Justin Rose’s secret weapon, Nelly Korda’s delicious winning tradition and an odd celebrity golf first

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we take it that LIV Golf doesn’t play any events on poa annua greens. How else can we explain Brooks Koepka finishing fifth in strokes gained: tee-to-green, but dead last in putting at Torrey Pines on his way to a T-56 in his big PGA Tour return? Then again, Brooks has always been more of a majors guy, so maybe the (golf) world really is returning to normal. In any event, I’d putt on any surface right now if I could leave the house for more than 10 minutes and not be in danger of getting frostbite. But for moment, let’s settle for talking some golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Justin Rose: The Englishman’s career renaissance continues to flourish after winning wire-to-wire at the Farmers Insurance Open. Rose may technically be 45, but he’s hitting it longer than ever, putting it as well as ever (regardless of the surface) and this may be his most impressive victory yet. Rose looked like peak Tiger with a seven-shot win and, in fact, broke Tiger’s tournament scoring record by shooting 23 under par at Torrey Pines.

With the win, Rose is all the way up to No. 3 in the Official World Ranking. And it prompted him to joke about coming after World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler:

Or, maybe he wasn’t joking. So how is he doing this at this age? Well, it helps that he’s a fitness fanatic who acquired an RV in 2023 and turned it into a mobile gym and recovery vehicle, which he gave Golf Mag a tour of a couple years back:

If the younger generation wants to keep up with this Ryder Cup legend, they might want to invest in something similar.

Nelly Korda: The former World No. 1 picked up her first trophy in over a year at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. And she didn’t even have to hit a single shot on Sunday. With freezing conditions (cute compared to what we’re dealing with in the Northeast) in the Orlando area, the LPGA shortened the event to 54 holes (more on that later), giving Korda, who had shot a Saturday 64, a 16th career LPGA title.

I’m also buying Nelly’s sleep:

Very jealous. Also, tell me you’re not a parent without telling me you’re not a parent. Anyway, a well-rested Nelly played very well. "Overall, I was very happy with my game,” said Korda, who called the 64 one of the top three rounds of her career. “Kind of led into it really nicely where I saved the best for last I guess.” Weird situation, but a win’s a win. Speaking of …

Mardy Fish: The King of Celebrity Golf took back his crown from Joe Pavelski in Orlando, winning at Lake Nona for a third time and the event for a fifth time overall to go with his two American Century Championship titles. Even more impressive? Fish shot even par over nine holes in those difficult conditions on Sunday for the victory:

Yes, he won a 63-hole golf(?!) tournament. That might be a first! Also, celebrity golf OG Jack Wagner deserves a special shout-out as well for shooting two under on Sunday. As a 66-year-old. In conditions deemed unplayable by the LPGA. OK, let’s get to that …

WE’RE SELLING

LPGA Tour’s decision: Crazy cold weather has been a nightmare for many across this country, but nowhere did it wind up being as controversial as in Orlando, where the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions was serving as the season opener for both the LPGA and the celebrity golf season. But with freezing conditions on Sunday, the tour decided—after a series of delays—to scrap the final round. (Side note: I need to get some golf ear muffs like Lydia Ko.)

Well, for the pros. Again, the celebs wound up playing nine holes making this the rare 63-hole tournament. Players like Danielle Kang and Annika Sorenstam, who played in the celebrity portion, questioned the decision to not play Sunday or Monday—especially with the next LPGA event not scheduled for another couple of weeks. In any event, Nelly and Mardy were crowned champs, but Mardy certainly had to work a lot harder.

DP World Tour’s playoff: This thing got ugly on the second hole. First, congrats to future PGA Tour pro Patrick Reed for a nice final-round rally to nearly win for a second straight week. But after exiting on the first playoff hole at the Bahrain Championship, Freddy Schott and Calum Hill had an all-time pillow fight. Hill hit his tee shot OB, then shanked his approach off a giant screen showing the action:

Schott didn’t fare much better, nearly finding the water with his tee shot then missing the green with his approach. But after chipping one to about 12 feet, Hill, who would have been putting for seven, decided to concede. You don’t see that often, but, yes, it’s allowed.

Anyway, congrats to Schott on his first DP World Tour title. Although he has to be the only player in DP World Tour history who doesn’t have a win in which he actually finished the tournament.

Bob Sura’s bet: The former NBA player hopped on Golf’s Subpar podcast and told some great gambling stories, but none better than the one involving a big bet on himself. Apparently, Sura wagered $10,000 with some billionaire offering him 300-to-1 odds that he’d qualify for a PGA Tour Champions event before turning 65.

Now, I love the confidence and I understand that a $3 million payout is enticing, but the former Cleveland Cavalier is being pretty cavalier with his money considering Sura is a 53-year-old with a 7.6 handicap index. Good luck, Bob, but it sounds like you just made one billionaire a little bit richer.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour season and Brooks Koepka comeback tour continues with the WM Phoenix Open, AKA that one they play on Super Bowl Sunday, AKA that one they abbreviated from Waste Management, AKA that one many fans treat more as the Wasted Management. Also, Brooks’ old tour, LIV Golf, kicks off its season in Saudi Arabia. And LIV decided to promote this event in the following, um, interesting way:

People love to point out LIV’s missteps, but I actually found that funny. Good job by their social team—assuming they don’t get sued.

Random tournament fact: Brooks Koepka has won twice at TPC Scottsdale, including 2021, when the three hosts of The Loop, Stephen Hennessey, Christopher Powers and myself, all bet on him. Pretty sure that was the last time we had a group golf bet win and it feels like the last golf one for me. Anyway, to discuss this week’s picks as well as a new betting broadcast for golf fans, we had Jeff Eisenband of PGA Tour Live and SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio on the show:

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Bob Sura will qualify for a senior tour event: 3 MILLION-to-1 odds

—Brooks Koepka will win this week: 50-to-1 odds

—Brooks Koepka will putt better this week: LOCK

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Nailed it.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Joel Dahmen shared the sponsor's exemption letter that he attached to a golf shirt to present to the folks at the WM Phoenix Open:

And, yes, they gave him a spot in the tournament. How could they not after that? And if you’re looking for a job, doing something like this with your resume might be the way to go to really stand out.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (AMAZING SHOT DIVISION)

Chris Gotterup continues to be a highlight-producing king, both in the simulator (he set a TGL record for longest drive with a 374-yard poke on Monday night) and on the course. And this driver off the deck might just wind up being the shot of year:

With all due respect to my guy the DOD King, Chris is now the DOD King until further notice.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (FUNNY SHOT DIVISION)

As a member of the CBS Golf broadcast team, Johnson Wagner is getting to recreate shots now during the tournament! And his first one didn’t disappoint:

More of this, please!

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (TAKING A SHOT DIVISION)

This little beauty emerged from the Ryder Cup of Rory McIlroy mocking Patrick Cantlay’s pre-shot shuffle at Bethpage Black:

I’d be shocked if there isn’t another tour pro who hasn’t felt like doing that while playing with Patrick.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Nelly Korda continued her tasty winning tradition of going to a burger joint to celebrate a win:

Personally, I’m a Five Guys guy over In-And-Out Burger, so this was an especially good choice. I just hope Nelly treated herself at some point over the past year-plus when she didn’t win.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I’m still loving it. I’m still working hard. You’ve got to love it to work hard. I still believe there’s good stuff in front of me.” —Justin Rose with inspirational words that I’ll use on my own journey to get better at golf. Also, Justin and I are not THAT old. We have (hopefully) plenty of good years still in front of us, thank you!

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to Jupiter Golf Links on ending a long losing streak with an upset win over TGL reigning champs Atlanta Drive. Hopefully, Tiger will play in a match at some point this season, but in the meantime, he’s a great cheerleader:

Nelly Korda called TGL not making mixed teams a “huge miss” and said she’s unsure about participating in the new WTGL. She may have a point, but her not participating would be a huge miss as well. … And, finally, on the latest installment of my “Late Scratch?” series, Quaker Ridge head pro Mario Guerra schooled me on the physics of golf ball flight laws:

Understanding this has helped me a lot, and I think it can help you too.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

When will Brooks Koepka win a PGA Tour event?

When will Mardy Fish qualify for a PGA Tour Champions event?

How much did Justin Rose’s traveling gym cost?