Trump’s LA golf club sees big drop in business: report

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Demonstrating its commitment to growing and diversifying the game of golf, PGA TOUR University and the APGA Tour announced today a new program to help top Black golfers transition from the collegiate game into the professional ranks. The new APGA Collegiate Ranking identifies five players from Division I, II or III programs - including HBCUs - and exempts them into summer events on the APGA Tour as well as the Pre-Qualifying Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament that same year starting in 2021. The announcement comes as part of the PGA TOUR's commitment to racial equity and inclusion. As part of the plan announced at THE TOUR Championship, the TOUR is pledging at least $100 million over the next 10 years to support nonprofit organizations whose services directly address the inequities and disparities that affect African-American citizens as well as underrepresented and underserved populations in the communities in which tournaments are conducted. The APGA Collegiate Ranking will ease the financial costs associated with playing developmental tours as well as application fees for the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament. Eligible players for the APGA Collegiate Ranking are Black NCAA Division I, II or III golfers who exhaust a minimum of four collegiate years. "The APGA Tour has created a great platform for diverse competition in our sport, and we're excited to further the PGA TOUR's support of those efforts with today's announcement," said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. "The APGA Collegiate Ranking will deliver a tremendous avenue for more Black golfers to pursue their TOUR dreams after the conclusion of their college careers." The top five players from the APGA Collegiate Ranking will earn the following benefits for the current season once they turn professional after completion of their collegiate career: • APGA Tour membership • Entry into all remaining APGA Tour events • Travel costs associated with each APGA Tour event • Exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament • Pre-Qualifying Stage unless otherwise exempt into another Stage The inaugural APGA Collegiate Ranking released in conjunction with the announcement highlights the top five players in the current standings, with Florida A&M University players taking four of the spots. Mulbe Dillard (1), Mahindra Lutchman (3), Ethan Mangum (4) and Cameron Riley (5) lead the Rattlers in the top five rankings, while Michigan State's Andrew Walker debuted at No. 2 on the list. "Today's APGA Collegiate Ranking announcement is a tremendous step forward for these dedicated student-athletes looking to establish a career in professional golf," offered Ken Bentley, co-founder and CEO of the APGA Tour. "Young Black players across all divisions of NCAA golf - including HBCUs - have been the most important talent resource for the APGA Tour since we launched in 2010, and this program will provide incentive for top college players to seize an incredible opportunity." The APGA Collegiate Ranking uses the Golfstat adjusted scoring average as the ranking measurement, specifically designed to capture the top players positioned to qualify for APGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament access. This ranking list will be updated periodically throughout the 2020-21 NCAA men's golf season. For more information on the APGA Collegiate Ranking or the APGA Tour, please visit APGATour.org.

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This is an important week for Morgan Hoffmann and his inspirational attempt to continue his PGA TOUR career after being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. The Travelers Championship marks the final start of the medical extension he was granted after being diagnosed with the disease. The Oklahoma State alum returned to the TOUR earlier this year after spending two-and-a-half years away from competitive golf as he immersed himself in the world of alternative medicine and took a holistic approach to managing the disease, including moving to Costa Rica for a time. After returning to the TOUR, Hoffmann missed the cut at both the RBC Heritage and Wells Fargo Championship, leaving one start remaining on his medical extension. Hoffmann’s medical extension began in the 2018 season, so all his points earned since the start of that season are combined and compared to the FedExCup standings for that season. He was fully exempt for 2018 after finishing 81st in the previous year’s FedExCup but made only nine starts before stepping away from the game. Here’s a closer look at what Hoffmann faces this week in that final start of his medical extension. Hoffmann, who has earned 139.04 FedExCup points since the start of 2018, will be looking to surpass the 150th position in the 2018 FedExCup standings (266 points) to earn conditional TOUR status for the remainder of the season or No. 125 (383) to have full status for the remainder of the season. He is credited with all points earned since 2018, and judged against the 2018 FedExCup standings, because that is the season that was interrupted by injury. Hoffmann needs to earn 238.42 FedExCup points this week — equivalent to a two-way T2 or better — to remain fully exempt on TOUR for the remainder of the season. He needs 127.098 FedExCup points – a solo fourth or better — to remain conditionally exempt on TOUR and play out of the Nos. 126-150 category for the remainder of the season. Should Hoffmann fail to cross those thresholds this week, he will still have conditional Korn Ferry Tour status for the remainder of the season because he already has surpassed No. 200 in the 2018 FedExCup standings. Even if he does not earn any FedExCup points this week, he can play on the Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of the season out of the category for Nos. 151-200 on the previous year’s FedExCup standings. He cannot qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals entry based solely on the FedExCup points he earned during his medical extension, however, because he already competed in the 2019 Finals while on this same extension. Hoffmann could qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, however, if after this week he earns enough points to finish among the top 75 on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points Ranking. He also could play in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals this year if he earns more non-member FedExCup points than No. 200 in the FedExCup standings after the Wyndham Championship (points earned this week would count toward that total), though he will need to rely on sponsor exemptions and Monday qualifying for starts if he does not fulfill his extension this week. His TOUR status for next season will be determined based solely on his points accrued via this season, with no carryover from previous seasons. He has missed the cut in both of his PGA TOUR starts this season. He also can go to the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament to earn Korn Ferry Tour status for 2023. He is exempt into the second stage of Q-School by virtue of having made 100 combined cuts on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour. Hoffmann is scheduled to tee off at 8:15 a.m. ET Thursday alongside Bill Haas and Trey Mullinax.

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