Teeing Up This Week’s Breaking News - February 3

Reporting live from the first hole, where we are ready to tee off and hammer away with this week’s breaking news in the vast green landscape of golf. My name is Tessa Lapradez, and I am here to give you an update about the sport and all things golf on and off the court. With the 2024 end-of-the-year TV deal secured between LIV and FOX Sports and the debut of TGL, this is the year of innovation for golf. Off into the course we go! 

Championship Clothing:

Malbon debuted their new collaboration with Willie Nelson, the acclaimed outlaw musician and longtime golfer. The apparel line includes a Texas-centric t-shirt, straw hat, and simplified polo. Ranging from $68 to $118, the pricey pieces are a blend of what Malbon calls Nelson’s “iconic bandana and braids look.” The collaboration melds together the worlds of golf and country.

Leaders for the Long Game:

There is nothing golfers hate more than playing a slow round of golf.

Dottie Pepper, former LPGA pro turned golf broadcaster, was not shy in expressing her disdain for the slow pace of play in a passionate rant on air recently. While covering the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open, Pepper called pace of play a form of “respect.”

The PGA Tour, during a “Fan Forward” initiative ,   said  that it is looking to address  the longstanding issue by possibly enacting violations, adding a shot clock, or implementing more rangefinders to speed up the round. 

Speeding up each group’s pace will also help to engage fans like me, who cannot stand waiting for a group to tee off for long periods of time.

Range of Recoveries:

The world number one is back!

Following a night of making ravioli that resulted in a hand injury, 2024 Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler will return to the course at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Now, how exactly did ravioli contribute to Scheffler missing the world stage for a few tournaments?

The golfer says  that he didn’t have the right tools to cut the pasta, so he used a wine glass. Then he said, “It broke and the stem kind of got me in the hand.”   a relatable story, but  an unfortunate incident for the world-class golfer who wants to maintain his reign.

Rory McIlroy joined in the conversation, saying that he wondered why Scheffler was cooking for himself. But I say, why blame the man for wanting to have any sense of normalcy?