Editor’s Note: The First Call | Extra will not publish on Saturday, July 1, in advance of July 4. We will resume publishing on Saturday, July 8. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday break.
ON THE TEE
🏌️ Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open for his first major championship. Which column will history eventually place Clark: Andy North, Scott Simpson, Lee Janzen? Or Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth?
🏌️ Rory McIlroy came up short at another major, finishing runner-up to Clark. However, the British Open is at Royal Liverpool, the site of McIlroy’s last major title in 2014. Is that poetic?
🏌️ Despite Rickie Fowler shooting 75 with the lead in the final round of the U.S. Open and finishing tied for fifth, was there a better redemption story that week?
🏌️ Was the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club worthy of a true U.S. Open test? Or did the USGA become enamored of LACC because you become one of the cool kids if you’ve played there?
🏌️ Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) have requested PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman to attend a Senate hearing July 11. How are they going to explain to the senators what they haven’t even figured out themselves?
🏌️ Hall of Famers Tom Watson and Davis Love III both wrote open letters to PGA Tour players. Watson wanted to know if this partnership was the only way out. LIV-hater Love preached patience. Which comes closer to reality?
🏌️ Majesticks GC is the first LIV Golf team to sign a major investor — OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange. What’s their definition on long term?
🏌️ Rose Zhang is being looked at by U.S. captain Stacy Lewis as a possible pick for the Solheim Cup team. Getting a little ahead of ourselves?
🏌️ For those east of the Mississippi, how about a show of hands if you stayed up and watched all of the prime-time U.S. Open? Or did you record it?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
INSIDE TFC
Who are the winners, losers of the PGA Tour-PIF deal?
While many of the details have yet to be resolved, readers of The First Call share their initial thoughts on who will and will not benefit when the dust finally settles
:: The First Call Inbox | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 Daniel Bard made an improbable comeback. Then he had to do it again
The Rockies pitcher overcame mysterious control problems to return to the major leagues, but the problems weren’t gone for good.
:: Louisa Thomas | The New Yorker | 06.12.23
📖 ‘If it doesn’t concern life and death, it’s not interesting’: Cormac McCarthy’s American odyssey
In 2007, Rolling Stone traveled to Santa Fe to profile the most reclusive man in American letters
:: David Kushner | Rolling Stone | 12.27.23
PERFECT PUTT
The business side of being a PGA Tour caddie
A chat with Joel Stock, caddie for Will Zalatoris
:: Jared Doerfler | Read
Each Monday, Jared Doerfler breaks down the business of golf. Subscribe to Perfect Putt here.
SCORECARD
1️⃣8️⃣ The golf industry’s week in review — the names, news and notables that are making the headlines. :: Read
LIFESTYLE
THE STYLE LINKS
In case you aren’t familiar with the apparel brand Municipal, which Wyndham Clark wore during his U.S. Open win, here’s their story in their words: “The company was co-founded by Mark Wahlberg … and the foundation for Municipal was laid on the public playgrounds, fields and blacktops where we all developed our love of sports and competition. It was there we started to appreciate that results weren’t predetermined but came directly from the amount of work we were willing to put in. And if we were driven to hustle, learn and just go for it ... no dream was out of our reach.” Kinda like Clark’s “be an athlete” approach at the Open.
:: 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.
Chris Salisbury, founder and CEO of the LiveTake sports talk app: “I'm thinking about New England summertime vibes, so you can't go wrong with a nice Connecticut-style lobster roll and a side of fries.”
:: Alex Lauzon | Co-host of “Course of Life” podcast
GOLF KITCHEN
Honeycrisp apple and butternut squash salad
Jonathan Hancock, executive chef at Richland Country Club in Nashville, Tennessee, is a young and gifted chef who realized his passion during college while pursuing a law degree. His talent for taste, color and texture makes him one of the exploding industry's rising chefs. He shares this tasty salad creation.
Serves: 4.
Ingredients
> 1 medium butternut squash (peeled and medium diced)
> 2 cups whipped ricotta
> 2 honeycrisp apples (cored and sliced)
> 1 pomegranate (seeds only)
> ¼ cup zhoug
> 1 bunch cilantro
> 1 bunch mint
> 1 cup pumpkin seeds (toasted)
> 1 head radicchio (chiffonade)
> Extra virgin olive oil [EVOO] (to taste)
> 1 lemon
> Kosher salt (to taste)
Click for preparation instructions
Wine Match: 2017 Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc
More food and drink recipes can be found at GolfKitchen.com.
HOME FRONT
Jack’s Bay | Eleuthera, The Bahamas
Price: $1,000,000 - $3,000,000.
About: Jack’s Bay is an exclusive club and residential community nestled on the lush southern coast of Eleuthera Island in The Bahamas. Featuring nearly 4 miles of breathtaking oceanfront property across 1,200 stunning acres, the property is anchored in history and was a favorite destination for notable and influential jet-setting families. Exclusive real estate offerings at Jack’s Bay are available through its Founder’s Program and includes 24 beachfront and ocean view homesites. Founder’s Row is ideally located along the prime stretch of oceanfront land nestled between the amenities of the Atlantic Club clubhouse and the Tiger Woods golf course.
Golf: Jack’s Bay will have two world-class golf courses on property — an existing Tiger Woods 10-hole The Playground course and the first Nicklaus Heritage Championship Course. Other amenities planned for Jacks’ Bay include a world-class beach club, an inspirational spa village, a comprehensive fitness and wellness program, and family friendly sports pavilion complex. Among the amenities already in place are endless stretches of pristine white-sand beaches, tennis, a marina and numerous dining venues.
DESIGN NOTES
Glenmoor reopens after Love Golf Design’s TLC
⛳️ Glenmoor Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, reopened in mid-June following a year-long renovation by Love Golf Design.
A 1985 creation from Pete Dye, with wife Alice and son Perry assisting, Glenmoor hadn’t undergone any changes since that time, but membership at the private club in suburban Denver concluded it was due for a refresh.
Led by Davis Love III, his brother Mark and lead architect Scot Sherman, the Glenmoor renovation was spurred by a need to replace aging infrastructure. The second goal was to make the course more challenging for the high-level player, while also being more playable for members and guests.
"What a unique Pete Dye design," said Mark Love, founder and president of Love Golf Design. "We are so pleased to help preserve and upgrade Pete’s unique course."
A new practice range and putting green accompanied the reopening of the 6,787-yard, par-71 golf course.
READ: This week’s complete Design Notes
RELATED: Design Notes archive
⛳️ Mesa Country Club in Mesa, Arizona, is embarking on a significant renovation of its historic golf course as part of the club’s plans to commemorate its 75th anniversary.
The project is the largest and most encompassing investment since the William P. Bell/William F. Bell-designed course opened in 1948. The father and son were best known for creating Torrey Pines in San Diego, but they were prolific throughout the West and Southwest.
"All the greens will be rebuilt to USGA standards, greenside bunkers will be renovated to improve playability and, importantly, a new irrigation system will ensure significant water reduction usage," said Neil Baier, president of the board at the country club. "We are also upgrading our clubhouse facilities. In the next few years, Mesa Country Club will be one of the region’s top membership choices."
Scottsdale-based Staples Golf Design was hired to manage the project.
⛳️ The 18-hole layout at the Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links near Dublin, Ireland, has reopened following a four-month renovation by Jeff Lynch of ReGolf Design.
Originally designed by Bernhard Langer in 1995, Portmarnock Links sits just north of the fabled Portmarnock Golf Club, some 15 minutes away from Dublin’s international airport. It is affiliated with a palatial hotel that was once the home of the Jameson Distillery family.
Holes 8, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 17 were rerouted. DAR Construction built five new green complexes and four new tee areas, plus new fairways.
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