Maine

Par for the Course: Good golf in Maine and on TV

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2024

Par for the Course: Good golf in Maine and on TV

The golf weather in this state becoming good, and so has the golf on TV. This weekend, it’s the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.

Bill Kennedy, Golf Columnist

Because the 2024 golf season has gotten off so well, the PGA Championship shapes up as being an exciting tournament. If you are asking why and how the 2024 PGA season is going so well, it is because there have already been so many positive development.

While LIV Golf and the PGA have not yet merged, the disdain between the two sides seems to have subsided, which means that interaction of the two tours is at the very least acceptable. There are 16 LIV Tour players in the PGA, including big-name stars Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka. And while they may not be hoisting a few at the same bars, the players from the two tours are being respectable and civil to each other.

And why not? They’re all making big bucks. The PGA Tour probably would not admit it, but the LIV Tournament has gotten the PGA Tour to significantly raise its prize money amounts. Koepka has won four LIV Tour events at $4 million per championships. Rory McElroy captured the Wells Fargo title May 12 at Quail Hollow and won $3.6 million. Wells Fargo is a top PGA event, but it is not a major. Rory did convert the Wells Fargo title to a first-round 66 at Valhalla, despite the fact that news had broken that he and his wife are getting a divorce.

If you need more proof that the greenbacks are flowing in pro golf, get this.

All of the pros have endorsements and sponsorships, which range from what Tigers Woods gets at $60 million a year, to just thousands of dollars for rank-and-file professionals. All of them are doing extremely well financially. Pro golfers are not poor.

A case in point is the May 14 announcement that Matthew Fitzgerald has been hired by Arrcos as its “tour ambassador.” What he is being paid was not revealed. Rest assured, it is a substantial sum, at least by the standards of working-class folks. Fitzgerald played on championship European Ryder Cup teams and won a U.S. Open, so he is yet another pro golfer using his name to monetary advantage. Viktor Hovland, a 2023 PGA Tour star, and LPGA superstar Nelly Korda also are affiliated with Arrcos.

Objections to the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Tour have been toned down. Many Americans still think that the Saudis are using golf to gain financial and political influence in the United States. Historically, nations with political philosophies which oppose USA thinking have tried to find a way into the finances and government of our great nation. And a golf entree is a lot easier to deal with than war.

Golf is the consummate sport of nobility and sophistication. It also has been the venue during which some of the greatest business deals in the world have been made. It is a huge money sport on and off the course.

So, if money is the goal of a competitor, the PGA and LIV tours are the place for pro golfers to be. To a lesser extent, there are the Champions, LPGA and Korn Ferry tours, where big money is not available, but a good living can be made.

Saving the best for last, there is Scottie Scheffler. All he has done to become the No. 1-ranked player in the world is bring home four 2024 tournament crowns – RBC Heritage, Masters, The Players Championship, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational – which has been good for $15.7 million in prize money. Apparently, even a three-week layoff during which his first child was born did not result in golf rust, because on the PGA’s very first hole, he chipped in for an eagle.

Then came his adventure with Louisville police on Friday, when he was handcuffed and arrested for not following police orders. While police were investigating the death of a pedestrian who had been struck by a bus, Scheffler reportedly drove past a police officer, who yelled at Scheffler and then grabbed onto the car and held on until Scheffler stopped about 10 yards later.

Scheffler was booked at 7:29 a.m., about 2 1/2 hours before his updated tee time, as the fatality caused the start of Friday’s play to be delayed. He was released and returned to the course by 9:12 a.m.

It was a harrowing experience for anyone, much less a person attempting to win a major golf championship. Schauffler seemed to have put that in his rear-view mirror, because he recorded another good round of 5-under 66 and still in the mix at the PGA Championship.

If he stays hot during the PGA, despite distractions, everyone else might be playing for second place.

* * * * *

The MaineGolf 2024 season is underway.

Men’s Playday action is May 24-25 at Fairlawn, while the Women’s Playday season continues May 21 at Dutch Elm and Lakewood. Today at Natanis Tomahawk, the annual Men’s Club Team Championship is being conducted.

* * * * *

This kicks off the 12th season of “Par For The Course.” Hopefully, it leads to a dry season of 2024. Hit ’em straight.

Bill Kennedy, a retired New Jersey golf writer and editor now residing on Thompson Lake in Otisfield, is in his 12th season as Sun Journal golf columnist.

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Maine

Elementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine

Published

6 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Elementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine

A student was killed in a crash involving a school bus in southern Maine on Tuesday morning, officials say.

The crash occurred around 7:30 a.m. near Edna Libby Elementary School in Standish, authorities said, and MSAD 6 School Superintendent Clay Gleason told News Center Maine it involved a student and a school bus.

Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce confirmed that an elementary school student was struck by an MSAD 6 school bus and died at the scene. He said Route 35 was shut down between Route 114 and Moody Road for the crash investigation.

MSAD 6 serves the towns of Buxton, Hollis, Limington, Standish, and Frye Island. Standish is a town with about 11,000 residents about 15 miles west of Portland.

The child who died was a student at Edna Libby Elementary School, the school district said. Joyce said only one student was on the bus at the time of the crash — the half-brother of the student who was killed.

“The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, along with other law enforcement agencies, will be reconstructing the accident, providing more information as we get it,” Joyce said. “What we do know now is we have a child that’s deceased. It’s tough anytime of the year, but not a good time of the year for a lot of families.”

Gleason said Edna Libby Elementary School planned to dismiss students at 11:30 a.m. to allow parents or caregivers to be with their children and for staff to receive support. All after school activities in the district were canceled, though the school day went on as scheduled in all other district schools.

“I have been in communication with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and a full investigation will be forthcoming to determine how this tragic accident took place,” Gleason said in a message to the school community. “In this difficult time please keep those directly impacted in your thoughts – first and foremost the family of the student, as well as the students and staff of Edna Libby. Speculation or blame on social media is not productive or helpful and is disrespectful to the memory of the student and their family.”

Support services are being provided for the bus driver and the family, Joyce said.

No additional information has been released, but officials said they expect to have more to say later in the day.

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Maine

Maine Jewish community mourning, on edge after attack in Australia

Published

18 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Maine Jewish community mourning, on edge after attack in Australia

PORTLAND (WGME) — The Maine Jewish community says the attack in Australia has left them mourning and on edge.

It comes amid an increase in antisemitic rhetoric, online and in our communities.

Members of Maine’s Jewish community say they have no choice but to take these increased threats seriously, especially in wake of the tragedy in Australia.

They are now increasing security, like during the menorah lighting for the first night of Hanukkah outside Portland City Hall Sunday.

The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine says they’ve been coordinating with local law enforcement across the state since Sunday about heightened threat levels.

They say the attack in Australia is just the culmination of an increase in antisemitic actions that have been seen across the world in recent years, which Maine has not been isolated from.

“There were about, almost 16 antisemitic incidents, documented antisemitic incidents in 2024,” Jewish Community Relations Council Director Zach Schwartz said. “That represents the same increase that Sydney saw, which is a three-fold increase, so yeah, we could say by the numbers, that there is multiple orders of increased antisemitism in the state.”

The alliance says the story of Hanukkah is also more relevant than ever amid these attacks.

They say amid dark days, the Jewish community still finds ways to come together in hopes of lighting the way for a brighter future.

Governor Janet Mills issued a statement on both the shooting in Australia and at Brown University.

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“My prayers are with the victims of the tragedies in Providence and Australia, and I hope for the full recovery of all those injured. Innocent people, like those gathering for school or to celebrate their faith, should be free from fear of hateful acts such as these.”

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Maine

Eight Maine Subway locations reopen

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

An image from Michael T. Fay’s Facebook page shows him in front of the location on Allen Avenue in Portland, one of the franchises ordered closed. (Facebook screenshot)

Eight Subway locations closed last week by state regulators have reopened.

MTF Subway franchise owner Michael T. Fay has confirmed that all of his franchise locations in Maine are open for business, following the closure of eight of them last Wednesday.

Maine Revenue Services ordered what it characterized as “several” Subway locations closed for “for noncompliance with Part 3, 36 M.R.S.A.,” which primarily governs Maine’s sales and use tax.

The agency did not elaborate and would only reiterate Monday that, “Due to confidentiality requirements, MRS cannot comment on individual tax situations.”

In an email to the Sun Journal on Monday, Fay confirmed that eight of his locations were affected by the ordered closures, after the state revoked the registration certificates for each location.

Fay stated that none of his employees were laid off by the company.

MTF Subway locations affected:

Blue Hill

Brunswick

Hampden

Lisbon Falls

Portland

Topsham

Westbrook

Wiscasset

A long-time journalist, Christopher got his start with Armed Forces Radio & Television after college. Seventeen years at CNN International brought exposure to major national and international stories…
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