Weekend: Mid-Am Pulcini Books Masters Trip
Gotterup takes the (final?) Sony while Elvira fends off Lowry and McIlroy in Dubai. Plus, Norman goes on an image rehab tour and other notes from a busy weekend.
The “off-season” worked its magic.
Or maybe it was the satisfaction of watching outdoor golf on clever designs without phallic red rock formations and strobe lights?
Either way, 2026’s first week of real golf produced intrigue, plenty of appreciation for old-school shotmaking, and a surprising new addition to the Masters field.
Sony Open: Gotterup Continues His Ascent
No mentions were made about this possibly being the last Sony Open at charming Waialae. At least when I was popping in as the Rams were playing their way into the NFC Championship game.
But plenty of people seemed to think the combination of Sony’s contract status and the PGA Tour’s desire to avoid the NFL playoffs meant the annual Honolulu stop was a dead tournament walking. And it showed with a funereal vibe, empty grandstand seats, and light crowds all week. What a shame for an event and city that has served the PGA Tour since 1965.
Because today’s weightlifters have rendered Waialae too short for the modern game, the Tour rules staff has to Frankenstein-up the setup with rough and internal OB just to hold the restored Seth Raynor gem together. Yet the Sony showed that Waialae remains as interesting as ever. And thanks in large part to the on-course reportage firm of Kaufman, Oberholser, and Rolfing, Golf Channel’s coverage did a nice job capturing the various intricacies players were facing when out of position. Lead analyst Brendan de Jonge also did a very serviceable job working remotely from an undisclosed location alongside host Steve Sands. The drone shots seemed especially spectacular at capturing the sense of place and design nuances.
The tournament also delivered another sign that Chris Gotterup is a player to watch in 2026. The 26-year-old winner of last year’s Genesis Scottish Open posted a final round 64 to beat Ryan Gerard by two strokes. Patrick Rodgers (65) finished solo third while Robert Macintyre (63) and Jacob Bridgeman (64) finished T4.
Gotterup carved up Waialae Sunday by taking aggressive lines on several holes, showing off the power and putting prowess that fueled a third-place finish in the 2025 Open Championship. He hit 34 of the 56 narrow Waialae fairways, gained 5.1 strokes on the greens, made 313 feet of putts, and averaged 304 on all drives (319.7 on the two measuring holes).
The New Jersey-raised golfer said Waialae asked many of the same courses he grew up playing.
“I know this is a Seth Raynor,” he said of the design. “It feels a lot like Plainfield or -- I’m trying to think -- Baltusrol. “Obviously the grass is different, the views are different -- but it’s just the way you play the golf course reminds me a lot of how I grew up playing. So that is a comforting feeling. I know the kind of golf that’s required and there is a set of -- it’s a fine line of bomb-and-gouge and also needing to be in the fairway. I did enough of finding the fairway this week.”
Gotterup will be making his Masters debut this spring and has a game well prepared to travel down Magnolia Lane. Gotterup has been moved to a 90/1 shot at Golfodds.com following his win.
A year ago, Gotterup missed the cut in his only other Sony appearance.
The 2021 Haskins and Nicklaus Award winner recently changed his off-season practice location from Oklahoma to Florida.
“I loved living in Oklahoma, but 40 degrees and 40 mile an hour winds in December is not ideal for coming to Palm Springs or Hawaii,” Gotterup said after his opening 63. “So I just figured that was the smart move to make. One round through it looks good.”
With the win, Gotterup will move into the OWGR’s top 20. He was outside the world top 200 last year at this time.
“It’s been crazy,” he said of his development in just a year. “It’s been a lot of fun, but I’ve got a great team.”
Gotterup was the sixth player in the last seven years to come from behind after trailing entering the final round to win the Sony Open in Hawaii; trailed 54-hole leader Davis Riley by two strokes.
Waialae CC is the fourth-longest continuously-hosting PGA Tour venue. Dating to 1965, it sits behind only Pebble Beach (1947), Colonial (1946), and Augusta National (1934).
Vijay Singh made the weekend. The 62-year-old and Champions Tour regular played on a one-time PGA Tour career money list exemption into the 120-player field. Singh opened with a 2-under 68 that included two double bogeys, before posting rounds of 70-68-69 to finish -5 and T40.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler returns to action at this week’s American Express in the Coachella Valley. The four-time major winner missed last year’s tournament due to his ravioli-making injury. The field also includes 11 of the world top 25: Sepp Straka (12), Russell Henley (5), Robert MacIntyre (7), Ben Griffin (8), Justin Rose (10), Harris English (11), Alex Noren (13), Ludvig Åberg (18), Matt Fitzpatrick (21), Sam Burns (24), and Patrick Cantlay (25).
The AmEx will be played Thursday to Sunday. In recent years, the Farmers Insurance Open has been played opposite the NFL’s league championship games and finished with a Saturday round. It’s almost like they are trying to kill another storied Tour event.
Dubai Invitational: Elvira Recovers To Win
Nacho Elvira came out on top of the Dubai Invitational after a wild final round where Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy were among those contending. At one point, the invitation featured a five-way tie at the top when the last group had six holes to go.
Overnight leader Elvira eventually finished one clear of Daniel Hillier despite losing the solo lead with back-to-back bogeys to close out his front nine. McIlroy tied for the lead with five to play, and Lowry took the solo lead with three to go before a double bogey at the last ended his chances. McIlroy also bogeyed the 423-yard closing hole to finish in a tie for third with Lowry, David Puig and Julien Guerrier.
“I've always been a slow starter at the beginning of the season,” Elvira said of the win in his first official event since October’s Alfred Dunhill. “So, to get a win at the beginning of the season like this is unusual, and on a course like this, I love it. When we came here two years ago, I fell in love with it. I think it's a fantastic course, a fantastic venue, and I couldn't be more happy, to be honest.”
Elvira entered the week ranked 190th in the world. The 38-year-old has played just one major, the 2024 Open at Royal Troon.
Lowry made his move with a birdie at the 15th before the closing double bogey cost him a chance at victory.
“That was a disaster - that’s what that was,” he said. “What can you do? You have to just learn from it and move on, lads. This game is nuts. I’ve just started my 18th season on tour and I’ll never figure it out. I tried my best, did everything I could and hit the wrong club up the last. And that cost me a playoff.”
McIlroy said he wasn’t thinking he had much chance of winning while playing with new cavity-back irons in his first start since December’s Australian Open.
“I was just trying to piece it together and make some good swings and try to hit a few more fairways, which I did for the most part,” he said. “Would have been nice to hit the fairway at the last to give myself a chance for birdie there. Overall it was a good first week back. I felt like I learned a lot of stuff about my game. I wasn’t very sharp, but hopefully I’m a little bit sharper going into next week than I was going into this week.”
Marcus Armitage was another of the contenders to catch Elvira and tie for lead. But he also doubled the last to finish T7.
The 423-yard par 4 played to a 4.60 scoring average and 4.47 for the week. The hole produced 11 double bogeys or worse on Sunday and 33 for the week. Playing straight away along scenic Dubai Creek and lined down the right by a bacon strip bunker, the second shot plays over a lake to the small green surrounded by trouble.
Also…
In the En Route To Davos portion of the week’s proceedings ended with Saturday’s third round, where venture capitalist Geoff Yang captured the 2026 Dubai Invitational Team Event. “It’s incredible,” Yang said of his 17-under-par total. “I’ve not spent a lot of time in Dubai, it’s only my second time, but to experience this place on this occasion and on this beautiful golf course, the tournament is exceedingly well run.”
The DP World Tour stays in Dubai for this week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Tyrrell Hatton returns as defending champion.
LAAC: Mid-Am Pulcini Is Headed To Three Majors
Argentina’s Mateo Pulcini defeated Venezuela’s Virgilio Paz Valdes on the second playoff hole to win the 2026 Latin America Amateur Championship at Lima Golf Club.
The 25-year-old Pulcini started the week ranked No. 174 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and became the oldest winner of the LAAC. The victory sends the former University of Arkansas golfer to the 2026 Masters, the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, and The Open at Royal Birkdale.
“Unbelievable; having this opportunity to play this tournament and then of course to win it, it’s something that I just imagined before coming here,” said Pulcini. “So, that was my thought every night before sleep and yesterday I was thinking I was 3 up on 18, different than I imagined but the same result.”
Pulcini recorded top-10’s in his two previous LAAC appearances and broke through Sunday when Paz Valdes, a University of Missouri senior, overshot the second playoff hole’s green and could not save par from 25 feet. The win makes Pulcini the third player from Argentina to win the LAAC after Abel Gallegos (2020) and Mateo Fernández de Oliveira (2023).
Regarding the majors, Pulcini has heard mostly good things.
“I know it’s a good tournament and everyone wants to play it,” he said. “Mateo [Fernandez de Oliveira] played it, he was pro ‑‑ I played with him a bunch and he told me some stories about the Masters when he played, how crazy the slopes are.
“Shinnecock, I’m scared. I’m scared of the rough.
“Royal Birkdale, I’ve never played it. It’s something I’m really looking forward [to]. People told me it’s different and cool. So excited to experience that.”
