Tour Confidential: Sponsor-invite snubs, the meaning of 59, Ko vs. Korda

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Jake Knapp’s 59, Scottie Scheffler’s dominance in Orlando and surprising sponsor exemptions.

After Jake Knapp shot 59 in unusually tame conditions on PGA National’s Champion Course, some pros were wondering what happened to the beastly Bear Trap. Is that unfair to the 15th sub-60 score in PGA Tour history? Or do 59s no longer carry the same historic weight as they used to?

Zak: They just don’t mean the same they used to. And that’s okay! We’ve been traveling down this road for quite a while. The course had been overseeded, received some rain, had zero wind and one of the best drivers on Tour drove it extremely well. Someone was bound to go low. It just becomes a bit inevitable. 

Hirsh: No, Sean, 59 is still 59. PGA National is easier than it used to be, but it’s still a rating over 75 from the back tees. That’s a hard golf course. Is it as hard as it used to be? No, and that’s unfortunate after the recent renovation. But just because a 59 comes on an easier setup, that doesn’t make it less impressive. I don’t think I’d be able to swing a club if I was 11 under with one hole to play. 

Dethier: We’re asking these tournaments to walk a very, very fine line. Too hard? They get ripped for sloppiness and slow play. Too easy? Your 59 means nothing! But yeah, it means less. Yeah, it’s still cool. Yeah, it’s fun to watch when this tournament is a suffer-fest. But it’s tough to do it all.

Scottie Scheffler defends his title at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he’s won two of the last three tournaments there. What makes Scheffler so good at Bay Hill, and are you taking Scheffler or the field this week?

Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): Scottie wins this tournament because he makes a bunch of hard-working pars on the weekend. Orlando has promised chilly weather and firm conditions over the years, and with lengthy rough it puts such an onus on ball striking. Both with driver and otherwise. And no one has peppered greens and fairways like Scheffler. Do it enough and some birdie putts will fall. It feels inevitable. So YES, Scottie does it again. 

Jack Hirsh, Associate Equipment Editor (@JR_HIRSHey): What makes Scottie Scheffler so good at Bay Hill? The same thing that makes him so good everywhere else: He’s the best ball striker on the planet. Sure there are horses for courses, but I think Scottie Scheffler is the favorite on just about every hard golf course. Sawgrass, Bay Hill, Murfiled Village, Harbour Town. Those are the kind of courses with the cream always rises to the top and Scheffler is simply the best player on the planet. Tiger used to win in bunches at some of these places too. I’m with Zak, Scheffler gets his first win of the season this week. If you recall, he didn’t get his first win of last season until this week too.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): Last year Scottie made birdies at the highest rate on Tour and bogeys at the second-lowest rate. That’s kinda why he won everything. But yeah — these guys covered it. He hits it the best, he plays smart, he’s got plenty of dog in him and Bay Hill is a demanding test. I’m excited for this week’s test.

First reported by Golfweek, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler will not receive sponsor’s exemptions into the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a Signature Event with a 72-man field. While it’s easy to agree with Fowler’s “at the end of the day, play better” comment, is it more complicated than that? Regardless of current form, Spieth and Fowler are two huge draws. With the pro ranks still split and the best players not on the same tour, is there an argument to load tournaments with star power?

Zak: It’s extremely complicated! Webb Simpson took a bunch of these invites last year and got criticized by his fellow pros for it. Adam Scott took a bunch of those invites, too, and played well enough to finish within the heralded FedEx Cup Top 50. You want to invite players fans will cheer for, pros who will deliver some pep for sponsors, and you also want to appear dutiful in assessing all your options. It’s lazy to just choose the biggest names. It’s commendable to take Rafa Campos’ letter to heart and hand him a ticket to the biggest event of his season. 

News

Hirsh: I’m with Zak here, too. If you’re going to argue that LIV has a diluted product because it hands out spots to guys who were supposed to be relegated (looking at you, Bubba) just to maintain a draw, then you shouldn’t argue the same for Spieth and Fowler. It is interesting because Spieth seems to be finding his game again and Fowler had a good week at the Cognizant, but obviously these decisions get made before that. I also love that a heartfelt letter still has some weight and I’ll be pulling for Rafa Campos, whom I interviewed back in college about being the lone PGA Tour player from Puerto Rico.

Dethier: There’s definitely an argument to load tournaments with star power! And there’s also an argument that the PGA Tour should lean in on meritocracy and ditch these sponsor invites altogether. If you’re gonna have ‘em and keep anybody from getting mad, well, that’s impossible. But this may be the most thoughtful way to do it, even if you’re leaving some big names out. 

Florida State junior Luke Clanton made the cut at the Cognizant Classic — his ninth made cut in 12 career PGA Tour starts — to earn his 20th point in the PGA Tour University Accelerated program, securing his PGA Tour card at the conclusion of this college season. As the top-ranked amateur in the game and a future Tour player, what should the average fan know about one of the game’s most promising young talents?

Zak: He isn’t just making a bunch of cuts to earn his way into this Tour card. The kid has contended! Multiple times. He already fits in among the well-known names on Tour, stats-wise. Entering the tournament, DataGolf gave Clanton the same expectation of making the cut, finishing top 10, and winning as Cameron Young. You know, the guy everyone thinks would be a good Ryder Cup asset. That’s who Clanton is, too.

Hirsh: People need to realize how quickly his rise to stardom was. He didn’t earn his first point in the PGA Tour U Accelerated program until the U.S. Open last year when he made the cut and battled Neal Shipley down the stretch for low amateur (Shipley beat him out on the last hole after Clanton missed a tying birdie putt). But by the end of November, he had 17 points, the quickest accumulation of points in the three-year history of the program. When the Tour announced PGA Tour U Accelerated, it said since 2010, only three golfers would have earned their Tour card through it. Clanton is now the second after Gordon Sargent earned 20 points and deferred to this season. It’s just another example of how much better players are, younger.

Dethier: What should people know about Clanton? In high school he won the Florida state title three times…and finished second the other year. He also might make the Ryder Cup team. 

Lydia Ko won the HSBC Women’s World Championship on Sunday in Singapore to capture her 23rd career LPGA victory. Nelly Korda didn’t play, but she has two top 10s in two starts already this season. Who wins more in 2025: Korda or Ko?

Zak: Ko does. She’s already one up! Having spent some time with Lydia recently, she seems so incredibly centered. She speaks a lot like Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler these days, which is great company, mindset-wise. We were treated to a Korda-Ko battle early in 2024, and even at the Open in St. Andrews. Frankly, it’s becoming time for Korda to punch back. 

Hirsh: Ko had one more on Korda early on last season, too. It’s kind of amazing to me that Ko is actually third behind Jeeno Thitikul in the Rolex Ranking. That said, I think Korda has a bit more to prove after last season, which sounds strange after she won seven times. She’ll want to capture more majors this season after watching Ko win the Open last season.

Dethier: Korda wins more. But it’s a great sign that we’re asking the question. This era of Ko has been a welcome addition to the golf landscape — and the fairytale continues.

The third season of Netflix’s “Full Swing” debuted last week. What’s been your favorite moment from what you’ve watched so far?

Zak: Haven’t watched much, but I’ll say this — it’s absolutely worth watching, for no other reason than the story of the PGA Tour in 2024 that we think we know, well, there are other camera angles you’ve never seen yet. That’s the treasure of these docu-follows for big sports fans. Just because you know what’s coming doesn’t mean you know it as well as you could know it. May not be the answer you’re looking for, but there are all kinds of new angles we haven’t seen before. 

Hirsh: I just started watching too, but seeing Sean hiding behind a tree while Bryson hit his approach on the 72nd at Pinehurst was cool. The episode on McIlroy and Lowry’s win at the Zurich was kind of fun. Nice to see their friendship really shown in the spotlight. But I kind of fear, to a new fan, they’re going to come away from that episode thinking the Zurich is the fifth major.

Dethier: I wrote more about all things Full Swing here but make sure you stick around for episode 6, where Gary Woodland’s journey back from a terrifying battle with a brain tumor is the show at its best: real-life, meaningful access, moving connections between life and golf, and a hearty dose of just-keep-going inspiration.