PGA Tour Forgives. On Its Own Terms.

January 29, 2026

Jan 29, 2026 | Edition #256

 👋 Hey Golf Fans,

Patrick Reed has left LIV Golf. In case you missed our special bulletin last night, here you go. Today, as promised, we are taking an in-depth look at the situation, especially what Tour’s different pathways for different categories of players mean. But first, let’s take a look at the LPGA season opener, HGV Tournament of Champions.

Let’s get swinging…

Titans

The LPGA season opener brings together the LPGA winners of the last two seasons at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. Yeah, it’s the same venue where an amateur outclassed the pros by pulling off this magical feat.

The course:

This Tom Fazio-designed layout is a tale of two nines. The front-nine is framed by towering pines and oaks with a tight corridor. The back-nine offers more scoring opportunities. Water comes into play on 11 holes; strategic bunkering keeps the scores in check.

Storylines:

The LPGA Tour produced a record 29 different winners last season, meaning a bunch of players will tee off here for the first time. Jeeno Thitikul, the current World No. 1, is making her tournament debut, as are Mao Saigo, Lottie Woad, and Miyu Yamashita.

Meanwhile, Nelly Korda returns to the field to snap her winless streak. She was a runner-up here last time. Lydia Ko, the 2024 winner, has never finished outside of the top 10. The Lake Nona resident has a stellar approach play and short game, crucial to success here.

Expect Brooke Henderson and Charley Hull to contend as well. The former, who won here in 2023 and bagged a T3 in 2024, manages Lake Nona very well with her irons and wedges. She was inside the top five in reaching Greens in Regulation from the 2022 to 2024 editions. Hull, on the other hand, banked on her driving prowess to net a T2 in 2023. She plays well in similar layouts, especially the ones at the ANNIKA and the CME Group Tour Championship.

All in all, it’s a star-studded field in Florida, and don’t be surprised if the tournament goes down to the last hole like 2025.

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Signs

Brooks Koepka. Patrick Reed. Two PGA Tour returnees. But with different paths. Koepka is teeing off at the Farmers Insurance Open, which, ironically, Reed won in 2021. But not without a rules controversy that made Xander Schauffele claim that Reed is “protected” by the PGA Tour. Watch the rules fiasco below…

Nevertheless, Reed won’t be immediately welcomed back to the Tour after quitting LIV. However, he can bypass the regulations and play a few PGA Tour events later this season — find out how. But the signs from the Tour top brass are clear: if you are a bigwig, we’ll make it happen very quickly. If you are an A-lister but without a strong pedigree of major performances, we’ll still make it happen. But in our own time. Sound business decision, but bad optics.

What’s also important is the fallout of this. And that’s where the PGA Tour’s strategic alliance with DP World Tour becomes crucial. The top ten players in the Race to Dubai Rankings earn a Tour card. Reed ranks 2nd on the leaderboard. That also looks like a way out for guys like Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, and others, should they choose to come back.

Rahm and Hatton are fighting a legal battle against DPWT. But then legal matters of this scale mostly get settled outside of court. All you need is an adverse situation, and LIV golfers’ situations might be adverse soon. The Saudi-backed league is running at a loss — you can’t guess the staggering amount. LIV is not offering the same value while renewing contracts.

So they can take the same route as Reed and come back through the back door. That is, unless the PGA Tour decides they are “needlemovers” — and tweaks a few rules to accommodate them.

Should the PGA Tour Treat Every Ex-LIV Golfer the Same Way?

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Saturday’s Results: 49.33% of you said pros should be penalized for unintentional rule violations.

Grip

A proper swing path is crucial for accuracy. It influences the curvature. You bungle that, and the result is similar to these ridiculous blunders from the PGA Tour and major champs. Here is a drill to fix that.

  1. Grab a putter grip with a flat front. Now put it on a 9-iron or a wedge. 

  2. This will give you an idea of how you need to set the club and move your hands and arms correctly on the backswing.

  3. Feel the flat edge work up into a 45-degree position on the backswing. 

  4. Try to work the flat edge backed up down with pressure. 

  5. Make sure the flat edge flattens out at impact. Notice how top golf instructor Stephen Deane does it in the tutorial below.

This simple drill stops unnecessary rotation and stops you from getting the club too far behind or too upright. Once you are done with this one, try these drills below to master wrist movement.

Partners

In case you have looked at Skratch’s work on men’s golf and felt envious of similar content for the LPGA Tour, we have good news. Skratch has partnered with the LPGA in 2026 to elevate storytelling. Which means more fun content like this compilation of PGA Tour pros losing it on the greens or this throwback to Lee Trevino-Arnold Palmer banter.

What can you expect out of this partnership? More fun challenges. More interviews that feel less like stoic mumblings and more like lively chats. It’s a step in the right direction. Because the Tour doesn’t lack talent, all it lacked was a platform. Skratch can provide that platform to make inroads into Gen Z.

Smart gear is about shaving strokes where it actually counts. Here’s a quick-hit take on five tools from the PGA Show 2026.

  1. GolfJoy Spica 3 — A compact launch monitor that delivers the essentials without drowning you in numbers. Here is a sneak peek.

  2. Shot Scope LM1 — Pure ball-data focus, built for players who want honest feedback. Here is a comparison with the H50 GPS.

  3. Square Omni Launch Monitor — Indoor or outdoor versatility that makes practice feel less like a grind and more like fun golf. See it in action.

  4. Garmin J1 GPS Watch — Clean, no-nonsense yardages in a lightweight package. Check out how it performs.

  5. Heathlander Golf Shoes — Spikeless comfort with everyday style, made for golfers who walk the course and the clubhouse. You can buy them here.

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