Pebble Pro-Am and the tee heard round the world

Good morning, golf fans. (And happy Groundhog Day!)

This is the golf newsletter that doesn't show you ads talking about having bad knees and backs. All highlights and updates—in a lighthearted tone.

Here’s what’s going on this week in golf:

• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am top picks

• A big (questionable?) move for LIV Golf

• Quite possibly the mildest act of aggression

Winner winner chicken dinner

Who's going to take it home at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am?

As always, the grid is stacked with your expected A-listers. But who's going to bring their a-game and take home the bacon?

We have no clue.

But fortunately, not everyone is as clueless with their picks as we are. So we went and checked out what the experts had to say and came out with what seems to be the top 3 picks to take home the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in no particular order.

• Tom Hoge

• Matt Fitzpatrick

• Viktor Hovland

We'll have to tune in to find out who will take it home. And though we don't know for certain who'll win the Pro-Am, gotta love this take from Jordan Spieth, as captured by the PGA Tour:

What do the Flash, the Gilmore Girls, and LIV Golf have in common?

Nothing, really, except that now they're all airing on the same channel.

The CW Network.

Understandably, the CW network is probably not the first channel you go to for your golf fix.

It’s where you go to watch some mildly entertaining DC comics tv adaptations and sappy early 2000s sitcoms. It's the channel shows like The Flash, Vampire Diaries, and Gilmore Girls call home.

Can't wait for the collabs. Superman taking the longest drive. The Flash always wants to play through. Think of the possibilities.

Why?

If you haven't heard, the CW will soon be the only place to catch LIV Golf tournaments—if you are so inclined.

This is a big deal for the well-funded, up-and-coming golf league. Before, you could only stream it on YouTube and Facebook if you were in the US. Which, to be honest, wasn’t all that bad.

Nevertheless, LIV Golf persisted in looking for a tv network that would be able to expose them to a larger US audience. And since the CW Network is the (checks notes) 25th largest network in the US, they certainly have many viewers. Right?

LIV also released its tour schedule this week in conjunction with the big network announcement. Here's the screenshot we snagged from their homepage:

How many CW viewers are deeply passionate about golf? Guess we’ll find out soon.

The first LIV tournament, Mayakoba, will be aired exclusively on the CW network from February 24-26. (Expect highlights from your favorite golfing gator.)

The Horror... The Horror. ..

If one golfer were to slap another senseless or whack each other with their clubs, you would expect it to make the headlines.

But none of that happened.

Not even close.

So what happened? One golfer "assaulted" the other with the tiniest bit of wood.

Patrick Reed threw a tee at Rory McIlroy. But it's not like he threw at full force; he just kind of made an underhand throw toward McIlroy because he wasn’t “acknowledged.”

If you can stomach it, there’s a video documenting the entire incident.

Want senseless violence? Go watch the Power Slap League. (Warning: it's brutal but fascinating.)

Golf is much more sensible.

But make no mistake. There is aggression.

However, it goes through the proper channels. There is actual legal action between Reed and McIlroy.

McIlroy received a subpoena from Reed on Christmas Eve while celebrating the holiday with his family. Cold.

The bad blood is real.

Golf memes of the day

Really looking forward to that LIV/CW collab with this one. If you know, you know.

Another shoutout to Groundhog Day

What'd you think of this issue? Who you got to win in the Pro-Am? Hit reply and let us know. The Gator is always listening.

See you Monday,

E. Gator