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| Monday Aug 01, 2022 |
What will become of LIV Golf fringe players who are without teams and are not competitive for world ranking points? Consider Sihwan Kim, captain of the Smash in the inaugural London event. He began 2022 ranked No. 436 in the world, climbed as high as 126th after winning on the Asian Tour in mid-April and was 139th after the Tour’s International Series – England event. Kim then captained Smash to a ninth-place finish in London, missed the Korea Open cut and then was relegated to fourth-man status for captain Kevin Na’s Iron Heads team in Portland. Though Kim helped them to a fifth-place finish, he then missed the British Open cut, tied for 46th at the DP World Tour’s Cazoo Classic and found himself without a team at LIV Golf’s Bedminster event this past weekend. Kim has dropped to 157th in the world.
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> Question of the Week: In the July 30 The First Call | Weekend Edition, a poll asks whether the PGA Tour should offer guaranteed contracts to its top players similar to what LIV Golf has been doing. Is there anything that LIV Golf does that the PGA Tour could implement?
Send replies on this question or other topics to shall@morningread.com. For your response to be published, you must include first and last name, along with city and state of residence. Read last week's responses.
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Now that the majors are over and LIV Golf has launched, readers of The First Call offer their opinions on what can be expected these final five months of the year
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Introduced: By Tom Newton, author of "Your Pocket Guide to Great Games for Golf," a website dedicated to sharing information about golf side bets.
Announced: By Frederica Golf Club, that Vanderbilt University will host the 2022 Frederica Cup, Sept. 7-8 on Saint Simons Island, Georgia. The field will include Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas Christian and Texas Tech.
Launched: By Golf Guru, its mobile app to help golfers improve their mental game. The app, available for iOS and Android, features more than 25 hours of mindfulness and meditation content focused on improving golfers’ handicaps and overall mental approach to the game.
Announced: By ClubWorks, the hiring of Michael Leemhuis as chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining ClubWorks, Leemhuis spent four years as president of Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida, and more than 16 years as CEO at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, where he guided both to the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, in the Platinum Clubs of America ranking.
"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible.'”
OCTOBER
11-13: Golf Inc. Strategies Summit, Kiawah Island, S.C. | Info
NOVEMBER
6-9: International Association of Golf Administrators, Point Clear, Ala. | Info
JANUARY
23-25: Golf Business Conference, Orlando, Fla.
24-27: PGA Show, Orlando, Fla. | Info
FEBRUARY
6-9: GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, Orlando, Fla. | Info
To submit events for the calendar, please include the event name, date, location and informational link to info@firstcallgolf.com.
