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Morning 9: Masters Champions Dinner is on | Can TW find his 2019 Masters form? | Other side of the golf gambling coin

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6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
October 27, 2020 
 
Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.
1. The putt that kept DJ at No. 1
Golf Channel’s Mercer Baggs…“Thomas birdied the 72nd hole Sunday at the Zozo Championship, joining Rahm in a share of second place for the tournament. That was just enough to keep Rahm from regaining the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.”
  • “Johnson, who did not play the Zozo as he continued to recover from a bout with COVID-19, leads Rahm by just over .08 points. Rahm, in turn, is .11 points ahead of Thomas, who stands third in the OWGR.”
2. Masters Champions Dinner is still on
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Tiger Woods confirmed Saturday at the Zozo Championship that the annual Champions Dinner is still a go.  Woods, who won his fifth green jacket two Aprils ago, said the plan is to hold the dinner on Nov. 10, in its usual Tuesday night slot during Masters week. The dinner, though, will be relocated to downstairs in the iconic clubhouse, so they have more room to socially distance.”
  • “I think we’re not going to get a lot of the past champions coming because obviously they’re at the at-risk age,” Woods said. “It’s going to be a shame, but this is unlike any times we’ve ever had in the past, so we’ve got to do what we can do to obviously have the traditions that we’d like to have but also maintain safety guidelines.”
3. Can Tiger rediscover his 2019 Masters form?
He’s not exactly on pace to, writes ESPN’s Bob Harig…“The lead-up to the Masters in 2019 saw Woods play five times in the three months prior to the tournament, with his best result a tie for fifth at the WGC-Match Play. He was not a back-nine contender at the Farmers Insurance Open (20th), the Genesis Invitational (15th) or the WGC-Mexico Championship (10th)”
  • “But those results were far better than what we’ve seen since in the post-shutdown events. Woods’ best tournament was a tie for 37th at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut at the U.S. Open. In each of the six tournaments he played, Woods was never closer than 8 shots through 36 holes.”
  • “At least he showed some flashes at the first five events, where he gained strokes on the field in approach to the green. But even that aspect of his game was off at Sherwood, where he was near the bottom of the field.”
  • “And not much else was very good. Woods was 70th in the 77-player field in strokes gained off the tee; 71st in stroke gained tee to green; 55th in proximity to the hole; 21st in strokes gained around the green; and 65th in strokes gained putting.”
4. Shackelford’s ZOZO observations
An interesting point among many other of note…including the “funerary” milieu at Sherwood…The Sunday range scene was…intense. If you ignored the lack of fans and just watched players warm up, you sensed big money, a nice title and pre-Masters momentum was on the line. Matthew Wolff and instructor George Gankas engaged in a spirited putting lesson up to his tee time. And I mean, right up to his tee time. Eventual winner Patrick Cantlay’s instructor Jamie Mulligan was shuttling from his Virginia Country Club member-guest duties to keep a watchful eye on his student. The overall intensity seemed like the old days, minus too many range volunteers and agents blocking your view.”
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5. Pagdanganan just missed averaging 300 yards off the tee at the LPGA Drive On Championship
Golf Digest’s Keely Levins…“She’s averaging 288.8 yards for the season, besting fellow bombers Maria Fassi (282.2 yards) and Anne van Dam (281.8 yards) to lead the tour. But at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee, Pagdanganan was hitting it far-even for her.  According to the tour, Pagdanganan’s longest drive of the week came during Saturday’s third round, when she hit her tee shot on the 18th hole 317 yards. She had an iron into the green with her second shot, while others had to lay up on the closing par 5.”
6. I’d be honored….
Golf.com’s Nick Piastowski on a truly bizarre/spectacular moment in the history of golf on television.
  • “As Thomas got ready to swing during Saturday’s third round of the Zozo Championship, Dion began to sing. A home near the 18th turned the speaker dial as far right as it would go. Then it dialed up the last stanza of the song.”
  • “You’re here, there’s nothing I fear”
  • “And anybody that can hit a shot through Celine Dion music coming from one of the nearby houses, it’s big,” announcer Dan Hicks said on the Golf Channel broadcast.
  • “And I know that my heart will go on”
7. Vandals hit Ontario course
If you live North of the border and have any information, help the folks at Lake St. George Golf Club out…
  • CTV Kim Phillips…”Provincial police in Orillia are asking for the public’s help to find the culprit who caused thousands of dollars in damage to a Severn Township golf course.  Police say someone drove a vehicle onto the Lake St. George Golf Club on South Sparrow Lake Road in Washago, ripping through the fairways and greens over the weekend.  According to its Facebook page, this is the first time in the club’s 40 years that anything like this has happened.”
8. The possible other side of the golf gambling coin
George Peper for Links with a cautionary scenario…“Consider two big differences between golf and arena sports such as football and baseball. Number one is the proximity of the gallery to the players, and number two is the absence of loud “white” noise. We’ve all watched telecasts punctuated by yahoos yelling “Baba Booey.” Consider what might happen if one of those liquored-up clowns has a big bet on the line.”
  • “The Tour currently deals with such incidents by escorting the offender off the course, but there’s no way to prevent such an incident from occurring-especially if the disturbance is caused not by a stumbling drunk with a $100 bet but a deadly serious shark with a lot to gain.”
  • “Let’s say there’s a professional gambler, a shady character, who has placed a big bet on a player to win The Players Championship and stands to reap a seven-figure payout if it happens. And let’s say his horse is now in the clubhouse with the winning score and just one player has a chance to tie him, if he can sink a three-foot putt on the final green. Shady, in order to protect his bet, has hired a stooge who is standing beside the green. As the player takes his putter back, Stooge fires a blast from an air horn.”
  • “The ball never hits the hole. Stooge goes to jail for a week and pays a $50,000 fine, a pittance compared to the fee he receives from Shady, who is the big winner. The big loser is golf.”
9. Sawgrass turns 40: Some or the real beneficiaries are tour pros…
Cameron Morfit for PGATour.com…“TPC courses have hosted more than 400 professional tournaments, with the rent-free venues allowing for bigger purses and charitable donations…”
  • “It’s those world-class players, though, who may have the most to celebrate. For them, the TPCs are a lot more than a bucket-list destination. They’re a lifeblood; a top-quality driving range, an impeccably groomed course (or two), a place to find a game or just a putting contest. For them, it’s hard to overstate the importance of former TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman’s totally revolutionary “Stadium Golf” invention those many moons ago.”
  • “It’s home,” said 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel, who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach and practices at TPC Sawgrass, where his coach, Todd Anderson, is Director of Instruction at the PGA TOUR Performance Center. “It’s been a great place to practice, to get better.”
  • “About 77 professionals from the six PGA TOUR-owned-and-operated tours play out of TPC Sawgrass…”

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Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

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How much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship

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2 weeks ago

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May 18, 2026

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Aaron Rai upset the odds to win his first major championship on Sunday at Aronimink, firing a final round of 5-under par to see off his competitors and claim the winner’s check for $3,690,000.

Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley were the best of the chasing pack, with both men sharing runner-up spot which was good enough for each to receive a check for $1,804,000.

With a total prize purse of $20.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship.

Players who missed the PGA Championship cut each received $4,300 each.

1: Aaron Rai, $3,690,000

T2 : Jon Rahm, $1,804,000

T2 : Alex Smalley, $1,804,000

T4: Justin Thomas, $843,866

T4: Ludvig Aberg, $843,866

T4: Matti Schmid, $843,866

T7: Cameron Smith, $637,050

T7: Rory McIlroy, $637,050

T7: Xander Schauffele, $637,050

T10: Kurt Kitayama, $496,707

T10: Chris Gotterup, $496,707

T10: Justin Rose, $496,707

T10: Patrick Reed, $496,707

T14: Matt Fitzpatrick, $364,762

T14: Scottie Scheffler, $364,762

T14: Max Greyserman, $364,762

T14: Ben Griffin, $364,762

T18: Maverick McNealy, $229,128

T18: Jordan Spieth, $229,128

T18: Stephan Jaeger, $229,128

T18: Padraigh Harrington, $229,128

T18: David Puig, $229,128

T18: Harris English, $229,128

T18: Min Woo Lee, $229,128

T18: Joaquin Niemann, $229,128

T26: Nick Taylor, $125,523

T26: Alex Noren, $125,523

T26: Cameron Young, $125,523

T26: Andrew Novak, $125,523

T-26: Daniel Hiller, $125,523

T26: Tom Hoge, $125,523

T26: Sam Burns, $125,523

T26: Hideki Matsuyama, $125,523

T26: Bud Cauley, $125,523

T35: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $78,805

T35: Patrick Cantlay, $78,805

T35: Ryo Hisatsune, $78,805

T35: Daniel Berger, $78,805

T35: Ryan Fox, $78,805

T35: Haotong Li, $78,805

T35: Aldrich Potgieter, $78,805

T35: Si Woo Kim, $78,805

T35: Martin Kaymer, $78,805

T44: Chris Kirk, $53,743

T44: Matt Wallace, $53,743

T44: Shane Lowry, $53,743

T44: Jhonattan Vegas, $53,743

T44: Denny McCarthy, $53,743

T44: Chandler Blachet, $53,743

T44: Taylor Pendrith, $53,743

T44: Dustin Johnson, $53,743

T44: Nicolai Hojgaard, $53,743

T44: Michael Kim, $53,743

T44: Kristoffer Reitan, $53,743

T55: Collin Morikawa, $34,186

T55: Corey Conners, $34,186

T55: Andrew Putnam, $34,186

T55: Brooks Koepka, $34,186

T55: Mikael Lindberg, $34,186

T60: Sami Valimaki, $29,218

T60: Sahith Theegala, $29,218

T60: Rico Hoey, $29,218

T60: Rickie Fowler, $29,218

T60: Brian Harman, $29,218

T65: Casey Jarvis, $26,900

T65: Jason Day, $26,900

T65: Rasmus Hojgaard, $26,900

T65: Keith Mitchell, $26,900

T65: Sam Stevens, $26,900

T70: Luke Donald, $25,070

T70: Ryan Gerard, $25,070

T70: John Parry, $25,070

T70: William Mouw, $25,070

T70: Kazuki Higa, $25,070

T75: Elvis Smylie, $24,158

T75: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, $24,158

T75: Alex Fitzpatrick, $24,158

T75: Daniel Brown, $24,158

79: John Keefer, $23,970

80: Ben Kern, $23,930

81: Michael Brennan, $23,910

82: Brian Campebll, $23,900

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