19th Hole

“Old Man Golf Media”? Barstool Sports and some of golf’s leading journalists involved in bitter online feud

Published

6 years ago

Dec 16, 2019

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!

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

2 months ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”