Cut Line: Will Scottie Scheffler’s arrest have historical consequences?

On this week’s version, we breakdown a (profitable) renovation, a (chilling) reflection and a (curious) resignation from a busy week on and off the golf course.

Made Minimize

Trending. Final week didn’t finish the way in which Jordan Spieth would have preferred however given the 13-time Tour winner’s struggles this season it was his begin on the PGA Championship, with rounds of 69-69-67, that was encouraging.

Spieth, who struggled on Sunday at Valhalla to tie for 43^rd, adopted that efficiency on the yr’s second main with an equally strong begin on the Charles Schwab Problem, the place he was two pictures off the lead halfway by means of his second spherical.

“I did a whole lot of good issues the final couple weeks and bettering on some stuff I needed to, and I nonetheless have some components of the sport that want some work and hopefully knock that out in the present day and into the start of this weekend it will get higher and higher,” Spieth mentioned at Colonial.

For a participant who has struggled with a wrist damage and is greater than two years faraway from his final Tour victory, incremental good points are higher than the choice.

A masterpiece makeover. The problem of updating Colonial, the Fort Value, Texas, gem that’s hosted a PGA Tour occasion since 1946, was strolling the high-quality line between modernizing a basic course with out stomping on the structure that made it a masterpiece — and extra instances than not, that line will get crossed.

That didn’t occur at Colonial.

Architect Gil Hanse injected the course, certainly one of a few layouts also known as Hogan’s Alley, with a contemporary contact and a bit extra punch whereas retaining the nuances that made it the most effective exams on the Tour.

“It’s going to nonetheless take a yr or two to actually see how this golf course performs. This yr it’s going to play agency and quick as a result of it’s so new and immature,” mentioned Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member who consulted within the renovation. “It’s going to deliver again slightly little bit of historical past of this golf course again when it was first designed. You hear Gil speak lots in regards to the course Ben Hogan performed. It’s cool and good to see that form of come again to life. I’m enthusiastic about it.”

Protecting tempo with the larger, stronger, sooner trendy skilled is all the time a problem and it must be celebrated when it’s finished accurately.

Made Minimize-Did Not End (MDF)

Historical past. Scottie Scheffler’s arraignment, which was initially scheduled for Tuesday, was pushed again to June 3 and the officer who arrested the world No. 1, Det. Bryan Gillis, was disciplined this week for not having his physique digicam operational throughout the incident or arrest.

The Louisville Metro Police Division additionally launched separate movies of the incident final Friday on the PGA Championship – though neither video exhibits the preliminary interplay between Scheffler and Gillis that, in response to the police report, led to his arrest – and Scheffler’s legal professional doubled down that his shopper is harmless of all 4 prices towards him, together with the felony rely of assaulting a police officer.

However misplaced within the authorized happenings is a participant who was on a historic tempo having received 4 of his earlier 5 begins, together with the Masters and Gamers Championship. He was the heavy favourite at Valhalla and regardless of his time within the Louisville Metro Division of Corrections he was capable of end tied for eighth at Valhalla.

It’s crucial to let the authorized system kind out what occurred final Friday in the dead of night on Shelbyville Street, however it’s inconceivable to not think about how these occasions will affect an in any other case historic season.

Valhalla swansong. PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh mentioned all the appropriate issues final week when requested how Valhalla Golf Membership would match into the longer term rotation for the PGA Championship.

“Louisville exhibits up, proper, and so they present up in each approach and that’s why we’re having report [attendance],” Waugh mentioned. “I’d additionally say that we have now a self-discipline the place we don’t decide to future websites previous seven to eight years. … The truth that we don’t announce one thing this week or subsequent week and even subsequent yr doesn’t imply Valhalla isn’t an incredible venue that we’re interested by.”

Left unsaid, nonetheless, is how the addition of PGA Frisco, the affiliation’s new residence in Texas, might affect Valhalla’s future. The brand new course outdoors of Dallas is slated to host the 2027 PGA Championship. There have been additionally much-talked-about visitors points final week and a report profitable rating that doubtless made even the cool heads on the PGA a tad uncomfortable.

If final week was the final main performed on the Louisville structure it was actually an eventful swansong.

Missed Minimize

Uncertainty. A pair of resignations from the PGA Tour’s coverage board in lower than every week solely added to the final sense of uncertainty that at the moment overshadows the skilled sport.

Late Sunday whereas a lot of the golf media have been breaking down Xander Schauffele’s victory on the PGA Championship, Mark Flaherty resigned from the board. Lower than every week earlier Jimmy Dunne, the architect of final June’s framework settlement between the Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund, additionally resigned.

Dunne was way more outspoken than Flaherty in his resignations letter, writing to the board, “For the reason that gamers now outnumber the impartial administrators on the board and no significant progress has been made in the direction of a transaction with the PIF I really feel like my vote and my position is totally superfluous.”.

Neither Dunne nor Flaherty have been named to the PGA Tour Enterprises board of administrators which is able to in the end determine what, if any, the cope with the Saudis appears to be like like and maybe, as commissioner Jay Monahan advised in a memo to gamers, that is nothing greater than poor timing. Or perhaps this is a sign that there’s simply as a lot uncertainty behind the closed boardroom doorways as there may be on the surface.