This week's winners and losers from the golf world
There were plenty of unique storylines this week on and off the golf course. A 28-year-old is poised to make history, a commissioner admits he was wrong, and a well-known PGA Tour stop could be gone.
Here are this week's winners and losers from the golf world:
Winners:
A real offseaon
After helping the U.S. retain the Presidents Cup, Fowler opted to put the clubs away, and instead enjoyed some downtime away from the course. The 28-year-old was one of the few top players to skip the Asian swing last month, and made his 2017-18 PGA Tour debut this week at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, where he was in contention all week.
"I don't think in all the time of my years on Tour I've really had a full offseason in a way. So not necessarily stressing the November, December time," Fowler told reporters Wednesday. He added, "I'm also enjoying the relaxation and getting some time in the gym and we'll definitely be ready to go and really get the season going in January."
Mea Culpa for Mike
LPGA commissioner Mike Whan admitted he was wrong moving The Evian Championship from July to September. The fifth major in women's professional golf turned into a disaster this year, when heavy rain shortened the event to a 54-hole tournament, drawing criticism from players and fans.
"The challenges we've faced are man-made - and I'm the man who made them," Whan told Damon Hack of the Golf Channel.
Historical No. 1
After winning consecutive LPGA events, Shanshan Feng is on the cusp of making history this week when the world rankings are released. Feng is projected to snag the No. 1 ranking, becoming the first golfer from China - male or female - to achieve the feat.
"So I'm really happy about that, and I hope all the Chinese are going to be watching me, and the Chinese can play golf," the 28-year-old said after winning Blue Bay LPGA. "Hopefully there will be more Chinese getting on the tours and more world No. 1's coming up from China."
Losers:
Hogan's Alley
It's hard to imagine a golf tournament that's produced winners like Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, and Jordan Spieth simply vanishing, but that might be the case for the Colonial. After Dean & DeLuca notified tournament organizers that it wouldn't be able to fund the 2018 event, the tour gave the club until Dec. 1 to come up with the $11.5 million required amount to finance the event or find a new sponsor. PGA Tour caddie and Colonial member, James Edmondson, recently told the Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel that the club voted to move the club's member-guest event from October to May, which is when the PGA tournament is held.
Q-School failure
A.J. McInerney finished in a tie for 10th place last week on a sponsor's exemption at Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, giving him entry into this week's field in the OHL Classic. The Las Vegas native, however, elected to try and maintain his Web.com Tour status, participating in the second stage of Qualifying School. McInerney carded a 1-over par total at Q-School, failing to earn his card, and will now play mini-tour events and Monday qualifiers next season.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)