19th Hole
Graeme McDowell receives backlash after ‘clickbait’ jibe over pace of play at The Open
The LIV players will rarely find it an easy ride back on the regular tours, but some are having it tougher than others.
Despite former European hero Ian Poulter getting booed on the first tee at St. Andrews on Thursday and Friday, those assembled did not give the same hostility towards most of his fellow rebel players, with the enthusiastic crowd giving eventual tied-sixth, Dustin Johnson, a good few cheers along the way.
However, Graeme McDowell, one of the LIV players, derided for many of his responses at LIV press conferences, surely chose the wrong moment to have a little fun on Twitter.
On Saturday the Northern Irishman, 11th, 23rd and 49th at his three Opens held at the Old Course, felt the need to have a little jibe at viewers of The Open, suggesting in jest that the event could be improved by a shotgun start, the ‘same time, multiple tee’ start used at the LIV events.
Quality viewing @TheOpen. The unpredictability of The Old Course from bounces to weather is unlike anything in golf. Can’t turn it off. Thinking pace of play might have improved with a shotgun start? What you guys think?
— Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) July 16, 2022
Perhaps he was pointing to the news of six-hour rounds, perhaps he felt it amusing. Either way, it didn’t go down well with the vast majority of the 1800-plus replies.
The responses ranged from Eddie Pepperell’s fishing GIF to, “Really GMac??? And how about 54 holes with music blaring and a fog machine? That’s what’s missing, eh??”
In a separate but related tweet, Brian Phillips referred to the LIV regulations : “You couldn’t draw up a stronger rebuke of the shotgun start format than what we’ve experienced today,” and it was surely G-Mac that read the room completely wrongly. Or at least those that control his social media feeds.”
Some 90 minutes later, the 2010 U.S. Open champion was back on Twitter with a much more aligned view:
Love some of the idiotic comments below. Clearly some click bait here. There’s not a more pure form of our sport than @TheOpen. The Majors are sacred and their history and tradition should always be preserved. The other 48 weeks leave room for multiple platforms within the sport. https://t.co/epcFb2MtkM
— Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) July 16, 2022
Confused? Join the club.
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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”
- 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
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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