The Best Of—the Best Of
READING (MOST) ALL SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO
The final week of the year is always a wasteland for "net-new" content—as inboxes and homepages get flooded with Best Of lists and twists on Best Of lists, and twists on mis-leading headlines to get you to think it's a cool piece of content Best Of lists.
Though, if I learned nothing else from your responses to favorite Breakfast Balls segments last week it's that you want someone to just boil it down and give you the simple syrup of news. (Very odd metaphor, not sure why I've got simple syrup on the mind besides a glut of cookies and cakes from the past week.)
Speaking of... I think sugar has been really messing with my head as I've had the absolute WILDEST dreams. The cliff notes versions are:
1) A hot air balloon ride that suddenly took a scary turn as a gust of air made it feel like a roller coaster. Do not trust hot air balloons, people.
2) Hyper-realistic dream where I was backstage at a 50 person Tyler the Creator concert. I don't really listen to him IRL but I did watch the most recent animated version of The Grinch and he did the theme song so, there's that.
3) Textbook golf anxiety dream as I gear up for my first overnighter golf trip in a year. Standing on tee box, hoping to cut the corner with driver, but there is a gallery around me and someone keeps hitting my club in the backswing so I have to keep re-teeing and re-teeing. Never able to get the shot off before I woke up.
Anyways, into the actual content.
My favorite list of the week.
GOLF DIGEST'S BEST QUOTE OF THE SEASON
In a surprise to no one, if the Best Of list you're reading from the 2022 season isn't 90% LIV-PGA beef then send it to me, because I need to email that writer and thank them for the ingenuity.
For all the other lists, it was inescapable.
However, I really like Golf Digest's spin on the list by using pull quotes to remember the season by. Especially since so much of the headline grabbers came from the back and forth with reporters in pressers, I found it nice to boil 'em down into one-liners, etc.
Here are a few of my favorites:
‘U missing cuts is getting old!’ —Kevin Na, Jan. 14 — Who knew that this was going to end up being the cheap cut of beef we'd get to experience this season.
“I cried like a baby this morning. I was so stressed out. I didn't know what to do.” —Scottie Scheffler, April 10— And on that day, a new star was born.
"It’s that time of the month. I know the ladies watching are probably like, 'yeah, I got you.'" —Lydia Ko, May 1— Epic quote, and I think LPGA is about to have a huge year. These two thoughts are unrelated but mark my words...
"I'm a golfer. I'm not that smart. I try to hit a golf ball into a small hole." —Talor Gooch, June 7—Too many LIV quotes to choose from, but this nicely summed up the 'tude we got all season long.
"Stand on that bridge, start waving, and everyone goes, ‘So, is that it?’ Yeah, it is. It would have been a glorious way to go." —Colin Montgomerie, Dec. 12—I never want to see Tiger go, but Colin had a point here.
Call me optimistic, but 2023 Major Season is gonna be incredible.
POWER RANKING THE MAJOR CHAMPIONS
#4 - Matthew Fitzpatrick aka Bizarro Rory at the US Open. Unfortunately, this was as close as we got to Rory winning a Major this season. And it wasn't because he actually got close to winning, but rather I can't unsee Fitzpatrick as a Rory Lite doppelganger.
#3 - Scottie Scheffler at The Masters. Pretty much drama free and I never love when there is a dominant leader that you have to root for to fail to force a playoff with a guy you actually wanted to win. See also: Rory's insane Sunday. Scottie has turned out to be a pretty quirky duck and I wish him many contentions to come—but as my GIF stated last week... I NEED DRAAAMMMMMAAAA
#2 - Cam Smith at The Open. Timing for this one was nothing short of ideal for LIV. What a win for the league as Cam was then bombarded by "will he/won't he" questions—only to meet them with steely silence—only to bring his trophy home and CASH DAT CHECK right after.
#1 - Justin Thomas at The PGA. It had it all. Lovable stars, plucky up and comers, new and old—and we got a playoff! Poor Zally had a rough go of it this season with contending pretty much constantly but always falling short. But any time we can see new storylines getting added to the mix is amazing—and lest we forget that Netflix was on the scene... 2023 hype for that series is off the charts.
We lost a legend
REMEMBERING KATHY WHITWORTH—GOLF'S GOAT WINNER
On Christmas Eve, golfing world lost the most winningest pro of all time—on any tour.
Kathy Whitworth was 83 years old and held 88!!! wins in her career with 93 runner-up finishes—totaling 181 Top 2 Finishes. (For context, Tiger and Sam Snead are tied with 82 PGA wins.)
I'll admit that I still have a long long way to go on appreciating and learning about the women's game and its history. But after reading a few different features on her this week, I thought LPGA did a great job and I have some pull quotes below to try to paint a picture of Kathy.
"Golf just grabbed me by the throat. I can't tell you how much I loved it." - Kathy
Whitworth fashioned such a career after a rookie season in 1959 in which she had a stroke average of 80.30, won only $1,217, coming within a hairsbreadth of quitting.
"I went home after being on tour three or four months, and I thought, ‘I just don't know if I am good enough.’" - Kathy
She learned to play on tour, and she learned it very well.
"Winning never got old" - Kathy
From 100 yards in she wasn't trying to get it close, she was trying to hole it.
She was wonderful to play with — sweet as she could be, nice to everybody — but oh, man, she berated herself something awful.
If there is a lesson from Whitworth's odyssey it is this: Do what you love, commit to it completely and learn from your mistakes.
I'd say some valuable lessons there.
Drum roll please!
YOUR HOLIDAY POLO WINNERS—AND A FEW TAKEAWAYS FOR 2023
YOUR WINNERS (and the poker chips from the gif are one free polo code, being sent via email.) Going to keep the last names a mystery, but check the inbox and I have something for ya!
WINNER 1 - Gary D.
WINNER 2 - Mike Ziggy G.
WINNER 3 - Stephen M.
TAKEAWAYS—QUESTION 1: PAST
What was your favorite golfing moment from the past year?
Loved hearing about the triumphs (and not-so-triumphs). Definitely keep 'em coming, year end wrap up or not! Might see yourself as the Baddest Birdie of the Week, too!
TAKEAWAYS—QUESTION 2: PRESENT
What is your favorite Bad Birdie polo pattern currently hanging in your closet?
Mingos definitely rose above! Best seller for a reason it seems.
TAKEAWAYS—QUESTION 3: FUTURE
Two-parter - Favorite Breakfast Balls content you want to see more of in 2023?
Honestly? Stunned at how many of you got into this fantasy football content. I saw the memes of "nobody wants to hear your fantasy football stories" and said "F it! Let's do it anyways."—but thanks to you all for proving that wrong. Will try and get more "meet the BB crew" content in the new year.
New Bad Birdie gear, pattern, or event you'd want to see in 2023?
LOTS to love here. A Bad Birdie Golf Tour was a popular one. And patterns featuring state birds I found to be particularly intriguing. Not giving you the run-around, I take 'em all to the product team so keep your eyes peeled in the new year for that new DRIP.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
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