Rory McIlroy has sold his waterfront mansion in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., according to the South Florida Business Journal. The 16,123-square-foot home at 2380 Old Gate Lane, which was initially listed for $12.9 million in January, ended up fetching $11.5 million, which is less than McIlroy paid for the property when he bought it six years ago.

In 2012, McIlroy purchased the six-bedroom pad, and the adjacent 0.82 acre lot, for a combined $12 million.

We’re pretty sure the 29-year-old four-time major winner can absorb the blow, though. According to a Forbes report in August, five of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world this year were golfers, with McIlroy coming in at No. 26 on the list. All in, according to the magazine, he earned nearly $40 million on and off the course, which included $4.5 million from a PGA Tour season in which he won once and finished in the top 10 six other times.

It has been a busy year for McIlroy when it comes to real estate. In January, he also bought the former home of Ernie Els a few minutes down the road at the Bear’s Club.

The post Rory McIlroy sells South Florida mansion for $11.5 million appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
Last August, while the PGA of America was revealing its plans to shift its oldest event, the PGA Championship, from August to May starting in 2019, leaders of the organization were deep in the planning stages of another move—one potentially far bigger in scope and impact.

In the coming weeks, the 100-year-old association is expected to announce that it is moving its national headquarters from its longtime home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to new environs, most likely in Texas, though the location still is in doubt. A Golf.com report last month indicated that the PGA was eyeing Frisco, Texas, near Dallas, but PGA of America spokesman Julius Mason told Golf Digest that a couple of bids are under consideration, including others in South Florida.

Mason said the PGA of America would not comment about a possible move beyond a previously released statement: “Last year we issued a request for proposal to a number of markets that are potentially well suited and interested in developing a new headquarters campus for us. The due diligence phase is ongoing and no decisions have been made.”

Regardless of where the PGA of America ends up, it’s undeniable that the organization is seeking to upgrade its physical infrastructure and project a higher profile in golf—and in the sports marketplace in general.

Stated or not, part of the logic for moving the PGA Championship to May was to improve the stature of what some consider the fourth of the four men’s championships. Likewise, officials no doubt are striving to distinguish the PGA of America from the PGA Tour—still a confusing difference to many casual golf fans—as well as golf’s other major stakeholders.

It’s probably no coincidence that consideration of a move comes at a time when some of those same U.S. stakeholders—the USGA and PGA Tour as well as Augusta National Golf Club—also are making dynamic changes to their respective home bases. (Though in the case of Augusta, change, particularly expansion of its footprint, has been ongoing for years.)

Traci Edwards/PGA of America Bevacqua hasn’t been afraid to shake things up the PGA since becoming its CEO in 2012.

The move is a venturous one for PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua but comes at an appropriate time in his tenure with the association. Since taking over as CEO in 2012, Bevacqua has settled into a position as one of the game’s leading voices. His contract with the PGA has been extended twice already, and he is viewed by many as the best chief executive in the association’s history. He has not been afraid to consider bold actions, once talking about taking the PGA Championship overseas (an idea since tabled) before shifting the dates to May as well as working with the LPGA to facilitate the creation of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and he has positioned himself and the association to take another significant step.

“Some members probably think this is just Pete looking to build his own little kingdom,” said one former PGA board member. “But the truth is, we should have done this 15 years ago. If you’re not being proactive, you’re not doing your job. Anyone who questions why we would do this isn’t looking objectively at the big picture.”

• • •

Having moved to Palm Beach Gardens in 1965, the PGA of America, with a membership of nearly 29,000 golf professionals, long ago outgrew its current facilities. According to knowledgeable sources, the PGA pays around $1 million annually to rent a second building close to the main, association-owned headquarters that houses its rules staff and other support personnel. Furthermore, the association has no control over the nearby golf courses at the resort that bears its name—PGA National.

Sam Greenwood
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk greeted the PGA of America staff at the association’s Palm Beach Gardens headquarters in March.

While the particulars of the offers being assembled from up to a half-dozen sites in South Florida are unknown, they would be hard-pressed to match what officials from Frisco, an upscale suburban community about 30 miles north of Dallas and close to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, have reportedly put forth. In addition to a new headquarters in what is known as the Panther Creek development, the “campus” could include an office park, two new 18-hole courses, a nine-hole short course, clubhouse and an instruction academy. According to Golf.com, Gil Hanse has been retained to design one of the courses with the purpose of making it a championship-caliber layout that could host the PGA Championship or the Ryder Cup. (Reached via text, Hanse declined to comment.)

Related: The big picture on the PGA Championship’s move to May

Among the benefits of moving the PGA Championship in May was the ability to take it areas of the country that an August date makes troublesome—with a Texas often mentioned. The PGA Championship was last held in the Lone Star State in 1968 at Pecan Valley Country Club in San Antonio. The first opening for the championship is 2024, and it wouldn’t be a surprise, if the PGA filled it or one soon after with a stop at its new home. Meanwhile, Champions Golf Club in Houston hosted the lone Ryder Cup in Texas back in 1967. Domestic sites for the biennial match between the U.S. and Europe are locked up through 2032.

A PGA official with knowledge of the Frisco proposal estimates the deal is worth $30 million-$40 million for the PGA of America. Another said it might be closer to $50 million, “if everything pans out” in terms of the land and infrastructure development that are believed to comprise the bulk of the offer from Frisco. It’s also worth noting that like Florida, Texas has no state income tax and generally viewed as being business-friendly.

• • •

The response to the PGA’s request for proposal was “an eye opener,” said one longtime PGA official. More than 100 municipalities responded when the RFP was disseminated in mid-2017. “It’s obvious,” said another, “that our brand is very valuable, based on the interest the RFP generated. And whatever decision is made is going to bring more value to the brand.”

Alastair Johnston, vice chairman of IMG, agreed with the assessment of the PGA of America’s marketability. “The proof is in the pudding, obviously,” Johnston said. “If communities are willing to step forward with lucrative financial packages, they must feel that the PGA of America is well worth the investment and will be an asset to them.”

A past PGA officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a move is not universally popular, but believes it’s the right call, saying: “I applaud the current leadership for thinking outside the box. … This is going to make us stronger in a variety of ways. And I believe it’s a huge win for the membership.”

‘Anyone who questions why we would do this isn’t looking objectively at the big picture.’ —A past board member on moving PGA headquarters

The central question arising from a prospective address change—which could come as early as 2020—is what benefits would it bring to the thousands of club-professional members? And in turn, would those benefits impact every day golfers?

Among them is that the PGA can further separate itself from the PGA Tour, based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., both geographically, and in terms of its identity. It is 50 years ago this year that tour players broke away from the PGA of America to form their own organization. But the lay sports fan often still confuses the two entities.

Johnston says the PGA of America has an inherent difference from the tour, and other golf stakeholders, that if leveraged can help in its efforts to distinguish itself. “More than any other organization, the PGA interfaces directly with the average golfer, either at a private club or a public course, at the grassroots level through its members,” Johnston said. “Commendably, this includes both male and female professionals, which is very important for a brand in this day and age.”

Shifting headquarters to the center of the country also would afford more travel convenience for officers, staff and section leaders. For a sport historically managed on the East Coast, a move west positions the association for growth. A West Coast club professional pointed out how much more direct interaction western sections could have with headquarters.

Conversely, the association will have to deal with likely turnover among PGA of America staff. One veteran club professional who did not want to be identified on the record but was familiar with the discussions, noted: “In the near term, we’re hearing about a 70 to 80 percent turnover in the staff [who would not move from Florida], which could impact member services until new personnel get through a learning curve.” Even if the rate of attrition weren’t that high, there would be a significant number of staffers who would not be making the move, and it would require the association to address how those staffers would be replaced.

Other club pros Golf Digest contacted also did not want to speak on the record, “because of the high sensitivity of the situation,” said one. “They want to get this right after some past missteps.”

Jeff Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images
The PGA of America opened PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in 1996, but the resort/training facility has struggled as a business entity.

One of those is PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla., which features the PGA Golf Club, a 54-hole resort facility that opened in 1996. Despite the original two Tom Fazio courses and a third, Pete Dye design added in 1999, the project “hasn’t quite lived up to its billing” according to one source, noting that anticipated local area development never materialized. The Village also includes a 35-acre learning center, a six-hole short course. The resort, open to the public, offers PGA professionals and their guests discounts on golf, but pros often bristle at the course conditions, and it requires a subsidy of about $1.5 million annually from the association to make up for budget shortfalls. Its remote location 40 miles from PGA headquarters also is a minus.

Another club pro pointed out that the PGA “has a history of poor decisions when it comes to this very subject, though, obviously, you can’t lay any of that at the feet of people currently in charge.”

He cited the opportunity to purchase the 54-hole golf complex that is now named BallenIsles, just to the east of PGA headquarters. Built in 1964, that property constituted the original PGA National Golf Club and hosted, among other events, the 1971 PGA Championship won by Jack Nicklaus. “We’re still paying for that mistake, and then we compounded it by buying cheap land [in Port St. Lucie] that has never been the destination that it was supposed to be,” he said. “We have never really used our expertise to make it into something special.

“If their intent is to really put the money into doing something great in Dallas, then I’m all for it, but it has to be first-class all the way. We are the biggest sports organization in the world. We have $140 million in the bank. But even then, I have reservations.”

The PGA of America declined a Golf Digest request to talk to an official about member issues in relation to its relocation. One past president, however, noted, “It would be hard for me to believe our leadership hasn’t thought this through from every angle, on every issue.”

• • •

The prospect of a new 36-hole complex, plus a teaching academy all in one location (as opposed to the current setup with Port St. Lucie, which has to be used for PGA Apprentice program training), is exciting to every member who was reached for comment, especially because, said another pro, “the PGA would own it, manage it and most likely promote it in a way that would attract a lot of interest and, obviously, allow us to host our big events.”

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Moving the PGA Championship to May starting in 2019 will allow the PGA of America to help re-brand the event, and by extension the association.

Which leads to the subject of optics. It’s hard not to see the PGA of America as appearing to be a more dynamic organization when, if it were to move its headquarters to Frisco, it would share a zip code with one of the NFL’s top franchises, the Dallas Cowboys, along with the NHL’s Dallas Stars and the FC Dallas soccer team of the MLS. Liberty Mutual, FedEx Office and Toyota are non-sports companies who recently have moved to North Texas, in nearby Plano. Two other companies with golf connections—AT&T and Topgolf—are also deeply connected in the metro area. Having such impressive neighbors could afford the PGA of America more commercial and economic opportunities, which could be poured into member benefits and grow-the-game initiatives.

“When you look at the social aspects, the potential business opportunities, the corporate environment there, in my mind the pros outweigh the cons,” an east coast pro said. “It’s simply a step up from what we have now—a big one.”

Added another member: “I am confident that who we have in office will make the best possible decision for everyone invested in the organization. I have no doubt about it. This is an exciting time for the PGA of America, something we can all embrace.”

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By Christopher Powers
The golf world has been enthralled with a certain someone’s comeback this season, but another comeback of sorts is brewing through 54 holes at Bay Hill. Rory McIlroy’s third-round five-under 67 on Saturday has him at 10-under 206, two back of leader Henrik Stenson at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

McIlroy, 28, began the day outside the top 10 and six off the lead but began to make his move on the front nine, turning in two-under 34 before dropping his first shot of the day at the par-4 11th. He immediately bounced back though, making eagle at the par-5 12th to get to three under on the round. Birdies at the 16th and 18th finished off the Northern Irishman’s best round on the PGA Tour this season.

“I can’t really ask for much more. I got it up-and-down when I needed to, I took advantage of some of the good shots I hit,” said McIlroy, who ranks second in the field in strokes gained/putting, a stat he ranked 124th in entering the week. An impromptu lesson earlier this week with Brad Faxon, one of the best putters on tour during his career, may have given McIlroy an answer he was searching for.

“We had a chat on Monday. He lives down in Palm Beach Gardens near where I am and just had a chat. It was more, didn’t really hit many putts, it was more of a psychology lesson than anything else.

“Just be a little more instinctive, reactive and obviously Brad’s one of the best putters to play on the PGA TOUR, so it was great to be able to pick his brain for a couple hours,” he said.

After beginning 2018 with two strong starts on the European Tour, McIlroy has struggled on the PGA Tour, making just two of his four cuts, finishing T-20 at the Genesis Open and T-59 at the Honda Classic. A victory on Sunday could get him back on track, and it would be his first worldwide victory since his incredible performance at the 2016 TOUR Championship.

He’ll have to chase down Stenson, who is alone atop the leaderboard at 12-under 204 after shooting a one-under 71. He’ll play in the final group once again on Sunday alongside Bryson DeChambeau, who shot an even-par 72 and is at 11-under 205.

For the second straight week, Justin Rose has put himself in position to earn his ninth PGA Tour victory thanks to a five-under 67. Rose made six birdies and one bogey to get into a tie for fourth with Ryan Moore at nine-under 207.

Four players are at eight-under 208, including Rickie Fowler, who posted a two-under 70 that featured six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on his final hole of the day.

Five back is Tiger Woods, who fired a three-under 69 with six birdies and three bogeys. Much like his second round, it was another grind for Woods, but he holed enough long putts to stay in the hunt, none bigger than his final putt of the day from 12 feet at the par-4 18th.

“That was a nice one to get. After hitting a good shot on 17 and just buried in the face, I just didn’t want to — I just felt like seven (under) was within reach.

“Maybe a low one tomorrow will give me a chance to kind of steal one from behind,” said Woods.

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By Stephen Hennessey
Tiger Woods will play in back-to-back weeks for the first time since the latter part of 2015, as he announced on Friday that he will play the Honda Classic next week at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

This will be the fifth time Tiger tees it up at the South Florida tournament, an event that wasn’t always in his yearly rotation, but where he played from 2012 through 2014. PGA National is just minutes from his home in Jupiter, Fla.

Though he withdrew from the event in 2014 in his most recent appearance—citing back spasms—Tiger shot a final-round 62 in 2012 en route to a T-2 finish. The 14-time major champion played in the event for the first time as a 17-year-old in 1993 (and missed the cut).

Tiger was playing his front nine at the Genesis Open, run by his Tiger Woods Foundation, at Riviera Country Club, when the news broke—just after the usual 5 p.m. (eastern) deadline required to commit to the next week’s event.

“I think it would be a great sign if I do play. I think it would be a smart sign if I didn’t play,” Tiger was quoted as saying before teeing it up at Riviera. Regardless of whether it’s smart or not, teeing it up on back-to-back weeks for the first time since the 2015 PGA Championship and the Wyndham Championship is a good sign that Tiger’s fused back is feeling OK. As the golf calendar gets closer and closer to the Masters, and Tiger’s possible return to Augusta National, that’s a great sign for Tiger’s fans.

“I would love to play a full schedule in 2018,” Woods wrote on his website on Dec. 29. “What that entails, including back-to-back events, I don’t know. … This is all unchartered territory.”

The Honda Classic will be the third official event in which the 42-year-old, who owns 79 career PGA Tour titles, the last of which came at the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, will have teed it up in 2018.

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