Andrew Novak came to Mexico ranked 158th on Tour in putting. He left with a tournament record, $1.08 million and a rusty blade he dug out of a closet.
This week's sponsor keeps Read The Divot free. If something catches your eye, give it a click. More at the bottom.
In partnership with
Cities Are Running Out of Salt Before Winter Even Starts
Road salt is one of those things nobody thinks about until plow trucks come back empty, and this year that's happening before the first snowfall. Some cities haven't gotten a single bid for winter supply, while others are paying nearly double last year's price.
North America doesn't mine enough of its own, which is why it ships in 8 to 10 million tonnes from places like Egypt and Chile, two weeks away by boat.
Atlas Salt (TSXV: SALT | OTCQX: SALQF) is building a mine in Newfoundland near a deepwater port where ships can reach Boston in three days. With salt, the real cost is in shipping, and CEO Nolan Peterson says the difference is so big that overseas producers could give their salt away and still come out more expensive than Atlas. The project is shovel-ready and projected to generate roughly C$188 million a year in free cash flow.
IN THIS ISSUE
Novak Won Mexico With a Putter From the Closet
A BYU Sophomore Shot 59 on Sunday
TaylorMade Hi-Toe 5: Forged, Raw, $199.99
Odyssey TRTL: Near 6,000 MOI, $399.99, Nov. 6
Holly Ridge Broke Ground on a 13-Hole Short Course
Page High’s Lily Cochran Won 7A From Off the Green
PGA TOUR . MEXICO OPEN
Novak Won Mexico With a Putter From the Closet
Raleigh-born Andrew Novak showed up at Vidanta Vallarta 158th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting. By Sunday he led the field in it. The fix wasn’t a new mallet. It was a rusted T.P. Mills blade he once gave his wife as a birthday present.
That putter carried him to 61-62 on Friday and Saturday. Sunday got shaky: by the 10th, a soft bogy had cut his six-shot lead to three. Then he birdied three straight, shot 69 and won by five at 25-under 259, the tournament’s 72-hole record. His other Tour win came as half of a team. This one is all his.
37 for 37. Novak made every putt inside 10 feet over the first three rounds.
$1.08 million. 500 FedEx Cup points. Zero dollars spent on a new putter.
PGA TOUR . AMATEURS
A BYU Sophomore Shot 59 on Sunday
Kihei Akina is 20 and a sophomore at BYU. He closed with a 59 and finished 15th at 16 under, one shot clear of Ben James and Neal Shipley. It was his third top-20 on Tour this year. As an amateur, his line on the payout sheet reads n/a. One top-20 is a hot week. Three is a pattern, and the money he’s leaving on the table gets harder to ignore every time.
Three top-20s. Zero dollars.
LIV GOLF . BANKRUPTCY
Herbert Didn’t Leave LIV for Money. That’s Worse for LIV.
Lucas Herbert won LIV Virginia and LIV New York this year, then rode that form to a T6 at Birkdale. He’s walking anyway. He told the Tee It Up Podcast that LIV 2.0 is pitching about 10 events, and he can’t chase majors on that. The DP World Tour already said LIV 2.0 players are banned in 2027, so the backup reps are gone too.
Money can be renegotiated. A thin schedule can’t. With PIF’s funding gone, BC Partners’ up-to-$300 million rescue still hinges on a “critical mass” of players. The signing deadline is gone. LIV told the court it would know its fate by the end of October. It’s November.
“Ten events is not enough to build a season around.”
ALSO THIS WEEK
Fichardt Walks It Off in Little Rock Darren Fichardt eagled the 18th to beat Zach Johnson by one, jumping from 46th to 17th in Schwab Cup points after four Monday qualifiers this season.
Yamashita Defends at the Maybank Miyu Yamashita won the Maybank again, and The Perfect Lie counts it as her fifth LPGA title overall, second this year, the fastest any Japanese player has reached five.
Laopakdee Goes Back-to-Back Laopakdee defended the Asia-Pacific Amateur and earned return trips to the Masters and The Open.
LOOKING AHEAD
World Wide Technology Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante
The fall series moves to El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos, Mexico, Nov. 5-8. It’s the sixth of eight fall events, and the 2027 card math gets tighter every week. Names to watch: Andrew Novak (fresh off a five-shot win), Ben Griffin (T4 in Mexico, the defending champ and the Chapel Hill kid Novak grew up playing CGA events against), and Mackenzie Hughes (sitting 101st, one spot outside the top 100).
TaylorMade Hi-Toe 5: Forged, Raw, $199.99
For the first time, TaylorMade’s high-toe wedge is fully forged from soft carbon steel, with full-face milled grooves borrowed from the Milled Grind 5 and a raw face meant to hold spin wet or dry. The Hi-Toe 5 runs $199.99 in 50 to 60 degrees with five soles. Soft bunkers at your home course? The ATW has the most bounce. The low-bounce ATC is right-handed and special order only. I haven’t seen independent spin data yet. Last week a test winner cost $130, so hit this one before you order it.
Odyssey TRTL: Near 6,000 MOI, $399.99, Nov. 6
MOI north of 5,000 on the three standard heads and close to 6,000 on the TRTL MAX Square 2 Square, per MyGolfSpy. Min Woo Lee has gamed one since February, and all four models became Japan’s top four sellers at launch. Four corner weights let a fitter move the CG and dial in toe hang. Standard models are $349.99, the MAX is $399.99, retail Nov. 6. My take: if your misses come off the toe, roll one. If they don’t, it’s $350 to fix a problem you don’t have.
ALSO THIS WEEK
NCG Rolled 2,500 Putts Through 35 Putters The LAB OZ.1 topped NCG’s Best in Class test at 82.8 out of 100, with forgiveness and stability weighted heaviest.
The Turtle Ball Is Just a Chrome Tour Callaway’s Chrome Tour TRTL is $59.99 a dozen and plays exactly like the standard Chrome Tour, cartoon turtle aside.
The Garmin S70 Is the Value Play Now If wrist-based swing metrics don’t matter to you, the 47mm S70 at $699.99 has the same screen and battery as the $799.99 S72.
Holly Ridge Broke Ground on a 13-Hole Short Course
Holly Ridge Golf Links in the Triad started construction this week on The Track, a 13-hole short course next to the 17th hole. Dail Golf is designing and building it with owner Luke Hollingsworth, and the target opening is October 2027. This is the place that sells tee times instead of individual rounds and runs a simulator lounge where robots bring your food. Put it on the 2027 road-trip list.
Page High’s Lily Cochran Won 7A From Off the Green
Lily Cochran has played competitive golf for less than two years. The Page High junior won her first tournament at the Class 7A state championship, holing a 25-foot birdie from off the green on the second playoff hole, per Triangle Golf. Cardinal Gibbons’ Olivia Erazmus shot 75 at Seven Lakes, the day’s low round, but the Crusaders lost two playoffs late in the day. Best Triangle team in the field, and still nothing to show for it.
Moore County Set a Record Without a U.S. Open
Moore County visitor spending hit $901.4 million in 2025, up 4.9%, according to Business North Carolina’s tourism round table. The local tourism office expected a drop after the 2024 Open brought 250,000 people and $200 million. Your next Pinehurst trip costs more on the room line, though: county commissioners raised the occupancy tax to 6% from 3% in January.
Lonnie Poole’s New No. 2 Opens After Thanksgiving
N.C. State’s replacement par 3 is growing in, and GM Chip Watson told TriangleGolf.com the plan is to open it right after Thanksgiving. It still bites from the tips: 230 from the competition tees, 202 black, 181 red, 165 white, 126 gray, 103 green, and slightly uphill. The payoff is pace. No more waiting to backtrack to the No. 3 tee, which N.C. State figures saves about 10 minutes a round. Expect a new rating and slope within 45 days, so your handicap math changes too.
ALSO THIS WEEK
The Wolfpack Gets a 12-Acre Practice Area N.C. State is building a 12-acre practice area for its golf teams, partly on the old No. 2 site at Lonnie Poole.
Sequence Raised $58,000 for Ronald McDonald House The Morrisville company’s sold-out Bogey Nights tournament cleared $58,000 for RMHC of the Triangle, and the 9th edition is set for Oct. 25, 2027.
Fore Real 24 Skips the Arcade Vibe The Greensboro sim facility is built for practice, not parties, and members can bring their own food and drinks.
ON THE TEE SHEET
Nov 8: Stitch Golf Junior Invitational Qualifier, Longleaf Golf & Family Club, Southern Pines, NC
Nov 8-9: 6th Annual North Carolina Golf Classic, Governor's Club, Chapel Hill, NC
Nov 9-10: 16th Carolinas Net Amateur Championship, Longleaf Golf & Family Club, Southern Pines, NC
Nov 9: 2026 Golf Tournament (NAWIC Triangle), North Ridge Country Club, Raleigh, NC
Nov 13: Fore Her Future (Girls on the Run Triangle), TriGolf - Home of First Tee, Raleigh, NC
Nov 14-15: College Prep Series at UNC Finley Golf Club, UNC Finley Golf Club, Chapel Hill, NC
Nov 14-15: NCCGA North Carolina Regional Tournament 4, Warrior Golf Club, China Grove, NC
Nov 15: The Neuse (Ridge Cup #2), The Neuse Country Club, Clayton, NC
TWO WAYS TO KEEP THIS GOING
Show up to a new course already knowing the move.
The next time a buddy picks a Triangle course you have never played, you will know which tees to play, where the trouble is, and what the locals actually pay before you leave the parking lot. That is the Triangle Golf Guide: 23 courses deep, plus the curated sim spots and the membership math worth knowing. Less than a range bucket, at $5.99.
Or give this week's sponsor a click.
The ad at the top of this issue is what pays for the hours behind it. If the offer is relevant to you, give it a click. That costs you nothing and it keeps Read The Divot free for everyone else.
That's your read this week.
Tour intel, gear picks, and local course intel every Tuesday.
