19th Hole
Justin Thomas slams Will Zalatoris’ mentor for ‘egregious and aggressive’ tweets attacking NBC duo
On Sunday, Will Zalatoris was able to outlast Sepp Straka in a three-hole playoff to earn his first PGA TOUR victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
During the tournament, Zalatoris’ mentor and creator of DECADE Golf, Scott Fawcett went off on Twitter in regard to some comments made about Zalatoris by Dan Hicks and Brad Faxon on the broadcast.
Fawcett went on to delete the tweets, but Justin Thomas saved them and later called Fawcett out on his harsh words.
Hey Scott. Twitter saw your incredibly egregious and aggressive tweets. Congrats on your “win” but show some class and respect if you are as professional as you claim to be. Giving other coaches and those involved in golf a really bad look. Nobody likes a sore winner pic.twitter.com/AHeb0eldds
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) August 14, 2022
Fawcett has been working with Zalatoris for years and even caddied for him while he was an amateur.
Back in 2015, Zalatoris spoke about how influential Fawcett was on his golf game and at the time said he “has changed the way I play golf.”
“The first time he caddied for me, I told him I picked up 25 years of experience in four rounds. it’s kind of a new way of looking at things, and it’s really helped me.”
Zalatoris also raved about Fawcett back in 2020 saying, “He practically has been an older brother to me. I know a lot of other players have the same feeling about him considering the amount of time he invests in each player.”
Fawcett seemed to take issue with a few of the broadcast’s comments about the 25-year-old. Among them was one comment saying that Zalatoris was being “gifted the win” and another that said he had a “wobbly putter” due to the pressure-packed situation.
Fawcett replied to Thomas’ tweet shortly after.
Nice to hop on the bully train without the entire background…love it! I can assure you Brad has his hand in this…have a day, JT.
— Scott Fawcett (@scottfawcett) August 14, 2022
JT responded again, claiming Faxon wasn’t involved in Thomas’ decision to call Fawcett out.
Haha Scott I had another player on Tour send me it. Fax and I do not text. Had nothing to do with it. Enjoy your victory
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) August 14, 2022
Fair enough…I can't get out of my echo chamber to realize they were all mad I said what I said…and, as you know, I didn't win anything. I'm just here doing what I do. 😉
— Scott Fawcett (@scottfawcett) August 14, 2022
Amongst the chaos, Brad Faxon took to Twitter to denounce Fawcett’s comments saying: “So all you college coaches, and high school coaches this is the guy you want to hire to teach your players? Nice. Scott Fawcett credit to the game” before thanking JT for getting involved: “Thanks Justin Thomas, not sure how this is good for anybody. If Scott has helped Will Zalatoris, he will let everyone know.”
More from the 19th Hole
- ‘Your tee times at Augusta are numbered’ – Wife of Masters legend lashes out at Bryson DeChambeau
- Why Phil Mickelson’s Open playing partner told Lefty that he’s hated him for 11 years
- YouTube sensation ejected by Brooks Koepka at Open Championship party
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19th Hole
Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis
According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.
Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.
However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”
Here's Rory McIlroy talking about the PGA Tour policy board and the "subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason." pic.twitter.com/0skNOwtWxz
— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS) May 8, 2024
The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.
The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.
The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.
The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.
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19th Hole
Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf
On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.
The second Phil Mickelson retires he'll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/ulrtBHcyB6
— Chris McKee (@mrmckee) May 7, 2024
“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”
Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.
Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality…
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) May 8, 2024
“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”
While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.
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
PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites
This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.
The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.
PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.
Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in. @NUCLRGOLF @Daniel_Rapaport @PGA https://t.co/8Snkq0l2Vg
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ???? @NUCLRGOLF @Daniel_Rapaport @acaseofthegolf1
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”
“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”
“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”
Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.
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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