Morning 9: Rahm’s hot Ryder Cup take | Zhang’s new caddie | Poults backs Rahm

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Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the Memorial Tournament.

SkySports report…”Jon Rahm believes that LIV golfers should be allowed to play in the Ryder Cup later this year and that politics should stop “getting in the way” of the event.”

• “Speaking ahead of this week’s Memorial Tournament, Rahm advocated for Team Europe to be made up of he best 12 golfers, regardless of which Tour they play on.”

• “…It’s a little sad to me that politics have gotten in the way of such a beautiful event,” said Rahm.

• “Again, it’s the best Europeans against the best Americans, period. And whatever is going on, who is playing LIV and who is not playing LIV to me shouldn’t matter.

• “It’s whoever is best suited to represent the European side.”

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Putting together the pieces of next year’s reimagined schedule is turning out to be as challenging as many imagined as evidenced by a “sample” of the 2024 lineup the PGA Tour is circulating to players and managers.”

• “The sample schedule is a broad outline of what next year might look like as the circuit transitions back to a calendar year lineup and a better flow to the new designated-event structure.”

• “…Commissioner Jay Monahan told reporters earlier this month that the goal is to avoid leaving non-designated events isolated between designated events, like this year’s Honda Classic, and the three-week, elevated break after the Genesis Invitational would likely include the West Palm Beach, Florida, event (which has not named a replacement sponsor for Honda), an event in Mexico and a third tournament.”

• “…Perhaps one of the more dramatic changes to the current schedule would be the run up to the U.S. Open, which includes the Memorial, played June 6-9. Jack Nicklaus’ tournament has been played the week after Memorial Day (the last Monday of May) since the mid-1990s. The sample schedule features three consecutive designated events – Memorial, U.S. Open (June 13-16) and the Travelers Championship (June 20-23).”

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…”Rose Zhang makes her professional debut at this week’s LPGA Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National, and she’ll have a veteran caddie by her side.”

• “Jason Gilroyed, who most recently worked for Minjee Lee for five seasons, will be part of Zhang’s team as she makes the transition from Stanford.”

AP report…”Fred Biondi shot a 3-under 67 and rallied from a five-shot deficit in the final round to earn Florida’s third individual men’s NCAA golf championship on Monday.”

• “Biondi shot 2-under 35 on the front nine at Grayhawk Golf Club and was three back after a bogey on No. 12. The senior from Brazil birdied the par-4 14th and closed with four straight pars, two-putting from 50 feet on No. 18 to finish at 7 under.”

• “Biondi joins Bob Murphy (1966) and Nick Gilliam (2001) as national champions at Florida.”

Golf Channel’s Max Schreiber…”After more than 300 days, Daniel Berger is returning to competition.”

• “The four-time PGA Tour winner is planning to tee it up in U.S. Open final qualifying at Pine Tree Golf Club in Boynton Beach, Florida, on June 5. He has a 7:35 a.m. ET tee time to start the 36-hole event.”

• “The last time Berger, 30, played competitively was in the second round of the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline. He shot a 75 to miss the cut by two strokes.”

• “A back injury then forced him to shelve his clubs…”

Ed Carruthers for Golf Monthly…”Ludvig Aberg has sensationally made history securing a PGA Tour Card after he claimed the No 1 spot on the PGA Tour University rankings on Monday.”

• “The 23-year-old Swedish golfer clinched the top spot in the NCAA D-I National Championship after a year-long tournament that culminated at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.”

Bob Harig for SI…”Jack Nicklaus sent a letter of congratulations to Brooks Koepka following his PGA Championship win, telling him “it was a great competition,” and that he “played well and deserved it.”

• “But when asked if Nicklaus is sorry not to see Koepka or reigning British Open champion Cam Smith competing at the Memorial Tournament this week, the Golden Bear did not hesitate.”

• “I don’t really consider those guys part of the game anymore; and I don’t mean that in a nasty way … or really mean it that way,” Nicklaus told a few reporters Tuesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “To me, this is a PGA Tour event and we’ve got the best field we can possibly have on the PGA Tour. Those who are eligible to be here. The other guys made a choice to go where they went. We don’t really talk about it.”

• Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!