At a time of big changes in golf, one development on the senior circuit should not go unnoticed. The Senior Players Championship is moving to California, which likely spells the end of 72 years of PGA Tour presence at Firestone Country Club.
Healthcare company Hoag is taking over as title sponsor of the Senior Players and moving it from Firestone to Newport Beach Country Club, which has hosted the Hoag Classic since 1996. It will be played March 25-28 instead of a summer date.
That leaves Firestone without a tournament for the first time since the Rubber City Open in 1954.
Firestone opened in 1929 as a park for employees of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. It landed the 1960 PGA Championship, which inspired the American Golf Classic from 1961 to 1976. The PGA Championship returned in 1966 and 1975.
Firestone also hosted the first big-money event in 1962, the World Series of Golf, for the four major champions of the year. Jack Nicklaus, the 22-year-old U.S. Open champion, won $50,000 (he won $17,500 that year for the U.S. Open).
The World Series of Golf became part of the PGA Tour schedule in 1976 (Nicklaus won again), and it became a World Golf Championship in 1999. Tiger Woods won a record eight times. Over 11 straight visits to Firestone starting in 1997, Woods won seven times and never finished worse than fifth.
The one year the WGC went to Sahalee outside Seattle in 2002, Firestone hosted the Senior PGA Championship.
Justin Thomas won the final WGC at Firestone in 2018 before it moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and the Senior Players Championship took over in 2019. And now it’s leaving.
A fallen tree and a 5-ton bench at Riviera
Riviera Country Club will have a new structure in time for the U.S. Women’s Open next week, a bench weighing more than 10,000 pounds and incorporating 40% of the preserved root system from a eucalyptus tree that came down during the 2025 wildfires.
The course and the clubhouse were spared from the Pacific Palisades fires, though the historic tree on the 15th hole came down. It had been planted in the early 1930s and was part of nearly all of Riviera’s history.
“I felt it was important to honor what was lost, and what our community endured, by creating something lasting and meaningful,” Megan Watanabe, the CEO at Riviera, said in a letter to members.
Riviera commissioned artist Taylor Donsker to transform the fallen tree into a circular bench next to the tee on the par-3 14th as a place to pause, reflect and soak up the view.
“This bench is dedicated to the Riviera members who faced this time with strength, unity and resilience,” Watanabe said. “It stands as a reminder of our shared roots and how we move forward together, with gratitude for the past and the resilience of our community, as we look toward the club’s next 100 years.”
Riviera is celebrating its centennial by hosting the Women’s Open for the first time. The Olympics will be held at Riviera in 1928, followed by the U.S. Open in 1931.
Official end of the Don Rea era at the PGA of America
The PGA of America waited until 5:01 p.m. of Memorial Day weekend to finally say it has suspended Don Rea as president for his final six months of his two-year term. It was a classic news dump and barely news.
Rea already has been moved aside in February, giving up his seat on the PGA Tour board to the vice president, Nathan Charnes, in February. The PGA of America said Rea’s responsibilities had shifted to PGA member priorities. He wasn’t visible during the PGA Championship two weeks ago.
Rea first raised eyebrows when he was asked during a press conference at the 2025 PGA Championship his opinion on bifurcation. “There is no personal opinion. I’m the president of the PGA of America, right? I’ve got 31,000 members that are listening to my every word.”
Far more infamous was his response to the vulgar heckling Rory McIlroy and Team Europe faced in the Ryder Cup last September at Bethpage Black. He compared it with what could be heard at a youth soccer game and said American players also get jeered at away matches. He later apologized.
Charnes is now acting president and already in line to become the next president in November.
Woodland among 11 added to British Open field through world ranking
Gary Woodland was No. 139 in the world when he won the Houston Open, his first since he had brain surgery in September 2023. It also paved the way for him to return to the British Open.
Woodland is at No. 47 this week. He is among 11 players exempt for the British Open through top 50 in the world ranking. The others are Patrick Reed, Kurt Kitayama, Min Woo Lee, Ryan Gerard, Rickie Fowler, Jake Knapp, Jason Day, Alex Smalley, Michael Kim and Matt McCarty.
The Memorial will offer one British Open spot and the Canadian Open offers three spots. The British Open also will take the leading five players not already exempt from the top 20 in the FedEx Cup through the Travelers Championship.
A big year without a win so far for Si Woo Kim
Si Woo Kim is playing some of his best golf without a trophy to show for it.
Kim has played in the final group twice this year, both times with Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler rallied to beat him at The American Express, while Kim and Scheffler were overtaken by Wyndham Clark in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson last week.
Kim was in the penultimate group Sunday at Torrey Pines and Phoenix. He has two runner-up finishes, twice has finished third and has seven top 10s in 15 tournaments.
It adds to $6,040,361, the first time in his career Kim has gone over the $6 million mark for a season, and he still has three full months remaining.
“I think if I keep knocking on the door, something is coming,” Kim said. “I can feel it. I played great. I think it’s pretty much best play I’ve ever had. I’m a little frustrated, but nothing I can do.”
Jackson Koivun becomes 2-time winner of Ben Hogan Award
Auburn junior Jackson Koivun has won the Ben Hogan Award, the third college player to win the award twice. He won the Hogan Award as a freshman in 2024 and was a finalist last year, losing out to Luke Clanton.
The vote announced Monday night in Fort Worth, Texas, was not a big surprise. Koivun is the No. 1 player in the world amateur ranking, a winner of six college events this spring including three in a row culminating with his third straight SEC title. Koivun, who had a 67.97 scoring average in college tournaments, had four top-12 finishes in five PGA Tour events.
The other two-time winners of the Ben Hogan Award were Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg.
Divots
Ryan Hybl is leaving Oklahoma after 17 years and one NCAA title (in 2017) to take over as golf coach at Georgia Tech. Hybl replaces Bruce Heppler, who has retired after 31 years with the Yellow Jackets. … Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been awarded the 2044 U.S. Amateur, the 2029 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2036 U.S. Mid-Amateur. That brings to eight the number of USGA championships held at Southern Hills. … The Nexo Championship is back on the European tour schedule this year. It will be Aug. 20-23 at Trump International in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Stat of the week
Scheffler had only one 5 on his scorecard over four rounds at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He still finished five shots behind Clark.
Final word
“My plans are just to play golf. I’ll play so much golf, I’m going to be sick and tired of golf.” — Scott Hend after winning on the PGA Tour Champions to be fully exempt into all tournaments.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf