Monday, July 1st, 2024 Edition

Balls & Bogeys - Your Golf news update July 1, 2024

Cam Davis wins 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, earns second victory in Detroit

– by Adam Schupak / Golfweek

Per Adam: “Cam Davis loves the Motor City. The Australian has two career PGA Tour titles to his credit after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the second time…”

B&B POV: Why hasn’t Cam Davis won more on tour? And, when he has won, why has it been in the Rocket Mortgage Classic played at Detroit G.C.? A course that is tiiight. I get the ‘horses for courses’ proverb, but DGC is not, at least statistically wise, a good fit for the lanky Aussie. He ranks 58th in driving accuracy on tour and 47th in total driving.

A win is a win and Cam delivered yesterday. That’s Cam Davis. Not to be confused with Cam Young, who Choker Aced once again. And poor Akshay who’s hotter than hot right now. That 4-footer he missed on 18 to get into a playoff is going to sting for minute.

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Tiger Mania II? In 2 years, the U.S. Senior Open could be must-see TV as Tiger goes for history

– by Adam Schupak / Golfweek

Per Adam: “The U.S. Senior Open is being held at a fantastic venue this week at Newport Country Club in Rhose Island, but two years from now it will take on an entirely different profile at the Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio…”

B&B POV: If you’ve never witnessed it in person, Tiger Mania is a real thing. Sure, you’ve all seen it on TV, but being part of a Tiger gallery in any event he tees it up in is crazy. Five fans deep along the fairways. Ten fans deep up near the green. Constant noise. Deafening cheers. Palpable anxiety with every step he takes.

When he inevitably tees it up in a 50+ event, that event will see its average daily attendance grow by 10x. Hospitality sales will soar. It’ll be cool, even for Tiger. But here’s the biggest crux of all: How “all-in” should any tourney commit to, praying that he’ll be teeing it up? Injuries happen.

Even if he’s committed to show, there’s always the chance he never puts a peg in the ground. He’s one false step away from his umpteenth back surgery. Heck, at this year’s Genesis he dropped out because he pounded a double, double animal style, and his tummy took a turn for the worse. Risky business for tournament directors everywhere.

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WITB Winner’s Bag: Tyrrell Hatton, 2024 LIV Golf Nashville

– Thomas Hamden / Balls & Bogeys

Per Thomas: Cam Davis is our first WITB anomaly of the year. Not because he’s a full bag Titleist tour player. We’ve seen that. Not because he’s a first-time tour winner like how Robert MacIntyre was a few weeks back (another Titleist player). Nope. Yesterday was his 2nd tour victory. He’s an anomaly in that his current stats on tour are universally putrid – In a “how did he even put himself in position to win a tournament?” sort of way.

In 17 events played this season, he hadn’t cracked the top 10 until yesterday. He doesn’t rank inside the top 115 in any major strokes gained statistic on tour. The only positive result we can uncover is his T-12 in the Masters, which does get him an auto-invite back into the field in ’25. But that’s it…

Cam’s Golf Gear:

DRIVER: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 7 X shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist TSR3 (15 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 8 X shaft

IRONS: Titleist T100 (3), 620 CB (4-PW), with KBS Tour V 120 X shafts

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts

PUTTER: Scotty Cameron TourType Special Select Masterful tour prototype

BALLS: Titleist Pro V1

Check out our Best Golf Drivers 2024 edition.

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PAYDAY! 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic Prize Money Payouts

– by Thomas Hamden / Balls & Bogeys

Per Thomas: The Rocket Mortgage Classic had a modest purse if you take into consideration the PGA TOUR has eight Signature events, The Players, two playoff events, and the Tour Championship all with purses greater than $20,000,000. As do the four majors.

So at $9.2M, the Rocket Mortgage featured the 3rd highest purse of the 23 lower-level tour events.

In addition to adding a 2nd tour victory and a corresponding trophy to his Man’s Cave, Cam Davis pocketed a cool $1.6M yesterday. Not quite 50% what a winner of a Signature event takes home. Though, that’s still a lot of meat to eat…

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BEN JARED/PGA TOUR VIA GETTY IMAGES

Tour Confidential: A surprising finish in Detroit, LIV Golf’s TV (and venue) future

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss the wild finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Seth Waugh’s surprising PGA departure, LIV’s TV (and venue) future and more.

B&B POV:

Is Akshay golf’s youngest rising talent? He’s good, no question. But a star? That’s a stretch. Now if he starts smoking mid-round darts like burgeoning LPGA star Charley Hull, and closes the deal more frequently on Sundays, there’s no turning back.

What’s holding back Cameron Young from winning on tour? Like Finau before him, he’s got swagger in spades and prodigious length, but he’s an average putter (and a bit of a hot head) and hasn’t learned how to close. Finau figured it out and had a run of wins. Cameron oozes potential. Let’s goooo!

What was Seth Waugh’s most important contribution to golf while at the helm of the PGA of America? He turned the two-day Block Party into a 12-month rager helping to shine a bright light on what being a PGA professional entails. That visibility has led to more young people turning to golf as a profession.

Are bleachers too close to the action at professional golf tournaments? Nah. Fans should always come first. Period.

LIV still struggles growing it’s TV/streaming audience, and their streaming partner just shut down operations. Do fans of golf even care? Nope. As long as LIV’rs play enough golf to be competitive in the majors (Bryson!), that’s really all that LIV is good for at this time. One long range session.

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