🏌🏻 16 Teams, Unique Format - This Week

Good morning. In today’s edition, we talk about the unique format of the Grant Thornton Invitational this week and the pairings, why players were wearing a device on their belts during the Hero World Challenge, and how Ernie Els’ reply to Tiger Woods changed professional golf forever.

So, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and let's get ready to explore everything golf!

ALBATROS
Grant Thornton Invitational: 16 Teams, Unique Format

Sixteen teams comprised of top PGA Tour and LPGA players will compete in the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational.

The 54-hole event begins Friday, Dec. 8 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, and will employ scramble, foursomes and mixed fourball formats. Here’s a breakdown of those three, per tournament officials:

Round 1: Scramble

Each player hits a tee shot and the team selects the ball to be used for the next stroke. From there, both players hit their next shots from that spot. This process continues until the ball is holed.

Round 2: Foursomes (alternate shot)

Each team’s players alternate hitting shots with the same ball until the ball is holed. One player will tee off on the odd-numbered holes, and the other tees off on the even-numbered holes.

Round 3: Modified fourball

Both players tee off, and then they switch balls for their second shots and play that same ball until it is holed. The lower score of the partners is then counted as the team score for the hole.

Read on to find out the 16 teams.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
What Were Players Wearing On Their Belts At Hero World Challenge?

Just how far was Tiger Woods hitting his driver in the Bahamas? How many putts was Scottie Scheffler holing from outside 12 feet? Those details from the Hero World Challenge might not have been available until this year.

Those tiny clips all but a few players wore on the back of their belts at Albany is what the PGA Tour refers to as “ShotLink bugs,” enabling the Tour to gather most data it typically gets at domestic PGA Tour events.

It’s part of a massive upgrade in the tour’s scoring and data collection which has reshaped the game from a statistical standpoint, providing more data for the media, invaluable statistical analysis for players and more information for fans.

The Tour has been testing them on the Korn Ferry Tour for the last 18 months.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

• Inside the golf-ball rollback debate: Here’s what both sides are saying.

• 13 questions (and answers) about the 'Jon Rahm to LIV Golf' speculation.

• LIV Golf has completed its first inter-league trade. Here’s how it happened.

• What is rollback? How a potential new golf rule would affect everyone from Tiger Woods to you.

• A $100 million golf course will be at the heart of new 2,500-home development in North Texas.

• Can I ask the player in the group ahead to come back and rake his footprints in my line of play?

• Why Steve Stricker didn’t have to choose between daughters for PNC Championship.

• Defending champ Jon Rahm missing from American Express entries, but event adds three top-ranked golfers.

BIRDIE
Ernie’s Reply To Woods Changed Professional Golf Forever

Tiger Woods and Ernie Els go back a long way. Indeed, Els was already a Major Champion and one of the best players in the world when Tiger appeared on the scene in the mid-1990s.

There's always been a great deal of respect between the two stars and Els has revealed exclusively to GM how a conversation at the 1996 Open Championship led to the start of arguably the greatest ever professional golfing career.

Els also speaks about Tiger's career as a whole, what makes him such a special player and going up against the American in the 2003 Presidents Cup, "the most pressure Tiger ever felt in his career."

Read the full interview here.

DRIVING RANGE
Learn to Hit a Draw, Fade, Low and High Shots

How to hit a draw, fade, low and high golf shots! These shots you NEED to learn to help you really improve your golf.

PAR FOR THE COURSE
December 6: This Day In History

1987: Jane Crafter and Steve Jones won the J. C. Penney Golf Classic at Bardmoor Country Club in Largo, Florida, with a score of 20 under par, two ahead of Debbie Massey and Mark McCumber.