By Alex Myers
Ryder Cup players and their significant others got all done up for Wednesday night’s gala at the Palace of Versailles. As you’d expect, everyone looked fabulous (check out these photos, if you don’t believe us) for the lavish affair at one of the world’s most historic and ornate buildings. Of course, it helps to have a sizable fashion budget.

We recently obtained from a player agent a list of U.S. “Team Benefits” from the 2016 Ryder Cup. Mind you, a lot could have changed in two years, but it does provide a basic understanding of how players, significant others, and caddies are accommodated during arguably the biggest golf event on the golf calendar. For instance, according to the 2016 list, players get “$7,500 to cover out-of-pocket expenses, including spouse/partner’s dress and accessories for the Team Welcome Dinner.” Not too shabby, huh? In other words, the lovely ladies of Team USA probably didn’t just pluck something from their closets before heading to Paris.

The players, meanwhile get “tailored clothing” for the dinner and the opening ceremony. Thank goodness. Left to their own devices, you’d probably see a lot of baggy khakis and oversized blue blazers.

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WATCH NOW: THE BEST RYDER CUP PLAYERS EVER

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Anyway, players and spouses obviously get team uniforms and matching outfits for the event as well. But the perks aren’t limited to wardrobe. In 2016, they were offered to be reimbursed up to $30,000 for travel to and from the event. And each received 20 complimentary weekly tickets.

Then there’s a charity aspect. Team members have the opportunity to donate up to $100,000 to the charity or charities of their choice, plus another $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of America, Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship, and PGA Junior League Golf.

This is in lieu of any direct payment for players participating, which has been an ongoing issue, notably since 1999 when a group of players led by David Duval, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Mark O’Meara complained that they weren’t getting any of the event’s profits to use toward their own charities — a movement that helped lead to the current compensation setup.

And don’t worry, the caddies aren’t forgotten about. Like their bosses, they get all their travel, lodging, and meal expenses for the week covered, six weekly tickets to pass out, as well as a $4,000 payment. Decent pay for a week’s work, although, these guys often make a lot more at a tournament, especially when you consider the caliber of players they caddie for.

In any event, we’re assuming the list of perks for the 2018 Ryder Cup is similar to what the players, caddies and significant others got in 2016. Except, of course, when it comes to sightseeing. No offense to the Mall of America, but the Palace of Versailles is quite an upgrade.

The post This long list of Ryder Cup perks for players, caddies and significant others is pretty amazing appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we have never been so excited to get dressed for work on a Monday. I proudly pulled my victory red Tiger Woods Nike golf shirt from my closet, literally dusted it off, and floated through my morning transit. Did I draw weird looks from fellow commuters in their suits? Only when I gave a smiling nod to anyone wearing even a hint of red. Sadly, none of them seemed to be doing it for Tiger. Wake up, people! Tiger Woods WON a golf tournament! In 2018! Show some freaking support and spirit! The good people of Atlanta certainly did!

When @TommyFleetwood1 sends you this video tell me you don’t get goosebumps!!!! TIGER!!!!!!!!!!! ??? Class he’s my second favourite golfer ? ? pic.twitter.com/V0wcK53pK2

— Wez (@Wez_chiiiii) September 23, 2018

Wow, what a scene. And what a day. Anyway, let’s get to everything else that happened this week talk some more about Tiger Woods!

WE’RE BUYING
Tiger Woods: I’m not ashamed to admit that the crying like a baby in my house, for once, didn’t come from the baby. When Woods raised his arms after capping his Tour Championship triumph, I wept.

Tim Bradbury

When he hugged caddie Joe LaCava, I wept some more.

Ben Jared

And when he fist-bumped Roger Maltbie, it was full-on waterworks.

Since we haven’t found it anywhere else, @KirkYuhnke & I have decided to bestow this epic fist-bump gif upon golf twitter. @NoLayingUp @the_fried_egg @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/xsNNWIN1K3

— Greg Dutra (@DutraWeather) September 24, 2018

Flush knuckle contact like that on the move with chaos all around? That might be the GOAT fist-bump. Anyway, after five years, four back surgeries, and countless other hurdles, Tiger Woods is a winner again. As Tommy Fleetwood perfectly put, “What a time to be alive!” Let’s watch that historic walk up the 18th fairway again with comments from those watching (and crying, admit it) as it all unfolded:

The whole world was watching.@TigerWoods delivered. ??#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/b02UXx8vkP

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 25, 2018

Chills. I also won my season-long bet with Brian Wacker that Tiger would win this season. And that $100 is going to go a long way at the Costco food court.

Tiger Woods’ entrances: He’s getting good at these, huh? First it was this look at the PGA Championship:

He has arrived. ? #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/8ePVbgxNZm

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 12, 2018

And now this at the Tour Championship:

pic.twitter.com/7IhtiNRhGh

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) September 23, 2018

Good lord, I hope he has a permit for those guns. It was game over once he came strutting in like that.

Justin Rose: Oh yeah, there were other golfers playing at East Lake. Seriously, never has $10 million been more irrelevant, but Rose certainly won’t complain when it gets deposited into his account. And a two-putt birdie to finish T-4 to wrap up the FedEx Cup wasn’t exactly thrilling theater. Rose deserved the big payout for his body of work this season, and we’re guessing the $10 million will help ease the sting of losing his No. 1 world ranking to Dustin Johnson.

Max Adler: Tiger Woods’ win wasn’t the only thing last week that tugged at my tear ducts. The biggest golf story before Tiger’s Tour Championship triumph was Golf Digest’s Max Adler helping to get an innocent man set free from prison with an article he wrote six years ago. Absolutely remarkable. I hope Netflix is getting ready to film Making a Murderer Part II. I couldn’t be happier for Valentino and his family. And I couldn’t be prouder to be a Max’s colleague.

WE’RE SELLING
Tiger knockers: I get that some people don’t feel all warm and fuzzy about Woods’ win. But please, don’t knock the guy because the Tour Championship has a small field and isn’t a major. You’re embarrassing yourself.

Team USA: Jim Furyk has to be ecstatic with the way Tiger Woods is playing heading into this week’s Ryder Cup, but everyone else? Not so much. The bottom four players on the leader board at East Lake were Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson, and Patrick Reed. Suddenly, Tiger isn’t just a captain’s pick, but he might be the team’s best player.

Ryder Cup urns: Look, these are very nice. I just prefer gifts that I can actually, you know, enjoy while I’m still alive. . .

ON TAP After a thrilling Tour Championship, golf fans are in for another treat with the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National outside of Paris. The uniforms, the WAGs, the butt-slaps (Not with the WAGs). Can’t wait.

Random tournament fact: Tiger Woods has played with 12 different partners in his seven previous Ryder Cups. Even crazier? Six of those guys he only played one match with. Not to make excuses for his 9-16-1 record, but, yeah, I’m making excuses.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

— Brian Wacker will make the same bet against Tiger next year: 100-to-1 odds
— Tiger will win the 2019 Masters: 9-to-1 odds (Actual odds, because he’s THE FAVOURITE
— Next week is going to be a big letdown: LOCK

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Again, what an unreal scene at East Lake.

Chris Condon

Chris Condon

Those poor marshals never had a chance.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Larry Fitzgerald may have been more excited than I was when Tiger dropped that eagle to close his opening round. Kidding. I was WAY more excited. But Larry was still pretty darn excited.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (NON-TIGER DIVISION)
PGA Tour pro Kyle Thompson caught someone taking his old golf bags that he’d put out with the trash:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

So I put 3 old golf bags out with the trash and some yahoo pulls up and takes them all! ?

A post shared by Kyle Thompson (@kylethompsonpga) on Sep 17, 2018 at 7:18pm PDT

Hey, you know what they say about one man’s trash. I don’t blame the dude for seeing some staff bags in the dark and snagging them. However, Thompson caught him posting a phony Craigslist ad the next day, and that’s not cool.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

‪https://greenville.craigslist.org/spo/d/nice-set-of-golf-bags/6700986333.html ‬ ‪Well that didn’t take long!!‬ ‪“Cowboy” is gonna make a few bucks off those old @SrixonGolf bags. ??

A post shared by Kyle Thompson (@kylethompsonpga) on Sep 18, 2018 at 8:24am PDT

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Jena Sims just broke some serious WAGs news: Paulina is in Paris!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Eiffel for you, Paris ??

A post shared by Jena Sims (@jenamsims) on Sep 25, 2018 at 7:19am PDT

Previously, one sports book had her showing up at the Ryder Cup as a 3-to-1 underdog, so this is great news — Especially for Dustin Johnson.

THIS WEEK IN TIGER WOODS-ERICA HERMAN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION
Could this be golf’s new marquee couple? The duo made their winning PDA debut:

Stan Badz

And they also posed for a photo in public for the first time:

Stan Badz

That’s a big step!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I was pretty emotional when Rory [McIlroy] was tapping out, he was finishing out. I looked around, and the tournament was over because I’d already put the bunker shot on the green, and I’d won 80. 80 is a big number. I’ve been sitting on 79 for about five years now, and to get 80 is a pretty damned good feeling.” — Tiger Woods. It feel pretty damned good for the fans who have been waiting for this all that time as well.

THIS AND THAT
Tour Championship TV ratings spiked 206(!) percent thanks to Tiger’s presence. For the non-math majors out there, that’s more than three times the ratings last year’s tournament pulled. . . . Congressional Country Club was awarded the 2031 PGA Championship and the 2036(!) Ryder Cup. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will both be in their 60s. And finally, a big thanks to my wife, A) for putting up with me while I watch Tiger Woods, and B) not showing me this piece of mail until late on Sunday night when absolutely nothing could bring me down:

They finally found me. Sigh.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER
Will Tiger still be playing golf in 2036?
Will I still be writing about golf in 2036?
What’s the policy on crying in the Augusta National press box?

The post Tiger Woods WINS(!), Golf Digest gets a man out of jail, and Paulina Gretzky shows up for the Ryder Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“Every relationship goes through its ups and downs, but most importantly, we love each other very much and are committed to being a family,” Johnson wrote. “Thank you for your love and support.”

Every relationship goes through its ups and downs, but most importantly, we love each other very much and are committed to being a family. Thank you for your love and support.

— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) September 11, 2018

Last weekend social media observers noticed Gretzky had deleted all photos of Johnson from her Instagram account, fueling speculation that one of the sport’s most recognized couples was on the verge of a split. Gretzky and Johnson have been engaged since 2013, and have two sons together.

Johnson’s representatives told Golf Digest that Johnson had no follow-up statement on the matter.

Johnson is scheduled to play in the PGA Tour’s season-finale Tour Championship next week at East Lake, along with representing the United States in the Ryder Cup at the end of the month.

Gretzky, who is a model, singer, celebutante and daughter of hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, has yet to issue a comment.

The post Dustin Johnson issues statement amid speculation on personal life appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Wisniewski was supposed to be on a plane when play wrapped up at the 99th PGA Championship, but Thomas, who trailed Kevin Kisner by two shots after 54 holes felt pretty good about his chances entering the final round. In fact, JT was so confident he was going to win that he had Jillian change her flight.

“I had just the most comforting, easygoing — I truly felt like I was going to win. I remember my girlfriend was supposed to fly out at about 7:00 and I was like, ‘You need to change your flight to later, because I don’t know, I just feel like I don’t want you to miss this. I feel like I’m going to get it done,'” Thomas said. “She knows the first — she’s the first person to tell you that I don’t want to talk about golf when I get in that situation. So I don’t know, I just was very confident.”

Like just about everything Thomas did on the golf course on Sunday, the decision worked out. And as with the case when any golfer wins a first major, the world was introduced to his significant other.

Hope everybody had a great weekend and Valentine’s Day! But a special happy belated bday and V Day to this one @jilliangrace3

A post shared by Justin Thomas (@justinthomas34) on Feb 14, 2016 at 5:38pm PST

But before their embrace seen ’round the world (Sorry to all the ladies out there who thought the 24-year-old was single), the couple has already had quite the past year together. They hung out over July Fourth:

Holidays are better with some arm candy like this ???

A post shared by Justin Thomas (@justinthomas34) on Jul 5, 2017 at 8:09am PDT

They attended the Kentucky Derby together:

Can’t beat Derby weekend! What a weekend with this squad

A post shared by Justin Thomas (@justinthomas34) on May 7, 2017 at 10:55am PDT

And it seems like Jillian made it clear she felt JT’s playoff mustache shouldn’t extend into this season:

She loves the playoff stache… Ok maybe not ??

A post shared by Justin Thomas (@justinthomas34) on Sep 4, 2016 at 12:58pm PDT

Thank you, Jillian. And we have a hunch we’ll be seeing more of you behind 18th greens down the road.

The post PGA Championship 2017: Why Justin Thomas’ girlfriend almost wasn’t there for his big win appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.