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Best Golf Stories of 2023, From Sports Illustrated
Not sure if you’ve heard —and if you’ve even passively followed the golf news cycle this year, you have without a doubt heard—but it was a big year of golf news. The clash and ensuing truce between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf dominated headlines, and it’s currently unclear if the two sides will hammer out an arrangement for their proposed new venture.
But we’re not here to speculate on the future. Today we celebrate 2023, and look back at some of our favorite stories from the year that was. There was plenty of non-PGA Tour-versus-LIV Golf news to keep us hopping. This year SI Golf produced and published more than 2,000 articles, a number that makes this editor want to lie down for a holiday nap. From the LIV drama and Tiger Woods to the majors, rules changes, rollbacks and everything in between, the SI Golf crew had a busy year.
Thanks for continuing to read us along the way. As is tradition around here this time of year, here's a look back at of some of our favorite pieces for one last read this holiday season.
Jan. 25: Phil Mickelson's absence hits hard at Torrey Pines, by Farrell Evans
Feb. 19: The second season of LIV Golf is here. Do you care? by Bob Harig
Feb. 20: Tiger Woods's tampon prank was no laughing matter, by Farrell Evans
Feb. 23: Want to own a piece of professional golf? LIV's teams are for sale, by Bob Harig
Feb. 24: Everything is a memory in the end: A moment with Arnold Palmer at Honda Classic, by John Garrity
Feb. 28: Eric Cole looks like he belongs in the show, by Gary Van Sickle
March 6: The battle for golf supremacy is over and LIV has lost, by Michael Rosenberg
March 10: Christiaan Bezuidenhout's stuttering comes from a surprising source, by Bob Harig
March 29: 10 years ago, Tiger Woods received one of the most bizarre penalties in Masters history, by Bob Harig
April 10: Revisiting the Brooks Koepka caddie controversy from Augusta, by Bob Harig
April 14: Jack Nicklaus gets a win in court, by Alex Miceli
May 5: In the golf video game war, this new game is the clear winner, by Nick Menta
May 16: 'We have another hole-in-one:' The day four aces landed at Oak Hill, by Gabrielle Herzig
May 23: Michael Block saved the PGA Championship and reminded us why we watch, by John Hawkins
June 15: A zoo at the U.S. Open? Exploring the strange noises just behind LACC, by Gabrielle Herzig
June 6: In one stunning move, Jay Monahan killed LIV Golf, by Michael Rosenberg
June 19: NBC delivers refreshing broadcast at U.S. Open, by John Hawkins
June 25: At her first major, Rose Zhang shows signs of what's to come, by Gabrielle Herzig
June 26: USGA admits it got Rory McIlroy ruling wrong at U.S. Open, by Bob Harig
July 6: LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka unloads on teammate Matthew Wolff, by Alex Miceli
July 19: Links golf is on glorious display at this British Open, by Bob Harig
July 26: ‘You’re actually stupid': Senior golfers sound off on cheating scandal, by Alex Miceli
August 12: Rory McIlroy makes putter tweak at local golf shop, by Gabrielle Herzig
Sept. 8: Myrtle Beach World Am is still going strong, by John Schwarb
Sept. 24: After unsatisfying stalemate at Solheim Cup, it's time to ban ties, by Alex Miceli
Sept 25: A Ryder Cup captain's job goes far beyond pairings, by Gabrielle Herzig
Sept 26: Nothing like the first-tee anticipation at a Ryder Cup, by Bob Harig
Sept 30: Hatless Patrick Cantlay, his caddie and Rory McIlroy become story of Ryder Cup, by Bob Harig
Oct. 19: Greg Norman breaks his silence, by Bob Harig
Nov. 2: Remembering Bob Knight and his old golf show, by John Schwarb
Nov. 21: The case of Erica Herman v. Tiger Woods is over, and Woods deserved better, by Alex Miceli
Nov. 5: Bold ideas from our first-ever “Bad Takes Week”:
Rerouting Augusta National, by Jeff Ritter
Revising the Fall golf schedule, by Bob Harig
Ending slow play once and for all, by John Hawkins
Banning music on the golf course, by Gabrielle Herzig
Legalizing betting for PGA Tour players, by Alex Miceli
Eliminating bunker rakes, by John Schwarb
Dec. 7: Rahm is gone and the PGA Tour is at a tipping point, by Michael Rosenberg
Dec. 21: 401 Feet! The story of the world’s longest putt, by Gary Van Sickle
Jeff Ritter is the managing director of SI Golf. He has more than 20 years of sports media experience, and previously was the general manager at the Morning Read, where he led that business's growth and joined SI as part of an acquisition in 2022. Earlier in his career he spent more than a decade at SI and Golf Magazine, and his journalism awards include a MIN Magazine Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award for sports reporting. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.