THE STARTER SHACK
What a weekend in golf!
🌱 One of the most cherished, celebrated, and beloved traditions in the game of golf is being replaced by technology
🧐 Lexi Thompson played in her 50th Major...at only 26
🍺 Brooks Koekpa offers to make love in a canoe to fans
⛳️ And yesterday, golf pros across America participated in the longest day of golf
PGA TOUR
The Longest Day of Golf...outside company outings
“Golf’s Longest Day” took place yesterday. No, we're not referencing our company retreat that consisted of 9 holes stretched over 5 hours due to the overconsumption of PBR tallboys. And possibly an edible.
Are spillchekcer sitll hasent' retarned to werk.
Also not to be confused with D-Day (June 6th), the actual “Longest Day”
156 players in the US Open field:
- 76 players exempt from qualifying (17 different categories)
- About half the field must try to qualify
This is not your typical Monday Qualifying experience the week of the tournament. Oh no, charge your phone, pack some Lunchables, and pee before you leave cause this is the gauntlet of golf.
Local Qualifying (April-May, over 100 sites, 18 holes):
- 8680 entrants; one requirement -> 1.4 handicap (or better)
- Whittled down to 500 players for Sectional Qualifying (only 5.7% continue!)
Harry Higgs winning Mr. Universe would get better odds than any of us surviving this gauntlet. You've seen Harry, right?
Sectional Qualifying (11 sites, 36 holes, 1 day):
- 500 local qualifiers + 345 others exempt from Local Qualifying
- Fields have PGA Tour players, high-pedigreed amateurs, etc
- Qualifiers round out the remainder of the field (~10% qualify)
A Roy McAvoy qualifying out of the driving range is as likely as Phil Mickelson drinking boxed wine from the Wanamaker Trophy.
Only two players have won after surviving Local/Sectional Qualifying; Ken Venturi (1964) and Orville “Sarge” Moody (1969), fittingly, a US Army veteran. Although the real event starts in less than two weeks, the survivors of this war will surely be battle-tested.
There are some who have been preparing for this the entire year and then there is JT Poston and his caddie, who’ve prepared with Uncrustables and jerky as per the text exchange (pictured above).
GIMME
- Grant Fuhr played 54 holes before game 7 of a Stanley Cup Playoff game. They won and have gone down as arguably one of the greatest hockey teams ever. Don't agree...let's fight!
- Rickie Fowler admits he couldn't see the ball beyond 150 yards...starts wearing prescription sunglasses. The Champions Tour announced it is extending membership to Fowler.
- Chloe Kovelesky, remember that name. She's 14 and she leads the field in driving distance at the Women's US Open at 301.3 yards. More than my driver and your 7 iron combined.
- Remember another name! Megha Ganne, a 17 year-old amateur that co-led the US Women's Open after day one and finished T-14...but number one in our hearts.
- BREAKING NEWS: Golf Magazine releases study...people who lost weight spent less time sitting. We're not even going to link to this BS reporting, we're doing just fine in our golf cart, thank you.
- US Open goes back to Torrey Pines and here are 5 fun-filled hours of the 2008 US Open. Remember...Tiger...broken'ish leg... drama-filled 18th hole, awkward forced smile from Rocco?
- Sports Book William Hill paid out anyone who bet on Rahm to win at the Memorial after he posted a third-round 64 and had a 6 shot lead before withdrawing. They immediately regretted the decision after watching Lexi Thompson squander a 5 shot lead on the last 11 holes at the US Women's Open.
- Why do we have Daylight Savings? One word...golf. Okay, maybe two more words...William Willett. An Englishman who wanted to play golf after work. Okay maybe he's not responsible but golfers and golf courses in some areas are major proponents of DST so they can get out for and cash in on late evening rounds in the spring and summer.
LPGA TOUR
What were you doing when you were 12?
On second thought, we probably don't want to hear about it.
Pretty sure you weren’t qualifying to play in your country’s National Open golf championship. But Lexi Thompson was:
- At age 12, she became the then youngest ever US Women’s Open qualifier
- Qualified again at ages 13 and 14
Putting her already lengthy career at the ripe age of 26 into some perspective:
- 52 major championships played
- Made 43 of 52 cuts -> 190 rounds of major golf already played!
- Longest current streak of US Women’s Opens
That’s more venues played just at majors than most of us have played in our lives. Also, just her total rounds of golf in majors betters some golfers last decade of playing.
For comparison, PGA stars with early success when they played their 190th major round:
- Tiger, ‘07 PGA, age 31
- Phil, ‘04 PGA, age 34
- Sergio, ‘12 US Open, age 32
Taking into account the “extra” major on the LPGA, the equivalent for Tiger, Phil and Sergio playing in their 156th rounds (80% of 190 rounds) were still age 29, 32 and 30, respectively.
This level of major experience in a young player is completely unprecedented.
Although she had a tough finish this weekend at the notoriously fickle Olympic Club (where fan favorites seemingly never win US Opens), she surely has lots of great golf left.
She is only now approaching her athletic prime, already coupled with 11 competition-filled years on the LPGA Tour in her back pocket!
PIC OF THE WEEK
Joe LaCava goes undercover as Freddie Couples caddie.
Nice try Joe! Next time splurge on a better mustache!
PGA TOUR
Brooksie Making Love In A Canoe
We anticipated a Mayweather vs Paul blood bath in Miami Gardens, Fla this past weekend. What we didn't expect was a Friday Night RAW between Koepka and Dechambeau.
Koepka and his sponsor MichelobULTRA were sending cases of free near-beer to anyone "whose time got cut short at the Memorial". Maybe your eyes are just as bad as Rickie Fowlers and you can't read between the lines.
Anyone caught shouting Brooksie at Dechambeau and got ousted by the bike patrol was being awarded a cool case of brown water.
Do we condone this behavior? Absolutely not. Are we entertained?! 100%. Golf could use a little public rivalry. Which got us thinking.
Are dufus and goofus smarter than we think? Are these two working together to snag some of that $40 million from the Player Impact Program? They're definitely getting a lot of engagement.
If we see them making love in a canoe it should be a dead giveaway. Since you brought up making love in a canoe...
WARNING: if you were awarded a case of MichelobULTRA we can tell you right now, from experience, it's like making love in a canoe...it's f%#king near water.
INSIDE THE ROPES
Being a touring professional is not all that glamorous, just ask Scott Hend who lost virtually everything except the clothes on his back..and his underwear. He gives full details on how he begged borrowed and stole to break 80 in this hilariously candid interview.
GOLF GEAR
Precision Pro is taking away one of the most cherished, celebrated, and beloved traditions in the game of golf...tossing grass in the air.
You know, you throw grass in the air to determine wind direction and how strong it is. You hum and ha for several seconds (if you're a Bryson fan you try and calculate the heat index and viscosity of the humid air on your ball plus how sticky the grass is on a sand wedge moving at 50mph through 4 inch rough). You pick up more grass...maybe smaller bits this time to get a better reading. You pull a club and you flush a 50 yard chunk.
You can do away with all of that because Precision Pro is releasing a rangefinder that calculates the wind direction and strength and then recommends a club for you...that you will still chunk 50 yards.
*not a sponsored post (honestly, who would pay us to write crap like this? No, seriously do you know anyone?)
Steph Curry releases golf apparel line with Under Armour...and by the looks of this first shirt, he'll also be joining an 80's Hair Band.
But seriously it's for a good cause as reported by Golf Week: Curry started this brand to encourage equity in the sport and to grow the game of golf. Coming from a sport where Black players make up a majority of the professional ranks, Curry wanted to share his passion for golf — where the Black community only makes up three percent of recreational golfers.
*sponsored post...not
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