This week, there’s golf all over the place. The PGA Tour remains in Texas, LIV is back in action in Florida, and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is all taking place this week. It’s a busy Wednesday for news & headlines.
Augusta National Women’s Amateur
Before Augusta National hosts the Masters next week, it plays host to a great event, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The last four years, it has come down to either the last hole or a playoff. 2021 and 2023 there were playoffs and 2022 and 2024 was a one-stroke win. Last year, Lottie Woad birdied the 15th, 17th, and 18th holes to come from behind and win over Bailey Shoemaker. Woad is from England and plays her college golf at Florida State. The ANWA is a three-day tournament, with a cut after two rounds. The Championship will be today and tomorrow, then the final round will be on Saturday. Golf Channel will provide coverage today and tomorrow from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Final Round coverage will be on NBC from 9:00 AM to Noon.
Seattle’s very own, Lauryn Nguyen is competing for the second time at the ANWA. Nguyen is playing her college golf at Northwestern University and has finished in the top 10 at the Puerto Rico Classic in February and had a T-7 in the St. Andrews Links Collegiate in the fall. She was a 2024 Honorable Mention All-American and won the Washington Women’s Amateur. Nguyen is on the course now, and you can follow her along here.
Another incredible story is Rachel Heck. Heck became a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force last summer and has had to balance playing golf and serving in the military. Heck is from Memphis, Tennessee, and just finished her college career at Stanford. She’s a two-time All-American and helped the Cardinal win their second NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship in the last three years. She won the NCAA Division I Individual Championship in 2021. It’s her fourth time playing in the ANWA, finishing T-3 in 2021, T-27 in 2022, and missed the cut last year. Heck is a phenomenal story and is someone to root for if you’re casually watching. Thank you Rachel for your courage and bravery.
The ANWA is one of the best events of the year, and with four straight fantastic finishes, any and every golf fan should tune in. Here is the leaderboard to follow along this week.
Valero Texas Open
The PGA Tour will share San Antonio with the men’s Final Four this weekend, as the Valero Texas Open is the last event of the year before the Masters. It also is the last PGA Tour event before the month-long rangefinder test, where the PGA Tour will allow players to use rangefinders during play, in an attempt to speed up play.
Last year, Akshay Bhatia won over Denny McCarthy in a playoff. In the final round, Bhatia made a clutch putt and celebrated it by waving his arm. During that celebration, Bhatia injured himself and had to seek medical treatment. Despite the injury, Bhatia powered through for a final round 67 and a birdie on the first playoff hole to secure the victory.
This year, some pretty big names will tee it up at TPC San Antonio. Ludvig Aberg, U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley, Patrick Cantlay, Tommy Fleetwood, and many other big names will try to grab one last victory before heading to Augusta. For what it’s worth, the last time a player won a tournament the week before the Masters was 2006, when Phil Mickelson won his second green jacket in three years. Mickelson won the now-defunct BellSouth Classic by 13 strokes for his second straight win at the tournament.
LIV Returns To Florida
This week, LIV Golf makes its return to Florida at Trump National Doral from Friday to Sunday. This is a big weekend for LIV, as the first and final rounds will be on FOX with Saturday’s second round being on FS1.
Ratings have been a big topic of discussion when it comes to LIV, especially after some disappointing numbers for their first events of the season. Being on FOX and FS1 should provide a boost in ratings, similar to when the PGA Tour goes from Golf Channel to NBC or CBS. This really is the first time we get to see how LIV does on FOX, in a typical golf viewing window. The direct competition going up against the PGA Tour will be fascinating to see who gets more viewers, and by how much. If LIV were to do better in ratings than the PGA Tour, LIV will be able to take that right to the negotiation table. However, if there’s another ratings flop, the PGA Tour could put their feet up and wait for LIV to make the next move.
This weekend could determine the fate of LIV and the league’s future. They desperately need a good weekend of ratings. There’s been quite a bit of promotion on FOX Sports throughout the week leading up to the event, which should help get the word out. This week also works as a tune-up for those who will be heading north from Miami to Augusta for next week. LIV has some of their stars playing at their best, which could also help spike ratings.
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