| By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.
For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com
Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the Wyndham Championship where players will have one last chance to punch their ticket to the playoffs. |
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1. Tiger joining PGA Tour Policy Board
SI’s Bob Harig…”Tiger Woods is joining the PGA Tour Policy Board as a sixth director and will work with commissioner Jay Monahan to assure that players have a say in all decisions going forward.”
- “The move is apparently in response to the secret agreement that Monahan and two board members made with the DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.”
- “The “framework agreement,” announced June 6, caught players by surprise in light of the yearlong fight against LIV Golf. In its announcement Tuesday, the Tour said players will have the final say on any changes from the agreement.”
- “Woods, who had surgery on his right foot following the Masters, has said nothing publicly about the agreement. According to the announcement, Woods is being added to the board, which will give players six seats. There are five independent directors.”
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3. Rahm on PIF-PGA Tour deal
Our Matt Vincenzi…”This week, Jon Rahm appeared on the “Golf Sin Etiquetas” podcast, which is in Spanish. As translated by “handicap_54” on Twitter, Rahm said he believes “LIV will continue””
- “2 minutes before the announcement came out someone from the PGA Tour contacted me and told me everything. I thought it was a joke. And this is what they should have done from the beginning. Instead they generated division then decided to come together again… “I hope they reach an agreement. I think LIV will continue, from what I understand when I talked to their players, none of them intend to return to the PGA Tour. They left for a reason.”
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4. Bryan vs. Bryan
Ed Carruthers for Golf Monthly…”The duo, who are well known for their YouTube channel ‘Bryan Bros Golf’, both carded rounds of 66 at Bermuda Run Country Club in North Carolina.”
- “With only four play-off spots up for grabs and a quintet of players tied at five-under par, the pair went head-to-head in a thrilling playoff.”
- “With Hank Lebioda and Joey Lane already booking their place at the final PGA Tour event of the regular season, Tommy Gainey, John Lyras, Ricky Palonis and the Bryan brothers would battle it out to join them.”
- “Ultimately, only two would make it through, with George narrowly falling short as his brother, Wesley and Gainey advanced through from the playoff.”
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5. Bubble boys
A few on the outside looking in, as assembled by Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…
- “Justin Suh…FedExCup position: 77…Why he’s in this position: Stagnant summer. Following a T-6 finish at The Players, Suh jumped to a season-best No. 61 in points. He’s missed just one cut in 14 starts since, but he also has just two top-25s during that span. He does rank No. 12 on Tour in strokes gained putting, so he’ll need to rely heavily on the flatstick at Sedgefield if he wants to keep his season going.”
- “Minimum finish needed: Two-way tie for 19th…Finish needed without help: Solo third or better”
- “Justin Thomas…FedExCup position: 79…Why he’s in this position: Ball-striking. Prior to this season, Thomas ranked in the top 5 in strokes gained tee to green for seven straight seasons. He’s been third or better in each of the past six. Right now, he’s No. 25, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you combine that drop with being No. 158 in strokes gained putting, it explains why Thomas has struggled. His missed cut at 3M was his fifth in his past seven starts.”
- “Minimum finish needed: Solo 18th…Finish needed without help: Solo third or better”
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6. Behind the scenes of Barstool’s KFT broadcast
Kevin Prise for PGATour.com…”??Then the show’s lead analyst, Sam “Riggs” Bozoian of Barstool Sports’ Fore Play golf brand, glances to his right. Riggs gazes across an eclectic mix of PGA TOUR Entertainment and Barstool Sports staffers – co-producing four-day competition coverage of the NV5 Invitational at The Glen Club in Chicagoland – and he locks eyes on Francis Ellis, a stand-up comedian and Barstool regular who was originally penciled as the third member of the 18th hole tower, alongside Riggs and play-by-play man Jake Marsh.”
- “The key word there: Penciled.”
- “You’re a better roamer,” Riggs tells Ellis.
- “After quick chatter, the group agrees. Ellis will become an on-course reporter, swapping roles with Kirk Minihane, a longtime Boston-area sports radio personality who now hosts Barstool’s Kirk Minihane Show. He lives and breathes golf – he can readily inform you of Fred Couples’ most recent result on PGA TOUR Champions – and co-hosts a golf gambling show with Riggs.”
- “Minihane was first slotted for an on-course role, but the production meeting’s chatter sparked a vision in Riggs’ mind. It’s the Barstool way, really. On the fly, unscripted. See where it goes.”
- “We might move the guys around,” sells it short.
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7. LIV gets into the fantasy biz
From a press release…”LIV Golf has announced the launch of a free-to-play fantasy game, LIV Golf Fantasy, designed to engage fans and create deeper connections with the new golf league, its teams and players.”
- “Fans around the globe can now join a public league or create their own, strategically pick “their team” out of LIV Golf’s star-studded 2023 roster of players, and follow the action for a chance to climb the global leaderboard and win prizes like exclusive event access, tickets and merchandise. Game play continues throughout the LIV Golf League season with prizes at stake for both individual event and season-long competition, with season-long odds favoring players who play every event.”
- “LIV Golf’s new fantasy game is another way to deliver on a core focus of our league: bringing new audiences to the sport through fun, creative opportunities that engage with fans around the world,” said LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman. “We are just scratching the surface on the possibilities with team golf, and building fantasy teams with the game’s biggest stars is a natural tie-in for fans who love the thrill of team sports and competing with each other.”
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8. Villegas to make booth debut
Adam Schupak for Golfweek…”Former Wyndham Championship winner Camilo Villegas will make his broadcast debut this week on Golf Channel’s coverage of the PGA Tour event in Greensboro, North Carolina. Villegas, a 41-year-old four-time Tour winner who ranks 223rd in the FedEx Cup standings, will work in the booth as the main analyst alongside host Steve Sands.”
- “Last year, Sands served as emcee at Villegas’s charity golf tournament, a fundraiser for Mia’s Miracles, when Sands told him he thought he could have a bright future doing golf commentary on TV. Sands wondered, “Would you like to do a week and see how it goes?”
- “Villegas looked Sands straight in the eyes and told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t interested.”
- “As a competitor, as a golfer, you never want to be done. When you start looking somewhere else and you’re 41 and you haven’t been performing, that was my first reaction,” Villegas explained.”
- “But after giving it some thought, the former University of Florida golfer and Colombia native called Sands back and apologized for his knee-jerk reaction.”
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9. Photos from the Wyndham Championship
Check out all of our galleries here! |
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