🏌🏻 Unbreakable Golf Records

Good morning. The weekend just served up a double dose of golfing action, with two exciting events wrapping up on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. Check out the key moments, leaderboard, prize money and is Nike jumping ship to LIV Golf?

That’s not all. We also bring to you a list of Golf records that are never likely to be broken along with tips on how to save strokes around the green in our Driving Range section.

As we pay tribute to the extraordinary leader today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let's also explore the latest happenings in the world of golf and see what's in store for the week ahead.

PGA Tour: The American Express

📍 When and Where: January 18-21, PGA West Private Clubhouse and Golf Courses, California

💰 Purse: $8.4 million

🏌🏻 Top Players: Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Jason Day, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim.

DP World Tour: Dubai Desert Classic

📍 When and Where: Jan. 18-21, Majlis, Dubai

💰 Purse: €7.6 million

🏌🏻 Top Players: Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott, Padraig Harrington, Francesco Molinari.

LPGA Tour: HGV Tournament of Champions 

📍 When and Where: Jan. 18-21, Lake Nona Golf Course, Orlando

💰 Purse: $1.5 million

🏌🏻 Top Players: Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lydia Ko, Charley Hull, Jennifer Kupcho, Brooke Henderson.

⛳ This day in history: On this date in 2017, Justin Thomas won the Sony Open with the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history. He shot 253 and broke the previous record created by Tommy Armour III, who shot 254 at the 2003 Texas Open.

ALBATROSS
Fleetwood Reigns Supreme, McIlroy Finishes T2

Tommy Fleetwood birdied the final two holes to win the Dubai Invitational by one shot from Rory McIlroy and Thriston Lawrence. McIlroy led by a shot going into the last hole but hooked into the water and carded a bogey.

Fleetwood capitalized on the error and clinched a thrilling victory at Dubai Creek. McIlroy was playing for the first time since November, and will remain in the Middle East to defend his Dubai Desert Classic title.

Dubai Invitational Prize Money

Winner: Tommy Fleetwood - €387,213.68
T2: Rory McIlroy - €197,251.20
T2: Thriston Lawrence - €197,251.20
4th: Jordan Smith - €113,886.38
5th: Francesco Molinari - €96,575.65

Dubai Invitational Final Leaderboard

Who Won The Sony Open?

Grayson Murray carded a 39-foot birdie putt on the first play-off hole at the par-5 18th to secure victory in the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii. He defeated Keegan Bradley and Byeong Hun An to claim his second title on the PGA Tour.

The tie-breaker took place on the par-5, 550-yard 18th hole of the Waialae Country Club, where Murray sank a birdie while An and Bradley made pars, settling for runner-up positions.

Murray's Sony Open triumph has earned him $1,494,000, 500 FedEx Cup points and his first-ever qualification for the Masters Tournament.

Sony Open Prize Money

Winner: Grayson Murray - $1.494 million
T2: Keegan Bradley - $738,700
T2: Byeong Hun An - $738,700
T4: Carl Yuan, - $373,500
T4: Russell Henley - $373,500

Sony Open Final Leaderboard

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Nike Joins Forces With LIV Golf

Nike have linked up with Brooks Koepka and his LIV Golf team, Smash GC just days after parting ways with Tiger Woods. Koepka has been a long-time Nike Golf ambassador, having continued to don the brand since joining the breakaway league in 2022.

A pair of custom made Nike golf shoes with the Smash GC logo were posted by LIV's official social media platform, raising eyebrows across the world of golf. This is the biggest commercial breakthrough by a LIV Golf team or player and could well set the stage for more partnerships with just weeks to go before the parallel league starts its second full season in Mexico.

When it comes to the PGA Tour, Nike continues to have top stars in its roster including world number 1 Scottie Scheffler, number 2 Rory McIlroy, Nelly Korda, Tommy Fleetwood and Tony Finau among others.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

What’s In The Bag: Tommy Fleetwood edged past Rory McIlroy to win the title in Dubai while Grayson Murray emerged victorious following a tie-breaker in Hawaii. Check out the equipment each of them used during their events.

OWGR: Chris Kirk moved up to the 25th spot in the world following his victory at the PGA Tour's season-opening event The Sentry in Hawaii last week. He has now climbed up to No. 21 after the Official World Golf Ranking leaderboard was re-issued because the previous one had a calculation error.

Sponsors' Corner: Min Woo Lee has become the first PGA Tour Pro to sign an apparel deal with Lululemon. LPGA Tour star Lydia Ko is Lululemon's brand ambassador since 2019. 

DP World Tour's Guido Migliozzi has signed a clothing and footwear deal with Nike.

John Rahm: LIV Golf star John Rahm has reportedly roped in former World No.1 amateur Caleb Surratt as the third member of his Legion XIII team. Kieran Vincent is the other member of the team, with one more spot yet to be filled.

Patrick Cantlay: Patrick Cantlay has unveiled Apollo as his new cap sponsor following his split with investment banking company, Goldman Sachs. Cantlay is set to become Apollo's first brand ambassador in Golf.

BIRDIE
Unbreakable Golf Records

Records are meant to be broken but that phrase doesn't apply to the ones that we have listed down for you here.

Take a look at these golfing achievements which are never likely to be broken.

Phil Mickelson - 26 Years Inside The World's Top 50

When Phil Mickelson finished runner-up at the Casio World Open on the Japan Golf Tour in November 1993, he entered the world’s top 50 for the first time – and he stayed there for 1,353 straight weeks. The streak came to an end in November 2019.

Tiger Woods - 683 Weeks At World No.1

Tiger Woods held the World No.1 spot for a combined 13 years. First came the 264-week stretch between August 1999 and September 2004, before another 281 weeks between June 2005 and October 2010.

Jack Nicklaus - 24 Years Between First and Last Major Win

Twenty-three years, nine months and 27 days - the time between Nicklaus’ 1962 US Open triumph and his victory at Augusta in 1986. He won 16 more Major titles in between.

Lydia Ko - 10 LPGA Tour Victories Before Turning 19

Ko is the LPGA Tour's youngest ever winner at just 15 years, four months and two days old. She is the second youngest golfer to win a Major - the Evian Championship. Ko now has over 25 professional victories including two Majors.

DRIVING RANGE
3 Simple Short Game Tips

In this video, Todd Kolb will show you how to save strokes around the green with the following short game practice tips: how to putt from the fringe, how to chip with a hybrid, how to hit a flop shot.