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Jordan Spieth-Dustin Johnson duel deserved better choice of playoff hole, players say

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The Jordan Spieth-Dustin Johnson duel at The Northern Trust was very exciting. No doubt about it. The conclusion was a bit unfortunate, however, owing to the choice of playoff hole.

You can see the lines Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth took off the tee in this tweet from Ian Poulter.

Poulter calls the choice of hole a “shame,” and he’s right. Johnson learned his lesson from missing the fairway right in regulation and having to lay up. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again, and instead he unleashed a howitzer, cutting the corner on a line more aggressive than Poulter with the block button on Twitter.

DJ piped his drive 341 yards. Spieth hit an excellent, 300-yard-plus drive, but was unable to take the same line.

Look, there’s an element of “you should never put the game in the ref’s hands” here. Spieth didn’t play as well as Johnson Sunday, as evidenced by, you know, their scores. Spieth shot 69. DJ shot 66.

That said, the 18th hole does offer the biggest bombers a massive advantage if they can clear the water. And it’s not really “risk-reward,” because as long as DJ makes decent contact, he carries the water. Maybe he’s in the rough, but he’s still garnered said massive advantage for his second shot. You shouldn’t hit a drive 315 yards and find yourself facing a 180-plus yard approach while your opponent is looking at a baby wedge.

Proceeding from the standpoint that a poor golf course advantages only one type of player, you can certainly make the case (as pros did) that the 18th was a poor choice of playoff hole.

And yes, Johnson still had to hit the wedge. Heck, he had to hit the booming drive under pressure. But the idea of playoff hole selection is generally to pick a fairly benign hole that affords a birdie opportunity. Right?

Looking at the course map, the teebox at No. 10 (a mid-level difficulty, 445-yard par 4) would have been an even shorter commute than the 18th tee. Of course, the fans were already in place at No. 18, so you’d assume that was the tournament organizers’ guiding factor in the decision.

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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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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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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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