LIV’s next targets, 1 inspiring winner, selling the Ryder Cup?!

Welcome to the Monday End, the place we’re nonetheless selecting which TGL crew to decorate up as for Halloween. To the information…

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GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Perseverance.

Tim O’Neal has at all times beloved golf. It hasn’t at all times beloved him again.

At Q-Faculty in 2000 he wanted bogey on the ultimate gap to get his PGA Tour card. He made triple. In 2004 he missed by a single shot when his birdie putt at No. 18 burned the sting. There have been loads of eyeballs on O’Neal, a promising black golfer who’d ripped off wins at Jackson State in school and even earned some funding {dollars} from actor Will Smith. However whereas he made it to the perimeter of golf’s high ranges, he may by no means appear to crack by means of.

O’Neal performed on a number of iterations of the PGA Tour’s high feeder tour, incomes standing on the Purchase.com Tour, which grew to become the Nationwide Tour, which grew to become the Internet.com Tour, which is now the Korn Ferry Tour. He gained and misplaced that standing a number of instances and stuffed the in-between years in tournaments and mini-tours close to dwelling and in far-flung locations. There have been instances he was tempted to give up however he by no means did; by 2013 he was one of many older gamers on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica however discovered some magic that season, profitable twice. There have been at all times sufficient indicators that his sport was there to maintain going, and the final time O’Neal received a PGA Tour-sanctioned occasion was in 2016 at Casa de Campo within the Dominican Republic, which was a PGA Tour Latinoamerica occasion on the time.

Till Sunday, that’s.

O’Neal, who made it by means of PGA Tour Champions Q-Faculty final yr, entered the ultimate spherical of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic three photographs off the lead. He was in good place for his greatest end of the season — he’d posted only a single high 10, a T7, in 23 begins in 2024 — however blew previous that purpose and fired the spherical of the week as a substitute, a seven-under 65 punctuated by birdies on 16 and 18 to win his first PGA Tour Champions title by two.

O’Neal was emotional in his post-round interview as he tried to course of the second in real-time.

“It solely takes one week, proper? And this was my week,” he mentioned.

If he struggled to make sense of the accomplishment, that was comprehensible. O’Neal now has one thing he’s been chasing for many years: stability. He earned $350,000 for the win. He plowed his solution to the subsequent spherical of the Charles Schwab playoffs. And he locked up his job for subsequent season, too.

“You recognize, I like all these guys out right here and I’ve discovered a lot the previous two years enjoying out right here on PGA Tour Champions,” he mentioned when requested in regards to the gamers who’d caught round to congratulate him. “For them to really feel that approach for me, it means lots as a result of I really feel like now that I’ve received, I really feel like I belong.”

Perseverance and reward — that’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who received the week?

J.T. Poston received the Shriners Kids’s Open, his third PGA Tour title and first as a father.

Hannah Inexperienced joined elite firm together with her third win of the season on the BMW Girls Championship in South Korea, becoming a member of Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda within the three-plus group.

Julien Guerrier received the Estrella Damm Andalucia Masters, claiming his first DP World Tour victory practically 20 years after turning professional. It took a par on the ninth playoff hole to get there.

MJ Maguire received the Asian Tour’s Black Mountain Championship in a playoff.

And Tim O’Neal‘s big win received him to the subsequent spherical of the playoffs.

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NOT-WINNERS

A number of guys who didn’t win.

Gary Woodland completed T9 on the Shriners, his second consecutive top-20 and his greatest outcome since mind surgical procedure 13 months in the past. He’s feeling better, he said, and that’s mirrored in his play.

Michael Kim, a Tour winner who’s develop into well-known for his Twitter presence, fired a Sunday 62 — low spherical of the day by two — to dramatically improve his probabilities at retaining full PGA Tour standing for 2025. He went from No. 129 to 112 with the T5 end.

“I imply, it’s superior. It’s not a enormous monkey off my again, however a decent-sized one,” Kim mentioned. Appears fairly enormous to me.

Along with Kim’s Sunday transfer, Matti Schmid and Rico Hoey shot Sunday 66s to lock up their PGA Tour playing cards for subsequent yr; they went from 105 and 102 to 84 and 83, respectively.

Others making strikes: Woodland moved from No. 148 to 137 along with his T9 end. Alejandro Tosti additionally completed T9 to maneuver from No. 136 to 127. Joe Highsmith jumped contained in the quantity, at the least for now, going from No. 133 to 125. Vince Whaley improved his quantity from 125 to No. 120.

Joel Dahmen fell exterior the highest 125 after a high-profile penalty-WD combo; he’s now projected at No. 129. And Daniel Berger slipped from 126 to 128 after a T39.

SHORT HITTERS

5 issues to know, in short.

1. May the PGA of America promote the Ryder Cup? Golfweek columnist Eamon Lynch made that case here, suggesting it may fetch extra from the newly former PGA Tour Enterprises group now than ever. If that’s a chance, it’s truthful to place in your tinfoil hat and join the dots to the Cup’s $750 ticket costs. May proving demand for top costs and producing a ton of income have the side-benefit of jacking up the occasion’s buy value…?

2. Cognizant is out because the sponsor of the LPGA’s Founders Cup, per reporting from Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols. The occasion was based in 2011 as a solution to honor the legacies of the LPGA’s 13 founders and, with Cognizant’s assist, quickly boasted a $3 million purse. Now its future is in query. Nichols additionally writes that the Ford Championship in Arizona and the Portland Traditional face sponsorship questions — although Black Desert is predicted so as to add a big-money occasion to the calendar. Good learn here.

3. LIV is in search of a brand new CEO to interchange Greg Norman, per Sports Business Journal; they’ve enlisted an government search agency to help within the course of. Norman is predicted to stick with the league, although his position shouldn’t be instantly clear. Some high-profile gamers together with PGA Tour professionals Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy plus LIV star Jon Rahm have suggested that Norman would wish to step apart for negotiations on professional golf’s future to meaningfully progress.

4. TGL released its schedule for early 2025; issues will kick off on Tuesday, Jan. 7 on ESPN in primetime with a showdown between New York Golf Membership and The Bay Golf Membership. Tickets for the 1500-person South Florida enviornment are going off at $160.

5. Wyndham Clark defined that PGA Tour gamers have been battling the mechanics of LIV professionals probably rejoining the league.

“If we 100% knew we may take the cash and are available again, then all of us would have accomplished that,” Clark mentioned on the No Laying Up podcast this week. “As a result of all of us would’ve been approach richer and then you definately come again and really play on the highest stage.”

He intimated that, had been it as much as him, achieved professionals like Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson would be capable to return. However he additionally didn’t recommend that negotiations are nearing any kind of end line.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

There’s extra to life than birdies. Kinda.

J.T. Poston had missed quick putts on 16 and 17, reducing his lead over Doug Ghim from 4 photographs to 2. Then Ghim birdied 18 and out of the blue Poston confronted a must-make four-footer.

“Yeah, I informed myself that is what you dream of. You bought a putt to win on the PGA Tour. Simply try to neglect in regards to the final two. Didn’t make superb strokes on both of them, however I informed myself I’ve made one million of those and simply do yet one more.”

He buried it.

ONE BIG QUESTION

Who’s becoming a member of LIV subsequent?

There are extra questions than solutions in terms of LIV’s 2025 rosters, however we discovered just a few extra issues this week.

Sergio Garcia told GolfMagic that Eugenio Chacarra shouldn’t be within the crew’s plans for 2025; Chacarra completed thirty ninth in LIV’s standings and his subsequent cease is unsure. Garcia hinted that he’s hoping so as to add “somewhat little bit of a unique profile form of participant,” which suggests there’s a selected goal in thoughts. One rumored chance: U.S. Novice champ (and present Arizona State Solar Satan) Jose Luis Ballester. Ballester’s longtime coach is Garcia’s father, Victor, and Ballester has spoken highly of Sergio’s mentorship.

Jon Rahm has a spot to fill on his Legion XIII crew after Kieran Vincent was relegated. He told Golf Sin Etiquetas on YouTube that, whereas he doesn’t but have a participant signed, he has “six or seven in thoughts.”

Rahm mentioned that one professional he’d been contemplating was Spanish and within the DP World Tour subject this week. He additionally urged {that a} Callaway staffer could be an excellent match as he desires of a sponsored crew. Angel Hidalgo, a Spanish professional who edged out Rahm in a playoff a pair weeks in the past, looks like one potential candidate; Rahm has seen his sport up shut (though he performs Cobra and wears Puma).

John Catlin continued his run of stellar play on the Asian Tour with a runner-up end on the Black Mountain Championship; he’s in place to earn a LIV spot, too, if he maintains his No. 1 Worldwide Collection rating.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Michael Greller talks Spieth.

We’ve usually heard Jordan Spieth speak to Michael Greller. We’ve even sometimes heard Greller speak to Spieth. But it surely’s not usually we’ve heard Greller speak about Spieth. However then he received some ice cream with our Claire Rogers, which suggests right here’s your likelihood.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday End HQ.

Gamble Sands is arguably Washington’s hottest destination-style golf course. Now? It’ll be twice nearly as good. The resort introduced David McLay-Kidd again for a sequel and so he and affiliate Nick Schaan have delivered to life “Scarecrow,” the property’s second full 18-hole course (there’s additionally a 14-hole quick course).

The brand new course is on a extra compact footprint, it’s hillier, it has much more expansive views of the close by Columbia River and, though it’ll nonetheless boast beneficiant fairways, small greens may make it more durable than the unique. Hope to see you there when it opens in 2025.

However first, I’ll see you again right here subsequent week!

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Dylan Dethier welcomes your feedback at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

Dylan Dethier

Golf.com Editor

Dylan Dethier is a senior author for GOLF Journal/GOLF.com. The Williamstown, Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a graduate of Williams School, the place he majored in English, and he’s the creator of 18 in America, which particulars the yr he spent as an 18-year-old dwelling from his automotive and enjoying a spherical of golf in each state.