Smotherman's playoff win and LIV's King hire lead Monday's golf day

Austin Smotherman won in Bermuda on Monday morning, beating Seamus Power on the third playoff hole for his second PGA Tour win in as many starts. LIV Golf hired former TaylorMade CEO Mark King as a senior advisor the same day Graeme McDowell said he is done with the league.

Platforms

Golf Simulator Videos posted a 53-minute review of BenQ's AK900ST, running it in GSPro, Infinite Tees and Trackman in a Carl's Place enclosure. The host puts the price at $5,999 and the brightness at 6,000 ANSI lumens. The AI picture enhancer changed his mind: he says he had not seen grass detail like it on any projector he has tested. Those figures are read out in the video and have not been checked against BenQ's spec sheet (story).

Build & Gear

Handicap Golf's 14 budget sim tips include buying a proper simulator mat and cutting it into strips, so a worn piece can be swapped out. One golfer he coached checked a used PC against GSPro's requirements and saved more than £300, and he calls 1080p projection fine for most bays. Prices are his own, mostly in pounds (story).

Courses & Play

PopStroke now sells unlimited putting for guests 60 and older at $100 a year or $10 a month, good at any location with no blackout dates, according to its site and Golfweek (story). In Washington, Judge Ana Reyes turned her stop on tree cutting at East Potomac Golf Links into a preliminary injunction while the redesign lawsuit continues, per the AP and Bloomberg Law (story).

Creators

The Internet Invitational's X account posted a clip Monday night of Daltoosh's tee shot finishing, in its words, inches from a $500,000 hole-in-one. Season two runs Mondays and Thursdays on YouTube (story).

Swing Lab

John Catlin's par on the last hole in Hong Kong is a speed lesson. Facing a fast downhill putt from the back of the green, he left his first try 12 feet short on purpose and holed the next one. On a sim green, practice that lag before you practice the make (story).

The Game

Smotherman and Power played the par-3 16th three times. Power missed left on the third trip and made bogey, and Smotherman two-putted for par and $1,080,000. Both have withdrawn from this week's Mexico Open (story).

Catlin won the Hong Kong Open by five at 20 under, which earns him a first Masters invite (story).

King will build and chair a LIV advisory board for LIV 2.0, the league said (story). McDowell posted that he has "decided not to pursue LIV 2.0" and did not say where he plays next (story).

For TGL, stats writer Justin Ray's roster breakdown notes Jupiter ranked last in driving distance in both seasons, which newcomer Keith Mitchell should help (story). Atlanta Drive filled its fifth TGL spot with Michael Brennan (story), and Los Angeles added Ben James (story). WTGL opens November 8 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN, Los Angeles against New York (story).

Lydia Ko denied a South Korean lawmaker's claim that she gave the first lady a golf lesson and said she plans legal action over false reports (story).

What to do now

If you are pricing a projector upgrade, watch the AK900ST review before you buy. Watch for TGL's full match schedule, which will show who plays opening night on December 27. On LIV, Friday, October 30, is the PIF's date for a deal.