LPGA Tour star Rose Zhang has become the latest sportsperson to financially back the TGL golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Zhang – just 21 but already a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour – has joined the ownership group of The Bay Golf Club, which already includes basketball legend Steph Curry. This is Zhang’s first venture into business investment.
The Bay Club’s roster features Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee and Ludvig Åberg, whose win in the Genesis Invitational moved the Swede up to a career-best fourth in the updated world rankings.
“This investment aligns with my goal to be the best golfer in the world while inspiring the next generation of players, especially youth golfers in California, where I grew up. Having athletes like Steph Curry, who exemplifies the values of work ethic, faith, and family that resonate with me, involved in this team made it an honour to have this opportunity as my first business investment,” said Zhang, who is currently ranked 14th on the Rolex world rankings.
Pádraig Harrington retains zest for tour life
Pádraig Harrington’s zest for tour life hasn’t abated, judging by the 53-year-old Dubliner’s crisscrossing of time zones in playing on different tours this season.
The three-time Major champion is living by the old proverb that variety is the spice, following up on his early season endeavours – which took him to the UAE and Bahrain on the DP World Tour followed a fourth straight week when playing in the Hassan II Trophy on the Champions Tour – by flying out to Mexico for this week’s Mexico Open on the PGA Tour.
Harrington is the lone Irish player in the field in Mexico, as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry take time out before the Arnold Palmer Invitational, while Séamus Power (who is not yet exempt into the API, the fourth of the PGA Tour’s signature events this season) is expected to play in next week’s Cognizant Classic.
Leona Maguire is also crisscrossing time zones this week, playing in the Honda Thailand Championship in Chonburi on the LPGA Tour, the first of the Asian Swing events that also features tournaments in Singapore and China.
On the DP World Tour, there are two Irish players – Conor Purcell and Dermot McElroy – competing in the Magical Kenya Open in Nairobi.
Word of Mouth
“Part of playing late in the day on Sunday is distractions. You get drones, fans, there’s all kinds of stuff going on ... I think having the ability to refocus is always one of my strengths” – Scottie Scheffler on outside noise being part and parcel of the final day at golf tournaments. Scheffler’s tied-third place finish behind Ludvig Aberg in The Genesis further strengthened his lead over Xander Schauffele in the world rankings.
By the Numbers: 6,097
That’s the number of days which Justin Leonard had gone without winning, dating back to his 2008 FedEx St Jude Championship win on the PGA Tour. On Sunday, the 52-year-old snapped that winless streak with a victory in the Chubb Classic on the Champions Tour, as he birdied five of his last seven holes for a closing 68 for 201 (-15) and a four-stroke margin over runner-up Billy Andrade.
On this day: February 18th, 2007
Charles Howell III didn’t make things easy for himself en route to finally claiming a second career win on the PGA Tour, finally getting his hands on some silverware with a play-off win over Phil Mickelson in the Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Howell turned pro in 2000 and won his breakthrough event in the 2002 Michelob Championship, only to find it difficult to add to his CV: he’d had nine runner-up finishes since that tour win before finally getting over the line again, defeating Lefty at the third playoff hole after making up a three-shot deficit in the final round.
In shooting a final round 65 for a total of 16-under-par 268 to tie Mickelson, Howell finally claimed career win number two with a par on the par 3 14th, the third hole of sudden death. “I said a prayer before I hit the putt. I said, ‘It’s time, let’s go in’.”
The Social Game
That feeling of being in the mix on a Sunday is why we work so hard. It wasn’t my day but my game is in a good spot. Congratulations to @justinleonard02! Huge thanks to @robwattsperformance and @arizonasportsclink for our work in @theabacoclub the week before the @chubbclassic. And to @philkenyonputting for the tempostik+ and @labgolfputters for the new OZ1 putter – Darren Clarke, after finishing third behind Justin Leonard in the Chubb Classic on the Champions Tour.
Congratulations to Ludvig Aberg on winning The Genesis Invitational. Thank you @GenesisUSA and all the players who participated this week. To the City of San Diego, thank you for the hospitality at Torrey. My @TGRLiveEvents and @tgrfound teams had a short runway to relocate the event and I’m proud of what they were able to accomplish with the help of many. Our support continues to go out to those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. See you next year at Riviera for the 2026 Genesis Invitational – Tournament host Tiger Woods.
The drive for excellence knows no bounds. Congratulations to our newest Merecedes-Benz brand ambassador @luddeaberg on his victory at Torrey Pines – German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz’s social media account gives Aberg the checkered flag.
In the Bag
Ludvig Aberg - Genesis Invitational
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees – Rounds 1,2,3);Titleist TSR2 R4 (9 degrees – Round 4)
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (21 degrees)
Irons: Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50, 54 and 60 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Versa #1
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Know the Rules
Q In stroke play, a player swings at and misses a wrong ball. What is the ruling?
A The player gets two penalty strokes but the actual missed stroke does not count. This situation is covered by Rule 6.3c: Since the player made a stroke at a wrong ball, they get the General Penalty, but the stroke does not count.
