The First Call 08-17-2026

FIRST THOUGHT

After the conclusion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship:

➡️ Scottie Scheffler earns his 21^st PGA TOUR title in his 168^th start at the age of 30 years, 1 month, 26 days, eclipsing Tom Watson at 30 years, 7 months, 16 days. Only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus did it faster.

➡️ 31 of the top 50 players from the 2025 FedExCup standings are inside the top 50 again this year

➡️ Sungjae Im is the only player to move inside the top 50 of the FedExCup standings after entering the week outside the bubble. Notables, Jordan Spieth (52) and Max Homa (53) failed to advance.

POLL OF THE WEEK

PONDERING THE POSTSEASON
Does the PGA Tour need a postseason playoff?
>> Vote

Last week: Heading into the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs, who is your choice for Player of the Year?| Results

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

DETERMING FACTORS
What criteria would you use to determine the PGA Tour's Player of the Year?
>> Respond

Last week: How do you envision professional golf looking in five to 10 years? | Read

THE FIRST CALL INBOX

Readers skeptical about two-tiered PGA Tour, future of pro golf

They foresee the tiered cash-driven tour structure will make week-to-week tournaments less appealing. And what happens to LIV?

RECENT DROPS

🎧 | ▶️ CONTENT CLUBHOUSE
Hally Leadbetter | Andrew Wantuck: (Un)Serious business
Guests: Hally Leadbetter and Andrew Wantuck, co-founders of Better Co. and consultants on Netflix's "The Hawk."
Listen | Watch | Archives

🎧 GOLF INNERVIEW WITH ANN LIGUORI
Jason Birnbaum: An instructor's POV on an emerging PGA Tour star
Guest: Jason Birnbaum, director of instruction, Manhattan Woods Golf Academy in West Nyack, New York.
Listen | Archives

ARCHIVES: 🎧 Podcasts | ▶️ Videos

GOLF INDUSTRY NEWS

APGA: Farmers Insurance Fall Series introduces 3 new tournaments

The trio of full-field events are open to APGA Tour members as well as pros outside the APGA, expanding the 2026 APGA Tour schedule to 15 events

READ, WATCH, LISTEN

➡️ Scottie Scheffler delivers at FedEx St. Jude, ends winless drought in Memphis
Adam Schupak | Golfweek | Read

➡️ Jeeno Thitikul, 23, wins 10th career LPGA title in Portland
Beth Ann Nichols| Golfweek | Read

➡️ Yanhan Zhou launches 514-yard drive in DP World Tour event
ESPN | Read

TFC GOLF JOB BOARD

THIS WEEK'S FEATURED LISTINGS

▪️Golf Coach
Five Iron Golf
Detroit, Michigan | Info

▪️Director of Golf
Troon / Fairmont Grand Del Mar
San Diego, California | Info

▪️Studio Golf Fitting Specialist / Instructor
PGA TOUR Superstore
Cherry Hill, New Jersey | Info

▪️ The First Call Job Board
▪️ Buffalo Groupe Job Openings

GOLF IN MOTION MONTHLY

Buffalo Research's new Golf in Motion Monthly tracks year-over-year visitation trends across traditional golf facilities, off-course retail, golf entertainment venues and sporting goods retailers using anonymized movement data from approximately 30 million mobile devices.

Each monthly report is designed to provide the golf industry with a consistent, data-driven benchmark to help operators, brands, investors and industry leaders identify trends, and make more informed business decisions.

The report is free. Upon signing up, you will receive the updated monthly reports straight to your inbox.
>> Sign Up

CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER
29 – October 1: Golf Inc. Strategies Summit, Hilton Head, South Carolina | Info

COMPLETE CALENDAR >

To submit events for the calendar, please include the event name, date, location and informational link to info@firstcallgolf.com.