Before we begin, can we take a moment to recognize that Breakfast Balls continues to rock the best banners in the game. We got a Photoshop whiz over here in Bad Birdie Wes—mom, she's made it.
Also, thanks for reading Bad Birdie Wes' mom.
Alright let's get it.
THE MAJORS JUST GOT MORE MAJOR-ER
Wouldn't you just love to know what these two knuckleheads are discussing in this pic I ripped from Golf Digest?
"See, Phil, when you strike the ball in between the dimples, it will come off 2.5% more true to line. Which over the course of a 4 round tournament, means roughly 1 additional stroke gained."
"Bryson, we only play 3 rounds per tournament."
"$#%^. That's going to mess with my numbers."
"Sorry bud, but at least we get to wear shorts, amiright?!"
Annnnnyyyyways, an enormous W for creator of Caddy Drinks—the official canned beverage of Greg Norman that takes you from the back nine to the backyard. A real line they really use for their advertising.
The PGA of America announced that they would be allowing LIV golfers to compete in the PGA Championship this season—making LIV golfers eligible for all four majors!
So while the legacy of PGA wins may still be out of reach, the threat of how joining LIV effects your legacy from a majors standpoint remains pretty much status quo. And frankly, this is a really huge win as they can now make an absurd amount of money, for less events, less golf—and still steal the trophies away from the PGA guys in the events that matter most.
And it adds a storyline for each major that will be unrivaled. I can already see the running tally on the split screen during the broadcast proclaiming how many LIV v. PGA golfers made the cut. Pitting them against one another for the showdowns we've been craving since they first split from the Tour.
At the end of the day, it's a business. And allowing them all to play will bring loads more eyeballs to the screen.
OHHH BABY IT'S HAPPENING!
YES
YES
YES
YES
Listen, I know I was one of approximately one million people asking for a mixed PGA-LPGA event. But just let me have a moment where I can think that I had at least a subliminal role in this.
I need it.
Massive announcement this week came courtesy of PGA-LPGA-Grant Thornton who announced we will be getting a mixed event debuting THIS SEASON from Dec. 4-10.
The details?
A combined purse of $4M.
32 player invitational field.
3 day tournament—Greg Norman getting in the mix?
Format to be determined.
Amazing.
Okay, but who is Grant Thornton?
Probably some SaaS company, you wonder.
Wrong.
Have I got a twist for you...
It's an accounting firm!
They're an official marketing sponsor of the PGA Tour and sponsor an array of ambassadors across both PGA and LPGA including Tony Finau, Nelly and Jessica Korda, and Rickie Fowler.
But perhaps the most surprisingly delightful nugget of note about Grant Thornton—G Thorn as they like to be known to their friends—which I learned from the PGA press release...
"[Grant Thornton] operates an initiative to help Historically Black Colleges and Universities grow the game of golf and create new opportunities for student athletes. It currently supports golf programs at Alabama State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Prairie View A&M, Tennessee State and Texas Southern."
A hearty kudos to you G Thorn for making this happen. And for your earnest support of growing the game of golf.
A TRIFECTA OF DOMINANCE
We're watching a pretty incredible time of dominance right now in golf. And I thought it might be nice to just pause for a second to really take in what we're seeing.
This tweet from Justin Ray pretty much sums up Rahm's hot streak perfectly.
Only 19 out of 1,025 players have finished ahead of Rahm in his last 10 starts.
19.
He finishes one tournament in 20th place... and that number would double. This is absolutely mind-blowing to me.
I'm sure Tiger has some stat that must rival it, but hey, it's still absurd to take in.
Next we move to Lydia Ko who is tracking to become the youngest player ever to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. At 25 years young, she's only two points away from eligibility—1 point earned for a tour win, 2 points earned for a major win, and 1 point earned if you win an Olympic medal, Vare trophy or Player of the Year trophy. AKA she gon' do it!
PLUS she is returning from a multi-week hiatus she took after her wedding at the end of 2022 and subsequent honeymoon...only to win her first event back last week and now finds herself tied for first in Thailand this week.
Cool.
Wish I could bounce back at that kind of a level. I get maybe two holes of straight drives max before the wheels completely fall off.
Oh, and about that honeymoon hiatus?
She set the course record at Top 100 Course Tara Iti—CARDING AN ACE ON THE SECOND HOLE.
And finally, we pay respect to the co-winningest player ever on the Champions Tour—Bernhard Langer.
Now I'm not going to try and convince you that I pay much attention to Champions Tour... really at all.
BUT I did catch headlines touting his achievement and the more I dug the more impressive this feat became.
Bernhard also extended his record of being the oldest winner on the Champions Tour at the tender age of 65.
Next up for him is to hold the wins record outright as he currently is tied with Hale Irwin. And Langer's thoughts on the matter?
“For a German kid from a village of 800 people and starting as a caddie to do what I’ve done, it takes a lot of people to do that, not just one.”
What a guy.
MY WATCHALONG RECAP-APALOOZA
Okay, so your homework was to watch Episode 1 this week so you have a fresh memory for my knee-jerk reactions to the footage.
I expect maybe four of you did this, one being my own mother, so I guess this one's for you ma!
- The "Guess the Card" game that Jordan and JT played on the jet was a STAPLE in the house I lived in during my junior and senior year of college at Syracuse. I honestly thought it was such a gloriously dumb game that no one else would ever conceive of it. But, hey, PGA pros... they're just like us.
- I learned that JT was 18 months old when he first started swinging a club. Jack is 12 months old. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY—He was a Valentine's baby. WE DID IT!) So just ask my wife how irrationally excited I was to learn that we are only 6 months away from Jack's journey to stardom.
- I completely forgot that Spieth was only one major away from a Grand Slam. He just doesn't hit like a legend. Not sure what it is. Too nice?
- I was blown away that more altercations don't occur between pros in the locker room. Getting a peek behind the scenes into the training rooms and back hall interactions we never get to see on the broadcast really drove home how close these guys get to one another throughout the season. NBA or NFL teams all have their own locker rooms... but golf? You come right off the course to find Rory pumping iron in the gym... there has to be some wild stories out there.
- Bad Birdie sighting during the Mito meltdown!!!!
- How about that weird AF Garden State soundtrack they put to JT winning???? Who made that call? All I could picture was Zach Braff standing in a floral print shirt in front of a floral print wallpaper in a bathroom. It also triggered many memories of walking to class in the absolutely frigid tundra of Syracuse with The Shins on in my earphones thinking I was the most artsy mother f&#%@& in Central New York.
- And my final takeaway was how odd it is that the winner of these tournaments has to hang around and walk into a stuffy banquet hall of donors? country club members? officials? to say... I don't know... thank you for watching me win? That whole scene made me super uncomfortable and can't imagine someone like Brooks agreeing to even do it.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10 - mostly due to me being pumped to see an episode. But I was pleased to see the Spieth/JT bromance and I forgot how epic JT's win was last year.
Your homework for this week:
Episode 2
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