Golf Digest Search Results

The Grind: Rose's big win, Phil's bigger heartbreak & why we're all wickered out

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:39:00 GMT

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where the next person who mentions Merion's wicker baskets risks being beaten with one of Merion's wicker baskets. Seriously, it was fun while it lasted, but all this attention might give other clubs ideas. What's next? Birdhouses on top of flagsticks? Car tires? Wicker chairs? Probably not, but if it ever happens, NBC and Jimmy Roberts will have a field day. In the meantime, here's what we're focusing on.

WE'RE BUYING

Justin Rose: A 32-year-old who was once a teen phenom breaking through to win his first major? Hmm. We think we've heard that one recently. . . There was a joke going around after the FedEx St. Jude Classic that the only English winner on the PGA Tour in 2013 was Harris English. Not anymore. What a performance by Rose at the U.S. Open, especially considering he'd never seriously contended down the stretch at a major before.

It was good to see Phil hasn't lost any of his hops. (Photo: Getty Images)

The U.S. Open: The course. The carnage. The NBC theme music. The star-studded leader board. The finish. Johnny Miller saying, "Chunk and run" every two minutes. Our favorite week of the year delivered in grand fashion.

Jason Day: Who says Jack Nicklaus' major record is safe? Day is just 25 and seems on pace to challenge the Golden Bear's mark of 19 runner-ups with his latest T-2 at the U.S. Open. Add a third-place finish at Augusta already this year and the question must be asked: Why isn't this guy contending more in regular PGA Tour events?

Phil Mickelson: Let's focus on the positive. In the last two weeks, Phil has two T-2s that bookend him seeing his daughter, Amanda, graduate from middle school. Apparently, she even gave a speech at the ceremony in which she quoted Ron Burgundy from the movie "Anchorman". What a proud papa he must be! Yes, adding to his record of runner-ups at the U.S. Open stings, but obviously, you can't have this many close calls without being a great player. That being said. . .

WE'RE SELLING

Phil Mickelson: I thought I had our office pool wrapped up with Jason Dufner's Sunday run and Mickelson's Miracle-at-Merion holeout for eagle on No. 10 to take the lead. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Finishing runner-up is tough. I'll be thinking about that close call for awhile. What, you thought I was talking about Phil?

Steve Stricker: SHANKAPOTAMUS!!! Seriously, that train wreck was painful to watch. A U.S. course is tough enough, but under Sunday pressure, Stricker reminded us that even the world's best players are susceptible to weekend hacker moments. The shank OB on No. 2 virtually ended the 46-year-old's (last?) golden opportunity to win a first major. And he's already snuffed out his next chance by saying he won't play in next month's British Open. Disappointing.

Players complaining: The rough is too thick. The hole placements are too tough. The par 3s are too long. Wah. Wah. Wah. Guys, the U.S. Open is one week out of the year. Is it difficult? Sure. But there's a difference between setting up a challenging course and an unfair one. Players who hit bad shots paid the price, but players who hit good shots were rewarded. And oh yeah, enough about what par is. Everyone played the same holes and added their scores up at the end of the day the same way: 281 won this tournament, not one over.

Tiger Woods:. When Tiger won his 14th major at Torrey Pines in 2008, what odds could you have gotten that he would go (at least) the next five years without winning another big one? 1,000 to 1? 10,000 to 1? Elbow injury or not, it's getting tough to explain Tiger's disappearing acts in golf's biggest events. Even tougher is explaining why he chipped and putted at Merion like a mid-handicapper. But never fear, Woods will still be made an overwhelming favorite for Muirfield by experts like us!

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship, aka that tournament they usually play after the U.S. Open. We have a lot of respect for Rose, who kept his commitment to playing this week instead of taking a vacation in the mountains of cash he earned himself with his first major championship. Actually, we have a lot of respect for anyone who competed in that grindfest teeing it up again so soon.

Random tournament fact: Tim Norris owns the best score in relation to par with a 25-under performance in 1982. He's so obscure we're not even sure Google has heard of him.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

The day before the tournament, I talked to Rose about mudballs as he signed autographs. When our chat was over -- he did a tremendous job multi-tasking -- I thanked him for his time, patted him on the shoulder and wished him good luck. Maybe I'm not such a jinx after all. . .

Starters -- (A-List): Jason Dufner: Did you see the ball-striking display this guy put on at Merion on Sunday?!

(B-List): Bo Van Pelt: BVP has finished in the top 25 at TPC River Highlands six of the past eight years.

(B-List): Fredrik Jacobson: The site of his lone PGA Tour win in 2011, the Swede finished T-8 in his title defense last year.

(C-List): Rickie Fowler: After a respectable showing at Merion, we think the time has come for Fowler to pick up that second PGA Tour title.

Bench -- Bubba Watson, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson and Kevin Streelman.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

In honor of Pinehurst, the site of next year's U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open, we present this frisbee golf video the resort sent me. In it, Ken Climo, who is apparently the 'Jack Nicklaus of Disc Golf,' takes on the famed No. 2 course:

It also gives us a chance to link to this classic Seinfeld clip in which George Costanza chooses 'Frolf' over helping out Jerry.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- A player will hit a driver on one of TPC Highland's par 3s this week: 1,000-to-1 odds

-- Sergio Garcia will have nightmares about the Philly fans at Merion: 5-to-1 odds

-- Sergio Garcia will have nightmares about Merion's 15th hole: LOCK

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY DISPLAYS OF PUBLIC AFFECTION

Unfortunately, we didn't cross paths with Paulina at Merion. We're guessing she's not a fan of walking around in the mud. But we do know that she and DJ are still an item thanks to this tweeted photo of the two of them kissing their dog goodbye before heading off to Germany:

BAD JOKE ALERT: Apparently, DJ likes big dogs both on and off the course!

THIS AND THAT

Phil praised Merion, but ripped the USGA for the par-3 third playing 274 yards on Sunday. Phil, you played right into Mike Davis' head games! . . . Billy Horschel wore octopus pants on Sunday. Sorry, Mr. Style, but he looked ridiculous and Johnny Miller agreed. . . . It was not a good week for people being hit by stray golf balls. Luke Donald almost killed someone on Sunday and Golf Digest's own Max Adler was a victim of another wayward Sergio Garcia drive (above). Now that's going all out to get a story.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will Phil Mickelson ever win a U.S. Open?

Will Tiger Woods ever win another major?

Will any player ever wear octopus pants in a major again?

-- Alex Myers is an Associate Editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

The Grind: Rose's big win, Phil's bigger U.S. Open heartbreak & why we're all wickered out

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:39:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, the next person who mentions Merion's wicker baskets risks being beaten with one of Merion's wicker baskets. Seriously, it was fun while it lasted, but all this attention might give other clubs ideas. What's next? Birdhouses on top of flagsticks? Car tires? Wicker chairs? Probably not, but if it ever happens, NBC and Jimmy Roberts will have a field day. In the meantime, here's what we're focusing on.

WE'RE BUYING

It was good to see Phil hasn't lost any of his hops. (Photo: Getty Images)

WE'RE SELLING

ON TAP

Random tournament fact: Tim Norris owns the best score in relation to par with a 25-under performance in 1982. He's so obscure we're not even sure Google has heard of him.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Starters -- (A-List): Jason Dufner: Did you see the ball-striking display this guy put on at Merion on Sunday?!

(B-List): Bo Van Pelt: BVP has finished in the top 25 at TPC River Highlands six of the past eight years.

(B-List): Fredrik Jacobson: The site of his lone PGA Tour win in 2011, the Swede finished T-8 in his title defense last year.

(C-List): Rickie Fowler: After a respectable showing at Merion, we think the time has come for Fowler to pick up that second PGA Tour title.

Bench -- Bubba Watson, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson and Kevin Streelman.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

It also gives us a chance to link to this classic Seinfeld clip in which George Costanza chooses 'Frolf' over helping out Jerry.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- A player will hit a driver on one of TPC Highland's par 3s this week: 1,000-to-1 odds

-- Sergio Garcia will have nightmares about the Philly fans at Merion: 5-to-1 odds

-- Sergio Garcia will have nightmares about Merion's 15th hole: LOCK

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY DISPLAYS OF PUBLIC AFFECTION

Unfortunately, we didn't cross paths with Paulina at Merion. We're guessing she's not a fan of walking around in the mud. But we do know that her and DJ are still an item thanks to this tweet photo of the two of them kissing their dog goodbye before heading off to Germany:

BAD JOKE ALERT: Apparently, DJ likes big dogs both on and off the course!

THIS AND THAT

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will Phil Mickelson ever win a U.S. Open?

Will Tiger Woods ever win another major?

Will any player ever wear octopus pants in a major again?

-- Alex Myers is an Associate Editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

Our Favorite Golf GIFs

GolfDigest.com — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Great (and not-so great) moments in golf in animated GIF format.

Tenuous golf connection: "Seinfeld" voted funniest sitcom ever

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:03:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

In a new poll conducted by "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair, "Seinfeld" was voted the funniest sitcom of all time. In our much, much more unofficial survey, we think it's also the most golf-friendly TV show in history.

Related: The greatest golf movie scenes

Throughout the series, which spawned 180 episodes over nine years, golf was a recurring topic, usually involving the character of Kramer, played by Michael Richards. The actor isn't known to be a golfer in real life, but co-creator of the show, Larry David, is an avid one -- something that has been seen many times on his later series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Without further ado, here are some of our favorite "Seinfeld" scenes involving golf:

-- In the episode titled "The Caddy," Kramer is advised on everything, from reading greens to clothing, by "Stan the caddy."

-- In "The Marine Biologist," Kramer throws his clubs in disgust after a sub-par range session at the beach. "I stink! ... "The ball is just sitting there and I can't hit it!"

Of course, later in that episode George saves a beached whale that had one of Kramer's golf balls stuck in its blowhole.

-- In "The Cheever Letters," Kramer complains about losing playing privileges at a private club. "I can't go back to the public courses now. I can't! I won't!"

-- In "The Boyfriend," Kramer ties up Jerry's phone line to go through a golf round in painful detail.

-- And finally, in "The Big Salad," there's the scene in which an angered Kramer talks about penalizing someone he was playing with for cleaning their ball before hitting a shot.

"Hey, a rule is a rule," he says. "And let's face it, without rules, there's chaos."

Hey, Mike Davis, is the USGA hiring?

Follow @AlexMyers3

Tenuous golf connection: Keith Hernandez and facial hair

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 14:31:00 GMT

By Sam Weinman

New Yorkers of a certain age consider Keith Hernandez something of a living deity, for a number of reasons:

1. He was the first baseman and heart and soul of the only Mets team in our lifetime to win a championship.

2. He made a memorable guest appearances (as himself) on Seinfeld.

3. He appeared, until recently, alongside another New York icon, Walt "Clyde" Frazier in the campy Just For Men hair-dyeing gel commercials.

That last part, of course, is because of Hernandez's trademark mustache, which -- according to the New York Times, who we suspect wouldn't make this up -- was voted the best ever in sports by the American Mustache Institute. Now Hernandez intends to shave off his mustache as part of a charity fundraiser for Alzheimer's disease.

None of this has anything to do with golf, except it's an excuse to recall some memorable facial hair in our game in recent -- and not-so recent -- years.

Start with the likes of Johnson Wagner and Geoff Ogilvy, both of whom look like they arrived at the golf course straight from the set of a Spaghetti Western.

Continue with Craig Stadler, aka "The Walrus."

You can even go back as far as golf's first real star, Old Tom Morris, who apparently was too busy playing, teaching, designing courses, and making clubs to break out a razor.

As for facial hair in Golf Digest, it's worth noting that we're just a few months removed from featuring the rare double combination of Rickie Fowler sporting both a mustache AND shorts on our August cover.

Related video: The many faces of Tiger Woods

(Our September cover subject, Alvaro Quiros, also has facial hair, but in his case, it's more of a several-day old growth). Before that, you had Graeme McDowell appearing on our cover twice in a seven-month span (the latter, in March 2011, was alongside pal Rory McIlroy) with a beard. Then it gets murky. In July 2002, David Duval was on the cover, not with a beard or a mustache but a modest soul patch below his lip; and in September 1999, instructor John Elliott was on the cover with a mustache, but the mustache was slightly obscured by his shoulder.

Alas, the year 1996 was an unambiguous facial hair high point, with BACK-TO-BACK COVERS in June and July featuring mustachioed players.

Hernandez surely must have been proud.

Follow @samweinman

Did a golf ball kill a gray whale in Washington?

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:18:00 GMT

In the latest example of life imitating art, a a gray whale was found dead with a golf ball in its stomach. Doesn't ring a bell? Then you must not be a big "Seinfeld" person.

We don't want to make light of a whale dying, but the situation makes it impossible for fans of the TV show to not picture George Costanza, caught in a lie that he's a marine biologist, trudging out towards the water to try to help a beached whale. Completely clueless, he miraculously winds up saving the mammal by pulling a golf ball from its blowhole.

In his subsequent retelling/embellishment of the story ("The sea was angry that day, my friends...") to his friends at the coffee shop, Kramer, who had been working on his golf game at the beach the day before, asks, "Is that a Titleist?" And upon seeing that it is, utters the classic line: "Hole in one."