🏌🏻5 Golfers Who Exceeded Expectations In 2024

Good morning! The influx of money in professional golf has been staggering.

Scottie Scheffler's 2023 and 2024 seasons are the most lucrative in PGA Tour history — by a significant margin.

To put it into perspective, Jordan Spieth's record of $12 million in 2015 stood for eight years and is now $17 million less than Scottie Scheffler's 2024 earnings.

Today’s Trivia: When was the last time Team US didn't win the Presidents Cup? Answer at the end of the email.

⛳ This day in history: On this date in 1925, the great amateur Bobby Jones, President in Perpetuity of Augusta National Golf Club, won the 29th playing of the US Amateur, beating Watts Gunn, 8 and 7, at Oakmont for his second title.

ALBATROSS
Scottie-Rory Team Up Versus LIV Golf

Golf fans will witness a thrilling match featuring four of the sport’s biggest names: Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will take on Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

All four players have confirmed their participation in the match and we are set for a thrilling PGA Tour vs LIV Golf clash.

Scheffler, the reigning Masters champion, and McIlroy, a four-time major winner, are known for their consistency and strategic approach to the game. On the other side, five-time major champion Koepka and reigning US Open winner DeChambeau bring a fierce rivalry and a powerful playing style, making this match a compelling clash of personalities and skills.

For Scheffler and McIlroy, this matchup is an opportunity to showcase their commitment to the PGA Tour and its legacy. McIlroy has been vocal about his support for the Tour, emphasizing the importance of its role in the development of professional players while Scheffler, who has quickly risen through the ranks, aims to solidify his status as a top player while representing the Tour’s values.

Koepka and DeChambeau may leverage this match to assert their positions within the LIV Golf framework. Their participation alongside the PGA Tour’s top players could be seen as a statement, highlighting the ongoing tension and competition between the two entities.

📌 Live Telecast Is Available: The event will be held mid-December in Las Vegas and will air on TNT, which is owned by Warner Brothers Discovery. TNT previously broadcast nine editions of The Match, the series of exhibitions that launched in 2018 with Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson.

The prime-time special is being produced by Bryan Zuriff’s BZ Entertainment — which developed The Match series — and EverWonder Studio, which was founded last year by Ian Orefice and funded by RedBird IMI and former CNN chief Jeff Zucker. The players will receive an appearance fee but will not compete for prize money.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Presidents Cup: Could Tiger Or JT Be Captain's Assistant?

Team US Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk has confirmed he is planning to "reach out" to Tiger Woods over the prospect of the 15-time Major winner becoming an assistant captain at Royal Montreal later this month.

Furyk currently has Kevin Kisner, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, and Keegan Bradley among his leadership group for when Team US take on Team International in Canada between September 26-29.

There is a fifth assistant-captain spot available to Furyk should he want it, and the 2003 US Open champion is looking at Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas as potential options.

Woods was expected to become the Americans' next Ryder Cup captain in 2025 when Bethpage Black hosts the biennial clash, but the PGA of America opted - somewhat surprisingly - for Bradley instead.

Meanwhile, Thomas hasn’t missed a US national team event since the 2016 Ryder Cup. He could keep that streak alive - but as an assistant captain this time around.

Furyk did not put a timeline on a decision to name a new assistant captain, but it’s expected those plans will need to come together quickly. The US Team is scheduled to arrive in Montreal for Presidents Cup preparations in less than three weeks.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

PGA Tour: The tour will test potential broadcast changes at three fall tournaments, starting with the Sanderson Farms Championship in the first week of October. The tests will continue the next two weeks at the inaugural Black Desert Championship in Utah and the Shriners Children’s Open.

Brands Split: Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. announced Wednesday that its board of directors intends to pursue the separation of its two primary businesses, Topgolf and Callaway, making them two independent companies.

LPGA Tour: Marvol Barnard, LPGA Professionals National President from Green Valley, Arizona; and Cindy Miller, LPGA Professional and former LPGA Tour player from Buffalo, New York have been elevated to the elite company as 2024 inductees to the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame.

BIRDIE
These Golfers Exceeded Expectations In 2024

A number of PGA Tour golfers achieved beyond what was expected of them entering the 2024 season.

Let's see who blew past their expected baseline over the last year.

🏌‍♀Collin Morikawa: The 27-year-old, two-time major winner had the highest expected win value without actually winning a PGA Tour event. This was statistically the best year he has ever put together as a professional.

Morikawa also reached personal bests in driving, playing around the greens and putting.

🏌‍♀Aaron Rai: Rai went from being an average PGA Tour player in 2020 to gaining 1.0 strokes per round and winning for the first time on the PGA Tour in 2024.

Making it to the Tour Championship is a massive deal for players because it means you were consistently one of the 30 best on the PGA Tour over the course of seven months, and Rai easily qualified finishing 23rd in the FedEx Cup standings - an improvement of 55 spots from his prior best finish.

🏌‍♀Nick Dunlap: Dunlap won twice on the PGA Tour this season. He played his way into the top 50 in the FedEx Cup despite not receiving FedEx Cup points for winning the American Express.

A reminder: He's just 20 years old.

🏌‍♀Akshay Bhatia: Bhatia was downright bad two years ago - about a -1.0 SG guy on the Korn Ferry Tour. Now? He's a +1.0 guy on the PGA Tour and a two-time champion with a real shot at making future United States team events.

He notably won the Texas Open this year and probably should have taken the Rocket Mortgage Classic as well.

🏌‍♀Sahith Theegala: Finishing 3rd in the FedEx Cup, Theegala is another player who has improved season over season for the last six years. He shored up his driving and was the most accurate he's ever been as a professional.

Read the full article.

DRIVING RANGE
Stop That Back Pain

In today's video, we address lower back pain and share four exercises to help relieve it during your golf swing.

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