Charles Barkley’s hilarious swing advice, a devastating golf breakup and a potential Ryder Cup WAGs rivalry

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where Charles Barkley has never seemed more relatable. The NBA legend and longtime celebrity golf non-legend finally seemed like he had it all figured out with an opening 81 at the American Century Championship—his lowest score in 30 years of playing the Lake Tahoe event—including this spectacular hole-out from 88 yards:

He was in the top 25! And then? Well, he went back to being Charles Barkley, not coming close to breaking 90 and finishing 69th out of 90 players. That also meant he didn't beat the over/under for him set by Vegas and he had to pay out a big bet to Colt Knost:

OK, so I'm not making bets like that, but where I—and all golfers—can feel Chuck is that moment of thinking you've figured it out in golf (and certainly, he's come a long way thanks to instructor Stan Utley) before the game just absolutely humbles you again. Anyway, hang in there, big guy. And in the meantime, here's what else is happening in the world of golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Grace Kim: The 24-year-old Aussie claimed her maiden major title at the Amundi Evian Championship with a rally for the ages. Kim birdied 15 and 16 before hitting this incredible 4-hybrid to two feet on 18 to set up eagle:

And she was just getting started! After finding the penalty area on the first playoff hole, she chipped in for this insane birdie:

And then she added another eagle to put the tournament away:

That unbelievable eagle-birdie-eagle finish included a career’s worth of highlight-reel moments in the span of 40 minutes! All this from someone who had never recorded a top 10 in 13 previous major starts. AMAZING GRACE! And when you add that in with Jeeno Thitikul’s superb play and amateur Lottie Woad’s late charge, you have the craziest finish of any major in 2025, right up there with any Sunday in recent memory.

Chris Gotterup: The Genesis Scottish Open’s finish wasn’t quite as dramatic, but it also featured an underdog holding off a World No. 2. What an incredible job by the 25-year-old to go head-to-head with Rory McIlroy and beat him.

It gave Gotterup a second career PGA Tour title, but by far the biggest victory—and paycheck—of his career. And he didn’t shy away when it came to the latter:

Good for you, Chris. Don’t spend it all in one place. Well, unless you’re buying a house.

Charles Barkley’s swing advice: Incredible words of wisdom here from Chuck: “You’re a big ol’ fat dude. If you just make a nice pass at it, with that big ass you got, the ball is going to go off the club. So I’m really just concentrating, honestly, on tempo.”

OK, so that might not apply to everyone reading this, but it’s still hilarious.

WE’RE SELLING

Fighting an ex-NHL player: Remember that crazy golf course fight from last week? Of course you do. It’s one of the most viral videos in golf history. Well, it turns out there was a reason the result was so lopsided. The big guy is actually former NHL player/enforcer Nick Tarnasky. So stepping to him was almost as big of a mistake as those dads taking on some ex-UFC fighters a couple years back. Anyway, the guy who instigated the whole thing and wound up getting tossed around like a rag doll issued this apology:

He actually looks pretty good considering the beating he took! Hey, we all make mistakes—especially when we’re drinking. But let this serve as a reminder to be extra careful who you make those mistakes around.

Joel and Geno splitting: Devastating and shocking news broke on Monday night that Joel Dahmen and Geno Bonnalie—everyone’s favorite Netflix couple—were breaking up. And this, just hours after Geno shared a video in which he talked about playing golf in Scotland with his boss that day. Sad stuff that was first reported by Matt Gannon and confirmed by Dan Rapaport, who got the following quote from Joel:

Of course, we should all realize by now that these player-caddie relationships all have an expiration date. Even if it’s 25 years like Phil Mickelson and Jim “Bones” Mackay. But that doesn’t make it any less sad. We wish both the best.

Rory’s haircut: The five-time major champ didn’t just come up short on the course this week, but also in the barber’s chair. And as he explained to CBS’ Amanda Balionis, he made a real strategic error:

Getting old is tough. Even if you’re one of the greatest golfers of all time.

ON TAP

The Open is here! The Open is here! And no, we’re not one of those bullies who say you can’t call it the British Open. Call it the Open Championship. Call it THE Open. Call it the British—although, with it being back at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland it’s not in Great Britain this year. All we care about is that it’s the last major of 2025 and one of the best golf weeks of the year. So set that alarm clock a little earlier starting Thursday and enjoy.

Random tournament fact: Before Ireland’s Shane Lowry won at Portrush in 2019, the only other winner there was England’s Max Faulkner way back in 1951. And Max’s full name was actually Herbert Gustavas Max Faulkner. So, it makes sense that he went by Max.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—There will be an eagle-birdie-eagle finish at Portrush: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds

—Shane Lowry will defend his title at Portrush: 35-to-1 odds

—Euro golf writers will be extra preachy about using “British Open” this week: LOCK

TWEET(S) OF THE WEEK

Michael Kim does it again with this thread breaking down just how much money top-50 PGA Tour players actually make:

Accountants must love having tour pros as clients.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

A talented artist put his own take on that crazy golf fight:

Hang it in the Louvre, indeed.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

I’m sorry, but I can’t get enough of that golf fight. Check out this sign someone made at the scene to commemorate this instant classic.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (NON-FIGHT DIVISION)

Although it could have led to a fight. Check out J.J. Spaun talking about being hit with an all-time dagger from Rory McIlroy:

That is harsh trash talk right there. We didn’t know Rory had that in him. Not that we mind it.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Loved this phone call from Dillon Stewart to his parents after picking up his first PGA Tour Americas title:

And loved this reaction from William Mouw after winning his first PGA Tour title at the ISCO Championship (Man, there was a LOT of golf going on this past weekend) by firing a Sunday 61:

And just like that, he’ll no longer be best-known for making a 13 at the Amex. Probably.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION(?)

Forget about the competition between American and European players at this year’s Ryder Cup, we have the potential for a heated Ryder Cup WAGs rivalry! Sort of. Makena White, Jake Knapp’s girlfriend, at least jokingly explored this with her text exchange with Matt Fitzpatrick’s wife, Katherine:

Golf Twitter would burn to the ground. Unfortunately, neither had to worry about that since neither Jake nor Matt won on Sunday. But it also looks like the two WAGs played golf together—and Makena may have hit the best bunker shot of the week in Scotland:

Maybe the PGA of America should stage a WAGs skills challenge at Bethpage Black instead?

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS (NON-CHARLES BARKLEY DIVISION)

There’s a ton to choose from this week, but let’s focus on ex-NHL player Joe Pavelski winning the American Century Championship for the first time—and doing it in style with this eagle to cap his week at Lake Tahoe:

The celebrity golf circuit has a new King (for now). And he’s not someone you want to get into a fight with on the golf course, either. Also, congrats to former MLB MVP Jimmy Rollins on recording his first-ever hole-in-one:

We had Jimmy on The Loop podcast a couple years back and he was one of our favorite guests ever. Anyway, brilliant move by him to do it at an event where all the booze is already paid for. Well done, Jimmy.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Chris Gotterup: “I just hung in there tight and tried to keep it together. After my start this week, really just struggled, and then I found something on Friday. Today, I knew it was going to be a grind and yesterday was a grind, too. Hitting it in the bunker on the first hole, I'm like, oh, sh-t, here we go. Held it together really well and then it was so much fun out there.” It’s great to know that even the best players on the planet have those self-doubts on the course. And it’s great to hear him use the word grind. And I hope to feature Chris in The Grind for many years to come.

THIS AND THAT

A computer model that’s correctly predicted 15 recent major champs has predicted, wait for it, Scottie Scheffler to win the British Open. Sometimes the most obvious pick is the right one ... Congrats to Neal Shipley on winning a second Korn Ferry Tour title to all but wrap up his PGA Tour card for next season. Apparently, you get better at sports when you ditch a Waffle House diet. Go figure ... Congrats to Golf Digest’s own Hally Leadbetter on finishing 20th at the American Century Championship—and winning the event’s closest-to-the-pin competition:

I demand more strokes if I have to play against Hally in any company event ... More congrats to Talor Gooch for getting back in the winner's circle on the LIV Golf Tour in Spain. No asterisk needed there! ... And, finally, had the pleasure of playing in the New York City Hemophilia Chapter (Check out this great cause!) golf outing at Knollwood Country Club with three of my oldest Pelham buddies, Kurt Wiesenmaier, Alex Christon and Kevin Harrigan. And we played great, shooting 60 as a four-man scramble:

That’s a classic “I’m in my 40s and I’ve had a couple High Noons” point from me. Unfortunately, not all the groups finished (in part because we played on during a downpour) so they just drew groups out of a hat for the top three prizes. And that, kids, is how my one chance to win a scramble was squandered.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Would we have won that scramble?

Are the Evian Resort Golf Club hazards filled with Evian water?

How much money did Charles Barkley lose betting on himself?