Weekend Wrap - Poltergeist Edition

Hope everyone had a good weekend.  We'll wrap a bunch of golf that I didn't watch, maybe cover another couple of bits, then we can all start our weeks.

Motown Musings - i can's see Aldrich Potgieter's name without the word "Poltergeist" coming to mind, hence the header.  I didn't watch any golf this weekend, at least not until that dreary playoff.  But how do we react to headers such as this?

20-year-old rookie wins Rocket Classic, joins Rory, Seve on exclusive list

Not sure about the Seve reference, but the South African is every bit as jowly as the young Rory was, no?

Sunday was worth the wait for Aldrich Potgieter. Although, technically, at just 20 years old, you could argue he didn’t have to wait long at all.

The South African emerged from a three-man playoff to win the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday, taking down Max Greyserman on the fifth playoff hole. Chris Kirk was eliminated on the second. Potgieter’s winning moment came on the par-3 15th hole, when he rolled in a birdie putt from 18 feet.

Not bad for the rookie’s 20th career PGA Tour start.

At 20 years, 9 months and 16 days old, Potgieter becomes the seventh-youngest PGA Tour winner since the start of 1983. He also joins an exclusive list of international-born players who won on Tour before turning 21. Also on that list? Seve Ballesteros, Rory McIlroy, Joaquin Niemann and Tom Kim. Last year he became the youngest Korn Ferry Tour winner in the league’s history, and he almost won on the PGA Tour earlier this season but lost the Mexico Open in a playoff to Brian Campbell back in February.

“It was definitely a tough day,” Potgieter said. “The start didn’t go my way; I struggled to make putts, left a lot short. Finally got one to the hole, and I just saw the ball roll end over end and I knew it was going to go in.”

It looked to be a playoff that nobody wanted to win, Chris Kirk sensibly heading for that early shower.  From those playoff holes I watched I didn't get any sense that the youngster was especially long, but apparently he is:

Aldrich Potgieter leads the PGA Tour in driving distance

Potgieter isn’t just long off the tee – he’s the longest player on Tour. Listed at 5-10 and 210 pounds, the South African leads all players in driving distance this season at 326.6, a full six

yards longer than No. 2 in the standings Rory McIlroy, and is 26 yards longer than the Tour average. Potgieter also led the Korn Ferry Tour in Driving Distance in 2024

“I think it just kind of came naturally. I haven't done too much to get the distance that I got, it's just kind of been given to me. So happy with it, and just trying to control it, that's kind of the big thing we're trying to work on,” he said this week. “Kind of did everything as a kid, didn't just focus on golf, so that kind of helped me build that strong foundation at the start, and I think that happened at the right time during my growth spurt that it helped me a lot.”

Thanks to his with at the British Amateur, Potgieter earned an invitation to the 2023 Masters, where he was paired in the first two rounds with past champion Charl Schwartzel, who said of Potgieter’s prodigious length: "It's incredible how far the guy hits the ball. It's scary.

Aldrich Potgieter once made a hole-in-one on a par 4

Schwartzel wasn’t joking about Potgieter’s length. But for further proof, it’s worth re-telling the story of the 2023 John Deere Classic Monday qualifier at Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, Illinois. Potgieter not only drove the green at the 403-yard, par-4 17th hole, but his drive found the bottom of the cup for a rare ace on a par 4. He didn’t see the ball go into the hole and had no idea it was in until his caddie in the fairway ahead of him lost his mind.

Aldrich Potgieter once made a hole-in-one on a par 4

Schwartzel wasn’t joking about Potgieter’s length. But for further proof, it’s worth re-telling the story of the 2023 John Deere Classic Monday qualifier at Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, Illinois. Potgieter not only drove the green at the 403-yard, par-4 17th hole, but his drive found the bottom of the cup for a rare ace on a par 4. He didn’t see the ball go into the hole and had no idea it was in until his caddie in the fairway ahead of him lost his mind.

 Only once?  That's a rookie number....

Obviously Potgieter is a notable young talent, but your humble blogger is more focused on what a horrible week it had to be for the Tour.  In creating those Money-Grab Signature Events, the Tour seems to have not given the slightest though to the logical result of their actions, to wit, that if you designate a handful of events as being special, you are simultaneously telling the world that your other events are.....well, not special.

So, is this any surprise?

The Rocket Classic will have a new spot on the PGA Tour schedule in 2026

If you read this blog, you'll be familiar with the concept of a buried lede.  In this case, the lede is buried Fordow deep.  But first, the ruminations on how the event has been damaged:

The Rocket Classic is getting a new tee time in 2026.

While the full PGA Tour schedule has yet to be released, the Rocket Classic will be moving back in the schedule. The new dates of July 30-Aug. 2 will push the tournament after the British Open, which is scheduled for July 16-19 at Royal Birkdale next year.

Tournament organizers have long struggled to attract the most popular golfers to the event. Part of that is the tournament is not a “signature” event on the tour, a status that is unlikely to change anytime soon due to cost.

But it was also partly because of its position on the schedule, where it is preceded by the U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship (a signature event) and succeeded by the Scottish Open, all events with much bigger purses than the Rocket.

This combination has resulted in many top golfers choosing to skip the event to rest and prepare for the bigger events, which has in turn made Detroit a less prestigious tournament to the chagrin of its organizers. With the new late July/early August date, golfers who are near the cut line of the FedEx Cup playoffs may choose to play the tournament, which will strengthen the field.

What we need to remember is that the creation of those Money Grabs happened after Rocket Mortgage had negotiated their sponsorship agreement.  The Tour does what it always seems to do, it took the money and then went back to Rocket and said, "Nice event you have there.  Sure would be a shame if something happened to it."  And the something was the Tour itself screwing its own sponsors...

The movement of the tournament also means that it may be more likely to stay in Detroit. The organizers’ unhappiness with the position on the schedule has long been a sticking point, and the Classic is only under contract through 2026, though there is an option for Rocket Companies to extend through 2027. Getting a new date and increasing the strength of the field will likely help the tournament remain in Detroit.

I understand the phenomenon of golf-crazy CEOs, but remind me again why anyone does business with the Tour?  They're not an honorable partner, and they keep changing the rules after the ink dries on sponsorship contracts.  

We can wrap this segment up with an irony alert.  One of the name-brand players who actually showed up in Detroit was Colln Morikawa, a man whose trials and tribulations have been in the news lately.  One measure of the week is that the Tour Confidential panel couldn't spare a moment for the event, this being the closest they came:

Still looking for his first win since October 2023, Collin Morikawa has now split with caddie Joe Greiner after just five tournaments together. A week ago he experimented playing without a glove on, and this past week he swapped out putters. Are these changes reason for concern? Or just a competitor eager to find an edge?

Marksbury: This seems like some world-class searching. But I get it. As a junior, I once had the shanks for nearly two months. The only thing that finally got me out of it was taking Happy Gilmore-style swings for every shot. Maybe Morikawa is just hoping to identify that one little thing that will give him his mojo back. And it’s not like he’s fallen completely off the map, either. Despite the changes, he’s still playing some good golf. I’m not worried.

Berhow: He’s not exactly going full Tin Cup with gadgets attached to his visor, so no need to worry yet. These guys are all so good it’s sometimes the smallest things, the tiniest tweaks, that make the difference. Despite his winless slump, he’s still been really good over the last couple of years. The sudden caddie change could be reason for concern but only if it turns into a revolving door, and there’s no reason to think that yet.

Sens: If he starts switching his change from one pocket to another, we’ll know he’s in serious trouble. No doubt he’s searching. And boy is it a nice reminder that at one point or another, this game does a number on everyone who plays it, no matter the level. Wouldn’t it be nice to struggle like Morikawa? Is it cold-hearted of me to find it somehow comforting?

I trust that when deciding on that 2027 option  or an extension that the folks at Rocket Mortgage will keep Morikawa in mind, specifically his assertion that the players don't owe anyone anything.   That's who they're in bed with, and combined with the Tour changing their schedule to screw sponsors of non-Signature events, please explain why anyone would renew.

A Senior Moment - That was certainly an odd moment at the Broadmoor, no?

How might you summarize Padraig Harrington’s inaugural visit to Colorado? Satisfying could do

the trick.

The 53-year-old Irishman, in the state for the first time in his life for the 2025 U.S. Senior Open, battled the East Course at The Broadmoor and the tricky elevation calculations superbly, and on Sunday he won his second U.S. Senior Open title.

Harrington closed with a three-under 67 in Colorado Springs, Colo., which got him to 11 under overall and was good for a one-shot victory over Stewart Cink.

Harrington’s first U.S. Senior Open title came in 2022, when he beat Steve Stricker by a stroke at Saucon Valley Country Club in Pennsylvania. He’s yet to slow down. Since that victory he’s added nine more PGA Tour Champions wins to his resume. This is his first since he won the Simmons Bank Championship in October 2024.

But the weird bit came earlier in the week as per the TC gang:

Padraig Harrington won the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday, although he was also in the news on Friday, when Harrington and NBC reporter Roger Maltbie exchanged words after Harrington was irked Maltbie didn’t help him look for a lost golf ball. Maltbie explained his producer instructed him to deliver a report of what was happening, although Harrington told him it was “poor etiquette.” What gives?

Marksbury: I’m with Maltbie on this one. I’m sure most of the kerfuffle stemmed from the fact that Harrington, in the heat of major-championship battle, just wasn’t pleased to take a penalty for a lost ball. Maltbie is a professional who is there to do a job. He’s not a spotter, and there were plenty of others ready to help Harrington search. But hey, all’s well that ends well, right?

Berhow: I would not have expected Paddy to be involved in something like this (or even Roger!) so it was surprising. If Roger was a serial offender in not helping pros look for balls, we would have heard them complain about it by now. We haven’t, so I believe him as a one-off. Plus, did you see the overhead shot of all the people helping search?! One extra set of eyes wasn’t going to do much.

Sens: Pardon the metaphor but this seems like a case of Harrington losing sight of the forest for the trees. Maltbie had a job to do. That job wasn’t to look for Harrington’s ball.

Thank God we have Jess to explain Paddy's frustration to us, something apparently we couldn't suss out on our own.

Golfers Behaving Badly -  Many is the time I thought that should have been the tag line for this blog in lieu of the Random Musings bit.  Geoff seems to agree:

Why Are Otherwise Nice Pro Golfers So Cranky These Days?

Another week of broken clubs, weird outbursts and media hostility despite more money, amazing agronomy and straight-flying golf balls. That and a weekend wrap with Open repercussions.

Excuse me, Geoff, but your assertion that these guys are "Otherwise nice" doesn't seem to be supported by the evidence....

The obvious theory for all of the crankiness we’re seeing from well-compensated golfers? Must be heat-related. Stemming from the temperature and pressure-related varietals that don’t usually pop up until late July.

But the PGA Tour’s impending reduction in fully exempt players for the 2026 season seems to have expedited some of this year’s crankiness. (BTW a move prompted by today’s speed-driven athletes taking too long to play full-field events.)

Still, what’s making male pros so miserable when they have it so good?

They’re playing for more money than ever.

They enjoy incredible course conditions pretty much every week.

They play with the most forgiving equipment in the history of the game, with some of it juiced to bend, if not break, the Rules that players once took seriously.

They get to eat wild-caught salmon at Signature events, a vital replacement for the horrors of eating farm-raised salmon.

They have been given the freedom to mash down behind the ball without repercussion. Even in hazards penalty areas.

Every week, it’s all-you-can-tap-spikemarks, manicured bunkers, free drops, backboarding grandstands, course records galore, post-round recovery to their heart's content, and, when the week finishes and they’ve stiffed the locker room attendant?

They’re not hopping into a ‘49 Cadillac and driving two days across a desert to get home while facing oncoming Greyhounds.

Yet it seems like every time I look up during a pro event, some (male) adult is slamming a club, hurling it, cussing, blaming the butterflies, and rushing off after signing for a 68 to avoid kids or answering a few questions from all two writers. And when they do stop for questions? They’re acting as if hanging softballs about tgoals, plans, dreams, nagging injuries, and club selections is libelous slander.

Or, yanno, maybe they're not what they seem to be?   Maybe the reason the Tour refuses to disclose disciplinary actions is because they know more than we do?  His photo mash-up is good fun:

Consider last week:

• Collin Morikawa made a non-story into a story after a reporter asked him about his latest caddie switch during—horror alert—a pro-am around. The offending quote ran in Golfweek to the apparent annoyance of Morikawa—“ask me anything you want in my press conference later. I’m with my pro-am partners now”—was included by writer Adam Schupak for this fancy thing called context. Most would say the (since removed) quote reflected well on Morikawa by showing devotion to a dreary pro-am round and saying he’d talk about his on-course luggage handling situation a little later. But instead, he continued his strange trend of prickliness. Morikawa took the contextual reference another way. And after jousting in his Rocket Classic press conference with Schupak when he followed up (as instructed), the two-time major champion doubled down following his opening round the next day. “I have to stand up for myself because I'm not going to let someone throw little jabs at me and just make me into someone I'm not.” Oy. Vey. Get a grip, dude.

• Padraig Harrington was upset at NBC on-course reporter Roger Maltbie for apparently not helping with a lost ball search when the Irishman drove into The Broadmoor’s woods. So, for starters,(A) don’t hit it where it might get lost, (B) don’t take the lack of crowds who could have spotted your crappy drive out on the legendary “Rog,” (C) remember that Maltbie’s there to report on live television to viewers, not to work as a forecaddie. That said, most golfers and media help when there is a lost ball unless they have good reason to observe. Turns out, Rog had to stay in an open-air location for his reception to work and tried to explain this to Paddy after the round. Yet the normally well-adjusted two-time major winner would have none of it in an exchange seen on video. Therefore, Maltbie explained what happened to Golf.com, and it all made sense because it’s Rog. He’s a broadcasting legend for a reason. Thankfully, two days later, Harrington came to his senses and apologized before going out and winning the U.S. Senior Open. But not before he acted like a total jackwagon.

• Brooks Koepka withdrew after 12 holes at the LIV event in Dallas due to “illness,” but not before recording two triple bogeys and swinging away at a tee marker toward fans. A second angle showed he was lucky not to have seriously injured someone. In many jurisdictions, this behavior would at least warrant a chat with local detectives about intent and the sheer stupidity of endangering people because you’re a total brat.=

• Stephan Jaeger decided he’d add some character to the teeing ground at Detroit GC. Playoff-chase pressure! And a really embarrassing tantrum. I mean, one swat? Sure. But the rest just looked like some dimwit with an oversized gavel in hand who’d lost brain and reflex control.

• Tyrrell Hatton…well, he played golf this week so excessive, somewhat entertaining whining ensued. And he won’t win a major until he cleans up his act. Such a waste of energy for such a talent.

Somebody should keep a running account of tee markers destroyed, as we have quite the impressive body count of those.

Unfortunately the conclusion to Geoff's post is behind a paywall, though this last bit we have is curious, to say the least:

I know what you’re saying: we saw the ornery stuff at Oakmont. That doesn’t count because the course and U.S. Open setup have always made players behave in strange ways. This does not excuse Wyndham Clark taking his rage out on historic monuments. But at least he apologized so that the club could move on from the damage he created.

I'm not someone that expects these guys to be perfect, in fact, I don't want them to be perfect.  Because, if you're not frustrated when things go wrong, you're probably not trying.

That said, if you're writing a post about golfers behaving badly, how do you credit Clark's apology?  I made that mistake in crediting his apology after the PGA Championship.  Yanno, the one in which he asked us to judge him on is future behavior, then within a few weeks took out the locker sat Oakmont?  To ut it another way, there isn't a better poster child for bad behavior, so it's more than passing strange that Geoff gives Wyndham a pass.

I had one more item, but am unfortunately out of time.  Can I get a rain c heck?

Have a great week.  I'll be back soon.

Thursday Themes - Meet The New Boss Edition

It's been a busy week, so please bear with me there.  Just a couple of quick hits this morning, then I'll let you get on with your day.

Same As The Old Boss? - Answering the important questions:

Who is Brian Rolapp? Insiders speak on PGA Tour CEO’s pedigree and plan

So, the first piece of conventional wisdom to dispel is that Brian Rolapp is replacing Jay Monahan, though the latter has been a mere figurehead since his D-Day presser with Yasmin.

In any event, just as we saw the USGA irrationally coveting Masters ratings a few years back, you'll instinctively grasp that the PGA Tour's inferiority complex would blind them to all the ways in which they are not the NFL, not that Rolapp does have his assets:

‘Credibility,’ collaboration and self-promotion

BY ANY OBJECTIVE MEASURE, Brian Rolapp is anonymous.

Rolapp, who is 52, according to an internet profile, enters the PGA Tour after years as the most important deputy in pro sports, the right-hand man to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and media whiz responsible for the league’s universally envied rights business. He arrived at the NFL as an executive at NFL Media in 2003 and climbed the ladder steadily over the following 22 years, his tenure with the league overlapping with “the shield’s” metamorphosis from the largest sports league in America to the gravitational center of the sports universe.

But whatever ambition pushed Rolapp to six promotions at the NFL evidently did not extend into an appetite for chest-thumping. He did few interviews during his two decades with the league, and when he did speak, he had a habit of reinforcing his own disdain for the limelight.

“I don’t spend a lot of time self-promoting,” he told Fortune Magazine in 2015. “It’s not our culture. I don’t know how many people knew who Roger Goodell was until he was commissioner. But he was essentially the second-most important person in this building for a long time. And so I’m not saying that’s who I am, but it’s not our culture.”

Seems an awkward fit to this observer.  Rolapp seems to be the kind that wants to get things done and will forego credit to aid in that process.  Whereas the Tour's alpha dogs want what they want, and require a lapdog to take the public heat.  That's why Jay still has a job....

This will come as no surprise:

Still, Rolapp played a critical role in a historically explosive time at the NFL, particularly during his last eight years as the league’s chief media and business officer.

He was a central figure in the league’s business dealings — stewarding league initiatives that touched every corner of football’s moneymaking endeavors, with a special emphasis on media rights. High on Rolapp’s list of accomplishments are the last two rounds of NFL TV rights deals, which shattered the previous market for sports television and will generate the league more than $150 billion in revenue when all is finished. He leaves the league after years as the betting favorite to replace Goodell — who is 66 and whose current contract runs through 2027 — upon retirement.

“He’s bringing so much credibility,” a network executive told GOLF. “He’s the number two guy at, by far, the most successful sports league in this country. Obviously, his challenges will be bigger than what he’s done in the past. But he’s smart, he’s a good listener, he’s really well-liked and personable.”

Next thing they'll be telling us is that he's a good dancer and makes all his own clothes....

The Tour Confidential panel went long on this hire earlier in the week, so shall we riff on their work product?  Again, that was rhetorical:

On Tuesday, the PGA Tour officially announced Brian Rolapp as its new CEO. Rolapp was previously with the NFL as its longtime chief media and business officer. Why does this hire matter, and what does it essentially mean for the league, players and fans?

Colgan: It matters because of the job title. Rolapp understands that modern sports leagues are

media companies, and crucially, he understands that media is a positive-sum environment. More is more when it’s done right. $150 billion in media rights fees at the NFL prove he knows how to do it right.

Piastowski: Rolapp’s hire was a business hire. He himself said he has little golf background (though he once worked at Congressional). But he was, as Colgan noted above, instrumental in expanding the NFL’s reach, and one can imagine that was one of his selling points to Tour folks. Think about the changes we’ve seen in the NFL recently. Games all over the world. Games shown on different services. Games shown even on Nickelodeon. Rolapp promises not to be afraid to experiment in the hopes of growing. The players also seem excited by the hire. He’s an outsider. And the NFL background brings cachet.

Hirsh: It matters because the PGA Tour, which is not one of the four most popular leagues in this country, just hired away the heir apparent to the NFL Commissioner, which is the most popular sports league in the country. Clearly, the PGA Tour has been treading water the last few years with Jay Monahan as it battled LIV and this was a move to inject some much-needed new ideas.

Was he, in fact, the heir apparent to Roger?  Because I'm profoundly skeptical that anyone would see the PGA as even a lateral, especially a guy that can't be bothered playing much golf himself.  

But the siren song of new ideas?  That always works out, right?  And, by the way, how are football fans reacting to those games being streamed?  They're actually pretty pissed off, but whatev?

Rolapp has spent the majority of his career with the NFL, even adding in his introductory open letter, “I’ve got a lot to learn about golf.” Are you surprised an outsider from a different sport was brought in? And do you think that was the right move?

Colgan: A little surprised, but I think the PGA Tour could use the new set of eyes. There’s been so much change in pro golf over the last 4 years, and yet I wonder if any viewer at home feels the week-in, week-out experience is improved from the time Bryson and Phil were still on the PGA Tour. I’m a proponent of the Tour’s changes over the last few years, but a fresh perspective at the top might yield something even better (and inclusive of ALL the best golfers).

Piastowski: I’m mildly surprised, but the Strategic Sports Group, the group that’s pledged billions to the PGA Tour as it fights LIV Golf, is also mostly non-golf, too. Pro golf has become big business, and the Tour hopes it’s found a businessman. He might not be able to tell you the proper approach to escape a bunker, but he’ll have thoughts on how to get you to tune in, buy tickets, or both.

Hirsh: I’m not surprised. Like I alluded to above, the PGA Tour hasn’t really done much to combat LIV aside from becoming smaller and increasing purse sizes. It still looks exactly the same. Rolapp was brought in from one of the most successful properties in the world (the NFL) to shake things up and that’s exactly what the Tour needs.

Being a journalist means being able to advocate for amorphous "change", without the burden of identifying that change or how your traditional fans might react thereto.   

But I have a larger point to make, which is that much of what's wrong about the Tour seems to emanate from either not understanding the game of golf or willful indifference to the implications thereof.  Exhibit No. 1 ids the FedEx Cup, the hottest of messes because the Tour can't get its arms around the simple fact that golf ain't football.

People (and by people, I guess I mean Tim Finchem and Jay Monahan) that allegedly understand our game gave us the Tour Championship staggered start, so what could go wrong with technicians for whom golf is New Coke?

Like any incoming CEO, there’s a long list of items Rolapp needs to prioritize. What should be on the top of his list?

Colgan: LIV reintegration. The PGA Tour postseason. The broader PGA Tour schedule. The list goes on.

Piastowski: I like all of those. And I’ll add whether the PGA Tour takes its game more globally — Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America — or does it remain mostly in the U.S. Rory McIlroy has often brought up his wish of a global tour. I imagine this will be talked about.

Hirsh: All great points. Have to emphasize on LIV reintegration. Golf needs to be unified once again. I know Rolapp wasn’t there when the NFL and AFL merged, but he needs to bring some of that energy.

In case the writers at Golf.com haven't been following the news, but there's no deal because PIF has taken it's ball and gone home (admittedly the Tour forced things with the SSG investment), but somehow Rolapp will solve that stalemate.

Our James Colgan reported the Tour plans to “sunset” commissioner Jay Monahan after an overlap period that should help bring Rolapp up to speed, which could last between six and 18 months. How would you sum up Monahan’s body of work — the good and the bad — over the last nine years?

Colgan: Monahan has navigated some important times very well, but his tenure as commish will be remembered forever for LIV and the framework agreement of June 6, 2023. However you feel about that is how you feel about Monahan.

Piastowski: LIV and the framework agreement will be at the forefront of how Monahan will be remembered. Should he have reacted better to the Saudi investment? Should he have adopted earlier some of the changes now introduced? Perhaps. Players also point to how he managed the PGA Tour during Covid, getting it back to play after three months, and, as Tiger Woods has played fewer and fewer events the past few years, he’s managed to keep pro golf popular. But the turmoil will mark his tenure.

Hirsh: I’m not going to sit here and type how bad of a job Monahan did as a commissioner. But I will point out that he let LIV Golf happen when, if he was proactive about it, it might not have ever begun, and we wouldn’t have this period of divided golf that we have now. He will forever be remembered for that.

The Covid stuff is amusing, at least to this observer.  He might deserve credit for the return to play, but I can't give up the image of his incoherent rambling and indecisions at that 2020 Players Championship.  I've long thought that he sacrificed that event to allow the Chainsmokers concert to go forward.  

What has stayed with me as the manner in which Jay allowed the mask to slip, something no golf journalist seized upon.  Jay internalized a mantra, looking like a deer in the headlights as he repeatedly prattled on about how golf should continue because it was spread over hundreds of acres.  All well and good, Jay, or it would be if you didn't have folks like me connecting the dots.  Because, while the players had those hundreds of acres, Jay didn't give much thought to his fans and volunteers, who were jammed into courtesy buses and grandstands.... For that alone, Jay should have been fired immediately.

If you look at how they've reacted to the LIV threat, specifically the money grab by the elite players, it's impossible to be optimistic that a non-golfer will support the Tour's rank and file.  His career arc will be determined by how much money he puts in Patrick Cantlay's pocket, so your humble blogger will take comfort in the assumption that Brian Rolapp is unlikely to be able to ruin the majors.  We'll always have Paris.

I had intended to hit a couple of other items, but find myself up against a relentless clock.  Have a great weekend and we'll catch up on Monday.

Weekend Wrap - Optimum-Delayed Edition

Just before retiring Friday evening, our Optimum TV service suddenly went black, and the bright red light on our router indicated that our Internet service suffered the same outage.  Optimum being Optimum, the outage continued until early Monday afternoon, and we should likely be grateful that they managed to work the repair into their busy schedule.

Not a big deal, as there's obviously nothing going on in the world these days....

The Frisco Kids - Welcome to Frisco, TX and the PGA of Americas Edifice Complex, which seems to have gone just great according to Shack:

It wasn’t easy, pretty, or acceptable for a major. But they finished on time!

Riding resurgent putting and extensive major championship experience, Minjee Lee captured the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a three-stroke win over Auston Kim and

Chanettee Wannasaen. It’s Lee’s first Women’s PGA to go with the 2021 Evian and 2022 U.S. Women’s Open.

Lee salvaged a week marred by, well, climate-unfriendly scheduling, high heat, stiff winds, a stern setup, unprecedented slow play, and a course not yet looking ready for prime time. Oh, and don’t forget the occasional blasts of dust churned up by new home construction surrounding Fields Ranch East, the PGA of America’s new headquarters dubbed the “Silicon Valley of golf.”

Maybe it was a reference to the satirical television show?

While players were generally diplomatic about the experience as fans wisely turned out in light numbers given the conditions, it’s safe to assume the world’s best women will be running to next year’s host venue, Hazeltine National. You know it’s bleak when Hazeltine seems heavenly.

Fields Ranch East’s dystopian vibe featured half-finished homes and empty stands to go with the horrible heat. The entire affair was not helped by the occasional reminder from television coverage that Frisco’s water tower is the only iconic nearby structure.

The proceedings hit an all-time low by any major championship standard when third-round twosomes took over three hours to complete nine holes. This meant the championship blew by the scheduled sign-off with leaders still facing five holes and 90 minutes of golf to play. Coverage moved to Golf Channel.

As a result, Sunday’s final round went out in threesomes off split tees to fit NBC’s television window.

This is why they traditionally take women's or senior events to venues before the main events, though that does reinforce the patriarchy.

The first point to make is that the Nelly-centric golfing press might be missing the far better player in Lee, although someone will need to break it to Hank Haney that this Lee is technically Australian, admittedly via South Korea.

The second issue is that recent switch to the broomstick:

Lee’s strokes gained putting rank in 2024 was a dismal 137th. She ranked fifth on tour this season

coming into the week, and finished first in the field at PGA Frisco.

“Just changing to the broomstick has given me a lot more freedom, I think,” she said. “I was just – I guess I just had a lot of thoughts, and just I was overthinking probably about just the conventional way of putting.

“I think just taking my hands a little more out of it and using the broomstick has really been helping me.”

I don't have a journalism degree, but in writing about Minjee and that unwieldy weapon, wouldn't you cite a stat or two? 

Armed with a long putter to go with quite possibly the best swing on the planet, Lee gained 10.145 strokes via putting. She led the field with 113 putts for the week and 328’2” made on tricky bermudagrass greens.

Let's see, she picked up more than ten strokes on the green and won by three....

But let the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments commence:

Minjee Lee won her third-career major title Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship — or, put another way, she survived the fire-breathing test that was the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco more effectively than any other player. On what was one of the toughest major setups in recent memory (firm, fast, windy, sweltering), Lee, who finished at four under for the week, was one of just three players to break par. Earlier in the week, two-time major winner Stacy Lewis told Golfweek, “The issue of this all too is, make us look good. We’re trying to get more people to watch women’s golf, and to watch us play golf, and setups like this, they don’t help us …We’re making very good players look silly.” What say you? Was the setup too difficult?

James Colgan: I think the U.S. Open at Oakmont proved beyond any counterargument that golf fans like it very much when the best players in the world look silly. Yes, there is a loaded gender connotation beneath this that shouldn’t be ignored: Female golfers fight for public recognition of their talent in a way men do not. But at its core, I say let the carnage reign.

Nick Piastowski: I understand what Lewis is saying there — birdies sell and bogeys don’t. Scottie Scheffler also said as much at the Travelers, where he said you don’t go to basketball games wanting to see fewer dunks or 3-pointers, or you don’t go to tennis matches wanting to see a slower ball. But there’s something also to be said for watching the best in the world get tested — and to use Scheffler’s example, one can also say folks go to football games to watch good defense. Would you say that last week’s U.S. Men’s Open was poor? The line should be rewarding good shots and punishing poor ones — if Fields Ranch East didn’t do that, change should be made, but if it did, then the course worked.

Jack Hirsh: I’m in the pro-carnage camp as well, but totally agree with Nick, if the test was fair that’s all that matters. The moment you have pros making bogeys after what they thought were good shots, it becomes unfair. But honestly, I’m more compelled to watch a tournament where par is a great number than a birdie-fest, especially in majors. Lewis does make a good point that the PGA of America has typically set up golf courses to showcase its players, but there’s nothing wrong with showcasing their ability to make par when the going gets tough. A multiple-time major champion won, safe to say the best player in the field was identified this week.

Mr. Colgan falls into the most common of traps, one that John McEnroe might have had some helpful thoughts about.  The logic fail is that these aren't, truth to tell, the best players in the world.  Rather, they are the best women players in the world, and the reader should feel free to insert their own Ketanji Brown Jackson joke.

What Stacy Lewis is acknowledging is heresy among the DEI crowd, but denial ain't just a river in Africa.... Nick Piastowski also dangerously approaches reality with his comments.  The men's struggles at Oakmont were embraced by the golfing world, based on the knowledge that no one could have played that beast of a course better.  Problem is, one can't say the same about the ladies, can one?  Unfortunately, their struggles trigger a different reaction, to wit, I wonder how the men would have handled it?

I have long counselled caution to the ladies over their obsession with playing the same venues as, and even with the men.  Their game doesn't compare favorably to the men's game, and putting them on a side-by-side comparison isn't necessarily in the women's best interests.  The only good news is that, by 2027 when the PGA Championship comes to Frisco, this week will be long forgotten.

The other saving grace is that, carnage notwithstanding, they ended up with quite the worthy champion.

Chaos Theory - Theresa and I were in the car early Sunday evening when I received a phone call from a good golf buddy and friend, whose first question was of course, "Did you see that crazy finish at Hartford?"  Well, no, I responded, we have no TV, so tell me about it.  Them when our service was restored yesterday, I watched the tape of that 18th hole, including Tommy Lad's fateful club change in the fairway.  

Geoff had this summary of the Southport-native's history on Tour:

As for Fleetwood, he is all but a lock to make the European Team for September’s matches at Bethpage. After 158 starts, nearly $30 million in PGA Tour earnings, memorable Ryder Cup triumphs and some of the greatest major championship rounds ever posted, it was another painful miss.

“I haven't been in this situation for a while,” the 34-year-old Southport, England, native said. When it sort of calms down -- I'm upset now, I'm angry -- when it calms down, look at the things that I did well, look at the things that I can learn from.”

It's hard to understand how he can be nails at the Ryder Cup, yet looks so tentative in trying to hold on for that first win.  Yet, maybe it's not all that confusing, since Euro's have been doing this since the time of Seve....

Dylan Dethier had this take on Tommy Lad's final hole in his Monday Finish column:

If you didn’t watch Tommy Fleetwood‘s agonizing defeat, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you. Even as a massive Keegan supporter I felt legitimately ill watching Fleetwood’s final bogey, which didn’t come from any single mistake but instead three half-mistakes — he switched clubs on his approach and left that 50 feet short, shorted his approach putt to just outside Bradley’s mark and then missed his par try well right of the hole. I’ve been deep in the film trying to figure out if that par putt swerved because it hit something, but I can’t tell if it would have missed anyway…

There's video at the link that seems to confirm that the ball his something, but it's hard for me to call pulling the wrong club and mishitting that wedge only a half-mistake, but how man commentators have informed us that leaving long putts short is a telltale sign of nerves.  Quite obviously that first putt was the killer mistake....

Of course, while the dramatic denouement is its own story, it's really about the Ryder Cup, no?

On the PGA Tour, U.S. Ryder Cup captain and New England’s own Keegan Bradley won the Travelers Championship in electric fashion, making a clutch 72nd-hole birdie to pip Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley by one. The win was Bradley’s first of 2025, but marked his fifth top-10 finish and third in his last four starts. He has said he won’t expend one of his six captain’s picks on himself. But if Bradley (who started the week 17th in the U.S. Team Rankings) doesn’t auto-qualify, should he rethink his picks strategy?

Piastowski: I think so, if he’s somewhere in the top 10 range. If he’s somewhere higher, then no. But yes, the U.S. team would be served well by an energized, in-form Bradley. Should he be in

line to be picked, though, he should vacate the captaincy — doing both would be detrimental to the team.

Colgan: Uhh, yes. The U.S. roster is a little light these days on players of Bradley’s recent form and energy. He should be on the roster.

Hirsh: Yes! Pick himself, then relinquish the captaincy to Tiger Woods. Then Bradley does all the PR and run-up stuff that Tiger didn’t want to do and Woods adds the shot of adrenaline to the New York crowd.

There's quite the oddity going on, in that Bradley has moved up to seventh in the OWGR, but is only ninth in the Ryder Cup points list.  I would argue that those two spots are a meaningful difference, but also note that there's a lot of golf yet to be played (although not all that much actually meaningful golf).

I'm not going to dive too deeply into this fun issue for now, but I fully expect that we'll be focusing on it with some frequency going forward.  Obviously anyone in ninth place in the points list is a credible candidate, and the way ion which he's resurrected his career after the ban of anchored putting is quite admirable.  That said, he's a bit of a conundrum, because his reputation for grittiness doesn't exactly conform to his record, specifically not his Ryder Cup record.

What sticks in your humble blogger's mind is Medinah in 2012.  To be fair, that's a while ago, but my focus is on Sunday singles.  A certain Ulsterman was confused by Central versus East Coast time zones, and arrived belatedly to the golf course (ironically driven by the woman that would become his wife), leaving only a couple of minutes to roll a few putts before their tee time.  Yet Rory easily dusted Keegs without benefit of a warm up, and perhaps the bigger point is that, as they were preparing to play, I knew exactly how the match would unfold.  Keegan is now perceived as a steely veteran, though I have trouble reconciling those two images.

The second bit is your humble blogger tearing the wings off of flies, aided and abetted by the aforementioned Dylan Dethier, who provided me a precious Easter Egg in that column linked above.  I'm assuming everyone knows what that term means, but just in case:

An Easter egg is a message, image, or feature hidden in software, a video game, a film, or another—usually electronic—medium. The term used in this manner was coined around 1979 by Steve Wright, the then-Director of Software Development in the Atari Consumer Division, to describe a hidden message in the Atari video ...

 Such as this:

Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bradley’s former sparring partner, won the Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone in Akron, Ohio. The victory was the 61-year-old’s fourth of the season and the 17th of his Champions tour career.

That link to Bradley is merely one of my favorite moments in golf, but one in which our Ryder Cup Captain comes off as, well, there's no easy way to put this, rather fragile.

I love how Dylan played this, because he undoubtedly knows that his reference would go over the heads of virtually every reader, there being six of us that treasure this story.  But at the bottom of his column he embeds a video also included the prior week, but gives his readers an opt-out:

ONE THING TO WATCH

If you’ve made it this far you need a cold brew or a cold beer and a 20-minute YouTube video starring Michael Greller and Chambers Bay. Good news:

(Editor’s note: If you already watched this Greller feature last week, feel free to refresh yourself on that Keegan-Miguel Angel beef)

I watched that linked video once, but it seems to elide my two favorite aspects to the story.  First, there's a note below the video that refers to this as happening in the "Third round" of the match-play event, which obscures the most important part of the story.  This was the last playing of the WGC Match Play at the dreadful Dove Mountain, but the first to employ pool play.  It was the third round of pool play, the key bit being that both Keegs and Miggy had lost their first two matches and had no possibility of advancement, so they went medieval in a match that meant nothing.  How funny is that bit?

Secondly, Bradley stormed off the course and went directly to his courtesy car, where he was last seen using his girlfriend's lapdog as an emotional support animal.  I know this was ten years ago, but that guy who needed a dog for comfort and succor seems an odd choice to hold our Ryder Cup fate in his hands.

perhaps my use of the word "Our" doesn't hold up to scrutiny, because your humble blogger is a fickle fan.  For the last two away Ryder Cups, I started the week rooting as you'd expect.  Yet no more than a day of watching and listening to those Patricks (Reed in Paris and the hatless wonder in Rome) had me aggressively rooting for the Euros.  Should Keegan step aside and allow Tiger to swoop in as the hero, I think we can assume that I'll be rooting for the Euros before the first ball is in the air.

We'll return to this issue, and there's more to cover this week, just not today.  Stay cool and have a great week, and we'll catch up likely on Thursday.

Thursday Threads - Open Wind Down Edition

It's been surprising to this observer how many folks were moved by Sunday's chaotic U.S. Open final, and how satisfied they seemed with the outcome.  Which, yanno, is kind of weird, because I had been reliably informed that golf viewers would only care about some six guys....  Of course, that assurance came from those six guys, so make of it what you will.

We'll Always Have Oakmont - Not going to tax myself too greatly, but Shack has all his Winners, Cut-Makers and Point-Misser posts up, so shall we see what fun we can have with them (or, at least, the non-paywalled content)?

2025 U.S. Open: Champions

Winners from Oakmont's tenth U.S. Open.

Can't imagine where he'll start, though this was an odd note:

Plenty of winners from a wet week in Pennsylvania…

Really?  Because my own list is pretty damn short. 

J.J. Spaun. The U.S. Open produces its share of journeyman winners and Spaun could be the latest. Or, he might vault to unforeseen places after closing in 32, driving the 17th green, and making a putt they’ll talk about as long as people play the game. The opening 40 appeared to be less about nerves and a morning run to pick up some Pepto for his daughter. “Today I was running to CVS in downtown because my daughter had a stomach bug and was vomiting all night long,” he said when asked about a final round start featuring five bogeys in six holes. “I was just like, okay, my wife was up at 3:00 a.m., and she's like, Violet is vomiting all over. She can't keep anything down. It was kind of a rough start to the morning. I'm not blaming that on my start, but it kind of fit the mold of what was going on, the chaos.” Either way, it’s hard to look at the numbers and understand how he won. But that’s the beauty of this Open. Everyone’s numbers stunk. (But I’m still processing how he was second in Strokes Gained putting, going 26-33-32-32 on the greens, but guess that 401’6” goes a long way in the algo! Anyway, a great effort by Spaun, a stellar reaction to the final putt, and class interview responses salvaged Sunday’s weather-induced trainwreck. It’s always gratifying to watch someone to win the U.S. Open instead of falling into the trophy after following someone else's meltdown.

It's not like there was any shortage of meltdowns, including the winner's own to start the day.  The result seemed driven as much by the timing of the rain delay as anything.  This was the other guy on my own list:

Robert MacIntyre. Tommy Armour almost had company as a Scottish U.S. Open champion, but

the Silver Scot likely never applauded and smiled when the guy you needed to three-wack made a putt for the ages. A whopping 399 feet of putts made at Oakmont? A staggering feat and nearly closing a seven-stroke deficit Sunday in the worst of the weather was remarkable. MacIntyre joins the U.S. Open Lefty Runner-Up Club after Mickelson and Harman, while making it all but impossible for Luke Donald to pass him up should he fall from his current spot ranked fourth in Ryder Cup points. And your final round shirt even matched the weather.

C'mon, Geoff, who could Luke pick in place of the Scot?  he was always going to be on the team, just now he quite obviously bolsters it.

From here on, we'll apparently be grading on the curve:

Viktor Hovland. The best smile in golf isn’t quite back, but it was sure nice to see less of the chippiness, neurotic tinkering and crazed energy. This translated into a third place finish and new

fans after several engaging press conferences. Time spent debating with new coach Grant Waite on the range following the round still showed signs of the 2024 Hovland and could have been costly given that energy is so essential during a major week. (Tom Watson won eight of these things almost never practicing after a round). A week of getting up-and-down 5 of 18 times for Hovland somehow translated to first in Strokes Gained Around The Green (algorithms!). So take that victory for a sometimes-beleagured short game, swallow one or two chill pills a week, and head to Portrush as one of the favorites.

Hard not to like the Norwegian, though I don't know about that "favorite" bit.....

But I'm skeptical that either of these guys walked off Oakmont feeling like a Winner:

Sam Burns. Rough final day 78 and even rougher rules official verdicts on those watery lies. But in handling it with class after a valiant smoke-and-mirrors effort hitting just 31 fairways and 45 greens, Burns won some new fans and set himself in good shape with the Golf Gods who tend to find ways of rewarding attitude.

Adam Scott. The persistence, hard work and calculated schedule built around majors nearly paid off with a win at 44.8 years young. Things unraveled Sunday because of the weather and chaos that claimed plenty of others. Yet the fan, locker room and media favorite still had a smile and remarkable attitude when seeing J.J. Spaun after the round. Pure class. As always.

Class shows, but I'm Thinking that Adam knew he squandered what might have been his last, best chance at a second major, and Burns might be thinking that he'll squander all future opportunities.  Or maybe that's just your humble blogger projecting...

Mostly I'll agree with these:

Oakmont. The original design was filmed on nitrate and now it’s been largely restored and

updated in beautiful 4K. The rough? It’s like sitting through 8 previews, an unplanned intermission and a few commercials that even the backers might say was a bit much. And do we miss the occasional majestic tall woody friend like the one off 3 tee, profiled here by The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn? Sure. If nothing else, to give the occasional sense of place. We knew going in that excessive 5.25 inch barnacles would be all over the place and due to juiced equipment forces the founder hearkening efforts to go in places that might pervert even their stern vision of the game. One-under-par won. There’s joy in Mudville today. (No one tell them that had the ninth remained a par 5 that J.J. Spaun would have finished five under and nine-under under the old par 72.) Magnificent doesn’t begin to capture the conditioning effort and in a weird way, at least until things unraveled late Sunday, the rain prevented the from getting too fast for several of the fairways slopes Stimping faster than most greens.

Michael McCormick and the grounds crew. While it might seem like a lot of hard work was negated by the weather, if it weren’t for the Loefflerlian efforts before and during the championship, the U.S. Open would have been finishing on Tuesday. Maybe.

Amazing how much water was absorbed yet the course remained playable.   

As for Oakmont, it's a national treasure and of course should be firmly within the top tier of the USGA's rota.  That said, let me repeat Geoff's comment from the Spaun bit above:

The U.S. Open produces its share of journeyman winners and Spaun could be the latest

We're all told that correlation isn't causation, excepting those instances when it is.  I'll just leave you with an existential question, to wit, does 5 1/2" rough affect the likelihood of a journeyman winner?    Because it had been a long time between mentions of Tom Meeks, but this Back To The Future U.S. Open set-up brings back a 1980's era vibe that wasn't great at the time.  Of course, they now carry it 230 and there are even fewer options for keeping scoring under control, so we might want to think this through more fully.

Now one of those effortless segues into Geoff's Cut-Makers, where the curve upon which we're grading intensifies, starting immediately:

With Champions in the books, now time for those who had good weeks at Oakmont. With light to moderate quibbling…

Carlos Ortiz. Forgotten since moving to LIV and losing to teammate Joaquin Niemann, he delivered an impressive T4 finish. It’s the best-ever major finish from a player from Mexico and featured the strongest tee-to-fringe effort of the top 5 finishers with only Sunday’s double at the 15th marring an otherwise standout week. Now back to anonymity.

Alas, Geoff, we don't do light quibbling here at Unplayable Lies, ours is always of the pedal-to-the-metal ilk.  His first entry seems deserving only because of his disappearing act, so whatever.

But now the quibbles intensify:

Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy. The major winners and biggest names experienced both good and strange moments. Rahm’s final day 67 suggested he

still can be as good as any player in the world despite playing Oakmont’s par 4s +8. Scheffler hung around without his best game, but kept missing key opportunities like Sunday’s (ultra generous) 17th hole sprinkler head drop from a downhill lie in the Big Mouth hay, to a flat spot in the semi-cut. The usual club slams are one thing, but the range unraveling seemed odd. Schauffele, who maintained an incredible streak in the U.S. Open, seems to be relying too much on his caddie to tell him to what to do (at least based on featured group audio). The intense focus of last year has yet to return over four days but he still seems close to another win. (Maybe a little game self-ownership at Portrush?). McIlroy’s clear post-Masters fog/fatigue, combined with the condensed modern major schedule, has turned out to be a massive negative and he only has a few weeks before Portrush to catch his breath. At least he returned on Sunday in a good mood after Saturday’s bizarre press session. A final round 67 might be the homeland send-off he needs.

Given my Tuesday post about Rory, hard for me credit him much here.  Does Scottie look like he's having a fun week in that photo?  That Scottie could miss 42 putts within five fete and still end up in the top ten tells us something useful, but hard for me to like his week when it made him so cranky.

Obviously struggling to fill out this post, Geoff goes down some rabbit holes:

Phil Mickelson. The 55-year-old six-time runner-up, still-living-in-California, self-declared billionaire/reformed wagerer was in position to make the weekend. But two late double bogeys sent him Hy Flying back to his beloved social media crusading. Mickelson has had a terrific U.S. Open run without winning. But no exemptions are coming at this age and after playing hockey at Shinnecock where he was, somehow, not DQ’d for the ultimate breach. Of course, there is always hope for an invite since he had one in 2021 before winning the PGA. But he’s gone pretty cray-cray since so there’s always Final Qualifying. He can ask fellow LIVster GMac how that works since he, as a former champion no longer exempt, still admirably gives it a go every year.

American Ryder Cup Hopes. With 13 birdies at Oakmont, the USA team must make room for Griffin (now 8th in the standings). The win by J.J. Spaun, and a resurgent performance from Cameron Young (now 15th in points), helped offset the dismal performances of Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau. Captain Keegan Bradley (T33) continues to show he’s hovering around good-enough form to be needed more for his game than his…whatever reason he was picked to be the 2025 captain.

Perhaps this is more of that over-quibbling, but a guy that had a chance to hang around for the weekend (at age 55), yet coughed it up with some incredibly sloppy play, is somehow a cut-maker?  Maybe I'm too simple, but shouldn't your cut-makers actually make the cut?

The Ryder Cup is a subject that I want to get to, though may come up short on time, but does Geoff read his own posts?  In his Winners post he was touting a certain Scot and a certain Norwegian, so I'm thinking Europe comes out ahead this week.  

But are ready for the fun stuff?

2025 U.S. Open: (Point) Missers

Those who had less than idyllic weeks at Oakmont.

If I could separate the top (Point) Misser from the rest? I would.

Good news, Geoff, LIV has already taken a gaggle of point-missers away.....

I wanted to blog this in my Rory post (think of his tee marker violence), but just never worked it in:

Wyndham Clark. Two straight majors. Acting like a DB. The 2023 U.S. Open champion arrived

off a PGA Championship where he threw a club backwards and nearly hit a marshal. He apologized for damaging the sign and one of his sponsors thought it was cute. Still, one might assume Clark would be on better behavior at Oakmont. He was not. Privately circulated photos went public Sunday, with on-site sources confirming the damage to Wyndham Clark’s locker was the result of Wyndham Clark. He has not apologized nor denied this: after missing the cut by one stroke, Clark went all rock star on his locker along with the one next to his. Did he think he was Keith Moon? Or HOF room trasher Joe Walsh? At least Joe wrote Pretty Maids All In A Row which Dylan said “could be one of the best songs ever.” And he’s Joe Walsh. You’re Wyndham. Not a rock star. The latest bad behavior is even more embarrassing since these are not just any lockers. Check out Jon Cavalier’s Instagram deep dive into the details of the historic stalls dating to 1903. Or remember what the USGA’s Chief Championships Officer said last week about the locker room.” For those of you that haven't been in the locker room here, maybe it's not this week, but in the future, I'll leave you with something,” John Bodenhamer said. “It's an indelible image on my mind and always will be. Not only the lockers but the benches. The benches in that locker room are the same benches that were here when Jones played and Hogan played and Nicklaus and Palmer played. When you go in…those spike marks are from those players, Hagen, Sarazen, all those great players. Those are the ghosts that make this place special.” That Clark hasn’t apologized and offered to pay for the repairs only makes the tantrum worse. He’s exempt through 2033 when Oakmont next hosts so he might want to mop this one up ASAP.

To me, this is so much worse than the Quail Hollow incident or Rory's tee marker violence, but first let's revisit Wyndham's apology from the PGA:

"I would like to sincerely apologize for my behavior yesterday on Hole 16," Clark posted to X on Monday. "As professionals, we are expected to remain professional even when frustrated and I unfortunately let my emotions get the best of me. My actions were uncalled for and completely inappropriate, making it clear that I have things I need to work on.

"I hold myself to a high standard, trying to always play for something bigger than myself, and yesterday I fell short of those standards. For that I am truly sorry. I promise to better the way I handle my frustrations on the course going forward, and hope you all can forgive me in due time."

Guess what time it is, Wyndham?  Yup, it's "due time",  and you might have come up just a wee bit short on that promise.  To me this is so much worse because of the time separation between his poor play and the explosion....  He might have been reacting to the news that the cut line was official, but he had plenty of time to get a grip and yet was unable to do so.  

Tyrrell Hatton. Another major contending and another impregnable quadrilateral championship where Hatton wasted gobs of energy whining, slamming clubs, and blaming others. This time, Hatton declared it bad luck when Sunday’s 17th hole tee shot finished in the jaws of Big Mouth. Note to Tyrrell: we label these short, strategic holes “risk/reward” because taking the aggressive route means that when you are offline, you should accept the risks involved. Sure, the layup area wasn’t as ample as it could have been but there is no rule requiring you to drive the green. Try taking responsibility for the outcome. Assuming you want to win a major some day.

Rory is a cut-maker but Tyrell is a loser?  I don't get the metrics, though obviously Hatton can be a polarizing figure, not least to Employee No. 2.  But he's another reason why I think the Euros had a better week than the Yanks, and his instinctive reaction to Spaun's winning putt showed Tyrell's best side.

Now we're punching down:

Caddie Mark Carens. We understand the extenuating circumstances. It was raining (again) and your SoCal client J.J. Spaun doesn’t do rain (based on his words and the way he kept running for umbrella-cover when the skies opened up). We also realize that your man had just made one of the most amazing putts in golf history and you were “blacking out.” But Mark, buddy, you made a mess of the winning putt photos. The whole Fred Astaire thing? As if you’re rehearsing for a 21st century revival of Singin’ In The Rain? Not great. Particularly with another group yet to play the hole. Occasional friendly reminder: no one pays full admission to watch you carry luggage and scrub balls.

Quite the pop culture fail, no?  Not only does the Singing In The Rain reference require an explanation for today's kids, but who will volunteer to tell Geoff that that's Gene Kelly, not Fred Astaire?  

One last bit:

Kevin Kisner. Remember when NBC Sports President Rick Cordello and EVP of Ruining Production Sam Flood flew to Aiken in hopes of luring the journeyman pro away from the course to replace Paul Azinger as lead NBC analyst? As if they’d found out Bobby Jones was alive, well and hawking cashmere hoodies on YouTube. Look, people grow into jobs and sometimes execs spot something no one else could see. Next thing you know it, a trusted voice emerges. Kisner could grow in the job and he’s not offensive or absurdly egotistical like Greg Norman’s in his Fox years year. But Kisner did not seem very engaged in proceedings that were predictably zany. Maybe that’s his style and plays to the trying-too-hard bros NBC seems obsessed with reaching. Kisner didn’t sound that excited about working his first major and maybe his past hate of the USGA played a part in pretty relentlessly stating the obvious. Kisner was not helped by Sunday’s juxtaposition of his inanity with a replay featuring Johnny Miller’s 2008 U.S. Open work. It’s also possible that he’s a victim of the chaotic “four-wide” announce setup that’s a total free-for-all and which reduced the on-course reporters to bit players (in a week when on-the-ground views were essential to telling the story).

I don't disagree.   NBC is quite the hot mess, though not sure how much of that should be blamed on Kiz

Gonna wrap things up here for the week.  Have a great weekend and we'll wrap things on Monday morning.