Hey Everyone,

Genesis Invitational week always makes it feel like golf season is very close (even with snow in the forecast…). Watching guys play a course that feels similar to something you could find in the northeast is comforting. Hawaii, the desert courses, and Pebble Beach don’t really have that feel. Riviera CC does.

During Tiger’s press conference this week, he once again spoke about the possibility of a new schedule on the PGA Tour that could start after the Super Bowl. It got me thinking about what the game of golf has that football and the NFL might want, because it feels like the conversation always goes in one direction.

So that’s the meat of the newsletter.

Let’s get into it!

GENESIS INVITATIONAL: Keegan Bradley is the only Bay Stater in the field at Riviera CC. He had a tough day in the rain and shot a 76 (+5). Live Scoring

I made an Instagram Reel about the connection between Riviera CC, The LA Open, Marion GC, and Worcester native (and Holy Cross grad!) Paul Harney.

HONDA LPGA THAILAND: Megan Khang had a tough start to her season. She shot a 75 on Thursday, but clawed her way back up to the leaderboard with a 69 on Friday. She is T58. Live Scoring

MINOR LEAGUE GOLF TOUR: Chris Francoeur (Amesbury, Mass.) shot a 64 at Indian Springs CC to notch his first MLGT victory. Another Bay State connection, Ryan Celano finished T3. Celano is the son of The International’s Director of golf Paul Celano. Results

WATERSOUND INVITATIONAL: John Broderick (Wellesley, Mass.) and Ryan Downes (Longmeadow, Mass.) both finished T14 and helped Vanderbilt finish in second place at the Watersound Invitational. Downes shot a 63 in the second round, the lowest score recorded in the event. Results

LOYOLA INTERCOLLEGIATE: Holy Cross finished 20th, and NC State senior Joey Lenane (Dedham, Mass.) finished 30th. Lenane’s Wolkpack squad finished in 4th place. Results

PRESTIGE: The Yale men finished T22 out at PGA West. Results

I have compiled schedules and results for every New England Division 1 team and Massachusetts-based D1 players. You can find it here.

GASPARILLA: The popular mid-amateur event in Tampa Bay got started on Thursday at Donald Ross’ Palma Ceia CC. Four players from Massachusetts are in the field. The top 70 and ties make the cut after 36 holes. The final round is Saturday Live Scoring

I was a guest on two podcasts in Janurary and they both released this week!

I joined AJ on The Waggle Podcast to talk about Bay State Golf and my quest and other tangential things.

Then I hopped on The Golfer’s Anonymous with Noah to do a 2026 Golf Wishlist

Last July, I popped into Pine Oaks in Easton on the way home from New Bedford. The course is cool, and Joe and Leigh’s is one of the best golf stores in the state. Incredible used club section.

The NFL is king in the United States. It dominates the fall and winter, and it continues to hum in the background year-round.

But dominance at home doesn’t guarantee relevance abroad.

Yes, the NFL is so dominant that other sports and organizations have tried to avoid bumping up against the NFL’s schedule.

Yes, there have been rumors and suspicions that the PGA Tour might start its season after the Super Bowl.

Yes, seven years ago, the PGA Tour shifted their season to finish in late August before the pigskin was officially in the air after Labor Day.

Even Rory McIlroy admires how the NFL operates.

However, the NFL wants to dominate more than just the United States. Games in London, Munich, Dublin, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro have dotted the schedule and become increasingly prevalent over the last decade in order to (wait for it...) grow the game.

This type of growth is a long-term goal. Sports can take generations to take hold in far corners of the planet.

Many point to the 1992 Dream Team in Barcelona for creating the slow drip that spread around the globe and created an NBA that hasn’t had an American-born MVP since James Harden in 2018.

The NFL is learning that sitting in a stadium or a living room watching a game does not always lead to actually playing the sport.

And if that’s ultimately what Roger Goodell and the NFL want, they’ll have to find ways to make football approachable for those who want to play.

If you think golf has a high barrier to entry, then think about the challenge football has for creating pipelines to the NFL.

Football requires large teams, organization, equipment, and coaching. It’s a physical, violent game, which can be a red flag for many families because the injury risk is high. In some cases, countries already have their violent games. Rugby comes to mind for much of the world.

Flag football might be the best gateway into helmets and pads.

Right now, 3% of the players in the NFL are foreign-born, according to this George Mason report. Of that group of players, 20% of them are Canadian. Jamaica (6.8%), American Samoa (6.5%), Germany (6.5%), United Kingdom (6.3%), Nigeria (5.3%), Australia (3.2%), Italy (2.8%), Tonga (2.4%), and Mexico (2.1%) make up most of the remainder of those foreign-born players.

Golf is already a global game, but it also has its challenges. People need clubs and a place to play. Instruction isn’t necessary to just get people playing the sport, but it’s not dangerous, and it can be played alone.

There’s a reason soccer and basketball are the most played sports in the world: they require minimal equipment, and both have a flow that doesn’t require plays or organization at the grassroots level.

Next season, the NFL will play its first game in Australia. It’s a country that loves contact sports like rugby and Australian Rules Football.

Julia Alexander of Puck News wrote:

In her article, Alexander also challenges the impact of these international games.

The problem with the NFL games abroad is that they feel like the circus has come to town.

Those connections will come from individual football players more than teams from American cities.

Over the years, it feels like the NFL has made an effort to minimize any sort of individuality. Players are penalized for removing their helmets. Individuality has been flushed out of the sport as flags get tossed for celebrations and taunting.

That culture makes it hard to have football evangelists within the game.

It’s no surprise that one of the most recognizable players gained fame because he dated, and then proposed to, Taylor Swift.

If an NFL player wants to be recognized, he’ll have to be in an insurance commercial.

Golf can generate stories that focus on individuals. These stories can attract new people to the sport. Golf careers also have a longer shelflife, allowing for more notoriety and infamy, which makes things more interesting.

As long as those stories are told.

The NFL going to Australia will be interesting because it has proven to be a treasure trove for golf. The Australian Open was excellent at Royal Melbourne this past year. Rory McIlroy made the trip, and Cam Smith nearly won the event. LIV Golf has had its best events Down Under, which culminated with Anthony Kim’s incredible victory last week.

I wonder what Roger Goodell would give to have a scene in Australia like the one Anthony Kim generated last weekend?

Thousands of fans surrounding a green as a tortured soul wins his first tournament in 16 years.

So while the talk always seems to go in one direction about how the PGA Tour can be more like the NFL. There are absolutely some things that the NFL is jealous of and is chasing as they try to spread its game to new parts of the world, too.

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