🏌🏻Can Korda Defend Her Olympic Gold?

Good morning! You would think TaylorMade would be eager to plaster social media and its website with posts about Scottie Scheffler, one of its most-prized staff players, winning the gold medal in men’s golf at the Paris Olympics - but they couldn't.

Guess why? Olympic rules prohibit athletes from being in new ads until after the Games.

Fun Fact: The first American woman to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games was a golfer - Margaret Abbott in 1900.

⛳ This day in history: Gary Player memorably hit a 9-iron out of wet rough on the 408-yard par-4 16th hole in winning the PGA Championship on this date in 1972. The 150-yard blind shot over a weeping willow came to rest four feet from the hole.

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Tournaments This Week

Olympics: Women's Event

📍 When and Where: August 7-10, Le Golf National
💰 Purse: NA
🏌🏻 Headliners: Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko

PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship

📍When and Where: August 8-11, Sedgefield Country Club
💰 Purse: $7.9 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Shane Lowry, Nick Taylor, Min Woo Lee

ALBATROSS
Can Nelly Korda Defend Her Olympic Gold?

LPGA World No 1 Nelly Korda is one of the favorites to win the Gold in the women's event at Le Golf National - and if she manages to do so, she will be the first ever golfer to win consecutive Gold medals at the Olympic Games.

Korda reached Paris a couple of days ago and we take a look at how she's preparing to defend her Olympic title.

📍Fan For A Day: In 2021, Korda was unable to take in any other sports during the pandemic but took advantage this time in Paris, catching Katie Ledecky win the 800m freestyle. It was a "bucket list thing" for Nelly and Ledecky's stunning victory motivates her even more to add to Team US' gold tally.

🚀 Purple Patch: When it comes to good vibes, Korda has plenty coming into Paris with younger brother Sebastian winning on the ATP Tour over the weekend and World No 1 Scottie Scheffler taking gold on the men’s side.

Sebastian, the youngest of the Kordas’ three children, could’ve joined Nelly in Paris representing the US tennis team but opted not to compete.

🥇Been There Done That: Three years ago in Tokyo, Korda edged Mone Inami and Lydia Ko by one stroke to become the first American female to win a medal in golf since 1900 when Margaret Abbott won gold in Paris. She will hope that history repeats itself this week.

When it comes to this edition's US team, Korda is the only one making her second appearance. World No 2 Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang, No 9 are making their Olympics debut.

⛳️ Who are the other Contenders? The only other nation to match the Americans' three players in the field is South Korea, a country with a rich women's golf history. Jin Young Ko, Amy Yang and Hyo-Joo Kim will be trying to follow in the footsteps of Inbee Park, who won the gold medal for South Korea in Rio in 2016.

The non-American with the shortest odds of victory is Thailand's Thitikul just won the Dow Championship in June on the strength of a final-round 62. And, Lydia Ko, the only golfer, man or woman, to reach the medal stand in both 2016 and 2021 hopes to add a gold medal to her collection of one silver and one bronze.

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TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
How Much Money Did Golf's Olympic Medalists Make?

There is no official prize money on offer for golfers at the Olympics but the medalists did bag some cash from their respective national federations.

Gold medal winner Scottie Scheffler got paid by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee for his gold medal. There’s a uniform pay structure for athletes representing Team US: $37,500 for gold medals, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze.

Considering Scheffler had already made more than $28 million on the course in 2024, a payday in the mid-five figures may not even register. But in 2023, the median annual wage for all U.S. workers was $48,060; throw in the free Team US gear the Schefflers got and you’re most of the way there.

Tommy Fleetwood didn’t make a penny for his silver medal though and wouldn’t have for gold, either. Team Great Britain doesn’t pay its medalists, preferring to spend on grants and training stipends instead.

Hideki Matsuyama earned bronze for Japan, a prize he’d dearly desired ever since coming up just short at his home Games in Tokyo. That desire wasn’t fueled by financials, but Matsuyama reportedly earns $6,000 for a bronze medal from Japan’s Olympic committee.

💰 What did the Medalists make last time? Because pay structure is so different country by country, this is hardly the first time a lower finisher has out-earned someone ahead of them on the results page. In fact, last time around CT Pan of Taiwan won the bronze in a 7-for-1 playoff.

He earned five million New Taiwan Dollars (NT), which converted to just shy of $179,000. That was nearly 5 times the prize of gold medalist Xander Schauffele.

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LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news 

LIV's Offer To Legends: Gary Player revealed in a recent interview that both he and Jack Nicklaus were offered money by LIV Golf in what could have been an effort to end the division between it and the PGA TOUR. Read more about it here.

Caddie Corner: Russell Robinson, son of PGA Tour caddie, Reynolds Robinson to go for gold in the triple jump at the Paris Olympics.

Poulter Withdraws: LIV Golf star Ian Poulter has been forced to withdraw from the Asian Tour's International Series England event this week due to an injury.

BIRDIE
Pros Eye FedEx Cup Playoffs Spot @ Wyndham Championship

It’s the final week of the FedExCup Regular Season, and the Wyndham Championship is set to provide a drama-filled competition. Several Olympians are set to tee it up - with only the top 70 in the FedExCup after Sunday advancing to the first Playoffs event.

40 of the top 70 in the FedExCup standings will tee it up in Greensboro including stars like Shane Lowry, Nick Taylor, Min Woo Lee and Nicolai Hojgaard. Lucas Glover looks to become the event’s first back-to-back winner since Sam Snead in the 1950s.

Jordan Spieth, who comes into the week at No 63 in the FedExCup standings, returns to Sedgefield for the first time since 2020. Spieth notably lost in a playoff in Greensboro in 2013 in his debut.

🌦️ Could Weather Play Spoilsport? The effects of Tropical Storm Debby could make their way up the East Coast towards Greensboro, North Carolina, and Sedgefield Country Club this week, bringing rain and winds as the tournament tees off Thursday.

Currently, Debby is expected to move into northern Florida Monday and move along the East Coast Tuesday, moving inland through mid-week. Eventually, it is expected to move across North Carolina late this week bringing heavier rain and thunderstorms.

DRIVING RANGE
The Bump and Run

In today's video, we discuss the most underrated shot in golf - the Bump and Run.

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