Hall of Fame photo from the PGA
HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE
Iconic.
It will truly be a shame if this does not become a historic PGA photo—the composition, the framing of Tiger in John's glasses, Tiger's genuine smile mid-dap ("big dog"), and just enough of a peek of John's unmistakable facial hair.
A perfect photo.
And for those wondering, John Daly is playing in his 30th PGA Championship this week on a lifetime exemption due to being a past champion. Another fun John Daly fact is that he's apparently allowed to ride in a golf cart—but his bag of clubs is not.
What a guy.
Inspired by TikTok
GOLF PHRASES FOR EVERYDAY LIFE
Got to pay credit where credit is due and this section is inspired by a series of hilarious TikTok videos from Will & Rusty's Playdate aka @playdatepod.
The concept is simple, create sayings that don't exist. These guys knock every one of them out of the park, so definitely click through for pure gold.
But now I want this for golf... so here are five golf-themed sayings that don't exist to use in your everyday life.
- "Fairway finder" — used for your go-to lunch or dinner spot when you're out of groceries, don't want something fancy or over-the-top, but still be guaranteed to have a 7/10 meal.
"What'd you bring for lunch today?" - coworker
"Damn, I forgot my sandwich in the fridge at home. Probably going to go fairway finder instead. Maybe a #13 from Jersey Mike's."
- "That's great cart golf" — used for when you and your buddy both mess up in the same way.
"I'm in deep $@^& with the wife. Told her I'd be done golfing by 2 and there's no way I'm back before 4." - You
"That's great cart golf. I said the same thing but maybe we can text them both to meet up with the kids at the outdoor brewery nearby and turn it into an early dinner thing." - Me
- "Good, Good?" – used for when there's the exact same amount of bites left of shared dishes at the table.
"Okay there's one Korean wing and one spring roll left. We good, good here?" - "Is that slope adjusted?" – used to confirm whether someone's ETA is actually true.
"I'll be there in 15." - You
"Is that slope adjusted?" - Me
"Okay, more like 25 because I've got to grab gas still." - You - "Reading the break." – used when you are or are not picking up on the subtext of a conversation.
"Want to do a beach day tomorrow?" - Me
"That could work." - You
"I can't read the break here. Are you down or not?" - Me
A "venomous" trash talker
THE SCOTTIE WE DESERVE
I'll admit that the roller coaster ride I've taken with Scottie is in a massive dip right now. Early days I was just pumped to see another successful Scott in the world. But the more we saw of Scottie and especially during this most recent run of dominance—the stone cold demeanor has been reading more wholesome and boring than killer.
That was until The Athletic (now owned by The New York Times) published a piece digging into Scottie's competitive spirit.
THE STORIES!
It's a bit of a hefty read for those accustomed to posts on X but well worth it if you're starting to wonder if he doesn't have the dog in him.
Basically, through interviews with both his caddie Ted Scott and his University of Texas golf coach John Fields, it's detailed that Scottie is a straight up gamer. Some of it is attributed to his days playing basketball apparently—which if you haven't seen the recent footage circulating social media of Scottie in a pick-up game... everyone seems to think it's great. I feel like he's just a big, athletic dude playing against some mid pick-up players. But whatever.
My favorite story was that in a pro-am event against Broncos coach Sean Payton, Scottie was openly razzing him for setting up to play it safe on a par 3. And it's that level of dastardly taunting in a meaningless match that deserves more of a spotlight. Because if we saw that out of him even 25% more on Tour, he'd win over America.
MIC HIM UP! MIC HIM UP! MIC HIM UP!
(And how about me using dastardly in Breakfast Balls!)
Speaking of dastardly...
PHIL PRACTICING PUTTING—IN THE METAVERSE?
Footage from the practice rounds at Valhalla revealed Phil testing out some AR goggles during putting practice. An experience that I was actually able to try out a few months back with a company called Puttview (not the goggles pictured here). Shocker of all shockers... Puttview's signature pro? Bryson.
The experience was really wild, it basically featured a massive overlay on the practice green with contour lines, customizable hole locations you could place via computer/tablet anywhere on the surface, and multiple target lines based on ball speed. Now I am nowhere near good enough to be able to make use of that data—more of a feel guy, ya know? But for a pro or someone who knows what they're doing, I imagine it's a game changer and you could easily see a world in which outdoor golf is played with a literal headset to overlay a bunch of helpful stats—OR—a really wild mini game setup where obstacles and challenges are placed via AR on a regular golf course.
All this to say that Phil is out here do Phil things, pushing the envelope wherever he can. I'll be fascinated to see what history will say about him in 40 years. Will the "bad" be lost in the mix and he's hailed as a true pioneer who pushed the entire sport forward? Or will he be the dastardly villain who polarizes golf communities for eternity?
What a name
HISTORY BEING MADE—WITH AN ASTERISK
On the left is 17 year old Sarah Lim and one half of the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship team who won on Monday at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio.
On the right... is 15 year old Asterisk Talley*. (Note - we are squarely in the era of unusual names doing incredible things.)
Look, it doesn't take much to command my interest when it comes to obscure golf stories—and a teen named Asterisk winning titles was plenty. She hails from Chowchilla, California. A town that, for reference, required me to hit the "-" button 5 times on Google Maps before I could even find another city I recognized.
But digging under the hood reveals that she is actually proving to be quite the phenom and is currently on an ABSOLUTE heater of a run.
From Golf Digest: "On May 6, she qualified for the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open. From May 8-10, she participated in the U.S. Junior Team training camp in Atlanta. She then won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, after which she was taking a redeye flight to New Jersey to compete in the LPGA’s Mizuho Americas Open... Oh, and this was after an April that saw her be the youngest player in the field at the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur, then making the cut."
Now that's the kind of Asterisk you love to see in the history books. AMIRIGHT?
Yikes, I'm sorry.
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