And the winner is ...
+ Whose is better, Tiger's, Arnie's or Jack's?; Some golf movies just resonate better than others; Portrush comes to Florida; A family renovation in South Korea.
THE STARTER
🏌️ Jake Knapp shot 59 in the Thursday’s first round of the Cognizant Classic at PGA National. Is 59 as big a deal as it used to be?
🏌️ Brian Campbell won the Mexico Open for his first victory after 10 years as a professional. Had you ever heard of him?
🏌️ In the playoff with Aldrich Potgeiter, Campbell’s tee shot on the deciding hole was surely headed out of play when it hit a tree and ricocheted back into the rough, from where he made birdie and won the tournament. Will this hold up as the best break of the year?
🏌️ Have you ever seen a top player chip as badly as Potgeiter?
🏌️ Anna Nordqvist was named European Solheim Cup captain. Don’t you bet Suzann Pettersen will be a vice-captain?
🏌️ Anthony Kim, who returned to professional golf after a 12-year absence, said he’s been diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg. Will he continue to play in the LIV Golf League?
🏌️ Gary Woodland, who is playing on the PGA Tour after coming back from surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2023, received the PGA Tour Courage Award this week. Does his comeback qualify as a miracle?
🏌️ Woodland, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler won’t receive sponsor exemptions to the Arnold Palmer Invitational — a signature event — while Rafael Campos did. You think Arnie would have invited them?
🏌️ Luke Clanton, the No. 1 amateur in the world, can earn a PGA Tour card by making the cut at the Cognizant Classic. He shot 67 in the first round. Are you pulling for him?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
The envelope, please
In advance of the Academy Awards on March 2, The First Call readers select their nominees if there was a Best All-Time Golf Movie category.
:: TFC Inbox | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads — and listens — that are sometimes about golf, but not always.
📖 The mystery of the world’s oldest writing system remained unsolved until four competitive scholars raced to decipher it
In the 1850s, cuneiform was just a series of baffling scratches on clay, waiting to spill the secrets of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia.
:: Joshua Hammer | Smithsonian Magazine | 03.25 | Read
📖 Texas’ barbecue schism
As the state becomes more urban, so does its barbecue. So why does a small-town family feud feel so important?
:: Rachel Monroe | The New Yorker | 02.22.25 | Read
📖 The immortal eleven
The untold story of the barefooted Indian soccer players who helped bring down an empire.
:: Andrew Dubbins | Story Bureau | 02.03.25 | Read
THE LIBRARY
Recent drops to The First Call’s video and podcast section.
▶️ Cathy Kim on breaking barriers in golf
The director of instruction at Baltimore Country Club joins 'The Coach Mo Golf Show' to discuss her journey to becoming an industry-influencing teacher.
:: The Coach Mo Golf Show | 02.27.25 | Watch
TFC Libraries: 🎧 Podcasts | ▶️ Videos
BUSINESS
THE FIRST CALL
Week in Review: The industry’s names, news and notables making headlines. | Read
This week’s editions: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
Industry press releases | Industry press release videos | TFC / PR Newswire feed
Golf Industry Job / Internship Board
LIFESTYLE
THE STYLE LINKS
Super cool Lululemon fitness event in New York City. Proceeds will benefit “It’s Bigger Than Us” ongoing Los Angeles, California, fire community relief efforts.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
19TH HOLE
“Course of Life” podcast co-host Alex Lauzon closes each episode with the guest sharing a favorite 19th hole food and beverage experience.
Ara Anton, the Country Club Comic: “A double Tito's and soda is great after I play a round, and I love to get nachos with it.”
A PICTURE TELLS …
“Golf here is stripped bare of the usual baggage and furniture of inland golf, and I marvel at the symphony of different sounds that drift around. One moment it is the jangling masts of the boats in the nearby harbour; the next the insistent cry of the herring gulls. It happens to be the week when the skylarks have arrived, blown across by the same stiff breeze that holds my ball short of the seventh, somehow leaving me between yet another set of sleepers and a hellish bunker.”
:: Words: Richard Pennell / Pitchmarks | Photography: Simon Pope
Image: Hole No. 7, Rye Golf Club, Rye, England.
HOME FRONT
Panther National | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Listing: Portrush Custom Estate.
Stats: 9,263 total square feet | 5 bedrooms | 5.5 bathrooms | 4-car garage.
Price: $11,995,000.
About: Panther National is the first modern golf and lifestyle community to debut in Palm Beach County, Florida, in nearly two decades, and represents a new generation of sophistication in private golf club communities. Developed by founder and president Dominik Senn, Panther National combines estate homes with a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that was designed in collaboration with Justin Thomas. The Portrush Custom Estate is a masterpiece of modern luxury, combining striking architectural details with exceptional craftsmanship and thoughtful lighting. The exterior features a grand wood-clad pivot entry door with a custom stainless ladder pull, complemented by a sandblasted marble driveway, porcelain cladding and sleek garage doors. The backyard is an outdoor paradise, boasting a custom 43-feet-by17-feet vertical pool with a flush spa, Pebble Tec finish and a sandblasted marble deck — all set within lush landscaping and covered patios with motorized screens. Inside, every detail exudes sophistication, from the 48-inch x 48-inch rectified porcelain flooring and engineered hardwood in the bedrooms to the 8-foot solid core doors with Emtek Helios levers and custom millwork. The gourmet kitchen is a chef’s dream, featuring top-of-the-line Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, frameless cabinetry, quartz countertops, and a stunning oversized island. The furnishings were selected to complement the architectural style, focusing on a neutral, earth-tone color palette, and the design creates a comfortable and inviting atmosphere that feels cozy.
ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN NOTES
Dye Designs Group kickstarts reno of Woo Jeong Hills
Dye Designs Group (DDG) has begun a project to update all 18 greens at South Korea’s Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.
Created by Kolon Industries, one of the country’s leading textile and chemical manufacturers, Woo Jeong Hills was originally designed by the late Perry Dye and opened in 1992. It is regarded as a top course in South Korea, as evidenced by Golf Digest previously ranking it among the World’s Greatest 100 Courses and its role as long-time host of the Kolon Korea Open. Woo Jeong Hills is set amid mountainous terrain and noted for many Dye-design hallmarks, including challenging bunkers and strategically placed water hazards.
DDG’s mother-son tandem of Cynthia Dye McGarey and Matt McGarey has been tasked with redesigning and then shaping the course’s 18 greens, plus two practice greens. Construction began in late December and is expected to be completed by the end of March.
"It’s been more than 30 years since Woo Jeong Hills opened, so updating the size, contouring and drainage of its greens is important to ensure it remains among Asia’s best," Cynthia Dye McGarey said. "This project is especially meaningful to us given we’re refreshing my cousin Perry’s first golf course design in South Korea, a country he enjoyed and where he did so much great work."
"We have all worked very hard to ensure the long-term viability of our championship golf course," said Jongyoon Lee, president of Woo Jeong Hills.
RELATED: Design Notes archive
SUBSCRIBE | FOLLOW
The First Call [Monday-Friday edition]: Subscribe
Facebook | Instagram | Linkedin | X | Threads | BlueSky
The reason I won't be watching the TGL finals is that it's only going to be on ESPN2 (which I don't have) and not ESPN+, where I've been following most of the matches. I'm pissed at that decision - I've followed them all season, and now I'm unable to watch!
Sort of like putting the Super Bowl on Amazon Prime, right?