19th Hole
“Old Man Golf Media”? Barstool Sports and some of golf’s leading journalists involved in bitter online feud
Over the weekend, Patrick Reed’s caddie altercation ironically led to another dispute, this time on Twitter between Barstool Sports and some of the sport’s leading writers – with the former branding the established journalists as being part of “old man golf media”.
The feud began when Barstool, home to one of the most popular golf podcasts “Fore Play” which boasts over 140k followers on Twitter, took issue that ESPN’s Bob Harig hadn’t credited the outlet for a statement obtained from Reed’s caddie in the wake of his exclusion from the Presidents Cup.
ESPN writers, Harig and Michael Collins, hit back at Barstool’s Sam “Riggs” Bozoian, claiming that they had obtained the statement first.
Ultimately it appears that Kessler Kerain gave similar (if not the exact same) statement to both outlets, but the conflict was far from being finished.
A feisty battle between new-school Barstool and the older guard of golf journalism was brewing, and it was a strangely innocuous video of Tiger Woods fist-bumping Riggs down in Royal Melbourne which would instigate the row.
After Barstool shared the video with their followers and rejoiced in the experience, Harig branded Riggs a “fan boy” as well as an embarrassment, claiming his behavior was unbefitting of someone with a media credential at the event.
Harig’s reaction prompted Riggs to tell the ESPN writer, in his opinion, exactly how the two men do things differently.
Things then escalated when another Barstool member, Frankie Borelli, tweeted that he wanted “Ancer to quit the game of golf when Tiger is done with him today.” during Sunday’s singles action.
Golf Digest’s John Huggan blasted the take…
…before Borelli hit back at the journalist for being a part of “old man golf media”.
Also chiming in was Golf Channel’s Matt Ginella, who launched this stinging attack on Huggan, claiming that he “epitomizes the bitterness and negative attitude that gives the game a bad name.”
Before all settled down, Geoff Shackelford, senior writer at GolfWeek, echoed Harig’s original sentiment, cryptically describing the guys over at Barstool as “fanboys granted a media pass” in his Presidents Cup article on his website. Shackelford expanded on that view on social media late Sunday night in a series of tweets, once again referring to the video of the fist-bump with Woods.
This particular exchange ended in the invitation and acceptance of Shackelford to appear on Barstool’s podcast to discuss the difference of opinion.
The war of words has subsided for now, but it would appear to portray the seismic gap between those on the side of a new form of golf media content and those on the side of a more classical approach.
Can the two co-exist?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the dispute and see where you stand WRXers!
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19th Hole
“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene
On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”
In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.
Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”
“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”
“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”
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Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.
If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’
While speaking with Bloomberg, golf legend Phil Mickelson acknowledged that he is inching close towards retirement.
“I’m 53 now,” Phil said, “and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”
Mickelson added that one of his focuses now is helping other young players.
“Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game has provided me. I’d like them to experience that as well.”
The six-time major champion credited LIV with reaching new markets in golf to help it grow.
“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”
Mickelson is playing at this week’s LIV Singapore and shot a first round 72 (+1).
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam
While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.
On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.
“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.
“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”
The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.
It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.
Tiger Woods sits down with Carson Daly to talk about golf, growing up in Southern California, his father and his new apparel line, Sun Day Red. pic.twitter.com/2TFbSNxzxq
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 1, 2024
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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