For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we return from a brief hiatus.

It’s the middle of a week in which so-called Five Family infighting regarding the MLR is narrowly outpacing major and amateur championships on the women’s side and the FedEx Cup Playoffs on the  men’s, at least according to my Twitter timeline. (Also: To the delight of Gen Z, Phil and Bryson are teeing it up on YouTube for “straight cash, just so we’re clear.”) In one corner, it’s the folks from Far Hills and the scions of St. Andrews. In the other, it’s the PGA of every variety (Tour! Of America! Of Everywhere Else!). And what’s this…by God, that’s Fred Ridley’s music! Just kidding. It’s not. Not yet. He’s still behind the curtain. Things remain close to the vest beneath green jackets down in Georgia.

Morning 9 Exclusive…Reports indicate the USGA may abandon golf ball regulation and instead is turning its blue-blazered attention to the shaft. Hello hickory? Fujikura Ventus Brown 1 X? We’ll see. Just kidding. That is NOT true. Don’t email me. Just an attempt to illustrate the, eh, uniqueness of our beloved game. Imagine the NBA fans fixating on hoop height or NFL enthusiasts lobbying for an increase in ball size because Mahomes and Allen are throwing it too far…NOT during the off-season, when there’s a shortage of fodder, but when the dance card is plenty full. Alas, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anyway, on (rare) occasions, I like to flex my typing fingers to make sure they haven’t atrophied entirely. I do appreciate the indulgence. On to the news, as reported by better minds than mine.

Via Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine rounds up a few…”The PGA Tour released its 2024 schedule on Monday afternoon, unveiling a slate that includes four majors, The Players, three playoff events and eight other signature events. The fields for those signature events will be determined a few ways, but the pass into all of them comes with qualifying for this year’s BMW Championship.”

• “That’s why Sunday in Memphis could be very, very thrilling.”

• “Notables outside the current top 50 and teeing it up at TPC Southwind include Davis Riley (54), Hideki Matsuyama (57), Keith Mitchell (58), Matt Kuchar (60) and last-man-in Ben Griffin (70). Nick Hardy sits right at No. 50 while Cam Young (48), Tom Hoge (46) and J.T. Poston (45) are close to the top-50 bubble entering the week.”

Kikue Higuchi for LPGA.com…”While there’s plenty of talent in the field, Boutier will most certainly be the player to beat this week. After capturing her first major on home soil, she jumped right back into the winner’s circle at the FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open presented by Trust Golf, becoming the first player to win back-to-back events since Jin Young Ko did so in 2021. Boutier is also the first player to win both a major and the subsequent tournament since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016. The 29-year-old is the first player to reach three wins this season, having won the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain in March. Now at No. 4 in the Rolex Rankings, Boutier leads both the Race to CME Globe and the Rolex Player of the Year standings with her three wins and three additional top-10 finishes. In the last two weeks, Boutier has shot in the 60s in seven of her eight rounds played and is a cumulative 29-under. The Frenchwoman has clearly hit her stride and is riding a serious wave of momentum that will likely put her in contention again this week at Walton Heath.”

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”In his first official player meeting since taking a leave because of a medical situation in June, Monahan is sure to take heat from the membership on a variety of topics – including the framework agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and next year’s schedule, which was announced Monday.”

• “Since the commissioner took his leave, there has been speculation that he might not be able to keep his job amid growing player discontent over the agreement with the PIF, but on Tuesday, Monahan was given a vote of confidence from world No. 3 Jon Rahm.”

• “He should have the opportunity right now to finish this off the way he did,” Rahm said. “We’re quickly forgetting how well he managed a lot of things. He did an amazing job in COVID and kept a lot of people employed.”

Golf Digest’s Tod Leonard…”In a move that could have significant implications for the USGA and R&A proposal to roll back golf ball distance at the elite level, the World Alliance of PGAs has asked the governing bodies to indefinitely halt its march toward the changes.”

• “In a memo obtained by Golf Channel and signed by PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, the alliance—which includes nine PGAs from around the world—wrote, “We strongly believe in the need to completely scope out all unintended consequences before the introduction of any significant change. Whilst many aspects have been considered we are worried that the proposed changes will have far reaching implications for our game.”

• “The USGA and R&A announced in March a proposed Model Local Rule that would limit golf ball distance for elite competition beginning in January 2026. Recreational golfers would not be affected, but the proposal stirred a strong and divided debate about whether having different balls for elite players and everyday golfers was good for the game.”

Our Matt Vincenzi…”With all of the drama surrounding the PGA Tour at the moment, it’s no surprise that some minor accommodations for the players have gotten lost in the shuffle.”

• “According to Jon Rahm, the PGA Tour events could use a few more bathrooms scattered throughout the golf course.”

• “I can tell you right now, my priorities are a lot lower than what a lot of people would think. I know this is going to sound very stupid, but as simple as having a freakin’ porta potty on every hole. I know it sounds crazy, but I can’t choose when I have to go to the bathroom. I’ve told the tour this many times.”

Cameron Jourdan for Golfweek…”Briana Chacon did something Tuesday morning that no golfer in the history of the U.S. Women’s Amateur has ever accomplished.”

• She finished stroke play at 9-under 131, a gross scoring record in the championship. In the 122 editions of the event before this year, no golfer has ever shot better than 133 in the 36-hole stroke-play format. During the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club, Chacon rewrote the record books.

• Chacon, a fifth-year player at Oregon, will be the top seed in match play, which begins Wednesday morning. Ole Miss fifth-year Andrea Lignell had a chance to tie Chacon with a par on the 18th hole, but she made double bogey after hitting her tee shot in a fairway bunker. Lignell was 7 under before the blunder, but she carded a 5-under 65 on Tuesday.

Ben Fleming for Golf Monthly…”Rose Zhang may be set to compete in her fourth Major as a professional at the AIG Women’s Open but the young American revealed she still wants to balance her golf with her studies and plans to return to college later this year.”

• “After a stellar amateur career, Zhang announced her intentions to turn professional in May, making headlines again just weeks later when she became the first woman in 72 years to win on her LPGA Tour debut with a playoff victory at the Mizuho Americas Open.”

• “But despite her meteoric rise in the professional game, Zhang still intends to see out the rest of her Stanford education, having turned pro midway through her communications degree.”

• “In the winter I’ll be going back to the beautiful campus and seeing my friends and being in that environment of going to class and hanging out with the team,” she said at a pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday.”

• “I’ll be stacking up classes in the winter quarter. Potentially taking some classes in the spring quarter, and then continuing on to continue playing golf and playing on Tour.”

James Nursey for Golf Monthly…”PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has held a player meeting to face up to fresh questions over future plans amid the shock resignation of a high-ranking official.”

• “Monahan held his first player meeting on Tuesday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship since taking a leave of absence in June for a health problem. The meeting gave pros like Rickie Fowler a chance to grill Monahan on the latest on plans to set-up a new partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which backs rival LIV Golf.”

• “The scheduled discussion took place just after players were informed via email that Andy Pazder, the tour’s chief tournaments and competitions officer, had resigned.”

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