The Starter no.5

We’d rather be golfing. While we await the delivery of our new fleet of custom DMPL Cybertrucks (all thanks to investing wisely with Vinovest!) and get ready to fulfill our first batch of rewards for the referral program, we can’t help but wonder whether the latest rumored mega signing on the LIV front will help move the needle for the league any more so then the previous ones? We get it, these player acquisitions by the PIF are moves in a much larger game of chess against the PGA Tour. But we couldn’t help but notice just how un-phased we were by the news of the latest potential defection. Dustin Johnson signing with LIV last February was a shock to the system. One of the top ranked golfers in the world leaving the PGA Tour in his prime?! No knock on DJ, but have you found yourself watching a tour event over the last 20 months and thinking “man, this would be so much better if Dustin Johnson was out there.”

Yeah, neither have we. - Team DMPL

Old Dogs. New Tricks.

What do you get when you mix one part Champions Tour, one part President’s Cup, and one part Ryder Cup? You get the World Champions Cup, the brainchild of golfer/commentator Peter Jacobsen and the realization of a concept that has been whispered about for several years. The inaugural event is set to take place from Dec. 7-10 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida and will be unlike any other international competition.

Eighteen of the World’s Best Senior Golfers

Team USA

• Jim Furyk (Captain)

• Bill Andrade (Vice Captain)

• Steve Stricker

• Jerry Kelly

• Justin Leonard

• Brett Quigley

• David Toms

Team Europe

• Darren Clarke (Captain)

• Jesper Parnevik (Vice Captain)

• Colin Montgomerie

• Miguel Angel Jimenez

• Robert Karlsson

• Alex Cejka

• Bernhard Langer

Team International

• Ernie Els (Captain)

• Stuart Appleby (Vice Captain)

• Vijay Singh

• Steven Alker

• Stephen Ames

• K.J. Choi

• Retief Goosen

The three Vice Captains will serve in non-playing roles and assist their respective Captains with setting matchups throughout the tournament. They will have their sticks handy though. Should any player sustain an injury and not be able to compete, the Vice Captain will come out of the pen in relief.

The World Champions Cup will feature a truly unique format consisting of 24 nine-hole team and singles play matches over the three day event. Unlike traditional team competition events, no matches will be closed out early as players will have the opportunity to earn points for their team on every hole of every session.

A total of 3 points will be up for grabs on each hole with the team with the lowest score receiving 2 points, second lowest receiving 1 point, and highest score getting a goose egg. There are some additional nuances and rules around ties that are far too complex to include in this humble little newsletter.

All things considered, we love the concept and are excited to tune in to see what type of emotion and game these legends bring to this inaugural event!

Pouring Profits: Why whiskey as an asset class.

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Let Min Cook

Perhaps the hottest player in the world, Min Woo Lee (-13) sits tied for the lead at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open. Lee is coming off a victory last week at the Australian PGA Championship. While brother Matthew is contention at Tiger’s party in Albany, Alex Fitzpatrick (-12) is just one shot off the lead heading into the final round.

Ashleigh Buhai (-12) leads the ladies side of the Aussie Open by three strokes heading into final round action.

Editors Note: Your editor needs sleep so please forgive us for not reporting the conclusion of the tournament that is set to wrap after midnight eastern. Check this link for the final scores.

In the Bahamas, Scottie Scheffler (-16) fired a 65 on Saturday and sits three shots clear of Matthew Fitzpatrick (-13) heading into the final round of the Hero World Challenge. Tiger Woods (E) has shot back-to-back rounds under par in his return to competition. Will Zalatoris (+12) is just happy to have packed enough sun screen for the weekend and will gladly take his last place money and run this evening.

Around the Game

⛳️ Rollin’ it Back. It looks like the long rumored golf ball roll back is getting ready to take place.

⛳️ Tour Policy in the spotlight. A day after a memo from the Tour Policy Board Director’s to the players is released, news breaks of a petition sent out from an anonymous group players requesting a meeting with Tour leadership.

⛳️ Family Affair. Friend of The Starter, Leo Goosen and his pops Retief (pictured) are once again set to headline a star-studded field at what one of the funnest events on the schedule, the PNC Championship. Team DMPL will be present and may/may not dress in goose regalia.

⛳️ Promotion Time. LIV Golf announces the field of 70+ golfers that will head to Abu Dhabi next week to compete in the inaugural promotions tournament for the shot to secure the three remaining roster spots for the 2024 season.

⛳️ Two More Years. Team Europe taps Luke Donald to another term as they set their sights towards Bethpage Black.

⛳️ A Real Good Man. Great profile on Army vet turned PGA Professional Tom Son and his love of the game.

⛳️ Nothing but Aces. A compilation of all 20 holes-in-one made during the 2023 LPGA Tour season.

Staying Modest

With a roster of talent headlined by stars Tyrrell Hatton, Leona Maguire, and Angel Yin, Modest Golf Management has established itself as a premier global sport marketing agency. The man at the helm, 30-year-old, international pop icon, Niall Horan has silenced all the naysayers who couldn’t fathom that the One Direction star would actually build a credible presence within the world of golf. Most notably, Modest Golf spearheaded the first-of-it’s-kind ISPS HANDA World Invitational, the innovative mixed tournament sanctioned by the European Tour, LPGA Tour, and Ladies European Tours.

Featured in the December edition of UK’s Bunkered magazine, Niall details how his involvement with the sport could help encourage the next generation of female golfers.

“I always say this but, you know, I’ve got 40 million Twitter followers and a few more on Instagram (26 million),” he adds. “If me posting about golf here and there makes just one per cent of my followers take an interest in golf, well, look, I’m no mathematician, but it’s a lot!

“Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of them will be like, ‘oh great, he’s talking about golf again!’ But I guarantee there’s quite a few who’ll read that tweet and go to the driving range, or go to TopGolf, or even just try to get involved in some shape or form. It’s just about letting them know the sport exists really.

“You never know how many will go, ‘Well, if Niall thinks it’s cool, it might be cool.’”

More Business

• The “Friends of Golf” consortium led by billionaires Henry Kravis and George Roberts, first cousins and co-founders of global investment firm KKR, are no longer in the mix to claim a stake of the new for-profit PGA Tour enterprise.

• Another change for the former Honda Classic, as tournament director Andrew George is leaving to join TMRW Sports and TGL as a senior vice-president. IT firm Cognizant is expected to become the new title sponsor for the PGA Tour event that takes place at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Worth the Follow: Michelle Holmes Golf

As #DMPLDads, we have a soft spot for youth golfers. Which is one of the reasons we gravitate to Michelle Holmes and her adventures teaching the game to the youngest of golfers. Having a bad day? A quick scroll through her feed is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face! Based out of Norfolk, Virginia, she is a LPGA Teaching Professional and a U.S. Kids Golf Master Teacher who has been recognized as a GRAA Top 50 Growth Of The Game Professional multiple times. Michelle Holmes has quickly become one of our favorites and is definitely worth the follow.

ICYMI

🎯 Put a 1 on the card. Lucas Glover aces the 17th hole during the second round of the Hero World Challenge.

🧑‍🍳 Chef’s Kiss. Min Woo Lee with a ridiculous 9 iron during the second round of the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.

🪨 Relatively Firm. America’s favorite caddy Geno Bonnalie shows just how hard it is to hold the green during winter in Northern Idaho.

🔍️ Where’s Jordan? Speith finds himself in a tough spot off the tee on Saturday after hitting 13/13 fairways during his second round.

🏀 Nothing to do with golf… But we couldn’t help but include this ultimate disrespect on the hardwood 😆 .

Golf Scramble

Can you correctly unscramble these golf terms?

1. AWRIFAY

2. GGDEOL

3. LPARNIOVISO

4. RTDSFLOABE

5. TPHCI

Name that Golfer

Three clues. Can you name this player?

• 6x winner on the LPGA Tour.

• Won the US Women’s Amateur Championship in consecutive years.

• First pro victory came at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Issue no. 4 Answers

Golf Hole of the Day: Sleepy Hollow Golf Club. Congrats Scott Flanders!

Name that Golfer: Graeme McDowell