Morning 9: Scheduling difficulties | Ko, swing coach split | Good job but still too poor to play golf?

Published

7 years ago

May 1, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt (ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com)

May 1, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans.

1. How to schedule…

…around the first majors of the year, under the new calendar?…it’s a question pros are asking and dealing with in different ways.

Doug Ferguson on the topic, after mentioning Tiger Woods will be out of action between the Masters and PGA….

“That schedule also fits Justin Thomas, the No. 5 player in the world who pulled out of Quail Hollow as a precaution because of a wrist injury. Bryson DeChambeau is not on the list to play next week in Dallas, meaning he also will go a month between majors.”

“Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world, played at Hilton Head the week after the Masters and is likely to have three weeks off before the PGA Championship unless he decides to add Dallas at the last minute. Ditto for Francesco Molinari and Xander Schauffele.”

“Rose and Rory McIlroy are playing only at Quail Hollow between the majors, and Rickie Fowler appears to have the same plan.”

Full piece.

2. Team Ko-Oh no more

Golf Channel’s Randall Mell…”Ko told GolfChannel.com Tuesday that she has parted ways with Ted Oh.”

“We just mutually decided it was time,” Ko said. “We ended on good terms.”

“I have a lot to thank Ted…He gave me a really solid blueprint, simplifying my swing. I think he showed me a more efficient way, and I thank him for that.”

“Ko and Oh shared an emotional moment after he helped her break through to win the Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced last year, ending Ko’s nearly two-year victory drought. They were both in tears hugging after she hit an epic 3-wood to 2 feet and made eagle to win on the first playoff hole. That’s also Ko’s last victory. She is defending that title without a coach this week.”

Full piece.

3. Moon landing

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard with this quote from Seth Waugh, PGA of America CEO…

“Obviously Tiger has impact, sort of the moon landing. It’s not golf; it’s where were you when, kind of stuff,” said Waugh of the PGA’s move to May on the PGA Tour calendar. “The impact immediately afterwards was extraordinary in terms of ticket sales.”

“We absolutely now know that the fan base will be cranked up and we hope that it will have the same effect that he had his first go-around on participation,” he said. “That’s really what we’re all about, and hopefully we can ride not only the wave and excitement about watching him play, but others wanting to play.”

Full piece.

4. Bulldozing for a cause

Bill Speros at Golfweek with a heckuva story…

“Chris Harris has spent a quarter of a century buying out each lot on a blighted and deserted city block at the near 41st Street and Wayne Ave. His goal was to clear the area and use the land for a “pitch-and-putt” course in the part of the city in which he was raised.”

“The home Harris grew up in was the final one standing. It was torn down Monday to make space for another green and six more tees at the Harris Park Sports and Activity Center.”

“Big Brothers, Big Sisters and The First Tee of Greater Kansas City have all worked with Harris to help him bring his dream of golf to the inner-city community.”

“I just felt like in the neighborhood, I didn’t have the opportunity to get up, come outside and play the game of golf,” Harris told WNEP. “I really do believe that if we have the opportunity in the neighborhood, there will be a lot more people playing the game of golf. I think golf is accessible to us as well. My goal is to make sure I come out here and take care of this golf course, make it beautiful. Make the beautification that helps the neighborhood, gives the kids another opportunity to get scholarships. It can open so many other doors along with other sports.”

Full piece.

5. TW (and other pros) offer uplifting messages…

Helen Ross at PGATour.com relays a touching story. And really, this stuff happens much more than we hear about with tour pros, but that doesn’t make it any less notable…

“Varner had asked Woods if he would send a message to encourage a childhood friend who is battling stage IV colon cancer. On Wednesday, the eve of the Masters, the video finally arrived.

“It’s just giving me chills right now just how it went down,” Varner said Tuesday before he headed out to practice in advance of the Wells Fargo Championship.

“Varner sent the video to his friend, Daniel Meggs, who played two years at Wake Forest and later found his calling as a teaching pro at TPC Piper Glen. He was, as you can imagine, thrilled by the message.”
“He sent the greatest reply ever — he said, ‘Well, I can die now,” Varner recalled. “We’re laughing. He’s like, ‘No, man, it’s really cool. I needed this.'”

Full piece.

It’s safe to say everyone in the golfverse sends their best wishes to Mr. Meggs (pictured above). Thoughts and prayers.

7. Rose failed to bloom

Justin Rose on how he prepared for Augusta (where he missed the cut) and alterations to pre-major work going forward…

Steve DiMeglio for Golfweek…”I got my preparation a little bit wrong,” said Rose, who stands at No. 2 in the world after Dustin Johnson reclaimed the top spot. “I took a month off in February and that was designed to really freshen me up going into Augusta and for the rest of the season. I came out of that month not playing as well as I would have hoped, and the Florida swing became a bit of a struggle and a bit of a grind.”

“I was always just sort of fighting my game a little bit, and then it’s like you’re sort of cramming for an exam,” Rose said. “I started to practice harder than I would have liked in the days leading up to Augusta.”

“It all felt like it was a really long run-up. I think by Tuesday I felt pretty good with my game and then by Thursday I tanked a little bit,” Rose said. “I think the flow of the run-up this year, the preparation didn’t really click. And because of that, you know, ultimately, I kind of burned out a little bit too quick.”

Full piece.

8. Am I too poor to play golf?

Brian Zimmerli (with Joel Beall) for Golf Digest…

“Eighty dollars is about the average weekend rate for the three public golf courses closest to me, one of which is a city-run venue. That’s just for the tee time; if I want to grab a hot dog and Coke at the turn, or a couple drinks after the round, add another $20. Forget hobby; at those prices, golf really is an addiction.”

“I have a stable income with my family’s business, and I’m good at it, too, recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 in my industry. My wife has a steady job as well. At first glance, we shouldn’t have to think twice about our recreation budget. However, we own a home, have car and school payments, and are saving to start a family-realities most young couples face. That we reside in Connecticut, one of the most expensive states for living in the country, doesn’t help. In short, dropping $80 for 18 holes is a difficult decision for me.”

“And this…”Am I too poor to play golf? That’s not self-pity; my friends-all relatively in the same tax bracket-discuss it as well. I know I’m well off compared to a lot of people, but golf makes me question that.”

Full piece.

9. Harsh lessons

Cameron Morfit explores the lessons of losing on the PGA Tour…

“Tiger Woods made a quadruple-bogey 8 and four-putted on the way to losing the 1996 Quad City Classic (now the John Deere Classic) to rumpled journeyman Ed “The Grip” Fiori. This, after Woods had held the solo 54-hole lead.”

“Three weeks later, Woods got his first PGA TOUR win.”

“It should have come at Quad City,” he said after winning the Las Vegas Invitational, where in his fifth pro start he dispatched Davis Love III in a playoff. “I learned a lot from that.”

Full piece.

Testing Lorem Ipsum

Published

14 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Pro Shop

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

Jon Rahm +1300
Cameron Young +1500
Bryson DeChambeau +1700
Xander Schauffele +1850
Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
Ludvig Aberg +2000
Tommy Fleetwood +2600
Collin Morikawa +3500
Brooks Koepka +3900
Justin Rose +4300
Russell Henley +4600
Si Woo Kim +4700
Justin Thomas +4800
Robert MacIntyre +5300
Patrick Cantlay +5300
Viktor Hovland +5400
Tyrrell Hatton +5500
Jordan Spieth +5900
Sam Burns +6000
Hideki Matsuyama +6200
Adam Scott +6400
Rickie Fowler +7000
Chris Gotterup +7400
Patrick Reed +7400
Min Woo Lee +7800
Ben Griffin +8000
Sepp Straka +8400
Shane Lowry +9000
Akshay Bhatia +9200
Maverick McNealy +9200
Joaquin Niemann +9200
Jake Knapp +9200
Jason Day +9600
Kurt Kitayama +10000
J.J. Spaun +10000
Harris English +10500
Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
Gary Woodland +11000
David Puig +11000
Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
Jacob Bridgeman +12000
Keegan Bradley +12500
Corey Conners +14000
Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
Sungjae Im +15500
Sahith Theegala +15500
Harry Hall +15500
Alex Noren +16000
Thomas Detry +16500
Marco Penge +16500
Kristoffer Reitan +17000
Alex Smalley +17000
Wyndham Clark +17500
Sam Stevens +17500
Keith Mitchell +17500
Daniel Berger +18500
Ryan Gerard +20000
Nick Taylor +20000
Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
Dustin Johnson +21000
Pierceson Coody +23000
Aaron Rai +24000
Jordan Smith +24000
Angel Ayora +24000
Bud Cauley +25000
Matt McCarty +26000
Jayden Schaper +26000
Brian Harman +27000
Taylor Pendrith +27000
Ryan Fox +27000
J.T. Poston +27000
Cameron Smith +29000
Ryo Hisatsune +29000
Michael Kim +29000
Max Homa +29000
Denny McCarthy +29000
Tom McKibbin +30000
Rico Hoey +32000
Matt Wallace +32500
Ricky Castillo +33000
Haotong Li +33000
Michael Brennan +34000
Max Greyserman +36000
Stephan Jaeger +37500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
Aldrich Potgieter +40000
Andrew Novak +42000
Patrick Rodgers +42500
Daniel Hillier +42500
Max McGreevy +46000
Billy Horschel +48000
Chris Kirk +48000
Ian Holt +49000
Casey Jarvis +49000
William Mouw +50000
Steven Fisk +50000
John Parry +50000
Nico Echavarria +52500
Garrick Higgo +52500
John Keefer+55000
Matthias Schmid +57500
Austin Smotherman +57500
Sami Valimaki +60000
Andrew Putnam +60000
Lucas Glover +62500
Daniel Brown +62500
Jhonattan Vegas +75000
Emiliano Grillo +80000
Mikael Lindberg +85000
Adrien Saddier +100000
Bernd Wiesberger +100000
Elvis Smylie +110000
Stewart Cink +130000
Kota Kaneko +130000
David Lipsky +150000
Chandler Blanchet +150000
Andy Sullivan +150000
Joe Highsmith +180000
Adam Schenk +200000
Travis Smyth +200000
Davis Riley +225000
Martin Kaymer +400000
Brian Campbell +400000
Padraig Harrington +450000
Kazuki Higa +450000
Jordan Gumberg +450000
Ryan Vermeer +500000
Austin Hurt +500000
Tyler Collet +500000
Timothy Wiseman +500000
Shaun Micheel +500000
Y.E. Yang +500000
Michael Block+500000
Mark Geddes+500000
Luke Donald+500000
Bryce Fisher+500000
Jimmy Walker +500000
Jason Dufner +500000
Jesse Droemer +500000
Jared Jones +500000
Garrett Sapp +500000
Francisco Bide +500000
Zach Haynes +500000
Paul McClure+500000
Derek Berg +500000
Chris Gabriele +500000
Braden Shattuck +500000
Ben Polland +500000
Ben Kern +50000

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

3 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.