🏌🏻 Controversial Golf Incidents

Good morning. It’s officially the New Year weekend! Golf Reporter’s offices will be closed through Monday and we’ll be back with a fresh edition on Tuesday.

Here’s wishing a happy New Year to you and your family.

Until then, today’s edition of Golf Reporter packs a mighty punch - we look back at the biggest talking points from 2023, golf moments that went viral on social media and we explore the most controversial golfing incidents from the past year.

See you in the new year!

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⛳ This day in history: On this date in 1975, Tiger Woods was born in California. Woods is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time and is one of the most famous athletes in modern history. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.

ALBATROS
2023 Recap: Top Talking Points

Well, the 2022-23 season was one of its kind. Drama, controversies, action - we had it all. It's a difficult job choosing a few incidents out of the many noteworthy ones we had - but, we've given it a try. Here are the highlights from the past season, which we'll certainly talk about in years to come.

John Rahm's Masters Win: Rahm put up a phenomenal final-day performance over 30 holes to capture the green jacket at the Masters 2023. He scripted history by becoming the first European to grab both the Masters and U.S. Open. As things turned out, he officially joined LIV Golf a month later and gave us another major talking point of the year.

Hatgate: The 2023 Ryder Cup was not short on theatrics. A media report indicated division within the U.S. locker room due to Cantlay's refusal to wear a hat in protest of unpaid player participation fees. European fans taunted Cantlay, prompting him to gesture a hat tip after winning against McIlroy and Fitzpatrick. Cantlay's caddie, LaCava, heightened tensions by waving his hat, leading to a confrontation with McIlroy later on.

Golf-ball rollback: The USGA and R&A initially suggested a rule affecting golf ball distances at top-level tournaments in March, which faced strong opposition from various golf organizations. Instead of that proposal, they've decided to implement a universal change to the Overall Distance Standard - a move that will roll back the golf ball, affecting elite and professional players alike. However, this alteration won't be enforced until January 2028 for elite competitions.

Check out the complete list here.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Golf Moments That Went Viral On Social Media In 2023

In an extraordinary year for golf, the sport found itself entangled in legal disputes, senate hearings, surprising mergers, and contentious alterations, not to mention the events happening on the courses. However, it wasn’t all about controversies and disputes. As we near the year's end, let us take a look at the most amusing, widely shared, and uplifting moments that created buzz on social media throughout the year.

Mcilroy-Reed Tee Dispute: At the Dubai Desert Classic, Patrick Reed labelled Rory Mcilroy an "immature little child" for not talking to him at the range. McIlroy stated he wasn't really in the mood after he had been issued with a subpoena by Reed's lawyer on Christmas Eve just a few weeks prior. Footage emerged of the incident, including Reed tossing a 4Aces GC LIV Golf tee in McIlroy's direction and the clip went viral in no time.

Trees falling at Augusta: During the second round of the Masters, adverse conditions and heavy wind saw huge pine trees at the par 3 16th come tumbling down. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and play was able to resume the next day but the video still makes for a startling watch, even now.

Bryson DeChambeau's 58: DeChambeau had been laying relatively low since his move to LIV but reminded everyone of his brilliance when he shot a miraculous 58 en route to winning the Greenbrier event. The 58 was the first in LIV Golf history and beat the previous low score record of 61, which was held by Branden Grace, Matthew Wolff and DeChambeau himself. And social media was certainly impressed.

Rory's return to social media: The rollback of the golf ball may have divided people but it certainly was good for one thing: bringing Rory Mcilroy back to social media for the first time since 2017. Rory issued an impassioned defence of the governing bodies' decision, began replying to fans and even had time to fire a not-so-subtle dig at ousted Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson to end the year.

Rose Zhang's Win on debut: One of the feel-good stories of 2023 came via Rose Zhang, who became the first player to win an LPGA Tour event on professional debut since 1951 when she captured the Mizuho Americas Open in June. Social media was ablaze after the stunning victory, with fellow Stanford alumnus Tiger Woods congratulating the young American on her historic victory.

BIRDIE
Most Controversial Golf Incidents From 2023

In the world of golf, the players and other stakeholders generally maintain a calm and composed demeanor, but things can quickly change if a ball veers off course or when decisions need to be made. Tensions may arise when unexpected situations occur, such as when a country's investment group supports a new tour and enters into a secret agreement with a rival tour. Then matters do get spicy. As they did this year. Let us take a look. 

Patrick Cantlay and Slow Play: During the last round of the Masters at Augusta National, Brooks Koepka, who played alongside eventual winner Jon Rahm, reignited a long-standing concern about slow play. This issue, present since the early days of golf, sparked a minor controversy, with Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland, playing ahead of Rahm and Koepka, particularly Cantlay, facing criticism for the pace of their play.

Cheating on the PGA Tour: Justin Doeden admitted to cheating at the PGA Tour Canada’s Ottawa Open. A few days earlier, he had been accused of changing his score on the final hole from a double-bogey 7 to a par 5 after the card had already been signed by his playing partner. I am here to confess the biggest mistake I have made in my life to date. “I cheated in golf", he wrote on Twitter.

Tiger Woods’ tampon prank: During the first round of the Genesis Invitational, after tee shots on the 9th hole, Tiger Woods was photographed handing Justin Thomas a tampon. The moment was captured by Cliff Hawkins, a photo editor from Getty Images and it soon went viral on Twitter. Woods received a lot of flak from fans on social media. He later apologised.