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Morning 9: LIV opener underwhelms? | Feherty roasted | LIV promotion/relegation plans

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2 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com
February 28, 2023

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for what is one of the best fields we will see all year at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

1. Lavner: LIV season debut underwhelms

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”The actual tournament competition? That remains the least compelling aspect, and apparently millions of sports fans agree – the ratings for the first CW broadcast were abysmal, even when strategically put up against what was easily the weakest PGA Tour event of the year. The product now has to stand on its own merits, and this was an unsteady start.”

  • “LIV’s drawbacks can’t immediately be remedied, because they’re part of the upstart league’s DNA. There are no stakes, no consequences, no substantive storylines. There is no upward mobility, no context to a player’s performance, no career milestones to achieve. It’s a closed shop: the same 48 players in 13 stroke-play tournaments, all of equal importance, competing for nothing but pride and a boatload of cash, devoid of any meaning or significance.”
  • “League officials eagerly flaunt how much they’re playing for, and yet that doesn’t really resonate with the audience when these guys have already signed up for massive signing bonuses. It creates the perception that all they want is more, more, more. It’s like rooting for Leonardo DiCaprio to finally find true love.”
Full piece.

2. An “unbelievable” week

PGATour.com’s Kevin Prise on the Monday qualifiers incredible week…”Gerard, 23, earns a spot in next week’s Puerto Rico Open via a top-10 finish, an appreciative addition to his winter schedule as the Korn Ferry Tour is in the midst of a five-week break.”

  • “The North Carolina native was bogey-free in Sunday’s final round before his second shot at the par-5 18th found the water en route to bogey. Gerard remained upbeat, though, realizing the magnitude of his accomplishment. He was greeted off the 18th green by fellow UNC-Chapel Hill alum Ben Griffin, who finished T21 at the Honda, as well as fellow pro and friend Austin Hitt – who will compete in Monday’s open qualifier for the Puerto Rico Open.”
  • “Gerard had a tee time in the Monday qualifier, but he won’t need it.”
  • “It was unbelievable,” Gerard said of his week at the Honda. “It’s everything you could dream of. When you’re a kid practicing at night on a putting green, you’re like, ‘I have this putt to win a PGA TOUR event.’ It’s funny to say because I was just there four or five years ago in high school thinking about it, and now – I never had a putt to win, but I kind of felt like I had a chance coming down the stretch if I put some stuff together.
Full piece.

3. No more LIV signings in 2023?

James Corrigan for the Telegraph…”LIV Golf has slammed down the shutters and revealed that no new signings will be competing in the 2023 season.”

  • “Insiders in LIV are adamant that even in the highly implausible scenario of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy suddenly wanting to jump ship to join Greg Norman’s enterprise, they would have to bide their time until next year to tee it up.”
  • “The field is the field for this year,” a spokesperson said. “And the 12 teams are the 12 teams.
Full piece.

4. On LIV’s promotion/relegation plans

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”When it comes to the league format, those plans are more European than American, especially with its new promotion and relegation system. LIV views open competition not only as a cornerstone of its evolving product, but also as a way to legitimize its place in the professional golf landscape.”

  • “Starting later this year, the LIV Golf Promotions Event will help to ensure there are open player pathways for golfers to join the LIV Golf League in 2024.”
  • “Who automatically qualifies for the 2024 season and is safe from relegation?…The season-long points list that ultimately decides the individual champion – Dustin Johnson in 2022 – will also double as a way for players to earn their spot for the next season. Players who finish Nos. 1-24 at each event during the regular season earn a massive payday as well as points: 40 points for the winner all the way down to just one for the 24th-place finisher. After the 13 regular-season tournaments, those who finish inside the top 24 for the year will keep their status for the following season. Simple enough.”
Full Piece.

5. Jack expecting a stronger “Honda” field ahead

AP report…”This year, the tour had two elevated events before the Honda, with two more to immediately follow at Bay Hill and The Players Championship.”

  • “Honda is ending its title sponsorship of the tournament at PGA National, but Nicklaus said the event will remain the start of the Florida swing in 2024.”
  • “Next year’s schedule are Pebble and LA are their elevated tournaments,” Nicklaus said. “Phoenix is not. Then they go to Mexico, then they come here. So, we will have players next year. And then they’ve got Bay Hill and Players. The tournament’s going to be just fine.”
Full piece.

6. Feherty roasted

7. Heck out indefinitely with shoulder injury

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…“If Stanford is to repeat as NCAA champion, it may have to do so without one of its best players….Junior Rachel Heck, the 2021 NCAA individual champion and player of the year, missed the Cardinal’s first two events of the spring because of thoracic outlet syndrome, a shoulder condition in the area between the first rib and the collarbone.”

  • “Stanford head coach Anne Walker told GolfChannel.com that Heck’s return is “up in the air” as she continues to be evaluated by doctors.”
  • “Heck last played for the Cardinal at their fall finale in October, the Pac-12 Preview, where she tied for 22nd. She was also T-3 at the Stephens Cup earlier that month, and she began the spring on the watch list for the Annika Award, which she won as a freshman.”
Full Piece.

8. Two LIV pros climb rankings

Mike Hall for Golf Monthly…”Because of the inability of LIV Golf to offer its players world ranking points, attention has regularly turned to the plight of players who have tumbled down the rankings since opting to play on the big-money circuit.”

  • “Bizarrely, though, it wasn’t all bad news for LIV Golf players in the world rankings following the tournament at El Camaleon Golf Club. Harold Varner III began last week’s tournament as World No.51, but even though his appearance meant he didn’t accumulate so much as a single world ranking point in Mexico, he rose two places to sneak back inside the world’s top 50 at World No.49.”
  • “He wasn’t the only LIV player to experience an unexpected boost either. New recruit Mito Pereira climbed two places as well, from World No.50 to World No.48. In both cases, though, the rise is highly likely to be the exception rather than the norm over the weeks to come.”
Full Piece.

9. Best driver

  • Another shameless plug for our 2023 Best Driver piece! Find out what driver is best for YOUR game.
Full Piece.

Related Topics:

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Jeff Witzeman

    Mar 1, 2023 at 12:50 pm

    When no comments are allowed on Ryan’s golf channel article or they are stopped on Yahoo, you always know the article is propaganda. It does not represent a balanced approach. Fact of the matter is golf is compelling whether it is Liv or PGA. Fascists are being exposed in every area of life right now gratefully. Golf channel will have to grow up and put their big boy pants on like everybody else.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Bob

    Mar 1, 2023 at 7:25 am

    Ryan Lavner along with the rest of the golf journalists (propagandists) seem to be anti LIV.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Mike

    Feb 28, 2023 at 9:22 pm

    Sorry David, Larry Bird and magic Johnson were the two most recognizable athletes in the world from the early ’80s onwards. But, we in America sometimes forget that there is a world outside of America. Greg Norman, though he never won a Major on U.S. soil, was winning golf tournaments all over the world for over a decade (basically until Tiger came on the scene).

    So let me ask you this, so I’d converted magic, in the 1980s. Who was the most recognizable athlete in the world? Don’t show how dumb you are & say Michael Jordan, he didn’t win a damn thing until the 90s.

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

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4 weeks ago

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Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

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4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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