“OFF the FRINGE”- Scottie Scheffler is on Fire!

Scheffler Puts on Back Nine Clinic

World number one Scottie Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at 15 under par beating Wyndham Clark by five shots and in my book, he put on a clinic over the back nine. Not just the final nine holes Sunday but all four days on the difficult Bay Hill Club course with scores of 35, 32, 32 and 32. That’s 13 under par for the four inward nines which means he was 2 under par for the week on the first nine. Like I said, a back nine clinic.

Vu Withdraws for Second Week

LPGA Tour star and Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings number one Lilia Vu has had a tough time on the Asian swing. After a T7 at the Honda LPGA Thailand she withdrew from the HSBC Women’s World Championship in the final round due to illness and this past week from the Blue Bay LPGA in China with an unspecific injury. The Tour returns to the U.S. March 21-24 Fir Hill Seri Pak Championship at Palos Verdes GC in Calif. Vu however must be pointing to her defense at the Chevron Championship April 18-21 as well as her defense at the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews Old Course Aug. 22-25.

Woods & Waugh Partner at Seminole

Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., is exclusive with a high-powered membership and Ben Hogan considered it to be his Southern sanctuary, often playing and practicing there. The club annually holds their Pro-Member one day event and for the first time Tiger Woods, who last played in public at the Genesis Invitational where he withdrew due to a case of the flu, partnered with PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. They finished in a tie for 40th place six strokes behind the winners Frank Edwards and Mackenzie Hughes. Tiger fans are waiting to see if Woods will next play in the Masters though it’s very likely he will.

LIV Golf Says So Long to World Ranking Points

Greg Norman, LIV Golf CEO, has given up trying to get Official World Golf Ranking points for his players, points which are among the criteria to gain invitations to major championships and the Olympics. Norman said in a letter to the LIV players they had worked hard to gain status, but the OWGR board had not cooperated. OWGR has said all along that LIV’s 54-hole tournaments of only 54 players and no cut was not comparable nor compatible with the 24 tours that do have status for earning points. Some industry observers believe the bypassing of the OWGR is a sign LIV is of the opinion they hold a winning hand.