Love It! Great play today, Spieth's shot was amazing and that team lost.
Bryson's 417 yard drive.
I was lucky enough to play here 5-6 years ago. I did NOT break 100! Amazing course, better time with my Dad and Brothers. Once in a lifetime. No carts, Caddies, Sheep do the mowing on two different courses and Yes there were Brats and Beers!
I was lucky enough to play here 5-6 years ago. I did NOT break 100! Amazing course, better time with my Dad and Brothers. Once in a lifetime. No carts, Caddies, Sheep do the mowing on two different courses and Yes there were Brats and Beers!
My buddy and I drove up and played there when were 21 (summer of 2002). Still in college and home for the summer, likely spent half our net worth at the time to play there. We were partnered with the CEO of a hospital in Kansas City and a former KC Chiefs linebacker. They looked at us like, "What in the hell are you two doing playing here?"
We had an absolute blast as a group. I shot an 87 and felt as though I had just played the round of my life. It was amazing how much the caddie helped your game.
That's awesome you played there with your dad and brothers.
Winning isn’t everything in the Ryder Cup. It’s also the great moments that come out of the competition.
The greatest example was in 1969 – the Concession – when Jack Nicklaus came down the final hole at Royal Birkdale tied with Tony Jacklin. After Nicklaus made a par putt, he conceded Jacklin’s par, ending that Ryder Cup in a tie, which allowed Great Britain & Ireland (continental Europe joined the Ryder Cup in 1079) to retain the Cup.
“I don’t know why but I very quickly thought about Tony Jacklin and what he had meant to British golf,” Nicklaus later said. “Here he was, the Open champion, the new hero, and all of a sudden it felt like if he missed this putt he would be criticized forever. This all went through my mind in a very, very quick period of time and I just made up my mind. I said, ‘I’m not going to give Tony Jacklin the opportunity to miss it. I think we walk off of here, shake hands and have a better relationship between the two golfing organizations is the right way to do it.’”
The latest example played out on the 18th hole in the penultimate singles match on Sunday. Jordan Spieth and England’s Tommy Fleetwood went back and forth throughout the match. Spieth went 1 up at the 15th hole, and Fleetwood tied it at 16.
The pair went to the 18th hole tied. Each player had a roughly 5-foot putt left for par. With the outcome of the Ryder Cup already decided in favor of the Americans, Spieth and Fleetwood conceded the putts to one another to finish their match in a tie:
If a player did that today he’d get ripped on social media for conceding the putt and thusly, giving up on the US winning outright.
He would get praised by far more who understand the game and the nature of being a gentleman who plays it... but of course the world would focus on the negative.
PHOENIX – As the outlook of the professional golf world’s future swirls with each new twist and turn, a 530-word statement released recently by PGA Tour star Phil Mickelson provided the next plot development.
In it, the former Arizona State superstar and Tour fixture for 30 plus years tried to justify the actions that created the firestorm around him when he appeared to dismiss Saudi human rights abuses by supporting participation in a Saudi-backed Super Golf League.
Reaction was swift. Within two hours of the release, KPMG – who sponsored the Mickelson since 2008 – announced an end to its partnership with him. Workday and Amsel cut ties with him, and Callaway announced it would “pause” its partnership with the Tour star.
“It’s definitely odd,” three-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa, 31, told Cronkite News. “I think when you grow up you’re a Tiger (Woods) guy or a Phil guy as a kid, but as I got older you started to see what Phil has done for the game, not only for the game but in the game. …
I’m sure he regrets a couple of the things he said and the analogies that he’s made, but I really feel bad for fans that have followed him forever that might now feel like they are getting – that they have to read about someone that is their hero that is getting ripped to shreds. Phil is a good dude. Hopefully, he can fix this.”
Mickelson recently announced he would be taking time off without mentioning the Tour by name.
“I know I have not been my best and desperately need some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be,” Mickelson said via Twitter.
The San Diego native has not played an event on Tour since competing in his hometown at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January. A week later, he competed in Saudi Arabia on the Asian Tour.
The Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck, who is set to release a biography about Mickelson in May titled “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar,“ published an early excerpt from his book on Thursday as the Tour got set for its latest stop at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. In it, Mickelson described the Saudi Arabian regime as “scary motherf—— to get involved with.”
“We know they killed (Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights,” Mickelson told Shipnuck during a phone call in November. “They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates. I’m not sure I even want (the Super Golf League) to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the Tour.”
A wave of PGA Tour players reacted to the comments from the six-time major winner.
World No. 5 ranked Rory McIlroy, who has made public for nearly two years that he would not be joining the SGL, told reporters at the Genesis Invitational he thought Mickelson’s words were “naive, selfish, egotistical (and) ignorant.”
Pat Perez, another former ASU standout, questioned Lefty’s remarks.
“I don’t know what Phil is doing,” Perez told reporters at Riviera after Mickelson, for the second straight year, skipped the final event of the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing.
The Genesis Invitational featured every golfer ranked in the Top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings, a week after the top of the leaderboard at the WM Phoenix Open was filled with marquee names.
“I don’t know what he’s doing,” Perez said. “I know he’s not speaking for me and, you know, I actually really don’t care what he has to say about anything because I just don’t. He doesn’t speak for me.”
Will golf fans forgive Mickelson? In some ways, the relation between knowledge of the situation and level of forgiveness may be inverse, with those unconsumed by “Golf Twitter” blissfully unaware of what one of the game’s most iconic players has done to his reputation.
The redemption arc of Tiger Woods’ career created a storybook moment at Augusta National during the 2019 Masters. Mickelson already had a fairy-tale win of his own; his coming in May 2021 when he became the oldest major champion in golf history by winning the PGA Championship at 50. The possibility of his next redemptive opportunity coming as a future Ryder Cup captain exists after Mickelson served as vice-captain on the 2021 United States squad, which won in record-setting fashion over Europe.
“Phil’s apology was him explaining himself,” said Raymond Ellis, a golf fan and 2017 graduate of Arizona State. Ellis said he grew up watching golf and saw Mickelson play at Pebble Beach as a teenager.
“His comments came across as naive and kind of out of touch,” Ellis said. “It felt like the entire interview was just an oxymoron, because he vacillated between how bad (the Saudis) are – and rightfully so – but then he also says ‘even though that’s a huge problem, I still want their money.’ It felt very oxymoronic and it felt tone-deaf.”
Because the Tour does not announce player suspensions, it’s unclear whether Mickelson’s announced break is self-imposed or that of a suspension from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. In May 2021, Monahan threatened to ban those who joined a different league.
Whether Mickelson’s comments to Shipnuck have blown up the SGL for good remains to be seen, but in the days after Mickelson’s statement, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele – each ranked in the top 12 in the OWGR and linked to the breakaway league in some capacity – made their own announcements reaffirming commitment to the PGA Tour.
When Mickelson returns, Ellis said, he will be rooting for him – likely alongside plenty of others – both as an ASU alum and a fan of golf.
“I 100% support him,” Ellis said. “My support is multifaceted because I respect his greatness in the game. I like watching people be great. There’s that aspect, but there’s also the sentimental aspect. I graduated from the same university that the current No. 1 golfer in the world and one of the top probably 10 golfers to have ever played the game both went to.
“There’s some sentimental connection there so I always want to see him succeed. (Mickelson’s) friendly. He’s charismatic. I’m rooting for him as a person. He’s definitely going to have my support and I want him to be the Phil that he’s always been.”
Golf is at a bit of a crossroads, they need somebody to establish some name recognition at the top, a good rivalry to develop like Jack/Arnie or Tiger/Phil... Right now it's just a bunch of nice guys at the top of the world rankings that most people outside of those who follow golf rather closely have never heard of. Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Smith.. that's your top 6 in the world rankings, then you get to Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy, where people might see a name they recognize...
there is no Tiger these days and, love him or hate him, he drew people to golf, to play it, to watch it, to attend events... that guy isn't on tour right now that is a "must see"...
They had that little spat between DeChambeau and Koepka but that didn't evolve into much...
DeChambeau hits it 500 yards but people just aren't as impressed with distance as they were 20 years ago... it's like people have become numb to it, you watch golf and, even as a good golfer, I see, "Oh, he's hitting his 8-iron from 205 yards" ... whatever, it's so detached from the reality of golf that most of us know, it's hard to even get excited about it.
I think Speith was on his way to being the ‘face’ of golf until his play dropped off the past couple of years (he did get a win earlier this year). If he and McIlroy can get their games together they could be rivals for years to come.
We won’t see another Tiger in our lifetime, a combination of immense talent, charisma and an ability to attract non-golf fans to the sport. I have an aunt who doesn’t care about golf at all, but will watch when he is playing.
The media tried to drum up a ‘rivalry’ between Tiger and Mickelson, but usually Tiger ate Phony Phil for lunch.
We were fortunate to be able to see Tiger progress into (arguably) the greatest player ever. I personally think he is the GOAT. We will have to settle for that.
Golf is at a bit of a crossroads, they need somebody to establish some name recognition at the top, a good rivalry to develop like Jack/Arnie or Tiger/Phil... Right now it's just a bunch of nice guys at the top of the world rankings that most people outside of those who follow golf rather closely have never heard of. Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Smith.. that's your top 6 in the world rankings, then you get to Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy, where people might see a name they recognize...
there is no Tiger these days and, love him or hate him, he drew people to golf, to play it, to watch it, to attend events... that guy isn't on tour right now that is a "must see"...
They had that little spat between DeChambeau and Koepka but that didn't evolve into much...
DeChambeau hits it 500 yards but people just aren't as impressed with distance as they were 20 years ago... it's like people have become numb to it, you watch golf and, even as a good golfer, I see, "Oh, he's hitting his 8-iron from 205 yards" ... whatever, it's so detached from the reality of golf that most of us know, it's hard to even get excited about it.
I agree, but names can't be made, they just happen, and happen it will. Nobody decided that Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnie, Jack, Tiger, or Phil would rise to the top. It just happened.
Today we have a lot of great golfers at the top, but when you have that it all seems vanilla. Someone, even if some kid in HS now will emerge, they always do and always will but there isn't any set timeline on when that happens. It just happens. It takes more than just being good to capture the eye of the public. And by public, I mean more than the public of the sport. The people mentioned weren't just known by people who liked golf, pretty much everybody knew who they were,
I'll add it usually takes 2 players to rise. You have the hero and anti-hero deal going on. You have one that half the people love and the other half love the other. That love/hate(hate may not be the word) relationship fuels interest.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Masters week!! Love it. Typically a sign of spring in the Midwest … let’s hope
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
HV III (just a kid from Akron) had a great round on Day 2 of The Open Championship.
Tiger.
Even as a guy who didn't particularly root for Tiger, I sure do respect what he accomplished. A touching moment indeed. Most of us got to see the entirety of his career, from a young armature to legend in his golfing twilight. Not that he is done. I am sure we will still see a few more fireworks from the guy, though maybe not in a "major" way.
As for Harold Varner, I like the kid. Most defiantly from the Ben Hogan school of ball striking. He is beautiful to watch, just as Ben was. It gives us older guys hope to see you don't have to have a huge backswing to generate the power to push it down the fairway.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
I have watched those vids at least 1000 times, at least since I could pull them up on the net. Ben had the swing I have always strived to have, but have never had for any length of time. Over time I have learned to play pretty well with my swing flaws because I am consistent with those flaws, but that is still the swing I want.
Ben's 5 lessons book is still a bible of the swing for many.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Happy for Zalatoris … that has to feel good for him
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
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