In this Issue

1. 🤝 AK joins LIV

2. 🏆 Results Recap

   • Knapp wins in Mexico

   • Ortiz fires in Oman

3.  🍴Quick Bites

   • Charlie Woods hysteria

   • Niemann gets his Masters invite

   • Rory’s ex-manager stirs the pot

4.  📅 Schedule for the Week

🤝 AK joins LIV

After 12 years in the golfing wilderness, Anthony Kim will join LIV Golf this week as a wild card entrant for LIV's Jeddah tournament. Kim was a much hyped player, touted by some as the next Tiger Woods. He won 3 events on the PGA Tour and produced a stellar Ryder Cup performance in 2008, as well has setting the record for the most number of birdies in a round at Augusta National during The Masters. He certainly was a flashy player with lots of swag, who disappeared from the golfing landscape as a result of a persistent string of injuries and a generous sports insurance policy which he has been relying on.

Kim's absence from the professional golf landscape ended this week when Greg Norman, Commissioner of LIV Golf, announced via X that Kim would be participating in the Jeddah tournament. “Welcome back and to the LIV Golf family mate” said Norman with an air of excitement and anticipation. The word is that Kim’s return is on the following terms:

• Playing on a short-term contract in a wild card spot.

• Small signing bonus with performance-based incentives built in.

• Potential for contract extensions before the end of the season if he's performing.

The signing of Kim by LIV Golf and his return to a professional tour is sure to generate lots of interest in an event that has historically been a flop (poor crowds, questionable venue, general lack of juice in the tournament). Of course, the Saudis want to grow the game of golf in their own back yard, but the Jeddah event has easily been the weakest on LIV’s schedule each year. Kim’s return will go some way to improving that this year.

But will this end up being a master stroke or a disaster for Norman and LIV? It is certainly a big risk and could easily play into the hands of LIV’s critics if Kim bombs and plays badly. The rhetoric around LIV being exhibition golf for washed up “has-beens” that can’t play anymore will be reignited again, just as LIV has been earning credibility through a pretty strong start to its season in Mayakoba and Las Vegas. On the other hand, there is large upside for LIV if Kim contends or even wins this year. There is no doubt the PGAT would have offered Kim a sponsor’s exemption to some of its events if he was interested, which shows there is still value and general interest in Kim’s presence. It should be an intriguing weekend of golf ahead in Jeddah.

🏆 Results Recap

Knapp wins in Mexico

29-year-old PGA Tour rookie, Jake Knapp, won his first title at the Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta shooting a final-round 71 to finish 19 under, two strokes ahead of Finland’s Sami Valimaki. In what has to be described as a weak field, defending champion Tony Finau was the strongest player in the event and the clear favourite. However, the tournament became a race between two players as Knapp and Valimaki slugged it out coming down the stretch, with Sami looking to become the first Finnish player to win on the PGAT.

Knapp led by four shots after three rounds but had to overcome a shaky start and a strong challenge from Valimaki, who made an eagle on the seventh hole. Knapp regained the lead with birdies on the 13th and 14th holes and sealed the victory with a par on the 18th. Knapp’s win earned him $1.5 million, a spot in The Masters and PGA Championship, and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

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Knapp’s rhythm and tempo saw comparisons drawn between his swing and Freddy Couples (a huge compliment to the rookie). He also showed extra talent after clinching the win by shot-gunning a beer greenside in front of his mates. Maybe this was a skill he honed when bouncing at night clubs after losing his Korn Ferry tour card 2 years ago🤷🏻‍♂️. As for Aussies in the field, Aaron Baddeley finished T24, 10 shots off the pace, whilst Harrison Endycott unfortunately missed the cut.

Ortiz fires in Oman

32-year-old Mexican golfer, Carlos Ortiz, won his first Asian Tour title at the International Series event in Oman. He shot a flawless final-round 65 and finished at 19 under, four strokes ahead of South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen. Ortiz did not make a single bogey all week, except for a double bogey on the first hole of the tournament. He earned $360,000, his third professional win, and some valuable world ranking points as he tries to gain entry to this year’s majors.

Ortiz’s victory was impressive, considering the strong field of LIV Golf players who competed in the event. Ortiz’s fellow LIV Golf players dominated the leaderboard, with Joaquin Niemann finishing 3rd, Mito Pereira 4th, Peter Uihlein 6th, and Matt Wolff 7th. Ortiz, who plays for Torque GC, was swamped by his LIV Golf team mates on the 18th green as he sealed the breakthrough win.

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🍴 Quick Bites

Here are some golf quick bites for you to snack on:

• Charlie Woods hysteria - social media was a buzz late last week as Charlie Woods entered a Pre-Q event for the Cognizant Classic. In true form, the PGAT was desperate to milk what it could from the Woods name and its social media team had reels of Charlie walking through the carpark (ala his Dad) and even started a live stream of his round. That’s where it all went pear-shaped. The 15-year-old tanked badly to card a 16-over par round of 86, which included a 12 on one hole, and the PGAT live stream mysteriously disappeared. All of this hype and attention is not helpful for a young kid and the PGAT should know better.

• Niemann gets his Masters invite - Joaco got the very thing he has been grinding so hard for in the last few months - a special invite to The Masters in April. Given the disgraceful state of the OWGR, Niemann was struggling to qualify for the first Major of the year, despite recently winning the Australian Open and LIV Mayakoba along with a host of other top performances. Despite granting the special invite to Joaco, Augusta National didn’t make mention of any of his LIV achievements, and also possibly tried to blend Niemann’s invite into obscurity by also granting special invites in the same announcement to Thorbjorn Oleson and Ryo Hisatsune from the DPWT.

• Rory’s ex-manager stirs the pot - there has been simmering speculation online in recent weeks of Rory making a move to LIV Golf. Of course, this remains hugely unlikely given all the water that has gone under the bridge, but as Jon Rahm’s signing has shown, everyone has their number and, in the end, money usually wins. Enter Rory’s ex-manager this week who speculated that “If you were being cynical, you might say he’s going to sign for about £750million in a month’s time with LIV because he’s paving the way that LIV’s okay now, whereas it wasn’t..”. A defection by Rory to LIV would surely see a change in approach from the PGAT, which has been effectively pushing the PIF aside as it tries to forge ahead with SSG. It might just accelerate the “world tour” that Rory has been riffing about in recent weeks.

📅 Schedule for the Week

LIV Golf returns this week and there should also be some good play over in New Zealand as the Asian Tour heads to the land of the long white cloud.

Your golfing schedule for the week, and how to watch is below:

• PGAT: Cognizant Classic - PGA National, Champions Course (Florida), $9m purse, Friday 1/3 to Monday 4/3 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, Main Coverage starts 5am AEST Friday, Featured Groups from 10.30pm Thursday.

• LIV Golf: Jeddah - Royal Greens Golf & Country Club (Saudi Arabia), $25m purse, Friday 1/3 to Monday 4/3 - Coverage on 7+, starts 6.15pm AEST Friday.

• Asian Tour: NZ Open - Millbrook Coronet and Remarkables Courses (Queenstown), $2.0m purse, Thursday 29/2 to Sunday 3/3 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 11.30am AEST Thursday.

• LPGA: HSBC Women's World Championship - Sentosa Golf Club, Tanjong Course (Singapore), $1.8m purse, Thursday 29/2 to Sunday 3/3 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 12.30pm Thursday.

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