🏌🏻 Tiger‘s Back And With A New Deal

Good morning. The stage is set for a showdown in the US as the PGA Tour moves to Arizona while LIV Golf makes its maiden appearance in Las Vegas.

But before we get into the thick of it, on the 19th Hole, we ask: What is #1 On Your Watchlist This Week?

Switching to the top stories, see what's headlining the WM Phoenix Open and LIV Las Vegas, Tiger's confirmed return date and Jon Rahm's PGA Tour plans.

That, and tips on how to control your follow-through in today's edition of Golf Reporter.

⛳ This day in history: On this date in 1960, Arnold Palmer won the Palm Springs Desert Classic, his fifth event of 1960, with a final-round 65; by 1965 the event was renamed the Bob Hope Desert Classic. The 1960 Classic was the tournament debut, which Arnie would win five times, the final time in 1973.

19TH HOLE
Clubhouse Conversations

The attention of the golfing world shifts to the US with two big tournaments to look forward to this week. We let you take the hard call.

Let’s see what the consensus says!

ALBATROSS
WM Phoenix Open and LIV Las Vegas Take Centre Stage

PGA Tour's WM Phoenix Open will tee off at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona tomorrow while LIV Golf action shifts to Las Vegas Country Club.

Cloudy skies and inclement weather will welcome fans and players to both the events but the weather is expected to clear up over the weekend and that's definitely good news!

PGA Tour: WM Phoenix Open - What You Need To Know

Prize Money Dwarfed By LIV Golf: LIV Golf's $25 million Las Vegas prize pot is more than double the amount that is on offer at the PGA Tour's WM Phoenix Open. Players will compete for $8.8 million at TPC Scottsdale, Arizona.

Scottie Scheffler Eyes Three-Peat: World No 1 Scottie Scheffler is looking to become the first golfer since Steve Stricker to win the same PGA Tour event three years in a row. Only four players have won three WM Phoenix Open events in the tournament’s 90-plus-year history.

Final Gateway To The Genesis Invitational: This is the final event to try to earn a spot in The Genesis Invitational via the Aon Swing 5. Matthieu Pavon, Grayson Murray, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Kevin Yu and Stephan Jaeger are the current top five.

LIV Las Vegas - What You Need To Know

Maiden Appearance In Las Vegas: The LIV Golf League visits Las Vegas for the first time - it’s the 19th different global market and 11th different U.S. market to host a LIV Golf tournament. The historic Las Vegas Country Club, established in 1967 and the city’s longest-standing country club, is the host site.

LIV Golf vs Super Bowl: LIV Las Vegas, which will begin on Thursday and finish on Saturday, will be played six miles away from Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. While the dates do not clash, fans might have to choose one event over the other given how expensive the tickets are. All eyes will be on the attendance numbers.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Tiger‘s Back And With A New Deal

Tiger Woods has teased fans that a big announcement is brewing, with the 15-time major winner set to make his PGA Tour comeback at the Genesis Invitational next week. Since parting ways with Nike last month, a whole host of brands have been linked with Woods, but it appears Taylormade have won the race to land a partnership.

TaylorMade Lifestyle Ventures LLC has already filed for the trademark 'Sunday Red', the color famously worn by Woods when competing in the final round of an event. Woods has an existing partnership with the golf brand, having used TaylorMade equipment since 2017.

Woods wrote on social media: "The vision remains the same. 2.12.24”, accompanied with an intense head shot.

February 12 as mentioned by Woods comes next Wednesday, one day before the Genesis Invitational gets underway at Riviera.

Woods, who hosts the tournament, will be making his first appearance on the PGA Tour this season.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

Bud Cauley Returns: Bud Cauley is set to make his first Tour start this week at the WM Phoenix Open since the 2020 Fortinet Championship. While competing in Ohio at the Memorial in June 2018, he sustained six broken ribs, a broken leg and a collapsed lung in the single-car accident and has undergone multiple surgeries.

WM Phoenix Open Qualifiers: Patton Kizzire, Nicolo Galletti and Jim Knous are the final three players to make the field for this week's WM Phoenix Open via the Monday qualifiers. The Phoenix Open starts Thursday with 132 players.

LIV Golf: Caleb Surratt (19) required help from his Legion XIII team-mate Tyrrell Hatton to check-in to a Las Vegas hotel as he is below 21 years. The LIV Las Vegas tournament will take place from Feb. 8-10 at the Las Vegas Country Club.

TV Ratings: Despite cancellation of the final round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and no NFL playoffs on the schedule, LIV Golf’s Mayakoba event drew a rating well below that of the PGA Tour. 1.95 million viewers watched Saturday's play at Pebble Beach on CBS compared to 168K (Saturday) and 432K (Sunday) LIV Mayakoba viewers on CW.

Phil Mickelson: LIV Golf's Phil Mickelson revealed that he has hit a staggering 47 aces during his professional career till date. In comparison, Tiger Woods has hit 20 holes-in-one.

NBC Booth: Kevin Kisner is returning for his second stint as an analyst for NBC Sports at this week's WM Phoenix Open. He was last seen in this role at The Sentry in January.

Houston Open: The Houston Open is returning to the PGA Tour schedule in 2024, and defending champion Tony Finau has committed to play. This year's edition is scheduled for March 28-31 at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston.

TGL: Tommy Fleetwood will join Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose and Sahith Theegala in Team LAGC as the final player of their TGL squad. Woods and McIlroy's TGL is scheduled to begin in 2025.

BIRDIE
Jon Rahm Wants To Play PGA Tour Events

LIV Golf star Jon Rahm laments missing out on the recent PGA Tour events at Torrey Pines and Palm Springs. Rahm's first PGA Tour win in 2017 was at Torrey Pines, which is also where he won his first major, the U.S. Open, in 2021 but he has been banned from competing in those events after jumping ship to LIV Golf.

Rahm made it clear though that he doesn't regret joining LIV Golf. His team, Legion XIII, picked up the team victory at LIV Mayakoba last week, while individually he finished in a tie for third.

Rahm is hopeful that he can play PGA Tour events once again in the future but is currently focussed on doing well in his second LIV Golf event - LIV Las Vegas.

DRIVING RANGE
Indoor Follow-Through Drills

These indoor drills will help you control your golf swing and make better contact, ensuring solid ball striking.

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