Ken Weyand has caught a lot of attention at the 2024 Dubai Invitational, the DP World Tour start of the year in the United Arab Emirates. Lots of people are wondering why Weyand is in the field and who he is.
Weyand is 54 years old, and he is the general manager of the Michael Jordan-owned Grove XXIII club in Florida. He's in the field as a sponsor invite of a professional golfer, in the same category as Thomas Bjorn.
In the first round, Weyand shot 16-over 87, finishing in last place of the 60-player field by 10 shots over the 59th-place player.
So, how did Weyand get in the field?
Weyand is affiliated with Michael Jordan
Ken Weyand is the general manager of the Michael Jordan-owned Grove XXIII club, and he's also a business partner with Jordan in his Black Cat Ventures investment fund, which has some investments in the golf world.
Somehow Weyand, Jordan and/or Black Cat Ventures is affiliated with the tournament sponsors this week, and that's how Weyand got an invite. Some pros are upset about that fact and have spoken out about it on Twitter, including Eddie Pepperell.
"Limited man field, and old Ken Weyand gets an invite and then does this," said Pepperell, before adding in his usual style. "I don’t care if he’s Ken from Barbie, it shouldn’t happen."
Richard Mansell, who played with Weyand in Round 1, seemed fine with it.
What Weyand earns this week
Weyand isn't going to win the Dubai Invitational, and he'll need to play well to finish outside of last place this week. Still, since this is a no-cut event on the DP World Tour, he'll earn money no matter what. Not bad!
The Official World Golf Ranking changed its rules for 2024 to eliminate guaranteed OWGR points for players in a limited-field event, so Weyand will have to finish in the top 80-85 percent of the field to earn any points this week.
