⛳️ Scottie catches fire

Top stories:

• Scottie’s putter catches fire, dominates at the Arnold Palmer

• Anthony Kim goes low on Sunday, first time since his return

• LIV passes on OWGR points

• Padraig Harrington thinks everyone can be a single-digit handicapper

• The Players is upon us

1. Scottie Scheffler ran away with the Arnold Palmer Invitational this weekend, thanks to a long-awaited, strong putting performance.

• Heading into Bay Hill, Scheffler was the top ranked ball-striker on the PGA Tour, but 144th in putting.

• He switched to a mallet this week — a move Rory McIlroy suggested on-air at the Genesis — and finished the tournament 5th overall in putting.

• On Sunday alone, Scheffler gained 3.88 strokes with his flat stick and didn’t miss a putt inside 15-feet.

• “Part of the problem is just trying too hard,” Scheffler told reporters on Sunday.

• Before the Arnold Palmer, Scheffler had gone winless in his previous 19 starts, but had 15 (!) top-10 finishes.

• He’ll look to defend his title this week at The Players Championship.

2. Abraham Ancer won the individual event, Crushers GC took top team honors, but Anthony Kim stole the spotlight on Sunday at LIV Hong Kong with a 5-under final round.

• Kim’s 65 on Sunday was his first under-par round since his return and his best performance by seven shots.

• “Coming from where I came from over the last 10, 12 years, I’m just very grateful for this opportunity,” Kim said on Sunday. “Every step I walk, I feel blessed. So [no] matter what I shoot, I feel like I’ve won.” 

• LIV’s next tournament is at the start of April at Trump Doral in Miami.

3. More headlines 🗞️

Regarding the men’s professional game …

• LIV Golf withdrew its efforts to obtain Official World Golf Ranking accreditation on Tuesday.

  • My take: I kinda like the move. The OWGR is already losing credibility within the golf world. And now, LIV is further forcing the majors to reconsider their eligibility criteria.

• Rory McIlroy said this week that he wants a “more cut throat, more competitive” PGA Tour with fewer players.

  • “You should have to come out and prove yourself year after year after year,” McIlroy said.

  • Wyndham Clark agreed, saying “it would be amazing” if the Tour had 100 players and 20 were relegated each year.

• Meanwhile, Lucas Glover called the PGA Tour’s new limited-field, higher-pursed Signature Events “selfish” and “a money grab.”

Regarding the fun stuff …

• Full Swing executive producer Chad Mumm is launching a new golf entertainment company called “Pro Shop,” which raised nearly $20 million and will work in partnership with the PGA Tour.

• TGL says its upgrading its virtual golf stadium with “a steel supported roof” after extensive damage to the structure late last year postponed the upstart league’s inaugural season.

• And, Padraig Harrington said this week that his instructional videos should “be able to get every golfer in the whole wide world to a single figure handicap.”

  • He added: “I think that’s a very reasonable goal.”

  • My take: This sounds completely unreasonable. But, I love the optimism from Paddy, and I am now one of 127,000 to subscribe to his YouTube channel.

4. Good posts 💯

5. Up next: The Players Championship starts on Thursday.

• Fun Fact: If Scottie Scheffler wins, he’ll be the first back-to-back champ ever at TPC Sawgrass.

That’s all for now! Have a wonderful week and see you back here soon. - Nick Bastone

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