By Alex Myers
That recent rout at Whistling Straits notwithstanding, Europe has been the dominant force at the Ryder Cup for the past three decades. But when it comes to firepower from the gallery during the biennial event, the Americans have held a decisive advantage during that time.

It helps to have the GOAT in your corner.

If it feels like Michael Jordan is always at the Ryder Cup, that’s because he is. Since attending his first in 1997, the NBA legend has been to every single one. And chances are better his Airness would miss a clutch free throw than miss what’s become his favorite sporting event as a fan.

So how did Jordan’s love of the Ryder Cup start? Turns out, at another golf event with much different stakes. Jon Miller, a longtime friend of Jordan’s and the president, programming of NBC Sports Group, says he remembers himself and Mark Rolfing talking up the Ryder Cup to Jordan in the early 1990s in Lake Tahoe at the American Century Championship.

“We would always tell him about how great the Ryder Cup was,” Miller says. “He would yes us and say, ‘Yeah, I”m sure it’s a great event,’ and we kept saying, ‘No, Michael, it’s the greatest event not in golf, it’s the greatest event in sports.’ It became a running joke every year for five or six years we would tell him that.”

Apparently, Jordan was listening, though. While on vacation in Monte Carlo in September 1997, he called Miller about attending the Ryder Cup in Spain. The world’s most famous athlete had access to a helicopter through Gatorade, but needed a ticket. Needless to say, that wasn’t much of a problem.

Montana Pritchard/PGA of America
Jordan and NBC’s Jon Miller at the 2016 Ryder Cup.

Miller says Jordan was snuck onto Valderrama via the kitchen in the NBC hospitality tent. And from there, he became an instant fan of the competitive team event.

“On the way out, when he got back in his helicopter, he said, ‘Jon, as long as you invite me, I will never miss another Ryder Cup,’” Miller said. “And I was like, ‘OK, Michael, sure.’”

But Jordan wasn’t kidding. And he’s gone to great lengths—and even one particularly unusual place—to continue this streak with a group of golf buddies that has included John Elway, Mario Lemieux and Joe Morgan through the years. In 2006, Jordan needed an extra parking pass and Miller offered his own, but with a catch: MJ had to meet him at synagogue on the way to Ireland’s The K Club on Yom Kippur.

“I’m sure there’s somebody out there with a picture of Michael Jordan showing up in his Ryder Cup attire while everyone’s getting ready for service,” Miller recalls. “These people thought they had seen a ghost. They just couldn’t believe, ‘Michael Jordan’s Jewish! Michael Jordan’s coming to Yom Kippur!’”

But Miller is also quick to point out that Jordan doesn’t want to be the center of attention when he comes. In fact, the 6-foot-6 NBA Hall-of-Famer is careful to make sure he’s not blocking any fan’s view. There’s only so much he can do, though, when the best golfers in the world see him.

“What’s amazing to me is we’re sitting behind the green on 11 on Friday and Saturday, the number of players from both teams that when they finish up will come up to him,” Miller said of the 2021 event at Whistling Straits. “They all see him there and they all want to come over and say hello to them. And he loves that too, but it’s really a special thing for them.”

Jordan has been a friend of player-turned-captain Davis Love III dating back to their days as student-athletes at UNC when Love first introduced Jordan to golf. But in the past decade, Jordan has come to admire one player in particular on Team Europe. Although he did his best to avoid him at Whistling Straits.

David Cannon
Jordan shaking hands with longtime friend Davis Love III in 2016.

“He adores Ian Poulter, he thinks he’s one of the great competitors in all of sports,” Miller said. “He told me, ‘I don’t want to follow Poulter, because if he sees me, it gets him fired up,’ and he didn’t want to do anything to fire up the European team.”

After seeing Europe win so many times, Jordan especially enjoyed Team USA’s 19-9 victory last month. And even with the result long decided, he stayed until the winning point was officially clinched.

As one of sports’ all-time great competitors, there’s no doubt Jordan agreed with the reported “Step on their necks” tweet Tiger Woods sent the team before the final day. There’s even less doubt about where he’ll be in two years when the event heads to Italy for the first time.

“He’s their biggest cheerleader and their biggest fan. He loves being there,” Miller said. “This is his special time. I don’t think there’s anything he loves other than his family and his kids and stuff like that, that he cares about as much as this event.”

The post The story of how Michael Jordan became Team USA’s “biggest cheerleader” at the Ryder Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind where we’ve learned a lot during our eighth(!) year of doing this. You can go from not being able to break 80 to winning the Masters. You can drink as many proteins shakes as you want without risking harm to your organs (Actually, we’re not sure about that one yet). And you can’t touch Tiger Woods’ coffee:

Who's stealing a cup of this coffee? ?

Stay tuned for more with @TigerWoods coming soon. pic.twitter.com/ergZwHz6v5

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 3, 2020

Oh yeah, we also found out global pandemics are no joke. But hopefully, we were able to at least share a few laughs through all the weird and tough times. So thanks as always for reading, and grab a cup of joe as we take one final spin in 2020. Just not Tiger’s cup of Joe.

WE’RE BUYING

Viktor Hovland: Not only did the 23-year-old win his second PGA Tour title, he broke the “Curse of Coco Beach” by becoming the first golfer to win another tournament after winning the Puerto Rico Open. And, of course, this engaging young star was well aware of that fact.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Viktor Hovland (@viktor_hovland)

Hang in there, Tony Finau. There’s still hope for you! Plus, when Hovland wins, we get to hear these Norwegian announcers go nuts!

The Norwegian call of Viktor Hovland's winning putt @MayakobaGolf is EVERYTHING. ??? pic.twitter.com/CObVto6YYk

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 7, 2020

“YES! He makes it—again! Our boy! Look how ice cold he is!” Absolutely electric stuff, just like when Viktor won for the first time in February. Apparently in Norway they don’t abide by the whole “there’s no cheering from the pressbox” motto. Hey, we’re not complaining.

The Class of 2019: About 18 months ago all three (Hovland, Collin Morikawa, and Matthew Wolff) were still in college and now they all find themselves in the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking. And it’s not just the six PGA Tour wins between the bunch that have gotten them there. Morikawa already has a major, Wolff finished top five at his first two majors, and Hovland holds the tour record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s. These (young) guys are good.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout: But don’t forget about the Class of 2015! BEZ! Two weeks in a row! Man, this South African is absolutely cooking right now after some serious home cooking the past two weeks on the European Tour, claiming the South African Open after the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native land.

Richard Heathcote

Our new favourite player—if you didn’t see the giant wine glass he was drinking from last week, check it out—showed he can rally after a big celebration too. Impressive stuff. He’s got an even bigger event on tap this week as the Race to Dubai wraps up:

Probably a smart move to stick to normal-sized glasses with so much at stake.

WE’RE SELLING

Peter Alliss passing away: Sadly, 2020 has claimed another. Since as far back as I can remember, my favourite part of waking up early and watching the Open Championship was when Alliss would join the American telecast for a bit. Man, was he cheeky in the booth. Like Johnny Miller, Alliss is a Hall-of-Famer on two fronts, with a lot of younger fans not realizing how great of a player he was with 31 professional wins and eight Ryder Cup appearances. I encourage you to read the fantastic pieces by our own John Huggan and John Feinstein. And here’s a touching tribute from the European Tour:

Peter Alliss – A Tribute ?

The voice of The Open ? pic.twitter.com/wc1uc0hOeg

— The Open (@TheOpen) December 7, 2020

REWIND: Golf Digest Middle East’s 2014 conversation with the ‘voice of golf’

Also, anyone would get a kick out of Alliss calling Jean van de Velde’s 72nd hole collapse at the 1999 Open Championship. Even Jean himself:

RIP to a true legend.

Putting like Happy Gilmore: We’d love to hear Peter Alliss’ take on what Joel Dahmen began doing late in the third round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic:

2020 Mayakoba Rd. 3.
No quote today, but a story instead:
Before the round, Joel was messing around putting like Happy Gilmore. Split handed-right hand way down the grip. He was making EVERYTHING! He told me he was going to bust it out during the round. Did it on 17 and here: pic.twitter.com/ngWeiII3OE

— Geno Bonnalie (@GenoBonnalie) December 5, 2020

Then after continuing to use the unique method on Sunday, Dahmen felt confident to lobby U.S. captain Steve Stricker for a spot on the American Ryder Cup team.

Here's some more evidence @stevestricker! #RyderCupBound pic.twitter.com/uBgILAqMdS

— Joel Dahmen (@Joel_Dahmen) December 6, 2020

As always with Dahmen, who at another recent tournament channelled Russell Crowe’s “Gladiator” character, we are entertained. But good luck with that, Joel. We haven’t seen Adam Sandler tearing up the celebrity golf circuit.

Getting a job at MJ’s new course: If you’re looking for a gig driving around a beverage cart at Michael Jordan’s The Grove XXIII, don’t bother sending your resume. That’s because the new ultra-exclusive course is using drones instead:

Michael Jordan's new course, The Grove XXIII, delivers drinks by drone. ?

Learn more about the NBA superstar's exclusive club: https://t.co/iFXqdGGwtF
(?:Instagram/@Chadilac_FSU) pic.twitter.com/N6SPUhaXNk

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 7, 2020

What a world.

ON TAP

With the PGA Tour officially heading into the off-season, the LPGA and European Tour take centre stage. The U.S. Women’s Open is being held in Houston and the DP World Championship, the conclusion of the season-long Race to Dubai is in, you guessed it, Dubai.

Random tournament fact: Lexi Thompson will be using Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie, Tim Tucker, this week. If anyone needed an off-season, you’d think it would be Tim, but that’s a tough bag to turn down. And we’re pretty sure he’d make history by becoming the first person to win two U.S. Opens in the same year.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Tim Tucker will spend as much time as usual deliberating shots this week: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Joel Dahmen will make the 2021 U.S. Ryder Cup team: 10-to-1 odds
—If Joel were European, he’d not only make Team Europe but go 4-0-1 against Team USA: LOCK

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

This beach wedding stole the show during the second round of the Mayakoba:

nothing screams "final event of the year" like the PGA Tour broadcast repeatedly cutting to a half-dozen people setting up for a wedding, which will apparently be taking place on this beach volleyball court pic.twitter.com/sv912MUZFD

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) December 4, 2020

Genius move to save money on a photographer/videographer. I could have probably joined Michael Jordan’s golf club for the amount I spent on ours.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbTTb8peju/?utm_source=ig_embed

We’ve all been there, but that’s rough. Even Mike Davis thinks that’s an unfair pin position.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I don’t know if I could say that without getting fined.” —Brooks Koepka when asked to describe a disappointing year. And that was before he missed the cut in Mexico. Rough.

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to Angela Stanford for winning a seventh career LPGA title, but a first in front of her parents. Talk about coming through under pressure. . . . According to the National Golf Foundation, there will be an increase of 50 million rounds of golf played in this country compared to last year. The last time there was a bigger increase was 1997, when Tiger Woods won his landmark first Masters. . . . Speaking of Tiger Woods, his World Golf Hall of Fame induction has been postponed until 2022. The good news is he’ll have more time to work on his speech. . . . Jason Day said he kept his ATM receipt for a couple months the first time he made a withdrawal after his first PGA Tour win. Hope he saved some of that money because now he’s about to have a fourth kid. . . .And, finally, speaking of kids, I put together this bookshelf for my daughter all by myself:

If Rory McIlroy or any of the other new PGA Tour dads need help with this stuff, let me know. Kidding. I’m miserable at it and you’d have to pay me. A lot.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will I spend more on college tuition or Pottery Barn furniture?
Can 2020 please just be over already?

The post Viktor Hovland breaks a curse and a PGA Tour pro channels Happy Gilmore appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

My pledge is to do the same. I’m proud to work for a company, Discovery, that faded to black for eight minutes and 46 seconds—the same amount of time a former police officer kneeled on George Floyd’s neck—across all 19 of its U.S. brands on Tuesday night. But I’m also well aware that we need to keep the conversation going if we are ever to promote real change. Whether its peaceful protests, donating money or having serious conversations, let’s all try to do better. And with that, let’s try to talk about some golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Mic’d up players: The European Tour announced its restart will begin with a six-tournament UK Swing beginning July 22. Also beginning then will be a new policy in which players in featured TV groups will be mic’d up. “It really comes down to how open you are, how creative you are and how your players want to embrace change,” Euro tour chief executive Keith Pelley told BBC Sport. “This is the time for us to do some things completely differently.” Couldn’t agree more. Well done. Just please make sure to put a mic on Eddie Pepperell at all times.

Annika Sorenstam: Arguably the GOAT of the women’s game, Sorenstam stepped up by pledging $50,000 to struggling Symetra Tour players. Well done. The 10-time major champ was also named as a U.S. Women’s Open ambassador for the 75th anniversary of the tournament, which was to be played this week, but will take place in December instead. Oh yeah, she also was this week’s guest on the Golf Digest Podcast, where I enjoyed talking to her about her career and pickleball. Please have a listen:

PGA Tour University: The tour unveiled a new program that will reward the top college golfers (in their fourth or fifth years) by guaranteeing the top five ranked players status on the Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of the season once the college season ends. This will give young golfers a better chance of playing their way onto the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour for the following season. It also incentivizes staying in school, which will make parents everywhere happy. And speaking of college golf. . .

The Wake Forest team bus: Yes, I’m a Wake alum, but even the most objective observer would say this bad boy is sweet:

New week, new month, NEW VAN ?#GoDeacs pic.twitter.com/wHwc03q7JU

— Wake Forest Men's Golf (@WakeMGolf) June 1, 2020

Imagine going on a golf trip in that thing? Hmm. . . My golf trip is in Pinehurst this August and the college golf season will be on a break. . . Guys, did I mention I went to Wake?

WE’RE SELLING

Vijay Singh’s WD: It turns out, the three-time major champ and fourth all-time money earner in PGA Tour history won’t play in a Korn Ferry Tour event after all. Good. But we’re not giving Singh much credit for having a change of heart, because it appears he would not have gotten a spot in the field by the time the tournament started. In any event, the 57-year-old will not be taking someone else’s spot on the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit.

Cancelled John Deere Classic: The PGA Tour restart will sadly not include this major of the Midwest, informally known as the Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson and friends Invitational. It’s too bad it won’t be played this year, but it’s also understandable. In the meantime, the tour is looking to replace the event by holding back-to-back tournaments at Muirfield Village with the Memorial scheduled for the week after. We’re guessing golfers won’t be too upset about spending two week’s at Jack’s place considering that golf course—and those glorious-looking milkshakes.

Rory’s Peloton prowess: McIlroy’s cycling reputation took a bit of a hit when he finished fourth out of eight in ESPN’s first Peloton Pro-Athlete All-Star Race. And while getting dusted by an Olympic medal-winning swimmer (Matt Grevers) is nothing to be ashamed of, McIlroy got beat by former NFL player and former Monday Night Football analyst Booger McFarland. “Since I can’t beat Rory McIlroy on the golf course,” Booger said before the race, “my one goal for today is to prove that golfers aren’t athletes.” While we wouldn’t go that far, it wasn’t a great showing by our guys.

Bubba Watson was sixth and Justin Thomas finished in last place. JT! Pick up the pace! You’re a young man! Props to Morgan Pressel, though, for finishing second on the women’s side. See? Golfers are athletes!

ON TAP

CBS will air the final round of the 2012 Memorial on Sunday. Unfortunately, I missed the end because I was boarding a flight back from a wedding in New Orleans after drinking a few too many hurricanes, but that was a good one. Two words: Flop shot. Sorry, four words: Tiger Woods flop shot.

My word.

Random tournament fact: This will be the last weekend (hopefully) without live golf for a while. Thank goodness.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—I would survive drinking that many hurricanes now: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Michael Jordan/Steph Curry will be play in the next The Match: 2-to-3 odds
—Larry David would be a more entertaining choice: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Two golfers broke 70 on Streamsong Black—and lost by a combined 19 shots to European Tour pro Sam Horsefield, who shot 59 on the par 73:

A 59 to brighten your Sundays, courtesy of @hr59sam ? pic.twitter.com/jfanDCkUrw

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 31, 2020

These guys are good. Hey, if the European Tour is looking for a new motto while it revamps, that one is available.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION SOLIDARITY

Perhaps more than any other time ever, pro golfers spoke out about social injustice amid national protests following the tragic killing of George Floyd. Players like Tiger Woods and Harold Varner III released statements:

pic.twitter.com/Wn7EoTInzU

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) June 2, 2020

There is a lot of of beauty and love in this world. I pray for equality & social justice as we all so desperately deserve that in this day and age. I pray for humanity even more because regardless of color, WE need each other to make that change. Stay safe. Love you guys ??? pic.twitter.com/LrFEff94IF

— Harold Varner III (@HV3_Golf) June 1, 2020

And others like Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Justin Thomas joined the social media #BlackoutTuesday campaign:

As awful as these recent events have been, it’s nice to see the game’s stars taking a stance and spreading awareness. Let’s hope they keep it up.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

Congrats to Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt on making his first-ever hole-in-one. I guess. Kidding. Sort of.

Finally happened today…my first ACE!!!!

Shady Canyon Golf Club
17th 145 yd PW pic.twitter.com/K6cSxyJIyb

— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) May 27, 2020

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I don’t know the avenue to fix this. But I do know that calling someone an idiot, saying they’re stupid, making fun of them for their belief or their vision or how they feel, that’s mean. That’s it. It’s so simple. That’s just mean. So don’t be mean. Think, maybe take a step back. Process, empathize, do something to at least see their—and if you don’t agree, don’t agree, go away. I literally think I leaned 75 percent of all this in pre-school. Treat people the way you want to be treated. If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it.” —Max Homa. Well said.

I’m a 29 year old white dude who has played golf his entire life and knows nearly nothing about what it feels like to be oppressed, discriminated against, or unsafe. So I spoke on what I do know and that’s being a nice and respectful person. pic.twitter.com/CEHKscIlEQ

— max homa (@maxhoma23) June 1, 2020

THIS AND THAT

Sahith Theegala, who won the Fred Haskins Award as the nation’s top collegiate golfer last month, fired a 62 in his first round as a pro—on the Outlaw Tour. Not exactly how other past POYs like Tiger and Phil started their pro careers, but 2020 is not exactly your normal year, either. . . . Speaking of 62s, Tiger Woods moved up from No. 11 to No. 8 in Forbes’ annual highest-paid athletes list with earnings of $62.3 million. Of course, when you’ve been ranked No. 1 a dozen(!) times, this isn’t all that exciting. . . . And finally, it’s been a tough couple months, but I recently got a nice pick-me-up when my favourite artist gave a shout-out to my daughter, who I have already trained well when it comes to music.

Awwwww !! https://t.co/lqHhDSpeen

— benjamin folds (@BenFolds) May 24, 2020

Thanks, Ben. You’re the GOAT.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why isn’t Ben Folds more famous?
What would Tiger’s career earnings be on the Outlaw Tour?
What would Tiger say about my golf swing?

The post PGA Tour pros speak out, Rory McIlroy’s cycling rep stalls, and Tiger takes on the role of swing coach appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

WE’RE BUYING

Rory McIlroy: The world’s best player put on the best performance overall when it came to showing off his golf game and personality. McIlroy was by far the chattiest player in the star-studded foursome, and while the FedEx Cup trash talk may have induced some cringes, at least he was trying. Oh yeah, McIlroy also delivered in dramatic fashion with the winning closest-to-the-pin effort on the final swing of the day:

When $1.1M is on the line, the World No. 1 delivers.#DrivingRelief pic.twitter.com/4KGNQAtG8r

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 17, 2020

Also, perhaps learning from the mistake of fellow four-time major champ Brooks Koepka, McIlroy had the good sense to not allow his significant other to give him a quarantine hair cut.

Lockdown Rory…. pic.twitter.com/NtYl9bmGzh

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) May 13, 2020

Smart man. Although, if he lived in New York, that might be a different story. I’m starting to get desperate.

Rickie Fowler: It’s too bad this guy didn’t play during the Skins Game Era. He could have challenged Freddie Couples as the King of the Silly Season. Taking advantage of the light atmosphere—and some local knowledge as a three-time Seminole Pro-Member winner—Rickie ripped off seven birdies to nearly pull off the upset with partner Matthew Wolff. Fowler’s back was probably pretty sore when he woke up on Monday morning. And not just from carrying his own bag, if you know what I mean.

Seminole Golf Club: If I’m being totally honest, the historic track making its TV debut didn’t come across amazing on TV. But all the architecture geeks were geeking out and they know a lot more about this stuff than I do so I’ll defer to them.

Matthew Wolff’s pop: The 21-year-old was admittedly nervous, but he managed to launch his two best drives when it mattered most, easily winning both long-drive challenges with blasts of 356 and 368 yards.

∙ 368-yard drive
∙ $350K for charity

All in a day's work for Matthew Wolff.#DrivingReliefpic.twitter.com/iPsO1afBF1

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 17, 2020

Wolff made a lot of money for the CDC Foundation with those two drives. He also made a lot of new fans.

WE’RE SELLING

Matthew Wolff’s Fu Manchu: The kid gets his big break on the big stage and he does this?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAShteklOLN/?utm_source=ig_embed

In the words of Curtis Strange, “You’ll learn.”

A closed U.S. Open: The USGA announced there will be no open qualifying for our national championship, which is the reason why it’s called the U.S. Open in the first place. While I understand the decision given the current situation, that doesn’t make this any less disappointing. Local and sectional qualifying provide some of the tournament’s best stories each year. And not to mention, they have produced some winners through the years, including Lucas Glover (2009), Michael Campbell (2005) and Ken Venturi (1964). On the bright side, if you’re a scratch golfer, you can tell everyone this would have been the year you were finally going to qualify.

Greg Norman’s ranch: As in, The Shark is selling his expansive and expensive ($40 million!) Colorado property that is so big a river literally runs through it. Here’s a photo of the 14,000 square foot lodge on the 12,000-acre property from the listing:

And here’s another photo from the listing of Greg and his wife horseback riding through the snow:

Looks nice, Greg, but I’m just not sure if it’s enough space for me.

ON TAP

Another week, another live televised event for charity! This time it’s THE MATCH Part II, AKA The Match: Champions for Charity. And it will feature Tiger Woods partnering with Peyton Manning to take on Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. What a foursome. Oh, and Charles Barkley will be part of the announcing crew. This should be fun.

Random tournament fact: Phil topped Tiger for $9 million in their first made-for-TV matchup in 2018. While even more money is up for grabs this time, it’s all going to COVID-19 relief efforts so the guys are going to play nice. “It’s his home course, but Tom and I are going to go down there and put it to them,” Mickelson told Golfweek. “And we’ll make it that every time Tiger shows up at his home course, he’ll have a bad memory.” Never mind. The gloves are off!

PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Phil won’t mention beating Tiger the last time: 9 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Phil will show off his throwing arm during the event: Even odds
—Phil will wear shorts to show off those calves: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Mike Ehrmann

Shorts? Stand bags? What a sight. Pros are just like us! At least, until they put those bags down and start hitting shots.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Brooks Koepka has a dartboard with Brandel Chamblee’s photo on it:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CASS5UOlXEW/

Amazing.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ABS

Beefcake Bryson caused quite the stir with the following photo:

While the full results of his weight-gaining experiment—now up to 230 from 195!—remain to be seen on the course, you gotta admit the guy looks good. OK, well, I’m admitting it. If the PGA Tour does a shirtless calendar to raise money for charity, you should make the cut.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS MICHAEL JORDAN GOLF STORIES

Thanks to colleague Chris Powers for clipping these from the final two episodes of “The Last Dance.” Although they are criminally under-liked, he’ll probably have the Internet police all over him now. Anyway, MJ took a dig at Larry Bird’s golf game after eliminating his team in Game 7 of the 1998 NBA Eastern Conference Finals:

pic.twitter.com/EdoGsKaanP

— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) May 18, 2020

And then after winning the 1998 NBA Finals, his Airness still had golf on his mind:

Post 91, 7:15 pm, emergency 9 vibes pic.twitter.com/P9ZhkzWMuZ

— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) May 18, 2020

What a legend.

THIS WEEK IN GOLFERS GOLF MEDIA BEING QUARANTINED

One of my bosses, Ryan Herrington, built this version of the Big House:

Yes, he went to Michigan. And another one of my bosses, Sam Weinman, adopted a small dog:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAQ3rqDlrbd/?utm_source=ig_embed

At first, it seems like Sam has the clear advantage. But Ryan is going to have a lot easier cleanup, so tough call.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Hey, DJ, is this a waste bunker?” —Matthew Wolff provided the dagger of the year on Sunday. It was especially impressive considering Wolff was only 11 when that happened to DJ at Whistling Straits during the 2010 PGA.

THIS AND THAT

Sportsbooks said the action on the TaylorMade Driving Relief was similar to a major. It’s good to see our country is still filled with degenerates, including a few from the office who shall remain nameless. … Unfortuantely, the NBC broadcast didn’t quite reach major-level ratings, but the 2.35 million total audience delivery is nothing to sneeze at. And it gives Tiger/Phil something to shoot for in addition to raising money for charity. … Mike Weir, who recently turned 50, was this week’s guest on the Golf Digest Podcast. The 2003 Masters champ sounds ready to take down the geezers on the senior circuit:

Congrats to Hyun Kyung Park for winning the Korean LPGA Championship:

Chung Sung-Jun

And before you get upset over her hugging her caddie, that’s her dad. … And finally, congrats to Golf Digest supervising producer and Grind video teammate Michael Sneeden on making his first eagle:

I’m so happy for you, Mike—especially since it wasn’t a hole-in-one. Then things would have gotten awkward.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

How many thumbs up will Phil flash on Sunday?
How many people think golf events end with a tape measure now?
What does Bill Murray’s Costco shopping list look like?

The post Rory McIlroy’s walk-off wedge, Bryson DeChambeau’s bold photo, and Brooks Koepka puts his nemesis on a dartboard appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we love the fact that Phil Mickelson is “in the process” of becoming a member at Michael Jordan’s exclusive new golf club, The Grove XXIII. Is Lefty waiting on letters of recommendation or something? Is he just taking his time to avoid paying dues this year? Do he and Amy still have to attend a few functions and pretend they’re having a great time to make sure they’re “a fit”?

Regardless, we’re pretty sure Phil is a fit with the owner based on their history of throwing a few bucks around on the course. Oh, to be a fly on the grillroom wall when these two trade tales—and deeds to houses. In fact, I think we may have found the next hit reality TV show: “Michael Jordan’s Playground.” OK, so we can work on the title, but this thing would be ratings gold. Until then (fingers crossed), here’s everything else that’s (still) happening in the world of golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Tiger’s trash talk: Or rather, trash show-and-tell. Everyone is doing video calls these days, even the guys involved in The Match: Champions for Charity. So when Phil Mickelson taunted Tiger Woods with a green jacket photo, Tiger responded by getting the actual green jacket.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_5mDGBFSrV/

Perfect. And this thing is actually happening because we finally have a date (May 24), a venue (Medalist), and a format (a mix of best ball and alternate shot). As long as Phil doesn’t have his playing interview with other members of The Grove that day, we should be good.

Joost Luiten: Congrats to the six-time European Tour winner for his unofficial victory in the BMW Indoor Invitational powered by Trackman. Eighteen tour pros teed it up at the Old Course on simulators and Joost came out on top thanks to splendid ball-striking and a lot of yelling at his golf ball:

How did you spend your Saturday?@joostluiten spent it shouting at his ball. It worked though, he won the first #BMWTrackManInvitational ? pic.twitter.com/GJjETG1mpH

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 10, 2020

We’re also buying Lee Westwood’s backyard:

Westwood's tee shot on 11 is almost as good as his well manicured garden ?#BMWTrackManInvitational pic.twitter.com/Md0QbrzNpd

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 9, 2020

But not his playing. There was no putting and everything within eight feet was good. How did Westy not do better?! That’s a perfect format for him! Anyway, congrats to Dean Burmester for his unofficial hole-in-one:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_91-AsHWAN/?utm_source=ig_embed

Great reaction. And great white belt.

Joel Dahmen’s course record: Congrats to the PGA Tour pro for firing a 58 at Mesa Country Club, including a 26 on the back nine. Dahmen was “only” two under through seven before going an absurd 12 under over the final 11 holes. Must be nice.

I hold the course record at all my home courses, except @mesacountryclub. That changed today with some of my good friends along for the ride. That was FUN! @brandonharks @derekbohlen @davidsonhomegroup @ihapp_1 @kschwarb12 #58 pic.twitter.com/e1DKOB0hCf

— Joel Dahmen (@Joel_Dahmen) May 8, 2020

Speaking of nice, how about the 69 Chicago Cubs second baseman Ian Happ shot in the same group? Too bad he got dusted by ELEVEN shots. Don’t quit your day job, Ian.

WE’RE SELLING

Joel Dahmen’s social distancing:

Guys, what happened to staying six feet apart?

Vijay Singh: The three-time major champ, who is No. 4 on the PGA Tour’s all-time earnings list is listed in the field for the first event when play resumes. Considering Singh’s reputation for a gruelling schedule, that’s not surprising. What is, though, is that the event is on the Korn Ferry Tour since Singh, a lifetime PGA Tour member, isn’t qualified for the field at Colonial and there’s no senior event that week.

Keyur Khamar

Needless to say, some tour pros are not happy about this, including Brady Schnell, who called Singh “selfish,” a “piece of trash,” and a “complete turd” before deleting those tweets, probably out of fear that Singh would sue him. While I’m not quite as fired up as Schnell—and I realize there are plenty of players like Phil Mickelson supporting Singh—I don’t think a man who has made well north of $100 million in his career should be taking a spot, even if the event is in his backyard. At it’s heart, the Korn Ferry is the developmental tour of the PGA Tour. I’m sorry, but it’s no place for a 57-year-old.

Caddie tall tales: Last week we brought you a video from longtime looper Dave McNeilly in which he said he was drunk/hungover during Nick Price’s record-setting 63 at the 1986 Masters. This week, we bring you Nick Price saying Dave was just pulling everyone’s leg. “The only thing that’s true about that whole 8-minute speech was the fact that I shot 63 that day,” Price told me. “I told him, ‘You should have written a book, David. You would have been right up there with J.K. Rowling.’” Seriously, Dave, if you’re going to do that kind of stuff, please post it on April Fool’s Day next time. Thanks.

ON TAP

This week would have been the PGA Championship, AKA the fourth major that’s now the second major, but which could wind up being this year’s first major. This is major. When it ever happens again. In the meantime, golf fans thankfully have the TaylorMade Driving Relief event this Sunday, a skins game matching up Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson vs. Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff. Considering it’s been two months since we’ve seen live golf, this is major too.

Random tournament charity event fact: Rory and DJ have combined for the same number of major championships (5) as Rickie has PGA Tour titles. Oh, man, you know things are starting to return to normal when we start talking about Fowler’s career win total!

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Vijay Singh cares what I or any other writer thinks about him: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—DJ will be keeping a running tab of skins in his head: 500,000-to-1 odds
—Phil and MJ play for more than what your foursome plays for: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

What’s sweeter than posing by the hole after making an ace? Posing by the hole with your significant other who just made an ace on the same hole as well. Not that I would know about either of those things, but this is pretty neat:

Two for the record book: Steve Howe and Carolyn Barnett-Howe, husband and wife from Appleton, make aces on back-to-back swings https://t.co/VgGsgI0pjh via @wisdotgolf

— Gary D'Amato (@garydamatogolf) May 5, 2020

And they used the same club (7-iron) from the same tee (158 yards) while going back-to-back. Amazing. It should be noted these two aren’t your typical hacking husband-wife duo with Steve a former president of the Wisconsin PGA Section and Carolyn a four-time Wisconsin Women’s State Open champ. In any event, the couple that aces together, stays together. Congrats.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (MUSIC DIVISION)

This medley of sports themes is brilliant. It’s also really sad.

If you need me I'll be bawling my eyes out for the rest of the day pic.twitter.com/QyFr33a2EM

— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 9, 2020

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-tYeYguCh/?utm_source=ig_embed

Aww. Of course, HV3’s fellow PGA Tour pros had to heckle him.

Poor guy.

THIS WEEK IN OTHER GOLFERS GOLF MEDIA BEING QUARANTINED

Our Hally Leadbetter has resorted to doing play-by-play of household chores:

When there's no live golf… pic.twitter.com/TFm1OeSQix

— Hally Leadbetter (@hallylead) May 8, 2020

Golf Magazine’s Tim Reilly created this funny ode to video game character selection:

Choose your golfer ?

(They’re all me) pic.twitter.com/9ggdpVl14q

— Tim Reilly (@LifeOfTimReilly) May 8, 2020

And the BBC’s Andrew Cotter continues to go viral with his delightful dog videos:

Still having the company meetings online. pic.twitter.com/aR3LfuSdKl

— Andrew Cotter (@MrAndrewCotter) May 11, 2020

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“If I could spend one hour with Jordan Spieth, I’m absolutely convinced he’d be the number one player in the world.” —Gary Player on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. Even for someone with nine majors, that’s a bold claim.

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to Pepperdine’s Sahith Theegala and Furman’s Natalie Srinivasan for winning the Fred Haskins Award and the Annika Award, respectively, as the male and female national college golfers of the year. Even though that year was obviously cut way short. . . . Congrats to Southern Hills for being awarded another PGA Championship—in 2030. You know, if all tournaments aren’t played on simulators by then. . . . Michelle Wie says she’s eying a return to golf at the U.S. Women’s Open in December after giving birth to a first child this summer. This will really test the theory if you need a good night’s sleep to play good golf. . . . And finally, I highly recommend HBO’s “Bad Education.” And not just because I’m a huge Jackman/Janney fan.

So give it a try. What else do you have to do?

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What would a World Ranking of simulator golf look like?
How much would it cost to join The Grove XXIII?
How much could Gary Player improve my golf game in an hour?

The post Phil Mickelson’s Michael Jordan connection, Tiger Woods’ green jacket comeback, and a legend gets called a “complete turd” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Phil Mickelson will team with Tom Brady against Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning in “The Match: Champions for Charity” later this month. But it appears like more tee times with another sports GOAT are in his future as well.

Appearing Monday on “The Dan Patrick Show” to promote the May 24 charity event, the five-time major champ said he’s in the process of joining Michael Jordan’s ultra-exclusive golf club, The Grove XXIII.

“It’s a really cool place,” Mickelson told Patrick. “He did an exceptional job there.”

The Lefty has previously said he’s moving to Florida from the left coast. Mickelson added that he and wife Amy recently purchased a lot near this new course, which opened last fall.

“You have to be invited,” Mickelson said of Jordan’s new club. “Fortunately, I know a number of members there, and my wife and I just bought a lot fairly close, about 10 to 15 minutes away. So it’ll be a great place to play and practice.”

And, just a guess, wager a few bucks.

Anyway, good luck with the application, Phil. We’re betting it goes through.

The post Phil Mickelson says he’s in the process of joining Michael Jordan’s new golf club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
ESPN’s documentary, “The Last Dance,” on Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls has delivered a trove of fun and insightful stories. His competitiveness—and love of golf, of course—are well documented and have been prevalent elements throughout the series.

Which brings us to one particularly memorable round that Brooks Koepka played with his Airness in South Florida. Appearing on Monday night’s edition of “SportsCenter” with Scott Van Pelt, the four-time major champion recounted the day.

“I was 1 up going to 17 tee,” Koepka said. “We’d been jawing all day and we have like a 40-yard walk back to the 17th tee and he hasn’t said much the last couple of holes. I said something like, ‘I’ve got you right where I want you.’”

Or not. Koepka quickly learned that it’s best not to trash talk Jordan, no matter the playing surface.

“He just tees the ball up, takes his practice swing and looks at me. ‘It’s the fourth quarter, baby, I don’t lose,’” Koepka recalled.

You can guess what happened next.

Jordan went on to win the 17th and 18th holes and won the match, according to Koepka.

Lesson learned.

“It’s probably the last time I’ve smack-talked him,” Koepka said. “I have not played him since, but hopefully we’ll tee it up again soon.”

The post Brooks Koepka learned his lesson: Don’t trash talk Michael Jordan at clutch time appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
Like the rest of us, Tiger Woods is holed up at home, happy to kill some COVID-19 quarantine time by telling stories.

Our Henni Zuel caught up with Woods via video conference to talk about one of Tiger’s favourite topics: sports, and not just golf. Woods told a number of fascinating stories that underline just how much inspiration he finds from his fellow sportsmen. For the full experience, watch the video below.

Here are some highlights:

On his second-favourite sport growing up, and how it helped his golf game: “Baseball. I loved playing baseball. My dad was a catcher, so naturally I was a pitcher…Baseball gave me the footwork and the leg strength to play golf. That’s why my legs moved as much as they did, it’s from playing baseball.”

On a rather painful interaction with Muhammad Ali: “It was a practice round at Shinnecock, the year (Retief Goosen) won out there…I’m in line at the front desk, and I get hit in the ribs. My right ribs. And it hurt. And I whip around and think I’m gonna just keel all and hit somebody. I was so pissed. I look around, and it’s Muhammad Ali. And he says, ‘Hey, kid.’ And I’m like, why did you have to give me a love tap so hard? He was old, but it still hurt.

On playing golf with Michael Jordan the day of a 1997 playoff game: “They were playing the Knicks in the ECF. I went up there and hung out with him for a few days. It was neat to be a part of…The mindset—I can relate to that. I can relate to the intensity.”

On his upcoming match with Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady: “We’ve had banter back and forth, and it’s been fantastic. But it’s typical us, it’s what we do. We like to give out the needle, and to give out the needle you gotta be able to take it. It’s been fun, and it’ll be like that when we play, when we compete. There will be banter back and forth, but it won’t be as rough as what we have in our text exchange.”

On the time he went incognito at a Raiders game: “I had to go with face paint. I had silver and black, and a Raider hoodie on. it was a little chilly that day, and no one recognised me, and I was just a fan like every one of them. We were screaming and yelling, having a great time.”

On non-golfer athletes who might have a chance to play on Tour: “A PGA Tour player? I would say no one. But as a senior Tour player, I thought John Smoltz could do it, and I think he still can…The only other player that I think could really do it, and he just turned 40, is (Tony) Romo. I know it’s 10 years away, but he has the speed, he has the game.”

On whether he’s ever known an athlete as competitive as him: “I would say 1A, 1B, myself and Michael. He’s more, I think, outwardly competitive than I am. But I have my tendencies to be a little competitive at times.”

The post Tiger talks sports: Woods on the time Muhammad Ali hit him, how he compares to Michael Jordan appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Scottie Pippen says Michael Jordan gave him a set of golf clubs as a rookie to “lure me in so he could take all my money.” Classic. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/Bgd4SZvuEt

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) April 20, 2020

Jordan! What a savage. On second thought, I’m definitely going to keep watching because this docuseries is a content factory. In any event, let’s examine what else is (still) happening in the world of golf.

WE’RE BUYING

A June PGA Tour restart: At least, we’re buying its potential. The PGA Tour’s bold adjusted schedule seems extremely tentative at this point—especially because the European Tour continues to cancel events and has no timetable for a return—but it’s nice to have some positive news to report for a change. If all goes as planned, the season would restart at Colonial on June 11 and run all the way through a Labor Day Weekend Tour Championship for a total of 36 events in 2019-2020. The first four events wouldn’t have fans and there would only be one major (the PGA Championship in August) technically played this season and six next season, but who really cares? Golf would be back! Fingers crossed this all actually happens. There’s only so many possible Michael Jordan golf gambling stories to write about.

Alex Cejka: But there is still mini-tour news to report. This one-time PGA Tour winner and four-time European Tour winner is now a one-time winner on the Outlaw Tour after winning something called the Arrowhead Classic. Talk about a ringer. We’re guessing the $5,000 first-place check didn’t do much for a man who has about $20 million in career earnings around the world, but it looks like he’s keeping his game sharp. Cejka turns 50 in December so who knows? He could be senior tour eligible by the time play resumes.

Dinner at Tiger’s: Apparently, when you get invited to dinner at Tiger Woods’ house, bring a bat instead of a bottle of wine. As Justin Thomas told it on “Tiger Tales,” Woods and his son like playing home run derby in the living room after they eat. Yep, the living room.

Of course, JT couldn’t avoid breaking something. Anyway, sounds like fun. Speaking of “home runs”. . .

This invention: Kudos to Georgia’s Cobblestone Golf Course for coming up with a creative way to combat the spread of COVID-19:

Check out the new EZ Lift ball retrievers that we have installed on all flagsticks. No need to ever touch the flagstick again! pic.twitter.com/h5oKyXQME5

— Cobblestone (@CobblestoneGolf) April 16, 2020

Pretty slick. And pretty good for the back as well. I hope whoever invented this filed for a patent.

WE’RE SELLING

A Ryder Cup with no fans: Playing regular PGA Tour events without fans? Fine. I’d even be OK with major championships being contested this way. But the Ryder Cup? That’s a different animal altogether. The ELECTRIC atmosphere is what makes this biennial event so, well, ELECTRIC. How can you not have the absurdly large grandstands around the first tee packed with people? Or the incessant “Ole, ole, ole, ole! Ole, ole!” chants? Or the player song parodies? OK, so we could do without the last part, but you get the point. If this is how it’s going to be, let’s just punt to next year instead. Because if I can’t hear European golf writers bitch about how crude American crowds are toward the Euros, then what are we even doing here?

John Daly’s Coronavirus “cure”: In a video that we won’t share, the two-time major champ jokes(?) about drinking a bottle of vodka per day to help get “over this thing” really soon. “And that’s the way you kill this coronavirus I believe,” he adds. Hmm. It should be noted the World Health Organization says alcohol may actually put people at increased risk of contracting the coronavirus. Of course, it also should be noted that John Daly is not a doctor.

Tiger’s taste in gum: A year ago, golf’s biggest mystery was what gum Tiger Woods chewed on his way to his epic fifth Masters win. And now, we finally seem to have the answer and it’s not Big Red! Instead, Woods said during a recent fan Q&A with GOLFTV that he and caddie Joe LaCava like to chew on “orange Trident”:

What gum is @TigerWoods always chewing in competition? ?

Use #AskTiger to submit your questions. pic.twitter.com/I1McnhhOZu

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 17, 2020

We believe he means Trident Tropical, which is decent, but it’s no Trident watermelon. Or Bubbalicious watermelon. Or, really, any watermelon-flavoured. Or Big League Chew, which apparently makes a watermelon flavour now as well. That definitely wasn’t around when I was a kid. Man, we had it rough, huh? Anyway, Tiger, there are plenty of options out there. Then again, if you won the Masters chomping on this, maybe you should, um, stick with what’s working.

ON TAP

This week would have been the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, AKA that team event on the PGA Tour where Brooks Koepka usually invites his brother. This had become a fun one since switching to twosomes in 2017. Oh well, there’s always next year. We think.

Random tournament fact: Billy Horschel is the only player to win the Zurich Classic as both an individual and team event. Talk about a guy who is great at working alone and with others.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Brooks and Bryson will team up at next year’s Zurich: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—My local courses will add some sort of flagstick contraption: Even odds
—More people will be chewing Trident Tropical on courses everywhere: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Brenda Calcavecchia for sharing this (NSFW) scorecard from her husband Mark’s win at the 2007 PODS Championship (AKA the Valspar now):

This is a look into what I have been dealing with the past 20 yrs. The first day of pods he told me to pack up everything and be ready to go as soon as he was done. If you look closely before he signed his name he wrote “I fucking suck”. He ended up winning that week pic.twitter.com/zloGYLVgRV

— Brenda Calcavecchia (@brendacalc) April 14, 2020

Mark is certainly not the first or last golfer to write that on a scorecard. We’re guessing he’s the only one to go on to win a PGA Tour event that week, though. Good stuff.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

How about Rocco Mediate looking like any other guy on the range at your local course?

Good morning!@RoccoMediate on the range!#Golf #minnesotagolf pic.twitter.com/f0YKiX5O57

— goldenvalleycountryclub (@GoldenValleyCC) April 18, 2020

And yet he almost took down Tiger Woods at a U.S. Open. Golf. . . what a great sport!

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (TRICK-SHOT DIVISION)

Or really, trick-shot video of the month. We’ve seen some impressive ones during #QuarantineSZN, but this won GOLFTV’s Lockdown Trick Shot bracket:

Best lockdown trick shot ?

The votes are in and you guys have chosen “the ring shot” as the winner of our #BestLockdownTrickShot bracket. pic.twitter.com/FPOt9Trj2h

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) April 20, 2020

And for good reason.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PROS BEING QUARANTINED

Gaby Lopez misses going to the gym so much she shared an old workout video:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_LpBtjFC5l/?utm_source=ig_embed

Lee Westwood has created his own gym and is posting shirtless workout videos:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_AEInMjvxv/?utm_source=ig_embed

And Ian Poulter is still trolling people:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_AHe-EFsRW/?utm_source=ig_embed

All kidding aside, Lee looks pretty jacked. And I don’t care if that’s an old video from Gaby, that’s mighty impressive. And probably not covered in 8 Minute Abs.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Well, seagulls are known for flying around and sh–ing on people . . . so I am a seagull. I fly around and drop sh– on people. And it usually makes them laugh or sometimes is pisses them off. It all depends on what mood you’re in.” — Charley Hoffman to SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio on why his nickname is “Seagull.” Love it.

THIS AND THAT

This week’s Golf Digest Podcast guest is Erik van Rooyen, an interview recorded before the start of the Players Championship. So about 13 years ago in Quarantine Time. . . .

Congrats to Tim Finchem, who did a great job as PGA Tour commissioner, for being the latest selection into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Of course, he also had great timing with Tiger Woods coming along. . . . Speaking of Tiger, how about this stat our Ryan Herrington dug up? Woods has won more than 40 per cent of possible prize money seven times in his career and is on pace to do it again this season. Tom Watson is the only other player to do this even once in the past 40 years—and he did it 40 years ago. Tiger! GOAT! . . . And finally, I’m on a big Wheat Thins kick of late:

That’s the undisputed GOAT of crackers in my book.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Who is the “Seagull” of the Golf Digest office?
What was Michael Joran’s go-to gum on the basketball court?
What are Michael Jordan’s career earnings on the golf course?

The post Gaby Lopez’ workout, Michael Jordan’s savage golf move, and a classic (NSFW) scorecard message appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

THE TIGER KING pic.twitter.com/4h6wrcV1Oy

— Mister Morris (@mistermorris55) March 23, 2020

Who are we kidding? Anyone reading this has already watched it. Well, except my parents. Seriously, give it a try, guys. What else do you have to do? Well, other than read The Grind, of course. We may not have Joe Exotic, but we’ve got a quirky cast of characters in their own right and some unusual plotlines as well. So let’s dive in.

WE’RE BUYING

Michael Jordan’s playground: New playground, that is. Man, I used to love watching that VHS (dating myself!), but now MJ has an actual, sprawling playground with his own golf course called The Grove XXIII (get it?). Our Derek Duncan did a story on the Hobe Soundtrack and it looks absolutely spectacular:

LC Lambrecht

Also looking spectacular? That ESPN documentary on Jordan’s Bulls, which has now had its release date pushed up because everyone begged for it. Turns out, peer pressure can be a good thing!

Larry David: First of all, have you watched the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm? It’s utterly brilliant. So good, in fact, I’m considering moving it into a tie with Seinfeld. . . but anyway, Larry is doing good things off-camera as well like setting up a fund for Riviera’s caddies during these tough times. The best part? He did it with his friend, Lloyd Braun. Meaning there’s actually a real Lloyd Braun!

OK, so that’s not actually the best part. The best part is the money for the caddies, but you get the point. Well done, LD.

Calvin Peete: I’m not sure why, but a few people were discussing Peete’s driving accuracy on Twitter and it caught my attention. Look at these stats!

Calvin Peete hit 81.5% of fairways from 1980-1990. That's an average of 11.4 out of 14 per round.

His driving accuracy rankings from 1980-1990:

1980: 2nd
1981: 1st
1982: 1st
1983: 1st
1984: 1st
1985: 1st
1986: 1st
1987: 1st
1988: 1st
1989: 1st
1990: 1st https://t.co/5MkjRquggT

— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) March 25, 2020

The dude hit more than 81 per cent of his fairways for over a decade?! That’s nearly Michael Jordan’s career free-throw percentage! Amazing. Also, my grandpa (RIP) always said he was a big fan of Calvin (RIP as well) who played before I started watching golf. So yeah, he’s way up in my book, too.

WE’RE SELLING

More postponements/cancellations: Another week, more moving parts when it comes to golf’s interrupted schedule, many of which were reported by our Joel Beall and Brian Wacker. The British Open could be heading for September, the U.S. Open could be moving to October (and moving locations), and the Masters might be in November now. Actually, assuming life gets back to normal, that sounds like a pretty sweet plan. Fingers crossed.

Mass DQs: As long as golf continues to be played somewhere, there will continue to be rules violations. Even on the Outlaw Tour, where you might think the rule of law wouldn’t apply. Turns out, the Outlaw Tour has a Sheriff! True story!

Sheriff out! Love it. But seriously, this situation sucks, especially for the 14 players who plunked down as much as $875 to enter the tournament only to be disqualified after a scorecard mix-up that caused them to play from a LONGER yardage. Ouch.

Corona-aided aces: With golf courses that are still opened raising cups to help prevent the spread of the disease, this is a valid question:

https://twitter.com/cfenmagic/status/1244045815267700747

But, sorry, the answer is no. Call me the Hole-in-One Sheriff.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to was supposed to be at the Valero Texas Open, AKA that event that now precedes the Masters even though it’s not at all a tune-up for the Masters like the Shell Houston Open was. Regardless, it’s safe to say the Valero Texas Open has never been missed this much.

Random tournament fact: Charley Hoffman might miss this event more than anyone considering he has a win, two seconds and a third. In fact, PGATour.com put him No. 1 on an all-time Valero Texas Open power rankings list. Yep, these are tough times for creating golf content. We applaud the effort.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

— Gambling isn’t allowed/encouraged at MJ’s golf course: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—The Masters won’t be played in 2020: 3-to-1 odds (Actual odds… gulp…)
—I will make a Corona-aided ace and not be allowed to count it now: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Scary, devastating scenes from Davis Love III’s St. Simons Island (Ga.) house burning down:

Sad news from St Simons Island.
Glynn County Fire chief says Davis Love III home was destroyed by fire early this morning. No injuries. pic.twitter.com/VMAZgAp8Ao

— RICHARD ROGERS (@RRNEWS12) March 27, 2020

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

A bored Joe Buck asked for people to send him random videos to do play-by-play to and Justin Thomas responded with one of him fixing his hair. The result was superb:

Here’s my buddy @pgatour player @JustinThomas34. Is this the most captivating video? No. Is it relatable to 75% of the men that will see it? Yes. Yes, it is. Justin, we can DM about who to go see. Also, I did the @JordanSpieth line per your request so now make a donation! pic.twitter.com/bwzAhCgPyB

— Joe Buck (@Buck) March 28, 2020

I lost it on the “Jordan Spieth pulldown” line. Well done all around.

ARCHIVE VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

A little over four years ago, Nicolas Colsaerts smoked a 3-iron through a sliding door in his hotel room. It was an impressive—and dangerous—shot that went viral, but we only just found out how dangerous it actually was. Turns out, Colsaerts’ first attempt didn’t make it through!

After inundated requests from the archives I present – The famous @Coelsss 3am, 3 iron first attempt – Never seen before – @IMGAcademy @LukeKerrDineen @LukeDonald @IanJamesPoulter @JustinRose99 @Bryce_bunkered @GolfMonthly pic.twitter.com/SASuriqSum

— Kevin Craggs (@kevincraggsgolf) March 27, 2020

As with the Love house fire, thankfully, no one was hurt.

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

If Dustin and Paulina are any indication, we are going to see unprecedented good putting when this is all over. pic.twitter.com/RjS2rMEatq

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) March 26, 2020

You know what they say: The couple that putts together, stays together. But seriously, it seems like everyone from tour pros to colleagues have been practising their putting during this crazy time. I should probably get on that. Or exercise. Or just do something other than eat Hershey’s Kisses.

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

A few days after I knocked the five-time major champ for being too quiet during this boring time to be a sports fan, Mickelson delivered some potentially amazing news on the content front:

Working on it

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 30, 2020

A Tiger-Phil rematch? Sign me up! But could this really be a possibility?

I don’t tease. I’m kinda a sure thing

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 30, 2020

Not a tease, that is, unless you count all those U.S. Opens! Anyway, let’s hope this “sure thing” comes through. Whatever the format. Whoever the participants. Please. Give us anything.

THIS WEEK IN OTHER TOUR PROS BEING QUARANTINED

Soren Kjeldsen figured out a way to have some family fun while poking fun at Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and others with these impersonations:

Søren Kjeldsen's home impressions ?

Thanks to Kjeldsen Productions (his kids) for filming. pic.twitter.com/mi7xymnLRJ

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 25, 2020

Good stuff. Also, if that’s all part of Soren’s backyard, it looks like he’s invested his career earnings very well. And in case anyone was wondering if Rory is still good at golf:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-XT0ImlzMl/?utm_source=ig_embed

Yep, Rory is still good at golf.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Excuse my French but this shit is going to make us treasure so much down the road guys. ??

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) March 30, 2020

You’re excused, Eddie. And completely correct.

THIS AND THAT

Sunny Kim shot a final-round 59(!) to win his 67th(!) Minor League Golf Tour event. Not sure how the MLGT stacks up to the Outlaw Tour, but that is mighty impressive. . . . The 2020 Olympics has been officially postponed to 2021. In other words, Justin Rose can tote his gold medal around for another year. . . . And finally, Mark Calcavecchia played the role of hairdresser for his wife:

@MarkCalc the hair dresser. #domyroots #nograyhere ??‍? #StayAtHome #Quarantinewcalcs pic.twitter.com/6nzjbXijYF

— Brenda Calcavecchia (@brendacalc) March 30, 2020

You’d think a golfer would have a lighter touch.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will they still be called the 2020 Olympics?
Are we about to enter the greatest putting era ever?
How long can I last before my wife has to cut my hair?

The post Michael Jordan’s (new) playground, Phil Mickelson’s big tease, and Joe Buck roasts Justin Thomas’ hairline appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.