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Forum Thread of the Day: “Was Kuchar’s act at the Porsche European Open in the spirit of the game?”

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Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from Callyboy and draws attention to an incident from last week’s Porsche European Open involving Matt Kuchar which has caused a stir both on our forums and on social media. The episode which you can watch here, saw Kuchar improving his lie in a waste area by judging that the small particles surrounding his ball were all loose impediments. While Kuchar’s act did not violate the rules, our members are split on whether the action was within the spirit of the game or not.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • OldTomMorris: “I’m sure it was a “Waste Area”. Kuchar has become a target off the back of some things (deservedly so), and while this looks weird, I don’t see a problem with it. Don’t look to Twitter for a fair and balanced reaction.”
  • JohnnyCashForever: “It doesn’t really pass the eyeball test, does it? If Kuch wants to get hyper-technical with the rules and remove very small rocks that are the size of individual grains of sand, then what prevents the rules committee from imposing a penalty on him if he “accidentally” removes actual grains of sand in the process and improves his lie?”
  • bladehunter: “Isn’t it just another glaring hole in the rules? He’s easily within the rules to move them. The Twitter twits responses about a DQ are hilarious. Have to remember. This is in a waste area. NOT in a hazard or whatever they changed the name to.”
  • MaxBuck: “I would interpret what Kuchar did as violating Rule 1 and Rule 8.1. Rule 1 states in part, “You should normally play the course as you find it and play your ball as it lies.” Kuchar violated both the spirit and the letter of that rule IMO. I’ve lately gone from being a big Kuchar fan (love his demeanor on the course) to not much of a fan at all.”
  • philly2kuk: “Whether this latest episode is by the rules or not, after his run in with Sergio, the caddie payment issue and the fact he tried to claim his ball had plugged in the fairway at the memorial when it had bounced into somebody else’s pitch mark, he’s making himself an easy target for the press. If he had some sense, he’d be trying his hardest to avoid scrutiny for a while. He missed the cut anyway, why not just leave some of the sand/impediments there and get on with it, so you’re not being targeted again??”

Entire Thread: “Was Kuchar’s act at the Porsche European Open in the spirit of the game?”

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19th Hole

TaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract

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This week, TaylorMade Golf announced that they’ve signed AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell, to an NIL contract.

In a statement, TaylorMade called Russell “nothing short of remarkable”.

“Miles’ record setting success at his young age is nothing short of remarkable and we are excited he chose us to support him in his growth as a golfer to continue to accomplish his career goals. Identifying and developing the top junior talent in the world has always been a priority for us at TaylorMade. Miles and his family epitomize the type of athlete and human being we are looking to add to Team TaylorMade.”

Russell has broken plenty of records in recent months. This season, he was named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, making him the youngest male player to receive the award. The record was previously held by Tiger Woods who was about 10 months older than Russell at the time he received the award.

At age 14, J he became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass at age 14.

The 15-year-old also played in his first Korn Ferry Tour event on Thursday, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and shot a first-round 68.

In the aftermath of the agreement, Russell released a statement.

“I have had a great relationship with the team at TaylorMade for years now and couldn’t be more excited to continue to work with them in the future. TaylorMade has a history of developing the top junior talent in the world to help reach their goals of becoming PGA TOUR and major championship winners. I am looking forward to working with the team to reach those and other goals I have laid out for my career.”

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19th Hole

Group of PGA Tour caddies sign endorsement deal with underwear company

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In an interesting turn of events, a group of PGA Tour caddies have signed an endorsement deal with an underwear company.

Geno Bonnalie (Joel Dahmen), Aaron Flener (J.T. Poston), John Limanti (Akshay Bhatia) and Joel Stock (Will Zalatoris) and John Ellis (Wyndham Clark) have signed a deal with the underwear brand, SAXX.

Here are some details about the endorsement deal:

  • The deal eclipses six figures in total value, extending what last year marked the first significant apparel agreement with a group of pro caddies. Of note, Geno and John Ellis appeared in the Netflix docuseries, Full Swing.
  • The caddies will wear SAXX underwear, shorts and polos on and off the course.
  • SAXX will donate $100 to the Testicular Cancer Foundation for every birdie made by the caddies’ players for the rest of the season.
  • SAXX will bring the Ball Masters to the masses at the Travelers Championship, hosting a fan activation with underwear giveaways, photo opportunities, appearances from the Ball Masters and more.
  • Fans can become an honorary Ball Master, which includes a year’s worth of underwear, among other things. Go to SAXX.com/ball-master-application from now until June 15 to enter.

The partnership is great for the caddies and also represents a great cause.

Check out the video they shared on YouTube:

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19th Hole

Man charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of memorabilia from Augusta National

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Augusta National

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man has been charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Per the court records there is no mention that Globensky worked for the golf club.

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