📢 Beyond the Tour - your new golf pod!

We are very excited to announce that The Shank Show will be expanding with a new weekly golf podcast!  We will be teaming up with Jake Hower from GolfWide Media to deliver you Beyond The Tour. The pod will be focused on the major golf tours globally and showcasing all you need to know about the PGAT, LIV, DPWT and more. In our view. the world of professional golf has never been more interesting or exciting. There is lots of change afoot, and as passionate golf fans (no matter which tour we are talking about), Beyond The Tour will provide a fresh and fun avenue to be part of the conversation.

Beyond The Tour will nicely complement our existing weekly golf newsletter for The Shank Show. There will be no change to the newsletter and you will continue to receive that weekly via email with all the same content you currently enjoy.

We have already recorded Episode 1 of Beyond the Tour and it should be available to listen to shortly on the major streaming platforms. We’ll give you a heads up via our socials when it is ready to go. Just in case you aren’t already following, you can find us here:

• X - @TheShankShow_

• Instagram - theshankshow_

🏆 Results Recap

LIV: Brooksy and Ripper GC too good in Singapore

LIV Golf took the stage in Singapore this weekend at the challenging Sentosa Golf Club. Whilst the crowds weren’t up to the high standard set by the Aussies in Adalaide last week, there was a fair turnout from the locals, particularly on Sunday, and a noticeable improvement from the event last year. So, momentum is headed in the right direction for LIV Singapore.

In the Individual standings, five-time Major winner, Brooks Koepka emerged victorious, securing his 4th overall LIV Golf victory and picking up the winner’s cheque of $4 million. His final round 3-under 68 was good enough to hold off Cam Smith and Mark Leishman who finished equal second, two shots back from Brooksy. Sentosa is a demanding course and it makes the players hit the big shots coming down the stretch. Some of the final tee shots are incredibly hard, with hazards in every direction, and Koepka never faulted as the pressure rose on Sunday.

It certainly is ominous form from Brooks with the next Major of the year, the PGA Championship, less than 2 weeks away. Given he’s already won this title 3 times, he’s going to be one of the favourites, along with Scottie Scheffler. Let’s hope the PGA pairs these guys together.

On the Team front, Ripper GC has made it back-to-back titles, with the Aussies edging out the nearest challengers, Fireballs GC and Cleeks GC by three strokes. After a disappointing year season last year, where they were finished 9th overall in the Team Championship in Miami, 2024 has brought fresh form and fresh success for the Rippers. The relegation of Jed Morgan and the recruitment of Lucas Herbert seems to have made a big difference and they are now one of the teams to watch.

We have to call out The Majesticks who finished DFL again for the second week in a row. This week they were 6 shots behind 2nd last place, which is a vast improvement on Adelaide where they were 19 shots behind 2nd last. Some serious soul searching to do for the likes of Poulter, Westwood, Stenson and Horsfield. LIV also has to address the 3 playing Captains within this team (ridiculous!).

The next stop for LIV will be in Houston, returning on 7 June 2024.

PGAT: Pendrith gets his Maiden W

The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, held at TPC Craig Ranch in Texas, saw Canadian Taylor Pendrith secure his first PGA Tour victory. Pendrith, who was the third-round leader, shot a 4-under 67 on the final day, making this his first win in 74 starts on the PGAT. His victory came despite a nagging shoulder injury and also being 1 shot behind going into the 72nd hole.

Ben Kohles, the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year, was the leader with one hole to play. He had overtaken Pendrith with birdies on 16 and 17. He was in the box seat as he stepped onto the 18th tee, which presented him a gentle Par 5 that no one in the field had bogeyed so far in the final round. However, the benign final hole would prove to be his downfall.

Kohles hit his second shot into the greenside rough, leaving him with a fluffy lie for his 3rd. Meanwhile, Pendrith had put his second shot on the left side of the green leaving a lengthy eagle putt. Kohles then proceeded to flub his chip shot short of the green and he was then unable to get up and down to save par, leading to the only bogey on the 18th all day. Pendrith was able to lag his eagle putt to 3 feet and made the short one to get his maiden W.

There’s been a fair bit of chatter online about the poor quality of the field and the unimpressive layout of TPC Craig Ranch. Concerns are also mounting over Jordan Speith who was unable to make the cut amongst one of the weakest PGAT fields all year - have we already seen the best of Jordan, and will we ever see him at his peak again? As golf fans, we hope he can get back to his best.

As for the Aussies, nothing to write home about. Min Woo Lee flirted with the Top 10 at times throughout but finished T24. Scott, Baddley, Endycott and Day all made the cut but had unremarkable tournaments.

🍴Quick Bites

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

• Norman snubbed by the Open? - Reports online suggest that the Director of Corporate Communications for the R&A has said Norman hasn't been invited to The Open Championship this year and suggested Norman get a fan ticket from a resale platform. If true, this is absolutely disgraceful given he is a two-time Open Champion.

• Gooch gets a special invite to the PGA - similar to Joaquin Niemann’s invite to The Masters this year, the PGA of America has surprisingly issued a special invitation to Talor Gooch to play at Valhalla in next week’s PGA Championship. This is a good move and we hope the Majors are starting to recognise their fields will be weaker if they don’t create pathways for LIV players to qualify or receive exemptions.

• LIV announces mid-season transfer window - LIV Golf revealed that its first mid-season transfer portal opened following the conclusion of the Singapore event. The month-long window allows teams to complete trades and also offers opportunities to the out-of-contract golfers that finished in last season's "open zone. It will be interesting to see what moves are made by the Team Captains.

📅 Schedule for the Week

No golf on the LIV, DPWT or Asian Tours this week as they take a break in the lead up to the PGA Championship next week. But the PGAT does have another Signature Event with a strong field looking for a piece of the $20m purse.

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

• PGAT: The Wells Fargo (Signature Event) - Quail Hollow (North Carolina), $20m purse, Friday 10/5 to Monday 13/5 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, Main Coverage starts 4.00am AEST Friday, Featured Groups from 9.30pm Thursday.

• LIV Golf: no event

• DPWT Tour: no event 

• LPGA: Cognizant Founders Cup - Upper Montclair Country Club (New Jersey), $3.0m purse, Friday 10/5 to Monday 13/5 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 5.00am AEST Friday.