Woodland, Mullinax lead

Golf fans, it’s Friday morning! Trey Mullinax (left) and Gary Woodland (right) share the lead following day one of CJ Cup.

1. According to NGF reports, Hurricane Ian caused damage to more than 1,000 golf courses

Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press…”According to the National Golf Foundation report, 1,119 golf facilities were impacted by Ian’s wind and storm surge. This number represents 8% of all golf courses in the country.

• “Almost six out of six were affected by hurricane force winds, and many of them, especially in the Fort Myers area are still closed or partially closed.”

2. CJ Cup Round 1: Woodland Mullinax, Kim, and Rory begin strong

Doug Ferguson from AP Tom Kim was as interested in the CJ Cup as he was in the game, and was amazed by how Rory McIlroy can produce so much power with such little effort.

• “Kim was not too bad for himself.”

• They were the stars of a beautiful morning at Congaree Golf Club. One was pursuing the No. The world number one ranking and the other, a 20-year old who is rapidly becoming one of his peers.

• “Trey Mullinax, former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland had 6-under 65s.” McIlroy, Kim and Rickie Fowler were in the same group.

3. Holder of the ROY award

Jeff Babineau for PGATour.com…”Cameron Young now has a trophy to hold as a reward for his impressive debut campaign on the PGA TOUR. Young was a five-time runner up last season and received the Arnold Palmer Award Wednesday as the 2022 PGA TOUR Rookie Of The Year.”

• “Both Young & Palmer were Wake Forest alums. Webb Simpson, another former Demon Deacon and Young’s recipient of the Palmer Award in 2019, presented the trophy to Young. Simpson and Im walked through the side entrance of the media center to deliver the news.

• Young, seated in his chair, grinned, and his parents sat at the back of the room. Young is following Will Zalatoris (his former Wake Forest roommate) in receiving the award. This is the first time that two players from the same school have won back-to-back the top rookie award.”

• Young said, “Well, that’s very special.” He had a pair third-place performances, including the PGA Championship, to go along with his five runner up showings. This included a solo second at Open Championship. Young was 18th in the FedExCup final standings.

• He said, “I know that Arnold Palmer was a giant in golf. We have him to credit for a lot.” It’s very special to be able to make a small contribution. It was a strong class, and it was voted on by our peers. So it’s an honor to be thought about in that manner, to finish the year that way.

4. LACC wins another U.S. Open

AP report …”The Los Angeles Country Club will host another U.S. Open, before it holds its first. The course is located on the edge in Beverly Hills.

• “The club’s North golf course will host its first U.S. Open this June. On Wednesday, the USGA announced that the U.S. Open would return in 2039. LACC will host the U.S. Women’s Open in 2032.”

5. LPGA’s LA Championship purse has been doubled to $3,000,000 for 2023

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols The purse at the LPGA stop in Wilshire Country Club will increase by $2 million to $3,000,000 in 2023, thanks to new sponsors and titles. Outlyr and the LPGA have announced that the JM Eagle LA Championship presented By Plastpro will be held April 27-30, with 144 players.

• “The event’s prize pool is now the largest outside of the majors…JM Eagle was co-founded in 2008 by Walter Wang and is the world’s biggest plastic pipe manufacturer. Shirley Wang founded Plastpro, which is the largest manufacturer of fiberglass entry doors. Through their businesses and the Walter and Shirley Wang Foundation, the Wangs are active in philanthropic efforts around the globe.

• Mollie Marcoux Samaan, LPGA commissioner, stated that JM Eagle and Plastpro are delighted to be part of the LPGA Tour as well as our family title and presenting sponsor sponsors.

6. “Are You Watching This?”

Ross Kilvington, Golf Monthly Justin Thomas revealed that he was called by Tiger Woods about Fred Couples’ amazing round of 60 to win The SAS Championship on the PGA Tour Champions’.

• Thomas said, “Yeah, yeah. I was following a bit then I watched the Chiefs-Bills match and like I scheduled my entire day around it because it was so exciting.”

• Tiger called me on 17-18, and he said, “I believe he was playing 17-18.” I was like, Yes, it’s a pretty good game. He says, “No, Freddie’s 11 Under” and he’s 18 years old.

• “Last time I saw him, he looked like 9-10 under. He was winning by a million. Fred is my favorite, and I love Fred. But he was going win. I was more interested watching the football game. I switched it on, and he began to strip it from the 18-tee. He then stiffened his iron shot and made the putt.

7. Saudi Golf Executive backtracks

8. Robert Garrigus will not be receiving a Christmas gift from Billy Horschel

Report GolfWRX staff As the bitter rivalry between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour continues, more people are beginning to voice opinions about the affair that will continue for some time.

• Robert Garrigus, PGA Tour member, spoke out on The Grind podcast of the FirePit Collective. He made a wild prediction about the DP World Tour’s cancellation and reserved special criticism for Billy Horschel, an outspoken LIV critic.

• …”But Garrigus was really enraged by Billy Horschel’s podcast. He called him a “d *******g”, who doesn’t want to “shut up the fu*k”.

• “The d *******g Billy Horschel is a man who won’t let the fu*k out and it’s unbearable. Rory has taken a step back, Rahm too, because it’s not a fight they can win.

• “I don’t like guys talking about LIV guys on TV, but they won’t say that to me when they go on the driving range.” Grayson Murray is the only one who’s going to fight Grayson Murray on the driving range.

9. Two aces in four golf holes

• His nerves were still high. Marks, 68, had just recorded his first hole-in one in his 61-year career on his home course, Idlewild Country Club, Flossmoor. He wanted to make contact and was still shaken from his incredible feat only three holes earlier.

• “Little did they know, his round would get better,”

• Marks’ shot was also in the hole. Another ace. Two in four holes.”