Tommy Fleetwood’s perfect timing, Patrick Cantlay’s funny slow-play critics and the Bryson-Brooks feud gets renewed

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we are thankful for the PGA Tour’s timing in getting rid of that staggered-start format at the Tour Championship. Admittedly, I didn’t mind it and liked seeing the top guys in the FedEx Cup get some kind of an advantage for the tour’s most lucrative event, but it wound up producing one of the most popular wins ever. And who was the last person to win before the change was made? You might just remember this one:

So, you can argue the format all you want, but you can’t argue with those results. Imagine if golf fans had been robbed of seeing those Tiger and Tommy triumphs? Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about that and there’s plenty else to talk about. So let’s all start with Tommy.

WE’RE BUYING

Tommy Fleetwood: At long last! Tommy Fleetwood is a PGA Tour winner! And kinda funny timing that it happened the same week Paul Azinger—whose comments regarding Fleetwood at the 2020 Honda Classic were unfairly criticized—was in the news for receiving the Payne Stewart Award.

Anyway, Zinger and everyone else were excited for Fleetwood to finally cross the finish line in first. Even Caitlin Clark and LeBron James!

And the win was such a big deal that Tiger Woods congratulated the 34-year-old Brit:

Man, that was awesome. And it became clear why it was so awesome when Fleetwood gave this sweet message to his fans:

What a great lad. And now, finally, he’s a great (PGA Tour) champ. Fleetwood began the week saying it would be funny if he were to make this his first win to also claim the season-long FedEx Cup. And he ended it by laughing all the way to the bank with that $10 million prize. It’s going to be really tough for the U.S. fans at Bethpage to root against Tommy at next month’s Ryder Cup. Kidding. They’ll rip him to shreds just like all the other Euros.

LIV’s finale: I knocked a winless Jon Rahm winning LIV’s individual season-long title last week over five-time winner Joaquin Niemann, but the tour’s team championship was fantastic. And once again, the Spaniard came out on top, leading his Legion XIII squad to the victory that needed a playoff involving Rahm and Crushers captain Bryson DeChambeau:

Great drama. Great playing. LIV couldn’t have cooked up a more dreamy finish than that.

Alex Noren: The Swede produced his own dream finish to what began as a nightmarish start to 2025 with a serious hamstring injury that kept him out of action for seven months. But now he’s broken a seven-year winless drought by winning the Betfred British Masters for his 11th career DP World Tour title.

Throw in a T-3 at the Wyndham Championship and a T-7 at the 3M Open on the PGA Tour and it’s going to be hard for Luke Donald to keep this guy off of Europe’s Ryder Cup team. Especially when you factor in how much time he missed. Speaking of that …

WE’RE SELLING

Having to make captain’s picks: Everyone—my self included—loves chiming in on this topic and giving suggestions. But can you imagine actually making those “awful” calls as Keegan Bradley described? The ones he knows plenty about after famously being on the wrong end of one two years ago?

There are so many great golfers on both sides. And Keegan and Luke have to whittle it down to six captain’s picks each. And Keegan has to wrestle with picking himself. Tough spot. Good luck, guys.

Patrick Cantlay’s pace of play: We’ve been through this before, but man, does it really stand out when Cantlay is contending in the final group on Sunday. To be clear, he’s not the only player at fault. Heck, playing partner Tommy Fleetwood took forever to choose his club on the 15th hole—after the pair had fallen about two holes behind and put on the clock! But Patrick always draws the most attention—especially for his shuffling that even Phil Mickelson couldn’t help poking fun at:

Cantlay better play well at the Ryder Cup (If Bradley picks him!) or the rowdy, restless fans at Bethpage Black might start a Shuffle Counter.

Bryson ducking Brooks: As mentioned, LIV’s team championship finals ended on a strong note, but there was a badly missed opportunity in the semifinals when Bryson DeChambeau chose to play Talor Gooch instead of longtime frenemy Brooks Koepka. And Koepka called him “afraid” and a “strange cat” for the curious choice:

These two partnered for The Showdown last year and seemed to be getting along swell, but has their fun (for the fans) rivalry been renewed? Fingers crossed!

ON TAP

The PGA Tour is actually taking a break following the Tour Championship. Actually, it’s a rare two-week break as the dust settles from an eventful season. The tour will be back in action Sept. 11-14 at the Procore Championship, AKA that one in Napa. And LIV Golf is off much longer. But in the meantime, the DP World Tour rolls on this week with the OMEGA European Masters in Switzerland and the LPGA Tour heads to Norton, Mass., for the FM Championship. And at the risk of getting ripped like Normal Sport's Kyle Porter for suggesting Royal Portrush was more scenic than Memphis a few years back, as lovely as Norton is (I was there last fall) I’m going to go out on a limb and say the views in Switzerland are going to be better than the ones in Massachusetts.

Random tournament fact: Michelle Wie became the first woman to play on the European Tour at this event in 2006. She finished in last place, but drew huge crowds. She also happened to be a recent guest on The Loop podcast so, please have a listen!

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Tommy Fleetwood is thinking about his close calls this week: 10 MILLION-to-1 odds

—I will get nasty messages from people in Norton this week: Even odds

—The Tour Championship won’t go back to the staggered start next year: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK (AWW DIVISION)

Loved seeing Tommy Fleetwood and his son-in-law, Oscar Craig (a great golfer in his own right), wearing matching Nike polos.

Cute! Not Bennett Scheffler cute, but still cute.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK (YAWN DIVISION)

She probably wasn’t the only one.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Now that’s a big golf guy.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (CRAZY HOLE-OUT DIVISION)

Move over, Wesley Bryan. The world record for longest putt ever now belongs to fellow YouTube golfer Henry Grillo:

That’s 466 feet or more than 155 yards. Crazy. I know guys who struggle to carry their driver that far! Anyway, congrats, Henry. Although, this day and age I’m sure it’s only a matter of hours before someone beats your record.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Justin Rose celebrating his fellow countryman’s maiden PGA Tour title was awesome:

Game recognize game, and I guess class recognize class.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

How about Carlos Alcaraz winning his first-round match at the U.S. Open and immediately showing off his golf swing for Rory McIlroy?

Shows you where Carlos’ head—what’s left of it after that haircut anyway—really is.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“When you’ve lost it so many times, a three-shot lead down the last doesn’t feel like that many!” —Tommy Fleetwood keeping it real. Seriously, thank goodness he won this one.

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to Brooke Henderson on winning the CPKC Women's Open, AKA the LPGA's version of the Canadian Open. Which as we saw with Nick Taylor is particularly big for a Canadian like Brooke. And speaking of national opens … The Masters and the Open Championship will now invite the winners of several additional national opens. It’s a great move, but I was hoping they’d open it up for winners of the HGGA Championship (my annual golf trip) as well. … Congrats to Brad Dalke for winning the second edition of the Creator Classic at East Lake:

I will still always remember him for being the high schooler who beat Rory McIlroy in an arm wrestling match, but given the $100K(!) prize at East Lake, this is now the biggest win of his life. … Tommy Fleetwood's Tour Championship win averaged 4.491 million viewers on Sunday, making it the most-watched non-major of 2025. As if you needed more proof of Tommy's popularity. … And, finally, I had a delightful short-game practice session at The Griff in Greenwich, Conn., on Sunday, highlighted by some live music from the restaurant!

And speaking of ranges, my new video series, Range Rat, just launched. I’ll be giving reviews of different driving ranges and commenting on all the stuff that goes on at these places. The first episode featured Game On Golf Center in White Plains, N.Y. So, please check it out and stay tuned!

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

How many golf balls have I hit on the range in my life?

How many golf balls has Tommy Fleetwood hit on the range in his life?

Which driving range should I go to next?