Spent two weeks in California on the PGA Tour. Spent two weeks in the Middle East on a European tour.
Endicott is one of the players taking advantage of a partnership with the European Tour that gives up to five spots to players who finish 126th to 200th in the FedEx Cup.
Only 19 of the 30 Korn Ferry Tour alumni have qualified for the Sony Open, where normally all of them would. Endicott played at the American Express last week, but his spot in the 156-man field at the Farmers Insurance Open was not confirmed until the weekend.
“This is a very new system that the Tour has never had before. Everything is up in the air,” Endicott said.
The new system is eight distinctive events with limited fields, primarily for the top 50 finishers in the FedEx Cup. The uncertainty is where else they will play and how much room is left for everyone else.
Based on several conversations with players and tour officials, Endicott said that because the top 50 is so important, these players should play more often on the West Coast to have the best chance of staying in the top 50. I think I’m playing a game.
“I think it bleeds as the season goes on,” Endicott said. “Once we get through the early stretch, I think you’ll see more guys on the field list get even deeper. I’m on that line, so this year it’s going to be a mix of PGA Tour and DP World Tour. It will be a year.”
Ryan Palmer, Matthias Schwab, Sung Kang and Dylan Frittelli also competed in the Bahrain Championship. Frittelli has already used the exemption to play in a European Tour event in South Africa, while Schwab, Can and Frittelli will play in Ras Al Khaimah this week.
Traveling is nothing new to Endicott, a charming 27-year-old from Sydney. In his first year as a professional, he participated in his PGA Tour of Australia, his Tour of Europe, and his PGA Tour of Latin America.
“I had quite a frequent flyer account,” he said.
Endicott, on the other hand, is not one to panic. He will have the Mexico Open and the beginning of the Florida Swing. There are field events on the other side. And he thinks there will be even more room for Korn Ferry and Q School graduates as the FedExCup standings move up.
“Now that it’s been a year and I’m seeing how everything goes, the panic has subsided a lot. I’m not as worried as I was last year,” said Endicott, a 2023 PGA Tour rookie.
Judy Rankin was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame for her play on the LPGA Tour. Her second career was in television, and Rankin received her PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in the Journalism category.
She is the 33rd recipient and the first woman to receive this award from the PGA of America.
Rankin, the first woman to earn more than $100,000 in LPGA earnings and a 26-time winner, began her career as a broadcaster in 1984.
“Judy has provided insightful commentary as a broadcaster for nearly 40 years following a remarkable playing career,” said PGA President John Lindert. “She paved the way for countless women to follow in her footsteps and had a lasting impact on the broadcasting industry.”
Rankin, who joined ABC Sports, became the first woman to be a full-time broadcaster for a men’s event.
“There’s so much acceptance of women in golf and men’s golf today and there’s a certain level of satisfaction in how good they are,” Rankin said.
Rankin retired from full-time work in 2022, but returned for special occasions such as the Solheim Cup.
“Honestly, I’m a little overwhelmed that it’s for journalism,” Rankin said. “It feels really good because I feel like I did something a little more meaningful than just playing a game. I’m glad they thought there was some journalistic value to what I’ve been doing for so many years. I am truly honored.”
She will be honored at the Golf Writers of America Annual Banquet on April 10 in Augusta, Georgia.
After Rose Chan got off to a great start as a professional last summer, she suffered from losing her putter.
It turns out it’s not a metaphor.
“Physically I lost my putter,” Chan said at last week’s Tournament of Champions.
She was on a train in London on her way to the Women’s British Open when her father took her putter out of her golf bag and then accidentally left it on the train.
“The specs were wrong, the putter was an inch shorter, the shaft was wrong, the weight was all wrong, so I couldn’t putt,” Zhang said. “So I had no idea where the putter was going to go.”
Now she has time to bag her new putter and it’s slowly starting to roll.
Zhang has no idea where her original putter is.
“If it’s not on eBay, it’s probably in someone else’s hands,” she said.
JT Poston has played in three consecutive tournaments since the start of the year and is currently taking one week off.
It’s not that long. His schedule calls for him to play nine of his first 11 weeks in order to work on golf as much as possible. His wife is expecting their first child in March, and the due date is the week of the Valspar Championship (one week after The Players).
“She was tested at the British Open, but the first thing I noticed was what week it was,” Poston said. “She knew it would be around Augusta week.”
The Masters is three weeks from the scheduled date.
Adam Schenk knows that feeling all too well. With his wife giving birth in April, he played 10 consecutive weeks until the start of the 2023 season. Schenk went on to have his best season, reaching his first Tour Championship.
The JM Eagle LA Championship may have one perk in attracting a strong LPGA event to be held in Los Angeles April 25-28. Tournament sponsors will provide complimentary Hollywood hotel rooms for the entire 144-player field, as well as VIP shuttle service to Wilshire Country Club. … The World Champions Cup had a very strong debut in December and has agreed to return to The Concession in Bradenton, Fla., in 2024, 2025 and 2028. The remaining two years are left to prepare for a unique try match. U.S., European and international teams who play the nine-hole game hope to expand overseas. … The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational is changing its name, and typesetters should be excited. The new name for the LPGA team event in Michigan will simply be the “Dow Championship.” …The R&A will give leading players for the Malaysian Open (February 15-18) three spots for the British Open, three spots for the Mizuno Open (May 23-26), and the Korean Open (June 18). We are offering 2 slots for the event (20th). -twenty three).
Ryan Palmer was one of five fighters who fought three rounds in the ’60s at American Express but still missed the cut.
“I’ve never played with him before. I think it was probably better the first time in the practice rounds.” — Justin Thomas, The American Express Final round with Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap Talk about your play. Dunlap became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour in 33 years.
AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf