It’s an oft-used unit for adding chronological context.
Now it’s our turn.
The top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking were as follows:
1.
Nick Watney
Rory, DJ and J-Day are still kickin' at the top level of professional golf.
But the other 8?
Donald’s the Ryder Cup captain.
Westwood is north of 50 and not playing great golf on the LIV tour.
Martin Kaymer’s not heard from much these days.
Steve Stricker’s crushing it…on the PGA Tour Champions.
You get the picture.
It’s been a lifetime since Kim contended in a professional golf tournament of importance.
He was 26 years old when he took that T6 at the Open.
Still, at 26 you’re just entering your prime in this game.
By the end of the following year he’d played his last golf tournament.
Or so it seemed until very recently.
I found that wording kind of funny beause there really wasn’t anything to negotiate with the PGA Tour.
It’s a meritocracy.
He lost his tour card when he stopped playing and they don’t just hand those out.
But the PGA Tour can’t simply hand him a spot in their big-money events.
They’re in the headline business.
The last two-plus years have made that clear.
They’re also in the invite-whoever-we-want business because well, that’s just kind of how they roll.
Kim will absolutely bring attention to his debut at this week’s LIV event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
When we think of AK we think of the golden years.
The three PGA Tour wins.
The 11 birdies in a Masters round, which remains a record.
The massive white belt buckle.
The beatdown of Sergio Garcia in Ryder Cup singles.
The carefree, I’m-better-than-you attitude.
Showing up to a golf course without any sort of plan and then shooting 62.
But again, those were the glory years.
2008, ‘09 and ‘10, mostly.
Kim played 10 events on the PGA Tour that year.
He made the cut twice, never finishing inside the top 40.
His last three scores on the PGA Tour are a 74, a 79 and an 83.
He’s also 38 years old now.
He won’t quite have the young-kid swagger.
He is trading mostly in an aura from the past.
He’d become an instant star.
Speaking of that insurance policy…it’s been widely reported that it was the roadblock complicating a comeback.
If he played another professional event he’d have to give the money back.
So is LIV paying that $10 million back, in addition to a signing bonus for him?
(Again, LIV kind of just does whatever they like with this adding wildcards stuff).
That suggests LIV wants him to prove it before they offer him anything truly substantial.
He burst onto the scene as a star then completely disappeared.
Like, actively avoided the spotlight like he’s Bigfoot.
And all the sudden he’s back playing a professional event in Saudi Arabia.
Why’d he step away?
What’s up with the insurance policy?
Why’d he come back?
What are his expectations?
What does his voice even sound like?
Without that piece of content the comeback will feel a touch hollow.
Let’s see what they produce.
If nothing else, that first press conference should be englightening.
We’ll definitely be watching closely.
At least this week.
It was Jake Knapp’s.
It’s Freddie Couples tempo with John Daly power.
He’s finding it now.
Knapp is 29 years old.
That’s far older than what we’ve become accustomed to when it comes to up-and-coming stars.
Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland and Joaquin Niemann all broke through in their early 20’s.
Not everyone’s road to the top level of professional golf is so smooth.
Knapp played collegiately at UCLA, traditionally a blue-blood program.
But he struggled to get out of golf’s minor leagues for the first five-plus years of his career.
He’s been flying since.
It’s part of what makes him so appealing as a player.
Easy speed, that mullet, a fun backstory with the nightclub bouncer stuff and an easygoing California swagger.
Obviously I know the Masters and everything like that.
Yeah, it feels pretty amazing."
He’s right about the Masters.
Jake Knapp has done that.
As for Valimaki, his strong finish is another positive sign for the DP World Tour.
Mathieu Pavon won at Torrey Pines.
Nicolai Hojgaard has been in conention multiple times.
Ryo Histatsune is going along nicely.
Elsewhere…
Charlie Woods shot 86 in his pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic.
He made a 12 on the hole.
McIlroy, Homa and Zhang are not in great form.
What an amazing, feel good story on the DP World Tour this week at the Magical Kenya Open.
The full trailer for season 2 ofFull Swing,Netflix’s docuseries following professional golf, dropped on Monday.
The show itself releases all 8 of its episodes on March 6.
Rory McIlroy’s playing the event for the first time in years.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Tom Kim, Cameron Young, Rickie Fowler are also teeing it.
All those guys listed besides Kim live within 30 minutes of the course.
The LPGA Tour moves to Singapore this week for the HSBC Women’s Championship.
Patty Tavatanakit won last week’s Honda LPGA Thailand.
The Korn Ferry Tour’s in Argentina this week.
It’s poor timing, considering there’s some sort of mosquito outbreak going on down there.
I’m glad I’m not on-site.
Until next week,
Dan
