By Alex Myers
Welcome to another edition of The Grind where we’re having second thoughts about intermittent fasting. While I’ve lost 10 pounds (Go, me!), Bryson DeChambeau has gained 40. Our golf games, however, are also going in opposite directions. Of course, Bryson’s weight doesn’t come from just stuffing his face (Shout-out to Pablo Sandoval), but from a calculated mix of protein shakes and well, more protein shakes. He could barely put the stuff down even while basking in the glow of his latest win.

So grab some whey and start mixing. We’ve got a lot to get to.

WE’RE BUYING

Bryson DeChambeau: The most talked-about golfer on the PGA Tour since the restart is now the tour’s best player as well. Regardless of weight class. DeChambeau entered the Rocket Mortgage Classic as a huge favourite. He left with a sixth career tour title and a seventh consecutive top 10 since supersizing himself. With his newfound length, the 26-year-old is just taunting golf course architects. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ross,” DeChambeau said referring to Donald Ross. “I didn’t mean to hit it over those bunkers all the time, but it just happened.” Hey, at least the young gun showed some respect by calling him Mr. Ross.

No, DeChambeau is not the first golfer to overpower golf courses (Jack, Tiger, Daly, Gilmore, among others), but no one has taken that focus quite to this extreme. Bryson making the 350-yard drive routine—he averaged 350.6(!) for the week—is like Stephen Curry making the 30-foot shot standard practice in the NBA. You now have to defend against it. And since golfers can’t play defence, their only way to keep up might be to eat up.

Shit just got real @b_dechambeau you better watch out cause this little whippersnapper will be within 75 of you in no time. ??‍ pic.twitter.com/jysRuzSLeD

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) July 6, 2020

And if I ever redo my PGA Tour Content Kings ranking, this guy is going straight to the top. There is always something to talk/write about with him, whether it’s what he’s eating or wearing or saying. DeChambeau may not always endear himself to golf fans, but they are clearly fascinated by him.

Will Zalatoris: Introducing the latest in a long line of Wake Forest golf greats (Go Deacs). Like Bryson on the big boy tour, this young man had strung together an impressive run of high finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour before finally winning at the TPC Colorado Championship. Such an important victory would normally mean we’d see him on the PGA Tour next season, but well, this is not your typical season. With the way he’s rolling, though, the three-win battlefield promotion isn’t out of the question.

.@WillZalatoris' #KornFerryTour results this season …

T4
T23
T34
T9
T26
T6
T3
4th
?

First professional victory @TPC_ColoradoHL.

Earned. pic.twitter.com/REe1gpEbK4

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 5, 2020

Tom Brady’s golf swing: It looks like Tom got a swing tip from Phil Mickelson at The Match, because, well, wow:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCV3LhwlgIR/?utm_source=ig_embed

If there’s ever a rematch, Tiger and Peyton might be in trouble.

The Golf Ball Fairy: There’s a small town in Pennsylvania where a mystery person has been leaving golf balls in bulk all over the place. For two years.

Would picking up golf balls on a daily basis be annoying to some? Sure. But think of all the money avid golfers living there have saved!

WE’RE SELLING

Bryson’s detractors: The haterz keep shifting the goal posts as DeChambeau keeps producing strong performances. After he ripped off six consecutive top 10s it was, “Yeah, but he isn’t winning!” After his seventh consecutive top 10 was that precision win, it was, “Yeah, but it was against a weak field and not a major!” I can’t wait until he wins the Masters and people point out August National doesn’t have real rough. It’s almost enough to make me feel bad for the guy. Almost …

Bryson’s cameraman comments: And then DeChambeau did something like this. Complaining about a cameraman doing, well, his job. And then not really apologizing about it after. And then doubling down on the flimsy apology following his win. Not great for the brand. Speaking of which …

Bryson’s Saturday shirt: Bryson wore a shirt with math equations on it. Because he’s THE SCIENTIST. Get it?!

wait wait wait wait wait pic.twitter.com/P7hi6NjitV

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) July 4, 2020

I actually kinda dig how the shirt looks from far away, but this is a bit much. Perhaps, because I never want to think about calculus again.

Matthew Wolff’s Sunday: I also never want to think again about how much money I missed out on because of Wolff’s disappointing final round. But while it’s still fresh, my $10 on Wolff at 125-to-1 odds would have practically covered this summer’s golf trip. However, it wasn’t meant to be as Wolff blew his three-shot lead through 54 holes in about the time it takes Bryson to do a set on the bench press. I’m still a big Wolff fan, but that hurt. Of course, it hurts a bit less when you’ve successfully bet on Webb Simpson and Dustin Johnson the previous two weeks. So don’t feel too sorry for me.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Dublin, Ohio, for the next two weeks, first for the Workday Charity Open and then for the Memorial. If you’re going to play back-to-back tournaments at the same course, you could do a lot worse than Muirfield Village. And while players are in town, they should go check out the original Wendy’s. On second thought, maybe they should just eat in. As we’ve been reminded many times, Muirfield Village makes a mean milkshake.

Random tournament fact: Bryson DeChambeau won the 2018 Memorial, but he’s not in the field at Muirfield Village this week. That’s good news for his fellow tour pros. And for whoever is making those milkshakes.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Bryson DeChambeau is taking this week off: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Bryson will win the PGA Championship/U.S. Open/Masters: 10-to-1 odds
—Bryson’s fellow tour pros will still be asked about him this week: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Stacy Revere

This drop may have cost me $1,250 as DeChambeau was able to two-putt from the fringe on No. 16 instead of having to hack out of thick rough for his second. Because of a stupid sprinkler head that happened to be near his ball. I’m not bitter about it, though. Not bitter about it at all …

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Well, it finally happened. Ho-sung Choi took one of his crazy swings and … completely whiffed. With a driver. Yikes.

Ho Sung Choi in the final group on the Korean PGA Tour today ? @GolfingWorld @ESPNCaddie @JasonSobelTAN @henrikstenson @EddiePepperell @BeefGolf @golfjuice @GOLFTV @Fehertwit @ESPNGolf @SkySportsGolf @iaincartergolf @brianwacker1 @chambleebrandel @AlanShipnuck @golfjuice pic.twitter.com/t0ZnybH98Y

— Korean Golf News (@KoreanGolfNews) July 4, 2020

Making this clip even more incredible is the fact he was 12 under at the time and playing in the final group. So he’s still a legend in my book.

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

After Francesco Molinari announced he’s moving from the U.K. to California, his golfer half, Tommy Fleetwood, was understandably upset:

?????but you said you’d never leave me!!!!

— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) July 2, 2020

And Frankie fired off the perfect response:

There’s always going to be a bed for you! pic.twitter.com/QR9VTA9UnR

— Francesco Molinari (@F_Molinari) July 2, 2020

MOLIWOOD forever. Well, unless you’re a U.S. Ryder Cup captain. Then you definitely don’t want to see this team forever.

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Golf’s ultimate showman—and pitchman—was back at it, this time pushing private jets:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCT8OycDtuW/?utm_source=ig_embed

Maybe if Matt Wolff had won I would have treated myself. Sigh …

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It shows how much time he has on his hands. He needs some kids or something.” —Kevin Kisner on Bryson’s GAINZ. Hey, he’s got a point.

THIS AND THAT

After initially allowing fans for next week’s Memorial, the tournament changed its mind. With everything going on right now, another no-fan event is what they call a no-brainer, folks. … I’m happy to announce the launch of Golf Digest’s new podcast, Local Knowledge, and particularly proud of the work by Daniel Rapaport, Joel Beall, Sam Weinman and Greg Gottfried put into this first episode. Please give it a listen and subscribe:

Yours truly will host the next episode and let’s just say the topic will be juuuuust a tad lighter. … Congrats to Tyler Strafaci on his North & South Amateur win at Pinehurst, which came 81 years after his grandpa, Frank, went back-to-back in the prestigious amateur event. The Strafaci family is better at golf than my family. … And finally, my wife made this fantastic patriotic-themed chocolate pie for July 4:

So at least my family is really good at dessert.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What does a Bryson DeChambeau “cheat day” look like?
Doesn’t Phil Mickelson have his own private jet?
Would Phil Mickelson mind taking a look at my swing?

The post Bryson DeChambeau destroys another golf course, Tom Brady’s improved golf swing and Brooks/Jena celebrate an important anniversary appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

After being woken up by Molinari, a shirtless Fleetwood (Kudos to Tommy for really getting into this) asks, “How good was that for you?” Molinari responds, “Four out of four,” referring to MOLIWOOD winning all four of its matches during the event. It’s the perfect video to cap their perfect record as a pair. Check it out:

The morning after the week before ?#TeamEurope #Moliwood pic.twitter.com/J5JunSS5Ee

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) October 1, 2018

Almost as funny were some of the reactions. First, from Fleetwood:

Miss him already!! ? https://t.co/x74nXNUuiW

— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) October 1, 2018

Awwwww. And then from his wife:

Well I actually caught my husband in bed with another man and he wants Italian lessons, our son is also named after him. Do I need to worry?

— Clare Fleetwood (@ClareFleetwood) October 1, 2018

Don’t worry, Clare. Well, maybe worry just a little. . .

The Fleetwood-Molinari bromance ?#TeamEurope #Moliwood pic.twitter.com/w4NQxGjLAp

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 29, 2018

Molinari and Fleetwood became the first European pair to win all four of their matches in a single Ryder Cup and just the second team to do that in the event’s history, matching Lanny Wadkins and Larry Nelson in 1979. But we don’t recall Lanny and Larry serving up Monday morning content gold like this. MOLIWOOD forever.

The post Ryder Cup 2018: Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood win again with hilarious video…in bed appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
The United States team was in need of an early spark on Saturday at Le Golf National following an ugly Friday afternoon that saw them lose the last five matches of the day. What they got was anything but, as blue flags covered the board early and often. They were able to salvage two points in the afternoon, but for the second straight day, Europe took five of eight matches, putting the U.S. in a 10-6 hole heading into Sunday singles.

RELATED: How Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari became the greatest team in Ryder Cup history

Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia sent an early message, taking a 4 up lead through eight holes on Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka, an underrated duo from Friday fourballs that golf fans were clamoring for the return of Saturday morning. Even though they mounted a late charge, they would ultimately disappoint, as McIlroy and Garcia closed them out on the 17th to win 2 and 1.

Behind them, the all-English pairing of Paul Casey and Tyrell Hatton quickly disposed of world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and partner Rickie Fowler, beating them 3 and 2 to secure their first points of the week. Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood tacked on another point in the third match off, crushing Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed, 4 and 3.

In a blink, Europe led 8-3, a cushion that could have been made insurmountable if not for some late clutch putting from Justin Thomas. He and Jordan Spieth hung on to defeat Jon Rahm and Ian Poulter 2 and 1, securing the U.S. team’s only point of the morning session and cutting the deficit to 8-4.

Not even a Johnson-Koepka pairing could ignite the U.S. in the early afternoon, as they fell 2 and 1 to a pair of European stalwarts, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose. Rose opened the door for Koepka and Johnson to get back in the match with a crucial missed birdie putt at the 15th hole, but Stenson quickly shut it, holing two massive par putts at 16 and 17 to leave Johnson with a 1-3 record for the week, and Koepka 1-2.

Europe’s 9-4 lead grew larger when the duo now known as “Moliwood” continued to roll, once again over Woods, who was this timed paired with Bryson DeChambeau. The match was never close, as Fleetwood and Molinari essentially one-upped each other with made putt after made putt. It was Molinari who holed the winner though, making it 10-4 Europe as the final two matches came down the stretch.

In those final two matches, the U.S. was able to end the day on a high note, winning both to make it 10-6. Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson, a team not expected to roll over anyone, did just that to Sergio Garcia and Alex Noren, winning 3 and 2. Spieth and Thomas finished off a 2-0 day as a team at the par-4 15th, defeating McIlroy and Poulter 4 and 3.

The deficit is not insurmountable, as both teams have harshly learned before. The most recent team to overcome it in Sunday singles was the European team in 2012 at Medinah, and before that the Americans at Brookline in 1999. The 2018 U.S. team is in need of a similar miracle tomorrow at Le Golf National, though they only need to tie to retain the cup. Eight of a possible 12 points will be enough to do it, a task that seems unlikely based off Friday afternoon and Saturday’s performance.

The post Ryder Cup 2018: U.S. in need of miraculous Sunday as they face 10-6 deficit appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.