Golf

    In his first 28 starts in this, his rookie season on the PGA Tour, Gator All-American Ricky Castillo made 15 of 28 cuts, and earned $961,455. His best two outings were a tie for fifth in the CJCup Byron Nelson, good for a $305,971 payday, and a tie for 12th in the Valspar Championship in Tampa, worth $178,350.

    The 24-year-old rose to new heights in the RSM Classic concluded at Sea Island yesterday, shooting rounds of 7 under, 5 under, 1 under and 8 under in the finale, for a 21-under-par 282. He finished third, just two strokes behind first-time winner Sami Valinaki. Castillo collected a healthy $483,000 for the effort, and was in contention in the finale after making seven birdies on the front nine. But he was unable to keep it going on the final nine.

    He wound up with earnings of $1,444,454, and finished 138th on the money list and 116th on the FedEx Cup points list, which puts him in jeopardy for the new season. Only the top 100 FedExers get to keep their cards for 2026 and he needed a second on Sunday to make that happen. 

    Gator Camilo Villegas finished 155th on the FedEx list but with two victories in recent seasons he should be able to get in a number of events. Gator Alejandro Tosti finished 137th and has lost his privileges.

    Of the Seminoles, Daniel Berger tied for 51st at Sea Island with 11 under par and picked up $16,399, but rookie Luke Clanton missed the cut. Several veterans lost their cards, including Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson and Brandt Snedeker, but all three should have no trouble getting 2026 entries. Kuchar is 13th on the all-time money list, Johnson is a 12-time winner, including the Masters and the Open, and Snedeker is a 9-time winner and captain for the next President's Cup.   

    Certainly, there has never been an event that effected the PGA Tour like the advent of LIV Golf. It took away many of the biggest names in the sport  and spread them over several continents - for money - as if the millions they had earned over the years wasn't enough to keep them, and their families, happy.

    The results of the defections of Rahm, Mickelson, DeChambeau and the rest can easily be detected in many ways, but none as evident as the massive loss of fan participation on both tours - they aren't coming out in droves like they used to. 

  And, after the conclusion of the Tour Championship, waiting for the January opener in Hawaii, the PGA fields are represented mostly by graduates of the Korn Ferry Tour, and all the players who couldn't get in to the events of the spring and the summer. Stewart Cink, Matt Kucher, and Brandt Snedeker are a few who are trying the youngsters, but Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and the other new set of leaders are nowhere to be seen.

     Here's a list of the ex-Gators and Seminoles taking their winter shots. 

GATORS:

Billy Horschel: The major winner and earner of more than $41 million tied for 11th in the recent Bank of Utah Championship, but he hasn't played as often as usual. His bank account for 2025 totals $1,483,614. 

Camilo Villegas: He has withdrawn from three events in the middle of play, including the previous two events, but he has made the cut at this week's Butterfield Bermuda Championship being played in Southampton. He's put up rounds of 71-70-141, 1 under par - the cut came at even par 142. He has one top 10 this year, but with more than $23 million in the bank, he won't starve.

Ricky Castillo: The Tour rookie missed this week's cut with 75-70, but he's made 15 of 28 for the season, tied for fifth at the Byron Nelson and 12th at the Valspar, and has banked $961,455.

SEMINOLES: 

Rookie Luke Clanton played well in several events before getting his card, but now that he has it, it's been more difficult. He missed this cut with76-69, and has collected $251,429 so far.

Adam Hadwin is the halfway leader in Bermuda at 11 under par (65-66). 

    As is usually the case at this time of the year, most of the PGA events are starless, and the Sanderson Farms Championship being played this week at the CC of Jackson is no different.

    At the halfway mark, Garrick Higgo is the leader at 13 under par, one stroke better than Eric Cole and Taylor Montgomery. Among the short list of veterans, Matt Kuchar is seven under, Zach Johnson is five under, and Brandt Snedeker and Francisco Molinari missed the cut of four under. 

    The two ex-Gators both missed the cut, Camilo Villegas at five over (72-77) and rookie Ricky Castillo at three under (70-71). Seminole rookie Luke Clanton made it easily with 69-68-137, seven under, and is tied for 20th.  

From the Marion County Golf Assn website:     

    Gray Albright finished in a tie for 50th in the PGA Tour America’s BioSteel Championship in Windsor, Ontario, over the weekend. Albright finished the event at 9-under-par on rounds of 67-67-67-70. He made nine birdies and three eagles over the four rounds.

    Albright earned $770.63 for his effort, which brings his earnings thus far up to $5,758.13. Next up is the Manitoba Open (Aug. 21-24) at the Breezy Bend CC in Winnipeg.

    Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, etc.

    Just three of the mainstays of the LIV-less PGA Tour who are not playing in the 3M Open ending today at the TPC Twin Cities in Minneapolis/St. Paul. In fact, there are just five players ranked in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings who are playing, and none are ranked better than Sam Burns, who is number 22. The others are Chris Gotterup (24), Taylor Pendrith (36), Sam Stevens (44) and Akshay Bhatia (46). 

    The old guard, if that's the right term for those who missed the cut of 5 under par, include Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Tony Finau and Aaron Baddeley. The old guard who made the cut but aren't up among the leaders are Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland, Adam Scott and Jhonattan Vega.

    Gator Camilo Villegas is having a pretty good week with 68-69-67 after 54 holes, and Seminole rookie Luke Clanton, who is going to be a major factor with more experience, is at 11 under with 66-66-70. 

    Ocala's Louis Oosthuizen tied for second after losing a four-man playoff in the $25 million LIV Golf Dallas Sunday. Louis and the three others finished 54 holes at 6 under par. 

    Patrick Reed birdied the 18th hole to collect the winner's share of $4 million, while the other three earned $1,583,333 apiece.

    The LIV players cash in even when they play like bums. Peter Uihlein and Mito Pereira, who finished 52nd and 53rd, each picked up $50,000.

    Prior to the Dallas event, Joaquin Niemann was the 2025 money leader with $16,817,048. Bryson DeChambeau was second with $8,808,250, Seminole Brooks Koepka 12th with $3,831,905 and Oostie 32nd with $1,971,166.  

    It's anybody's guess if Scottie Scheffler will ever reach Tiger Woods and Sam Snead's PGA Tour record of 82 victories. Red-hot Scottie won No. 16 today at Muirfield Village, the rich Memorial and its $4.4 million payout that brought his Tour earnings to a stunning $87.7 million. 

    So, barring Scottie driving off the road and into a tree, he appears to be a cinch to break Tiger's earnings record of $120 million. Scottie's only 28. He shot 10 under par over the tough Jack Nicklaus layout and won by four strokes over Ben Griffin, but there was no time over the back nine that Scottie was in trouble. 

    Scottie's No. 1 feature is that he hits fairways and greens much more consistently than his buddies. The one knock on his situation - if knock is the right word - is that Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, Bryson Dechambeau, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen and the rest of the LIVers only get to face him in the four Majors. When Scottie hangs up his cleats, will he be admitted as one of the really elite of the sport?

    Surprisingly, there were no Gators in the Memorial, and the lone Seminole, Daniel Berger, shot 9 over par and missed the unusually high cut of 5 over.

    Speaking of LIV, they have the worst graphics in history on their telecasts. Too small, too confusing. I hope nobody was paid to come up with them.

     Sidelights: The balls and strikes calls in MLB are horrendous. Close games are being decided by bad calls and it's not supposed to be that way. They need to use the TV images and have studio analysts make the calls, like they do with close plays.

     Also: The NBA refs are worse than the home plate umps. Their non-calls on walking and charging have ruined the game. Big guys race toward the basket, smash into three defenders and they call a foul on one of the defenders. Ridiculous.   

    Once again, there's a great diversity of talent in the Masters, with a cast of current PGA Tour players battling a group of the LIVers and a group of the old-timers.

    Justin Rose leads the way at Augusta National after round 1 with a great 7-under-par score of 65 over the famed layout which took out its wrath on many past heroes. Rose goes into today's fray with a three-stroke edge over Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg.  

    Among the LIVers, Bryson Dechambeau is best with a 3-under 69 and a tie for fifth, followed by Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson with 71s, Sergio Garcia at 72, Dustin Johnson with 74 and Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm with 75s. 

    The old guys are led by old reliable Freddy Couples with 1-under 71, well ahead of Angel Cabrera and Mike Weir with 75s and Jose Maria Olazabal with 77.

    The lone Gator in the mix is Billy Horschel with 77, and the Seminoles are Daniel Berger (71, tied for 11th) and Brooks Koepka (74). There are 95 players in the field and the very early projected cut is plus 2.

    Brian Campbell, Aldrich Potgieter, Isaiah Salinda, Aaron Rai, Ben Griffen. Those are the names of the top five finishers in the $7 million Mexico Open that wound up Sunday. Doesn't exactly ring a bell like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Ocalan Louis Oosthuizen and the new king, Scottie Scheffler. 

    Campbell won in Mexico over Potgieter with a birdie on the first playoff hole after they tied at 20 under par in regulation. But - aside from their families, did anyone care? Ever since the PGA LIV split, only Scheffler's unprecedented run lends any suspense to most events. 

    This week they're back on U. S. soil, unless Trump has changed the name of the country. The Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches begins Thursday at the PGA National Resort's Champion Course, a par 71 at 7,167 yards and there are a slew of familiar faces, like Webb Simpson, Lucas Glover, Zach Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Matt Kuchar and Shane Lowry, to name a few.  

    Also in the mix are Gators Billy Horschel and Camilo Villegas, and Seminole Daniel Berger.  In recent events, Horschel finished ninth at Pebble Beach, 21st at the American Express and 51st at The Sentry. Berger tied for second in Phoenix, tied for 12th in the Genesis and tied for 21st at the American Express. 

    There's another million-dollar plus up for grabs, but it's just not the same. Maybe never will be. 

    Since returning to action after his unfortunate kitchen accident, Scottie Scheffler has finished tied for ninth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at 15 under par, tied for 25th at the WM Phoenix Open at 9 under par, and tied for third at the Tigerless Genesis Invitational at 9 under par, three strokes behind Ludvig Aberg.

    Scottie looks like he's ready again, but it's doubtful he can duplicate 2024, when he won nine times and was an easy Player of the Year choice. Scottie won't be in Vallarta, Mexico for this week's $7.1 million Mexico Open at Vidanta World, and neither will be the other big guns left after the LIV defection, and TV viewership promises to be at a minimum.

    The most notable of the Mexico group include Charley Hoffman, Emiliano Grillo, senior Padraig Harrington, Patrick Rodgers, who tied for third with Scottie last week, and Francesco Molinari. The rest are the same names and faces of the hopefuls, looking to get a victory to solidify their place on the exemption list. Jake Knapp, last year's winner, will be back: he was 19 under par in 2024 and collected $1,458,000 to ensure he won't be missing any meals in the near future.

    There are no Gators or Seminoles traveling south, both Billy Horschel and Daniel Berger have been having recent success. Berger tied for second at the WM Phoenix Open, tied for 12th in the Genesis, and tied for 21st at the American Express. Horschel tied for ninth at Pebble Beach, tied for 21st the American Express and was 51st at The Sentry.