Breakfast Ball #6: WM Open, Taylor's Version

Well, the fun had to end eventually. After 3 straight weeks of Europeans being in the final group on the PGA Tour, it was a difficult week for the East side of the Atlantic in Arizona.

In This Week’s Newsletter:

Taylor wins the Waste Management Open, Europeans struggle through significant delays

While most of the world was talking about one Taylor, the golf world was focused on another. Nick Taylor flew the Canadian flag on Super Bowl Sunday as he won the Waste Management Open in a playoff against Charley Hoffman. It was an incredibly impressive finish from Taylor, who had to birdie three of his last four holes to force a playoff, then birdied the second playoff hole to take the win.

The event was plagued by bad weather and some bad behavior, as the organizers cut off alcohol sales at 12pm local time on Saturday. From fans sliding down muddy hills, shouting during player’s swings, and making snow angels in the 16th bunker, it was clear that things needed to calm down a little. A kind Twitter user summarized all of the antics here.

Unfortunately, there was no European involvement at the top of the leaderboard as the only player to break into the top 20 was Matt Fitzpatrick. He finished in T15 at 11-under-par, ten shots behind the winner. Tom Detry had another good performance, finishing T28 after being +4 through nine holes on day one. Sami Valimaki made his second cut in a row and finished strong with a 64 on Sunday.

The tour now moves to LA for Tiger Woods’ signature event in Riviera Country Club.

Dustin Johnson back on top at LIV Las Vegas as McDowell and Casey finish in the top 5

The second most popular sports event in Las Vegas this week (LIV isn’t quite as big as the Super Bowl yet) resulted in a an individual win for Dustin Johnson and a team win Graeme McDowell’s Smash GC. There were impressive performances from Ryder Cup veterans Paul Casey and McDowell, who both finished T5, 3 shots behind Johnson.

This was McDowell’s first top five finish in 22 LIV Golf starts, and pocketed him over one million euro in the process. There were some rumors he wouldn’t return to LIV this year due to his poor performances in 2023, but this result should buy him playing time for the foreseeable future. Similarly, it was Casey’s first top five in a year, and he will hope to bring that form into the next event in Saudi Arabia in March.

It seems like Jon Rahm’s honeymoon period on the tour may be wearing off, as he reminisced about missing the Waste Management Open and was not happy with some of the crowd noise during the event. He entered the final day on -9, two shots off the leader, but struggled on day three and finished in 8th. Adrian Meronk got his first top 10 as a LIV player with a T9 finish, and Tyrell Hatton was just behind him in T12.

Adrian Meronk: “I would probably not have come to LIV if I had played in the Ryder Cup”

It is no surprise that Adrian Meronk was upset when he wasn’t named as one of Luke Donald’s captains picks last September. A few months prior, the Polish golfer had won the Italian Open on the same course that hosted the Ryder Cup. Meronk used the snub as motivation, finishing the year with a charge that resulted in him getting his PGA Tour card for 2024 by finishing in the DP World Tour top 10.

Meronk started 2024 strong, finishing second behind McIlroy at the Dubai Desert Classic. He was supposed to start his PGA Tour career in San Diego at the Farmers Insurance Open the following week, but pulled out, citing sickness as his reason for withdrawal. However, a few days later, his move to LIV Golf was announced just before their first event of the year in Mayakoba.

This week at his second event, Meronk reflected on that decision: ‌“I don’t know, but I would probably not have come to LIV if I had played in the Ryder Cup”. It is clear that Meronk was very affected by the Ryder Cup decision, as he stated that “what I went through just made it easier to care more about myself and not care what other people think of me, or what other people want me to do”.

Meronk is the greatest player in Polish golf history. Playing in the Ryder Cup would have been the biggest achievement of his career to date. Let’s hope he can leave the disappointment behind him and push for the team in 2025.

Other Results:

• Rikuya Hoshino became the 4th Japanese player to win on the DP World Tour with his win at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

  • Ugo Coussaud, Scott Jamieson, Tom McKibbin, and Jorge Campillo rounded out the top 5

Coming up this week on Tour:

• Tiger Woods is hosting the Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour’s second signature event in 3 weeks

• There are no events on either LIV Golf or the DP World Tour this week

  • LIV returns on March 1st in Saudi Arabia, while the DP World Tour will be in Kenya on February 22nd