It's April, it's Masters time
+ Who will win this year's green jacket?; A former Masters champion calls it quits; And a look at the major's Black caddies tradition.
THE STARTER
🏌️ Anthony Kim revealed in an interview with LIV Golf announcer David Feherty that he endured addiction, mental health issues, as well as multiple surgeries, all of which helped keep him away from golf for 12 years. Is it any surprise that he’s struggling to find his feet as a player again?
🏌️ Kim was so far removed from golf that he had to be told Brooks Koepka won back-to-back PGA Championships and U.S. Opens and he sort of heard that Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters. Professional golfers really don’t watch golf on TV, do they?
🏌️ Rory McIlroy laments the PGA Tour’s dismal TV ratings and says the LIV-PGA Tour split is “unsustainable.” But aren’t the Tour’s elevated events — something he fought for — partly to blame for unattractive leaderboards?
🏌️ LIV Golf players agree that players have to get back together in some form sooner rather than later. But what does such a thing look like?
🏌️ Nelly Korda won her third straight LPGA Tour start with a victory at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. Is she clearly the best player in the world?
🏌️ Scottie Scheffler was a 5-footer away from three straight PGA Tour victories at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Was it a Stephan Jaeger victory or a Scheffler loss?
🏌️ Justin Thomas and caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay split up just before the Masters. Whose decision was it?
🏌️ Anna Davis, the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion, missed the cut at this year’s event after being assessed a one-stroke slow-play penalty. This, after missing the cut last year as the result of four strokes in penalties for violating preferred lies rules. Can someone sign her up for a rules seminar?
🏌️ Have we just been killing time until the Masters?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
Larry Mize's Masters memories run deep
For the first time since 1983, the Augusta, Georgia, native and 1987 champion will be an observer of the major like most everyone — except with a few nice perks.
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
Where did Masters Madness go?
In less divisive times, talk of the year's first major at Augusta National ramped up with the start of the PGA Tour's Florida Swing. These days the storylines are much different.
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
Golf's top clubs, resorts are upping their menu games
Members, guests are seeking more from their experiences and food goes a long way toward that goal.
:: Dan Vukelich | Read
What to make of the Rules of Golf
The First Call readers share their opinions on the complexity of the game's rules and whether they should be simplified.
:: The First Call Inbox | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 Larry David’s rule book for how (not) to live in society
He’s a wild, monomaniacal jerk. He’s also our greatest interpreter of American manners since Emily Post.
:: Wesley Morris | New York Times | 04.05.2024
📖 Masters of the green: The Black caddies of Augusta National
For almost fifty years, they carried the bags of golf legends but also masterminded victories from the tees to the holes. Then, with one decision, their lives shifted, and the legacy of their glory days went unheralded. Finally, that’s changing.”
:: Latria Graham | Garden and Gun | 04-05.2024
📖 Caitlin Clark and Iowa find peace in the process
:: Wright Thompson | ESPN | 03.20.2024
SUBSTACKED
The First Call | Extra has been publishing on Substack for a few years now and there is really good work being written on this platform. So, we’re going to start highlighting some of the pieces we come across.
The story of golf in 50 holes.
:: Greg Ford | On The Tee | 04.04.2024
BUSINESS
WEEK IN REVIEW
1️⃣8️⃣ The industry’s names, news and notables that are making the headlines. | Read
PERFECT PUTT
Club Car: Golf's next sale?
Could Platinum Equity be looking to sell Club Car at a valuation of $2 billion? Publisher Jared Doerfler looks at the possibility.
:: Jared Doerfler | Read
Each Monday, Jared Doerfler breaks down the business of golf. Subscribe to Perfect Putt here.
ICYMI
This week’s editions of The First Call:
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
TRAVEL
The First Call has partnered with SportGo Travel, an online booking service, to give you up to 50% off or more on hotel accommodations worldwide.
Whether you’re planning your next trip to a tournament, a buddies or girls golf getaway, or a family vacation, book your stay through SportGo Travel and save. Simply create your account and start planning.
LIFESTYLE
THE STYLE LINKS
What exactly makes the Masters “a tradition unlike any other?” It might be a golf tournament unlike any other, and it is very special in many ways. But technically the word tradition means “the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or being passed on.”
Just curious.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
19TH HOLE
Each episode of the “Course of Life” podcast closes with the guest sharing a favorite 19th hole experience.
Morey Hershgordon, WHDH News sports anchor: “Chicken parm sub for sure, especially if i'm really hungry...and we'll go with a side of fries and any type of local draft beer that the course has."
:: Alex Lauzon | Co-host of “Course of Life” podcast
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