The Starter no.2

LPGA Tour continues to ascend

November 19, 2023

We’d rather be golfing. Welcome to issue no. 2 of The Starter, the email newsletter curated by our team of mid-handicappers at DMPL. We understand that with so many great publications, journalists, and creators covering the sport that it can be difficult to keep up with all of the best insights. Every Sunday and Wednesday, we will save you the time of searching the web and deliver you stories around the world of golf that highlight topics such as business, technology, style, gambling, and everything in between. Full transparency, if you are simply seeking tips on how to fix your slice then this isn’t the newsletter for you..

What’s with the name DMPL? Just as dimples are integral to a golf ball, we are working to become an essential part of every golfers daily journey. Our mission is to cultivate a community of engaged golfers by amplifying the voices of every day players like ourselves. This newsletter is the first step towards that goal and we look forward to having everyone along for the ride! - Team DMPL

Women’s Golf is on the Rise

Adam Hagy/USA Today Sports

🚀 The stage for the world’s best golfers continues to get bigger and brighter. As the ladies wrap up their 2023 season in Naples, the LPGA Tour announced a revamped schedule for 2024 which includes a record breaking $118 million in prize money. Yes, the gap between the LPGA Tour season purse and the men’s circuit (approx. $460 million in 2023) is still massive and will probably only grow larger given the new for-profit direction of the PGA Tour. But considering the total purse was $70 million when Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan left her Athletic Director’s post at Princeton in 2021 to lead the women’s tour, the nearly 70% increase in prize monies validates the growing popularity and reach of the sport under her direction.

The 2024 LPGA Tour schedule release is not merely about tournaments and destinations; it’s a resounding declaration that women’s golf is not just gaining momentum – it’s raising the stakes and laying the foundation for future generations of female golfers.

2024 Schedule by the Numbers

More on Women’s Golf

Going Low

AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili

Matt Wallace (pictured) went full video game mode during his 3rd round at the DP World Tour Championship sinking a record 12 birdies, including 9 in a row on the backside, to shoot a course record 60 and take a one stroke lead heading into the final round. Viktor Hovland (-15) sits one shot behind the leader and has a legitimate chance to become the first golfer to win both the PGA Tour Championship and DP World Tour Championship in the same season.

Rookie phenom Ludvig Aberg (-20) carded a 3rd round 61 to take a one shot lead into Sunday at The RSM Classic. Aberg hit arguably the shot of the week on Friday when he drove the green on the 394-yard 5th hole. The Vegas favorite heading into the tournament is looking to follow up his Ryder Cup breakout with his first PGA Tour victory. McKenzie Hughes (-18) also put on a Saturday sizzler at the fall finale in Sea Island. Hughes, who won The RSM Classic in 2016, had a 16-foot birdie look on the final hole for a 59 but ended up settling for a Saturday 60.

Did you tail Wednesday’s Breakfast Ball? If so, you’ll be watching intently on Sunday as Patton Kizzire (-10) sits tied for 30th while Brian Harman (-7) is T55.

Nelly Korda (-14) carded an ace on her way to a 3rd round 66 at the CME Group Tour Championship. She trails co-leaders Amy Yang (-21) and Nasa Hataoka by seven strokes heading into Sunday. Yang is seeking her first LPGA Tour win since 2019.

Around the Game

Universal Pictures

🐅The BIG CAT is BACK. Tiger confirms what we all were expecting and announces his return to competition at the Hero World Challenge on November 30 - December 3.

⛳️ Stanford powered by the signing of four of the the top-100 amateurs in the world, secured the top-ranked women’s class for 2024. Not to be out-done, the men landed Thailand’s T.K. Chantanuwat (#46 in the WAGR) to highlight the top-ranked men’s class for 2024. Ball State University may not have landed a heralded class but they did sign Landon “Happy” Gilmore. Lafferty, Daniel did not sign anywhere.

⛳️ TGL sees their anticipated timeline potentially deflate alongside of their planned SoFi Center. Fortunately, no injuries or destroyed Trackman’s were reported following the collapse. The drone footage is remarkable. Can they really get this all together in less than 2 months?

⛳️ Are you desperately seeking a virtual golf alternative if the TGL is delayed? Look no further than Season 2 of the NEXT Golf Tour.

⛳️ Fenway Sports Group has rallied a who’s who of sports owners in their quest to become an equity partner in the new for-profit PGA Tour. Steve Cohen (Mets), Arthur Blank (Falcons), and Tom Ricketts (Cubs) headline the names involved in FSG’s Strategic Sports Consortium.

⛳️ Slow players beware, the PGA Tour is set to impose hefty fines for slow play. In completely unrelated news, Patrick Cantlay has hired an additional CPA.

⛳️ Very Superstitious. Lighthearted piece explores the surprising quirks of some of the world’s top golfers. 

Panther National Premiers

Panther National

Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas’ highly anticipated collaboration officially opened on Friday. Panther National, the new ultra-exclusive club situated on a 400 acre plot in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, incorporates dynamic elevation changes, double fairways, and expansive waste areas to provide a challenge unique to the golf scene in South Florida. Born out of boredom from the Florida courses he had grown accustomed to, Dominik Senn, founder and president of 4Sports & Entertainment, set out to create the first modern golf and country club in the United States. 

JT the Designer

While the Golden Bear has designed more than 400 courses across 45 countries, Panther National is the first design credit for the 2x major winner Justin Thomas. Admittedly, Thomas rode shotgun to Nicklaus and co. throughout the development of the project but his significant social media presence has played a key role in promoting the club and selling memberships and home sites in advance of it’s opening.

Will Panther National live up to the hype? We’ll wait patiently for an invite from a member of the DMPL community to find out for ourselves 🙃.

More Course Updates

Worth the Follow: St. Andre Golf

In our humble opinion, St. Andre Golf are the kings (and queen!) of golf content creation. Bridgestone Golf agrees and earlier this year tabbed the golf-loving comedians to headline their social content creation efforts alongside the likes of Tiger, Fred Couples, and Lexi Thompson. Little doubt that most, if not all, of you reading this newsletter are already following them, but we couldn’t go another issue without shouting out Aaron, Hannah, Jonathan and the rest of this crew from Atlanta.

ICYMI

🐡 A Tiger and a Blowfish walk into a bar. Darius Rucker tells an all-time story about the first time he met Tiger.

🪑 Play it as it lies. Rory has a unique interaction with a fan during the 1st round of the DP World Tour Championship.

⚡️ Electric. Richard Bland can hardly contain his enthusiasm after re-signing with the vaunted Cleeks GC of LIV Golf.

🖼️ Hang Tiger in The Louvre. Is this the best use of 25,000 wooden tees ever? We think so.

🌑 Shorter days. Daylight Savings is tough on us golfers in Florida but it is downright devastating for you folks up north.

Have a favorite golf hole that you’d like to see featured in an upcoming newsletter? Reply to this email or send to [email protected].

Guess that Golfer

Three clues. Can you name this player?

  • 3x winner on the PGA Tour.

  • Won his first professional event in 2019 on the Asian Development Tour.

  • Nicknamed after the lead character in the cartoon “Thomas & Friends”.

Issue no. 1 Answers

Guess that Stache: 1. Rory McIlroy 2. Bubba Watson 3. Dustin Johnson 4. Rickie Fowler 5. Erik van Rooyen 6. Phil Mickelson

Name that Golfer: Cheyenne Knight

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