Scheffler has won three. Wyndham Clark triumphed at Pebble Beach with a record-breaking 60. Hideki Matsuyama shot 61 at Riviera to come from behind and steal the Genesis Invitational, and then Rory McIlroy won the Wells Fargo Championship. Chris Kirk also won The Sentry, the first tournament of the year. That’s a pretty strong whos-who of the PGA Tour.

Plus, these wins came against very strong fields. The top 50 players from last year’s FedEx Cup standings gained entry into each of these tournaments in 2024. Then, the PGA Tour established the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5 to help round out these limited-field events. Whoever wins an event on the PGA Tour in 2024 also gains entry, while each tournament has sponsor exemptions they use to round out the field. Those exemptions have been greatly scrutinized, as PGA Tour Policy Board members seem to take a fair share of those. Look no further than Webb Simpson, who again received an exemption to play this week.

Nevertheless, this tournament always delivers. Players typically go low on this golf course, as TPC River Highlands, the shortest course on tour, yields plenty of birdies. It also produces great drama, as the tournament has had six playoffs since 2007. One stroke has decided the result six other times, too.

So, considering all of this, it makes sense for the tour to make the Travelers Championship a Signature Event in 2025, despite some of the criticism the overall model has received.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

PGA Tour: Jay Monahan quiets Saudi PIF agreement rumors pga,tour,jay,monahan,quiets,saudi,pif,agreement,rumors,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Who knows when the PGA Tour will strike an agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), LIV Golf’s beneficiary. But one thing is certain: no deal will be made during this week’s Travelers Championship.

Speaking to reporters at TPC River Highlands, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan provided an update on negotiations without revealing anything the golfing world did not already know. He also shut down any rumors about a pending deal.

“There’s been a lot of news around our ongoing discussions with the PIF, Monahan said.

“I’m not going to negotiate in public, and I know [everyone is] eager to know more, but I will go back to the meeting that we had two Fridays ago in New York, where our entire Transaction Committee, including Tiger Woods and Adam Scott being in person and Rory [McIlroy] dialing in from the Memorial Tournament, alongside Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Governor of the PIF and representatives of the PIF. It was a very productive discussion. As we’ve said, progress was made and we continue to be in regular dialog. I had a 10 o’clock call [Wednesday] morning with the PIF, and we’re doing that multiple times a week.”

At least talks with the PIF have taken place, which did not appear to be the case before the Players Championship in March.

“I would say to you that there were a lot of important aspects that we talked about in that meeting [in New York], aspects that will be important towards a final agreement that we got consensus on, and there are a number of areas that we recognize that we weren’t going to, but identified them, and that’s what we’re focused on, and that’s what we’re working on,” Monahan continued.

“So, my outlook for those discussions continues to be very positive.”

The negotiations between the PGA Tour and the PIF were further complicated by the addition of the tour’s new investor, the Strategic Sports Group (SSG), in February.

Before the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Monahan and the tour announced that SSG—a consortium of sports owners from around the country—agreed to invest $1.5 billion in the tour. This investment will give the tour much-needed capital amid rising costs, thanks in part to LIV Golf’s rise to prominence.

Of course, the PIF has over $700 billion in assets and has reportedly invested north of $1 billion into the PGA Tour’s rival circuit.

Nevertheless, SSG helped the tour establish an equity program for players, meaning top tour members will have massive stakes in its newly formed entity, PGA Tour Enterprises.

“All I can say is that when you have the likes of John Henry and Arthur Blank, Sam Kennedy, Andy Cohen, Joe Gorder, a lot of people that—some people are new to our sport, but have massive experience in sport and in the corporate world. When they say that this is one of the most complex scenarios that they have ever seen, I think that says a lot,” Monahan added.

“As it relates to whether or not the complexity is being underestimated, I think it’s only fair to say that unless you have a full context for everything that’s being discussed, it would be unreasonable for anyone to think that you would fully understand the complexity. There are a lot of different factors at play, but nobody who is having the conversation is unaware of the complexity, and everyone, I think, is embracing the fact that there are things, obstacles, and things you have to overcome in a complex situation. We have the right people around the table for us, and they do as well.”

Monahan provided one large word salad to reporters—a salad that continued no juice or any meat. Yet, the commissioner said that all involved are focused on getting to the right outcome, with players and fans in mind.

When that outcome comes about is anyone’s guess.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.