Charles Howell III hits his tee shot on Sunday on the sixteenth gap at Mayakoba.

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Examine in each week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the most well liked matters within the sport, and be a part of the dialog by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we focus on.

1. The PGA Tour’s elevated occasions have lived as much as the hype up to now, with big-name winners and the celebrities enjoying nicely within the first three of the season. Now, following Chris Kirk’s Honda win, two extra are again to again: the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Gamers Championship. Give us a reputation you’d guess on to have an enormous two-week stretch, and is robust play at this level of the season indicator of their Masters prospects? Or are we too early to look that far forward?

Chris Kirk hangs on to win the Honda Traditional in a playoff over Eric Cole
By:

Zephyr Melton

Dylan Dethier, senior author (@dylan_dethier): One-hundred % of my co-workers and possibly most of my expensive readers will roll their eyes studying this as a result of I like to recommend him about 60 % of the time, however Keegan Bradley is ready up for a big-time Florida Swing. He performed nicely at these two occasions final 12 months (fifth at Gamers, T11 at Bay Hill) and will get cozy on the Florida greens. When Bradley putts moderately nicely, he contends. Anticipate that at the least as soon as these subsequent two weeks.

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): Dylan is true … I did roll my eyes. Give me world No. 1 Jon Rahm. He’s been on an absolute tear up to now this 12 months, so it’s simple to imagine he’ll proceed that development in Florida. And sure, this month is when Masters prep actually begins to start. If a participant is in type in March, it usually bodes nicely for his or her prospects in Augusta.

Ryan Barath, Senior Tools Editor (@RDSBarath): I may go along with the apparent alternative of Rory, however as a substitute I’m going to go along with one other golfer from the Emerald Isle — Shane Lowry. He performs nicely in Florida, within the wind, and does nicely on powerful programs. He’s now had back-to-back excessive finishes on the Honda the previous two years, and if the nice instances maintain rolling in Florida, I consider he’ll play nicely on the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Gamers Championship. I nonetheless suppose the Masters is much sufficient away that loads of gamers can warmth up in March, so I’m not able to make any picks.

2. Sergio Garcia informed the Telegraph that he blames Rory McIlroy’s lack of maturity for severing their friendship, which deteriorated over the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf fallout. He additionally mentioned, “You’ll be able to counsel issues, concepts, and though they don’t seem to be all the time adopted up and acted upon, you’re listened to [on LIV]. That didn’t occur on the PGA Tour. There are solely two, possibly three gamers who the bosses take heed to on that Tour.” Assuming Tiger Woods and McIlroy are the 2 high gamers Garcia was referring to, who could be the third? And the way a lot affect do these high gamers have over PGA Tour execs and different golfers?

Sergio Garcia blames Rory McIlroy’s lack of maturity for severing their friendship
By:

Nick Dimengo

Dethier: Jon Rahm? Jordan Spieth? Justin Thomas? Harry Higgs? Laborious to say precisely whom Garcia was referring to. He has some extent that PGA Tour gamers are being listened to with elevated urgency as of late, and there’s no query Woods and McIlroy are entrance and heart in that dialogue. He additionally has some extent that the Tour was sluggish to behave to enhance its product. However Garcia isn’t precisely a impartial celebration right here. Some LIV professionals have gone out of their solution to say the PGA Tour was nice, there aren’t any exhausting emotions, and making the bounce simply made sense at this level of their profession. Garcia has taken a extra confrontational strategy, so it’s no shock that he’s been greeted with some frostiness.

Melton: If I needed to guess, I’d say Jordan Spieth, nevertheless it’s unattainable to know. Previous to the LIV saga, I’d have mentioned that the highest gamers (sans Tiger) had comparatively little affect over the Tour brass. However within the wake of the disruptions over the previous few years, high gamers appear to be wielding extra energy.

Barath: If I needed to guess one, it could be Spieth. He’s sponsored by AT&T, additionally one of many tour’s largest sponsors, and has been a standout participant for years. As for sway, I feel that there are just a few golfers who would have the power to alter the thoughts of the tour or a sponsor.

3. Whereas the PGA Tour kicked off its Florida swing with the Honda Traditional, LIV Golf opened its second 12 months at Mayakoba, which up till final 12 months was a former PGA Tour cease. Now with a beefed-up schedule, TV deal and one 12 months below their belts, what do you see as the most important Yr 2 objective for LIV because it tries to achieve traction?

‘We aren’t going wherever’: Greg Norman on LIV Golf’s viability, critics, future
By:

Josh Sens

Dethier: Viewers and sponsors, I suppose. The 2 are linked — if there are many viewers, sponsors are presumably extra more likely to observe — and so they have the identical finish consequence: money circulation. This week, we noticed the primary indicators of company involvement, which seems like an enormous first step. However not all of it seems like a remaining product, all the way down to the mismatched group uniforms. Nonetheless, they’ll be in loads of households on the CW, so on PGA Tour down weeks like this one (the Honda Traditional had a remarkably weak discipline and nil star energy within the combine on Sunday), I’d suppose some golf followers would flip over to LIV. We’ll see what number of. And we’ll see whether or not main advertisers observe.

Melton: Extra legitimacy. LIV continues to be considerably of a punchline within the golf world, but when they’ll placed on some compelling tournaments, signal extra large identify gamers, and attract new eyeballs this 12 months, they’ll be trending in the suitable path.

Barath: Traction. Thus far LIV has created solely the slightest quantity of curiosity outdoors of the golf world, and contemplating their TV deal constricts their distribution in comparison with the earlier free stream on YouTube, getting informal followers to tune in continues to be going to be a problem. Perhaps this can be a stretch analogy, however at this level, LIV is just like the XFL going up in opposition to the well-established NFL. Certain you’ve a TV deal, and you will markets that need golf, but when the viewers doesn’t have any readability for what’s at stake, how do you construct any long-term curiosity and acquire traction?

4. The PGA Tour and LPGA Tour introduced a brand new mixed-team occasion that may debut later this 12 months in Florida and change the QBE Shootout. The Grant Thornton Invitational (Dec. 4-10) will group 16 PGA Tour gamers and 16 LPGA Tour golfers. This would be the first annual mixed-team competitors since 1999. addition to the schedule?

PGA Tour, LPGA partnering in mixed-team occasion beginning in 2023
By:

Josh Berhow

Dethier: A terrific addition to the schedule. That creates a much more fascinating dynamic than the QBE, which appeared enjoyable for gamers however lacked juice for golf followers. This can be a enjoyable step and one thing viewers have been interested by for my complete golf-viewing life.

Melton: Sure! It will likely be an exquisite occasion — particularly for the LPGA. This occasion ought to introduce extra informal followers to the highest girls’s expertise, and permit them to showcase their expertise alongside a number of the largest names on the boys’s facet. Needs to be a enjoyable occasion to look at.

Barath: I echo my panelists, by saying that this can be a format that’s lengthy overdue. I’m going to take a second to get on my soapbox and say extra illustration is desperately wanted in golf, particularly for girls. I’ve been a fan of the ladies’s recreation for a very long time, however now as somebody with two daughters, I would like them to have the ability to see folks like themselves on TV enjoying sports activities at a excessive degree, identical to I did after I was a child. The second a part of that is, it’s not nearly little ladies, however informal golf followers as an entire getting extra publicity to feminine professionals. Bear in mind final 12 months on the QBE, when the narrative was how everybody was ‘shocked’ by Nelly Korda’s recreation? It shouldn’t be a shock that she will hit nice pictures — she’s among the best gamers on this planet. Folks simply must see extra of it!

5. Whereas The Honda Traditional lacked some star-power, Monday’s Seminole Professional-Member simply down the highway definitely is not going to. Fast, you all of the sudden landed an invitation to affix Seminole and want a professional to play alongside you. Who on this discipline is your accomplice, and what different twosome are you selecting to spherical out your foursome? (Click on right here to view the sphere. )

The Seminole Professional-Member is star-studded once more, although one group is out
By:

Nick Piastowski

Dethier: This one’s simple: I’ll take David Novak’s spot alongside Jon Rahm, filling out the foursome with Tom Brady and Tony Finau. The World No. 1 and the GOAT in the identical group is a no brainer. I’d like Novak to nonetheless stroll with us, although. Really feel like he’d have a lesson or two I’d wish to study.

Melton: Gimme Harry Higgs as a enjoying accomplice. There aren’t many Tour professionals extra enjoyable than Higgs, and it’s certain to be a hell of a time enjoying with him in a member-guest. Pair us up with Rory and Gerry McIlroy, and it’d be even higher.

Barath: Powerful alternative, however I’m selecting Adam Scott as my accomplice, and the reason being — he’s Adam Scott. Now if the secret is to choose ANY different twosome, I’m going with Patrick Rogers and Chuck Schwab, much less so for Patrick (sorry, Pat), however hopefully I may get a couple of funding ideas from Mr Schwab himself. 

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