Jason Day withdraws from Memorial, likely ending U.S. Open chances

From custom kicks to hats and apparel adorned with Arnold Palmer’s iconic umbrella logo, Rickie Fowler has used his wardrobe to honor Palmer at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard the last few years. When Fowler tees it up this week at Bay Hill, he will once again slip-on limited-edition pieces inspired by Palmer’s life. Look for Fowler to wear special Arnold Palmer hats and a pair of IGNITE PROADAPT PALMER shoes from Puma Golf and his caddie will be toting a new API Cobra Stand Bag made by Vessel. The shoes Fowler will lace up were designed to pay homage to Palmer’s legendary golf career and love of aviation. The white, blue, and silver colorway was inspired by Palmer’s favorite plane, the first production Cessna 750 Citation X, and displays the tail number of his plane, N1AP, on the medial side. The 6 “windowsâ€� on the lateral side represent the six windows on the Cessna and the sockliner features Palmer’s unmistakable signature along with the Puma cat logo. Another shoe in the collection, the IGNITE NXT Arnie Camo, features a red, yellow, white, and green camo design on the outsole, heel, and collar lining to match the colors in Palmer’s umbrella logo. This same pattern is repeated on the API Puma x Vessel Stand Bag. Fowler will have plenty of hats to choose from at Bay Hill, too. His signature ‘P’ cap receives a twist with the addition of Palmer’s multi-colored umbrella logo in five bold camo colorways. A purple version was created in honor of International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8th. The range of caps is completed with two retro styles. The N1AP Rope 11 Cap combines a contemporary all-over print consisting of the tail number of Palmer’s plane with an old school rope design in three colorways. Puma also created Bay Hill and Latrobe City caps. The vintage snapback styles honor two places synonymous with Palmer’s legacy and feature a script that was found on sports caps thirty years ago. Fans can follow in Fowler’s footsteps as Puma will sell a limited amount of his custom gear plus other distinctive items online and at select retailers. Puma has also partnered with Arnie’s Army to raise funds for the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation with a sweepstakes for an Ultimate Golf Package open to anyone making a donation to the Foundation. The sweepstakes includes a trip for the winner and a guest to Bay Hill for a private tour and a round of golf. Puma API caps, shoes, and bags autographed by Fowler are include in the grand prize and as smaller prizes for donations. Puma will continue to honor Palmer beyond the 2020 API Collection. In June, it will launch the co-branded Puma x Arnold Palmer collection of apparel, footwear and accessories designed to be modern takes on the classic styles worn by Palmer during his career. In creating the collection, Puma product and design teams visited Latrobe and Bay Hill. There, they listened to stories from Palmer’s family, friends, and business associates to draw inspiration for the collection of elevated pieces. At this year’s Arnold Palmer, Puma will be hosting a trunk show to showcase the collection. Fans at the tournament will be able to get first dibs by pre-ordering the gear ahead of the official launch in June 2020.

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Collin Morikawa grew up 30 miles from The Riviera Country Club but had no interest in visiting one of the most pristine courses in the country. Now, the 25-year-old five-time PGA TOUR winner can’t get enough of it. And BetMGM bettors can’t get enough of Morikawa this week at The Genesis Invitational. “It was never my interest when I was a kid to go and watch golf. That was just never my thing. I went a couple times to Sherwood, but other than that I never came here,” Morikawa said prior to last year’s tournament. “I loved playing Riv in the U.S. Am [in 2017], I liked it, but last year I actually fell in love and I know why my caddie [J.J. Jakovac] loves this golf course. I keep falling in love with it and it just makes it a little more special being in L.A.,” he added. Morikawa’s love for the 96-year-old course isn’t reciprocated, however; he lost in the Round of 16 at the 2017 U.S. Amateur and has finishes of 26th and 43rd in two appearances at The Genesis Invitational. Half of his Genesis rounds ended with a 73, including the final round in 2020 after going 67-68 on Friday and Saturday to sit in 17th place, just five strokes behind the leaders. Despite the relative lack of success and experience the public is pounding Morikawa at the BetMGM sportsbook. His eight PGA TOUR rounds at Riviera are tied for 69th-most in this year’s field and he hasn’t played in five weeks, which was a fifth-place finish in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. As of Tuesday, Feb. 15, 11.8% of the tournament’s total handle (on a field-leading 8.5% of tickets) is on Morikawa (+2000) to win his first event since the 2021 Open Championship. Handle: Collin Morikawa – 11.8% Dustin Johnson – 8.5% Will Zalatoris – 7.6% Jon Rahm – 7.1% Justin Thomas – 6.1% Patrick Cantlay – 6.1% Tickets: Collin Morikawa – 8.5% Will Zalatoris – 5.9% Dustin Johnson – 5.4% Patrick Cantlay – 5.4% Justin Thomas – 5.3% Despite the heavy action – and position as BetMGM’s biggest liability – Morikawa’s odds haven’t moved, nor have the odds for defending champion Max Homa (+4000). Elsewhere, it’s been an unusually active market. Since the Genesis Invitational odds opened on Sunday night, the odds for more than 20 golfers have moved, including Cantlay (+1200 to +1100), Johnson (+1800 to +1600) and Rory McIlroy (+1800 to +2000). You can view updated golf odds for The Genesis Invitational winner, top American finisher, wire-to-wire winner, and more at the online sportsbook. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada.

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Tiger Woods’ Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS isn’t going anywhere. The putter Woods used to win 13 of his 14 major championships went in the bag during the 1999 season at the then-GTE Bryson Nelson Classic and has logged more rounds and wins than any putter he’s had in his possession.  It’s no wonder the putter is one of two at Woods’ home that’s off-limits to his son, Charlie.  Like most players who have a favorite putter, backups are usually made in the event something happens to the gamer. Due to the incredible success Woods has enjoyed had with the orignial, his run of good luck turned out to be a good thing for Rickie Fowler and golf memorabilia collectors.  Fowler, if you’ll recall, found a Newport 2 GSS blank originally made for Woods during a trip to Scotty Cameron’s studio, prior to the 2014 TOUR season, and had the putter built to his specifications. He’s been using it ever since the 2014 Genesis Open.  While Fowler managed to snag a Woods backup without much effort, a collector recently had to shell out $44,401.20 for the chance to own one of the 14-time major winner’s backup putters.  Green Jacket Auctions auctioned off the backup from 2001 and noted in the listing that Scotty Cameron “only produced one or two ‘back-up’ putters for Tiger each year they worked together. Tiger would try out the back-ups, and even practice with them to ensure they were to his liking, but (so the legend goes) Tiger only used his one trusty gamer in actual tournament play.” Woods won one major championship during the 2001 season, but it was a significant one, as his two-shot victory over David Duval at the Masters completed the “Tiger Slam.”  This isn’t the first time a Woods backup has made it out into the open. Back in 2015, a collector from Japan paid $60,000 for a backup putter, making the one purchased earlier this month for $16,000 less look like a steal. 

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