For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for an exciting new year in the golf world, beginning this week at the Tournament of Champions.

1. Faxon, Kaufman to join NBC broadcast

PGATour.com staff report…”PGA TOUR winners Brad Faxon and Smylie Kaufman will join NBC Sports’ golf commentary team for 2023, the network announced Tuesday.”

• “Faxon, an eight-time TOUR winner and former Ryder Cup participant, is joining NBC Sports’ team as a hole announcer and will make his on-air debut at The Honda Classic next month. Faxon will also contribute to Golf Central and Golf Central Live From studio programming on Golf Channel.”

• “Kaufman, who won the 2015 Shriners Children’s Open and played in the final group of the following year’s Masters, will join John Wood, Notah Begay III and Arron Oberholser as on-course reporters throughout the season.”

• “Longtime GOLF Channel commentators Damon Hack and Cara Banks will serve as golf reporters this year…”

• “The 18th tower duo of Dan Hicks (play-by-play) and Paul Azinger (lead analyst) will return to lead NBC Sports’ golf commentary team for the fifth consecutive year…”

2. Two aces on the same hole for New Zealand couple

Greg Gottfried for Golf Digest…“The husband and wife duo, Steve and Keiko, were playing nine holes at the Rotorua Golf Club, Arikikapakapa in New Zealand when the New Year’s Day “miracle” occurred.

• “It was on the par-3 6th hole, and Steve started it off.”

• “He hit it and the ball went really well towards the flag,” Keiko said. “We were watching, watching, and then, ‘Wow.’ That was a miracle!”

• “To follow that up, Keiko hit a “high” shot that got lost in the air and eventually landed on the green rolling straight to the pin. It was the first ace either of them had ever hit and it was immediately followed by a young man playing on the fifth hole behind the group shouting and cheering.”

• “Just to prove how competitive she is, I hit one, and then she goes and gets one straight after me,” Steve exclaimed.

3. LET’s record-breaking schedule

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…“The Ladies European Tour will compete for a record-setting 35 million euros ($37M) in 2023. The schedule of 30 events includes the $5 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International, presented by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The February event will feature 60 LET players and 50 players from within the top 300 of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. It’s the largest purse on the LET outside of the majors.”

• “There are once again six Saudi-backed events on the LET’s 2023 schedule, with the Aramco Team Series featuring five stops worldwide, each with a $1 million purse. The series will begin in Singapore March 17-19 and then head to Trump International in West Palm Beach, May 19-21. The LPGA does not have an event scheduled for that week, noteworthy given the number of top players who are either personally sponsored by Aramco or offered appearance fees.”

4. LIV Golf questions that need to be answered

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard rounds up a few of the outstanding queries entering 2023…”LIV proved it has a product after successfully holding eight events in 2022. The goal for 2023 was to commercialize that product.”

• “Last season’s events were streamed on LIV’s website and YouTube page for free. LIV also had 20 international partners to broadcast events in 160 different countries. Golfweek previously reported LIV was nearing a deal to purchase air time for its tournaments with Fox Sports 1. LIV would also have been responsible to pay the production cost.”

• “LIV called the report “incomplete and inaccurate” at the time, but when specifically asked at the team championship if LIV would be open to paying for tournaments to be aired, Khosla didn’t reject the idea.”

• “CBS, ESPN and NBC all broadcast PGA Tour events and are assumedly uninterested in LIV. Same goes for Amazon and Apple. So the question now becomes, what’s better for LIV: a TV deal on a smaller network that brings in some money, or an easily-accessible free steam available to any fan on their phone, tablet or TV?”

5. Rahm predicts tense Masters Champions Dinner

Andrew Wright for Golf Monthly…”Jon Rahm admits the atmosphere could be a little different at this year’s Masters Champions dinner, as a host of PGA Tour and LIV stars come together for the pre-tournament tradition ahead of the first Major of 2023.

• “It’s going to be a different year,” Rahm said ahead of the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions. “There’s a lot more highlights in the calendar year, I would say, for the PGA Tour, all those elevated events. One thing I keep going back to and it’s probably only funny to me, but I think the Masters Champions Dinner’s going to be a little tense compared to how it’s been in the past.

• “So I keep thinking about it because I wish I could be there and just be able to see how things work out. Too bad the US Open doesn’t have one of those. But, yeah, I think it’s an exciting year. Obviously, we’re all curious about how it’s going to work out, but we’re all excited to see what this year’s going to, how it’s going to unfold and how it’s going to play out for everybody.”

6. Tom Kim joins Nike

Doug Ferguson for AP…“He was listed as Joohyung Kim when he played in the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park as an 18-year-old, and when he nearly won the Genesis Scottish Open last summer on a sponsor exemption.”

• “Now he’s known by his nickname — Tom Kim — and by his game. The 20-year-old South Korean won the Wyndham Championship, delivered a big performance in the Presidents Cup and outdueled Patrick Cantlay in Las Vegas at the Shriners Children’s Open.”

• “He also is the latest member of the Nike family.”

• “Kim arrived at Kapalua sporting the swoosh on his cap, his shirt and his shoes, part of an endorsement deal he signed during the short offseason.”

• “It’s very cool for me,” Kim said. “Nike is definitely a brand where they only look at top players and I’m very, very grateful they thought about me. I think it’s a great move. It looks cool and I’m glad to be part of the swoosh team.”