Ryder Cup upset, LPGA Player of the Year, LIV leadership

A week after Ryder Cup 2025 captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald visited New York City for a “Year Out” media blitz.The Ryder Cup hit the headlines again this week, this time for what it will cost fans to participate. Tickets for the event, which will take place in The Black Course at Bethpage State Parkit will cost about $250 for practice rounds; $420 for celebrity matches and opening ceremony; and $750 for each of the three days of the competition – fees that have sparked outrage on social media. By means of explanation for our Sean ZakRyder Cup championship director Bryan Karns said, “The overall price is I think it’s just indicative of (a) this market, (b) where we position ourselves, where we feel like we are (in the larger sports landscape), and more after request.” What do you think about expensive prices?

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Two things can be true at once: The PGA of America is simply charging what fans (or enough fans, anyway) will be willing to pay, so can you really blame them for the money? But the organization is also intentionally alienating a large portion of the golfing public by pricing them. Complicating the situation is (a) the players don’t get paid to play, so of course some of those savings have to go to the fans, and (b) this edition of the event isn’t on some tourist course – it’s on the most famous muni of the country, where weekday rates for Residents of the state are only $70 and have been the site of two so-called “People’s (US) Opens.” The exorbitant admission fee for the 2025 Ryder Cup just seems out of step with Bethpage’s DNA. Call it the Corporate Cup.

Jessica Marksbury, Senior Editor (@jess_marksbury): Well said, Alan. Some tiered pricing would have been appreciated. It seems like there could have been an opportunity to offer a percentage of lottery tickets at a cheaper price and let the rest of them go to the sky for buyers with more disposable income. It’s strange, because as you mentioned, this is coming from an organization whose mission is to promote and grow the game. But those initiatives cost money and have to come from somewhere!

Dylan Dethier, senior writer @dylan_dethier: Jess, maybe you should get a side gig as a PGA of America consultant? That seems like the correct answer – at least give people some sort of chance to get in the gates for a few hundred bucks before you raise the prices for the rest of them.

I wish I had a hotter attitude to share on this topic. On the one hand, I think it stinks that there is no way around a $750 ticket. On the other hand, I guess I’d rather the PGA of America took that money than secondary sellers finding a market? It’s interesting that the Ryder Cup has become such a hot ticket. But also — manage your expectations if you end up going. It’s a great way to spend a day, the atmosphere rocks and playing team matches is the best. But it’s also hard to see every shot; you have to be comfortable with the idea that you’re going to lose a lot, or watch it on screen. So yes, Alan, a bunch of things can be true at once…

Do you suspect that high ticket prices will have any impact on the overall atmosphere of the event?

Bastable: I hope not! For as long as the Bethpage Ryder Cup has been on the calendar, I think we’ve all been looking forward to the loud and witty New. Yawkers discounting property and charging what is already a hyper-attended event. I expect the place to rock no matter who fills the seats, even if some spectators drink not from plastic cups but from crystal flutes.

Marksbury: i agree As long as those seats are filled – and they will be! – The atmosphere will be incredible. Now, the US just needs to win…

Dethier: I have a feeling the troubled boys will find their way regardless. This is not LACC, where members got their first shot at buying tickets. I suspect these will still be bought by the good people of Long Island, who will just be pulling a little harder on the cash register than they’d like.

With him wire to wire victory at the BMW Women’s Championship in Korea, Australia’s Hannah Green joined No. 1 in the world Nelly Korda and No. 3 Lydia Ko as the only players to win three or more times in 2024. (Korda has six wins, including a major, and Ko has three titles, including a major, and also a gold medal for her victory at the Paris Games.) With just five tournaments left on the ’24 schedule, has Korda already nailed the Player of the Year honors?

Bastable: Well, neither Korda nor Ko will be playing next week in Malaysia, so Ko actually only has a maximum of four starts to try to close the gap – and it’s a big gap: 100 points! (Read: insurmountable.) But if you’re looking for a 19th debate, if Ko were to win a few more times before the year is out, you could argue she’s had the best year. That calculation would subtract the amount of stake you put in her Olympic title, which is not an official LPGA event and thus did not earn Ko any Rolex points. Either way, it has been a banner for all three of these players. When stars do star things, it makes professional golf that much more interesting.

Marksbury: I will play the other side of this argument! What Nelly has achieved this season was unbelievablepoint. BUT, for the sake of argument, let’s say that Ko’s gold medal is equivalent to a major championship. If she wins one more tournament this season – like the CME group championship at the end of the season, where she has a great record – that’s a pretty comparable resume to Nelly’s in my opinion.

Dethier: Korda’s year has been spectacular. But it has also been strange. Take out the odd dog bite and her last injury – which we still don’t know much about – and this is a season that could reasonably have ended with double-digit wins. How about this for sitting on the fence: This was the year Korda cemented herself as the best player in the women’s game, and she had a historically dominant start to the year. She should be Player of the Year. But I’ll take Ko’s storied history, because Olympic gold plus the Open in St. Louis. Andrews really felt too good to be true.

Padraig Harrington, who these days plays most of his golf on the PGA Champions Tour, decided this week that the senior circuit may be the riskiest of golf’s majors when it comes to maintaining status. “I’ve only been on the tour a few years, and I’m just starting to realize that this has to be the toughest and tightest tour to keep your card in the world,” he said. “Thirty-six guys hold their card. And even if you win, you only get an exemption for one year.” Your thoughts, please!

Bastable: If Paddy is right, then Bernhard Langer’s brilliant 17-year-old there is even more impressive. There is no doubt that the Champions League is much more competitive than many fans realise, partly because the boys want to play there so much that they don’t want to lose the privilege. I guess I’ve never considered the specific challenge of holding a Champions card, but 36 points is really tight. Harder than holding a PGA Tour card? Bubble boys now sweating it out at fall events may be looking to change.

Marksbury: I think Padraig is correct! For players who don’t have any previous PGA Tour status to fall back on, there’s the Champ Tour ultrasound competitive. Of course, there is no cut in most events, but you really have to perform in order to stick around. And if you can’t shoot 64 at will, it’s nearly impossible to even make it through Monday’s qualifiers.

Dethier: In a way, Paddy is right. (In a Paddy’s sort of way always After all, there is no shortage of talented 50-year-olds playing golf, and 36 cards is very, very few. But the PGA Tour’s top players — and those on the fringes of status — are so good, so good that it’s hard to think anything could be worse than that.

According to one Sports Business Journal REPORTSaudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf, is looking for a new LIV chief executive to replace Greg Norman. (Norman would remain on LIV’s senior management team, the report said.) Put your recruiting lid on and suggest a suitable Norman successor.

Bastable: Great job! One that requires business and marketing acumen, a love of travel and a history of disruption. Is Elon available? Hmm…who else…Jay Monahan? Too soon?

Marksbury: I could see a PGA Tour super agent like Mark Steinberg being a good candidate. But given Tiger’s feelings about LIV, I think that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Dethier: What about Phil Mickelson? I’m not sure he’s ready to kiss his Hy-Flyer playing days goodbye, but he’s been essential to LIV’s vision every step of the way. However, if the goal is to reduce friction in negotiations, Lefty may not be the man… a lowly executive about whom we know little may be a wiser investment.