Scott and Spieth might need exemptions to signature events. They’ve been down this road before
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Adam Scott returned to the Sony Open for the first time in three years and jokingly said it was a good place to stop on the way back from Australia. He had other motives, of course.
For the second time in three years, Scott finished outside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup and is not eligible for the $20 million signature events.
“So I thought I’d try to get a jump on things, rather than show up in February and chase,” Scott said.
He tied for 40th in the Sony Open, and then flew to California for The American Express and the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Otherwise, it’s going through the process of two years ago when he had to rely on sponsor exemptions for the signature events.
Scott asked for (and received) exemptions into five of the signature events in 2024, and he can only wonder if it will hurt his chances going through another round of them.
Scott is in a tougher spot than Jordan Spieth, who received five sponsor exemptions in 2025 and narrowly missed out on the top 50 that would have qualified him.
Spieth finished No. 61 at the end of the year. He is virtually a lock for Pebble Beach because of its 80-man field, and he’s likely to narrowly get into the Genesis Invitational. His goal is to play well enough in Phoenix, Pebble and LA for this not to be an issue.
“I think sponsor invites are for purely who they think they want there,” Scott said. “And I’m fine with that. I didn’t apply for them all the last time, and I won’t be applying for them all this time. It’s not that I’m trying to share the love or expect to get them all, but I’ve got to make some plans. It was hard waiting around to see.”
It’s easier to plan for events when his home base is Switzerland. Among those he has sought is for the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, where he has won twice (once unofficial because it was shortened to 36 holes by rain). But he’s at peace with whatever tournaments decide.
“I just have to play better,” he said.
Sponsor exemptions come under a lot of scrutiny, often by those who overlook that these exemptions often are earned by a body of work. Scott, who has devoted time to the PGA Tour board at a crucial time in history, is a former Masters champion and world No. 1.
Spieth had three legs of the career Grand Slam before his 24th birthday and remains one of the more popular draws in golf. Gary Woodland, the former U.S. Open champion recovering from brain surgery, has received seven exemptions to signature events the last two years.
Rickie Fowler received six exemptions a year ago.
Reed left out
The PGA Tour’s decision to allow a path back only to major champions since 2022 leaves out the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia.
Johnson recently signed a new deal with LIV Golf. Mickelson and Garcia have not shown any inclination to want to rejoin the PGA Tour. And then there’s Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, who said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in Dubai that he would be interested in a return.
For now, it’s a moot point.
“It’s not really a decision for me at the moment,” Reed told the Telegraph. “I mean, that was for players 2022 and on. I definitely would have to think about it, if that number was down to 2018.”
Reed said he would play every tour if it were up to him, noting that he’s already competing on three of them — LIV, the European tour and the Asian Tour.
“I always enjoyed my time out there on the PGA Tour,” he said. “I mean, let’s be honest, it’s the best tour in the world. Look at what they’ve done in golf. You know, I could see myself playing there at some point again. You just never know. Everything’s so fluid, everything’s discombobulated in golf.”
Thitikul joins the WTGL
The women’s version of the tech-infused indoor league already has what the men don’t — the No. 1 player in the sport.
Jeeno Thitikul was among the first batch of LPGA players who have committed to join WTGL when it makes its debut at the end of the year. Thitikul will be joined by another former No. 1, Lydia Ko, along with Charley Hull, Brooke Henderson and Lexi Thompson.
Still to be announced is how many players and teams will be part of the inaugural 2026-27 season. And the biggest question remains whether Nelly Korda will take part.
NCAA champion to LIV
NCAA champion Michael La Sasso is giving up a spot in the Masters to join LIV Golf, signing with Mickelson’s HyFlyers team. The LIV season starts in two weeks in Saudi Arabia.
He is the latest of LIV additions this year that include Thomas Detry, Victor Perez, Laurie Canter, Byeong Hun An and Elvis Smylie of Australia.
“It’s a rare opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and I don’t take that lightly,” La Sasso said.
Timely move
Chris Gotterup won his first PGA Tour title in May during his rookie season. He won the Scottish Open in July last year. And this year he got off to a dream start by winning the Sony Open in his 2026 debut.
Timing is everything, and that starts with his decision to relocate to Florida, where Gotterup now plays out of the Bear’s Club.
He grew up in New Jersey and played three years at Rutgers before finishing at Oklahoma, where he continued to live until the move to Florida.
“I felt like the last couple years I started the tournaments really rough out of the gate,” Gotterup said. “I loved living in Oklahoma, but 40 degrees and 40 miles an hour wind in December is not ideal for coming to Palm Springs or Hawaii. So I just figured that was the smart move to make.”
After one tournament in January, it certainly looks that way.
Vijay and the weekend
Some things never change even with age. Vijay Singh opened with a 68 in the Sony Open and rued the two double bogeys that could have been pars and made his score much lower.
It was no less impressive.
Singh decided to use one of his exemptions for career money on the PGA Tour, and the 62-year-old Fijian put it to good use out of the blocks. He made the cut with room to spare at Waialae, shot par or better each day and tied for 40th.
He was the oldest player to make the cut at a PGA Tour-sanctioned event since Fred Couples (63) made the cut in the 2023 Masters.
Still unclear is how much more he will use that exemption. He is back on the PGA Tour Champions this week, hopping over from Oahu to the Big Island for that circuit’s season opener.
Singh has 34 career PGA Tour titles, which makes him a Life Member, one spot below the career money exemption on the priority list. But that requires players to be within three shots of the field scoring average in all the events they play.
His last regular PGA Tour start was the Honda Classic in 2021 (he missed the cut there and the Sony Open that year). Since then, he had played only in the Masters and made only one cut in 2024.
Divots
The LPGA exceeded its goal by raising $4.1 million for the LPGA Foundation through the 75th Anniversary Pro-Am at Pebble Beach last week. The LPGA was backed by more than 70 sponsors and included gifting, a Par 3 tournament at the Hay course and rounds at Spanish Bay and Pebble Beach. The money goes toward the foundation’s “One Million MORE Girls” campaign to create more opportunities in golf. … Gotterup is the fourth player since 2020 to win three times on the PGA Tour within 70 starts. The others were Tom Kim, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa. … With his tie for 40th in the Sony Open, Singh moved up 1,174 spots in the world ranking to No. 1,401.
Stat of the week
Scottie Scheffler has finished outside the top 10 in his last four trips to The American Express.
Final word
“The weight of all these decisions on the player-director’s shoulders is a lot. We’re really conscious of the fact that our job is not to run a business. It’s to look after the membership. And we put ourselves in check on that all the time.” — Adam Scott.
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This version has been corrected to show Spieth will be eligible for Pebble Beach and is likely to get in Riviera.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf