Happy 2016! I hope everyone is excited to get back into their daily routine after the holidays.
I am excited to get back to competing on the PGA TOUR. It is time to leave the snow in Elmhurst and head for the sunny beaches on Oahu. It is hard to believe that this will be my tenth time playing in the SONY Open. It doesn’t seem that long ago when I was a rookie on the PGA TOUR and made my debut at Waialae in 2003. This was before I was married to Amy, as a matter of fact, we had only been on one date at that time. Now 13 years later, we have been married for 10 years and have three energetic boys to care for.
Ping has some new equipment out this year and I am thrilled to tee it up with the G Driver and i irons. I played the i irons at Mayakoba and Sea Island last year but the G Driver is totally new.
This is my third and final year as one of the four player directors on the PGA TOUR Policy Board. It has been an educational journey of the inner workings of the PGA TOUR and how decisions are made. I am thrilled to have been a part of voting in the new rule to help strengthen PGA TOUR fields where most players will need to either play more events in a year or choose to play in a tournament they haven’t participated in for the last four seasons. The goal is to have more sponsors get to see those marque names play their tournament. The PGA TOUR is full of incredible talent so just go watch anyone play, however, if you want to see the flair of a Rickie Fowler or Bubba Watson, this rule will make players spread the wealth to other events.
Thanks again to everyone who supported the 2015 Mark Wilson Charity Classic. The final numbers are in and $175,000 was donated to the Blessings in a Backpack program at Blackhawk Elementary and Hall Elementary in Glendale Heights, IL. We are working on the date and location for 2016 and I will let you all know when we have it booked.
Have a great 2016, filled with lots of one putt greens.
Mark Wilson
