DP World Tour
_{DP World Tour heads to Kenya this week!}

No event on the DP World tour last week, but this week they host the Kenya Open!

Hand up, have to face the music on this one, thought this event was last week and didn’t realize there was a break here. So if this next segment looks familiar, it’s because it’s word for word my preview of it from last week’s newsletter:

“A very interesting event this week on the DP World Tour! The Magical Kenya Open at Muthaiga GC in Nairobi, Kenya! This event has been won by some big names over the years, such as Seve Ballesteros and Trevor Immelman. More recently Justin Harding, Aaron Rai, and Sebastian Soderberg have won here. This is a very unique course and I would encourage you to check out some of the event if you get a chance!”

PGA TOUR
_{Hideki wins and sets a PGA Tour record!}

Hideki Matsuyama lit up Rivieria Country Club on Sunday where he was just one shot off the course record with a -9(62) and won the Genesis Invitational! With this win he becomes the winningest Asian-born player in PGA Tour history, a record he previously shared with K.J. Choi.

A back nine 30 where he had two streaks of 3 consecutive birdies saw him claim victory over Will Zalatoris and Luke List. With just a 5 holes to play there was a 5 way tie for the lead, but Hideki was hitting some fantastic iron shots that got him 3 tap in birdies in a row. Incredible stuff at one of the tour’s best venues!

Additionally, Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw midway through his second round with the flu, and Jordan Spieth was DQ’ed after signing an incorrect scorecard.

What’s next on the PGA Tour?

This week the PGA Tour heads to Vidanta Vallarta for the Mexico Open where Tony Finau will look to defend his 2023 title. It’s just the third year that this is an official PGA Tour event, and 2022 champion Jon Rahm obviously will not be in attendance.

Asian Tour
_{The Asian Tour returned and boy was it fantastic!}

The first event of the 2024 Asian Tour schedule was this week’s Malaysian Open. This event offers exemption into The Open for the top 3 finishers.

David Puig, currently playing on LIV Golf, made the cut on the number. Then, he shot 62-62 to win by two shots over Jeunghun Wang. An incredible performance by David as he earns his spot at Royal Troon this year. Interestingly, there have been 3 qualifying events for The Open thus far, and they’ve all been won by players from LIV Golf.

What’s next on the Asian Tour?

This week’s Asian Tour event is the first of the International Series in 2024 in Oman. As LIV Golf is playing in Jeddah next week, many of their players will be paying in Oman, making this one of the strongest Asian Tour events of the season. Players like Carlos Ortiz, Sebastian Munoz, Matt Wolff, Lucas Herbert, Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, and more tee it up in Oman this week.

Will be interesting to watch Niemann as he continues to play for OWGR points in hopes to get invited to some of the majors this year.

Tee Talk
_{More reading from this week in golf:}

Timmy Constantine Low previews 3 players to keep an eye on in the 2024 season on the Asian Tour:

Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig wrote a fantastic writeup on Gary Woodland and his expectations heading into the 2023 season: