The Loop

The Grind: We make a task force, the Dufners make a pizza, and the Rory/Rickie rivalry REALLY heats up

October 14, 2014

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we've decided to follow the PGA of America's lead and put together our own task force. Hey, staying on the pulse of everything that's tenuously related to golf is tough! We'll start with the obvious WAG suspects: Paulina, Amanda and Lindsey. Then we'll need some actual golfers as well, so Natalie and Paula, please join us as well. And it couldn't hurt to add two of the world's top-ranked bachelors, Rory and Rickie (now a task-force veteran), since who is better plugged into golf's social scene? OK, guys, don't let us down. An entire nation A few people are counting on you.

WE'RE BUYING

Sang-Moon Bae: Not only had the South Korean not won since the 2013 Byron Nelson (that's two seasons ago in PGA Tour terms), he hadn't finished in the top 10. So naturally he won the tour's opening event, the Frys.com Open. Afterward, Bae mentioned his goal of making the Presidents Cup team, making it the earliest anyone has ever mentioned golf's other team event.

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You can survive on one top 10 per year. Just make sure that one top 10 is a win.

Viraat Badhwah: The Stanford sophomore met his golf idol, Tiger Woods, on Saturday and then shot 59 to break the Stanford Golf Course record on Sunday. Not a bad weekend's work. Of course, since he goes to Stanford, Viraat probably found time to solve the world's energy crisis as well.

Ryder Cup Task Force: Do we think it will work? Not really. Do we think the PGA of America got the right people? Not really. But can it really get any worse for the U.S.? Not really. Also, enough with the records of the players involved. Unless they stocked the team with octogenarians, it was going to be tough to find many successful Americans in this event.

Rickie Fowler's new flame: Apparently, Rickie hasn't been too busy with all of his task-force duties just yet. Say hello to his new, um, friend, bikini model Alexis Randock. It's been all Rory McIlroy in the tabloids of late, but now the Rory-Rickie rivalry is really heating up!

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Hmm. Those look more like one-pieces. We need a little more proof of this whole bikini model title. . .

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OK, we're sold.

WE'RE SELLING

Shortened tournaments: The Portugal Masters had its final two rounds cancelled due to heavy rain, which meant 36-hole leader Alexander Levy was awarded his second European Tour title. For some reason, we doubt another Masters played in Augusta would get the same treatment. In any event, Nicolas Colsaerts has to be the first golfer to ever shoot 60 in a two-day event and lose.

Matt Kuchar: The highest-ranked player in the field at Silverado, Kuchar was in position to challenge Bae on Sunday, but a final-round 76 -- only two of 74 players shot worse -- dropped him all the way to T-21. Hey, Matt, you know you were playing for real and official money, right?

Golf carts: We try to avoid using these things on the course, but on the road? No thanks. Residents of Chatham County in Georgia, however, are trying to fix that. Look, if there's a special path you can take to your course, by all means. But mixing golf carts into traffic with cars and trucks? That has more potential to backfire than that first Ryder Cup Task Force meeting with Tiger and Phil.

Tiger Woods' jeans: We didn't think Woods' denim woes could get any worse. Wrong. Here he is attending games of his two favorite football teams -- the Stanford Cardinal and the Oakland Raiders -- over the weekend:

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We're glad Tiger is enjoying his off-season, but this jeans situation is troubling. Forget about him finding a new swing coach, what Woods really needs is a personal shopper.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, aka that event that used to have a longer title when it was called the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Random tournament fact: Webb Simpson won this event last year. By SIX shots. If you've been caught up in Ryder Cup coverage, you may have forgotten that Simpson was a pretty decent player at one point.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Viraat Badhwah will have a better weekend than last weekend: 1 million-to-1 odds

-- Some PGA Tour rookie will lose his first paycheck at the casino: Even odds

-- Justin Timberlake, wherever he is, will have a better weekend than anyone: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Natalie Gulbis has a new yoga friend in Lexi Thompson. No, Lexi isn't doing a full split. That's just an optical illusion.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"It's hard to wrap your head around that it's already a new year and Santa hasn't come yet," Stuart Appleby said. Forget about Santa, we haven't even picked out our Halloween costume yet!

THIS WEEK IN LINDSEY VONN MAKING US LOOK BAD WITH HER TRAINING

Loading Yeeeeeah!!! Having SO much fun skiing :) #happy #lovemyjob #UAcomeback good @gopro work by my coach too

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Hey, Lindsey, we're happy your knee is feeling better, but can you take some time away from the slopes and the gym -- and being on The Grind Task Force -- to stage a denim intervention for your man? Please?

VIRAL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

DJ and Paulina vs. TMZ. DJ gets the edge for keeping his cool amid a slew of questions (many about Paulina's pregnancy), although we would have liked to hear what his favorite golf movie is.

THIS WEEK IN AMANDA DUFNER-JASON DUFNER PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

A slimmed-down Duf and the lovely Amanda make a pizza together:

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Mmm, looks good. We always had Jason pegged as a pepperoni man.

THIS AND THAT

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Kirk Triplett won the SAS Championship for his second Champions Tour win of the year. I know what you're wondering: does he still wear bucket hats? The answer is an emphatic YES. . . . High school senior Luis Gagne fired an eight-under 28 for nine holes in his final varsity match. It could have been better if he didn't only par three of the holes. Slacker. . . . That's me teeing off into the New York City skyline last week after being lucky enough to play at Trump Ferry Point, which is yet to officially open. Looks great, right? Thanks, I've really been working on my balance. Oh, yeah, the view isn't too shabby, either.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will Trump Ferry Point ever host a U.S. Open?

Does the PGA have a task force for creating task forces?

Who gets married first: Rory or Rickie?

-- Alex Myers is an Associate Editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.