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3-time major champ says fans should expect the ‘slowest rounds of golf ever’ at U.S. Open

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This week’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club is going to be a battle of attrition in more ways than one.

While speaking to the Irish Independent this week, Padraig Harrington lamented on how brutal the conditions could be during the tournament.

“They have a pretty brutally tough golf course, so they can afford to be somewhat lenient,” he said. “It’s better to have a tough golf course that they set up easy than an easy golf course that they trick up.”

“At this stage, we’ve got a tough golf course. So by the time we get in the tournament, you know, golf courses generally get easier. I don’t know if this one will. It’s a typical US Open. It’s going to be a battle of attrition.”

There’s also the challenge of long rounds that many players aren’t used to.

“I need to manage myself,” he said.

“This is going to be an extraordinarily long week. These are probably going to be the slowest rounds of golf ever in tournament golf. I’d be surprised if they’re under six hours.

“There’s just a lot of crisscrossing (of holes). There’s just a lot of holes where people … and when plays slow and crisscrossing, everybody’s ‘Oh, no, you go ahead. No, you go ahead. No, you go.’ Because they all know they’re going to be waiting for them at the next tee.

“When you have the drivable par-4s and reachable par-5s, that all slows play down because they’re reachable, but you’re still taking fives.”

“It’s not like they’re straightforward in any shape or form. So yeah, this is going to be a long day on your feet all week. So the one thing I have to manage is that I’m fresh for the whole week for Sunday.”

Along with how slow the rounds could take, the three-time major champion believes the firmness of the greens will be one of the biggest challenges at LACC.

“I like the challenge, but it is difficult,” he said. “I would think the toughest part for me relative to the field would be greens are pretty damn firm. You know, sometimes I don’t have as high a ball flight, so that puts me under a little bit of pressure to hit different shots.

“The rest of the golf course, it’s tough, difficult around the greens. But that’s the same for everybody, and if anything, that plays into my hands.

“I think there will be some frustrations. You can hit a pretty decent drive on a few holes, and it runs into the rough. If anything, the rough is more challenging because there are a few areas where you get away with it. So you’re going down there hoping you get a decent lie, and then you go down, and you get a bad lie.

“So, I think there’ll be more frustrations this week than most… It’s definitely a severe mental challenge.”

The winner this week at LACC will need to be on top of their game both physically and perhaps even more importantly, mentally.

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

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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.

“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

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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

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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.

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