It’s a one-of-a-kind golf outing but with a new twist.
It’s a one-of-a-kind golf outing but with a new twist.
The third Tito’s Shorties Classic, which was filmed at Butler Pitch & Putt in Austin, Texas, will air on Golf Channel on Feb. 6 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The new feature of this year’s event is the collab of PGA Tour golfers with some of the leading social media influencers in the game. The three teams are Keith Mitchell and Robby Berger, Harry Higgs and Nick Stubbe, and Joel Dahmen and Joseph Demare.
“I would say that the Butler Pitch & Putt in Austin is honestly the most fun version of golf I can think of because it really, it’s constant action, it’s quick. It only takes you about an hour to play nine holes. Your level of golf is less important,” Mitchell told Golfweek on Monday from the Monterey Peninsula, where he is getting ready to compete in what he called “the best of the best,” the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. But while Pebble is a pressure-packed PGA Tour event, the Tito’s Shorties Classic is nothing but fun.
“When you get to do the event with the Bob Does Sports crew and Tito’s it just brings an entire additional level of fun to an event that otherwise is pretty unique in the world of golf, where you have the ability to enjoy, you know, a fun, fan-filled event that’s not time-consuming.”
And the game needs this kind of experience, for all types of golfers, Mitchell said.
“That’s what I think Butler Pitch & Putt really embodies. I really hope that more of these venues, regardless of, you know, the Tito Shorties’s Classic, more of these venues could be spread across the U.S. and golf in general because it’s just a very good access point and entertainment value to any level of golfer.
“At Pebble Beach they have The Hay, which is full all the time and that’s a lot of fun. I played it yesterday [Sunday]. Pinehurst, they have The Cradle. And with Butler Pitch & Putt there are just three really good examples of how a good, approachable version of golf could work across the country.”
Check out some photos from the third annual Tito’s Shorties Classic.
There’s something special brewing in La Quinta, California.
Thanks to a third-round 12-under 60 at La Quinta Country Club, amateur Nick Dunlap (27 under) holds the outright lead at the American Express. Dunlap made 10 birdies and an eagle on the par-5 6th (his 15th hole of the day). If he goes on to win Sunday, he’d be the first amateur to win on Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
Sam Burns is alone in second at 24 under, and Justin Thomas is 23 under, solo third and four back.
While the college kid is tearing it up, there are several big names heading home a day early after missing the 54-hole cut.
What took place at the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational was a new concept – and they want more of it.
NAPLES, Fla. – Rose Zhang wasn’t even born the last time the PGA Tour and LPGA held a mixed-team event. Ludvig Aberg was a mere 2 months old in December of 1999, when legends Laura Davies and John Daly won the final edition of the JCPenney Classic.
For generations of players, what took place this week at the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitation was a new concept – and they want more of it.
“We need to do this for the game of golf,” said Billy Horschel of bringing the two tours together. “We do a lot of stuff that looks out for the players, but we need to make sure we are taking care of the fans and thinking about the fans more.”
Speaking of fans, there were more at Tiburon Golf Club than at previous QBE Shootouts and CME Group Tour Championships. Cheyenne Knight teed off early with partner Tom Hoge and was surprised by the number of fans on the first tee. Ticket sales and concession sales doubled this week compared to last year’s QBE and hospitality sold out, according to tournament officials.
Knight hopes some of these local fans come back next year for the CME, where the winner will receive a $4 million first-place check, the largest in all of women’s sports.
Joel Dahmen marveled at the number of kids he saw this week, particularly little girls, far more than an average week on the PGA Tour, he said. He called watching Lexi Thompson’s ace on Saturday one of the highlights of his year, and said he’d like to see the Grant Thornton field expand from 16 teams in 2024.
“There’s no reason we can’t have more mixed-team events,” said Dahmen after Saturday foursomes. “There are so many events on the PGA Tour, ratings aren’t always amazing in some of those fields. To bring in the women’s game would be awesome.
“I was completely outclassed today by Lexi.”
Lexi Thompson of the United States and Rickie Fowler of the United States look on from the first green during the second round of the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club on December 09, 2023 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Early week buzz at the Grant Thornton was overshadowed by U.S. Golf Association and R&A rollback news and Jon Rahm to LIV Golf drama, controversies that dominated the golf chatter on social media and beyond. The action at Tiburon, however, provided a much-needed escape from that which divides golf fans.
The Grant Thornton was a celebration of what unites – camaraderie, competition and inspiration. Thursday’s junior clinic with Amy Bockerstette, Jessica Korda, Leona Maguire and Dahmen epitomizes what golf can do for good. Bockerstette’s “I Got This Foundation” is one of the charities that benefits from money raised this week.
Walking onto the first tee Friday, Sahith Theegala turned to Dahmen’s caddie and noted how “cool” it was to play in the same group as Lilia Vu, the first world No. 1 he’d ever played alongside, and to partner with Zhang, a dominant amateur he predicted would be a future No. 1 on the LPGA.
“Me and Joel were joking that Lilia and Rose will be better than maybe we ever will be,” said Theegala, who won his first PGA Tour title at this year’s Fortinet Championship.
PGA Tour players admired the games of LPGA players all week, and it felt genuine. Former No. 1 Jason Day asked Lydia Ko about her wedge game, noting that he’d be trying to emulate his Kiwi partner during the offseason.
Major champion Justin Rose described his playing partner, Charley Hull, as an old-school player, detailing the way she shapes her iron shots. He called Hull “fearless” and described her short game as “unbelievable.”
Such praise goes a long way in building respect for female players who fight weekly for the attention of not just the sports world, but of those already within the golf landscape.
Justin Rose of England and Charley Hull of England talk on the second green during the first round of the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club on December 08, 2023 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas DeFelice/Getty Images)
Rose, who founded and backed the Rose Ladies Series during the COVID-19 pandemic to give British players a place to compete, gets it more than most.
“You need fan awareness to have the pay equality,” said Rose. “Because obviously at the end of the day, it’s a commercial business. You need the eyes watching it to kind of make the TV dollars on the back end.
“So I think obviously fans being able to pick their favorite players, to be a bit more aware around the skill level around the women’s game, identify with the players and their stories – they’re more likely to watch going forward. I think this is absolutely one of those key events to help do that.”
Nick Taylor took note how the fans in Naples reacted with surprise to the women often hitting it closer than their male counterparts. There was no Shotlink available this week, but hopefully next year as the unique formats – particularly the modified fourball, where players hit drives and then switch balls – can provide some interesting data points.
Making Olympic golf a mixed event has long been talked about and came up once again in Naples, as did a larger mixed team event like the Presidents Cup.
“Looking at my grand ball, someone’s got to step up,” said Horshel.
“A team competition, Ryder Cup-style between the U.S. and Europe, or whether it be the U.S. and the world, men and women … I think that would be another home run for everyone involved. I think that’s coming down the line.
“If it’s not being talked about then I don’t know, maybe we need to change the people in the positions and get some more innovative thinkers in there.”
“Other than everything? Their poise is incredible,” said Nick Taylor.
NAPLES, Fla. – There are new fans out at Tiburon Golf Club for this week’s Grant Thornton Invitational. In fact, tournament officials say ticket sales and concession sales at the same venue as the QBE Shootout have more than doubled since the format changed this year to a mixed-team event.
Hospitality for the 16-team event and Saturday’s concert on the Tiburon driving range sold out.
That was always the hope, of course, that putting the PGA Tour and LPGA together would draw more interest.
For many PGA Tour players, this marks the first time they’ve teed it up in competition with an elite LPGA player, and it’s been an eye-opening experience.
Those who follow the women’s game closely have long said that male amateur players can learn more from watching the LPGA than the PGA Tour because it’s a more relatable game.
Golfweek asked several PGA Tour players in the field what they think male amateur players can learn from the women and aside from “everything,” here’s what they said:
Lilia Vu said she’s so pumped to play in the co-ed event that she’s actually nervous.
Lilia Vu didn’t meet Joel Dahmen until Tuesday night, but they’ve been part of a text string with their caddies called the Vu-Tang Clang for about a month.
Vu, the No. 1-ranked female golfer in the world, knows the name is a play off the group the Wu-Tang Clan but when Dahmen declared they would listen to some of the musical group’s greatest hits on the way to the first tee, she wondered, “Is that hip hop?”
“Yeah, it’s the best era in history,” Dahmen said.
Vu and Dahmen, the No. 166-ranked male player in the world, may not have a lot of history playing golf together yet, but that is about to change this week at the Grant Thornton Invitational.
They are partners in the first mixed-team co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and LPGA since John Daly and Laura Davies won the final JC Penny Classic in 1999. There’s been talk about reviving a co-ed team event seemingly since the previous one went away and it has attracted some top talent in its debut at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
“It means a lot. We’ve been kind of wanting this type of tournament for a long time,” Vu said. “It’s a really big deal for us to actually be on a stage to showcase both women’s and men’s golf together at the highest level, so it’s an honor to be here and showcase that.”
As a matter of fact, Vu said she’s so pumped to play in the co-ed event that she’s actually nervous.
“What is there to be nervous about?” Dahmen said. “It’s the offseason, you’re the best player in the world, we’re just goofing off and we’re going to beat most players here.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m going to need that a lot,” Vu said.
But in the next breath, Dahmen got Vu’s nerves jangling when he reminded her, “my paycheck depends on you this week.”
No pressure, right?
“Oh, no,” Vu said. “I just started sweating.”
“Our team’s going to have more fun than everyone else, that’s the number one thing,” Dahmen said. “I mean, she’s won four times this year. I haven’t won four times since I was like 12. To watch her kind of handle everything that comes out of this week is going to be awesome.”
Dahmen noted that Vu’s putting prowess was going to be fun to watch.
“Yeah, I’ve got you,” Vu said.
“Love that,” Dahmen said.
Vu-Tang Clan isn’t the only team with a funky name. Nelly Korda and Tony Finau are Team FiNelly.
“And Certified Fresh, and that comes from Finau Fresh, and she’s Certified Finau Fresh,” Finau, a six-time Tour winner said.
“Yeah, I got certified yesterday,” said Korda, an eight-time LPGA winner. “I was pretty happy.”
Korda and Finau are both ambassadors for the tournament title sponsor and thus made a natural fit. But they had yet to play golf until pairing up for a nine-hole practice round Tuesday.
“Everything that I thought about her game, it was even better up close,” Finau said.
Korda’s response: “You’re already making me blush.”
The mutual admiration session continued.
“She’s good at everything. Sometimes my game can be a little rough around the edges, so she’ll clean up for that,” Finau said. “Nelly is not a hard partner to play with, and then she’s got an incredible attitude, and she’s obviously extremely competitive, as well.”
“I’m just getting compliments left and right,” Korda said. “I love this.”
And what part of Finau’s game is she most impressed with? “I can’t wait to see all the bombs out there,” she said. “Hit it close for me.”
Team FiNelly and the Vu-Tang Clan may just be getting to know each other before the 54-hole tournament begins in earnest on Friday, but they already sound as if they are BFF’s.
As of his 36th birthday, Joel Dahmen has just a single win on the PGA Tour, but he’s drawn a legion of followers.
As of his 36th birthday, Joel Dahmen has just a single win on the PGA Tour, but suffice it to say he’s drawn a legion of followers.
How could he not?
On top of being one of the breakout stars of the Netflix documentary “Full Swing,” Dahmen is known for his consistency on the course, his bucket hat, a self-deprecating style and a comical relationship with his longtime friend and caddie Geno Bonnalie.
Mumm was right. Dahmen’s traffic on PGA Tour digital channels saw a 2,000% bump soon after. Bonnalie also became a social media darling, with 800% more mentions on Twitter the week after the launch, according to Sports Business Journal.
Here’s a look at the affable golfer, through the years.
Built in 1948, it’s ready for a renovation led by Andy Staples.
MESA, Ariz. — A U.S. Open champ, two prominent PGA Tour stars and an NFL Hall of Famer call it home. Now Mesa Country Club, a true gem in the greater Phoenix area, is getting ready for a major renovation.
Located in an older part of the third largest city in Arizona, the club sits across the street from a cemetery and just blocks away from Hohokam Park, home to the Oakland A’s spring training.
What makes the place, though, is topography that features sometimes astounding elevation changes for a course that’s almost smack dab in the middle of the generally flat greater Phoenix area.
“Built in 1948 by William P. Bell, the Golden Age architect,” said Andy Staples of Staples Golf Design, the Scottsale-based firm hired for the renovation. “We think it was one of the first courses William P. Bell and his son William F. Bell designed together.”
What’s also attractive to many of its members is its location. The Loop 202 is just a mile to the north. Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is less than 15 minutes to the west. Scottsdale residents – including honorary members and PGA Tour stars Max Homa and Joel Dahmen – are about 35 minutes away.
Other members include PGA Tour Champions golfers Steve Jones, who won the 1996 U.S. Open, and Michael Allen. Don’t forget 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and former Chicago Bears great Brian Urlacher.
“I first played here in 1982. Just old school. Love it,” Jones said. “You don’t get tired of this course. Small greens. You gotta have your irons under control. It’s a challenge. And the membership is just the frosting on the cake.”
A flag, golf ball and signed scorecard commemorate Joel Dahmen’s course-record 58 at Mesa Country Club in Arizona. (Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
The laid-back Mesa Country Club isn’t trying to keep its membership rolls a secret, nor does it have someone stationed at the front desk reminding everyone to take off their hats indoors. It is a private club with a relaxed atmosphere, none of the stuffy pretenses found elsewhere.
“Mesa Country Club is a special spot in the Valley, which has a lot of high-end private courses, but it’s a great country club but also has great people and has a blue-collar attitude,” Dahmen said. “You can show up in jeans, you can show up in a T-shirt. It’s just a really special spot for me. It’s like how I grew up playing golf. It’s a little more laid back, not as many rules.”
Old-school golf in the desert
As for the layout, it’s unlike most of the desert golf common in the Phoenix metropolitan area. That’s partly due to the age of the venue.
“We’re not really thought of as being an historic state for great old classic golf courses, which is one of the reasons I was hired because I have those tendencies,” Staples said.
MCC has a lot in common with Phoenix Country Club (host of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the PGA Tour Champions) and Arizona Country Club, also in Phoenix. All three layouts are old-school, parkland-style designs with rolling hills, huge trees and lots of grass.
Mesa Country Club has too much grass, in fact, and a reduction is a major part of the renovation. Staples said his redesign will take it from about 125 acres of sod to about 100. As you play the course, you can easily spot several areas where there will be no grass in the future – these are areas that don’t need it, as they are for the most part out of play.
Mesa Country Club
The course was built on a mesa, with several steep climbs most noticeable on:
The par-5 fifth hole, with a dramatic downhill fairway that if managed properly could lead to getting home in two.
The par-3 seventh, which has a canal rushing next to the tee box before meandering across the front of the green.
The 10th hole, a par 4 on which the back tees are on a deck right off the clubhouse, requiring a tee shot over the road that leads cars to the parking lot.
The par-3 16th, with an elevated tee box aimed at a small green that becomes narrow if there’s a back pin in play.
The par-5 18th, which will see most golfers hitting a third shot up a steep hill to a green situated just off the clubhouse deck.
Mesa Country Club in Mesa, Arizona (Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
There’s a canal that slithers about the property, crossing several fairways and forcing some golfers to rethink their second shots on a couple of the par 5s. It comes into play on five holes. There also are a couple of lakes along the ninth hole, which features the trickiest green on the course.
The course was long overdue for a renovation, with the irrigation system in greatest need of an upgrade. Staples is big on conservation and responsible water consumption, calling it a “core value of sustainable golf design.”
He’s not just looking to renovate for next season but for decades down the road.
“What I try to do in all my golf courses is do it in such a manner that is looking 20, 30, 40 years down the line. Water efficiency, labor efficiency, those costs are only going up. So water is a huge aspect.”
A major re-do of all the greenside bunkers is planned. There won’t be any new bunkers, but the existing ones will be reshaped with added depth as needed and new sand added to all of them. Fairway bunkers, meanwhile, will be left as is, as there aren’t infinite resources available. The fairway bunkers will be reworked at a later date.
A rendering of the new seventh green at Mesa Country Club in Arizona
The greens, meanwhile, suffered from the common problem of shrinkage. They’ll be restored to their original sizes and brought up to modern standards.
Brian Reed, Mesa Country Club’s vice president of the board, confirmed the course will close on Feb. 18, 2024, with a goal to reopen on Nov. 1. He said the club is committing $10 million to the project.
Staples, who likes to tell a self-deprecating joke that he’s not the son of a famous golf course architect nor does he have a major championship or two on his playing resume, does have an impressive list of renovations and new builds in his portfolio. Most notable among his renovation work is Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois. Of the seven courses he built, Sand Hollow Resort’s Links Course in Hurricane, Utah, and the Match Course at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, stand out.
As far as the future of Mesa Country Club, Staples says it’s probably not too far down the road before the golf club invests in TifTuf, a strain of Bermuda grass that can thrive year-round around Phoenix, even in the brutal summer heat. That will render the days of overseeding with rye grass for the winter a thing of the past, giving three weeks of playing time back to the membership.
The key to this renovation, though, is keeping the course grounded in its historical style, Staples said.
“I’d like to think that my tilt towards classic architecture tipped it in my favor.”
After a week in Sin City, the PGA Tour is across the world in Chiba, Japan, for the 2023 Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.
A loaded field including Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama and defending champion Keegan Bradley is set to tee off Thursday — or Wednesday for those on the East Coast, as the first tee time is 7:45 p.m. ET.
Schauffele, who has finished inside the top 10 twice in Japan in three appearances, including last year when he tied for ninth, is the betting favorite at +700 (7/1), followed by Morikawa at +1100 (11/1). Home-country hero Matsuyama sits tied for the fourth-best odds at +1600 (16/1).
Golf course
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club | Par 70 | 7,079 yards
A view of the 16th green during the final round of the 2022 Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The First Tee Phoenix celebrated its 20th year with a “green” carpet fundraising bash Monday night.
PGA Tour golfers Joel Dahmen and James Hahn were among those who walked the celebrity green carpet at Ocean 44, a high-end seafood restaurant in Scottsdale, where guests paid $1,500 a plate to raise money for the First Tee program, first established in 2003. There are now 14 golf courses hosting First Tee-Phoenix programs, including TPC Scottsdale, home of the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open.
Other famous faces who showed up Monday included ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon, golf trick shot artist Tania Tare, PXG founder Bob Parsons, former Arizona governor Doug Ducey and former vice president Dan Quayle.
Joel Dahmen is interviewed by a local TV station during a fundraising event for the First Tee Phoenix in Scottsdale. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
The First Tee has 150 chapters nationwide with a goal of connecting the game of golf with junior golfers ages 4 to 18 in underserved communities. First Tee-Phoenix reports that there are now more than 120,000 young golfers involved in the program statewide.
Jeff Mastro, owner and founder of Ocean 44 as well as popular Scottsdale steak restaurants Steak 44 and Dominick’s Steakhouse, hosted the event and underwrote the entire cost of the evening.
There were about 180 attendees in all and the night raised close to $1 million.
It’s last call for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and a handful of big names on the PGA Tour are lining up for one last shot.
It’s last call for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and a handful of big names on the PGA Tour are lining up for one last shot.
After the conclusion of this week’s Wyndham Championship, the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings will qualify for the first event of the playoffs, the FedEx St. Jude Championship (Aug. 10-13). The top 50 will then advance to the BMW Championship (Aug. 17-20), and the top 30 will ultimately punch their tickets to the season-ending Tour Championship (Aug. 24-27). This year, the total bonus pool for the FedEx Cup Playoffs is a whopping $75 million.
With the regular season coming to a close on Sunday at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, players ranked No. 60 (670) to No. 80 (538) are separated by just 132 points. Each of the last 10 players in and first 10 players out are in the field this week, too.
Cam Davis (No. 69) played his way just inside the top 70 with a T-10 at the 3M Open, same with Lee Hodges, who rose from No. 74 to No. 33 thanks to his win at TPC Twin Cities. Meanwhile, Justin Thomas dropped after his 3M Open missed cut (but more on him to come).
Here are some notable PGA Tour names who are on the outside looking in for the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs.
