Over the weekend, Dicks’s Sporting Goods was able to help out a pro-golfer in need during the PGA Championship.

• Related: Justin Thomas fires brutal shot at Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher after PGA win

In his start at the second major of the season, Lanto Griffin was having alignment issues with his putter at Southern Hills. The 33-year-old noticed his putter grip was off by a few degrees.

After a Day 1 score of +2, he took his putter to the local Dick’s Sporting Goods store and got it re-gripped, where they were able to correct the issue and had Griffin ready for Day 2.

The next day, Griffin posted a much better round of -1, making the cut. He saw his strokes gained putting leap from -0.888 to over 4.5 in round two. He even ended up finishing in the Top 10 for strokes gained for putting for the tournament.

Whether you’re competing in a major tournament or are prepping for a weekend round with friends, you never know when a Dick’s Sporting Goods could come in handy!

 

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Shortly after his PGA Championship victory, Justin Thomas took a shot at Jimbo Fisher.

The former Alabama Crimson Tide golfer is clearly well aware of Alabama football coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher’s recent war of words.

• Related: Justin Thomas gifts caddie Bones the major winning memento he never got from Phil Mickelson

Nick Saban has a rule that he doesn’t celebrate a victory after 24 hours pass after the win. Thomas alluded to that rule while taking a shot at Fisher in the process.

Speaking on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio, Thomas responded to the question alluding to a 24 hour rule with this savage putdown:

“I got a 24 hour rule. I’m not sure what Jimbo Fisher’s rule is but I guess he’s gotta win something first before he figures out his rule.”

Savage.

"I got a 24 hour rule"

After winning the PGA Championship Justin Thomas echoed the words of Nick Saban when it comes to how long the celebration will last.

He also couldn't help but poke fun at a Crimson Tide rival. #RollTide@JustinThomas34 I ?@PGAChampionship? pic.twitter.com/OEBKWP5ho4

— SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) May 23, 2022

Last Wednesday, Saban accused Fisher of paying players to get the number one recruiting class in the country. Fisher responded by calling Saban a “narcissist” and alluded to the fact that Saban may have broken NCAA rules in the past. This past season, Fisher became the first former assistant of Saban to beat him in a game.

Fisher’s comments about Saban were harsh. “Some people think they’re God,” Fisher said. “Go dig into how God did his deal. You may find out about a guy, a lot of things you don’t want to know. We build him up to be the czar of football. Go dig into his past.”

Saban later apologized for singling Fisher and the Aggies out, saying “I should have never singled anybody out.” Saban said on ESPNU radio’s Off-Campus. “That was a mistake and I apologize for that part of it.”

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Winning a golf tournament is hard. Winning a major is very hard. Backing golfers to win majors can sometimes be a nightmare!

• Related: Gambler bets $10k on 150-1 chance golfer at WM Phoenix Open

After the third round of last week’s PGA Championship, Mito Pereira stood on the 72nd tee with a small but significant advantage. He had been fighting all day to keep hold of a three shot overnight lead and, courtesy of two birdies against four bogeys, stood on the final par-4 with a single shot margin and one hand on the Wanamaker trophy.

• Related: Justin Thomas gifts caddie Bones the major winning memento he never got from Phil Mickelson

And then the bad stuff started.

As we all now know, the promising Chilean hit his drive into the creek and took a penalty stroke before flying his ball to the left hand rough. The horror continued as it took three more to record a ‘6’ and a place one shot off a two-man play-off.

Pereira looked distraught and the golf world felt for him, but it may also have felt an element of sympathy for one of Pereira’s backers, sports bettor Rufus Peabody.

Peabody, who oversees data at Unabated, a stat-based sports information company, tweeted a copy of his bet on the former Korn Ferry Tour star – $500 to win $150k. The caption? “Well, that hurt.”

Well, that hurt. pic.twitter.com/6QGCefS9SJ

— Rufus (@RufusPeabody) May 22, 2022

 

Having made the wager on Friday, Peabody joined the hoards of golf viewers to witness the 27-year-old go from seventh after the first round to second at halfway, before a third round 69 gave him a healthy overnight lead.

Of course, Pereira was surrounded by the likes of Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young, so the pressure was on, but all looked calm before that wayward last tee shot and the subsequent double-bogey.

Of course, backers were not playing for the trophy or the status, nor were they playing for what would have been a historic first win on the PGA Tour, but even as a professional sports gambler, it surely hit Peabody hard?

Not a bit.

The large-staking sports investor came back on to tweet calmly:

Yeah, I feel gutted. But nothing I can do. Outside my control. Experience the disappointment. Then reset, and move on. No "what ifs" allowed. That's how you survive doing this as long as I have.

— Rufus (@RufusPeabody) May 22, 2022

It may take a while for Pereira to get over those half-a-dozen shots, but Peabody was back at work on Monday, explaining:

Find joy in the process. As I write this, code is running on my computer, digesting this week's data and recalculating golfer ratings, getting me prepared for next week's PGA and Euro tour events. Whether this week was a win or a loss, tomorrow I start at zero.

— Rufus (@RufusPeabody) May 23, 2022

Rufus will be back this week with updated wagers, and Mito will be back on the course soon enough.

What is gone is gone. Reset.

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