Over in Scotland they might have said “play on” but not in Belleair, Florida where the effects from Hurricane Nicole dropped a lot of wind and rain on the Pelican Golf Club and the rest of the Tampa Bay area.
The storm moved in overnight Wednesday and on Thursday morning, loads of rain and wind showed up. The LPGA Tour didn’t waste anytime. It did away with Thursday’s planned first round of the Pelican Championship and cut the Tour’s next-to-last event of the season to 54-holes.
The first round of the Pelican Women’s Championship will begin no earlier than Friday at 6:55 a.m. (ET),” the LPGA said in an email statement. “Friday morning’s forecast from our on-site meteorologist, who is constantly monitoring the latest data, includes a chance of a lingering thunderstorm. The Friday forecast is thankfully trending in a positive direction, and we will share additional information with you as soon as we can.”
The field on Friday will face limited daylight with sunset around 5:40 p.m. (ET).
This is the last stop before next week’s season finale in Naples — the CME Tour Championship.
Weather Update: By Thursday afternoon, the heaviest rains moved out leaving some strong breezes to help dry things out.
LIV Looking To Replace Greg Norman?:
It sounds like the LIV circus/exhibition is beginning to realize that, indeed, Greg Norman is The Lamest Commissioner In All The Land.
Per The Telegraph in London, that could transpire sooner than later.
James Corrigan published a story on Thursday regarding the future leadership for LIV. Corrigan says that LIV is pursuing Mark King to be their CEO.
King is a former CEO of TaylorMade. He formerly was the CEO of Adidas and is currently the CEO of Taco Bell.
King is a former college golfer who maintains a high interest in the sport and is a scratch golfer. Corrigan says King has attended several LIV events this year.
It sounds like LIV is looking for someone less controversial/combative to replace Norman and King would fit that bill.
Gary Koch, Roger Maltbie Out At NBC:
NBC is cutting two long-standing names from its golf broadcast lineup for 2023.
Lead analyst Gary Koch and on-course reporter Roger Maltbie won’t be back.
Age may have played a part. Maltbie is 71, Koch 69. NBC said it made the move to “refresh” its lineup.
Maltbie has covered golf for NBC Sports since 1992, while Koch began full-time with the network in 1997. Both won multiple times as players on the PGA Tour.
“Either you decide that that’s it and I don’t want to do it anymore, or it gets decided for you,” Maltbie said this week. “In this case it got decided for me, and I’ve got no axe to grind. I mean, 31 years, not too many guys last that long doing this stuff.”
Koch simply said, “It’s been a good run.”
Ryan Fox Gunning To Pass Rory McIlroy With Nedbank Win:
Rory McIlroy is the leader in the Race To Dubai standings but New Zealander Ryan Fox has a chance to pass him come Sunday.
Fox fashioned a nifty eight-under par 64 on Thursday at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City (South Africa) and was the day one leader at the Nedbank Challenge.
Fox began the week second on the DP World Tour Rankings, having already claimed two victories in a stellar 2022 season. If he can add another win this week, he will overtake leader McIlroy ahead of the season finale in Dubai next week.
“I couldn’t have wished for a better start,” Fox said after his round. “I figure if you can get to double digits under par around here for the most part you’re going to be pretty close come Sunday. To be most of the way there after the first round is pretty nice. This is a hard golf course to keep your foot on the gas. It’s going to come back and bite you at some point.”
Right behind Fox was the new European Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald. Donald put together a flawless 65 with seven birdies, no bogeys to sit alone in second behind Fox.
Friday Update: Heavy rains cause flooding on the course and wiped out the second round action.
Charlie Woods Finishes 11th At Notah Begay’s Junior Championship:
Charlie Woods is getting more than his share of attention. He’d probably finish right behind his father if he were eligible for the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program.
Charlie’s a media star and rightfully so. He shot rounds of 72-69-71 for a one-under par 213 and finished 11th in the boys 12-13 age group at the Notah Begay III National Junior Championship in Louisiana.
Cole Kim from La Crescenta, Ca., blew away the 12-13 division, shooting 15-under par at Koasati Pines. He had rounds of 64-66-68.
Next event for Charlie will be the PNC Championship in Orlando next month where he will team with his father.
Angel Cabrera Won’t Be At Masters Champions Dinner:
Not sure if The Masters will address an invited to the prison in Argentina but Angel Cabrera won’t be able to attend anyway.
Cabrera was convicted for assaulting an ex-partner for a second time on Monday, according to Agence France Presse. The 53-year-old received an additional two years and four months of prison time for assaulting Micaela Escudero.
Cabrera is still serving a two-year sentence for assaulting, threatening and harassing Cecilia Torres Mana, who was Cabrera’s partner between 2016 and 2018. The latest sentence will run concurrently with the first one, which was handed down last July.
“Many say prison is bad, but it’s not the case, prison has done me good,” Cabrera said at the trial, according to local press.
After being accused of assault by both former partners—as well as by ex-wife Silva Rivadero—Cabrera was arrested in Rio de Janeiro last January before being extradited to his native Argentina in June.
