By ED TRAVIS
The Era of Scottie – Media Hype
Number one ranked Scottie Scheffler is good, in fact right now he is by far the best ball striker with a gut-check factor off the scale. At 27 he is in this fifth year on Tour since 2019-2020 and has eight wins including The Players back-to-back, the 2024 Arnold Palmer Championship plus the 2022 Masters. Nice career but not as some of my fellow media-types are saying the “Era of Scottie” just like they touted Jordan Spieth who at the same point in his career had nine wins with a Masters and U.S. Open. Or as I read last week Tiger Woods is overshadowed by Scottie and the Era of Scotte has eclipsed the Tiger Era. I’ve never been a particular Tiger fan but for comparison, Tiger had won eighteen tournaments at the same point in his fifth season which includes the 1997 Masters and 1999 PGA Championship. Go figure.
Augusta National
The weekend at Augusta National before the Masters will be packed. Not only will we have the chance to see the Sunday finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt but Saturday April 6 the last round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur will be played. Last year Rose Zhang took the trophy in a playoff over Jenny Bae and this year promises to be just as exciting. It is important to remember Augusta National is not just where golf’s premier tournament is annually contested but is a real force in our game. When the USGA talks about “stakeholders” impacting the Rules of Golf it’s pretty sure they are thinking of Augusta Chairman Fred Ridley and his club on Magnolia Lane.
Rose Zhang 2023 Augusta Women’s Amateur
Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. (NYSE: MODG) according to Bloomberg and The Chosun (S Korea) Daily could be sold to a South Korean investor. According to the news item the three largest shareholders with a combined total of approximately 34% of the stock are investigating divesture, spinning off Topgolf into a separate company and then disposing of Callaway Golf. Should a South Korean company purchase Callaway, the largest golf manufacturer, it would make the three largest golf companies all Korean owned. Second biggest Acushnet Company (Titleist, FootJoy) was bought in 2011 by FILA Holdings of South Korea and TaylorMade Golf was sold in 2021 to Seoul-based Centroid Investment Partners LC.
“Constructive Meeting”
According to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan the meeting of the Tour Policy Board and the Public Investment Fund’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Saudi money behind LIV Golf, was “constructive and represents an important part of our due diligence process in selecting potential investors for PGA Tour Enterprises.” The for-profit entity PGATE has already a $3 billion investment from the Strategic Sport Group but the deal with PIF appears to be going nowhere. A good guess is Al-Rumayyan figures he has already won, and LIV will be the major leagues relegating the PGA Tour to triple-A status.
Olympic Changes
Lydia Ko and Jason Day – Champions at the Grant Thornton Mixed Doubles in Naples
Mixed team professional golf may be a part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles due to the enthusiastic fan and player response to last year’s Grant Thornton Invitational. The first PGA Tour/LPGA Tour team event since 1999 was won by the pairing of Lydia Ko and Jason Day. Negotiations are said to be underway with the International Olympic Committee for a 36-hole event and an announcement may be as next month.
Ed Travis
Ed is a national award-winning golf journalist and has carried on a lifelong love affair with the game. His work covering the business of golf, equipment, golf personalities and travel is prominently featured in numerous print and electronic publications. He has competed in tournament golf both as an amateur and senior professional and though his competitive days are behind him, Ed still plays regularly and carries a handicap of 4. He lives on a water hazard in suburban Orlando. His email address is GolfScribe@outlook.com.
