Breakfast Ball #7: Hideki's High Jinks Enough to Win the Genesis

There is no better way to start this week’s newsletter than to highlight one of the greatest ever tweets. While Elon tried to charge us for it, I still can’t believe that platform is free.

In This Week’s Newsletter:

Hideki Matsuyama wins the Genesis Invitational, 4 Europeans in the top 25

Hideki Matusyama produced the best final round in Riviera history to win the Genesis Invitational by three shots ahead of Will Zalatoris and Luke List. It was his first win since 2022 when he won the Sony Open in Hawaii, and his third since his Masters victory in 2019. Patrick Cantlay led by two going into the final day, but could only produce a +1 final round and finished T4, 3 shots behind the leaders.

The best of the Europeans was Tommy Fleetwood who finished in T10, nine strokes behind the eventual winner. It was a good performance on the greens from the Englishman, who gained over 4 strokes putting during the tournament. It was Tommy’s second best performance of the week, behind his 30,000ft hole in one…

The main European stars McIlroy and Hovland finished T24 and T19 respectively, while Ludvig Åberg continued his good form on his first trip to Riviera with a T19 finish. Seamus Power started his week with a 74, but finished at -4 in T31 after shooting 67 and 68 on Friday and Saturday.

We are unlikely to see many of these stars play together again for three weeks, as the tour moves to the Mexico Open and the Cognizant Classic over the next two weeks.

What does the world tour landscape look like today?

Part one of an in depth look at the pro golf landscape

Given the amount of disruption in the pro golf landscape in the last 5 years, it is easy to be confused. Over the next few weeks, we will examine the professional tours around the world, and what the future looks like for each of them. To get started, this will provide you with a baseline for what each tour looks like today.

PGA Tour:

The PGA Tour is the undisputed best in the world. While it has lost some star power to LIV Golf since the Saudi-funded tour started in 2022, it still has better players on average in each of its tournaments. There are a number of routes to qualify for a PGA Tour card, but the main way to do so is through its feeder competition, the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT). Thirty golfers that finish at the top of the rankings at the end of each KFT season are granted PGA Tour cards. Most PGA Tour events take place in the US, but the tour does co-sanction events alongside the DP World Tour each year also.

LIV Golf:

LIV has been the most controversial thing to ever happen to golf. While you can certainly have your qualms about the people who have funded the league, it is hard to argue that it hasn’t had a huge impact on the golf landscape. LIV golfers are still not granted world ranking points, so it is difficult to measure the strength of the tour. However, eight of the top fifty players in the Data Golf (independent body that measures golf statistics) rankings ply their trade on LIV, so it has pulled some of the best to play on the tour. However, only 4 of the 54 players actually played to qualify for their LIV Golf card, as the others were recruited and paid a handsome fee to join.

DP World Tour:

The DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, has events across the world and is the main place European players ply their trade. The main way to qualify is through the Challenge Tour, which is the DP World Tour’s equivalent of the Korn Ferry Tour. The top 20 players at the end of each season get full membership to the following year’s DP World Tour. As of 2023, the top ten DP World Tour players at the end of each year also get a PGA Tour card.

Asian Tour:

The Asian Tour is a step below the DP World Tour, but still boasts many strong Asian, European, and North American Players in its ranks. The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia are investors in this tour, and grant the end of year leader a place on LIV Golf for the following season.

Other Tours:

There are many regional tours including the Sunshine Tour, The Japan Tour, and The PGA Tour of Australasia that contribute to the world of golf. The winner of each of these tours gets a place on the DP World Tour the following year.

Yes, it is confusing… But hopefully this will ground you on the tiers of tours for golf professionals. Next week, we will talk about the impact of LIV Golf to date and which tours it has really affected.

Other Results:

• David Puig won the IRS Prima Malaysia Open, earning him a spot in The Open at Royal Troon this summer

  • Puig is a member of Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC on the LIV Golf League

  • 20 LIV Golf members played in the event, which is co-sponsored by the Saudi Public Investment Fund

Coming up this week on Tour:

• The PGA Tour goes south for the Mexico Open, which will have 17 European players in the field

• The Magical Kenya Open is the next DP World Tour Event

• A strong field will contest the International Series Oman on the Asian Tour, with many LIV Golf participants