Thursday Sep 22, 2022
FIRST THOUGHT

The DP World Tour has taken a massive hit with the defection of such marquee names as Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer and Henrik Stenson to LIV Golf. But a hit did not come for four of the tour's more historic tournaments — BMW PGA Championship, Scottish Open, British Masters and Irish Open — as each posted increases in ticket sales compared with either last year or pre-COVID 2019. The positive numbers led to a 32% increase in ticketing and hospitality revenue for the four tournaments in 2022 compared to 2019.

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> Question of the Week: If you could only play the courses designed by one golf course architect, who would that architect be and why?

Send replies on this question or other topics to shall@buffalogroupe.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.

READ, WATCH, LISTEN

> Greg Norman lobbies for LIV Golf during Congressional visit, gets mixed reviews
[Mark Schlabach | ESPN | Read]

> Greg Norman out of this year's QBE Shootout because of his involvement with LIV Golf
[Dan DeLuca | Naples Daily News | Read]

> ‘I’m not ready to do that’: Adam Scott explains nuances of his LIV decision
[Dylan Dethier | Golf.com | Read]

> Presidents Cup Thursday foursomes pairings feature 10 rookies, powerhouse opening match
[Adam Woodard | Golfweek | Read]

> Steve Stricker back again for the U.S. team as a healthy and wise assistant captain
[Bob Harig | Sports Illustrated / Morning Read| Read]

Markus Westerberg merges golf, entrepreneurship to form deWiz
Co-founder joins 'The ModGolf Podcast' to discuss the value of being uncomfortable and the power of collaboration
DID YOU KNOW ...
Homes around the Oasis Golf Club in Mesquite, Nevada, have increased in value nearly 15% more than the Clark County average over the last five years. The courses at Oasis were designed by course architects Arnold Palmer and David Druzisky.

Source: Longitudes green grass database, Zillow historic home values
THE INDUSTRY
Company's year-long celebration acknowledging the issuance of the Anser putter patent 55 years ago continues with 55 collector's models being made available
Read More
Golf course developer and construction company installs a new irrigation system throughout the club's 18-hole South Course in Rockville, Maryland
Read More
Course architect plans to empower, inspire youth of the Brownsville, Texas, community at Ignite!: A Leadership Symposium on Oct. 10
Read More
All of Branson’s golf resorts are featured prominently on the website's interactive map for Missouri
Read More
Companies lend support to 24th Ann Liguori Foundation Charity Golf Classic, held Sept. 22 at Maidstone GC in East Hampton, New York
Read More

Appointed: By Vattanac Golf Resort, Chris Geraghty as general manager, James Durkin as golf operations manager, Rory Tinker as head golf professional, and Sambath Chheang as sales and marketing manager. Vattanac is located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Unveiled: By Keswick Hall, the renovation of its Full Cry course by course architect Scot Sherman. The Charlottesville, Virginia, course was originally designed by Pete Dye. Full Cry opened in 2014 and was included on Golf Digest’s Best New Courses list, and is currently ranked No. 3 in Golfweek’s Best You Can Play in Virginia list.

Awarded: By PGA REACH, scholarships to 17 students at eight colleges through the PGA Works Golf Management University Scholarship Program for the 2022-2023 academic school year. The $8,000 scholarships were presented to students who are working toward PGA membership through one of the 18 accredited PGA Golf Management University Programs across the nation.

Announced: By 2K, that its MyPlayer customization and MyCareer mode will return to PGA Tour 2K23. MyPlayer will include apparel and equipment from Adidas, Bridgestone Golf, Callaway Golf, FootJoy, Mizuno, Nike Golf, Puma, Titleist and TravisMathew. In MyCareer, players will start on the Korn Ferry Tour and work their way up to the PGA Tour to play against a list of PGA and LPGA tour standouts. PGA Tour 2K23 is currently available for pre-order.

#QOTD
"If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that's a big accomplishment."
— Chris Evert
ICYMI
Quail Hollow hosting a 'city within a city' for Presidents Cup
Shaffer Sports & Events has erected a PGA Tour-record 700,000 square feet of bleachers, hospitality tents and concession areas, including a 3,000-seat amphitheater around the first tee
TUNING IN

PGA Tour: Presidents Cup
Site: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Television: Today, 1-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 7-8 a.m. (Golf Channel), 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. (NBC).
GCSAA Fact Sheet | Leaderboard

LPGA Tour: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
Site: Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Arkansas.
Television: Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 8-10 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, noon to 3 p.m. (Golf Channel).
GCSAA Fact Sheet | Leaderboard

DP World Tour: Cazoo French Open
Site: Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines, France. 
Television: Today-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel).
Leaderboard

PGA Tour Champions: Pure Insurance Championship
Site: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Pebble Beach, California.
Television: Friday, 10 p.m. to midnight (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).
GCSAA Fact Sheet | Leaderboard

CALENDAR

OCTOBER
11-13: Golf Inc. Strategies Summit, Kiawah Island, S.C. | Info
26: Fore Hire Virtual Job Fair | 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
10-12: West Michigan Golf Show, Grand Rapids, Mich. | Info

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

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