Beef ?Hovland #LuckOfTheDraw ??#ODDC @OMEGAGolfDubai pic.twitter.com/d0glMwwGQj

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 24, 2020

You know it’s about to get wacky when Beef draws a lob wedge off the tee. You can’t ask for a more sadistic combination than that. Hovland draws a four iron and puts in the fairway, but soon gets his comeuppance when a three iron rears its ugly head from the first cut from 127 yards. Beef follows that with the shot of the segment, somehow managing to hold a four-iron from 97 yards on the putting surface despite a downright disturbing lie.

After getting relief from the grandstands, nearly hitting it in the water, and coming a mere inch from holing a chip, Hovland picks it up for six, leaving Beef with a long putt from the back of the green for the win . . . with an eight iron, of course. After leaving it about six feet short, Beef pours in a two iron to halve the hole. Everyone goes home happy, albeit with some pretty fried nerves.

Overall, a pretty fun to way to kick off a pretty fun conceit. We hope to see more of this post-Dubai Desert Classic, perhaps at the Masters. Something tells us Augusta National will absolutely LOVE this sort of hi-jinx. In the meantime, feel free to try this at your local GC as long you don’t mind never being invited back.

The post Viktor Hovland and Beef draw random clubs out of hat, play Dubai Desert Classic’s 18th hole, chaos ensues appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beal

Welcome to the Dew Sweeper’s PGA Championship rundown, your one-stop shop to catch up on the weekend action from the golf world. From the professional tours, trending news, social media headlines and upcoming events, here’s every golf-related thing you need to know for the morning of Aug. 11.

Kisner’s creative course for Quail Hollow

It’s become bylaw that, when breaking down the layout of Quail Hollow, one must use some variation of “bomber’s paradise” in their analysis. With big hitters like Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland and Grayson Murray gracing the score board, it’s an opinion hard to argue. But, as Kevin Kisner countered on Thursday, there’s more than one way to tour a golf course.

Kisner, one of the shorter hitters in the game, held a simply strategy: keep it in the fairway. The game plan sounds elementary, but the new wave of thought on tour, evidenced in the strokes-gained movement, states that it’s better to be closer to the green and in the rough rather than farther back in the short stuff. However, Kisner’s old-school strategy worked, as his tee-ball accuracy setup plenty of attack opportunities in approach. The result was six birdies and a share of the first-round lead at four under.

“I’m going to say every course we play is a bomber’s course, anymore,” Kisner said afterwards, regarding Quail Hollow’s arrangement. But to him, the gnarly Bermuda rough puts a paramount on precision. “It’s brutal. I don’t care how far they hit it,” he said.

It will be an endeavor to keep pace with the big boys, especially if the expected rain comes this weekend. But, at least for one day, Kisner proved the paradigm wrong.

Mike Ehrmann

Uneven starts for Spieth, McIlroy

Tournaments are lost, not won, on Thursdays. In the regard, the one-over scores of Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are suitable. Of greater concern: both players’ shortcomings manifesting in a week where minimizing mistakes is key.

For Spieth, it was the putter, the once-vaunted Excalibur that’s turned into a fickle tool. Spieth had a whopping 32 putts on Thursday, failing to convert anything of the mid-range.

“I can’t putt any worse than I did today,” said Spieth, who finished the day 124th in sg: putting.“I didn’t make the one-out-of-five. Instead I missed the 10-out-of-10 from that kind of range. If I grabbed a couple of those then I would be pleased.”

In McIlroy’s case, his long-ball prowess (324.6 yards, second in the field) was wasted with poor iron play, hitting just 10 greens on the day. Worse, on the short par-4 14th, McIlroy dumped his drive in the drink and proceeded to duff his chip, leading to a unsightly six. It was the type of inconsistency that’s become frighteningly the norm.

Nevertheless, the superstars remain in shouting distance of the lead. And though they’re not in the proverbial pace car, they both have the capability to set the weekend tone on Friday.

Streeter Lecka

Fowler’s big bounce back

It was only Thursday, but the formidability displayed by Rickie Fowler gives hope that this could be his long-awaited major attainment.

The young gun threw away his two-under start with a triple at the brutal par-4 fifth. Given his past struggles with adversity, Fowler’s tournament was suddenly in the crucible. Fowler answered in brilliant fashion with three birdies in the next six holes, managing to post a strong two-under 69 in tough conditions.

“Just have to put that behind me and move on,” Fowler said about the fifth. “It would be nice not to have it.”

Fowler has a stout track record at Quail Hollow, with a win and two other top-six finishes. And he clearly has his share of reps in the major spotlight. While those previous excursions fell short, Fowler showed on Thursday he has the mettle to put those failings in the past.

Ross Kinnaird

Spoiled Beef?

Golf loves its Beef Johnston, and rightfully so: the man relishes his time inside the ropes. Unfortunately, that time may be coming to an end, at least in the States. A poor season got worse on Thursday as a shoulder injury caused the 28-year-old to withdraw after firing a 78.

Johnston’s currently ranked 188th in the FedEx Cup, and the injury likely means he won’t be competing in next week’s Wyndham Championship. He will now be forced to head to the Web.com Tour Finals Series to retain his card.

We’d venture to make an expiration date pun, but our hearts are too heavy at the thought of a beefless landscape. Godspeed, you noble warrior.

The Tiger movie you didn’t need

Frankly, we feel guilty even mentioning that, as it may be misconstrued as a plug. But this looks so absurd — “this” being a documentary on the Tiger Woods-Rachel Uchitel affair — that it begs to be dissected.

First, why? In 2010, okay, but this relationship took place eight years ago. Did they run out of Jennifer Anniston-Brad Pitt material? Also, we know Tiger loves his Sunday red, but pretty confident that didn’t spill over to his rendezvouses. (Although the same couldn’t be said for Ron Swanson, so who knows.) Does actor Tiger unleash a fist pump at some point? And what is the Reelz Channel? Does the “z” mean it’s an edgy station, or was it formed by a group of burnt-out SoCal skaters?

While we’re usually fans of “so bad it’s good films,” we’re going with the hard pass on this abomination.

The post PGA Championship morning rundown: Uneven starts for Spieth and McIlroy, Beef’s shaky future and the Tiger movie you don’t want to see appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

No prizes for guessing where Lee Westwood saw in 2017.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOsk2lnArg9/?taken-by=westwood_lee&hl=en

Two-time Omega Dubai Ladies Masters starter Paige Spiranac got into the festive mood with a Christmas onesie.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOaYgyVA1TZ/?taken-by=_paige.renee&hl=en

World No.1 Jason Day just did it by switching to the Swoosh, announcing an apparel deal with Nike with a gangsta New Year’s day billboard style Instagram post. Here’s hoping the Aussie can get through 2017 in good health.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOtZBSAgLhk/?taken-by=jasondayofficial&hl=en

Meanwhile women’s No.1 Lydia Ko was a little more festive.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOb5___hNp9/?taken-by=lydsko&hl=en

Four-time Omega Dubai Ladies Masters champion Shanshan Feng was looking forward to a break from the sticks as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOZxILAg-fA/?taken-by=shanshanfeng_golf&hl=en

Sir Nick Faldo was apparently prepped for an interesting Christmas day.

Hosting Christmas lunch with just 2 of 3 ex-wives! ?I'm well prepared!!! ? pic.twitter.com/pFqkklwdur

— Sir Nick Faldo (@NickFaldo006) December 25, 2016

Greg Norman, chillin’ with wife Kirsten Kutner, on the way home from a break in Bhutan.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOtzrvnA-Hf/?taken-by=shark_gregnorman&hl=en

Talking of legends, how about nine-time major champ Gary Player renewing his vows with wife Vivienne after 60 years of marriage. Easily the classiest golfing act of 2017 thus far from the Black Knight.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOvG1iCArjQ/?taken-by=gary.player&hl=en

“Rolling into ’17 like…” – Rickie Fowler re-posted our absolute favourite social media pic of 2016 after seeing in the New Year with, well, no one particularly special it seems. Might we see an influx of female admirers outside the ropes when Fowler defends the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship from January 19?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOtAFmllzmE/?taken-by=rickiefowler&hl=en

Cheers to 2017 from LPGA star Blair O’Neal.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOtE5NEhm73/?taken-by=blaironealgolf&hl=en

ICYMI: How could you possibly top Tiger’s “Xmas tradition that my Kids love” – the classic “Mac Daddy Santa”?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOVXpgVgxS6/?taken-by=tigerwoods&hl=en

Leave it to ‘Beef’. What a lad.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOYQzZ2DThj/?taken-by=beefgolf&hl=en

Daniel Berger and Jordan Spieth chillin’ Hawaii style…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOtSWixjN8o/?taken-by=db_straitvibin&hl=en

…While LPGA star Lexie Thompson gets in a final 2016 workout.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOr7sfRDUHh/?taken-by=lexi&hl=en

The post PHOTOS: How golf’s elite celebrated the holidays appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.