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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
There are only two weeks left before the next major championship in men’s professional golf: the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 16-19.
The LPGA Tour is taking the week off with its second major, the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, right around the corner on May 30-June 2.
Even with many of the sport’s best golfers not playing this week, including red-hot Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, there are still tournaments to watch.
What’s next on the PGA Tour
The CJ Cup Byron Nelson
When: Thursday-Sunday
Where: TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
Defending champion: Jason Day
Purse: $9.5 million ($1.71 million to winner)
Day’s defense
With Will Zalatoris pulling out because of his back injury flaring up, the field for this week’s event isn’t exactly stacked, with most of the tour’s top golfers taking a break before a two-week stretch that includes a signature event (Wells Fargo Championship) and major championships (PGA Championship).
Only seven of the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings and 10 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking are competing at TPC Craig Ranch, led by Jordan Spieth, the 20th-ranked player in the world.
Last year, Day snapped a 105-start winless streak with a 1-stroke victory over Si Woo Kim and Austin Eckroat. On Wednesday, Day committed to playing in the Olympics golf tournament Aug. 1-4 at Le Golf National outside Paris. Sixty golfers will compete in both the men’s and women’s tournaments; Day is currently the highest-ranked man from Australia at No. 13 in the Olympic Golf Ranking.
Day, 36, skipped the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro because of concerns about the Zika virus.
“Probably looking back on it, I wish I would’ve gone to Rio,” Day said. “Had one of those spots and at the time we were having kids, and then obviously there was that scare, so I was kind of like a little bit freaked out about that.
“I wish I would’ve gone, but if I get the opportunity to go and represent the country, my country, Australia, and get to go to Paris, that would be an absolute blast, an honor to do that. To be able to call yourself an Olympian would be even better. If I get the opportunity, I’m 100% going.”
Tiger on track for three more majors
Tiger Woods made the rounds on late night and morning shows this week to promote his new golf and lifestyle brand, Sun Day Red, which was made available to the public Wednesday.
Ready. Set. Hunt. Sun Day Red has officially arrived. Shop our very first collection: https://t.co/VLKSruDzyh #SunDayRed pic.twitter.com/M7kChYvKQP
— SUN DAY RED (@SunDayRed) May 1, 2024
During an appearance on “Today” on Wednesday, Woods said his plan was still to play one tournament a month — the PGA Championship in May, U.S. Open in June and The Open in July.
“I have basically the next three months,” Woods said. “So I have three majors, and hopefully that will all work out.”
Last month, Woods set a Masters record with his 24th consecutive made cut, which broke the previous mark he shared with Fred Couples (1983-2007) and Gary Player (1959-1982).
Woods carded 82-77 on the weekend at Augusta National and finished last among players to make the cut at 16-over 304, his worst 72-hole total in a professional event.
The 15-time major champion said he was sore after playing at the Masters and takes cold plunges “religiously” to keep playing.
The Open will be bigger
The R&A announced this week that 250,000 fans will walk through the gates of Royal Troon Golf Course in Scotland for the Open Championship on July 18-21. That will be the biggest crowd in the 10 Opens played at Royal Troon; 173,000 tickets were made available when Henrik Stenson defeated Phil Mickelson by three shots in the last one played there in 2016.
It will be the third-largest crowd in Open Championship history — 290,000 tickets were available for the 150th Open at St. Andrews in Scotland in 2022 and 260,000 were distributed at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, last year.
One person who wasn’t given a ticket to The Open at Royal Troon is LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman. Norman wasn’t invited to the 150th anniversary celebration at St. Andrews two years ago, and the R&A apparently hasn’t made passes available for him this year, either.
Norman, who won The Open in 1986 and 1993, attended the Masters in April after buying badges on the resale market, according to his son, Greg Norman Jr.
“I don’t think there’s a G. Norman [on the ticket list],” R&A corporate communications director Mike Woodcock told reporters Tuesday. “I think they would have let me know if there was. So I’m not aware that he’s bought a ticket so far.
“Obviously, there are tickets still available on the resale platform or hospitality. He’s very welcome to look there.'”
What’s next in the LIV Golf League
LIV Golf Singapore
When: Friday-Sunday
Where: Sentosa Golf Club (Serapong Course), Singapore
Defending individual champion: Talor Gooch
Defending team champion: RangeGoats GC
Purse: $20 million individual ($4 million to winner); $5 million team ($3 million to winners)
Rahm looks to end drought
Two-time major championship winner Jon Rahm still hasn’t won an individual title as the LIV Golf League hits the halfway point of its 14-tournament schedule. The Spanish golfer hasn’t played poorly — he’s the only golfer to finish in the top 10 in each of the first six events and leads the circuit with 95 birdies.
Rahm tied for third at 16 under in Australia last week, 2 strokes behind winner Brendan Steele. He has broken par in 17 of 18 rounds this season.
Rahm is coming off a disappointing title defense at the Masters, where he tied for 45th at 9 over, 20 strokes behind winner Scheffler.
Ryder Cup reprieve?
Rahm did receive some good news last week from new DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings, who told reporters in London that he and other LIV golfers could play for the European team at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York by maintaining their DP World Tour membership and accepting fines and suspensions.
“If we look at the eligibility criteria for 2023, I think there has been a slight misconception,” Kinnings told reporters in London. “The reality is that, under the current system, if a player is European and is a member of the DP World Tour and abides by the rules in place, he is eligible.”
Golfers are required to play in four DP World Tour events, outside of the majors, to maintain their memberships. They’re suspended from playing in one DP World Tour event for each LIV Golf event in which they compete without a release from Kinnings.
The same rules would apply for England’s Tyrrell Hatton and others. Longtime European team members Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were ineligible to compete in the Ryder Cup in Rome last year because they resigned their DP World Tour memberships.
Rahm could conceivably play in the Spanish Open, the Dunhill Links Championship, French Open, Andalucia Masters or Genesis Championship after the LIV Golf season ends to maintain his membership.
“It’s not a loophole because that’s the rules we’ve always had and those are the rules we are going to continue to apply,” Kinnings said.
“It requires a player to work within the rules, but the truth is that those rules have been looked [at] and tested. Everything is done in a fair, reasonable and proportionate way. So there is no reason why anything needs to change. It is wrong to think Jon Rahm has written himself out of the Ryder Cup. People instantly thought we would have to change the rules, but actually we don’t. If Jon follows the procedures in place, there is no reason why he would not be eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup.”
Keeping an eye on Kim
Reigning Open Championship winner Brian Harman, talking to reporters Tuesday during a preview of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon Golf Course, said he has been as curious as anyone else in watching Anthony Kim‘s return to pro golf after a nearly 12-year hiatus.
Harman and Kim were teammates on the U.S. team at the 2005 Walker Cup as amateurs.
“I’m always interested when someone kind of picks up the pieces and comes back,” Harman said. “It’s nice to see him playing golf again. He sure was tough to beat when he was playing good. Hope he finds a little bit of that form.”
Kim, who is playing as a wild card in LIV Golf individual competitions this season, hasn’t finished better than 50th in a 54-man field in four starts. The 38-year-old finished 54th last week at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide, Australia.
“I heard that his personal life is going really well from all reports,” Harman said. “I haven’t talked to Anthony personally in probably 12 years or so, but yeah, I’ve been rooting for him from the sidelines. … He’s an easy guy to pull for.”