LPGA playing at Shadow Creek... how much do you have to pay for 18 holes.

Most every week pro golf, whatever the Tour is hosted by mainly very expensive, private courses.

Sponsored Video

Sponsored by Advertising Partner

I recently did some digging, thought you might have $3.7 million to join a course like one in golf mad Japan, and they wont even take your money, there is no room on the island to expand for the list of prospective members at the Koganei Country Club in Tokyo.

May Tse/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

The sprawling 12 course Mission Hills complex in Shenzhen China cost $150,000 to join when golf became permitted by the Communist government. However now it is reported to cost $2,000,000. Only 0.7% of the Chinese population play golf which is about 1,000,000 of the total population of 1.408 billion !

This week the LPGA is playing the very private Shadow Creek, in Las Vegas. The owner is Steve Wynn, founder of Wynn Resorts. 

He spent nearly $100 million to build it in the desert, guests at the nearby MGM Hotel are offered access as part of their stay.

Each round costs $500, plus caddie fees of $50-$100 plus tip. 

I'll add many more like upcoming very private Augusta where there are only 300 exclusive members who have the privelge of paying a $250,000 - $500,000 fee upon acceptance.

Bryan Angus

edited update : Brooke Henderson wins her 2nd match T-Mobile Match Play... Full results

 LPGA : T-Mobile Match Play   

Leaderboard

With another solid round Brooke Henderson has won the 2nd of 3 matches in her group with a convincing 5&4 win over Peiyun Chien after a 6&5 opener over Leona McGuire she is virtually assured at 2-0 of moving on to the sweet 16 knock out stroke play over the weekend on the Shadow Creek GC in Las Vegas.

She will play Jin Young Ko in her final group  match on Friday.

In the 16 groups the top player will advance to the sweet 16, individual match play knockout, 8 matches in the quarter finals, then 4 matches in the semi finals, before the finals on Sunday afternoon.

Group 8 :  1.Brooke is 2-0-0

                 2. Peiyun Chien 1-1-0

                 3. Jin Yun Ko 0-1-1

                 4. Leona Maguire 0-1-1 

Only Peiyun Chien can catch Brooke with a win today over Leona Maguire. If she wins and Brooke loses they will both be 2-1-1 thus requiring a sudden death playoff to see who advances.

Brooke already beat her Chinese opponent 5&4 yesterday.

Bryan Angus

Canadians well back after rd1 at Valero Texas Open... full scoreboard

 PGA Tour : Valero Texas Open Leaderboard

American Sam Ryder had his day on this Oak Course at TPC San Antonio, torching the back nine with 6 birdies on his last 7 holes for 30 and the lead, a bogey free 63 -9.

Jonathan Bachman

Two behind with -7 65 was in form Keith Mitchell.

The chasing pack features 16 players bunched between -6 and -3 including Carson Young and Jordan Spieth -5, Tommy Fleetwood -4.

Canadians

It was not such a good day for the Canadians.

Ben Silverman T19 -2 70

Adam Svensson / Corey Conners T42 -1 71.

WEATHER

Friday :  A much cooler day 70*c with a stronger wind 16mph S, and 45% chance of rain,

Bryan Angus

Henderson wins first match T-Mobile Match Play... full match results..

 LPGA : T-Mobile Match Play 

Leaderboard

It was a cold, mid 50's F, windy day with  intermittent showers in Las Vegas to begin this weeks T-Mobile Match Play on the Shadow Creek GC.

Format

There are 8 groups of four players who play each other in the opening phase, before the top 2 from each group move onto the sweet 16, stroke play knock out.

COC/Handout Dave Holland

Brooke Henderson is seeded 25th, in group 8, with Leona Maguire, Peiyun Chien and Jin Young Ko.

Henderson ran out an easy 6&5 winner that finished on the 13th green, over Ireland's Leona Maguire in her first match

"Playing with Leona I knew it was going to be really tough because she has such a great record in match play, and went to the final last year. She was playing well, it was just really tough out there today"

Today she plays Chinese Peiyun Chien ranked 57th.

For all the scoring click on my link above.

Bryan Angus

89th Masters, traditional facts & figures

 The Masters : April 10 -13 2025.

The Masters is the first of the four men's Majors this year and runs from Thursday, April 10 to Sunday, April 13.

There are three official practice days in the lead up, from Monday to Wednesday. The Par 3 Contest, the traditional curtain-raiser on the eve of the tournament, begins at midday local time on Wednesday.

As ever with the Masters, Augusta National Golf Club, a private club in Augusta, Georgia is the host venue. It’s the only one of the four men’s Major Championships that is played every year on the same course.

The tee times and groupings for rounds one and two will be announced on Tuesday, April 8.

*  Field : The Masters has the smallest field of the four men's Majors, with 96 players set to tee it up at this year's edition.

The winner of this week's Valero Texas Open on the PGA TOUR, if not already exempt, will earn a last-minute invite to join the field.

The best players in the world will pursue the Green Jacket - to find out in full who will be playing at Augusta National, click here.

Players must be in the top 50 places, counting ties, to make the 36-hole cut. 

* Playoff :  Unlike the other three Majors, the Masters features a sudden-death play-off if there is a tie after 72 holes.

The first play-off hole is the 18th and should that not determine a winner, players move to the tenth. Both holes run parallel to each other. This sequence is repeated until a champion is decided.

The last play-off was in 2017, when Sergio Garcia overcame Justin Rose.

* Defending :  World Number One Scottie Scheffler claimed his second Green Jacket - two years on from his first in 2022 - with a four-shot victory 12 months ago as the American won his second Major Championship.

* Storylines:  Scheffler is aiming to win the Masters for the third time in four years. He finished runner-up in his last start at the Texas Children's Houston Open, his third top ten since a delayed start to his season after undergoing surgery on a hand injury sustained while preparing Christmas dinner.

* World Number Two Rory McIlroy, who has already won twice on the PGA TOUR so far this year, will become the sixth player to win all four men's Majors if he wins, emulating Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

* World Tour members Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Rasmus Højgaard, Thriston Lawrence and Aaron Rai will all make their Masters debuts.

* There are 18 past champions teeing it up, but five-time winner Tiger Woods is not among those playing after undergoing surgery last month on a ruptured Achilles tendon injury.

* European great Bernhard Langer, champion in 1985 and 1993, will make his 41st and final appearance as a participant.

* Par3 :  First played in 1960 and won that year by Sam Snead, the Par 3 Contest has become a Wednesday tradition at the Masters.

Tournament participants and non-competing past champions are invited to participate in the Contest.

The nine-hole course is par-27, 1,090 yards.

In the history of the Contest, there have been 112 holes-in-one made, including a record nine in 2016.

Only Ben Crenshaw and Vijay Singh have gone on to win the Masters after winning the Par 3 Contest, with no player having ever won both at the same Masters.

* Amen Corner is the name for a three-hole stretch of the course beginning with the par four 11th hole, and including the par three 12th and par five 13th.

The holes are named White Dogwood (No. 11), Golden Bell (No. 12) and Azalea (No. 13).

The phrase, Amen Corner, was first used by Herbert Warren Wind in the 1958 edition of Sports Illustrated.

* Champions Dinner :  Better known as the "Champions Dinner", the Masters Club Dinner began in 1952 when defending champion Ben Hogan organized a dinner for all previous winners.

At that time, Hogan proposed the formation of a Masters Club, limited to only Masters Champions.

Each year, the defending champion selects the menu and acts as host for the Tuesday night dinner.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

TEE TIMES Valero Texas Open...Conners leads 3 Canadians

 PGA Tour : Valero Texas Open Tee Times

This year's version of the Valero Texas Open down in San Antonio gets underway Thursday morning, Akshay Bhatia defends his title, two time winner Corey Conners leads three Canadians into this last week before the Masters.

Course : TPC San Antonio Oaks Course.

Times EDT

8.42  Ben Silverman, Bud Cauley, Chad Ramey

9.15  Adam Svensson, Chris Gotterup, Brandt Snedeker

2.25  Corey Conners, Max Homa, Gary Woodland

WEATHER

Thursday/ Friday very hot, 88*f and 91*f with the breeze NW 9-14 mph, 40% chance of showers Friday.

Saturday 76*f, 44% chance of showers, wind S 15mph

Sunday 65*f, 1% chance of rain, wind S14mph

more to follow...

Bryan Angus

Two time champion, Corey Conners at the Valero Texas Open...TEE TIMES

 PGA Tour : Valero Texas Open  Tee Times

It's the week before the Masters so all the real big boys are off getting all family and travel arrangements ready to move into a sponsor provided house in Augusta.

Note*** ( Georgians who have homes surrounding Augusta, take their holidays during the tournament and rent out their homes for a small fortune to pay for that holiday.)

Canadian Corey Conners has won this, his only two wins, twice..

In 2019 he needed a win to play Augusta, he Monday qualified, he made 3 birdies in the final 5 holes after a topsy turvy round, -20 to beat veteran Charlie Hoffman by two shots..

His wife Malory, now mother of two children, was caught on camera, awestruck, which made world wide news.

He won again in 2023, shooting a final round 68, -15 273 to beat Sam Burns by a shot !

He will play the Masters with Canadian pals Nick Taylor and Taylor Pendrith. Corey torched the Florida Swing 3rd at Bay Hill, T6 at Players, as I have penned, Taylor is showing some recent form, while Nick has not contended heading into this week.

Stringbean lefty Akshay Bhatia, a supreme shotmaker is the defending champion..

Ludvig Aberg is the top ranked player at #6.

There are 156 storylines, but just for example Matthieu Pavon the Frenchman had only won once after being a grinder on the DP World Tour for 7 years, he qualified as a top 10, for the PGA Tour. He came over to America an unknown, played well at the Sony, then shocked the golfing world, hitting the $20m jackpot at Torrey Pines, then finishing T3 at Pebble the next week.

He is qualified for everything for at least 2 years, and that includes Augusta again this year.

Bryan Angus