From a well-played present to a couple celebrity missteps, The Grind gets you caught up on all things golf.
Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we’re still recovering from that Christmas break. Being home with two young kids for SIXTEEN days in a row was, well, something. And it certainly didn’t help that the wind chill probably didn’t crack 25 for the entire time. On the bright side, I learned that if you go to Costco after digging your way out of a snowstorm, you’ll have the place to yourself:
Glorious! Anyway, we’re back. And we’re happy to get caught up on all the golf happening in warmer places. Let’s do it.
WE’RE BUYING
Keegan Bradley in the silly season: This is old news, but Keegan had a killer last month or so to at least somewhat make up for the U.S. Ryder Cup loss in September. Bradley won the return of the Skins Game and was part of the winning team at the inaugural Golf Channel Games (Pretty entertaining, by the way!). And it was during that event that he dubbed himself the perfect nickname after chipping in: “The King of exhibition golf.”
Good stuff, Keegan. Although this proves that the Ryder Cup is clearly NOT an exhibition.
Eric Cole on the Minor League Golf Tour: From the King of exhibition golf to the king of the mini-tours. In case you haven’t heard about Eric Cole, he is an absolute menace on the Minor League Golf Tour. Cole won for a 60th(!) time on that circuit, claiming the season-ending Tour Championship there for a fourth time to collect $12,000.
Yes, this is the same guy that plays for a LOT more money on the PGA Tour. But I love that he loves playing tournament golf so much that he hardly ever takes a week off. It’s just tough for his opponents because he basically delivered a lump of coal in their stockings for Christmas this year by taking the big prize. Or, in this case, a lump of COLE. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Tommy Gainey: From taking to giving, a special shout-out to Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey for his selfless act. The former PGA Tour journeyman who earned his senior tour card for this season also received an invite to play in the Korn Ferry Tour season opener in the Bahamas next week as a former winner of the event. But instead, he opted to give up his spot.
Ben Jared
“It’s 10 times harder than when I came up. I didn’t want to take a spot from a guy,” Gainey told Monday Q’s Ryan French. Aww. Now that’s what Christmas is all about.
WE’RE SELLING
LIV Golf: The Saudi-backed league had its worst off-season ever. First, rumors that LIV had signed Korean players Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim turned out to be false. And then the league lost one of its biggest stars in Brooks Koepka, who walked away ahead of what was supposed to be the fourth and final year of his contract.
Luke Walker
That is a huge blow to a league that initially lured five of the PGA Tour’s most popular players away. Of those five, Brooks has bounced and Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson have become mostly irrelevant. Two years ago around this time, LIV was celebrating the huge signing of Jon Rahm, but now it’s losing a five-time major champ. And it’s left with Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, who also has a contract running out this year, as its two remaining big guns. By the time I finished writing this paragraph, a report came out that LIV had signed Thomas Detry and Elvis Smylie. That’s something. But LIV still better re-sign Bryson or it’s really in trouble.
911 St. James Park Avenue: As in a great-looking Michigan muny at this address, Carrington Golf Club, is up for sale. And all of it can be yours for $2.5 million:
Sotheby's? Yeah, they make good cake. Sorry, just watched that episode of "Seinfeld." Anyway, as someone who lives in Westchester, N.Y., the $12,000 property taxes are a steal. Of course, there would be plenty of other upkeep, but think about all the green fees you’d be bringing in. Golf is so hot right now! Anyway, hopefully this place finds a new owner. And one that doesn’t turn it into another private club.
Getting drilled by a golf ball: Longtime sports photographer Rob Tringali found this out the hard way at the Derek Jeter Invitational when Ja Rule shanked a tee shot off his elbow. "Didn’t have almost getting taken out on a stretcher by a golf ball hit by @jarule in the Bahamas during a @derekjeter celebrity golf event on my bingo card. Happy to know I can take a driven golf ball off the elbow with no damage. 37 years shooting live sports with no direct hits and the streak suddenly comes to an end,” Tringali said on Instagram, but being the pro that he is, he still captured the shot. And here’s a different angle captured by Golfweek’s Adam Schupak:
These pro-ams and celebrity golf tournaments are becoming dangerous!
ON TAP
This is usually the week where we weary, huddled Northeasterners turn to Hawaii for relief, but, sadly, the typical PGA Tour opener at Kapalua, the Sentry, was canceled back in September when the golf course was having major water issues. Those clearly look to be resolved, but too little, too late:
Anyway, we’ll have to wait until next week for the PGA Tour to start at the Sony Open, the second leg of the Hawaiian Swing. And we’ll have to wait even longer to see Scottie Scheffler in action. We made plenty of PGA Tour predictions on this week’s episode of The Loop podcast, including my bold claim that Scottie will win the calendar Grand Slam:
Hey, if you pick him to win every major, statistically, you have the best odds of getting the most major predictions right.
Random tournament fact: Collin Morikawa shot 32 under par last year at Kapalua. And lost. By three shots. Because Hideki Matsuyama went on a historic heater.
RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK
—Scottie Scheffler will actually win the calendar Grand Slam: 300-to-1 odds
—Scottie Scheffler will complete the career Grand Slam: 3.5-to-1 odds
—Hideki Matsuyama wishes he was playing Kapalua this week: LOCK
TWEET/PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Now that’s a perfect Christmas gift. If LeBron James ever casually mentions me in a tweet, you can be darn sure I’m having it framed.
VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
And Lee Trevino continues to be a gift to us all. Do yourself a favor and listen to this interview he did following the conclusion of the PNC Championship:
What a legend.
THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION
The Griffins looked like they had a great time on their honeymoon:
St. Barts seems to be a real hot spot these days. Of course, I’d be more excited to visit that Michigan muny located on St. James Park Avenue in Monroe, Michigan. Once the golf season rolls around, that is.
THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ACCOMPLISHMENT
Congrats, Ben. You had one helluva year.
THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS
This is basically becoming a THIS WEEK IN LEBRON JAMES BEING A GOLF SICKO section. We’ve talked about LeBron working on his golf swing during games, but when he appeared to make some air swings during the National Anthem, it caused a bit of a controversy:
I get it, LeBron. When you're working on a new move, it's tough to think about anything else. But sometimes you've got to just put the hands down.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I think they’ve [LIV players] already paid their consequence. They’ve made the money but they’ve paid their consequence in terms of the reputation and some of the things they’ve lost by going over there. If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson DeChambeau back and whoever else, I would be okay with it. But it’s not just me, and I recognize that not everyone is in my position. It would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision.” —Rory McIlroy on The Overlap podcast talking about LIV players like Bryson and Brooks potentially returning to the PGA Tour. Someone has really changed his tune on this topic, but I agree with Rory.
THIS AND THAT
A former Ohio golf course worker accused of stealing nearly $900K remains on the run in Mexico. Hopefully, this doesn’t affect annual dues at Coldstream Country Club too much. . . . It doesn’t cost you a dime to enter Golf Digest’s Inside the Ropes sweepstakes presented by Peter Millar, in which you can win a golf trip to Pebble Beach and be fully outfitted by Peter Millar. Unfortunately, for me, GD employees can’t enter. . . . John Daly has found a new place to set up shop, literally, in Augusta during Masters week with his beloved Hooters being closed: Top Dawg Tavern. Phew. Glad that’s settled. . . . And, finally, my favorite Christmas gift was this one I got for myself (Thanks for the Fanatics gift card, though, mom and dad!) to celebrate the Knicks winning the NBA Cup:
Go NY go NY go! (But let’s not talk about the fact the Knicks haven’t won a game since this shirt was delivered. Sigh.)
RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER
What’s the Christmas gift you’ve used the most?
When will Brooks Koepka play on the PGA Tour again?
When will the Knicks win a real NBA title again?
Category: General Sports
