The 2025 Ryder Cup will feature a new live pregame show, “T-Mobile Breakfast at Bethpage,” hosted by “Saturday Night Live” personality Colin Jost. It will be broadcast from the first tee at Bethpage Black each morning of the matches, Sept. 26-28, and will air on Peacock, RyderCup.com, the Ryder Cup app and the Ryder Cup YouTube Channel.
Jost will be joined by a rotating cast of celebrity co-hosts, comedians, golf-loving entertainers and Ryder Cup personalities, with roaming reporters capturing the atmosphere around the course.
The PGA of America teamed with NFL legend Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions and Pro Shop Studios, the creative entity behind Netflix’s “Full Swing” series and “Happy Gilmore 2,” to launch the show. READ MORE
The Els Center of Excellence, the 26-acre campus in Jupiter, Florida, serving adults and children with autism, broke ground last Thursday on a $20 million autism-friendly recreation complex that will feature a gymnasium, therapeutic area, splash pad and competition pool.
Four-time major winner Ernie Els and his wife, Liezl, the center’s founders, were on hand for the ceremony. Of particular note, the complex’s aquatic center is being built with the goal of offering swim instruction and water safety education to reduce drownings, the leading cause of death among children with autism.
The Els’ 22-year-old son, Ben, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as a child. READ MORE
Marino Parascenzo, the longtime golf writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, died Aug. 24. He was 95.
Parascenzo received the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award and was recognized by the Masters Tournament, the Memorial Tournament, and the University of Pittsburgh, where he also taught sports journalism. He authored two histories of Oakmont Country Club and was a past president of the Golf Writers Association of America.
Parascenzo began his journalism career at the Ellwood City Ledger and the New Castle News and retired from the Post-Gazette in 1999. In a post on X, his colleague and fellow GWAA member Gerry Dulac called Parascenzo “a gifted and unmatched golf writer. A guiding light to all who wanted to turn a phrase.” READ MORE
Bill Ploeger, a Georgia amateur standout who won the 1999 U.S. Senior Amateur, died last Wednesday. He was 85.
A former Georgia Tech golfer, Ploeger won the Georgia Senior Championship four times and played in the 2000 U.S. Senior Open and Senior Open Championship. He is a member of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Senior Amateur Hall of Fame. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity