Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we still can’t get our left ear unclogged after going to the pool for the first time this year. I’ve had some ear wax issues in the past and the water just made it worse. Huh? What’s that? Too much information? Sorry, I can’t hear you. Anyway, here’s what else has us talking after a fun Memorial Day weekend.

WE’RE BUYING

Sam Burns: Talk about the floodgates opening, what a season this guy is having. After finally grabbing his first PGA Tour title last May, Burns has now won three more times, including on Sunday at Colonial, where he took down the reigning King of the floodgates opening, Scottie Scheffler. And Burns did it in a playoff after a two- hour wait that included a gym session. “Just one of those things where you don’t know if you’re going to get the opportunity, but when coach calls your name, you’ve got to be ready to play, and I think we did a really good job of being ready.” He sure did:

Unbelievably clutch.@SamBurns66 drained the 38-footer from off the green to win @CSChallengeFW. pic.twitter.com/DaQmWt5MRe

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 29, 2022

The guy has a real knack for making bombs in playoffs. For winning the Charles Schwab Challenge, the 25-year-old also got a pretty dope car to ride off into the sunset with:

And apparently he drove that bad boy right to a Buc-ee’s to celebrate:

Of course Sam went to @bucees after the W. Man of the people!

(? @Samburns66) pic.twitter.com/1YFiFsOLfo

— Caddie Network (@CaddieNetwork) May 30, 2022

You could really do some damage there with $1.6 million. Anyway, Burns is back into the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking with his fourth career win. What a stud. Speaking of studs …

Gordon Sargent: How about this Vanderbilt freshman who won the NCAA individual title? Gordon really turned heads on the final hole of regulation with a booming drive that registered 194mph ball speed.

Gordon Sargent dropping ??? at the #USJuniorAm. pic.twitter.com/Rr2IuA3XYY

— Vanderbilt Men's Golf (@VandyMGolf) July 21, 2021

Crazy. Remember a few years ago when we were told then Texas A&M prospect Cameron Champ was a unicorn with speeds like that? Well, not anymore. These powerful young guns are coming. And they’re coming fast.

Steven Alker: This is truly the most remarkable golf story of the past year. Heck, I’d go as far as to say it’s the biggest Cinderella story going in all of sports. But it’s gone largely under the radar because Steven Alker plays on the PGA Tour Champions, and, well, he’s Steven Alker. Hardly anyone had even heard of this journeyman from New Zealand when he Monday qualified for his first senior event last summer after turning 50, but since then he’s become the tour’s dominant force with four wins in 19 starts, including three in his last five after capturing a first major at the Senior PGA Championship.

How is this possible for a guy who had zero top-10s and 47 missed cuts in 80 career PGA Tour starts? “Just perseverance,” Alker said. “That’s all I can say. Just perseverance with a capital P.” Better late than never, huh? Seriously, they should make a movie about this guy.

This house: Check out this golf pad that’s basically one giant enclosed mini-golf course (start with the second photo):

 

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You want to improve your putting? But this place. Who needs a dining room these days anyway?

WE’RE SELLING

Harold Varner III’s back nine: HV3 is one of the easiest guys to root for in sports, and we really, really hope that first PGA Tour title comes. Heck, he could be another floodgates guy considering his other victories in Australia and Saudi Arabia. But there’s no sugar coating the fact that this was one of the biggest back-nine meltdowns in history.

Four putts from 19 feet.

A triple bogey for Harold Varner III to fall out of the lead. pic.twitter.com/MXkRk7XVIM

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 29, 2022

After taking a share of the lead (and that can’t be a coincidence) with pars on 10 and 11, Varner went triple bogey, double bogey, triple bogey on his next three holes. He added one more double bogey at No. 18 to shoot a back-nine 45 and not even finish in the top 25. Yikes.

Ryan Fox’s final hole: Of regulation, that is. The New Zealander was a -5000 live “lock” at sports books when arriving at the par-5 18th at the DP World Tour Dutch Open with a three-stroke lead, but a disastrous double bogey (and a later birdie by Victor Perez) put him in a playoff with Perez that Fox ultimately lost. Ouch. Although, not as ouch as the pain anyone who actually bet on him in that spot is feeling.

Also, we should mention that we’re buying Perez’s putting as the Frenchman made four bombs over the final six holes, including the final nail in Fox’s tournament coffin on the fourth extra hole. So, again, a LOT had to happen for Fox not to win this thing. Of course, that’s golf, folks.

This pin placement: Many years ago, I set up a Google news alert for stories involving golf crime. Well, this didn’t show up in one of those alerts (I can’t figure out how to turn them off), but it should have. Because this pin placement at an Iowa high school state championship is a straight up golf crime. Have a look:

Today at the Girls 3A State Golf Tournament at The River Valley Golf Course in Adel, the average score on hole 18 was a quadruple bogey.

No, the golfers weren't bad, but this had to have been the most unfair pin placement I've ever seen. This slope gave the athletes no chance. pic.twitter.com/F7OyqIjbkO

— Jake Brend (@JakeBrendTV) May 28, 2022

Those poor girls had no chance. Just sick, sick stuff. Whoever is responsible should do jail time.

Scottie Scheffler: The guy hadn’t made a bogey all week at Colonial until his 53rd hole. He then blew a two-shot lead on Sunday while making two. What a fool! Of course, we’re kidding. The World No. 1 showed that he’s human over the weekend, but he’s still clearly the World No. 1. And how about that hustle to make it to his sister-in-law’s wedding?

A photo finish.

Scottie Scheffler went straight from the playoff to his sister-in-law’s wedding. pic.twitter.com/GjRcMoSXVp

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 30, 2022

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Muirfield Village for the Memorial, AKA Jack’s Tournament, AKA that tournament where players post pics of their milkshakes all week. If I could choose any tournament to attend that I haven’t been to, it would be this one. And yes, that’s solely based on said milkshakes. But wait, there’s more! The US Women’s Open is at Pine Needles, a course I was lucky enough to play a couple years ago. What a great spot. I can’t wait to watch both — preferably with an inferior milkshake in hand.

It’s a good week to figure that out https://t.co/C8o0ExHkOg

— max homa (@maxhoma23) May 30, 2022

Random tournament fact: Technically, Patrick Cantlay is the defending champ at Muirfield Village, but we all know Jon Rahm would have won if he hadn’t tested positive for COVID. And since Rahm won by three shots the year before, well, yeah, he’s the guy to beat. “The way I played there the last two years it should be at least six,” Rahm joked of a potential staggered leaderboard this week like the PGA Tour uses for the Tour Championship. “Maybe more.” No argument here, Jon.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Cheers to an eventful 3 weeks on the road. Might have ended with an MC but hey, at least I still get to bring this home ? pic.twitter.com/rJjoCsxd8p

— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) May 28, 2022

Indeed, you do, JT. And cheers to you for even playing at Colonial.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

This might be the all-time best video of Jordan Spieth interacting with caddie Michael Greller—and that’s saying something:

"I just don't see it Jordan." ? @JordanSpieth sees the game differently than all of us. pic.twitter.com/PCqL7Yikk9

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 26, 2022

Greller trying to call him off a crazy shot. Jordan persisting. Michael apologising to give his guy confidence. Jordan pulling off an insane Jordan shot. Just an instant classic.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

First, there was your standard WAG PDA between Sam Burns and his wife, Caroline:

pic.twitter.com/NMIKK5gGJU

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 29, 2022

Good stuff. But then we got Burns gushing about his good friend Scheffler: “Yeah, we’re probably best friends. But at the same time I can assure you, he wanted to beat me more than anybody else and I wanted to beat him more than anybody else, and it just happened to be the two of us at the end. Yeah, it’s going to be a fun story that we’ll get to have for the rest of our careers, and fortunately I got the better end of it this time, but hopefully we’re at the beginning of these situations in the future.”

Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler. Tom Pennington

And Scheffler responding:

Awww. Nothing — not even that sweet Firebird Trans Am — can get between these guys.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It would have been more fun if we had to do it for 18 holes. I kind of joked with him at the end, he ruined all the fun making a 40-footer.” — Scottie Scheffler on his BFF.

More
Sensational finish at Dubai Golf Trophy
The best weekend in UAE Golf
Olivia Jackson makes a little bit of history
Your players to watch at the LIV Golf opener in London
All you need to know for the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener
Dustin Johnson to headline LIV Golf field in London
Stellar line-up set for Newcastle
The Gulf Club: The latest golf news from around the UAE

The post Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns’ bromance gets tested, an all-time Jordan Spieth-Michael Greller moment, and the biggest Cinderella story in sports appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Sending my prayers to @TigerWoods and his family tonight—here’s to a speedy recovery for the GOAT of golf. If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s to never count Tiger out.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 24, 2021

And then there were all the golfers who honoured Woods by wearing his traditional Sunday red shirt. Arizona State alum Phil Mickelson even bought one with the logo of rival University of Arizona because that’s all he could find while playing in Tucson.

Only one way @PhilMickelson would wear red.

To honor Tiger. pic.twitter.com/EN8oZ4bPdq

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) March 1, 2021

Nicely done, Phil. Tiger tweeted how much he appreciated all the gestures, but I’d also like to think that the most competitive person this planet has ever seen took note of who didn’t wear red on Sunday and that he’s already planning another epic comeback. Anyway, I’ve got my red shirt on, too, as we dive into everything else happening in golf. In the meantime, get better, Big Cat. You’ll be missed.

WE’RE BUYING

Collin Morikawa: With a win at the WGC-Workday Championship, Morikawa became the second player to win a major and a WGC before turning 25. We’ll give you one guess who that other player is. Morikawa has now won four times in 39 PGA Tour starts as a pro. That’s virtually the same winning percentage he had in college when he won five times in 48 starts. Remarkable. No wonder this guy is already up to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Mike Ehrmann

Speaking of rankings, Morikawa, who entered the week ranked No. 213 in strokes gained/putting on tour, ranked 10th in the stat for his second tournament since switching to that claw grip. In other words, Happy learned how to putt. Uh-oh. And after that mishap at the PGA Championship, he’s also learning how to better handle trophies:

.@collin_morikawa is a seasoned pro now thanks to his 2020 PGA Championship mishap. ?pic.twitter.com/UVgH5AZoTG

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) March 1, 2021

Again, uh-oh …

The Korda sisters: Another week, another win for golf’s sport’s most-talented family. This time it was Nelly Korda holding off Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko at the Gainbridge LPGA for her fourth career LPGA victory. This, just five weeks after older sister Jessica won for the sixth time in her career.

Icon Sportswire

The Kordas matched Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam in 2000 as sisters to win back-to-back tournaments on the LPGA Tour. But the Kordas are also on pace to win every event this season. Hey, you can’t win every event if you don’t win the first two, right? Anyway, did I mention the Kordas and Collin Morikawa were on the cover of recent back-to-back issues of Golf Digest? That bodes well for current cover boy Viktor Hovland …

Annika Sorenstam: Recent headlines hadn’t been particularly kind to the GOAT of women’s golf, but no one could criticize her performance on the course. After being retired for more than a dozen years, Sorenstam returned to action and made the cut at Lake Nona. Yeah, yeah, she was basically playing in her backyard, but that’s still really impressive. Imagine going more than 12 years without doing something and still being able to hang with the best in the world? If I didn’t drive a car for 12 days, I’d probably forget how.

Cliff Hawkins

Branden Grace: First of all, props to Grace for winning with such a heavy heart and for even being able to get through this interview in which he talks about recently losing his dad to COVID-19:

Five weeks ago, @BrandenGrace lost his father.

Today was an emotional win @PuertoRicoOpen. pic.twitter.com/5lq8knytZg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 28, 2021

So sad. But undoubtedly, his pops would be proud. Talk about someone putting together a sneaky-good career, Grace’s victory at the Puerto Rico Open gives him two PGA Tour wins to go with nine Euro Tour titles. Still only 32, he’s also the only golfer to shoot 62 in a major. And like we’ve mentioned before, with Viktor Hovland recently lifting the Puerto Rico Open curse, there’s a good chance we’ll see him win again soon. If Grace could just get himself on the cover of Golf Digest, then he’d really be cooking.

WE’RE SELLING

The Tiger tribute police: I was joking about Tiger taking names of those who didn’t wear red. Sort of. But man, Golf Twitter needs to chill a bit. Everyone does things their own way, and whether it was due to sponsors (silly, but I get this is a business) or a delayed shipment (Morikawa), it just wasn’t in the cards for everyone to come out in red and black. I was half expecting someone to complain Justin Thomas’ shirt wasn’t RED ENOUGH!

But as we saw by Morikawa getting emotional talking about Tiger after winning, that doesn’t mean those who didn’t wear red didn’t show their appreciation or support in other ways. We also have no clue which players have been in touch with him directly. And again, thankfully, Tiger isn’t gone for good. So there will be other chances to honour him in the future. And by then, everyone better have figured out how to get a red shirt to wear! Kidding. Sort of.

Playing The Concession: If you’re a weekend hacker like myself, that is. Wow, does that place look tough. Sure, Morikawa wound up winning at 18 under, but the course also lived up to its nickname, The Concussion. Max Homa joked about running out of balls, Viktor Hovland made a quadruple bogey out of nowhere that cost him the tournament and take a look at this absurd scorecard from Matt Kuchar:

Apologies for not getting to this on Friday … Matt Kuchar with a GEM of a #psychoscorecard in his second round pic.twitter.com/gfxtJJ2qIG

— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) February 27, 2021

That’s an even-par round with seven birdies. And an eagle! How?! That being said, watching the world’s best constantly on edge made for very entertaining TV so I wouldn’t mind this course getting another tournament in the future.

Cam Smith’s mullet: It was fun for a few weeks, but the Aussie continues to show up to tournaments looking like this:

Mike Ehrmann

Rough. And it’s not even practical now that we’re into the Florida Swing. Isn’t that much hair in the heat and humidity uncomfortable?! But now that we know he has a wife and two dogs, though, it makes more sense.

Cam Smith's girlfriend is wheeling their dachshunds around the course and it's amazing.

One of them is named Kendrick, not sure on the other. pic.twitter.com/LNTcyVFQ6B

— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) February 27, 2021

The dude is totally settled down. Who does he have to impress?

ON TAP

The PGA Tour continues the (extended) Florida Swing by heading to Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, AKA that tournament that Tiger Woods used to basically win every year. Seriously, the guy hasn’t won the tournament in eight years and yet he still has won it eight times. EIGHT! GOAT! No one else has won this event more than two times, by the way.

Random tournament fact: Included in those eight wins are a pair of walk-off putts in back-back years. Let’s take a fun trip down memory lane, shall we?

What a legend.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Anyone will ever match Tiger’s eight wins here: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Rory McIlroy will win this week: 9-to-1 odds (Actual odds, favourite)
—Phil Mickelson won’t be wearing that Arizona shirt again: LOCK

PHOTOS

Some of Sunday’s sea of red:

Sunday red @ANNIKA59 | @PGATOUR | @GainbridgeLPGA pic.twitter.com/o2FHDPPUGf

— LPGA (@LPGA) February 28, 2021

?? pic.twitter.com/VCWNYA8doI

— Tony Finau Golf (@tonyfinaugolf) February 28, 2021

Rory in Tiger red and black. “Don’t wear it as good as he does, but it’ll be all right.” pic.twitter.com/S8TJze3U47

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) February 28, 2021

It’s OK, Rory. No one does. And how about this Tiger tribute at St. Andrews?

 

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A post shared by Golf Digest Middle East (@golfdigestme)

Beautiful.

TWEET(S) OF THE WEEK

Yes. https://t.co/PciD2V7qZg

— Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) March 1, 2021

Good stuff, guys, but show some respect. Tiger is a Stanford guy, after all.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (ON THE COURSE)

Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas became the latest participants victims in the European Tour’s “Chase the Ace” series. Here were the impressive—but not quite impressive enough—results:

50 balls each to make a hole-in-one…

Step up @McIlroyRory and @JustinThomas34.#ChaseTheAce5050 pic.twitter.com/n3rYSPPRKV

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 23, 2021

At least they only hit 50 balls a piece. Anything more might have driven them both mad.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (AWAY FROM THE COURSE)

Props to our Shane Ryan for asking Will Zalatoris about his likeness to Owen Wilson. And props to Will for responding with a darn good impression of the actor:

And the Oscar goes to @willzalatoris. pic.twitter.com/sPExoBbtOF

— Skratch (@Skratch) February 25, 2021

Love me some Owen Wilson. Makes me want to get a “Zoolander”/“Wedding Crashers”/“Shanghai Noon” marathon going. You know, the classics.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Tiger means everything to me. … I don’t think we say thank you enough, so I want to say thank you to Tiger.” —An emotional Collin Morikawa after winning. He’s right. So, thank you, Tiger. You’ve meant more to people than you could ever imagine. Even a lowly golf scribe like myself.

THIS AND THAT

According to an NBC report, a Florida man is believed to have died while searching for a lost golf ball in a lake. Guys, I know golf balls have gotten pretty expensive, but trust me, they’re not worth that. … This is the first time since 1994 that there hasn’t been a player with multiple PGA Tour wins 20 weeks into the season. That’s NFL-like PARITY right there. … Last week marked the first time that Phil Mickelson didn’t win when he’s played on the PGA Tour Champions. It was nice of him to let someone else (Kevin Sutherland) claim the trophy this time. … Xander Schauffele had his streak of 16 straight starts finishing in the top 25 snapped, meaning he didn’t quite catch Rory McIlroy’s 17. Tiger Woods has the longest such streak at 38—actually, he has the four longest streaks. GOAT! … Speaking of streaks, congrats to my former colleague at The Journal News, Kevin Devaney Jr., for picking winners for an incredible four consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour. It might be time to get this guy on our Be Right podcast. … And finally, fingers crossed, we may have a golf fan on our hands:

Just doing my part to try to #GrowTheGame.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will anyone in my house ever (willingly) watch golf with me?
Is “Wedding Crashers 2” still happening?
Tiger, can I get you anything?

The post Touching tributes to Tiger Woods, Collin Morikawa’s crazy win rate and a PGA Tour pro’s perfect Hollywood impression appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

WE’RE BUYING

Masters invites: ’Tis the season for a lucky few golfers to get the greatest piece of mail ever. No matter who you are, it never gets old. And it never gets old watching reactions like this:

 

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A post shared by Michael Thompson (@michaelthompsongolf)

By the way, we’re already inside 100 days until the Masters. Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that patrons will be back in April. And if I’m lucky enough to go, fingers crossed I’ll be able to chew again by then. As Dustin Johnson noted, those Augusta National sandwiches are incredible.

Valentino Dixon: While we’re on the subject of Augusta National, a rendition of the famed 12th hole by our favourite artist wound up in the hands of Barack Obama:

 

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A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama)

It’s the latest chapter in Dixon’s tragic, yet inspiring journey. The man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit and was freed thanks in part to Golf Digest’s Max Adler, is now creating art that’s hanging in the home of a former President of the United States. Amazing. Speaking of Christmas gifts …

Josh Allen: In his third NFL season, the Buffalo Bills QB hasn’t just morphed into an MVP candidate, but one of the best teammates you could ask for. Just look at how he treated his offensive line for Christmas:

Bills QB @JoshAllenQB’s gift to his offensive linemen this year: a set of Callaway golf clubs and lessons at Crag Burn Golf Club pic.twitter.com/QCRsxPagFm

— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) December 22, 2020

Just give this guy the MVP right now. What a great gesture. And a smart one as well for team bonding. Yep, the future looks bright in Buffalo. Speaking of bright futures …

Charlie Woods: Yeah, yeah, it’s been a couple of weeks, but how cool was seeing this young dude playing with Pops? And playing so well? The kid made his first eagle on national TV! And gave us the moment of the tournament with this familiar-looking fist pump:

?Charlie Woods fist pump ?

The low uppercut. A Woods special. pic.twitter.com/KhJPSC1Sw4

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 20, 2020

He’s also already getting kids all over the country into the sport:

My motto for 2021: pic.twitter.com/nx5AnSlsX1

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) January 1, 2021

OK, so my daughter had no interest in watching one second of the PNC Championship, but she’ll get there. Hopefully. In any event, no matter how Charlie’s golf career winds up going, he’s already got better highlights than 99.999 percent of golfers. And after performing so well under such pressure, those sixth-grade finals are going to be a breeze.

WE’RE SELLING

People knocking people getting excited about Charlie Woods: Unfortunately, much of Golf Twitter clutched its collective pearls and couldn’t allow themselves to just enjoy this. “He’s just a kid! Stop putting all these expectations on him!” First of all, who exactly was seriously saying Charlie is going to win 100 PGA Tour titles and 25 majors? No one! Also, if the most private person on the planet wanted to trot his son out there for the world to see, then that’s all you need to know. It was awesome to watch. End of story.

People knocking Kyle Berkshire’s chances: In case you haven’t read or heard it (Subscribe to our Local Knowledge Podcast, please!), I put together a story about the reigning World Long Drive champ’s decision to pursue a second career as a tour pro.

And so far, about 90 percent of comments are that the 24-year-old is wasting his time or has no chance. Look, would I bet on him making it to the PGA Tour? No. But I think it’s pretty cool that a guy who dropped out of college before cracking the starting lineup would put so much on the line to give this such a serious try. And considering Berkshire’s staggering length and the importance of distance in today’s game (SEE: DeChambeau, Bryson), now seems like a good time to give it a go. At the very least, it should be fun to watch. So good luck, Kyle, and bombs away.

This shirt:

It’s actually a hilarious concept. Get a shirt to memorialize a golf buddy’s worst blowup hole. But it instantly gave me nightmarish flashbacks to the double bogey I made on the 10th hole at Mid Pines during the final round of last year’s HGGA Championship. And the triple bogey I made on the 14th hole when I was still in the hunt. I am such a choker it’s not even funny. But this shirt on someone else kind of is. OK, maybe I’m buying.

This jackass:

Very sorry for a Bledge and the RCP team. Course in outstanding nick despite this. Let’s hope the Kent Constabulary catch them? pic.twitter.com/swxd9BO5qh

— Tim Checketts (@CheckettsTim) December 28, 2020

Now that is someone who deserves to spend a long time in prison.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour is back! And it’s calendar-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions is more loaded than it has been for a long time. Almost all of 2020’s winners accepted their invite and because of the weird season, anyone in the top 30 of the final FedEx Cup list got invited as well. So it’s not really a “tournament of champions” this year, but a tournament of champions and really good players.

Random tournament fact: All told, 17 players got the nod who normally wouldn’t, and 42 of the 45 players eligible accepted. A vacation in Hawaii to play for a big purse against a limited field with no cut? Merry Christmas, indeed.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Kyle Berkshire will win a major by the time he’s 25: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Charlie Woods will win a major by the time he’s 25: 825-to-1 odds (Actual odds!)
—Charlie Woods was the coolest kid in school when he returned from winter break: LOCK

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

There were a couple of Anthony Kim sightings recently. First, with longtime swing coach(!) Adam Schriber:

 

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A post shared by Adam Schriber (@adam.schriber)

And then the funniest one yet. A sighting in which the person taking the photo didn’t even realize it was an AK sighting, but focused on former Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops instead:

taking a picture of Bob Stoops that accidentally includes Anthony Kim is like taking a selfie on a hike and getting Bigfoot in the shot pic.twitter.com/eIhhtzQxBA

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) January 2, 2021

That’s how long he’s been gone. Crazy. Also, many have pointed out the comparison to seeing Big Foot, but there’s one key difference. Anthony Kim is REAL. And he was spectacular. And as much as I’m happy to see he’s still out there, each sighting is a sad reminder of what could have been.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Check out Austria’s Matthias Schwab playing golf on his skis:

 

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A post shared by Matthias Schwab (@matthiasschwab)

How has this dude not won on the European Tour yet? Anyway, love the concept and the Hosung Choi-esque follow-through. See? It really works!

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Props to Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims for coming up with the most creative Christmas card of the season:

 

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A post shared by Jena Sims (@jenamsims)

THIS AND THAT

Jon Rahm made huge equipment news by switching from TaylorMade to Callaway. I guess rocketing to World No. 1 faster than almost anyone in history wasn’t good enough. … Speaking of equipment, shoutout to Ryan French, AKA Monday Q Info on Twitter, for helping out high school and middle school golf teams in need this year. Here’s more info:

Goal in 2021 is to help 12 high schools or middle school teams in need. 1 is going to be my hometown girl's team, so will need 11 others. If you are a coach or know of a team in need please DM me, I will try to help the teams that are in need the most. Going to do 1 per month.

— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) December 28, 2020

And finally, congrats to Kiawah’s Ocean Course for securing a second major championship of 2021. In addition to May’s PGA Championship, this year’s HGGA Championship—AKA my annual golf trip—will also be held there. What an honor for this spectacular venue!

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What hole will I choke away this year’s HGGA?
Where will we see Anthony Kim next?
Why didn’t I listen to my dentist as a kid?

The post Brooks Koepka’s creative Christmas card, inspirational holiday gifts and the funniest Anthony Kim sighting yet 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.

 

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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.

Even Austin Johnson’s Masters caddie bib is making the rounds—with The Great One getting a taste.

We just hope Johnson doesn’t have to return his coveted coat in April. Getting to keep it for only five months doesn’t seem fair—for both DJ and those following along on Instagram.

WE’RE BUYING

Robotic Dustin Johnson: What a clinic this guy put on at Augusta National. What a heater he’s been on the past few months. And he barely even gives a fist pump. Amazing. We’ve had plenty of World No. 1s the past few years, but Johnson is the undisputed heavyweight champ heading into 2021 following a record-breaking Masters win that caps a brilliant run of six top-two finishes in his past seven starts (the other start was a T-6 at the U.S. Open NBD).

Ben Walton

More importantly, Johnson got a big—and dare I say, deserved—boost to what was already a Hall-of-Fame resume. With his latest spurt that also includes a FedEx Cup and a second PGA Tour Player of the Year Award, Johnson now has essentially the same accomplishments (24 PGA Tour wins and two majors) as Johnny Miller. Based on his personality, we’re not projecting the same broadcasting career as Johnny, but you get the point. He’s among the greats. And at 36, he’s not nearly finished adding to that résumé.

RELATED: Dustin Johnson’s play in 2020 redefines his golf legacy

Emotional Dustin Johnson: We joke about Johnson’s robotic-like reactions, but after everyone flipped away to watch football, he returned to the 18th green donning his new green jacket and finally showed he’s human. These tears were real—and they were spectacular. Kudos to CBS’ Amanda Balionis for handling it so well.

Winning the Masters is a dream come true for Dustin Johnson. pic.twitter.com/2gGJ9HuMSJ

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 15, 2020

Wow. . . It’s getting DUSTY in here!

WE’RE SELLING

Tiger Woods’ 10: As Tiger deposited an entire sleeve of Bridgestones into Rae’s Creek, there was one thought that kept running through my head: Thank goodness this didn’t happen on Sunday last year. In other words, SAY AMEN AT THE CORNER!

Ben Walton

But seriously, that was pretty wild. A year after everyone around Woods got wet on No. 12, Tiger recorded the worst score of his career. Of course, he proceeded to birdie five of his final six holes because he’s the freaking GOAT. Hopefully, aspiring golfers—and some of his fellow tour pros—were taking notes. Despite that 10, TIGAH WOODS WAS ONE UNDAH! And while we’re sad we can no longer refer to Tiger as the defending Masters champ, there’s this:

Bubba Watson
2012: won Masters
2013: made 10 on 12th hole on Sunday
2014 won Masters

Tiger Woods
2019: won Masters
2020: made 10 on 12th hole on Sunday
2021: ?

It's science?

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) November 15, 2020

So you’re telling me there’s a chance. . .

RELATED: How Tiger Woods turned a 10 on a par 3 into an inspired performance

Playing behind Bryson: Already known as one of the more, um, deliberate players on the PGA Tour, now you have to wait for him to go for every par 5 in two and try to drive any par 4 under 400 yards because HE HITS THE BALL LIKE A GORILLA! And then there are the search parties caused by his erratic misses. After Friday’s round, Jon Rahm was asked if he was involved in the search for Bryson’s golf ball. Rahm’s response? “Which one?”

"This place plays like a par 67 for me." pic.twitter.com/JYKHOQqk3F

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) November 12, 2020

Well played, Jon. JON RAHM IS DA BOMB! Although, the next day he hit a punch shot backward off a tree and into some bushes setting off another search party. The golf gods are always listening.

Suspenders: Arguing about hoodies on the golf course seems like a distant memory after watching Sandy Lyle navigate Augusta National looking like a bank teller from the 19th century. That being said, the 1987 Masters champ had a good reason for wearing the suspenders, which are apparently called “braces” in the U.K. (the more you know).

Rob Carr

“I do it because I am so fed up with my shirts coming out and coming down here and constantly having to tuck it in,” Lyle said. “And when it’s so warm like this and you’ve got grubby hands, you tuck your shirt in, you pull your hand out and the shirt comes with it.”

TMI, Sandy. Let’s just agree that if you’re over 60 and a Masters champ, then you can wear whatever you want. I don’t think Chris Vernon ever addressed the suspenders, but he did say LARRY MIZE FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR II when he found out he was two under. Maybe next time.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to the RSM Classic, AKA that tournament I attended last year and expensed a lot of BBQ and milkshakes. Sadly, I will not be at Sea Island Golf Club this year, but it’s actually a really good field thanks to the proximity to Augusta National. WHERE IS CHARLEY HOFFMAN?! We missed the perennial early-round leader at the Masters, but he’ll be back in action this week.

Random tournament fact: When Tyler Duncan beat Webb Simpson in a playoff last year, it was his first win anywhere on any level since the 2011 Indiana Amateur. We’re pretty sure he’s the first player in history to pull off that elusive double.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—I will consume more calories this week than during last year’s RSM: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Dustin Johnson will lose the green jacket in the Caribbean: 3-to-1 odds
—Dustin Johnson will not be playing golf for the next few days: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Huge shout-out to Grind producer Ben Walton for a big week of TAKING PICS ON THE COURSE! Here was my favourite:

RELATED: Dustin Johnson’s emotional (seriously) interview wound up being the best part of Masters Sunday

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

HOLY GATOR?: take a look at this massive gator walking through Valencia Golf Course in Naples. He looks like he belongs in Jurassic park!

?: Tyler Stolting pic.twitter.com/skr3Du9EBQ

— Nicolette Perdomo (@NickiPerdomo) November 12, 2020

Good lord, that thing is massive. A T-REX IS ON THE COURSE! A T-REX IS ON THE COURSE!

THIS WEEK IN PROS ARE JUST LIKE US! (SORT OF)

Tyrrell Hatton let everyone in on quite a tale from his Augusta rental house. “We actually rented the house in 2018, so it’s quite nice kind of going back to something that feels familiar. I just hope that my manager doesn’t leave a knife in the oven this year and melt it.” Hatton added that they left an awkward note and money for a new knife set. Wow. TYRRELL’S MANAGER ALWAYS MELTIN’! OK, so Chris Vernon didn’t say that, but he did say, “PAUL CASEY ALWAYS SMILIN’!” And he’s right. Even when he’s in trouble on the course, Paul Casey is always smiling.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

YO DJ, WHERE PAULINA AT?! Actually, we all saw where she was as she rushed the 18th green after Johnson had officially won. Unofficially, she’s believed to be the first WAG to do that at Augusta National. What a trailblazer! And they walked off into the sunset hand in hand. Sort of.

Rob Carr

Awww. Notice also how Paulina was rocking a green jacket of her own. Talk about having confidence in her man.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Favourite tradition . . . For me, I don’t know if it’s really a tradition, but my favourite thing about the Masters is the sandwiches.” —Dustin Johnson. Loved this response, but I’ve got a feeling he might answer differently if asked the same question in April.

THIS AND THAT

Kirk Herbstreit says he turned down Tom Izzo’s invite to play Augusta National three times. And suddenly, I’m questioning whether to remain a Kirk Herbstreit fan. . . . The PGA Tour will be going to Delaware for the first time with the 2022 BMW Championship moving to Wilmington Country Club. All I can think of is Wayne’s World: “Hi, I’m in . . . Delaware.” . . . The Masters had its lowest final-round TV ratings since 1957 proving once again that it’s tough to compete with the NFL—and Tiger in contention. Also, if you listened to last week’s Local Knowledge podcast on Augusta National’s history, you’d know the Masters has been televised since 1956. Speaking of that podcast. . . Not to toot our own horns, well, actually, definitely to toot our own horns, but that podcast reached No. 1 on the charts!

How long did we stay there? I have no clue. But we’ll always have that moment. Thanks for listening. OK, now where do we go to accept the golf podcast green jacket?

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

How many majors will Dustin Johnson wind up winning?
Is Dustin Johnson the first Masters champ who can dunk?
Is Tom Izzo looking for someone to play Augusta National with him?

RELATED:

The post Dustin Johnson (and Paulina Gretzky) make Masters history and a crazy gator sighting appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Yep, that’s me on the right with a couple co-workers at Pine Valley. Ever heard of it? Actually, my wife hadn’t when I told her about the invite, but luckily, I was able to whip out Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Courses list and show her that it’s No. 1. Ahead of Augusta National—which she had heard of—thus, granting me the right to leave her at eight months pregnant and with our lively two-year-old for the day. And to think, some people say those kinds of rankings don’t matter. Anyway, I won’t go shot-by-shot of my round because I don’t want to bore you. And because it was a LOT of shots. The important thing is that we had a great day, and I refrained from cleaning out the pro shop like J.R. Smith. OK, back to real life now.

WE’RE BUYING

Collin Morikawa: What. A. Stud. After losing a playoff at Colonial and having his cut streak snapped at the Travelers, the 23-year-old bounced back to win his second PGA Tour title in less than 12 months at the Workday Charity Open. And although he didn’t have Jack Nicklaus waiting for him on Muirfield’s 18th green, he happily settled for a particularly delicious victory milkshake:

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

Morikawa now has more wins on tour than missed cuts. Pretty amazing. Although, not as amazing as the fact that Tiger Woods won 43(!) times before missing his second cut. Sorry, Collin, but any young golfer having success has to be compared to Tiger. It’s written in the Golf Twitter Constitution. But seriously, the dude should be proud to be a part of such conversations. And when he sees Woods this week, he can tell him he passed him in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Tony Finau: Big Tone was not at Muirfield Village—good news for the milkshake makers there—but he still managed to draw the golf world’s attention, first by firing a course-record 59 at Victory Ranch:

My 2nd ever sub 60 round today at @VictoryRanchUT ?
59!! 3 shots better than my course record of 62 ?? pic.twitter.com/Wblv7ysykY

— Tony Finau Golf (@tonyfinaugolf) July 11, 2020

And then, after being inspired by Bryson DeChambeau to grip it and rip it even harder, showing off a 206-mph ball speed:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCgVyy6JBGq/?utm_source=ig_embed

Uh-oh. Bryson really started a movement, didn’t he?

Mardy Fish: There’s a different kind of movement in the upper echelon of celebrity golf as the former tennis pro won the American Century Championship for the first time. Fish reeled in the Super Bowl of celebrity golf by overcoming a couple ex-NFL players, 300-pound(!) Kyle Williams, who finished runner-up, and two-time defending champ Tony Romo, who was in fourth place before withdrawing ahead of the final round with a wrist injury.

Christian Petersen

Sorry, Tony, but Mardy is the new King of Celebrity Golf for now after a performance that included a 10-birdie(!) 63 to break the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course record. TEN birdies! In one round! By a tennis player! I’m taking this guy’s athletic résumé over Roger Federer’s any day of the week.

WE’RE SELLING

Justin Thomas’ finish: He’s great, he’s young, and he’ll bounce back, but this one had to sting JT. First, he blew a three-shot lead with three to play and then he had a 13th PGA Tour title taken from him after he made what looked like the winning birdie on the first playoff hole.

5⃣0⃣ FEET!@JustinThomas34 with an UNBELIEVABLE birdie on the first playoff hole.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/T6iuNZrcxH

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 12, 2020

Before Morikawa answered with this:

WOW.@Collin_Morikawa with a MUST-MAKE putt to extend the playoff.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/RSYdWRI1sA

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 12, 2020

Even with the loss, Thomas is a strong 8-of-13 at closing out 54-hole leads. And at least he can say he lost one heckuva duel to another young star. Not that anyone could watch it on TV. . .

TV contracts: Look, we know this is a business and there were reasons why neither Golf Channel nor CBS showed the conclusion of this thrilling tournament live after final-round tee times were moved up due to bad weather, but c’mon. We’ve been saying for weeks how this is golf’s big chance to seize the sports stage and I had friends texting me why it wasn’t on TV. Sure, you could stream it once you found the link, but that’s a lot of effort for a casual fan to go through and this wound up being a big missed opportunity to generate buzz for the sport. A better system needs to be figured out. Period.

Caddies: We’ve seen golfers win at the highest levels with WAGs or friends filling in, but how about a tour pro winning without a caddie at all? Such was the case at the Austrian Open, where Marc Warren pulled off the victory while lugging his own bag around after his caddie failed a COVID-19 test earlier in the week. Although Warren was quick to say he missed having someone on the bag, the unusual circumstance did produce his first European Tour win in six years and meant he didn’t have to share 10 percent of the winner’s check. Plus, the 39-year-old also got some great exercise in. I know I’m going to get heat for this, but. . . Just saying. . .

Stuart Franklin

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to stays in Dublin, Ohio, for the Memorial Tournament, AKA that event played at Muirfield Village in which Jack Nicklaus actually plays host. It also happens to mark the PGA Tour return of Tiger Woods, who hasn’t played competitively in more than five months. Well, unless you count The Match. Speaking of the field:

?Stat of the week:

The 2020 @MemorialGolf SoF is set to break many #OWGR era records. As it looks now, this will be:

– strongest regular @PGATOUR event ever
– 1st regular PGA Tour event with SoF > 800
– stronger than any Playoff event ever
– stronger than the last 8 Masters pic.twitter.com/btBDoZrPsX

— Nosferatu (@VC606) July 13, 2020

Wow. This is major. Even though it technically isn’t.

Random tournament fact: Most golf fans know Woods has won the Memorial a record five times, but the person with the second-most wins at Muirfield Village? Kenny Perry. Thank you, Wikipedia.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Bryson DeChambeau will treat himself to a victory milkshake: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Tiger will win this week: 25-to-1 odds
—Tiger is not happy about having the same odds as Hideki Matsuyama: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

No one documents the end of PGA Tour events better than Rickie Fowler.

Gregory Shamus

We appreciate the effort, Rick—especially because, again, we weren’t seeing anything on TV.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Finau’s 206-mph ball speed was impressive, but Bryson went back to the LAB and produced a 144-mph swing speed:

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

My. Word.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Last week, the talented Sam Harrop performed his latest parody song in honour of Ben An:

Here's my latest golf song – with credit, of course, to the Beatles.

I think we all know @ByeongHunAn is one of the good guys. So if you happen to see this, Ben, please know that it comes from a place of love!

RTs & YouTube subscribes (https://t.co/gumjIjqmhy) appreciated ? pic.twitter.com/rikpiMAEE9

— Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) July 6, 2020

This week, the good-natured An responded by stamping some of the lyrics on his wedge:

I had to do this for you @sam_golf ??? pic.twitter.com/brLtCjjd3v

— Byeong Hun An (@ByeongHunAn) July 7, 2020

Social media certainly has its negatives, but stories like this are awesome. But seriously, Ben, if I keep betting on you, can you pick up the putting a little? Thanks.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I’m never coming in last place again. You can take that to the bank. I’m never coming in last place again. Ever! Ever! Ever! Guaranteed!” —Charles Barkley before finishing in second-to-last place at Lake Tahoe. Good for you, Chuck. Eddie George must be unspeakably bad at golf.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS NOT NAMED MARDY FISH OR CHARLES BARKLEY

Trevor Lawrence played golf! Well, tried to play golf. It’s tough when you’re built like a Greek God and golf clubs snap on you like this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CClh0XZBlDi/?utm_source=ig_embed

Of course, after seeing the money Patrick Mahomes just got, it’s tough to feel bad for a star quarterback. That is, if football ever returns.

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

At a quick glance, Phil Mickelson shooting even par for the week and finishing T-58 seems rather boring. Wrong! Phil drove a green in spectacular fashion:

? @PhilMickelson just hit his tee shot to 9 feet.

On a par 4. ?#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/ipBk9TwoF0

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 10, 2020

Showed off some shades from his forthcoming “HIT BOMBS” apparel line:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCgc2ztDuDJ/?utm_source=ig_embed

And gave us arguably the golf GIF of the year:

Make an eagle. ?

Get your coffee back. pic.twitter.com/dFacVEFMqb

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 10, 2020

Nothing is ever boring with this guy.

THIS WEEK IN BROOKS BEING BROOKS

We need to start a new weekly category, because nothing is boring with this guy, either. First, he posts this, um, interesting GIF:

pic.twitter.com/DTjuc48hFp

— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) July 7, 2020

Then, after being called “completely unprofessional” by Golf Channel’s Paige Mackenzie for what seemed like a cryptic dig at Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks took aim at Paige:

So that’s Bryson, Brandel, and Paige. And counting. Keep the feuds coming, Brooks!

THIS AND THAT

Viktor Hovland became the first player in the Shot Link Era (2004) to lead the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green in three consecutive events. Considering he didn’t win any of those weeks, it’s pretty easy to guess the part of his game that’s holding him back. . . . The PGA Tour Playoffs will be held without fans. This was the least surprising news of the week. . . . David Lipsky, who like Collin Morikawa attended L.A.’s La Canada High School, won his first Korn Ferry Tour title. Their high school is better than my high school at golf. . . . And finally, shout-out to the in-laws for hooking me up with some of my favorite BBQ sauce:

Sonny’s is the GOAT.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why isn’t there a Sonny’s closer to where I live?
Why didn’t the PGA Tour pair Brooks and Bryson together?
Is anyone looking for a fourth at Pine Valley this weekend?

The post Celebrity golf’s newest king, Brooks Koepka’s latest feud, and a tour pro wins without a caddie appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

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.

By Alex Myers
Welcome to another edition of The Grind where we have never been so thrilled to get a haircut. My appointment felt like what I can only imagine having a tee time at Augusta National feels like. I was so excited I could barely fall asleep the night before. And when I finally got into that chair, I didn’t care about the result, just that I was there after four long months in which a mop had grown on top of my head. Was it the best haircut I’ve ever gotten? No, that’s still the time I got styled for a GQ shoot. But for 17 bucks, I’m not complaining. Anyway, let’s talk some golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Dustin Johnson: Apparently this guy didn’t like falling out of the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in four years. Johnson’s response was to win his next start at the Travelers Championship to move back to No. 3. More impressively, that’s now 21 career PGA Tour titles and a 13-season winning streak that’s only behind Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods. Decent company.

Also decent? The payout I received from betting on DJ to win, making it two weeks in a row for yours truly after wagering on Webb Simpson at the RBC Heritage. I didn’t make nearly as much as the guy who won 20 GRAND betting on Mackenzie Hughes as a first-round leader, but at least my barber trips should be covered for the next couple years, or decades depending on the quarantine situation. Thanks, DJ!

Jayson Tatum’s swing speed: Speaking of quarantine, the Boston Celtics star caught the golf bug during his and began taking lessons. According to Tatum’s instructor, he already has elite PGA Tour swing speed that reaches 125 miles per hour despite his silky-smooth action:

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

How about that “bunt driver” that goes 315 yards? Must be nice to be 6-foot-8 and freakishly athletic. OK, so I’d settle for just being somewhat athletic.

NBC’s USGA deal: The Peacock is getting golf’s national championship back beginning this year at a sweet discount since Fox will reportedly pay more than half of what’s remaining on the seven-year deal. Ouch. While we admire some of the innovations Fox added to its coverage these past few years, it still felt weird when the network parachuted in to broadcast only USGA events. There will be more continuity to NBC’s coverage. And more importantly, Yanni’s IN CELEBRATION OF MAN is BACK!

Between my haircut, the DJ bet, and that, it’s been quite a week.

The Summerhays family: First, 15-year-old Grace shot 76 from 7,000 yards at a Monday qualifier for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship. Then her 17-year-old brother, Preston, shot a pair of 70s in the actual tournament to narrowly miss the cut. But Uncle Daniel saved the best for last. The PGA Tour veteran, who previously announced his hometown event would be his last start before walking away from competitive golf to become a teacher and coach at his former high school, nearly pulled off a walk-off win. Summerhays shot a final-round 62 but lost in a three-man playoff eventually won by Kyle Jones.

Matthew Stockman

What a way to go out. Except …

WE’RE SELLING

Daniel Summerhays’ retirement: The guy is playing in this week’s TPC Colorado Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour.

An emotional runner-up for Daniel Summerhays at his hometown @UTChampionship.

He had planned for it to be his final start as a pro.

But after receiving overwhelming support across the golf community, he’s onward to @TPC_ColoradoHL. pic.twitter.com/RdKHO8kUZn

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 30, 2020

He’s back! There are retirement speeches that lasted longer than that retirement. No, all kidding aside, Daniel still plans to walk away from competitive golf full time. You just can’t walk away while you’re on a heater. We get it.

More COVID WDs: Sadly, the list of these on the PGA Tour is starting to grow rather quickly. On the bright side, though, positive tests seem to be relatively contained and players seem to be taking things very seriously. Brooks Koepka and Webb Simpson were among those pulling out despite not testing positive for the virus themselves. And players like Jason Day have quickly gotten tested when feeling symptoms. Let’s hope this remains the case—even with guys who find themselves in contention.

Being paired with Ian Poulter: Greg Chalmers’ Sunday 73 seems a lot more impressive when you consider the tough scoring conditions he faced. Just watch and listen to this epic fart by playing partner Ian Poulter:

Grip it and rip it, @IanJamesPoulter.
(Sound way up) pic.twitter.com/LyFHSIH8uz

— Skratch (@Skratch) June 28, 2020

How can anyone concentrate with that sort of flatulence around? No wonder Poulter is such a dominant force at the Ryder Cup.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Detroit for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, AKA that new event last year that Nate Lashley went wire-to-wire and won by six shots as an alternate who got into the field on the eve of the tournament.

Random tournament fact: Again, a guy who got into a PGA Tour event on the eve of the tournament as an alternate went wire-to-wire and won by six shots. It doesn’t get much more random than that.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Absolutely majestic. And yes, that little white spot is where DJ’s drive ended up on the final hole. My word.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Check out Martin Kaymer telling a funny story about being single at the 2016 Ryder Cup and being able to hear what was going on in a teammate’s neighbouring hotel room:

Nothing worse than noisy neighbours ??#RCConfidential pic.twitter.com/iKYxcrVUZ4

— Martin Kaymer (@MKaymer59) June 25, 2020

“Others had more fun than me.” Classic. It looks like we won’t have a Ryder Cup this year, but in the meantime, we’ll take more Ryder Cup stories from Martin Kaymer, please.

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

If you’re not following Ben An on Twitter, you’re doing Twitter wrong. Here he is playfully taking a jab at Rory McIlroy:

You can…because I holed out ??? https://t.co/FIZ7XJMCBe

— Byeong Hun An (@ByeongHunAn) June 25, 2020

And here he is acknowledging why he was selected as a feature group:

Thanks to @JordanSpieth for this opportunity ? https://t.co/DVVR5HZlgi

— Byeong Hun An (@ByeongHunAn) June 28, 2020

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

What a week! In his first PGA Tour start as a 50(!)-year-old, Mickelson took the 36-hole lead. Then news came out that he has trademarked the phrase “Hit Bombs” for a clothing line. Let’s just hope these joggers don’t make the cut …

Elsa

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“But what I have to do is imagine I’m the casino and just keep playing.” —Bryson DeChambeau, who after finishing T-6 at the Travelers hasn’t finished worse than T-8 in his past eight starts. I believe Bryson was referencing that he’s close to winning again because over time, “The house always wins.” But in the meantime, he’s still making money like a casino. And now he’s earned a new nickname: Bryson DeCasino. Congrats, Bryson.

THIS AND THAT

In other failed nicknames, I started calling Brendon Todd “Bren Hogan” after he missed just one fairway through three rounds at the Travelers. That didn’t age well with his tough Sunday, but I’m still going to try to get this one to stick. … Collin Morikawa had his streak of made cuts since turning pro snapped at 22, just three shy of tying Tiger Woods’ record. Now he can get to work on breaking Tiger’s overall consecutive cut record of 142. Good luck, Collin! … Toptracer announced the introduction of a new game, GO FISH, at 250 range locations worldwide. We in golf always talk about finding ways to grow the game and this could be a good one. Once my daughter realizes the difference between a golf club and a broom, I’m in. … And finally, congratulations to our John Strege for retiring after 51(!) years in the business. I’m guessing this retirement will last longer than that of Daniel Summerhays. All kidding aside, it was an honour and a pleasure working with you, John. Here’s the send-off video we made for him:

OK, enough of the sappy reminiscing, John. Go get that handicap down!

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Who was Martin Kaymer talking about in that Ryder Cup video?
What will Phil sell next?
Is Johnny Miller free the week of Sept. 14?

The post Dustin Johnson extends an impressive streak, Ian Poulter passes some impressive gas and a funny WAG story you have to hear appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

And no, that wasn’t Steve Martin or the character from the movie “Up.” Charles Schwab is a real person. And again, we had REAL golf to watch. Fingers crossed I’ve got a lot more lazy Sundays in my future. OK, here’s what else has us talking.

WE’RE BUYING

Daniel Berger: The 27-year-old’s third PGA Tour title shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise considering he arrived at Colonial off back-to-back top-five finishes. Yes, the first of those happened in February, which is also the last time I got a haircut, but still, he’s been playing great golf and he now has recorded 28 consecutive rounds of par or better.

Ronald Martinez

Even more of a hint this was coming was the tournament’s date. All three of Berger’s PGA Tour wins have come during the second week of June making him the greatest second-week-of-June golfer in history. If Father’s Day ever moves up a week on the calendar, this guy is a LOCK to win a U.S. Open.

Bulky Bryson: For a second time in three starts, a 71st-hole bogey kept him out of a playoff, but that’s just part of the story. While many people put on a few pounds during quarantine, DeChambeau did it on purpose. And for good reason. For a second consecutive event, he dominated the field with his driving, picking up nearly 2.5 strokes over the next best player by taking—and pulling off—lines from Colonial’s tees that Ben Hogan never could have dreamed of. Playing alongside Rory McIlroy in the final round, Bryson bombed it 30 yards farther on multiple occasions. He was already a great player, but now? He looks like a future World No. 1.

Darren Carroll for Golf Digest

Don’t act like you’re not impressed.

Collin Morikawa: This young gun doesn’t quite have Bryson’s GUNZ, but it’s impossible not to be impressed with him either. Sure, there were those two short missed putts on his final two holes, but just one abbreviated year into his pro career, he’s already up to No. 27 in the Official World Golf Ranking. And he possesses an iron swing that even Ben Hogan would have stopped to watch:

Tied for the lead. ?@Collin_Morikawa has started his PGA TOUR career by making his first 21 cuts. Only Tiger Woods made more. pic.twitter.com/qf3Wstbp53

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 14, 2020

WE’RE SELLING

Storybook endings not happening: With all due respect to Daniel Berger and Korn Ferry Tour winner Luke List, most golf fans were rooting for Harold Varner III and Camilo Villegas. HV3’s first win, just days after penning an emotional letter addressing racial injustice in this country, would have been incredible timing. And a Villegas victory would have shown the incredible strength of a man in unfathomable pain after announcing his 20-month-old daughter is battling tumours. But it wasn’t meant to be on the course this week for either. Of course, by far the most important result involving these guys is that Villegas’ daughter gets better. Let’s all keep his family in our thoughts.

Sunday Rory: After a Friday 63 to get into contention, the World No. 1 seemed like a lock to finish in the top five for a seventh consecutive PGA Tour event. But after a disappointing 70 on Saturday he posted a much more disappointing 41 on Sunday’s front nine to tumble off the leader board. His scoring ranks this season? First round: No. 1. Second round: No. 6. Third round: No. 4. Final round: No. 123.

Saturday and Sunday Jordan: Spieth ranks 171st and 158th in scoring the final two rounds this season after ranking 170th in final-round scoring average last season. But when it comes to providing entertainment value, the Jordan Spieth Experience is currently No. 1. Life is like a Jordan Spieth Sunday, you never know what you’re going to get. In somewhat related news, I made a $100 bet with a friend that McIlroy will end up with more career majors than Spieth. Of course, by the time that bet is settled, that $100 will probably be worth about a dollar.

Darren Carroll for Golf Digest

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage, AKA that tournament with the lighthouse that’s usually played the week after the Masters but still has the lighthouse. After a week at Colonial that saw 16 of the top 20 in the world play, 15 of the top 20 will tee it up a Harbour Town. Noticeably absent still, though, is Tiger Woods despite the fact his yacht was tracked to a nearby marina last week. Maybe he was just in the mood to get BBQ.

Random tournament fact: Luke Donald has finished runner-up in this event five times without winning. For Donald, the tournament is the equivalent of the U.S. Open to Phil Mickelson.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—There is a real person named “RBC Heritage”: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Bryson will win this week: 14-to-1 odds (Actual odds, second favourite to Rory McIlroy)
—Bryson will lead the field in protein shakes this week: LOCK

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

A couple from Darren Carroll, who was at Colonial for us documenting a successful—but quiet week:

Darren Carroll for Golf Digest

Darren Carroll for Golf Digest

Having a little more room in the media center seems kind of nice.

VIRAL VIDEO(S) OF THE WEEK

The European Tour might still be on ice but the social media department continues to produce comedy gold.

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

Sung Kang made a hole-in-one during the first round at Colonial and had absolutely no clue until he got to the green because there were no fans to let him know his good fortune. Incredible.

With no fans on site @CSChallengeFW, Sung Kang had no clue he ACED the 13th. ? pic.twitter.com/D2m9QyoKrS

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2020

Imagine if this happens at a major?!

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Sadly, with no spectators at events, we won’t be seeing any WAG/family celebrations on the 18th green anytime soon. So Daniel Berger’s girlfriend, Tori Slater, had to settle for congratulating him on her Instagram story. It’s just not the same! So here’s a look back at them celebrating his last win … actually, it seems like Tori has never been on hand for one of her boyfriend’s wins. So here’s just a look at them (and Paulina Gretzky) hanging out at the 2017 Presidents Cup:

Icon Sportswire

Ah, the good old days.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PROS ARE JUST LIKE US! (SORT OF)

Five-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd Monday qualified for this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event using a pushcart:

Left the power stache on this morning. Took out the trusty push cart. Shot 65 to Monday qualify into the @KornFerryTour event this week. Time to get back to work #NeverQuit @dgraygolf @callawaygolf @RalphLauren @seaislandgpc @titleist @acaseofthegolf1 pic.twitter.com/0DW3XEHgeb

— Jonathan Byrd (@JByrdpga) June 15, 2020

OK, so the 65 wasn’t like us, but good for him wheeling his own clubs around. At my age, I should probably consider buying one of those bad boys. Speaking of getting up there …

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Golf’s ultimate showman turned 50 on Tuesday. Man, I feel old. Well, not as old as Phil, but old.

Family beach day. Looks like calves are working their way up. ???? pic.twitter.com/tOnhUXUMlC

— Tina Mickelson (@TinaMickelson) August 21, 2019

Actually, he’s in much better shape than me, so I probably do feel a lot older. In any event, to celebrate this milestone birthday, our Tod Leonard compiled 50 favourite phavourite Phil being Phil moments. Enjoy.

QUOTE/TWEET OF THE WEEK

By the time I restart I’m going to be outside the top 100 and 80 yards behind Bryson.

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) June 15, 2020

Nailed it as usual, Eddie.

THIS AND THAT

The PGA Championship will be held without fans at Harding Park in August, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report. No word on whether WAGs will be allowed on the grounds. … The LPGA has cancelled the Evian Championship, which is obviously much worse news than just cancelling fans. At least the LPGA still has four majors on the calendar this year. … Colin Montgomerie has called for a 20-per cent rollback of the golf ball, which, as our E. Michael Johnson calculated, would mean Bryson DeChambeau would go from averaging 323 yards off the tee to 259. That seems a bit drastic. … And finally, working from home with a 2-year-old is tough. Working from home with a 2-year-old and a roof being redone is a lot tougher:

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why was Tiger’s yacht off the coast of Georgia?
What will Phil do next (for his 50th birthday party)?
What will I have to pay for next?

The post The PGA Tour’s quiet return, Phil Mickelson’s milestone birthday and the end of the WAG Era (for now) 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.