Is it the Fortinet Championship, the first event of the PGA Tour schedule?
Is it the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first event of the calendar year?
Is it Torrey Pines, when the boys return back to the continental 48?
That won’t be the case this week.
The WMPO has emerged as one ofthe?premier non-major, non-Players events of the year.
And it did so even before it received its much-deserved designated status.
This tournament has an identity, perhaps more so than any other on the schedule.
A shirt or two might even come off.
“Guys rank this tournament really high,” Joel Dahmen told me.
“Performing under those conditions all week is definitely a level up.”
It should be one hell of a week.
For the PGA Tour, ithasto be one hell of a week.
Of course, this simply has to remain a designated event moving forward.
Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in.
Here’s hoping whatever events get that label, keep it.
The natural beauty of the setting, combined with its extensive history of U.S. Jordan Spieth, an AT&T ambassador, has certainly thought about the possibility.
So I will fight for it."
It’s an uphill battle for a tournament that’s seen its relative importance diminish in recent years.
The reasons are multiple.
First, it comes right before Phoenix and Riviera, which are two of the premier non-major events.
The weather in Pebble Beach, as you saw this week, can be downright frigid in February.
But the top players in the world exist in different universe from our own.
The Saudi International had a much, much stronger field.
Piehowski helped me zoom out and realize how this week is indicative of the ever-shifting landscape.
Boyd Summerhays has Tony Finau on the PGA Tour, and he has Talor Gooch on LIV Golf.
Mark Blackburn has Max Homa on the PGA Tour, and he has Hudson Swafford on LIV Golf.
Mike Walker has Matt Fitzpatrick on the PGA Tour, and he has Henrik Stenson on LIV Golf.
Rose has been struggling for years since he reached world No.
Problem is, Blackburn already had a dozen players in his stable.
That obviously paid off this week, with Rose winning his first event in more than four years.
A bunch of Phil news all the sudden
Phil Mickelson was back being Phil Mickelson this week.
He also did his first extensive interview in quite a while withSports Illustrated’sBob Harig.
He didn’t say all that much.
“Ive had a number of guys thank me profusely.
The relationships that are going to be affected were not really close and were more acquaintances.
Their views are going to be altered by public perception or whatnot.
The friends are still close.
Its a decent amount of guys; I dont want to call out guys and who they are.
But its been a good learning experience.”
As for his golf, Lefty was making his first start in nearly four months.
He shot 70 and 71 to miss the cut by a shot.
“We are in discussions about 2023 and the future.”
The club manufacturers have stayed really quiet on the whole LIV issue.
Should be interesting to follow.
We’re not calling Aaron Rodgers a sandbagger, but we’re thinking about it.
How is that possible, you might ask?
He has some serious explaining to do.
Keith Mitchell, who played with Josh Allen this week, isn’t buying the whole 10-handicap thing.
Our “Fore The Cut” bet hitagain,this time at +825.
Now that’s a golf podcast for you.
They’re just saying that if you leave, you cannot immediately return.
LIV Golf is expected to begin rolling out its player list soon.
Play was stopped as an ambulance drove onto the course, and first responders performed CPR.
The man who collapsed is doing better, by all accounts.
Surely, though, there had to be better ways to accomplish that goal.
The power of social media!
I’m biased, but I genuinely believe the show will be a hit.
It drops Feb. 15, and I can’t wait for you all to see it.
Until next week,
Dan
