Michelle Wie West during the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open
Darren Carroll, USGA
Michelle Wie West will come out of retirement to play in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club in what will be her last year of eligibility for the championship, she announced on social media last Tuesday.
Wie West, 36, stepped away from competition following the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. Her five LPGA victories include the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2, which earned her a 10-year championship exemption that was extended two years by Wie West’s maternity leave.
In February, Wie West announced that she had committed to play in the WTGL indoor golf league’s inaugural season next winter. READ MORE
The new host of the LPGA’s first major of the season, the Chevron Championship, is making a significant change to perpetuate the long-standing tradition of the champion’s pond jump.
Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston will install a pond on its 18th hole, tournament executive director Glenn Weckerlin announced last week. Architect Tom Doak, who led a 2021 course redesign, will help with the project, which is expected to be finished in time for the 2027 tournament, Weckerlin told the Houston Chronicle.
In the meantime, believe it or not, Memorial Park will install what Weckerlin called a short-term solution – an inground pool off the 18th hole to ensure that this year’s winner will enjoy a champion’s leap. READ MORE
An investment group led by Jack Nicklaus and two partner entities has completed reacquisition of the businesses of the Nicklaus Companies for $35.7 million. A Florida bankruptcy court had approved the deal last month.
“I didn’t do it for me,” Nicklaus told Golf Digest. “I’m 86 years old. This was for my legacy and for my family.”
The transaction restores Nicklaus’ ownership of the Golden Bear trademark and brings his current golf course design projects under the Nicklaus Design umbrella. The Nicklaus Companies filed for bankruptcy under its former owner, billionaire banker Howard Milstein, after Jack Nicklaus won a $50 million defamation verdict against the company. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
NBC Sports and Golf Channel announcer Terry Gannon will anchor Prime Video’s early-round coverage of the Masters, which debuts from 1-3 p.m. EDT on Thursday and Friday. A rotating cast of guests, headlined by six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus, will join Gannon on the broadcast. The Amazon streaming service’s “Inside Amen Corner” feed, a stats-based altcast that will also debut this week, will feature host Justin Kutcher along with past U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, NBC announcers Smylie Kaufman and John Wood, and instructor Michael Breed. READ MORE
Netflix released the trailer for season four of its PGA Tour docuseries “Full Swing” last Thursday. The four-episode season chronicling the 2025 tour campaign will premiere on April 17. READ MORE
Public nominations are now open for the World Golf Hall of Fame’s Class of 2027, marking the first time in the organization’s history that members of the public are invited to submit nominations. The nomination period runs through July 31. READ MORE
The daughter of former Major League Baseball commissioner and longtime Pebble Beach owner Peter Ueberroth is seeking control of her family’s trust in court, alleging financial malfeasance by its trustee over the last two years while Ueberroth, 88, and his wife, Virginia, have declined cognitively, The Athletic reported last Thursday. Vicki Ueberroth Booth said in a California Superior Court filing that the trustee, attorney Michael McKee, has exploited Peter Ueberroth and his wife, the report said. McKee, 80, is chairman of Tiger Woods’ TGR Foundation. READ MORE
Tickets are now on sale for the 2026 Walker Cup. The biennial match between teams of amateurs representing the United States and Great Britain & Ireland will be played at Ireland’s Lahinch Golf Club on Sept. 5-6. READ MORE
The National Links Trust’s Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program will return in 2026 after the NLT found new partner facilities to host the internship component of the program. The news comes after months of uncertainty surrounding the future of the program following the Trump administration’s abrupt cancellation of NLT’s 50-year lease to operate the three municipal golf courses in Washington, D.C., where the program was originally held. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity
