A much better attempt this week though admittedly a bit of a potpourri. (Now there's an item that was in every single one of my friend's houses growing up in the 90s and I can't say I've seen potpourri anywhere in at least a decade. We're long overdue for some direct to consumer brand revitalizing potpourri for Gen Z—only maybe a portion of every sale goes to planting trees in the Amazon or something.)
EPISODE TITLE:
Don't Call It A Comeback
TAKEAWAY 1—RORY:
With each passing season, Rory becomes more and more tragic. Obviously the divorce and personal life challenges he faced last year would've had a fair amount to do with things.
But watching the excruciating collapse at the US Open and a completely empty Rory completing his "Irish exit" (a connection and joke I am flogging myself daily for not making back when it happened)—was gut-wrenching.
It feels like everyone wants it for him, but even I, the eternal optimist, am starting to believe that's just cursed.
If for no other reason than giving him any kind of happy storyline for future Full Swing seasons. He's gone full Eeyore. (How much are we loving the children's literature references this week?)
TAKEAWAY 2—SCOTTIE:
Every detail I learn about the PGA Championship arrest, makes it that much stranger.
Netflix somehow got access to police body cam footage, giving viewers a peek into the conversations between Scottie and the officer as they drove back to the station. And it's totally unhinged.
The quotes...
"I assume you're pretty good."
"Is Tiger as good as he seems?"
"You're too casual to be #1 in the world."
The whole thing must've felt like some lucid dream as he is stretching in his jail cell and back out on the course later that day to see fans wearing his own mug shot on t-shirts.
TAKEAWAY 3—BRYSON:
A true entertainer in every sense of the word. I was so wrong about him and am so impressed by the turnaround he made in both image and entertainment value.
Always a positive sign when you’ve become so huge that fans simply chant USA in support of you at the US Open.
It’s amazing how he was able to actually innovate a game that has been around for centuries to such an extent that people are claiming you ruined the game entirely.
And my favorite shot of the whole episode was the footage of him on the range at the PGA Championship—ripping drives while watching Xander come down the stretch.
EPISODE GRADE:
B-
My biggest complaint this week was the lack of connection between all the stories. Sure, the US Open finish is where it all came together but I felt no animosity between Rory and Bryson so pitting them against one another ended up falling flat—and instead felt like two small episodes stitched together.
