🏌️ The Ultimate Drill For Speed

Good Morning. Tour pro Xander Schauffele didn’t hold back while hitting out at PGA commissioner Jay Monahan.

“He has a long way to go before he can earn the trust of the players.”

This latest comment from Schauffele makes us wonder: does the PGA Tour’s internal battles supersede its ongoing rift with LIV Golf?

Well, definitely some food for thought amidst our build up to The Players.

Trivia: Only five players have won multiple times at TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course): Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Steve Elkington, and who else? Answer at the end of the mail.

⛳ This day in history: On this date in 1960, Arnold Palmer won his third straight event, the Pensacola Open, after shooting rounds of 68-65-73-67 for 273. It was his fourth win of the year.

19TH HOLE
Clubhouse Conversations

If Scottie Scheffler wins this week, he’ll become the first player in history to win two consecutive editions of The Players Championship.

ALBATROSS
The Players @ 50: Who Will Reign Supreme?

The 50th edition of The Players Championship tees off tomorrow - here are the top things to look forward to.

🌟 Bigger Than Ever: A record 17 international media partners will be producing their live telecasts to send the action to fans around the globe.

NBC, Golf Channel and Peacock will produce 22 hours of programming with limited interruptions, and PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will deliver more than 150 hours of coverage over four streams.

🏌️ Next Gen Stars: World No 10 Ludvig Aberg and Tour winners Nick Dunlap, Austin Eckroat, Jake Knapp, Mathieu Pavon among others are set to make their maiden start at TPC Sawgrass.

🚫 Absentees Noticable: While there are 23 golfers making their maiden appearance in this edition, a number of veterans will be missing in action. Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the tournament while LIV Golf stars like Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann and Brooks Koepka are not eligible to play.

🚀 The Favorites: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns and Jason Day top the power rankings at The Players Championship. Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele are also strong contenders.

🌦️ Weather: The first two days of the tournament are likely to take place in ideal playing conditions but there is a 50% chance of rainfall on Saturday and scattered thunderstorms are expected on Sunday.

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Monahan Unpacks World Tour, Kim Rejection

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan provided updates on a number of burning issues during his first press conference in six months.

🤝 Merger Update: Monahan revealed that talks with PIF regarding the merger are "accelerating". The PGA Tour, SSG and PIF are set to meet in Saudi Arabia to finalize terms.

💰 Return On SSG Investment: Monahan plans to provide a profitable return to SSG on their $3 billion investment by focusing on the fans even more than they already have been doing at a time where golf is truly global. The Tour is actively assessing a number of investment options that focus on fan priorities.

🌍 Global Golf Tour: Rory McIlroy's idea of a world golf tour was discussed in a recent PGA Tour Policy Board meeting. But Monahan highlighted that the PGA Tour is the "greatest tour" in golf, indicating that a unified global tour is unlikely to materialize soon.

🚩 Kim's Rejection: Monahan revealed that the PGA Tour was in talks with Anthony Kim about a potential return but he rejected the option of playing his way back on to the circuit before signing with LIV Golf.

⏳ Resignation Rumors: Tour Pro Xander Schauffele hit out at Monahan stating that "he has a long way to go" before earning the trust of the players but Monahan dodged questions related to the issues.

He admitted that he "could have handled things better last summer" but claims that everyone has moved on.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

Relegation in Golf? Wyndham Clark suggests that the PGA Tour should reduce its membership and put the bottom 20 players each season at risk of relegation.

Langer Injured: Bernhard Langer is set to miss the Masters for only the second time in 40 years because of an Achilles tendon tear from playing pickleball.

The Players: In celebration of The Players Championship 50th anniversary, Morgan Stanley will donate an additional $50,000 if players reach 50 eagles this week.

LPGA Tour: The Thunderbirds have partnered with the LPGA Tour for the first time, and their $250,000 contribution has increased the purse of the Ford Championship in Arizona to $2.25 million.

Jason Day: Former PGA Championship winner Jason Day has signed a deal to take equity ownership in footwear brand, Payntr Golf while helping to launch a new shoe collection.

LIV Golf*DP World Tour: LIV Golf's Paul Casey will tee it up at the Porsche Singapore Classic from March 21 to 24.

Golf Comedy: Apple TV+ will produce and stream an untitled golf comedy series starring Owen Wilson. Jason Keller created the series.

BIRDIE
50 States, 50 Golfers - Part 5

The Players Championship tees off tomorrow and here's the final part of our five-part series, picking the best native-born golfer from each state to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the tournament.

🏌️ South Dakota - Curt Byrum: Byrum won once on the PGA Tour and twice on the Korn Ferry Tour and in recent years, he has been an analyst for Golf Channel.

🏌️Tennessee - Cary Middlecoff: Middlecoff won 39 Tour titles and three majors - the 1955 Masters and 1949 and 1956 US Opens.

🏌️Texas - Ben Hogan: Picking one golfer from Texas is tough, but in the end it had to be Hogan and his 64 PGA Tour titles (fourth all-time) and nine major championships.

🏌️Utah - Tony Finau: Finau has six PGA Tour titles and more are likely to come.

🏌️Vermont - Keegan Bradley: Bradley has won six times on the PGA Tour and became one of six players to win in his first major championship start when he captured the 2011 PGA Championship.

🏌️Virginia - Sam Snead: Snead's record says it all: 82 PGA Tour titles and 7 major championships to go with the most effortless swing in golf history.

🏌️ Washington - Fred Couples: Couples won 15 times on the PGA Tour, highlighted by the 1992 Masters and The Players in 1984 and 1996.

🏌️West Virginia - Bill Campbell: Campbell qualified for The Masters as an amateur 19 times and played on eight Walker Cup teams - good enough to represent West Virginia.

🏌️Wisconsin - Steve Stricker: Stricker has amassed 40 career victories including 17 on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.

🏌️Wyoming - Jim Benape: Benape won once on the PGA Tour but it was a pretty big one, topping Peter Jacobsen by one shot at the 1988 Western Open.

DRIVING RANGE
Transition Drill for Speed

This drill from Titleist staff instructor Trillium Rose is a great way for you to check one specific area in your transition that plays a large role in creating speed - the kinematic sequence of events that start the forward swing.

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