THE STARTER SHACK
The USGA just pulled the short stick and Phil is going to beat them with his long stick. This will all make sense in the Gimme Section.
🏆 Worst Winners of All-Time...that's harsh
🐅 Tigers Return
💔 USGA is breaking hearts out here!
⛳️ Irons used by Top 10 Dart throwers
PGA TOUR
Lightning In A Bottle Week...aka All-Time Flukes
Professional golf is a meritocracy. Most democratic of all sports; you get paid for performing well (insert: knowing Al Czervik eye roll here).
The truth - winners are typically well-known, established players.
Rarely does a relative unknown (or a complete unknown) win, let alone a major event.
Jack. Arnie. Gary. Nancy. Mickey. Annika. Tiger. Phil. Seve. It goes without saying, if you’re a “single name golfer”, you aren’t exactly paying green fees nor stealing range balls before you go play.
Success in professional golf tends to be a self-sustaining pursuit when played at the highest levels.
Like any sport, majors usually see the cream rise to the top, and this is born out on the all-time majors list:
That doesn’t mean majors don’t suffer from “Who-the-hell-just won-that-i-tis” every so often.
One can assess these one-offs in many ways, however, calling them “the worst golfers to win a major” is harsher than catching your ankle bone with your putter head.
- Ten “Worst” Major Winners & Lightning Caught In A Bottle
- Worst Major Champions Since The Greatest Generation Saved The World
- Woof! Woof! Golf's Biggest Underdog Major Winners
- PGA Championship Biggest Upsets & Surprise Parties
- Upsets At The Augusta National Corral
- US Open & Shut - The Suits Weren’t Happy With These Non-Regal Winners
- Trevor Immelman & “The Open” Door To One-Off Obscurity
Some folks used this to springboard onto greater (or more sustained) pastures:
- Daly (‘91 PGA), Oosthuizen (‘10 Open), Schwartzel (‘11 Masters)
- Francis Ouimet (1913 US Open) - The Greatest Game Ever Played. Apparently.
Others cashed in their Golden Ticket; all the while adding their names to golf lore:
- Micheel (2003 PGA), Hamilton (2004 Open), Curtis (2003 Open), Bradley (2011 PGA), Beem (2002 PGA), Lunke (2003 Women’s US Open)
Best or “worst”, winning (major or not) is to be celebrated; even if your legacy is more “who the hell won that” as opposed to being measured for a bust in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
GIMME
- No more long drivers: the USGA went and did it, they limited your club's legal length to 46 inches. BUUUUT they didn't really, what they did was make a "Model Local Rule" allowing those running the events to have the option. So, it can be a rule in Atlanta but not a rule in Florida. Or it can be a rule in L.A. but not a rule in San Diego.
- Phil is raging: as you can imagine Phil Mickelson is not a fan of this decision and he didn't hold back: "Stupid is as Stupid does" Mrs. Gump. Part of Phil's rage comes from "stupid" amateurs ruling over professionals. It's true what they say...once you get to a certain age, you become more honest.
- Tiger will return: he has a timeframe and knows when he's going to step up to the first tee. He's obviously not making when/what tournament he'll be back but he's coming back. What are the odds he's coming back for the Masters?
- Big ain't big enough: The PGA Tour is bumping the paltry payout at The Players Championship to $20 million, an increase of $5 million. This is gargantuan in size to the 11.5 million payouts at the Masters and Open Championship.
- Play 15 Bonus: if the pros play in 15 events (on the PGA Tour) they will be awarded $50,000. It's kind of like a participation trophy. Here's $50,000, this should cover the gas for your '86 Winnebago.
- Hall of Fame/Shame: there are 13 players that founded the LPGA Tour and only 5 of them are in the Hall of Fame. Beth Ann Nichols reports that the LPGA is the toughest hall of fame to get into in all of the sports. Laura Davies and Lorena Ochoa have both been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame but not the LPGA Hall of Fame...that's such a shame.
- GIR Irons: here is a list of irons played by the golfers who are Top 10 in strokes gained approach the green. We notice Northwestern's aren't listed here anywhere.
PIC OF THE DAY
BROOKSY!!!
The site of The Match between Brooks and Bryson is an oasis in the desert. Here are some tidbits about the course, its history, its $600 green fee, and its near non-existence.
WITB
Putt look like Phil
Phil's Odyssey Milled Blade may be coming to retail in a small-batch release, as tweeted by Odyssey. We amateurs think it's a good idea to use the putter equivalent of a 1-iron.
INSIDE THE ROPES
Adam Scott...he's kind of a big deal
The Titleist 680's were released in 2003 and Adam Scott fell in love. So much so that Titleist has made a similar set just for Adam, stamped 681.AS. He likes irons that don't look perfect (a fun conversation to have with R&D), that have a little offset, and a sharp leading edge...everything that screams shank in our eyes.
GOLF GEAR
Toasty Fingers & Rubber Wieners
Have you ever skulled a Pinnacle Golf with a 6 iron in the dead of winter with hands as cold as a PBR pulled fresh from the beer cart? Not with the Auiiah Mini Portable Handwarmer! A portable sauna for your fingers! Keep them piping hot like the rubber wieners at the snack shack.
*not a sponsored post (affiliate post)
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We thank you in advance!
Today's email was brought to you by: Nolan Filipenko & Colby Johannson
