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January 15, 2020 - 6:00 am EST 5 years ago

The Pin Sheet – January 15, 2020

Chris Chaney Chris Chaney
The Pin Sheet – January 15, 2020

Welcome to The Pin Sheet, a quick guide for your day in golf that pairs beautifully with our Clubhouse Newsletter.

Between this daily aggregation and the Newsletter, you’ll find everything you need to know that’s going on in the world of golf to be the most well-informed player in your foursome.

Without further ado, now on the tee…


Today’s Clubhouse Newsletter

How Much Money Are Tour Pros Really Making?

We know that top-tier Tour pros are making a pretty nice living, but what’s their income look like when all the dust settles — when the travel expenses are taken out, when payments to instructors and physios and accountants and caddies are made? 

Golfweek.com’s Steve DiMeglio and Beth Ann Nichols conducted some interviews and estimated what the 50th-ranked players on both the PGA and LPGA Tour are taking home after a year on the road.

The different tentacles each player has coming from them are interesting — as are the disparities in their costs — but when it comes down to it, the 50th-ranked PGA Tour pro is making $2,755,000 and clearing $1,271,320 while the 50th-ranked LPGA Tour player is making $480,000 and taking home $182,241. 

Koepka Reveals “Excruciating” Details Of Injury

World No. 1 Brooks Koepka headlines a strong field in the United Arab Emirates this week for the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, marking the first time the four-time major winner will have teed it up since the CJ Cup in October. Coming off of stem cell surgery on his left knee, Koepka slipped on some wet concrete and reinjured the knee.

“Everything felt good, and then in Korea, I re-tore it and the kneecap had moved into the fat pad,” Koepka told reporters. “That’s excruciating. It’s a lot of pain. It’s not fun. I have been trying to make sure everything feels right, and it does not feel like my right knee, I’ll be honest with you, and it probably won’t for a while. But it does feel stable. 

“Even when I got the green light (to practice), I just didn’t know whether it was going to feel right, whether you’re going to be the same, how it is going to feel. I started hitting balls just before Christmas. Everything felt good.”

Koepka will begin his 2020 campaign alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry for the first two rounds.

DeChambeau Left Off PGA Tour PAC Again

The PGA Tour announced its 16-member Player Advisory Council, which “advises and consults with the PGA Tour Policy Boardand Commissioner Jay Monahan on issues affecting the Tour,” according to the Tour’s statement. 

The players making up the PAC this year are Ryan Armour, Paul Casey, David Hearn, Harry Higgs, Charley Hoffman, Billy Horschel, Zach Johnson, Russell Knox, Anirban Lahiri, Peter Malnati, Rory McIlroy, Ryan Palmer, Jon Rahm, Kevin Streelman, Justin Thomas and Harold Varner III. Conspicuous in his absense is Bryson DeChambeau, who has been lobbying to get on the PAC for the past few years.

“I really want to make a change here. I’ve asked to be on the PAC committee for three years, and it takes time to get on there,” DeChambeau said during last year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs. 

Eight of the 16 PAC members are elected by the membership and the four player directors on the policy board select the remaining eight council members, according to Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard. Hoffman, Malnati and Thomas have been selected by the player directors to run for PAC Chairman via election which ends February 7. 

Baby Opossum Beaten On Golf Course

A baby opossum was found severely beaten on a Hilton Head golf course last week, and has been taken in by the Wildlife Rehab of Greenville. The opossum, now named Scarlett, was found with a broken jaw, one eye protruding, the other eye injured and a large gash on her throat, Wendy Watson, the president of the Wildlife Rehab of Greenville said.

While there were witnesses to the beating, no one was willing to talk, meaning an investigation couldn’t go forward. 

“The injuries are indicative of being struck with a golf club,” Watson said. “No one has been caught for doing this. We reported it to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and they investigated. Without pictures or video, they cannot move forward.”

The story has a happy ending, however. Since sharing Scarlett’s story, WRG has received more than $10,000 in donations from a total of more than 500 people through Facebook, according to WJCL.com.