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In a New Year’s edition, we celebrate Maui as a can’t-miss event, question a new rule on green-reading material that only creates more questions and join the ongoing debate over whether competition is good for golf.
Made Cut
Maui makeover. There was a time not that long ago that the annual opener in Maui was something of an afterthought for some of the game’s top players, but that’s no longer the case.
Just a single player who was qualified for the winners-only event (Rory McIlroy) passed on the trip to the Sentry Tournament of Champions and whatever the motivations – Phil Mickelson, who is making his first start in Maui since 2001, suggested in a tweet he added the event to qualify for the full Player Impact Program payout – the tournament has become a must-play.
The strength of field according to the world ranking (514) is the event’s best in more than a decade and the tee sheet includes seven of the world’s top 10 players.
Kapalua was always intended to be a reward for winning, not an obligation to be endured. Whatever the motivation to embrace the lid-lifter, it’s encouraging to see the current generation enjoy that reward.
The journey and the destination. Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa are poised to begin what promises to be a delightfully intriguing give-and-take atop the world ranking for the foreseeable future.
World No. 1 Rahm leads No. 2 Morikawa by a little more than half an average world ranking point and the American can claim the top spot with a top-3 finish this week, depending on how the Spaniard finishes. However this plays out at Kapalua, the duel for the top spot promises to be an ongoing storyline this year.
Morikawa and Rahm can be a great rivalry
“It’s been a dream my entire life to get to No. 1 in the world, but it’s not just about getting to No. 1, it’s about sustaining that,” Morikawa said this week. “It’s all in my control, all I can do is try and win the tournament and that’s all I’m going to focus on. But it’s a huge…
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Source : yahoo
