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Golf Digest Logo The Nice Guys

The top 30 nice guys on the PGA Tour

“Nice” is subjective. Particularly this year, when the ongoing schism in professional golf has challenged traditional notions about right and wrong. It’s possible to be an ethically upright person who isn’t pleasant to strangers, just as it is to be a cordial backstabber to one’s friends. To compile our list of the 30 Nicest Guys on Tour, we interviewed and surveyed more than 120 players, caddies, media members, golf executives, locker-room attendants and tournament volunteers. We asked specific questions and open-ended ones, and Tony Finau’s name came up more than anybody else’s. Now, people have varying opinions of what constitutes a nice guy, and far be it for us to narrow this definition. The sole criterion was current PGA Tour membership, so you won’t see European or senior-circuit individuals on this list. But if you are looking for a through line on the players below, it is this: the inclination and consistency of treating people—no matter their station—with respect and civility. (2019 rank in parenthesis)

1. (8) TONY FINAU Well-known for his ever-present smile and being generous with his time. Says Finau, "If I have a conversation with a person, and I leave thinking I’ve brightened their day just a little bit somehow, that makes me happy." Finau joins past winners of the Golf Digest Tour Nice Guys Ranking; Steve Stricker (2013), Jordan Spieth (2017) and Rickie Fowler (2019).

RELATED: How Tony Finau maintains his killer instinct (with a smile)

2. (T-19) PETER MALNATI Several players describe Malnati as relentlessly optimistic. “He’s almost too nice, too happy,” jokes one player.

3. (3) JORDAN SPIETH If his lengthy and revealing answers to otherwise flat questions in press conferences are any indication, the guy is a giver.

4. (4) RORY McILROY The four-time major champion is considered a gentleman by those inside and outside the ropes. Multiple players say he has become the “conscience” of the PGA Tour.

5. (1) RICKIE FOWLER Our winner in 2019 ranked high across many survey questions, including taking time out of his days to sign autographs for kids.

6. (5) WEBB SIMPSON The former U.S. Open champ is considered one of the more approachable players and finished second in the “Nobody is nicer to waiters, spotters and volunteers” survey question.

7. (7) HAROLD VARNER III He is rarely seen without a smile and was among the more popular responses for “Player you would most want to have dinner with.”

Jared C. Tilton

8. (NEW) COLLIN MORIKAWA Says Rick Sessinghaus, Collin’s coach of nearly two decades: “It’s much easier working for good guys than prima donnas. It’s not that Collin has no ego; he just has a healthy ego.”

9. (NEW) VIKTOR HOVLAND The Norwegian is beloved on tour for his happy-go-lucky demeanor and self-deprecating humor.

Andrew Redington

10. (NEW) STEWART CINK Cink is a former winner of the Payne Stewart Award, which is presented annually to a pro golfer who exemplifies the late Stewart’s values of character, charity and sportsmanship.

11. (2) GARY WOODLAND His feel-good moment with Special Olympian Amy Bockerstette during the WM Phoenix Open in 2019 helped launch a new foundation to promote golf instruction and playing opportunities for people with intellectual challenges.

12. (NEW) HARRIS ENGLISH He comes across as quiet and reserved, but he’s far more Southern Gentleman than aloof.

13. (21) JUSTIN ROSE The 2013 U.S. Open champion and his wife, Kate, founded an organization that helps fight childhood hunger in Orlando.

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14. (NEW) SAM BURNS Despite his quick rise up the World Golf Ranking, the former LSU standout has remained a considerate, humble soul.

15. (14) XANDER SCHAUFFELE The Olympic gold medalist is an advocate for environmental protection and assists junior golf programs in his hometown of San Diego.

16. (6) ADAM SCOTT Renowned for his politeness, Scott recently received the Jim Murray Award for fostering a positive working environment between players and media.

17. (13) BRANDT SNEDEKER He’s so respected by his peers that he’s often discussed as a future candidate to be PGA Tour commissioner.

18. (16) JASON DAY His family’s Brighter Days charity works with groups like Habitat for Humanity and Ohio State University cancer center.

19. (NEW) CHESSON HADLEY He is known as one of the funniest guys on tour and one of its friendliest.

20. (T-27) KEVIN STREELMAN The veteran is involved with Compassion International, an organization that partners with local churches to provide skills and support to rescue children from poverty.

21. (NEW) SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER Skyrocketing to World No. 1 has not gone to his head. Multiple respondents called Scheffler a “great kid” and a “gentle giant.”

22. (NEW) CAMERON TRINGALE He is noted by other pros as an encouraging playing partner with a sharp wit.

23. (T-29) CHEZ REAVIE Reavie ranks high among tournament and tour officials as one of the easiest players to work with on tour.

24. (17) DANNY LEE Lee has been instrumental in funding the New Zealand Golf Development, which aims to grow the game in his native country.

25. (18) DYLAN FRITTELLI The former University of Texas standout was cited often as someone other players like to play with.

26. (NEW) J.T. POSTON The North Carolina native received high marks as someone amateurs should hope to get paired with in a pro-am.

27. (23) JOEL DAHMEN As down-to-Earth as a tour pro gets, he once spontaneously invited an editor of this magazine to dinner at his house, and greeted him barefoot with two bourbons in Solo cups.

28. (12) JUSTIN THOMAS The two-time PGA champion received high marks as one of the players “most likely to give another player or caddie a free lift to the next event.”

29. (NEW) RUSSELL KNOX Known as one of the more affable guys on tour, he is also an ambassador for junior golf in North Florida and his hometown of Inverness, Scotland.

30. (T-27) ZACH JOHNSON The 2023 Ryder Cup captain goes out of his way to mentor younger players.

ACTS OF KINDNESS

Ross Kinnaird

We were not interested in just knowing who the Tour Nice Guys are. We wanted to know who does ostensibly nice things when nobody is watching. The results of the following questions didn’t necessarily correlate to how our voters cast their nice guys choices; as you’ll see here, a few names appear multiple times on the survey questions but didn’t make our Tour Nice Guys Ranking. However, the survey does provide context and color to what exactly makes a nice guy nice. —Joel Beall

If you had to have dinner with one player every night for an entire tournament week, it would be …

1. Rory McIlroy 2. Joel Dahmen 3. Harold Varner III

A rookie eager to learn the ropes of tour life should play a practice round with …

1. Phil Mickelson T-2. Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffman

A player who is in contention on the weekend should hope to be paired with …

1. Webb Simpson 2. Rickie Fowler T-3. Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa

The player most likely to give another player or caddie a free lift to the next event is …

T-1. Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth T-4. Max Homa, Justin Thomas

Nobody is nicer to waiters, spotters and volunteers than …

1. Rickie Fowler T-2. Peter Malnati, Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy

Amateurs playing in a pro-am should hope to get paired with …

1. Billy Horschel 2. Harry Higgs 3. J.T. Poston

A player likely to tip big even after a missed cut is …

1. Phil Mickelson 2. Rory McIlroy T-3. Jordan Spieth, Kevin Streelman

Nobody spends more time signing autographs for kids than …

1. Rickie Fowler 2. Phil Mickelson 3. Jon Rahm

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Who Has the Most Wins in a Single PGA Tour Season?

While it’s not uncommon for top players to win multiple PGA Tour events in a single season, it’s certainly not the norm. Yes, I understand that sounds like conflicting information, but I think you get the point.

With the number of golfers to tee it up on the PGA Tour during any given season, the percentage of those to notch multiple victories is obviously pretty low. And even those fortunate enough to win numerous times typically don’t get more than two or three.

Take Phil Mickelson , for instance. No matter how you feel about the guy, Lefty is easily one of the greatest players the game has ever seen and is tied with Walter Hagen for eighth on the all-time PGA Tour wins list with 45. And the most victories he ever recorded in a single season? Four.

That’s how tough it is.

Now, plenty of players have won more than four times in a single PGA Tour season. Jack Nicklaus’ best number was seven, which he hit in both 1972 and 1973. Seven legends hit the eight-win mark, a list that includes Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods , each of whom did it twice.

Tiger is also a member of the nine-win club, a much smaller list that features just three players, the other two being Paul Runyan and Vijay Singh.

And then there’s that truly special club of players to notch double-digit victories in a single PGA Tour season, a feat that’s occurred just four times.

Ben Hogan holds both the No. 4 and No. 2 slots. He won 10 times in 1948 and 13 times in 1946. Sitting in between at No. 3 is Sam Snead, who’s currently tied with Tiger atop the all-time PGA Tour wins list with 82. Thirteen of those wins came in 1946, a year that also included his first major championship victory.

So who’s No. 1?

Who has the most wins in a single PGA Tour season?

You know how many think Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championship wins will never be broken? I’ll go further and say that Byron Nelson’s record of 18 victories during the 1945 PGA Tour season is even more unbreakable. And he’s got another unreachable mark wrapped up in that same season, as he won 11 tournaments in a row at one point.

Yes, you read both of those things right. Byron Nelson once won 18 tournaments in a single season, including a stretch of 11 starts in a row. Again, neither of those will ever fall.

Now, with that being said, there is a bit of a caveat to this impressive accomplishment. In 1945, World War II was still happening, and many players missed part or all of the PGA Tour campaign serving in the military.

However, it should be noted that Nelson’s two biggest rivals at that time, Mr. Hogan and Mr. Snead, played enough to notch 11 wins between them. So it’s not as if Nelson didn’t have competition out there.

Nelson entered 30 tournaments in 1945, and, in addition to his 18 victories, he also finished second seven times. Just one major was played that year, the PGA Championship , and Nelson took that as well.

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Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sportscasting.

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PGA Tour Records

Flipping Through the PGA Tour Record Book

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Looking for PGA Tour records? Here is a stroll through the PGA Tour recordbook, with highs and lows, bests and worsts in various categories. Some of the records are relayed right here on this page, but when the name of the record appears as a link, click on that link for a more in-depth account of that record.

PGA Tour Records: Scoring

• Lowest score, 72-hole stroke total
• Most strokes under par, 72 holes
• Lowest 18-hole score
• Lowest 9-hole score
• Lowest Vardon Trophy scoring averages
• Most consecutive birdies
• Highest score on a single hole

Most Birdies, 72-Hole Tournament

• 32 - Mark Calcavecchia, 2001 Phoenix Open
• 32 - Paul Gow, 2001 B.C. Open
• 31 - John Huston, 1998 United Airlines Hawaiian Open
• 31 - Phil Mickelson, 2006 BellSouth Classic
• 31 - Steve Stricker, 2010 John Deere Classic

Most Consecutive Birdies to Win This record is for most consecutive birdies at the end of a tournament to win that event on the PGA Tour.

• 7 in a row - Kevin Streelman, 2014 Travelers Championship
• 6 - Mike Souchak, 1956 St. Paul Open
• 5 - Jack Nicklaus, 1978 Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic
• 5 - Tom Weiskopf, 1971 Kemper Open
• 5 - Russell Henley, 2013 Sony Open

Fewest Strokes in Back-to-Back Rounds

• 122 strokes - Troy Matteson (61-61), Rounds 2-3, 2009 Frys.com Open
• 123 - Steve Stricker (61-62), Rounds 3-4, 2009 Bob Hope Classic
• 123 - Justin Thomas (59-64), Rounds 1-2, 2017 Sony Open
• 123 - Patrick Rodgers (61-62), Rounds 3-4, 2018 RSM Classic

Fewest Strokes, First 54 Holes of Tournament

• 188 - Steve Stricker (60-66-62), 2010 John Deere Classic
• 188 - Justin Thomas (59-64-65), 2017 Sony Open
• 189 - John Cook (64-62-63), 1996 FedEx St. Jude Classic
• 189 - Mark Calcavecchia (65-60-64), 2001 Phoenix Open
• 189 - Tommy Armour III (64-62-63), 2003 Valero Texas Open
• 189 - Phil Mickelson (60-66-64), 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open
• 189 - Patrick Reed (63-63-63), 2014 Humana Challenge

PGA Tour Records: Wins and Winning

• Most career wins
• Most wins in one year
• Longest winning streaks (most consecutive wins)
• Most wins after age 40
• Largest margin of victory
• Largest comeback with 18 holes to play
• Left-handers with most PGA Tour wins
• Father-son winners

Most Wins In the Same Tournament

• 8 wins - Sam Snead , Greater Greensboro Open: 1938, 1946, 1949-50, 1955-56, 1960, 1965
• 8 - Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer Invitational: 2000-2003, 2008-09, 2012-13
• 8 - Tiger Woods, WGC Bridgestone Invitational: 1999-2001, 2005-2007, 2009, 2013
• 7 - Tiger Woods, Farmers Insurance Open: 1999, 2003, 2005-08, 2013
• 7 - Tiger Woods, WGC American Express Championship/CA Championship/Cadillac Championship: 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005-07, 2013

Consecutive Wins In the Same Tournament The record for most wins in a row in the same PGA Tour event is four, shared by these golfers:

• Young Tom Morris, British Open: 1868-70 (no event 1871), 1872
• Walter Hagen, PGA Championship: 1924-1927
• Gene Sarazen, Miami Open: 1926 (no event 1927), 1928-1930
• Tiger Woods, Bay Hill Invitational: 2000-2003
• Tiger Woods, Buick Invitational: 2005-2008

Most PGA Tour Wins By Golfer in His 20s

• Tiger Woods - 46 wins
• Jack Nicklaus - 30 wins

Most Wins By Golfer in His 30s This record is for the most wins on the PGA Tour by a golfer from age 30 through 39:

• Arnold Palmer - 44 wins
• Ben Hogan - 43
• Jack Nicklaus - 38
• Sam Snead - 37
• Byron Nelson - 35
• Billy Casper - 34
• Tiger Woods - 33

Most Consecutive Years With a Win Golfers who won at least one PGA Tour event the most years in succession:

• 17 years: Jack Nicklaus, 1962-78
• 17 years: Arnold Palmer , 1955-71
• 16 years: Billy Casper, 1956-71

Longest Gap Between Wins

• 15 years, 6 months - Robert Gamez (March 25, 1990-September 25, 2005)
• 15 years, 5 months, 10 days - Butch Baird (May 7, 1961-October 17, 1976)

Longest Gap Between 1st and Last PGA Tour Wins

• 28 years, 11 months, 20 days: Raymond Floyd (March 17, 1963-March 8, 1992)
• 28 years, 2 months, 17 days: Sam Snead (January 17, 1937-April 4, 1965)
• 23 years, 11 months, 24 days: Tom Watson (June 30, 1974-May 24, 1998)
• 23 years, 11 months, 5 days: Macdonald Smith (August 28, 1912-August 2, 1936)
• 23 years, 9 months, 27 days: Jack Nicklaus (June 17, 1962-April 13, 1986)

Largest 54-Hole Lead Lost These are the largest leads with 18 holes to go by golfers who failed to win the tourney:

• 6 strokes - Bobby Cruickshank, 1928 Florida Open
• 6 - Gay Brewer , 1969 Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic
• 6 - Hal Sutton, 1983 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic
• 6 - Greg Norman, 1996 Masters
• 6 - Sergio Garcia, 2005 Wachovia Championship
• 6 - Spencer Levin, 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open

PGA Tour Records: Top 10s

Most Top 10 Finishes In One Year The record for most top-10 finishes in one season on the PGA Tour was set in 1945 by Harold "Jug" McSpaden. Jug McSpaden finished in the Top 10 31 times that year.

Consecutive Top 10 Finishes The recordholder for finishing in the Top 10 in the most consecutive tournaments is Byron Nelson - 65. Yes, Nelson placed in the Top 10 in 65 PGA Tour events in row, starting with the 1942 Texas Open and continuing until the 1946 New Orleans Open.

Most Career Top 10 Finishes

• 358 - Sam Snead

PGA Tour Records: Cuts

• Most consecutive cuts made
• Youngest to make the cut on PGA Tour
• Oldest to make the cut on PGA Tour

Most Career Cuts Made This record is for the highest number of cuts made over the course of a career by golfers on the PGA Tour.

• 592 - Jay Haas
• 590 - Tom Kite
• 583 - Raymond Floyd
• 566 - Gene Littler
• 561 - Doug Ford
• 543 - Arnold Palmer

PGA Tour Records: Money

• Most total/consecutive years leading the money list

Most Career Top 10 Finishes on Money List Golfers who finished in the Top 10 of the PGA Tour's money list the most total years:

• 18 Years - Jack Nicklaus
• 15 - Sam Snead
• 15 - Tiger Woods
• 14 - Phil Mickelson
• 13 - Arnold Palmer

Consecutive Years in Top 10 of Money List

• 17 consecutive years - Jack Nicklaus, 1962-78
• 13 - Tiger Woods, 1997-2009

PGA Tour Records: Major Championships

• Most wins in majors
• Career grand slam winners
• Lowest 18-hole stroke total in a major
• Lowest total strokes in a major
• Most strokes under par in a major
• Youngest golfer to win a major
• Oldest golfer to win a major

PGA Tour Records: Playoffs

• Longest sudden-death playoffs
• Most players in one sudden-death playoff

Most Wins In Playoffs

• 14 playoff wins - Arnold Palmer (overall playoff record 14-10)
• 14 - Jack Nicklaus (14-10)
• 12 - Sam Snead (12-5)
• 11 - Tiger Woods (11-1)

PGA Tour Records: Putting

• Fewest putts, 18 holes

Fewest Putts, 9 Holes

• 6 putts - Stan Utley, front nine, second round, 2002 Air Canada Championship
• 7 putts - Bill Nary, back nine, third round, 1952 El Paso Open

Fewest Putts, 72 Holes Here are the golfers with the fewest putts taken in a PGA Tour event over four rounds, 72 holes:

• 92 putts - David Frost, Harbour Town Golf Links, 2005 MCI Heritage
• 93 - Kenny Knox, Harbour Town Golf Links, 1989 MCI Heritage Classic
• 93 - Mark Calcavecchia, Forest Oaks Country Club, 2002 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic
• 93 - Brian Gay, TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral, 2013 WGC Cadillac Championship

PGA Tour Records: Youngest and Oldest

• Youngest winners on the PGA Tour
• Oldest winners on the PGA Tour
• Youngest to play in a PGA Tour tournament
• Oldest to play in a PGA Tour tournament
• Youngest to win a major
• Oldest to win a major
• Youngest to make the cut in a major
• Oldest rookies

Oldest First-Time Winner

• Jim Barnum - 51 years, 1 month and 5 days old at time of first win (1962 Cajun Classic)

Oldest to Make the Cut in a Major Sam Snead is the recordholder here. He made the cut in the 1979 PGA Championship at the age of 67 years, 2 months, 7 days old. Snead finished 42nd in the tournament, shooting 73-71-71-73 for an 8-over total of 288.

Oldest With a Top 10 Tournament Finish The oldest golfer to finish in the Top 10 in a PGA Tour tournament is Sam Snead. Snead was 63 years, 3 months and 4 days of age when he finished tied for eighth place at the 1975 B.C. Open.

Youngest to Shoot His Age on PGA Tour Sam Snead - Age 67 in 1979 when he posted a 67 in the second round of the Quad Cities Open. Two days later, in the final round, Snead shot 66.

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• Sentry Tournament of Champions Golf Tournament on the PGA Tour
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Dailed In: Which Golfers Had the Best Single Rounds of 2022?

Although the outcome was all but decided, Rory McIlroy’s performance on Sunday at the Masters was one golf fans won’t soon forget.

He sent the Augusta crowd into a frenzy when he holed out from the bunker on the 18th green and set the stage for his run to the top spot in our rankings .

But was it the top single round of 2022?

Below, we’ve found the single rounds that should be remembered as the best of the year, according to the FRACAS model .

Rounds are measured based on strokes gained relative to the field average and adjusted for strength of field for that round. A golfer who shoots 5-under par when the field average is 2-over par gains seven strokes on the field. If the field strength for that round is one stroke better than the PGA average, then the total strokes gained for that round moves up to eight strokes. 

FRACAS has included scores from the following tours: PGA Tour, LIV Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, Challenge Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Korean PGA, PGA Tour Canada, Sunshine Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamerica, Champions Tour, Pro Golf Tour of India, All Thailand Golf Tour, Asian Development Tour, EuroPro Tour, Nordic Golf League, Pro Golf Tour (Europe), PGA Tour Australia New Zealand, Alps Tour, China Golf Tour, and Big Easy Tour into its strokes gained per round calculation. 

Last year, we identified the top-10 rounds worldwide. This year, we’ll take a slightly different approach and identify the top-five rounds worldwide as well as the top round from each tour we cover.

Here are the best single-round performances of 2022, ranked by strokes gained:

1. Cameron Tringale, PGA/DP World Tour

• Tournament: Genesis Scottish Open
• Strokes Gained: 10.99
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 98

Though Tringale has never had an OWGR-sanctioned win, he did win the most impressive round of the year. In the first round of the co-sanctioned Scottish Open, Tringale shot a 9-under 61 – three strokes better than the next lowest golfer. The round was highlighted by six straight birdies to start his back nine and featured just 22 putts. Tringale would shoot 6-over the next three days to finish in a tie for sixth.

2. Sebastian Muńoz, PGA Tour

• Tournament: AT&T Byron Nelson
• Strokes Gained: 10.03
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 60

Playing one of the easiest courses on tour, Muñoz opened his tournament with a 12-under 60. He was just 2-under through eight holes, but caught fire heading into the back nine with an eagle at nine and then another eagle and six birdies heading back into the clubhouse. On his 8-under back nine, his irons were dialed in with only two putting attempts from beyond 12 feet.

3. Taylor Montgomery, PGA Tour

• Tournament: The CJ Cup
• Strokes Gained: 9.58
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 34

A 2022 Korn Ferry graduate, Montgomery took full advantage of the fall swing to establish himself as the PGA rookie to watch in 2023. Montgomery was slow to get going at the CJ Cup, heading into Round 4 in 47th place out of 78 golfers. He bogeyed his first hole of the fourth round, putting him over par for the tournament. But he bounced back with four straight birdies and finished his round by shooting 6-under over his final seven holes. 

4. Bubba Watson, Major Tournament

• Tournament: U.S. PGA Championship
• Strokes Gained: 9.33
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 55

Watson headlines our first major tournament round on the list. His second round at the PGA Championship was a masterpiece of ball striking as he only gained 0.62 strokes putting in the round and gained almost nine strokes tee to green. He would struggle in his other three rounds (finishing in a tie for 30th) and has largely scuffled over the past few years, but the second round showed that the former Masters winner still has some magic left.

5. Rory McIlroy, Major Tournament

• Tournament: Masters Tournament
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 1

The round that perhaps initiated the impressiveness of McIlroy’s 2022 season, McIlroy shot an 8-under on Sunday at the Masters in his bid to catch runaway winner Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler would not falter in the final stretch, but McIlroy’s early heroics was something to behold. Highlighted by a hole-out from the bunker on the 18th green, this round set the stage for McIlroy to finish the season as the No. 1 golfer in the world by FRACAS.

Here’s a tour-by-tour look at the best rounds of 2022:

• Golfer: Cameron Tringale
• Golfer: Talor Gooch
• Tournament: LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster
• Strokes Gained: 8.82
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 41
• Golfer: David Lingmerth
• Tournament: Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship
• Strokes Gained: 8.13
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 231
• Golfer: Guido Migliozzi
• Tournament: Cazoo Open de France
• Strokes Gained: 8.72
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 254
• Golfer: Danthai Boonma
• Tournament: DGC Open
• Strokes Gained: 9.29
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 940

Challenge Tour

• Golfer: Bernd Ritthammer
• Tournament: Challenge de España
• Strokes Gained: 7.18
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 1,082

Japan Golf Tour

• Golfer: Taiga Semikawa
• Tournament: Japan Open Golf Championship
• Strokes Gained: 7.50
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 292
• Golfer: Sanghun Shin
• Tournament: 65th KPGA Championship
• Strokes Gained: 7.63
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 670

PGA Tour Canada

• Golfer: Carter Jenkins
• Tournament: Fortinet Cup Championship
• Strokes Gained: 6.74
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 876

Sunshine Tour

• Golfer: Ruan Korb
• Tournament: Vodacom Origins of Golf
• Strokes Gained: 8.23
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 1,206

PGA Tour Latinoamerica

• Golfer: Cristobal del Solar
• Tournament: Bupa Tour Championship
• Strokes Gained: 5.99
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 519

Champions Tour

• Golfer: Fred Couples
• Tournament: SAS Championship
• Strokes Gained: 7.01
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 869

Professional Golf Tour of India

• Golfer: Arjun Puri
• Tournament: Kapil Dev-Grant Thornton Invitational
• Strokes Gained: 7.60
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 3,849

All Thailand Golf Tour

• Golfer: Pattaraphol Khanthacha
• Tournament: Singha all Thailand Premier Championship
• Strokes Gained: 5.33
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 1,393

Asian Development Tour

• Golfer: Tawit Polthai
• Tournament: OB Golf Invitational
• Strokes Gained: 6.27
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 1,137

EuroPro Tour

• Golfer: Joe Dean
• Tournament: The Matchroom Tour Championship
• Strokes Gained: 6.49
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 2,051

Nordic Golf League

• Golfer: Frithjof Astorp Rasmussen
• Tournament: Holtsmark Open
• Strokes Gained: 7.21
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 5,658

Pro Golf Tour

• Golfer: Mathis Pansart
• Tournament: Faberexposize Gelpenberg Open
• Strokes Gained: 5.86
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 1,651

PGA Tour Australia New Zealand

• Golfer: Braden Becker
• Tournament: Vic Open
• Strokes Gained: 4.82
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 3,511
• Golfer: Gregorio De Leo
• Tournament: Memorial Giorgio Bordoni
• Strokes Gained: 6.01
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 930

China Golf Tour

• Golfer: Xuefeng Yao
• Tournament: Hengdian Championship
• Strokes Gained: 5.73
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 1,096

Big Easy Tour

• Golfer: Reinhardt Blaauw
• Tournament: Altron Big Easy Tour 5
• Strokes Gained: 3.23
• Year-End Global FRACAS Rank: 3,238

Scottie Scheffler’s historic PGA Tour run continues at RBC Heritage

S cottie Scheffler continued his dominant run on the PGA Tour with a weather-delayed victory at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on Monday.

One week after solidifying his historic reign over men’s golf at the Masters, Scheffler shot a 19-under in Hilton Head, South Carolina, to win the Signature Event.

The world no. 1 has four wins in his last five PGA Tour starts. In March, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a signature event, and the Players Championship. (At the Valero Texas Open, Scheffler’s putt to force a playoff lipped out . He finished T2.)

Scheffler, who didn’t play the Harbour Town back-nine before his first round, opened the tournament with a ho-hum 69. Inevitably, though, he surged past a field that included 28 of the top 30 players in the world with a 65 on Friday and 63 on Saturday.

Scheffler carried a five-shot lead into Monday with three holes left to play. In the end, his final round 68 was enough to stave off Sahith Theegala (-16), Wyndham Clark (-15), and Patrick Cantlay (-15). Justin Thomas, J.T. Poston, Patrick Rodgers, and Sepp Straka finished T5 at 14-under.

“I didn’t show up here just to have some sort of ceremony and have people tell me congratulations,” said Scheffler. “I came here with a purpose.”

Tiger Woods (2007-08) was the last player to win four out of five PGA Tour events, and the last player to win on the PGA Tour the week after claiming a major (2006).

Bernhard Langer (1985) last went back-to-back at the Masters and RBC.

“Coming off the high last week to going into here, not really with a ton of energy, not really with a ton of prep work,” Scheffler said. “I think it’s underrated how difficult it is to do the stuff that Tiger was doing, and win like every single week. It takes a lot out of you emotionally and physically, especially major championships.”

Scheffler earned $3.2 million of the $20 million RBC purse. He’s pocketed $18.7 million for his work in 10 tournaments this season.

Scheffler now has 11 wins and 33 top-fives in his last 60 worldwide starts. He hasn’t carded an official round over par since August.

“It’s pretty epic,” said Theegala, who played in the final group with Scheffler. “I was talking to Carl, my caddie, walking to 15 tee box. I was like, I grew up watching the end of Tiger, got to see Rory, DJ, Jordan, like all these guys kind of dominate for a period of time, and I was like, we could be in the midst of something really, really special.”

“It does not get boring,” Scheffler emphasized. “I think hitting a really well-struck golf shot close to the pin is like an addicting feeling.”

The second major of the year, the 2024 PGA Championship, tees off on May 16 at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky. Scheffler is almost a 3-1 favorite against the field. He’s +6000 to win all four majors in 2024.

Meanwhile, on the LPGA Tour, world No. 1 Nelly Korda just rattled off her fifth win in a row, at the first major of the season, the Chevron Championship. Keep up, Scottie.

The post Scottie Scheffler’s historic PGA Tour run continues at RBC Heritage appeared first on ClutchPoints .

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RBC Heritage: Final round suspended due to darkness, Monday finish underway at Harbour Town

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Updated: Monday, April 22, 8 a.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage resumed at 8 a.m. ET.

Scheffler, chasing his fourth PGA TOUR win in five starts, authored a signature moment in the waning twilight Sunday, recovering from a hooked 4-iron second shot on the par-4 15th with a sorcerous wedge to 11 feet that he converted for an unlikely par to maintain a five-stroke lead over Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, J.T. Poston and Sahith Theegala.

Scheffler, chasing his fourth PGA TOUR win in five starts, stood 20 under for the tournament as the final round was suspended due to darkness at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, with nine players yet to complete the final round on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

This will be the second unscheduled Monday finish on the PGA TOUR this season and first since the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, won by Austin Eckroat. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, won by Wyndham Clark, was shortened to 54 holes after play was unable to be contested on Sunday and Monday.

Sunday’s play at Harbour Town was initially suspended at 4:28 p.m. due to lightning in the area. The final pairing of Scheffler and Sepp Straka had completed 11 holes at the time. Players were removed from the course, with the delay ultimately lasting 2 hours and 32 minutes before play resumed at 7 p.m.

Scottie Scheffler's masterful par save at RBC Heritage

Updated: Sunday, April 21, 7 p.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage resumes at 7 p.m. ET.

Updated: Sunday, April 21, 6:30 p.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage will resume at 7 p.m. ET.

Updated: Sunday, April 21, 5:40 p.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage will not resume at 6 p.m. ET.

Updated: Sunday, April 21, 5:28 p.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage is scheduled to resume at 6 p.m. ET.

Updated: Sunday, April 21, 4:28 p.m. ET: The RBC Heritage’s final round has been suspended due to lightning in the area, with the final groups playing the back nine Sunday at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Play was suspended at 4:28 p.m. local time, with leader Scottie Scheffler playing the 12th hole. Players were taken off the course at the time of suspension.

Scheffler began the final round at 16 under, one stroke clear of Sepp Straka, and the world No. 1 turned in 3-under 33 with a chip-in eagle at the par-5 second, a two-putt birdie at the par-5 fifth and seven pars. Scheffler stood 19 under, four strokes clear of the field at the time of delay. Seven players stood 15 under.

“We were hoping to play through this; we felt like we had another 25 minutes left of this heavy rain and were then going to get a break on the back end,” said Mark Dusbabek, the PGA TOUR’s senior director lead TV Rules & Video Analyst, on the CBS broadcast. “We had lightning unfortunately pop up 4 miles away; just suddenly caught us in, so we had to stop play for this. We’re going to see how things go here and make a decision.

"The course was not unplayable. It wasn't because of the rain. It was just because the lightning popped up."

The final round of the RBC Heritage is poised to deliver fans a fantastic finish, but that might not come without a little bit of weather late in the day.

After the first three rounds of tournament golf at Harbour Town Golf Links were accompanied by sunshine and temperatures ranging from the upper 70s into the mid-80s, Sunday could bring golfers a different challenge to navigate as the tournament comes to a close.

According to the forecast, a cold front will be slowly moving southward into the Hilton Head Island area on Sunday, increasing the chances for showers and a few thunderstorms as play gets into the early to mid-afternoon hours and continuing into the evening hours. Storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rainfall. Otherwise, Sunday morning will remain dry with temperatures warming into the mid to upper 70s before falling into the 60s late in the day. Light wind Sunday morning will increase out of the north 10-15 gusting to 20-25 mph late in the day.

The final pairing of the day, Scottie Scheffler and Sepp Straka, are set to tee off at 1:55 p.m. ET. Scheffler holds a one-stroke lead at 16-under.

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Scottie scheffler continues dominant run with 2024 rbc heritage win, share this article.

Scottie Scheffler spent an extra night in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, which typically wouldn’t be such a drag if not for his wife Meredith being pregnant back home in Dallas and awaiting the couple’s first child later this month.

But Mother Nature had other plans, forcing Scheffler to return to Harbour Town Golf Links on Monday morning to play his final three holes of the 2024 RBC Heritage and wrap up his fourth PGA Tour title in his past five starts.

One week and one day after Scheffler slipped into the famed Green Jacket awarded to the Masters champ for the second time in three years, the 27-year-old Texan added another colorful jacket – this time in trademark Tartan – to his closet and became the first reigning Masters champion to win the RBC Heritage since Bernhard Langer in 1985.

Scheffler, who was 4-under through 15 holes in the final round and 20-under overall when play was suspended due to darkness on Sunday, made two pars and a finishing bogey and signed for a 3-under 68 on Monday, three shots better than Sahith Theegala (68) and four better than reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (65) and past FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay (68). Scheffler banked another $3.6 million to surpass $18 million in earnings this season – and it’s still April.

“I didn’t show up here just to have some sort of ceremony and have people tell me congratulations,” said Scheffler of avoiding a post-Masters victory hangover. “I came here with a purpose.”

CBS Sports roving reporter Colt Knost, who grew up with Scheffler following him around Dallas’s Royal Oaks Golf Club, already has one of the best nicknames in golf: The Big Gravy. But he may have earned another one – Knost-radamus – for a prediction seemingly as accurate as those of the 16 th century French astrologer Nostradamus. In February 2022, when Scheffler won his first Tour title at the WM Phoenix Open, Knost proclaimed him to be “a worldbeater,” and added, “Now that he’s got that first one, I think the floodgates are going to open for him.”

Scheffler’s latest triumph is his 10 th career title, the first player to win that many times (or more) in three seasons since Dustin Johnson did so between 2015-16 and 2017-18. There’s no indication that this flood of success for the world No. 1 will stop any time soon. Did Knost imagine Scheffler would dominate on the PGA Tour? “I really did,” he said. “He never plays badly and he’s one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met. He will never just go through the motions.”

Theegala, who recalled playing against Scheffler for the first time in the Starburst Junior Golf Classic at Waco, Texas, didn’t remember ever beating Scheffler, who is a year older than him, in a single junior tournament. Competing with Scheffler, who leads the Tour in 30 statistical categories this season, hasn’t gotten any easier lately. “It’s pretty epic,” Theegala said of Scheffler, who has shot even par or better in all 40 rounds this season and became the first player to win four times in five starts since Tiger Woods in 2007-08. “I was talking to Carl, my caddie, walking to 15 tee box. I was like, I grew up watching the end of Tiger, got to see Rory, DJ, Jordan, like all these guys kind of dominate for a period of time, and I was like, we could be in the midst of something really, really special.”

Some observers suggested that Scheffler would skip the RBC Heritage but Scheffler said he never wavered in his commitment to the tournament. After winning the Masters, Scheffler flew home to Dallas to be with Meredith and didn’t show up to Hilton Head until Tuesday. He played only a nine-hole practice round on Wednesday and spotted much of the field a head start, shanking a bunker shot at his third hole in the first round, making double bogey and needing two late birdies to post 69. He trailed by six and complained of fatigue. But after recharging his batteries, he didn’t make a single bogey or worse until the 72nd hole of the tournament, and even in that case Scheffler said he was counting that one as a par as he played the smart shots with a comfortable lead. He stormed back with a 65 on Friday and was lurking three back before reminding everyone who is boss with a bogey-free 63 to claim a one-stroke lead.

Are you kidding me?! 💥 Scottie Scheffler is doing Scottie Scheffler things. @RBC_Heritage pic.twitter.com/by9vn6dplU — Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) April 21, 2024

In the final round, Scheffler laid down the hammer early, chipping in at the par-5 second hole from 53 feet for eagle. His bump-and-run, executed to perfection, marked his 11 th hole-out of the season. He tacked on a birdie at the par-5 fifth and strung together six consecutive pars before the horn blew. When play resumed he wedged to 6 feet for another birdie at 13. When he made his lone blunder, pull-hooking a 4-iron into the water due to mud on his ball at the par-5 15th, he took a penalty drop and carved a beautiful shot to 11 feet. Darkness had fallen and he could’ve wait until Monday to strike the par putt but he opted to play on and sank it for good measure. While that snapped a streak of 53 consecutive holes without recording a score of more than a four on his card, dating to the 15 th hole in his first round, he pumped his fist with glee for keeping a clean card (to that point).

“I felt like I was due for one to drop,” said Scheffler, whose closing bogey gave him a winning total 19-under 265. “So I figured might as well hit it now.”

Clark mounted an early charge, making an eagle and six birdies in his first 11 holes to inch within a stroke of the lead. But his effort to run down Scheffler was spoiled at the 12 th hole when Clark tried to punch between trees. His ball struck one of them squarely and ricocheted out of bounds. He made double bogey.

“It was kind of fun for a little bit,” said Clark, who improved to a career-best ranking of No. 3 in the world. “Seemed like maybe we had a chance to do something crazy.”

Only Mother Nature could prolong Scheffler’s victory another day. Play was suspended due to inclement weather at 4:28 p.m. ET, for two hours and 32 minutes. The delay meant they ran out of daylight.

But on Monday, Scheffler capped off winning for the fourth time this year, all of them Signature events. He finished tied for second in the only tournament he did not win during his scorching run. For the week, he topped the field of 69 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, SG: Tee to Green, SG: Approach the Green and scrambling.

“We’re watching greatness right now,” CBS’s Jim Nantz said. “It doesn’t happen all the time, but it sure is fun when you find yourself witnessing something like this.

Nantz’s NFL broadcast partner, former Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo, who played in the Invited Celebrity Classic on PGA Tour Champions last week, estimated he’s played around 500 rounds with Scheffler and said he’s never failed to break 70.

“Which is insane,” said Romo who played with him the week before the Masters at Brook Hollow, a Dallas club. “I have not seen a guy hit a golf ball like this since Tiger back in the 2000s when I played with him, the way he was striking the ball, the compression, the trajectory, the spin rate. It was impressive, and I was like, ‘He ain’t losing that tournament.’ ”

No one stopped him at the RBC Heritage either. Could Scheffler be on his way to a season for the record books? That may depend whether history repeats itself — all 10 of his wins have come in the months of February, March and April. So, time will tell if Scheffler can continue to dominate when the calendar flips to May – just don’t bet against the floodgates closing any time soon.

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Zurich Classic 2024: Odds, predictions, picks for PGA Tour team event

The only team event on the PGA Tour is here, as TPC Louisiana takes center stage in hosting the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

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The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is unlike any other event on the PGA Tour .

Instead of individual stroke play for 72 holes, this tournament employs a team format that features two players each.

For Thursday’s first round and Saturday’s third round, teams will play Four-ball, which means each player will play their own ball. The best score among the two players is then taken on each hole for the team. Then, for Friday’s second round and Sunday’s final round, teams will compete in foursomes—also known as alternate shot—so only one score is tallied per hole.

Of the 80 teams in the field, the top 33 and ties make it to the weekend. The winning team receives 800 FedEx Cup points—400 to each player—and two-year exemptions on the PGA Tour. However, the victors do not receive invitations to The Masters the following year, nor do they obtain any Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

Zurich Classic of New Orleans Odds:

Here are the current odds for the teams to win, per DraftKings:

• Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele +500
• Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry +800
• Will Zalatoris & Sahith Theegala +1100
• Collin Morikawa & Kurt Kitayama +1600
• Tom Hoge & Maverick McNealy +2500
• Matt Fitzpatrick & Alex Fitzpatrick +2500
• Taylor Pendrith & Corey Conners +3500
• Rasmus Højgaard & Nicolai Højgaard +3500
• Taylor Montgomery & Ben Griffin +4000
• Sepp Straka & Ben Griffin +4000
• Nick Taylor & Adam Hadwin +4000
• Keith Mitchell & Joel Dahmen +4000
• Brice Garnett & Sepp Straka +4000

Zurich Classic of New Orleans Predictions

An all-Irish duo of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry highlight this year’s Zurich Classic in New Orleans. But so do Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele —the only team that comprises two players ranked within the top 10 of the OWGR.

Three sets of brothers will also compete, including the Fitzpatrick’s, who tied for 19th a year ago here. Netflix’s season two of Full Swing underscored their triumphs and tribulations from this event through The Open Championship last season.

The other brothers in this week’s field include the formidable Danish duo of Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard and Americans Pierceson and Parker Coody. As such, the 2024 Zurich Classic marks the first time in PGA Tour history that two sets of twins will compete in the same event.

Cantlay, Schauffele contend but fall short again

Cantlay and Schauffele arrive in the Bayou as the odds-on favorites, and rightfully so. They form the best team on paper, but Cantlay has not had a terrific 2024 campaign.

The former UCLA Bruin currently ranks 91st on tour in overall strokes gained and 149th in strokes gained, approaching the green this season. He only has two top-10 finishes as well.

Cantlay’s iron play has sorely let him down, but perhaps he discovered something last week at Harbour Town. He tied for 3rd at the RBC Heritage and ranked 5th in strokes gained approaching the green on a golf course that places a premium on iron play. That marked his best finish since the Genesis Invitational , where he held the lead for most of the tournament but ultimately tied for 4th.

Meanwhile, Schauffele has had a marvelous season, ranking second behind Scottie Scheffler in overall strokes gained. He tied for 18th at the RBC Heritage, but prior to that, he recorded three straight top 10s, which includes a tie for 2nd at TPC Sawgrass and a solo 8th at Augusta National .

It would not surprise us if this duo went on to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans once again. After all, they did so in 2022 with an incredible score of 29-under par. But these two golfers have struggled to finish the job this year when the light has shined brightest. We envision that narrative persisting, especially since they arrive as heavy favorites with all eyes watching them.

The Winners: A pair of young American stars

We like the team of Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris to prevail this week in Louisiana. They arrive with the third-lowest odds at +1100, a solid price for these young stars.

Theegala, fresh off a solo second finish at the RBC Heritage, already has five top 10s this season. He has an innate ability to shape whatever shot he desires and ranks 13th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting. That, coupled with Zalatoris’ pedigree of being a terrific ball-striker, leads us to believe that Theegala and Zalatoris will triumph.

Plus, these two have a great camaraderie with one another, as emphasized by Theegala’s remarks after his solid week in Harbour Town.

“I’m super excited. I just want to win really badly with Will. I’m pumped that he agreed to play with me and know he’s going to carry me a little bit, but we’re just going to have such a good time, and I think our games mesh really well,” Theegala said Monday.

“We’re going to give each other some crap if we hit bad shots and give each other plenty of love for the good shots. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I think really just going to try and take it down.”

Interestingly, Theegala and Zalatoris have each won once before on the PGA Tour. Theegala’s maiden victory came at the Fortinet Championship last September, while Zalatoris prevailed for the first time in August 2022 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

They know what it takes to win. But the circumstances change somewhat this week, as these players enter unfamiliar territory playing on a team professionally. Neither has competed in the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup , but Zalatoris did compete in the 2017 Walker Cup as an amateur at the Los Angeles Country Club .

Still, these two entertaining Americans will rely on each other’s strengths to win the Zurich Classic.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

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Jon Rahm can still play Ryder Cup if he does 1 thing

Jon Rahm and fellow LIV golfer Tyrrell Hatton during the 2023 Ryder Cup.

getty images

In the days following Jon Rahm’s surprise defection to LIV Golf early last December, Rory McIlroy was already thinking Ryder Cup. He spoke so resolutely that he had to have been thinking about it for days, maybe even weeks. 

“The European Tour are going to have to rewrite the rules for Ryder Cup eligibility,” McIlroy said to SkySports’ Jamie Weir . “Like absolutely, there’s no question about that. I certainly want Jon Rahm on the next Ryder Cup team.” 

As it turns out, McIlroy was thinking a bit too far ahead. There was no need for rules changes. The DP World Tour hasn’t changed a thing about how the European RC team will be created — and hasn’t even announced qualification rules yet — but barring any surprising adjustments, Rahm and his fellow European LIV players will be eligible, so long as they follow some rules. 

How? Let us explain. 

When he made that statement, McIlroy had just competed with Rahm two months earlier at the Ryder Cup in Italy, winning the biennial event in dominant fashion over the Americans. Notably, Sergio Garcia was absent. One of the best players in the history of the Cup was not considered for a captain’s pick by Luke Donald because Garcia had surrendered his DP World Tour membership. 

The key to Garcia getting a look (among other reasons) begins and ends with this DP World Tour membership. In order to be a Ryder Cup member for Team Europe, one needs to be a DP World Tour member. For Rahm and, say, Tyrrell Hatton , it is no different. They need to maintain DP World Tour membership in 2024, which means they need to earn it in 2023. This was clear last year and was reiterated by new DPWT CEO, Guy Kinnings, in a sit-down with media in Central London Friday. 

“The reality is that until we announce the qualification process, which we don’t need to do yet as that doesn’t start for another four to five months, it’s kind of speculation,” Kinnings told members of the U.K. media , according to various reports . “But, if you look at what the qualification/eligibility criteria was for 2023, then I think there has been a slight misconception because the reality is under the current rules, if a player is European and is a member of the DP World Tour and abides by the rules as they currently are — so, if you don’t get a release, there are sanctions and if you accept those sanctions and take those penalties and work with that — there is no reason why players who’ve taken LIV membership but maintain membership with the DP World Tour could not A) qualify or B) be available for selection.”

If that sounds a bit confusing, here’s the simple answer: Jon Rahm earns a one-event suspension on the DP World Tour for every single LIV Golf event he plays. Those regulations were handed down in the summer of 2022 , when LIV Golf launched, pulling players from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to their events without first obtaining conflicting event releases. When Rahm plays in this week’s LIV event, in Australia, he gets suspended/banned from competing in next week’s DP World Tour event, the Volvo China Open. When he competes on in Singapore next week, he’ll be suspended from competing in the next DP World Tour event, the Soudal Open, in Belgium, in late May. Each time he plays, he also incurs a fine, but Rahm has no financial constraints — we all know that . 

The real trick lies in how many DP World Tour events Rahm can then play, given these hovering suspensions. Because in order to retain membership, Rahm must compete in a minimum of four DP World Tour events this season outside of the major championships. He has thus far competed in zero. Tyrrell Hatton has competed in one, the Dubai Desert Classic, back in January. 

Where does the PGA Tour-LIV deal stand? Here’s what Rory, Norman, Tiger have said

“It’s not a loophole,” Kinnings told the group , according to reports , “because that’s the rules we’ve always had and those are the rules we are going to continue to apply.”

Okay then. How exactly does Rahm thread the needle here, playing in every LIV Golf event, as he has been contracted to do, earn suspensions for the succeeding week’s DPWT event, and then still compete four times before the season is finished? He’s going to have to play plenty of golf in September, but he may really want to. That’s when the DPWT heads to his homeland, Spain. 

Looking at the schedule LIV Golf has in 2024 — which still has two events that have not been announced — Rahm will likely incur suspensions for, or struggle to travel to, every DPWT event in May and June. He could find himself available for the BMW International Open in Germany the first week of July, so if you see him playing that event, know he’s taking this all very seriously. 

Even if Rahm doesn’t play that event, he’ll likely have a stretch in the fall that allows him to play the Spanish Open, the Dunhill Links Championship, the French Open and the Andalucia Masters in successive weeks, two of those events taking place in Spain. It will be prime time European golf season as the DPWT hosts the British Masters, the Irish Open and the tour’s premier event, the BMW PGA Championship, all at the beginning of September. Then the Season of Rahm could follow. If Rahm were to play well, he may even earn enough Race to Dubai points to advance to the DP World Tour playoffs in November, after LIV’s season would have likely been finished. 

So, what are golf fans supposed to think of it? 

Once again, stay patient. Rahm will no doubt be asked about his intentions for his summer schedule in the coming weeks at the PGA Championship, if not sooner. He will be a busy golfer, either way, with the Olympic Golf Competition also on his horizon. But if he wants the Ryder Cup badly enough, there’s a path for him to follow that leads all the way to Bethpage. 

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2024 PGA Championship odds: Scottie Scheffler favorite to continue grand slam pursuit, Rory McIlroy near top

Valhalla is set to host this year's pga championship, and the odds board has adjusted since the masters.

With the PGA Tour's season rolling onward to its second major championship with the 2024 Masters now in the book, the 2024 PGA Championship is just around the corner. Valhalla will serve as host for the first time since 2014 and fourth time in its history as the best golfers in the world convene to begin action on May 16.

You might not believe this, but Scottie Scheffler is the favorite. Scheffler has won four of his last five tournaments -- including the Masters by four shots -- and has lost to just one other golfer since March 1. He has made $16.3 million in that span, third-most in a single season despite the 2024 campaign not having reached its halfway point.

Scheffler is now a stunning 7/2 favorite to win the PGA, which would put him halfway to the 2024 grand slam, a feat nobody has ever accomplished in a single season. In fact, odds for Scheffler to pull it off are now an eye-popping 40-1.

The closest anyone has come to a grand slam in recent years came was 2015 when Jordan Spieth won the first two majors, finished one shot out of a playoff in the third and then finished second in the fourth. It would not be surprising if Scheffler put together a similar major championship season.

2024 PGA Championship odds

• Scottie Scheffler: 7/2
• Rory McIlroy: 9-1
• Jon Rahm: 10-1
• Brooks Koepka: 16-1
• Viktor Hovland: 18-1
• Ludvig Åberg: 18-1

McIlroy won the PGA last time it was at Valhalla, but that was 10 years ago when he won two consecutive majors to collect Nos. 3 and 4 at the age of 25. A lot has happened since then, but McIlroy is still a tremendous player. And while he has not had the season he expected or that his last two seasons portended, he's still a threat here (though 9-1 is short). Koepka is the defending champion as he and Hovland engaged in a great battle last year at Oak Hill. Neither is playing as well this time around. Åberg is probably a better bet at 18-1 than either of those two.

• Xander Schauffele: 20-1
• Patrick Cantlay: 20-1
• Collin Morikawa: 22-1
• Wyndham Clark: 25-1
• Jordan Spieth: 25-1
• Bryson DeChambeau: 25-1
• Will Zalatoris: 25-1
• Joaquin Niemann: 28-1

The interesting players here are Clark and DeChambeau at 25-1. The latter will be in the field following his best Masters appearance to date; he's seemingly in terrific form. The former is the reigning U.S. Open champion coming off an awesome PGA Tour year behind Scheffler. He is also probably better suited to being a bit of a bomb-and-gouge guy, which is typically how PGAs have been set up in recent years (as opposed to the Masters and Open Championship).

• Max Homa: 30-1
• Justin Thomas: 30-1
• Cameron Smith: 30-1
• Tony Finau: 35-1
• Hideki Matsuyama: 35-1
• Dustin Johnson: 35-1
• Rickie Fowler: 40-1
• Matt Fitzpatrick: 40-1
• Cameron Young: 40-1
• Tommy Fleetwood: 45-1
• Adam Scott: 80-1
• Tiger Woods: 100-1
• Sergio Garcia: 150-1
• Phil Mickelson: 150-1

Young intrigues me. An excellent major player, who should be able to decimate this golf course. He was good at the Masters and had a T3 at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. I would not love him at 20-1 ... but at 40-1? Absolutely. 

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