For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Friday morning, golf fans, as winds wreaked havoc overnight at the ZOZO Championship.

1. Hossler leads in blustery conditions

ESPN report…”Beau Hossler shot a 5-under 65 to grab a one-shot lead after Friday’s second round of the Zozo Championship, beating wind gusts that reached 37 mph and drying conditions at the Narashino Country Club on the outskirts of Tokyo.

• “Hossler, looking for his first PGA Tour victory, surprised himself and the rest of the 78-player, no-cut field where only 13 broke par. Half did in Thursday’s opening round under calmer conditions.”

• “I’d say anything under par was a really quality score,” Hossler said. “So to shoot 5-under par was incredible.”

2. Mickelson: There’s a lot going on behind the scenes of OWGR point battle

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…“The recent news that the Official World Golf Ranking had rejected LIV Golf’s application for points has only stoked the flames of his fiery personality, and the 53-year-old opened up about his thoughts on the ruling ahead of the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship on Wednesday at Trump National Doral.”

• “I think that the majors need to protect their product, and there’s probably other ways that they can do that by creating slots,” said Mickelson, joining the chorus of players like Bryson DeChambeau who want majors to create LIV exemptions. “If they want to make sure they have the best fields in golf, they could create vehicles for players on LIV to play in majors where they don’t have to use the OWGR, which would undermine the TV contract and revenue of the PGA Tour if they gave points to LIV.”

• “But I do want to bring to light as to why exactly they are doing what they are doing. It’s not what they are putting out there on the front page,” Mickelson said of the OWGR. “There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes as to the importance of us to the getting points to the PGA Tour.”

3. Mickelson’s take on LIV qualifying

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Players who are eligible to participate in round one include: Players who ranked #6-#32 on the Asian Tour’s International Series’ Order of Merit, the U.S. Amateur Champion, the British Amateur Champion, the Latin-American Amateur Champion, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion, the European Amateur Champion, the Top-200 from the OWGR and the Top-20 from the WAGR.”

• “However, according to Phil Mickelson, plenty of LIV spots may be taken before the event even takes place.”

• “While at his pre-tournament press conference for LIV Miami, which is a team event and the final tournament of the season, Phil was asked about replacing the players who’ve been relegated, including his teammate, James Piot.”

• “But the reality is, I’ve been fielding calls, as we all have, from players that are free agents to PGA TOUR players to DP World Tour players that want to come over. You know, the spot’s probably going to be filled by the time the qualifying tournament is here.”

• “So, if I’m just being truthful, that’s a very real possibility. And even if it is filled, there’s always the possibility of a trade to get him back. There are ways this could work out. But I think there’s a good chance based on the number of calls that we’ve had that the spot will be filled fairly soon.”

4. Morikawa’s sushi dreams come true

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…”Collin Morikawa is of Japanese heritage and has traveled to the homeland of his ancestors before, but his trip to compete in the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship in Chiba, Japan, began with a special treat – dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro, the first sushi restaurant in the world to receive three stars from the Michelin Guide, where the omakase tasting menu is served at the counter with just 10 seats and is determined in the morning each day by famed chef Jiro Ono, whose story was made famous in the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”

• “I almost don’t want to have sushi again because it was that special,” Morikawa said during a pre-tournament press conference Wednesday. “Chef Jiro was actually making the sushi for us, which made it even that much more special. Just being able to get that reservation, going there, sitting down. … you have about 30 minutes to eat the food. Man, I don’t know how to explain it other than it just being an incredible experience and an honor to be there sitting in front of him and witnessing just talent, right? It’s artwork.”

5. Brooks goes at Wolff again

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Earlier this week, Brooks Koepka took a shot at his Smash GC teammate Matthew Wolff, saying there is only three players on the team.”

• “There’s only three of us on our team. I mean, obviously, I’m pretty tight with my brother, and I’ve been pretty close with Jay for maybe the last three years.

• “I’ve enjoyed being around him. He’s a good player, super talented. It’s been fun to be around him, and [Kokrak] played pretty solidly this year. Yeah, I can’t say anything bad about him.”

• “On Wednesday at his pre-tournament press conference, Koepka was asked if he’s had much interaction with Wolff recently.”

• “No, I don’t. We don’t have much interaction, no,” the five-time major winner replied.

• Brooks was then asked, “Don’t you think you should?”

• “I’ve tried. I’ve spent majority of the beginning of the year trying to help and trying to figure that out. But I think it’s past its point. I’ve tried. I’ve been very open on it — with it, and sometimes you can’t help people that don’t want help.”

6. Norman speaks on claims he could be ousted

Adam Woodard for Golfweek…”Greg Norman hasn’t spoken publicly since the shocking announcement of the framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund back in June.”

• “It was fitting for the Great White Shark to resurface at this week’s LIV Golf Team Championship, held at Trump National Doral where Norman was a three-time winner in 1990, 1993 and 1996 (he lights up talking about his playoff win in 1990). In a small session with reporters, Norman talked about the future of LIV Golf and addressed the swirling rumors of his long-term position as CEO and commissioner of the upstart circuit.”

• “I knew it wasn’t true,” Norman said of claims he wouldn’t have a position in the wake of the congressional hearings regarding the framework agreement. “There’s so much white noise running around out there, I paid very, very, I actually paid zero attention to it. I know sitting in this seat today, I know every step I’ve made has been for the right reasons, right reasons for the game of golf … So I was never in any fear of anybody saying anything or any animus against me or anything like that. Because the business model works.”

7. Newest TGL team

GolfWRX staff…Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala, who played key roles in the Golden State Warriors’ success over the past decade, have joined Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL league with their team, TGL San Francisco.

The ownership group of TGL San Francisco includes Marc Lasry, former Milwaukee Bucks owner and chair of Avenue Sports Group. Marc Lasry and Steph Curry are the primary owners, while Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala are additional investors in the TGL San Francisco team.

The indoor golf league, TGL, is set to begin on January 9, 2024, and will be broadcast on ESPN. TGL features 24 players across six teams, and matches will be held at the SoFi Center in South Florida.

8. Brooks: I signed for the dough

Ben Parsons for Bunkered… “The five-time major champion told the BS w/ Jake Paul Podcast that the real reason he defected from the PGA Tour for the lucrative Saudi-backed league was “for the dough.”

• “Look, I’ll be honest with you – I signed for the dough,” he revealed. “I’m 100% behind that. I don’t know if tomorrow I’ll get in a car accident and never play golf again but my family is taken care of.

• “That was a big thing for me, not doing it for anything else. Everybody else, they go to their 9-5, most of them don’t like their 9-5 but they’re doing it cos they get the paycheck. That’s the same thing as us. I enjoy playing golf, I enjoy winning – I’d say I’d do it for free because I love it that much, but at the same time you’ve got to take care of each other.”

9. Hole-in-one…and an etiquette violation?