⛳ Rory Lands Ball In Fan's Lap

Good morning. An eventful Thursday with the 3 golf championships concluding with interesting golfers at the top on day 1. More on that in our top story.

Plus: Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL arena collapses, Rory McIlroy’s ball lands in fan’s lap, Charlie Woods got what Tiger Woods couldn’t and many more players making for noteworthy news, all in a day’s work.

Have a great Friday!

ALBATROS
Day 1 Results From 3 Championships

Round 1 action at Sea Island was suspended due to darkness with Eric Cole, Cameron Young and Davis Thompson sharing the top spot on the leaderboard.

Eric Cole shares Round 1 lead with Rookie of the Year honors, Masters invite on the line. The frontrunner for Rookie of the Year honors has a dream opportunity to end his dream year in fashion after an opening 6-under 66 at the 2023 RSM Classic.

Nasa Hataoka of Japan and Ruoning Yin of China shot 9-under-par 63 to forge a tie for the first-round lead at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.

Hataoka was the first to touch 9 under and Yin matched her at the end of the afternoon, her final birdie coming at the par-5 17th hole at Tiburon Golf Club. Both players carded nine birdies and no bogeys to kick off the lucrative season finale tournament.

The top 60 players in the Race to the CME Globe standings qualified for the season-ending event, which features the highest winning payout in women's golf. The champion will take home a $2 million first prize.

Nicolai Højgaard, the young Dane who made his Ryder Cup debut this Fall, holds a share of the lead after round one at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

The 22-year-old bomber carded a 5-under 67 Thursday, which included a barrage of birdies on the back-nine. Two Frenchmen: Matthieu Pavon and Julien Guerrier also shot 67s.

EAGLE
TGL Arena Roof Collapses

The new indoor golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy isn't off to the best start.

The roof at the TGL's SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, collapsed Tuesday night after an apparent power failure. Nobody was hurt in the incident, but the air-supported dome appeared to be significantly damaged.

The SoFi Center dome is going to play host to the new indoor simulator golf league next year. The venue, which is being constructed on Palm Beach State College’s campus in Florida, is about 250,000 square feet and will be able to seat 2,000 people.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

• Angel Yin won the Aon Risk Reward Challenge on the LPGA Tour this season, taking home a $1 million prize.

• The LPGA announced its 2024 schedule, which will include a total prize fund of more than $118 million ($116.55 in official money), the highest in tour history.

• Rory McIlroy has shot land hilariously on woman's lap at World Tour Championship.

• LIV Golf free agency is officially underway. There are currently 10 openings across the 12 LIV Golf League teams ahead of the 2024 season.

• India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar grabs first-round lead, firing a bogey-free 8-under 63 for the first-round lead in the US $1.5 million BNI Indonesian Masters.

• Steph Curry believes Charles Barkley envies his golf skills over shooting ability.

• The top 10 players, who are not already exempt, in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings will earn PGA Tour cards next season. Take a look at the current rankings and where players stand at the DP World Tour Championship.

• Tiger Woods’ former girlfriend dismisses appeal, claims ‘never victim of sexual abuse’.

• The LA Kings hosted their 21st annual golf tournament this week and raised more funds for the Kings Care Foundation than in any previous year.

BIRDIE
Charlie Woods Has What Tiger Woods Doesn’t

Charlie Woods has something that his famous father doesn't: a high school state golf championship gold medal.

Tiger Woods' son, a freshman, shot a 78-76 over two days as The Benjamin School's boys team captured the FHSAA Class A state championship at Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida.

Tiger Woods, who was in attendance and cheering on his son, never won a state high school championship at Western High School in Anaheim, California. That's because the California Interscholastic Federation at that time didn't conduct state championships in golf. Instead, he won the CIF SoCal Regional in 1991 and was the Southern Section medalist in 1991, 1993 and 1994.

During that time, Tiger Woods also became the then-youngest golfer to win the U.S. Junior Amateur when he captured the first of his three titles in 1991.

DRIVING RANGE
This Drill Produced INSTANT PURE Iron Shots

If you want to pure your irons more consistently, you have to watch this video! I would say, in terms of performance, Me and My Golf claims this has to be the best golf lesson they have released on to YouTube so far.

At the start Win, was struggling with duff shots and fading his shots a bit more than he would like. They gave him 3 simple steps to correct this and the more the lesson went on, the more he started to absolutely pepper the pin.

PAR FOR THE COURSE
This Day In History

On November 17, 1883, Willie Fernie Beat Defending Champion Bob Ferguson 1-Up in 36-Hole Playoff at the British Open Men’s Golf Championship.