Padraig Harrington’s amazing quote, a journeyman’s nightmare finish and the craziest golf-cart crash ever

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we have never felt better about not winning our annual buddies golf trip. For the first time in more than a decade, I wasn’t even a factor, but it made for a fun and stress-free final day. And it was an honor slipping our coveted green jacket on Tim Quinn, who has the distinction of being the first left-handed HGGA Championship winner ever:

Well done, Tim. Wear that thing proudly. And if you happen to see him out in that thing, shake his hand because he’s one of the best (net) golfers around. OK, now let’s get back to talking more about the people who play this great game for a living.

WE’RE BUYING

Chris Gotterup: In the words of DJ Khaled, “All he does is win, win, win, no matter what.” Gotterup shot a Sunday 64 to come from behind and take the John Deere Classic for his fifth career PGA Tour title and his fourth in the past 12 months.

How good is that? I’ll let Normal Sport’s Kyle Porter sum it up:

And then there’s this gem of a stat from Justin Ray:

Gotterup might just be the best closer in golf right now. And as a Yankees fan, the dude knows a thing or two about great closers. And as he likes to tweet after each win, “Tell them to bring me my money”:

He should have already received a direct deposit of $1.58 million. Not too shabby.

Padraig Harrington: The Irishman continued to add to an incredible career by winning the U.S. Senior Open for a record-tying third time. “I like creating records,” Harrington said after. And like watching—and listening to (more on that later)—you, Paddy.

Harrington now has four senior majors to go with this three regular majors. And considering how hard he works on his game—in particular, his speed training—it seems like he’s got plenty left in the tank. Heck, he finished T-18 at the PGA Championship in May.

Yip Strickler: From one character to another, I’ve highlighted his Sandbagger Sheriff before and even profiled him for Golf Digest. But this might be his proudest moment yet. After doing one of his famed investigations following the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am, the tournament overturned the results of the pro-am:

So take a bow, Yip. You are truly doing a great service to (net) golf.

Brad Dalke: Speaking of social-media golf personalities, how about this guy? The YouTube star, and, yes, former amateur golf standout, played in a DP World Tour event for the first time and was right near the top of the leaderboard entering the weekend:

Dalke, who recently said he’s stepping away from Good Good Golf due to family health issues, finished T-30, but what an amazing effort to flip the switch and get into high-level tournament golf again. The sponsor invites should be flowing now.

WE’RE SELLING

Ben Kohles’ finish: This one hurt to watch. We’ve been singing the praises of this grinder of late, but when he had a chance to win the John Deere on the 72nd hole, he hit one of his worst shots.

What an absolute dagger. And it got worse with a short missed putt moments later to cost him another $320K. What a cruel sport. And Kohles bogeyed the closing par 5 a couple years back at the Byron Nelson the only other time he had a chance to win a PGA Tour event. Poor guy. Hang in there, Ben. And speaking of that …

Ben Kohles’ schedule: This was Kohles’ 10th start in a row. And that doesn’t include him racing from a Korn Ferry Tour win last month to make his U.S. Open qualifier. Having played in two one-day events this year and having played eight rounds in five days on my golf trip, I simply can’t comprehend playing a schedule like that.

I’ve got a blister on my foot, some nagging pain in my elbow and a sore thumb. And in addition to the physical stuff, there’s the mental toll all this golf takes on you, especially if you’re in contention and playing for your job. So, again, I don’t know how Ben and a lot of these guys do it. Hats off to them.

Michael Block’s haters: And hats off to this guy. This man is pure electricity and yet he constantly has people rooting against him.

I truly don’t get it. After nearly winning his PGA Tour Champions debut, Block made the cut at the U.S. Senior Open, where he showed off this patriotic haircut:

And provided some of the best quotes of the year when, after advancing to the weekend at Scioto, he said he wanted to "go deep" and vowed to "fire at every pin." I’m Team Blockie for life, and I’m glad we’re going to be seeing even more of him now that he’s on the senior circuit.

ON TAP

Huge week on tap with the PGA Tour having two events (Genesis Scottish Open and ISCO Championship) and the LPGA having a major (Amundi Evian Championship). Also the U.S. Adaptive Open is taking place, which allows me to reference one of the coolest/craziest stories I’ve ever done on golfer Alex Fourie. Needless to say, I’ll be rooting for my fellow Alex this week!

Random tournament fact: It’s more of a tournament sponsor fact since I have no clue what ISCO is. But according to their website, ISCO is the clear leader and go-to resource for HDPE piping projects in North America. OK, so I still don’t know much about this company. But I do know—after also looking it up—that William Mouw is the defending champ.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—William Mouw will successfully defend his ISCO title: 26-to-1 odds

—Ben Kohles will win the ISCO Championship this week: 22-to-1-odds

—Neither know what ISCO does: LOCK

TWEET OF THE WEEK

I’m too cheap to ever retire a good polo, but that’s pretty awesome.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Congrats to 87-year-old Lee McFarland making a hole-in-one—and then taking an all-time badass photo:

What a legend.

VIRAL VIDEO(S) OF THE WEEK

In what has to be the craziest golf cart crash of all time, some golfers managed to drive off the cliffs at Payne’s Valley’s famed 19th hole. Fortunately, it looks like no one was hurt during the incident:

But you can see just how dangerous this was with this video:

And since no one was hurt, we can joke about it. And this reference to last year’s Barstool Internet Invitational played there was the best one:

Fasoli! Gets me every time.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (OFF-COURSE DIVISION)

If you make a hole-in-one at Ardfin in Scotland, you are gifted a bottle of rare whisky made there special for that hole:

So in this case, the drinks are on the course, and not the golfer. Talk about a cool and classy gesture.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Wyndham Clark and his girlfriend, Emily Tanner, continue to make the rounds with the U.S. Open trophy:

And Rory McIlroy and his wife, Erica, went to Wimbledon with Rory wearing the green jacket:

You won’t see the HGGA’s Tim Quinn doing that, but as a local athletic director, you might see him wearing our green jacket to some high school games next year.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ANIMOSITY

Is the Brooks-Bryson feud back on?

Fingers crossed! (Hey, it’s good for content.)

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

Nice to see the King of New York enjoying some downtime after ending the Knicks’ 53-year NBA championship drought:

Rest up, my King. We’ve got a title to defend starting in a few months.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Padraig Harrington has long been one of the best talkers in golf, but this was particularly good:

That last bit about normal golfers would save their money to go on golf trips and play these great courses he gets to play in perfect conditions really hit home. Especially after playing in Myrtle Beach in the summer. While the area is in a drought. Let's just say the HGGA will be going North next year.

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to Carolina Chacarra on winning her first pro event at the LET’s Hulencourt Women’s Open, just seven days after her brother, Eugenio, won his third career DP World Tour title. Talk about a talented family. … Congrats to one bettor who made more than $4 million(!) wagering $77K on Viktor Hovland to win the Travelers Championship. That’s more than the $3.6 million Hovland made for actually winning the Travelers. … With his latest runner-up, Scottie Scheffler is now on a 13-tournament winless drought. In other words, Scottie Scheffler is the most due player on the planet right now. … And, finally, on the same day I left for Myrtle Beach, I also played in a nine-hole event with my daughter Julia:

It was her first time on an actual (par-3) course. And it was awesome:

Yes, we even wore matching outfits. Her idea, I swear. Anyway, shout-out to Kevin Rooney, Ralph Blessing and the rest of TGA for making it happen. And shout-out to my new favorite playing partner.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

When is the next local dad-daughter golf event?

Where will the next HGGA Championship be played?

Would Padraig Harrington like to come?