Joel Dahmen’s career-saving round, Wayne Gretzky’s generous handicap and a $4 million approach shot

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we felt like Jay Leno while recently submitting an expense report that included a stay at a Hampton Inn. I didn’t realize I was living such a life of luxury! And unlike Jay’s, my Hampton was right on a golf course!

You can’t beat that. That is, you can’t beat that if it wasn’t freezing and I was actually able to get out there and play. Anyway, while my clubs are probably put away for the offseason, there was still plenty of golf action taking place all around the world this past week. Let’s get to it.

WE’RE BUYING

Maverick McNealy: In his 142nd career PGA Tour start, and after a couple close calls, McNealy finally earned his maiden PGA Tour title at the RSM Classic. And he did it in clutch fashion by sticking his approach shot on the 72nd hole to a few feet to set up the winning birdie:

Good for Mav, who seems like a great guy—especially for someone who grew up with a freaking hockey rink in his house. I didn’t think I could ever find myself this happy for the son of a billionaire.

Patrick Reed: It’s been a disappointing year for the 2018 Masters champ, but Reed will at least end on a high note by winning the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open. Check that, he will be playing again this week in the International Series Qatar. (Wasn’t part of his reason for going to LIV so he would get to play less?) Anyway, in addition to the win, Reed also shot only the second 59 in Asian Tour history:

So he’ll have something to brag about at next year’s Masters Champions dinner.

Elvis Smylie: What a name! And what a talent. The Australian won his maiden DP World Tour event at the BMW Australian PGA Championship. On top of that, the 22-year-old lefty held off fellow Aussie—and mentor—Cam Smith to get the job done.

Just a classic the-student-becomes-the-master situation right there.

Jeeno Thitikul: Speaking of young talents, the 21-year-old picked up the fourth and biggest victory yet of her LPGA Tour career by beating Angel Yin in dramatic fashion at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship with an eagle-birdie finish.

How about that shot with $4 million on the line? Yep, $4 MILLION. OK, well, a $3 million difference between first and second. Still, that’s a heckuva win and a heckuva prize. What a great moment for women’s golf, and Thitikul's "Definitely spend it" response when asked what she'd do with the money was classic.

That being said …

WE’RE SELLING

Jeeno making more than Nelly in 2024: It doesn’t feel right that Thitikul’s one great week earned her nearly as much as Nelly Korda made during her historic SEVEN-WIN season. And overall, Thitikul earned $1.7 million more than Korda:

Korda, who finished fifth at the CME Group Tour Championship, can’t feel great about that. The biggest payday should probably be more of a season-long award. Not that the PGA Tour's finale totally works that way, but it's more like that with the Tour Championship/FedEx Cup. (Side note: How freaking dominant was Lorena Ochoa to win that much money 17 years ago?! Lorena was HER back in the day.)

The lack of Joel Dahmen TV coverage: The most compelling storyline all week at the PGA Tour's RSM Classic was who would stay in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup points list to claim/retain their tour cards. Specifically, Joel Dahmen, the man who has literally stolen the (Netflix) show “Full Swing” the past couple years. First off, kudos to Joel for coming up with the most clutch round of his life, a bogey-free 64 on Sunday that kept his job.

Amazing stuff. But why didn’t we see more of it?

That’s a bad job.

Wayne Gretzky’s 14-handicap: Congrats to the Great One on winning The Match: Superstars, the latest fun edition of The Match franchise (Yes, it’s a WBD joint and that’s our parent company). Gretzky paired with Bill Murray to advance to the semis and then beat the actor in the semis (interesting format) before beating another GOAT, Michael Phelps, in the final at Breakers West Country Club.

But here’s Barstool Riggs sharing a recent tale about 99’s “14” handicap:

Sounds like we have another Larry Fitzgerald/Aaron Rodgers-level sandbagger on our hands! To be clear, Gretzky beat all these celebs straight up. But that’s even more proof that he deserves time in the penalty box for playing with a handicap that high. Anyway, well played, Wayne.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour is off for Thanksgiving, AKA that week we used to be able to watch The Skins Game (RIP). But the DP World Tour rolls on with another big event Down Under, the ISPS Handa Australian Open at Kingston Heath. And, again, the Patrick Reed World Tour rolls on in the Middle East.

Random tournament fact: Joaquin Niemann beat Rikuya Hoshino in a playoff at the Australian Open last year. The win is also likely why Augusta National invited him to the Masters. So this is potentially a big week for any LIV golfers who aren’t in that field yet.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Joaquin Niemann will win the Australian Open again: 5-1 odds

—Brian Harman will eat a turkey he shot himself for Thanksgiving: 3-to-1 odds

—Gretzky’s golf buddies are going to be asking for more strokes now: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

I’d be cracking a cold one after that stressful Sunday as well, Joel. Well deserved.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

And Joel’s loyal caddie, Geno Bonnalie, hit him with a perfect tweet after:

Good advice.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (PRO DIVISION)

Here was Charles Barkley going through golf shirts during The Match: Superstars—and getting roasted by Blake Griffin.

Blake should be a regular on "Inside The NBA." And on golf broadcasts. He’s great.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS (NON-THE MATCH: SUPERSTARS DIVISION)

Jannik Sinner is the World No. 1 at tennis. Let's just say he is NOT the World No. 1 at golf:

THIS WEEK IN BRYSON BEING BRYSON

Another week of excruciatingly close attempts at making that hole-in-one over his mansion. In particular, Day 11 was really quite something:

This is a reminder why even considering taking up those hypothetical “If you make a hole-in-one in 24 hours you get $10 million, but if you don’t, you go to JAIL. Would you do it?” proposals is insanely dumb. It’s freaking hard to make a hole-in-one. But stay at it, Bryson. This might be the most riveting daily content since James Holzhauer’s "Jeopardy!" winning streak.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Man, we had some great on-course moments this week so it’s hard to narrow this down. But let’s start with Dahmen embracing his wife, Lona, after getting the job done:

And end with Lexi Thompson’s end as a full-time LPGA Tour pro:

She didn’t wind up winning quite as much as she and everyone else thought when she broke onto the scene as a phenom, but 11 wins and a major is still one heckuva career. What a star she’s been for the women’s game. Happy trails, Lexi.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I really wanted to throw up—especially on the back nine.” —Joel Dahmen always telling it like it is.

THIS AND THAT

Do yourself a favor and check out our Joel Beall’s story on Grayson Murray. What a powerful read. … And for a much, much different reading recommendation, check out my story on Mary Kate Morrissey, the actress currently playing Elphaba in “Wicked” on Broadway. And, yes, I plan on seeing the movie as well. … It was great attending the fun TGL event in NYC to promote the New York Golf Club, especially since it met seeing Eli Manning in the flesh:

However, given this past week’s news with Daniel Jones and the general state of the Giants, it was also depressing to think about what once was during Eli The Great’s reign. … And, finally, here’s a picture of my new dryer, which I had to buy after my old dryer died. Spoiler alert: It looks just like my old dryer:

I was hoping one of my RSM bets would cover the cost. Narrator: None of them came close.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

How long will this dryer last?

How long will it be before I win a golf bet?

How long will it be before I play golf again?