Major(s) News & Notes, January 9th, 2025
A Palisades fire update plus other notes from the golf world.
Days to The Masters’ opening tee shot: 91
Days to the PGA Championship’s opening tee shot: 126
Days to the U.S. Open’s opening tee shot: 154
Days to The Open’s first tee shot: 190
Thousands of my neighbors lost everything in the southern California fires, with more danger lurking overnight and potentially again next week. The firestorm came after a generational confluence of elements conspired to destroy beloved communities, homes, places of worship, parks, libraries, and charming businesses in ridiculously short time. Thank you to all who reached out. I’m just fine. But the community is devastated in the same ways that many others have experienced following such an unimaginable, inexplicable, and cruel catastrophe.
The golf community has taken particular interest given Pacific Palisades’ association with golf via Riviera Country Club, the annual L.A. Open/Genesis Invitational, and forthcoming USGA championships. Everyone is still in shock and at a loss to find words that could remotely comfort those whose lives were radically turned upside down in a few hours.
Following other wildfires that have been part of life here, the inclination is to say, “we’ll rebuild better than before, we’ll come out of this stronger, et cetera.” Forgive my BS meter for going off in the background. But even with minimal loss of life “thanks” to the fire breaking out mid-morning instead of overnight, this one seems radically different. The gravity of its impact is impossible to characterize. No amount of “just things that can be replaced” is well-meaning and somewhat true. But it doesn’t deliver much comfort given the overwhelming amount of work that went into building family homes, smart people innovating in attempts to prevent fire from destroying them, and the bravery of firefighters. Throw in recent insurance matters courtesy of those “good neighbors” at State Farm, and rebuilding will be even more difficult for many.
There is also the perverse cruelty of silly little embers that find a way in and take down seemingly indestructible structures wisely surrounded by landscaping meant to mitigate fire in mind. The entire confounding mess morphs into outright insanity when homes in the early stages of construction somehow escape despite only having reached the exposed wood framing stage. Or how do those supposedly combustible eucalyptus trees go unscathed while four-story brick buildings with automatic sprinkler systems burn to the ground? The “why” questions only heighten the rage, sadness, and search for answers in dark corners of the Internet where crackpottery and blame cannot bring back the 5,300 structures lost in the Palisades fire.
Late last week, various weather forecasting gurus began issuing apoplectic pleas to be ready for something we had not seen in a decade. Or ever. There was a brutal confluence of wind caused by an unusual meeting of High and Low pressure. A lack of measurable rain since springtime. And steep scrub-covered hillsides fattened up by the previous two wet winters.
Lessons learned and strides made after previous fires faced little chance against hurricane-force gusts and non-existent humidity. This, even as firefighters were positioned in advance. Roads into some canyons (finally) included checkpoints to remind construction workers and landscapers not to run certain equipment that started so many past fires. And legally-mandated brush clearance had already taken place back in June, probably saving a few homes and iconic locations like the Getty Villa. But having lived here for five decades, the disaster produced a first that highlighted just how different this was: an ominous sound warning of a dry air blast that came 3-4 seconds later.
As a child, I lived through the 1979 fire in the Palisades which was the last of consequence for the community. In that incident, we thought it was a big deal when certain Palisades neighborhoods surrounding Sunset Boulevard had to be evacuated. Just in case. This time, those same streets that had never had a fire near them saw widespread destruction despite many homes having been rebuilt without wood roofs and other issues. The images you’ve probably seen by now of the destruction remain beyond comprehension.
This is all a long wind-up to say, please, muster up positive ways to think about the people and the region. It helps. The displaced will not be comforted by rage, conspiracies, petty grievances indicating an upbringing by spotted hyenas, or any other easily disprovable hogwash that fails to help affected families and businesses regroup.
As for Riviera, club members received a letter dated Wednesday, January 8th which reported fallen trees and ash accumulation. So far, the storied club has been spared the carnage experienced west of the property. However, the area remains evacuated, the wind is forecast to pick up again overnight, and another Santa Ana wind event is possible again next week with no rain in sight.
Whether the annual Genesis Invitational takes place will be answered in the coming weeks. The event is scheduled for February 12-16. Riviera begins a run of major events that include the annual PGA Tour stop, the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2028 Olympics, and the 2031 U.S. Open.
When contacted by The Quadrilateral, the PGA Tour provided a letter sent to players.
Dear PGA TOUR members,
The PGA TOUR is monitoring the devastating fires in Los Angeles County. At this point, it is premature to discuss the potential impact on The Genesis Invitational (February 10-16). Although The Riviera Country Club has not been directly affected by the fires, our immediate concern is the health and welfare of those in the affected communities, including all our members who have ties to Southern California.
We will keep the membership updated as the situation develops.
Namely, there is an optics issue of carrying on with business as usual so soon after a disaster. However, the Tour played in at Kapalua within months of the Paradise fire where 85 lost their lives. Riviera’s westernmost sixth hole sits just a half mile from the large swath of homes lost on the Palisades’ “alphabet streets.”
Logistically, the tournament has never relied on the town of Pacific Palisades in a major way. However, the huge number of displaced residents who lived in the vicinity of Riviera far exceeds anything the region has seen since the 1994 Northridge earthquake. For context, area hotels filled up after Malibu’s 2018 Woolsey fire. Even with so many rooms in America’s second-largest city, lodging is likely to be overwhelmed by those seeking refuge. Displacing these residents to make way for long-held reservations may not go over well. So we’ll wait and see what the various parties decide.
In the meantime, thank you again to all who have expressed their concern for our part of the world and I’ll keep you posted on any developments. I’m under only an evacuation warning but a bag is packed should the order come.
Now, onto the utterly-meaningless-in-the-grand-scheme workings of major championship golf, most of which seems especially minor and yet, kinda comforting in their breathtaking inanity.
Kisner Named U.S. Vice Captain
Keegan Bradley named Kevin Kisner as a Vice Captain for Bethpage’s 2025 Ryder Cup. This will be Kisner’s debut at a Ryder Cup in any capacity after appearing in two Presidents Cups (2017 and 2022), while serving as a captain’s assistant in the 2024 edition.
Kisner joins Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker, who were previously appointed by Bradley as Vice Captains. More assistants are expected to be named later.
“Kevin is a great addition to our leadership group and will be a trusted voice throughout the coming months and this year’s Ryder Cup,” said Captain Bradley. “His extensive match-play success and strong relationships make him a perfect fit.”
The decision to take a vice-captaincy marks another embarrassing chapter in NBC’s struggle to replace lead analyst Paul Azinger.
Last month, Kisner was announced as the network’s lead analyst.
As part of the announcement, the Ryder Cup was included in his job description.
Executives Sam Flood, Rick Cordella and Tommy Roy traveled to South Carolina to woo Kisner only to have him agree, then subsequently drop out the network’s most prestigious Cup event in favor of a cart driving role.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig after his Ryder Cup announcement, Kisner made it sound like his commitment to announcing is tenuous at best.
“We discussed it for a while, and I told them I still wanted to play on my top-50 career money (exemption), but I loved the opportunity,” Kisner said of the meeting. “I liked the team. I was grateful for it. And if they’re willing to work with me through 2025 — that if I wasn’t good on the golf course, I’d give them my all in 2026. And if I was good on the course, then they’d have to find somebody else in 2026.”
Immelman Takes Over For Dawson
Trevor Immelman’s forthcoming appointment as Chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking puts the 2008 Masters champion and CBS lead analyst in a ticklish position.
Immelman will replace hotelier Peter Dawson this April when the former R&A Chief steps down from the role he’s held since 2016.
“The Official World Golf Ranking has always been a huge part of my life and professional career,” Immelman said. “Growing up in South Africa and falling in love with the game as a youngster, the ranking system was how I tracked and followed my favorite players and understood who the best players in the world were.”
With the rankings increasingly seen as not necessarily rewarding the world’s best performances, Immelman will be tasked with ensuring that the OWGR maintains legitimate in the eye of players, fans and tournaments. Immelman will become the third OWGR Chair since 2004, following the late Michael Bonallack and Dawson, the managing director of the Old Course Hotel.
“As I turned professional, my focus on the rankings intensified, as I knew being in the top 50 allowed me to play in the biggest tournaments around the world,” Immelman said.
He takes over during Masters week where Immelman also serves as CBS Sports’ lead analyst. While the appointment gives the OWGR chairman its highest-profile leader, Immelman may need to balance criticism and the politically delicate topic of world rankings as part of his broadcasting duties. However, the duel roles seem unlikely to pose a blatant conflict given the prestigious CBS events Immelman works. The Board also made a recent move to address a key loophole.
Starting last week, tournament fields with “Low Field Ratings” will see “a new points distribution curve that awards a greater percentage of available points to top finishers in those tournaments.”
No change will be made to the total amount of points awarded for these lesser tournaments, but the Board believes “this will enable additional upward movement in the Ranking for the best performing players in these low field rating tournaments.”
Rankings watchers praised the move.
Also, the PGA Tour of Taiwan has been welcomed into the OWGR system after applying 20 months ago.
LIV Schedule And Major Prep
Cameron Smith griped last fall about LIV’s venue choices last year ahead of major championships and the need to give players compatible courses to prepare. After LIV’s better-late-than-never unveiling of a 2025 schedule, Smith did not appear to get his wish.
Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster is back as a pre-Masters test that will let hit players hit drivers but is otherwise a flattish brute that bears little resemblance to Augusta National. At least it’s a short plane flight.
Jack Nicklaus GC lands two weeks prior to the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and is in, well, Korea.
Recent Solheim Cup host Robert Trent Jones Golf Club will offer lush bluegrass in the closest thing to a decent prep for the U.S. Open. But the venue prompting Smith to complain is back in the slot prior to the Open at Royal Portrush: Valderrama in Spain. Soft, hilly, narrow and inland is about as far as it gets from Portrush.
Hey, but the money is good!
Curiously, LIV has chosen to go up against the PGA Tour’s playoffs with its final three events over three weeks.
This And That
Tiger Woods won the final PIP bonus pool/Meltwater mention crown and $10 million. (Carpenter/SBJ)
The LPGA Tour has formed a search committee of eight to find a new Commissioner. (Nichols/Golfweek)
Daily gallery tickets remain for all days of the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont and U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills.
Arnold Palmer’s home at The Tradition has been listed for $5 million. (Tarmy/Bloomberg)
Honors
David Rickman was appointed an “MBE in HM” on the King’s New Year Honour’s List for “services to golf.” Rickman retired from The R&A earlier this year after a sensational 37-year career after refereeing more than 130 events, including as chief referee at last year’s Open at Troon. Rickman also oversaw the Rules of Golf modernization in 2019 along with the Rules of Amateur Status, Equipment Standards, the Distance Insights project and the introduction of the World Handicap System in 2020.
Lydia Ko was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 New Year Honours List. The recognition comes in honor of her extraordinary achievements and contributions to golf, including the 2024 AIG Women’s Open.
The PGA of America today named longtime Golf Magazine and Sports Illustrated photographer Fred Vuich as the fifth recipient of the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award in Photojournalism.
Reads
🏌️Adam Schupak catches up with Gary Woodland as he continues a comeback following brain surgery.
🤔 James Colgan asks questions and doesn’t get many answers on the TGL’s road to profitability.
👨🏻💻 Bob Harig remembers our pal and colleague Steve DiMeglio.
🤑 Alex Miceli is not a fan of Tiger’s final gift from the PIP (RIP) Gods.
⛳️ Tim Gavrich with 25 new courses expected to open in 2025.
⛳️ Jason Scott Deegan looks at the state of ten munis recently in peril with a mixed bag of prospects.
🍷 Adrienne Klass on French red wine experiencing an “existential” decline with young drinkers.
🪩 Neil Armstrong with the unlikely backstory of Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive starting as a B-side and it’s many, mostly painful covers since.
Geoff, I very much appreciated your comments on the fires in SoCal. I lived in the Huntington neighborhood of Pacific Palisades for 25 years before relocating to Chapel Hill, NC a number of years ago. Every time I go back to Los Angeles to play LACC where I am still a member I make sure to visit Pacific Palisades. I cherished living there and as I watch from afar am horrified by the damage to so much property and lives of so many who continued to live there including personal friends of mine. It is hard to contemplate the effort necessary to achieve any kind of recovery.
Brad Becken
Beautifully expressed. Reminder to self - do not conflate media images of Malibu mansions with all affected. There are a lot more Americans beyond the brash entitled movie stars, tycoons and politicians that dominate media - including fire images. The biggest are not the best. There is enough "blame" to go around - so rather than pick a discourse - it's best to ignore it. Prayers for the affected and those still fighting it.