Phil Mickelson won't defend his title at next week's PGA Championship, with the PGA of America saying Friday that he's decided to withdraw.

Sebastian Munoz shot a 12-under 60 in the opening round of the Byron Nelson on Thursday to become the first PGA Tour player ever with two rounds of 60 in the same season.

Madelene Sagstrom shot a flawless 9-under 63 during a round she felt holes kept getting larger and grabbed a one-stroke lead over Megan Khang after the first round of the Cognizant Founders Cup on Thursday.

Steve Stricker shot an opening-round 7-under 65 on Thursday, good for a 2-stroke lead at the Regions Tradition, the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors.

Greg Norman's comments that referred to the Saudi Arabian monarchy's alleged involvement in the death of a Washington Post journalist as a "mistake" have drawn widespread criticism and a clarification from the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

Q1 Financial Reports: Callaway and Acushnet – Key Takeaways

Callaway Q1 sales top $1 Billion, with net profit of nearly $87 millionAcushnet Q1 sales reach $606 Million, with $81 million net profitCallaway reaches record 22 percent market share in golf balls in MarchTitleist ball sales down for Q1 due to raw material shortages

The Callaway and Acushnet Q1 financial reports are out and, as always, the devil is in the details.

On the surface, you see Callaway leaving Acushnet in the dust as its quarterly sales topped the $1 BILLION dollar mark, compared to “just” $606 Million for Acushnet. Bit if you dive in a little deeper, which is what we like to do, you see two companies on divergent paths.

Callaway is morphing into a golf lifestyle and entertainment behemoth, while Acushnet continues to perfect its traditional golf business. The difference between golf’s two giants is as start as it is wide. But when one peels back the proverbial onion, one might just find the two companies are more similar than they are different.

But before we dive in, it’s time for our standard disclaimer. We are not, nor do we claim to be, financial experts or investment counselors. We’re folks who love golf – both the game and the business – and we like to read.

With that out of the way, let’s dive in.

2022 GOLF GPS BUYER’S GUIDE

A lot of golfers either use a golf GPS or a rangefinder. Hell, we see some golfers still pace off their yardage or “eye ball it.” However, which golfer are you?

With technology advancing every year, we have seen the best golf GPS models provide accurate front, middle and back yardages, hole layout, green depth, slope, personal club data tracking, the list goes on. The technology doesn’t stop there. some GPS units include health tracking measurements within the same device.

The golf GPS has so many capabilities it might just make rangefinders obsolete for some golfers.

WINNER – Garmin Approach S62

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Ever wanted a fitness, everyday, and golf watch all rolled into one? Well…you can now with the Garmin Approach S62. Its large touch screen is easy to navigate ensuring getting to the golf GPS side and personal phone applications a breeze. Within the golf GPS, it provides multiple data points, including wind direction and playlike distance to ensure you get the right yardage. Throw in 41,000+ pre-loaded golf courses will keep you entertained for a lifetime. With all these features you have the undisputed winner of the 2022 Most Wanted Golf GPS Test.

The PGA at Southern Hills is here and I've got some final preview stuff. Plus, CBS and ESPN notes, U.S. Open Local Qualifying weirdness, Tulsa's big music news and Reads.

As always, this is your friendly reminder that the newsletter can come to your email box 100% free once a week along with robust preview editions of all editions. All by signing up safely and without fear of any mailing list being sold, accept cookie requests and or spon-con!

Golf is NOT a “no brainer”. You can’t afford to setup and execute each shot without a mental plan and image. I have read blogs where the writer suggests that you should just choose your target and then swing without any mental preparation. Believe me, I have tried it and nothing could be worse. Every swing is unique for every condition that you face (wind, stance, ball location and the mental impact of your last shot).

Reading a recent issue of GOLF Digest, I was amazed at the detail that Collin Morikawa puts into every shot. I just wanted to share the thoughts that he quoted:
PLAN A: “When it’s critical to hit the fairway, I go with a little cut shape off the tee. My typical miss is to over cut the ball. It happens when my arms get disconnected from my body on the backswing [where his trailing elbow is almost touching his side at the top]. To make sure a cut doesn’t become a slice, I treat my arms and torso as one unit as I start back. Try it. You’ll feel like your backswing is abbreviated, yet fully wound.”

PLAN B: “When I want to reach back for a few extra yards, I tee the ball higher and make a bigger turn, which makes my swing longer. I’ll some-times put my right hand on my right hip and mimic a backswing to rehearse this longer drive. I want to feel my right leg straightening and my right shoulder moving back and around my body [where his trailing elbow separates from his side]. If I copy that when I swing, I can really turn it loose.” [End of Collin’s quote.]

Collin has a mental plan for each shot. And you should have one too. I try to follow his plan A to keep my trailing elbow close to my body to force my backswing rotation. I have to avoid his plan B (for extra yards as that is where I get into trouble with wild slices).

Collin Morikawa really does have flexibility to rotate and keep his leading arm straight throughout his swing. Stay tuned for next week’s blog when I describe a great solution for the backswing for less flexible golfers. Keeping your leading arm straight is critical for consistent golf so you should be practicing with GOLFSTR+. It also gives you 5 more golf swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

The PGA Tour is returning to Colorado for the first time in nearly a decade with the redesigned course at Castle Pines Golf Club serving as host to the 2024 BMW Championship.

With players facing suspensions and/or lifetime bans, Justin Thomas hopes the PGA Tour's decision to deny conflicting-events releases for the first event of the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series will prevent players from going to London.

Brooks Koepka, who has not played in over a month since missing the cut at the Masters, has withdrawn from this week's AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas.

Sports business publication Sportico compiled salaries, winnings and endorsements to rank the top earning athletes of the last year. King James overtook Conor McGregor for the top spot while Naomi Osaka is the top earning female athlete.

The AT&T Byron Nelson boasts a strong field as the world's best get set for next week's PGA Championship. Here is how to watch the tournament on ESPN+.

The PGA Championship starts next week, and there's already plenty of drama. Will Tiger and/or Phil play? And what's next in golf's big fight between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf?