🏌️ Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour this week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He was received warmly by players and fans. He says he’s fallen in love with golf again. Is the Tour better with Koepka on it?
🏌️ Nelly Korda says that forming a women’s only simulator league — the WTGL — instead of having women play alongside the men is a “huge and unbelievable miss.” Is she right? Would TGL be more appealing with women on each team?
🏌️ Patrick Reed became the second LIV player to voluntarily leave after failing to come to contract terms with LIV. Which usually means he didn’t get as much money as he wanted. Is that an indicator that LIV might be tightening the purse strings?
🏌️ Adam Scott indicated that the Tour had a plan as much as a year ago for bringing back LIV players. Think the Tour saw any of this coming?
🏌️ As for Hudson Swafford, who last played a LIV event in 2024, he won’t be allowed to return to the Tour until 2027. He was part of a 2022 lawsuit against the Tour filed by several LIV players who had been suspended. Suppose that’s part of the reason Swafford’s suspension was so long?
🏌️ Try the opening five tournaments on the LIV schedule for size: Starts Feb. 4 in Riyadh, the following week in Adelaide, a week off, then three straight in Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa. Think there will be any more PGA Tour defectors after that brutal six weeks?
🏌️ Almost lost in all the news was Scottie Scheffler’s 20th career victory, which he gained by winning The American Express by four. Did you realize that his first victory was only four years ago?
🏌️ Eighteen-year-old Blades Brown played in the final group on Sunday alongside Scheffler at the AmEx, after playing eight straight days of tournament golf — four on Korn Ferry and four at the AmEx. What were you doing at 18 years old?
🏌️ John Brodie was a remarkable two-sport professional athlete, starring as an NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and winning an event on the PGA Tour Champions when he was 56. He died this week at age 90. Will we ever see another athlete play professional golf?
