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Zach Johnson gets revenge on controversial sports writer over 15-year-old insult

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When Zach Johnson won the 2007 Masters, he had the likes of then-world number one Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, Justin Rose and Vijay Singh behind him. It was a convincing performance from a player that had two below-average previous outings at Augusta (missed-cut/32) and had missed seven of the last 11 cuts in all majors.

Whilst it impressed most, sportswriter and then ESPN columnist Rick Reilly was unconvinced by the performance, commenting on Dan Patrick’s radio show that, “I think Zach Johnson–in 10 years–has a real chance to be your server at Olive Garden.”

Oops.

After three further wins , including back-to-back victories at the Texas Open, Reilly was on a visit to Johnson’s home town, Iowa, to host a television show about quarterback Kurt Warner, and was forced to admit, “Of course, it turned out to be the dumbest comment in the history of golf commentary. Good for (Zach), he shut me up.”

When an ESPN reader emailed in to call him out for his bad read, Reilly conceded he blew this one and wrote, “If I don’t shut up, I’ll be working for him.”

Johnson won seven further titles, his last victory being the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews, venue for this year’s 150th Open, making it 15 professional victories with a highest world ranking of 7, and end-of-season 9th.

And Zach has never let Reilly forget it.

On Monday, Reilly was once again in Johnson’s hometown on a publicity tour for his recently released book, So Help Me Golf, an insight into everything he’s thought of and experienced in his many years involved with the game we love. Johnson saw his chance.

While speaking at Cedar Rapids Country Club, Johnson left Reilly a present  – a gift card for the Olive Garden – at a value equivalent to the price of his book.

“Uh, I was WAY wrong,” Reilly tweeted on Wednesday. “Monday night I was back in Iowa. Waiting for me was a present from him, a $30 gift card to fill my big mouth with.”

 

15 years ago, Rick Reilly had Zach Johnson down as a server. Today, Zach Johnson is the winner of more than $47 million, stands in the top-15 of the PGA all-time money list, and is preparing to lead the US team at the 2023 Ryder Cup.

Way wrong!

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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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