PGA Recap
The 154th Open Championship, Royal Birkdale
Let's talk about Ryan Fox. A 39-year-old New Zealander, the son of an All Blacks rugby player, walked onto the most intimidating closing hole at Royal Birkdale on Sunday needing a birdie to win his first major championship. The 18th at Birkdale had yielded exactly four birdies all week. Fox made it five. With proverbial ice water in his veins, he drained a 12-footer, threw both arms in the air, and called his family to report that he was bringing home the Claret Jug. That made him the first Kiwi to win that trophy since Bob Charles in 1963. Anyone have Ryan Fox in their weekend fantasy lineup? The Mushmaster sure didn’t, but that’s par for my course. Well done Mr. Fox.
The week itself was historically bananas. Three players shot 62, tying the lowest score ever recorded in a men's major, in the span of two days. Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns did it Friday. Fox did it Saturday. More on that below.
Speaking of Burns, he led after 54 holes by two strokes, at which point he was feeling more pressure than the San Andreas fault. He had three consecutive bogies at one point on his way to a 72 on Sunday and finished two back. Cameron Young shot a magnificent 64 in the final round and then sat on the range for two hours waiting to find out if it was enough. It was not. Young has now finished second in two majors and we feel terrible about it. Mostly.
Scheffler hung around until the end with his usual impressive Sunday push. Looks like he got those robot arms worked on by the same bots that fixed up Luke’s hand after his Daddy removed it with a light saber. Scheffler finished tied for fourth and reminded everyone he's still very much the world's best golfer, just not quite this week's.
Bryson DeChambeau received a two-shot penalty Friday for improving the path of his swing, complained loudly about it, and then finished tied for 14th. Moving on.
Worm of the Week
Last week it was the world number two who got the honors. This week goes to the man himself, numero uno. I can’t imagine the feeling of playing golf at that level, or any level above that of a somewhat talented toddler with long arms, but this reaction is pure gold for us hackers. I mean, we feel ya Scottie. At least, we feel ya as far as wanting to stick our drivers in a Ninja blender after a tee shot. Just watch the first 30 seconds of the clip below. It’s the second ‘Why?!’ that had me laughing so hard a wee li’l drop of pee may have hit the cotton of my undies. How can you not love golf when it can bring the best in the game to that reaction after one shot?
Chili Dip Golf Tip
Here's one to try at the range. Haha, the range! The place we leave our best shots before we play for the marbles:
Practice One-Handed
John Daly said 90% of amateur golfers’ bad shots come from their backswing. Swinging one-handed gives you a good feel for what is going right when you hit a clean shot, especially in your takeaway (back swing). He himself as well as Tiger loved to use this technique in their practice sessions.
Simply grip the club, a wedge in this case, with just your left hand (right if you are a lefty like me). Now practice taking simple half swings at the ball with just that lead arm. This is a great drill to establish better control and eventually generate more power and accuracy. You can search ‘one-handed golf drill’ on YouTube and will see plenty of video examples.
Do this with a wedge for 10-15 shots before your next round. You'll start feeling what a proper backswing feels like when you hit a clean shot and it should carry over to every club in the bag. Once you hit a clean shot, keep doing it that way. So easy, right? A 62 is well within reach now (for the front 9). Do this with your putter as well. Once you get the feel for doing this with just your lead arm try the same thing with just your trail arm.
Now go log that range time, I’ll be watching from the 19th hole.
Today in Golf History
On this date in 2017, South Africa's Branden Grace did something nobody had ever done in the history of men's major championship golf. He shot a 62. A 62. At the British Open, no less, right there at Royal Birkdale. The very same course where the world's best teed it up this very week, and three of them, yeah, three, managed to tie that same record. Maybe yours truly should get out to England to build some confidence, clearly this course isn’t as hard as it’s cracked up to be.
To put that in perspective for those of us who consider breaking 90 a career achievement, Grace played 18 holes at one of the most difficult courses on earth, with as much pressure as you can feel being in a major tournament, and averaged just under 3.4 shots per hole. The last time I took 3.4 shots per hole was at a rather rowdy golf tournament which may or may not have been sponsored by Malort, but I can’t talk about the outcome due to legal constraints.
The record still stands today. Nobody has ever shot lower in a major. Not Jack. Not Tiger. Not Rory, though not for lack of trying, as we established last week. A doff of the cap to those previously mentioned studs who tied it this week: Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns, both in the second round and Ryan Fox in the third round. These three join Grace and 3 others to tie that record; Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele who did it twice, and Rickie Fowler.
The Degen Den
Lucky for me I forgot to get my lineup into Draftkings on time due to the early start in England. Not so lucky for most of those I picked. Even when the lineup isn’t made official, the MushMaster can stop a streak in its tracks, which is exactly what happened to Matt Fitzpatrick, who inherited the longest active streak of making the cut on the tour after Scheffler missed it a week ago. He promptly gave it up at the Open after he made my lineup. Coincidence? Not bloody likely! Missed Cut (MC) with a +4 after day two.
The rest of the lineup fared as follows:
Justin Rose - MC +3 after day two. Two Mushes
Colin Morikawa - Tied 18th -3 finish. See ya next time Colin
Wyndham Clark - MC +3 after day two. Nowhere to hide Wyndy. 3rd Mush of the week
Ryan Gerard - T9th with a -5 finish. Well played sir, well played
John Parry - T28th with a -2. As the dark horse entry I am mildly impressed Johnny. Nice
This week’s lineup for the 3M Open :
Hideki Matsuyama - I mean as the guy who NOW has the longest active made cut streak with 28, I kinda had to. Sorry Hideki, it’s not lookin good.
Jackson Koivun - Minnesota kid playing his home state tournament. The crowd will love him. His scorecard will not love him back. SEC player of the year to Mush Master’s Worm of the Week? Time will tell.
Zach Blair - I don't know much about Zach Blair's game but I know he fits under my salary cap. Zach, this is nothing personal.
Kurt Kitayama - Defending champion. Won here last year with a 60 on Saturday. His brother caddied for him. It was beautiful. This year, not so much.
Casey Jarvis - I read somewhere he's a bargain pick this week. I have no idea who Casey Jarvis is. Salary is right. Perfect for this lineup.
A.J. Ewart - Six straight made cuts entering this week. Irons have been great. His irons will immediately stop being great.
Disclaimer: These picks are provided purely for entertainment purposes. If you see my lineup, fade every single name on it. Hideki, we're rooting for you. Yikes
Golf Joke of the Week
A man goes to confession. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. I used foul language while playing golf last Sunday." The priest says, "Tell me what happened, my son." The man says, "I was on the 18th, on pace for my best round ever, when I hit it into the bunker." The priest says, "And that's when you cursed?" The man says, "No Father, I blasted out and it rolled right into the water hazard." The priest says, "Ah, THAT'S when you—" The man says, "No Father, I dropped a new ball, hit the most perfect shot of my life, heading straight for the pin to beat my best..." The priest says, "Don't tell me it lipped out.” The man says, "It lipped out." And the priest said, "Oh son of a …."
Thanks for reading. See ya next week!