The PGA Tour's Winds of Change, Augusta National Visits and Tiger's Next Move
Another spotlight event on the PGA Tour delivered, though this time the winner wasn't Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler or another one of the Tour's top stars. Instead it was Kurt Kitayama, surviving on Sunday at Bay Hill for his first win. And for our obligatory LIV Golf mention, how about Kitayama's caddie—former Bryson DeChambeau bagman Tim Tucker.
Before the Arnold Palmer Invitational got under way, the discussion was about the PGA Tour's 2024 plans to shine an even stronger spotlight on its stars. Bob Harig takes a deep dive into those plans in his lead note of this week's Weekly Read.
The Winds of Change Are Howling on the PGA Tour. Here's an Assessment
Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports
Designated events this year on the PGA Tour have been a hit, and the Tour appears ready to double down on them next year by making them even more exclusive. If limited-field, no-cut golf sounds like a certain rival tour, well, that's one way to look at it. There's a lot to unpack, not the least of which is how the rank-and-file PGA Tour events will look. Bob Harig looks at the plan and the reactions from all sides.
No Players Championship for Tiger Woods, So What's Next?
Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports
The Players Championship seemed to be a good spot for Tiger Woods to get a few more tournament reps before the Masters, but he's not going to TPC Sawgrass. So what's next, Bob Harig asks? Maybe just a season of majors and nothing else, though of course with Tiger one never knows for sure.
Not Every Player Takes a Scouting Trip to Augusta National Before the Masters
Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports
Every player with an invitation to the Masters may visit and play the course before tournament week, but believe it or not some don't. Bob Harig shares why one player is waiting to play the course until it's in tournament form, and why defending champion Scottie Scheffler will go early.
Weekly Read Fore! Things: Spieth's Cold Putter, Rahm's Roadblock and Masters Qualifying Time Running Out
Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports
Ohhh, Jordan! If the three-time major champion's putter hadn't been so cold on the back nine at Bay Hill, maybe it wouldn't have been Kurt Kitayama's day after all. Bob Harig's Fore Things! details Spieth's agony, one notable feat from Kitayama's win, who qualified for a major out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and more from the week in golf.