Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we are still recovering from the end of daylight savings time. When you’re young and single, that Saturday night gaining an extra hour at the bars feels like a national holiday. But when you have two kids under 5, it becomes the longest day of the year. And then it turns into the longest week of the year because you wouldn’t believe how much havoc that one hour wreaks. And on top of that, I didn’t win the Powerball. Again. Anyway, we’ll battle on and do our best to bring you everything you need to know from an eventful week in golf. And the pressure’s on since we had that extra hour to do it. OK, let’s dive in.
Russell Henley: Golf Twitter, put those 36-hole/54-hole leader jokes away because Russell Henley did it! He finally closed the door (again) to earn a fourth career PGA Tour title and his first in more than five years. And it wasn’t even close. After breaking the tournament’s 36-hole scoring record, Henley cruised to a four-shot victory over the weekend to take home this really cool trophy:
That thing might give the Sanderson Farms rooster a run for its money. Anyway, good for Henley. And considering the sudden downfall of my man Russell Wilson and Russell Westbrook, Russell Henley might suddenly have a legit claim as the best Russ in sports.
Bernhard Langer: The ageless wonder won again, this time at 65 to break his own record for being the oldest PGA Tour Champions winner. And he won by six shots. What a beast.
Bo Hoag: Congrats to this Ohio State product for winning at the final stage of Q School to earn the coveted fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour status for next season.
And he did it under the watchful eye of one of my buddy’s dad, the legendary “Big” Ed Shapoff, who was a scorekeeper for the event at The Landings. What a moment. For Bo Hoag, that is.
Chris Crisologo’s bad hole: It’s so easy for a golfer to say, “If it weren’t for that one hole,” but in this case, we’ll allow it. The Canadian was in complete cruise control at four under through 12 holes of the second round of Q School before making a 13 (yep, a 13), on the par-4 13th. Golf!
He then added two more birdies to shoot one of the oddest 74s ever. That was his lone blemish on the scorecard. It just happened to be a BIG blemish. Unfortunately, those nine lost strokes there kept him from finishing in the top 25 and earning guaranteed starts on the KFT next season. Ouch.
Scottie Scheffler benching his putter: Scheffler recently benched the putter that won him a green jacket. The putter that won him four PGA Tour titles in one season. The putter that made him the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year. But after continuing to struggle on the greens, Scheffler put his trusty club back in the bag over the weekend and shot a final-round 62 to finish T-3:
You know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder—and the putter bond stronger. Good to see those two reunited again.
Hitting golf balls into the Grand Canyon: Well, depositing anything into one of America’s natural treasures. But in the age of “Hey, look at me!” that’s what one TikTok star, Katie Sigmond, recently did. And not only did she hit a golf ball, her club snapped in half and followed the ball into this great abyss, putting animals and humans at risk. Turns out, though, you do not want to mess with the United States National Park System. They tracked Katie down and now she faces three misdemeanors and a court date:
So that will wind up being one costly TikTok. Speaking of costly . . .
TPC Sawgrass’ green fee: This is downright outrageous:
And yet, their tee sheet is packed! Golfers are a really sick bunch. Look, green fees have gone up everywhere, but that’s basically what it costs a foursome to play Sand Valley in prime season. And, yes, the Stadium Course, is nice, but a single round of golf should not cost as much as a rent payment.
The PGA Tour heads to Texas for the Cadence Bank Houston Open, AKA that one that was called the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open last year and the Vivint Houston Open the year before and just the Houston Open the year before that. Of course, I’m old enough to remember when it was called the Shell Houston Open for a quarter century. You know, in the good old days of title sponsorship continuity. Hey, at least with Cadence Bank you know what it is. And I’m sure it’s a lovely bank at that.
Random tournament fact: Scottie Scheffler finished runner-up to Jason Kokrak last year to remain winless on the PGA Tour. Now he’s the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year and Kokrak isn’t even on the PGA Tour anymore. A LOT can happen in a year!
RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK
—Cadence Bank will be sponsoring The Grind anytime soon: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Scottie Scheffler will win this week: 5.5-to-1 odds (Actual odds, big favorite)
—Scottie Scheffler won’t bench that putter again if he does: LOCK
Rory’s FedEx Cups—and trophy room—are quite the flex:
Of course, his buddy Tiger would think that’s cute.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK (DISASTERS DIVISION)
This Monday (pre) qualifier in Georgia was canceled because of a chemical plant fire:
Yeah, we think that was probably for the best.
VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (PGA TOUR HOLE-IN-ONE DIVISION)
Greyson Sigg made his first-ever hole-in-one on the PGA Tour during Saturday’s third round and he didn’t even know it because he was so concerned about running to the bathroom. Just an amazing story:
The only thing similar I can think of from my own golf trip was when my buddy Josh was in a tough spot and hit a ball so quickly that he hit a 6-iron instead of a 9-iron on No. 6 at Tobacco Road and nearly killed our friends on the 7th tee. So for Greyson to make an ace in that situation, well, that’s just unbelievable focus right there.
VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (AMATEUR HOLE-IN-ONE DIVISION)
Congrats to SMU golfer Christian Clark, who not only made a hole-in-one, he made one at one of the most famous holes on the planet, Cypress Point Club’s 16th. And not only did he do that, but someone recorded what’s believed to be only the fourth or fifth from the (extra) scenic back tee there:
What a moment. And what a flying chest bump! The 1990s New York Knicks would be proud.
VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (PGA TOUR DAGGERS DIVISION)
I absolutely loved this random video of Michael Kim roasting Chesson Hadley for randomly being included on a wall of golf greats at Mayakoba:
No offense, Chesson, but he has a point. What the heck are you doing on that wall?
THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION TALENT
I’ve long known Russell Henley can cook on a golf course, but how about shredding a guitar on stage? And with a pretty famous band, no less!
O.A.R.! Talk about a blast from the past from my college days. Anyway, nice playing, Russell. Let’s collaborate sometime.
“I’ve just choked, you know. The nerves have gotten to me and I’ve made bad mistakes, bad mental mistakes and just haven’t gotten it done on Sunday. So put myself in position a decent amount, just haven’t gotten it done. So to come out and kind of do everything pretty well today tee to green and keep it pretty clean and just play steady was nice. I don’t think I would have done it unless I had kind of failed so many times.” —What a fantastic, candid quote from Russell Henley, who had let his previous five 54-hole leads slip away. And music to the ears of my boss, Sam Weinman, who authored the 2016 book, “Win at Losing.” Sam, you might need to add a chapter on Russell Henley!
Congrats to Jazz Janewattananond for winning the Interenational Series Morocco on the Asian Tour by going eagle-birdie on his final two holes. You could say Jazz finished with a flourish! Sorry, moving on . . . A South Carolina man is accused of stealing 26 golf carts. And to think, he might have gotten away with it if he had just stolen 25 golf carts and not gotten so greedy. . . . The list of celebrities backing Tiger Woods’ and Rory McIlroy’s strategic investment firm TMRW Sports is nuts. We’d list names, but it’s basically every famous athlete on the planet. . . . And, finally, after complaining about the leaves last week I finally got a little help—emphasis on little:
Of course, they mostly jumped in the piles I made so we’ll have to work on our team efficiency.
RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER
Who will be the next title sponsor of the Houston Open?
How much is Rory McIlroy’s trophy collection worth?
Where do all the leaves go?