Tag: Jack Nicklaus

Once-troubled Florida resort has a new strategy: Go more expensive, more exclusive

With financial troubles dogging the property, the once-pristine golf course was neglected.

The once-troubled Banyan Cay Resort & Golf in West Palm Beach, Florida, is being recast into an exclusive golf club for wealthy Palm Beach and West Palm Beach residents who want to hit the greens near their pricey coastal homes —and are willing to pay big money to do it.

Banyan Cay golf is now known as Dutchman’s Pipe Golf Club. The name is derived from a flowering vine that is favored by swallowtail butterflies.

“If you live in Palm Beach island or West Palm Beach, minutes from your home you have a brand-new golf experience,” said Alex Witkoff, co-chief executive of the Witkoff Group of New York, one of the property’s new owners.

The golf course is just east of Interstate 95, off Congress Avenue and north of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, near the Tanger Outlets shopping mall.

Witkoff touts Dutchman’s Pipe as the only new golf course east of I-95 in West Palm Beach in 25 years, a location just minutes from well-heeled residents in Palm Beach or West Palm Beach.

Convenience and luxury have their price. Initiation fees for Dutchman’s Pipe will range from $300,000 to $350,000, Witkoff said.

To attract these upscale club members, Dutchman’s Pipe’s existing Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, built only seven years ago, is being redone to make it more attractive and better to play.

There are also plans to transform Dutchman’s Pipe into a “holistic retreat” in the heart of the city, with a globally-recognized chef helming three restaurants. Fitness and wellness amenities will be built at the club and resort, which also will be completed by the site’s new owners.

As for former members of the Banyan Cay club, they are out of luck. Their memberships and fees were wiped away in the bankruptcy filing.

Former club member Rick Cerone said some members have joined Eastpointe Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens or play at The Park, West Palm Beach’s new public course.

Palm Beach West, the new playground for the rich

Witkoff’s plans for the former Banyan Cay reflect the continued transformation of West Palm Beach into an extension of Palm Beach, a trend that first earned the city the nickname “Palm Beach West” during the COVID pandemic.

Since the Banyan Cay resort hotel and club first was announced in 2015, the demand for upscale hotels has dramatically increased, especially with the wealth migration to Palm Beach County during the pandemic.

But plans by Witkoff and its partners elevate the hotel and adjoining golf course to a different, rarified level of luxury, akin to the exclusive Breakers Palm Beach resort and club, where club initiation fees reportedly also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Dutchman’s Pipe’s owners are experienced operators of luxury hotels, residences and clubs.

Dutchman’s Pipe is owned by Witkoff Group, Access Industries of New York and London; and PPG Development of Hallandale Beach.

Witkoff and PPG are behind South Florida’s newest luxury golf club, the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, formerly the Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa. Access Industries is a global investment firm led by Len Blavatnik, who has previously invested in major projects in Miami Beach.

Witkoff said West Palm Beach is entering a new level of affluence.

During the past three years, parts of the downtown have become crowded with upscale restaurants, many of them from New York; luxurious new condominiums built or planned; and steel-and-glass office towers stuffed with perks typically seen in boutique hotels.

These developments, in turn, have attracted hospitality operators to West Palm Beach who have opened or plan to open private membership social clubs typically built in major cities such as New York, London and Miami. One new club already is open in West Palm Beach, and two more clubs are planned for downtown.

In addition, old West Palm Beach neighborhoods wedged between Flagler Drive and Dixie Highway are sought after by homebuyers who want an in-town location. The demand has supercharged home sales to seven and even eight-figure sales.

Witkoff also pointed to the surge of super-wealthy residents who have snapped up homes in Palm Beach.

The trend continues. During the first quarter of 2024, the median sales price of a single-family home in Palm Beach was $12.5 million, up 54 percentage points from the same period last year, according to Corcoran, a real estate brokerage.

The Jack Nicklaus-designed Banyan Cay Golf Course, part of a larger development in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Courtesy of Banyan Cay Resort & Club)

Plans for Dutchman’s Pipe and the unfinished resort

Witkoff said the new ownership group will complete the 150-room resort hotel, which will open in the fall.

The hotel remains only partly built, even though by now it was supposed to be a lushly landscaped Destination by Hyatt property, featuring a fitness center, pool, cabanas, tennis center, tiki hut and spa, plus meeting space.

The unfinished hotel has been a years-long eyesore for residents in the nearby Lands of the President community, many of whom own condominium units that overlook the hotel or the golf course.

The 250-acre Banyan Cay property used to be the site of the President Country Club, which fell into financial trouble and was sold to an investor group for $11 million in 2011. That investor group then flipped the property to Banyan CayDev LLC, led by Domenic Gatto Jr., for $26 million in 2015.

Gatto opened the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course in 2017, but work on the resort hotel stopped, started and then stopped again.

In 2022, lender Calmwater Capital sued to foreclose on the property and sought repayment of $85 million in loans. The parent company behind the construction of Banyan Cay Resort & Club then filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, where it tried to sell the property to another owner. The deal fell apart at the last minute, however, and the lender took control.

Witkoff and partners acquired the property in January for an undisclosed amount, scoring a $75 million loan from Calmwater Capital.

The former Banyan Cay Resort under construction June 7, 2022 in West Palm Beach. (Meghan McCarthy/Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network)

A better, more lushly landscaped golf course

With financial troubles dogging the property in the past couple of years, the once-pristine golf course was neglected.

Witkoff closed the course on Jan. 15 and started a redo. Now the greens are being refurbished in anticipation of a reopening in the fall.

In addition to fresh grass for the golf course, the new owners also are adding a new practice facility, new berms and a new bunker. Astroturf also is being added to buffer edges to maintain a strong course shape. And some holes are being reshaped to increase “quality of play,” Witkoff said.

Even the driving range is being redone so that golfers will be able to hit a ball more than 300 yards.

Golf memberships are being offered by invitation only at first. Social memberships will be made available in the future, Witkoff said.

There will be plenty of perks for club members.

Not only will the resort feature tennis courts but it also will have courts for pickleball and padel, a mix between tennis and squash.

Three dining venues — including a members-only grill and poolside al fresco dining led by Chef Julian Jouhannaud, formerly of Anabel’s London and Le Bilboquet — will offer “world-class” fare. Meanwhile, health and wellness amenities will include personal training, a day spa, and event space.

Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson want ‘best outcome’ of PGA Tour-LIV dispute

Wise words from three of the all-time greats, who still care deeply about the state of professional golf.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson want to see the PGA Tour-LIV Golf dispute get settled.

Speaking during a joint press conference after the three legends hit the ceremonial tee shots to the 88th edition of the Masters, Watson shared a special moment during the Champions Dinner, which brought together 33 of the past winners – seven of them members of LIV – in their Green Jackets and Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley, on Tuesday evening.

“We were sitting down and we were having great stories about Seve Ballesteros and people were laughing and talking. I said to Mr. Ridley, I said, ‘Do you mind if I say something about being here together with everybody?’ He said, ‘Please do.’

“And I got up and I said – I’m looking around the room, and I’m seeing just a wonderful experience everybody is having. They are jovial. They are having a great time. They are laughing. I said, ‘Ain’t it good to be together again?’ ” Watson recalled.

He added that he hoped the players would take it upon themselves to reach a resolution, sooner rather than later.

“We have to do something,” Watson said. “We all know it’s a difficult situation for professional golf right now. The players really kind of have control I think in a sense. What do they want to do? We’ll see where it goes. We don’t have the information or the answers. I don’t think the PGA Tour or the LIV Tour really have an answer right now. But I think in this room, I know the three of us want to get together. We want to get together like we were at that Champions Dinner, happy, the best players playing against each other. The bottom line: that’s what we want in professional golf, and right now, we don’t have it.”

Nicklaus echoed that sentiment and placed his trust in PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan to lead the way.

“The best outcome is the best players play against each other all the time. That’s what I feel about it. And how it’s going, I don’t know, I don’t want to be privy to it,” Nicklaus said. “I talked to Jay not very long ago, and I said, ‘Jay, don’t tell me what’s going on because I don’t want to have to lie to the press and people that ask me questions.’ I said, ‘How are you doing?’ He said, ‘We’re doing fine.’ I said, “OK, that’s all I want to know.’ If Jay thinks we’re doing fine, we’ll get there, I think we’ll get there. And I certainly hope that happens, the sooner the better.”

Player touched on how that division in golf and attention on the greed in the game has turned off the public. But he also noted that the players who had stayed loyal to the PGA Tour needed to be compensated in some way (which they will be through the infusion of capital into the Tour’s new for-profit arm from private equity investment.)

“Anytime in any business whatsoever, not only in the golf business, there’s confrontation, it’s unhealthy. You’ve got to get together and come to a solution. If you cannot, it’s not good. The public don’t like it, and we as professionals don’t like it, either,” Player said. “But it’s a big problem because they paid all these guys to join the LIV Tour fortunes, I mean, beyond one’s comprehension and the players that were loyal, three of us and others. Now these guys come back and play, I really believe the players, that if they are loyal, should be compensated in some way or another. Otherwise, there’s going to be dissension.”

Wise words from three of the all-time greats, who still care deeply about the state of professional golf.

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Jack Nicklaus had a sweet flag bag during the Masters 2024 Honorary Starters ceremony

What a flex.

The Honorary Starters ceremony is one of the best parts of Masters week.

The event is steeped in tradition, and when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson take to the tee, thousands show up and surround the first tee box at Augusta National Golf Club to watch the legends kick off the Masters annually.

This year, the trio again striped their tee shots after a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay, but the 88th Masters is underway.

However, one of the coolest parts of the Honorary Starters ceremony was Nicklaus’ bag. The 18-time major champion and six-time winner at Augusta had a sick flag bag. The bag was made with different flags from around the country, including a Masters one and St. Andrews flag.

Flag bags are common in certain parts of the country, but seeing arguably the greatest golfer of all-time using one to begin the Masters was pretty cool. What a flex.

Honorary Starter ceremony kicks off 88th Masters Tournament: ‘I did it’

And with that, the 88th Masters Tournament was underway.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jack Nicklaus lifted both hands into the Georgia air and said three words.

“I did it.”

And with that, the 88th Masters Tournament was underway.

The annual Honorary Starter ceremony was delayed two hours Thursday morning by weather, but at 10:10 a.m. local time, Nicklaus, along with Gary Player and Tom Watson, walked from the clubhouse to No. 1 tee.

First to hit was Player, who planted his tee in the ground and told his audience, “Not so easy to put the ball on a tee anymore.”

Nicklaus countered with, “Put mine in too.”

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

After Player found the short grass, Jack took his turn.

“Watch out to the left and right,” Nicklaus said.

There was no need.

The six-time Masters winner striped his ball down the left side of No. 1, and then gave way to Tom Watson.

“Just one thing,” said Watson, as he prepared to strike his shot. “Jack, you’ve never hit a hook off this tee in your life.”

Nicklaus, laughing, said, “That was a neck pull.”

On hand for the ceremony were former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, and current head man Jay Monahan.

Also in attendance were past Masters champions Nick Faldo and Tommy Aaron, as well as CBS announcer Jim Nantz.

Nantz, who has covered the Masters since 1989, calls the annual tradition, “My favorite moment in golf.”

“It’s such a rich moment of nostalgia,” Nantz said. “It’s a passage of time. You look at these champions — these iconic figures who you looked up to so much in your youth. Every year, this ceremony is a moment of reflection.”

Photos: Masters 2024 honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson

Three legends of the game have officially started the 2024 Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — It was pushed back a couple of hours but Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson took to the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club to be the honorary starters once again ahead of the 2024 Masters Tournament.

It’s a time-honored tradition at Augusta National, with the three legends of the game taking to the first tee to officially start the tournament each year. Due to some inclement overnight and early morning weather, the threesome were on the tee box at 10:10 a.m., with Gary Player getting the honors. Jack Nicklaus, a six-time Masters Green Jacket winner, going second, with Tom Watson, the newest addition to the starters bringing up the rear.

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

Take a look at some photos from the 2024 ceremonial tee shot at the Masters Tournament.

This Jack Nicklaus-designed Las Vegas golf course that features replica holes just sold for $30.5 million

The course sits in the swanky neighborhood of Summerlin on the city’s west side.

Bear’s Best in Las Vegas was a novel idea from the start — a desert-based golf course with 18 of Jack Nicklaus’ favorite holes that he’d designed on more than 200 other golf courses.

The course sits in the swanky neighborhood of Summerlin on the city’s west side, not far from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

But the golf course, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, has been sold for $30.5 million.

More: Where to play golf around Las Vegas; Golfweek’s Best public-access courses

According to the story, the manager of the new company that made the purchase has plenty of familiarity in the area.

The buyer is Mulligan Holdings LLC, which is headquartered in Las Vegas, but has California-based businessman Andrew Pascal listed as a manager. Pascal is the co-founder and CEO of PlayStudios, an online gaming and gambling app and website.

Pascal previously was president and COO of Wynn Las Vegas from 2003-10, according to his LinkedIn profile. Also named as one of the managers of Mulligan Holdings is Mike Mixer, who is the chairman and former executive managing director and co-founder of the Colliers International Las Vegas office. The company provided the following statement via email to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“We will continue to prioritize the golf experience for our daily players and want to thank the incredible team that has made Bear’s Best one of the premier golf courses in the Las Vegas Valley. As we prepare for the next chapter, we look forward to redeveloping Bear’s Best into a world-class golf club, and social hub for the surrounding community, while further elevating Las Vegas as a globally recognized golf destination.”

Ready to make a break from the casinos or hectic pace of the Las Vegas Strip? If you’re looking for the top golf courses around Sin City, Golfweek’s Best has you covered.

What are the best all-time finishes by an amateur at the Masters?

Amateurs have made some memorable runs at the Masters.

Amateurs have always been a major part of the Masters.

From the Amateur Dinner to the Crow’s Nest and Silver Cup, amateurs at the Masters are a focal point of the week at Augusta National Golf Club. They have made some memorable runs throughout the history of the event, including Sam Bennett in 2023, eventually finishing T-14.

Although an amateur has never won the Masters, 11 have finished inside the top 10, including three runner-up finishes. The best finish this century was Ryan Moore is 2005 at T-11 and Casey Wittenberg in 2004 at T-13.

There are five amateurs teeing it up in the 2024 edition of the Masters.

Here’s a look at the best all-time finishes by an amateur at the Masters.

From Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods, Verne Lundquist explains his favorite Masters calls ahead of his final trip to Augusta National

Lundquist will call his 40th and final Masters this year for CBS.

Verne Lundquist has a plan next Tuesday night to hang around Augusta National Golf Club to say a proper goodbye to both Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the longtime CBS announcer prepares to call his final Masters in 2024.

“Those two guys have had a terrific impact on my professional career,” Lundquist said on a call with the media ahead of the first men’s major championship of the year. “And I’m in deep gratitude to them both.”

Uncle Verne has been a signature voice at the Masters and will make his 40th and final trip down Magnolia Lane next week. The Masters is an event steeped in history, and Lundquist has covered nearly half of the tournaments. For a man who has seen so much action and drama among the Georgia pines, two of his calls come to mind as his favorites, and they’re Nos. 1a and 1b on his all-time list: Nicklaus’ putt in 1986 and Woods’ chip in 2005.

“I lean towards ’86, probably more so because of the fact that Jack is six months older than me, and I tend to remind him every chance I get,” he said with his signature laugh. “Jack hadn’t won in two years at that time and there are many stories about his championship run on Sunday.”

“(Jim Nantz) had a great call. First Augusta, 1986, he was working at 16 and I think the story is, when Jack hit his tee shot at 16, (his son and caddie) said, ‘Be good’ and Jack without looking up said, ‘It is,’ and the ball almost went in the hole. Jim said, ‘The bear has come out of hibernation.’”

Nicklaus was tied for the lead on the 17th tee after Seve Ballesteros found the water on No. 15. His drive went near the green on No. 7 and he then hit a pitching wedge about 12 feet above the hole. Enter Lundquist.

“I can remember thinking to myself as he walked up, ‘Keep it simple and get your butt out of the way.’ And I managed to do that,” Lundquist remembered of the famous putt. “I boldly predicted ‘Maybe’ when it was not that far from the hole, and then I reacted with what I said, ‘Yes sir!’ with slightly more emphasis than that. I think because I know Jack so much better than I know Tiger, I lean toward the Jack call.”

It will be an emotional week for the entire CBS crew as both Lundquist and CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus will be working their final Masters.

“He’s just the voice,” Nantz said of his good friend and colleague. “His calls are truly legendary. … Augusta’s a place that I feel like kind of comes to life every April. It’s not just because it’s a gathering of the greatest players in the world and there’s a golf competition, but it’s a week where history, where voices, they come back. We hear them again. We still kind of feel and have front of mind the legends of yesteryear. The Gene Sarazens, they make an earthly visit every year in April. Byron (Nelson), Ben (Hogan), Sam (Snead), of course Arnold (Palmer), there’s one week a year where they come back in our lives, back on our planet.

“What I’m saying here is Verne’s always going to always have a home in Augusta. He’s going to be a part of Augusta forever. Those calls that he’s made, they’re going to be played back 50, 100, 200 years from now,” Nantz continued. “He’s gonna have a home there, a permanent residence. I’m just really appreciative. I don’t know quite exactly how I’m going to say my goodbyes, but I’ll figure it out.”

When Lundquist and McManus discussed “the proper time to exit stage left,” the pair agreed that 40 Masters had a nice sound to it. He knows the emotions will hit when he arrives on site the Sunday before tournament week, but he’s going to relish every moment of every day at the course.

“I’ll be emotional and there’s a spot on my left thigh that I’ll be pinching to make sure I don’t shed a tear on the air, but it’s been a great run,” Lundquist said of his time calling the Masters. “Hey, I’m 83 years old and I’ve been blessed to have a sensational professional life and a wonderful personal life. I wasn’t the first to say this, but thanks for the memories.”

Check the yardage book: PGA National’s Champion Course for the 2024 Cognizant Classic on the PGA Tour

StrackaLine takes you through the Bear Trap and the rest of PGA National’s Champion Course.

The Champion Course at PGA National – site of this week’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches on the PGA Tour – was designed by the team of Tom Fazio and George Fazio and opened in 1981. The course has been renovated by Jack Nicklaus over the past two decades.

Located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and home to a stretch of holes dubbed the Bear Trap – Nos. 15, 16 and 17 – the Champion has major history. It was host to the 1983 Ryder Cup, in which the United States beat Europe 14 ½-13 ½, and it hosted the 1987 PGA Championship won by Larry Nelson in a playoff over Lanny Wadkins. Now PGA National is the first stop on the PGA Tour’s annual Florida Swing.

The Champion ranks No. 7 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access courses in each state, and it ties for No. 69 on the list of top resort courses in the U.S.

The course will play to 7,147 yards with a par of 71 for the Cognizant Classic. No. 6 plays as a par 5 for resort guests (and is marked as such on the following yardage map), but it counts as a par 4 for the PGA Tour pros.

PGA National Resort is home to six courses, including two nontraditional layouts that include the new Match Course by Andy Staples, which features holes that can be played from a multitude of lengths with no set par, and the new nine-hole, par-3 Staple Course.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at PGA National.

Angela Stanford digs deep in quest to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to reach 100 consecutive major starts

“I think getting to 100 would matter just as much as winning another major or winning another tournament.”

Angela Stanford spent most of 2023 trying to find answers. As her work with Golf Channel ramped up, the now part-time LPGA player would often find a place to practice after the broadcast. On one such occasion, she was at a golf course in Midland, Michigan, hitting yellow-striped golf balls that were mostly out of dirt, mixed with a few clumps of grass.

It was there that Stanford realized – she wasn’t done.

“I think it just hit me that everything that happened up to that point, I let it shake my confidence,” she said.

And so, Stanford put her TV gig to the side and rededicated herself to a goal she set a few years back to become the first LPGA player to reach 100 consecutive major championship appearances. Stanford, 46, owns the current longest streak at 97. It started at the 2002 McDonald’s LPGA Championship and extends through last year’s AIG Women’s British Open. During that stretch of 97 majors, Stanford made 66 cuts and posted 14 top-10 finishes.

Cristie Kerr’s major streak ended at 92 (with 76 made cuts). The next best in LPGA history is Betsy King with 73 (67 made cuts).

“That’s a lot of perseverance,” said LPGA Hall and World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Rankin, “and a lot of good golf for a very long time.”

Angela Stanford a vice captain of The United States team walks with Rose Zhang during final practice prior to the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 21, 2023 in Casares, Spain. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

The only male player dating back to 1950 who has played in 100 consecutive majors is Jack Nicklaus, who owns the record for men’s golf with 146 consecutive major starts (1962 Masters Tournament through 1998 U.S. Open). Only 16 players even played in 100-plus majors total in that span.

The longest active majors streak in men’s golf belongs to Adam Scott at 89. The Aussie’s streak began at the 2001 British Open Championship.

The LPGA major schedule has been extremely lean at times, with long stretches in the 60s and 70s with only two majors. In 2013, the LPGA added a fifth major, the Amundi Evian Championship, which Stanford won in 2019 at age 40.

Stanford’s first LPGA title came in 2003 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, and her most recent came in 2020 at the Volunteers of America Classic, not far from her Texas home.

A seven-time winner on the LPGA, Stanford’s rededicated offseason included two-a-days as much as possible. She loved every minute of the grind. Her quest to reach 100, however, will be a taller order than previous years given that her priority status dipped to No. 95 after she made only nine starts in 2023.

As Stanford’s mother Nan fell increasingly ill with cancer, she found it difficult to focus long enough to practice. Nan died on March 9, 2022, at home in Saginaw at age 66 and, three weeks later, Stanford teed it up at Mission Hills Country Club one last time.

For the better part of two years, Stanford wasn’t herself.

“You’re just in this state of fog,” she said, “where you can’t think, and you can’t focus long enough on anything, and you have no energy to do anything.”

Stanford pulled out of the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore, one of her favorite events on tour, in 2022 to be with her mom.

She recently wrote a letter to the event asking for a sponsor exemption because she’d like a chance to say thank you and goodbye to an event she’s loved for a long time. A winner there in 2012, Stanford never dreamed she’d go so far away from home to play a game she loved.

Writing to ask for sponsor exemptions pains Stanford, who never wanted to be given anything.

“Now I’m at a point where I may need some help,” she said, “and it’s a very vulnerable place to be in.”

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 16: Angela Stanford of the United States celebrates winning the Evian Championship with the trophy during Day Four of The Evian Championship 2018 at Evian Resort Golf Club on September 16, 2018 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Angela Stanford of the United States celebrates winning the Evian Championship with the trophy during Day Four of The Evian Championship 2018 at Evian Resort Golf Club on September 16, 2018 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

The first LPGA major of the season is the Chevron Championship April 18-21 in Stanford’s native Texas. There are a number of ways she can play her way into that field. Winning, of course, takes care of everything.

Currently 450th in the Rolex Rankings, Stanford would need to skyrocket into the top 40 by March 18, which is asking a lot. She could earn a sponsor exemption, and she’s prepared to write that letter. The most likely route is to rank high enough in the 2024 Race to the CME Globe standings following the LPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek to be part of the final field fill.

Should Stanford make it to Chevron, her 99th start would come at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club. She plans to ask the USGA for a one-time exemption, should she need it. Other ways include the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings, top 10 of the current CME points list or sign up for a qualifier.

The 100th would be at the KPMG Women’s PGA June 20-23 at Sahalee Country Club in Washington.

Angela Stanford of the United States plays her shot from the 11th tee during the second round of The Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods on April 21, 2023 in The Woodlands, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Stanford kicks off her Road to 100 at this week’s Drive On Championship in Bradenton, Florida. It’s her 24th season on the LPGA, and she’s the only player in the field of 120 who is over the age of 40.

If Stanford gets to 100, Rankin believes she’ll be the only player to ever do it.

“I think it’s both money,” said Rankin in terms of higher purses, “and it’s also, in part, the difficulty of being that good for that long.”

In college at TCU, Stanford won the team’s most consistent award all four years. That consistency, she believes, is what’s led to her longevity in the game. She’s going to show up each and every day until she can’t.

“Some people call that stubborn,” said Stanford, “I just think that’s who I am. It’s my makeup. I think getting to 100 would matter just as much as winning another major or winning another tournament.”

Stanford recently ran into her old college coach, Angie Ravaioli-Larkin, in the Shady Oaks locker room in Fort Worth. Ravaioli-Larkin asked how it was going. Stanford said that in the middle of a putting drill that day, a thought hit her like a truck: Oh my gosh, what if this doesn’t work?

It won’t be for a lack of effort.

“I think the thing I can be most proud of is that I worked hard at it,” said Stanford. “I have had some of my happiest days the last three weeks of my life.”