19th Hole
The subtle gesture Rory McIlroy made at US Open to suggest he’s ready to end feud with Sergio Garcia
Once former close friends, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia look as if they are going to pass over the last year and get back in contact.
- Related: Dave Portnoy says he’d ‘fire caddie on the spot’ if they said what Rickie Fowler’s did at US Open
The two were a star pairing at the 2014 Ryder Cup, and the Northern Irishman was best man at Garcia’s wedding in 2017, but their friendship became broken during the LIV controversy.
In June last year, Golf Monthly reported that the relationship between the two had completely deteriorated due to the Spaniard’s decision to join LIV Golf.
The story also said that the rhetoric between McIlroy and Garcia had turned “bitter and personal.” With the U.S. Open taking place June 16th-19th, the timeline would indicate that the clash via text could have accelerated the rapid decline of the Garcia-McIlroy friendship in addition to Garcia’s controversial decision to join LIV despite knowing it would most likely end with him being ineligible to participate in future Ryder Cups.
During last year’s US Open Rory revealed that he received the text message while doing an interview with the Irish Independent, saying, “He was basically telling me to shut up about LIV, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”
The 33-year-old said that he “was pretty offended and sent him back a couple of daggers and that was it.”
However, as reported in the Independent, the two happened to cross paths on the final day of the US Open last week.
As Garcia was teeing off on the 18th hole, McIlroy was walking around his eagle putt on the first green. According to the report, McIlroy ‘put his right little finger to his mouth and his thumb to his ear’, clearly indicating he would phone his foe.
Perhaps that was the continuation of a snippet from Spanish golf site Ten Golf, revealing Garcia had sent a text to McIlroy with an offer to sort out their differences.
Whatever the views on the alliance overseen by PIF, getting these two stars on the same plane to the Marco Simone Club in September would be a triumph.
More from the 19th Hole
- Report: 5-time PGA Tour winner blasted and called a cheat after taking part in scramble listed as 8.8 handicap
- LPGA star blocks fan account that follows her every shot on the course
- College golfer suffers gruesome on-course injury during NCAA Championship
New here?
- LIKE63
- LEGIT6
- WOW6
- LOL6
- IDHT4
- FLOP7
- OB1
- SHANK13
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
New here?
- LIKE5
- LEGIT2
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
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
New here?
- LIKE5
- LEGIT1
- WOW0
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP2
- OB1
- SHANK9
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
New here?
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW1
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’
-
Whats in the Bag3 days ago
Tiger Woods WITB 2024 (May)
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career
-
19th Hole2 days ago
Brandel Chamblee says this is the primary reason why Rory McIlroy hasn’t won a major in 10 years
-
Equipment1 week ago
Details on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship
-
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago
Team McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
-
Whats in the Bag1 week ago
Keegan Bradley WITB 2024 (May)