Author: James “Jimmy” Caldwell

Hisatsune’s Pebble Moment: When Youth, Confidence, and Perfect Conditions Align I’ve been covering professional golf for thirty-five years, and I’ve learned that certain tournaments reveal themselves in interesting ways. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am always does this—the rotation between three courses, the celebrity amateurs, the unpredictable February weather. But what happened on Thursday in the opening round tells a story that goes well beyond one young man shooting 10-under par, impressive as that 62 truly is. Ryo Hisatsune is 23 years old and has played exactly two weeks on the PGA Tour before walking onto the practice range at Pebble…

Hisatsune’s Brilliance Masks a Troubling Trend at Pebble Beach After 35 years of watching professional golf—and having spent a good chunk of those years on the bag for Tom Lehman—I’ve learned that the most interesting stories at any tournament aren’t always about the guy leading. Sure, Ryo Hisatsune’s 10-under 62 is eye-catching. It absolutely is. But what really caught my attention on Day One of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was what happened to the names conspicuously absent from the early leaderboard. Let me start with the obvious: Hisatsune, the 23-year-old Japanese sensation, produced one of those performances that reminds…

Wyndham Clark’s 60 at Pebble Beach Reminds Us Why This Game Still Captivates There’s a moment that happens maybe once every few years in professional golf when you witness something so purely excellent that it transcends the typical tournament narrative. Wyndham Clark’s 12-under 60 at Pebble Beach last year was exactly that kind of moment—and what makes it even more remarkable is how it unfolded against a backdrop of frustration that, frankly, many casual fans completely missed. I’ve been covering this tour for 35 years, and I’ve seen some spectacular rounds. I caddied for Tom Lehman back in the day,…

Scottsdale’s Ballstriking Test: Why Profile Over Pedigree Matters at the WMPO I’ve watched the Waste Management Phoenix Open evolve from a wide-open birdie fest into something more nuanced—a course that still rewards aggression but increasingly separates players based on one specific skill: the ability to put yourself in position repeatedly with your irons, then have the discipline not to force it. That’s not exactly breaking news. What *is* interesting this year is watching the betting market and daily fantasy community correctly identify which players have that profile versus which ones are riding name recognition into inflated prices. After 35 years…

The Aisla Craig Connection: Why Golf’s Greatest Stages Need Stories Like This In 35 years covering professional golf, I’ve learned that the best tournaments aren’t defined solely by who wins or what scores get posted. The truly memorable ones—the ones that stick with you decades later—have texture. They have stories. They have soul. That’s why this piece about Aisla Craig, the 600-million-year-old volcanic plug that serves as backdrop to Turnberry’s Ailsa course, matters far more than it might initially appear. It’s not really about curling stones, though that’s the hook. It’s about why certain golf venues transcend the sport itself,…

Pebble Beach 2026: When Early-Season Dominance Meets the Ultimate Test After 35 years of watching this tour operate, I’ve learned that January tells you a lot about what’s coming down the pike. And what I’m seeing this week at Pebble Beach isn’t just another signature event—it’s a referendum on whether the early narrative of 2026 actually holds water, or if it’s built on something more fragile. Let me be direct: we’re watching three different stories play out simultaneously, and that’s what makes this week genuinely fascinating. The Scheffler Question Scottie Scheffler opens as a heavy 3-1 favorite, and frankly, that…

Brian Rolapp Brings NFL Discipline to Golf’s Greatest Upheaval After 35 years covering professional golf, I’ve watched this sport navigate plenty of turning points. But watching Brian Rolapp settle into his role as PGA Tour CEO these past few months? This feels different. Not because the Tour’s facing existential questions—we’ve been there before. But because for the first time in recent memory, we’ve got a leader from outside the golf bubble who actually understands how to operate at the highest levels of sports business, and he’s not afraid to shake things up. What strikes me most about Rolapp’s entrance into…

The Gary Player Snub: When Tradition Becomes a Prison I’ve been covering professional golf for 35 years now, and I’ve watched Augusta National evolve from a quirky Southern club into something closer to a corporate fortress. So when I heard that Gary Player—a three-time Masters champion with 52 starts at the course, more than any golfer in history—was denied a simple request to play a casual round with his grandsons, something in that story stuck with me. Not the headline. The subtext. This isn’t really about membership rules or protocol. This is about a club that’s lost sight of what…