Koepka: "When it's your turn to hit, your glove is not on, then you start thinking about it. That's where the problem lies. It's not that he takes that long. He doesn't do anything until it's his turn. That's the frustrating part. But he's not the only one that does it out here."
Some perspective for those still digging it out of the dirt:
After turning pro,
@JustinRose99
missed 20 cuts in a row.
It took him 4 years to win in Europe.
It took him 12 years to win in the US.
It took him 15 years to win a major.
And now, 20 years later, he's world No. 1.
Nate Lashley recap:
Lost both parents & girlfriend in '04 plane crash
Quit golf & briefly flipped houses in '12
Played LatinoAmerica in '15
Became 34 yr old PGAT rookie in '17
Failed Monday Q this week but got in anyway
132nd in points
Into next 3 majors+exempt thru '21 with win
Kevin Kisner on the Brooks-Bryson feud: "I sure would like to see them get on there and do a little pay-per-view and quit all the BS social media stuff."
5 years ago we started planning.
4 years ago we began seeing doctors.
3 years ago we ventured into the emotional gauntlet of IVF.
1 year ago we wondered if it would ever be our turn.
And on July 27 we welcomed Charlotte Elizabeth, who is already more loved than she’ll ever know.
Koepka asked how intimidating first tee setting was. "I don't think anything is intimidating, because I'm here to play golf. It's not like somebody's about to beat my brains in."
Rory said pace of play influenced his brief moments of frustration, esp on 5 where they were waiting on the trio of Stallings/Riley/Perez. “Those guys were playing so slow. They were like a hole, hole and a half behind.” Still co-leads after a 67.
Let's recap the last 24 hours for Cody Blick:
- Clubs stolen night before final round of Web Q School
- Spends AM offering cash reward on Instagram for their return
- Tees off 4 shots outside of earning any status
- Shoots bogey-free 63, including birdies on last 3, to get status
Happy US Open week! A reminder that in the last 4 years we’ve seen:
Blimp crash
E Coli outbreak
Fan dies in stands
Unplayable greens
Broccoli greens
Leader playing Sunday with unknown score
Vertigo collapse of future world No. 1
Phil hitting a moving ball
Buckle up.
OK this is getting a bit obscene. USGA announces two
@usopengolf
heading to Oakland Hills: 2034 and 2051.
Do we really need to be booking these things 30 years in advance?
Not many players get one over on
@PhilMickelson
when it comes to on-course gambling. Xander did during quarantine, and the story (that Phil alluded to last week) was predictably amazing.
Koepka crunches numbers on his belief that majors are “easiest to win.” Says with a 156 field, 80 guys “I’m just gonna beat.” Half of the rest wont play well, half of what’s left will get rattled by the pressure. Leaves a few guys he actually has to worry about come Sunday.
Rory was asked why pace was so slow today. “Because they don’t do anything about it...It’s become somewhat of an epidemic on Tour.” Said it was “unacceptable” that play didn’t wrap up yesterday before dark.
Gary Woodland pointed to the sky after holing the winning putt, a nod to the daughter he and Gabby lost mid-pregnancy last year.
“I just wanted her to know that I still love her.”
Props to
@HunterMahan
. Lost his card in '17, played this past season solely on past champ status. With $30M+ in career earnings, he sucked it up and went back to Web Finals for the second time. After a T-2
@DAPChamp
today, he's back to full PGA Tour status for 2019.
26(!) men became major champs in between Tiger's 14th & 15th:
Glover
Cink
Yang
McDowell
Oosthuizen
Kaymer
Schwartzel
McIlroy
Clarke
Bradley
Watson
Simpson
Scott
Rose
Dufner
Spieth
Day
Willett
DJ
Stenson
Walker
Sergio
Koepka
Thomas
Reed
Molinari
Rory confirms he could WD next week depending on timing of baby. “I’m going to play in many more Tour Championships, but you only have the birth of your first child once. That sort of trumps everything.”
Reactions to death are varied. But as a new dad my first thought was of the recent video of Kobe talking to his daughter on the bench that got meme'd into oblivion. He was in the prime of his life and excited to share his passion with his kids. To be a dad. That's it.
5 years ago today, my dad sent me these texts. He died a few hours later while I was covering a sectional qualifier. I think about him every day, especially today, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than on the course. Always hug your loved ones.
Still amazing to me that the USGA has every option outside of cloud seeding at their disposal and still can’t get out of their own way, but Mother Nature turns an Open venue into a lunar colony and the R&A just installs a sign pointing to the first tee.
Another blow to the "golfers are athletes" argument: Dottie Pepper reporting that Rob Oppenheim is dealing with injury at Wyndham after sticking his hand in his golf bag and catching a sharp pencil edge under his fingernail. No word yet on if he'll go the full Ronnie Lott route.
Adam Scott on low scores at BMW: "If a golf course is soft, we're just going to tear it apart. They just haven't figured out yet that long just means nothing to us. You can't build it long enough."
Wow. PGA of America announces it will allow the use of distance measuring devices during competition at all three of the majors it operates beginning this year, including the PGA Championship at Kiawah.
Three weeks after Matt Wolff beat him at the buzzer, Collin Morikawa gets it done at the Barracuda. Now he's in Kapalua, Players, PGA, exempt thru 2021 and eligible for this year's playoffs - where right now he's projected inside the top 50 in points despite only 6 pro starts.
Rory was asked about whether Olympia Fields might be the Midwest venue that the USGA has struggled to find. Flashed a wry grin before dropping this one: "I think what they could do is hire the Western Golf Association to set their courses up."
Haven’t touched a club in two months. Stepped out today, took a few practice swings and broke par for the first time since high school. Golf is dumb.
#LiveUnderPar
In the last 10 mins, Tiger has:
- thrown range balls at Reed to mess with his chipping practice
- reminisced with Fluff
- sought out Sam Burns on the putting green
Who is this guy?
Ahead of Tiger's presser, let's take a moment to appreciate his recent ascent as marked by Masters champions' dinners:
2017: Whispers across the table "I'm done. I won't play golf again."
2018: Happy to be back competing
2019: Highest-ranked player in the room
Rory reflecting on his Players career: "I came here as a 19 year old in 2009, missing the cut and getting kicked out of bars in Jax Beach for being underage. So I've come a long way. in those 10 years."
Missed cuts in all 3 prior Valspar appearances for
@maxhoma23
with all 6 rounds over par. Now a co-leader after rounds of 66-68. What’s the difference?
“I’m just better at golf now.”
More from Adam Scott: "If you require us to shape tee shots to get it in play, I think we're going to struggle. ... The driver is the most forgiving club in the bag now. You swing as hard as you can and get it down there far. It's not a skillful part of the game anymore."
After hitting his tee shot on 16, Justin Thomas signaled for a fan to be ejected from the gallery for a “get in the bunker” cheer.
“Enjoy your day, buddy. You’re done.”
Kevin Na wins a restored 1973 Dodge Challenger for his victory
@CSChallengeFW
, but he knew before walking off the final green he's flipping the keys to caddie Kenny Harms. "We're like brothers, and I'm more than happy to give it to him."
Azinger "can't see anybody beating Tiger" when he's at his best: "He's not his best yet, but almost. When Tiger's his best, there's more that comes with Tiger than the score he shoots. That crowd comes with him, and it's a whole 'nother dynamic when Tiger's at his best."
The following can all be true at the same time:
- PGA offers high drama and crowns major-worthy champs
- PGA trails other 3 majors in interest & intrigue
- Bellerive produced a stacked leaderboard and drew eye-popping StL crowds
- Bellerive is a monotonous and unmemorable layout
Confirmed with a
@PGA
official that Rickie Fowler and John Catlin have received special invitations to the PGA Championship "based on their performances, playing records and OWGR position."
Recent Tiger milestones:
Dec: Playing golf
Jan: Making a cut
Feb: Playing 2 weeks in a row
March: Playing a meaningful Sunday
Don’t lose sight of how remarkable, and quick, this journey has been.
Chris Kirk was 1st alternate for Heritage. Might’ve taken his chances but with oversized field wasn’t getting in. Instead he made his first KFT start since 2010 and got his first win since Colonial 2015. Took personal leave least year for alcohol abuse & depression.
Rory on Bryson: "I think it's brilliant, but I think he's taken advantage of where the game is at the minute. ... With the way he approaches it, arm-lock putting, everything. I'm not saying that's right or wrong. He's just taking advantage of what we have right now."
This is both wonderful and a testament to the efforts of
@acaseofthegolf1
and others to shine a light on this vastly underrated segment of pro golf life.
"I made it." ❤️
Michael Visacki fights back tears as he tells his father that he's reached a lifelong goal of competing on the PGA TOUR.
He successfully Monday-Qualified for the
@ValsparChamp
.
Rory asked about playing a WGC after The Open: “I think the only way I wouldn’t play Memphis is if something pretty special were to happen in Portrush. I’d still be drunk on the first tee Thursday.”
Justin Thomas on hitting next to Bryson: "It honestly was frustrating because he's hitting it 350 in the air and you could put a blanket over about half of them. That's what's unbelievable. People don't understand how hard it is to hit it that straight at that high speed."
Notable celebrity handicaps
@attproam
:
0: Tony Romo
1: Matt Ryan
2: Jake Owen, Kelly Slater
5: Justin Verlander
6: Jay Monahan
8: Peyton Manning
9: Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald, Wayne Gretzky
10: Eli Manning
15: Condi Rice, Ray Romano, Macklemore
16: Bill Murray, Chris Berman
Here is the scenario for Tiger to win $10M FedExCup this week as the No. 20 seed:
TW wins Tour Champ
Bryson finishes T-15 or worse
Rose finishes 3-way T-5 or worse
Finau finishes T-3 or worse
DJ & JT both finish 3-way T-2 or worse
Keegan finishes T-2 or worse
Austin Johnson sporting a cast and sling this week at Valspar. DJ explained that he broke a bone in his hand slipping going up the stairs Sunday night at Sawgrass.
DJ: “Those stairs, man. They’ll get you.”
Imagine telling your 2016 self that reigning Masters champ Tiger Woods would fly to Japan to tie the PGA Tour’s all-time wins record and ensure that he’d pick himself for the Presidents Cup.
Overflowing optimism in this Tiger presser. Yes, it could be mistaken for a replay of last year's chat. Yes, it & this week don't mean squat for '18. But if the prospect of a healthy TW doesn't get the blood pumping, find a different sport.
Reed walks off 18 green after finishing practice round. Fan tells him that he’s put money on him to win this week.
“Good. Because I’m pissed off about last week.”
The scene: 2044 Ryder Cup, returning to prestigious Hazeltine National. Patrick Reed, self-appointed vice captain without an official designation for the 4th year in a row, poses with fans behind the first tee for $10 selfies while wearing an earpiece connected to nothing
Spoke to Reed, who was delightfully unapologetic about the club snap. Said he didn’t swear, didn’t damage the golf course and got his anger out. “To me, it’s no big deal...it was comical after watching it afterwards.”
Tiger is asked about the evolution of JT as they’re playing together at Riv for third year in a row. Doles out plenty of compliments before adding “I carried his ass in Australia.”
Adam Scott: "My thing on slow play is it's never gonna change. Just get over it. Until television and sponsors say 'No more money,' slow play ain't gonna change."