Welcome back to the Monday finish, the November winds always come early. Golf news!
10 Surprising Golf News
It’s kind of like golf’s offseason, which means it ends on Monday and, like the rest of the golf world, it’s time to try out different formats. This week, that means sifting through the little golf stories that could have a big impact. Here are 10 recent golf stories — and what they might mean:
1. The Internet Invitational steals the show.
story: Barstool exercise, bob does exercise and a group of golf’s largest [I have to admit I still groan whenever I type this word] The creators have now released five of the six episodes of the Internet Invitational; the first four have each had between 2.5 and 6 million views, and that number is rising rapidly.
what does that mean: Plenty of videos on golf YouTube rack up impressive views, but this one feels like it’s broken out of the golf corner of the internet and into the mainstream sports world — which is especially fascinating considering it’s football season.
‘Internet Invitational’ Produces Jaw-dropping Villains – and Millions of Views
go through:
Dylan Detier
What’s working? High stakes, interesting characters, personality conflicts, serious drama, high production values, endless behind-the-scenes interactions, interesting narration (Dave Portnoy Plus a rotating roster of eliminated golfers), complete support from all involved (except Luke Quan) and the fact that these creators relinquish editorial control. The lessons here are suitable for YouTube golf as well as professional golf. Also, this time of year, it might be better to have a golf game during the week than a football game on the weekend. You might have started watching The Invitational at work, thinking it would be pleasant background noise, but ended up getting sucked in while getting absolutely zero work done. Hypothetically.
2. Blade type push rod go out.
story: Ben Griffin That caught my attention over the weekend after he recorded his third Tour victory of the season — and he putted with a mallet in hand. Apparently, Classic Blade has just been…finished. From Griffin: “I was 19 years old on Strokes Gained: Putting, and I believe at 19 years old I was the best blade putter on tour, and all these guys before me had switched from blade putters to mallets.”
what does that mean: remember when Scotty Scheffler The famous switch from blades to mallets? Apparently he’s not the only one.
3. The LPGA is partnering with the Saudi team.
story: New LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler has reached an agreement with the Saudi Golf Club to host the new Saudi Aramco Championship, a $4 million, 120-player event co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour, in Las Vegas. The event is part of a five-event Saudi Public Investment Fund Global Series and marks the LPGA’s first direct business relationship with Saudi Arabia. “We often talk about courses, courses and prize money, and this event ticks every box: spectacular West Coast setting, iconic courses and prize money, continuing our drive to elevate our athletes,” Kessler said in a press release, noting the event’s ability to “elevate opportunities” for athletes.
what does that mean: It’s a controversial partnership, but not surprising given Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. What the Saudis are doing with LIV Golf – trying to take over the entire sport at its highest level – is obviously brazen and controversial, but they fit into the fabric of sport in many other areas in more subtle ways, from football to Formula 1, tennis, boxing to women’s golf. For the LPGA, which just hired another executive from LIV, the event caps off a three-race West Coast swing. To provide an interesting comparison, the tournament will be played against the Augusta National Women’s Amateur a week before the Masters.
4. Aaron Rai has a really cool family.
story:Aaron Ray Getting married this fall and recovering from a Ryder Cup snub. Then, in his return to golf – his first as a husband – he won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Well, two notes about his family: His dad, the man behind the viral Ironhide story, wore this epic shirt from Rai and his wife on set.
It was awesome to see Aaron Rai posing with his dad (who was wearing a shirt with artwork of his son and wife on it?) and caddy after his win in Abu Dhabi. pic.twitter.com/VcUsSYJYDI
As for his wife? her name is Garika Bishnoi An excellent player in her own right, she played several seasons on the Ladies European Tour.
In contrast to tennis, where men’s and women’s tournaments are often held at the same venue at the same time, men’s and women’s golf tournaments almost never overlap, so professional players rarely get married. (Kim Si Woo Married Wu Zhixianwho won seven times on the Korean LPGA, while Jerina and Martin Peeler are another oft-cited example, but not by many. ) Rai, who seems to be one of the most humble, conscientious and appreciative pros in the entire sport, said of his wife’s support:
“Understanding what it means to play professional golf, not just when you’re playing tournaments, but in the weeks when you don’t have any tournaments; the amount of practice you have to do; the lifestyle you have to live; the choices you have to make; the control you have to have over your lifestyle. I think it’s hard for people who are not in the business or knowledgeable about the game to really know what you have to do. So she’s been incredible. It’s been really beautiful to understand each other in that regard and to share things together, and yeah, I couldn’t have asked for a better person.”
5. Lee Min-woo will not leave the PGA Tour.
story: The Australian star has cemented his commitment to the PGA Tour amid rumors he is considering a move to LIV.
“There are a lot of rumors. I won’t go [to LIV Golf] I’m just going to play on the PGA Tour,” Lee told The Associated Press in an interview. “So, I’m happy with where I am right now and yeah, I’m looking forward to next year. “
what does that mean: This means we still have to wait and see what the biggest signing of the offseason is for LIV. this means cut off Brian Rolup’s Face Lee’s “The Show Goes On!” Instagram Video:
6. The PGA Tour is about to welcome 10 new faces — including a former player with liver disease
story: After this week’s DP World Tour Finals and DP World Tour Championship, they will finalize the 10 professional players who will receive PGA Tour cards for the 2026 season. Here is an interesting list that includes Alex Nolen (the in-demand vice-captain of this year’s European Ryder Cup team) and Li Haotong (one of the most fascinating figures in professional golf) and Laurie Kanterhe will become the first LIV player to qualify for the full-time PGA Tour.
It’s the last week of the DP World Tour season.
Here’s what happened in the Big Ten games @PGA Tour There is an event on the card that is about to end.
Kanter played the inaugural 2022 season for LIV’s Cleeks and served as a reserve player and wild card player in 2023 and 2024 before regaining eligibility for the DP World Tour. Earlier this year he became the first former Liverpool player to compete in the Players Championship. Now he’s breaking new ground.
what does that mean: This means it’s easier to jump from LIV to PGA Tour if you’re not a PGA Tour member to begin with because you don’t have to deal with the same level of pesky suspensions. It doesn’t really mean anything else — although it seems cool for Kanter, who has been playing well.
7. Remember the guy who was banned from gambling? He’s hunting Rory.
story: Marco Penger Entering second on the DP World Tour Championship money list; he is the man who can stop Rory McIlroy from making his fourth consecutive appearance in Dubai. McIlroy leads the way with 4,640.06 points and Penge is second with 3,873.04 points. (Tyrrell Hatton was third with 2,919.18.) But getting to this point has been a big turnaround for Penge, whose competitive prospects seemed in doubt after gambling was suspended. (As things stand, this was a very innocent and harmless violation of the rules.)
what does that mean: You, like Penge, may have a history of betting $20 on golf tournaments. But he may also be 100 yards ahead of you and have three DP World Tour titles this season, which is why he’ll be competing in the biggest events in the world next season.
8. Scotty and Rory are hosting a professional golf event, and it feels really special.
story: The teams participating in the Skills Challenge Primetime event on December 17 at Trump National Park in Jupiter, Florida, have been announced. Team Rory will include Sean Lowry, Luke Donald and Li Haotong. Team Scotty will be Schaeffler plus Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns and Luke Clanton. They will face off in a timed competition (serve, short game and alternating shots), a 14-club challenge (two players, a bag and the elimination of old clubs) and a captain’s challenge between McIlroy and Scheffler (more details here ).
what does that mean: Professional golf has a habit of launching products that are extremely similar to their existing products and labeling them as some sort of dramatic change. But this is actually yes A completely different look than 72 holes of stroke play. Of course, that doesn’t mean it will work. However, it is possible. As golf continues to fine-tune its vision for the offseason, it could serve as a starting point for the future of skill-based competition.
9. Nelly Korda will get her first win this week.
story: I guess this is more of a prediction than a story. This week’s LPGA event, ANNIKA (let’s just say “Annika”) driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, is the penultimate event of the season for the world No. 2 Nellie Korda Despite six top-five finishes, there is yet to be a win. She won this event in 2021, 2022 and 2024 – I expect 2025 to come as well.
what does that mean: Most of the headlines surrounding the incident earlier this week involved Caitlin Clark’s Pro-Am appearance or Kay Trump’s Sponsor invitation. But once the competition begins, it will be interesting to see Korda lock in the season finish line in sight, knowing that she has been playing well and knowing that after seven wins last year, she must be frustrated without the hardware.
10. The PGA Tour is adding two new events—but not what you might expect.
story: The PGA Tour has now signed two new fall events for next year: the Good Good Championship in Austin, Texas. Now comes the Biltmore Championship, which will be held next September on the cliffs of Walnut Bay, near Asheville, North Carolina.
what does that mean: When the new Tour CEO Brian Rolup By promoting “scarcity,” many believe this means cutting back on tour events, especially those in golf’s “offseason.” Instead, they appear to be doubling down in the fall, leaving us wondering how different the 2027 tour schedule will be.
News from Seattle
Headquarters completed on Monday.
I haven’t been playing much golf lately, but there’s a fun local tournament on Wednesday that I’m excited about. Obsessively checking the weather forecast, thinking about rain gear, planning a stop at the range tomorrow, preparing for the debut of a new laser, all good stuff. Golf is the best. I hope you have a fall season worth looking forward to in your future.
See you next week!
Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
