• “I know people obviously have their opinions,” Rose said. “It’s never straightforward. But I think that obviously we’re here to support the European Tour.

• “For me, I think I can only commend their vision in terms of growing the game of golf. That’s the industry in which I live. I’m not qualified to speak on any other subjects, to be honest with you, on great detail or authority.”

• “Hopefully golf is a conduit to bridging the gap between this region and how we perceive golf in the western world,” Rose said. “Who knows? Twenty, 30 years ago, Abu Dhabi looked somewhat similar to here and Dubai. We’ve all seen the growth and what’s possible in these regions, and can only support the vision.”

Via the AP.

• “The three-time European Tour winner recorded seven birdies in a blemish-free first round at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club to hold a two-shot advantage over English duo Ross Fisher and Alfie Plant and South African Justin Harding and Australia’s Jake McLeod.”

• “Plant was on course for a 59 when he registered seven birdies in his opening nine holes to reach the turn in a magnificent 28, but two bogeys on the front nine derailed his chances of the monumental feat.”

Full piece.

• PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced today that current Vice President of Marketing Partnerships, Alexandra “Alex” Baldwin, has been named President of the Web.com Tour. With the announcement, Baldwin becomes the first female in history to lead one of the PGA TOUR’s six global Tours as President.

• Dan Glod, who has served as President of the Web.com Tour since January of 2017, has been elevated to Senior Vice President, Global Sponsorship Strategy and Development in a corresponding announcement.

• “We are excited to announce Alex as the new President of the Web.com Tour in what is a watershed moment for our organization,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “In her role as Vice President of Marketing Partnerships, Alex has spearheaded our efforts to provide increased value to our PGA TOUR partners and I know she will have that same level of success on the Web.com Tour. We thank Dan Glod for his tremendous leadership with our partners, tournaments and membership over these last two years and know the Web.com Tour has a great foundation which Alex can continue to build upon.”

• Baldwin joined the PGA TOUR in 2017 as Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, where she was responsible for co-leading the Marketing Partnership team and overseeing key partner account teams including Morgan Stanley, Dell, Omni Hotel and Resorts and United Airlines, among others. In addition to spearheading partner oversight, she negotiated extensions and new programs with partners including Avis, MD Anderson, Rolex and Citi.

Full piece.

• “Amy made a good swing, but the ball caromed into the greenside bunker. Woodland asked Amy if she wanted to hit the bunker shot.”

• “I do. I’ve got this,” she told the tournament’s defending champion.

• “She sure did. With fans lining the triple-decker stadium that surrounds the hole, Amy thumped the ball onto the green with perfect form, got a read from her new PGA Tour friend and drained the putt. Woodland raised his arms in triumph as the already rowdy practice-round crowd roared.”

• “The 56-year-old Player, Gary’s third oldest out of six children, was charged with deposit account fraud/bad check last Wednesday. According to the Augusta Chronicle, Player had rented a residence in Evans, Georgia-about two miles from Augusta National-for two nights, April 3 and 4, during last year’s tournament. Player gave the Evans homeowner a check for $1,000 on April 4, but the homeowner told police the bank returned the check due to insufficient funds.”

• “The homeowner’s lawyer made multiple attempts to contact Player, and at one point Player contacted the lawyer to say he’d settle the debt. However, the homeowner never received the $1,000.”

• “Player and his company Wayne Player Enterprises LLC are additionally facing a civil suit claiming Player failed to deliver on a promotional package for the 2018 Masters. Todd Feltz says that he and his wife purchased a trip for $6,850 per person that included badges to the Masters and Par-3 Contest, dinner and drinks with Wayne, breakfast or lunch at the Founders Club on April 4 and 5, and a meet-and-greet with Gary Player and other Masters champions.”

• “Mickelson still considers his first Phoenix Open win, in 1996, one of his career highlights. The tournament was played Wednesday-Saturday that year because of Phoenix hosting the Super Bowl, and Mickelson delivered in near-darkness by defeating Justin Leonard in a three-hole playoff.”

• “During that final round, Mickelson recalls stiffing his tee shot on the famous par-3 16th hole, which was just a shell of its current self, infrastructure-wise, but already with a rowdy reputation.”

• “I hit this 7-iron, it was kind of dark, it was hard to see, and I hit the ball, launched it pretty high so nobody could really see it, and the ball came down and stuck 3 feet from the hole and didn’t really release much,” Mickelson said. “But nobody could see the ball, and then all of a sudden it’s 3 feet. So it was a very awkward, there wasn’t any buildup to the applause. It was more of like a shock and delay, kind of like 12 at Augusta … I just remember that, that stood out to me as being something pretty cool, different, unique.”

Full piece.

• “Betting in golf is as much a part of the game as walking in a putt or twirling a driver. It’s as common on a local muni as it is during practice rounds at major championships. But on the famed par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the Phoenix Open, the wagering isn’t just more prevalent — it’s louder, too.”

• “You hear them,” Gary Woodland said. “You hear what they’re gambling. And they’re yelling.”

• “And the fans are betting on everything: hitting the green, hitting a bunker, making birdie, which caddie will get to the green first. Yes, even caddies get bet on.”

• “Xander Schauffele’s caddie, Austin Kaiser, hears the bets from the crowd surrounding the 16th every year in Scottsdale. Among all the wagers he hears throughout the season, he called the caddie bets the most “ridiculous.”

• “It’s not uncommon for Kaiser to hear someone shout “Hurry up, green,” referring to the bib color he’s wearing. What does Kaiser do? He’ll slow down or pause for a second.”