19th Hole

Analyst hints that Tiger could make a very surprising U-Turn this fall

Published

2 years ago

Oct 10, 2022

Yesterday, Tiger Woods announced 17 of the 20 players confirmed to play in this year’s Hero World Challenge.

Included in the elite list is world number one Scottie Scheffler, defending champion Viktor Hovland, 2022 U.S open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, and new star of the golfing world, Tom Kim.

Related: Beefed up Charlie Woods and his ‘PGA Tour quality swing’ sends golf fans wild

We do not yet know of the three “tournament exemptions,” but close friend and former PGA Tour player Notah Begay says the 15-time major winner may well “surprise everybody” and make an earlier-than-expected return to the course.

Related: LIV pro dropped by two major sponsors after decision to join breakaway tour

After a horrendous car crash in early 2021, it is a miracle that we have seen Tiger three times on the golf course in full regulation play, the last time when appearing to say his last goodbye to his favorite course, St. Andrews.

However, he supported son Charlie on their way to second place behind John Daly, Sr. and Jr. at last year’s invitational PNC Championship, and was expected to return again for the challenge for the third consecutive year.

Begay, now a Golf Channel and NBC analyst, has hinted otherwise.

The four-time PGA Tour winner told SiriusXM’s PGA Tour Radio that Tiger may well turn up a month earlier, at Albany, Bahamas, even if in a golf cart – which would be a surprising u-turn from Tiger’s previous stance on using a cart during competition.

“I know as soon as he feels like he can be competitive – I think he got a good sense of what it’s going to take this past year – we’ll see him,” said Begay.

On his appearance at his own tournament, Begay added, “We might see him one time this fall. He might surprise everybody.”

Will that be at the Hero? “I think he will,” confirmed Begay.

“We may see a late-minute introduction of a cart rule. That would be great – it will just be another chance for us to see how far he’s come.”

Let’s not fool ourselves into believing that Tiger is anywhere near the Tiger we hold dear from memory. Whilst he recovered from injury and personal issues to win The Masters in 2019, recovering from an almost life-changing incident, let alone career-ending, would be impossible to foresee.

Still, Tiger Woods on a golf course, in whatever fashion, brings a touch of joy to everyone involved in the sport over the past 20 years.

Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

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.

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Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

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:

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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

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 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.