🏌🏻Scheffler To Miss $20M Event?

Good morning! The drama surrounding Scottie Scheffler’s arrest last Friday gave a considerable 18% boost to the PGA Championship’s TV ratings. 

The second round averaged 1.61 million viewers on ESPN, up from 1.37 million last year at Oak Hill in New York. Saturday and Sunday’s viewership numbers haven’t been revealed yet.

Fun Fact: Five different American players have won the last five men's majors - Schauffele, Scheffler, Harman, Clark and who else? Answer at the end of the email.

⛳ This day in history: The first ever Curtis Cup Match was played on this date in 1932. The United States team defeated Great Britain 5.5 to 3.5 at Wentworth Golf Club in England.

NEXT ON THE TEE
Tournaments This Week

PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge

📍 When and Where: May 23-26, Colonial Golf Club
💰 Purse: $9.1 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa

DP World Tour: Soudal Open

📍When and Where: May 23-26, Rinkven International Golf & Country Club
💰Purse: $2.5 million
🏌🏻 Headliners: Luke Donald, Edoardo Molinari, Jordan Smith

ALBATROSS
Scheffler's Arraignment Delayed, Might Miss $20M Event

Scottie Scheffler’s court appearance has been delayed until June 3rd, the same week he will take on the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Rumors that Scheffler’s charges were going to be dropped by the LMPD were denied by Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines.

Scheffler will not find out what charges he will be confronting and the next dates for appearance before June 3.

It is very much possible that the dates might clash with the PGA Tour’s $20 million Memorial Tournament, which is scheduled to take place from June 6-9.

⛳️ Scheffler To Play This Week: While his participation at the Memorial Tournament is unclear, the World No 1 is scheduled to tee off this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Scheffler has recorded ten top-10 finishes in 11 events so far in 2024 and is one of the outright favorites at the Colonial Golf Club.

The field is quite strong for the event though and he is expected to face a tough challenge from the likes of Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Max Homa, among others.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Nelly Korda vs PGA Caddie - Who's Earning More?

Nelly Korda has already won six LPGA titles and it's not even June. Despite a stellar run so far, she is way behind the leading earners on the PGA Tour - the pay difference is remarkable.

Interestingly, she is getting a tough competition from one of the PGA caddies when it comes to the overall earnings so far this season.

💰 Nelly Korda's Earnings: Korda has earned $2,943,708 (2.9 million) in prize money alone this season, not taking into account her various sponsorship and endorsement deals. After turning professional in 2016 and joining the LPGA Tour a year later, Korda's career earnings currently stands at $11,880,981.

But compared to her peers on the men's side, Korda's earnings are relatively small. Men's World No 1 Scottie Scheffler has collected $18,693,235 so far this season.

Xander Schauffele - who lifted the PGA Championship on Sunday - was rewarded with more money for that one victory ($3.3 million) than Korda has managed in her eight starts.

💰 Tedd Scott's Earnings: Scottie Scheffler's has taken home a bonus of over $1.8 million so far this season. To put it into perspective, Korda has earned just a million more for winning six LPGA titles.

If he were eligible, Scott would be 52nd in the PGA Tour's money list for 2024 - ahead of players like Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee - and means he has earned considerably more than the average PGA Tour player at this point ($1,186,559).

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news 

US Open Qualifiers: Click here to find out who made it and who missed out in the first three of 13 final qualifiers.

Exemption: The USGA announced that 30 additional golfers, including 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, have earned full exemptions into the 2024 US Open Championship.

Streak Over: Patrick Reed withdrew from US Open qualifying on Monday to end his streak of playing every major since the 2014 Masters. Sergio Garcia also misses out.

Sponsor Corner: The PGA Tour announced a multi-year official marketing partnership with Blackstone Products.

LET: Alexandra Forsterling clinches fourth LET title with playoff win on home soil.

BIRDIE
The Curious Case Of Collin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa is developing a worrisome Sunday trend - we dig deep into what's potentially going wrong for the PGA Tour star.

📌 Morikawa ranked 25th in final-round scoring average a year ago, eighth in 2022 and 46th in 2021.

📌 He now ranks 158th out of 184 PGA Tour players in final-round scoring average (71.58) this season.

📌 He hasn't shot under par in a final round since the Genesis Invitational in February.

This trend was very much visible at the recently concluded PGA Championship. Morikawa, who entered the final round of the PGA Championship tied for the lead at 15 under par, stumbled to an even-par 71 on Sunday to fall back to a tie for fourth place.

Morikawa was good enough with his ball striking to win the tournament, but he lost 3.63 strokes to the field from putting alone on Sunday. Only two players fared worse on the greens in the final round.

Players used to fear Morikawa in the final round, but ever since he blew a six-shot lead to Jon Rahm on Sunday at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions, that hasn't been the case.

If Morikawa is to win another Major, he has to solve the Sunday puzzle.

DRIVING RANGE
Stop Hitting Behind The Ball

In today's video, we share an effective drill designed to help golfers achieve ball-first contact.

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