Jay Monahan spoke on the New York Times’ DealBook Summit.
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Welcome again to the Monday Finish, the place our drives already go 12-15 yards shorter than we predict they need to. Let’s get to it!
WINNERS
Seven of ’em.
7. Tiger Woods followers
It was week for Tiger Woods optimists as a result of, of us, Tiger Woods is one among you! He walked 4 days (four-and-a-half, in case you depend the pro-am) and his physique held up at “game speed,” which seems to be the latest phrase in his distinctive lexicon. Woods started the week saying he hoped to have the ability to play as soon as a month, which might optimistically imply the Genesis, the Players, the 4 majors and perhaps 1-2 others earlier than we’re again at subsequent yr’s Hero. At the tip of the week? Wood nonetheless felt like that’s a practical schedule. That’s an encouraging signal.
“I think that I can get into the rhythm of it. I think that having a couple of weeks off to recover, a week to build up, there’s no reason why I can’t get into that rhythm,” he stated on Sunday afternoon. “It’s just a matter of getting in better shape, basically. I feel like my game’s not that far off, but I need to get in better shape.”
There are additionally causes for warning, after all. Woods’ driving seemed sharp all week, however the remainder of his recreation? Some nice, some bizarre. Woods putted right into a bunker. He doinked some chips. His famously crisp iron play included some uncharacteristic misses. And he completed 20 pictures off the tempo. But he stiffed some, too, and he hit some intelligent brief recreation pictures, and he made a bunch of putts. Come 2024 we are able to parse out what his expectations may realistically be. For now we are able to recognize the power to have that dialog.
6. Golf’s rumor mill
I’m undecided whether or not this makes us winners or losers however the truth that renewed rumors and experiences of Jon Rahm going to LIV sparked loads of dialog on the Hero — however very actually nothing concrete. I’d say issues had been greatest typified by the response of Jordan Spieth, who labored his manner into and out of a nook like this:
“I know there’s been some guys that have talked to [Rahm],” Spieth stated. “I do know he’s perhaps weighing some choices, (ed. word: that is the place he caught himself) perhaps not. I actually don’t know, so I don’t wish to insult him and say he’s weighing choices if he already is aware of he’s not or he’s. You know, that’s considerably out of my management, in a manner.
“Obviously I could speak probably on behalf of 200-plus PGA TOUR players in saying that we really hope that he’s continuing with us.”
Thus far Rahm’s group has not responded to requests for remark from the Monday Finish, like each different media outlet. So let’s deal with this one additional once we get one thing concrete.
5. Aussies in Aussie
Tis the season for prime professionals to descend on Australia and for Aussie golf followers to rejoice their very own. They bought excellent news final week when Min Woo Lee received the Australian PGA Championship. They almost bought extra excellent news this week when he cooked his manner into the 36-hole lead on the Australian Open with a 67-64 begin. He ran out of fuel on the weekend, however Lee’s 12 beneath par end left him in solo third, two pictures outdoors a playoff.
What made the weekend notably cool was that Min Woo’s sister Minjee Lee almost received the occasion on the ladies’s aspect, making eight birdies (plus three bogeys and a double) in her first 14 holes to chop into the lead of defending champ Ashleigh Buhai. But Lee parred the ultimate 4 holes and settled for second, one of the best results of her profession right here — if additionally her most bittersweet.
Karrie Webb was the final Aussie lady to win her house Open in 2014.
In all, seven Aussie ladies completed inside the highest 10 together with LPGA professionals Hannah Green and Stephanie Kyriacou (T5) and rising star Gabi Ruffels (ninth). Five Aussies cracked the highest 10 on the boys’s aspect together with Adam Scott (T4) who made a fierce Sunday cost earlier than he was undone by a late triple bogey. Lucas Herbert (seventh), Sam Brazel (T8) and Jason Scrivener (T8) rounded out the contending contingent, whereas Cameron Smith completed T17.
4. LIV golfers in DP World occasions
Smith could not have received, however the next-best LIV professional within the Aussie Open discipline did: Joaquin Niemann got here out on prime. It’s been an up-and-down couple years for the Chilean expertise, who was inside the highest 20 on the earth when he left for LIV within the fall of 2022. His T16-MC-T32-MC main season fell in need of the lofty expectations we nonetheless have for the 25-year-old, however an eagle on the second playoff gap in opposition to Rikuya Hoshino completed off a stellar Aussie fortnight (fifth, 1st) and reminded the world he nonetheless has loads of recreation.
In South Africa, in the meantime, the DP World Tour performed its second consecutive week — and Dean Burmester received for the second consecutive week, this time by three pictures over a contingent of countrymen. He’s now as much as No. 77 on the earth.
One attention-grabbing little bit of fallout from these couple weeks? LIV’s pecking order. While the OWGR hasn’t given factors to LIV competitions, unbiased fashions have continued to trace LIV play. KnowledgeGolf has LIV’s prime professional as Bryson DeChambeau at No. 28 and two shocking names as the highest two LIV professionals behind him: Niemann (No. 30) and Burmester (No. 33) earlier than attending to Smith at No. 40. Even the TUGR, LIV’s adopted rating system for the aim of its qualifying event, has DeChambeau because the top-ranked LIV professional at No. 22, with Smith second at No. 25.
I’m not arguing that these guys have misplaced their recreation. We’ve seen them compete and win around the globe! We’re working with an odd medley of samples, too. But the ability rankings of prime LIV guys might be an more and more attention-grabbing factor to observe of as golf’s murky geopolitics stay in limbo and these guys pop up in numerous worldwide occasions.
3. A South African in Australia
To complement our Aussies in Australia and a South African in South Africa we’ve got South African professional Ashleigh Buhai, who defended her title on the Australian Open regardless of a birdie-free closing spherical. Buhai held onto her lead by taking part in forestall protection with 15 pars and three bogeys.
Buhai held off Lee regardless of a partisan house crowd to earn her third worldwide win of the yr and soar to No. 22 within the Rolex Rankings.
2. Justin Thomas’ native pizza place
After months of voicing his want for a diet-forbidden slice of pizza, Justin Thomas lastly relented late this summer time.
“After shooting about 400 the first two days at the Open Championship, when I got to Minnesota [for the next week’s 3M Open] I got a gluten-free pizza, like, on Monday or Tuesday and I swear I could have cried, it was so good,” Thomas stated on the Hero. “And honestly, I just slowly implemented dairy again the next two weeks and I didn’t feel any different, which I was shocked, to be honest. I was pleasantly surprised.”
Any regrets on the six-month dietary overhaul?
“It wasn’t exactly during my best stretch of golf, so I would say if I had it over, I would not do it,” he stated. “It’s one of those things, I don’t really give 50 percent too much. I feel like if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it. I’m going to want to know how it is. If you guys hear of me doing that again, tell me to stop.”
So, yeah, some regrets. A 3rd-place Hero end looks like motive sufficient to seize a slice of pepperoni to rejoice. I’d get one to match him.
1. Scottie Scheffler’s placing follow
In the times main as much as the Ryder Cup I used to be in full disbelief at how a lot time Scottie Scheffler was spending on the follow inexperienced, a lot of it beneath the cautious examine of guru Phil Kenyon.
In the times main as much as final week’s Hero World Challenge I additionally couldn’t consider how a lot time Scottie Scheffler was spending on the follow inexperienced, both, as soon as once more beneath Kenyon’s examine, this time in a small-field offseason occasion within the Bahamas.
Something else has modified within the meantime, too: Scheffler put a putter from boutique model Olson into play after it received numerous rounds of testing.
Our Jonathan Wall has the small print on the wand right here. All I’ll add is that Scheffler was sixth out of 20 gamers in strokes gained placing for the week, an amazing signal for a man who struggled on the greens and nowhere else in a preposterously constant 2023. His ball-striking was characteristically glorious. It’s solely becoming that he completed off the yr with a three-shot victory.
One extra mind-blowing Scheffler ball-striking stat for the street:
NOT-WINNERS
Okay, not their week.
3. Monahan’s ‘merger’ regrets
In an look on the New York Times‘ Dealbook summit, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan relived the events of June 6th and everything after. But I thought one exchange was particularly telling was interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin challenging him on the framework agreement’s rollout. He then laid out an alternate type of messaging that will have prevented the preliminary “merger” messaging confusion.
“When this was first described to the public it was described as a merger,” Sorkin stated. “A lot of people looked at it and thought there was a merger happening. Sports Illustrated said that all of this would have been different if the following had happened — if you had said to the players, ‘I have some surprising news and I want you all to hear it first. First, all of LIV Golf’s lawsuits have been dismissed, they cannot be brought back. Second, the Saudi Arabian government would like to give us full control over the future of LIV Golf, invest billions in our tour instead of our rival, we would of course retain full control over the PGA Tour and our business operations as well, all they want is one seat on our policy board and a minority stake in our business. Don’t worry, I haven’t committed to anything.’”
Monahan’s response?
“The rollout was a failure on my part,” he stated. “I’ve owned it and I continue to own it.”
He supplied an optimistic imaginative and prescient for the long run, going as far as to say that down the street gamers and public will see the deserves of his actions main as much as June sixth. Still…
“Going back to your question, if I had come out and said it that way, yeah, I think that … if I could do it differently I was in New York City and I would have flown to Toronto and had that conversation with our players. I didn’t do it. But I think we’ve taken a lot of steps to rectify that and players understand what it is we’re doing.”
The entire interview was an attention-grabbing peek into Monahan’s mindset then and now; he additionally delved into the elements that led to his medical depart and why he thinks he’s nonetheless the person for the job.
2. Zalatoris’ broomstick debut
It’s harsh to place Willy Z. on this class; this week’s large success was having him again! Like Woods, any wholesome completion of 4 rounds was going to mark some kind of victory.
But when Zalatoris confirmed up rocking a broomstick putter all of us questioned if he’d out of the blue look completely different on the greens. As he stated, lengthy putts haven’t been a difficulty however on shorties he had an inclination to get a little bit bit … wiggly.
It’s protected to say the brand new putter will take some getting used to. In Thursday’s opening spherical Zalatoris misplaced six strokes to the sector on the greens and shot 81, the day’s highest rating by 5.
Over the subsequent three days the putter improved, although it was nonetheless a little bit of a rollercoaster trip; it’s protected to say Zalatoris was knocking the rust off in taking part in his first aggressive rounds since earlier than the Masters. His 81-68-79-71 was a show of unevenness that left him in final by 9 strokes however hopefully serves as a stepping stone for the 2024 season.
1. Guys who say they hit it 300
There’s a faculty of thought that in case you ask males how tall they’re, no person will say 5-foot-11; in case you’re that shut you simply spherical as much as six ft. I’ve bought an identical perception about amateurs who hit it a great distance — anyone who’s ever hit a drive 300 yards will simply say they hit it 300.
What about now? What if the alleged rollback involves go? What in case you out of the blue made each 5’11” fella 5’9″ as an alternative? And what in case your big-hitting buddy’s 275-yard drives begin going 260?
I’ll save my full ideas on the rollback for one more deep dive; it’s clear from the passionate reactions to the announcement (and the reactions to the reactions, and the reactions to the reactions to the reactions…) that folks really feel very strongly about this and I recognize that. But as somebody whose physician lately informed me I used to be 5’11.75″, I would like you to know that I really feel you. It’ll take a while to regulate our self-images. But we’ll endure.
NEWS FROM SEATTLE
Monday Finish HQ.
This time of yr it seems like we’ve bought two choices: chilly and clear or reasonably much less chilly and drizzly. This week we’re leaning laborious into the latter — there’s one thing known as an “atmospheric river” coming to city, which sounds decidedly moist. Sigh. Memories of the Bahamas are fading quick.
WHAT’S NEXT
3 issues to look at this week.
1. A legit LPGA/PGA Tour crossover
This week’s Grant Thornton Invitational represents one thing genuinely new, completely different and intriguing within the golf world: a PGA/LPGA Tour crossover occasion that includes two-player groups going face to face. Longtime golf followers amongst you’ll level to previous iterations of blended group occasions, however in my time protecting the game there’s been nothing prefer it — notably that includes a few of the prime gamers within the recreation like we are able to anticipate this week.
The groups are additionally particularly enjoyable. Joel Dahmen taking part in with World No. 1 Lilia Vu is enjoyable. Rising star Ludvig Aberg taking part in with established star and fellow Swede Madelene Sagstrom is enjoyable. Aussies Jason Day and Lydia Ko! Canadians Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson! The mononymous Rickie and Lexi! Finau and Korda! Top to backside, it’s an particularly enjoyable checklist of groups — all the way in which right down to Sahith Theegala and Rose Zhang. Worth your curiosity.
2. Q-School Szn
For the primary time in years, the PGA Tour’s Q-school system is offering direct entry to the highest circuit for a handful of professionals. And for the primary time in world historical past LIV Golf is holding a Q-school of its personal — and a handful of attention-grabbing names (Jason Dufner, anyone?) have signed up.
The LPGA Tour’s 108-hole Q-Series marathon is nearing its conclusion, too, with loads of new faces plus acquainted names like Mina Harigae in competition for coveted playing cards.
And then there’s the Champions Tour’s Q-School, which can conclude subsequent week with acquainted names like John Smoltz (yeah, the pitcher!) and Hosung Choi within the combine.
For the offseason, there’s an terrible lot happening to find out subsequent season’s form.
3. Breakthrough!
We’re launching a brand new collection known as Breakthrough about crucial individuals in golf and the moments of their lives that catapulted them to the highest. Their breakthrough moments, if you’ll. First up? Jason Day! The former World No. 1 took us from his brawling teenage days in Queensland all the way in which to his stint on the prime of the sport — and thru his mindset now that he’s attempting to get again there.
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel to be sure to catch this when it drops Tuesday afternoon.
We’ll see you subsequent week!
Dylan (cautiously) welcomes your feedback at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
