The current field for the tournament will consist of seventy golfers with no cut, vying for a chance to compete in the second leg of the FedEx Cup next week at the BMW Championship. The second leg of the field will consist of fifty golfers so this week will be a fight to survive and compete for the PGA Tour’s most lucrative crown. 

World Number-One

The most intriguing part of this tournament will be the battle amongst the top-three ranked golfers in the world but especially the world number-one Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler has performed historically well this year, setting the PGA Tour record for earnings in a season with nineteen million YTD. 

Scheffler leads the PGA Tour in total strokes gained (2.616), scoring average (68.5), GIR (74.1%) and third in birdie average (4.45). The Dallas native has made twenty-two consecutive cuts which is the third longest active streak on tour. Scheffler won two tournaments this season at the WM Phoenix Open and the Players Championship while finishing top-ten in an incredible fifteen tournaments on the year.

Struggles

The three-year PGA Tour veteran was two catastrophic rounds away from potentially adding a second green jacket to his wardrobe as well as a Wanamaker Trophy to his collection. Scheffler finished third at the US Open Championship and looked poised to compete for the Open Championship as well in late July.

Scheffler struggled mightily at Royal Liverpool however, making the cut mercifully but finished even-par in the top twenty-five. Links golf takes no prisoners as many European professionals will attest and Scheffler certainly was taken for a ride through the courses undulating hard surfaces and ruthless rough and sand-traps. Golf is a wild, cruel and unforgiving game especially close to the birthplace of the sport. 

Scheffler has shot himself in the foot on several occasions especially in major tournaments where he boxed himself into a corner and forced himself to play catch up and rally too late into rounds. The former Longhorn could’ve had a couple major victories and possibly added a few more tournaments to his belt in 2023 with ease if he was able to steady the putter and mitigate some of the mistakes off the tee.  

FedEx Cup

Without a strong performance from Scheffler in the FedEx Cup playoffs, Jon Rahm or Rory McIlroy could knock him down from the number-one ranking. The OWGR number-one has been a carousel throughout the past two years with all three golfers having spent time at the mountain top at various points. It wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world if Scheffler drops down the world rankings but it would be a disappointing conclusion to a historically consistent season by the twenty-seven year old.   

Will Scheffler be able to bounce back from his uncharacteristically poor performance at the Open Championship here in Memphis? Scheffler has been tremendous all season so it would be a dying shame if the Texan couldn’t at least make a solid run and try to wrestle the FedEx Cup trophy away from the defending champion, McIlroy.

Scheffler will tee off with Rahm and McIlroy on Thursday at 10:26 a.m. ET to a great deal of fanfare and intrigue. This will be a must-watch as a viewer for the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

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Last week, in his preparation for the Genesis Scottish Open, Rory McIlroy hit a persimmon golf club off the tee. The drive (while still fantastic) went noticeably shorter than a normal 300-yard plus McIlroy drive would. The prevailing thought, however, was the beauty in the shot with a, for lack of a better word, primitive piece of equipment. 

Past vs. Present @McIlroyRory tried out a persimmon driver during his practice round @ScottishOpen. pic.twitter.com/WdFb0uKPNs

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 12, 2023

The video of McIlroy using the club of his golf forefathers was shared repeatedly on social media, and debate ensued, mainly over the evolution of modern equipment, which has distorted the game into a long-drive competition. But, the event took on greater significance when related to the current state of golf.  

This year’s Open Championship sits on the fulcrum of golf’s future. As Royal Liverpool embarks on hosting its 13th Open Championship, the reverence for golf past is faced with a new challenge for golf’s future. 

Where Things Stand 

Last week the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations held an official hearing regarding the proposed merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and its affiliates with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. The PIF is the entity that has financed LIV Golf for the past year and a half. 

Garnering little attention on screen but much off it, LIV forced the PGA to the negotiating table even after a staunch rebuke of what LIV was offering just a year earlier. In a shock announcement last month, the PGA announced the merger, creating a new for-profit entity. While much is still left to the imagination of fans, the hearings provided insight into how the deal was orchestrated. 

Representing the PGA were tour officials Jimmy Dunne and Ron Price. No one representing the PIF was present during the hearing. Dunne and PIF Governor Yassir Al-Rumayyan communicated through messaging apps when they first initiated talks in the early spring. 

In the documents provided to the subcommittee, some of the more interesting proposals were revealed to be:

• A global “World Golf Series”
• LIV operating independently in the fall
• Greg Norman to no longer serve as LIV CEO
• Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, owners of LIV Teams
• Two PGA Tour events being sponsored by Aramco (Saudi Oil Company)
• Al-Rumayyan given membership to Augusta National Golf Club

When pressed by legislators for why the PGA changed course, Price, who has filled in as the commissioner of the PGA while Jay Monahan has been on medical leave, said that the level of investment that has been discussed by the Saudi’s is “North of $1 Billion.”

"North of $1 billion."

COO Ron Price revealed the level of Saudi investment discussed in the PGA Tour's merger with LIV Golf during a Senate hearing.

(via @cspan) pic.twitter.com/6FUyTRmfys

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 11, 2023

A Lot to Unpack

If the levels of investment being speculated are accurate, then golf will have the might behind it to stay relevant. Even behind the opposition of many American corporations, LIV was able to secure a television deal this past season. It can be assumed that if the merger continues, the existing golf infrastructure will be improved strictly based on the financing level. 

But the thinking behind some of the process shows how off-base the deal’s architects are. For example, having Woods and McIlroy own LIV teams seems like a fever dream. Not only have those two been adamant about their distaste for LIV, but someone like Woods would need help to pass the mandatory event requirements associated with LIV contracts. 

To the Saudi’s credit, they have done this type of dance before. Europe, particularly the U.K., has been the PIF’s proving ground for the past two decades. Al-Rumayyan himself is the Chairman of Newcastle United Football Club. Having been through the transition of power in another sporting institution, Rumayyan might have the strategic savviness to make it work. 

However, the difference is that PGA is a wholly American institution. Nothing like this has happened before in the American sporting culture. Therefore, it will be hard for Americans to reconcile that relationship with Saudi Arabia. Al-Rumayyan certainly hopes they do. At least long enough for him to receive his Augusta membership. 

Converging Interests at The Open Championship

As millions of golf fans gear up for the 151st Open Championship, the event’s storylines keep getting juicier and juicer. A mingling of PGA and LIV players will bring the added interest from last week’s hearings, but the connections don’t stop there. The reigning champion, Cameron Smith, a LIV player, will seek to repeat. 

Put aside the rivalries and socio-political perspective, and there is still more to be excited about. Some of the best players in the world are due to be in contention for a major championship this week. 

McIlroy is coming off a win at the Scottish Open this past weekend and has been playing an exceptional stretch of golf as of late. Similarly, while he hasn’t broken through with a win in a while, Scottie Scheffler has racked up seven straight top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish at the PGA Championship and a third-place finish at the US Open. High-interest players like Rickie Fowler are rounding their games out at the perfect time. Then, there is the number two-ranked player in the world, John Rahm, who is looking to return to where he was at the beginning of the season. Finally, the crowd favorites from in and around the U.K. will keep the grandstands rowdy all week.

Looking Ahead

The Open Championship feels like a corporate retreat before a merger is announced. Holding on to the last vestiges of golf’s legacy before fundamentally altering its future. Neither party in the proposed merger will be on home soil, and don’t expect much to be discussed during broadcasts. 

A collective like this won’t reunite until later at this year’s Ryder Cup. However, it will be interesting to hear the feeling after the tournament. Is there any hope for a harmonious union taking place? Or will the fissures continue cracking deeper? 

But the tournament will also remind viewers of why they love the game. They will be distracted by the incredible talent these players have. Sure, they aren’t hitting persimmon woods, but take a moment like Cam Smith’s putt from last year. A moment like that will forever be remembered because of the atmosphere built around it. The game is indeed in excellent hands with the players who are currently on tour. It’s the hands behind the scenes that are concerning.

*******************************************************

Matt Strout is a contributor to Back Sports Page. Matt studied Journalism and Sociology at Temple University for four years and graduated in May of 2022. While there, Matt wrote for multiple student and professional publications covering sports and the City of Philadelphia. Matt is originally from Maine and now resides in California. He has written content primarily for the NBA and PGA Tour. You can catch Matt frequently as a guest on the “Cut The Nets” podcast featured on the Back Sports Page network. When Matt is not writing, he enjoys cooking and playing golf. Follow Matt’s social media on Twitter @TheRealStrout or Instagram @matt_strout96 

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The merger will also allow for a path forward for any golfers on the LIV Tour to reapply for the PGA and DP World Tours. Golf social media is ablaze with this bombshell story and many golfers are not happy with the announcement. Many found out via social media without warning. This ends what many have referred to as a “golf civil war” but you can be assured it won’t conclude without hard feelings. 

Many PGA Tour professionals passed on the lucrative offers of the rival LIV Tour out of personal and moral convictions regarding the organizations funding source. The Saudi-backed business venture has been decried due to the country’s well documented history of human-rights violations. The PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan, has been openly critical and hostile towards LIV in the past two years but now seems to be back-tracking on many of those sentiments in the name of profit and growth. 

Questions Galore

Many questions remain over the future of this unnamed golf tour. How will the play format merge into the existing PGA and DP World Tours? Could there be a combination of traditional 72 hole tournaments mixed in with 54 hole tournaments sprinkled throughout the season? Will the team concept of LIV remain as well? Will golfers choose to start teams, join existing ones or be unaffiliated with the concept? Will the OWGR finally come to a resolution that allows all golfers to be ranked and weighted based on their performances and victories in this new concept?

Could this really turn the PGA Tour into… the PGA World Tour? Just a working name of course. The concept is grandiose in nature, global golf played in a diverse amount of locations spanning six continents. Forgetting the social and emotional parts of this announcement, the concept is potentially tremendous and intriguing for golf fans. LIV played a handful of its tournaments in locations that were less frequented but could be considered emerging golf economies to some extent. 

This is just the beginning of the finger pointing and the vitriolic back and forth between fans of the rival tours but the hope will be for these entities to come together in a collective vision to move the game of golf forward in a new and creative direction. This doesn’t come without its pitfalls and moral dilemmas but only time will tell what is in store for the future of professional golf.

Rob Korensky is Back Sports Page’s Basketball & Golf Editor. Rob has written content for the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL & PGA Tour in his tenure at BSP. Rob is the host of BSP’s Gopher Patrol golf podcast and a frequent guest contributor to the Cut The Nets basketball podcast within the BSP network. Rob was born in Hinsdale, Illinois but spent his formative years in Rochester, New York and currently resides in Central Texas. You can find Rob on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @RobKorensky

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While dads around the country are rejoicing, it might be hard for some casual golf fans to latch onto a golfer to root for. After all, some of the past champions and more recognizable names are now too controversial due to their affiliation with the LIV Golf Tour. 

Well, if you are stuck wondering what you should focus on during the tournament, here is something to look out for. 

The Difficulty Of An Ace

The Masters has gone on every year since 1934 (except from 1942 to 1945 due to World War II.) I thought someone could go crazy looking at the tournament’s history and diving into rabbit hole after rabbit hole. Luckily, I did all the heavy lifting for you and identified something unique. 

Arguably the hardest thing to do in golf is record a hole-in-one, even though I would argue that it is harder to hit into sand bunkers on seven consecutive holes (because I did last weekend). The average golfer’s odds of getting a hole-in-one stand at 12,000 to one. Although slightly more probable for the professionals, the odds are still around 2,500 to one. Factor that into Augusta National’ Golf Clubs  difficulty, and it might be fair to say that getting a hole-in-one at the Masters might be the hardest thing possible. 

Hole-In-Ones At The Masters

On Wednesday, during the annual par-three competition, Seamus Powers recorded a hole-in-one on back-to-back holes. This got me thinking about all the hole-in-ones in Masters history. 

The first hole-in-one came in the very first tournament. The year was 1934, and Ross Sommerville snuck his tee shot in the hole swinging a “mashie niblick” (apparently, a 1934-era iron). It probably lacked the same gallery roar that a Tiger Woods would receive, but still an incredible accomplishment. 

What has transpired since is fascinating. From 1934 to 1988, there were only nine record hole-in-ones during the Masters—three at each par three’s, holes six, twelve, and sixteen. The floodgates opened in 1992. Not only was that the year that Jeff Sluman recorded a 213-yard hole-in-one on the par-four fourth hole (Still the only one to happen at number four). In just thirty years, there have been twenty-five hole-in-ones at the Masters. 

More This Year?

The frequency has risen so much in the last twenty-five years that there have even been six instances where multiple hole-in-ones have happened in the same tournament. The sixteenth hole is where the hole-in-ones happen most frequently, with seventy percent of them taking place at the famous hole.

Let me add more detail if you need more than this to persuade you. Since 2010 there have been sixteen hole-in-ones. That’s over a hole-in-one per tournament. 

Forever the course has been revered as unforgiving, but is it crazy to say that the Masters might have a hole-in-one problem? Of course not. We want more aces. 

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First-Time Participants

There will be a total of sixteen first-time participants in this Masters Tournament with seven of those golfers being amateurs. Gordon Sargent is a notable inclusion in the event as a special exemption. Sargent is the number-one ranked amateur golfer in the WAGR and is the first amateur golfer to receive a special exemption invite to the Masters in over two decades. Sargent is the reigning NCAA individual champion as a sophomore for Vanderbilt University and will hope to make a splash in his first appearance at Augusta. 

Mito Pereira, Tom Kim, Kurt Kitayama, Taylor Moore, Adam Svensson and Sahith Theegala all qualify for the tournament through PGA Tour event wins or finishes. Ryan Fox and Adrian Meronk qualified by ranking within the top-fifty in the OWGR at the time of qualification. 

Fox will be the oldest first-timer at thirty-six years old and Meronk will be the first Polish player to participate in the Masters storied history. Kazuki Higa qualified through special exemption like Sargent and is likely the shortest golfer to participate in the event ever, standing at a menacing 5’2”.

Can McIlroy Complete The Career Grand Slam? 

Rory McIlroy has accrued twenty-three PGA Tour victories and nine international victories in his time as a professional golfer. McIlroy is currently ranked second in the OWGR and sixth in the Fedex Cup Standings. McIlroy has won a U.S. Open, British Open and has been victorious twice at the PGA Championship. The only major championship missing from his trophy case is the Masters. 

The North Irishman finished in second place in 2022 after an impressive final round of 64 to come up just short. McIlroy has seven top-ten finishes in the event and seems poised to break through soon. McIlroy acknowledged that this may not necessarily be a matter of the course being tailored to his strengths but whether the time is right for him. 

“Those last couple hours on Sunday, it’s not about whether the course sets up well for you,” McIlroy stated this week. “It’s about who can hold it together the best.” 

Let’s hope McIlroy is in contention on Sunday and can not only hold it together but excel past the field and finally hoist the clubhouse trophy above his head.

Last Masters For Tiger? 

Tiger Woods is undoubtedly one of the most renowned and accomplished golfers in the game’s history. Woods is a five-time Masters champion with a miraculous win in 2019 at the age of forty-three years old. Woods has been severely hobbled recently due to a horrible car accident in 2021 where he sustained injuries to both legs, consisting of a shattered ankle and two leg fractures. The Stanford product will likely only compete in Majors this year and maybe a select tournament or two due to struggles with walking for long periods of time. 

Woods was asked on Tuesday about whether or not he has thought about this potentially being his last Masters Tournament as a competitor.

“Last year… (I) didn’t know if I was going to play again at that time,” Woods stated gratefully. “For some reason everything kind of came together and I kind of pushed a little bit and I was able to make the cut which is nice. Yeah, I don’t know how many more I have in me so just to be able to appreciate the time that I have here and cherish the memories.” 

Hopefully Woods at his age can continue to rehabilitate and recover from his ailments and give fans a few more memories at Augusta. 

LIV Golf 

LIV Golf is a storyline that simply will not go away. There will be eighteen LIV Golf Tour players participating this week, qualifying either as past champions or meeting the threshold through other qualifications. Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith will be the most recognizable names on the tour that will compete at Augusta National. 

McIlroy, who has been an outspoken advocate on behalf of the PGA Tour, was relatively cordial on discussing the involvement of LIV golfers at the Masters. 

“This week and this tournament is way bigger than any of that, I feel, and it’s just great that all of the best players in the world are together again for the first time in what seems to be quite a while,” McIlroy said. 

Koepka and McIlroy played a nine-hole practice round on the course Tuesday so maybe wounds are healing and tension is easing. Johnson, Smith and Koepka are likely the only players on the competing tour that will have a chance on Sunday but it would be wise to not count anyone out on one of golf’s grander stages, especially any returning champions. Koepka was recently victorious at the LIV Golf Orlando event last week so we will see if he brings that momentum into the Masters.

Can Scheffler Defend The Green Jacket? 

Scottie Scheffler took home the 2022 Masters Tournament despite an impressive final round from McIlroy, staying cool and calculated for his first major championship. Scheffler has won six tournaments in his two years on the PGA Tour. The Dallas native has two victories already this year at the Players Championship and WM Phoenix Open, ranked number-one in the OWGR, third in the Fedex Cup standings and has seven top-ten finishes as well.

Scheffler is playing some of the best golf of his short career thus far and that makes McIlroy and him 7-1 favorites to win the 2023 Masters Tournament. Scheffler will face stiff competition in this iteration of the event. If successful in his defense however, Scheffler would be the first defending Masters champion since Woods did so twenty years ago. 

The 2023 Masters Tournament will begin on Thursday morning. You can find all of the first and second round tee times here.

The post The Masters Preview appeared first on Back Sports Page.

Conners started the round at eleven under, one shot back from Patrick Rodgers who led after fifty-four holes. Rodgers dropped multiple shots early with bogies on the fourth, sixth and seventh holes. Rodgers unfortunately dug himself too deep of a hole with his first PGA Tour victory alluding him. The Stanford alum concluded the final round at eleven under, giving him a top-five finish. 

Sam Stevens and Sam Ryder made strong charges in the final round, finishing one and two shots off the lead respectively. Stevens had a birdie opportunity on the eighteenth that would’ve tied him with Connors for the lead. The Fort Worth native came up just short though, the ball needed a touch more juice to land in the cup with an inch or two to spare. Stevens capped off his tournament at fourteen under. 

Chez Reavie had the lowest score of the day, closing with a 65 (-7) placing him ten under for the tournament with a top-ten finish. Reavie’s round was the second lowest of the tournament, only surpassed by Conners score of 64 in the first round. Matt Kuchar was able to rally on the back nine after a bogey on the eleventh. Kuchar proceeded to birdie on fourteen, sixteen, seventeen and eighteen to finish tied for third in the event at thirteen under. 

The Masters Looming

Conners victory in San Antonio earned him a $1.602 million purse. The win helped the three-year PGA Tour veteran to rise sixty-four spots to eighteenth in the rankings for the Fedex Cup Standings and places the Canadian at twenty-eighth in the OWGR. 

Conners hopes to take this momentum into the first major championship of the calendar year at Augusta National but will be competing in a packed field of returning champions and some LIV Golf participants who still qualify for the tournament. 

The field will have a tough task contending with defending Masters champion and current world number-one Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler took home a win at the Players Championship earlier this year and put together a strong performance recently in the WGC Matchplay Tournament.

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Schenk was tied with Moore going into the eighteenth hole but hit a drive off to the left of the fairway into the trees. Schenk managed to salvage his erratic drive off the tee with the chance for a long par-putt. The former Boilermaker had an opportunity to force a playoff with Moore but missed the forty-six foot putt. Schenk finished with a bogey on the hole and dropped to nine under for the tournament. 

Moore will take home a $1,458,000 purse with his victory, an incredibly life-changing amount of money. The Texas native turned professional in 2016 and spent a handful of seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour before earning his PGA Tour card in 2021. Moore suffered brief medical setbacks prior to the PGA Tour which included a collapsed lung, taking him away from the game for an extended period of time in order to recover. 

The win has already paid some dividends for Moore. The Arkansas product rose to ninth in the Fedex Cup Standings and surged fifty-four spots in the OWGR from 103rd to 49th in the world. Moore should be confident moving forward, officially getting the monkey off his back and winning his first tournament. Hopefully this leads to more victories for the third-year pro.

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The Texas native got off to a slightly shaky start in the round, bogeying the third hole. Hatton, Min Woo Lee and Hideki Matsuyama were all in striking distance early, only trailing Scheffler by a couple shots.

Scheffler caught fire however towards the end of the front nine, birdying five consecutive holes from the eighth to the twelfth. Scheffler was able to conquer the treacherous seventeenth island green. The second-year pro took a deep breath after seeing his ball land on the putting surface and thankfully not swimming in the drink. 

The seventeenth hole claimed many victims today with sharp gusts knocking the ball down into the water and making flight to the green unpredictable. Scheffler played the eighteenth conservatively and finished the round with a par to the sound of cheers and applause. 

Next Week

This is Scheffler’s second victory on the PGA Tour this year, taking the WM Phoenix Open in February and besting Patrick Cantlay in a three-hole playoff. Scheffler rose a spot in the Fedex Cup Standings to third in the rankings and returns to the number-one spot in the OWGR. This was an encouraging bounce-back performance after a disappointing finish last week in the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

Scheffler will be taking a break this coming week and won’t be competing in the Valspar Championship which may be a sigh of relief for the rest of the field. Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sam Burns will all be competing in what will be a lighter field at the Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. This will be a tremendous opportunity for any new tour members or down on their luck golfers looking to gain entry into some of the more lucrative designated events later in the year.

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The most exciting story of the round however is Tom Hoge. Hoge broke the TPC Sawgrass course record today with a total score of 62 for the round, finishing ten under for the day. The Fargo native completed the round bogey-free with a total of ten birdies. 

TPC Sawgrass played more favorably with the weather conditions making the ground softer than usual, allowing for the players to drop darts on the green and pick their spots. Hoge was able to capitalize on this as well Sungjae Im who finished the round eight under with the second best score of the day. The course will likely dry out for the final round and speed up the greens in what should be an extremely competitive finish.

The previous course record was a 63 held by the following players: Fred Couples, Greg Norman, Roberto Castro, Martin Kaymer, Jason Day, Colt Knost, Webb Simpson, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson. 

Hoge only has one win on the tour with a triumph at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February of 2022. Hoge will have a tough hill to climb being six shots back from the lead but hopefully the seven-year PGA Tour veteran can add a second tournament victory to his trophy case with a win tomorrow.

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Kitayama overcame a triple bogey at the seventh earlier in the final round to finish at nine under. This marks the first time a player won a tournament with a triple bogey in the final round since Viktor Hovland who won the 2020 Puerto Rico Open in similar fashion. 

Kitayama finished the round with an even par 72 which was enough to come out on top. The California native was able to survive early surges in the round from McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay with the course playing harder and faster than in the previous three rounds. 

Life Changing 

Kitayama turned professional in 2015 after competing in college for UNLV for four years. Kitayama had spent time on the Web.com Tour, Asian Tour and European Tour before earning his PGA Tour card in September of 2021. 

The former Runnin’ Rebel won three international events outside of the PGA Tour before his victory today. Kitayama tied for second place last year in the Mexico Open which was his best finish to date. Kitayama’s victory today places him sixth in the Fedex Cup Standings, rising thirty-three spots and currently ranks nineteenth in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Kitayama will compete this week in the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass just outside of Jacksonville. The hope will be that Kitayama can carry this momentum going forward and continue to build his confidence, hopefully leading to more victories on the tour this year.

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