2024 PGA Tour: Tiger Woods Returns for Genesis Invitational
Such are the times that if the talk is on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf is mentioned in the same breath. More of it later, since the focus is on the ongoing Tour, which recently saw the conclusion of the WM Phoenix Open from February 8 to 11, where Nick Taylor snatched the crown from two-year champion Scottie Scheffler. Next up is the Genesis Invitational taking place from February 15 to 18 — and top golfer Tiger Woods will be competing. Read on for our PGA Tour live updates and a ringside view of happenings on professional golf’s biggest Tour.
PGA Tour 2024: Live updates and highlights from the ground
Genesis Invitational, February 15-18: What to expect
The 2024 Genesis Invitational will not have its defending champion Jon Rahm teeing off at the Riviera Country Club, California, on Thursday. Instead, the PGA Tour’s live updates will be tracking the fortunes of Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler, and of course, tournament host Tiger Woods.
It was this week last year that Jon Rahm returned atop the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) as World No 1, and this time round, the Spaniard will be watching the action on TV instead of being there on the course. Rahm had switched to LIV Golf last December on a deal priced at USD 500 million, after much speculation about how he’d navigate the mental tussle between legacy and big money.
Return of the icon
In or outside the ropes, the presence of Tiger Woods is enough to raise a tournament’s stature by many notches. And here we dwell on the PGA Tour’s third Signature event of the 2024 season. PGA Tour’s live updates were abuzz last week when Woods took to social media to announce his decision to tee off for the first time this year.
Woods missed most of the 2023 PGA Tour season recovering from surgery on the right ankle, and after the Masters Tournament in April he returned to host the Hero World Challenge in The Bahamas in December.
Not since the 2023 Masters Tournament had Woods featured in pro golf, and it was difficult to ignore his 18th finish in a 20-man field in Bahamas and similar performance at the PNC Championship, in the company of his son Charlie.
Far removed from public eye, Woods has embarked on a relentless strive to get back to a steady schedule on the PGA Tour. “We’ve been training every day, which is great. It’s been nice to knock off a lot of the rust and some of the doubt that I’ve had,” said the 82-time PGA Tour winner.
Given his recent track record of just seven official appearances in the last three PGA Tour seasons, the odds are high, but when the spotlight is on Woods, nothing is impossible.
It was natural that Woods made his 2024 pro golf debut at the Riviera for several reasons. Back in 2023, Woods commenced his season here as a player and finished T45, after a prolonged gap following the 2022 Open Championship. The flat terrain of the Riviera Country Club will be easy on the body, but Woods has never won here before. It’s likely that he’s raring to change this. The mind rules in golf, and Woods, who was once World No 1 for a record 683 weeks, is a champion at quashing mental blocks.
Since confirming his participation, Woods has been relentless in ensuring his name remains in the headlines. On February 12, he announced his new clothing line named Sun Day Red. The colour has defined Woods on the golf course and it had to do with some parental advice early on.
“Mom thought being a Capricorn that my power colour was red, so I wore red as a junior golfer and I won some tournaments. Lo and behold, I go to a university that is red, Stanford is red. We wore red on the final day of every single tournament, and then every single tournament I’ve played as a professional I’ve worn red. It’s just become synonymous with me,” explained Woods.
Unique status
Woods, as host, lifts the Genesis Invitational to an exclusive league on the PGA Tour. There are just three events on the Tour’s schedule hosted by players or legends of this sport. The others are The Arnold Palmer Invitational and Jack Nicklaus’ association with The Memorial.
Couple this with Genesis’ newfound status as a Signature event, offering a prize purse of USD 20 million, and we have a field that has the top of the best jostling for space on the leaderboard.
Barring LIV’s latest addition of Jon Rahm, who is ranked No 3, the top 11 on the OWGR will be teeing up at Riviera, which was termed by Arnold Palmer as “one of the great tests of golf”.
Built in 1926, Riviera is ranked among the top 50 golf courses in the world, and top-25 in the US. Here’s why. As a go-to venue for Major Championships, Riviera has been home to several editions of the US Open, PGA Championship, US Senior Open and US Amateur.
Apart from hosting the Genesis Invitational, the 7322 yards, par-71 Riviera CC will be the venue for the 2028 Olympics golf tournament and 2026 US Women’s Open.
Absent, but champion nonetheless
Jon Rahm enjoyed a phenomenal record in California and the 2023 Genesis Invitational added to his reputation as a giant on the Poa annua greens (the grass type) at Riviera.
According to PGA Tour statistics, Rahm never finished outside 21st in five appearances here, culminating with last year’s win, which was his 10th PGA Tour title. With a record so formidable, it isn’t surprising that Rahm has the most wins on the PGA Tour in California since the start of the 2016-17 season.
The two-shot win over Max Homa after a final round with fluctuating fortunes, Rahm (17-under 267, 65, 68, 65, 69) had battled nerves the night before. “I’m human after all and aware of the magnitude of the moment and the golf course,” he said, adding perspective to the week.
The key, he said, was discipline and repetition of the basics. “I’ve been doing a lot of the things I needed to do properly every single day and that’s the important thing, right? Just keeping that daily process as good as I have been. Obviously, I’ve been extremely disciplined my whole career, but right now I’m seeing the dividends of a lot of the hard work over the years.”
Ready to step up
In Rahm’s absence, Max Homa will start among the favourites to take the top spot at Riviera in a field of 70. The World No 8 has the credentials to push his claim. With six career wins on the PGA Tour, the latest at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open, five of Homa’s wins have come in his home state, California, including the 2021 Genesis Invitational.
A word of caution, though. Homa comes into the week on the back of missing the cut at the WM Phoenix Open, and his performance the week before at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am wasn’t great too with a T66 finish. If he achieves a formidable record at Riviera, the week ahead can be his perfect comeback as The Masters looms in early April.
Patrick Cantlay: California natives seem to hold sway at Riviera. Cantlay posted his best finish in seven starts with the sole third last year, and this week could see the World No 7 step up further.
Scottie Scheffler: The World No 1 might not be the best on the greens, but Scheffler has the wherewithal to make it up, especially with his confidence on a high after his last five starts on the PGA Tour yielding a win and two top-5s. The T12 at Riviera the last time holds some cheer too.
Rory McIlroy: The Northern Irishman commenced his PGA Tour season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the T66 was anything but acceptable. But the World No 2 will be drawing from the form on the DP World Tour at the start of the year. With a win and runner-up on that Tour, McIlroy is not one to stay out of the headlines for long, and the endeavour will be to do better than last year’s T29 at Riviera.
Jordan Spieth: The former World No 1 seems to have worked out the issues that were holding him back. With the T6 at the WM Phoenix Open and sole third at The Sentry, Spieth’s form is clearly on the upswing.
Will Zalatoris: On the mend after a back surgery, the ‘Young Turk’ showed signs of return to form with a T13 at the demanding Torrey Pines course, venue for the Farmers Insurance Open. Going into this week, Zalatoris will be going through the notes that got him the sole fourth at Riviera last time.
Jason Day: Since his childhood days, the Aussie has come to be associated with comebacks. Battling injuries and form, Day had contemplated walking away, but something held him back. The 2023 Genesis Invitational was the setting for one more rally by the former World No 1, and the T9 signalled his entry into the top-50 on OWGR after a long gap. The surge has continued since and Day now ranks 19th.
Tiger Woods: No listing can be complete without Woods, the tournament host and a fierce competitor. Given the state of his body at 48, Woods is a rank outsider, but then few gave him a chance to have another shot at Major glory when he won the 2019 Masters. Rule out nothing when the talk centres around this extraordinary athlete.
WM Phoenix Open recap: Nick Taylor wins; no hattrick for Scottie Scheffler
The 2024 Waste Management Phoenix Open got a new champion in Nick Taylor, and with the Canadian’s ascent in the deserts of Arizona, the order at TPC Scottsdale changed.
For two seasons in a row, the PGA Tour live updates had signed off with the announcement of Scottie Scheffler topping the leaderboard, but not this time in what was another weather-hit week on the PGA Tour.
Disappointed, but that’s golf
It wasn’t as if World No 1 Scheffler floundered in his endeavour to become the first to win a PGA Tour event three times in a row since Steve Stricker’s feat at the John Deere Classic in 2009-2011.
Scheffler did himself proud in the way he fought hard, and shooting a 66 for the third consecutive day, settled for a T3 finish at 18-under 266 (68, 66, 66, 66). Of note was his birdie streak on Day 3, which spilled into the final day due to inclement weather and had Scheffler playing a marathon 29 holes on Sunday. It was a five-hole run from Nos 9-13, tying his longest birdie streak on the PGA Tour, but it wasn’t meant to be his time in Arizona.
“I’m a bit frustrated and wish I would have finished a little better, but outside that I gave myself a good chance and proud of how I fought,” said Scheffler in his final interview of the week.
Holing long putts a norm for Taylor
Nick Taylor has this uncanny knack of holing long putts for birdie under the gun. In golfing terms, these are clutch putts that can make or mar a player’s run, and the Canadian lined up the latest of his four wins on the PGA Tour by nailing a 11-footer to beat Charley Hoffman on the second playoff hole for the top prize of US$1.58 million out of the tournament purse of US$8.8 million.
Taylor has done better in the past, and proof lies in the week of the RBC Canadian Open. The 2023 edition went into a playoff as well, and Taylor became the first Canadian to win his national Open in 69 years by holing a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff hole to upstage the fancied Tommy Fleetwood.
Taylor’s round on Sunday went with another saying in golf, ‘you drive for show, putt for dough’. Birdies on the five of the final six holes (including the playoff) on Sunday ensured the 35-year-old’s PGA Tour playoff record reads 2-2 in conversion.
There were some more similarities. Like, the setting by the 18th green of TPC Scottsdale. Countrymen and Tour mates Adam Hadwin and Corey Connors endured anxious moments as they waited by the green for the final outcome. When Taylor finished it off, Hadwin, in the same attire he had donned as on the final day of the 2023 Canadian Open, surged to greet his friend. Just that he wasn’t brought down by a security guard unlike last time in what was a case of mistaken identity.
Getting the job done
Lest we forget, Taylor was the runner-up last time in Arizona, and all through the playoff against Hoffman, he kept reminding himself of the last campaign at TPC Scottsdale and finishing two shots off champion Scheffler.
Scheffler’s charge on Sunday had Taylor nervous. “Scottie is No 1 in the world…you had to keep making birdies as much as you could,” said Taylor.
Holing putts when they mattered did the job for Taylor, and aiding him in the final push was recollecting those monstrous putts for birdie from his win at the RBC Canadian Open last year.
An obvious query in the post-match interview was on this ability to draw upon the mental strength to stay calm and perform when the heat is on. Is it a trait he’s developed by replicating match-like situations at practice?
“You can practice it as much as you can, but it is hard to get in that kind of atmosphere at practice,” said Taylor. Quite so, the sweaty palms, rush of adrenaline and the hushed silence around the green are byproducts of real-time pressure.
Perfecting the process is the key. “A lot of the stuff we do is just the basics…I work on my routine a lot, which when you get in those moments if you feel comfortable in your routine, settle your heart rate down, it’s just kind of another putt,” said Taylor.
Drawing from big moments
Going into the final day of the 2023 Phoenix Open, Taylor was grouped with Jon Rahm and Scheffler. It was a dream pairing for the Canadian.
“It was a great stepping stone in my career to play with Rahm and Scottie in the final group. To stand my own (by finishing runner-up) gave me a lot of confidence and to ride that the rest of the year and win my national Open in the fashion I did was incredible,” he said. “It’s been fun to be in those moments and I kind of relish them.”
Terrific competitor
At 47, a lot of pro players start to ready themselves for the senior tour, for which they are eligible at 50. Charley Hoffman is an exception. Despite battling back issues for a while, the fire to “beat all these young guys’ butts” still drives the man whose last win on the PGA Tour came at the 2016 Valero Texas Open.
Had Taylor not sealed it on the second playoff hole, Hoffman would have been the oldest winner on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship at 50.
Like an athlete, Hoffman gave himself credit for not faltering coming down the stretch. It was just that Taylor’s final birdie spurt swung it his way.
“I played my butt off. I knew if I got to 22 (Hoffman and Taylor finished at 21-under 263), it would be tough for him (Taylor) to catch me, and I left a putt short in regulation…I love competing, that builds a fire in the belly,” said Hoffman.
Next up is the Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour’s third Signature event of the 2024 season. Hosted by Tiger Woods, Hoffman reached out for an exemption but was told that all spots had been taken up.
“That’s when I decided I’d play myself in, and I did.” So much for a man who still believes he has it in him to compete at the highest level when the back holds. Watch out for Hoffman as the PGA Tour’s live updates stream in from the Riviera Country Club.
Falling short once more
Two years back, the Phoenix Open was the setting for a potential breakthrough on the PGA Tour. A rookie playing great golf was within sniffing distance of his first pro win, but Indian-American golfer Sahith Theegala found water on the 17th while tied for the lead.
That tee shot cost him dear and the emotional scenes as Theegala met his parents after the T3 finish have remained etched in golfing history since.
Theegala did pick up that first win at the Fortinet Championship last season, but the Phoenix Open remained unfinished business.
Going into the final day of this year’s Phoenix Open, Theegala had a chance for redemption as he tied for the lead with Nick Taylor. Sadly, he fell short once more and finished fifth. Nevertheless, Theegala remains one of the most exciting names to emerge from the PGA Tour, and is certainly a player to watch.
Blot on a great event
Over time, the WM Phoenix Open has come to be known as one of the highest footfall weeks on the PGA Tour. The Stadium Course of TPC Scottsdale has recorded numbers in excess of 700,000, but the distinction is laced with ignominy.
Amid the record numbers thronging the golf course, there are boisterous elements giving this unique tournament a bad name.
It’s happened before, and over the past week too, with scenes of players losing their cool after being riled by drunk, unruly spectators, especially on the signature 16th hole. When things threatened to get out of hand, especially in the third round on Saturday, gates of the golf course were shut and sale of beer at the stalls was stopped to restore some sanity.
Such moments, now a feature every year, are unbecoming of a golf tournament that has collected high grades in terms of a quality field, atmosphere and the endeavour to give back to society through charity.
WM Phoenix Open, February 8 to 11: What to expect
From Thursday to Sunday, the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale will be buzzing with activity as the USD 8.8 million prize purse event rolls out in search of its 2024 winner. Will it be incumbent champion Scottie Scheffler doing a rare three-peat or a new name with the silverware? We can’t wait to find out.
Masterpiece in grass
This week is the coming together of two icons. With an average turnout of 700,000 through the week, it isn’t for nothing that the Phoenix Open has been termed “The Greatest Show on Grass”, and among the best attended golf tournaments in the world.
The Stadium Course, the scene of the action at TPC Scottsdale, is a design of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and the standout hole is No 16. A par-3, the layout is such that fans get a feel as if they were watching a gladiatorial contest at The Coliseum.
Reliving Scheffler’s high
The 2023 Phoenix Open was a vital cog in Scheffler’s surge to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking. It was at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona that Scheffler regained the World No 1 spot by displacing Rory McIlroy.
The change in pro golf’s pecking order was on account of Scheffler becoming the seventh player to defend the Phoenix Open title, and the first since on the PGA Tour after Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama in 2017.
It has been a relentless march for sustained excellence by the towering Scheffler that got him the summit. For one who turned professional in 2018, the climb has been steep. But so has been the learning curve, the toil and hours at the driving range blending perfectly with the unmistakable talent.
Mixed bag
In Scheffler’s triumph at the Phoenix Open lay Nick Taylor’s angst, losing out by two shots and with it went the chance to become the second Canadian after George Knudson (1968) to lift the crown.
There was consolation though for Taylor. Braving a prolonged ordinary run on the Tour, the two-time winner posted his first solo second on the PGA Tour in some time.
For Scheffler too, the Phoenix Open has meant a steady climb up the leaderboard. Missing cut in his maiden appearance in 2020 led to a ‘back to the drawing board’ exercise, and the result was on view the next season when the 6’3” golfer finished T7.
The door had opened, and armed with the knowhow to succeed in TPC Scottsdale, Scheffler reeled off two wins in succession in 2022 and 2023 to make the select league of seven golfers with a similar distinction in the arid dunes of Arizona. Of note was his Sunday charge with an eagle and four birdies that paved the way for a fifth PGA Tour win with a total score of 19-under 265 (68, 64, 68, 65).
“There were some other names on the leaderboard like Jordan (Spieth) and Xander (Schauffele). There were a lot of guys up there. I knew it was going to take a great round. Nobody was going to give this golf tournament to me. I had to go out and earn it. I was definitely proud of the result,” Scheffler said in his moment of triumph.
This week, Scheffler seeks to become the first golfer since Arnold Palmer (1960-63) to pull off a three-peat at the Phoenix Open. A key stat comes into play here. Compared to his Tour stats, Scheffler has been prolific on the greens of TPC Scottsdale, and should he and the putter function in tandem, a hattrick of titles is definitely on the horizon.
Asian charge
If Scheffler’s win in Arizona was a stepping stone to his 2023 season’s crowning glory, The Players Championship, for the latest of his wins on the PGA Tour, Korea’s Sungjae Im scripted a nugget of history for himself by becoming the best Asian on show, courtesy of tying for the sixth spot.
Im went into the final round four shots off Scheffler, and powered on with four birdies. But for the two bogeys, he could have had a top-5, but Im was happy to hold his own in a field that also boasted the likes of McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas.
Players to watch
Like last season, the field is dotted with the best of talent on the PGA Tour barring Jon Rahm, who made the transition to LIV Golf last month.
Wyndham Clark: There is no way you can discount the man who comes into this week with a career-defining 12-under 60 last Saturday that fed the big-ticket win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Scottie Scheffler: As a two-time defending champion, World No 1 Scottie Scheffler will have a lot going for him. Unlike elsewhere, his proficiency on the greens of TPC Scottsdale make him a threat for the rest of the field.
Justin Thomas: By posting his fifth consecutive top-20 here last year, Justin Thomas is a definite contender. To be taken into account also is his recent form and the string of top-10s. Winless since the 2022 PGA Championship, TPC Scottsdale is the perfect setting to end the title drought.
Jordan Spieth: Similar to Scottie Scheffler, former World No 1 Jordan Spieth has a fondness for the venue. With four top-10s till date at the Phoenix Open, Spieth’s third finish at The Sentry, the 2024 season’s first Signature event, TPC Scottsdale is eager to embrace Spieth as a potential winner.
Max Homa: After his recent win on the DP World Tour, Max Homa hasn’t matched his high standards on the PGA Tour, but a knowledge of the local conditions and solid record at the Phoenix Open make him a serious contender.
Sungjae Im: With a steady record at TPC Scottsdale, the Korean will be riding the form which got him the T5 at The Sentry last month.
Hideki Matsuyama: As a two-time winner in 2016 and 2017, Hideki Matsuyama can never be written off at TPC Scottsdale despite the slump, which has pushed him outside the world’s top-50. As a former Masters winner, the Japanese’s pedigree is unquestionable, and all it takes is week to get back into the winner’s circle.
Sahith Theegala: Indian-American Sahith Theegala comes in with the applause at the 2022 Phoenix Open still ringing in his ears. Theegala was in line to win but settled for a T3. The breakthrough win coming a year later, Theegala is ready to surge on the greens of TPC Scottsdale.
No discounting the hopefuls
Fringe players line up at the start of every tournament week to compete in what is known as the Monday qualifier. Competition is intense for the four slots on offer, but this week there were just three openings to join the main field.
It took a four-way playoff in fading light to zero in on the names. The last men standing in a field of 102 were Jim Knous, Patton Kizzire and Nicolo Galletti, who finished at 7-under 64.
The fickle nature of the sport can be gauged from Kizzire’s run. A two-time winner, Kizzire has 225 starts on the PGA Tour, and lined up for the qualifier after narrowly missing out on securing his PGA Tour card for 2024.
Knous fell prey to a spate of injuries which led him to surrender his playing rights on the PGA Tour in 2022. Sterner tests lay in store as Knous fell out of the Korn Ferry Tour (the feeder line to the PGA Tour) last season, and the Phoenix Open could be the launch pad he needs to reinvent himself on the main tour.
The locals will be rooting for Galletti as he makes his first start on the PGA Tour. A pass out of the Arizona State University, Galletti has done the hard yards on various feeder tours, and will be banking on the noisy crowd and a sharp short game to make it a memorable debut.
Apart from the trio from the Monday qualifier, there are more names in the field who will be teeing off with a prayer on the lips. Bud Cauley is one of them. A car accident in 2018 almost derailed Cauley’s dreams on the PGA Tour. The body took a severe beating due to the broken bones and steel plates that were inserted to fix them, and the ensuing surgeries, numerous visits to the doctors and physiotherapists weren’t good on the mind too.
He did get back briefly, but the enormity of that car crash threatened to wipe out the baby steps Cauley had taken towards a comeback. One more trip to the surgery table stemmed the slide, and the Phoenix Open will be his first PGA Tour start in three years.
Cauley tested himself in two Korn Ferry Tour events last month, and the body has held. This is a far bigger stage and armed with the perspective that he is lucky to get back to doing what he loves, Cauley will be keen for a spot up on the leaderboard.
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am recap: Wyndham Clark emerges tops, in an unexpected twist
In adversity lay Wyndham Clark’s opportunity. Not that he would have liked to top the PGA Tour leaderboard at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am the way it panned out on Sunday and Monday. Since the 2016 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA Tour live updates haven’t listed a tournament being reduced to 54 holes due to dangerous weather.
Nature had its way again at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after 2009, when the tournament was played over three rounds, and the storm that battered the Monterey Peninsula signalled Major winner Clark’s coronation without a contest and not in the way that would have fitted his mantra of “play big”.
After setting a course record at the Pebble Beach Golf Links with a 12-under 60 on Saturday, Clark, a two-time PGA Tour winner till then, would have been itching to come up with a show that would have been a reflection of the motto he has tried to implement every day since being introduced to the sport by his late mother.
But alas! The PGA Tour live updates sent out a statement from the Tour’s Rules Committee, “…out of an abundance of caution for the safety of all constituents, there will be no play on Monday. Therefore, in accordance with the PGA Tour regulations the tournament results will be final through the conclusion of 54 holes”.
Cauldron of emotions
Like the sport Clark has excelled in, nature can be equally fickle. Two days of uncertainty and the inclement weather had ripple effects on Clark too. The night before was a restless one and despite drifting in and out of sleep while awaiting updates from the PGA Tour, Clark, at 17-under 199 (72, 67, 60), kept preparing himself to build on the one-shot lead over new kid Ludvig Aberg with a solid fourth round.
The thought was play would happen on Monday after Sunday’s washout, and there was a job to be done. Everything centred around rallying the mind to go out and fight hard. Else, the fear was the mind could have wandered. It was a situation Clark hadn’t found himself in, so when news came that he had been declared winner, the mind was a cauldron of emotions.
Landmarks galore
After Clark’s course record, the season’s second Signature event, part of the PGA Tour’s “reimagined” 2024 season, worth USD 20 million had a lot going that promised a thrilling finish, given the chasing pack had names like whizkid Aberg 200 (68, 65, 67) and Farmers Insurance Open winner Matthieu Pavon 201 (65, 70, 66).
Up for grabs was the top prize of USD 3.6 million and 700 FedExCup points, and though Aberg and Pavon did not get a final shot at triumph, they notched stats that sends out notice on what the season could hold for them.
Frenchman Pavon, who broke through on the PGA Tour a week back, led the field with his birdie-making ability, while Swede Aberg notched his second runner-up finish after 2023, a season that saw him win in his rookie PGA Tour season with the high at the RSM Classic.
If Clark moved up 22 spots courtesy the 60, a pain-free Major champion Jason Day’s resurgent journey continued this week as well. With a 63 on Saturday, the Aussie climbed 28 spots to finish at 13-under 203 (69, 71, 63) and four shots off the leader.
Struggle on the greens
Unlike the chasing pack on the PGA Tour live updates, Clark’s fourth attempt at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which saw action across the Spyglass Hill Golf Course and the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links, started with not being in sync with the putter.
Since his career’s biggest week at the 2023 US Open in June, that has been the story line, but Clark was determined to make a difference. There was no shame in admitting that he was struggling, and outside help was sought going in.
Arriving before most of the field, Clark had at one point nine putters on the practice green, and it was about being comfortable with what transpired before tee-off.
Putting cross-handed, the work took time to show up. From a sedate 72 opening at Spyhill, Clark started to warm up. Pebble Beach’s History and his preference for the venue saw a big step up that resulted in a 67 the next day.
Perhaps little known to him, the charge had begun and the Moving Day, as Day 3 is known, is one that will stay etched in memory forever. The 12-under 60 on Saturday not only erased a series of records on the PGA Tour, the 18-hole score, more importantly, let Clark throw the gauntlet. From T23, he zoomed to first.
History and memories
As a player, Clark had never shot a 59, but even if he had, the 60 will always rank right up there. “Even if I had shot 59 somewhere, I don’t think it would compare to shooting a score like this at one of the most historic golf courses in the world,” said Clark. It was preferred lies all through, but nothing can be taken away from Clark’s effort in the no-cut event.
There is more that drove Clark and caddie John Ellis, and it had to do with nostalgia.
The AT&T event and Pebble Beach were particularly significant to Ellis, as he himself had competed in the Pro-Am as a player back in 2009. He also qualified for the US Open twice, so he understood the pressure of playing in the big leagues.
Keeping this history in mind — as well as his bond with Ellis — winning at Pebble Beach became a must for Clark. “My caddie grew up in San Jose, only an hour, hour and half away. He told me, ‘Wyndham, if there’s one thing you can do in your career, I don’t care if you win a hundred times or one time, I just hope one of them is at Pebble Beach’. Because it was the place he always dreamed of winning… it’s very special to him, which makes it special to me,” Clark told reporters in his winner’s interview.
To be able to keep his promise to Ellis “that I am going to make it happen” despite the mediocre start on Thursday, and to go on to scorch the course record en-route the win has been the “icing on the cake” for Clark. “Great things started happening and other things started to become a reality,” said Clark summing up the unprecedented finish to the tournament.
Yes, he would have liked to approach the 18th green to an ovation from the surging crowd, be crowned on the 72nd hole, embrace his caddie with moist eyes, but Clark chose to focus on the 60 on Saturday, which made him feel like a winner.
No wishing away LIV Golf
Trust some chatter on LIV Golf to creep into a PGA Tour media centre. The start of last week saw Tyrrell Hatton become the latest big name to make the crossover, and Clark was quizzed on the Saudi-funded league in his hour of triumph.
Unlike some who chose to be in denial while negotiating multi-million-dollar deals in the past, Clark was candid. The off-season had whipped up talk on a possible move, and Clark took the questions upfront. There was no ducking as he said, “I wanted to see what they (LIV) could bring to the table”.
“I definitely met with LIV and went through those discussions…I ultimately declined because I felt like I still have a lot of things left in the tank on the PGA Tour and I wanted to chase records, I wanted to chase world ranking. My dream is to try to be one of the top players in the world if not the top player. I just grew up always imagining winning PGA Tour events. So, I ultimately, I chose my legacy over LIV, over LIV and that’s really what it came down to.
“You know, I don’t know what the future holds with my career and what the PGA Tour and LIV is going to do, but at least for this season I am 100 percent set on the PGA Tour and I want to try to get to as high in the world as I possibly can,” were the champion’s words.
A lasting legacy
Clark’s work ethics have been governed by his late mother’s teachings since she first took him to a driving range. At first, they were brief messages she left in Clark’s golf bag, and were followed by phone texts.
Though he was initially embarrassed, Clark came to realise the importance of these encouragements and credits them for helping him build a solid work ethic that’s not only made him a champion but an inspiration for scores looking for success on the Golf course.
Clark’s mother is no longer around, but she’d be smiling from up there that she raised a gentleman and a champion.
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, February 1-4: What to expect
In comparison to other PGA Tour events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has not been known for rolling out the deepest of fields on Tour. Its format has a role in this —180 players (inclusive of well-heeled amateurs) across three golf courses for three days or 54 holes, and the cut being applied on the final day for the lowest 25 teams.
Since change is the flavour of the season, the field this week has been whittled to 80 players over two courses, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach, and amateurs playing the opening two days.
As the PGA Tour gets ready to stream live updates from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, it is important to know that the event is now part of the “reimagined” schedule for 2024 and one of the eight re-designated Signature events on Tour.
Going with Commissioner Monahan’s promise of “stars comPeting head-to-head more often (with the PGA Tour’s calendar-year start since 2012), alongside the weekly drama of life-altering moments and the emergence of new stars”, the total prize purse this week is up from USD 9 million to a whopping USD 20 million. This is reflected in the interest of top players on a Tour where “winning continues to be the ultimate and most difficult challenge”.
In the list of the eight Signature Events for 2024, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am follows the season-opening The Sentry earlier in January.
Limited-field events with heightened prize money and FedExCup points (the winner gets 700 points), the other Signature events lined up are The Genesis Invitational (February 12-18), Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 4-10), RBC Heritage (April 15-21), Wells Fargo Championship (May 6-12), The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (June 3-9) and Travelers Championship (June 17-23).
Eligibility for the remaining Signature Events in a field of 70-80 players will have the top 50 from the 2022-23 FedExCup standings and 15 players who can play their way in through The Next 10 and The Swing 5 rankings.
An eye on LIV Golf
The ultimate destination for aspirational and talented golfers across the world for a long time, the 2024 season gives an insight into how the PGA Tour has been forced to reinvent with a “reimagined” schedule and increased prize money with the advent of LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded enterprise playing the role of disruptor to perfection by winning over some of the best talent with the lure of big bucks.
As part of the PGA Tour live updates, there will be talk on some more key names crossing over to LIV Golf this week. Tyrrell Hatton, among the marquee names at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, is set to pull out and join Jon Rahm’s team when LIV Golf starts its 2024 season in Mayakoba, Mexico, on Friday (February 2). The deal is reportedly worth USD 63.5 million and it took a phone from Rahm to convince the World No 16 Briton, who at one time was ranked as high as fifth on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Season of underdogs
The 2024 season is four events old, and the PGA Tour leaderboard has seen underdogs mount the summit on all occasions. Chris Kirk (+15000 pre-tournament odds) won The Sentry and Grayson Murray (+50000) surprised at The Sony Open in Hawaii. Nick Dunlap (+50000), the youngest amateur golfer to triumph on the PGA Tour since 1910, has become a talking point by lifting The American Express crystalware, and will tee off at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as a professional.
Matthieu Pavon was a +17000 pre-tournament longshot to win the Farmers Insurance Open, but became the first Frenchman to win on Tour in over 100 years last week. Going with the flow, defending champion Justin Rose was an outsider to the throne last year as well, but the Englishman proved the pundits and predictions wrong by picking up his 11th career victory at age 42.
Coming after a four-year gap, Rose also became the oldest player to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson, among the earliest names to move to LIV Golf, won the 2021 PGA Championship.
As the first European to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2023, Rose is again way down the list of favourites, the odds at +6600, but the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist will be drawing from his memories of last year and the coronation in the rare Monday finish.
“I feel like I have been fortunate enough to win at some great venues, but Pebble’s right up there. Just that walk up 18 to sort of be able to build a bit of a lead to kind of enjoy it was a very special moment. I think obviously when you’re a bit starved for a win as well, the fact that it came on a weather day like we had and at a venue that we had today was just worth waiting for,” Rose said.
Iconic venues
Rose’s coronation wasn’t special only for his 11th PGA Tour win, and that it made him the first Englishman to the feat. The week was a celebration of Pebble Beach, and all that it stands for as host to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am since 1947.
As the No 1 public golf course in the United States, Pebble Beach Golf Links has been home to the US Open six times, the last occasion being 2019, and is earmarked for future editions in 2027, 2032, 2037 and 2044. The rugged layout along the coastline, tricky greens and cliffside fairways offer the sternest of tests and explains why this is a stopover for blue-riband events.
Spyglass Hill Golf Course, the other scene of action this week, is no less demanding. Rated one of the toughest golf courses in the world, holes 6, 8 and 16 are listed as among the most challenging on PGA Tour’s list of tournament venues.
Men in form
Rory McIlroy
When a World No 1 is not the frontrunner going into a tournament week, it speaks volumes on the form of the challenger. The PGA Tour live updates will dwell in length on Rory McIlroy as he opens his 2024 season on the PGA Tour. The reason why the World No 2 is the favourite at Pebble Beach is his recent run in Dubai on the DP World Tour. A T2 at the Dubai Invitational leading to the crown at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Northern Irishman has a T9 at the 2019 US Open in his first outing at Pebble Beach.
Jordan Spieth
The former World No 1 is another name to watch out for. Among his six top-10s at Pebble Beach is a win in 2017, and the sole third at The Sentry 2024 is proof Spieth’s game is trending.
Patrick Cantlay
As co-owner of the course record (62) at Pebble Beach, Cantlay has a T3 and T4 in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Scottie Scheffler
The World No 1 has among the best tee-to-green games, and the small greens at Pebble Beach will excite in his first appearance here.
Viktor Hovland
As a three-time winner in 2023, and a T13 here last year, the Norwegian cannot be ruled to contend for the $3.6million winner’s prize purse.
Xander Schauffele
Past or present, Schauffele has reason for cheer. The 2024 season has begun well, and the T3 at the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach points to his ability.
Watch this space for more PGA Tour live updates and stay up-to-date with the 2024 PGA Tour season.
(Main and featured images: PGA Tour/ Facebook)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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