For comments: [email protected]. On Twitter: @benalberstadt

Good Monday morning, golf fans, in a week where Tiger Woods returns to action!

1. Fairytale win for Bradbury at Joburg Open

DP World Tour report…“Dan Bradbury secured a life-changing wire-to-wire victory at the Joburg Open to claim his maiden DP World Tour title in just his third start, and with it a place at The 151st Open Championship.”

• “The 23-year-old Englishman, who only turned professional in the summer, came into the week with no status on any tour but made the most of a sponsor’s invite at Houghton Golf Club, clinching a magnificent three-shot win as the 2023 season got off to a memorable start.”

• “Having gone into the final round with a narrow one-stroke lead, Bradbury produced a brilliant display of frontrunning on Sunday, stretching his lead throughout the day before signing for a closing 67 to finish the tournament on 21 under par.”

2. Linn Grant takes Open de Espana

BBC report…”Linn Grant has won the Ladies European Tour title for the first time after finishing third at the season-ending Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana.”

• “The Swede fired an eight-under 65 in the final round of an event won by compatriot Caroline Hedwall.”

• “Hedwall beat Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux in a play-off to secure her first event victory in four years.”

• “Ireland’s Leona Maguire was fourth, while Alice Hewson of England ended in a tie for fifth.”

3. Cam Smith wins Australian PGA

AAP report…”An exhausted Cameron Smith has fought back tears as he credited his grandmother for fuelling the final push to a third Australian PGA Championship and cap a magnificent homecoming.”

• “The Brisbane favourite captured a fifth title for 2022 in fading light on Sunday at Royal Queensland, rallying after twice being forced off the course due to lightning strikes to win by three shots.”

• “Playing in Australia for the first time in three years, the world No.3 had thousands of adoring fans follow his every move over four days.”

4. Lynch: Woods’ $15 million PIP bonus a bargain

Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…”Woods’ value to the PGA Tour is diminished only in that he can no longer compete with the consistency and frequency he used to. But a few weeks shy of his 47th birthday, he still draws more eyeballs than any of them. The next three weeks will illustrate that, when he plays at the Hero World Challenge, in a made-for-TV match with McIlroy against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, and at the PNC Championship, alongside his son, Charlie. Who else can make irrelevant golf relevant in December? That PIP bonus is a bargain for what he brings, and would remain so even if it were doubled.”

• “Not everything Woods contributed to the PGA Tour this year is quantifiable, even with opaque metrics. What was it worth when he flew to the player meeting in Delaware to stand with McIlroy and rally support? Or when he incinerated LIV’s competitive integrity at a press conference in St. Andrews, during which he reminded players not only that he has set the bar, but where and how he did so? Woods brought to bear the weight of his record and reputation when it mattered most, and in doing so proved that these days a professional golfer’s value and his values are intrinsically linked as never before.”

• “Fifteen million doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

5. Tiger, Rory had Covid ahead of Open

Ryan Herrington for Golf Digest…“Speaking in an interview with the Irish Independent, the first part published on Sunday, McIlroy told Paul Kimmage the story of when he and Tiger went to play a round of golf at Ballybunion two days after the pair competed at the J.P. McManus Pro-Am at Ireland’s Adair Manor. It was July 7, the Thursday before the opening round of The Open at the Old Course, and McIlroy says he and Woods flew via helicopter to Ballybunion to play a casual round that morning. Accompanying them was McIlroy’s manager, Sean O’Flaherty and Tiger’s longtime confidant, Rob McNamara.

• McIlroy says in the interview that he woke up that morning feeling “a bit achy” but didn’t think twice about traveling. But upon returning to Adair Manor, McIlroy said he felt stiff and tired.

• “I said to [wife] Erica, ‘I’m feeling a bit weird. I’m just going upstairs to lie down for a bit.’ I slept for maybe two hours and the sweat was just pouring off me, then Erica took my temperature and it was sky high. I rang Tiger: ‘I’m not feeling so good here.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, I feel OK.’ But he texted me at 10 o’clock that night, chills, fever, and I’m like, F*****g hell, I’ve just given Tiger COVID! This is horrendous! So we both had COVID going into the Open.”

6. ICYMI: A Thanksgiving retraction

7. Mickelson no longer to feature in The Match going forward

Cieran Faulder for Golf Monthly…“Six-time Major winner, Phil Mickelson, will no longer be involved with The Match after leaving the PGA Tour earlier this year to join the breakaway LIV Golf Series(opens in new tab). That’s according to the tournament producer, Bryan Zuriff.”

• “Zuriff expressed his admiration of Mickelson and thanked him for his efforts during his time on the event, but stated that the demise of Mickelson’s affiliation with the event was solely down to the American leaving the PGA Tour, which is involved with The Match.”

• “Unfortunately, he left the Tour, and that’s unfortunate for doing something like this,” Zuriff said. “I love Phil and he’s been an incredible part of this. But he knows, you know,” Zuriff told GOLF. “He went where he went, and we’re connected with the PGA Tour. So, I mean, this is a PGA Tour event.”

8. Hero Cup sides announced

Jamie Hall for Bunkered.co.uk…”Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has revealed the players who will take part in a much-anticipated warm-up event for next year’s showdown in Rome.”

• “The Hero Cup will take place in Abu Dhabi in January and will be contested by teams from Great Britain and Ireland and their continental European counterparts.”

• “Great Britain and Ireland team: Tommy Fleetwood (captain), Ewen Ferguson, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Seamus Power, Callum Shinkwin, Jordan Smith, Matt Wallace, player TBC.”

• “Continental Europe team: Francesco Molinari (captain), Thomas Detry, Rasmus Hojgaard, Adrian Meronk, Guido Migliozzi, Alex Noren, Victor Perez, Thomas Pieters, Sepp Straka, player TBC.”

9. Garcia’s historic fall

• “The fall was in part self-afflicted. When Garcia choose to jump to the LIV Golf circuit this summer, bolting the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, where he won 11 times, the former Masters champion was cutting off the potential for playing in OWGR ranked events. When Garcia, now 42, played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational in June he was still ranked 55th. But since then, while playing in eight LIV events, he’s competed in only four tournaments that offer OWGR points, his best finish at T-48 at the BMW International.”