The Friday Cut: Rahm pulls out of TGL, Boutier, Valimaki, LIV exemptions and Mexico
Jon Rahm of Spain celebrates making a putt for birdie on the 18th green during the final round of the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course) on June 20, 2021 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images).
Welcome to ‘The Friday Cut’, your weekly round-up of the top stories across the professional tours.
After a brief hiatus, following an incredible couple of weeks for Team Europe, we are back with another edition of The Friday Cut. As you might expect, plenty has happened in the world of golf, and we are here to summarise some of the top stories from the past week. With big news coming out of the highly anticipated TGL golf league, and yet another win for one of the hottest players on the planet right now, here are the headlines that have made the cut.
Jon Rahm pulls out of TGL
For anyone who is not abreast of developments surrounding the new tech-inspired golf league, the TGL is the latest venture launched by none other than GOATs of the game Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Despite initially being one of the first to sign up, Ryder Cup star Jon Rahm has this week withdrawn from proceedings.
The Spaniard explained his decision on social media, writing “I am sad to confirm I will not be participating in the first season. Right now it would require a level of commitment I can’t offer”.
With fourteen of the top-20 golfers in the world teeing it up, there has been plenty of hype ahead of the inaugural event on Tuesday 9th January 2024.
The purpose-built Florida venue awaits as six teams of four compete against each other in one of the most hotly anticipated developments in the game of golf since a certain breakaway tour a few years ago.
Celine Boutier continues dream run with sixth title
Celine Boutier was in the winners circle once again last week, as she won the inaugural Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpar.
A 9-hole playoff was needed to separate Boutier from Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, with each player making six pars and two birdies in the first eight holes. A closing birdie for Boutier sealed the win in what turned out to be the second longest sudden-death playoff in LPGA history.
After becoming the first player to win four times in one season, the recent major champion said “This year has definitely been unbelievable for me”, adding “I couldn’t be happier with the way this season is going”.
With three more LPGA tournaments scheduled for 2023, this mesmeric run may not be over yet and I defy anyone to tell me a player in world golf who has had a better year than six-time winner and Solheim Cup champion, Celine Boutier.
Valimaki takes the title in Qatar
As we roll on towards the illustrious DP World Tour Championship, the race is hotting up for those players who want to tee it up at the most lucrative event on the DP World Tour.
One player who did himself plenty of favours this week is Finland’s Sami Valimaki, after securing a play-off victory over Spain’s Jorge Campillo in Qatar.
The Qatar Masters comes as Valimaki’s second DP World Tour win, providing a 23 place boost in the Race to Dubai rankings.
A strong performance from Ryder Cup hero Bob MacIntyre also sees him jump into the top-10 in the race, which is led by reigning champion Rory McIlroy.
With just one event to be played before we descend on Dubai, time is running out for those wishing to have a crack at dethroning the Northern Irishman.
No plans to create exemptions for LIV Golfers at majors
The endeavours of LIV Golf to provide exemptions for its members into the Masters and the Open Championship appear to be in vain as the door is slammed shut by the organisers.
Due to the absence of world ranking points available for LIV golfers, many on the tour have called for exemptions to be created, but R&A chief Martin Slumbers has denied that discussions are being held.
“I would like to make it very clear that exemptions for the Open, we do not discuss them with anyone and nor would we at any point”.
Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley also quashed expectations, stating that there is unlikely to be a change in the way that players qualify for the event.
Coming up this weekend…
On the PGA Tour, we head to Mexico for the World Wide Technologies Championship. A fast start by Australian Cameron Percy sets the pace, with plenty of talent stacked up behind including a resurgent Cameron Young.
The LPGA Tour lands in Japan this week, for the Toto Japan Classic. With ten of the top-15 in the leaderboard after round one being Japanese, this could be a great week for the home crowds.