With the deadline approaching this morning for entry into next week’s Safeway Open, Tiger Woods made golf fans’ weekends by confirming his spot in the event and signaling his return to golf. While no one knows whether we will see the old dominant Tiger or the one who struggled to make cuts, it’s a big win for golf to have its biggest star back inside the ropes. More to come in Monday’s edition.

An opportunity lost

With Hurricane Matthew making its way up the Florida coast, Web.com Tour officials made the decision to cancel the final event in the Tour Finals, ending the season and handing out the final PGA Tour cards for the 2016-2017 season. While it’s a tough break for those players on the outside looking in, they wouldn’t have been in a make it or break it situation if they had played better earlier in the year.

Some questioned the move, but golf wasn’t going to be played Thursday or today, pushing the completion of the tournament to Tuesday of next week and leaving a lot of the players rushing to get to California for their first PGA Tour start of the season. It was the right move.

The elation

The top 16 in the Web.com Tour Finals had already clinched their spots on the PGA Tour, but with the cancellation, players in slots 17-25 earned their cards without hitting a shot, quite a good break.

The new guys

50 players in total have earned their spot on the PGA Tour next year, 25 through the Web.com Tour’s regular season and 25 from the Web.com Tour Finals. Check out the 8 new faces I expect to see big things from next season.

On the Euro Circuit

Currently, England’s Ross Fisher and Sweden’s Alex Noren sit on top at the European Tour’s Dunhill Championship during the first two rounds. Fisher and Noren are two of the hottest players on the European circuit. Fisher finished runner-up in his last start, while Noren has 2 wins and a runner-up finish in his last 6 starts. It wouldn’t be surprising to see either hoisting the trophy on Sunday.

This tournament is a little different

The Dunhill Cup pairs pros with celebrity amateurs to play a trio of courses (St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns) before a Saturday cut and Sunday’s final round at St. Andrews. The leaderboard can be a little deceiving with the field scattered around different venues of varying difficulty. The toughest course by far is Carnoustie, so watch for players who can navigate it unscathed to be near the top of the leaderboard.

Dis-A-Greed.

One of the conclusions from this year’s Ryder Cup was that Europe was lacking young talent. I don’t buy it, so here’s a look at some of their best players under the age of 25.

Fall and Winter Reading

With golf season winding down in Chicago (and much of the northern part of the country), here’s a list of some of my favorite golf books as well as my reading list for the winter months ahead in Chicago. Enjoy and let me know what I am missing!

Quick Hooks

Bad backs force Day & Rose out of fall events.

407-yard par 4, no problem as Thomas Pieters drives the green.

The latest scores from 1st Stage of Q-School.

Finally, NLU has some actual Golf apparel! That’s right people, No Laying Up hats, visors, bucket caps, and polos are live in the Pro Shop, and as loyal followers of this newsletter, you get the first look and receive 10% off any purchase over $115 dollars if you buy before Sunday Use code: NLUVIBES2016

Below, you can click through and find more information on the custom apparel we are now offering in the Pro Shop. As is often the case with NLU, there is a limited supply (#SmallShop), so make sure you snag something you like before we open up the store to the Twittersphere.

After collecting feedback from some of you the past few months, we’ve updated our original hat design, launched a line of crispy tour visors for our Frat-star contingent, and partnered with Holderness & Bourne on a new line of golf shirts that look and feel phenomenal. The guys at H&B are doing big things, and I know I speak for Tron, Randy, and Soly when I say we are thrilled about this partnership and the evolution of the No Laying Up Pro Shop.

We welcome all feedback (both positive and not so positive) and fresh ideas. You can drop us a line on twitter or via email at nolayingup@gmail.com.

No Laying Up,

Neil, Tron, Randy, and Soly

Buy Now!