Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard TV coverage: How to stream or watch Danny Willett | March 2 - 5

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard TV coverage: How to stream or watch Danny Willett | March 2 - 5

Among the competitors taking to the course at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida from March 2 – 5 is Danny Willett, who will golf for the $20,000,000.00 prize at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

In the past year, Willett has played in 23 events. His best finish was second, and his average finish was 33rd, with one top five.

Keep reading for all the information you need to know about Willett before he hits the course at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, including how to catch the action live on TV or via live stream.

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard TV Channel and Live Stream Info

  • Date: March 2 – 5, 2023
  • Thursday Coverage: Golf Channel
  • Friday Coverage: Golf Channel
  • Saturday Coverage: Golf Channel, NBC
  • Sunday Coverage: Golf Channel, NBC
  • Location: Orlando, Florida
  • Course: Bay Hill Club & Lodge
  • Live Stream on fuboTV: Start your free trial today!

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard Coverage on fuboTV and ESPN+

Want to watch the PGA Tour all season long, including featured groups of the biggest names in golf, live feeds of the most famous holes on Tour, plus tons of awesome golf films from the history of the sport? Sign up for ESPN+ to access PGA Tour Live! You can also sign up for a free trial of fuboTV and catch all the nationally televised Tour action, plus plenty of other live sports, shows and news from your favorite cable channels.

Danny Willett Stats and Recent Trends

  • Over his last five events, Willett has finished in the top 20 once.
  • Out of the last five tournaments he’s entered, he made the cut three times.
  • Willett has finished with a better-than-average score in two of his last five tournaments.
  • He has carded an average score of -4 over his last five appearances.
  • Willett will seek to make the cut for the fourth straight event.

Danny Willett at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

  • The par 72 measures 7,466 yards for this week, which is 173 yards longer than the average Tour stop over the past 12 months.
  • Over the last year, PGA Tour stops have seen an average score of -5, while Bay Hill Club & Lodge has a recent scoring average of even par.
  • The average course Willett has played over the last year (7,277 yards) is 189 yards shorter than the course he’ll be playing this week (7,466 yards).
  • Over the past year, the events he’s played have a scoring average of -5 among finishers, which is lower than the even par average at this course.
  • In Willett’s last six appearances at this event, he’s finished among the top 20 once, and his average finish at the tournament is 33rd.
  • In his last six trips to this event, he’s made it to the weekend four times.
  • The last time Willett played this event in 2022, he finished 52nd.
  • His last time here, he finished one round within five shots of the leader.

Want to make sure you don’t miss Willett in action at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard? Sign up for fuboTV and get live sports and shows, without cable!

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Here's what Jon Rahm learned from Tiger on how to be successful at courses like Bay Hill

Here's what Jon Rahm learned from Tiger on how to be successful at courses like Bay Hill

Jon Rahm has been to Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando only once, but he quickly learned why Tiger Woods has had so much success there.

The 28-year-old Spaniard, who has won three times this year, heads into the Arnold Palmer Invitational as one of the favorites, and that should be no surprise. Rahm has been playing the best golf of his career, just two weeks ago winning the Genesis Invitational and regaining the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Bay Hill Club and Lodge is a course where normally, the best players rise to the top. It’s a tournament that Tiger won eight times. And for Rahm, he learned why last year.

“It’s a ball-striker’s golf course,” Rahm said. “We need to be very accurate with the irons, and obviously, like everywhere else, you have to be good on the greens. It is a golf course where I could tell Tiger could manage his way around. For the most part, you want to miss right off the tee because that’s always going to give you the better chance going into the greens. A lot of the hazards are on left, so seeing that it made sense.

“(I) see a lot of similarities on the courses that Tiger did well at, and luckily, I’ve been able to do well on most of ’em. So I learned that this could be a golf course for me.”

Arnold Palmer Invitational: Best bets

That could be scary news for the rest of the field.

Last year, Rahm finished T-17 at Bay Hill, with world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler claiming the crown. No. 3 Rory McIlroy has won at Arnie’s place, too.

The trio has all held No. 1 in the world in the past six months, seemingly rotating between them as they each win events. McIlroy jumped Scheffler to be No. 1 with his win at the CJ Cup in the fall. Scheffler took it back at the WM Phoenix Open. Then Rahm reclaimed the throne at Riviera a week later.

The back-and-forth is intriguing to Rahm. He knows he’ll likely never reach Tiger’s record of weeks at world No. 1 (683), but he’s enjoying the weekly challenge.

“I do know this is, what is it, the most amount of No. 1 changes in this short period of time,” he said. “I saw some of those stats because it’s just really interesting, which speaks to the greatness of the game of golf right now, how good everybody’s been playing.”

And as strong as everyone has been playing, Rahm has been the best.

He started off the year with a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He then won his next start at The American Express. At Torrey Pines and the Farmers Insurance Open, he finished T-7. Then there’s a third-place finish at the WM Phoenix Open before the win at the Genesis Invitational.

Rahm knows he doesn’t have to be firing on all cylinders to win. He once asked Tiger of his 82 PGA Tour wins, how many did he have his A-game for all four days? Tiger responded with three at most.

Rahm was asked whether he thought he could be beaten when he is playing at his best. His answer was simple but emphatic.

“No.”

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/KzjDCYV

Ratings for LIV Golf's 2023 TV debut are in — and they aren't pretty

Ratings for LIV Golf's 2023 TV debut are in — and they aren't pretty

LIV Golf League’s decision to debut its second season last week was no mistake. The Honda Classic on the PGA Tour was sandwiched between four designated events (WM Phoenix Open, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship) comprised of the best players in the world.

Wanting no part of competing with either of those, LIV decided to go against the Honda Classic, hoping to capitalize on owning the stronger field between the two events.

It did not work.

LIV’s first event on The CW Network received 291K viewers on Sunday, according to Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal.

The Honda Classic, on the other hand, reeled in 2.38 million.

The league financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has a long way to go.

For comparison, another CW program, “World’s Funniest Animals,” outperformed LIV Golf Mayakoba.

 

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USGA President Fred Perpall adds name to list of those who broke down barriers for good of the game

USGA President Fred Perpall adds name to list of those who broke down barriers for good of the game

Founded in 1894, the United States Golf Association is woven into the fabric of the game here in America. It’s rare when a nearly 130-year-old organization makes history, but that’s precisely what the USGA did last week with the election of its new president.

Fred Perpall will serve a three-year term as the 67th president of the governing body, where he will lead the USGA Executive Committee, an all-volunteer, policy-making board that provides strategic direction and oversight to the association’s full-time staff. The significance? He’s the first Black man to hold the position.

After his nomination and subsequent election, Perpall is the latest to add his name to a long list of individuals who have broken down barriers for the good of the game through the USGA. From the figures preserved through the collections at the USGA Golf Museum and Library to modern day champions, celebrate Black History Month and get to know a little more about some of the most notable pioneers in the game.

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Adidas ZG23 golf shoes

Adidas ZG23 golf shoes

No professional golfer or weekend player ever asked for a heavier golf shoe, so companies are constantly trying to balance weight savings with high performance. For 2023, Adidas has updated its premium lightweight offering, the ZG Series, by reworking the traction elements in the outsole, utilizing two unique midsole foams and improving the waterproof upper in the new ZG23.

At the heart of the ZG23 ($200), which Collin Morikawa is expected to wear this season, is a redesigned midsole made of two different materials. Adidas designers used a soft foam called Lightstrike Pro on the bottom to provide extra cushioning when you walk, and they surrounded it with a slightly firmer material called Lightstrike that helps increase lateral stability in specific areas.

Adidas ZG23 golf shoes

Lightstrike foam provides lateral support during your swing while Lightstrike Pro provides extra cushioning. (Adidas)

There are still six replaceable cleats on the bottom of the shoe, and Adidas repositioned the smaller traction elements after studying the swings of its staff players – golfers such as Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Danielle Kang – and learning which specific areas on the outside need extra connection to the ground.

Finally, the top of the shoe, referred to as the upper, was made with a four-layer, waterproof material called Sprintskin. It blends woven materials with polyurethanes to keep moisture from getting inside the shoes without adding excessive weight.

Adidas ZG23 golf shoes

The Adidas ZG23 BOA golf shoes

In addition to the standard lace-up models for men and women, Adidas is offering versions of the ZG23 that have a ratcheting BOA Fit system ($220). By turning a dial on the shoes, a system of wires gently secures a wrap-over piece across the top of your foot to allow for micro-adjustments in the fit.

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Wolken: Just like most of its players, LIV Golf is already past its prime

Wolken: Just like most of its players, LIV Golf is already past its prime

If the last 12 months of professional golf were defined by the PGA Tour fending off an existential challenge from LIV Golf and its endless supply of Saudi money, the next 12 are going to be a referendum on LIV itself and the product it puts out for the world to see.

Based on last weekend’s LIV season-opening event in Mexico, the PGA Tour doesn’t have much more to worry about. Out of its start-up phase but still in its infancy, the reality of LIV Golf is that it may have already peaked.

What, the Charles Howell III vs. Peter Uihlein duel didn’t capture your imagination? You weren’t alone. John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported that the overnight rating for Saturday’s LIV Golf debut on the CW Network was a .2 in 26 metered markets. That is a very bad number, suggesting LIV drew a smaller audience than CW staples like “World’s Funniest Animals.”

Can you really call it “Golf But Louder” when you’d need a stethoscope to determine if this tour even has a pulse?

On a weekend where the PGA Tour put forth arguably its weakest field of the season at the Honda Classic, and with LIV widely available on American television for the first time, this was a prime test case to see whether LIV could control the discourse and start to cash in on the star power it bought last year.

Not only did LIV seemingly fail to take any market share away from the PGA Tour, but its weekend broadcasts were also a perfect representation of why it’s not going to.

In the end, from the standpoint of the viewer, LIV is a solution in search of a problem that never really existed in the first place.

From the constant thump-thump-thump of electronic dance music in the background to the significant amount of time spent on the team aspect of LIV events to the disorienting shotgun start format, it’s just not a great watch. Howell’s march toward victory — which could have been framed as a feel-good story on its own — almost seemed secondary to some of the set pieces and gags that LIV trotted out, like airing tweets praising the league and reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith drinking a beer out of a shoe.

Oh, and as for the team results, which only add confusion to what should be a fairly straightforward competition, Bubba Watson said in a pre-round interview that the goal was “trying to sell T-shirts at the end of the day” and then couldn’t remember the tagline for his team, the Range Goats.

2023 LIV Golf League at Mayakoba

Bubba Watson of Rangegoats GC plays his shot from the second tee during day one of the LIV Golf Invitational – Mayakoba at El Camaleon at Mayakoba on February 24, 2023, in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Way to sell us on the concept, Bubba.

It’s true that golf on television could use some sprucing up and new ideas, but there’s a certain rhythm and cadence to a Sunday when players are making moves and the leaders are trying to hold on. The tension of trying to win a golf tournament is what sells the sport, not the bells and whistles that LIV has reduced to pure kitsch.

Put the Saudi sportswashing connection to the side. Even with some big names in the field like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, LIV as a golf product just doesn’t really measure up. Even watching these guys play in shorts as opposed to the PGA Tour’s sartorial requirements gives off a vibe of unseriousness.

If this is just a weekend hit-and-giggle, why are we watching?

The ultimate legacy of LIV, beyond the mind-blowing amounts of money the Saudis are going to light on fire, is that it absolutely pushed the PGA Tour into action. The initial wave of players who took the LIV payday was concerning enough for the PGA Tour to make some dramatic changes to its schedule, amp up the purses for its biggest events and ensure more money landed in the pockets of top players.

And now that everyone has seen what LIV is — and what it isn’t — the danger of significant defections seems to have passed. If Mito Pereira and Thomas Pieters are the best LIV can do now, there is simply no way it can be called a rival. At best, it’s a well-paid halfway house between the PGA Tour and senior events.

A year ago, LIV grabbed plenty of headlines because of how it shook things up, how it strained relationships between players and how it tried (and failed) to brush aside the connection to Saudi Arabia’s horrible record on human rights.

But after all that, now that it’s time to sink or swim on the golf course, what is LIV really offering besides a gimmicky, hard-to-follow broadcast and a bunch of past-their-prime pros?

It turns out, not a whole lot. LIV is less than a year old, but just like most of its players, its best days may already be in the rearview mirror.

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Validation: Scottie Scheffler's victory at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational proved his first PGA Tour win was no fluke

Validation: Scottie Scheffler's victory at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational proved his first PGA Tour win was no fluke

Colt Knost and the other PGA Tour pros that called Royal Oaks Golf Club in Dallas home used to call Scottie Scheffler their little shadow.

Every chance he could he’d flip over a range ball bucket and watch renowned instructor Randy Smith give lessons to the likes of Knost, Hunter Mahan, Harrison Frazar, Justin Leonard, and Martin Flores and he absorbed all this knowledge on how to play the game.

“He’s like a sponge,” Smith said.

Scheffler, 26, soaked up what it took to be a winner, too. In the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he shot an even-par 72 at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando to claim the title by a stroke.

On a warm, sunny day that baked greens to a yellowish shade of split pea soup, scores soared in a frisky, fickle wind that puffed about the course, nudging golf balls in various directions. It was survival of the fittest and Scheffler’s steely 5-under 283 total was just enough to edge the trio of Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Billy Horschel.

“I feel punch drunk,” said 2018 API champion Rory McIlroy after a 76 left him T-13. “The weekend, it’s like crazy golf.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. Only four of 77 players in the field managed to break par in the final round while 18 signed for 78 or higher, including Troy Merritt who ballooned to an 87. The field combined to shoot 266-over par on Sunday for the highest scoring average in a round (75.5) at this event since 1981. It also marked the highest finish by a winner of a non-major on Tour since Jon Rahm shot a 75 at the 2020 Memorial Tournament. Scheffler’s 5-under par 72-hole total was the highest in relation to par since Rahm won the 2020 BMW Championship at 4 under. And Scheffler’s 283 aggregate is the second-highest winning score on Tour since the start of the 2014-15 season, behind the 284s from Tyrrell Hatton at the 2020 API and Danny Willett at the 2016 Masters. In other words, Scheffler, who calls Dallas home, needed to be Texas tough to get the job done. It was a performance that showed off his grit and gumption. Meredith Scheffler called her husband a fighter.

“I mean, did you watch today, I guess?” she said. “That was a really good example.”

2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Scottie Scheffler celebrates a par putt on the 15th green during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 06, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

He needed to be tough over the final 36 holes as a U.S. Open broke out a few months early at Arnie’s Place.

“This course it a total beat-down,” Scheffler said. “I’m usually pretty competitive, so when the conditions get really tough and the field gets really good, I get excited.”

Scheffler, the winner of the Arnold Palmer Award as the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 2020, won for the second time in his past three tournaments and the champion’s alpaca-red sweater fit him nicely. It took 71 starts to notch his first win at the WM Phoenix Open in February 2022, but hardly any time at all to validate.

Scheffler opened with rounds of 70-73 before shooting one of the rounds of the tournament on Saturday, a 4-under 68 that included three birdies and an eagle on the inward nine and the best nine-hole score of the week (31).

In the final round, Scheffler overcame a sluggish start with bogeys on two of his first three holes and missed a 5-foot par putt at nine to make the turn one stroke behind Hovland. But as others faltered in the howling wind, Scheffler didn’t make another bogey. He tacked on a birdie at the par-5 12th to reach 5 under and made pars all the way to the house, including two putts from 70 feet at the last. It was a triumph of will power as much as athletic skill.

Gary Woodland showed how quickly fortunes could change. The 2019 U.S. Open champion drilled his second at the par-5 16th to 24 feet and canned the putt for eagle to seize the lead for the first time all week at 6 under.

But one hole later, Woodland caught the front greenside bunker with his tee shot at the par 3 and failed to escape on his first attempt. “I tried to chunk it, and I chunked it, chunked it too much,” he said.

He missed a 5-foot bogey putt and just as quickly as he had assumed the lead, it was gone. Then he made bogey at the last to close in 73 at 3-under 285 and finish T-5 with Chris Kirk, who earned a berth in the 150th British Open along with Talor Gooch, who tied for seventh, as the top finishers that weren’t already qualified for the British Open, the final men’s major of the year at St. Andrews.

2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Viktor Hovland (left) meets Scottie Scheffler on the first hole during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament. (Photo: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

Hovland pinballed in and out of the lead over the weekend. Trailing by one to start the day, he stiffed his tee shot at the par-3 seventh and made birdie to grab the lead. As further proof of the carnage going on at Bay Hill on Sunday, Hovland made bogey at the next two holes and still held the lead at the turn. He extended it to two strokes after a birdie at 11, but it was short-lived. Hovland was tied with Scheffler after a birdie at 16, but failed to get up and down from the bunker at 17 — he was 3 of 13 in bunker saves for the week — and his 17-foot birdie putt at 18 came up short.

“I felt like I should have won,” said Hovland, adding that his finish would “sting a little bit.”

Horschel, the 54-hole co-leader, played his first 10 holes in 5 over but made two birdies coming home and had a 33-foot putt at the last to force a playoff but it was not to be.

“I don’t give up,” Horschel said. “I’ll go down in flames before I tap out.”

Scheffler won despite hitting only five fairways and nine greens in regulation. The last player to find the winner’s circle despite not having his ‘A game’ and spraying it all over the lot? Tiger Woods at the 2013 Farmers Insurance Open. Scheffler, who used a version of Tiger’s signature TaylorMade irons, wore Nike’s TW model shoes and shirt at the Masters, and used to study his YouTube clips, recalled Tiger’s dominance at Bay Hill and what it meant to him to play at Arnie’s course as a junior in an AJGA event.

“We watched it so many times on TV, watching Tiger win this tournament and make his putts on 18. So just kind of being on the same grounds where all that type of historic stuff had happened, it was just really cool coming here and being able to play,” Scheffler said. “It was really special for them to let us come and play this golf course.”

In the final round, Scheffler handled the imposing sequence of finishing holes that test not only the skills but the nerves of a player better than anyone else. At 15, his drive missed the fairway to the left and settled behind a tree in a pile of pine needles. He advanced it no more than 30 yards.

2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill

Scottie Scheffler of the United States converses with his caddie Ted Scott on the 12th hole during a pro-am event prior to the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 02, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

“I was trying to hit like this low hook runner and get up there around the green somewhere,” Scheffler said. “I don’t know what happened. It just didn’t come out. There was pine straw in front of me that I couldn’t move. There was a leaf behind my ball … I thought I’d hit it at least through the fairway.”

Scheffler didn’t allow himself to dwell on the negative.

“I just told myself 5 is not a bad score, and that’s kind of a comforting feeling on those hard golf courses,” he said.

But he would do better than make bogey. He wedged to some 20 feet from the cup and drained the putt with authority to stay in the driver’s seat.

“I made a 4 somehow, which was kind of a miracle at that point in the round,” he said.

At the par-5 16th, Scheffler’s tee shot found more trouble, taking a bad bounce into a brutal lie in the sand. This time he managed to advance his ball about 50 yards, but his lie in the rough was hardly any better and he was forced to lay up. But Scheffler escaped unscathed again, pitching from 70 yards to six feet and holing the putt.

“I didn’t let any mistakes hurt me on the back nine,” he said. “I would say that’s probably really where I credit the win.”

It was a fight to the finish but Scheffler wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Being out here and competing and being able to actually win a tournament is pretty joyful,” he said.

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Best golf gloves for 2023

Best golf gloves for 2023

Golf gloves are nearly as necessary as a golf ball. While you don’t technically need one, a golf glove has plenty of benefits aside from completing your golf aesthetic.

Gloves help you maintain a firm grip on the club without strangling the grip. It keeps the club from slipping and sliding around the palm of your hand and also prolongs the life of your golf club grips by keeping moisture and oils to a minimum.

A proper fitting glove should leave a slight gap across the palm when your fingers are stretched out. It should also only fasten about halfway across the velcro. Once you begin to break it in, the velcro will match up until the life of the glove is complete.

Our own David Dusek suggests buying gloves in bulk to ensure you have the best grip and thus the best chance of hitting a good shot every time you step up to your ball. Biting the bullet on a dozen premiere gloves for about $300 will allow you to grip it and rip it all summer long.

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PGA Tour Champions has 'freed up' Padraig Harrington, but he says 'it's amazing how hard it is to play when you're thinking about the cut'

PGA Tour Champions has 'freed up' Padraig Harrington, but he says 'it's amazing how hard it is to play when you're thinking about the cut'

He won the last time he was in Arizona, but Padraig Harrington is skipping Tucson this week and heading to Orlando.

Harrington won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix last  November but he’s forgoing the Cologuard Classic on the PGA Tour Champions.

Instead, he’ll be among the 120 golfers in the field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the second full-field designated event on the PGA Tour.

The $20 million purse and $3.6 million first-place check up for grabs at Bay Hill vs. the $2.2 million total purse at Tucson National likely has something to do with it.

But for competitors like Harrington, testing your game against 44 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking – the most at any event since the 2022 Open Championship – is a significant draw.

“My game had turned a corner coming into 50 years of age,” he said ahead of the Honda Classic last week. “At 49, I was starting to play well in regular events. Still a little bit hard on myself at those events.”

Harrington tied for 60th at the Honda, his first appearance in a PGA Tour event this season. Last season, the API was the only cut he made in six Tour outings. On the flip side, he’s already won four times on the senior circuit and knows life is pretty good on that tour.

“It’s a nice place to be. It’s nice to be a big fish in a small pond,” he said.

A major difference between the tours is the 72-hole PGA Tour events that cut the field in half after two days compared to the no-cut, 54-hole Champions events.

2022 Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Nov 10, 2022; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Padraig Harrington plays his tee shot on the first hole during round one of the Charles Schwab Cup at Phoenix Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

“It’s nice not to have the stress of a cut. Even the couple of events I played on the European Tour, even the first one where I finished fourth, at one stage on the Friday I’m like, ‘What’s the cut going to be, where am I?’ and when you start thinking like that you just hit a brick wall,” he said.

“It’s amazing how hard it is to play when you’re thinking about the cut and you’ve got to get that out of your mind, which the Champions Tour, again, we don’t have a cut; 54-hole golf is not 72-hole golf. That’s very obvious. It’s a big difference having a cut line. A lot of pressure, a lot of stress in that cut line, and it doesn’t matter how good, what you’ve done in your career.

“Professional golfers have this silly thing in our heads that we don’t want to miss cuts. We don’t want a weekend off. Who in the world doesn’t want to have a weekend off? Professional golfers, we just all get uptight when it comes to the cut line, much more so for me. I could be chasing down the lead and it wouldn’t bother me whatsoever, but if I’m on that cut line, I’m like, ‘Oh, you don’t want to mess that one up.'”

Playing with the 50-and-over set has led to a mental adjustment.

“It’s freed up my golf somewhat, and like hopefully I can take that to the regular tour. Physically I’m very capable.”

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/RKSzWZB

Here are 15 of the most successful LPGA players to graduate from the Epson Tour since 1999, including two Hall of Famers

Here are 15 of the most successful LPGA players to graduate from the Epson Tour since 1999, including two Hall of Famers

As the Epson Tour sets to begin its 2023 season this week in Winter Haven, Florida, it’s a good time to look back on some the great champions who have earned their LPGA cards through the official qualifying tour.

Just last Sunday, Epson Tour alumna Lilia Vu broke through with her first victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand. The former UCLA standout won three times in 2021 to earn her LPGA card.

A total of 172 players have graduated from the Epson Tour since 1999. From 1999 to 2002, a total of three cards were handed out each season. That jumped to five in 2003 and beginning in 2008, that number increased to 10, which is where it currently stands.

Here are 15 players who graduated from the Epson Tour and found success on some of the biggest stages in golf:

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Pathways to LIV Golf: Explaining the league's new promotion, relegation system

Pathways to LIV Golf: Explaining the league's new promotion, relegation system

LIV Golf was a disruptor in its first year. Now it wants to be an innovator.

Whether you believe it or not, LIV wants to be additive to the professional golf scene and provide fans with a different form of entertainment. It certainly does the latter with its no-cut, shotgun-start events that offer music playing throughout the round and countless activities in its fan village in addition to the on-course product. At times, the festival-like atmosphere makes you forget you’re at a golf tournament.

The upstart circuit has lofty goals of a business model that would eventually be similar to that of the other major team sports in the United States, such as the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, and officials hope that franchising teams will create a revenue stream that the league solely funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund currently doesn’t possess (aside from its first global partner).

When it comes to the league format, those plans are more European than American, especially with its new promotion and relegation system. LIV views open competition not only as a cornerstone of its evolving product, but also as a way to legitimize its place in the professional golf landscape.

Starting later this year, the LIV Golf Promotions Event will help to ensure there are open player pathways for golfers to join the LIV Golf League in 2024.

Here’s how it all works.

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PGA Tour pros talk about meeting Arnold Palmer for the first time

PGA Tour pros talk about meeting Arnold Palmer for the first time

They say never meet your heroes.

The implication is that doing so will fail to live up to your expectations and the resulting bad experience will negate what they meant to you. While there may be some truth in that adage, they should’ve added one caveat – unless your hero happens to be Arnold Palmer.

Any time spent with Palmer was time well spent, but the first encounter with the Arnold Palmer Invitational’s namesake had a way of leaving a lasting impression.

Here are the remembrances of more than a half-dozen PGA Tour pros past and present, who enjoyed that privilege before his passing in September 2016, and never forgot their first encounter with Mr. Palmer – and for good reason.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/1UYSsl6

After winning 2023 Honda Classic, Chris Kirk loved that Paul Azinger called him 'an emotionless robot'

After winning 2023 Honda Classic, Chris Kirk loved that Paul Azinger called him 'an emotionless robot'

Chris Kirk took a winding road between PGA Tour wins No. 5 and 6. It sounds like he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Asked to describe this moment, he said he said he couldn’t. Rather, he took the time on live television to make sure he acknowledged those closest to him.

“I just have so much to be thankful for. I’m so grateful. I’m so grateful for my sobriety. I’m so grateful for my family. I’m so grateful for everyone that’s supported me throughout the past three or four years especially. Thank you so much,” he said at the conclusion of NBC’s telecast on the 18th green after holding off Eric Cole in a playoff to win the 2023 Honda Classic.

“My wife Tahnee, I have not been the easiest person to be married to always, and my boys, Sawyer, Foster, Wilder, love you guys so much. Can’t wait to see you.”

Here’s everything else Kirk said after his win at PGA National.

Q: You’ve spoken about your form this season, two top 3 finishes already at the Sony and the American Express. How much did you draw on those performances this week?

CHRIS KIRK: I definitely did. I mean, I was obviously very, very nervous today having not won in so long. Coming down the stretch, I felt good. Obviously that putt on 16 was huge and was in a great position on 18, just made a bad swing at the wrong time. I was trying to stay aggressive and hit it in the middle of the green, but in hindsight probably would have been better to hit it over there left somewhere. But thank God it worked out.

Q: The last two days has been dramatic for you. Talk to me about tapping in that putt and what it means to you and all you’ve been through.

CK: Well, I mean, what an unbelievable feeling. I obviously knew that wedge shot was good when I hit it. I felt great about it. But I’ve obviously got to get a little luck for it to end up six inches like that. I just fought really, really hard today. I didn’t play my absolute best, but I never gave up. I heard Paul Azinger say I watched a highlight of me yesterday, and he said I looked like an emotionless robot, and I loved that. I absolutely loved it. I said today, I’m going to be an emotionless robot and I’m going to go stick to my guns and play aggressive and try to do the best I can. I was obviously a little closer than I would have liked, but like I said, thank God it worked out.

Q: The robot worked on the 72nd hole, you were a couple feet away from clearing the penalty area there, but you composed yourself. You had a very good shot on the 4th.

CK: I did, yeah, and a pretty good putt, too. The putt just broke a little bit more than I’ve remembered. I’ve had that one before and hit a nice putt. Yeah, I was very determined no matter how high or low anything got at any moment today that I was just going to not react and just go about my business.

Q: The emotion came out when the putt went in. It’s been since 2015. You know you believed in yourself, but at some point is it going to happen. Today it happened for you again. Has it sunk in yet that you’re a winner again on the PGA Tour?

CK: Definitely not. I mean, I think more than the time, just how much my life has changed in that time, getting close to four years of sobriety, and that is the reason why I’m able to play. It’s the reason why I have such a great relationship with my family. Everything that I have is because of that. I have to remember that first and foremost, and it’ll sink in eventually, but it certainly hasn’t right now.

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/1UYSsl6

Winner's Bag: Chris Kirk, 2023 Honda Classic

Winner's Bag: Chris Kirk, 2023 Honda Classic

A complete list of the golf equipment Chris Kirk used to win the PGA Tour’s 2023 Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa:

DRIVER: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 TX

FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond HL (16.5 degrees, TaylorMade Stealth (18 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 TX shafts.

Chris Kirk's TM fairway wood - $329.99

IRONS: Callaway Apex Pro 2021 (4), Apex MB 2018 (5-9), with Project X LZ 125 6.5 shafts

Chris Kirk's Callaway irons - $1,479.99

WEDGES: Callaway Jaws Raw (46, 50 degrees), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold S200 shafts

Chris Kirk's Titleist wedges - $179.99

PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

Chris Kirk's Titleist golf ball - $54.99 per dozen

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/1UYSsl6

Jack Nicklaus says 2024 PGA Tour schedule will benefit rebranded Honda Classic

Jack Nicklaus says 2024 PGA Tour schedule will benefit rebranded Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Jack Nicklaus is confident the rebranded Honda Classic is ready to make a comeback.

Nicklaus said Sunday the PGA Tour will make significant changes to the 2024 schedule, helping the tournament. Honda’s fields have suffered in recent years because of its spot in the schedule. The event will be under a new title sponsor in 2024.

According to Nicklaus, an event in Mexico will be played between the Genesis Invitational and new Honda Classic. Additionally, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am will replace the WM Phoenix Open as a designated event in 2024 meaning just one event with a $20 million purse will be played the three weeks prior to Honda.

“The tournament’s going to be just fine,” Nicklaus said. “The tournament’s just fine anyway. Look at how this town has supported this event without having a great field. They stayed with it, supported it. I think they’ve done great.

2023 Honda Classic

Fans attend the 2023 Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo: Andres Leiva/Palm Beach Post)

“Are we a major market? No. And we handle it charity wise like a major market and the tour considers us very important.”

The Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation has been the primary charitable beneficiary of the tournament since 2007.

With the tour increasing the purses of the two events prior to and following Honda this year, the tournament had its weakest field since moving to PGA National in 2007. Honda’s purse is $8.4 million.

The biggest issue with locals is the number of world-class golfers living in the area who regularly skip the tournament. Nicklaus said he never has and never will appeal to locals to play the event.

“I don’t do that I never have,” he said. “I’ve never done it for the Memorial Tournament. I’ve never done it for any tournament. I didn’t like it when people did it to me. If you’re not going to play, you’re not going to play.”

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/1UYSsl6

Prize money payouts for each player at 2023 Honda LPGA Thailand

Prize money payouts for each player at 2023 Honda LPGA Thailand

American Lilia Vu won the Honda LPGA Thailand in her debut and collected $255,000 for her efforts. The 25-year-old has now crossed $1 million in career earnings, with $1,177,769 since her rookie year in 2019.

“Feels really good to get it done,” she said. “I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself at the end of last year, and during the off-season I kind of just changed my mindset. Like I always knew I was going to win, I just got to let it happen.

Thailand’s Natthakritta Vongtaveelap, a rookie who was playing on a sponsor exemption, banked a sizable check in her first LPGA tournament as a member: $157,780.

Here’s the full breakdown of the $1.7 million purse:

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Lilia Vu -22 $255,000
2 Natthakritta Vongtaveelap -21 $157,780
3 Atthaya Thitikul -20 $114,458
T4 Celine Boutier -17 $79,904
T4 Maja Stark -17 $79,904
T6 Lydia Ko -16 $47,079
T6 Leona Maguire -16 $47,079
T6 Nelly Korda -16 $47,079
T6 Jin Young Ko -16 $47,079
T10 Hyo Joo Kim -15 $30,510
T10 Jodi Ewart Shadoff -15 $30,510
T10 Georgia Hall -15 $30,510
T10 Ashleigh Buhai -15 $30,510
T10 Anna Nordqvist -15 $30,510
T15 Xiyu Lin -14 $24,360
T15 Maria Fassi -14 $24,360
T17 Jaravee Boonchant -13 $21,481
T17 Cheyenne Knight -13 $21,481
T17 Ryann O’Toole -13 $21,481
T20 Yuka Saso -12 $19,177
T20 Sei Young Kim -12 $19,177
T20 Alison Lee -12 $19,177
T23 Emily Kristine Pedersen -11 $16,824
T23 Nasa Hataoka -11 $16,824
T23 Charley Hull -11 $16,824
T23 Madelene Sagstrom -11 $16,824
T27 Muni He -10 $13,599
T27 Hye Jin Choi -10 $13,599
T27 In-gee Chun -10 $13,599
T27 Hinako Shibuno -10 $13,599
T27 Eun-Hee Ji -10 $13,599
T27 Carlota Ciganda -10 $13,599
T27 Pornanong Phatlum -10 $13,599
T34 Saki Baba -9
T34 A Lim Kim -9 $11,057
T34 Amy Yang -9 $11,057
T34 Jenny Shin -9 $11,057
T38 Danielle Kang -8 $9,200
T38 Megan Khang -8 $9,200
T38 Nanna Koerstz Madsen -8 $9,200
T38 Moriya Jutanugarn -8 $9,200
T38 Linn Grant -8 $9,200
T38 Akie Iwai -8 $9,200
T44 Frida Kinhult -7 $7,360
T44 Brooke Henderson -7 $7,360
T44 Hannah Green -7 $7,360
T44 Paula Reto -7 $7,360
T44 Elizabeth Szokol -7 $7,360
T49 Ayaka Furue -5 $6,435
T49 Mina Harigae -5 $6,435
T51 Chanettee Wannasaen -4 $5,528
T51 Yuting Shi -4 $5,528
T51 Andrea Lee -4 $5,528
T51 Allisen Corpuz -4 $5,528
T51 Gemma Dryburgh -4 $5,528
T51 Lizette Salas -4 $5,528
T51 Ariya Jutanugarn -4 $5,528
T58 Gaby Lopez -3 $4,751
T58 Sarah Schmelzel -3 $4,751
T60 Arpichaya Yubol -2 $4,298
T60 Chisato Iwai -2 $4,298
T60 Jennifer Kupcho -2 $4,298
T60 Na Rin An -2 $4,298
T64 Wichanee Meechai -1 $3,974
T64 Jeongeun Lee -1 $3,974
T64 Matilda Castren -1 $3,974
67 Minjee Lee E $3,801
68 Stacy Lewis 1 $3,715
69 Sophia Schubert 2 $3,627
70 Pajaree Anannarukarn 3 $3,542
71 Chella Choi 6 $3,456
72 Patty Tavatanakit 8 $3,413

 

Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/1UYSsl6