By Brendan Porath
Golf and swimming can be lonely, individual sports. There’s colleague camaraderie, relays and occasional team atmospheres, but performance and lack thereof usually falls on the singular athlete’s shoulders. So it was unsurprising to hear Michael Phelps and Jordan Spieth both separately talk about the supportive role that the retired Olympian has tried to serve for the three-time major winner.

Spieth’s struggles are well-documented at this point—he started this year as low as 92nd in the Official World Golf Ranking and went almost four years without a win before his victory in April’s Valero Texas Open. So much of that fallow period focused on the physical, the swing mechanics, the failures, changes, adjustments, short-term remedies, and improvements the critical masses wanted to see become actual results. Phelps could not serve as counsel on that, but what he did do was make himself available to discuss the mental struggle and strength of an athlete both during Spieth’s low run and now that he’s one of the best players in the world again.

“We’ve become closer and closer,” Phelps said of the relationship on Wednesday at Caves Valley Golf Club, site of this week’s BMW Championship just outside Baltimore. “Every now and then I would text him. With some of the guys in the pros that I have become close with, I try to give them as much space as I can but also give them the info that I’m here to help in any way.”

The two played together here in the pro-am alongside Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, whose company the two have endorsed for years. It was the typical casual loop provided by these pro-ams before the shots start to count in the tournament. But it also felt like a reunion of sorts, for two native Marylanders and one adopted one in Spieth, who has visited town and played this course numerous times thanks to the association with his apparel sponsor headquartered here.

“It’s just being able to stay here and be a part of it and waking up to feel like he’s not in a foreign place, but in a place that’s definitely home,” Plank said of hosting Spieth again in Charm City. The two go back to 2012, when the business arrangement began to take shape. Like Phelps, they’re now friends with dozens of rounds together under their belt.

With Phelps, that relationship may have been initiated by commerce with the two brought together as endorsers, but it appears to have gone deeper now, one elite athlete to another.

“I pick his brain on the mental side of things now,” Spieth said of Phelps. “He’s getting very involved in mental health, and it’s been something that I’ve actually worked on a lot in the last few years, and that’s been a space that probably should be talked about more within athletes, their experiences across different sports, too. I’ve been really fortunate that he’s lent an ear and also bounced ideas off me.”

Standing some 30 yards away and unable to hear those comments from Spieth was Phelps, who nearly echoed him. “What we’ve really dove in to and talked about—whether it’s the mental approach, even some of the things that he’s trying now away from the course — just trying to mentally prepare yourself. We spend so much time physically preparing ourselves, so I think it’s cool to be able to watch him take that time to mentally prepare. Just give himself more of a chance, you know, like figure out what more you can control.”

The considerations of mental health in addition to the physical preparation of athletes have certainly underpinned many of the conversations in sports in recent years, even touching the typically buttoned-up world of professional golf. In Phelps, Spieth seems to have found a sounding board of how to mentally endure and prepare at the highest levels in sports.

“Without getting into details that are competitive advantages, I think he’s been a fantastic kind of friend, and we’ve been able to spend time down in Mexico separate from the brand, too, and get to know his family,” Spieth said of the swimming legend. “Again, to have a golf lover be the most decorated Olympian of all time, it’s really good for our sport, and it’s even better that I’m able to access it, as well.”

Phelps cannot help Spieth hit the shots he needs to win or tip him on the swing adjustments to extricate himself from a muli-year slump played out under a microscope few in the game have to answer to and manage. That’s not his forte, but he does know the struggle. And even a 23-time gold medalist-turned-friend has been impressed to see Spieth come out on the other side of the darker years.

“His determination is something that’s incredible to watch,” Phelps added. “To be able to struggle like that for multiple years on the golf course, it’s hard. I know what that is and I am not even a pro. To be able to do that on the biggest stage, and still be able come through it and make so many improvements. Not many people can do that. You don’t see many people who start diving and ever come back to be able to compete with the best of the best.”

The post Michael Phelps became ‘closer and closer’ with Jordan Spieth in serving as mental coach and support system appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Jon Rahm’s Masters dilemma—the Spaniard said he would skip the Augusta National proceedings for the birth of his first child—were well-documented, although ultimately never came to pass as Rahm’s wife delivered their son the weekend before the tournament thus allowing Rahm to play. What went under the radar was the guidance Rahm received from the most decorated Olympian of all-time.

Speaking to the media Tuesday at Caves Valley G.C. (located on the outskirts of Baltimore) ahead of this week’s BMW Championship, Rahm casually mentioned he is friends with Michael Phelps, who is a native of Baltimore.

“You know, he’s a great guy,” Rahm said of Phelps. “He’s gone through a lot, and as an athlete he’s somebody to look up to very easily. When you’re the greatest Olympian of all time, you definitely have a couple tricks up your sleeve, a couple good moments of wisdom in that sense.”

When asked a follow-up on the nature of his relationship with Phelps, Rahm said the swimmer helped him with his competitive mindset heading into Augusta following his son’s birth.

“You know, he’s been very open to my questions. Any time I have a question about anything, he would respond,” Rahm said. “The one I can talk about or that I’m willing to talk about was mainly when [son] Kepa was born he texted me right away because he was in Colorado when his first child was born, and he flew back for the delivery, and then two days later he had to get back to keep training for the Olympics.

“He knows how hard it is to be there and then right after that, gone, I have to go train, and not see him. He did help me out with that. That’s not an easy feeling. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, even if it’s the Masters. I really did not want to leave that room, but he helped me out with that.”

Whatever Phelps passed to Rahm worked. Despite a Wednesday arrival to Augusta National, Rahm managed to finish T-5 at the Masters, highlighted by a final-round 66. Two months later Rahm would win his first major championship at the 2021 U.S Open.

Rahm admitted he wouldn’t disclose what Phelps has told him to help him with his golf game. Still, it’s worth noting Phelps has become infatuated with golf, begging the question …

“Do I look like a good swimmer?” Rahm asked about his pool credentials. “No, no, I’m a diver. I’m not swimming for very long.”

The post How Michael Phelps helped Jon Rahm prepare for the Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Ron Galella, Ltd.

I think we’ve got a blockbuster on our hands — or at least, a Netflix original better than that Will Smith “Bright” disaster. If any big-time Hollywood producers are reading this, give me a call. And in the meantime, let’s talk about all the plot lines unfolding during a busy time on the golf calendar.

WE’RE BUYING
Bryson DeChambeau: Forget about the kooky cap and the kookier single-length irons, the man who pretty recently experimented with side-saddle putting is no longer a side show on the PGA Tour. DeChambeau, one of the most decorated amateur golfers ever, picked up the biggest win of his pro career (so far) at the Memorial. And the self-proclaimed artist created one of the most intense reactions you’ll ever see after draining the winning putt:

“This is probably the most important win of my entire career.”

We felt it, @B_DeChambeau.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/XHcqdXaq3Z

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 4, 2018

Captain American might have competition in the celebration department at this year’s Ryder Cup.

Ariya Jutanugarn: In the span of a couple hours, we went from watching a dominant performance to a gutsy playoff win after Jutanugarn blew a 7-shot lead on the back nine at the U.S. Women’s Open, but still survived extra holes with major title No. 2. We’re happy for the young star because that could have been a career-crippling loss. And Ariya, who hits a 2-iron longer than I could dream of hitting my driver, appears headed toward a pretty special career.

TV coverage: We’re tough on TV networks from time to time, but we’ve got (almost) nothing but kudos all around this week. A tip of the cap to Golf Channel and CBS for (finally) figuring out a way to show live golf at the Memorial when tee times have been moved up (Of course, it took Tiger in contention for it to finally happen). And a round of applause for Fox for its limited commercials during the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open. Well done, everyone!

John Smoltz: The Hall-of-Fame pitcher is now a budding star on the senior golf circuit after qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open later this month. It’s an amazing accomplishment — even to John Smoltz. “I pinch myself every day,” Smoltz told me on an upcoming podcast. And I had to pinch myself while talking to John freaking Smoltz. What a legend. Smoltz also told me he’s willing to be mic’d up during Fox’s coverage. Let’s hope this happens!

WE’RE SELLING
Tiger’s putting: Tiger Woods’ ball-striking at the Memorial? Vintage! Tiger Woods’ putting at the Memorial. Not vintage! Seriously, that was tough to watch. And completely mystifying when you consider how well Woods rolled it at the Players and how pure Muirfield Village’s greens are. In Friday’s round alone, Woods missed three putts inside four feet, a six-footer and a seven-footer, and still shot 67! Stats guru Mark Broadie calculated that if Tiger just had an average putting week — not Tiger average, but PGA Tour average — he would have been shaking Jack Nicklaus’ hand on the 18th green for a sixth time. For the week, he lost nearly 8 shots to the field on the greens while having the second-worst strokes gained/putting of anyone who made the cut. Not exactly what you want to see before heading to Shinnecock’s slick greens next week. . .

Bud Cauley’s car crash: The damage was extensive (five broken ribs, a fractured leg and a collapsed lung), but Bud said he’s “thankful to be alive” following “the scariest night of my life.” We’re glad to hear Cauley is on the mend and we wish him the best. And if he’s looking for motivation, we’ve got two words: Ben Hogan. The legend recovered from similar injuries sustained in his own accident and won six more majors. Of course, he’d already won three, but you get the point. Get well soon, Bud.

Final group’s pace of play: We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, but taking nearly six hours for PGA Tour pros to play a round of golf is ridiculous. Yes, they were in threesomes, and yes, the average golfer can’t begin to understand what it’s like to play under final-round pressure on a difficult course, but Bryson “Check the book” DeChambeau, Patrick “Happy Feet” Cantlay, and Kyle “Sloth” Stanley (Actually, he seemed to play at a decent pace) were practically putting people to sleep.

To summarise: Showing live golf over tape-delayed coverage is a good product. Showing guys taking an inordinate amount of time to hit shots — even if it’s live — is not a good product.

ON TAP
The PGA Tour heads to the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, AKA that event Daniel Berger wins every year. Seriously, the man has won the past two years at TPC Southwind. Those are the only two wins of his PGA Tour career.

Random tournament fact: This is the last year of this longstanding event as we know it. Next year, it moves from June to August and becomes a World Golf Championship called the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. That’s great news for those involved in the event, but Memphis in August? You may as well hold a golf tournament inside a sweat lodge.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK
— Tiger Woods isn’t practicing on his backyard putting green right now: 1 million-to-1 odds
— Bryson DeChambeau will win the 2018 U.S. Open: 40-to-1 odds
— Bryson DeChambeau disagrees with Vegas’ calculations: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Keyur Khamar

Tiger-esque.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (NATURE DIVISION)
A moose chased a couple playing golf in Utah:

That’ll help pace of play.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Live TV is tough, and Holly Sonders is a true pro for pushing on, but this slip of the tongue is too good not to share. Sorry, Holly. .

“Sexual Qualifying” > Sectional Qualifying
Way to keep a straight face!! ??@holly_sonders @shanebacon @BradFaxon @fs1 @usopengolf #RoadToShinnecock pic.twitter.com/EHxxpwekpa

— Dan Valine (@danvaline) June 5, 2018

Whoops. Credit to all involved for not cracking up. That’s focus.

UPDATE: Holly addressed the gaffe the following day:

SECTIONAL qualifying is complete! “Sexual” qualifying isn’t a thing…and I didn’t have the time to make a joke about my mistake as we needed to get off the air 60 sec later. If Brad and Shane had even cracked a smile we wouldn’t have made it through the segment ????

— Holly Sonders (@holly_sonders) June 5, 2018

Well played. A pro’s pro.

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

That “sexy beast” finished T-8 at the Memorial and is the Vegas favorite at both this week’s Memphis event and next week’s U.S. Open.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS
Add Michael Phelps’ name to the list of golfers who have made a hole-in-one before me:

First ace…. ummmm I’m speechless!?!? 190 yard window into us slightly elevated tee…. I hit 6 iron and it was a 2 hopper that rolled right into the cup… a nice and clean hole in one!!!!

A post shared by Michael Phelps (@m_phelps00) on Jun 2, 2018 at 11:38am PDT

Congrats, Michael, but c’mon with the typos. If I ever make an ace (LOL) you can bet I’m going to double and triple check my post(s) before letting everyone know about it.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I’m not going to give too much away, but it’s got to do with anatomical limits of your body and how you can best utilize them for your proprioception.” — Bryson DeChambeau talking about his golf swing. We think.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PROS ARE JUST LIKE US!
Kyle Stanley’s bad break on the 18th hole in the Memorial playoff was just brutal — and reminiscent of what happens every time I clip a tree with a tee shot.

Wow.

What an awful bounce for Kyle Stanley at the 72nd hole. pic.twitter.com/DXJAiAeqJi

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 3, 2018

THIS AND THAT: Adam Scott will continue his streak of playing in major championships (currently at 67) after making it through a U.S. Open sectional qualifier. Clutch! . . . Also qualifying for next week’s U.S. Open was Andrew “Beef” Johnston. Good luck to whomever gets paired with him in front of rowdy New York crowds. . . . Joaquin Niemann didn’t win the Memorial, but his T-6 was good enough to earn special temporary membership on the PGA Tour for the rest of the season. Considering he’s 19 and already has three top 10s in five starts, we don’t think he should be worried too much about his future tour status. . . . And finally, take a look at this list of courses played by Barstool Sports’ Riggs:

lol it’s not even June yet #geauxriggs

A post shared by Sam Riggs Bozoian (@riggsbarstool) on May 31, 2018 at 7:31am PDT

Suddenly, I have a new hero.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER
How many tour wins will Bryson DeChambeau wind up with?
How many science degrees will Bryson DeChambeau wind up with?
How much is a set of single-length irons?

[divider] [/divider]

WATCH MORE VIDEOS FROM THE LOOP

[divider] [/divider]

The post Bryson DeChambeau’s big win, Holly Sonders’ slip of the tongue, and Michael Phelps makes a hole-in-one appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

After his epic walk-off win at the Travelers Championship, Jordan Spieth announced he’d be skipping the John Deere Classic, site of his first and fifth victories on the PGA Tour. The 10-time tour winner said he’s heading overseas early to get some extra preparation for the Open Championship.

But first, Spieth made time for a sweet little vacation in Cabo, according to his latest Instagram post. As if the late night golf and hanging on the boat didn’t make us jealous enough, check out this absolutely GOAT crew he hung out with.

For those keeping score at home, that’s swimming legend Michael Phelps, Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, Atlanta Falcons defensive end Dwight Freeney, Michael Jordan and perhaps the coolest of the whole group, Fred Couples. We suppose hanging with Michael Phelps and MJ is cool, but Fred Couples too? That’s just rubbing it in our faces.

The post Jordan Spieth is rolling with a legendary crew in Cabo appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.