On the eighth hole of Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele's Four-ball match against Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune on Thursday, Young found himself in a situation we all find ourselves in during weekend team match play games with buddies. Young was pretty much out of the hole after hitting his approach in the water, but he took his drop anyway and chipped his fourth shot to four feet, setting up a bogey putt. His partner, Schauffele, meanwhile, missed the green with his second then chipped it up to eight feet, right on the same line as Young's bogey putt. 

After some deliberation and calling in a rules official, Hisatsune told Young to pick up his mark. Normally, in weekend games, your partner would ask you "show me the line." That's actually not allowed, as NBC rules analyst Mark Dusbabek pointed out right after. You are technically allowed to putt out even if the putt has been conceded, except if that putt is going to aid your partner. It's one of those rules we all break in our own money games, but it would actually get you in trouble in a legitimate Four-ball competition. According to Rule 23.6, if you putt out and show your partner the line, your score would count without penalty, put your partner's score would not count for your side. 

Schauffele, naturally, missed his eight footer, and the Internationals took the hole with a par. 

There is not much more Chris Gotterup could do to ingratiate himself to the "bro" golf fan than he's already done in his young career. He's an extremely chill, down-to-earth guy from New Jersey. He hits nukes. He's got a quirky swing. He often has his glove unfastened. He's not afraid to poke fun at himself on social media. He's a bro's bro. Somehow, though, his karaoke selection at the Presidents Cup, a form of rookie hazing, has further enhanced his bro status. He might already be in the Bro Hall of Fame: 

If you haven't been paying attention, the band Creed has been enjoying quite the renaissance over the last five or six years. I myself actually went to a sold-out Creed concert in Atlantic City just a few summers ago with a handful of my closest high school friends. The band had become a punchline long after their early run, but they've capitalized on the nostalgia wave in a big way. Gotterup has clearly taken notice of that, too. The bros love Creed again. 

Unfortunately, there were no phones allowed at rookie karaoke night, so we'll never get to hear how badly he destroyed "One Last Breath." 

Well, not on the football field, though we're sure he can still spin the pigskin around when nobody's looking. We're talking about the golf course, where the Steelers legend apparently made six birdies and shot a two-under 70 on his own ball in a charity event that multiple tour pros are competing in at St. Clair Country Club in Pittsburgh. Gerry Dulac, a Steelers insider, was the first to point out the low round from No. 7:

Yeah, how 'bout that? Neal Shipley, who nearly just won a PGA Tour event in North Carolina, posted a two-over 74 in the opening round of the Ten Invitational. Big Ben beat him by four (!). It's real, go check out the leader board here. Round 2 has begun, and Roethlisberger is still in the top 10, sitting at one over on his round through 10 holes, one under for the two-day tournament. In the "scratch amateur" division, he is the solo leader. 

Those of us who play this sport at a very low level always wonder if you're going to lose your game if you're away from it for too long. Meanwhile, the guys who play it at the highest level look for any chance to put their clubs away for weeks at a time to "reset." Max Greyserman had five weeks off in between the Wyndham Championship and this week's Biltmore Championship, and he used them wisely, taking the first two completely off and spending time with his eight-month old son. Then he went home to New Jersey to escape the Florida heat, practiced for a little bit, and then promptly put the sticks away for another two weeks. 

"I went to Italy with my wife on vacation," Greyserman said after grabbng a share of the first-round lead with a seven-under 64. "It was actually our first time without -- both of us without or son I think since he was born, so it was tough being away from him but also great to get a little peace of mind out there.

"Had one of my best friend's wedding, and just had a great time the last two weeks. Maybe that's key: Don't practice and just have a good time and just show up here." 

Sometimes, it is that simple. 

As long as the United States side keeps winning every two years, the Presidents Cup will remain a punchline. In comparison to the Ryder Cup, it's a total JV event. After listening to Jacob Bridgeman describe "the call" from Brandt Snedeker, though, you realize you're doing him a huge disservice in acting as if the Presidents Cup is a joke. For a guy like Bridgeman, getting the nod to represent the U.S. is a massive career achievement, the latest sign that his play over the last two years has earned him the right to be mentioned among the elites. Who knows if he'll ever get an opportunity like this again? 

Earlier this year, in a viral clip from the PGA Tour's new "Chasing Sunday" series, rising star Akshay Bhatia and his caddie Joe Greiner were aghast at learning that Koepka, a five-time major champion, did not carry a yardage book. Greiner picked the brain of Ricky Elliott, Koepka's caddie, after hearing this information, and Elliott informed him that sometimes the conversation is as simple as Koepka saying "driver?" and Elliott responding with "yes." 

In a mic'd up clip from a practice round at this week's Irish Open on the DP World Tour, we got to see a version of this process play out, and it was a joy to watch:

Koepka firsts asks what it is to carry "that bunk." Elliott says 260. Driver might run through the fairway. Koepka says it might be a bit windy when he's playing it in competition, though. Elliott says he'd probably be alright with it if he wants to it it, then they trade the 3-wood for the driver. Done and done. 

It's not the type of player-caddie conversation the avid golf fan usually salivates over, but it's certainly served Koepka quite well over the years. 

The Spaniard is back at the Irish Open this week, an event he last played in back in 2019 at Lahinch when he won it for a second time. We've not seen Rahm in action since LIV Golf Indianapolis, where he finished runner-up and, for all intents an purposes, marked the end of "LIV Golf 1.0." That's a key phrase to remember before listening to some Rahm quotes from Ireland on Tuesday, when he was asked to address his future on the formerly Saudi-backed circuit. 

"There's just a lot of things in place, there's a lot of things that could happen," Rahm said. "It's one of those things, time is going to tell."

That may sound like a non-answer, but it's not when you parse the "things that could happen" portion. As well as his use of "LIV 1.0" when discussing his contract:

A masterclass in saying something without actually saying it. 

I'm sure many of you can relate to the phenomenon of having an Instagram "for you" page that is full of mostly just golf tips and drills (and food). I can't tell you how many drills / tips I see that I think "hmm, that might work for me," and then I completely forget about them and continue with my own bad habits. 

During a round last week, about halfway through, I randomly remembered a video I saw of a Brad Faxon putting method. I hadn't made any on the front nine and thought, why not, let's try this. In the three rounds I've played since, the hole feels as big as the ocean. Faxon is big on letting your natural athleticism take over when you putt, and I'm at my worst when I'm standing over the ball too long, thinking too much and getting too technical. This video might help solve that same issue for you:

The major key here, for me, is beginning your stroke immediately after that second look. I've done away with practice strokes entirely when putting, so I was kind of already doing a version of this by getting over it and looking at the hole once or twice before beginning the stroke. But where I'd always get tripped up is standing over it too long over the last look. Fidgeting... thinking ... twitching. Starting your back stroke RIGHT after that second look alleviates that. 

Of course, putting is the most fickle part of the game, and now that I've pointed out that I've been making putts recently, I'm likely going to go for 36 putts my next round out. But when you see something, say something. This is working for me right now. Maybe it can work for you, too. 

Immediately following his FedEx Cup-clinching victory at East Lake, the World No. 1 noticed there was an open bar inside the clubhouse and he couldn't resist. "I was like, alright, I'm grabbing a beer. It tasted great," Scheffler said. Yeah, we'd imagine the first sip that hits your lips after winning $10 million is a generational sip. Especially when it's your first sip in a "long time":

Is it any wonder this guy is at the absolute top of his game? No booze, just golf. Nobody is more focused on the task at hand than Scheffler. Unlike Ryan Gerard, though, even he knows when it's time to let loose. 

The man is no stranger to flying all over God's creation to play golf. At the very end of 2025, Gerard made headlines for going to all the way to East Africa to play in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in a last-ditch effort to earn a Masters invitation (he did). This week, after finishing solo third in the Tour Championship at East Lake, Gerard is going straight to Switzerland for the DP World Tour's Omega European Masters. Why would he do such a thing coming off a career year on the PGA Tour that has earned him the right to kick up his feet and relax for, at minimum, a week or two. Well, it's complicated. 

"Well, I need to play two more DP World Tour events to maintain not being suspended from their Tour. So that was one of [reasons]," Gerard said. 

"Like full transparency, if I get a Presidents Cup spot, I'd love to kind of roll into there being a little bit more prepared. I like to play a lot of golf. And if I don't, I'll probably just stay over there and play Wentworth and the France Open after that.

"Yeah, a bit of a weird stretch of the year for me. I like playing lots of golf. I feel like I'm at my most prepared when I'm in kind of a rhythm. I'll be ready for whatever the future holds, but I need to get a couple more events in."

Gerard finished well outside the automatic qualifier cut line for the Presidents Cup, so he would need to rely on a captain's pick from Brandt Snedeker, who has a helluva tough task on his hand in picking the next six guys. When the qualifying window ended at the BMW, Gerard was actually outside the top 15. But with his finish at East Lake, and maybe another high finish in Switzerland, he's giving Sneds plenty to think about.