Lorena Ochoa has accepted an invitation to become an honorary member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. Ochoa, a World Golf Hall of Fame member who won the 2007 Women’s British Open at the Old Course, has been recognized for her outstanding playing career and contribution to the sport since her retirement.
A native of Mexico, Ochoa won 27 LPGA titles, including two majors, in a brilliant eight-year career before retiring at age 28. Since stepping away from competition, she has devoted herself to the Lorena Ochoa Golf Foundation, which aims to impart life lessons about education and family values. The foundation helps 29 schools in 12 different states in Mexico; in 2024, it provided scholarship assistance to 13,000 children.
“It is a privilege to be made an honorary member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews,” said Ochoa, 44, who last week attended the Women’s Amateur Latin America championship at PGA Riviera Maya in Mexico in support of the region’s talent. “St Andrews holds a special place in my heart after my victory there in 2007 and I am proud to now join an esteemed group of honorary members at a club which holds so much history and prestige.” READ MORE
The USGA has nominated former PGA of America president Suzy Whaley and longtime amateur competitor Brenda Corrie Kuehn to serve on its Executive Committee, it announced last Tuesday. The USGA also nominated Executive Committee member Kevin Hammer to serve as its 68th president, succeeding Fred Perpall.
Whaley, a PGA master professional, became the first woman elected president of the association in 2018. In 2003, she was the first woman to qualify for a PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias in 1945, playing in the Greater Hartford Open by virtue of her victory in the Connecticut PGA Championship.
Kuehn has competed in more than 60 USGA championships, including nine U.S. Women’s Opens, and represented the United States in two Curtis Cups.
Hammer played collegiately at the University of Florida and has qualified for multiple USGA championships. He spent 10 years as a member of the Florida State Golf Association Executive Committee, including two years as president (2020-21).
The USGA Executive Committee is a volunteer group of 15 people that provides strategic and financial oversight as the association’s policymaking and governance board. The USGA will formally elect its nominees at its annual meeting in New York on Feb. 28. READ MORE
Topgolf Callaway Brands has agreed to sell a 60-percent stake in its Topgolf and Toptracer business to private equity funds managed by Los Angeles-based Leonard Green & Partners, it announced last Tuesday. Topgolf Callaway Brands expects to receive approximately $770 million in net proceeds from the transaction, which values Topgolf at approximately $1.1 billion, the company said in a news release.
The valuation is 45 percent less than the $2 billion Callaway paid for the golf entertainment business in the 2020 merger deal that created the combined entity. The agreement follows Topgolf Callaway’s September 2024 announcement of its intention to separate the companies.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, at which time the company’s name will revert to Callaway Golf Co., the release said. “Importantly this transaction supports our strategy of focusing on our leading golf equipment and active lifestyle platform” consisting of the Callaway, Odyssey, TravisMathew and Ogio brands, said Chip Brewer, Topgolf Callaway’s CEO. READ MORE
Tap-ins
Nicklaus Companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following a $50 million judgment awarded to Jack Nicklaus in a defamation lawsuit against his former company. The filing will allow the company to proactively address its long-term funded indebtedness and other liabilities, as well as the jury verdict, it said in a news release posted to its website on Friday. READ MORE
Scottish ministers are expected to announce soon their decision on the development of Coul Links, a proposed Mike Keiser project in the Scottish Highlands, and if approved, its landowner has pledged to build at least 30 new homes on his land, The Press and Journal reported Sunday. READ MORE
The LPGA’s FM Championship (Tournament of the Year) led the honorees in the tour’s 2025 Gold Driver Awards, open to all LPGA tournaments and voted on by the players. READ MORE
This year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush generated more than £280 million ($366 million) in economic benefit for Northern Ireland, according to independent research commissioned by the R&A and Tourism Northern Ireland. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity