Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston’s uplifting comeback, Club Pro Guy’s sad goodbye and Jim Nantz’s crazy (big fish) story

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we still haven’t gotten a call from the “Happy Gilmore 2” casting people. And we’re getting worried. Because this project seems well underway:

In the meantime, the agency has sent out emails regarding casting for roles like “fit upper-50s female body doubles” for that "Sex And The City" reboot and “Men who have a significant amount of hair on their back that is willing to have hair shaved in a pattern for body paint to be applied.” And, no, I don’t fit either of those descriptions. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that Adam Sandler is waiting to personally offer me a part. In the meantime, here’s what else is going on in golf.

WE’RE BUYING

BEEF: He didn’t win the Omega European Masters (Congrats to Matt Wallace, by the way), but Andrew “Beef” Johnston was the story of the week in Switzerland. Remember Beef? Make that BEEEEEEF! I certainly do from being at the 2016 Open Championship where he emerged as the crowd favorite well ahead of Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson.

If you weren’t at Royal Troon, it’s hard to describe just what a phenomenon he was. But after earning his PGA Tour card and becoming the face of a new Arby’s campaign (Get it? Beef?), Johnson dealt with injuries and mental-health struggles stemming from his sudden rise to fame. When the Open returned to Troon this summer, Beef was instead in the field at the Barracuda Championship, missing the cut. But after falling outside the top 2,000 in the Official World Golf Ranking just three months ago, he’s strung together four straight solid performances on the DP World Tour, including a solo third in Switzerland. And not surprisingly, the 35-year-old was pretty emotional after.

“A lot of relief,” Johnston said. “It’s been a tough couple years.” Good for you, Andrew. And golf fans should be relieved as well, because the pro game is much better when this guy is around.

The latest PGA Tour vs. LIV showdown: Full disclaimer, this made-for-TV match that’s set for mid-December will air on TNT, which is owned by Golf Digest’s parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery. But I’m genuinely excited about the two-tour showdown featuring Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy taking on Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. Tell me that doesn’t have some serious juice!

According to executive producer Bryan Zuriff, this is not a continuation of the successful "The Match" series, but rather a new vehicle aimed at providing more "intense, real golf." And that’s how it should be if you’re going to pit these rival tours. Anyway, I’m all in. And it was good to connect with a Hollywood producer like Bryan. Maybe he can help me get into “Happy Gilmore 2” …

Jason Day’s vest: Obviously, I sold this hideous piece of clothing in the moment at the Masters, but I love what has wound up happening to it after Day was told by Augusta National to take it off during the second round this year:

Fast forward five months and Day auctioned the controversial vest for $18,000 and then matched that bid, meaning that eyesore fetched $36,000 that went to the Aussie’s Brighter Days Foundation:

Well played, Jason. Well played.

WE’RE SELLING

Missing a registration: As a parent trying to get my daughters into town rec classes this is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. But apparently, PGA Tour pros mess up as well. Mark Hubbard missed the deadline to register for this week’s Procure Championship by 20 minutes. The reason is, well, unique: He dropped his phone while doing a cold plunge (I’m selling those, too). So he traveled to the event’s Monday Qualifier—mostly because he had 49ers-Jets Monday Night Football tickets—and wound up shooting the lowest score to earn a tee time he had already earned from his strong 2024 season.

So this story had a happy ending. Unless Mark is a Jets fan, of course.

Jim Nantz’s seafood knowledge: The CBS legend shared an incredible tale about why he almost never became a CBS legend. And it’s because a then 26-year-old Nantz had never heard of swordfish. Yep, swordfish. Take it away, Jim!

What an amazing (big fish) story. Thank goodness that one had a happy ending as well.

Club Pro Guy retiring: Now onto a sad ending … in news that shocked the Golf Twitter community, Club Pro Guy announced that he’s hanging up his FootJoy sandals.

Say it ain’t so, CPG! But what an amazing run it was. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no one has ever been better at doing something than CPG is at being, well, CPG. He is the Mozart of social media. And he will be sadly missed. Unless, of course, this is all part of a bit. We can only hope.

ON TAP

AND JUST LIKE THAT (sorry, those casting emails are still on my mind), the PGA Tour offseason is over. Hope you had time to relax and watch an episode of that reboot or read a book. Or, a chapter of a book at least. After a slow week, pro golf is back in a big way with the Procore Championship in Napa, the Solheim Cup in Virginia, the Irish Open at Royal County Down and LIV Golf’s individual season finale in Chicago. It’s almost too much! Almost.

Random tournament fact: And just like that (Again, my apologies), the U.S. hasn’t won a Solheim Cup since 2017. Is this biennial event turning into the Ryder Cup?

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—I will ever get into cold plunging: 1 MILLION-1 odds

—Mark Hubbard will win the Procure Championship: 40-to-1 odds (actual odds)

—Mark Hubbard won’t miss another tournament registration deadline: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Maybe this will help to end Team USA’s drought.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Damn. That really hits hard. Congrats to Will and all the best to him, John and the rest of the Cannon family.

CLUB PRO GUY TWEET OF THE WEEK

I think I’m going to cry.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

We needed something more uplifting to get us back on track and that did the trick.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION (PGA TOUR DIVISION)

You know what they say: The couple that runs/bikes together, stays together.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION (ASPIRING PGA TOUR DIVISION)

Former UNC star and recently turned pro Austin Greaser proposed to his girlfriend at Chapel Hill:

Here’s to this couple providing us with many years of PGA Tour offseason PDA like the Morikawas!

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ALPHORNS?

These long horns were originally used to call cattle. So it would actually make perfect sense to yell “BEEEEEEEF” into them.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It was almost going in. I was like, Oh that’d be great, and then I can’t drink.” —A pregnant Alexandra Austin on her near-miss of an ace at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am. That would have been particularly tough if she still had to buy everyone else drinks as well.

THIS AND THAT

Jimmy Fallon will take on DJ Khaled in something called the Cardigan Classic, airing this Friday at 11:35 ET on NBC:

Spoiler alert: I will not be staying up to watch. That’s way past my bedtime. … Speaking of TV, Netflix, in addition to "Happy Gilmore 2", is bringing back "Full Swing" for a third season. Scottie Scheffler's arrest might need multiple episodes. … Congrats to Y.E. Yang on beating Bernhard Langer in a playoff at the Ascension Charity Classic. On the senior tour, that’s the equivalent of taking Tiger down in a major. Again. … My Golf Digest piece on comedian and avid golfer Andrew Santino is finally live. So check it out, because he’s hilarious. … And, finally, my Whoop mistakenly thought I was playing ice hockey recently. Let me assure you, that like a cold plunge, I’ve never played ice hockey in my life:

What was I doing? PODCASTING. So apparently doing that—and dealing with Steve Hennessey and Christopher Powers—creates as much strain as playing ice hockey. I know, I know, I’m a true warrior.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Should sports podcasting be an Olympic sport?

Does Andrew Santino have any "Happy Gilmore 2" connections?

Will someone (please) make a "Club Pro Guy" movie?