Brian Albertson
Azaleas In Bloom
By: Brian Albertson
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As the wisteria and azaleas begin to bloom here in the South, it means only one thing to many of us……The Masters is upon us!
This year’s Masters Tournament is set for April 9-12 at Augusta National GC, featuring a $21 million purse.
Scottie Scheffler enters the 2026 Masters as the clear betting favorite, following a dominant 2025 season and an early win already this season on the PGA Tour.
Other top contenders include defending champion Rory McIlroy followed by the two top LIV Tour players Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm.
Matthew Fitzpatrick (Valspar) and Cameron Young (Players Championship) enter the Masters in top form with recent wins.
Other notable contenders this year appear to be current leader of the DP World Tour and former Masters champion Patrick Reed, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Chris Gotterup and Brooks Koepka.
Obviously the field is made up of the very best players in the world so anyone can win. There are always a few surprise players on the leaderboard throughout the week mixed in with the favorites.
On a local note, South Georgia will be represented in this year’s Masters by 18 year old Mason Howell of Thomasville, Georgia.
Howell is a High School senior and has signed to play for the Georgia Bulldogs next year.
He has been taught for many years by my friend and fellow PGA Professional Bill Connally at Glen Arven CC.
Conallyis an outstanding golf instructor and has produced many fine players over the years. Mason will be the youngest player in the field and undoubtedly will have a huge following at this year‘s Masters cheering him on.
I had a chance recently to chat with retiring UGA Golf Head Coach Chris Haack and he is always very proud of his former players that have made it to the PGA Tour and the Majors.
This year, former UGA Golfers Harris English, Russell Henley, Sepp Straka, Brian Harman and two time Masters Champion Bubba Watson will all be in the field.
A couple of other local Saint Simons/Sea Island residents competing this year are Andrew Novak and 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson. We wish all of our locally connected players the best of luck as they pursue the coveted Green Jacket.
I have attended the Masters tournament every year since 1984 with the exception of the Covid year.
I always look forward to returning each spring. Each year I love to walk the golf course and simply enjoy the beauty of Augusta National Golf Club.
The patrons are always the most behaved audience in sports just as Mr. Bobby Jones would wish.
I am quite certain Mr. Jones looks down with great pride at what he created many years ago at this old nursery in Augusta. It is truly spectacular and is set to write the next chapter of Masters history.
Enjoy This Year’s Masters.
The 5th Major
By: Brian Albertson
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2026 Players Championship is scheduled for March 10–15, 2026, at the TPC Stadium Sawgrass Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
As the PGA Tour’s flagship event, it features a $25 million purse and a competitive 120-player field. Many at PGA Tour headquarters and in the media often refer to this event as the “Fifth Major.” Although it is not officially a Major, it does boast the strongest field of players annually according to the World Golf Rankings.
Last year’s championship was the jump start of an historic season for Rory Mcllroy as he beat J.J. Spaun in a playoff.
Key Players to Watch for 2026
Rory McIlroy: The defending champion, having won the 2025 title in a Monday playoff. A victory in 2026 would make him only the second player to win three Players Championships.
Scottie Scheffler: The current World No. 1 and a two-time winner of the event (2023, 2024). He enters 2026 with significant momentum as the four-time PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Chris Gotterup: The current World No. 5 is leading the Fedex Points List with two early wins at The Sony Open in Hawaii and Waste Management in Phoenix.
J.J. Spaun: If I could buy a golf swing, this would be the one. The reigning US Open Champion and runner-up in this event last year arrives in good form and with fresh memories of playing this very strategic course very well.
Collin Morikawa: Collin is currently No. 3 in the FedEx Points list after winning at the ATT Pebble Beach. He finished in the top 10 last year at the Players Championship. Collin is currently the fifth ranked player in the World.
Brooks Koepka: Brooks will be making his first start at Sawgrass since joining LIV in 2022. If Brooks can get his putter cooperating, he is a threat to win anywhere. It is nice to see Brooks back on the PGA Tour.
Obviously, any of these top 120 players can win the Players Championship. As history has shown, there have been some unlikely winners and length is not always the determining factor around this “Target” golf course.
If you plan to attend this year’s Players Championship, check out the new Fan Experiences & On-Site Updates. The 2026 event introduces several venue enhancements and fan amenities:
Enhanced Connectivity: Introduction of upgraded Wi-Fi and a new tournament app.
Streamlined Entry: New facial recognition entry systems for faster access.
New Dining: The debut of the Iron & Wedge Steakhouse (for Clubhouse badge-holders), Pie95 woodfired pizza, and Island Wing Company.
Fan Shop: Features Sun Day Red, Tiger Woods’ new apparel line.
Course Updates: A new spectator mound has been added behind the 18th green.
Last year, I attended on Thursday’s opening round and plan to do so again this year. I always enjoy seeing all the players competing before the cut falls after round two. The TPC Stadium Course was built for gallery viewing. Every hole offers fantastic viewing points. I urge everyone to try to attend this event at some point. NBC will again carry the television coverage for those watching from home.
Tee It Up
By: Brian Albertson
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The PGA Tour RSM Classic returns to Sea Island golf club next week November 17-23 for the 16th year.
The RSM Classic is an official PGA TOUR event hosted by the Davis Love Foundation. Since 2010, the tournament has brought together the world’s best golfers and a passionate community of fans, raising more than $48 million to support children and families in need.
Tournament Director Todd Thompson has announced another word class field of players for this year‘s event. There will be 10 winners from this PGA Tour season in the field, including two of the winners this season have won two of the last five events on the PGA Tour Fall schedule and includes Steven Fisk (Sanderson Farms Championship), and Michael Brennan (Bank of Utah Championship).
The remaining eight winners from this season scheduled to compete are Harris English (Farmers Insurance Open), Joe Highsmith (Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches), Karl Villips (Puerto Rico Open), Brian Harman (Valero Texas Open), Garrick Higgo (Corales Puntacana Championship), Andrew Novak (with Ben Griffin, Zurich Classic of New Orleans), William Mouw (ISCO Championship), Ryan Gerard (Barracuda Championship).
Two of these 2025 champions—World No. 13 Harris English, World No. 32 Brian Harman—are Sea Island residents.
Maverick McNealy is scheduled to defend his title from a year ago. In total, including the ten winners this year, there are currently 36 players in The RSM Classic field who have won in the past two seasons on the PGA Tour.
The tournament week begins with the tournament qualifier held at Brunswick Country Club on Monday, November 17.
There will be as many as 180 players playing Monday for four spots. There are many notable players in the qualifier every year.
The RSM has a long tradition of hosting wonderful and strong fields of PGA Tour Players.
This is in large part a compliment to the sponsors, the Venue at Sea Island Golf Club and Davis Love III being the official host!!!
Here is a list of past champions of the RSM Classic:
2024 – Mav McNealy
2023 – Ludvig Aberg
2022 – Adam Svensson
2021 – Talor Gooch
2020 – Robert Streb
2019 – Tyler Duncan
2018 – Charles Howell
2017 – Austin Cook
2016 – MacKenzie Hughes
2015 – Kevin Kisner
2014 – Robert Streb
2013 – Chris Kirk
2012 – Tommy Gainey
2011 – Ben Crane
2010 – Heath Slocum
We are all excited to see what the 2025 RSM Classic holds for us and look forward to celebrating a champion on Sunday afternoon!!
The Gear
By: Brian Albertson
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As a Class A member of the PGA, I attend the annual PGA merchandise show for various reasons.
This year marked my 30th trip to Orlando for the show. The show is always the launchpad for the newest, most innovative products in the golf industry.
For PGA members, this is also an opportunity for mandatory continuing education credits, and networking with fellow professionals from around the world.
But for the average golfer the PGA show is almost beyond words in size and scope. This year marked the largest turnout in 15 years as over 33,000 golf industry professionals from every state and nearly 100 countries came together again in Orlando to view displays and booths from over 1,100 golf industry vendors.
The Orange County Convention Center covers many acres, and the show floor is divided into three distinct categories of vendors.
It is traditional that the far right of the building is the apparel showcase with every brand of golf clothing, headwear and accessories that you have ever heard of and many new lines.
Honestly, PGA professionals and buyers for their respective golf shops are most likely seen in the apparel section meeting with their apparel reps for personal viewings of their favorite lines. It is also easy to stroll by every company to see if something catches your interest. As the show is in January, the apparel companies are primarily showing fall and holiday offerings for the same year.
The middle of the show floor highlights golf industry needs such as carts, range, trophies, travel, teaching, clubhouse, software.
This is where I spent most of my time this year comparing all the different launch monitors for teaching in club fitting. We have recently expanded our Golf learning center to three bays, and I was charged to properly outfit our facility with the newest technology. I have used Trackman and Flightscope in the past but fell in love with the new Foresight equipment this year.
Lastly, the left side of the show floor is where you find all the golf clubs and ball companies with massive displays of every product that they offer.
Each major golf club company has a booth the size of a grocery store. This is where all the fun happens and where most of the general golf enthusiasts’ traffic is during the PGA show.
If you were at the show, we all love the game and we all can’t wait to see the new products that launch the week of the PGA merchandise show.
This year did not disappoint as Callaway launched their new Elyte family of clubs. Titleist introduced their new version of the ProV 1 golf ball and Vokey wedges. The new pings, Taylor maids and Mizuno were all popular with the Mizuno STZ driver coming in at the best value of $299.
If you’ve never been to the PGA merchandise show, I highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed, and it is always exciting. I hope to see you all In Orlando next January!!!
In the meantime, happy golfing.
