19th Hole

‘I shouldn’t have said that’ – PGA Tour pro swiftly walks back comment on Lexi Thompson’s Shriners exemption

Published

3 years ago

Oct 5, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

This week, it was announced that Lexi Thompson will become just the seventh LPGA Tour pro to tee it up on the PGA Tour.

Related: 5 examples of how Lexi Thompson has been treated harsher than any of her peers

The 28-year-old will compete at next week’s Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, calling it a “once-in-a-career opportunity.”

Related: Lexi Thompson’s ‘brutal’ morning workout impresses golf fans

The news has given the event a boost of energy, and when asked to give his reaction, PGA Tour pro Peter Malnati caught some heat for his comments.

Speaking at this week’s PGA Tour event in Jackson, Malnati began by saying:

“I just got a text this morning, so I don’t know much about it. Obviously I know that Lexi at times has been one of the top players on the LPGA Tour, and she’s obviously very athletic. Distance won’t be a problem. She’ll hit it far enough.

My gut reaction when I saw that was like the tournament reaching to try to get — just trying to drum up interest. I think I understand that, if that is the case.”

Then things got a bit awkward, with Malnati musing that the exemption may be a “gimmick”, before quickly taking a backwards step.

“I don’t think we’re going to need to resort to gimmicks to drum up interest. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know that having Lexi play is a gimmick, but I don’t think the tournaments are going to have to go to those kind of lengths to drum up interest and get storylines that they can sell because I think these events are actually going to have a lot of meaning.

“Like I said, change is hard for everyone at every level, so I assume if you’re a host organization of a tournament, if you’re the Century Club here in Jackson, if you’re Wayne Sanderson Farms, you just don’t know right now for sure what you have anymore because the fall is completely reimagined.”

As for how Malnati believes Lexi will fare next week, Malnati hedged his bets, saying:

“Having Lexi play certainly will get a lot of headlines, and if that’s the goal for Shriners and the host organization in Vegas there, that’s great. Obviously, she’s a professional athlete. She’s accomplished a lot.

It’s not like — I mean, who knows what’ll happen. She may go play really well and it’ll be huge. She may play absolutely terrible and finish 132nd.

“Either way, she’s a professional golfer. She has a spot in the field. The tournament is — if it gets them the attention that they want and it works out positively for them, it’s great, all for it.”

Lexi Thompson will become the first woman to tee it up on the PGA Tour since Brittany Lincicome did so five years ago.

Have a take? Discuss this article at GolfWRX on X.

‘I shouldn’t have said that’ – PGA Tour pro swiftly walks back comment on Lexi Thompson’s Shriners exemption https://t.co/Rh4xicDl9b pic.twitter.com/tRgEzEhecv

— GolfWRX (@GolfWRX) October 5, 2023

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19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

2 months ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”