🏌🏻LIV Golfer Rejects PGA

Good morning. Two PGA Tour events are set to tee off this week - the Myrtle Beach Classic makes its debut while the Wells Fargo C’ship provides players the perfect opportunity to have their final tune-up ahead of next week’s Major, the PGA Championship.

LPGA action action resumes this week after a break as Nelly Korda aims to win a historic sixth consecutive title at the Cognizant Founders Cup.

Fun Fact: Nelly Korda is ranked in the top-15 on the LPGA Tour this season in strokes gained off the tee (2nd), approach (13th) and around the green (1st). No other player is ranked in the top-25 in all 3 of those statistics.

⛳ This day in history: Francis Ouimet, born on this day in 1893 in Brookline, Mass. He won the U.S. Open in his hometown in 1913 at The Country Club, beating British stars Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff to elevate American golfers on a global scale.

NEXT ON THE TEE
Tournaments This Week

PGA Tour: Wells Fargo Championship

📍 When and Where: May 9-12, Quail Hollow Golf Club, North Carolina
💰 Purse: $20 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa

PGA Tour: Myrtle Beach Classic

📍When and Where: May 9-12, Dunes Golf and Beach Club, South Carolina
💰 Purse: $4 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Ryan Fox, Erik Van Rooyen, Thorbjørn Olesen

LPGA Tour: Cognizant Founders Cup

📍When and Where: May 9-12, Upper Montclair Country Club, New Jersey
💰 Purse: $3 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Hannah Green

ALBATROSS
Schauffele Headlines Strong Field @ Quail Hollow

Xander Schauffele is one of the favorites to win the Wells Fargo Championship after the withdrawal of Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg.

The World No 4 is in great form this season:

✅ Schauffele has finshed better than par nine times, completed his day without a bogey four times and finished 12 rounds with a better-than-average score over his last 16 rounds played.

✅ He has posted the best score of the day three times while finishing with a top-five score on five occasions and a top-10 score in six of his last 16 rounds.

✅ Over his last 16 rounds, Schauffele has placed within three strokes of the best score of the round six times, and within five shots on 11 occasions.

🚀 Secret To Success: Better ball speed is helping Schauffele perform consistently well this season. He ranked No 34 on the PGA Tour last season with a 179.02 mph average ball speed but is currently 10th on tour with an average of 183.08.

A golfer's club speed, the club he's using and the quality of impact with the ball all determine ball speed -- and ball speed determines distance.

🌦️ Weather Watch: Schauffele will look to hit the ground running from the opening round itself but how much he gets to play on Day 1 depends on the weather.

The official forecast describes Thursday as “the most active weather day” of the week. 69 players at the event have been grouped in threesomes for the first two rounds because of expected thunderstorms Thursday afternoon.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
LIV Golfer Turns Down PGA Invite

Louis Oosthuizen declined a special invitation to the 106th PGA Championship due to an undisclosed personal commitment.

Oosthuizen has participated in 13 editions of the PGA Championship with 10 cuts passed and two second places (2017, 2021) as his best results. His most recent participation was in 2022.

⛳️ Final Field For The PGA Championship: The top 103 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will tee it up beginning next Thursday in Louisville Kentucky alongside 53 players who got in via sponsor exemptions and special invites.

Two spots are still reserved for winners of this week’s PGA Tour events, the Wells Fargo Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic.

LIV Golf has 16 players in the field. Six players from the league were handed last-minute invites, Dean Burmester being the latest player to join the field.

Check out the complete field. 

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news 

Women's Golf: LPGA Tour rookie Gabriela Ruffels and 15-year-old amateur Asterisk Talley have qualified for the 2024 US Women's Open.

Ambitious Plans: LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman has outlined the league's plans to buy or create its own golf courses, giving each team its own home venue, taking inspiration from the Premier League.

NBC Sports: Check out the four-man broadcast booth team for US Open feat. Brandel Chamblee, Brad Faxon and more.

New CMO: Former PepsiCo senior executive Adam Harter has been appointed LIV Golf’s new Chief Marketing Officer.

Takeover: SuperStroke acquires Lamkin Grips as two of industry's most powerful brands unite.

TV Ratings: Taylor Pendrith’s win at the The CJ Cup Byron Nelson experienced a 24% ratings decline on Sunday compared to last year when Jason Day took home the trophy. Only 1.7M viewers took in the action on CBS for this year's final round.

BIRDIE
These Are The Oldest Golfers To Win A PGA Tour Tournament

Winning on the PGA Tour at an old age isn't everyone's cup of tea but there are some golfers who did the unthinkable even at an older age - here's a list of the five oldest players to win an event on the PGA Tour.

🏌‍♀ Fred Funk: Funk won the 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic by defeating Jose Coceres in a playoff. He was 50 years, eight months, and 11 days old when he won the tournament.

🏌‍♀Craig Stadler: At the age of 50 years, one month, and 18 days, Craig Stadler won the B.C. Open in 2003, a PGA Tour event. He secured a fabulous one-stroke victory over Alex Cejka and Steve Lowery.

🏌‍♀Sam Snead: Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open in 1965 at the age of 52- years ten months and 8 days. During his career, he won over 100 professional tournaments, including 82 PGA Tour events.

🏌‍♀Art Wall Jr.: Wall Jr. was 51 years, seven months, and 10 days old when he won the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1975. He won the event by one stroke over Gary McCord.

🏌‍♀Davis Love III: At the age of 51 years, four months, and 10 days, Davis Love III won the Wyndham Championship in 2015 in Greensboro. He is the oldest golfer to win a PGA Tour event till date.

DRIVING RANGE
Keys To Great Bunker Shots

In this video, we share three essential keys to excelling as a fairway bunker player.

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