It’s hard to know precisely why the 33 who competed on LIV this year turned up for the $2 million Link Hong Kong Open at a 6,710-yard composite course.
Right. Silly. Me. The LHKO winner receives invites to the Masters and The Open.
The field includes—as AP’s Doug Ferguson points out—Charles Howell and Taylor Gooch making their first non-LIV starts in three years.
It’s quite a thing to peruse the field and get reminded that Paul Casey and Jason Kokrak are still playing golf. But they rarely turn up unless the tournaments are shotguns with DJ’s spinning stuff old guys believe is necessary to captivate the coveted demo.
Nonetheless, kudos to all for making the effort.
Tom McKibbin is off to a strong start after posting a course record 60.
Full field scores can be followed here.
For those keeping track, Patrick Reed is the only player in the field currently in The Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen is the only player exempt to The Open.
The number two Ryder Cup points earner and U.S. Open champion told Trey Wingo’s Straight Facts Homie podcast that lack of experience—and not his choice of golf ball—led to his foursomes benching at the 45th playing.
“It had nothing to do with how I was playing, had nothing to do with what equipment I played,” Spaun said. “[Keegan Bradley] wanted to put guys out there first that have been in that arena, and have had success, and have the experience versus getting my feet wet in [four-ball], which is probably an easier format, I think.”
On the same show a few weeks ago, CBS broadcaster Colt Knost said he played golf with Spaun before the matches, where the U.S. Open winner suggested that he had been ruled out of foursomes play because of his ball choice.
Spaun was asked if he was surprised that a player whose game is made for foursomes would not get the call in alternate shot golf.
“Maybe a little bit,” Spaun said. “I wasn’t sure what format I would start in. I talked to Keegan a few weeks prior, and he was adamant about having a pretty veteran-heavy lineup going out in the first match, which was foursomes.”
The USA went 2-6 in the foursomes sessions.
Spaun finished with a 2-1 record in his inaugural Ryder Cup.
The Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw-designed South Course at Te Arai Links will host next year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur from October 29th to November 1st, 2026.
The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament, and the R&A awarded the championship to New Zealand for the second time.
The Tomarata, New Zealand course has won world acclaim since opening three years ago.
“Te Arai’s South Course is an exceptional venue and will provide a fantastic test of golf in a spectacular location,” said Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A. “Our goal for the Championship is to continue to inspire and develop the region’s most talented players, and we look forward to another outstanding edition in 2026.”
Te Arai South is about 75 minutes from Auckland and plays on fescue turf through natural dunes.
The new and old clubhouses (Robert Wilson/The Times)
Jeremy Watson of The Times filed a fun read—with imagery—considering the debate over Royal Dornoch’s new clubhouse.
Early, post-scaffolding reviews online suggest it resembles “everything from a Victorian mill to a municipal crematorium, a caravan-site toilet block, a nuclear bunker, a prison and even a slaughterhouse.”
The soon-to-be-demolished 116-year-old clubhouse has its fans thanks to a distinctive clock tower and quaint scale compared to the new structure.
The storied links and it’s new edifice will host the 2028 Curtis Cup.
Rory McIlroy brought the Green Jacket and it was first time a reigning Masters champion had visited India. But it’s still notable that the club has put out a short video recapping Rory McIlroy’s recent visit to play in the newly-created DP World India Championship. Perhaps this is a building block toward a future Hero Indian Open exemption?
While there is no guarantee that the 2026 USA team will be composed exclusively of the names listed below, it’s a pretty good bet that the final team of ten will be batting it around Seminole Golf Club, Jupiter Hills Club, and McArthur Golf Club from Dec. 18-20. The sessions are in preparation for the 2026 match at Lahinch.
Notably, top-ranked amateur Jackson Koivun will turn up even though the Auburn junior has PGA Tour status awaiting him when he wants to turn pro.
Seven members of the victorious 2025 team at Cypress Point will be present (highlighted in bold).
Evan Beck, 35, of Virginia Beach, Va. (Wake Forest, class of 2013)
Luke Colton, 18, of Frisco, Texas (high school class of 2026)
Ethan Fang, 20, of Plano, Texas (Oklahoma State, junior)
Josiah Gilbert, 20, of Houston, Texas (Auburn, junior)
Stewart Hagestad, 34, of Newport Beach, Calif. (Southern California, class of 2013)
Max Herendeen, 20, of Bellevue, Wash. (Illinois, junior)
Mason Howell, 18, of Thomasville, Ga. (high school class of 2026)
Jackson Koivun, 20, of Chapel Hill, N.C. (Auburn, junior)
Michael La Sasso, 21, of Raleigh, N.C. (Ole Miss, senior)
Bryan Lee, 21, of Fairfax, Va. (Virginia, senior)
Bobby Massa, 37, of Dallas, Texas (UT Arlington, class of 2010)
Jacob Modleski, 20, of Noblesville, Ind. (Notre Dame, junior)
Miles Russell, 16, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. (high school class of 2027)
Lance Simpson, 22, of Knoxville, Tenn. (Tennessee, senior)
Preston Stout, 21, of Dallas, Texas (Oklahoma State, junior)
Cameron Tankersley, 22, of Dickson, Tenn. (Ole Miss, senior)
Jack Turner, 21, of Orlando, Fla. (Florida, junior)
Tyler Watts, 18, of Huntsville, Ala. (high school class of 2027)
The three members of the 2025 team who declined invites are all college seniors: Ben James, Tommy Morrison, and Jase Summy.
Nathan Smith will again captain the USA Team.
Gary Player on his place among golf immortals. “When they judge players, it’s quite interesting; they put Bobby Jones and Arnold (Palmer) ahead of me. You can’t tell me that an amateur golfer has a record that I have in golf. His record is not close to mine. You look at Arnold’s record, it’s not close to mine. I won more majors than Arnold. I won more tournaments than Arnold. I won more senior majors. My stroke averages were better. He didn’t have the record, and he was my brother. “But I love the fact, in a way, that they do that, because what he did for golf, and I grew up with him, he was supreme. “Jack is number one, Tiger number two, and I’m number three. There’s not even a question.”
Patrick Reed on the Ryder Cup. “Through the first two days I don’t really care what team [Keegan Bradley] threw out there, I don’t think we’d be able to hang with the way the Euros played. From top to bottom on Friday and Saturday it was just unreal.”
Jack Nicklaus on his defamation court victory. “My legacy that I will have through the years will be very important to my family. I’m 85 years old, how long will I be around? I don’t know. It’s not about me. It’s about the future and family…The proceedings, the judge, the jury were great. I’m happy with the outcome. Obviously, there’s going to be probably appeals and that stuff. This will continue to go on for a while.”
🚜 Alan Bastable on East Wing dirt getting dumped at East Potomac’s National Links Trust-operated course.
💪 Andrew Beaton on how Yani Tseng beat the yips by becoming a left-handed putter.
🚢 Ken Foxe on Ryder Cup organizers considering Limerock-based cruise ships to help handle 2027 Ryder Cup lodging shortages.
🏌️♀️ Meg Atkins says the LPGA needs attention, but not so much that it should be giving exemptions to someone who was 52-over-par in her first national event this year.
🤺 Larry Baush on that time Jack and Arnie feuded with Deane Beman.
😱 Yousef Saba and Federico Maccioni on Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) shifting focus away from massive real estate “gigaprojects”. Shocked!
🦚 Georg Szalai on Peacock losing another $217 million and remaining flat at 41 million subscribers.
🤠 Matt Belloni on Taylor Sheridan bolting from Paramount.
🐑 Paul McCartney on buying a sheep farm in Scotland and how it changed the trajectory of his post-Beatles career.
😬 Hayden Field on the increased use of AI to post pictures of purported vacations. Suddenly, selfie sticks don’t look so silly.
Have a great weekend,
Geoff
