19th Hole
Scott Stallings just learned about his 2023 Masters invite in the most unusual way
One of the hottest pieces of mail a player can receive is the elusive invitation to The Masters in April.
Qualification is a fairly simple affair, listed on the Augusta website,and involves any of the defending champions and the top-50 on the OWGR amongst a host of the previous year’s winners, placers, and those that qualified for the Tour Championship. Included in the invites are a host of LIV players, as, “our [Augusta’s] focus is to honour the tradition of bringing together a pre-eminent field of golfers this coming April.”
Included in the Tour Championship invites was Scott Stallings, who qualified for the FedEx decider courtesy of his runner-up finish at the preceding BMW Championship.
The 37-year-old knew the invite was on its way, but unlike players such as Adrian Meronk, we had yet to see the almost ubiquitous evidence on social media.
Perfect Christmas present ?@TheMasters here I come ??#themasters #augustanational pic.twitter.com/VxIRtrPFOc
— Adrian Meronk (@AdrianMeronk) December 23, 2022
Earlier on Monday, though, Stallings took to Twitter to explain a most bizarre incident involving his valuable package.
It turned out that Augusta had sent the mail to Scott Stallings, he of a wife named Jennifer and from the correct geographical location. But, weirdly, there were two of them!
Literally had been checking the mailbox five times a day and then I got this random DM yesterday ? pic.twitter.com/yMvUYm3ioK
— Scott Stallings (@stallingsgolf) January 2, 2023
Having played Augusta just twice in his career, finishing tied-27th on 2012 debut and missing the cut two years later, Stallings was more than keen on seeing his first invite for nine years, fully deserved after his best-ever, although winless, season, and had been checking his mail “five times a day.”
It isn’t certain to what standard the ‘other’ Scott Stallings plays to, but thankfully he could laugh about the situation and is forwarding on the full package, so the right man can turn down Magnolia Lane with no worries.
- LIKE44
- LEGIT3
- WOW2
- LOL7
- IDHT1
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
19th Hole
‘I drove the living p*** out of the ball today’ – Jordan Spieth left frustrated by ‘bizarre’ current form after opening 73
On Thursday, Jordan Spieth shot an opening round 73 (+1) at the Valero Texas Open. In typical Spieth fashion, the 73 was relatively unconventional with circles and squares all over the scorecard.
On the front nine, Spieth four bogeys and two birdies to make the turn in 38 (+2). On the back nine, things got even more interesting. The three-time major champion made a double-bogey on the par-5 14th followed by an incredible hole-in-one on the par 3-16th.
? SPIETH ACE ?@JordanSpieth makes a hole-in-one on the 199-yard par-3 16th hole @ValeroTXOpen.
(Presented by @CocaCola) pic.twitter.com/kHZKIxKiIZ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 4, 2024
After the round, Spieth said “I’m playing so much better than I’ve been scoring”.
He added that he “drove the living piss out of the ball today”, which caused frustration because one bad drive on 15 created a big number. Spieth then said, “my driving stats don’t look the way they actually feel”.
Jordan Spieth: “I drove the living piss out the ball today..”
(Via: @pmcdonaldCBS)
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 5, 2024
Spieth will try to put it all together in his second round on Friday morning at TPC San Antonio.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
New here?
- LIKE12
- LEGIT4
- WOW0
- LOL4
- IDHT1
- FLOP5
- OB3
- SHANK4
19th Hole
Anthony Kim says doctors told him that he ‘may not have much time left’ ahead of LIV return
While speaking in with the media in his pre-tournament conference for LIV Miami, Anthony Kim revealed that he was told by doctors that he “may not have much time left” at some point during his twelve years away from professional golf.
“I mean, you know, not to get too far into it, but when doctors are telling you that you may not have much time left, that’s a pretty rude awakening. I still think about it to this day when I’m out there and I get frustrated with my golf, you know, how far I’ve come. And other people don’t need to know the journey. I’m going to share it, and the people that find inspiration and strength from it, I hope it can influence them in a positive way. But yeah, it was — I got to a point where, you know, I may not be here speaking to you guys.”
Anthony Kim when asked about his low point over the past 12 years:
"I mean, you know, not to get too far into it, but when doctors are telling you that you may not have much time left, that's a pretty rude awakening. I still think about it to this day when I'm out there and I…
— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) April 4, 2024
This week, “AK” is making his first start in the United States since his return. Kim has played in two tournaments in both Jeddah and Hong Kong and has finished 53rd and 50th.
Despite the poor results on the leaderboard, Kim shot a 65 in the final round at Hong Kong Golf Club, which is incredibly impressive considering he told David Feherty in an interview this week that he picked up a club for the first time three months before LIV Jeddah.
The 38-year-old credits his two-year old daughter, Bella, for saving his life and being his inspiration.
“I got professional help. I think that I didn’t deal with a lot of the trauma and whatever came from my life, and I buried it because I didn’t want to show anybody weakness, right. And I thought by showing vulnerability, that was weakness, and I’ve come to a point in my life where I don’t care if somebody thinks that about me or not.
“My daughter is all I care about, and I know it almost sounds corny for me to say but as long as she’s proud of me, I’m a happy man.”
Kim is set to tee it up for the first round of LIV Miami at Trump Doral on Friday.
*Featured Image Photo courtesy of LIV Golf*
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
New here?
- LIKE22
- LEGIT10
- WOW12
- LOL3
- IDHT2
- FLOP1
- OB3
- SHANK17
19th Hole
Notah Begay gives gloomy update on Tiger’s injuries ahead of 2024 Masters
While speaking with USA Today, Tiger Woods’ good friend, Notah Begay III, discussed the health of the 15-time major champion.
“He’s trying to formulate a strategy and approach that he can work within given the constraints that he’s presented with. And he’s got some constraints,” Begay said. “He’s got zero mobility in that left ankle and really has low-back challenges now, which he knew he was going to have.”
At Begay’s tournament he hosts that Tiger’s son Charlie played in, Tiger told him, “My ankle doesn’t move. So, something’s going to take the stress. I mean, the stress is going to transfer somewhere else.”
At the Genesis Invitational, that pain transferred to Woods’ back, causing him to withdraw from the tournament.
“For the past couple months, he’s been trying to find a way to recover,” Begay added. “He can play the golf. We always knew the question was going to be ‘Can he walk the 72 (holes)?’ That’s still up in the air. But can he recover, from one round to the next? That’s the biggest question that I really don’t know and he’s not going to know either until he gets out there and figures out whether the way he’s prepared for this year’s Masters is going to work for him.”
Last year, Woods made the cut at Augusta, but was forced to withdraw over the weekend due to plantar fasciitis.
The week will be sure to test Tiger, as Augusta National is one of the most difficult walks in golf.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
New here?
- LIKE25
- LEGIT17
- WOW8
- LOL6
- IDHT0
- FLOP4
- OB3
- SHANK17
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
John Daly stuns fans into silence with brutal opening tee shot on PGA Tour Champions
-
19th Hole5 days ago
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
-
19th Hole2 days ago
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Charlie Woods finds it tough going on American Junior Golf Association debut
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Scottie Scheffler had an interesting response when asked how he ‘quiets the noise’ following Players victory
-
19th Hole4 days ago
Addiction, spinal fusion, and scam artists – Everything Anthony Kim revealed in candid interview with David Feherty