19th Hole
Rival European Ryder Cup captain candidate fires warning over ‘joke’ option of Thomas Bjorn
The fallout from Henrik Stenson’s departure to the LIV Golf Series sees no sign of stopping yet.
The former 2023 Ryder Cup captain, now stripped of his duties, tweeted his reasons for joining the alternative tour but was at pains to point out that he was “hugely disappointed to not be allowed to continue in my role.”
Meanwhile, whilst the 46-year-old is “on hand to support Ryder Cup Europe in any way I can,” his departure has led to confusion as to who will now take the pressurized position in charge of a revenge attempt for a 10-point defeat by the United States at Whistling Straits in 2021.
With the likes of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and Graeme McDowell also on the Saudi-backed tour, legitimate candidates are thin on the ground, although there seemed an air of confidence that one of three names originally interviewed for the post along with Stenson, would be offered the job.
There could be little said against the claims of Robert Karlsson, Luke Donald, and Paul Lawrie, so the rumors that Thomas Bjorn has entered the frame have caused some antagonism, particularly in the Lawrie camp.
The Dane was victorious European captain in 2018, when his side comprehensively defeated their rivals 17.5-10.5 in France and would make an awful lot of sense bar the fact he is on the voting panel, something Lawrie made quite clear in the week of the British Senior Open.
Lawrie told The Telegraph that,
“I assume they just go back to the way they did it before, with the five guys voting on the now three people who were up for the job initially. I’m led to believe that might not be the case. And if it’s not the case, then it’s a joke.”
On the rumbling of Bjorn’s name, he fumed:
“You hear Thomas’s name being banded about now. I don’t see how that can be the case. He’s voting. How can you get the job when you are voting? You can’t change the rules. The process is the process. It’ll be fun and games if it’s not.”
Whether that spurred him on, the 53-year-old Scot ended his week at Gleneagles with a final hole eagle, finishing in the top-10, and seven ahead of the Dane.
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19th Hole
Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year
While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.
Butch Harmon on what he worked on with Rory:
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make…
— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) May 15, 2024
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”
The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.
Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.
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
Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships
While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.
“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.
“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.
“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’
“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.
“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”
Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.
Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
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19th Hole
Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items
The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Since then, more details have emerged about the case.
According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.
The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.
Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”
The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.
Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.
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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