This week, golf feels a little less tidy than usual. Tours drifting apart. Ryder Cup tension bubbling early. Creators stepping onto PGA Tour tee boxes. And power quietly shifting behind the scenes. The lines that used to define the game are getting harder to spot.
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🧨 Ryder Cup tension is already bubbling
Rory McIlroy has warned that the gap between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf may now be too wide to realistically close. With Ryder Cup selection tied closely to DP World Tour commitment, the tension is no longer theoretical. Fines, eligibility and loyalty are all back on the table. Adare Manor might feel a long way off, but the politics have already started.
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🔥 Grant Horvat is (kinda) @ the AmEx
Grant Horvat is on site at The American Express this week, which understandably sparked plenty of excitement.
The key detail → he’s playing in the pro-am, not the full PGA Tour field. You won’t see him on the leaderboard, but you will see him inside the ropes, creating content around one of the Tour’s biggest stops. |
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📊 Leaderboard update
PGA Tour ➜ The American Express (USA)
Co-leaders after Round 1 at -10: 🇺🇸 Pierson Coody & 🇦🇺 Lee Min Woo Tied 3rd at -9: 🇺🇸 Patrick Cantlay and three others
DP World Tour ➜ Dubai Desert Classic (UAE)
Leader after Round 2 at -9: 🇺🇸 Patrick Reed 2nd at -8: 🇸🇪 Mikael Lindberg |
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🎯 LPGA hires Dude Perfect’s brand chief
The LPGA has named Chad Coleman as its new Chief Marketing Officer, starting February 3. Coleman joins from Dude Perfect, where he helped grow the brand to 120m+ followers and oversaw content with 20bn+ views. The hire comes at a time when the LPGA’s on-course product is strong, but its digital reach still lags well behind other major sports properties. This feels like a serious attempt to fix that.
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🔁 Harold Varner III moves to Smash GC
Harold Varner III has joined Smash GC after spending 2025 with 4Aces GC. Varner has been part of LIV Golf since 2022 and picked up his first individual win in 2023 at LIV Golf DC, highlighted by a hole-out bunker birdie mid-round on his way to a one-shot victory. Last season, he quietly put together a steady run of form, finishing inside the top 10 on four occasions. Do you actually care about these team switches?
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🧰 PGA Show spillover
Orlando did what Orlando always does. Lots of new gear. Lots of tech. Lots of brands shouting for attention. The big takeaway this year felt less about one standout product and more about where golf is heading. More tech-led. More lifestyle-driven. And very clearly more focused on the everyday golfer. We’ll see what actually sticks once the season gets going.
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That’s it for this week. A Ryder Cup warning. A creator teeing it up on Tour. Team switches. And a reminder that golf doesn’t sit neatly in boxes anymore.
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Team Zire
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