Jun 30, 2021 4 min read Email

THE STARTER SHACK

FYI — Bryson shot 44 on the back nine on Sunday. We're feeling pretty good about ourselves right now.

🥇 To be an Olympian or not to be an Olympian

🧐 Bryson got weird on a live stream

🕺 Would you wear this outfit...asking for a friend

⛳️ The sexiest rangefinder on the market

PGA TOUR

Has Golf Cursed The Summer Olympics?

Prior to 2016, golf had only been played as an Olympic sport in 1900 and 1904. And now they let any old hobby in...like skateboarding.

In 2016, the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro hosted golf again

60 players in total (both men’s and women’s draws) four rounds of stroke play
top 15 of each gender automatically qualifying (limited to four per country)
highest-ranked players from countries that had not yet already qualified two players
one spot guaranteed for the host nation
five spots guaranteed to ensure each continent had at least one representative
Justin Rose and Inbee Park won gold medals

Earlier this week, the official draws for the “2020” events were set

None of the 2016 Men’s medalists (Rose, Stenson Kuchar) qualified for Tokyo
4 of the top 10 from the Men’s side not playing (opt-outs and country maximums)

Seems the bigger headlines are who is choosing not to play for various reasons.

In 2016, the Zika virus and resultant birth defects caused many opt-outs, whereas this year another virus is causing much more widespread worldwide carnage.

Some notable dropouts:

Louis Oosthuizen
Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Lee Westwood
Sergio Garcia
Dustin Johnson
Adam Scott

Even with Covid now and Zika then, some of the bigger issues revolve around the scheduling nightmare that the Games present.

Olympic Golf is just stuffed forcefully into the middle of the tour season, much like how John Daly gets into his pants...through brute force.

With golf arriving back in 2016, we are starting to wonder if its inclusion is some sort of curse on the Olympics. Here’s hoping the folks in Paris aren’t exclaiming “Zut Alors” before the 2024 Games arrive.

GIMME

It's Bryson's fault: Brooks puts the blame on Bryson for their feud. Apparently hugged and made up at the Northern Trust and then Bryson made some comments about Brooks physique while playing video games while live streaming. The lesson here kids? Video games make your brain mushy.
Koepka riding Koepka coattails: seems as though some pros are none too pleased that the younger Koepka has the last name Koepka. It apparently carries some weight...not as much weight as Bryson carries—literally. Sic Burn! Starter Shack 1 - Bryson 0.
The women are in: unlike their neanderthal counterparts, the women of the LPGA are excited about the Olympics and why not. You get to call yourself an Olympian!
The LPGA is getting techie: the men have Shotlink the women have...nussing...until now. The LPGA will be adopting the KPMG Performance Insights—welcome the the 21st century. The LPGA will start gathering data much like the mens tournaments buuuuut it's going to be up to the caddies to collect that data...which they'll get paid for.
Rangefinders for everyone: the KPMG Women's PGA is allowing rangefinders and it doesn't stop there. Voice Caddie has become “Official Rangefinder of the LPGA,” which will allow players to use them at most events. Every player on the LPGA, Symetra Tour, LET and LET Access Series was given an SL2 Laser Rangefinder. That's good marketing.
Jon Rahm: if you want to know 18 things about Jon Rahm you should read this article. If you want to know 10 things about Jon or 21 things about Jon don't read the article.

PIC OF THE DAY

Be honest, if we started a clothing line would you buy this? At $37, this is a great deal for a whole wardrobe. And we heard Rayon and Polyester are kind of like sport tech fabrics...if you're a gym teacher.

INSIDE THE ROPES

Jordan, Jordan, Jordan this is not how you warm up. In this video you'll see Jordan having a disagreement with the grass. And so he beats it into submission and that's his warmup.

GOLF GEAR

Voice Caddie has given everyone on the LPGA, Symetra Tour, LET and LET Access Series the SL2 rangefinder.

We didn't find rangefinders sexy until just now. If James Bond had a rangefinder, this would be it. It has all the cool stuff like hole layout, a green undulations map, hybrid laser and GPS. Yes please!

*not a sponsored post

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