🏌🏻 Who Will Win The Masters?

Good morning. Friday is Groundhog Day. It is also likely to rain during the Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week. Lots of action in store as the top players battle it out for a $20m purse.

But before we get into the thick of it, on the 19th Hole, we ask: Who Will Win The Masters In 2024? So bring your bets on.

Switching to current events, see what’s headlining as the Pebble Beach Pro-Am tees off tomorrow. Off the field, Rory's making the news again. And our Birdie feature on golfers who won the Masters on their debut.

That, and a tip to master your downswing in today's edition of Golf Reporter.

⛳ This day in history: On this date in 1987, Judy Bell was the first woman to be included in the USGA Executive Committee. She was later inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 in the Lifetime Achievement category.

And in 2015, Lydia Ko, 17, becomes the youngest golfer, male or female, to be ranked No. 1.

19TH HOLE
Clubhouse Conversations

It may be a bit too early to put our bets down for who will win the Masters 2024, but we certainly can bet on at a different level.

Give us your best bet and let’s see what the consensus says!

ALBATROSS
Top Players And Weather To Make A Splash Tomorrow

As the Pebble Beach Pro-Am tees off tomorrow, let us take a look at the top things to look forward to from the tournament.

Rory Returns: Rory McIlroy will make his 2024 PGA Tour season debut at Pebble Beach this week. McIlroy began his year, as he traditionally does, with the DP World Tour in Dubai.

Maiden Appearance Of The Stars: World No 1 Scottie Scheffler will make his maiden appearance at this event and so will Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young. Nick Dunlap will make his professional debut at Pebble Beach.

No 1 Spot At Stake: McIlroy can reclaim the World No 1 spot at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am if he wins the event. The tournament offers the most ranking points beyond the Majors and The Players Championship.

Weather Could Play Spoilsport: The weather forecast on the Monterey Peninsula calls for a 80% chance of rain on Thursday. Friday will be slightly better but there is a 80% chance of rain and strong winds on both Saturday and Sunday.

Tee Times of Key Players (ET)

🏌️ 10:15 pm: Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg
🏌️ 10:39 pm: Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose
🏌️ 10:51 pm: Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Rory’s Talks Making Headlines Again

Rory McIlroy has not yet teed off on the PGA Tour this season but he's still making all the headlines.

Rory Supportive Of Hatton's LIV Switch: Hatton left the PGA Tour to join John Rahm's LIV Golf team for a whopping $63 million.

McIlroy Not In Favor Of Punishing LIV Defectors: McIlroy was earlier very critical of LIV Golf but has now softened his stance.

Rory Regrets Joining The Policy Board: Rory McIlroy quit the PGA Tour policy board because of heavy workload and he's not involved in the decision-making anymore. He believes joining the board wasn't his wisest decision and some things are "not just worth it".

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

All Tour Meet: PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan invited members of all three tours to participate in “an important” and “timely update” during a conference call scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on January 31. The agenda of the meeting has not been revealed yet.  

PGA Tour: Tiger Woods headed Player Advisory Council will assemble on February 1 for a meeting scheduled at 8 am ET. The new 16-member PAC was announced just two days back. 

LET To LIV: Former Ladies European Tour (LET) Pro Rachel Drummond has joined LIV Golf as a Reporter. She will take over pre and post-round reporting duties on LIV Golf's new show, 'Club 54' during the 2024 season - replacing the roles previously performed by the departing Troy Mullins.

LIV Golf: Cameron Smith's Ripper GC set to have an all-Australian line up with Lucas Herbert being the latest player to sign for them. He will join Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Smith himself at the season-opener on February 2.

At the 71st PGA Show in Orlando, over 31,000 golf industry professionals from 89 countries and 50 US states came together to meet with more than 1,000 golf companies and brands.

BIRDIE
Golfers Who Won The Masters On Debut

Only 3 Golfers have won the Masters on debut since the tournament's inaugural edition in 1934.

Horton Smith: Smith was the winner of the first-ever edition of the Masters, essentially meaning that he did win the tournament on his debut. He also went on to win the third edition of the tournament.

Gene Sarazen: Sarazen won the 1935 edition of the tournament, in his very first attempt.

Fuzzy Zoeller: Zoeller played his very first Masters in 1979 and won the green jacket. He overcame a six shot deficit to win in a playoff against Ed Sneed and Tom Watson.

DRIVING RANGE
Drill To Master The Downswing

In this video, you'll learn the correct transition in the downswing, the downswing sequence and how to square the club face at impact.

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