Writers: Morikawa, Korda, Mickelson 2021 Players Of The Year

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Full disclosure, I voted the Male Player of the Year was the the toughest category given the similarity in years between Morikawa and Rahm. But over the calendar year he had a slight edge if you ignored the Memorial mess. Previously, PGA Tour players voted Patrick Cantlay their Player of the Year and the PGA of America’s point system gave Jon Rahm the 2020-21 player of the year.

For Immediate Release:

MORIKAWA, KORDA, MICKELSON VOTED GWAA PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

HOUSTON (January 27, 2022) -- Collin Morikawa, Nelly Korda and Phil Mickelson have been named respective winners of the 2021 player of the year awards by the Golf Writers Association of America.

Morikawa, who turns 25 on Feb. 6, was voted Male Player of the Year for the first time. Korda, 23, earned Female Player of the Year honors for the first time. Mickelson, 51, who has never won the GWAA’s Male Player of the Year award, was voted Senior Player of the Year for the first time.

Morikawa, ranked second in the Official World Golf Ranking to Spain’s Jon Rahm, received 48 percent of the vote to 37 percent for runner-up Rahm.

Morikawa won twice in a sensational 2021 season, highlighted by his victory in the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s, where he shot 67-64-68-66 and edged runner-up Jordan Spieth by two shots. He also won the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession.

Morikawa tied for fourth at the U.S. Open, tied for eighth as defending champion at the PGA Championship and tied for fourth at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition in Japan. He led the PGA Tour in greens in regulation (79.17%) and capped the season by going 3-0-1 in the Ryder Cup, helping the U.S. to a resounding 19-9 victory over Team Europe at Whistling Straits.

“It is an incredible honor to be named by the Golf Writers Association of America as their Male Player of the Year for 2021,” Morikawa said. “I have a deep appreciation for the journalists dedicated to promoting our great game, and to be recognized amongst the names of past winners is humbling.”

Korda won four times on the LPGA Tour and added six more top-10 finishes. Her victories came in the Pelican Women’s Championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the Meijer LPGA Classic and the Gainbridge LPGA.

In August, she struck gold in Japan, winning the Olympic Women’s Golf Competition. She also was a member of the U.S. Solheim Cup team. Korda received 72% of the GWAA vote.

"It is a huge honor and privilege to be voted Female Player of the Year,’’ Korda said.  “I am extremely grateful to be the recipient of this year's award alongside all the other incredible past honorees. Thank you to the entire team at the Golf Writers Associate of America.  It truly means a lot to me to receive this recognition and it will be something I will forever cherish." 

Mickelson made the most of just six starts on the PGA Tour Champions in the 2020-’21 wraparound season, winning four times. He won the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National, the Dominion Energy Charity Classic and the Constellation Furyk & Friends and capped his season by winning the Schwab Cup Championship.

And, of course, he won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island to become the oldest-ever major champion. He received 59 percent of the vote.

“I’m very appreciative of that honor,” Mickelson said of his Senior Player of the Year Award. “I had a really fun time playing some Champions tour events and last year was a really special year, obviously winning the PGA Championship and playing and competing in the Champions tour events, and having success was really special. Being able to spend time with so many guys that I grew up playing with, I’m just honored.”

Women Better Then Men Files: Hilton Grand Vacations TOC Results

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Check out Matt Vincenzi’s item at GolfWRX looking at the difference between the LPGA’s best and male amateurs playing from the same Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions tees. In particular, he notes the play of winner Derek Lowe and very good (+2.8) golfer Mardy Fish.

Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott pointed out that the amateurs and LPGA pro’s played under the same circumstances: “They played in the same groups, from the same tees, in the same conditions. The celebs had the advantage of playing a stableford format, which is slightly more freeing than straight stroke play, but as far as head-to-head tournament play goes, this was a pretty good comparison.”

Much to the dismay of the “A” player in the local men’s league, the professionals unsurprisingly came out on top. While the tournament’s champion, Danielle Kang, shot four consecutive rounds in the 60s, the amateurs in the event combined for a grand total of zero.

Additionally, former Red Sox pitcher and 0.2 handicap Derek Lowe, posted rounds of 76-72-75-72, the best of any celeb. It was an impressive performance from Lowe and resulted in a final score of +7, which was still 23 shots worse than Kang. 

Santiago Tarrio Hits Backward Flop-Shot In Competition

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Here’s something you don’t see every day. Especially in competition. From the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi Championship:

R.I.P. Bob Goalby

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The 1968 Masters champion, 11-time PGA Tour winner and longtime NBC golf announcer passed away at age 92.

The team at KSDK in St Louis was first to report the sad news. 

Dan O’Neill’s lengthy and detailed remembrance for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is a fitting salute to the only native of that city to win a major. He opened with this:

Shortly after he won the 1968 Masters, Bob Goalby received a letter from Bobby Jones, the legendary patriarch of the championship. In his correspondence, Jones wrote:

“I ask you to always remember that you won the tournament under the rules of golf and by superlative play.”

Adam Schupak at Golfweek noted this in his story:

Goalby was drafted into the Army in 1950 and he served until 1952. Afterwards, Goalby began playing professionally and was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 1958. He also played in the 1963 Ryder Cup Matches.

But it was the 1968 Masters that was his signature triumph. Goalby’s heroics down the stretch often have been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the tournament. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Goalby birdied Nos. 13 and 14, then made eagle at No. 15, drilling a 3-iron from 200 yards to 6 feet. He shot 66 and posted 11-under 277 at Augusta National.

In a PGATour.com salute by Jim McCabe, he writes:

Born into the Great Depression, he persevered and made a beautiful life. He contributed a voice in building the PGA TOUR into the mega-enterprise it is. The PGA TOUR Champions didn’t exist until he and a few friends relentlessly campaigned for it.

On so many occasions he should have heard “thank you” for being a man of strength and vision. Instead, often he was expected to say “sorry” for playing a brilliant round of golf on April 14, 1968.

Go figure.

One of the better interviews Goalby gave was this 2018 My Shot for Golf Digest.

Here is the final round broadcast starting at the 14th hole, where Goalby made birdie followed by eagle at the 15th:

Some tributes:

Who Needs A Pro Jock? Bhatia Wins Korn Ferry Event With Girlfriend On The Bag

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The 19-year-old prodigy who skipped college and turned pro has only shown glimpses of greatness. But facing uncertain Korn Ferry Tour status Akshay Bhatia, pulled off a win that will change his year, notes GolfChannel.com’s Brentley Romine:

Bhatia got into this week’s field courtesy of the category reserved for Nos. 151-200 in FedExCup points, and his original goal, one that remained as he began his final round, was to finish inside the top 10 and automatically qualify for another week. Such is the life of a tour pro without full status. Only Bhatia, who played his final nine in 5 under with birdies on three of his last four holes, no longer has that problem.

He finished the win off in style, hitting the 18th hole flagstick:

The week started off with Bhatia and girlfriend Presleigh Schultz explaining the partnership that all started with an Instagam DM and without her knowing anything about golf. (But she is a content creator and business manager!).

Who needs a pro jock?

Here was the social content posted by the Tour and lambasted by some respondents before Bhatia went on to win:

Monty: "There is a one-dimensional quality to it that was never the case back in my day."

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GolfDigest.com’s John Huggan talked to Colin Montgomerie about a wide range of topics and since this is a state of the game blog, I’d be remiss in now sharing this which includes some vintage third personspeak. But that should not take away from the essence of what he’s saying:

“And it has gotten worse since then,” he continued. “Not worse. Although that’s me saying that it has. Now they’re hitting wedges. I see them all on the range. There’s 131 of them this week—because I’m 132nd—and they all seem to play the same game and in the same way. There is a one-dimensional quality to it that was never the case back in my day. I know I sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but golf never used to be one-dimensional. It’s not the same now. It’s all about brute force.”

Indeed, like so many of his generation, Monty bemoans the relative lack of nuance and subtlety present in modern-day tour golf. He yearns to see players “holding up” mid-irons against left-to-right breezes, displaying the artistry that has been lost amidst so much science.

“I don’t think ‘peak Monty’ would do as well on this tour as he did when he played here full-time,” he said. “I would have to find a way to add more distance, just to compete. Nick Faldo would be the same. And so would Luke Donald, even more so. Luke holed everything for 18 months and got to World No. 1, which is hugely commendable. But how he did it was never going to be a sustainable formula. Not now anyway. Luke couldn’t survive now. And neither would I. I’d have to adapt. I’d have to become one of those guys on the range hitting the ball the same way as everyone else.”

Today In Sportwashing: Bryson Speaks, Andy Murray Says No Way And WSJ's Tough Take On Saudi Arabia

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As a sizable herd prepares to descend on Saudi Arabia in a few weeks to cash in and talk league golf with Greg Norman’s pals, there are signs that the Crown Prince’s act is wearing then. Except with autocrat-tolerating pro golfers.

While the potential damage to sportwashing may make those at the Global Home feel better about the likelihood of Saudis failing at disruption, the damage done to the “product” may be just as painful.

Last week Bryson DeChambeau, who has been blowing off press sessions even when he’s endorsed by the tournament sponsor, gladly talked about the Public Investment Fund Saudi International Powered by Softbank Investment Advisers (PIFSIPSIA).

It’s amazing what happens when the fees are paid by folks linked to murder instead of mortgages! From Steve DiMeglio’s item at Golfweek:

“So, not a politician, first off,” he said Thursday in a video conference with the media ahead of next month’s tournament in the Middle East. “I’m a golfer, first and foremost, and I want to play where the best golfers in the world are going to play. And that is the end of the story for me.”

It was the only time DeChambeau was curt and agitated during a 30-minute Zoom call with the media ahead of the Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City.

This was in sharp contrast to tennis’ Andy Murray who has told his agent he won’t take the Saudi money even after lucrative offers.

“He’s turned down stuff in Saudi and I don’t think he would play there just because of what’s gone on,” the Scotsman's agent, Matt Gentry, was quoted as saying in The Independent.

“If he feels strongly about something regardless, he’s at the stage where he will happily call it out and he will have that debate with people. I don’t think he’s scared to voice his opinion on it.”

That sounds like, what, one golfer? Rory. Anyone else?

And finally, the Wall Street Journal dropped a devastating piece on Saudi Arabia’s pitiful business culture. Even with all of the Public Investment Fund investment in major American companies and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s desire to create Western business friendliness, the murder-orderer can’t resist his dark passenger. While former president Donald Trump seemed cool with this, it sounds like most in business are cooling to the Crown Prince.

From Stephen Kalen and Justin Schenk’s WSJ story that leads by saying the “business environment has grown more hostile and investors are souring on the oil-rich kingdom.” The numbers would agree:

Foreign direct investment into Saudi Arabia was $5.4 billion in 2020, less than half the level of a decade ago and well below the $19 billion that the country had targeted. It was on track to top $6 billion in 2021 based on data through the third quarter. That excludes the $12.4 billion sale of a stake in a Saudi pipeline company to foreign investors.

It seems inefficient autocracies are not conducive to business or human rights.

Prince Mohammed failed to change many of the old deterrents to investment. Then Saudi Arabia added new ones.

The country tried to address a cash crunch by levying retroactive taxes on dozens of large foreign firms. In the past year-and-a-half, companies including Uber, its regional subsidiary Careem, and GE have faced huge tax liabilities and sometimes additional fines when their appeals were rejected.

Tax authorities offered the companies little recourse, prompting the State Department late last year to appeal unsuccessfully to the Saudi government for relief.

Golfers and team members of the world headed to collect checks, cover your eyes:

Investors are also increasingly concerned about their physical safety. While most of the people arrested in Prince Mohammed’s crackdowns on criticism or alleged corruption have been Saudis, some have been foreigners. One foreign businessman said he was detained and tortured after saying publicly that some business laws were unfair.

Another, an American, recently authorized the State Department to disclose relevant information to the media should the person be detained in Saudi Arabia. A second American, seeking to expand his Ohio-based nursing-home operation, was detained on arrival last year in a cramped airport holding cell for three days and deported without explanation.

But never forget: women can eat in restaurants.

Task Force Blues: Kisner Calls Cup Selection Process Too Political

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It’s not a huge surprise to read of Kevin Kisner’s frustration over getting passed over in recent Cup Captain’s picks. After stellar play in 2017’s Presidents Cup, Kisner seemed like a wise candidate for Paris the following year. Especially given the likelihood of the European’s narrowing landing areas and nullifying long driving. He was passed over for Royal Melbourne’s 2019 Presidents Cup despite being a strong fit for the course and format. And as he continued to emerge as an incredible match play golfer, culminating in a 2019 WGC match play win, his game was seen as less suited to the (ultimately successful) plan for Whistling Straits: bomb’s away!

Either way Kisner’s no Task Force fan based on comments made in the Subpar podcast hosted by Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.

From Golf.com’s story by James Colgan detailing Kisner’s gripes:

“I don’t know, man. They don’t like me I, guess,” Kisner told GOLF’s Subpar podcast. “I’ve had the same phone call for about four [Ryder Cups] in a row from about every captain. ‘Man, you were on the team and then you didn’t play well in the playoffs.’ OK, bud.”

If match play resume is part of the criteria, Kisner certainly has an argument. In five starts at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, between 2016-2021, he’s 16-6-2, including a victory at the event in 2019.

And then he really let ‘er rip…

“I don’t know. I didn’t give a s—,” he said. “It’s too political for me, I didn’t really care, and I don’t really get caught up in that s—. I love Stricker to death, but he didn’t pick me this year, which I get — I didn’t play worth a s— in the playoff.”

Twitter Manspat: Murray v. Na, Sony Open Slow Play Edition

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I know what you’re thinking. Who is Grayson Murray? Didn’t he leave Twitter? Has Tour status of some kind? Took time away from pimping the shallowest of MAGA tropes on the range of Trump Jupiter and sharing predictable anti-vaccine grievances while Tweeting at Lebron? Oh and providing updates on his post-rehab monster back tat?

Well, he got some much-desired attention for his special brand of buffoonery in taking a jab at Kevin Na’s slow play. Na heads into the Sony Open weekend seven back of 36-hole leader Russell Henley and is, indeed slow.

Here is Twitter manspat in all of its early season glory below, at least until the deletes start flying (Murray already took one down). But please, guys, save some of this for Netflix!

Bryson On Why He Passed On The Netflix Opportunity

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Promoting the upcoming PIFSIPSIA in Saudi Arabia, Bryson DeChambeau explained why he passed on participating on the Netflix docuseries expected next year.

I thought the answer was interesting in the assertion that the deal was not “very well for my side of it,” meaning there was no money and besides having his own YouTube channel with occasional behind-the-scenes looks, this regarding his peers. From GolfChannel.com’s Ryan Lavner:

As for those players who are slated to appear (a full list can be found here), DeChambeau said, “There’s a lot of great people on there. If I was to go on there, yeah, it would be cool to see, but I feel like there’s a lot more interesting stories. You’ve got Harry Higgs. You’ve got numerous others. I don’t want to take the light away from them for their potential to grow themselves in a manner that’s unique to them. They have the opportunity to grow a lot more than I do in that regard.”

Player Commitments, Timeline And Major Buy-In For PGA Tour's Netflix Entry

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Dylan Dethier of Golf.com had the most details on Wednesday’s news surrounding golf’s Drive To Success clone green lit by Netflix.

While it’ll get the PGA Tour headlines, production has barely begun. So as I noted in The Quadrilateral, there are several surprises, including the buy-in from the Five Families. Or that so many players committed and so much information is being shared with so little “in the can”.

Dethier said the first interviews just occurred and we probably can’t expect the docuseries for a year. And there was this on editorial control:

“We do not have editorial control,” a Tour spokesperson said. “We will be involved to the extent that Netflix and the producers have the access they need to film at our events. We want them to make a great show, and we all agree the documentary needs to be as authentic as possible.”

The enthusiasm of Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has been crucial in getting to this point. People familiar with the process were impressed with his open-mindedness and that he became a crucial voice in bringing the project to market.

“Everything that I’ve experienced so far is that the Tour is fully invested in making the realest possible reality,” said one source close to negotiations.

Open-mindedness=ok with F bombs as long as they’re on Netflix.

Again, it’s a long ways off…

While both Netflix and the Tour declined to comment on an official release date, filming will continue through the end of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, wrapping with the Tour Championship at the end of August. Following the model of Drive to Survive, the show’s first episodes will likely be released as hype builds for the following Tour season in early 2023. In other words, golf fans may not see any of this footage for another year. They’ll hope the show is worth waiting for.

Players committed to the project as Tweeted by the Tour:

R.I.P. Bob Shearer

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Tony Webeck with a remembrance of the former Australian Open champion Bob Shearer, who passed away at age 73 Saturday.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Shearer shot to prominence by winning the 1969 Australian Amateur and then joined the professional ranks the following year. 

In his playing career that stretched across four decades, Shearer amassed 27 professional wins including the 1983 Australian PGA Championship at Royal Melbourne Golf Club and the 1982 Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney, defeating Americans Jack Nicklaus and Payne Stewart by four strokes. 

Shearer won twice on the European Tour in the 1975 season (Madrid Open and Piccadilly Medal) and in 1982 won the Tallahassee Open on the PGA Tour and lost in a playoff to Ed Sneed at the Houston Open that same year. 

And his friend Mike Clayton filed a wonderful collection of memories about Bob’s life. A teaser:

Bob won his PGA around the East Course at Royal Melbourne, but it was a brilliant seven-shot win in the 1974 Chrysler Classic over the Composite Course which marked him as a man who played Royal Melbourne as well as anyone.  Royal Melbourne greenkeeper Claude Crockford had the greens so difficult the third-place man, Lee Trevino, famously told the locals they had better get a picture of him going out the gate, “because you won’t ever see me coming back in”.

If you have twenty minutes this YouTube posting of Shearer’s Australian PGA win starts with the club’s pre-tournament fire before hosting Shearer’s upset win over Nicklaus.

"Take note of the PGA golfers who play in Saudi Arabia. They’re accepting blood money."

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The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga takes pro golfers to task for taking Saudi Arabia’s money at the PIFSIFSIA/Bonesaw/Saudi Golf League group get together next month. Full disclosure: Svrluga’s former colleague at the Post, Jamal Khashoggi, was lured to his death and reportedly sliced into pieces and disposed of by a squad working for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. At least in the CIA’s assessment.

Thanks to all who shared this and who wondered if the players will see it—or care—but this about LIV Golf Investments’ Greg Norman and the Public Investment Fund will put Svrluga on the Shark’s bad list:

Here’s Norman, in a November interview with Golf Digest within days of his announcement, immediately trying to distance the PIF from the brutalities inflicted by bin Salman.

“[The PIF is] obviously a commercial operation,” Norman said. “They’re very autonomous. They make investment decisions all around the world. They’ve invested in major U.S. corporations because of commercial reasons. They invested in LIV Golf Investments for a commercial opportunity. They’re passionate about the game of golf.”

He’s a self-serving snake-oil salesman but worse. Don’t trust him.

No TJ Maxx-bound Shark shirts for Barry!

Regarding Khashoggi, Svrluga writes:

Khashoggi was a thoughtful and relentless critic of bin Salman and the Saudi government. In October 2018, Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his impending marriage. He was murdered and most likely dismembered. His body has never been returned to his family. The CIA concluded that bin Salman ordered the killing.

That murder should hang over the field at the Saudi International. As should the senseless war in Yemen, which the United Nations estimated had caused 377,000 deaths by the end of 2021. As should the hit squad bin Salman allegedly sent to Canada for the attempted murder of a former Saudi intelligence official. As should the fact that, according to Human Rights Watch, prominent women’s rights advocates have remained in Saudi jails since 2018 merely for their advocacy.

The Saudi International is just a bit piece in bin Salman’s attempt to use international sport to help distract from his abhorrent record.

Here’s the bad news for golf: Svrluga’s entirely correct and all of the big players in this know what they’re getting into. But outside of Rory McIlroy, how many can bring themselves to draw a line? And how come the the PGA Tour and European Tour Chief’s can’t condemn Saudi Arabia knowing what we know now?

PIP Pandemonium: Phil Declares Victory, Tour Says Not So Fast, Morikawa Posts Dog Photo In Late 10th Place Play

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As the (not secret any more) Player Impact Program hurtles toward its year one conclusion, the silly bonus pool is wrapping with a deservedly absurd finish.

Phil Mickelson declared PIP victory two days before the calendar ended the comical bonus pool. This, despite just one top 10 against the under 50’s this year—the 2021 PGA Championship—Mickelson apparently used four Champions Tour wins to accrue the magical number of Google searches, Meltwater mentions, MVP Index points, Nielsen scores and Q-rating strength to edge Tiger Woods for the $8 million first place prize.

The closest you’ll get to a PIP victory speech since it’s a private matter:

You have to give Phil credit with the late rush of Tweets and replies while playing to the angry bro mobs, a key demo for accumulating Meltwaters by stirring up some virus questions and replying to Elon Musk.

Oh, but not so fast says Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch:

Maybe Phil’s premature celebratory Tweet will ensure victory? Or will the Commissioner and his team of independent analysts who tabulate Player of the Year totals find a way to de-Meltwater Phil’s late run?

These are just the kind of ramifications one deals with when the subject is a cockamamie concoction created for all the wrong reasons. Robert Lusetich summed up the farce best here:

Imagine that, discriminating against the youth trying to grow the game. Sad.

Speaking of the next generation, dream-demo Open Championship winner and dignified user of social media Collin Morikawa reportedly will finish 11th. This means he misses out on last place’s $3 million.

But showing vision and wisdom beyond his 24 years, Morikawa made a last ditch effort with social media gold: celebrating his 11th place finish with humor (on Twitter), and birthday well wishes to his labradoodle. Sources say the indices give extra weight to dog posts—and then triple that for any doodle—so there may still be hope for young Morikawa to crack the top 10 once that independent firm digs into the numbers!

Not since Freddie Tait posed with his dog Nails has a golfer’s dog potentially played such a key role in the game.

And then there’s Jim Herman, coming home strong even as they’re breaking down the bunting, packing up the barricades and still making his valiant PIP plays:

What a time for the game!

PGA Tour Grants Saudi Releases With Draconian Conditions: Players Must Play Return To Play Pebble Beach At Least Once, Possibly Even Twice!

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Punishment for those collecting seven and eight-figure appearance fees (Photo by Geoff Shackelford)

They weren’t bluffing down there at the Global Home regarding February’s Saudi International and preventing as many as thirty top players from playing the same week as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Nobody messes with Jay Monahan! He is the Sheriff of all…wait, what?

The potential defectors get to abandon one of the biggest events on the PGA Tour calendar and their punishment will to play Pebble Beach-Spyglass-MPCC over the next two years? All while collecting huge appearance fees and possibly laying the groundwork for fundamentally disrupting the PGA Tour’s business?

Tony Soprano, he is not. Guess Jay’s in the holiday spirit?

Back in July Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch reported that players would be denied releases to play the event believed to be a precursor to a Saudi Golf League. But now Lynch is first to report the releases will be granted for the February 3rd-6th event but with “strings attached.” Some really, really thin strings.

Any player who has competed in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am event at least once in the past five years must commit to play at least once in the next two years (2023 and 2024). Players who have not competed at Pebble Beach in the last five years will need to do so twice in the three years until 2025.

The travesty of it all! How will they cope?

A source familiar with the names of the 30 players who applied for waivers told Golfweek that 19 of them will have to commit to one appearance at the AT&T, while the other 11 will be required to play twice.

Cracking that whip! I half-expected to read they’d be prevented from getting Spanish Bay rooms overlooking the service bay.

One source familiar with the situation told Golfweek that lower-profile players invited to compete in King Abdullah Economic City have been offered appearance fees of around $400,000, with mid-tier players receiving between $500,000 and $750,000. High-profile stars get seven-figure offers. Chartered private aircraft to and from Saudi Arabia is also provided.

Growing the game!

Meanwhile the PGA Tour Twitter account acknowledged this gruesome situation. Remarkably, the PGA Tour has yet to suggest it has any issue with how the country in question sometimes conducts its business. Psssssst: someone tell the Global Home the Fund is no longer invested in Disney and Marriott, so no need to worry about upsetting proud or semi-proud partners.